Drinking Time at The Passenger

Recently a friend of mine had a "significant" birthday ("significant" because of the numbers involved, although you wouldn't know it from looking at her.) Her husband, a beer brewer and imbiber like myself, decided to treat her and a bunch of friends to a cocktail class hosted by Derek Brown - cocktail writer for The Atlantic, bartender and beverage program designer of The Gibson, owner of a beverage consulting business, co-owner of The Passenger bar, and all around cocktail-guy-to-know in DC. I was lucky enough to be invited, but had some time to kill between work and the class kick off time - and that translates to drinking time (see pics from the evening here).

Started at Central, Chef Michel Richard's bistro location. It was the start of Mardi Gras, and I had seen that Central had Abita Mardi Gras Bock as an exclusive in DC, so figured I would start there. The beer was very tasty - malty, slightly sweet, slight bitterness with a very short finish. Nice reddish amber hue to it - a good, but not great, bock. But the bar itself was slow, and the bartender spent most of his time noting he was off in 5 more hours and couldn't wait to get out of there, so I bolted for The Passenger.

The Passenger is in a converted store front directly across the street from the DC Convention Center in the Shaw neighborhood. This is one of the two or three DC neighborhoods undergoing a renaissance after years of blight caused by the riots that occurred in 1968 and the resulting years of neglect. Unlike many bars i've been to, the space is wide open - the entire center portion of the bar is absent tables or chairs (in New York, you would probably see 10 more tables crammed into the same space.). There are five vinyl, four person booths, a couple of eight tops at front in the bay windows, and the bar seats about fifteen. Chatting about the bar later, Derek mentioned that openness was intentional - it definitely makes the large space more intimate. It also mitigates the noise in the space- the space is dark, with dark, almost black hardwood floors, dark grey walls, and a darkly stained bar, and even with the open space, it can get pretty loud when the seats start to fill up.

I was about an hour early, so I grabbed a seat at the bar and asked my bartender Alex to make me something with rye. She whipped up a Manhattan made with Luxardo maraschino liqueur and absinthe. Tasty, and the absinthe added a nice zing to the drink. This was starting off well.

I figured getting tanked BEFORE the class would be bad form, so I asked for a Oscar Blue's (maker of Dale's Pale Ale) Gordon Imperial IPA in a can (not sure how asking for an Imperial IPA was supposed to keep me from getting tanked - I am sure this made sense at the time.) Oscar Blue makes awesome canned beers, and this was no exception. SMOOTH, a little hoppy, but not what you would expect from an IIPA - it went down very easily - probably a little TOO easily given the 8.7% ABV.

Very soon thereafter my friends arrived, as did Derek, and we were escorted into the Columbia Room, the newly opened party / event / class room in the back of the space. In contrast to the bar space in front, this space was brightly lit, with creamy light blue walls and a cozy atmosphere. There was a bar, a nicely designed prep/display area, barstools for about ten people, and that was it - certainly a proper atmosphere for teaching about drinking. Derek claimed the room wasn't quite complete yet, but it certainly looked complete to me.

Derek started off by making a champagne cocktail, making one for each of us while discussing the role of bitters in a cocktail. He moved on to a Crisp Martini - Plymouth gin, Dolin vermouth, and a lemon twist - while expounding upon the differences between London dry gin, Old Tom gin, and genever, as well as the importance of using fresh vermouth. From there he made a fresh batch of Daiquiris, and showed us his mad lemon peeling skillz by making a round of Horse's Necks - bourbon, spicy ginger beer, with an unbroken, whole lemon peel in the glass. He also broke out this HUGE Japanese cleaver which he used to carve an ice diamond (kudos to him - I would have cut my arm off taking the thing out of the drawer.) All of this was interspersed with tasty food -flat bread, artichoke hearts, veggie burgers - just enough to keep the munchies at bay (and keep you from keeling over halfway through class.)

Overall it was a great experience - everyone learned something, had some great cocktails and some great food, and I think came away with a better appreciation of the skill that goes into making a great cocktail.

