Editor’s Note: This was originally published in 2015. Thanksgiving is upon us, and with it the annual stress over what food to serve, what wines to pair, who to invite (and who to avoid!)....
http://warontherocks.com/2016/11/wine-to-serve-with-your-thanksgiving-feast/
If the first full week after Memorial Day was as rough on you as it was on me, you probably need a drink. Fortunately it’s Friday, which means it’s time for Episode 4 of our Happy Hour series...
We find ourselves at the end of another (short) week, and that means it’s time for another segment of Happy Hour, Molotov Cocktail’s weekend reading list curated for you, the reader, by me, t...
The India Pale Ale, or IPA for short, is often considered the most popular craft beer style, and one of the first styles many try upon entering the craft beer world. However, the origin of the st...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/06/ipa-the-beer-for-the-british-imperial-arsenal/
It’s Friday here at War on the Rocks, which means it’s time for our latest installment of Molotov Cocktail’s Friday Happy Hour, your boozy weekend reading list. We’ve got some city-focus...
Depending on which candidate you choose to support, small businesses are either “the true engine of our economy,” “ready to grow and hire,” or “the backbone of a healthy economy.” Reg...
Welcome to Molotov Cocktail’s first edition of our Friday Happy Hour series. Here you’ll be able to catch up on booze-related news, get some recipes, pick up some info on events, and generall...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/friday-happy-hour-episode-1/
If the Russians are to be believed, vodka is definitively Russian. After all, movies, advertisements, and even news articles all point to vodka as a distinctly Russian product. However, the truth...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/water-of-life-vodka-and-distillation/
Germany – an enigma of a country known for its maniacal dedication to order and efficiency, and a heavy investment in the art of crushing beer. While the French know their wine, the Russians kn...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/to-brew-or-not-to-brew-germany-and-beer-purity-laws-2/
In most industries and the arts, freedom to do what you want is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you are unbound by the strictures of tradition and can fully explore creativity as it strike...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/when-good-beer-goes-bad-mexican-lager/
In real estate, it is all about location. The roughly 122 square miles of mostly weather-beaten limestone that makes up the Maltese archipelago bears this concept out, as the islands just south o...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/liege-of-malta-microbrews-in-the-med/
In The New York Times obituary announcing his death in 1963, Logan Billingsley was remembered as “a real estate developer and an authority on American Indian affairs.” The obituary highlight...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/requiem-for-a-bootlegger-logan-billingsley/
Cinco de Mayo is fast approaching, and us Americans love to passionately observe this oft misrepresented holiday, so we’re going to rejoice the only way I know how: by drinking Palomas. Before ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/cinco-de-mayo-make-a-paloma-for-puebla/
When we think of seasonal “spring” beers in America, the field is decidedly mixed. Some breweries put out extant winter releases, like a Russian imperial stout or a double IPA, while others r...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/maibock-the-beer-you-need-to-drink-this-spring/
In Portland, Oregon, there is a man who dresses as Darth Vader wearing a kilt that also rides a unicycle and plays the theme to “Star Wars” on the bagpipes. By the way, his bagpipes spout fla...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/operation-greenlight-drinks-inspired-by-portlands-nuclear-readex/
There is no doubt that alcohol and warfare have each played rich roles in Irish history. These two historical trajectories intersect most clearly with the Irish fight for independence in the earl...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/an-ireland-of-equals-michael-collins-and-irish-whiskey/
I never understood the point of brunch. When faced with hollandaise sauce, eggs benedict, and bloody marys stuffed to the brim with olives and bacon, I found myself asking one simple question: Wh...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/brunch-and-alcohol-bottomless-catch-22/
Important things happen in bars. The Lincoln conspirators allegedly imbibed whiskey at Mary Surrat’s tavern before their attempt to flee south. Taverns played an essential role in the American ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/where-to-chat-off-the-record/
As I mentioned in my previous dispatch, Georgia is probably the greatest country that you’ve never had any desire to go to, even though you should. Nestled in the Caucasus Mountains just south ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/culture-and-qvevri-dispatches-from-the-kremlin/
In January of 1891, an actor named Francis Wilson paid an admiring visit to Walt Whitman at his house in Camden, New Jersey. The next day, Wilson sent Whitman a bottle of Old Crow whiskey with a ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/books-on-booze-bourbon-empire/
As the craft beer industry continues to explode, brewers are continuing to explore new flavors and additives to traditional styles of beer. But as we enter into the era of IPAs with the fruit du ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/have-we-hit-peak-fruit-in-craft-brewing/
Bringing death to 11 percent of the known world (and terrifying the other 89 percent) is apparently thirsty work, so the Mongols brought booze. Top shelf, at that, all the way from Persia to Kore...
