With the opening of our bottle shop, I have been exploring the world of sake. Daiginjos, Junmais, Yamahais, Namas, I'm trying them all. While tasting all of the different sakes, there is one particular trait I'm always looking for: would this be good in a cocktail? Tis a...
The Food Republic recently declared yuzu as America's next big THING. Well, duhhhh! Umami Mart readers, writers and shoppers have been privy to this whimsical citrus for a long while now so we're not lifting any eyebrows at these sort of dramatic announcements. That...
Heyyyy, Happy Hour is BACK! I spent all weekend trying to come up with a clever column name for this post, which would also be used for future articles about cocktails that I make at home (Bar Umami Mart? Kayoko Bar? Bar Kayo?). But...
Once you are through slurping down mugs of Tom & Jerry bowls and hot buttered rum then please consider a few winter cocktails with a smoky twist, mezcal. The two drinks we feature in Happy Hour this month are nothing alike but...
Affinity: a liking for or an attraction to something. I discovered this long-lost cocktail one cold October day, thanks to my friend and barman Maxwell Britten during his tenure manning Freeman’s backroom bar in New York City. The leaves were swirling...
Fact: A gin and tonic is the quintessential summer cocktail. My grandmother Margaret knew this and would serve the iconic drink from a gallon handle of Gordon’s gin topping it off with a lime and Schweppes tonic water. She made the switch...
The Cobbler is the elder statesman of summer cocktails. At its core, the Cobbler is a sour-style cocktail (spirit, citrus, sugar), which has spawned a host of delicious descendants. The most popular type during the drink's hey day was the Sherry Cobbler. This libation was...
Once upon a time in the Crescent City, there was a culinary institution and hotel named the La Louisiane Hotel and Restaurant down Iberville Street in the French Quarter. La Louisiane, as it was know to the locals, was opened in 1881...
In honor of Umami Mart’s sixth anniversary/ lease-signing and the Japan Week celebration in NYC, this month we spotlight the Japanese Cocktail for Happy Hour. We will review the cocktail’s origins, its ingredients, and offer an improved adaptation that...
“Champagne for our real friends and real pains for our sham friends.” - A toast from Harry’s Bar in Paris circa 1920 This Valentine’s Day, make sure your pre or post-romantic dinner drink is the classic champagne cocktail. The French 75...
Minty, refreshing, and undeniably potent, the Stinger cocktail is part reviver, part ultimate nightcap. The cocktail originates around the fin de siecle, but was not memorialized until Tom Bullock’s Ideal Bartender (1917). The Stinger was a favorite of the high society set...
This past July, the culinary and spirits festival Tales of the Cocktail (a.k.a. Tales) celebrated its 10th Anniversary. The world's best craft bartenders, taste makers, brand ambassadors, cocktail bloggers, liquor sponsors, and cocktail aficionados plus a legion of media and public relations...
“Now, alcohol makes a big man small and can lead to life of crime. Drinking rum makes you skin-and-bone, and you cash in before your time. Bootleg gin for your Mickey Finn till you don't even know your name. You're a basket case right...
The Kentucky Derby unites classic fashion style, 19th century cocktails, gambling, and an age-old sport of kings in a quintessentially American event. The fellows suited up in seersucker, ladies in elegant straw hats, red and white colors abound, as do bourbon mint juleps in icy...
“The [Westies are the] most savage organization in the long history of New York street gangs.” - Rudolph Giuliani, former Mayor of New York Hyperbole aside, The Westies were a notorious gang of mostly Irish wise guys that ran the Hell’s Kitchen...
“Made of Win” Bourbon is one of my favorite spirits to make and drink cocktails. Sadly, it is not used in many pre-Prohibition recipes due to rye whisky’s popularity during the golden age of cocktails. After Repeal, bourbon gained popularity as it became more available...
Let’s face it, mid-winter is almost upon us and there is not a ground hog is sight. It is getting downright tundra cold out there and Mother Nature is sure to unleash a deep freeze. Some say one should think of a warm...
Winter is coming. The leaves are long gone; stark bare branches and the increasing chill in the air are all that remain of autumn. The sun’s attempts to warm its subjects get undermined by the biting wind. Perfect time to duck into your...
PREFACE Happy Hour: Rusty Nail (By Paystyle; February 2010) +++ Many years ago, when I embarked on a journey to learn about the Rusty Nail, I went right to a few local dive bars. I believed the hype. Naturally, a Rusty Nail could only truly...
Summer seems to be lingering around with above average temperatures during the day and then retreating in the evenings as the air becomes chilled. How does one seasonally imbibe during this confusing cross over? Should one go straight to boozy and mix a Manhattan...
