Last spring, I went to a small dinner party in New Orleans attended by several food writers—I could count five James Beard Award medals among them. As is customary, I brought a bottle of liquor for the table. As is uncustomary, I chose an imitation-peanut-butter-flavored whiskey.
I’ll admit I did this in part for personal brand building. (Slogan: OFTEN ANNOYING.) After dinner, I