With Halloween on the horizon, city denizens are gladly letting their skeletons out of the closets into the front yards of their neat residential brownstones in the streets of NYC. Inspired by those extravagant decorations, we decided to do something unusual this year and asked our go-to expert of anything drinkable, John deBary, to create a non-alc sips & candy pairing guide — a treasure for those who want adult drinks but could use a little break from adulting. John took a stroll down memory lane and fused his sweet childhood memories with the extensive knowledge and experience he gained as a mixologist, bartender, and creator of the non-alcoholic botanical beverage brand Proteau. Sit back and get ready to catch this Halloween spirit with John’s Halloween spirits!
Thrillist - For Brooklyn’s Untitled Queen, Drag Is Art
“The Brooklyn drag scene is famous for its innovative looks, and there’s no better example than Untitled Queen, a fixture on the scene for over a decade. I caught up with this multidisciplinary queen on a chill, post-Bushwig Wednesday morning to chat about her conceptual approach, how she got her name, and her role as a ‘grumpy ghost.’”
Thrillist - Bushwig Founders Are Breathing New Life Into the Decade-Old Festival
“Ahead of this year’s festival on September 10-11, I tracked down this globe-hopping duo (Horrochata called in from Stockholm, Babes from Brooklyn) for a kinetic video chat about how the festival came to be and where it’s going.”
Thrillist - We Tried the Viral Starburst Coffee Machine Margarita Hack
“It is an occupational hazard of being a professional drinks person that your friends will send you unhinged viral cocktail content and ask you to weigh in. Perhaps you’ve seen one of these how-to videos that yield suspiciously delicious-looking drinks using improbable techniques and wondered, above all else: why?”
Bon Appetit - What Is the Hanky Panky? A Historic Cocktail That Never Gets Old
“When hearing the words legendary bartender, one might conjure up the image of a grizzled, vest-wearing man, perhaps with some arcane configuration of facial hair, and a pocket watch or some manner of gentlemanly accessory. Cocktail history is dominated by names like Jerry Thomas, Harry Craddock, William Boothby, and Trader Vic, all men. But the legendary Ada Coleman was a notable exception.”
Food52 - Pluot Pop
“Whenever I’m lucky enough to encounter a particularly splendid bunch of pluots, I try to find ways to preserve that deliciousness for as long as possible. Making a compound syrup is one of my favorite ways to do this. I love to create big batches of layered syrups and bust them out whenever the mood for a complex non-alcoholic cocktail strikes me. Here we use a base of honey that, combined with the heat from the stove, soften and unlock all the goodness in the pluots, while the botanicals provide mini-symphony of gin-like notes.”
Food52 - Rocket Fuel Is Fire Island's Signature Cocktail
https://food52.com/drinks/cocktails/27562-best-and-worst-rocket-fuel-on-fire-island
Few things delight me as much as discovering a new place through local drinks. As a tri-state native, my parents took me to Fire Island a few times as a child and I’ve spent a handful of debauched gay weekends there as an adult. Despite more than a passing familiarity with this part of the world, I was surprised to learn that Fire Island has its very own signature cocktail: The Rocket Fuel.
Food52 - Rocket Fuel
I didn’t always love my blender. Years ago, my esteem for blender drinks was so low that an early draft of my book, Drink What You Want, contained a disclaimer that the book wouldn't even discuss them. I thought that drinks made in this way—with tons of ice and a relatively high proportion of sweetness (and fun)—weren’t serious enough for a cocktail book written by a decade-long veteran of NYC’s craft cocktail scene.
Food52 - Iced Green Tea With Cardamom
Cold-infusing tea, just like cold brew coffee, is a great lazy way to make a concentrated base that keeps in the refrigerator, allowing you to pour yourself a portion whenever the need strikes. With that method, this drink produces an extremely refreshing and complex non-alcoholic cocktail. (Yes, this is a cocktail.)
Thrillist - Peppermint Says Now Is the Time to Be Loud, Proud, and Registered to Vote
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/actress-singer-peppermint-interview
Ever since her boundary-breaking appearance as the first out trans cast member of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint has been keeping rather busy. From performances on Broadway to co-hosting her own drag competition show, Call Me Mother, she gives new meaning to the term “multi-hyphenate.” She and I recently caught up via video chat to talk about her latest tour, the realities of dating while trans, and the importance of local politics.
