Weeks before Drinking French came out, people were asking me what liquors and spirits to buy in anticipation of the book’s release. Skimming through the 160 recipes in the book, many of which are for cocktails and apéritifs, I offered up tips here and there, suggesting a few essential bottles that could be used for a number of recipes in the book. I also added…
I’m always on the lookout for a cocktail that has an herbaceous quality, a touch of bitterness, and some fruity undertones courtesy of a dose of Cap Corse or Lillet, two French apéritifs that feature citrus flavors. And this Jumpin’ Genepy cocktail fits that bill.
Since the confinement started, I’ve been doing a daily Apéro Hour on Instagram Live, archiving some of the episodes on my IGTV channel. Since I’ve never been able to get a tv show of my own, I decided just to do my own. (What could go wrong? And even so, what happens during confinement, stays in confinement. Right?) And when you’re the boss…and the producer,…
Here are a few corrections for metric conversions that appear in the first-edition printing of Drinking French. They’ve all been corrected in subsequent printings: For the dry ingredients in the Cornmeal Madeleines (page 259), the metric amounts should be (in bold): 1/2 cup (70g) all-purpose or corn flour 1/2 cup (95g) stone-ground cornmeal —– For the recipes in the book with fresh mint, the conversions…
Invented in Burma, at a British club called the Pegu Club, this tropically-tinged cocktail found its way into the Savoy Cocktail Book. It’s pleasantly tangy and fruit-forward. The ingredients come together in the glass, resulting in a savvy cocktail with gentle citrus notes. One sip and you’ll understand why it’s still a cocktail classic!
While green Chartreuse has been around for nearly four hundred years, Yellow Chartreuse is a relative newcomer, introduced in 1840. Because it’s such an iconic French spirit, Chartreuse is featured prominently in my book, Drinking French. Yellow Chartreuse is lower in alcohol than green Chartreuse, and both come by their color naturally. The yellow a touch sweeter and milder in taste than green Chartreuse, so…
I was delighted that so many people were interested in setting up a French bar in advance of the publication of Drinking French and have been asked what liquors and spirits to get. So I’ve teamed up with Slope Cellars wine and spirits shop in New York City to release a Drinking French Bar Box. The Drinking French Bar Box includes a bottle of Old…
This cocktail gets its name from the three main ingredients, and their relationship to bijoux, or jewels or gems. The clear gin is like a diamond, the red vermouth is like a ruby, and the green from the Chartreuse is the emerald. The original recipe called for those ingredients to be used in three equal parts but cocktail expert and bartender Dale DeGroff, who resurrected…
I’m a big fan of traditional Cassoulet. And I’m not alone; a repeated question I get is “Where can I get a good cassoulet in Paris?” The short answer is: To the Southwest of France. Sure, one can pick up a jar of Cassoulet from Castelnaudary, or make it, which I sometimes do. For those who want to tackle the project, there’s a recipe in…
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