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.
Housekeeping and Updates
Ooooh, my aching liver
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
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
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
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.