The Season Calls for Something Warm

There’s a moment every year — usually sometime in November — when the evening drops below a certain temperature and the whole character of the night changes. The windows fog up. The jacket you grabbed isn’t quite warm enough. And somewhere between the second deep breath and the walk to the car, you think: I need something warm in a glass.

I wrote a book about that feeling. It’s called Consuming Spirits: Yuletide Cheer & Fireside Favorites, and it’s a collection of cocktail recipes built for the colder months — warm, spiced, layered drinks designed to be the thing you reach for when the fireplace is lit and the evening is just getting started.

Every recipe in it started the same way: standing in my kitchen on a cold night, trying to figure out the right combination of warmth and flavor that could hold up to the season. Some of them took months to get right. A few of them arrived almost immediately, the kind of drinks that felt obvious the moment the first sip landed.

There’s a whole section on warm cocktails — not the kind that taste like a candle, but the kind that make you close your eyes and wonder why you ever drank them cold. Hot toddies rebuilt from scratch. Mulled wines influence by my gf’s time in Berlin. Spiked ciders and toasty concoctions inspired from visits to snow covered cabins in the California wilderness

The book hit #1 in New Releases for Wine & Spirits on Amazon — again — which was a lovely early Christmas present. (thanks santa)

So if you’re the type of person who starts planning holiday gatherings before Thanksgiving, who believes a drink should be as considered as the meal it accompanies, who thinks the best nights end with something warm and a good conversation — this book was written for you.

GRAB A COPY HERE.

Humbug!

— Clint

It's Almost Halloween

In my house, we have a saying. It gets deployed year round, but takes on additional sincerity around mid-August, when the air hasn't cooled down even slightly and pumpkin spice is still weeks away from ruining everyone's coffee. Someone will pause, look at the other person, and say it with complete sincerity:

"It's almost Halloween."

It's always almost Halloween if you want it badly enough.

I wrote a cocktail book about that feeling. It's called Consuming Spirits: A Halloween Guide to Potions and Punches, and it's exactly what it sounds like — a collection of cocktail recipes built for the season. Smoky, spiced, visually striking drinks designed to be the centerpiece of a Halloween party or quiet company on a dark October night.

Every recipe in it is road-tested. Not in a test kitchen — in my living room, during an annual event called the Spookeasy.

Here's the deal with the Spookeasy: every October, my home opens its doors to a rotating cast of friends, acquaintances, and mystery guests, all in costume, all ready for a night underpinned by jazz, good drinks, and the particular kind of camaraderie that only happens when everyone in the room has committed to being someone else for the evening. It's part cocktail party, part haunted house, part excuse to build elaborate decorations I have no room to store the other eleven months of the year.

The drinks in Consuming Spirits were forged in that room. Each one has been mixed, tweaked, argued over, and perfected across multiple Spookeasy seasons. They've survived the most honest test a cocktail can face — a crowd of people in costume who will absolutely tell you if a drink isn't worth the second sip.

Are there black cocktails? Yes. Halloween punches? Obviously. A gummy worm garnish or two? I'm not above it. But every recipe is built from the drink out — the flavors come first, the theatrics come second. These are cocktails you'd actually want to drink on a Tuesday in October when the windows are open and the neighborhood is finally dark at a reasonable hour. The fact that they also look incredible on a Halloween table is a bonus, not the point.

The book hit #1 in New Releases for Wine & Spirits on Amazon, which I'm still a little surprised by — but then again, a lot of people apparently agree that Halloween deserves better than boxed wine and candy corn.

So if you're the type of person who thinks October is the best month, who starts planning their costume in July, who believes the right drink can set the mood for an entire evening — this book was made for you. And if you're not that person yet, it might convert you.

Pick up a copy here.

It's almost Halloween.

— Clint

Quarantine Classics

Well, it’s currently quite unprecedented out there.

Being trapped in an apartment in Los Angeles has its perks though. For instance, this particular one has a few musical instruments in it, and a handful of cameras. In an effort to remain occupied during what is likely going to be a ver long journey, Julia and I have decided to do a few live stream acoustic sessions. Selects will be put up on this playlist, and probably under videos on the site.

Until we meet again fellow humans- be excellent to each other.

Oh, and wear a damn mask!

DJI / Osmo Action Cam

I don’t normally post DJI commercials on here since they’re largely a team effort and I work in a supporting role on most of them, but this campaign was a blast. Any time i get to suit up and ride motorcycles at the office is worth noting in my book.