About

Photo by David Stewart.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a bottle of margarita mix (in which case I’m very sorry for you), you’re aware that handcrafted, fresh-ingredient drinks are all the rage, and I believe they are here to stay. Sure, I’m swept up in the classic cocktail renaissance, with its arcane ingredients and period charm, but at the end of the day, I just want a drink that tastes damn good. Liver-deep in the middle of this dewy libation craze, I’m thirsty for drinks that are made well (even better if they tell a story) and quench my desire for something new.

The Dizzy Fizz, launched in 2009, is both a blog and an event production company for the casual imbiber and serious connoisseur alike. While I keep up with cocktail industry news and trends and the personalities driving them, I host elegant cocktail gatherings which attract hundreds of guests, such as the French Spirits Soiree and the Holiday Spirits Bazaar. I’m proud to be part of a scene that makes drinking in NYC such a thrilling, dizzying experience.

I’m a journalist who has delved into subcultures for more than a decade, writing for the largest daily newspaper in Maine, editing music and fashion pages for TRACE Magazine here in New York, editing nightlife for Shecky’s Media, and currently freelancing for CBS New York and other outlets. I’m an amateur bartender and I don’t consider myself a cocktail expert–just a highly curious enthusiast who happens to be friends with some of NYC’s finest mixologists. Not only does this mean I get to raid their liquor supplies, read their cocktail books, and sample their concoctions, but they also help keep me in the loop on many things liquid- and bar-related.

My favorite drink? Well that’s really too hard to answer, there’s just so many. I’m a sucker for a frothy Ramos Gin Fizz, a tart Negroni, a spicy cucumber margarita, or ginger-y drinks like the Presbyterian and the Moscow Mule. In a pinch, a gin and tonic or a chilled gin martini will do. And nothing closes out a long day like a tall glass of ale and a neat pour of Scotch.

“Better read it first, for if one drinks much from a bottle marked ‘Poison’, it’s almost certain to disagree with one sooner or later.” — Alice in Wonderland

Selected links to my writing in other places:

CBS New York

Manhattan Spirits Examiner

Directory of New York City

Oyster Locals, New York

“Best Summer Cocktails” (Time Out New York, 6/17/2010)

“Sustainable Food Movement Spawns Butcher Boutiques” (Essence, 3/15/2010)

“A Cocktail Contest for The Tales of Hoffman Gives the Metropolitan Opera a Little Extra Punch”(Village Voice, 12/17/09)

“One Year in, Harlem Speakeasy 67 Orange Hits its Stride” (Village Voice, 12/16/09)

“Rum’s the Word at Williamsburg’s Roneria Caracas” (Village Voice, 12/4/09)

“What Do Mixologists Do on Their Off-Nights? Drink at Other People’s Bars, of Course” (Village Voice, 10/28/09)

“Imbibe! An Interview with Cocktail Historian David Wondrich” (Sheckys.com, 10/28/08)

“The Fixer-Upper: Bewitched by Elizabeth’s Mixologist” (Sheckys.com, 5/6/08)

“King Praises, Prods NAACP” (Portland Press Herald, 10/3/04)

Photo by Lush Life Productions.