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Nearly 11 years ago, Paul Clarke — now editor of Imbibe magazine, but then just a guy in Seattle — came up with an idea called Mixology Monday. I pull at a lot of threads during the day as I read Facebook, follow blogs, read industry magazines, and talk to people in the business, and there’s always something going on that I want to know more about. It’s easy to understand why; Irish whiskey is easy to drink, and it’s always been popular among young people, and especially women. I find it far more challenging to have one 3-year-old at home during the day than I did to have one 3-year-old and one 1-year-old, and so my writing right now is limited, and so every time I start working on this idea, my daughter tells me she’s licking the wall

I’m here today to guide your eyes and clicks over to the Lindsay Olives website, to which I contributed a cocktail recipe, as part of its guide to holiday cocktail parties. I brainstormed and researched and tinkered around a bit, and I came up with a combination of cucumber-infused gin (house-made, though you could use a commercial brand, such as Hendrick’s) and Lillet Blanc aperitif wine, with a splash of brine from a jar of pickled peppers. I’m hunkered down with family business, helping my oldest navigate kindergarten and my youngest enjoy her last year at home full time before entering preschool. I’m working on pitches for future book projects, but there’s nothing to report on that front since I haven’t submitted anything.

The impending closure of the Campbell Apartment, in New York’s Grand Central Terminal, has me feeling feelings and thinking thoughts. Though now, after 10+ years of writing about cocktails I’ve learned to appreciate all three elements, Jen and I first approached the cocktail from the culinary perspective, and just a touch from the historical, and the Campbell was a wonderful venue for both approaches. Back then, you could smoke on the balcony, so I’d get off the D train at 42nd, get a cigar at Nat Sherman, and then poke around Posman’s (also sadly evicted from Grand Central) before meeting Jen in the lobby outside the Campbell. And after a few years of drinking at Pegu and Death & Co and Dressler, the Campbell’s drinks just weren’t what we wanted anymore

What better way to gear up for the launch of our whisky tours than to have  Michael Dietsch , author and spirits writer for  Serious Eats  on site June 4th from 12PM to 2PM for a special reading and book signing of his new book, “Whiskey: A Spirited Story with 75 Classic and Original Cocktails”. Whiskey” covers the history as well as the differences of various brown spirits– specifically bourbon and Scottish single malt. The book also details a variety of delicious cocktail applications for that spirit we all know and love. Join us in our Visitors Center to learn more about whisky, see craft cocktail making in action, and pick up a signed copy of Michael’s book.