Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and many of you will be sloshing down the compulsory Margaritas and tequila shots, which in no way would I want to stand in the way of. But if you’re an adventurous drinker like I am and want to try something new (but no less fitting of the
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“… just as there is no such thing as a 1/2-good girl there is no such animal as a 1/2-good drink.  A mixed drink is either made correctly out of correct stuff: good; or it’s La Bebida Piojosa (lousy drink). Even a homely
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Thanksgiving has long been the source of mixed emotions for me. On one hand it’s a day when I can unleash my monster appetite without abandon. I love to eat, and I love to eat well. Yet on the other hand I consider myself a person of
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Our Editor has named “death” as the theme for the remainder of October here on Umamimart, and it’s quite fitting because for most readers death is an apt description of the state of the Happy Hour column. As some of you know I haven’t
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Since returning from New Orleans it seems like the pace of my life has only sped up, so I was thankful to be able to take a breather last week and have Kayoko fill in for me with an awesome post about
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Do you remember my pickle pear liqueur, which turned out to really be called sickle pear liqueur?  Making fruit liquor is pretty easy. In Japan, when green plums (unripened plum) are available in June, many people make their own umeshu (plum wine). I know
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Of all the names one could choose for a cocktail, the Blood and Sand is one of the oddest. It sounds odder when you consider the stuff that goes into the drink–Scotch, cherry liqueur, sweet vermouth, and orange juice, all in equal proportions.  But of
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Looking for an angle when writing about a cocktail is for me the most time consuming–and sometimes agonozing–aspect of blogging.  Well, today I’m dispensing with the longwinded introductions about the reasons for talking about a particular cocktail, and instead featuring a cocktail for no reasons other than it’s deliciousness, and
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Classic cocktails make frequent appearances here, as dedicated readers are well aware. Since many of you aren’t cocktail geeks like myself, I do my best to keep that in mind when I write, particularly in terms of tone and content—believe me, we can get pretty esoteric if you let us.

I’ve also
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Today is St. Patrick’s Day, which along with Cinco de Mayo, make two of the year’s best excuses to get hammered early. Like other revelers, I’m looking forward to a day filled with shots of Irish whiskey and pints of Guinness, and harassing whoever dares
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