chef kathy casey has put her culinary expertise to work at that bar. her book, SIPS & APPS ($19.95), combines cocktails and appetizers. there are a lot of good recipes in the book, and it’s a hardcover which is always nice. kathy’s DOUGLAS FIR SPARKLETINI calls for a rather obscure ingredient i discovered years ago, douglas fir tip tea. my recipe, the DOUGLAS FIR TIP TIPPLE, was actually published on ABOUT:COCKTAILS and on COCKTAILTIMES. kathy’s version is titled the DOUGLAS FIR SPARKLETINI, and she uses this surprisingly delicious wild-crafted tea by infusing it in gin. to go with it, she offers up a tasty goat cheese appetizer, D’LISH PEPPADEW PEPPERS.

DOUGLAS FIR SPARKLETINI
1.5 oz douglas fir-infused gin
3/4 oz white cranberry juice
1.5 oz fresh lemon sour
splash brut champagne

shake and strain, top with champagne

infuse the gin: put fir branch into gin bottle for no more than 24 hrs. remove and discard. in the absense of a fir branch, use a douglas fir tip tea bag from JUNIPERRIDGE.COM.

still thirsty for more douglas fir? read gwen’s posts here.

check out FUSION LOVER ZODIAC high fashion collection by new york designer, jade chiu. some of jade’s designs are pretty avante garde, but they’re all sexy as hell. i’m a dog in chinese zodiac (according to the new astrology by suzanne white. until i contacted suzanne i was under the impression i was a boar—she straightened me out right fast). so what exotic outfit is your sign, baby? visit JADECHIUWANLIN.COM to find out.

reusable ice cubes made the old fashioned way–from stone. i betcha the cavemen used cubes similar to these! first the wheel, then cubes… next–well the future is a blank canvas. so next time you enjoy a good stiff drink, be sure to get your rocks off-or in-with some good ‘ole WHISKEY STONES. it’s even possible the stones will enjoy their tipple submersion… after all, did you know that rocks have a consciousness?

Set of 9 Whisky Stones: $20 teroforma.com
Ideal for chilling your favorite spirit without diluting its flavor
Milled in Vermont by the oldest soapstone workshop in the US. Add three chilled stones to your next dram, let stand for 5 minutes and enjoy. Set of 9 stones + muslin storage bag. Not for use with larger volume drinks.

via the O magazine

a little birdie might have told you that tequila is the new vodka, but did that little birdie tell you that it’s available organically? yup… distilled at the Autentica Tequilera in Jalisco, Mexico from 100% ORGANIC Blue Agave. TIERRAS TEQUILA makes a blanco (unaged), a Reposado (Rested 2-12 months), and an Añejo (aged 1+ years). TIERRAS is no spring chicken, it was the first TTB and USDA ORGANIC Tequila in the USA! earth day (april 22) is right around the bend… so practice socially conscious sipping with TIERRAS.

AVAILABILITY: check the site
PRICE: $40-$45
AWARDS:
Gold Medal Winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Double Gold Medal Winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

my mum’s a scot. and for those of you who don’t know much about this particular heritage, let me just say that the scots were the one and only group of people that the romans were simply unable to conquer. that’s how wild they were, and are. ever hear of hadrian’s wall?

every other summer my mum would cart my three sisters and i over to the land of the barbarians (scotland). only a taurus, capricorn or scorpio would attempt such a feat… think about it: four kids ages 1-8 / transatlantic flight / alone! mum put her bull-headed taurean determination to good use… these biannual pilgrimages were back in those pre-global warming (or cooling) days, back when temperatures were “normal,” back when it rained predictably almost day in that dismal yet beautiful land of lads, lasses, castles, kilts, scotch, sheep, golf and beaches.

