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Hello Cocktails!

Books and booze. I live in Philadelphia, but I get around.

Author: HelloCocktails

You Should Drink Here – Southwark

You Should Drink Here (#YSDH) is where I write about cocktail bars that you should, you know, drink at. It means I’ve visited the bar 3 or 4 times and sampled most if not all the drinks, so you can be pretty confident it’s legit. I’ve been a Philly resident for almost four months now,… Read More You Should Drink Here – Southwark

February 18, 2023 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

One Night in Manhattan

“New York gets god-awful cold in the winter but there’s a feeling of wacky comradeship somewhere in some streets.“ – Jack Kerouac New York City is crime-ridden, no fun, dead. Since the pandemic, doomsayers have hammered this narrative over and over again, jumping at any chance to pour dirt on the Big Apple’s grave. No… Read More One Night in Manhattan

February 3, 2023 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

Diving Into Philly – Part 2

Happy New Year! The beginning of 2023 also marks my first two months living in Philadelphia, and truthfully I’ve loved every minute of it (except the parking, that sucks). One of my New Year’s resolutions is to immerse myself in the city and get to know it, aggressively. As I’ve said over and over again… Read More Diving Into Philly – Part 2

January 13, 2023March 14, 2023 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

Diving Into South Philly

After roughly 18 years living in and around the nation’s capital, I decided to pack my bag and dog and take the party to the distant exotic land of Philadelphia PA. There were a ton of real-world reasons for the move, but I’d be lying if the city’s rich culinary culture wasn’t a big factor.… Read More Diving Into South Philly

November 21, 2022December 21, 2022 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

A Boozy Guide to Charleston

Ah, Charleston. Finally shrugging off the frost of a long, cold winter, I was excited to travel down to the Holy City for a wedding in the woods and an extended weekend of polite excess. I’m a long-time and fervent booster of the city, boring all who will listen with over-long attestations to its limitless… Read More A Boozy Guide to Charleston

June 7, 2018June 8, 2018 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

A Boozy Guide to Pittsburgh

In my over three decades on Earth, much of it on the East Coast, I’ve never been to Pittsburgh. It’s a particularly shameful oversight for a history/sports nerd like me – after all, the Steel City has been at the cross-roads of so many formative American trends: the explosive growth of heavy industry, the waves… Read More A Boozy Guide to Pittsburgh

April 17, 2018 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

Gin School at Left Door

As a budding gin-o-phile, I’ve developed a reputation among my friends for offering long-winded, incoherent, but passionate testimonies to the glories of gin. Armed with half-baked history and indecipherable tasting notes (flowery…but not too flowery, right?), I will compel you to embrace gin as I have, no matter how many conversations/parties I must ruin. Folks, that’s… Read More Gin School at Left Door

March 26, 2018 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

A Boozy Guide to Philadelphia

Although I’ve lived up and down the mid-Atlantic my entire life, I’ve only visited the city of Philadelphia on a few fleeting occasions. So, with Philly’s rep sky high and my hankering for good cheesesteaks at a fever pitch, I jumped on Amtrak, put my feet up, and girded myself for battle with the town’s… Read More A Boozy Guide to Philadelphia

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

Suds and Spirits at District Space

On the lookout for weekend plans, an acquaintance reached out over Instagram (I take pictures too folks) to inform me that the pros from the 1 Ounce or 2 Cocktail Club had set up residence at District Space to sling cocktails incorporating beer from the Flying Dog Brewery. She had me at beer! The late… Read More Suds and Spirits at District Space

January 21, 2018 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

High Art at the Columbia Room

It was on a freakishly balmy early January evening in Blagden Alley that we headed to the Columbia Room to sip through their fall tasting menu; temperature wise, it was eerily reminiscent of the last time I’d visited the bar in August. But we cast off our global warming concerns and threw ourselves into the 5-cocktail… Read More High Art at the Columbia Room

January 18, 2018 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

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"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred." Made a wonderful discovery in South Philadelphia this weekend - @irwinsupstairs is a super fun restaurant built atop the Bok school, a mastepiece of New Deal-Art Deco architecture. The aesthetic, the views, the service, and the food were all on point. Can't wait to return in the warm weather for some rooftop drinking. This is the "Fig-Getaboutit" with Dark and Overproof rum, fig, allspice, dram, and lime. "Hour by hour the caissons reach down to the rock of the earth and hold the building to a turning planet." No better view of my new city than from  @jgskyhigh - luxurious, fun, and I saw Ja Morant in the lobby. This is the "Pomegranate Storm" with Bacardi white rum, pomegranate, ginger, and lime. “Night was come, and her planets were risen: a safe, still night: too serene for the companionship of fear.” It was a wonderful Valentine's night in the low light of the legendary @theransteadroom with special guest and DC guy @deke_dc from @allegory_dc. The drinks were spectacular, including the "Down the Rabbit Hole" with @absolutelyx, chocolate biscotti, clarified milk, and coffee. "With people you can never tell, will they have changed when next we meet? But here in my dear old home at least, the plums still smell as sweet." Was blown away by @royal_izakaya - amazing food and a beautiful bar to boot! This gem is the "Panda Creamsicle" with pandan-infused white rum, calpico, and orange liqueur. “Nothing is made, nothing disappears. The same changes, at the same places, never stopping.” Had a delightful time sitting at the bar @fiorellaphilly, a cozy and warm pasta restaurant that exudes old Philadelphia. Housed in a sausage store founded in 1892, I ate and drank while staring at a mammoth golden cash register built in 1904! True to form, this is the "Dirty Pasta Water Martini" with gin, pasta water, and olives. “New York gets god awful cold in the winter but there's a feeling of wacky comradeship somewhere in the streets.” Had a nice time in Greenwich Village living the wannabe bohemian life @theupandupnyc. Now quite stylish, @theupandupnyc was previously the Gaslight Cafe, a hub for the legendary folk music scene and the downstairs neighbor of Mr. Jack Kerouac. This is the "Barricaded Mountaintop" with Bimini gin, amaro sfumato, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, lime cordial, and orange bitters. “When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough.” It was one of those magical New York nights, full of good cocktails and fun people. I finally made it to the legendary @katanakitten_nyc, and it was everything you hear about. Truly amazing place. This is the wonderful "Ichigo Milkshake" with Remy Martin 1738, Mount Gay run, l'orgeat almond, strawberry cream, and Dale's pimento bitters. "Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." Had a great time escaping the cold @wphiladelphia and enjoying the wintry @slowdrinks offerings! This is the "Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale" with gin. "These fragments I have shored against my ruins." @thefranklinmortgage was one of the first "fancy" cocktail bars I ever visited way back in 2016, so it was a joy to return and start making new memories. This pretty one is the "Drinking Before Dawn" (we were) with gin, passion fruit, and lemon.

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  • You Should Drink Here – Southwark
  • One Night in Manhattan
  • Diving Into Philly – Part 2
  • Diving Into South Philly
  • A Boozy Guide to Charleston

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