When asked what Tales is all about, I liken it to Jazzfest for bartenders, industry professional, and enthusiasts.  It’s five days of seminars, tastings, parties, networking and all around marathon style drinking.  For a detailed look at some of the goings on you can check out the Tales of the Cocktail website.

Last year as Tales of the Cocktail approached, I debated with myself whether or not I was going to try to do some live blogging with my iPhone and a nifty little WordPress app.  It sounded great in theory but when it came time to the actual hustle and bustle of trying to be at four places at one time, the live blogging was thrown by the wayside.  So I turned to Twitter.  Obviously everyone is familiar with Twitter at this point and it was a great way for me to make an attempt at telling the story of my Tales experience as it was all going down.  So with this post I want to try to do something different and use my “tweets” as a timeline.  Not only to try to tell the story of what went down in my world, but to also help remind me what the hell went down by possibly filling in some blanks.  So here is to the best of my ability my “tweet up” of Tales of the Cocktail ’09.

Wednesday July 8th:

When the going gets tough, the tough takes a redeye to NOLA for Tales of the Cocktail. Can’t wait to get there!!#totc0912:13 AM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

That’s right, I took a freakin redeye from LA to NOLA to kick things off.  My first seminar was The Bittersweet Truth of Opening a Bar at 10:30 Wednesday morning.  The only way to get there on time was you guessed it.  A redeye.  Otherwise the only other option was to arrive around 5 o’clock pm and that really wasn’t an option.

The albatross has landed in NOLA. And it’s thirsty.6:37 AM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

That’s pretty much all that needed to be said albeit 6:37am.  Hey, redeyes can be tough on your mental state.

First seminar of the week. Bittersweet truth of starting a bar. Complete with bittersweet Campari and rosemary syrup sour.9:24 AM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

By this point I’m feeling great.  I’m in NOLA.  I’ve dropped my bag off at the Bienville House where I’m staying, and I’ve made it just in time for my seminar at The Monteleone.  Couldn’t miss this one because the guy I work for at The Varnish (Eric Alperin) is on the panel.  Not to mention Cedd Moses, Ricky Kline, and H. Joseph Ehrmann as moderator.  More on the seminars later.

When Morgenthaler tells you to get the Jambalaya at Coops you listen.11:12 AM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

After the seminar, massive hunger was starting to set in.  After meeting up with a few LA folk outside of the Monteleone we made a pilgrimage over to Coop’s Place for lunch.  Sure enough after walking in I recognize a rag-tag bunch of familiar faces.  The Jambalaya Supreme was so good I wept, er, maybe it was the spice.  The first and last meal I had in NOLA that weekend was at Coop’s.  Love those guys.

First Sazerac cocktail in New Orleans. Officially feel part of history. It was a little on the sweet side, but hey, it was still great.2:27 PM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

After lunch I was finally able to check in to my hotel and then made a b-line back to the Monteleone and promptly parked my ass at the Carousel bar and ordered a Sazerac.  Good times.

Wow does Hendricks throw a psychedelic party or what? Good lord. Maybe it’s the circus.7:24 PM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

Not sure what I really meant by this as the work I was putting into my buzz started paying dividends.  The Hendricks party was an absolute assault on the senses.  Part steampunk revue, part Rocky Horror Picture Show, the G & T’s were flowing like water.

Just hung out for a moment with Dale DeGroff watching ladies on a mechanical bull down on Bourbon St. Extremely surreal.9:31 PM Jul 8th from Twitterrific

This is no joke.  After we left the Hendricks party  we had a tip that there was some serious partying going down at the Bourbon Cowboy on Bourbon St.  A few of us got there and immediately wondered whether or not that tip we got was a load of crap.  That was until I ran into none other than Dale DeGroff.  This place was not exactly cocktail friendly, but hey, sometimes we all need a cold beer and a shot from a test tube right?  Dale and I said hello and then watched together in wonder as women were continuously thrown from the mechanical bull in the corner of the bar.  Needless to say more and more of the countries cocktail elite descended on this place for some good ‘ol fashion partying NOLA style.

Thursday July 9th:

Epic parties all around NOLA last night. Getting a late start but damn it was worth it. Now if I could just get my hands on a bloody mary.9:34 AM Jul 9th from Twitterrific

Boy did I ever need that bloody.  The pain was real.  When I said Epic, I really meant EPIC.  See, here’s where the first major gap comes into play and to be perfectly honest I’m having a hard time remembering where we ended up after the Bourbon Cowboy. Rumor has it we fled the quarter to a place off Tchoupitoulas St.  I was also reminded the next day that Don Lee and Daniel Eun stopped me and proceeded to pour both tequila and green Chartreuse down my throat “luge” style.  Pshhhht please, and I wonder why I have a hard time recalling details after that.  I do know that I made an Irish exit later that night and said goodnight to nobody.  Sometimes its good to just vanish.

Bloody Maria with Dirty Sue, shot of Fernet, feeling slightly human again. Now for a tasting room.10:32 AM Jul 9th from Twitterrific

Lucky for me, right above my room at the Bienville House we had a sponsored suite that the LA contingency dubbed “The Recovery Room.”  Thanks to Mr Aiden Demarest, bar manager at The Edison in downtown LA, this suite was stocked to the freakin hilt with all things recovery related.  We had a bowl of aspirin on the coffee table, stacked cases of water and Gatorade, and the best part, more booze than we knew what to do with.  A big shout out to Eric Tecosky and his incredible bloody mary mix. In lieu of vodka we opted for tequila bloodys and they were spectacular.  For those not aware of the medicinal powers of Fernet, trust me, it’s a lifesaver.