On March 31, 2016, more than 1,100 businesses in the District of Columbia will file to renew their ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) licenses. That number includes bars, hotels, theaters, museums,...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/bar-design-the-untasted-ingredient/
Editor’s note: This is the first piece in an ongoing series on Molotov Cocktail where we invite you, the reader, to tell us what’s being served at your home bar. Like Maj. Dennis’ piece bel...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/what-our-readers-are-drinking-the-highlander/
I’m a New Yorker. My parents were both born in the Bronx, I grew up on Long Island, and to this day I know most of the lyrics to any Billy Joel song you put in front of me. I’m proud to be fr...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/whiskey-from-the-hudson-hillrock-estate-solera-aged-bourbon/
This week, millions will take to house parties, parades, and local Irish pubs to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It goes without saying that in modern times the holiday has become synonymous with ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/how-to-celebrate-saint-patricks-day-like-a-pro/
When reading the Russian classics, one quickly becomes acquainted with heroes of different nationalities. If you’re lucky, you can often infer their national beverage of choice. Of course, the ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/chacha-and-the-fsb-dispatches-from-the-kremlin/
A lawsuit filed in 1947 by four Los Angeles residents claimed $10,000 in damages after witnessing a live “lizard or salamander” crawl out of a bottle at a local pub. The plaintiffs alleged th...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/from-los-angeles-with-love/
I’ve lived in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. for about 14 years, and in D.C. proper for about a year and a half, which means I inhabit the inescapable land of politics on a daily basis. The tr...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/the-spirit-guide-how-to-survive-the-election-cycle/
There are few things better than great weather and great beer. Thankfully in and around San Diego, CA, there is an abundance of both. The San Diego beer scene is one of the best known in the coun...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/how-san-diego-became-one-of-americas-craft-beer-destinations/
Since hip-hop’s inception in the Bronx during the 1970s, the genre has been intrinsically linked with alcohol. In particular, champagne and malt liquor represent two contrasting chapters in hip...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/champagne-and-malt-liquor-bubbles-and-troubles-in-hip-hop/
Back in April, I opened this Foods of War series with a recipe and review of hardtack, an ancient ration that gained infamy among Union troops during the American Civil War. The ingredients were ...
Ask most combat veterans, and they will readily tell you that war is more art than science. The messy, chaotic, incomprehensible business of organized violence seems to defy science’s ability t...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/jfk-mcnamara-and-bloody-mary/
Regardless of era, before active armed combat begins in a battlespace, commanders often have a voracious appetite for information, mostly to shape or prepare the environment for the future succes...
“If society is sometimes threatened by intoxicants, it is equally threatened by the lack of them.” — Roger Scruton In his book I Drink, Therefore I Am, philosopher, wine connoisseur, and...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/a-combined-history-of-combat-and-alcohol/
I was asked many different things during my time as a bartender, ranging from kind-hearted conversation starters like “what new recipes are you working on” to the D.C. classic “so, what’s...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/dry-yourself-off-with-these-hemingway-favorites/
Primary season is upon us! If you work in politics and find yourself stumping in an early voting state, chances are you’re definitely going to need a drink. Thankfully, Molotov Cocktail has sam...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/where-to-drink-beer-this-primary-season/
Two weeks ago while speaking to my grandfather, who had just arrived from Moscow for his annual six-month stay stateside, I asked him about the current sanctions ravaging the Russian economy. Sen...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/coping-with-reality-alcohol-in-the-gulags/
The samurai warriors of medieval Japan are among the most coopted figures in history. Their legend has been used to do everything from rally popular support for military regimes to sell French fr...
