TOTC2011: Nonstop to Tokyo

As I mentioned previously, my favorite thing at Tales of the Cocktail this year was the Nonstop to Tokyo. It was by luck, and the kindness of my friend Nathan Luchansky, that I was even able to attend - the event was completely sold out at least two months ahead of time and Nathan gave me a ticket.

Here are some pictures from the event, as well as some details to give a sense of why it was great.

Departing NOLA
Starting out, we headed into a suite and were given a boarding pass for our trip to Tokyo. The event was sponsored by Suntory , and featured a variety of their whiskys (they don't use the "e") as well as a few other spirits that they handle in Japan. My friend Neyah White, now an ambassador for Suntory, but formerly head barkeep of one of my favorite places in San Francisco, was there as our tour guide.

On entry, we were given access to two side rooms - one where a cocktail with Hibiki 12 was being served, and one where we could sample a variety of Japanese whiskys and play a little putt-putt golf.

One of the spirits we were invited to taste was called "Chita." Not available in the US on it's own, it is used as part of the blend in the Hibiki whiskey. It's a really interesting, delicious spirit - made from 100% Japan-grown corn, and aged in used bourbon barrels. It tastes like a fine aged rum and was quite sippable.

The Main Event
After while, we were invited into the main room of the suite, where there was small bar with seven or eight seats. Hidetsugu Ueno from Bar High Five in Tokyo greeted us, and presented us with a menu of cocktail options. And then, essentially, he made us cocktails and told us a bit about cocktail culture and cocktail making in Japan.

Some of the highlights:

• He cracked ice by hand, using a three-pronged ice crusher
• He carved an ice block into a diamond-shaped cube for one of the cocktails
• One of the cocktails was served at room temperature in a tulip glass, with undiluted honey in the bottom, so that the drinker could adjust sweetness to taste by swirling the glass.
• The techniques he used, and the fluidity of his motions, were beautiful to watch.
  

A couple of trivia bits I learned:

• Both Midori and Southern Comfort are very popular in Japan.
  
• It is common to use knives completely up - the knife he used on the ice block was used for other things in the past, but the blade has shrunk over time and now it is only good for carving ice.
  

Thiswas a truly unique experience, and a wonderful introduction to the cocktail culture in Japan. And, I got to try a couple of new whiskys and get a couple of good ideas for cocktails, too.

Thanks again to Nathan for finding me and giving me the ticket!

TOTC: Day 2 Hijinks

Another great day at Tales, filled with lots of great conversations, drinks and good times. Here are a few highlights from day two:

• My friend Nathan Lutchansky absolutely made my Tales by offering me a ticket to the Nonstop to Tokyo event. After a false start, we were able to sit at a tiny bar and enjoy wonderful drinks and conversation with master Hidetsugu Ueno from Japan. We tried some wonderful spirits from Japan not available here, as well. It was fantastic, and I'll write a more detailed post about it shortly. Thanks Nathan!!
  

• Great company, conversation and punches at the Spirited Dinner I attended with a good friend at Bourbon House (delicious drinks and entertainment by Bridget Albert and Jeffrey Morgenthaler). I wasn't planning to go to an official dinner, but my friend graciously secured a seat for me. It was the most fun I've had at a Spirited Dinner, despite the weirdos at our table (more on that below).

• I learned a few things from the seminars. Like, for example, that it was illegal for women to work behind the bar in Chicago until March 1970. Yes, you read that right, 1970.

And just one lowlight:

• Some guys showed up to the spirited dinner already three sheets to the wind, and one of them was especially obnoxious. To the point where it was required to say to him "how old are you? are you 8? because you're acting like it right now." They left, but not before popping some balloons and making them whistle, and having one more go at harassing the single girls at the table. Amateur (and immature, etc.).

It's raining in NOLA today, so it's especially sticky out. Good thing I get to stay in the Monteleone most of the day!

TOTC: The First 24 Hours

After arriving in NOLA yesterday, I hit the ground running in the parties, drinks and good time departments. Perhaps a bit more than I should have, in retrospect, given that it's early on in my TOTC tenure.

