Martinis. Food. Culture. A Table for One.

Browse Blog by Tags / About the Distracted Hermit

2016 Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras Menu 2016, cooked by yours truly! No king cake this year as I'm a bit peaked on sweets.

Breakfast: Eggs Sardou & Fried Oysters Lunch: Crawfish & Andouille Étouffée Shrimp Gumbo - Haile...

Gin Tasting Notes: Gordon's London Dry Gin

Today I sampled Gordon’s, one of the original grandfathers of London dry gin (since the late 1700s) and the dry martini, so much so that it featured prominently in many vintage martini ads (I’ve added...

Gin Tasting Notes: Broker's London Dry Gin

We’re long overdue for a Gin Tasting Note, Vacation Week Edition, which allowed me to languidly stroll the city’s new liquor megastore & line up the latest contestants. Today we have Broker’s London D...

Tasting Notes: Bourbon Edition

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Gin Tasting Notes to bring you a special Bourbon Edition. I've finally gotten my hands on something I've long coveted, Jefferson's Ocean, an extremely small batch...

2015 Mardi Gras

House and patio prepped for Mardi Gras! Now for the Mardi Gras Menu:

  • Alligator Étouffée
  • Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo
  • Fried Oysters (Fried Ersters)
  • Homemade King Cake
  • Drinks: Champagne Cocktail...

Rasberry Fizz.

Still one of my favorite labors of love, cocktail-wise: A Raspberry Fizz, this time made with French Chambord topped with champagne. The lovely creaminess comes from a raw egg white that is separately...

Gin Tasting Notes: Bulldog Gin

The label promises flavors of “natural poppy, dragon eye and hints of crisp citrus.” Mostly what I got out of it is: slightly sweet. So, if you like the light smoothness of New Amsterdam Gin and want...

Gin Tasting Notes: Hendrick's Gin, Scotland

It’s gin sampling day again, and I have finally acquired the top shelf gin, Hendrick’s, from Scotland (and now reason #479 to visit Scotland). This is the magnum opus of gins. With eleven botanicals,...