My husband is in the Navy so I have a fond place in my heart for the Anchors Aweigh song.

Little did I know that the famous song was also a cocktail. Have you noticed that just about everything has a cocktail associated with it?
I just consider it a very good excuse to get drunk have a drink.
Anchors Aweigh
Ingredients:

1 oz bourbon
2 tsp triple sec
2 tsp peach brandy
2 tsp maraschino liqueur
2 tbsp heavy cream
several drops of maraschino cherry juice

Instructions:
Mix the ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice, pour into a chilled tumbler.
Image courtesy of ChicagoEye and recipe courtesy of Whisky Mag

Bailey’s Irish Cream is one of those drinks/mixers that’s sweet, rich and very distinctive.
It’s also very expensive.
When you consider the small amount that you get for a rather high price, those cocktails containing Baileys had better be really strong to help you forget just how light your wallet is feeling.
So, I bring you a homemade version of Baileys that’s pretty freakin’ awesome. There isn’t any real cooking so don’t get scared off.
Homemade Baileys Irish Cream
Ingredients:

1 3/4 C. your favorite liquor (Irish Whiskey, Brandy, rum, Bourbon, Scotch, or Rye Whiskey)

1 (14 oz.) Can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk or any …read more

New York Fashion Week wrapped up yesterday, and we’re starting to see the “Week in Reviews” and disections of the entire week are rolling in.
Critiques of the fashion shown are still being snarked about – but no one ever considers the couture cocktails that are sipped, carried around or guzzled (depending on how well the press received your collection, whether your models stayed sober and clean, and who’s there to be seen or just to let loose) at the shows. 
The one couture cocktail that was a huge hit at the Cynthia Rowley show was a Bail Hayden Wish – one created …read more

Unlike many other spirits, Jim Beam hasn’t done any television advertising in several years. Now, they’re launching the first campaign in a while with a spot called “The Girlfriend”.

This aired on SportsCenter and NBA games on TNT, and now, Jim Beam has launched a video contest with a $25K first prize!
Create your own parody commercial like The Girlfriend, or your own testimonial “girlfriend” or “boyfriend” story, and you could get a piece of that pie … or, a sip of that drink if you prefer.
There’s a couple of sample spoofs and a couple of stories as well that give you …read more

The CBS Early Show stole my idea! They beat me to the Bourbon Trail by just one day.
While I’ll be telling you a whole lot about bourbon and how it’s made, and all about my trip to Kentucky and Tennessee, you can get a visual sneak peek on Sunday morning.
A crew from the CBS Early Show visited a bunch of distillers on the Bourbon Trail, including Maker’s Mark, to find out exactly what makes Kentucky bourbon so good and the rich history behind it.
Tune in Sunday (November 23rd). The piece should air at  9 AM (EST) but check local listings …read more

On Wednesday morning, I’ll be winging my way down to Louisville and Lynchburg for distillery tours, talk to master distillers, and basically, as it was put to me, swim in bourbon.
I’m so looking forward to this trip, it’s not even funny! Maker’s Mark, Heaven Hill and Jim Beam on the Thursday, and Jack Daniels on Saturday.
If you were on the trip, is there anything you’d ask the master distillers?  I’ll make sure to ask your question if you leave one in the comments. I’ll be taking a ton of pictures, and will report back with my findings.  (image source, Maker’s …read more

I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for versatile spirits, and Tuaca (pronounced Two-aww-ka) fits that bill perfectly. It’s also one of the most difficult spirits to describe. In fact, I’ve gone as far as pulling the bottle out of the fridge, read the back of the bottle and also looked through all the literature I have on it. I’m still not exactly sure how to explain it.
There’s notes of vanilla, orange, brandy, and citrus, and it sometimes has been described as a Grand Marnier type spirit.
Let’s just put it this way, Tuaca is really good.
Legend has it that …read more

Jim Beam bourbon recently announced a new, multi-million dollar Visitor’s Experience project at the Clearmont, KY distillery.

(L to R): Master Distiller Fred Noe (great-grandson of Jim Beam), head of the Visitor’s Experience Project Jim Beam Noe (great-grandson of Jim Beam), Kentucky Tourism Secretary Marcheta Sparrow and Jeff Conder, VP for North American Operations for Beam Global Spirits & Wine.
The Jim Beam distillery is at the beginning of the “bourbon trail” in Kentucky, and has more than 80,000 visitors annually. The project will be complete in April 2011, and is expected to be able to accommodate approximately 200,000 visitors each year. …read more

mmmm. I want to get all of my furniture from these guys. Not only is this stuff gorgeous, but I bet is smells amazing. May as well carry my love for good bourbon throughout the entire house!

The furniture is made from reclaimed bourbon barrels from Bardstown, Kentucky. Usually, the used barrels are only used once to age bourbon, and then they’re either sold to Scotland for scotch or they’re turned into planters, or firewood (sob! how wrong!!).
Uhuru is instead taking this gorgeous charred white oak and has created the Küpe line. Heck, they make gorgeous furniture, period. I want …read more

When I was in Seattle recently meeting Gary Vaynerchuk, I got to talking to my bartender. We talked cocktails, as is my wont, and he told me about this little place that I’d never heard of before. Called the ZigZag Cafe, it was apparently the place in Seattle for cocktails.
He told the story that these two young bartenders opened this place so that their friend, this older, rockstar bartender would have a place to shine. He told me that the ZigZag Cafe had, hands down, the most well stocked bar in the city.
I stopped in to check them out, and …read more