By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

My love for mangoes started in Hawaii. I don’t believe I had ever had one before I moved to Honolulu. The same thing with guava fruit which grows everywhere.

I like guava, but mango is one of my favorite fruits, especially if it is a good one.

I was very spoiled with my first encounter with mango.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I started working for Ocean Spray in Taiwan in the mid 2000s when I had my restaurant in Taichung.  I had already been Jim Beam’s brand ambassador for the island and because there were not many Westerners (or Asians) that knew the brands very well, I stood out to a lot of companies, because I did.

By Dana Davis

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I may know a fair amount about flavored whiskies, especially since I worked with Fireball the way I did about a decade ago.

Fireball was the first really big flavored whiskey to resound with the drinking public. There had been some honey flavored whiskies, such as Wild Turkey Honey, Jack Daniels Honey and Jim Beam Honey which came a little later than the other two.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

It is amazing to me how much my taste buds changed from when I was a little kid.

I was great about eating fruits and vegetables (how many kids do you know that are overjoyed when Brussels sprouts are being served up). I ate sweets to a degree, but my favorite snack was carrots. I ate three or four a day.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

One of the first articles I ever wrote on whiskey was for a magazine in Taiwan. That was about 15 years ago and the subject was on Irish Whiskey.

At that time, Irish Whiskey was just starting to make a comeback.

By Dana Davis

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Experimenting with re-creating delicious restaurant dishes at home is a passion of mine.

On a recent day off, I was soaking in the hot springs in Saratoga and chatting with some tourists who asked for recommendations for a good place to get something to eat, there are many good restaurants in Carbon County so it wasn’t difficult. 

By Dana Davis    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Ireland is known for its rich culinary heritage, and desserts are no exception. From warm, comforting puddings to indulgent, creamy treats, Irish sweets offer a taste of tradition infused with history and local ingredients. Many Irish desserts feature staple flavors such as whiskey, cream, and spices, making them unique and delicious.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Sometimes living in Wyoming, it is not easy to get liquor that is actually quite good and has a great history.

Such is the case with the liqueur Irish Mist.

As St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were something I used to attend every year, if not actually be bartending at; a spirit I used to enjoy quite fondly was Irish Mist.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I don’t make stew very often because I am not much of a potato, cooked carrots or cooked onion eater, but in certain dishes I make an exception.

When I lived in the U.S. in my early years before I moved overseas, I tried a few different beef stews and those that were called Irish Stews.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I have been looking at an old menu from the Virginian and although it does not have a published date, I can tell it is old. A salmon dinner is $2.00. A 2 pound t-bone steak is $7.00 and the Virginian burger is $.65.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

St-Germain was created by distiller Robert Cooper, son of the owner of Charles Jacquin et Cie, Norton Cooper, after trying an elderflower-based cocktail at a London bar in 2001. 

Norton Cooper’s most famous liquor is Chambord, which is a black raspberry liqueur that is top rated in many cocktails and desserts.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

As a kid, I loved vegetables. I was a parent’s dream, because although I was a little picky about what I ate, such as not liking steak, hot dogs, meatloaf, I ate just about every vegetable with relish.

I ate so many carrots, my father nicknamed me “Rabbit”.

Fortunately it was a nickname that didn’t stick once I got past age 10.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

My restaurant in Laramie, Lost and Found, had a couple dishes that sold out whenever we put them on the menu.

The concept of Lost and Found was that we would find recipes from old cookbooks, usually from the periods of 1880s to 1930s.

We even had some recipes come to us from people who said their grandmother gave them the recipe and they wanted to share it with us.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Sometimes good things happen by luck and being in the right place at the right time. That is how I feel about when I started working with Heaven Hill Distilleries. My first interaction with the huge American family owned liquor company happened because I was getting recognition as Jim Beam’s brand Ambassador in Taiwan.