In preparing for this blog, I can’t believe how many recipes, articles, magazines, books and stolen cocktail menus I’ve amassed over the years. Some of these are like I’m reading them for the first time and others are my go-to recipes. I’m looking forward to weeding through this pile of stuff and bringing you what I think are the very best recipes that you can make at home. Unfortunately I’ve done a poor job of photographing many of the cocktails and parties I’ve hosted over the years, so I will just have to start throwing a bunch more! I’m sure my friends and family won’t mind, except now everything is going to be a photo opp. Eventually it will get annoying.

I’m really excited to be finally doing this. I’ve been wanting to create this blog for years, but I’ve always been too busy focusing on my day job. Plus, there are already a ton of really good cocktail and mixology blogs out there, so I really wanted to do something with a slightly different focus. Viva la Cocktail is about home cocktail culture. That means you won’t find a list of local watering holes, product reviews, wine, beer, coffee, or anything like that. My audience is the person who wants to enjoy the cocktails they order out at home, but probably doesn’t know how to make them or is maybe a little intimidated. The key is to just jump in and have fun experimenting. It’s a lot like cooking—the more you do it the more comfortable and better you’ll get. You can read more about my philosophy on the welcome page. So welcome, and Viva la Cocktail!