On Dec. 4, my first e-book will be released.
UPDATE: Here’s where to buy it:
iTunes
Kobo
Amazon
Google
Barnes & Noble
OverDrive
Drink Different: A Refreshing Guide to Home Mixology is based on my columns in the National Post, but I rewrote stuff and added to it so that it functions as a primer on making cocktails at home. That’s fun and easier than you might think.
As a teaser, you can read the first chapter here.
Anyway, if you have a thirst, a thirst for knowledge, and an e-reader …
Imbibe is a quality magazine about drinks based in Portland, Ore.; in my opinion, it’s the most important publication on the subject of drinks that are not wine. Why? Because if you’re a good bartender or booze geek in North America, it’s how you keep on top of the trends, simple as that.
In the current issue, my Destination Toronto piece talks about the great things that have been happening for cocktail and beer drinkers in this burg over the past couple of years. I’m pretty proud of us, so it was really gratifying to do the story. Pick the issue up if you see it! There’s other great stuff in there, including a DIY spiced rum recipe that I plan to make very soon.
As of this week, I’ve joined HuffPo as a blogger, specifically on the subject of booze. I’m still not sure about the whole writing for free thing, but people who think a lot more about branding and self-promotion than I do assure me that raising my profile/traffic/whatever is a good thing. OK then.
This is my page at The Huffington Post.
Only one post so far, but it’s a start … here’s an idea: You could subscribe to the RSS and check regularly.
Ladies and gentlemen, it brings me great pleasure to announce my new booze blog, That Sweet Burn.
Some of you may have noticed my links to the site via Twitter, Facebook and so on already, and have asked what it’s all about. This post explains it.
The name is of course a reference to the tickle and sting that accompanies a swig of the finest hooch.
I’m not sure the interweb necessarily needed a whole new booze site, as there were plenty of fine ones to begin with (check out the blogroll over there). But I just had so many thoughts about beer and cocktails and liquor, and only one chance a week to share them at The Appetizer over at the National Post. And whereas the Post is written for a general audience, TSB can delve into the geekier aspects of liquorology when I feel so inclined.
So there we are. I hope you enjoy.
P.S. I would be much obliged if you would do me the honour of following me on Twitter at @ThatSweetBurn.
P.P.S. I’ll be launching yet another blog here soon.
The ideal Friday afternoon, including a glass of Lillet Rouge and an Americano (the cocktail, not the coffee)
I’m not a big fan of chain coffee shops generally, and I don’t normally dole out free advice to companies charging more than $3 for a fancy cup of joe. But with the news last week that Starbucks is expanding its list of stores serving alcohol, I feel compelled. If they do this thing right, the experiment could change North American after-work culture for the better.
Forgive the cynicism, but I had feared critter plonk, bland lagers and Skinnygirl Margaritas. But the reality is that Starbucks appears to be getting this right so far.
Continue reading
Have you ever noticed how many microbreweries and wineries there seem to be in Nova Scotia these days? Not to mention a couple of small distilleries. Back in October, I went to the province to check out the booze scene, with an eye to writing a travel piece about drinking one’s way through Nova Scotia. Fun to do, fun to write.
Cool water seeps into my boots as Ben Swetnam guides me through the fine mist that lingers over the vineyard. It is an October morning, the height of harvest season at Avondale Sky Winery. Ben plucks a cluster of L’Acadie blanc grapes off the vine and hands them to me for a nibble.
[UPDATE] … and about Ironworks Distillery here.
(Both photos by yours truly.)
So! Interesting couple of weeks.
I was off to Key West, Fla., for a few days this week to go sailing as a guest of Mount Gay rum, which HAVE I MENTIONED I ENJOY VERY MUCH?
(Actually, I have endorsed it on more than one occasion. So I don’t really feel bad about accepting a junket from Mount Gay. It’s only payola if you don’t like the product – right?)
Key West is a pretty cool place: soaked in sunshine, littered with Ernest Hemingway memorabilia and populated with crusty-looking sun-dried barflies who probably don’t give the first shit about anything. I guess the most laid-back/burnt out Americans end up at the bottom of the country like so many played-out pinballs. One day soon I will write more about Key West, Florida’s spic-and-span, SpongeBob SquarePants-esque old-timer’s answer to New Orleans.
Also, they let me pilot a $3-million boat.
In the meantime, here’s a bit of what I’ve been …
Writing:
I thought I’d get more flak for calling Toronto the most exciting city in Canada while also making the point that it should learn some self-promotion mojo from New York.
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