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Mint Juleps, the Good and the Bad
My first mint julep was made for me by a guy who remains one of my dearest friends and confidants. We were wayward, then, but he has gone on to be a talented and superlative writer, generally. Having at the time (1987) a Kentucky girlfriend and having recently spent four years at Tulane, he knew his juleps.
The night ended badly. Blown speakers at my girlfriends apartment and roof tar all over her nice wood floors—she was pissed, and I staggered out into the early spring sunshine. On the subway home the next morning from 110th and Amsterdam to 39th and 1st—wouldn’t you know it—I heard, “Michael?!” An old high school girlfriend had spotted me, my first kiss actually, and still dear friend. She picked lint out ...
Posted in Cocktails, Recipes Also tagged bourbon, classic, cocktail, herbs, Kentucky Derby, mint julep, muddle 27 Comments
Friday Cocktail Hour: The Negroni
I actually hadn’t heard of a Negroni until Bourdain ordered one after an event we did at the 92nd Street Y. It wasn’t like him to be order a girly drink, I thought, when the server arrived with a pinkish, on-the-rocks concoction, so I took note.
It would become one of my favorite cocktails, and I like it both on the rocks and up. It’s a simple but complex elixir originally created in Italy, comprising equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin. I prefer Hendrick’s gin for this but am not sure why—probably because of the cool bottle.
Any decent gin will do. The VTR likes to flame orange zest oil over the drink. I prefer an actual squeeze of orange, its citrusy ...
Friday Cocktail Hour: The Manhattan

This is an old-fashioned Manhattan. With jarred maraschino cherries like my uncle Jon loved. But make a good one. With Fabbri cherries and good rye. Straight up. The skewer holding the cherries is an emblem of my childhood. Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman
Baked Crab
Posted in Article, baking, Memories, Recipes, Seafood, Seasonings and Spices Also tagged crabs, east coast, Harold Dieterle, seafood, Top Chef, wall street journal 71 Comments
The Perfect Martini
OK, it’s really gotten bad. I'd been ready to give up the fight. But I just can’t let this one go. I went up to the bar, I’m not even going say where, and asked for a martini.
The bartender, I shit you not, said, “Any preference of vodka?”
I left. I just left. Walked out.
I’ve gotten used to the question, “Vodka or Gin?,” grudgingly and have been told outright by Jonathan Gold to simply give it up, losing battle, he said.
But I can’t. I can’t. Names are important.
H.L. Mencken, as the martini Wiki entrance notes, calls this drink “the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet.” So true! And sonnets are not writ with Vodka, which is defined by tastelessness. (The “vodka martini” should be referred to as ...
Posted in Cocktails, Recipes Also tagged cocktail, Gin, Martini, middle west spirits, Vodka 223 Comments