After feeling sufficiently “recovered” we headed over to The Monteleone for one of many tasting rooms.  After tasting some Leblon cachaca real hunger had set in.  Time for some Acme.

Quote of the day, “I’ve had enough water to choke a camel, but enough booze to kill a horse.”

3:02 PM Jul 9th from Twitterrific

Yes those words came out of my mouth.  I still stand by them.

Alright, here’s another important gap that needs to be filled.  Like many others, when the buzz sets in and the good times are happening, I tend to just let them happen and get lazy with the updates.  What can I say, there’s a whole lot going on.  I do take photos though and here are some of them to help fill the gaps.  First a peek into L’heure Verte/The Green Hour.  The offerings by Tempus Fugit Spirits in my opinion were by far the most superior in the room.

Next up was the Cocktail “Carnival” Happy Hour at The Presbytere.  Click the link here to the left for a good video.  This was an incredible collection of the countries best bartenders shaking and stirring cocktails for a mass of thirsty festival goers.  I particularly love my brothers from LA showing some serious colors.

Can’t believe were partying on the steps of the NOLA courthouse. Thank you St Germain and Del Maguey. I think my liver just got arrested.9:40 PM Jul 9th from Twitterrific

Definitely a highlight of the week was being in attendance for an impromptu party on the steps of the courthouse.  What a sight to behold.  Alas it was short-lived as expected.  The powers that be would only let those shenanigans go on for a short bit. Still you gotta have some respect for those that brought that party to fruition.  St Germain and Del Maguey were for that short moment in time a match made in clandestine heaven.

Alright, more gaps to fill.

After we were essentially shooed off the steps of the courthouse we made our way over to Cure, one of New Orleans newest refuges for incredible cocktails.  Chuck Taggart offered up an untouchable rundown of exactly what to expect on a trip to Cure.  Check it out here.  While at Cure my fellow Varnish bartenders and I had the chance to hang with our NYC bartending family from Milk and Honey, Little Branch, and Dutch Kills.  It felt great to bridge the gap and get to know some of these great people and talented bartenders over some wonderful cocktails.  It was a true defining moment of the whole Tales of the Cocktail experience.

Believe it or not we actually left Cure and ended up heading down to Frenchman St. for more partying at d.b.a.  The mission was to ultimately hear some live music but we had missed it.  Details from this excursion are extremely fuzzy.  Lasting memories from d.b.a. include some kind of rum shots, maybe Zacapa, and ice-cold Sammy Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, all while being as rowdy as possible right by the front door.  What a scene.  Another Irish exit.

Friday July 10th

2 aspirin, a shot of Fernet and a bloody Maria for breakfast, a two hour schvits, crawfish poboy and étouffée for lunch. Might just survive1:58 PM Jul 10th from Twitterrific

This was by far my worst morning.  I just could not get it together.  I made my way back to the recovery room to reconvene with friends and try to piece together the night before.  In the attempt of recovery I went the hair of the dog route again and actually might have done more damage than good.  It prompted a heavy-duty schvits that just wouldn’t quit.  Feeling somewhat like Hunter S. Thompson, I kept telling myself what the doctor told him, “the moment you stop sweating is the moment you start to worry.”  It took everything within my power to not embarrass myself that morning.  Much like a meditating monk, I displayed great focus.

Still feeling absolutely haggard, I made my way to the Monteleone for a 12:30 seminar entitled Using Blogs and Online Tools to Promote Your Bar, Brand, or Career.  This seminar was right up my alley as I have just recently entered the foray of cocktail blogging.  It was great to hear moderator Paul Clarke of The Cocktail Chronicles speak about how far cocktail blogging has come in the past few years.  It was also refreshing to hear him address vehement spirit promoters by boldly telling them, “do not fuck with us.”  Evidently there has been a rash of spamming by said spirits promoters with no regard to the fact that there is a very well-connected community of online spirits writers.  Bobby Heugel of Drink Dogma and owner of Anvil Bar and Refuge in Houston, TX was on hand as a panelist and gave great insight as to the importance of creating and being a part of the online cocktail community.  I really appreciated hearing similar sentiments concerning the ability to learn and share ideas by bridging the gap by way of the internet.  Afterwards, it was truly an honor and a testament to how nice these guys are by being able to walk up and introduce myself and let them know that they were a big reason I decided to start a blog in the first place.  I still wasn’t feeling so hot, but hopefully I was able to mask it pretty well.

About the only thing that would’ve saved me at this point was some down and dirty Cajun cooking and Felix’s was the answer. What a lifesaver, aside from the sweet tea with a shot of rum in it.  What the hell was I thinking?

Now that I was feeling human again, I made my way back to the Monteleone for the seminar, The Fine Art of Tending Bar, with Stanislav Vadrna.

And that’s kinda where it left off.  After the seminar I was all about doing instead of writing.  I’m pretty sure I continued to have an amazing time and there are probably some pictures somewhere to prove it, but hey, maybe it’s for the best.

Here in a few hours I will depart LAX en route to NOLA and do it all over again.  I can’t wait to see some of the incredible people I partied with last year.  Maybe they can help me remember just what the hell happened.

