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Anu – San Francisco
This former dive bar has been a favorite of mine for sometime. With friendly bartenders, infused vodka, and kicking beats, Anu is an island of calm in the sea that is 6th Street in San Francisco. …...
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The Spinnaker – Sausalito, California
A beautiful spot on the Sausalito Marina just off of Bridgeway with good food, large Martinis, and incredible views. Highly recommended at sunset. The Spinnaker… Read more
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Buckeye Roadhouse – Mill Valley, CA
Great spot on the 101 in Marin where Sausalito and Mill Valley meet. It is a classic American roadhouse with a NorCal twist. Lots of wood, leather and stuffed animals on the walls. Plus it has great...
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The Franciscan – San Francisco
The Franciscan is a San Francisco classic located right in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf. I feel it has the best food, views and martinis on the Wharf. The Franciscan Crab Restaurant… Read more
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Tao – Las Vegas
Tao Night Club in the Venetian Hotel is amazingly decorated with an Asian theme. Think lots of candles and lots of Buddhas, kinda like a Temple. This three-story behemoth of a club was ranked one of...
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Body English – Las Vegas
Rockin’ at the Hard Rock. Body English is a very hip two-level club in this off-the-strip rock-and-roll casino/hotel. Body English … Read more
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Rite Spot Cafe – San Francisco
A local watering hole in the Mission District of San Francisco, the Rite Spot Cafe has been around for over 60 years. A dive bar that’s not a dive in the traditional sense — white tablecloths on...
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Dirty Blonde
We met Shaylin in Las Vegas at Pure during the Stella Artois Draught Masters Competition. She wanted share an Irish drink with all of us for the upcoming holiday, and since we met over Stella, it is...
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St. Patty’s Day is here at Kate O’Brien’s
The bagpipes are blowing and the Guinness and Harp are flowing! What a way to start an all Irish weekend! “This little pub is a tribute to the neighborhood bars that make San Francisco famous for...
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Tommy’s Joynt – San Francisco
Tommy’s Joynt at the corner of Geary & Van Ness has been a favorite of mine for years. As a kid, I insisted in coming here to savor the homey feel, knickknacks covering the place and sumptuous...
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Playboy Club – Las Vegas
To kick off last month’s Nightclub & Bar Conference, Pernod-Ricard held a party at the Playboy Club in Las Vegas. Located a top the Palms Hotel, this is the only Playboy Club in the World. The...
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Video of the Week – Thirsty Traveler
Oops! There used to be a video here, but the Thirsty Traveler doesn’t want you to see it. Sorry. They partnered with a company that asked me to promote the show for free, which I did. Now they don’t...
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Sugar Cafe – San Francisco
A very nice internet cafe/bar/lounge near San Francisco’s theater district. This very low key place in the Tenderloin pours some fine martinis and many other cocktails from the full bar along with...
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Harlot – San Francisco, CA
One of the hottest nightspots in the San Francisco, Harlot, sports 2 levels of entertainment: The main floor is for dancing and lounging; the upper floor is a more intimate lounge with a great view of...
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Priceless Picks
MasterCard asked me for my “Priceless Picks” in Art, Food and Travel. “Priceless Picks” are based on real, first-hand experiences and feelings of people all over the world. Picking one in each category...
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South Park Crawl – Web 2.0 – San Francisco
This week Web 2.0 descended on San Francisco and the event celebrated with a crawl through South Park. Not South Park, Colorado, but the famous few blocks of San Francisco that is the epicenter of Web...
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Smoky Martini – Palomino, San Francisco
After a meeting, we ended up at Palomino on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.The place is known for a great bar, wonderful bay views and innovative cocktails. Our server, Marsha, suggested I try this vodka...
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A Giants Game
The folks from BleacherReport.com had us to a Giants game. In a suite! On a hat night! With a bottle of Jack! Thanks, guys! I had a great time. Cheers!… Read more
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Revolution – Las Vegas
Revolution is my favorite club in Vegas. It is intimate, Beatles retro sheik and located right in the heart of the Mirage. Since we were staying at the Mirage, the location is ideal, just a short...
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Boston Says No to Bottle Service
In a reversal of the fast-growing trend, Boston has banned bottle service. Most people see bottle service with VIP treatment at a hot club in a big city a special treat and a perk of being able to...
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Garden Creek Vineyards
On Saturday, I was invited to Garden Creek Vineyard to celebrate the release of their 2003 vintage. The family owned winery is one of the first fully-sustainable wineries in California. Our hosts...
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America’s Most Sparkling City
[yellow tail] wines recently unveiled the top 10 nominees for “America’s Most Sparkling City,” a contest “designed to uncover the most animated, brilliant, lively and vivacious city in the United...
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The Ultimate Scotch Lovers Trip
Perfect for Father’s Day, Chivas Regal is offering a once in a lifetime journey to Scotland for two. The $120,000 week-long trip includes: First class airfare, helicopter and ground transportation...
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London Tube Drinkfest
June 1st marked the end of legal drinking on the London Underground. Bummer. Upset about this turn of events, at least 50,000 protesters stormed the Tube to ride the trains for one last drunken time....
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Odessa – NYC
Odessa is a great late night place in the Alphabet City. Party dive bar part dinner with home cooking. (At least, that is what the sign says.) Ziggy, thanks for the tip and great time! Odessa – NYC...
