moving at the speed of life

It's That Time Of Year Again!

2009-07-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Early July means it's time for the annual Tales of the Cocktail bacchanal down in New Orleans. It means a whole lotta hooch, fattening and deliriously good food, music until all hours and balmy weather. It also is the greatest gathering of spirit and cocktail professionals and enthusiasts, a chance to shake sweaty hands with and learn from the luminaries of our field, a chance to network and better your business and a chance to make new friends over yet another round of ill-advised drinks.

Crap. I love this.

If you can't make it this year, there is a simple way to keep up with the action; the Tales Blog. Run by Paul Clarke, with contributions from a long list of noted internet cocktail writers (and, um, me too), the Tales Blog promises to dig deeper than just covering the events this year. The bloggers team will no doubt report back with who made-out with who, who got a little too drunk, who got arrested and who managed to be talked out of taking off their clothes on Bourbon Street. Okay maybe not. In any case, make a note, too, of the individual blog sites from the contributers, as they will no doubt be filing reports on their own brilliant websites.

And mom, you might see video, you might see pictures, of your one and only son being weird and wild-eyed in The Big Easy. Don't trust your eyes. One word, mom, one word; Photoshop

The State of the Waldbauer

2009-06-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still here, even if it only seems like I've fallen off the face of the earth. Several developments in my personal and professional career have transpired, so here is what's been happening....

* The biggest thing to happen in my life lately is the sudden dissolution of my marriage to Christine Nylin. This began to unravel shortly after my last post in November and is the leading culprit in my absence from these pages. Simply put, it's the most devastating thing to ever happen in my life. Out of the deepest respect to Christine, I'm not going to go into details. I do want to offer my apologies to my friends, family, co-workers and associates for my distance, absent-mindedness, moods and general absence. The situation is never far from my heart and mind and I've been having issues re-adjusting, to put it mildly. I am flat-out not myself. It's been hard for me to get in the proper head-space to contribute not only to this blog but other places that have been expecting my contributions. Those of you who have been around me have been very kind and understanding and patient with me. This process might be a long one, so I thank you in advance for your continued patience.

* In November, I left Union to become part of the bartending team at Barrio. I want to publicly thank Ethan Stowell for allowing me the freedom to develop my spirit and cocktail acumen and for 3 wonderful years of working with him and his amazing staff. Put bluntly, I'm not where I am today without Ethan allowing me that freedom. Barrio has been a great experience and I've particularly enjoyed working with Casey Robison, an extraordinarily creative bartender and wonderful bar manager. In fact, the entire staff at Barrio, from upper-management on down, have been extraordinary. In particular, the managers (Cameron Williams and Leigha Bone) and our great bar team (Hans Twite, Matt Bailey, Aleko Lilly and Ricardo Hoffman) bent over backwards for me while I was going through overwhelming emotional (and sometimes physical) pain. I owe them a heartfelt public thank you.

* The previous post outlines this, but the Washington State Bartenders Guild has been formed and is, despite its recent silence, doing very well. Our mission and events have been well-covered in the Seattle area via The Stranger and The Seattle Weekly. In addition to our welcome party, we've held events covering absinthe and vermouth. Future events will be, in general, hosted by spirit companies in addition to some of our private events. And while I'm talking about it, I also want to thank my fellow board members and our membership for their patience with me as well. I'll be back soon, everyone. I promise.

* On March 6, 2009, I celebrated my 40th birthday. I traveled down with Rocky Yeh to Portland where I sat at the bars of Lance Mayhew, Kelly Swenson, Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Daniel Shoemaker, alongside blogger luminaries Craig Hermann and Blair Reynolds and one of my oldest friends, Bo Geddes. It was a really, really great way to celebrate me getting old. Being 40 has also kind of messed with my head quite a bit, especially working with such a young staff at Barrio. I never would have thought I'd need to adjust mentally to being 40 because I've never really felt old. Still don't really, but everyone else seems to think I am.

* That same weekend, I was lucky enough to be hired on by Kathy and John Casey to be a Consulting Mixologist for Kathy Casey Food Studios. It's truly an amazing development in my career. It's been an absolute blast working with her and her team, and I'm looking forward to many many years of working there. I can't overstate enough how thrilled I am to be working with and for her. Exciting times lay ahead.

* I'm not the self-proclaimed press whore Jamie Boudreau is, of course, but my name has been popping up in the press, which is always a good thing. I was nominated for a Rising Star Mixologist Award through StarChefs.com, losing to Jim Romdall, who throughly deserves the win for his outstanding work at Vessel. I've also been mentioned in articles in the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI (R.I.P) recently. Casey, Cameron and I also were part of a live, internet radio broadcast from Barrio.

I'm sure I'm missing several things. As you can see from the above list, the last several months have been a rollercoaster, and I've had a lot on my plate, and the plate is going to get fuller, which I consider a good and welcome thing. I have toyed with the idea of re-vamping this site as I've never been satisfied with its construction and layout, and I'm a terrible photographer. I am hoping to jump back in to this blog and to re-connect with the blogs that taught me so much. Namely, I've been sketching out an idea for a book and will be publishing the work-in-progress on these pages. Stay tuned for that.

I'm genuinely excited for the future. Professionally, I'm doing very very well, as you can gather from the above. The personal, emotional and physical will catch up, and is already in process.

I look forward to seeing you at Barrio, Tales of the Cocktail or out and about in Seattle.
Cheers.

Ladies and Gentleman, The Washington State Bartenders Guild

2008-11-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Sometime this last summer, immediately after my wedding, I began talking with Seattle bartenders about getting together and forming a collective, a Guild actually, similar to what Oregon had just formed.

Turns out, I wasn't the only one who had been thinking about this. So it was, in late August, several of us gathered at Liberty and began hashing out what a bartenders guild could be.

Months of bickering and EARLY Sunday morning meetings (why we chose Sundays, I'll never know) later, I'm pleased to announce the formation of the Washington State Bartenders Guild.

You can check out our Mission Statement and Obejctives here. Also, you are welcome to attend our innagural event, a Kick-Off Party whose details can be found here. Please RSVP for the party through the Evite page.

Over the last several months, I've had the joy of getting to know several great bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts around town, and I'd like to use this space to thank them for dragging themselves out of bed every Sunday to participate, as well as to announce the provisional officers of the Guild.

Andrew Friedman, our President and owner of the wonderful Liberty on Capital Hill.
Will Rathler, Secretary and bartender at one of my favorite bars in the world, Sun Liquor.
Andrew Bohrer, Secretary and author of caskstrength
Casey Robison, Treasurer and bar manager of the soon-to-be-open cocktail lounge/restaurant Barrio (stay tuned!)
Kevin Langmack, Treasurer, bartender at both Sun Liquor and Spur (!), also writes the most irreverant blog I know.
Zane Harris, bartender at Vessel
Jim Romdall, bar manager at Vessel
Anu Apte, bartender at Vessel
Erik Chapman, bar manager at Sun Liquor
Jamie Boudreau, cocktail whisperer at Tini Biggs
Dave Nelson, bar manager at Spur
Erik Hakkinen, bartender at Zig Zag
Charles Munat, who created our lovely website and produced Left Coast Libations, a collection of cocktail recipes.
Robert Hess (Drinkboy and Small Screen Network)
Paul Clarke (Cocktail Chronicles)
Tara Last-Name-Unknown from Viceroy (apparently going to be re-named Rob Roy)

And yours truly, Veep and bartender at Union.

As long as I am handing out thanks, a special thanks to Daniel Shoemaker and Lance Mayhew of the Oregon Guild for all their advice and encouragement. Hopefully, we can join forces and take over the entire world.

I should also mention, please stay tuned on either Facebook (if you haven't found me there yet, please do) or the WSBG website for our first seminar, a reprise of the absinthe forum staged at last years Tales of the Cocktail, featuring the incomparable Gwdyion Stone and Paul Clarke, date and place to be announced (we're thinking December).

In a World Gone Soft, Someone's Got To Be Hard

2008-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Just so we're all clear, the key to the phrase "guilty pleasure" is, well the guilt. As in, "dang, I'm loving this, but really, I shouldn't, because there are people watching, people I know. Oh, I'll wait until they go away...."

I don't have guilt, folks. I loves what I love. Part of the beauty of approaching 40 is that, well, the things that you used to fret about just seem trivial now. At 40, you're getting an appreciation that life is both long and too short, and certain things just don't matter.

Like, ahem, other people's opinions, at least when it relates to me. Meh. Shrug.

So, okay, that's settled; guilt schmuilt. I wear my pleasure on my sleeve! (go ahead, insert your snarky joke here).

But Stevi has a fun topic for this Mixology Monday, so pardon me while I climb off my high horse and join the party.

What am I bringing to this party? Let's open the cooler and take a peek.

Jagermeister and Cheap Beer. Because I know damn well Jeffrey Morgenthaler isn't going to bring enough. Know why? There's never enough of the sheer awesomeness of Jager. Oh, and I brought the makings for the one true Jager cocktail.....

The Red-Headed Slut
1/2 oz. of the Jag
1/2 oz. of cranberry
1/2 oz. of peach liquer (no schnapps.... we're not freakin' savages over here!!! leave the schnapps for that poor sap with the backwards baseball cap slapping high-fives over something moronic, like "dude, like, you know. wooohooooo. Dude, wow, dude."

But Morgenthaler already nailed these beautifully, so we'll move on. At the bottom of the cooler, just so you greedy heathens don't swipe my stock is.....
MIKES HARD LEMONADE

So, the picture? That's Christine and I on our wedding day, obviously, and what am I holding in my mitt? The good stuff, hombre. And that look on my face? That's me trying to comprehend the sheer enormity of majesty and grandeur that is Mike's Hard Lemonade on a summer day. Know what? Couldn't do it. The human mind cannot fathom spectacles such as these.

Here's the thing. Mike's Hard Lemonade quenches your thirst so thoroughly that you're thirsty again (kind of the same way that Roadhouse is so bad it rounds the corner and achieves greatness). So you knock back another to quench the previous thirst. I can drain a six-pack in about an hour and feel fine. Warmhappyglow kind of fine. But I'll still be thirsty!!! You can't put a price on that kind of genius.....

Oh, need a cocktail? Well, here's the link to their mixology page. Good luck. For me, of course, that'd be blasphemé, but knock yourself out.

And, of course, they're based out of SEATTLE!!! Nobody expected world domination from the Pacific Northwest, but I'm telling, we're amazing out here..... Mike's is further proof.

Fish House Punch

2008-09-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

There's a little place just out of town,
Where, if you go to lunch,
They'll make you forget your mother-in-law
With a drink called Fish-House Punch.

So I'm late. The title of this here blog refers to my, speed, my life. And I'm a fairly busy guy, just like Boudreau....

Anyway, feeling stupid that I didn't get my submission in on time for this month's MXMO, and heading over to Bibulo.us, I noticed nobody wrote about Fish House Punch!!! Well well well...

Ted Haigh, aka the wonderful Dr. Cocktail, wrote an evocative piece about Fish House Punch in the September/October edition of Imbibe, so maybe that's why nobody tackled it. Who wants to follow up on Ted Haigh? Me? Not really. For the most part, he nailed it, offering history (the recipe originates in 1732, making it older than the nation itself), personal experience (drinking the punch at a ladies house who eliminated everything but the liquor) and a sense of time and tradition (autumnal rhapsody demands a drink "of ancestors and history").

I don't have that much to add. What I can say is that it is enjoying a healthy renaissance, popping up on cocktail menus around the world (1806, and Death & Co to name two), and that it works as a solo cocktail, too.

Fish House Punch
3/4 oz. dark rum
3/4 oz. Cognac
3/4 oz. peach brandy
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Shake, strain into ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel and a single cherry.

I lifted the above recipe from the 2007 edition of the Food & Wine cocktail guide. I've been serving this at Union for over a year now, and the reception has always been favorable. If you'd like to try it as it's meant to be tried, I give you David Wondrich's adaptation from an 1862 recipe by some dude named Jerry Thomas in his recent book Imbibe.

1 pint fresh lemon juice
1 pound Demerara sugar
3 oz. peach brandy
27 oz. cognac
18 oz. rum
3 quarts water

He also gives his own individual serving along with some great backstory at Esquire.

There are some cocktails dredged up and respected simply because of their age and pedigree, and there are some that have withstood the test of time because, well, they're delicious. Fish House Punch falls in the latter category.

