Thought for Food

thebluehour asked: Since M (and you by default) are the Tumblr Cocktail aficionados, what are your (his) thoughts on whiskey stones? Worth it? A fad?

Let me take you back to Christmas 2009. It was the first that M. and I spent together and it was critical that I earn awesome-girlfriend chops by getting him snazzy gifts. One of those (or so I thought) was a set of whiskey stones. We tried them that New Year’s Eve with champagne and … they made our champagne taste like rocks. We gave them another shot with whiskey and … they made our whiskey taste like rocks.

So I would say — no, not worth it.

Instead of whiskey stones, I recommend these, ahem, cool gifts for the whiskey or cocktail aficionado in your life:

Tovolo King Cube Ice Trays: the large cubes melt slowly, keeping your whiskey or cocktail (any Collins, any highball drink) cold without watering them down too much. (We also use the regular-size Tovolo Perfect Cube trays for everyday ice.)

Spherical Ice Trays: they perform the same function as King Cubes but they’re round and very attractive in the glass. The Japanese store MUJI sells lovely silicone versions.

Polar Ice Tray: ice trays that promise “beautiful crystal clear ice” (the Holy Grail of cocktail geeks) in pebbles, cubes, rocks, or triangles. I haven’t seen it in action, but I’m very curious.

For more inspiration, I rounded up the essentials of a well-stocked cocktail bar and six classic cocktail recipes that can be endlessly improvised upon.

Hope this helps!

angrygirlfrienddiaries asked: What an amazing experience at Aviary! Even with a hangover today, I'm drooling over your descriptions. Any recommendations on where to have an Aviary-type experience here in NYC?

New York is woefully lacking for an Aviary-like experience. I asked M. and he said the closest you can get is the bar at WD-50. Mention that you’d love to try something unusual, something in the Aviary vein, and they’ll whip out their “back pocket” cocktails. Momofuku recently opened Booker and Dax, a bar that boasts a lot of the crazy equipment Aviary has. Worth keeping an eye on.

Not to toot my baby’s horn, but M. is one of the few bartenders in the city who understands (and is absolutely obsessed with) the modernist approach to cocktails. (He’s even working on a book about it.) We are planning to revive our cocktail supper club, Evoe, this year — and one of the events high on our agenda is an homage to Aviary. Please sign up for updates. We’d love to have you there!