There is a very fine distinction between a good stiff belt and a cocktail worthy of that moment of pause. That pause that comes just before you pick up the stem, close your eyes and lift the glass to your lips. That brief, unconscious pause allows for the inhalation of the electric current that floats right above, or sits right on top the surface of a perfectly mixed beauty.

A proper cocktail is not so much about tying one on. Though the quality and content of the alcohol is a vital element in its success. Cocktails are meant to amplify a moment. Either by ritualistically marking the end of the workday, or as a social lubricant designed to loosen your loquaciousness or awaken your appetite.

In my opinion these are the very best sorts of cocktails. They are bracing and bold, but that doesn't mean heavy-handed. Balance and proportion are the elements that elevate.

However, good stiff belts and proper cocktails are not the only liqurious libations to pass my palate. There is room for other sorts of alcoholic beverages too. Many of these are served over rocks, but they can also be shaken, stirred or strained. They can even be served in a proper cocktail glass.

Okay today I want to go into the inner workings of a blog. I’ll take you behind the proverbial curtain here at Sippity Sup. Because I feel burdened by a moral condundrum and I have a confession to make.

I don’t know if you have noticed but the world of food blogs is accelerating. Not only are there more and more food blogs, but also they are getting better and better. There are bloggers out there offering quality content as good as any traditional media outlet you could name. Some of these women and men (‘cuz let’s face it, with food blogs it’s mostly women) post good stuff 5 or more times a week!

With better content come larger audiences. With larger audiences come opportunities. Publicists and others asking me to “review” their products or services approach me. The attention is flattering. It often comes with “free stuff” too. But there is a responsibility that comes along as well. A responsibility not just to your readers, but also to yourself and to your blog. I have been blogging about 20 months. There is much I don’t understand. Part of me wants to participate in whatever comes my way. It’s fun. But the depth of this responsibility is still a bit hazy to me. So, more and more I find myself passing on the promotions and giveaways I am offered.

But not always. I have been invited to dinners, and ballgames. I have participated in tours. I have been sent excellent bottles of wine and other great products. I have been invited to parties promoting concepts like healthy food choices and sustainable seafood. Well I’d write about these things whether they took me to dinner or not! So they feel just right for my readers and me.

The Martini! The illustrious Martini. It has a glamorous allure few cocktails can match. It achieves its special brand of alchemy by balancing the sharpness of juniper berries in excellent gin, with the earthy herbal qualities of good vermouth.

The ratios are very important– and much discussed. Though Steve Allen may have famously quipped, ‘Do not allow children to mix drinks, it is unseemly and they always use too much vermouth’. In truth there is some room for personal preference regarding the exact balance of gin to vermouth.

Lately the style has been to make Martinis a bit too dry in my opinion. Many great mixologists recommend swirling the vermouth in the shaker, then discarding it. I personally disagree with this method. A classic Martini has 1/2-ounce vermouth to 2 ounces of gin; a dry martini should have about 1/4-ounce vermouth.

And speaking of shakers, despite what James Bond may have said, a true Martini is never shaken. It is always stirred. A shaken Martini is properly called a Bradford. I have another great quote that I believe puts the shaken or stirred question to rest. It comes from W. Somerset Maugham. He said, ‘Martinis should always be stirred, not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously on top of each other’. I sensuously agree!

Fred Waring wherever you are I’d like to kiss you right in the pucker. Because you my wise friend brought us a summertime lifesaver: The Bar Blender!

It’s capable of pulverizing an ordinary “on the rocks” cocktail into a frosty, smooth summertime thirst quencher. If it weren’t for you the famed Tiki drinks of the 1930s wouldn’t exist. Daiquiris would remain shaken or stirred. Margarita would just be an island in the Caribbean.

Thanks to you, plain ole schmucks like me can transform ice, alcohol and fruit into a pleasurably slushy treat. We can kick back 3 or 4 potent fruity concoctions and never know what hit us.

Now I know you did not exactly invent this machine. That honor goes to another Fred named Osius (you know as in Osterizer). But it’s you Mr. Waring who saw its potential. It’s you who put your wallet where your pucker was and fronted early production and design of this whirling little beauty.

Maybe it wasn’t the nicest thing in the world to fire that other Fred and have your team put his machine through some redesigns. But it was those redesigns that finally made this baby sing.