Welcome!

This is "Draining the Glass", a blog about drinking.

We like drinking. We like it a lot. We don't drink to get drunk, or to forget our troubles, or to be sociable. We don't drink to make ourselves or other people more attractive, or because it's simply the thing to do; we drink because we like drinking. It's as simple as a dry martini.

We think it's unconscionable that there are thousands of food blogs, narrating the adventures of lively people in the world of cuisine, narrating exciting adventures at restaurants all over the country, and giving you recipes and cooking tips for how to prepare gourmet wonders at home -- but almost nothing comparable for the world of alcoholic beverages, which is just as rich and diverse, and what's more, gets you lit. We aim to rectify that, right here and right now, with a cocktail glass in hand and a sense of conviviality in mind. We do this in the spirit of friendship, and with any spirits we can think of.

The blog will feature taste-tests of liquor, beer and wine, new and old; little narratives of how alcohol has enhanced (or hindered) our daily lives; liquor in the news; and, most of all, recipes. We're going to try a drink recipe as often as possible (we're shooting for once a day, but there will be times when we're drinking away...). We'll make cocktails at home, teach you how to make them, provide photos, and tell you how they were. We'll do the same when we go out, if time and technology permit. We'll even, on occasion, make up drinks, and let you know how that worked out. We welcome your feedback and your suggestions, because as much fun as it is to drink alone, we do love the clink of someone else's glass. We're dead serious about our drinking, but we're also lubricated enough to know that the most serious subjects must be approached with a sense of humor. We may be liquor snobs, but there's nothing we won't try. Cheap beer, fortified wine, and the kind of liquor you keep under the bathroom sink for when the divorce papers show up will make their appearances here in due time.

Our project starts tonight, with the king of cocktails. Join us anytime. And never forget the words of our musical icon, Phil "The Jazz Butcher" Fish:

I'm broken-hearted, with all that this entails
It takes some concentrated drinking to keep me on the rails
I have to hide my face, I have to hide my shame
I don't wait 'til I'm sober 'til I get drunk again

I drink at home, I drink out, I drink in cocktail bars
Falling down, seeing stars
It suits me; it suits me
Going astray in all the bars from here to Mandalay
They never close, we never pay

My, oh, my, we can't compete
It's only heavy drinking that keeps us on our feet
My, oh, my, we can't complain
If it weren't for heavy drinking, we'd never play "Sweet Jane"
My, oh, my, the days go by
I never quite forget her, but goodness, how I try
Believe me; believe me
Falling apart in bars -- I like to suffer for my art
Just one more before we part...

Don't want to think about how much I drink
It's a habit that's out of control
Hope I never get dry before I get old.