Spotlight On!: Best of the Blogs – September ‘07 Edition
Metablogging, Spotlight On! October 17th, 2007
While I’m a day late and a dollar short on providing what I consider the ‘best of the best’ from cocktail blogs this September, I figure better late than never and I’m committed to making this a regular feature in the hopes of exposing other blogs and sharing information. Once again, you’ll find my taste trending towards depth, humor, or compairson reports as those types of posts are ones I find the most engaging and useful in my seeking out strange new worlds of cocktails and exposing myself to new, exciting, and often frustratingly unavailable things. In chronological order:
- Marleigh provides a look at various bubbly matters in ‘Sparkly Showdown’
- Robert goes armchair sociologist on us with ‘Bloody Mary Social Theory’, a concept and analysis I just can’t get enough of.
- Paul completes his requisite school assignment in ‘What I Drank on my Summer Vacation’, where he picks apart a Picon Punch.
- The drinkscompanion as Companion for the Young Imbiber ask a great question, ‘Maraschino Liqueur and What The Hell Kind of Career is Bartending’, and answers it admirably. Nice post.
- Michael, at A Dash of Bitters, makes me grind my teeth, the rotten lucky bastard, with his analysis of Creme de Violette in ‘Lost and Found’.
- Jamie Boudreau breaks down Amer Picon and provides his recipe for this ‘lost ingredient’ in ‘Amer Picon’. Make your own, then go back and make Paul’s punch; you won’t regret it.
- In a very literally-minded-titled post, Jeffrey Morgenthaler brings his experienced palate and refined liver to a distillery and shares his impressions and experiences in ‘House Spirits Distillery Tour and Cocktail Tasting’
- Kaiser Penguin dazzles with the photography and presents a drink I’ve been meaning to try for some time in ‘Test Pilot’; strap your goggles on.
- 7 White Rums fight for supremacy and the approval of resident rum expert, Scott, in another self-evidently titled post, ‘7 White Rums’
- Mr. Heugel answers a question I had about the use of balsamic and other non-white-wine vinegars in cocktails after my post on shrubbery in ‘I’d Like My Salad AND Cocktail With Vinegar Please’
- Marleigh gives great background to and addresses a cocktail with which I’ve had poor luck, the ‘Golden Dawn’
- As an Aquarius, Gwen makes me giggle and exposes us as the pansies we are in her, ‘pansy-ass sake for aquarius’. Plus, it’s nice to see Sake get some love in an MxMo.
- Try doing this blindfolded is the task Scott sets for himself in tasting rums, see the results in ‘Identifying Rums While Blindfolded’
- Jeffrey plays Truth or Dare? with us, sans the ’Truth’ option, and dares us to make our own compound gins in ‘How to Make Your Gin Without a Still’. My Christmas shopping is now complete…thanks Jeffrey!
- Rick at Martini Groove appeals to my nerd-side with a post about a Japanese Nintendo game with ‘Nintendo DS Wine Game’
- drinkboston.com presents, and deconstructs, how to handle bartending an event with limited ingredients in ‘The Mrs. Jones Cocktail’; a great dissection of how to get more from less
- It features Campari, an ingredient I’m always looking do more with; Jimmy guides the Campari way with ‘The Compass Rose’
- A lovely tale from Robert (he did great work last month, wow) about providing a home away from home and respite for a wayward traveler using his cocktail expertise in ‘Pink Gin and My New British Friend’. A great story and a drink my wife enjoys very much.
- Darcy shares the wealth in ‘Advice for New Bartenders’, like E.F. Hutton, when he speaks, you should listen33
- Jay follows up on his ‘Orange Bitters’ post with ‘Aromatic Bitters’, a great rundown of the relatively merit and defects of each. Love these things.
- Brendan, from Infusions of Grandeur, puts the concept of post-production filtration to the test with some truly horrid spirits in ‘The things we do in the name of science (part one)’. Definitely worth the read, and once you’ve done that, you can see the disheartening results here.
- I had the honor of hosting Mixology Monday last month with my ‘Fizz!’ theme and had a great time doing it. And, based on the response, it was well-received; review the fine entrants and participation here: ‘MXMO XIX: Fizz!’