The time is near where I give myself over the powers that govern alcohol and the way we enjoy and consume it.  In other words, next week I’ll be taking the Beverage Alcohol Resource seminar; held once a year by spirits industry mavens Steve Olson, Paul Pacult, Andy Seymour, Dave Wondrich, Doug Frost, and last but certainly not least, Dale DeGroff. Click here to take a look at their informative website.  Read some of their bios to get just a glimpse of the combined knowledge and wisdom that this group brings to the table.  Here’s the breakdown from the website.

“The Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR) Program is the spirits and mixology equivalent of a Masters of Wine or Master Sommelier program. BAR, a Limited Liability Company headquartered in New York, is an independent organization whose mission is to propagate the healthy and responsible use of beverage alcohol products through innovative and comprehensive training programs and seminars. Formed by six of the world’s leading spirits and cocktails authorities, Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost, Steven Olson, F. Paul Pacult, Andy Seymour and David Wondrich, BAR is revolutionizing the way in which spirits and cocktails are viewed, understood, appreciated and enjoyed.

One or more of BAR’s managing members/principals guides every course, using BAR’s own authoritative materials, innovative methods and textbook, The BAR Manual. BAR offers various programs and many other services (i.e., advisory and analytical services for the industry) both in New York City and out-of-state through the BAR Mobile Unit that, for hire, travels to suitable sites to conduct customized corporate sponsored programs. BAR’s unique instructional methods helped earn it the “Industry Innovator of the Year Award for 2007” at the Cheers Conference in 2007.

BAR is the most trusted, comprehensive, innovative, and autonomous source of systematic information on distilled spirits and mixology in the beverage alcohol industry. Anyone who successfully passes BAR’s Five-Day Intermediate Certificate Program is able to mix a balanced Sidecar, distinguish a Speyside malt from a Lowland malt, explain in detail the difference between Bourbon whiskey and Irish whiskey, recognize when a tequila is overpriced, identify a potato vodka by its nose alone, explain the origin of the Manhattan cocktail and why the bitters are an integral part of the drink, draw up a cocktail list that matches the elegance of the establishment it’s created for and, in short, do everything that one expects from a comprehensively informed professional. This Five-Day core program is conducted only once yearly in New York State.”

Needless to say, it will be an honor to take this course and without doubt (according to my colleagues who have taken it) will be one of the most challenging five days of classwork, palate exhaustion, and information soakage.

I would like to thank Grand Marnier for giving me the opportunity to take part in this years BAR.  I am one of the six recipients of the Grand Marnier BAR Scholarship and without it I would not be making the pilgrimage to NYC next week.  In return for the scholarship I will be working as a consultant for Grand Marnier at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic.  This will be an amazing experience as I’ll get to work alongside some incredible bartenders.  The Classic looks to be an unforgettable time, chock full of spirits industry heavyweights and the best bartending talent the country has to offer.  Here’s a little tidbit from their site.

“Welcome to the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, New York City’s first ever multi-day event celebrating the history, contemporary culture, and artful craft of the cocktail. Part festival, part fête, part conference, part cocktail party, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic brings together the unparalleled talents and opportunities of the bars, bartenders, and restaurants of our great city for two days of activities, both educational and celebratory in nature, championing the common ideals of authenticity, equality, sustainability, service, and pleasure. (There will be some drinking involved, too.)”

Hope to see you there!

LA Weekly
The Examiner

What I loved about this competition in relation to most other cocktail competitions was indeed the format.  All we had to bring in preparation was ourselves and a few ideas regarding the best way to use Chartreuse in cocktails.  After we had all arrived and were treated to shots of green Chartreuse for breakfast, we were then informed as to what would be available for us to use for our cocktails.  The fine folks at Doheny opened up their resources and allowed us to use (within reason) a wide array of mise en place and booze. Marcos Tello, who helped put the competition together along with Carbino Cattani of Cattani imports, even brought a cornucopia of fresh market goods, with everything from fresh thyme to multi-colored peppers.  For the Top Chef fans out there, the competition took the form of multiple quickfire challenges, only with this competition the judging was blind.

One of the great things that became prevalent early on was the overwhelming sense of camaraderie.  Sure we were all competing, but we were also learning from each other.  It was great to see some of the tricks my cohorts had up their sleeves.  My first round competitor was Vincenzo Marianella of Copa d’Oro.  A draw that I wasn’t very happy to see as he is credited as being one of the bartenders that sparked the beginning of LA’s cocktail renaissance.  Needless to say, a hoss.  Earlier, once we had been informed of the available ingredients , I started writing down some notes and ideas for cocktails to compete with.  I wanted all of my recipes to have been written that day as I wanted to challenge myself as much as possible.  What fun would it be to have brought in recipes that you had used a thousand times?  Another strategy at play here was what cocktail idea to use first.  I felt all of my ideas were good, but since four cocktails would have to be created to ultimately win I took the stance of coming out guns a blazing knowing that each round you had a chance of being eliminated.  Vincenzo and I squared off and I came out the victor with what turned out to be the only cocktail that day featuring rum.  Here’s the recipe.

Carthusian Send Down
1.5oz Scarlet Ibis Rum
.5oz Green Chartreuse
.75 fresh lemon juice
.75 simple syrup
1 small egg white

Combine all ingredients to shaker tin and first dry shake without ice.  Next add ice and shake well again.  Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with 3-4 healthy drops of Peychaud bitters swirled onto the surface of the cocktail.

