“One of the first things I learned as a novice bartender was that every cocktail needed to be served in a specific glass. When serving cocktails, as important as the proportion of gin to vermouth, which garnish to use, or whether to shake or stir, it was crucial to make sure that the right drink ended up in the right glass. I spent countless hours memorizing what the best glassware was for every cocktail I served, but why?”
Drinks52 - Lavender Vodka Lemonade
https://food52.com/recipes/87627-best-vodka-lemonade-recipe
“I tell people not to worry too much about simple swaps and imprecise measurements. You want to go a little heavy on honey or use rum instead of tequila? Go for it—you’re not negotiating the Treaty of Versailles. Lavender is the exception. It’s so easy to overdo this ingredient and condemn your drink to barely potable potpourri. That said, lavender can be sublime when applied appropriately. My sweet spot is when it barely registers. I want people to ask, “What’s that flavor?” before I giddily reveal the secret.”
Thrillist - Michete Just Wants You To Remember Her
Michete is one of the most consistently funny people on my Twitter timeline. She also happens to have talents beyond tweeting including music, videos, and drag performances. I video-chatted with this boundary-breaking artist about her influences, connection to the drag community, and what it means to be memorable.
Thrillist - How Gary Carmichael Became a Five-Borough King
Generally, I don’t make a habit of discussing drag performers’ non-drag lives, but Gary Carmichael and I met in a way that was too good not to share. Since 2017 I have worked as an election day worker at my local polling site, and Gary (out of drag) has been my supervisor for almost every election I’ve worked.
Drinks52 - Penicillin
“The Penicillin is without a doubt the most iconic new-classic cocktail of the 21st century. Unlike more ancient drinks like the Manhattan and old-fashioned, whose origins are muddled and murky at best, we can trace the Penicillin to a specific person, time, and place. The drink was created by Australian bartender Sam Ross at the legendary speakeasy Milk & Honey, on New York City’s Lower East Side in 2005, right as the craft cocktail wave—which ushered in a new era of appreciation for the “lost” art of mixing drinks—was cresting.”
Food Network - 6 Best Gins, According to a Spirits Expert
“Gin has a wild and globe-spanning history, but the short version is that it originated in Holland as kidney medicine before ending up as the recreational beverage we know and love today. Because it relies on a collection of far-flung botanicals, gin can be thought of as the world’s first global spirit, and since its beginnings has been associated with modernity and urban life. (Also, if you want a fun way to spend a few hours, google “gin craze;” you won’t be disappointed.)”
Thrillist - What’s It Like Being a Sober Bartender?
For many people, the only reason to set foot inside of a bar is to drink alcohol. And it’s no secret some in the bar industry drink on the job. Consuming alcohol is seemingly part of the profession—bartenders might taste cocktails as they go, accept a customer’s offer to buy them a shot, or enjoy well-earned drinks at the end of a long shift. Night after night, professionals in the bar industry navigate a career that is structured around drinking. But what about bartenders, like Barnhill, who have cut alcohol out of their own lives entirely?
Drinks52 - Reviver Royale
“Dry January might seem like a recently developed and convenient marketing opportunity for all the fabulous nonalcoholic drink brands on the market, but its history can actually be traced back to Finland in the 1940s, when it was devised as part of the government’s wartime propaganda effort encouraging national well-being. Dry January really took off in the past decade: first in the U.K. around 2013, then more recently in the U.S., reaching a near fever pitch amid the stresses of the ongoing pandemic.”
Food Network - 6 Best Bourbons, According to a Spirits Expert
“Whiskey is one of the most sprawling and complex spirits categories out there. While I’ve written about a few good entry points to the world before, once you’ve gotten your bearings, it’s helpful to start drilling down into specific sub-categories in order to determine your favorites for any given situation. Bourbon is easily one of the most widely known whiskey categories containing a diverse array of spirits that can suit most applications, from sipping neat to mixing in your favorite cocktail.”