One of the many great things about living on Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill is that your neighbors often come from extremely interesting backgrounds. It’s a neighborhood where a box of books p...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/a-toast-to-those-who-serve-jag-punch/
In December 2007, I spent a week in London doing some archival and library research. I was staying on the Strand, and on my way to find a place to eat dinner after a particularly long day I stumb...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/jersey-lightning-warms-up-winter-nights/
When I first heard of “Torzhok,” I assumed it was some sort of primitive mauling weapon. It turns out it’s actually a small town of 50,000 people located four hours north of Moscow, and it�...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/dispatches-from-the-kremlin-whats-a-torzhok/
When people think of cooking with beer, I assume many picture cracking open a cold one and throwing a couple steaks on the grill. While this is certainly one of my favorite ways of cooking with b...
Throughout my life I have been privy to both sides of the story on alcohol: from the cheerful celebratory toasts and nights of rowdy dancing at bars, weddings, and house parties; to the depressiv...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/the-future-of-drinking-and-driving/
When people think about consuming gin, they generally think about it in one of three contexts: first and most prominently, the martini (which should be made with gin, not vodka, because vodka is ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/gin-not-just-for-summer-cocktails-anymore/
Being a European in the Early Middle Ages was rough. “Barbarians,” such as the Franks and Vandals that destroyed the Roman Empire were settling into kingdoms in their own right. Dynasties lik...
As a former bartender, I am doomed to walk the earth eternally being asked what my favorite drinks are. It’s a subjective question that’s virtually unanswerable, and thus my answer (and the s...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/psa-your-bartenders-favorite-drink/
Prohibition didn’t end in the 1930s like many people believe. It’s true that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution (which ended the nationwide ban on alcohol) was ratified in 1933, but some ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/craft-beer-in-mississippi-finally/
In honor of the 101st anniversary of the “Christmas Truce,” here’s a cocktail to share with your family and mark the day when cooler heads prevailed, men joined together in song and revelry...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/a-wotr-original-cocktail-the-armistice/
So Christmas is just a few days away and you messed up. You’ve missed the 2-day Amazon Prime shipping window to get all your loved ones copies of 21st Century Mahan and now you find yourself wi...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/infusions-gods-gift-to-the-christmas-procrastinator/
To a 21-year-old American graduate student, Christmas time at the University of Exeter in England was a merry scene from a Dickens’ novel. Winding medieval streets and a horn ensemble softly so...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/of-mulled-wine-minced-pies-and-strategic-studies/
As a young boy, I always looked forward to the holiday season — I knew we’d have a beautifully decorated tree breathing life into our home and neatly wrapped gifts awaiting my enthusiastic fi...
When most Americans turn on their TVs during the holiday season, they’re inundated with Christmas ads pushing toys for kids, tools for dads, and jewelry for moms (or the ever ubiquitous Lexus c...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/hops-for-the-holidays-a-brief-history-of-holiday-beer/
Regardless of how long you’ve lived in Washington, D.C., or where your District neighborhood loyalties lie (Northeast/Eckington represent), everyone has a favorite bar. And while the reasons fo...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/an-ode-to-community-and-the-neighborhood-bar/
As I have mentioned in previous posts, the craft beer scene in Moscow is on the brink of a boom. However, it was not always this way. … When I first arrived in Moscow in the fall of 2011, I was...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/1516-brewery-and-pub-dispatches-from-the-kremlin/
Editor’s note: For readers seeking more information on grog and the history of naval drinking, be sure to check out our podcast on the subject here, and articles here and here. America’s mili...
Thanksgiving is upon us, and with it the annual stress over what food to serve, what wines to pair, who to invite (and who to avoid!). Let’s make one part of this easy on you — the wine! Belo...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/11/wine-for-your-thanksgiving-feast/
Brewers in our modern era live in a time of riches unparalleled in the history of their art. The quality and range of ingredients, from grain to yeast to hops, provide both commercial and hobbyis...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/11/a-noble-idea-beer-without-hops/
Well, it’s the weekend, which means it’s time to live dangerously and make bad decisions. Here at War on the Rocks, we often tell you what to read over the weekend, but we haven’t done as g...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/11/weekend-drinking-here-come-the-bears/
Brazen attacks in France’s capital last Friday showed us once again that the worst of humanity will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Amid an outpouring of grief and expressions of solida...
With the recent release of Spectre, James Bond, his women, his cars, and his well-tailored suits firmly reassert themselves in our cultural conscious. I’m currently working on a Bond-related pi...