I was number 15 for the day.

Next round I faced Joel Black, another Copa d’Oro bartender and as of this writing, the new GM of the Doheny.  Once again after fighting the good fight and enduring the barrage of Chartreuse shots all while trying to bang out a cocktail, I won my round. Through all the mayhem I forgot to take a picture.  Conversely, this cocktail happened to be my favorite of the day.  I wanted to use Yellow Chartreuse as the base spirit and it really came out delicious.  Here’s the recipe.

Alpine Mule
1.5oz Yellow Chartreuse
.5oz fresh lime juice
.5oz ginger agave syrup  (I believe the house formula was 3:2 fresh ginger juice/agave nectar)
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 good size chunks of cucumber
seltzer water

Start  by muddling cucumber, thyme, and ginger agave syrup.  Next, add lime juice and Yellow Chartreuse.  Shake with small amount of ice and double strain into ice filled collins glass.  Top with soda and garnish with a cucumber slice threaded with a thyme sprig.

Now that I had made it to the final four, my next competitor was good friend and Varnish co-worker Matty Eggleston.  Matty ended up being the Syracuse to my Texas in the 2003 NCAA Men’s Tourney.  For those who don’t know what that means; I lost. I will say this, making it to the final four was pretty sweet. Especially considering the field that day. Having made it to the final four, Chartreuse was kind enough to bestow upon us their Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse (Diffusion).  This is a powerfully potent little potion (142 proof) and is evidently illegal to import into the states.  I’ve been waiting for the right time to fully experiment with the stuff.  More on that later.  Here is my losing recipe.  The cocktail was delicious…and so was Matty’s.  Unfortunately I didn’t write down the other recipes.

Mountain Medicine
1oz Famous Grouse scotch
.75oz Yellow Chartreuse
.5oz fresh lemon juice
3/8oz honey syrup  (1:1 honey/water ratio)
3/8oz ginger agave syrup

Combine all ingredients in shaker and really shake it hard.  Strain into ice filled double old fashioned glass and float a quarter ounce of Green Chartreuse over the top.  Finish by garnishing with a swath of lemon peel and spraying its oils on the surface.

At the end of the day it was Matty Eggleston and Matt Biancanello going head to head for the championship with Biancanello taking home the trophy.  All in all this was one of my favorite competitions to have been a part of and a format that I hope to see more frequently.  The blind judging, show us whatcha got, pay the winner in cash money attitude was a treat and everybody involved (even spectators) had a blast being there.  Congrats to Matt Biancanello of the Library Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel for winning the $500 bucks and both the oak aged Yellow and Green VEP Chartreuse bottles.  You can also check out Matt Biancanello’s new blog Ultimate Cocktails.  Meanwhile I’m going to go hit him up for some of that Yellow VEP.

Maybe It’s best if I redefine what exactly it is that I’m trying to accomplish with my blog.  My original intent was to join the wonderful and well connected online cocktail writers scene and while that hasn’t changed, a few of my approaches to what I would like to write have.  I am most certainly not the biggest online cocktail geek out there nor do I try to be.  If you want to see me in full geek mode then please, by all means come and see me behind the bar at the Varnish here in Los Angeles.  I do enjoy learning from others online and seeing what the community at large has up their sleeves.  It’s this nationwide if not worldly connectedness that in my mind is where the true progression of the spririts industry lies.  That being said, I would like to continue to take a bartender’s approach to what I write and chronicle some of the more interesting things happening in my world.  I hope that you will continue to join me.

-Bostick

A few nights ago my girlfriend Kristin and I had a couple of friends over for a little post 4th of July bbq.  It was a small, low key affair in which to decompress from the rest of the weekends festivities.  I know what you are probably saying, “my lans, more bbq?”  Well to prevent withdrawal we had to taper down consumption.  ;-)  With them, my friends Robbie and Alexis brought some fresh cherries and peaches and asked if there was anything I could do with them.  Always up for a challenge, I knew exactly what to do and after taking inventory of what I had on hand I took to the task of quenching some thirsts.

The first cocktail I devised was a Cherry Lime Smash.  Having fresh mint on hand as well as some incredible limes off the tree in the yard prompted me to head in this direction.  Talk about refreshing, the hibiscus in the tequila complemented the mint and the cherry so well I could have knocked these back until I knocked myself out.          

Rosangel Cherry Lime Smash

2oz    Gran Centenario Rosangel
.5oz   agave syrup (1:1 ratio w/ water)
.5 lime cut into wedges plus one wedge
4 ripe pitted cherries (I believe these were Bing cherries)
8-9 mint leaves

Due to a collarbone injury I solicited the help of my guests. They didn't seem to mind.

This is prepared like a traditional smash by muddling the limes, cherries, mint, and agave nectar together.  Make sure not to over muddle by grinding to hard.  As the title indicates you want to just smash and activate the ingredients,  not beat them to a unrecognizable pulp.  Next add the tequila followed by ice and shake well.  Finally strain over cracked ice and garnsish with a fresh cherry and a nice top of mint. Don’t forget to give the mint a nice little slap to wake it up.  You’ll thank me as you get a noseful of mint as you sip your refreshing cocktail.

Next, what to do with the peaches?  I decided to use some fresh thyme as I love the way certain herbs mesh so well with the sweet and slightly acidic nature of a good summer peach.  I pulled together some fresh lemon juice, peaches, thyme, demerara simple syrup and of course Rosangel for the Peach Basket cocktail.

