When mixologist Adam Seger of hum Botanical Spirits was tapped to devise a cocktail menu for the wrap party celebrating the Oprah Winfrey show's series finale taping, held Tuesday night at the Four Seasons Hotel, he mustered a spread with pomp fitting of the occasion. A dose of that "look under your seat" penchant for drama, if you will. Well, that plus about 18,000 fruit "caviar pearls" and a host of other fanciful goodies. more ›

312 Dining Diva noted yesterday that Southern Wine & Spirits' Bridget Albert was named the official mixologist of Redbook magazine. A protege of "Modern Mixologist" Tony Abou Ganim, Albert is one of the cocktailers most responsible for the current mixed drink craze around town with her focus on market fresh ingredients and premium spirits. more ›

Cocktail books are everywhere. Every time we walk into a big discount bookstore, the bargain bin is full of books with titles like “The Drunken Idiot Barman’s Encyclopedia of Cheap Spirits” (or something like that) with 1000 not-very-precise recipes and uninspiring photography. The cocktail books that we bring home with us show off the character and ideas of a single mixologist, with a few innovative new recipes combined with the best of the old favorites. Bridget Albert has created just such a book in “Market-Fresh Mixology: Cocktails for Every Season”and we’ve been working our way through the drinks in the book just as fast as we could. more ›

You know what was missing from our Chicagoist Thanksgiving Round-Up? A great cocktail to serve to all of your guests! Party cocktails can be a tricky business and Thanksgiving is an additional challenge – you want a cocktail that feels like fall (no lemon drops and mojitos here!) but isn’t too dark and heavy. You could probably make something out of Turkey soda and vodka, but we've decided to avoid ironic drinks and make something that actually tastes good. more ›

You'd think that, writing for a large blog, we'd be able to keep up with RSS feeds and tips. So how the Chicago chapter of the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails went past our head is beyond us. Should've known that Sonja Kassebaum of North Shore Distillery was the mastermind behind this. Currently, LUPEC Chicago has nine members, including Master Mixologist Bridget Albert of Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois. more ›