Looking for Sips From Scripts? As of 2024, that’s this blog’s former name!
Craft Cocktail Connoisseur & Geeky Drinks Enthusiast
My journey into craft cocktails started, fittingly, with books.
Before I developed my first original drink, I was pulling cocktail volumes off my shelves, making and photographing recipes exactly as written, and sharing reviews of them with friends. It started as just a fun way to explore mixology in my free time but quickly turned into my favorite creative outlet. Before long, I found myself learning how classic formulas worked, how modern riffs bent the rules, and what made certain ingredient combinations irresistible.
Taste-testing the drinks was only half the fun too. Styling, photographing, and researching the stories behind each one made recipe tastings an inspiring experience—giving me a glimpse into the inventive minds of the renowned bartenders who helped shape modern mixology.
After a few years immersed in their creations, my longtime love of science fiction and fantasy worked its way in, and I’ve since shifted my focus to geeky concoctions inspired by everyone’s favorite fandoms. Not the overly kitschy ones you see all over social media, but sophisticated, balanced takes that explore modern ingredient pairings while honoring the time-tested techniques of craft bartending.
Now, Novel Nightcaps is home to my growing collection of original and reshared geeky drinks, along with the hundreds of vintage classics, modern riffs, and seasonal sips I’ve posted over the years. Some take a little more work and a trip to a niche store for unique ingredients to make at home, but all of them are worth trying at least once.
So, if you enjoy a well-crafted drink (and appreciate a nerdy reference or two), pull up a chair at my virtual bar, and let’s find your new favorite recipe together.
Each week, I invite you to step into the pages of Novel Nightcaps and discover a new cocktail story. Many come from the recipes found in my collection of cocktail books, while others are original tales I’ve dreamed up myself. Along with the background on each, I share the methods, ingredients, and tools that spark creativity, as well as glimpses of bars, distilleries, and wineries I’ve explored—little chapters that inspire your own home bartending adventures.
When I do craft original recipes, I aim to create cocktails that are approachable yet memorable. No obscure ingredients that collect dust after a single use—just thoughtfully composed drinks made with items you can find at your local store. I like to imagine each recipe as a character in its own story: simple enough to make at home, but striking enough to stand out at your favorite bar.
Photography is another way I tell these stories. Each cocktail is captured like a “headshot,” photographed from the same front angle for consistency, but styled differently depending on what inspires me most—the history of the drink, a standout ingredient, its name, or just the mood it evokes. The goal is to make every image as inviting as a chapter you can’t put down, tempting you to pick up your shaker and become part of the story too.