100 Cocktail Bucket List

A buddy of mine recently linked me to an article in the Houston Press regarding a list that Anvil Bar & Refuge had developed of the 100 Cocktails To Try Before You Die. While lists like this are always subjective, and inevitably leave out drinks which are near and dear to any imbibers' heart (no Esquivel??), the Anvil list does contain a very strong selection of cocktails which would appear on most lists as "classics" not to be missed. Looking at it from the perspective of someone interested in creating quality cocktails at home, I identified 30 on the list that I have made since "repurposing" this blog in early May - and there isn't one of the 70 cocktails left on the list I don't want to, or had not planned to, try eventually.

Given that, I have come up with an idea, somewhat based on that movie "Julie and Julia" (well, "somewhat" is probably an understatement - "extremely loosely based on the premise of" is more accurate):

I intend to create every one of the cocktails on this list by midnight on
December 31, 2009.

This gives me 121 days to make 100 cocktails (I will remake the 30 I have already made as part of this effort - they were great the first time, so why not?), which I think is more than enough cushion to accomplish my goal. Some of my assumptions at the onset of this project, which are open to change at any time:

• I will attempt to go in order as much as is practical (things which might throw me off might be if I have to create or find a special ingredient I wouldn't normally have laying around)
  
• I will make all of the cocktails personally - drinks at bars or made by others won't count
• I will attempt to take pictures of every creation
• I will also attempt to blog about what drink I make each time, at a minimum including the drink title, recipe, and a picture (and pics could come later as I don't have a fancy schmancy cell phone with a camera)

There will be no punishment for not accomplishing this (unlike a real bucket list, where if you don't complete the list, you're dead - cause and effect notwithstanding.) This actually solves an issue I have been having lately with trying to determine what to have every day (I know, rough life). This gives me a structure, a method to my drunkenness, which is easy to follow and easy to gauge my progress against.

Things start off this evening with the first drink on the list - an Absinthe Drip.

And yes, I know I use quotes and parentheses far too often. I'm not blogging about proper sentence structure here, people.

Cocktailing in Manhattan, Part One - The Pegu Club

As with most things culinary, when you look for cutting edge innovation and trendsetting in America, two cities immediately appear at the top of any list – New York and San Francisco (DC…not so much, although things are improving on that front). Luckily for me, I had planned trips to both of those locations in back to back weeks in July, giving me a rare opportunity to experience (potentially) some of the great cocktail locations in America in a very short period of time. My first stop – New York, which has close to a dozen locations which have garnered interest and accolades within the cocktail and culinary community (not to mention the standard imbibing community). With the plan being to spend a week there, I figured that would give me ample opportunity to hit at least a couple of these locations and document what I found. Turns out a couple was in fact all I had time for, but the time spent at both locations - The Pegu Club and Flatiron Lounge - was about as well spent as one interested in cocktails could hope for.

The Pegu Club, located on West Houston in Soho, has a sterling reputation for the cocktails mixed there, as well as for those who mix them. Named after a famous British colonial officer's club in Burma, the bar and lounge, located up a flight of steps straight off the street, has an appropriately Eurasian feel to it - the wooden screens, dark and polished wood, and low slung furniture create an atmosphere of refined yet restrained elegance. Everything in the narrow, long space running along Houston Street is designed to be both comforting, but at the same time elevate the mood and heighten the senses - this isn't a place to slug back a shot of Jack with a Bud Light chaser (although there's nothing wrong with that).

Bottles of all kinds were lined up behind the bar - Cynar, Sazerac Rye, Green and Yellow Chartreuse, Plymouth Sloe Gin, Zwack. Bottles both common and exotic were contained behind asian-inspired screens which were made to mimic the same style of screens difusing the light coming through the north facing windows. This was a lounge, but absent the typical pretension associated with someplace identifying itself as one - this was a "club," but one everyone is invited to join.

