• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters furthers our education on SeriousEats with Cocktail 101: Juicing without a Juicer. He also got an article about apple brandies Ralph Lauren online and posts more vintage booze ads on his blog.
• Alcademic’s Camper English is currently off in Mexico running rampant through the agave fields, but that does not stop Camper from posting. Here he is riding ATVs through piña fields, visiting the Olmeca Altos distillery, judging a worldwide cocktail competition in Arandas, and touring the La Fortaleza distillery. Before he left, he also made a great post about the various ways to include and alter texture in cocktails.
• Fred Yarm, the Cocktail Virgin/Slut, continues his tour of Boston. He tries the Cormac McCarthy beer cocktail at Local 149, the Bartender’s Bingo – a drink that started out as a joke but was too good to ignore – at Trina’s Starlite Lounge, the Golden Fiddle at the Appleton Remixology contest, and the Son of Chico Dusty at No. 9 Park.
• Speaking of Fred, he has just taken over the hosting role of Mixology Monday and the next event is “Equal Parts” slated for September 17th!
• The Whiskey Forge’s Matt Rowley writes about ice cream sandwiches and Mentos, rants about modernist cooking, and plots next year’s garden.
• Pegu Doug teaches us how to taste blended Scotch like a champ, and he pokes fun at Clint Eastwood.
• Trader Tiki’s new bar Hale Pele gets a visit from the Thrillist replete with video tour.
• Savoy Stomp’s Erik Ellestad shares his curry chicken soup recipe.

• While Blair Reynolds of the Trader Tiki blog hasn’t been writing lately, it’s for good reason: Hale Pele, his Tiki bar, opened yesterday in Portland! Congrats!
• Matt Rowley of the Whiskey Forge doesn’t write about whiskey this week but about apple spirits and shows his piece in the American Distiller magazine.
• GumboPages’ Chuck Taggart takes a food and beverage tour of Little Italy in New York and enjoys the amaro-rich Black Manhattan. He also frets about Hurricane Isaac.
• Frederic Yarm of Cocktail Virgin continues his exploration of the Boston cocktail scene with drinks Brick & Mortar’s Girlfriend’s Dilemma, Clio’s The Day 3ish, and Eastern Standard’s Proclaimer and Avalon. He also reviews a local rum, Turkey Hill Distilleries’ Old Ipswich Tavern Style Rum, which has garnered some serious awards.
• The Art of Drink’s Darcy O’Neil reflects on the glory days of cocktail blogging as symbolized by a wooden box that once contained Bourbon and now his son’s keepsakes.
• Camper English of Alcademics describes the correct and incorrect ways of carbonating cocktails and also links to an article he wrote in the the SF Chronicle. Camper also wrote about a sea salt-lime soda in FineCooking, and he shares the menu from a bar and soda fountain shop, The Corner Store, that opened nearby.
• A Mountain of Crushed Ice’s Tiare reflects on all that was Tales of the Cocktail 2012 including Pig & Punch, a Blackwell Rum event, and Curaçao tastings.
• Finally, Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters writes about strange cocktail ingredients in SeriousEats; he cites black bean soup as the strangest, whereas I think creamed corn was mine. On his own blog, he showcases some vintage ads from Seagram’s Gin.

A lot of talk about whiskey barrels this week that was only outdone by posts about rum!

• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters reviews Pete Hamill’s A Drinking Life about imbibing mid-century on SeriousEats. On his blog, he reports on the Appleton Remixology event in NYC (I caught the one in Boston on Monday) and shares a vintage 1937 ad for Pabst.
• A Mountain of Crushed Ice’s Tiare continues on with her post-Tales of the Cocktail writeups with entries about the rum talk where she got to try 14 rums from all across the world including the new Banks 7 Island, as well as the talk on bar myths including the secrets and debunkings of the Ramos Gin Fizz.
• Camper English of Alcademics shares the story about Buffalo Trace determining that small barrels do not work as well as big ones. Take a tour of the Tabasco Sauce plant, the Laphroaig Distillery, and the island of Islay. Camper also describes the article he wrote for Details Magazine about funky Jamaican rums and for FineCooking on the Rhubarb Rosemary Cooler drink recipe.
• Art of Drink’s Darcy O’Neil announces the Jerk Off! No, seriously — this is about a soda competition in San Fran mid-September; he also discusses the judging system that he and Robert Hess worked out.
• Frederic Yarm of Cocktail Virgin provides a sneak preview of the drink recipe book he will be putting out soon called Drink and Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book. And speaking of Boston recipes, he shares Backbar’s cross of an Alaska and a Southside dubbed Kodiak Island, Hawthorne’s Chartreuse-laden blender drink called the Rusty Shakleford, Silvertone’s white whiskey What You Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis?, Trina’s Starlite Lounge’s Zombie-riff named Bath Salts, and the Citizen Public House’s Fernet-y Palaver.
• Gumbo Pages’ Chuck Taggart offers us a glimpse at the new menu at Big Bar including a drink that uses Tempus Fugit’s new Kina l’Avion d’Or aperitif wine.
• Scott Spolverino from In With Bacchus discusses the Buffalo Trace small barrel conclusion with great detail and debunks it with a bit of science.
• Whiskey Forge’s Matt Rowley describes the coffee ice cubes for his iced coffee he was served in New Mexico. Next week, I hope he posts about coffee brewed with coffee, because my machine’s strong setting only goes so far.
• Marshall from Scofflaw’s Den announces that he’s now writing for the AARP blog as their cocktail writer and that they invited the Jack Roses’ Ashley to write for the Den.
• Pegu Blog’s Doug mocks the genre but brings on the babes with a video ad from Ciroc, and he points out an article about Chivas Regal and the laws of economics.
• Finally, Erik Ellestad of the Savoy Stomp crosses a Cynar Fizz, The Little Italy, and the Los Angeles Cocktail to create the Little Los Angeles Fizz. He also shares a cute story about a little kid questioning what Erik was doing behind the bar.

Definitely a trend with tropical and citrus themes this week, and with a few weeks left of summer, I am not too surprised.

• Doug of the Pegu Blog points us to an article about the demise of the 3 Martini Lunch.
• The Rumdood, Matt Robold, is hosting another Tiki Throwdown at 320 Main replete with thematic music and drink.
• Fred Yarm of Cocktail Virgin gives us a drink tour of Boston and chronicles Misty Kalkofen’s Fernet-y Darkness til Dawn at Brick & Mortar, No. 9 Park’s variation on a Milk & Honey drink that they call the Triumph of Pompei, Stoddard’s grassy and fruity Blood of My Enemies, Hawthorne’s Marshall Island Swizzle, and J.M. Curley’s abstraction of the Old Fashion called the In Fashion. He also reviews two sets of gins, namely GrandTen’s Wire Works and St. George’s gin trio.
• Alcademic’s Camper English shares some great anise and other herbal tricks (such as licorice making spirits taste sweeter) that he learned at Tales. This week, Camper had articles in Class Magazine about spirits filtration and FineCooking about the Cuban El Presidente cocktail. He also shares a quick drink tour of Rio de Janiero and a longer tour of Brown Forman barrel making plant.
• A Mountain of Crushed Ice’s Tiare has returned from New Orleans and writes about the Curaçao talk she went to given by David Wondrich and Phillip Duff, and the talk about drinking in Panama especially during the canal building days given by Wondrich and Jeff Berry.
• Matt Hamlin of A Jigger of Blog writes about the Age of Reason by Han Shan who works at the East Village’s B-Side. Whiskey, Cognac, and herbal notes from Chartreuses.
• A Dash of Bitters’ Michael Dietsch continues Cocktails 101 on SeriousEats with a primer on orange liqueurs from the fun blue curaçao to serious brandy-based triple secs. He also shares a vintage Seagram’s Gin ad on his blog.

Warm summer nights lead to a lot more drinking, whether to cool off or to enjoy the outdoors. Perhaps this is why there are more posts by some and fewer by others…

• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters shares with us a vintage 1937 ad for Hiram Walker Gin.
• Congratulate Alcademic’s Camper English for getting enthroned in the Ordre International des Anysetiers! Camper also shows photos of the wine cocktail competition he helped judge and of the tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery he took. Camper’s writing has also appeared this week on SeriousEats‘ liquor reviews and FineCooking such as with this rosemary lemon Sour.
• Darcy O’Neil of Art of Drink reflects on what Tales of the Cocktail means to him now and how that has changed over the years.
• Cocktail Virgin/Slut’s Fred Yarm jets around Boston to share Bergamot’s Bourbon take on the Old Cuban called the Kentucky Proper, Rendezvous’ grappa-tequila Vieux Carré riff, Eastern Standard’s Cobbler tribute to Jerry Thomas called the Bon Vivant, and a room temperature cocktail, Attitude Dancing, from Misty Kalkofen at Brick & Mortar. And what would summer be without a Whiskey Fix?
• Marshall of Scofflaw’s Den discovers that the Roman Punch and its variations are perfect for watching the Olympics!