mother would take us swimming because you see, it had stopped raining for 3 hours so we must take advantage. being the good little capricorn soldier i was, i dutifully submerged myself in god knows what temperature water, swam around a bit (praying i didn’t get stung by jellyfish or freeze to death), and hurried the hell out. it was well worth it, because upon completion we all received what is known as a SHIVERY BITE. remember that to a child, any type of candy is worth performing just about any kind of stunt–so this chocolate bar was as good as any reward i could hope for. my favorite was aptly named “penguin” bar, and i only wish i could get them over here!

my built-to-last mum found it most difficult to believe i was actually cold, because she was born with polar bear DNA. to document my discomfort and to garner sympathy, i would point out to her the color of my legs–which were always a decided shade of purple. and the fact that my teeth were uncontrollably chattering–well it was just too much for her to swallow. surely i was acting, she would accuse me. i assured her i was not, and demanded another SHIVERY BITE. i don’t think she ever did believe that my uncontrollable shaking was genuine–she never got used to the fact that her daughter was a half breed scot with the hardiness to prove it, or lack thereof.

peaches are ruled by venus, and so this chilly libation is a cocktail of taurus. as irony would have it, so is my scottish mum! it is in honor of ridiculous, yet glorious, memories such as these that i present to you, THE SHIVERY BITE. best enjoyed cold, and while cold…

SHIVERY BITE:
8 oz coconut milk
2 oz vanilla liqueur
16 oz frozen peaches
4 oz sherry
1/2 oz stevia
1 cup ice

place all ingredients in blender and serve cold. shiver when you drink it!

Join Celebrity Pet Photographer Jim Dratfield for drinks at new york’s TAJ, this wednesday.

Jim Dratfield’s Petography® specializes in fine art photography of pets and people with their pets. Jim has done photo commissions for the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, Bebe Neuwirth, Henry Kissinger, Billy Joel and Elton John to name a few. Jim is the author of ten books including, Pugnation: The Bark is Back! His work has been featured on ABC’s 20/20, The View, Oprah’s O. Magazine, Instyle and Town & Country.

***free chair massages will be offered by one of New York’s most talented massage therapists, Brian Boyce, LMT!

***Meet the elegant and glamorous ladies of TOW (Tall Outstanding Women) who will be present all night long selling raffle tickets. Minimum height requirement for group members: 6 feet!

Proceeds donated to the AC&C (ny animal care + control) to help new york’s unwanted pets.

View additional details here. RSVP Here

TAJ: 48 W 21st St Between 5th & 6th Ave / TIME: 6-10 pm

overstock in aries! what to do? have a sale! our loss is your gain…

aries is celebrating their birthday march 19th to april 19th. give that special ram an intoxicated zodiac cocktail candle…
TIP: get the ingredients to make their cocktail and include them with their candle in a gift bag!

(normally $32 + $10 shipping… now just $25 total!

to order, please paypal $25 to intoxicatedzodiac@gmail.com along with mailing address

it’s no secret that women love champagne. straight, mixed with juice, over a sugar cube with bitters—it doesn’t matter how, as long as its got bubbles! i count myself as one of the aforementioned champagne-smitten ladies. in fact, such a fan of carbon dioxide am i, please give me seltzer over soda any day of the week. hell, i’ll even take it over juice or water too! it’s those bubbles, you see… i’m crazy for em. in light of my effervescent tendencies, its only natural that i’m head over heels for japan’s gift to the world: sparkling sake. leave it to those japanese… they really do make the best shit.

being the ridiculously lucky girl that i am, a few bottles of ZIPANG SPARKLING SAKE found their way to my doorstep. so hear, hear dear readers… i officially pronounce SPARKLING SAKE to be champagne’s newest rival. move over frenchie, it’s time for champagne to take a break. let us ladies show SPARKLING SAKE some love, shall we?

Naturally carbonated, Zipang is light and sweet with a burst of bubbles. This Junmai Happoseichu is lively and bright with tropical fruits giving it medium body with a refreshing finish. try drinking from the bottle with a Zipang Straw! ($5.99)

Hello again dear IZ Readers! I have been away for quite a while and have missed being here in the starry, shaken and stirred world of our lovely and intrepid Gwen. For reasons that shall be clear shortly, I missed out on tippling with you in February, so this month I am giving you not only one recipe for your use and enjoyment, but two! This month I give you the medicinal and the indulgent, which spans the particular Zodiac traits we’ve encountered since I’ve visited with you last.