When the weather gets a bit cooler, and the leaves start to change color, my beer tends to do the same. I move away from the lagers, wits, and wheats of summer, to the browns, porters, and stouts...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/11/exploring-historic-beer-styles-the-porter/
In my house, in my cousin’s house, in my grandfather’s house in Moscow, and even in my sister’s one-room apartment in Bed-Stuy sits a sealed bottle of vodka. Unlike the vodka spoiling count...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/11/nostalgia-and-vodka-labeling-in-russia/
Earlier in the fall, sometime in the middle of September, I came home laden with a few plastic bottles of semi-local lagers poured fresh from the tap at my local supermarket. I may have mentioned...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/11/a-month-without-beer-dispatches-from-the-kremlin/
A soldier, sailor, airman, or marine returning from combat has many comforts of home to look forward to: loved ones, a real bed, pizza, authentic barbecue, and of course, an ice cold beer. The mo...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/flat-tops-canned-beer-and-vietnam/
Don’t get me wrong, I like IPAs. The proper blend of hops in a beer can elevate an ordinary glass of pale ale to an unforgettable olfactory experience. Grapefruit (Cascade hops), pine (Simcoe h...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/the-not-so-bitter-truth-craft-beer-beyond-ipas/
How does the saying go? “Power corrupts, but absolute power is, well … awesome!” Having unlimited personal power to imprint one’s version of paradise on earth is a benefit only few have a...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/tyranny-by-the-glass-dictators-and-their-drinks/
Beer enthusiasts will remember that a few years ago the United States became home to the first Trappist brewery located outside of Europe. St. Joseph’s Abbey in Massachusetts, about an hour out...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/monks-of-st-josephs-trappist-beer-in-america/
We somehow let September slip past without a War on the Rocks toast to a military innovation that changed history — the tank, or what was initially called a “landship.” One hundred years ag...
“America’s New Hot Wine,” blared a Washington Post headline. “Older and Wiser,” counsels the venerable Financial Times. “The next big food and wine destination,” offers Mashable, th...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/the-wonders-of-the-worlds-oldest-wine/
As a Russian, there are certain — shall we say — “nuances” when family from overseas visits. In my family, that nuance (up until recently) revolved around the purchase of iPads, which are...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/sanctions-booze-in-putins-russia/
Editor’s note: for context on Max’s travel so far on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, see the previous two dispatches here and here. Yekaterinburg is not a pretty place. I can’t really give ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/life-in-the-platzkart-dispatches-from-the-kremlin/
Through the lens of modernity, the Crusades look quite strange. In military history, they are scoffed at as poorly planned adventurism with a veneer of religious fervor. In popular thought, a cru...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/cypriot-wine-commandaria-and-the-crusades/
Back in July, Molotov Cocktail ran a wonderful piece by Frank Swigonski explaining the importance of cider in the early days of colonial America, through Prohibition, and beyond. Seeing as apple ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/its-fall-time-to-make-cider/
It’s a basic fact — some cocktails will never be as good as their original counterparts. Take the classic martini, for one; mixologists can craft their variations, adding interesting or novel...
This past week, War On The Rock’s Russian Imperial Stout (AKA Hanslav’s Stevedore Stout, thanks Will) finished its months-long cold aging in its primary vessel. The beer then took a short tri...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/how-lagering-creates-crystal-clear-and-delicious-beer/
Think of the last time you were at your local saloon and got into a fiery debate about love, politics, sports, or some other abstract concept. Now, ask yourself an important question: Would I hav...
Your Manhattan owes a lot to Venezuela’s tumultuous history. Frankly, not just the Manhattan — the Champagne Cocktail, Vieux Carré, Singapore Sling, Pegu Club and many other classic cocktail...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/venezuelas-bitters-history-and-why-it-matters-for-your-manhattan/
In the murky gray area between recognized sovereignty and de-facto republicanism — a land dotted with statues of deposed leaders and littered with new monuments to old ideas — the presence of...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/de-facto-booze-the-liquor-of-separatist-republics/
I’m writing this just above the 63rd parallel north. It’s 21:00, the sun is out and the air smells of sulfur. I am in Iceland. The geological features of this rock in the North Atlantic are s...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/your-guide-to-drinking-in-iceland/
Soldiers love to drink. Russians love to drink. No wonder that Russian soldiers can be amongst the hardest-core boozers around. If anything, this was even more the case in Soviet times when the v...