Now that Tales of the Cocktail is over, the blogosphere has a few new stories to tell. Although the ones that didn’t go have plenty to say as well especially since they didn’t need any recovery time.

• Matt Rowley of the Whiskey Forge revisits his love of marshmallows by discussing making old school marshmallow syrup out of the root as well as Smith & Cross Rum marshmallows!
• In With Bacchus’ Scott Spolverino reviews Foco’s canned Thai Tea Drink which he quite enjoys despite it not being brightly orange colored.
• Fred Yarm of Cocktail Virgin/Slut shares recipes across Boston including Drink’s tequila and Salers Gentiane Liqueur 20th Century riff called Copper Canyon, Trina’s Starlite Lounge’s watermelon-laden Corpse Reviver #33, Clio’s tequila tribute to a cute girl called Lauren and Orange, and Island Creek Oyster Bar’s take on Sam Ross’ Paper Plane called the Paper Schooner.
• Alcademic’s Camper English discusses blue drinks and mentions that he’ll be judging a wine cocktail competition in the next few days.
• Tiare of A Mountain of Crushed Ice writes about Martin Cate’s talk at Tales about Tiki legend Stephen Crane and includes Cranes’ recipe for the Scorpion.
• A Jigger of Blog’s Matt Hamlin points out the incredibly funny Sh*t Brand Ambassadors Say video.
• Finally, Mike Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters continues the Cocktail 101 lectures on SeriousEats with a continuation on the shrub lecture by how to make more complex shrubs using herbs in the mix. He also shares vintage ads for Monnet Cognac and makes us question how the Midwest drought will affect Bourbon.

Even though this week is Tales of the Cocktail, the blogs are still pretty active between those that are there and those that are not!

• A Dash of Bitters’ Michael Dietsch continues our education on SeriousEats with another Cocktail 101 lesson – this one on cocktail families and formulas. On his own blog, he posts another weekly historical look at cocktail and spirits advertisements.
• Camper English of Alcademics discusses advancements in clear ice production at home that he most likely inspired. And take a tour of the Heaven Hill Distillery as Camper shows you around the whiskey mecca.
• Art of Drink’s Darcy O’Neil reflects on how Tales of the Cocktail has changed since he first went in 2007.
• Frederic Yarm, the Cocktail Virgin-Slut, covers a few Boston drinks including Sahil Mehta’s Emerald Toucan, No. 9 Park’s Sangre du Nord, and a pair of classic Scotch drink variations he had across town. Also, the Vesper crossed with a Seelbach called the Triton from Food & Wines: Cocktails 2012 is worth a look.
• The Whiskey Forge’s Matt Rowley has me salivating with his post on Mexican chocolate pudding made with dark rum! He also tells us to try our summer treat of watermelon with some sea salt. In booze news, congrats to Matt for being named a contributing editor of Distiller; moreover, he shows us a moonshine bottle in the shape of a pig and explains why.
• Erik Ellestad of the Savoy Stomp runs through the history and modern recreations of the Angostura Fizz. He also discusses dinner at State Farm Provisions in S.F.
• Scofflaw’s Den’s SeanMike provides some excellent helpful tips on how to survive Tales of the Cocktail. I hope he and his liver return to tell some stories next week!

Welcome to another sweltering summer week, and what better way to cool off than reading some blog posts!

• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters continues his Cocktail 101 seminars with a lesson on balance and personal preference. He also gripes about Twitter installing age verifications to follow certain booze feeds as if 140 characters will corrupt an underager.
• A Mountain of Crushed Ice’s Tiare is running around New Orleans already for her pre-Tales fun, so she will fill us in when the mayhem calms in a week or two.
• Camper English of Alcademics discusses the different ingredients that make Noilly Prat dry, rouge, and ambre vermouths what they are, and fills us in on the goings on at the Noilly Prat winery in Marseillan, France, via a photo essay. Speaking of pictorial tours, how about one of Havana, Cuba’s bars?
• The Cocktail Virgin/Slut, Fred Yarm, covers the Independent’s Tiki drink, the Wing Nang, that uses Maurin Quina’s almond note quite well, and Misty Kalkofen’s saison beer cocktail, Fears and Failures. At home, he makes an old Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli champagne cocktail recipe, Flowers for Murphy, and an unique recipe from the 1930s that calls for Swedish Punsch and grapefruit juice, the Equator.
• Matt Rowley of the Whiskey Forge discusses what is wrong with Foodies and shares vintage recipes for cooking raccoon and tips on removing its gaminess.
• Scofflaw’s Den’s Marshall gives an overview of his Tales of the Cocktail plans including dropping hints on when his bachelor party will be occurring that week!
• Erik Ellestad of the Savoy Stomp shares some food porn of his dinners such as roasted chicken and bulgur and Asian-style Ling Cod.

So this week in the blogs is only 6 days as we settle into a Thursday routine. Without further ado:

• Matt Robold, the Rumdood, holds true to his name by reviewing the classic Piña Colada and trying to trace back its fuzzy history.
• The Whiskey Forge’s Matthew Rowley discusses the 1929 Irvin Cobb book Red Likkor about the failures of Prohibition, and where to drink in San Diego just in time for Comic Con. He also wants to barter for his domain name rumdumpster.com — anything from bottles of liquor to sharp knifes.
• Fred Yarm, the Cocktail Virgin/Slut, gives veggie-friendly dining advice for those heading down to New Orleans. He also shares recipes for two drinks based off of Beta Cocktails recipes: Backbar’s Start of a New Road and Drink’s 3185. For a little less challenging, he also shares the elegant Daisy called the Margaret Rose.
• Camper English of Alcademics is in Brazil this week for the World Class competition, but that has not slowed his posting one bit; read more about the 16 semi-finalists in this competition. He reflects back on his tour of the Maker’s Mark Distillery and shares a cocktail menu from the College Hotel in Amsterdam.
• A Mountain of Crushed Ice’s Tiare prepares us for her posts about New Orleans with a teaser.
• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters tells the tale on SeriousEats of needing to replace his Boston Shaker when his others were in storage, and shares a link to a story about a man who found several bottles of century old whiskey hidden in his attic.

Happy 4th of July and welcome to the return of the weekly blog recaps!

• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters continues his cocktail 101 education series with a post about low alcohol cocktails perfect for summer on SeriousEats. On his own blog, he presents vintage ads for Gordon’s Gin and G&W Whiskey.
• A Jigger of Blog’s Matt Hamlin proffers a video of how to make the perfect Corpse Reviver #2.
• Tiare of A Mountain of Crushed Ice is gearing up for Tales of the Cocktail by presenting two New Orleans classics: the Ramos Gin Fizz and the Sazerac. She also expounds on the Mai Tai for National Mai Tai Day.
• Alcademic’s Camper English visits the Woodford Reserve Distillery and provides an excellent visual tour. Like Tiare, Camper is getting excited about Tales of the Cocktail and discusses his sugar seminar that he will be giving. Also, he points us to his booze reviews that he is doing on ShakeStir.
• Fred Yarm of Cocktail Virgin/Slut offers the recipes for Misty Kalkofen’s Honky and the Donkey from Brick & Mortar, Stoddard’s Midnight Elixir, and Todd Maul’s 2 from LA at Clio. He also had a drink of his written up on the DailyMeal and had his book recommendation mentioned on Stuff!
• Matt from Rowley’s Whiskey Forge shares tales of his first mint julep and discusses women in the Bourbon industry. And he provides a recipe for a refreshing ginger lemonade.
• Rumdood Matt Robold writes about the timeless classic Mojito on his blog and the similarly esteemed Gimlet on the 320 Main bar’s blog.
• Scofflaw’s Den’s Marshall Fawley teaches us how to beat the heat with some refreshing cooler recipes including an elegant peach whiskey one.
• Savoy Stomp’s Erik Ellestad gets honored by the SF Bay Guardian with a great interview from their who to drink series! Moreover, he showcases the tasty Defend Arrack from Beta Cocktail.