This review first appeared on AlcoholProfessor.com.    Boozy Book Review: The Absinthe Forger by Evan Rail   The history of absinthe is filled with drama. The spirit was created as a medicine but was adopted recreationally, particularly in France in the late 1800s. It became more popular than it might have been otherwise, due to the phylloxera...

Four new whiskies that arrived at Alcademics Global HQ: Woodinville Bourbon Sauternes Finish (105 proof) 2XO Sneakerhead Blend (not aged in sneakers, I checked) Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey (84 proof) Larceny Barrel Proof (third 2024 edition, 125 proof batch C924)  

I taught about 35 beverage directors and bartenders over three sessions how to carve ice diamonds and other shapes in Los Angeles at a villa that's a brand home for The Macallan scotch whisky. It was a great day!  Here are a few photos I took.   

I taught 50 students how to cut ice diamonds over three different one-hour sessions this year at Portland Cocktail Week!  Campari Academy generously sponsored the classes and provided all students with a copy of The Ice Book at the end.  Here are just a few pictures.   

I picked up this newish (2022) book The Book of Sherry Wines by Cesar Saldana from the SF public library.  It's over 400 pages, mostly text, and I think I might need to buy myself a copy. It's not on Amazon but you can find it at various stores online, including my local Omnivore Books.    For a long time the Julian Jeffs book has been the ultimate...

This story that I wrote first appeared on AlcoholProfessor.com.    A New Era for San Francisco’s Iconic Starlite In early 2024, Starlite, the top-floor lounge in the Beacon Grand Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square, reopened after a renovation. In its heyday, the venue was the hottest club in town, but recent iterations have underwhelmed. Now...