I arrived on a Monday afternoon, only having been off the train from DC long enough to drop my stuff off at the hotel and catch the A Train to Soho. The room was almost completely empty except for one gentleman sipping a drink in a very well appointed suit. The bar filled out, but only slightly, as the afternoon wore on - I learned that Eben Klemm (beverage director of the B.R. Guest restaurant group), sat for a drink or two Taking my place at the bar, I looked at the cocktail menu and ordered their signature cocktail (always a good place to start) - the Pegu Club. London dry gin, orange curacao, lime juice, and angostura and orange bitters are shaken vigorously and then strained into a cocktail coupe. Tart, refreshing, slightly sweet, you could envision sitting on the porch in the humid heat of Burma having tray after tray of these delivered for your pleasure.

The Pegu Club Cocktail

2oz London dry gin
3/4 oz orange curacao
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
2 dashes each of Angostura and orange bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge

The creation of this cocktail embodied everything I look for in a place that creates quality cocktails. My bartender, Yale, was extremely friendly and very willing to chat (I am sure at least partially because there was hardly anyone else in the place). The bar filled out, but only slightly, as the afternoon wore on - while chatting with Yale about ice and the most efficient shaking techniques (some think it makes a difference - others don't), I learned that Eben Klemm (beverage director of the B.R. Guest restaurant group), sat for a drink or two a couple of seats away. He had evidently been on a panel discussion about that very subject (dilution, temp, ice structure, etc) in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail. That's the kind of thing an actual raport with the bartender will get you - interesting tidbits about regular customers or facts about the craft that you wouldn't get elsewhere.

Yale's method for making the cocktails I enjoyed that afternoon were consistent, classic, and extremely professional. All of the quality cocktail places I have been to in the last year or so have the same characteristics:

- alcohol amounts are measured, not free poured
- shaken drinks are just that - shaken, HARD
- ingredients are absolutely fresh - fruit, juices, even bitters, tonics, and sodas are made on site or acquired form the highest quality vendors
- as the drink is strained into your glass, the pour is ended with a crisp snap of the wrist
- not necessary, but a nice detail - ice is cracked in hand with a barspoon in a discriminating way (i.e. would throw ice out if not cracked properly). Again, attention to detail and experience of the customer at the bar.
- the bartender taste tests your drink (with a straw, not a sip) before giving it to you. That indicates to me a desire for quality control and excellence - you can trust a drink that passes this test to taste as it should
- the bartender is engaging with the customers - even when slammed, he/she will always have a smile and a few words with a new customer sitting down at the bar

For my next cocktail, I asked Yale to come up with something she really liked. Proclaiming herself to be a "rye girl" (big points there), she mixed up a Red Hook - Rittenhouse 100 Rye, maraschino liqueur, and Punt a Mes, stirred, with a brandied cherry for a garnish. Boozy drink, with a great balance of sweetness and depth which rye imparts to almost any drink.

The Red Hook

2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Wanting to ensure my experience at the bar would extend into the evening (and not wanting to pass out on the A Train and end up god knows where), I decided to have some of the "bar" food. And awesome food it is - chicken lollipops with scotch syrup, pear compote, and lemon zest were fantastic, and their version of coconut shrimp w honey mustard sauce was delicious as well. Satiated but not full, I moved ahead with my mission to try as many cocktails at the Pegu Club as possible while still maintaining the ability to adequately operate my limbs.

At this point, there was a shift change at the bar, and Dell took over the helm of the place. I learned later that I was being served by one of the most highly regarded bartenders in NYC - and it was soon clear why that was.

PART II - Dell the Funky Homosapien (Bartender)

Cocktail Hopping in Philadelphia ( Part 2)

Butcher and Singer was my last and best stop on my cocktail-related venture through Philadelphia. My experience there started with a Sidecar.

The Sidecar is a classic cocktail. As such, it saw a resurgence in the 90’s when the movie Swingers came out (sadly, I have yet to see it, so I don’t know whether the cocktail itself figures prominently in the movie, or whether the resurgence of cocktail culture in general generated renewed interest in the drink. I know, I am a cultural failure.) Consisting of brandy, Cointreau, and lemon juice shaken over ice and strained into a cocktail glass, it’s got a great mixture of all the things that make a cocktail successful for me – sweet, sour, herbaceousness, and bite. At Butcher and Singer, they throw in a thinly sugared rim on the glass, which really punches the sweet up a notch at the front of the drink before the other flavors come into play. I actually prefer this – that little pop of sugar at the front really sets the stage for the other flavors.

