Booze + Bread

Apr 2026

Lemon Meringue Pie Cocktail

Super fun idea and reasonably good tasting — but the garnish, intended to be the marquee of the cocktail, didn't quite work out. The plan was to finish it like a crème brûlée: torch a layer of raw sugar floated on top of the foam. It didn't take. The dream lives on.

Recipe forthcoming once the torched sugar situation is resolved.

Dec 2025

Winter Negroni Sour

Along with my eggnog, this is now demanded every Christmas season. Possibly one of the best cocktails I ever serve. A Negroni at heart, but opened up with grapefruit juice and a homemade cranberry simple syrup that makes it undeniably seasonal.

Gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari — the standard Negroni trinity — plus fresh grapefruit juice and homemade cranberry simple syrup. Dry shake with egg white for foam, then shake again with ice. Double strain. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and freshly grated cinnamon.

Dec 2025

Cranberry 75

My mom always demands that one of my Christmas cocktails be champagne-based. This is a riff on the French 75 that subs in cranberry syrup in place of simple syrup. First time using my new garnishing tool to make those big twirly lime peels.

Standard French 75 build — gin, lemon juice, homemade cranberry simple syrup — topped with champagne. Garnished with a long twirled lime peel.

Nov 2025

Basil Cucumber Gimlet

Improvised on the spot for a dinner guest based on their described preferences. Muddled cucumber and mint layered on top of a standard gimlet base.

Muddle cucumber and fresh mint. Add gin, fresh lime juice, and a little simple syrup. Shake well and double strain into a coupe.

Nov 2025

First Experiment with Clear Ice

Making clear ice is the single greatest thing I've done to elevate my cocktails. It's taken iteration to learn how to shape them effectively from the block I create. This was one of my early attempts — a crazy iceberg, which has its own fun aesthetic — but I've since cleaned it up and landed on a signature octagon shape.

The technique: fill a small cooler with water and leave it in the freezer with the lid off. The top freezes clear while impurities and bubbles are pushed to the bottom. Score and crack to get your block, then carve to shape.

Nov 2024

Baguettes + Boules

The peak of my controversial baguette baking run. While delicious, this extremely time intensive hobby was not always appreciated in the months following the birth of our second child.

White bread poolish following Flour Water Salt Yeast (FWSY). Baguette technique mostly following the NYTimes baking lady.

Dec 2023

Another Winter Negroni Sour

This cocktail is just so good it deserves two photos.

Dec 2023

Eggnog

This photo is pretty ugly, but this eggnog recipe is absolutely on fire. Now a staple of every single Christmas season — everybody expects it. Its best quality is that all the grandmas who never really drink much always love this and can get pretty hammered, which always gets the party going.

Recipe forthcoming.

Aug 2019

Watermelon Mint Improvisation

Not sure what I did — this was so long ago — but I do remember my girlfriend at the time absolutely loving it. She's now my wife, so I guess it was pretty good. Probably a twist on a daiquiri, adding in mint and watermelon. You can see one of my old signature garnishes: fruit floated on top of the drink with a little flag of mint coming out of it.

Lost to time. Best guess: a daiquiri base (rum, lime, simple syrup) with muddled watermelon and mint. Garnished with floating fruit and a mint flag.

Jan 2019

New York Sours

A subtle twist on the whiskey sour everybody is familiar with. I substitute out the egg white foam and instead add a red wine float. I've never seen anybody order this or serve this other than myself. You get a little taste of the red wine in every sip, and it gives it a novel complexity.

2 oz whiskey of choice · 0.75 oz lemon juice · 0.75 oz simple syrup. Shaken and double strained into a cocktail glass. Gently float red wine on top using a spoon.

Some folks still do this with an egg white foam; some folks do this on ice, but I prefer it with no egg white, served neat in a coupe glass.

▶ FROM THE KITCHEN