One of the highlights of 2025 was running around NYC’s piano bars in the name of “research” for this story blog.resy.com/2025/12/pian...

NYC’s Little India —what’s left of it— is gloriously lit up tonight

If a “cocktail” doesn’t have to contain alcohol, and a “bar” can be anything from an Airstream to an all-day cafe, what exactly is a cocktail bar in 2025? My latest for Resy: blog.resy.com/2025/11/cock...

Fully “mirrored” zero-proof drink menus, the search for the next tequila, and more 2026 drink predictions. My latest crystal ball gazer for @wineenthusiast is right here www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/indu...

AI is coming for our cocktails. I already hate it. www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/ai-c...

Seeking new vodkas, for upcoming review column. Details for where to send ‘em: www.wineenthusiast.com/submit-for-r...

The “world’s most expensive” cocktails are back. Would you order one? www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/spir...

Today’s adventures in recipe development: editor asking “are we using British lemonade or American lemonade here?”

Great @karanewman.bsky.social story on the rise of American sake, a time when domestically grown sake rice + local ingredients like jalapeño + Navajo tea are making it our own drink！ #sake #domesticsake #日本酒 #米製日本酒

My "infinite Negroni," which has been evolving in my refrigerator since 2018, makes an appearance in Food and Wine today. Fun to see my home bar in such esteemed company! (Thanks, @karanewman.bsky.social!) www.foodandwine.com/how-to-make-...

Such a good read! 👏👏👏 Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry. It turned into my most extraordinary night as a critic www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur...

Favorite news source that’s not the NY Times, WSJ or Washington Post? Looking to cast my net a bit wider

So one of the horses running the Kentucky Derby this year is named Journalism. Every time I see “I’m betting on Journalism” or “Journalism will win” I get a flash of false hope

unfollowing everyone on linkedin except this guy

Today’s adventures in recipe development: how many mint leaves in a handful?

you can't spell "tariffs" without "FFS"

It’s a good time to read more books. A library card + Libby + Kindle is saving my sanity

Important news buried in this NYT story about steak fries: The Ground Round is coming back. I remember throwing peanut shells on the floor & I’m here for it www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/d...

Inbox: Canadian adventure travel provider boasting surge in bookings from Canadian travellers for 2025 & 2026. “Canadians are prioritizing travel within their country and choosing to support homegrown companies.”

Happy St Patrick’s Day! For a Wine Enthusiast story, I happily camped out at an Irish pub in the middle of NYC’s busiest train station ☘️ www.wineenthusiast.com/day-in-the-l...

Shift drink: In Before the Tariffs Hit 1oz irish whiskey 1oz cognac 1oz cocchi di torino sweet vermouth .25oz fernet absinthe rinse

How bar pros are handling egg shortages - my latest for Food & Wine www.foodandwine.com/egg-cocktail...

I patronize 2 coffee shops on the same block. One encourages cash, and gives a small discount for cash payments. The other treats cash like 💩. They heave a sigh when handed bills, like making change is a chore that’s beneath them

I can’t do anything about the tariffs, but I can share this with you for National Absinthe Day 💚 www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/spir...

The martini is ready for its moment… again! blog.resy.com/2025/02/the-...

Who knows what's going to happen with tariffs. But if your plan is to shift into American-made spirits, you should know almost every bottling, right down to hyper-local craft spirits, relies on imported goods in some way. Here's my report www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/indu...

Thinking of the Icelandic cabbie who berated us last week: “Why did you get rid of the nice lady? We have a woman prime minister, a woman president, and we are peaceful here, we are fine.”

Bars, steal this excellent idea. Last night I asked Jungle Bar where else I should go… and they handed me this useful card. I’ve already shared this pic with friends planning trips to Reykjavík

“I’d like a Manhattan. Extra vermouth, less strong.” This arrives. It’s exactly what I want. “How do I ask for this?” Request a perfect Manhattan, 50-50 rye and vermouth, I’m told. OK, let’s make this happen

If a 50-50 or reverse Martini is a thing, is there a Manhattan equivalent?

Paper drinking straws mean freedom and democracy (1944). If you want to go back in time to when America "great," it means paper drinking straws. That's the deal.

For the last 1.5 years, a family has run a small food concession outside a Central American consulate in Chelsea. They’d drive in with Aldi bags and coolers, selling tins of chicken over rice and stew ladled into bags of corn chips. Haven’t seen them since the immigration crackdown

Steal this idea: pay freelance writers a premium when they turn in a story ahead of deadline

Funniest quote from an interview: “You have people asking for an extra-extra dry, dirty martini. Starbucks is Starbucks, bars are bars. You didn’t come to get a grande venti, hold the syrup!” 😂

That feeling when you write one sentence you know is good, and want to knock off for the rest of the day to freeze that moment. (But you don’t, because deadlines)

I receive spirits in all shapes & sizes. This might be the biggest disparity yet: a honking 1.75 handle side by side with a precious 1-ounce sample. Both rums.

Listening to Everything’s Fine podcast & nodding “yes, yes, yes” to the observation that podcasts have shifted to include video, and it’s now much harder to be a podcast guest if you’re not naturally cute & camera-ready

If you work with a ready-to-drink cocktail brand (or know someone who does), the door is open to send RTDs in for Wine Enthusiast review. All the details are here: www.wineenthusiast.com/submit-for-r...

I have met so many transplanted Noo Yawkers on this SF visit. The fitness instructor from Long Island. The bartender from Staten Island. The TSA screener from the LES. NY represent!

Just in: this stunning 1930’s beverage menu from the Santa Fe Rail Line! Here’s the link to see and/or buy it: omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/collections/...

These driverless robot Waymo cars are everywhere in SF, like giant Roombas

Such a small victory, but: i haven’t written “2024” anywhere I should not. My most seamless transition yet

My debut story for BBC Travel (sometimes I write -and think- about things that are not booze! We all contain multitudes) www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

Eavesdropping on a request for a Tequila Sunrise parried with a Negroni suggestion and landed on a Fluffy Negroni (made with OJ blended to “fluffy” consistency). Guest loves it 🍹

Rounding up a few best-of bottles to upgrade your home bar (including a non-alc option) for @bloomberg.com. FYI, as of 2025, the newsletter now is behind a paywall www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Whew! Turned in a lengthy story & feeling wrung out. Do I try to add a little more productivity to my day, or celebrate with a martini?

Plan events that are not the week of 1/25. That is all 👋

WIFE: we're at a nice restaurant so please behave ME: ok WAITER: here is our tasting menu ME: WAITER: WIFE: go ahead ME: *tentatively licks menu*

Welcome, friends 🥃🥃 *clink*

“But I followed the destructions” -me after absentmindedly messing up dinner 🙃