At this point, having complimented the bartender on the drink, I asked for something that he really likes that people may not order very often or see in other bars. He suggested a French 75. I have seen more than a few references to this cocktail being made with gin as the base spirit – but other references, and the associated back-story, refer to cognac as the lead. This was the version prepared here, and I can’t argue with the results.

The story goes that the drink was created during World War I by flying ace Franco Lufbery who wanted a way to kick up his champagne. He added cognac, which would certainly do the trick. The result was said to have the same effect as a famous (or infamous-, depending on which side of the lines you were on)-at-the-time piece of artillery, a French 75mm howitzer. Thus, the French 75.

For the preparation, cognac, simple syrup, and lemon juice are shaken together. The bartender prepared a large brandy snifter by half filling it with crushed ice, over which the drink was poured. Champagne then topped the drink off. Again, the mixture of tastes (sour, sweet, herby, bite, with some dryness added by the champagne) really set the drink apart from your typical expectation for a cocktail.

It was at this point I decided that further exploration of the Philadelphia cocktail culture was probably best left to another day. Hopefully I’ll be returning soon, as I could see that there were obviously bartenders in Philly that cared about their craft, and that were on a mission to elevate the cocktail beyond the standard vodka martini or over-muddled mojito. And that’s a worthy mission in my book.

The Esquivel

The concept of "lounge culture" has always amused me - I find it funny how much effort, money and stress goes into looking like you're cool, relaxed, and sophisticated. Although I really enjoy the music associated with lounge style (shout out to DC-based Thievery Corporation), it was pretty clear I was never going to be able to afford having a wardrobe which would even qualify me to get in the door at any establishment that strived to call themselves exclusive. Also, given the fact that I was not of European / Latin American / Middle Eastern descent, I was starting off with two huge strikes against me right there.

The very few times I have been in a lounge-type setting, I felt really, really out of place. On my first outing to the 18th Street Lounge in DC about 12 years ago, I was amazed that they let me in - I had heard it was extremely exclusive, and if you were a solo guy (or worse, a group of guys), you were not getting past the doorman. When they let me in, I felt all good about myself - figured I had on nice enough clothes and looked good enough to qualify as "one of the elite." It wasn't until a couple of years later that a friend, who WAS cool and good looking enough to be one of the elite, told me they let me in almost certainly because I got there early, and figured I would leave before it got really crowded and the "real good looking people" showed up.

I wasn't too crushed by this - at the time, paying $8 bucks for a skunked Heineken bottle wasn't my idea of a good time anyway (not that it is now - $3 tops). And you wonder just how much money people have when they can go to a "lounge," rent an exclusive table in a velvet rope secured area for $1500, and that doesn't even get you any drinks. That's another $300 per bottle for "bottle service" - which just means you can pour your own drinks. From a bottle. Just like you do at home. Hell, I can grab a bottle of Thunderbird, lock myself in my bathroom, and crank up some Eddie Money - THAT'S exclusive, my friends.

The whole point of this is that this cocktail, the Esquivel, is named after what many consider to be the founder of lounge music, and thus lounge culture - Juan Garcia Esquivel. A prolific musician from the late 1950's through the late 1960's, a compilation of his music came out in 1994 on a CD entitled "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music." Whether this kicked off the lounge music resurgence, or whether this came out as a result of young hipsters suddenly drinking martinis, smoking Cohiba's, and longing for the good old days of three martini lunches and bomb shelters, I don't know. But this cocktail is perfectly named - it is at once familiar, exotic, modern, retro, International, but yet also very American. That it's delicious is just a bonus - far more importantly, you LOOK good drinking it. And isn't that the whole point?

The Esquivel

2 oz light rum
1/2 oz Kahlua
1 oz pineapple juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
champagne
cinnamon and orange twist to garnish

Combine the rum, Kahlua, pineapple juice, and bitters in a cocktail shaker and shake for 20 seconds. Strain into a shilled cocktail glass. Top off with champagne, and sprinkle cinammon on top. Garnish with orange twist.