As always, take in this wealth of information at your leisure, have a fine drink in hand, and lose yourself for an hour or two educating and amusing yourself. But, most of all, enjoy.
What makes a good cocktail blog post for you? I’d be interested to hear what grabs your attention and keeps you coming back, for both selfish and curious reasons, obviously.3
- just aged the crap out of myself there333
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For me, it’s seeing classics deconstructed, or Alton Brown-esque information on the science of the drink.
Just like I like my cocktail books, I like plenty of info.
I just discovered that one of my not-so-local but local enough lounges carries a wealth of classic cocktail books, which I plan on using for research on some upcoming posts.
Lucky bastard, you.
Good feedback on the ‘deconstruction’ of classic drinks. I agree, it’s what got me interested in cocktail blogging and is what comprises a lot of my favorite posts. Thanks for the insight.
Some of the things I enjoy in a cocktail blog post are (in no particular order)
1) Explanations of liquors & mixers (i.e. “What the hell is Falernum?”)
2) First-person accounts of recipe attempts (”I tried to make a Manhattan and it turned out purple…what did I do wrong?”
3) Stories from the bar (both from bartenders and customers)
4) Pictures of pretty drinks!
Thanks for the comments; I too enjoyed several of the posts you listed and I really like this feature you’ve incorporated into the blog. It helps me make sure that I’ve read all the good stuff if for some reason I’ve missed something.
What do I like in a cocktail blog post? Hum..my top three draws –
1) Originality. I love to read posts that tell me something I never knew before and gives me something I can use to talk to my guests about and make new drinks with.
2) Utility – I like posts that give us history and fun facts, but I want to know what are the best use for a certain type of bitters, or what does this reviewed spirit offer a traditional cocktail.
3) Most importantly – OPINIONS! I love when bloggers aren’t shy about their opinions. I think this is what makes the blog world so important because it is uncensored and can give a voice to the everyday experts. If you think Tanqueray Rangpur is a crappy gin (which it is), let me hear it!
hey thanks for the shout out gabriel! i love this monthly synopsis thang you’re doing. hmmnn… what do i like? you know, i like news. like new products and new liquor laws ect… also, all recipes are priceless.
How sweet of you to mention the Mrs. Jones Cocktail. Thank god for bitters. And the cocktailnerd.
Wow, great responses folks, thanks! It’s good to see where there’s consistency in what attracts people (personalization of the post/editorialization seems pretty consistent) and where there are distinct differences (personal vs. industry experience).
Dr. Bamboo: I’m consistently amazed at how much a good picture does for a blog. Kaiser Penguin, yourself, and SLOSHED! being prime examples of this. I’m working on it, and have made progress, but have a ways to go.
Robert: Good point on the opinions piece; if you’re not willing to share your real impressions and thoughts on something, why bother. And while my next two reviews of complimentary products that have been sent to me might make no friends and blacklist me on marketing firms’ lists everywhere, it’s what on has to do.
Oh, and I disagree on Tanqueray Rangpur; it’s a decent (not crappy) gin that is too weak and coddling for its price. However, it makes a light and nice gin & tonic and is a good mixing gin for folks that ‘don’t like gin’ as it’s smoother and lies down better than many (read: weak and coddling). Any chance anyone has had the Tanqueray Malacca and can speak to its quality/character?
Wow, I got TWO mentions on this list! I wish that I knew what the heck I was doing correctly, for I’d certainly do it more, whatever it is.
Many thanks!
But again I curse you for giving me far too much to read at a busy time. You’ve done this list thing before and it causes me some lost sleep. But I’m just kidding, and I will most certainly forgive anyone who shows me so much great reading that I otherwise might have missed. Many thanks for that!
So, what do I enjoy in a cocktail post…? Hmmm… A bit of humor always works for me, a comparison of damn near anything always gets my full attention, and learning something new. I’ll take any one of those happily, and absolutely love it when all three come together.
Anyone interested to buy a bottle of the Tanqueray Malacca Gin England 1839 pls emaqil me at alili87@aol.com
Thanks