Home Bar

If you’ve spent any time perusing some of the recipes here at Slightly Pretentious, you’ve probably figured out that I like smoky things. Islay Scotch. Mezcal. You name it, if it’s smoky, I’m all about it (funny considering I don’t smoke). So a few years ago when it became en vogue to actually smoke your […]

Since beginning this quest to visit the world’s best cocktail bars in late 2014, there’s one bar that stands above all else. It’s come up dozens of times, and I’m not sure there’s a bartender or cocktail bar owner that doesn’t owe their success in one way or another to this bar. Unfortunately, I’ve never […]

As my obsession with cocktails has grown over the last couple years, I’ve had more and more friends and family members picking up the hobby as well. It seems as if it’s almost on a daily basis someone is texting me to ask about a recipe, or ask some other home bar related question. But […]

When it comes to keeping a well-stocked home bar, it doesn’t get much more basic than simple syrup. Along with bitters, simple syrup is one of the most fundamental (and essential) ingredients in any bartender’s tool kit.  Even though it’s nothing more than sugar dissolved in water, it creates a sweetener that mixes more easily […]

Now that Fall is upon us I want to tell you a bit about my go to drink for….last Summer. Ok, so the timing may be a bit off now that we’re moving more toward hot toddies than pina coladas, but I’ve spent the past couple of months working on variations of a classic summer […]