Landover Lemonade

Growing up in southern Maryland, I had the benefit of living within a few miles of a couple of "pick your own" farms. Although at the time I considered them more "stand out in the hot sun and sweat your ass off while picking food you could buy in an air conditioned grocery store" farms, it did mean that we often had extremely fresh produce available on the table almost all of the time. Silver Queen Corn, squash, strawberries, peppers, melons of all kinds - whatever was coming out of the ground that week was finding its way onto our plates (of course, so were Ho-Hos and Hamburger Helper - my Mom was no agro-food hippie, to say the least).

Recently my wife (a post-punk agro-food postmodern hippie) and I bought a share in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in PG County. It's essentially the same concept, except you pre-purchase the food, and for your share, you get a certain amount of whatever is fresh that week. We have had strawberries, garlic scallions, turnips, kale, lettuce, rhubarb, bok choi, and a number of other veggies and fruits so far. You are also allowed unlimited cuttings from their herb garden and access to some pick your own fields for free (we cleaned up on strawberries the first week - made a yummy strawberry rhubarb pie). So we head down there every Saturday to pick up our share.

Next to the spot where we pick up our share, there is a huge mulberry tree which Noe started picking berries from the first week. Having done some infusions lately, I decided doing a mulberry infusion would be a neat idea - hadn't seen that done before, and it was free, so why not? I had also picked a bunch of mint, and since mulberries have a pretty mild taste, I figured combining the two would be a cool thing to try out. I poured out some Stoli, added the berries and mint, and closed it up to infuse.

Turns out it only took a day for the vodka to take on a gorgeous purply-blue color and for the mint aroma and taste to infuse itself into the vodka. When infusing you don't want to let the ingredients go bad for obvious reasons, and mint and mulberries have a pretty short shelf life. So I had my mulberry-mint vodka - now what to make with it?

On Sunday afternoon, I went to a Nationals game with some friends. My buddy Brian went to grab us some beers, but as it was the 8th inning, they had stopped beer sales (why? WHY???). He brought lemonade back instead, and I think we both thought of the same thing simultaneously - that mulberry stuff would work great with lemonade! I can confirm that this is indeed the case - all of the flavors work really well together, and no ingredient overpowers any of the others. On a really hot day, a pitcher of these would be just the ticket.

As far as I know this is an original recipe. I am not married to the name, so if there are alternate suggestions, I am open to them (Suz really wants Bobbo Palmer, referencing the classic Arnie Palmer drink consisting of half iced tea and half lemonade - I'm just not feelin' it). No matter what you call it, it's pretty damned tasty.

Landover Lemonade

2 oz mulberry and mint infused vodka
4 oz lemonade
lemon rind for garnish
ice

Fill highball glass with ice to chill. Add vodka and lemonade to a Boston shaker half filled with ice. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, and strain into highball glass. Add lemon twist for garnish.

Mulberry and Mint Infused Vodka

4 - 6 oz of fresh mulberries
1 bunch fresh mint
375 ml vodka

Wash berries and mint, and place into an airtight container. Add vodka and let infuse overnight. Strain vodka through a coffee filter or paper towel, discarding solids. Place vodka in an airtight container and keep for up to 2 weeks.

Tom Collins

When friends and I go out to drink, it's typically for beers, maybe the occasional shot or "typical" cocktail (martini, mojito, margarita, etc). And even though I frequent different types of bars (lounges, sports bars, restaurant bars) I never see a lot of variation in the drinks being ordered - nothing that we make me look over and ask "What's THAT guy drinking?" The Tom Collins is one of those drinks I never see anyone ordering, drinking, or even mentioning in a bar context. It's a classic cocktail, with it's origins in the late 19th century (although there is debate whether this is an English or American cocktail). But it's not one many people seem to enjoy.

That's a shame, as it's incredibly easy to make, refreshing, and looks great in a tall, cold glass. The comination of herbal, sweet and sour are all perfectly balanced, and sipping one on a hot day on the deck - or on a hot day in an air conditioned bar - is a real cocktail-based treat. It's a great drink for those who normally don't like gin - the lemon and the sugar mellow the typical sugnature flavors of gin, marrying it all together into a very enjoyable drink.

