Eeyore’s Requiem cocktail

[Brad Thomas Parsons will be my guest today on my IGTV Instagram Live at 6pm CET, Noon ET, 9am PT and I wanted to share the recipe here for viewers. Brad has written extensively about bitters and spirits, and we’ll be talking about the special world of French bitters. To feature them, he’ll be making this drink from his book, Amaro: The Spirited World of…

[Brad Thomas Parsons will be my guest today on my IGTV Instagram Live at 6pm CET, Noon ET, 9am PT and I wanted to share the recipe here for viewers. Brad has written extensively about bitters and spirits, and we’ll be talking about the special world of French bitters. To feature them, he’ll be making this drink from his book, Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas. His most recent book is Last Call, which chronicles closing time at his favorite bars across America. You can watch us by visiting my Instagram Profile at the time listed above. If you miss it, you can watch the replay in my Instagram Stories up to 24hrs afterward.]

Named after Eeyore, a character from Winnie the Pooh, like the grey donkey, which Toby Maloney, its creator, calls “the most bitter character in literature.” In spite of that moniker, this alluring cocktail has an appealing bitterness that I can’t resist. And not to mention the color; if you’re in the doldrums, this vivid Eeyore’s Requiem cocktail will definitely lure you out of it.

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The Marc Negroni

One of the happiest days I’ve spent in my life was the one when I landed at the train station in Beaune, hopped in a car with a stranger, who took me to a cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. I found myself facing a large copper contraption spewing steam in the air, surrounded by bins of what looked like the outcasts of an…

One of the happiest days I’ve spent in my life was the one when I landed at the train station in Beaune, hopped in a car with a stranger, who took me to a cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. I found myself facing a large copper contraption spewing steam in the air, surrounded by bins of what looked like the outcasts of an agricultural experiment gone wrong, and a guy behind it all, wearing a red knit beanie and a fleece vest, to ward away the cold.

I did an Instagram video Story about it here. But I remember the day vividly. That was Mat Sabbagh behind the still, owner of Alambic Bourguignon. I was in the region doing research in Dijon for Drinking French and while drinking a mustard-flavored cocktail at Monsieur Moutarde, a local bartender I was having a drink with, urged me to go to Beaune to see Mat at work.

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The Hanky Panky

The golden age of cocktails happened during prohibition. (So it seemed to have the reverse effect.) During that time, people made their own liquors underground, like bathtub gin, and since the taste wasn’t exactly up to snuff, a good number of cocktails were concocted so that the taste of the main alcohol could be hidden under a few layers of various other mixers. Continue Reading…

The golden age of cocktails happened during prohibition. (So it seemed to have the reverse effect.) During that time, people made their own liquors underground, like bathtub gin, and since the taste wasn’t exactly up to snuff, a good number of cocktails were concocted so that the taste of the main alcohol could be hidden under a few layers of various other mixers.

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French Manhattan

Someone told me that “cocktails” is one of the most used search terms right now on the internet. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time. Other times, I feel as if things might go the other way. Right now, I feel a little bit of both. When my planned book tour was nearing the start date, the news cycle…

Someone told me that “cocktails” is one of the most used search terms right now on the internet. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time. Other times, I feel as if things might go the other way. Right now, I feel a little bit of both. When my planned book tour was nearing the start date, the news cycle shifted and when it looked as if it didn’t seem like the right time to get on a lot of airplanes and invite people to join me at large gatherings to share food and drink, I hit the pause button.

So here I am, and there you are. Thankfully the internet can keep us connected. I don’t know if people are searching for Chocolate Chip Kitchen Sink Cookies, but I’ve got tons of cookie dough on hand from developing and retesting the recipe five times in the last ten days. In nineteen years of baking between two countries, I’ve never had any issues with French butter versus butter elsewhere, but that seemed to be the culprit.

Fortunately, liquor is a different story and what we get here is what you get everywhere else. But unlike all the butter, oats, chocolate, and eggs I used working on that recipe to get it right so it worked for everyone, after writing Drinking French, I’ve still got plenty of alcohol on hand, so there’s zero possibility of running out.

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The Making of Drinking French

A few years ago, after My Paris Kitchen came out, I began thinking about what I’d write about next. Whenever you have a book come out, the most common question is, “What’s your next book?” Sometimes you already have an idea, but other times, it’s nice to sit back and enjoy what you’ve written. I was happy that people took to that book so much,…

A few years ago, after My Paris Kitchen came out, I began thinking about what I’d write about next. Whenever you have a book come out, the most common question is, “What’s your next book?” Sometimes you already have an idea, but other times, it’s nice to sit back and enjoy what you’ve written. I was happy that people took to that book so much, and after a respite, I started thinking about what to write about next.

Because I was asked about it so much, I decided that telling the story of my apartment renovation would make an interesting book, which turned out to be true, knowing that people would be surprised at what a comedy of errors it turned out to be.

But another subject I found myself becoming more and more interested in was the culture and traditions of French drinkings, and the drinks themselves. I submitted both proposals at once, nearly six years ago, in a two-book arrangement with my publisher, deciding to tackle the renovation story first while it was still fresh in my mind and take on French drinks when I was done. That ended up being a good thing…because I needed a drink after reliving L’Appart…and from what many of you have told me after reading it, so did you!

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The Shaken Martini

It’s funny how two ingredients can inspire so much discussion, conflict, anticipation, one-upmanship, derision, desire, ire, and postulating. Yes, I’m talking about the Martini cocktail. From what kind of gin to use, how much (if any) vermouth is added, whether it’s shaken or stirred, if you should add bitters, and whether an olive or lemon twist is preferred, few seem to agree on what makes…

It’s funny how two ingredients can inspire so much discussion, conflict, anticipation, one-upmanship, derision, desire, ire, and postulating. Yes, I’m talking about the Martini cocktail. From what kind of gin to use, how much (if any) vermouth is added, whether it’s shaken or stirred, if you should add bitters, and whether an olive or lemon twist is preferred, few seem to agree on what makes a perfect martini. And let’s not forget vodka martinis, espresso martinis, appletinis, Gibsons, dirty martinis, Vespers, etc.

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