Lavender & Cucumber Sour

2008-09-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Here it is, early September, and I still haven't gotten around to writing about the cocktail that most impressed me at this summers Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans (aside from the refreshing Bud Light I shared with Rocky Yeh and Jeffrey Morgenthaler at the Hotel Monteleone pool). That award goes to Charlotte Voisey's Lavender & Cucumber Sour, sampled at the spirited cocktail pairing at August.

Okay, Charlotte Voisey. Let's get this out of the way, right now. She's beautiful. I can safely say this because I'm a happily married man, but look at her..... She's one of those people who, I think, probably has to fight against her natural good looks in order to be taken seriously in her career. Trying to talk to her, I got the feeling that might definitely have been the case. Anyway, the woman who is also the face of Hendrick's Gin is extraordinarily gifted, and this cocktail deserves to be published and admired on its own merits. Certainly those sitting with me at the table (including such luminaries as Rocky, Dayne and Wendy, and Anita and Cameron) agreed.

Lavender & Cucumber Sour

1 1/2 oz. Hendrick's Gin (what, you were expecting Boodles?)
1/4 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquer
3/4 oz Sonoma Lavender Syrup
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 egg white
2 slices cucumber
2 dashes lavender bitters

Muddle cucumber with lavender syrup. Add Hendrick's and other ingredients and shake well. Serve over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a cucumber slice and sprig of fresh lavender.

La Rocio

2008-08-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I worked with a guy at Union named Dave Nelson. Dave had worked his way from being a busser, to a waiter then to bookkeeper. But what he really wanted to do was tend bar.

What the hell he was thinking, I'll never know. But he worked a couple times for me and I showed him a few things I knew. Dave always has (probably always will, God bless him) been extremely confident in himself, bordering on cocky. After a few shifts, Dave declared himself ready to be a full-time bartender/mixologist. Eventually, he found himself doing just that at Campagne, a renowned French restaurant with a bar that sat something like 5 people.

Somehow, someway, within two years, Dave was asked to be the bar manager for a new gastropub called Spur. Dave threw himself into the task of opening the joint and has, within a few months of Spur being open, thrown himself into the mix as one of Seattle's better bartenders.

He's grounded in the classics (I like to think I helped hammer that into his head) but his own creations are amazingly inspired. Take his tequila drink currently knocking them out at Spur, La Rocio. He wrote it out for me, so I'll just copy verbatim what he wrote:

1 1/2 oz silver tequila
1 oz stone fruit syrup*
1/2 oz red wine
top with red wine foam**

"Chill rocks glass with ice. Shake tequila, syrup and red wine. Discard ice in rocks glass and fill halfway with red wine foam. Strain drink over foam into glass. When performed correctly foam should rise to the top without spilling over."

*Stone Fruit Syrup
1/2 qt rainier cherries
1/2 qt white peaches
1/2 qt plums
1/2 qt apricots
1/2 qt nectarines
2 cups sugar
3 cups water

"Boil water and add sugar. Cut, pit and juice fruits. Steep in sugar water for 25 minutes on low heat. Strain off ffruit and cool in fridge before serving."

** Red Wine Foam

2 cups red wine
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup simple syrup
1/2 tsp egg white powder
1 tbs methyl cellulose

"Blend all ingredients until creamy and foamy. Load into canister and add CO2 charge."

That's a lot to do for a lazy guy like me, especially when I can just beat over to Spur and have Dave do all the work (which I'm glad to do). Let's just say, though, that this is a revelatory tequila cocktail, absolutely delicious and goes down FAR too easy, which is a compliment.

I'm definitely proud for Dave and the kick-ass work he is doing at Spur and glad to share his cocktail recipe. It deserves to duplicated in kitchens and bars around the globe.

Oh, and the name? Apparently some hot chick Dave met in Argentina or Mexico and still has a red-hot jones over. . . perfect.

Look, Ma, I Made the Paper!!!!

2008-08-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

. . . . and in the good section, too (The What's Happening section...quick aside, as just saying the phrase What's Happening reminds me of The Rerun Dance... sigh, I miss the 70's), and not the Front Page, which is definitely not where my mom wants to see me.

In any case, the Hemingway Daiquiri I once made for Leslie Kelly inspired her to include it in her list of the top 8 cocktails of this summer, appearing in this Friday's Seattle Post Intelligencer. For those of you who prefer to read their news online as opposed to buying a paper, you can find that article here.

Andy Rogers, the photographer, is a really cool and laid back guy, and I'm sure he's too busy with fatherhood to mind if I shamelessly swipe his photo for the blog, and since I'm encouraging EVERYONE to buy the paper, I'm hoping the PI doesn't mind as well.

Oh, and the Hemingway Daiquiri?

2 oz. white rum
3/4 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1/4 oz. maraschino liquer
dash of simple syrup

Shake above, then strain into a goblet (or Cognac glass) filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime twist and two cherries on a pick.

We Did It!!!

2008-08-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

August 3rd, Seafair weekend here in Seattle, with boats plying the waters of Lake Union and seaplanes soaring overhead, Christine Nylin and I got married on the Skansonia Ferry. Words hardly do the experience justice. It was the greatest day of my life, and I'm humbled and lucky to be Christine's husband.

Some shout-outs are in order. . . Thanks to both sides of our families, to all who came and celebrated with us, to the staff at the Skansonia, to our photographer Erich Ruff, to Ethan and Angela Stowell for helping procure the booze, and to all at the Zig Zag, who hosted an extravagant and special after-party with all the class we've all come to know and love.

Finally, I'd like to thank our wedding party. Each and every one of you mean the world to us and all of you worked so hard to help make our day one we will never forget. I'd especially like to thank Kate Halfwassen, Christine's Maid Of Honor and Sean Twomey, my Best Man. You two worked tirelessly and took amazing care of us. We can't thank you enough, although we will certainly try, again and again.

To all who were there, whether bodily or in spirit, we raise our glasses to you. Thank you for the best wishes.

I'm Still Drunk!!!! Tales of the Cocktail, Day One

2008-07-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

Dang.... That's two nights out of the last three in which I've woken up still drunk from the night before. I guess, if anything, that's a pretty decent return on investment, better than I'm getting in the stock market right now.

So, you've all endured the pain of drunk dialing.... making a mistake phone call when you're drunk and regretting it fully the next morning. I'm going to drunk blog. . . though I'm hedging my bets and posting here as opposed to the Tales Blog or Slashfood. I may be drunk, but I've still got some wits about me.

Okay, first, lets get this one out of the way. Rocky, Dayne, I love you guys, but fuck whichever of you brought me that absinthe frappé. It's now 8 a.m., two hours until I'm due at TOTC, and I'm still buzzed up. This isn't promising. Maybe for you guys, and everyone else, but not for me.

Now that that's off my chest, I'm going to unload my notebook from Day One at Tales Of The Cocktail.....

First, Christine and I got loaded the night before I left. Went out and pinballed around town, got food at 611, then went to the Saint, Liberty, Sun Liquor and finally back to Union (I'm too drunk to put links to all these, Google it yourselves, and that's just going to have to be true for the rest of this post). Got home, then woke up a couple hours later to finish "packing" so I could fly to NOLA. Well, being drunk from the night before, I forgot to pack extra pairs of shorts and shirts. The shirts I did pack look exactly alike, so now everyone at Tales is going to think I'm wearing the same clothes everyday, which will only partially be true.

Interjection: the coffee down south absolutely sucks!!!! You're going to hear a whole lot of bitching from the PNW guys about the lack of quality coffee.... ignore us at your peril....

SOOOOOOOO, being tired from sobering up while traveling, I missed out on the blogger party and was quite glad I did. I was able to make the very first session of Tales and all the subsequent panels I wanted to get to and was reasonably lucid and able to retain most of what I learned. Probably. Guess we'll find out when I try to write coherently for the Tales blog or Slashfood.

Highlights of Day One? Number One, meeting and partying with my fellow bloggers. This was and still is the one thing I wanted to do this week. As much as I read and love Degroff, Wondrich, Regan and everybody else, I think I still learn more from the collective blogging community than I do from my collection of books and authors. Yeah, I'm drunk, but I will happily stand behind that statement any day. I was (and still am) thrilled to meet the cocktail bloggers. And I'm looking forward to a few more nights like last night....

Other highlights? All three panels I attended yesterday were great in their own way. I'll write about these when (if) I sober up. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to write about the sparsely attended first panel of the day, moderated by Doug Frost.

I got to meet David Wondrich, who is a great and charming guy, the kind of guy you'd like to drink with (I mean really, is there a better compliment?), Martin Cate, Robert Hess (funny that I should finally meet Robert in New Orleans rather than in our mutual hometown). I'm far too shy to introduce myself to Degroff or Regan, though given enough to drink anything is possible. Oh shit, yeah, I met Chris McMillan!!!! On my julep post, I provide a link to his Youtube video, and if you haven't seen it yet, I have no idea why you're even reading this blog!!! Chris is just the most gentle, humble bartender you're ever going to meet. He's a bartender's bartender, which is the second best compliment you can pay someone, and yes, I would LOVE to sit down with Chris and have a cocktail and listen to him spin New Orleans history all night, so now I've given him my highest compliment. I hope I get a chance to spend more time with him, as he is truly remarkable.

The Tales reception/Beefeater hoohah was fun, though a little crowded. Rocky, Dayne and I skipped the rest of the evening festivities and went to Cochon for dinner, which was pretty awesome. Those two know how to eat. Rocky has some pornographic pictures of the food we ate, if you're curious, and I'm sure he'll put some up for public drooling on his Flickr account. I remember lots of eating, lots of shouting, and lots of laughter, which in my mind means a perfect way to spend an evening.

Then, some bastard handed me an absinthe frappé at LaFitte's. And now everyone gets to read a drunk post from Slowpoke Rodriquez, the slowest mouse in all of Mexico (btw, this is how I always think of/refer to myself when I'm hungover or still drunk from the night before). It's going to be a long week....

That's all I have. You've been briefed. You've been drunk blogged.

You're welcome.

See you tomorrow. If I'm lucky.

MXMO, Say Hello To My Little Friend

2008-06-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, the Mint Julep and I go way back. Waaaaaaaaay back, let me assure you. Let's see, there were the garden Juleps in Boulder, Colorado in college, rooftop Juleps in Chicago, fire-escape Juleps in New York, barbeque Juleps in Brattleboro Vermont. . . I'm missing a few, but you get the idea. The Julep and I have been buddies for a long time now. I even named a cat Julep. This year, however, has seen a different spin on our friendship.

Thing is, my old buddy Julep and I, we never really got to know each other. Or, rather the Julep got to know me but not vice versa. I'd heard stories, of course, and figured my friend Julep was birthed on the front porch one humid evening in the deep south, and had become the official drink of everyone who had a drawl. Then, I happened upon THIS VIDEO. It was like being invited to your best friends house and getting to see their childhood pictures. Suddenly, I had history, a back-story. And with it, a whole new appreciation for my friend.

To honor my friend, I thought I'd throw a party, to coincide with Derby Day. Ethan gave me the go-ahead, and I started preparing. I made up a few, found dozens listed in Baker's gem, a few more in Saucier's, and within a week I was staring at a dozen variations of my friend.

Then, a number of things happened. First, Jamie Boudreau was planning on having the same party at Vessel. Second, Julep cups are expensive!!! Third, it dawned on me that I didn't have any resources in case it proved to be wildly popular, meaning I'd have gotten drowned with no one to bail me out. So, much to more than a few peoples chagrin, I dropped it.

Derby Day passed, I did end up making quite a few Juleps for people who had heard the rumors. Belatedly, I posted an ode to my friend at AOL. And now, with MXMO featuring Bourbon (big thanks to the Scofflaw Den for hosting), I get to lead my friend to the front of the stage for another bow.

The Mint Julep recipe? Ah, watch the video link above for one version. Everyone seems to have their own idea. Instead, I'll lay out a few recipes I developed for the Mint Julep party at Union:

The Duwamish Julep
6 mint leaves
dash of simple syrup
2 oz. of your preferred Bourbon
3/4 oz blackberry liquer (I used Clear Creek)

GENTLY muddle 5 of the mint leaves with the simple syrup in a double rocks glass. Fill glass with crushed ice, then slowly add bourbon and blackberry liquer. Do not stir. Garnish with remaining mint.

Windemere County Julep
Same as above, only substitute blackberry liquer and simple syrup with Applejack and maple syrup

And, my favorite, the Georgia Mint Julep
substitute blackberry liquer with peach liquer.

