May 17th, 2012... broadcast from the 10 Pound Bar inside The Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA... our guests include Joel Stein, Time magazine columnist and author of the best-selling book, "Man Made." Also on the show, Eden Algie, the Global Brand Ambassador for The Macallan.

The "Quintessential Cocktail" featured on this show is THE JIMMY MAC, which was created by internationally renowned barman Jimmy Yeager, proprietor of Jimmy's Bar in Aspen. It was no small challenge to craft a great original cocktail for a world-class drinking establishment using one of the more complex whiskies in the world, but Jimmy just flat-out nailed it with this one. As delicious a Scotch drink as this professional boozehound has ever tasted:

ABOUT "HAPPY HOUR":

Over the years, people have often told me that I have a "face for radio"... and I, in turn, have kicked those people in the junk as hard as I could.

I'll be the judge of that!

Had a great time on January 17th out at Villains Tavern in downtown LA, where I was honored to be a judge at a raucous cocktail competition sponsored by Becherovka and organized by our good friend Marcos Tello. Joining me at the judges table were the prodigiously talented mixologist Zahra Bates, who runs the bar at the Michelin-rated eatery Providence, and Shauna Der of the wildly popular foodie blog, TheMinty.com.

An all-star lineup of cocktail-crafters turned out for the event, and then churned out an amazing array of drinks made with Becherovka... which is some seriously tasty herbal bitters. Among those competing (just to name a few) were Eric Alpern, Chris Bostick and Devon Tarby of The Varnish, Vincenzo Marianella of Copa d'Oro, the Tasting Kitchen's Justin Pike, Dave Kupchinsky of Eveleigh and Dan Long of Big Bar.

Not gonna tell you who won the thing. You gotta listen to the podcast to find out. You can stream or download using the links below. Enjoy!

Actor Jon Hamm (left) was photographed leaving Dominick’s in West Hollywood (www.dominicksrestaurant.com). Beyond that rather loose connection, he has nothing to do with this entry. We just think he's a sexy slab of man-meat and will publish photos of him whenever possible. The folks at Dominick's are sexy bitches, too, and super cool -- they even provided us with a great $12 cocktail from their menu, the Cardamom Crisp.

According to Wikipedia, cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India, they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds. Elettaria pods are light green while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown.

Thirsty now?