Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

Once the domain of children alone, Halloween has exploded as an adult party of epic proportions. Of course, no spirited bacchanal would be complete without the booze to up the ante. And the bars and restaurants in the City of Angels (or is it Devils, this week?) aim to please......

It stands to reason that if you open a gin bar, you might consider making your own gin. And, bathtubs aside, it isn't as easy as it looks. Those industrious mooks during Prohibition might have thrown some oil of juniper into a tub of grain -- or worse, rubbing --......

The Flintridge Proper calls itself the world's largest gin bar, and that isn't hyperbole -- at more than 200 bottles and counting, this gin-centric locale may well hold the record for most gin in a bar. But rather than being in the heart of the boozy action -- downtown, the......

With National Rum Day just past, but the taste of the spirit still lingering on the tongue, it's worth turning our attention to one of the most famous -- and infamous -- rum cocktails of all time. The Zombie, the drink that single-handedly started the tiki craze. For those in......

When it comes to booze, it's always National "something" Day. Today it's the pirate's choice -- rum. Considering that we're in the thick of summer, the timing is quite apropos. Not only does rum have the transformative ability to whisk you off to a (possibly imaginary) Caribbean island with one......

For the uninitiated, mezcal is daunting, seductive -- and sometimes puzzling. Its smoky funk, much more potent than a peaty Scotch or a juniper-centric gin, is not for the faint of heart. But if you appreciate cocktails and the spirits that make them, mezcal must call to you on some......

Check out our annual restaurant issue, which this year celebrates desserts, out this Thursday, August 8. The phrase "dessert cocktail" is likely to strike fear in the heart of any self-respecting bartender. Perhaps it's the immediate image of the TGI Friday's Mudslide in all its horrific, coffee/chocolate/boozy milkshake glory. Perhaps......

Mezcal has long been one of the bastard children of the cocktail world. While its brother tequila is now considered a versatile cocktail companion ("Tequila! It's not just for margaritas anymore!"), mezcal has languished. Long considered a poor man's beverage, mezcal suffered because the low-grade versions that did make it......

Aside from gin, and probably more so, tequila is a love-it-or-leave-it spirit. Unfortunately, the reason for this is probably a one-too-many margaritas experience, which is far from the best evocation of tequila's subtleties. So, with National Tequila Day before us, let's seek out some more intriguing cocktails that highlight the......

It can't be coincidence that National Daiquiri Day comes only two days before Ernest Hemingway's July 21st birthday. While many drinks have been linked to famous names, probably none is more iconic than Hemingway and his daiquiri. At its heart, the daiquiri is of the "sour" class of cocktails, blending......