World War II marked the second time in the industrial era when the world’s great powers threw the entirety of their military and economic might against one another. Like the First World War, be...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/trinity-oppenheimer-martinis-and-the-atom-bomb/
Let’s make one thing clear — I’m a vodka snob. Unlike the guy at the nightclub in the Affliction t-shirt, who swears there’s a difference between Belvedere and Grey Goose, my snobbery cau...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/ginbrew-vodkas-saving-grace/
Editor’s Note: Commander Jaime Johnson is a fictional character in Claude Berube’s Connor Stark series (Naval Institute Press). SYREN’S SONG will be published in November. This is the four...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/calligraphy-and-goat-cheese-jaime-johnson-at-the-black-harpoon/
In late April, Molotov Cocktail announced it was brewing a beer. In mid-May, we brewed that beer (a Russian Imperial Stout), and in June we asked for your help to name that beer. Names came fast ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/hop-to-it-a-beer-by-any-other-name/
On September 25, 1961, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, President John F. Kennedy gave an impassioned speech on the dangers of countries wielding nuclear arsenals. With these ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/did-vodka-dull-the-sword-of-damocles/
Despite being in a seemingly endless state of developmental ebb and flow, one thing remains constant in the District of Columbia: its love for hard alcohol. According to 2014 data on consumption ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/sign-of-the-times-one-eight-distillery-in-washington-d-c/
During the aftermath of World War II, it was common for the Politburo of the Soviet Union to conduct its affairs at resplendent dachas situated throughout the Russian countryside. On such occasio...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/vodka-as-a-political-lever-little-water-part-ii/
Over the last two decades, the American beer market has undergone some major changes. American consumers, especially those between the ages of 21 and 35, have started to prefer a wider variety of...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/what-craft-beer-revolution/
Editor’s note: For context on why Max is flying from Perm to Yekaterinburg and not continuing on the Trans-Siberian Railway, please see Dispatch Three. Dispatch Four Before our adventure to the...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/08/oligarchs-and-airport-beer-dispatches-from-the-kremlin/
We’ve almost made it. You read the first part of our bar ballad. You went and stocked up on supplies; maybe even found new disdain for your significant other after scrounging around IKEA (sorry...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/the-spirit-guide-heres-to-the-home-bar-part-two/
The Battle of the Bulge, the encirclement of Bastogne, and the 101st Airborne Division’s valiant stand are fixtures in the American popular history of the Second World War. While the 101st Airb...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/beer-at-the-battle-of-the-bulge-2/
Editor’s note: This is the third piece in our series “Foods of War.” The intention is to examine the historicity behind different rations and meals served to soldiers and sailors over the y...
Nestled in the Piedmont foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, lying about 120 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., is the storied town of Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville was chartered...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/40-miles-3-notches-and-countless-pints-a-tale-of-charlottesville/
Let’s get one thing straight. The Russian love affair with vodka is not a joke. It is not hyperbole foisted upon popular culture by rank amateur drinkers, nor is it a stereotype brought to you ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/little-water-vodka-and-the-russian-sociopolitical-realm/
During my time as a bartender at the Gibson, one of the complaints I heard most often was that Washington has no “culture.” This is a common refrain I’m sure Washingtonians have heard from ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/members-only-cocktails-inspired-by-d-c-s-private-clubs/
It is too early to be in Plaza Garibaldi, located in the heart of Mexico D.F., Mexico’s sprawling capital. The sun is just beginning to set on a Tuesday, so mariachis and revelers only dot the ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/mezcal-a-window-into-the-mexican-spirit/
When you head to the local bar and scan the tap handles, you’ll often see a myriad of choices for consumption that generally fall into two main categories — “macro” beer (think Budweiser,...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-americas-breweries/
Summer for a lot of people means time off. It used to in Washington, especially before the advent of air conditioning. Yet with email and social media, it sometimes feels like there is no real br...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/the-beers-of-world-war-iii-drinking-and-reading-ghost-fleet/
Apples were among some of the first crops grown in colonial America. Potted seedlings and bags of apple seeds were brought over on the Mayflower. The Bible-thumping Puritans were not teetotalers....
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/the-drink-of-patriots-as-american-as-apple-cider/