Here were some highlights from Wednesday:

• Running into many friends from many places, many of whom I haven't seen in quite awhile. This was honestly my favorite part.
  
• Sipping Lagavulin 16 at the Diageo "Behind the Distillery Doors" panel. The event started late, and wasn't quite what I expected. However, I very much enjoyed the Scotch and learned a few things about how other spirits makers handle issues, and how they search for innovations.
• Wonderful cocktails and dinner at Sylvain with a good friend. Several writer friends recommended it, and they were absolutely correct. Go there. Now.
• The drinks at the Old Absinthe House have improved, from the looks of it. I still had a beer, but I actually considered getting a cocktail.
  

And a few lowlights:

• The Pimm's Cup at the Napoleon House was not as good as I remembered. Tasted like bad sour mix, actually. Did not even finish it, even.
• The elevators at the Monteleone are even slower than I remembered. More people in them this time around.

All in all, a great first 24 hours. Now, off to a seminar!

Liquid Nitrogen in a Cocktail. In Rockford.

Last Saturday, I was in Rockford, Illinois for a tasting event at a great little wine, spirits & beer store (the best one in Rockford, as far as I know). I have a friend who grew up in Rockford, and the last time I saw him, he mentioned that there was a new restaurant doing great cocktails in Rockford. This I had to see.

Low and behold, I found Social, which looks to be a great restaurant (the pork belly tacos were delicious). They have several people behind the bar who actually know a few things about cocktails, even! In talking with them, it turns out they took inspiration from a few places in Chicago in developing their approach to food and drink, and they are offering something completely different for Rockford.

Full disclosure - they do carry our absinthe behind the bar, which was my first beverage of the night. Then, I asked Greg and Jeff for whatever they felt like making. Greg made me what they call a JFK. Essentially, it was classic daiquiri (reportedly JFK's favorite drink). However, rather than serving it the traditional way, they actually chilled it with liquid nitrogen.

They shook the drink with ice quickly, strained it into the glass, and started adding in liquid nitrogen with a ladle. You can see from the pictures just how cold the ladle was, and when a drop of liquid nitrogen scattered across the bar, they warned me to steer well clear of it. It's so cold, it will freeze alcohol (and do some damage to you too).

The resulting drink has a smooth, icy texture, reminiscent of a well-blended frozen daiquiri, without all that extra dilution. It was fantastic on a hot day, and a real delight to try, especially in Rockford.

If you find yourself in the area, you must go there.

Seen in a Bar 06.09 - Cool New Gadget

We were in Colorado recently for our nephew's graduation from high school. Suffice to say, we did not have much time for cocktail adventures due to family commitments, but we did manage one trip to a couple of places in Boulder. Our favorite by far was the West End Tavern, which was recommended by a friend of ours.

While there, we saw this cool gadget on their back bar, holding fresh basil. The bartenders said it extends the life of the basil for several days - basil is a notoriously short-lived herb, but is also a great addition to certain cocktails.

This gadget is called the "Herb Savor" and is made by a company called Prepara. They have some other cool stuff on their website, especially this "Power Plant".

I think I've got some ordering to do....

Drinking in San Francisco

Well, this post is now way overdue so I better get on with it before I forget what happened! Here are a few of the highlights from my cocktail drinking adventures in San Francisco in April, beyond the Tiki drinks I wrote about last month.

I tried to cram a lot of bars into a short amount of time, with so much to see and so many great people to meet. I didn't get as many places as Rick over at Kaiser Penguin, but I did pretty well considering that I often was driving and had other commitments during my visit.

Perennial Favorite Stops: Nopa, Alembic, Absinthe
Although I don't have pictures of them from this trip, I really enjoyed seeing Neyah White the cocktail genius at Nopa again, and hanging out at The Alembic again and meeting Daniel Hyatt. I also had the pleasure of meeting Jonny Raglin at Absinthe and having lunch (and a fabulous cocktail) there (and my own personal autographed copy of Jeff Hollinger's book too).