Now, I know historically the Georgia Mint Julep comes prepared with brandy, but hit it with bourbon instead. Dayum!!!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the next MXMO will be in N'awlins. . . no? Can't wait gang....

The Swami

2008-06-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

That's Tyler Moritz, drinking a Swami at Union (cellphone pic by Rocky). Tyler is the chef de cuisine at Union, extraordinarily talented (for all you boozehounds out there who have only stopped by Union for drinks, allow me to slap you around a bit, as you NEED to eat some of Tyler's food. It's affordable, it's award winning, it's unique in this city. Good booze/cocktails, good wine, good food. . . c'mon and belly up to the bar and EAT!!)

As I've mentioned before, the chefs at Union have sensitive and discriminate palates. They are quick to point out the duds. The hits just get downed really fast. An empty cocktail glass remains the best rubber stamp of approval I know of.

So here we have The Swami, an original of mine, one of very few originals I've posted about. You can't tell in the picture but it's green. It has some refreshing spring flavors, except that spring and summer have apparently passed Seattle right on by. If this weather goes on much longer, I may have to move to New Orleans instead of just going there for Tales. Not that I'm, ahem, getting bitter about the weather or anything. I mean, gosh, who doesn't love chilly, wind-driven, gloomy and overcast summers . . .

The Swami. I foresee sunshine. Someday.

2 oz. pisco (I use Capel)
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz green Chartreuse
a splash o' simple syrup
a dash of Fee's grapefruit bitters

Shake, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a few dried rose petals, or, heck, nothing at all. It's all the same between friends.

Casey's Last Stand (Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Blue Blazer)

2008-05-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

The Blue Blazer. The Blue frickin' Blazer. Dave Wondrich did one on national television for Conan O' Brien. Yes, I get that it's Jerry Thomas and I have an abundance of respect for this trailblazing bartender. . .

BUT. . .

I want to hate this drink. I want to dismiss it and put it out there with the rest of the show-pony flaming drinks that were all the rage at the same time as cocaine and Fuzzy Navels were all the rage. Seems like everybody has been so busy fawning over JT that to slam any of his creations seems like it'd come across as blasphemé. But c'mon, this is flair bartending circa 1894, and we're talking whiskey and water. The only reason we talk about it is because it's on fire. . .

. . . you see, I struggle with the respect issue, particularly working at a restaurant. Decades of showboating a-holes flipping bottles, speed pouring ten shots at a time, stupid names like the Woo Hoo, Adios MFers, Oatmeal Cookie shots. . .oh, and let's not forget the ubiquitous 'tinis . . . let's just leave it at this; it takes more work than you'd think to become a respected bartender because there are years of gravity working against you. . .

. . . and yet I'm still talking about the Blue Blazer and maybe I am still talking about it because it's on fire and maybe I'm not. You see, Casey, an extraordinarily talented young bartender, texted me and said it was his last night at Café Presse and I should try his Blue Blazer. The video here, a cellphone capture, shows him in action. The flavors, actually, were just fine. In fact, it was tasty.

So I owe Jerry Thomas a bit of an apology. Yeah, I'm kind of tired of him right now, just a little too much exposure, but that's not his fault. And yeah, I have to begrudgingly give it up for the Blazer. Fine. I'm gonna have to find something new to rant and bitch about, I guess.

*@#%!!!!!!

2008-05-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

&^%@!!!! Double #$%^!!!! %%$#@@%^%!!!!! With peanut butter on top!!!!! Like, this kind of @#@$$#@!!!!

Can't believe I blew this Mixology Monday. I've missed a few, but this one. . . . ? This one especially, because lordy lordy have I fallen head over heels for RUM.

It's all I drink anymore. Zaya, Matusalem, El Dorado, Flor de Cana, Pampero Anniversario, Zacapa, Pyrat, Appleton. Oh, and the cocktails? Don't even get me started! Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktails, Corn-n-Oils, Missonary's Downfalls, Mai Tais, Philadelphia Fish House Punches, Planters Punches, Nui Nuis, Cantons. Mojitos, Papa Dobles, Test Pilots, Ancient Mariners. . . it seems like all I ever wanna make at work these days. I've even made my own Tiki Bitters!!! (The picture? My Tiki Bitters Batch #1 at rest.)

I blame, like so many others, Beachbum Berry. And I'll blame Trader Tiki, too. And Craig, and the Kaiser, and Wayne Curtis and the Rum Dood. Most of all, though, I blame a small, beloved little bar I'd kill to work at. . . Sun Liquor.

You kinda have to be in the know to know about Sun Liquor. Visiting Seattle, there's absolutely no way you could just happen to walk past it. Either a local has to take you there, or, as happened to me, enough credible sources have to rave long enough to get you there.

They specialize in sipping rums there, along with a few original rum-based cocktails. When Christine and I first rolled in, I was amazed at their rum menu. At the time, it never occurred to me to sip rum like you would bourbon, scotch, brandy or scotch. My history included the all too familiar scenario of topping off a jumbo slurpee with Bacardi and regretting it for 15 years. So who in their right mind would want to sip rum. Straight, no less!!! Thought I'd better get me an education and the bartender that night decided to introduce me to this dark and wonderful world by pouring me a glass of Zaya.

God bless him. I've been swooning ever since. Even got the kitchen crew at Union hooked on rum. Same with 2007 Food & Wine Best New Chef nominee Ethan Stowell.

So, while I'm howling at the moon at Sun Liquor this past Monday, gettin' my rum on with Christine, Ethan and some of the crew of both Union and Tavolata, Kevin at Sun Liquor leans across the bar and asks, "Did you put in a post for Mixology Monday?"

@#$%!!!!!!

Little Italy

2008-04-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long since I lasted posted? Boo! Well, shoot, let me throw in a cocktail I've been making at Union which is getting some curious looks and satisfied grins.

This one is another in the long line of Audrey Saunders classics, and is on my list of favorite cocktail recipes listed below the Lebowski picture, part of a series I'll be doing here writing about those recipes. Like the Silver Lining, the Little Italy comes from the Food & Wine cocktail book series, this time from the 2007 edition (the '08 edition is now on sale and I'm looking forward to snapping one up soon. It's just a terrific series).

When I flip through a cocktail book or even a website, the recipes that usually catch my interest either have a new homemade ingredient I don't know about or combine a curious mix of ingredients I hadn't thought of. Cynar, being a hyper-bitter artichoke liquor, always gets me interested. Rye generally does as well. Put 'em together and yeah, I can't resist.

Here, the elements converge very nicely. The sweet vermouth knocks some of the edge off the Cynar, but not all of it, making this a Manhattan with a distinct bitter flavor that doesn't compare with anything I've had before. I've taken the liberty of flaming an orange twist in the drink and that addition seems to get favorable nods at the bar.

Little Italy

2 oz rye
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 brandied cherries skewered on a stick
flamed orange twist

Stir the liquors together in an ice-filled mixing glass until cold, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the skewered cherries and flame and orange twist on the top.

Announcements and Such

2008-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

First, I'm happy and honored to announce that I'll be participating on an all-star blog site, called Tales Blog, or Blogging Tales Of The Cocktail 2008. There are a few of us contributing, and on it we'll be previewing the events and participants of this spectacular event.

Now, if you read this site, I don't have to tell you, honestly, how awe inspiring Tales Of The Cocktail is. I missed it last year and have been regretting it. I'm telling you, I won't be missing another. Don't make the same mistake I did. Learn from my errors.

Still not sold? Let's play some word association, see if that doesn't amp you up. Okay, New Orleans. Cocktails. Spirits. History. Beachbum Berry. David Wondrich. Paul Clarke. Audrey Saunders. Jamie Boudreau. Gary Regan. Robert Hess. Julie Reiner. Simon Difford. Booze. Hooch. Giggle water.

Ahem. Tickets are on sale now. July 16-20, New Orleans. Clear your calendar. I'll see you there.

Now, more news, this one more personal to this site. As you can see, I've been messing around with the layout. New template, new pics, a listing of notable bars, Union's cocktail menu and a longer listing of blogs (you are reading through this list most days, right?). The upper right corner features something new, my recipes corner. Eventually this will include recipes for syrups, tinctures, infusions, bitters and such, so you can find quick access to these questions without having to dig through the blog. Right now, the recipe list contains my favorite cocktails as of right now, whether they've been featured on my site or not. This list will obviously expand greatly, and quickly. Each link will take you to the blog site I first heard of or discovered said cocktail, and acts as a personal repository where I can quickly find the cocktail I'm looking for, rather than trying to remember then digging through the blog. Hope this helps you as much as it will help me.

I think that's it for today. I've got to go apartment hunting now, plus plan for the wedding and finally spend time with my lovely lady.

The Delicious Sour

2008-03-27T11:12:00.001-07:00

Continuing with my apparent recent theme of cocktails with silly names comes this little ditty with a very matter-of-fact name.

As a quick aside, there's a bar in Chicago whose name escapes me where the drinks have oddly literal names. One of their house cocktails is called The Refreshing Drink. I wonder what the other cocktails on the menu are called. Maybe they have drinks such as The Pink Drink, or The Drink With Too Many Garnishes, or The Fall On Your Ass, I'll Call You A Cab Drink.

In any case, when a drink is named something like The Delicious Sour, my first reaction is something along the lines of, "Oh yeah, well I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much." Well, in this case it happens to fit, as my customers always point out. "How your cocktail?" "Oh, well, it's (wait for it) delicious, tee hee hee".

Sigh.

This one comes from Ted Haigh's Vintage Cocktails and Forgotten Spirits. Dr. Cocktail got the recipe from an 1891 cocktail book called The Flowing Bowl by William "The Only William" Schmidt. In the Jan/Feb edition of Imbibe, Haigh goes on to point out that "The Only William" seemed to favor cocktails meant for the ladies. And yes, in my own experience, ladies have been the primary audience for The Delicious Sour, which is kinda bad, kinda good. Kinda bad that the guys aren't curious, kinda good because the ladies are ordering something other than Cosmopolitans and Lemon Drops, even better that someone is ordering an egg white drink.

The Delicious Sour
1 1/4 oz Applejack
1 1/4 oz peach liquer
3/4 oz lime juice
small dash of simple syrup
1/2 egg white

Shake shake shake, then shake some more. Strain without ice into a sour glass.

Given the ingredients, I'd have thought this would have been on the sweet side, but that just isn't the case. The flavors blend well and has the silky texture the egg white provides. The only thing missing might be a dash of bitters of some nature, and part of me believes it's probably just fine without it, though I may experiment.

In any case, it is delicious (see, I can't help myself either, tee hee hee), and I'm happy to have it on the menu at Union.

MXMO: The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch

2008-03-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

Death is upon the land and all those who tend it's soil. For thou hath summoned thine secret detonative device, The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Within it's casing liest a potion so fierce thou shalt not consume another, for if thouest request a second, thou will be blown up into tiny bits.

Ahem.

i can only keep up that prose for so long. Let's get right into the history of this deadly weapon.

Once upon a time, Union held a beer party. One of those beers was a potent bottle of Eku 28, a German Eisbock. I'll let Dr. Beer Love give you the full background if you're curious. If you're not, let me just tell you that the beer clocks in at 11% ABV (!). On our shelves, we always have on hand a bottle of Stroh 80, an Austrian rum proofed at 160 (!). We keep it exclusively for initiating new cooks (they do a shot, we all laugh, they fall down). Being bored one night, I came up with the idea of a boilermaker comprised of both, and called it The One and Done. I call up Rocky Yeh and he drops what he's doing and speeds down the interstate to try one. We wrangled on of the cooks to join him and the cook immediately, ahem, lost his cookies.....

Some time later, Rocky challenged me to come up with a cocktail using this ultimate demon rum. I put it together like an absinthe drip, combining it with lime juice, orange juice, simple syrup and Pernod. Ended up being not too shabby. Every now and then I'd drag it up as a shooter for daring party-goers wandering up First Avenue on their way to Pioneer Square or Belltown. Rocky again challenged me to come up with a shooter that could match a hilarious name, The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, killer of ferocious bunnies. I just dredged up the Stroh shot and, well, there was much rejoicing.

