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    Simple Cocktails at Home, now a $1 PDF!


    2012 - 02.06

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    Posted in drink, shopping | No Comments »

    SCAH Cover

    I’ve decided that selling my book Simple Cocktails at Home through Lulu.com was too convoluted. I am now selling the digital (PDF) edition on my own, without any digital rights management, for $1 each. This puts them at a really convenient price, and you can buy multiple copies for yourself and give them away to friends. I will just email you the PDF for the book when you buy it, simple as that.

    I want to exclude any other parties from the purchase process so that you can have unrestricted access to the book that doesn’t expire or require passwords or anything. You have permission use each copy on all your devices, like your iPhones, iPads, or computers. Just don’t steal it by sharing it with people who haven’t paid for it. I worked pretty hard to assemble and tweak the right recipes and the right drinks.

    Simple Cocktails at Home contains simple cocktail recipes in 2 sections: a shopping list for the first 10 drinks, then an additional shopping list for the second 10 drinks. It was designed for people who want a small home bar without breaking the bank, and answers the question, “how do I get started making some cocktails for friends?” The PDF is 29 pages and looks great on the iPhone (no zooming required!) or iPad. Thanks to all of you who buy it in advance. Click below to buy.

    How many copies would you like?
     

    Pepsi’s got a new Pepsi and I don’t get it


    2011 - 05.24

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    Posted in drink, opinion | 1 Comment »

    Hey, remember Coke BlāK, the coffee-flavored Coke?  I loved that stuff, and I’m considering trying some Coke Zero over my coffee ice to see if I can replicate it (I’ll let you know how that goes).

    Because I have a strange interest in soda trends, I recently became privy to a new Pepsi that’s about to be released, Pepsi Next.

    This will be marketed as a mid-calorie cola, with 60 instead of 140 calories per can, and I have to ask, “what’s the point?”  I don’t imagine this has a market.  For those who drink calorie-free colas, they are unlikely to make the switch and those who love their full-calorie sodas tend to balk at the flavor of anything pseudo-diet.

    Tab (which is a Coke product) is doing something like this, too:

    This has 30 calories per can, blah blah blah, but Tab really just reminds me of legwarmers and “Let’s Get Physical” by Olivia Newton-John.

    Personally, I stick with the calorie-free (and HFCS-free) sodas like Coke Zero, but when I go full-calorie, I go with Mexican Coke, which I would guess is healthier than calorie-free stuff anyway.  I would never consider an inbetween option, and the more I think about it, this could just be an excuse to drink more soda, which is certainly not what anyone wants these days.

    What’s your take?  Post your thoughts in the comments.

    Homemade Lime Soda


    2011 - 05.20

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    Posted in drink | No Comments »

    Here’s a great summer recipe that’s much easier to make than it sounds:

    • A tall glass filled with ice.
    • The juice of a whole lime.
    • 1/2 oz of rich syrup (microwave 2 parts sugar with 1 part water until liquified, store excess in the fridge up to 3 months).
    • Fill remainder with club soda/seltzer water, about 8 or 9 oz.

    Now for the sake of comparison, 8 oz of Sierra Mist Natural, while sweetened with real sugar, contains 5 1/4 tsp of sugar.  Coca Cola is similar, but is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.  This lime soda tastes homemade and contains only 2 tsp of sugar, so it’s a great option for the kids when they want soda, too.

    Old coffee becomes Coffee Ice


    2011 - 05.18

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    Posted in drink | 2 Comments »



    Every day, there’s a few ounces of coffee left in the pot at our house, which we usually just pour down the drain.  As summer looms but caffeine needs remain the same, here’s a great way to save it.

    When your leftover coffee grows tepid (our word of the day), pour it into ice trays and stick it in the freezer.  Now you have “coffee ice” to use in your iced coffee, so even as it melts, the iced coffee stays strong.

    Glassware to die for.


    2011 - 02.28

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    Posted in drink | 1 Comment »

    So I killed it today on the glassware front.  Like many other cocktail freakazoids, I have too much glassware and can’t stop buying it.  I got two sets of two and one set of four for a whopping $2 at Goodwill.

    They are flawless, but the best thing is that they’re 2-2 1/2 oz glasses.  So I got some coupes (the one on the left), mini-flutes (the one in the back), and an etched set of 4 small cocktail glasses.  This means I now have two types glasses I didn’t have before: cordials and small cocktails.

    In the “old days” of cocktails, many were only about 1 1/2 to 4 oz.  In the last 30 years, though, you’ll find 10 oz martini glasses just about everywhere.  I was excited when I found “small” 5.5 ouncers at Cost Plus.

    Now, these’ll make the perfect glass for a Pink Gin, which is about 1 1/2 oz.  A Pink Gin is old school and would absolutely look silly in a 10 (or 5) oz glass.

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