Day One: Alembic, Heaven's Dog, Beretta
After a light dinner and cocktails at Alembic (one of our friends had never been there, so we went again) we headed to Heaven's Dog. Lucky for us, we found some blogger friends there, as well as Erik Ellestad and Thad Vogler behind the bar. Great drinks again (I only had sips since I was the driver), and fantastic food. I got to try a new (to me) absinthe, Leopold Bros.

At right, a shot of Camper English, cocktail and spirits afficionado and writer extraordinaire, at Heaven's Dog. When it was closing time,Camper took us over to Beretta, which we closed down as well. At Beretta, my most memorable cocktail was the Single Village Fix with smoky mezcal, pineapple gomme syrup and lime. I noticed many mezcal cocktails on menus, and also many with gum/gomme syrup, so I hunted down some Small Hands syrup to bring home.

Day Two: Clock Bar, Cantina, Dosa on Fillmore
On my next free evening in the city, I stopped in at the Clock Bar to meet Marco Dionysos and try the Chartreuse Swizzle that I'd been hearing about. It was really busy, so I enjoyed my drink then continued my adventure.

It was a short walk to Cantina, where I met Duggan McDonnell, and found our friend Gabrielle Barnes behind the bar. Gabrielle was one of the first people we met when we came to San Francisco a couple of years ago - she was working at Bourbon & Branch then, and when we asked where else we should go for great drinks, she recommended Nopa (sit at the bar). We had an amazing time there with Neyah behind the bar.

This time around, Gabrielle had just returned from the Mixology Summit, and made me a great cocktail with Black Seal rum, Grand Marnier, and Cynar - she didn't have a name for it, but it was a fantastic drink. Gabrielle is competing in one of the cocktail competitions at Tales of the Cocktail this year, so I'll be cheering her on there.

Wrapping up the night, I stopped in a Dosa on Fillmore, and had the Bollywood Hills made with Subrosa's Saffron-infused Vodka, as well as a nice little cocktail made with our Distiller's Gin No. 6. The cocktails (menu designed by Jonny Raglin) were great, and so was the Dosa Masala (yum).

That was it for this trip, so many bars, so little time....

2009 American Distilling Institute Conference

This year's American Distilling Institute conference was a bit of a blur, and already a month has passed since I got home. Before any more time passes, here's a quick rundown of the conference.

Friday night - Tour of Anchor Distilling
I wrote about this in another post. Suffice to say, it was a treat to see the stills and meet up with some of my blogger friends. After the bus ride back to the hotel (on which I was sampling one of Anchor's fine beers), I was exhausted. My car (with me in it) was rear-ended by a drunk driver the night before (a bit ironic, since I was leaving my distillery), and I only got about 30 minutes of sleep before my flight that morning. So I went to the restaurant across the street for dinner and called it a night.

Saturday - Distilling Conference
We convened at St. George Spirits at a fairly early hour, and followed along on a schedule of sessions on a variety of topics. This year's theme was brandy/eau de vie/grappa, so the presentations were about distilling spirits from fruit. We heard from many great craft spirit producers, including Dan Faber from Osocalis and Hubert Germain-Robin. We also had a panel session on marketing craft spirits, and lobbying legislators for changes to arcane state liquor laws that many of us confront.

Awards were also given out in a variety of categories, and we had an opportunity to taste the entered spirits. We didn't enter anything, since we don't have anything out from fruit (yet).

That night, I had both bad and good tiki experiences - more on that here.

Sunday - Crafts Spirits Public Tasting
For the first time at one of these ADI conferences, we had a public tasting event. This was a welcome addition to the conference, and provided many of us a great opportunity to interact with consumers in the Bay Area about our products. Members of the general public were invited to come out to St. George and try spirits from all the distilleries present, and in most cases, meet the distiller/founder. We had a pretty good turnout, and it was a lot of fun. I hope to see more of these types of events at future conferences, ideally with more publicity to increase the interest & turnout, but this was a great start.

The only beef I had with the event, which I voiced to the powers that be, was that there were some products that do not meet my definition of American craft spirits, so I wouldn't have allowed them to be poured. For instance, there were some imported spirits.

At any rate, we went on a proper cocktail crawl on Sunday night in San Francisco - more on that in a post coming soon.