Finally, Rick has the idea of a Limit One MXMO, and I figured I'd haul this one up, but try and make it better. Having just visited Vessel and being enamored with Jamie Boudreau's Rubicon, I thought I'd try my hand at a little molecular mixology to add another layer of flavor. I bruleed some cherries on the bottom of the glass, mashed them and carmelized the syrup as well. Then came the shot of Stroh, a little orange and lime juice, some simple syrup and then, just to see what'd happen, I floated a 1/4 oz of absinthe. Then I handed it to the cooks, master tasters of cocktails. The cooks have a justifiable fear of Stroh, so I kept the ingredients a secret.

What started out as a joke has now ended up being a fantastically tasty cocktail, something I'd never have believed possible. Does it have a silly name? Yes, of course it does. But if you're a Monty Python fan, as I am, you can't help but laugh a little...

Behold...The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Introduction here by Monty Python, from The Holy Grail, one of the great comedies of our time....

"LAUNCELOT
We have the Holy Hand Grenade.
ARTHUR
Yes, of course! The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch! 'Tis one of the sacred relics Brother Maynard carries with him! Brother Maynard! Bring up the Holy Hand Grenade!
MONKS
[chanting] Pie Iesu domine, dona eis requiem. Pie Iesu domine, dona eis requiem. Pie Iesu domine, dona eis requiem. Pie Iesu domine, dona eis requiem.
ARTHUR
How does it, um-- how does it work?
LAUNCELOT
I know not, my liege.
ARTHUR
Consult the Book of Armaments!
BROTHER MAYNARD
Armaments, chapter two, verses nine to twenty-one.
SECOND BROTHER
And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that, with it, Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits in Thy mercy.' And the Lord did grin, and the people
did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats and large chu--
MAYNARD
Skip a bit, Brother.
SECOND BROTHER
And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.'
MAYNARD
Amen.
KNIGHTS
Amen.

The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch
Brulee 3 cherries on the bottom of a double rocks glass.
In an ice-filled cocktail shaker combine:
1 oz Stroh 80
1 oz fresh orange juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
healthy dash of simple syrup
Shake, dump contents into aforementioned rocks glass. Stir, float a dash of absinthe on top.

Ye Gods!!! Have one, and thou shalt be smitten. Two, thou shalt be smote.
Want to see the scene from The Holy Grail? Darn right you do!!

Slainte!

Silver Lining

2008-03-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite cocktail, just in time for my birthday. I got this one from the 2006 edition of Food and Wine Cocktails, an annual roundup of new cocktails from top bartenders and bars from around the U.S. The bar and bartender? Joseph Schwartz of Little Branch. The combination of rye, Licor 43 and egg white appealed to me, and in this case, it tasted even better than I thought it would.

Silver Lining

1 1/2 oz rye (I used Rittenhouse 100 proof)
3/4 oz Licor 43
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 egg white
2 oz club soda

Shake the bejeezus out of everything, aside from the soda, and strain into an ice-filled collins glass. Top with soda water a little bit at a time as the foam rises quickly.

Hooo boy, this is tasty, one of the better new cocktails I've had in some time, and it's going on the menu as soon as possible. Think lemonade, meringue and custard without being sweet. Think rye along with that....

Ah, about Licor 43... this is a Spanish liquer composed of 43 different herbs and spices. Vanilla comes out most prominently. If you happen to have Licor 43 gathering dust in your liquor cabinet for whatever reason, give this one a shot.

Housekeeping and Updates

2008-02-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

Some tidying up I've been wanting to do for some time has been finally done, and a few bits of news:

*Updated the blog log. On the left sidebar I've dramatically updated the list of blogs. Sites I've been reading that I haven't gotten a chance to add on to this site, along with some great sites I've only recently discovered. This is in advance of a post I'm planning on contributing to AOL about the wonderful amounts of spirits and cocktail information being generated these days on blog sites, along with a sampling of links. I won't be able to write about everyone as that post would be far too long, but I will be recommend that readers scroll through the blogs listed here and hopefully everyone will get a small spike in traffic and many minds will be illuminated.

*Updated the cocktail menu from Union. Jeffrey Morgenthaler used to have a PDF which highlighted the cocktail menu at his old bar, and I'm hoping at some point he'll do the same for his new bar. I would love to see current cocktail menus listed on the blog sites of bartenders as a permanent feature on their sites. I'm always intrigued by how other bars construct and diversify their offerings for their guests. On that note, I'll probably also put up a list of links to notable bars from around the world where their menus are listed, just to get everyone's mouths watering. . .

*As soon as the paperwork is processed, I will be moving from the AOL food and drink blog site to Slashfood, part of AOL Food Network and a great site I encourage everyone to check out, and not just because I'll be there eventually. They've got a host of talented writers over there and the entries come in fast and furious, so there's always something fresh to read.

*Okay, I have a question for everyone. There is one "drink" not listed on the Union menu printed on the bottom of the left sidebar which I'm thinking of adding on. I wanted to put on something called the Dealer's Choice. It'll be worded something like "you pick the booze, we'll do the rest, concentrating on utilizing seasonal fruits..." or something like that (not sure yet on the verbiage). Could putting something like this on a menu be considered a cop-out? I've considered having this as a permanent feature on the menu, just so it frees me up to use fresh fruit in season or whatever else I want to do. . .I do this anyway, as most bartenders do, suggesting to my guests that they just let us do something we're excited about, but spelling it out may liberate our guests from having to make any decisions (I'd say 75% just order what they know rather than branch out, maybe higher for Union since we get so many tourists who just walk in). Any and all comments on this would be very welcome.

*I need/want to re-design this site, moving away from the simple template. Does anybody out there have any suggestions for someone who is completely illiterate when it comes to website design and coding? I'm bored with my current layout and want to spiff the place up.

I think that's it. I've spent the better part of the last 24 hours reading through cocktail and spirit blogs and loving it. So much great stuff being put out there and I gotta say my guests are going to be bombarded this weekend with new offerings. Thank you in advance.

Ooooh, my aching liver

2008-02-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a rough week, let me tell you, so rough it's taken me two weeks to write this post. A heavy night of boozing it up at Vessel's Fat Tuesday party, a spectacluar dinner at Union and horrible bowling at the Garage (along with some ill-advised Jagermeister forced upon me) made for an epic, Bunyan-esque hangover. But we're not going to get into that night....

You see, before she had to leave Vessel, Christine, my beautiful fiancee, managed to finagle a promise from me which I, in my Hurricane-induced glory, accepted. I promptly forgot, of course. The next day, wounded and battered, though, I had to make good on my promise to go with her to the Can-Can to see Zach.

Zach McCaffree is one of Seattle's best bartenders. He's built a spectacular bar from the ground-up, and the secret most in Seattle don't know is how great a drink you'll get from the man behind the bar in between cabaret performances (or, heck, even during). You want hooch? Zach's got it, with a selection second only to the Zig Zag. Cocktails? Zach knows them. He introduced me to this gem, which I enjoyed so much I've made a half-dozen for my customers in the week that followed. The cocktail in the picture above is a cellphone capture of it. . .
The Fort Washington Flip
1 1/2 oz applejack
3/4 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz maple syrup
1 fresh egg

Shake the mother-effin' crap out of it, pour into a chilled cocktail glass then grate nutmeg on top.

Now, how did this recipe slip past my radar? It was published on drinkboston, a site I usually read, plus Imbibe Magazine , which I also regularly read. The recipe comes from Misty Kalkofen from Green Street Grill, a bar I'm now inspired to fly across country to visit. Christine and I had several drinks, among them his own Ringmaster involving Averna, apricot-infused rye and something else (forgot/too hungover to ask, natch). If any of you from Seattle have not been to Can-Can, get there now and say hi to Zach for me (Erik, a bartender at Zig Zag, also slings drinks one night a week, another reason to get down there).

Speaking of Zig Zag (nice new site guys, btw), I can't be that close and boozing it up and not go there!!! So Christine and I stopped by, missing Robert Hess and Paul Clarke by mere minutes, apparently. Ben, Erik and Murray were all behind the bar, much to our delight. Murray had the chocolate bitters Paul raved about and Murray whipped up an unnamed drink using the bitters.

2 oz Mt Gay Xtra Old rum
¼ oz Grand Marnier
1/8 oz Cointreau
5 dashes Xococatl mole bitters

The next drink, though, really struck me. It's an odd one, which is usually enough to get my attention, but it also be danged tasty, enough so that I'm going to have to try this one out.

Friar's Pint
1 ¾ oz Plymouth gin
1 oz cardamon-infused Guinness (!)
¾ oz E. India Lustau sherrry (not sure if it's a fino or not)
dash Angostura bitters
dash simple syrup
1 egg white

Okay, now I just copied the recipe from Murray's notes off the back of a coaster (how many of us in Seattle have coasters at home with Murray's handwriting). I imagine you shake the bejeezus out of everything save the Guinness, dump it into a champagne flute (which is how he served it), then pour the world's most venerable stout over the top. I don't know. Perhaps Murray, who has been known to sometimes peek over at this space, can enlighten us. All I can tell you is that this drink cannot be just a one night stand. . . more research is needed (it always is, isn't it?). An absolutely inspired cocktail, and believe me, it didn't stand a chance as I got all Kimbo on the thing and knocked that sucker out within seconds.

I have to thank Christine for dragging my sorry ass around town, and thanks to Zach at Can-Can and Ben, Erik and Murray for another memorable evening.

Muh-Muh-Muh My Negroni

2008-02-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

First, my apologies to the Knack for badly appropriating their one and only hit...

But anyway, the Negroni . . .venerable, iconic, on the rocks, served up, loved and worshipped, hated and contortion-inducing. . . there's just no coming down the middle on this one. So allow me, on this Mixology Monday, to add another layer of division.

Proportions are law for the Negroni. So says none other than one of our best and most beloved drinks writers, Gary Regan who, in the Joy of Mixology, says something to the effect that the proportions should be beyond tinkering. I'm going to go ahead and point out that the Negroni itself is a variation on the Americano.... ptttttttt. So let's go ahead and mess with this poor old venerable bastard.

I like Campari, and given that my taste buds are dead, I need to be hit on the head with flavor in my drinks. I like 'em rich and heavy, so delicate nuances are lost on me. Here's what I do. . .

Keith's Negroni Variation
1 ½ oz Campari (yup, that's right)
¾ oz Beefeater Gin
¾ oz Vya Italian Vermouth (I'm currently toying with Punt é Mes also. Verdict is still out)
2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters (gotta make it up to Gary somehow)

I figured if you ordered a Negroni, you've got a taste for Campari like I do, adding a little orange bitters just adds even more to the party. Vya is nice and rich. That's the Negroni I like to drink.

Turns out I'm not alone. Murray Stenson at Zig Zag makes his pretty much the same way, which is a nice little rubber stamp. And guess who else? Well, in his book New Classic Cocktails, Gary Regan (!) himself shows what an adaptable man he is by including The Cinnabar Negroni, which I have recently discovered is pretty much the same variation Murray and I do, among the chosen few in that book. And I have to add that of all the cocktails we make at Union, and I make quite a few, I get more compliments on this Negroni than any other drink we make. I don't know what that means, but there you have it....

Jimmy, great idea for a MM event. Cheers everyone, see at the party...

The Yeh Yeh Yeh

2008-01-29T09:09:00.000-08:00

There's a man about town in Seattle, a man quite a few of those who manage to read this blog now and then know. He's a happy man (except when the Huskies lose), a smart man who knows a lot about a lot of topics (go ahead, I dare one of you to stump him in casual conversation), throws a mean Xmas party, graciously helps his bartender move, launches his bowling balls with more spin than you've ever seen, has a great pool game (though he mysteriously seems to flop against me... what can I say, I am nothing if not intimidating) he loves his food and drink, through which I'm lucky to know him.

He's all over the place. In fact, not only is this cocktail named after him, but he even took this friggin' picture and then drank it. How many of you out there have a drink named after you? Working or owning a bar doesn't count, nor does inventing the drink then naming it after yourself! I mean, how many of us will be so well-regarded that a cocktail will be named in our honor? Not only that, but a cocktail that kicks some serious ass, is ordered frequently then, just as frequently, re-ordered. Betcha' George Bush doesn't have a cocktail, either one of them actually. . .maybe a street, a public building or a library (kind of ironic in the case of Bush the younger, but every President gets one, even this one), but a cocktail? A good one? Yup, I don't think so, either.

