Ladies and Laddies, today is the 2015 edition of National Scotch Day. Congratulations and slàinte to everyone out there! I’ll be celebrating by taking a dram or three from a new bottle of Old Pulteney 12 Year Old whisky that my cousin kindly gifted me for my birthday a few months ago. I’ve never had … Continue reading
For many people, learning to drink scotch is a lot easier than learning how to pronounce the names on the bottles. Have you ever wondered whether “BAL-ven-ie” or “Bal-VEN-ie” is the correct way to say The Balvenie? Or perhaps you didn’t know Glenmorangie is supposed to be pronounced “Glen-MOR-an-gie.” Let’s not even get started attempting … Continue reading
Happy Friday. More importantly, Happy National Scotch Day. No, seriously, it’s National Scotch Day — for real. If you didn’t know that, you’ve admittedly lost a good chunk of your opportunity to celebrate on the actual day of honour (see what I did there by putting a “u” in, just like the Scots do?). Good … Continue reading
I’m killing time before this evening’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert by drinking an old fashioned — a really good one, BTW, care of the bartender at the Omni Hotel near Walt Disney Concert Hall. Anyways, I started thinking about tonight’s world premiere of The Gospel According to the Other Mary, a modern bit of social … Continue reading
I cannot eat often enough at Manhattan Beach Post. In less than a year, it has gone from South Bay newcomer to So Cal institution. The most recent of their many noteworthy accolades was the announcement that Chef David LeFevre and his very popular “social house” are up for two 2012 James Beard Awards (“Best Chef, Pacific” and … Continue reading
The name might scare you, but don’t let it. There is nothing frightening here, especially if you want a grown-up place to get a good drink and hang out. Strictly speaking, Death and Company is not a speakeasy since it isn’t hidden from view, it’s location is public, and it even has a guy out … Continue reading
At first blush, Please Don’t Tell (or “PDT” as it is often called) takes the nouveau speakeasy concept of Milk & Honey — nondescript entrance leading to bar with limited seating manned by a mixologist — up a notch or two. Despite those similarities, a visit to the two venues feels completely different: where Milk … Continue reading
Milk & Honey is kinda like the music you listened to in high school: regardless of how much your everyday tastes may have changed or your repertoire has diversified, you’ll always have a soft spot for it and return to it often. It may be tough to say who reignited the speakeasy and mixology movements, … Continue reading
For about ten years, I used to travel to New York regularly for business — as often as once every other month. Work took up most of my time, but I usually had opportunities to take in the local scene, both high-brow (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Broadway, among others) and low-brow (Broadway, … Continue reading
“I love scotch. Scotchy scotch scotch. Here it goes down — down into my belly. Mmmm mmm mmm.” – Ron Burgundy “Champagne’s funny stuff. I’m used to whiskey. Whiskey is a slap on the back, and champagne’s heavy mist before my eyes.” – Macaulay Connor Scotch tasting events have been popping up with increasing frequency. One day it’s The Glenlivet, the next day Glenfiddich, then an … Continue reading
As mentioned in a previous post, I visited Red Square in Mandalay Bay as part of my latest Las Vegas misadventures. For those of you who may not be familiar, Red Square is a bar & restaurant with an ostensibly post-communist Muscovite flavor; a giant, headless, faux-guano adorned statue of Vladimir Lenin stands guard near … Continue reading
All is Yar 