My New Blog

Anyone who checks The Masticator regularly will have been disappointed by a dearth of activity. While I'm not giving up on this blog, I have been focusing my energy on another one: Cocktails & Cologne, a blog about...cocktails and cologne.

Here's my first post, explaining the idea:

What do cocktails and cologne have in common? Both are careful concoctions designed to delight our senses, and in different ways, to intoxicate. Beyond my passion for these elixirs, one for the palate and the other for the nose, they are connected as expressions of masculinity and refinement.

My favorite cocktails are the ones that have few ingredients and don’t try to hide the alcohol with fruit or sugar. I like things bitter sometimes, or spicy. I like to be surprised by new variations or novel ingredients. And while it’s exciting to try an exotic infusion, like the bacon bourbon I recently tried at New York’s PDT (one of the most innovative cocktail bars in the City, hidden inside a hot dog shop), I prefer drinks I could make at home.

For colognes and other men’s fragrances, I like things that remind me of the past, but I’m always looking for something totally new. I’ve discovered that floral scents can be masculine and that some classically masculine scents would, in any other context be considered quite feminine. I prefer subtlety and elegance over bombast. I appreciate luxury but I’d rather have quality, and I’m convinced that quality can come at a modest price.

In both cocktails and cologne, I honor the classics while I search for the unique. This blog will chronicle my search with reviews, recommendations, recipes and stories.

Photo above by Morgan Sheff.