Peach Basket
2oz      Gran Centenario Rosangel
.75oz  fresh lemon juice
.75oz  demerara simple syrup (1:1 ratio w/ water)
.5 peeled peach
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
I started by muddling the peaches and thyme together followed by the lemon juice and simple syrup.  Next I added the Rosangel then ice and proceeded to shake it up.  For this cocktail I recommend double straining it over ice through a small tea strainer as the thyme leaves will try and make an escape from the shaker.  Finally I garnished the cocktail with a small piece of peach in which I threaded a thyme stem with the leaves on.

One of the purposes for this post was to showcase the Rosangel tequila, but  what I also wanted to emphasize is how easy it is to make a wonderfully fresh and lively cocktail using ingredients that are available to you now at your local farmers market.  I purposefully did not want to go overboard and use a bunch of homemade or hard to find ingredients.  Sometimes less is more, and even with a little muddle, these are both simple and delicious cocktails to make at home at your next get together.  A big thanks to Rosangel for letting me play around with their tequila.

This month’s Mixology Monday is being hosted by Matt at RumDood.com.  For our June exercise, ‘ol RumDood has chosen ginger for us to play around with. Here’s what Matt has to say, 

“Find or concoct a cocktail recipe that uses ginger in one of its many forms as an ingredient.  This can be muddled ginger, sliced ginger, ginger syrup, ginger beer (commercial or homemade), ginger liqueur, ginger candy, or pieces of a shredded photo of Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.”

Having always loved ginger, (even Gilligan’s Island Ginger) I found myself having to self edit a touch this go round.  The ideas were endless and had they been left unchecked I’d be posting about twenty cocktails right now.  What I decided to go with however was my take on a particular cocktail that I have been enjoying of late called the Gershwin.  A simple ginger cocktail made with gin, ginger syrup, lemon and a touch of rose water.  A fantastic drink just begging to be altered a tad bit.  I decided to add some fresh organic blueberries into the fold and alter the ratios of the recipe.  

Rhapsody in Blue
    2oz    Oxley Classic English Dry Gin
1/2oz    strong ginger syrup (I like to juice my ginger)
1/2oz    simple syrup (1:1)
3/4oz    fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Rose Water
8-10 fresh blueberries

Start by muddling berries in ginger and simple syrup.  Add rest of ingredients followed by cracked ice, shake, strain.

I opted to use the Oxley Gin as I had just received a sample of it and actually really like it.  The gin is one of the first ever spirits to be cold distilled.  Meaning that both final maceration and distillation happen in a vacuum that creates intense pressure at cold temperatures.  The resulting distillate is extremely clean and balanced with the more turpentine-esque notes being softened considerably.  Less “peaky” and more well rounded would sum this gin up pretty well.  Excellent for this application.  

The resulting cocktail was absolutely delicious!  The only thing that didn’t translate all that well was the color of the cocktail.  Not that I was expecting an electric blue outcome but possibly a bit more color.  Don’t get me wrong, I felt the color came out great, but more of the inside of the berry than the skin.  

Once again thanks to Matt of RumDood.com for hosting this month!  Can’t wait to see the round-up of fantastic ginger cocktails

Ah yes, here we are again, staring down the loaded barrel of our favorite cocktail shaker.  What shall it be loaded with this time?  As host of this month’s Mixology Monday, local Los Angeles fellow and bon vivant Chuck Taggart (of the weblog Looka! found within his website The Gumbo Pages) has chosen Amaro to be stirred, shaken, whipped and consumed.  

Amari (plural of amaro) are generally considered bitter drinking liqueurs from Italy consisting of a multitude of herbs, spices, and sugars.  Medicinal in character, amari have long been considered to be wonderful digestivos, primed and ready to help you tackle the task of breaking down that 5 course meal you just jovially consumed.  Think Fernet Branca, Averna, Cynar (made with artichokes.  Artichokes!) and the like.  Those seem somewhat common to me at this point, but the more I gaze into the looking glass of amari, the longer the list becomes of handcrafted, secret family recipe liqueurs from all over the world.  This wonderful spirit is by no means locked down to Italy.  Europeans seem to love their bitter potables in many forms.  Whether it be Amaro, Amer, or Amergo, many cultures have long since known that quaffing the bitter stuff has numerous health benefits as well as providing a wonderful, warming buzz.  I like to think of a delicious Amaro as the thinking man’s Jagermeister 

My first encounter with drinking amari was back in ’06 while bartending at Fonda San Miguel in Austin, TX.  The then head bartender turned me on to chilled Fernet shots with a ginger ale back as a pre shift ritual.  My first shot had my palate turning somersaults in confusion.  ”What the hell was that?” I thought to myself.  It was like getting punched in the mouth with a flying fist of herbs and mint.  For a while I liked the way the ginger ale tasted after the shot more than the shot itself.  As with anything though, the more exposure you have to it, the more you start to like it. Needless to say, I now love it.  Fernet is a pretty hardcore amaro to begin with.  Much like loving Lagavulin before any other scotch. (guilty as charged)  I guess if I’m going to love something for what it is, just give me the full flavored stuff and then I’ll branch out from there.  

