An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

Head over to the Mixoloseum Blog for my article about bourbon.

Annnnnnndddddddd . . . we have a winner!? The rules were pretty simple.? Tell me how you started down the cocktail path, the catalyst if you will, and tell me your favorite cocktail.

And the winner is Helena Tiare Olson from Stockholm, Sweden.? Tiare is also the writer of A Mountain of Crushed Ice.? And without further ado, here it Tiare’s story:

For me it started with a tiny mini bottle of El Dorado 15 year old demerara rum.

It’s a bit odd, I know but that?s what happened. I got that bottle from God knows where and drank a little bit of the rum and discovered that liked it, no – I mean really liked it. Its not the first alcoholic thing I had of course but it was the first alcoholic beverage that really opened my eyes and led me to discover the world of cocktails and this evolved to be where I am today.

This happened a couple of years ago.

So I tasted some of that rum neat and then I took the rest and mixed a ?tropical drink? having not much clue how to mix a proper cocktail – even though I had some vague idea still after my years in the restaurant business. But I threw together some fresh fruit juices, a little simple syrup and the rum with plenty of crushed ice and made some kind of elaborate fruit garnish. All happily served in a hurricane glass!

After that I got myself a big bottle of El Dorado and now I started to experiment more seriously.

I searched the net which eventually led me to tiki drinks,The Ministry of Rum and some of the cocktail blogs where I was a lurker for quite a while, without commenting – I didn?t dare to…but reading and absorbing everything I came over that interested me. I kept experimenting at home with cocktail mixing and ingredient making and garnishing. Eventually the whole thing grew to a lifestyle and I became a cocktail geek.

Then one day (a year ago) I started to write my blog, and the rest is as we say ? history.

Today I’m much more into learning the classics, so i have started in a bit of an odd way, otherwise i believe tiki drinks is maybe not usually the first type of drinks you start with.

I will never abandon my first love ? the Mai Tai, it will always be my favorite cocktail, but only if its made the way it should be and with good rum. The recipe I use is Trader Vic`s and I use either Appleton Extra, Havana Club 7, St James Hors d?age, Clem?nt VSOP and various demerara rums.

Why do I love cocktails? Oh – its the craft, the art, the culinary and experimental aspect, and of course the aroma and taste ? and then, they do look so beautiful! And a well crafted cocktail really is something very special.

When I think back I`m quite amazed myself how it all started with a tiny mini-bottle of El Dorado.

Mai Tai
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz Martinique rum
1 oz fresh lime juice (one lime)
0.5 oz orange curacao (or Cointreau)
0.25 oz each of orgeat and simple syrup

Mix all ingredients and shake with ice.Strain into a double old fashioned glass over crushed ice.Garnish with lime shell and a sprig of mint.Serve with 2 short straws placed near the mint.

Great story Tiare.? Congrats on your win and I hope you enjoy the 2009 Tales of the Cocktail Recipe Book!

Cheers!

Just a quick reminder that you have less than a week to enter the free book giveaway.

What you do!? (aka The Rules)
1) Email me your story.? Include your favorite cocktail along with a recipe and a picture.
2) Please keep your story to 500 words or less.
3) The contest is open to anyone.
4) The deadline is midnight, August 31st.

What I do!? (aka The Judging)
1) Which ever story I like the best will win.
2) I will be the only judge using a wholly unscientific analysis.

What you get! (aka The Prize)
1) The winner will have their story, photo and recipe published on Scofflaw’s Den.? AND
2) Will receive a copy of the 2009 Tales of the Cocktail Official Recipe Book.

Last week I received an email from Vidiot over at Cocktailians asking my thoughts on a recent email he received from a company claiming he violated a trademark through a name he gave a cocktail.? (Whew!)? You can read his post about the situation here.? We exchanged emails throughout the day discussing the company which sent him the email, his reaction to the email and the current state of booze bloggery.? My friend Jacob also wrote about this issue here.

I found this whole issue very interesting, not only because I’m a booze blogger but also as an attorney.? However, I have very little knowledge of the law relating to intellectual property, trademarks, etc.? An interesting thing about lawyers is that there is always someone a phone call or two away that has a much better understanding of a particular area of law.

In that vein, I contacted my friend Chris Leger to see if he would chime in.? We met for drinks last Friday and he agreed to write an article discussing trademarks and cocktails.? To my knowledge, this is the first article to discuss this issue on a cocktail blog written by a practicing attorney.? I’m grateful to Chris for agreeing to write this and I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

The Gosling’s Dark ‘n’ Stormy Controversy Through an Intellectual Property Lens

by Christopher Leger

Gosling’s Dark ‘n’ Stormy Trademark

The recent New York Times article about Bahamian rum company Gosling’s owning a registered trademark for the drink name Dark ‘n Stormy has ignited a controversy that is making the rounds on many, many cocktail blogs, and serves as a very good opportunity to explain the impact of intellectual property law on issues that are important to the average person.? This controversy must be discussed within the current intellectual property law framework, and specifically the current trademark law.