So this is a really long-winded way of saluting my friend Rocky Yeh (who is also sometimes self-referred to as Rock Doggy Dogg) and his eponymous cocktail, The Yeh Yeh Yeh, which he orders as a Me Me Me (further exemplifying his bad-assedness in front of everyone). It's a good looking drink, packs a wallop (look at that dose of bourbon!!!) and is a solid drink for this time of year. The blond Lillet rounds off some of the harsh edge of the bourbon and the Rouge lends a sweetness at the end.

Take a bow, Rocky. The You You You is an excellent drink.

2 1/2 oz. Woodford Reserve (!!!)
3/4 oz. Lillet Blonde
Stir, strain into a cocktail glass
Slowly pour 1/4 oz. Lillet Rouge, so that it settles on the bottom, creating a layered effect.
Orange twist as garnish.

The way Rocky drinks it? Enjoy the top layer for a few sips, then stir the layers together.

The Best of 2007, According to Me, Your Benevolent Host

2008-01-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves a good year-end recap/awards ceremony to ballyhoo the best of the previous year and feté those who helped make it memorable. I'm no different. Of course, I'm completely unqualified for this sort of thing, but whatev. . . Here's my list of favorites from the year that was in our nerdy little pocket of the Internet.

Best Cocktail: Heck yeah I'm going to start with the best category!!! No slogging through Most Creative Use of Elderflower Liquer In A Cocktail or Obscure Ingredient Of The Year or even Least Annoying Shooter!!! Let's get right to the good stuff!!! My favorite cocktails?

Applejack Old-Fashioned from Cocktail Chronicles (via Misty Kalkofen) a cocktail which found a place on our cocktail menu at Union. Gotta give props to Paloma Mi Amante as well...
Raspberry Caipirinha from Spirits and Cocktails, as well as the Chartreuse Swizzle, the Rosewater Rickey and the Berry Shrub. All of which I sampled at Vessel, all of which I loved. Great work Jamie.

Richmond Gimlet from Jeffrey Morgenthaler. I think this drink has been kicking around a bit, but I discovered it this year.

The Mojito from Married with Dinner. Okay, what Cameron and Anita did here was outline how Murray does his at the Zig Zag. But this prep was new to me this year and even though I'd never order it, now I can least make a decent one for myself!!!

Best Rant: I soooo thought I was a shoo-in for this one. But Darcy over at The Art of Drink completely eviscerates this cretin who wrote in, and, well, you just gotta read it if you haven't already...Darcy's response on October 17th in a piece entitled 'Fan Mail' is the funniest blog entry I've read this year.

Best Photos: I'm not the only one who loves the pics over at Kaiser Penguin. Kaiser also nabs the award for best Tales of the Cocktails coverage.

Best Layout: I'm a huge fan of how Gabriel designed his site over at Cocktail Nerd. Nice and bright with flashy colors. Morgenthaler and Boudreau have great sites, and Dr. Bamboo's artwork is amazing, but for overall splash, Gabriel gets the nod.

Coolest homemade ingredient: Lots to choose from. Falernum? Pimento Dram? Amer Picon? Berry Shrub? Gastriques? Perhaps Swedish Punsch, if/when Jamie gets around to it? I'm going with Amer Picon, but probably because that's what I'm making right now.

Best Disappearing Act: Well, I thought yours truly would get this one, too. But heck, I'm not even close. Haven't seen the Bottle Gang in awhile, and Pegu Club is apparently on hiatus, but Matt from My Bar Your Bar (best blog title award too) hosted a great Mixology Monday event then promptly went MIA.

Best Mixology Monday roundup: Lots to choose from, but I rather liked the way Gabriel did his. The mini-photos were great, even if I had the ugliest one there.

Cue the music, as that wraps it up. No need to thank the Academy. We're too liquored up to acknowledge anything.

New Post at AOL

2008-01-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd pitch my new posts at AOl over here, just to add volume. I listed six books for AOL readers as decent places to begin to increase their knowledge on cocktails and drinks. Thought I'd open the floor and see if anybody strongly disagrees with my picks. I wanted to keep it at five, with my personal favorite (Dr. Cocktail's book) thrown in because I couldn't resist. Anybody else insist on a different top five? Keep in mind I was trying to suggest books for newbies to our field...ok, I'm ready, let 'er rip!!!

A Brief Moment of Sobriety

2007-12-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, I do some blogging at AOL. I just put up a post recently which I'd also intended to put up here. As writers who write about drinks, I think it is also imperative to mention the very real consequences of the alcoholic jewels we rave about, even as just a gentle reminder not to enjoy these gems a little too much. Despite all the media that has been devoted to the perils of drinking and driving or even over-consumption, the statistics still show an alarming amount of incidents involving alcohol. Some might point to declining fatality stats as a sign of progress, but my answer to that would be to point out the window on the corner of 1st and Union outside our restaurant late on a Friday or Saturday night.

In other words, be safe out there this New Years.

Okay, okay...

2007-12-27T17:03:00.000-08:00

Has it really been that long since I posted something? Really? September? Well, I'm settling in to my new digs, finally, and do have a backlog of cocktails, rants and miscellaneous stuff to share. I promise, some new stuff is on the way.

In fact, I'll make it my New Years resolution...I'll get started...um, tomorrow.

Have a happy and safe New Years, everyone.

Know Your Bartender

2007-09-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post this link because I found it absolutely hilarious. Actually, the whole site is hilarious. Brilliant writing throughout. And if you haven't bought the book, you should.

What kind of bartender are you??? Me? Somewhere between Bar God and Professional. I'm trying hard to move away from Bar God status though.

The Union

2007-09-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

My entrant to this Mixology Monday event, hosted by Gabriel over at Cocktail Nerd, marks my first post (gulp) with an original cocktail. As I've mentioned in this space, I don't really consider myself overly talented when it comes to creating new cocktails. I'm no Jamie Boudreau, who seemingly creates three stunningly innovative cocktails per day (I'm sure he comes up with at least one before he's even brushed his teeth in the morning...that dang Canuck!).

Like any proud papa, I'd like to share this cocktail's backstory. Once upon a time we had a bartender at Union who made up a drink called Le Vie en Rose. He misted a cocktail glass with rosewater, then mixed up Absolut Mandarin with Chambord, strained it into the marinated cocktail glass, topped up with bubbly then plopped a rose petal atop the drink. Rose aromatics, a bit of bubbly candy in the glass and a rose petal. . .sheesh, you can imagine how popular it was. Once that bartender left, the drink left with him. The new bar manager and our floor manager didn't like it because the scent of rosewater dominated the bar (and the cabinet where the mister was kept). This disappointed legions of fans, some of whom went out of their way to get one.

I've always wanted to bring this cocktail back, only doing it differently to appease my own palette, and that of my newly betrothed. I wanted to refine this drink for Christine, as a cocktail meant to celebrate our engagement. After some experimentation, Cameron and Anita came in and tried it and came up with a wonderful name, The Pistola Rosa, along with a few helpful observations regarding the composition. Unfortunately, Christine seemed a little bummed, since the name didn't reflect romance or our matrimony. Unbeknownst to her, I think I finally came up with a name, one that also mirrors the name of the restaurant.

So here it is, The Union.

4 mint leaves
2 drops rosewater
2 barspoons cremé de cassis
Muddle above in a pint glass
Add 2 oz Hendricks gin, fill glass with ice then stir
Pour into a cocktail glass, top off with 1 oz prosecco or other light bubbly
Garnish with a single rose petal

No pic of it just yet, since I broke my camera and it's off being repaired. It should come back this week and I'll post a picture of it then, because it really is a pretty drink.

Know I just have to come up with a drink that uses the wonderful name Cameron and Anita came up with. That is, if that @&*#!!! Boudreau doesn't beat me to it.

Well, Howdy AOL Readers

2007-09-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Just want to take a moment to welcome AOL food and drink blog readers to my darkened and frequently neglected corner of the internet.

For the five or six of you who read this site regularly, let me announce that my friend Kat Kinsman has brought me aboard as a contributor to AOL and their food and drink blog site. Should be great. I believe we're calling the column Raising the Bar (har!!).

Essentially, the gist is to give readers ideas on how to expand their repertoire when they walk into a bar.

And for that, I'll be playing the bartender.

I raise a Sazerac in your direction, my friends. I encourage you to peruse the cocktail blog sites listed on the left. They are the best of their kind; all of them are brilliantly written and chock full of knowledge. Good people to boot. Welcome to our little subculture, the drinks are great here.

Cheers.

(ah, Jeffrey has pointed out how useful it would be for me to post a link. Doh!!! Smart guy, that Jeffrey. You can find the first post here, along with a familiar shot of my smarmy mug).

A Shout Out to Cameron and Anita

2007-09-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

That wonderful duo, Cameron and Anita from Married With Dinner popped into Union last night, which for me turned an otherwise unremarkable Labor Day Friday night into something special. I was lucky enough to borrow them from Murray and the Zig Zag crowd for a couple hours and they humored me by sampling a few new cocktails I'm experimenting with, providing incredibly useful commentary and ideas on how to refine them. I've never considered myself very talented when it comes to inventing new cocktails, preferring instead to concentrate on educating myself (and my guests) on forgotten and under-ordered classics. I have to admit, I was a little nervous, same as when Murray or Kacy happen to pop up at the bar. They are, of course, very gracious and fun to talk with, and I'll definitely take them up on their offer to tour San Fran's bars (as much fun as it is to have them at the bar, I imagine it'll be even more fun to be on the other side of the bar with them).

Thanks again for popping in, Anita and Cameron.

Two Posts In One Day!!!

2007-08-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Haven't thrown down a good rant in awhile. Given that I'm riding a pretty good high right now (engaged, good weather, decent baseball being played here in Seattle, just had some great guests over, Labor Day coming up), this seems an odd time to pitch a hissy fit... but here's a few just to get them off my chest.

Dirty Martinis.
Yeah, who came up with this one? What a good way to waste some tasty booze. The other night, I had a clown who wanted his extra extra extra dirty. Know what he got? 3 parts olive juice to a drop of vodka. Verdict? Delicious, although the poor guy went through three glasses of water before he finished it, mua ha ha ha!

Pomegranate and cucumber drinks. Really, I'm just waiting for the fad to pass. Pomegranate may have some legs, but my money is on the cuke trend burning out before too long.

Not knowing your surroundings. Union is a fine-dining restaurant, and our decor reflects this. So walking in and being mortally pissed that we don't carry Miller Lite or Pucker cracks me up. Two ditzy chicks walked in and complained over our lack of, ahem, "normal beer", missing that we have several iconic Belgian and German beers. I don't get mad when I go to KFC and they don't offer a burger.

High fives and WOO HOO's. Get a hold of yourself there, brother.

Long Island Iced Teas. Nothing screams ROOKIE more than this drink. Really, what they want is a fast buzz, so I introduce them to Stroh '80' (a 160 proof abomination from Austria) and then watch them pinball out the door with cartoon stars spangling around their noggin.

Making me read the menu to you because you didn't bring your glasses. Honestly, you wouldn't believe how often this happens. Pack some reading glasses, Mr. Magoo!

"What's good?" Uh, everything!!! Were you expecting a different answer?

Making out (and I mean really making out) at the bar. Get a hold of yourself there, sister.

Snobbery. Yeah, gotta save this one for last, because I can be guilty of this sometimes (I'm looking at you, weekend warrior. . . WOO HOO! I got your Apple Pucker right here). Really, I just try and have fun at work and not take myself too seriously, and usually do just that. Bartending is a gas, most of the time, and I haven't found a better job.

Enjoy the last days of summer everyone. See you in September.

The Spumoni

2007-08-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

By now you might have noticed the sidebar I recently included on this site, the current cocktail menu at Union. I've been wanting to post it since seeing Jeffrey Morgenthaler's menu. He has his as a PDF, but I'm far too dumb and lazy to figure out how to do that, so I just presented it this way.

With fall coming, most of these cocktails will get the elbow. The Spumoni, however, won't be one of them. This spin on the woefully under-ordered Americano is too easy to whip up, my boss loves it, it's popular and, of course, it be too dang tasty to bump aside.

The Spumoni
1 oz Campari
1 oz fresh grapefruit juice
1 oz tonic water
Build in collins glass, garnish with an orange twist.

That's it. The pub for the drink goes to our old bar manager, Jerry Tide. It is utterly simple, both in construction and taste. The little bugger is refreshing too, and given the low alcohol content, you can knock 'em back all friggin' night.

What a Long Strange Trips It's Been

2007-08-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I missed the party this Monday, and I never miss a good party, especially when it's thrown by people who know their way around the sauce. And for the second month in a row I managed to squeak out three measly posts and have barely had time to read through my favorite blogs.

