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....
MXMO, Say Hello To My Little Friend
The Swami
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)
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.
*@#%!!!!!!
&^%@!!!! 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
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.