Tom Collins

2 oz gin (Bombay Sapphire)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
2 tsp super fine sugar (I used 2 tsp agave syrup)
4 - 6 oz club soda
1 orange wedge and 1 maraschino cherry to garnish (I didn't have the cherry - I really need to go shopping!)

Fill cobbler 2/3 full with ice. Add the gin, lemon juice, and sugar. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds.

Fill a collins glass with ice. Strain cocktail into the glass, and add club soda to taste. Stir with a swizzle stick slightly to blend. Garnish with orange wedge, squeezing slightly, and cherry.

Catch Up Time

The thing about enjoying cocktails is that, typically, you don't come away from a close encounter with a great cocktail and think "I should sit down for 20 minutes and write about this" (Ernest Hemingway probably thought differently - but some people have a gift.) That being said, I'm getting a little behind on the posts, which I'll try and update today. Got a couple of good ones to share thoughts on, including a classic Tom Collins, one called a Bunny Hug which was more like a Bunny Slap to the Face, and a recommendation for an awesome piece of bar equipment (or I may just do one on all of my bar equipment....hmmmmm.)

The Gemini

Martha Stewart gets a bad rap, in my opinion. The woman may be a control freak, bitchy beyond reason, and involved in elaborate but horribly covered up securities fraud, but she does know how to do the finer things in life. We started getting "Martha Stewart Living" as a replacement for a magazine that we really like that went under. Initially, we thought we had just gained one more thing to recycle every month. But there's some good stuff in there - maybe I don't need to know how to knit my own plastic bag holder, but I can use a good grilling tip - or cocktail recipe - any day, and I ain't picky about the source.

The Gemini is a great example of something from the Martha Stewart brand - relatively simple, but with top notch ingredients, and somewhat exotic. The key ingredient to this cocktail is St-Germain, an elderflower liquer that tastes like....well, it tastes like a whole bunch of things at once. Grapefruit, lemon, lime, roses...it's all over the place. But it's REALLY good - definitely worth it as an addition to those "weird" liquers that pile up in the back of your liquor cabinet. But this one is so good, you might actually break it out every now and again. This cocktail would be GREAT as a substitute to a mimosa or bellini at a brunch (especially for those that like grapefruit juice).

The Gemini

4 ounces fresh grapefruit juice, strained to remove pulp
3 ounces St-Germain liquer
2 ounces vodka (Stoli)
ice cubes
Prosecco (any sparkling wine will do)
2 grapefruit-rind twists

Mix juice, St-Germain, vodka, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into two chilled glasses. Top each with Prosecco. Garnish with grapefruit twists. Makes 2 cocktails.

Maiden's Prayer

Sometimes, you just want something simple. Not a whole lot of preparation, not any real skill involved in whipping together something to drink - this is about relaxing, being refreshed, and having something yummy, right? This drink fits the bill - gin, cointreau, and orange juice. Can't get much simpler than that. And it's definitely yummy - the herbyness (it's a word...I think) and slight bitterness of the gin offset the tanginess of the orange juice and sweetness of the cointreau. I was going to lament using Beefeater's gin, instead of Tanqueray (which I didn't have), Plymouth (out of that too), or Bombay Sapphire (which I had, but it was all the way in the back of the cabinet and I didn't feel like fishing it out). But the straightforward nature of Beefeater's serves this drink just right. The qualities of the higher end gins would just be overshadowed by the other ingredients.

Maiden's Prayer

2 measures gin (Beefeaters)
2 measures Cointreau
1 measure orange juice

Fill a cocktail shaker 3/4 full with ice cubes. Pour all the ingredients over the ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Manhattan

The first drink I made with the intent of blogging about it was a true classic - a Manhattan. This bourbon or rye whiskey based drink is everything a cocktail should be - easy to make, but maddeningly difficult to master. The ability to craft a perfect one (or the lack of that ability) can have profound consequences for anyone aspiring to be called a true Bartender (reference Fat Tony's lamentations about being served a flat, flavorless Manhattan.)