Thrillist - Renowned Drag Collective Switch n’ Play Is Happy to Be Back on Stage
Currently, the collective is made up of members Miss Malice, K.James, Divina GranSparkle, Nyx Nocturne, Vigor Mortis, The Illustrious Pearl, and Zoe Ziegfeld. I joined up with almost all of them a few days after their first live show together in over two years to chat how it felt to be performing again, what brought them to the group, and what queer family means to them.
Thrillist - Our Favorite LGBTQ-Owned Food and Drink Brands You Can Support
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-lgbtq-owned-food-drink-brands
It has become routine at this point for us to couple consumerism with the idea of providing support and solidarity to a marginalized community as a way to uplift those who have struggled under the weight of systemic oppression. And while some larger corporations pay perfunctory service to Pride by slapping a rainbow on everything, there are a good number of legitimately queer-owned small businesses that you can support directly instead.
Food Network - 6 Drinks a Cocktail Expert Thinks You Should Try
“Everybody has their go-to drink: something they’ll order time and again, no matter where they are. There is something deeply comforting about consistency and routine, especially in a world that can feel chaotic and out of control. Having a favorite, familiar drink that hits the exact same notes, time and again, is a joy that should not be deprived of anyone.
But what if you’re looking to branch out a bit? I’ve put together a list of six ubiquitous classics and their slightly more out-there counterparts to help expand your horizons and maybe even ingratiate yourself to a bartender who’s a little bored with everyone's routine ordering…”
Food Network - How the Dirty Shirley Became the Drink of the Summer
“If you’ve been anywhere near the Internet this summer, you stand a pretty good chance of having encountered some mention of the cocktail known as the Dirty Shirley. If not via a drink trend piece declaring this cocktail the “Drink of the Summer,” then maybe you’ve seen one of the zillions of social media posts hyping — or deriding — this vibrantly red-toned and cherry-topped drink. Better yet, you might have even found yourself at one of the many bars and restaurants serving it and wondered why it’s there (and what happened to prior-of-the-moment drinks like the Espresso Martini or hard seltzers!). Whether you’re a fan, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, it is hard to deny the drink’s current ubiquity. But why is it seemingly so popular right now?”
Food Network - 5 Best Sake Picks, According to a Spirits Expert
“My first memory of drinking sake was in a Japanese restaurant on Mercer Street in Manhattan in the late 90s when I was still in high school. I snuck a few sips from my older friend, who had received their serving in the traditional wooden box. I’d been obsessed with Japanese culture for years at this point, and being able to experience a new aspect was exciting to me, to say the least. The mellow, grainy flavor with a slight alcoholic kick hitting my lips for the first time is a sensation I still remember to this day.”
Bon Appetit - Super Summer Fruit Syrup
As someone who spent over 10 years working in some of the world’s best bars and restaurants, I don’t flinch at the thought of an elaborate multistep recipe that yields a very specific single cocktail. But for home bartenders who don’t have the same luxury of time and effort, a single high-value element like this fruity syrup can create a transformative mixer with many uses.
Thrillist - Cabaret Singer Daphne Always Is Still Evolving
I first saw cabaret performer Daphne Always at a RuPaul’s Drag Race watch party at a gay bar in Williamsburg a few years ago and I saw her one-woman show a few times before the pandemic shut everything down.
I caught up with her over Zoom to talk about her new show, what’s keeping her busy when she’s not performing, and how history is a coping mechanism.
Thrillist - How Cannabis Queen Shea Couleé Is Branching Out
“Timing is everything. I reached out to Shea Couleé to set up an interview to chat about, among other things, her new line of cannabis drinks. Little did I know that a few weeks later she would be announced as part of the all-winners cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 7.”
Food Network: How to Store Liquor, Spirits and More, According to a Spirits Expert
“Now that I do nearly all of my bartending at home, spirits storage is a more manageable, but no less important task. Spirits—as well as other ingredients that go into cocktails — can get pretty expensive, and you want to make sure they’re at their best for as long as possible.”
Drinks52 - El Diablo for a Crowd
“Speaking of tricks out of a book, this drink is a slight modification of a cocktail from my book, Drink What You Want, El Diablo Royale. That drink is itself a slight modification to the classic El Diablo cocktail, which is a spicy-and-refreshing combination of tequila, crème de cassis, lime, and ginger beer.”