For this month’s exercise I’ve decided to put the wonderful Amaro Nonino to the test. Amaro Nonino starts as a handcrafted grappa made with great care by Italy’s Nonino family.  The grapes and herbs used for this distillate come from the semi-mountainous region of Friuli, also known as Carnia.  Caramelized sugar, bitter orange, cinchona, gentian, quassia wood, licorice, rhubarb, saffron, sweet orange, and tamarind are just some of the herbs and spices used by Nonino.  This amaro is then aged for 5 years in oak barrels and is a bit less viscous than many other amari.  The bitterness has been tamed somewhat and is an absolutely amazing, delicious, and approachable amaro.  Having sipped it on many occasions, it’s layered fragrance and flavor, in my mind, makes it perfect for cocktails.  Let’s have some fun shall we?

First, I have the Friuli Fizz.  I was really happy with the way this one turned out as I got it to balance on the first try.  The Nonino is present, offering up a subtle solo to the rest of the ingredients backing.

Friuli Fizz
2oz      Amaro Nonino
1/2oz  fresh lime juice
1/2oz  fresh Meyer lemon juice
3/4oz  lemon verbena simple syrup
1 Tbsp small fresh ginger chunks
Soda Water

Start by muddling verbena simple and ginger very well.  Next, add remainder of ingredients minus soda and dry shake (no ice) hard to whip.  Strain into collins glass over four large cubes of ice.  (I make my own cubes at the house using reverse osmosis filtered water and a special silicon ice tray)  Finally, top with soda and garnish with crystallized ginger wrapped in a Meyer lemon twist.  Enjoy!

Next up, the Nonino Sour.  I know, I know, I did a sour last time, but I can’t help it!  I’m a sucker for luxuriously silky cocktails. What can I say?  The chamomile here was a natural fit with the grappa base of this spirit.  

Nonino Sour
1 1/2oz    Amaro Nonino
   1/2oz    Sazerac Rye
   3/4oz    fresh lemon juice
       1oz    chamomile demerara syrup
            1  egg white

Combine all ingredients and dry shake vigorously to emulsify egg white.  Add ice and shake again enough to chill properly.  Strain into sour glass and garnish by grating fresh orange zest onto surface of drink.  

Finally, we have the Marmalady.  With this one I wanted to step out of the comfort zone a bit and I’m sure glad that I did.  Amaro and smoky scotch?  Indeed, and the results were delicious.  Decide for yourself and make one if you dare.  

Marmalady
1 1/2oz   Amaro Nonino
      1oz   Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch
 1 Tbsp   St Dalfour Kumquat Marmalade
   1/2oz   fresh lemon juice
   1/2oz   fresh orange juice

Start by lightly muddling marmalade and juices enough to incorporate.  Next add Nonino and Lagavulin followed by ice and shake HARD for a good 10 – 15 seconds.  Strain into chilled coupe and garnish by expressing oils from long swath of orange peel and gently resting on edge of glass.

As you might be able to tell, I had a lot of fun with this month’s Mixology Monday.  I loved experimenting with such a versatile yet complex spirit.  I know this spirit is great in aromatic stirred cocktails but had never seen it soured or fizzed.  Big thanks again to Chuck Taggart for a challenging yet extremely satisfying exercise in cocktail craft.  I hope you take the time to try this wonderful amaro.

What happens when you gather 100 of the country’s most talented bartenders for a weekend in Vail?  A party of epic proportions.  Having that much talent together in one place threatened to melt all of the snow in Vail Pass.  This is part one in a series of posts describing what really went down. 

A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to attend  the Grand Marnier & Navan 2009 Mixology Summit in beautiful Vail, CO.  The weekend was designed to bring together 100 of the countries most talented and passionate bartenders for parties, education, networking, and most important of all, sharing in the passion for the craft.  Grand Marnier fully succeeded in creating an environment that was both conducive to education as well as having a damn good time.  Much to my delight, the weekend ended up being completely free of pretense, leaving even more room to open up, be yourself, and let your ideas run free.  

To be a part of this amazing event, Grand Marnier selected 100 bartenders based on four of their original cocktail recipes.  Three of them were to utilize Grand Marnier and one recipe to use Navan, (a vanilla cognac.)  For the Summit each bartender chosen was required to select two of the four recipes they had submitted, and create them in a lab designed to showcase the bartender as well as their cocktails.  Having arrived early to the Summit, I chose to do my lab early the first day.

I ended up choosing two of my cocktails that I felt best represented my style.  Fresh, balanced and delicious.

On the left we have La Guera.  My approach here was to start with Hendricks Gin and highlight the cucumber used in making the gin.  It’s actually a very simple drink based on the classic White Lady (gin, Cointreau, lemon juice)  I replaced the Cointreau with Grand Marnier and added muddled cucumber.  For balance I opted to use agave nectar, as I love how it sweetens but doesn’t overwhelm.  For the garnish I chose edible Borage flowers.  They have a slightly sweet herbal flavor and also taste a bit like cucumber. Here’s the recipe.

La Guera
2 oz.    Hendricks Gin
.75oz.  Grand Marnier
1 oz.     fresh lemon juice
.5oz.    agave nectar syrup  (1:1 ratio with water)
2 Tbsp peeled and diced cucumber
1 barspoon St. Germain Elderflower cordial to rinse glass
3 Borage flowers for garnish 

Start by muddling agave nectar and cucumber in the glass half of shaker.  Next, add remainder of ingredients minus the St. Germain, followed by ice and shake vigorously for at least 10-15 seconds.  Finally, fine strain into chilled cocktail glass that has been rinsed with St. Germain.  Garnish with thin slice of scored cucumber with three Borage flowers tucked into the middle.  Enjoy!