I prefer the rye version of the drink - it's a little more dry than the bourbon version...and I like rye a lot. So there's that. But if you want to tell whether a new watering hole is going to be worth your time, or if a neophyte referring to themselves as a "Bartender" with a capital "B" is the real deal, order a Manhattan. You'll know straight off whether you'll be back, or whether the schlub behind the bar should be swimming with the fishes in the East River.

Manhattan

2 1/2 ounces rye whiskey (Jim Beam Rye, but I prefer Rittenhouse)
1 1/2 Tbsp sweet vermouth (Martini and Rossi)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 small strip orange peel
1 maraschino cherry with stem (I leave these out)

Chill a cocktail glass by filling it with ice and water and let sit (I don't freeze my glasses - creates an unbalanced temperature in the drink...and my freezer isn't that big).
Fill a cocktail shaker 2/3 full with ice. Pour in whiskey and vermouth, then add bitters. Close shaker and shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds. Dump the ice and water out of the glass, and strain cocktail into it immediately. Twist the orange peel between your fingers to release the oils , rub the orange part around the rim, discard the peel. Garnish with cherry if you're into that sorta thing.

Surf Rider

My second cocktail (posting about it first - suck it up) was a tasty citrus and vodka based drink called a Surf Rider. As with most of these drinks, what I choose to make is driven by what I have on hand. Alcohol isn't a big problem (I have a pretty wide variety) but mixers are more of an issue - I just don't have elderflower cordial sitting around. So this was pretty simple to make, and very refreshing - tartness from the lemon, sweetness from the orange juice, a little bitterness from the sweet vermouth, and the kick from the vodka. Definitely an option for relaxing on the deck - add a bunch of ice to thin it out a bit (or seltzer) and it becomes a great summer drink.

Surf Rider

4-5 ice cubes
3 measures vodka (Stoli)
1 measure sweet vermouth (Martini and Rossi)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon grenadine (Rose's)

Put the ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour the vodka, vermouth, fruit juices, and grenadine over the ice. Shake until a frost forms on the outside of the shaker. Stain into a sour glass - garnish with twists of orange and lemon zest.

Redirection of Purpose

As predicted in my first post to this blog, I haven't exactly been updating it on a frequent basis (I think four time in 6 months qualifies as "infrequent"). I think mostly for the same reasons I stopped updating my old site - not really much to talk about. Since I didn't have any structure or purpose to posting, there wasn't anything driving me to do so. While in Whole Foods the other day, I picked up a copy of Imbibe magazine to pass the boredom while I waited for my hippie check out girl to figure out how much a kiwi costs. Scanning that magazine, I think I found my purpose and structure.

Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy drinking. In my early years, I probably fit the same mold as most college-age guys - drink lots, drink cheap, and drink often. Now that I am a mature (um..), professional (okaaay...), adult (maybe..) father of one (definitely), two out of those three drivers have changed: I don't drink as much in quantity anymore (it was truly a revelation that a single well made cocktail, glass of wine, or craft brewed beer usually generated a lot more pleasure than six crappy beers (I am looking at you, PBR)); I don't drink the really cheap stuff if I can help it (nothing wrong with a Bud Light on a hot day in the parking lot at a football game - just not my choice to drink with dinner, or at a bar with friends); I do, however, continue to drink often - usually once a day, typically a glass of wine or beer with dinner, maybe one after my daughter goes to bed. So in addition to my interest in consumption, I gained an interest in production - about 6 years ago I started making my own beer, which I love to do. And I have always had an interest in cocktails - how they are made, the history of a particular drink, the sometimes exotic ingredients or spirits, etc. And I obviously have an interest in parentheses (but that's another issue.)

So from all this I figured why not try and write about my interest in imbibing - whether that be beer, wine, coffee (which I also love), spirits, cocktails, whatever. It's something I have an interest in, and at worst no one reads it and I still have some good drinks along the way. I will try and post something new every day - but realistically I'll shoot for a minimum of once a week. Don't expect literary brilliance (it should be pretty obvious by now that's not possible) or even necessarily insightful comments on the subject matter.

This is a guy writing about what he drinks.