It seems that the transition from the thoughtful and ordered daydreaming governed by Aquarius to the highly emotional and occasionally volatile aspects of Pisces has hammered many of us between the eyes with slews of interpersonal and immediate environmental mishaps, catastrophes and other sundry difficulties. And waiting in the wings later in March is, of course, another chaotic transition into the just-as-volatile-in-a-different-way demeanor that signifies Aries. (cool appletini painting $650)

One would think that with the past month being absolutely filled with much gray, dreary, cold and inhospitable weather, the best course of action would be to curl up in bed with a good book and stay there.

Until Spring.

While I highly endorse this course of action it was neither practical nor desirable for me to do so, and while I’m sure many of you found the same to be true, I’m sure you also found that Mother Nature sometimes takes it in hand to give a bit of an assist to the notion of staying in bed. When we push too hard, do too much, cram too much activity into too little time and space, there are consequences. Sometimes these are dire, but more often they are inconvenient and just plain yucky.

In short, dear readers, I got sick during the cusp in February. Completely and utterly miserable with throat and sinus wars raging I was unpleasant to be near from the standpoint of noise pollution alone, not to mention feeling as though there was a cubic yard of cotton stuffed in my head, neck and chest cavity. Organic or conventional notwithstanding, Best Beloved reminded me that the surest way to get rid of my “congestion cotton” was to employ a tried and true recipe for the Hot Toddy. (photo)

I put great stock by this one. This recipe helped me heal my throat following invasive surgery (swordswallowers have bad days at work too, after all), and my swordswallowing mentor, Red Stuart swears by it as well. I have used it to great healing effect for friends, family, colleagues and neighbors on and off the road. I still have friends contact me to clarify this recipe for them every winter during flu season. It is powerful and it is effective. Use wisely.

The Cocktail Sword’s Hot Toddy

In a coffee or tea mug mix the following:

1 jigger of rum or whiskey (personal preference on this one … )

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

Fill with boiling water

Drink it while it is as hot as you can stand it without burning your lips. The heat and steam will work wonders for throat and sinuses, the honey and lemon will open breathing passages and the liquor will relax even the most irritated of muscles about the affected areas. For an extra effective cold-arse-kicking concoction, add a ¼ to a half a teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper to the mix. It will make you sweat whatever sickness is lingering right on out.

***gwen advises boiling chopped ginger in the water, and using that water in the toddy. if your throat’s been sore, it will be no more!

When you are recovered and strong and feeling frisky around the imminent arrival of Spring on the Vernal Equinox, some celebratory mixing is most definitely in order. Apples are a favored food of mine this time of year, with all the Eros and Eve implications that go along with them, and I found that while I was working part time behind a bar, the apple was favored among my clientele as well. Washington Apples were a favorite cocktail in the DC Area among lobbyists in particular. Others preferred a lovely spicy piece called the Indian Summer. By far the runaway hit, probably as people geared up for getting out of doors (and for yours truly, the carnival season), was the Appletini. I always did my level best to give my Appletinis a bit of tartness in addition to a bit of circusy sweetness and judging by the number of repeat customers I had who drank almost nothing else during my shifts, I seem to have hit on a wonderful flavor combination.

The Cocktail Sword’s Appletini

2.5 parts Vodka

2 part Sour Apple Pucker

1 part cranberry juice

Half part Midori

A splash Butterscotch Schnapps (optional, but good for that circusy touch)

So dear readers, a recipe to help get you back on your feet and another to sweep you off of them again, just in time for the fiery shifts that Aries brings us in preparation for some Springtime goodness. Enjoy in good health!