Food Network - The Best Non-Alcoholic Drinks to Get You Through Dry January
If the first word that comes to mind when hearing the term “Dry January” is “why,” I don’t blame you. For many, a glass of wine or pour of whiskey is an essential component of a life well-lived. But alcohol consumption is not without its risks, and, for myriad reasons, drinking alcohol is just not an option for a substantial number of us. Whether you’re looking to cut back and reset after a particularly indulgent holiday season or simply looking to test your willpower, there’s never been a better time to try a Dry January — or a dry any month for that matter — thanks to the explosion of non-alcoholic brands.
Thrillist - How Drag Performer Junior Mintt Keeps It Fresh
This entrepreneurial NYC performer has been hard at work recently. Launching an inclusive makeup line, producing a monthly drag show, even recording a new single in the past year. Over the holidays I FaceTimed this fellow Star Trek nerd to talk about her origin story, as well as what the Black trans community needs right now.
Drinks52 - Hot Buttered Butter Rum
“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. Yes, there are numerous benefits to restraint, but there is also a sublime satisfaction in taking things as far as you possibly can. This was the guiding principle behind how I arrived at this recipe.”
Drinks52 - Mulled Vodka Martinez, Served Hot or Cold
“The exact origins of the classic Martinez cocktail—a concoction of gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and bitters—are hard to pin down, but it is considered by some sources to be the precursor to the Martini. Dating back to at least the late 1800s, the original Martinez is a richer, fruitier counterpoint to the more austere Martini and makes a great base to riff upon for a cozy, wintertime drink.”
Thrillist - The Multi-Talented Alaska Goes Meta
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/alaska-has-gone-meta
Since winning season two of Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars, Alaska Thunderfuk has been keeping busy to say the least. In addition to a new album and tour, this multifunctional queen has a comedy special, vodka, and new book all out now.
Thrillist - How Biblegirl Is Leveling Up
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/biblegirl-levels-up-in-the-drag-merch-world
To call Biblegirl “enterprising” would be a massive understatement. This ever-evolving fixture in the drag world is the founder of Drag Queen Merch, a platform supplying merchandise for more than 100 drag performers and brands. Currently living in Los Angeles, she chatted with us about video games, impostor syndrome, and deranged mid-2000s internet microcelebrities.
Thrillist - Five Fall Punch Recipes to Achieve Autumnal Bliss
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/fall-punch-recipes
The dozen or so weeks between Labor Day and the holiday season feel like the Thursday of the calendar year. There’s still enough structured energy to put effort into life, while the weekend’s proximity gives some license to let loose. Fall is also a time of abundance, with harvest festivals sprinkled throughout the season—with a vast cornucopia of flavors.
Thrillist - Merrie Cherry’s Reign Is Just Beginning
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/dragula-merrie-cherry-interview
Merrie Cherry is a centerpiece of Brooklyn drag, helping to found some of the scene’s most venerable institutions. I caught up with her on a brisk October afternoon to chat about her appearance on the upcoming season of the drag competition The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, working through grief, and growing pains of some of the institutions she helped found.
Food Network - 5 Best Whiskey Decanter Sets, According to a Spirits Expert
In order to answer the question: “Do I need a whiskey decanter?” one first must determine their relationship to the word “need.”
Drinks52 - Lower East Side Glögg
“Let’s face it: The holidays are exhausting. Granted, they can also be tremendous fun, but even that “fun” usually requires a fair bit of work: travel, shopping, cooking, cleaning…even the actual fun stuff can be super draining. Who hasn’t spent an extra few hours in the morning after nursing the after-effects of too much revelry? (I’ve even had debilitating muscle soreness from laughing too much.)
All of this is to say that we owe ourselves a bit of rejuvenation and re-energizing every once and a while, and so I created this fully-non-alcoholic and moderately caffeinated drink to keep in your holiday arsenal. “
Drinks52 - Sesame Boulevardier
“Thanksgiving can be a challenging holiday for drinks. Usually you’ve got a wide range of guests, plus a menu that tends to skew towards big, meaty and fatty flavors that are not always an ideal match for fancy wine or food—although I bet my wine nerd friends would beg to differ.”
