For those of you who enjoyed our Chartreuse post, we are returning to Catholicism to learn about another liqueur that Catholic monks created. Don’t worry; we are not getting religious on this blog. Still, you can’t ignore the incredible Catholic contribution to the alcoholic beverage world. For example, Dom Perignon, a Bénédictine monk, invented méthod champenoise, which is the production method for Champagne. But we'll discuss Dom Perignon another day. For today’s post, we a

Chartreuse’s story is as close to a fairytale as there is in the spirits world. In 1605, a French military officer visited the Chartreuse Order of cloistered monks (the “Carthusian”) at a Chartreuse monastery in Vauvert, France and gifted them an alchemical manuscript. The manuscript was titled An Elixir of Long Life, and it contained a recipe for an elixir comprised of 130 herbs, flowers, and spices. © Chartreuse At the beginning of the 18th century, the manuscript was sent

As many of you know, a few weeks ago we posted about the two predecessors of the Martini, the Manhattan and the Martinez. That was a deliberate attempt to set the stage for the brilliance of the Martini. While it is known as the King of the Cocktails, it is also a very forgiving drink that each consumer can tweak to their personal preference. And that’s the main point of this post—experimenting with the Martini. Let us explain . . . First, let’s take a quick journey back in t

David Wondrich, one of the foremost cocktail historians in the world, says that, “The Martini is the King of Cocktails, the most famous of them all.” Sure, you might fancy an Old Fashioned more, but ask yourself this: What is the first real cocktail that you were consciously aware of as a kid or teenager? Yeah, it was probably the Martini. From the named glassware to James Bond, the Martini is undeniably at the pinnacle of cocktail culture. Yet, lost in all the Martini’s fanf

Who doesn’t love a trip to New Orleans? The food. The drinks. The extravagance. The charm. But seriously, the DRINKS. John and I met my family there this past holiday season and attempted to drink our way through the city. Shocking, I know. Welcome back to Teakwood Tavern One of our two favorites, from the many drinks originating in the Crescent City, is the Vieux Carre. With our love of brandy, rye, and Benedictine, it should be no surprise this is one of our favorite classi

Finished gift bags for friends of Teakwood Tavern Shen had a brilliant idea on Friday night--dropping off pre-made cocktail gift packages for some of Teakwood Tavern's best patrons. Here's how, in early April, Teakwood Tavern became known as Boozy Santa Clause. Bringing smiles to thirsty faces across the DFW metroplex. Let's get to the important part first--SAFETY. We took the preparation, packaging, and delivery of these gift bags seriously. We washed our hands and used hand