So what's up? Plenty, my friends, plenty.

The weather's been great, the Mariners are in playoff contention, I 'pulled a Waldbauer' and dropped my digital camera (so no pics for a bit), a family reunion in Oregon, extra days tending bar, family dropping into town, my 20th year high school reunion (sheesh), brainstorming ideas to improve the bar and update the cocktail menu at Union, planning my wedding, studying and plotting the cocktail books I'm writing, trying to quit smok. . . woops, what was that????

Did I say wedding? Yup. I'm happy to announce that Christine and I have gotten engaged!!! After three and a half years, I finally get to call her my fiancé.

Right now we're planning on a Caribbean beach wedding (I'm just gone on the idea of a barefoot, tropical beach reception, whooping it up with some aged rum and a steel pan band in the background). And I wish I could invite every one of you, but since space is limited for us down there, I'll have to find another way to share a round of drinks with my favorite drinkers.

Oh, how about an engagement party?

Keep your ears open in the next month (in other words, once I can catch my breath), I'll be announcing an engagement cocktail party similiar to the Mixology Monday events, and you're all invited. Theme? I'm open to suggestions, but I have a few ideas.

Oh, and Dr. Bamboo, just wanted you to know I celebrated my engagement with . . . ta da! A gin and tonic. (and having just finished reading your recent post, I toast your newborn and your new life as a father with one as well)

Lenell's

2007-07-27T10:11:00.001-07:00

Yup. That's me, staring longingly at a bathtub chock-filled with hooch. Let me explain....

You see, just before the 4th of July weekend, I went to NYC for the wedding of one of my best friends in the whole wide world. At the pre-wedding dinner, Christine and I mentioned we had bought the bride and groom a bottle of Lucid, the new legal absinthe being sold in the city, to Kat, one of those electric human beings you run into every now and then who seems to know everybody and everything. She told us we simply had to go to this one liquor store in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. The way she described this little place, I felt my life would be lesser if I didn't make the trip.

And wouldn't you know it, it probably would have.

First, we couldn't find a cab driver who even knew how to get us to Red Hook. You should know we were already in Brooklyn, staying at the Marriott near the Brooklyn Bridge. I had to get us there, reading the map for the cabbie. What should have been a ten minute ride from the hotel ended up being closer to 30 minutes. Beginning to sound like the quest for the Holy Grail?

In a way, yes. Welcome to Lenell's, the coolest liquor store on the planet.

You want bourbon? They've got the largest selection in NY. Rye? In addition to their own (which, apparently, kicks all kinds of ass), they've got a hefty amount. The gin is stored in a bath tub, seen in the picture above. There are tastings every day, Chartreuse VEP when I went.

I was duly stunned. My gast was flabbered.

I don't have the space to go into everything they do, or everything they have. Go to the website, browse around, peruse the gallery and their selections. Plonk yourself on their mailing list. And for the love of King Arthur and his Knights, embark on the quest the next time you're in NY.

The Ines Cocktail

2007-07-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

First, a big huzzah!!! to Paul for hosting a deliriously fun Mixology Monday. I haven't had time to browse through all the blog love, but somewhere in between this post and compiling my recipes into book format, I plan to.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've got a backlog of drinks I'd like to write about, starting with one of the weirder cocktails I know. This one, like so many others, was introduced to me via Ben Dougherty at Seattle's iconic Zig Zag. It graced the menu at Union for a hot second, until the seasons changed and found itself elbowed aside.

The history behind The Ines Cocktail is slim. All I know is that it won a 1982 bartender challenge in Portugal, whipped up by Alain Nevers of France. Ben found it in an out-of-print cocktail book, then made one for me.

1 3/4 oz gin
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz amaretto

Stir, strain into chilled cocktail glass
Add one green olive as garnish

After Ben made it, he watched me taste it, furrowed his brow and said something like "it's pretty interesting, isn't it? It's good..."

Interesting is a good word for it. It's an odd little bugger. The combination of Amaretto and gin and an olive seems to throw people off, yet it works, darn it. Something about the sweet-almond flavor of the Amaretto and the saltiness of the olive creates an ethereal flavor I've never tasted in a cocktail.

Just about every bar has the ingredients (Christine even had me instruct a bartender at a casino how to make one). Rather than buying Amaretto for this one drink, I'd recommend you jot the recipe down and teach your local bartender how to make it. It's worth the effort.

Drinks like The Ines are hopefully what this site can be about....saving really good cocktails from the scrap heap.

My Pink Elephant

2007-07-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Been far too long since I threw an entry down, or even trolled through the ever-growing cocktail blogosphere. There are quite a few reasons (excuses?) for that, one of which dovetails slightly with todays Mixology Monday theme. First, the weather in Seattle has been, in a word, sweet. We just don't get that many spectacularly hot and sunny days here. It's kind of hard to be home and blog when the weather is so nice. And second, I've just been flat-out busy either working or going out or recovering from going-out (my hooch intake during the summer borders on the ridiculous).

But really, Paul's public call as to why we blog couldn't have come at a better time. I've been stuck. Not that I don't have a backlog of drinks to highlight, but I've been stuck on the why I blog bit along with - more importantly - what I want my blog to be.

A little background on two elements which got me started blogging. About sixteen years ago, I read 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac and I, like thousands of other brethren before me, got the I-WANNA-BE-A-WRITER bug. I even went to Boulder, Colorado and graduated with a degree in writing from The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute, studying at the elbows of those same characters I read about in Kerouac's books (all of them except Jack and Neal, of course). I tried working on a novel, the title of which is now the title of this blog. After years of writing, I finally decided I flat-out don't have the stamina to complete my book. I ho-hummed my way around America for awhile waiting tables, looking for something else to tie my identity around, until one day I stood behind a bar and helped the bartender kick out Cosmos and Margaritas to a thankless rabble during a private party.

Aha!

So, blogging is a way to get my writing chops back (gotta say, I'm feeling pretty rusty, too), and on a topic I really do love. But this is non-fiction, a completely different beast. Non-fiction requires a type of superior knowledge which often trudges toward education, and this is what invites the thousand-pound pink elephant into the room (ha! I love mixing metaphors). Skimming through the blogs, I'm always reminded how much everyone involved knows about cocktails, history and lore, spirits and bartending. Is there anything new I have to contribute? I don't know, really. I don't feel comfortable enough to be an educator. What I do know is that are a bajillion cocktails out there, some have been undeservedly put out to pasture, and my direction will probably focus on uncovering those which should get more love.

Ok, on to the blog love-fest...

Truly, I browse through all the sites I have listed, and keep them on there because I like them and want you to like and visit them as well. I tend to gravitate toward other bartenders, so Explore the Pour, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Drinkboston, Spirits and Cocktails, Jimmy's Cocktail Hour, and the Bottle Gang are the ones I usually hit first. But my biggest shout-out goes to the one who initiated this post and inspired me to try my own blog (and also the one I plagarize the most)... Paul.

Maybe it's because he's from Seattle and I'm a shameless homer... maybe it's because I have a black belt in kiss-ass and he is our host today... or maybe it's simply because he knows more than me and writes better to boot and has a unique talent to beat me to topics I want to write about. The updates are frequent and entertaining and inspiring.

The drink? The Ganesvoort Fizz. To be fair, I had noticed the recipe in Wondrich's book well before I read Paul's blog entry, but his unabashed enthusiasm for it got me off my ass. I wrote a little about it one of my earlier posts and eventually this little gem found its way onto the Union cocktail menu.

The Ganesvoort Fizz

2 oz medium-bodied rum
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz Drambuie
2 dashes Peychaud bitters

Shake, strain into a highball glass, top with soda.

Cheers everyone. I've got a barload of cocktail recipes coming up. Stay tuned.

And last but not least, should any of you fine bloggers come to Seattle, let me know... your first drink at The Zig Zag will be on me.

Arsenic and Old Lace

2007-06-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

I missed out on this months Mixology Monday. Rather, I let it pass by, mostly because I didn't know any cream-based cocktails that I loved and felt the need to pass on. I did figure I could throw in a créme-based cocktail, but the only one I'm in love with now is the Arsenic and Old Lace, featuring the regrettably impossible to find créme de violette, which I thought might be unfair (as in, here is this great cocktail, you can't make it, neener-neener-neener.. ptttttttttt)

Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles did just that, however, and now I feel the need to share this drink, because it is truly extradordinary.

Like most cocktails I've had recently, this one was introduced to Christine and I by Ben and Murray at the Zig Zag. It's almost impossible to describe. The flavors are delicate, that is the first thing you notice, and long after you've finished it, the delicacy is the element you remember. All the flavors are there, but the violet is haunting and seductive, as if you're sipping on the essence of the flower alone.

The recipe I have comes from Cocktail DB. Not sure if this is exactly how Murray and Ben make it, as they tend to re-interpret and improve upon recipes.

Arsenic and Old Lace
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz pastis
1/2 oz créme de violette
1/4 oz dry vermouth
Stir, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with a lemon twist.

This is now the initial cocktail Christine orders when she sits down at the Zig Zag. Also, it is so unique and fascinating it's inspired me to try and craft some homemade violet liquer.

Too late for Mixology Monday, but if you can track down a bottle of créme de violette, or if you can find someone to bring you a bottle from Japan or France, stir one up and see for yourself.

Jones Complete Bar Guide

2007-06-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

I've been trolling the internet for this book for what seems like forever. Not long ago, it popped up on eBay and became my first purchase on that site.

Lucky me....

The Jones Complete Bar Guide is the product of a lifetime of experience and research by Stan Jones. Jones had been a lifer in the restaurant management business and involved in nearly every aspect of the beverage industry. The back-jacket pictures show a man in touch with the hilarious fashion sense of the early 70's, huge black-rimmed glasses, an intimidating afro and a chin second only to Dick Tracy's.

Clocking in at nearly 500 pages, this book has nearly everything you could want in a cocktail book: in-depth history of the spirtis industry, backgrounds on major brands, origins of famous cocktails, and approximately 1 bazillion cocktail recipes. Seriously. There are enough forgotten cocktails in this monster to scratch your research itch for years.

Come to think of it, it seems this is close to becoming a forgotten cocktail book, which would be a shame. It deserves a space on every serious cocktail-geek's bookshelf.

Aside from the merits I've just outlined, there is one other aspect I love about this book; the layout. It is large. One thing I dislike about pocket-sized guides is that it's difficult to make a cocktail while reading the recipe at the same time. The Jones Complete Bar Guide is large enough where it can lay on the table next to you while you're building the cocktail that made your mouth water.

In short, were I to write a cocktail guide (something I've been spending a fair amount of time plotting), this is the book I'll use as my model.

Hunt it down, if you can, my fellow cocktail dorks. It is a classic.

When a Fizz is a Collins and a Smash is a Julep

2007-06-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

Fizzes and fixes and flips.... well, I was gonna finish that with the Wizard of Oz ditty, but I'll take whatever shred of dignity and taste I have remaining and spare everyone.

This post is a selfish one, wherein I try to get these categories settled. There's some convolution here, in that some of the categories blur into one another depending on the cocktail book you're reading, exactly the same as how cocktail recipes vary from book to book. I would love some feedback if someone's definition is different than posted here.

Let's dig in.

Buck: spirit, lemon or lime juice, ginger ale (or ginger beer?) I'm unsure if ginger beer excludes a cocktail from the buck category. Does this mean a Moscow Mule and a Gin-Gin Mule is actually a buck???

Cobbler: wine or sherry, simple syrup, crushed ice, gobs of fresh fruit as garnish.

Collins: spirit, sugar (simple syrup), lemon juice built in a highball, topped with soda water with a lemon or orange twist and a cherry as garnish. A different spirit changes the name of the collins...
Tom Collins: London dry gin.
John Collins: in London, Holland gin. In America, bourbon or whiskey.
Pedro Collins: white rum
Rum Collins: dark rum
Captain Collins: Canadian whisky
Sandy Collins: Scotch whisky
Colonel Collins: bourbon
Mike Collins: Irish whiskey
Pierre Collins: Cognac
Joe Collins: Vodka (why it's not something like a Boris Collins is beyond me)
Rueben (or Pepito) Collins: tequilla
Pisco Collins: Pisco (natch)

Cooler: this one's a snap. Spirit, carbonated beverage over ice, citrus twist.

Daisy: spirit, fruit syrup or grenadine, crushed ice, topped with soda water.