My other cocktail is the Sonora Cocktail.  While both of these display a bit of my Texas roots, the Sonora really brings it home for me.  Having worked in many a Mexican food restaurant growing up, I would always see some of the staff putting chile powder and lime juice on fruits (especially melon), a common practice in the northern Mexican state of Sonora.  What an amazing combination of flavors.  The sweet and spicy combo really blew my mind back in the day, and I’ve always wanted to recreate that combo in a cocktail.  The garnish here is a Calendula flower.  It’s in the marigold family and together they have been called poor mans saffron.  The idea is for it to be aromatic while you sip, adding to the flavor without being tasted.  I use Chile de Arbol powder here because I want it to really stand up to the other ingredients. 

Sonora Cocktail
2 oz.    El Tesoro Blanco
1 oz.    Grand Marnier
1 oz.    fresh lime juice
1 oz.    demerara simple syrup
1/2 cup peeled and chopped cantaloupe
1/8 tsp Chile de Arbol powder 
Calendula flowers for garnish

Start by muddling cantaloupe and simple syrup in glass half of shaker.  Next, add remainder of ingredients followed by ice and shake like the dickens for 10-15 seconds.  Fine strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with calendula. 

I’d really like to thank Nathan Peitso of Maggie’s Farm again for growing these flowers specifically for my use at the Summit.  He and his crew have been an invaluable resource here in LA for hard to find specialty produce.  Just another reason I’m happy to call Los Angeles home.

After a couple sips

More to come about the rest of the event.  The parties, seminars, the fact that I’m still alive. . .

For my first foray into the MxMo scene, the theme this month is Superior Twists hosted by The Wild Drink Blog.   Tristan Stephenson blogs out of the UK and has brought up a great, simple idea.  Put your twist on a classic. Easy enough right?  As a professional working in the industry I feel that is a quintessential component to our everyday job, riffing on the classics.  Like a good jazz musician knows his standards, so too must a bartender be familiar with the classics.  Once you have the basics nailed down, improvisation comes easy.

Another element to the theme, Tristan asks, “What is your favorite song to twist to?”  That’s an easy one for me.  Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” is such a great swingin number it’s no wonder Quentin Tarantino opted to use it in Jack Rabbit Slim’s Twist contest.  

The cocktail I chose to twist is the Pisco Sour.  Pisco is one of the lesser known spirits used in the States these days, but I feel more and more bartenders are starting to understand it and use it more often.  Pisco is a grape brandy with a character all its own.  It’s traditionally made from the muscat grape in both Peru and Chile.  For a very in depth view of Pisco click here.  Here’s the recipe for the original.

Pisco Sour 

1.5oz.    Pisco
3.4oz.   fresh lemon juice
1oz.       simple syrup
1 small egg white
2 drops of Angostura Bitters

Dry shake all of ingredients first to start emulsifying the egg white.  Then add ice and continue to shake for about 10 seconds. Strain into a small cocktail glass and carefully drop bitters into center of froth.

When done right, I absolutely love this cocktail.  It’s simple, to the point and refreshing.  So why mess with a good thing you ask?  Because I can.  Plain and simple.  Now let’s twist.

For my twisted up Pisco Sour I’ve decided to keep the structure of the cocktail in tact, but try to better highlight the wonderful flavor of Pisco.  The Pisco I’ve chosen for this application is Pisco Capel Reservado.  Pisco Capel is produced in northern Chile. It is a blend of 30% Muscat grapes and 70% Pedro Jimenez and Torontel grapes, then aged in wooden casks for four to six months. It is slowly distilled with crystal-clear water from the high Andes Mountains, resulting in a transparent spirit with delicate bouquet.  Perfect for my concoction.  Pretty cool bottle too.  This bottle was actually purchased in Chile, thus the Easter Island idol shape.  

You Never Can Tell

1.5oz.    Pisco Capel Reservado
1oz.       fresh blood orange juice
1/2oz.   fresh lemon juice
1oz.       Scented Geranium simple syrup  (recipe below)
1/2 an egg white 
2 drops Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
Garnish with scented geranium flower 

Dry shake all ingredients first to start emulsifying the egg white.  Add ice and continue shaking for 10 seconds.  Strain into small cocktail glass and then place flower in center of froth.

Scented Geranium Simple Syrup

1cup    cane sugar
1cup    water
1 packed cup Scented Geranium leaves

In a small sauce pan over low heat combine sugar and water and whisk until combined.  Bring temperature up but do not boil.  Just before syrup starts to boil take off heat, add leaves and let steep for 5 minutes.  Strain through a fine mesh chinois.  I like to add a cap full of vodka to help stabilize it and preserve it.  Don’t worry, the vodka won’t harm the delicate flavor.   

I’d like to thank Nathan Peitso of Maggie’s Farm and Kenter Canyon Farms here in Southern California for turning me on to this delicious and fragrant herb.  It adds a deep, rich, lemony and very herbal character to the cocktail and matches well with some of the funky nature of pisco.  

All in all this was a fun excersise to break a classic cocktail out of its shell.  I was very happy with the way the cocktail remained balanced and refreshing.  I like the herbal notes added as well as the sweet/tart properties of the blood orange.  This is a very easy cocktail to make at home and if you have a farmer’s market near you the scented geranium can be replaced by a number of different herbs.  Half the fun is figuring out what you can plug and play.

