When someone asks you if you want a Sake Bomb, you don’t even need to know what it is to say yes. We were out at Ichiban celebrating a friend’s birthday in June and her husband ordered one of these for everyone. Basically, you drop a shot of chilled Sake into a glass of Japanese…
Tag: Cocktails
Introducing a New Guest Column
In addition to my friend Hunter Dillon and his “Casual Crusades” guest column, I am bringing in the husband-wife duo of Gordon Bond and Stephanie Hoagland for something new. They are going to be tackling a guest column of their own, titled “Fermented Musings”. In it, they will focus on liquor reviews, cocktail recipes, and…
Photo of the Day: July 29, 2017
This cabinet of vintage liquor belongs to my friend Lynn. Still waiting for her to write a cocktail column for this blog. She’s one of the more knowledgeable people I know when it comes to mixology, and the friend who introduced me to Chartreuse and a favorite drink of mine which combines champagne, gin, and…
Photo of the Day: July 26, 2017
They don’t fool around with drinks at Bahama Breeze. When it comes to chain restaurants, I think we’ve all been screwed with cocktails at some point. But not there. They are lethal—especially that one in the middle known as the “Painkiller”.
Product Review: Cask & Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey
I’m not a fan of flavored whiskeys (or whiskey liqueurs as I like to call them). I do not keep any on my bar. That changed with the addition of Cask & Crew walnut toffee flavored whiskey. Will bought me a bottle as a random gift under advice from his friend Noelle (she’s two for…
Travel Guide CT: Maggie McFly’s (Glastonbury)
When you walk in, you are immediately met with a dessert-making station. Cakes and ice cream are sourced from local bakeries and dairy producers. As you wait, you stare at the display case. We grabbed a menu to browse. We knew very shortly after that we were skipping over an appetizer to save room for…
Restaurant Review: Ichiban 18 (East Brunswick, NJ)
We stopped at Ichiban for some late night drinks and snacks with friends a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time I had been in the place since it was Shogun years earlier. It looked exactly the same. The sushi bar and tables in the front, a circular bar, and hibachi grills in…
I was All Set to Rip These Two Cheap Spirits…
A 750 ML bottle of Jacquin’s Royale 100 Proof Vodka and a liter of London Tower Gin came to a total of $15. I found them at a liquor store in the “Made in Pennsylvania” aisle two weeks ago. I had never seen either of these two items before. The only awareness of Jacquin’s I had…
Restaurant Review: Old Glory Kitchen + Spirits (Keyport, NJ)
Yes, the name of this restaurant has a plus-sign in the title. I guess the word “and” was not hipster enough. Anyway, as you read this review of Old Glory Kitchen + Spirits, you might get the feeling that I did not like the place. Actually, that was not the case. Will and I both enjoyed…
Cocktail Recipe: The Last Word
Like Absinthe, Chartreuse is one of those more mysterious spirits. It is produced in France, using a recipe more than 400 years old. That recipe is known by only two Carthusian monks at a time. They prepare the blend of 130 herbs which are steeped in alcohol. The product is either green or yellow Chartreuse,…
Product Review: Military Special Rum
My estate-sale friend nabbed a bottle of this for me a couple of weeks ago. The previous owner was a former serviceman and in turn, had collected hundreds of military-related items over the years. With her being told to get rid of or take anything that would not sell, she knew I would appreciate a…
Restaurant Review: Piero’s (Union Beach, NJ)
Piero’s is one of those places I have driven past almost every day for many years. I live less than 10 minutes away, but until two weeks ago, had never been there. We went for my mom’s birthday. My parents had been there once before and wanted to come back. The chef/owner used to be…