Cheers~Charon, The Most Dangerous Beauty Alive
theswordswallowers.com
oddangel.com

Charon Henning is one of a handful of female sword swallowers in the world today. She’s performed on carnival midways and at wine tastings, on theater stages and grassy lots.

Charon also reads tea leaves professionally, a skill she inherited from her grandmother on her mother’s side of the family. Tea-leaf reading is a wonderful and elegant form of entertainment, suitable for many time periods and venues.

Charon loves being on the road seeing new places and meeting new people. Want to catch Charon on the road for her live show? View her tour schedule here. Or, book Charon’s talent for your next event!

this little tale should make you feel better about your life:

after an exhausting week manning my booth at the nyigf, i arrived home sweet home to find that my cats had all come down with tapeworm. spending about 2 days disinfecting every surface in the house i then came to discover that they had roundworm too. awesome. repeat. since half of my cats are 17 plus year old geriatrics, this infestation didn’t sit too kindly with their antique systems. they’ve still not quite recovered. between pill popping (or jamming), enemas, specialized diets, quarantined litter boxes, ridiculously unnatural shedding, and you don’t even want to hear what else, i’ve become head nurse in a feline infirmary…

now i guess the houseplants were feeling neglected from all this sudden attention the four-legged furballs were getting, so they made a play to get some of gwen’s lovin’ for themselves. they went and caught a raging case of mealy bugs–YAH! my fave : ( if you’ve never encountered mealy bugs, well you just don’t know what you’re missing. i’ll spare you the details.

it was around this time that the inclement weather (light snow) caused a power outage for 1 1/2 days. not too unusual for these here parts… but the electric did come back on, and i jumped in that shower faster than you can say glogg, turned the heat up to 85 degrees, made food on the stove (as opposed to the bbq) and checked my email. i was as happy as a pig in shit.

and then the shit hit the fan, and a tree brought the power wire down. utopia equals game over. i needed alcohol and i needed it now. but as you might imagine, i’d grown weary of chilled cocktails—so i decided to try my hand at swedish cuisine, and attempt the traditional libation known as glogg, or in this particular case, ghetto glogg. best prepared in 45 degrees with a flashlight and gloves. i managed to scrounge up some brandy, red wine, honey, anise, cardamon and cloves in total darkness and throw them on the grill. i almost threw myself on there too. though tasty, the ghetto glogg was mcdonalds hot. i threw in a snowball and went to bed. crawling underneath my 16 covers, with my 16 cats, and my cup o’ ghetto glogg, i vowed not to leave the second floor of the house… because guess what? heat really does rise. now was as good a time as any to read my tarot cards… drawing the devil card for my immediate future, things were decidedly not looking up. worried, but resigned i finally passed out. i woke to 2 feet of snow–and counting–and 3 trees blocking the driveway. damn… should have made my escape while i had the chance. now i was trapped (devil) and had to find someone with a chain saw asap. every friend i called was busy with their own disaster. i was screwed. thank god for the neighbor i’d never met who was out walking his dog as i desperately tried to free tree branches from their snow tombs. this earth angel came back with his chain saw, and as soon as the trees were cleared the plow truck showed and i high taled it outta there. it wasn’t until 6 days later that i regained access! S I X L O N G D A Y S. thank god for starbucks and their free wifi.

NON-GHETTO GLOGG:
* 2 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine
* 2 ounces dried orange zest
* 2 ounces cinnamon sticks
* 20 whole cardamom seeds
* 25 whole cloves
* 1 pound blanched almonds
* 1 pound raisins
* 1 pound sugar cubes
* 5 fluid ounces brandy

1. Pour wine into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Wrap orange zest, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and cloves in cheesecloth, tie with kitchen string and put into pot. Let boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in almonds and raisins and continue to boil for 15 more minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Place a wire grill over the pot and cover with sugar cubes. Slowly pour on brandy, making sure to completely saturate the sugar. Light sugar with a match and let it flame. When sugar has melted, cover pot with lid to extinguish flame.
3. Stir and remove spice bag. Serve hot in cups with a few almonds and raisins.