Summer 2025 Roundup
Some things I drank, made, enjoyed, and read over the last 3 months in the Phoenix summer
I was having a very good time doing this each month, and then I didn’t have any good ideas for June and I skipped it and here we are with the need to do 3 months at once…
So let’s get into the MI Summer 25 Roundup!
What I’m Drinking
Costco started carrying Carpano Antico liters recently, and it’s too good a deal to pass up. A few ounces on ice after work is perfect in the summer.
Similarly, I bought a massive bottle of Kikusui for the party a few weeks ago and have been working through that - it’s not the best sake out there, but it’s widely available and it’s damn tasty. I need to do a deep-dive on sake sometime…
We end up at Trevor’s a lot these days (it’s my liquor store of choice and the pizza rocks), but I don’t usually order cocktails. But their Oaxacan Sun, a kind of up marg with a bite, is an excellent choice that I’ll probably order frequently now.
We did a staycation down the street at Camelback Inn for Labor Day Weekend, and the bar program they’ve got going over there is shockingly solid for a Marriott property. The best drink I had was a Manhattan variation that subbed the vermouth for Averna and added in some spice somehow at the Lincoln Steakhouse. I didn’t take a picture and it’s not on happy hour so I can’t find the details, but it’s a truly fantastic cocktail worth seeking out.
What I’m Making
Still very much enjoying my house White Negroni!
The House White Negroni
Kinda wanted to title this “The White House Negroni” as a bit but…can’t bring the vibes down like that off the bat. Truly not sure this country makes anything bitter enough for that to even be a conceptual possibility in this trade war.
Good Reads From Drinks World
Robert Simonson’s obituary for The Violet Hour is worth the read. It was the first real revival cocktail bar I went to, I loved living up the street from it, and every drink I had there rocked. It’ll be missed
Peter Suderman singing the praising of Benedictine in the summer is music to my ears - it’s a year-round ingredients here at the MI home bar
2 great pieces recently in Jason Wilson’s Everyday drinking. Loved learning about Kazakh cider (I’d love to visit) and the Wine Bar Index is the kind of modern approach to understanding the wine world I can really get behind (we need one for PHX)
I love the guy that drank every cocktail. It’s a bit I thought about doing here in these pages but never committed to. I’m so glad someone did.
Non-Drinks Stuff I Enjoyed
A bit outdated now (somehow), but Ryan Broderick at Garbage Day (and the excellent Panic World podcast) has his finger on the pulse right now and the vibes really are horrific…
Jamelle Bouie’s deep dive on Charles Sumner, an extraordinary man who I knew very little about, is so worth the time. This guy needs a prestige media treatment.
2 summer reads I really enjoyed: Magpie Murders and Red Rising. Probably consuming the remainder of the Red Rising saga here shortly (and on paternity leave…)