Journal

Is Tonic Water Good for You? Sugar, Quinine, and What to Know

Is tonic water good for you? The short answer: it's a soft drink. It isn't a health drink, and for most people it isn't harmful in normal amounts either. The two things worth knowing about are the ...

What Is Tonic Water? What's in It, How It Tastes, and How to Use It

Tonic water is a carbonated soft drink flavored with quinine, the bitter compound from the bark of the cinchona tree. It's sweetened to balance the bitterness, and it's best known as the "tonic" in...

Best Tomato Juice for Bloody Mary

Ask ten bartenders which tomato juice makes the best Bloody Mary and most will land on the same answer: Sacramento. It has the body, the clean flavor, and none of the salt bomb that ruins your seas...

The Umami Martini: A Savory Dirty Martini with More Depth

A savory martini upgrade. One bar spoon of Bloody Mary seasoning gives a dirty martini brine, pepper, and savory depth that olive juice alone cannot.

The Bull Shot: A Beef Broth Cocktail Worth Reviving

The Bull Shot is a Bloody Mary made with beef broth instead of tomato. A 1952 Detroit classic, served hot or cold, plus a zero-proof version and the history behind it.

Campechana: Mexican Seafood Cocktail Recipe

Mexico's loaded shrimp cocktail, built on a cold, savory tomato broth with shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and lime. One bottle of Bloody Mary seasoning does the seasoning work.

How to Make Tonic Water at Home (Without the Quinine Risk)

You can make tonic water at home, and it will taste better than anything in a bottle. You can also give yourself ringing ears and a pounding headache if you get one ingredient wrong. Both are true....

Cocktail Infusion Kit: How to Make Flavored Spirits at Home

A cocktail infusion kit is a jar of dried fruit, herbs, and spices that you add your own spirit to. It steeps for a few days and turns a plain bottle into something with real character. You control...

Cocktail Smoker Kit

A cocktail smoker kit adds wood smoke to a finished drink. No heat, no cooking, just aroma and a layer of flavor that was not there before. It is one of the few bar tools that changes how a drink t...

After Dinner Drinks

The best after dinner drinks, from amaro and limoncello to real zero-proof digestifs. What to serve, how to pour it, and how to please the whole table.