12 Bottle Bar

By Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

Before heading to the New World in 1620, our Pilgrim forefathers spent their last night in the Refectory Room of what would become the Black Friar’s Distillery for Plymouth Gin.  Unfortunately for the Pilgrims, there would be no gin at the first Thanksgiving.  According to Stephen C. O’Neill, Associate Curator of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, most provisions lists for the period contain references to ‘strong waters’ or aqua vitae, generic references to distilled wine or brandy.  No gin or genever to be found.  In all likelihood, the beverage selections at the first Thanksgiving would have leaned more toward the familiar beer and wine.  And so, 12 Bottle Bar has a few suggestions for your Turkey Day.  Let the gobbling – er, sipping – begin.  Read More…

As you may have noticed, many of our recent drink posts include “Featured Glassware” from preeminent crystal and glassware manufacturer Villeroy & Boch.  We’ve been waiting for an appropriate break in the action to announce our newly minted friendship, and there seemed like no better day than today.

Dating back to the mid 18^th century, VIlleroy & Boch is a mark of exquisite quality known around the world.  From the dishware placed before royalty and the Pope to the tiles used to line the Holland Tunnel and decorate the Titanic – Villeroy & Boch products have always been symbolic of the very best of pedigrees, functionality, and taste.  We first teamed up with the good folks at V&B back in July to promote the launch of their new American and Scotch Gourmet Whisky Glasses collections.  Now, thanks to a generous cache of handmade, mouth-blown crystal and glassware, provided by Villeroy & Boch we’ll be regularly featuring their stemware along with our drinks. Read More…

We just received the Spring/Summer 2012 new titles catalog from Reaktion Books, and along with it, the first sighting of Lesley’s forthcoming book, Gin: A Global History, which is part of Reaktion’s Edible series.   As a proud husband and writing partner, I felt compelled to brag a little.

Gin traces the history and evolution of the most important of cocktail liquors from its medicinal origins to the rise of each of the predominant styles – genever, Old Tom, London Dry, and the newer artisanal products – as well as the world’s love-hate relationship with the juniper-based spirit.    From ancient Arabia to the terror of the Black Death, from “Dutch Courage” to the Gin Craze epidemic, and from the magnificent gin palaces of London to the speakeasies of American Prohibition – the story of gin is an epic drama spanning centuries and continents. Read More…

Yesterday, Gojee.com — simply one of the coolest food sites on the web — launched “Gojee Drinks”, complementing their already fantastic food selection with some of the tastiest cocktails you’ll find.  We should know, because we here at 12BB contributed several dozen of them.

We love Gojee not only because of the way they are approaching recipes on the web — beautiful full-screen photos and the ability to search by and store favorite ingredients — but also because we are very honored to have been selected to join their partner ranks.  Unlike so many sites where anyone can submit recipes, all of Gojee is strictly curated.  We had to be invited to participate.  Deepening the honor even more is the quality of the company that we’re keeping at Gojee — including friends and classic cocktail gurus like Jacob Grier, Matt Robold from Rum Dood, Nancy Mitchell at The Backyard Bartender, Kenn Wilson of Cocktailia, A Dash of Bitters’ Michael Dietsch, Post Prohibition’s Josh Sullivan, and Mr. Paul Clarke.  In total, Gojee has partnered with more than 50 bloggers, bartenders, and masters of the stick to bring you some of the finest drinks from around the globe. Read More…

If there’s one thing we love here at 12BB, it’s a good story about booze.  As we’ve recently been a bit remiss in our singling out of exceptional sport and sporting folk in this, our self-proclaimed Year of the Sportsman, we felt it high time that we regale you with a story of the sea, the ice, and the brave men who pushed the boundaries of human endeavor.  Today, we’ll be heading south – all the way south — but lest you think we’re returning to the hell fires of our Halloween haunt, no, we have a more frigid destination in mind – the icy wasteland that is Antarctica. Read More…