Weekend Cocktail Reading 29-Oct-2010

Cocktail Hour: Drink what Dickens Drank

In 1842, Charles Dickens visited the US (Boston) and discovered American cocktails: “the bar is a large room with a stone floor, and there people stand and smoke, and lounge about, all the evening dropping in and out as the humor takes them.  There too the stranger is initiated into the mysteries of Gin-sling, Cocktail, Sangaree, Mint Julep, Sherry-cobbler, Timber Doodle, and other rare drinks.”

Cheesetails: How to pair cheeses with cocktails and spirits

Goat cheese with gin? Cheddar with Bourbon? Blue cheese with Rye?  The Daily Loaf looks beyond wine to suggest some very nice cheeses to pair with your favorite classic cocktail. 

More Fun with Ice: The Time Bomb

After experimenting with several methods to make clear ice at home, Camper English starts freezing things inside the clear ice.

 I Drank France - part 1

Our friend Lauren Clark, of DrinkBoston, is visiting France and her first report includes a nice summary of her trip to Chartreuse, where the monks are truly doing god's work.

Taste History Today: Heritage Pork Belly

This has nothing to do with drinking, but everyone loves bacon (except some religions). Four Pounds of Flour writes about foraging breeds of pig that use to roam the streets of New York.