Fizz: spirit, citrus juice, simple syrup, soda water. Sound familiar? Yup, the ingredients are exactly the same as a Collins. The differences lie in the garnish, preparation and glass. A Collins is built in the glass it is served in, a highball. A Fizz is shaken (prior to adding the soda water), strained into a rocks-filled old-fashioned glass, then topped with the soda water. Fizzes also frequently contain an egg. Here's a list of the different Fizzes, according to egg component:
Silver Fizz: egg white
Golden Fizz: egg yolk
Royal Fizz: whole egg

Flip: wine, spirit, liqueur, or even beer, whole egg, sugar and sometimes cream, straight up in a wine goblet, either hot or cold, fruit garnish.

Gimlet: spirit, simple syrup, Rose's lime juice. Not fresh squeezed lime juice, but Rose's specifically.

Julep: spirit, mint, simple syrup, crushed ice. The word julep comes from the Arabic (julap) which means 'rose water'. The irony of course is that there is no rose water in a julep.

Rickey: order a gimlet in my bar, and this is what you'll get...spirit, fresh lime juice, simple syrup.

Sling: spirit, juice, bitters, fruit brandy, soda water, fruit garnishes.

Smash: spirit, mint, simple syrup. Now this sounds just like a bleeping julep, to me. I've read that lemon juice is added to differentiate it from a julep, and also that crushed ice is actually the difference-maker. Sigh. Any help out there???

Sour: spirit, lemon juice, simple syrup. Not so hard. Quite a few recipes include egg white. Obviously, there are a lot of people who take issue with the egg. What I do is top it off with soda water in the shaker, then shake the crap out of it as if it contained egg white. Then you get foam without the textural and trace flavor of the egg. Personally, I like the egg... in some sours.

I skipped over a few (highball, crusta, swizzle, toddy), but I think I hit the majors. And maybe, just maybe, I cleared up these terms for myself.

The Zig Zag Cafe

2007-06-03T16:22:00.001-07:00

Where do I start?

Is it enough that I refer to this bar as my University? I haven't been to class in a while, but I never fail to learn something whenever I visit... a new drink, a cocktail book, an obscure flavoring of some sort, a methodology...

Or, even, my Temple Step down the Pike Place stair-walk and that yellow awning greets you, candlelights backlighting the bar, the crowd of regulars and fellow bartenders and cocktail/spirit enthusiasts hunched on the bar... When I walk in an awe-inspired hush moves through me, all those bottles winking and grinning. Setting my hands on that bar with my back slightly hunched even becomes a sort of half-bow...

...It is my perfect bar. There! I said it. I'm not the only who feels that way, of course. Anyone who owns a cocktail blog and has visited has gushed over it: Robert at Drinkboy, Paul at Cocktail Chronicles, Cameron and Anita at Married with Dinner...several others, and now that collective of unabashed enthusiasts include me.

It starts, of course, with the bartenders. Murray Stenson, has been written about extensively, here, here, and here, to name a few without even including the aforementioned blogs. He is one of the most efficient bartenders I've seen, his technique exact and fluid. His memory is jaw-dropping, his encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails and spirits legendary. All of that comes with an inspiring level of service and an eagerness to share his craft. If anything, the accolades fall far short of the experience.

Most other bartenders (including yours truly) would be lessened in comparison, but Kacy Fitch and Ben Daugherty are most definitely not just 'other bartenders'. They don't get as much press, which is a shame; they are equally skilled, equally knowledgeable, equally a joy to talk to and laugh with.

They are collectively the three best bartenders in the city. How many places can boast that!

Then there's the ambience. Those three could sling drinks out of the back of an ice-cream truck and I'd still go, but the Zig Zag has a unique feel and a pitch-perfect setting. There is a patio ringed with potted plants, intimate tables, circular booths, a standing bar plus a dozen highly-prized bar stools... in short, every conceivable seating request. Behind the bar is the largest well I've ever seen, a staggering collection of booze lovingly lit by candles, and a library of old cocktail books quietly awaiting discovery.

Finally, it is located off the beaten path, lending a type of in-the-know speakeasy element, just shy of a city-wide secret. Borrowing some of that historic, turn-of-the-century vibe doesn't hurt either...it feels like it's been a treasured part of the city forever.

If you're coming to Seattle, it simply has to be on your itinerary. Kacy, Ben and Murray deserve to be among the wealthiest and most universally acclaimed bartenders in America, and you deserve to experience their legendary cocktails and standard-bearing service.

I raise my glass to you gentlemen.

Thank you for making me a better bartender. And thank you for the Zig Zag Cafe.

Quit F*&$%in' With My Manhattans!!!!

2007-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I'm not the anal retentive type. I have few rules when it comes to my bar, which is the way I think it should be. I may grumble about making Long Island Iced Teas or Bloody Mary's or Duck Fart shots, but they don't make me mad. A careless Manhattan, though? Don't get me started...

Actually, it's too late... the pump has been primed and I'm already on a roll. Put on your seat belt and grab a helmet....

Ahem

Just got done reading an article in the latest Food and Wine about Philadelphia. In the article, Editor Dana Cowin mentions having a great cocktail scene is part of what makes a great food city, then goes on to mention the best cocktail in the city is a Manhattan.... wait for it...shaken by Kip Waide at Southwark.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, Dana Cowin should know better. Each year, Cowin and friends travel the country and release a wonderful collection of original and classic cocktails prepared by the best bartenders in the best bars. Sooooooo, Dana, how can I say this nicely....

If the best cocktail in the city is a SHAKEN Manhattan, you've got to get the hell out of that town!!!!!

The only good Manhattan is a stirred one. Made with good rye or superior bourbon. Furthermore, it should have a rich vermouth (not the cheap crap. Vya is the choice here). A healthy dash of bitters too. Then stirred. No Manhattan should come with a head on it. One more time....

...no Manhattan should come with a head on it!!!

And if the bartender insists on shaking the crap out of one, step away from the bar...in fact, turn your back and walk out. If you must stay, order a beer.

As I like to say, life is too short for crappy drinks.

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail

2007-06-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

One of the few benefits of a slow night in the bar is the ability to test out cocktails. At Union, I'm lucky enough to have a kitchen crew who is as equally curious about trying out drinks as I am in making them. Sundays are usually the day I get to experiment, though this usually happens during service and they can only have a few sips. A recent Saturday night, however, gave me a rare opportunity to help the kitchen crew get their buzz on (ok, that part is not so rare) with some new drinks, at a time when they're ready to party (again, not so rare for Saturday night).

I'd been making Jason Stoneburner, our extraordinarily talented chef de cuisine, Ganesvoort Fizzes during their cleanup. By the time he was done, I'd run out of Drambuie, and a new cocktail needed to be whipped up. He'd had his first Ganesvoort Fizz the previous night and had been so excited he did some research to a) find out how to pronounce it and b) find another drink I could make him. Somehow, he landed on the Bermuda Rum Swizzle, a drink I'd never made but had the general idea. I mistakenly thought it contained Cointreau. I threw one together and Jason loved it, as did the rest of the table, so I made four more. Then I began to have second thoughts about the Cointreau. Sure enough, a gander at the recipe revealed no Cointreau.

I got home around 4 a.m. and dived into my new Jones Complete Bar Guide (review on this beautiful monster forthcoming) and sure enough, discovered The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, a Bermuda Rum Swizzle with Cointreau.

1 3/4 oz Barbados Rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1/4 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Falernum (I always jump at the chance to show my Falernum off)
Shake, strain into cocktail glass

I made this with both Barbados rum and Bermuda rum with equal success. If you enjoy richer flavor, go with the Goslings Black Seal Bermuda. Personally, I thought it was funny not using Bermuda rum given the name of the drink, then again Barbados rum allows the other ingredients more of the spotlight.

Three days later, I snapped the above picture of Christine enjoying one in the sun on our back porch. No yacht, no Bermuda, but she's got the drink so she's at least one step closer...

Bartender v.s. Mixologist

2007-05-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Does this turf war exist, or am I igniting one?

I just read an old interview with Ryan Magarian, a local mixologist who works with Kathy Casey Food Studios. He asserts a difference between a bartender and a mixologist, claiming a bartender to be more like a line cook and a mixologist to be more like a head chef. Taking the analogy one step farther, he seems to claim that a mixologist is an artist, while a bartender simply does the grunt work. This implies bartenders lack artistic vision.

That may be true of some bartenders, but I always have a problem with blanket statements such as that. I personally consider it part of my job to create new cocktails, to ensure consistentcy in recipes and to display some sort of artistic vision in our menus. It's an overly simplistic view to assume bartenders don't respect their crafts while mixologists do. It might be true to say that for every bartender who truly cares about his craft there are hundreds more who only sling drinks for tips while they work toward a different career, to state flat-out that only mixologists care about their craft is, in a word, wrong.

I can't stand when people call me a mixologist or a bar chef. It's embarassing. I'm a bartender, and damn proud of that. Everything Magarian claims for himself as a mixologist, I find to be inherent in my job description.

All of this may just be hair-splitting semantics, but my own definition of mixologist would be simply someone who creates cocktails but doesn't earn a living tending bar. If Magarian no longer works behind a bar, that'd be fair to call him a mixologist.

Overall, however, I've a feeling Magarian is just trying to seperate himself from the common bartender. Me, I'm proud to trace my lineage from Jerry Thomas (try explaining how that guy was not an artist) to the flair bartender wowing the crowd on a Saturday night, to the server feeding cans of Budweiser to thirsty blue-collar workers at your local hole-in-the-wall.

Bartenders are equal parts line cook and executive chef. To suggest otherwise is neither accurate nor fair. There is no doubting Magarian's talent, nor his resumé, and I have tremendous respect for his devotion to our craft and his contributions to our cocktail library. I only wish he had greater respect for bartenders.

Falernum

2007-05-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not an expert in my field, let's just start there and get that out of the way. There are numerous sites out there that thoroughly cover the full range of topics in the cocktail and spirit world, and if they don't, the massive library going back over 100 years does. So what can I contribute that's new??? Not sure, but I'm going to pitch a few pennies and see....

My first penny is my own experiments with falernum.

Falernum, for the unitiated, is a syrup/sweetener used in tropical drinks, sometimes with alcohol, sometimes without. Here in Seattle, it is difficult to get a hold of , though the non-alcoholic version by Fee Brothers is now available at DeLaurenti near the Pike Place Market. The alcohol version, however, is unavailable. If you're anything like me, when something is unavailable, I become obsessed with obtaining it somehow (like Creme Yvette, Dave Embury's book etc.) When I learned there were recipes out there to make your own, well, I just had to take a crack at it.

I was first introduced to falernum by Kacy over at the Zig Zag Cafe here in Seattle. (A profile on the Zig Zag will have to be forthcoming, as it deserves a blog entry of its own...). The taste of fresh lime, cloves, almonds was unlike anything I'd ever had. Kacy told me they'd gone through a series of batches until they settled on their current recipe. He gave me the ingredients off the top of his head, but didn't have the proportions with him. He also told me the process, but by then I'd had a few Corn-n-Oils and his instructions were lost in the vapors...

Paul Clarke detailed his own trials and errors on his website, and his latest batch looked like a good place to start, so I gleefully ripped off his instructions without his permission, brought in Kacy's ingredients, and went from there.

The Ingredients
6 oz Cruzan 2 year white rum
9 limes
40 cloves
40 whole allspice berries
1.5 oz ginger (by weight)
Pure vanilla extract
Pure almond extract
Homemade simple syrup

And now for Paul's instructions... with some, ahem, liberal adjustments...
*Zest the limes, being careful not to slice so deep you get the white pith (a microplane grater works best for this), then set the limes aside
*Julienne the ginger (i.e. cut into matchstick strips)
*Add into mason jar, along with the rum, cloves and allspice berries
*Piss off your significant other by taking up room in the refrigerator, right next to your homemade pimento dram, various grenadines and other infused syrups
*Let it sit with optimum serenity overnight

*The next day, strain the solids from the infused rum through a cheesecloth, pressing on the solids to extract all the goodness
*Dump the solids into a saucepan, along with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, essentially making an infused simple syrup. Heat water until sugar is dissolved.
*After it has cooled, strain syrup into mason jar and mix with the rum
*Add juice pressed from the 9 zested limes held over from the day before
*Add two tsps each of vanilla extract and almond extract
*Wait 24 hours, then, Dr. Frankenstein, test your creation in a much-deserved drink

How does it turn out? At first, the lime and clove dominate, but eventually every ingredient integrates. This falernum keeps it's snappy lime flavor, and the spices and flavorings stay in the background where they belong.

