diveblog

“Alcoholic drinks, rightly used, are good for body and soul alike, but as a restorative of both there is nothing like brandy.” 

–George Sainsbury, 19th Century scholar/historian

“It’s a quirk of history that, these days, people tend to think of cocktails as being made with gin, the whiskies and vodka. Everyone forgets about […]

“France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country.” ~ Mark Twain

“France is the only country where the money falls apart, and you can’t tear the toilet paper.” ~ Billy Wilder

“Dogs smoke in France.” ~ Ozzy Osbourne

“Living in Upstate New York involves wasting one’s time in a pickup truck driving 20 miles to buy a gingham dress or a Sears Roebuck suit. This rural thing – I’m telling you, it’s a joke.”  Ed Koch, 1982 Playboy interview

“Laughter is the language of the soul.” -Pablo Neruda

I’ve written about tequila before, and if you’re paying attention you know the basics: Tequila is distilled in the region surrounding the town of Tequila in the central western state of Jalisco, Mexico and can only be […]

“When it comes to innovation, listen to your customers and never deviate too far from the comfort zone that made your bar successful in the first place. Your aim should be to expand consistently without alienating your loyal customers. That’s what makes a bar – new or existing – great.”
— From ‘Essential Tips To Opening […]

“O tequila, savage water of sorcery, what confusion and mischief your sly, rebellious drops do generate!”
~ Tom Robbins, ‘Still Life With Woodpecker’

“There is a great independence, and a confident immunity to risk, in all drinks made out of cactus.”
~ Alan LeMay, ‘The Searchers’

You […]

“Lord, I have loved some ladies and I have loved Jim Beam
And they both tried to kill me in 1973
When that doctor asked me, ‘Son, how did you get in this condition?’
I said, ‘Hey, sawbones, I’m just carrying on an old family tradition’”
~ […]

“The highball, high priest of tall drinks, is nothing but spirits, ice, and water or soda, but its concoction is nonetheless governed by basic rules for bringing out the life flavor of its principle ingredient.”

~ Esquire’s Handbook For Hosts, 1949

A highball is any cocktail consisting […]

“Fernet is the best liquor you’re (still) not yet drinking.”
-The Atlantic

In Argentina it’s mixed with Coca-Cola as the country’s favorite cocktail, as well as its preferred hangover cure. In San Francisco, where it’s been hugely popular since the 1920s, it’s downed straight with […]

“Listen up, guys, the Springfield Police have told me that 91% of all traffic accidents are caused by you six guys. So the bad news is we gotta start having designated drivers. We’ll choose the same way they pick the Pope. Everybody […]