Kevin's Cocktails 

The Optimist and The Pessimist get together on New Year's Eve. The Pessimist says, "Man, last year was so bad that 2017 can't be much worse." And The Optimist says, "Oh yes it can!" Yes, 2016 sucked dead moose balls, but we have a brand new President now, so how bad can next year be? (See BLOG entry for December 29, 2016: Embrace the Darkness: A Drink (& Video) to Get Us Through the Coming Apocalypse) Bid 2016 adieu with this festive champagne cocktail to celebrate getting

A dark and bitter drink for these dark and bitter times. Sure, we’ll probably survive and it won’t be the Apocalypse, but whatever darkness descends, this drink will help get us through it. With one of the most delicious Rye Whiskies: Catoctin Creek, from Virginia. Add to that, the amari Campari and Averna, the American earthiness of Root Liqueur, the piquant bite of The Bitter Truth Celery bitters (with a lemon twist). After two of these salutary elixirs, things don’t look

Every year it’s the same. Football season comes around and the New York Jets get our hopes up for a moment and then dash them miserably. This is a green cocktail for long-suffering Jets fans. It’s sour with lots of alcohol, but it still tastes good (because we never give up hope). With six different liquors and liqueurs, grapefruit bitters, Shrub District cocktail vinegar, and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Maybe next year… Click on the link below to watch the video in KEVIN'S CO

One of the most tragic and disturbing sports stories of recent times is the epic rise and ignominious fall of Lance Armstrong.* If integrity is the bedrock upon which our character rests, then this former hero ended up as a Bond villain**, and one of the greatest cheats in sports history. With this in mind, I offer to you a new cocktail inspired by this thing we can’t buy, this gift we give to ourselves: integrity. Without it, we are lost. With it, we are a true human being

“There’s too much hell and not enough heaven.” —Kevin Kunundrum Ain’t it the truth. Not that I hate the holidays or anything. So with that in mind, here’s a lovely, sparkly, shimmering Christmas cocktail to get you through till New Years. Always merry and bright… MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS (Clear Variation*) 1½ parts Effen Vodka
 ½ part Chambord 
1/3 part Goldschläger 
¼ part Aperitivo Cocchi Americano
 ¾ part Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale 
splash of Absinthe 
splash

I've been Impressionistified! Inspired by Claude Monet’s painting that gave birth to the name “Impressionism”, its beauty and color is reflected in the drink itself. And it tastes as good as it looks, with Broker’s London Dry Gin, Blue Curaçao, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, fresh-squeezed Lemon juice, and Fee Brothers Rhubarb bitters, with a round of Mandarin Orange peel that looks like a floating sun. See the making of this lovely drink in the KEVIN'S COCKTAIL MINUTE video...

Michelangelo Antonioni, the visionary Italian film director, released his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents" in the early 1960s. With three films, L’Avventura, La Notte, and L’Eclisse, he "redefined the concept of narrative cinema and challenged traditional approaches to storytelling, realism, drama, and the world at large.” He produced "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" and rejected action in favor of contemplation, focusing on image and design over character and

The actress who played Vesper Lynd in the wonderful James Bond movie Casino Royale, Eva Green, has a fraternal twin, younger by a few minutes. So I’m imagining that “Vesper Lynd" also has a twin sister, but one who is identical. And this fantasy was the inspiration for my take on the famous “Vesper Martini” (see Retro Cocktail for August, 2016: The Vesper Martini). “The Vesper” is one of the most potent drinks in cocktail culture, with three parts Gin, one part Vodka, and t

An informal gathering where I discuss the attributes, the pros and cons, of some of the most popular coffee liqueurs… Tia Maria The smell of coffee is not up front but in the distance, providing us with that element of mystery. According to the label on the back of the bottle, Tia Maria Liqueur dates back to the 17th century (or XVII century), although on the front label it says “Since 1947” (more mystery). Made originally in Jamaica, and now made who knows where (Wikipedia

Just in time for holiday merrymaking, my Espresso Martini. Four of these will make you pass out AND keep you awake all night, simultaneously! EL EXIGENTE APPROVES (Espresso Martini) 1½ parts Belvedere Vodka 1½ parts Grind Espresso Shot Liqueur ¼ part Tuaca splash of fresh-squeezed Tangerine juice Shake over ice, then strain into a chilled 
cocktail glass. Garnish with three 
chocolate-coated espresso beans or shaved dark chocolate. ¡Muy bien! Precioso y delicioso... And