Bar Keeper, Silverlake’s little bartending Mecca, celebrated its third year this past Friday.  Known for vintage glassware, esoteric barware, absinthe paraphernalia, and a heady collection of cocktail books, Bar Keeper has been supporting a growing Los Angeles cocktail renaissance.  With a keen eye and a penchant for detail, Joe Keeper (proprietor) has built a solid collection of things you want. 

Airline Style Bar by AL.Carts

Like this item to the left.  I mean, who doesn’t want an airline style beverage cart bar that rolls and even has a brake like the original?  I certainly do.  Could you imagine that thing at one of your parties?  You could roll it down the hall and make someone an Old Fashioned right there on the spot.  Talk about service.  Or how about rolling it into the bedroom to wake your significant other up with a delicious Bellini in bed, fresh white peach puree and all?  The possibilities truly are endless. 

 To commemorate the anniversary, Joe Keeper threw a fantastic little soiree at his store.  On hand were bartender Rhachel Shaw of Malo and hired gun Scott Campbell (former San Fran bartender now retired) to mix a couple of cocktails specially selected by Joe. 

Scott Campbell

 Scott manned his bar shaking up a wonderful concoction called the Mujer Verde.  A feature drink of the famed San Francisco bar Absinthe, the Mujer Verde was at once a bracing and refreshing combination of Hendricks Gin, yellow and green Chartreuse, lime juice and simple syrup.  It was a fantastic marriage of the soft botanicals within Hendricks and the alpine spices of Chartreuse. 

The Mujer Verde

 “Mujer Verde”

1oz.     Hendricks Gin
1/2oz.  Green Chartreuse
1/4oz.  Yellow Chartreuse
1/4oz.  Fresh Lime Juice
1/4oz.  Simple Syrup

 Combine all ingredients into shaker with ice.  Shake well for 10 seconds.  Strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Enjoy.

Rhachel Shaw

 Over on Rhachel’s side, she was having fun with some of Joe’s homemade Swedish Punsch, a potent elixir combining the Dutch sugar cane distillate Batvia-Arrack Van Oosten, cardamom, lemon juice, simple syrup and grated nutmeg.   Here’s the recipe for the resulting cocktail as well as the Swedish Punsch.

Making the Mabel Berra

 “Mabel Berra”

1oz.      Swedish Punsch
1/2oz.   Sloe Gin
1/4oz.   Martin Millers Gin  (original recipe called for 3/4oz. Sloe Gin and no regular                                                        Gin, but was modified just a touch, for balance)
3/4oz.    Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients in shaker, shake vigorously, strain and serve.

Homemade Swedish Punsch – Courtesy of Imbibe Magazine and excecuted by Joe Keeper

9oz.      Simple Syrup
6oz.      Batvia-Arrack Van Oosten
3oz.      Lemon Juice
1/2tspn Grated Nutmeg
10         Cardamom pods

Start by removing seeds from cardamom pods and discard pods.  Crush seeds in mortar and pestle.  Next add all ingredients to a glass mason jar and refrigerate for 24 hours.

What I loved about both of these cocktails was their simplicity, especially the Mujer Verde.  I love a complex cocktail, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it is nice to go back to the basics with no more than 4 to 5 ingredients. The most complex flavor of the night had to be the Punsch.  It was extremely herbal, with the cardamom beaming its way right through, which made it absolutely delicious when mixed with the two gins and lime juice.  Somewhat of an acquired taste I would say.  All in all, very well played by our two bartenders that evening.  Well done y’all.

Bitters Anyone?

In addition to partying, a little shopping and bitters tasting were in order.  Joe has the most extensive collection of bitters that I have ever seen.  Period.  Not only that, he has a bar in which you can taste every single one of them.  When it comes to bitters, this guy knows his stuff.  He’s got everything from your traditional Angostura and Peychauds to the rarely seen in the wild German brand, The Bitter Truth.  Joe has been importing these, and until now have been next to impossible to find.  I highly recommend them.  I plan on doing a bitters tasting post some time in the near future, so I’ll have more of a full rundown then.  Some highlights included The Bitter Truth’s Celery Bitters, which at first, I was pretty sure the 2 drops (only 2 drops!) I tasted had been too much.  I wasn’t expecting such power and spice.  The kick alone made me envision beautiful brunches filled with mouth watering Gin Mary’s accented with this wonderful yet peculiar bitters.  Then came Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters also by The Bitter Truth.  Rumored to have snake oil in it (that’s right y’all, snake oil) I immediately recognized the Chinese 5-spice characteristics, and at once declared it the most complex and riveting bottle of bitters I had come across.  I’m pretty sure that Professor Jerry is somewhere smiling.

Absinthe Porn

 If you are reading this post and you live in LA and haven’t been by yet, what on earth are you waiting for?!  Get thee to Bar Keeper!  If you do live in LA and you’ve been there before, go back!  He’s always switching it up so you never know what you might find.  In from out of town?  By all means pay Joe a visit, he might even pour you something fun. Then you can march your butt right over to the bitters bar and spike it with one of the many testers he’s got.  All in all, this a great place for everybody, from the amateur enthusiast to the professional bartender.  Bar Keeper has got you covered.  As long as this shop is around, I’ll keep making room for more glassware.