Thirsty in LA First Blogiversary & World Cocktail Day 2010

Today is May 13th, which means Thirsty in LA is celebrating its One-Year Blogiversary! It seems like so much has happened with the L.A. cocktail scene since I launched this blog, it’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year. Just look at some of the bars and restaurants that have opened in that time span: Bigfoot Lodge West, Caña Rum Bar, First & Hope, Roger Room, La Descarga, Las Perlas, The Tar Pit, The Thirsty Crow, and Tony’s Saloon. Can’t wait to see what the next twelve months have in store for us!

Besides all the great cocktails, there were also some standout nights among many great experiences: a fantastic meal and one-of-a-kind keepsake at The Balvenie Deconstruction Dinner; sipping the fabled Horny Goat Hooch at Bigfoot Lodge West; food from some of L.A.’s finest chefs and cocktails by Eric Alperin and Julian Cox at the StarChefs Rising Stars Revue.

I’ve also been able to meet and hang out with some amazing bloggers, serious cocktailians and just all-around awesome people: Caroline on Crack, Eat Drink & Be Merry, e*starLA, FoodGPS, ShopEatSleep, and The Liquid Muse to name just a few.

Best of all, it’s been great to meet my readers, who have been so gracious and supportive in the comments and emails. It’s always a pleasant surprise when I get introduced to someone and they’ve read or heard of Thirsty in LA. Many thanks to all of you for stopping by and checking out my little corner of the blogosphere.

Now some of you may be wondering, how am I going to celebrate? Funny you should ask…

May 13th is also World Cocktail Day, the culmination of World Cocktail Week and its celebration of the American Cocktail. The date coincides with the earliest uses of the term “Cocktail” in the May 1806 editions of “The Balance and Columbian Repository.” You can download Imbibe magazine’s scans of these historic documents, as well as read notes by Ted Haigh, aka Dr. Cocktail.

In one of those happy instances of Great Minds Drink Alike, Selena Ricks also chose World Cocktail Day 2009 as the day to launch her wonderful blog, The Dizzy Fizz. Now, I may cover the cocktail scene here in L.A., but The Dizzy Fizz is part of the scene in New York. Just check out the info for The Dizzy Fizz Tastemaker’s Punch, an event taking place next Monday during the inaugural Manhattan Cocktail Classic, and you’ll see what I mean.

Which brings us to my blogiversary. When the dates for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic were announced, I knew I had to be in New York to celebrate The Dizzy Fizz – Thirsty in LA Blogiversary, World Cocktail Day, and the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. It all seems to have worked out, and with any luck I’ll be sipping a Manhattan in Manhattan not long after I land.

So here’s to World Cocktail Day, blogiversaries, and another year of great cocktails and spirited adventures. Cheers!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k2_HHrk8Y8