Shaking Up Quince to Convince It might just be the devil in me that’s here to tempt you with some quince. A cousin to apples and pears, according to some…
Gin
Apple Ginegar
An Apple Acid Test I’m not sure anyone celebrates autumn anymore by having their kids bob for apples, but that doesn’t keep apples out of my mind when it comes…
Have You Never Been Pomelo
A Great Fruit Cocktail The person who used to own our house left us a botanical wonder in the backyard: a pomelo tree. At first, we thought it was a…
Bee Gin Again
A Buzz About Brown Gin When Covid protocols allow, drive through one of Goleta’s sprawling industrial parks and then wander through a warren of hallways and offices to find Goleta…
Bikini Bod
Time to Increase Your Celery Maybe it’s just my age—that age that makes one begin a story “maybe it’s just my age”—but a celery stick symbolizes every person’s dream to…
Little Miss Sunshine
Oliver’s Offers Montecito Sunshine While it’s tricky to make a pitch that drinking alcohol is actually good for you, this issue’s cocktail is up to that challenge. After all, how…
Walaska
Don’t Take Your Love for Pomegrante If you want to look for local Valentine’s Day inspiration, there’s no need to look further than Ganna Walska. The magnetic eccentric was so…
Deck Your Halls
A Cocktail to Pine For As many reasons as there are to make one desirous of drink around Christmas—family visits, kids getting greedy-cranky, the perils and delays of travel, family…
Very-Berry-Tini
The Straw(berry) that Stirs the Drink As a purist, I have to admit I hate finding the suffix “tini” slapped upon any drink served in an up glass. A martini…
Wet Your Thistle
Big Trouble in Little Cynar One of the great harvests of spring is the artichoke. Delightful as they are to eat, they’re notorious for pairing with wine. That culinary conundrum…