Garnish with a Lime Wedge...

A recent New York Times article on Old Fashioneds (the drink) inspired me to get off my butt and throw a "Hellsyeah, we survived the holidays!" cocktail party this past Friday.

I realized that bartender guides are almost obsolete now, given the infinite number of resources on the intarweb--not just the recipe, but also a bunch of pedants debating the "right" way to make it! Awesome! [snark] Hell, you could probably get by with the Wikipedia cocktail index alone. Although I'd be a bit wary about serving up the Choking Hazard - equal parts Canadian whisky (preferably Canadian Club), and NyQuil cough syrup, layered in a shot glass, and topped with whipped cream. Eurgh.

Anyway, a bunch of folks came over--Bird even made it down from New Hampshire, and I got to introduce my friend R. (from grad school, now living in Boston) to a bunch of the locals. The bunch of us were around until 2 AM--it's reassuring to know that we're not all old fogies who just pack it in at midnight.


I brought my booze collection down (and thank you, Pegu Club in NYC, via Perlick, for introducing me to Michter's Bourbon), and we worked up a whole variety of drinks--they included martinis, gimlets (both gin and vodka), gin and tonics, Manhattans (both whiskey and brandy--Branhattan, perhaps?), and Old Fashioneds. Below, I am muddling the citrus peel to go into an Old Fashioned... not a bad drink at all.


Many thanks to everyone for coming, and picking up snacks and mixers. Special thanks to U5, for making a detour to pick up a few cocktail glasses. BTW--one advantage of doing a party like this in the winter is that it's really easy to pre-chill your stemware--just leave it outside on the porch!


This seems like a successful party model, and needs to be repeated. Perhaps warm-weather cocktails--Cuba Libre, Mint Juleps, and Mojitos--come summertime!