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Mad Men Lives – Agency Bars Are Back
Drinking and advertising go hand in hand. It just does, that is the way it is. I’ll never forget the head of an agency, where I once worked, proudly displaying the kegerator he had just put in. Every...
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St. Francis Cocktail – Clock Bar – San Francisco
Building on the success of his restaurant at the St. Francis Hotel, Michael Mina has converted a former jewelry store into a bar worthy of a scene out of Mad Men. The bar was designed in “neo-mod”...
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Hospital-Themed Bars
Finally recovering after having my appendix explode a week ago, I am finally able to get back to sharing the wonderful world of cocktails with you all. Writing this from my hospital bed, I thought it...
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America’s Hardest Drinking City 2008 – Austin, Texas
Milwaukee, “America’s Drinking Hole,” has lost its status as the Hardest-Drinking City in America to a worthy opponent, Austin, Texas. Known for its live music, thriving nightlife district, and the...
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Mayahuel: Agave-Lovers Paradise
I was doing some research on tequila and mezcal, and one bar was consistently mentioned with raves: Mayahuel in New York. Tequila has often gotten a bad rap, due to its associations with spring break,...
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Maker’s Mark 46 Bourbon Review
This past week, yours truly ventured out to Kentucky to visit a true bourbon legend, the Maker’s Mark distillery. I was there to sample Maker’s 46, Maker’s Mark first ‘new’ product for since 1958. My...
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Drink Me Island Paradise Party
Our friends at Drink Me Magazine are throwing an exclusive bash at the incredible man-made floating island on the San Francisco Bay, Forbes Island. The evening features live music, delicious...
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Winners Cup
(Note: We’re going to be doing some cross posting with Hawaiirama, a travel blog / webzine focused on Hawaii. Natch, there are some great cocktail recipes floating around the boites of paradise.) Tim...
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4 Bars to Get You off the Strip in Las Vegas
When looking for a good drink in Las Vegas, most people never stray from the big name casinos on the Strip. While there may be a few gems in the dozens of bars packed on that one street, it usually...
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Tales of the Cocktail – Vancouver
Tales of the Cocktail is going on the road to Vancouver, BC. Drink of the Week will be heading up the coast to experience Tales North and sign a few copies of our book DIY Cocktails. If you plan to be...
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Irish Coffee
First originating in the 1940s at the Port of Foynes, in the West of Ireland, by chef Joe Sheridan. Wanting to warm a some weary American passengers, Joe added some whiskey to there glass. When they...
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The New North Beach
This week’s drink was is an original creation of mixologist Ben Smith of 15 Romolo in San Francisco. In his words: “It’s kind of a play off a Trinidad Sour. Which is 2 oz Angostura bitters and 1 oz...
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Highlights from Tales of the Cocktail 2012
This past week marked the 10th installment of New Orleans mixology orgy, Tales of the Cocktail. It is by far the largest celebration of cocktail culture in the country. Tales (as it called by ‘vets’)...
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Wine Wonderland – Francis Ford Coppola Winery
Nestled in the picturesque countryside of northern California, south of Geyserville just off the 101, two iconic glass spires glow vividly against the deep blue sky framed by vine studded rolling...
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Farm to bottle with Grey Goose
I was recently immersed in the story of Grey Goose Vodka. A key part of the story is the “creation” of the vodka, itself. I am sure you are thinking, “creating vodka is simple, why tell us about...
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21st Century “Soda” Jerk Off
The Tempest Bar in San Francisco was the site a Jerk Off competition, a Soda Jerk competition. Given the sad decline of the soda fountain in the United States, we can only imagine that it was the...
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Gooey Butter Cake Martini
When most people think of St. Louis they think of baseball, beer, the Gateway Arch and…gooey butter cake. At least St. Louis natives or anyone who has spent any time here knows of and has enjoyed...
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Gumbo Tales – Literary Monday
A number of years ago, we ventured down to New Orleans for the early parts of Mardi Gras and a tour of New Orleans drinking spots. We loved the dog parade but didn’t really love New Orleans. It...
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Pop’s Milk Punch
A unique thermos thirst quencher to ward off the winter blahs, Pop’s Milk Punch, created by Eric Johnson, the cocktail wizard developing the bar program at San Diego’s highly anticipated Sycamore Den...
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Nick Strangeway on Absolut Craft Herbaceous Lemon
We recently met bartender Nick Strageway at San Francisco’s Tick Dog to learn about his new line of all natural vodkas, Absolut Craft. Created by a master bartender, Absolut Craft was made...
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Krug House Bay Area – Tah Mah Lah
Yesterday we were invited to Tah Mah Lah, the greenest home in America, to experience the debut of the Bay Area iteration of Krug House. What is Krug House? Krug House is a pop up started in 2011 that...
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Jordan Estate Tour & Tasting
Jordan Winery is launching an exciting new tour of it’s winery and pairing it with a food and wine, that might be a first! Not only is there food and wine pairing but it’s then set in gorgeous Sonoma...
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Jammer’s Cacao Kiss
Windjammer Landing Resort, St. Lucia is offering a signature chocolate cocktail; Jammer’s Cacao Kiss to guest’s during the month of October as part of an island-wide chocolate celebration.… Read more
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The Sidecar
There are numerous stories on the Sidecar’s origins. However, Harry’s Bar in Paris is generally credited with inventing the Sidecar for a patron who often rode in the sidecar of a motorcycle. Pictured...
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