The drink to test it on? The Corn-N-Oil, of course...

2 1/4 oz. Cruzan Blackstrap St. Croix rum
3/4 oz. your freakishly delicious new falernum syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters

Build in a rocks glass, garnish with a lime wedge, dutifully squeezing it into the drink.

Dance Around the Maypole

2007-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day to all the socialists and Wiccans out there. Today is the day of my first post, and I'll have to lobby Wikkipedia to add my blog to it's May Day page. This will allow non-socialists and non-Wiccans the ability to celebrate May Day as well.

So, my initial 'Cocktail of the Day' selection begins on International Workers Day and on a pagan holiday. I'm not sure if there is an over-arching meaning to this, but my cocktail selection will most certainly have to reflect the spirit of the day.

I am not aware of any pagan cocktails (though a quick Web search revealed some bizarre ones, such as the Witches Brew on Cocktail.com, which doesn't read well).

Ahem, on to the socialist inspired cocktails then, of which there are a few. We could select any of the classic Cuban drinks, as I'm sure Fidel Castro would encourage. 'La Floridita', 'El Presidente', a 'Mojito' or two, a 'Cuba Libre', the 'Papa Dobles', heck, any Daiquiri would do today as well. In fact, I strongly recommend drinking your way through the entire Cuban cannon. My initial feeling, though, is that today is not the best day to honor those glorious Cuban barmen who kept Hemingway and countless other thirsty expats satiated during the dark days of Prohibition. Plenty of other days on the calender to raise our collective glasses in their memory.

So today's 'Cocktail of the Day' and this blog's initial selection goes to 'The Communist'. This recipe is from my favorite cocktail author Dr Cocktail aka Ted Haigh, from his book 'Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails'. If you don't own this book, get it; Dr Cocktail deserves to be wealthy.

1 oz gin
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz cherry brandy
3/4 oz lemon juice

A gin and juice cocktail. Snoop Dogg would be proud. Power to the peoples.

Cocktail Recipes

2007-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

* Absinthe Frappe - Absinthe, sugar, water
* Aku Aku - Rum, peach liquer, mint, lime juice, pineapple, simple syrup
* Alfonso - Dubonnet, sugar, Angostura bitters, Champagne
* Algonquin - Rye, pineapple juice, dry vermouth
* Americano - Campari, sweet vermouth, soda water
Ancient Mariner
* Anejo Highball - Rum, orange curacao, lime juice, Angostura bitters, ginger beer
* Aperol Sour - Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup, orange bitters
* Applejack Old-Fashioned - Applejack, maple syrup, Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitter
* Arsenic & Old Lace- Gin, creme de violette, dry vermouth, absinthe
* Ascot - Bourbon, Amaretto, peach bitters, star anise
* Astoria - Gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters
* Aviation - Gin, lemon juice, maraschino liquer

* Batida Rosa - Cachaca, lemon juice, pineapple juice, grenadine, simple syrup
* Bee's Kiss - Light and dark rum, honey, cream
* Bellini - White peach puree, prosecco
* Blinker - Rye, grapefruit juice, raspberry syrup
* Blood & Sand - Scotch, sweet vermouth, cherry brandy, orange juice
* Blue Moon - Gin, lemon juice, creme de violette
* Bobby Burns - Scotch, sweet vermouth, Drambuie, Angostura bitters
* Boulevardier - Bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth
* Black & Tan - Rye, blackberries, mint, simple syrup, lime juice, ginger beer
* Bramble - Gin, creme de mure, lemon juice, simple syrup

* Caipirinha - Cachaca, lime, simple syrup
* Canton - Jamaican rum, orange curacao, maraschino liquer, grenadine, Angostura bitters
* Champagne Cocktail - Champagne, Angostura bitters, sugar cube
* Chartreuse Swizzle - Chartreuse, falernum, lime juice, pineapple juice
* Choke Artist - Cynar, tequilla, sherry, orange bitters
* Chrysanthemum - Dry vermouth, Benedictine, absinthe
* Citron Buck - Absolut Citron, creme de cassis, ginger simple syrup, ginger beer
* Clermont Smash - Mint, falernum, bourbon, lemon juice, peach bitters
* Cocktail a'la Louisiane - Rye, Benedictine, sweet vermouth, absinthe, Peychaud bitters
* Corn-N-Oil - Cruzan Blackstrap rum, falernum, bitters, lime
* Corpse Reviver #2 - Lillet, gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, absinthe
* Creole Resolution - Lillet, grenadine, sugar cube, champagne

* Dark And Stormy - Goslings rum, ginger beer, lime
* Dead Man's Dram - Demerrara rum, brandy, falernum, pimento dram, 1/2 & 1/2
* Death In The Afternoon - absinthe, champagne
* Delicious Sour - Applejack, peach liquer, lime juice, egg white, simple syrup
* Deshler - Rye, Cointreau, Dubonnet, Peychaud bitters
* Diamondback - Rye, chartreuse, applejack
* Drink Without A Name - Vodka, Chartreuse, Cointreau
* Duwamish Julep - Bourbon, mint, blackberry liquer, Angostura bitters

* Eastern Sour - Bourbon, lemon juice, orange juice, orgeat, simple syrup
* El Diablo - Tequilla, lime juice, creme de cassis, ginger ale
* Eldwerwilde - Gin, elderflower syrup, absinthe, Angostura bitters
* Expatriate - Pimm's, ginger syrup, champagne

* Floridita - Rum, sweet vermouth, grenadine, lime juice, white creme de cacao
* Fort Washington Flip - Applejack, Benedictine, maple syrup, egg
* French 75 - Gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, champagne
* Friar's Pint - Gin, cardamom-infused Guinness, sherry, simple syrup, Angostura bitters

* Ganesvoort Fizz - Rum, Drambuie, lemon juice, Peychaud bitters, soda water
* Gentleman Johnson - Bourbon, iced tea, Cointreau
* Gimlet - Gin or vodka, Roses lime juice
* Gin-Gin Mule - Gin, lime juice, mint, ginger beer, simple syrup
* Gypsy - Gin, lime juice, maraschino liquer, elderflower liquer

* Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch - Strohs rum, absinthe, lime juice, orange juice, simple syrup, cherries
* Hoskins - Gin, Torani Amer, Cointreau, Maraschino liquer, orange bitters
* Hurricane - Light and dark rums, orange and lime juices, passion fruit syrup, grenadine, simple syrup

* Ines - Gin, Amaretto, dry and sweet vermouths
* Irish Coffee - Irish whiskey, hot coffee, whipped cream, sugar

* Jaguar - Tequilla, Amer Picon, green Chartreuse, orange bitters
* Japanese - Brandy, orgeat, Angostura bitters
* Jasmine - Gin, Campari, lemon juice, Cointreau
* Jolly Roger - Dark rum, orange juice, falernum, Angostura bitters

* Last Word
* Limon Fresca - Gin, lime juice, ginger beer, simple syrup
* Little Italy - Rye, Cynar, sweet vermouth

* Maharajah Burra-Peg - Cognac, champagne, sugar, Angostura bitters
* Mai Tai - Jamaican rum, Martinique rum, lime juice, orgeat, Cointreau
* Manhattan - Rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters
* Margarita - Tequilla, Cointreau, lime juice
* Marmalade Sour - cachaca, orange marmalade, lemon juice, orange bitters, egg white
* Martini - Gin, dry vermouth
* Milk Punch - Brandy, rum, simple syrup, whole milk
* Mint Julep - Bourbon, mint, simple syrup
* Mojito - Rum, mint, lime, simple syrup
* Monkey Gland - Gin, grenadine, orange juice, absinthe
* Moscow Mule - Vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters

* Nacional - Rum, apricot brandy, lime juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters
* Negroni - Gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, orange bitters
* Night And Day - Cognac, Grand Marnier, Angostura bitters, champagne
* Nirvana - Rye, Amer Picon, maraschino liquer, Benedictine
* Noa Noa - Demerara rum, lime juice, Angostura bitters, mint, brown sugar
* None But The Brave - Brandy, Jamaican rum, pimento dram, lemon juice, simple syrup
* Nui Nui - Rum, pimento dram, cinnamon syrup, vanilla syrup, lime juice, orange juice, angostura bitters

* Oaxaca Old-Fashioned - Tequilla, mezcal, agave nectar, Angostura bitters
* Old Cuban - Rum, mint, lime, Angostura bitters, simple syrup
* Old Fashioned - Rye or bourbon, Angostura bitters, simple syrup
* Old Pal - Rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth, Campari
* Opera - Gin, Dubonnet, maraschino liquer, orange bitters

* Papa Dobles Rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice, maraschino liquer, simple syrup
* Paloma - Tequilla, lime juice, grapefruit juice, Sprite, salt
* Paloma Mi Amante - Tequilla por mi amante, lime juice, Sprite, grapefruit juice, salt
* Pearl Diver Punch - Jamaican rum, Demerara rum, Puerto Rican rum, lime juice, orange juice, Pearl Divers Mix, falernum
* Pegu - Gin, lime juice, Cointreau, Angostura bitters, orange bitters
* Philadelphia Fish House Punch - Rum, cognac, peach brandy, simple syrup, lime juice, orange juice
* Picon Punch - Amer Picon, grenadine, soda
* Pimms Cup - Pimms No. 1, lemonade, 7UP
* Pink Lady - Gin, Applejack, grenadine, lemon juice, egg white
* Pisco Punch - Pisco, pineapple, gum syrup, water, lemon juice
* Pisco Sour Pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white, Angostura bitters
* Planters Punch - Jamaican rum, lime juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine, Angostura bitters
* Police Gazette Cocktail - Bourbon, dry vermouth, grenadine, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, orange curacao, maraschino liquer
* Pusser's Painkiller - Pussers rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, orange juice, nutmeg

* Queens Park Swizzle - Rum, simple syrup, mint, Angostura bitters
* Ramos Gin Fizz - Gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white, orange flower water, simple syrup, cream, soda water
* Red Hook - Rye, Punt e Mes, maraschino liquer
* Reveillion - Calvados, pear eau-de-vie, pimento dram, Punt e Mes, Fee's Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters
* Rosemary Gimlet - Gin, lime juice, rosemary syrup
* Rosewater Rickey - Gin, lime juice, rosewater, bruleed cherries, sugar, Angostura bitters mist, soda water
* Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail - Rum, lime juice, Cointreau, falernum
* Rubicon - Gin, maraschino liquer, lemon juice, rosemary, green Chartreuse

* Saratoga - Rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters
* Sazerac - Rye, simple syrup, Peychaud bitters, absinthe
* Scofflaw - Rye, lemon juice, dry vermouth, grenadine
* Scorched Earth - Cognac, Cynar, sweet vermouth, flamed lemon twist
* Seventh Heaven - Gin, grapefruit juice, maraschino liquer, mint
* Sidecar - Brandy, Cointreau, lemon juice
* Silver Lining - Rye, lemon juice, Licor 43, egg white, soda water
* Southside - Gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, mint
* Spumoni - Campari, grapefruit juice, soda water
* Strega Daiquiri - Rum, Strega, lemon juice, orange juice, orgeat
* Swami - Pisco, lime juice, green Chartreuse, grapefruit bitters, simple syrup

* Tailspin - Gin, green Chartreuse, sweet vermouth, orange bitters
* Test Pilot - Rum, Cointreau, falernum, lime juice, Angostura bitters, absinthe
* Tipperary - Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, green Chartreuse

* Verona - Rye, Aperol, Dubonnet, grapefruit bitters
* Vesper - Gin, vodka, Lillet
* Vessel 75 - Bourbon, Peychaud bitters, maple syrup foam (egg white, maple syrup, water, lemon juice
* Vieux Carre - Rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, Peychaud bitters, Angostura bitters

* Union - Hendricks gin, rosewater, creme de cassis, mint, champagne

* White Lady - Gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, egg white
* White Russian - Vodka, Kahlua, cream
* Windemere County Julep - Bourbon, Applejack, maple syrup, mint
* Wisdom of Pele - Rum, more rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice, falernum, honey, cinnamon syrup, Fees whiskey-barrel aged bitters, vanilla liquer

* Yeh Yeh Yeh - Bourbon, blonde Lillet, Lillet rouge

* Zaza - Gin, Dubonnet, orange bitters