Monday - Meet the Mixologist
On Monday, Bay Area bartenders and mixologists were invited to come out and taste spirits and talk with the distillers/founders. Unfortunately, the turnout was fairly light, but this was also a fun event and a good idea. As my friend Gabriel over at Cocktail Nerd noted, bartenders and mixologists are an essential partner for small distilleries.

Bring on the Bloggers
One of the highlights for me was to meet some of my blogging friends. It was fantastic to have them at the conference, and I was very happy they were invited to participate and write about our group and our industry.

Thanks to St. George!
The folks at St. George were wonderful hosts, and a lot of fun too. Thank you to Jorg, Lance, Andie and the rest of the team at St. George for hosting us and letting us invade their distillery for three days!

Monteleone Cocktail Entry

As I mentioned a few days ago, the Hotel Monteleone is hosting a contest to develop a new signature Monteleone Cocktail. I've spent some time the last week or so playing with recipes, and I came up with one that I really like. I tried to think of something that was reminiscent of classic New Orleans cocktails and themes, but also unique.

I didn't want it to be too trendy or faddish, lest it go out of style or an ingredient be no longer available, so I tried to stick to fairly standard ingredients with a twist.

Monteleone Cocktail (Sonja's Version)
2 1/2 oz Cognac or Brandy
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey
1/4 oz Absinthe
Stir all ingredients without ice first, to dissolve honey and intermix with other ingredients. Add ice, shake well, and strain into chilled coupe glass. Garnish with flamed orange peel.

Ingredient notes:

• I used very basic brandy, but also tried it with some others and some basic-level cognacs. As long as the brandy is well-balanced and smooth, it seems to work well.
• The honey is very important - it should be fairly standard honey, nothing too fancy or flavorful. I did try a lavender honey, and it was an interesting variation, but I liked standard clover honey best.
• I used our absinthe, but I think it would work with others that are more widely available, as long as it has a traditional flavor profile and is not overwhelmingly bitter.

Cheers to the Hotel Monteleone and the contest winner, I look forward to having one of the winning drinks at Tales of the Cocktail in July!

I Saw Fritz Maytag's Stills

The 2009 American Distilling Institute conference was held in Alameda, CA last month, at St. George Spirits (more on the conference in a future post). The folks at St. George were wonderful hosts, and provided a great location for our conference.

Since we're distributing in Northern California now, I figured it made sense to go to the conference and then spend some time with our distributor's folks in San Francisco.

In addition to the public tasting event for craft spirits, which was a terrific addition to the ADI conference, one of the highlights was getting to tour Anchor Distilling.

Really? A Tour of Anchor?
The first time I saw Fritz Maytag speak a few years ago at one of these conferences, I found it kind of comical. I have no doubt he is a wonderful man, and I'm sure we'd get along famously if we actually spoke face to face, but he was asked to speak to a group of new distillers and he revealed virtually nothing about anything he does at Anchor. I found myself wondering why he was speaking to us, given that he felt everything was a secret and wouldn't really tell us anything about what he was doing, or about his stills, etc.

So when I heard we'd have a chance to not only visit his brewery facility, but also see the stills, I figured I had better be there. Funny enough, when he spoke to the group this time, Mr. Maytag admitted that historically he didn't even let all of his staff see the stills, let alone others in the industry or (gasp) members of the public. So at least he recognized he was "keeping everything close to the vest."

Here are a few photos from the tour - it was a lot of fun. I only wish we could have tasted some of their spirits, rather than only the beers. They make some great beers, of course, many of which I can't get in Chicago, but they also make some spirits I can't get (e.g., the Hotalings).

Pictures are:

• Mr. Maytag and his head distiller making a presentation in front of their three stills - one for genever, one for gin, one for whiskey (left to right)
• The hops room
• The tasting room, where the rest of our group was hanging out while waiting for their tour group
• The Anchor uniform, which I loved. I think we should have a distillery uniform or something. So far, Derek's not going for it.

Good Tiki, Bad Tiki

I've been to no less than three Tiki bars in the last two months, more than I've visited in all my years until now. I still haven't made it to the Hala Kahiki, but I did get to the new Trader Vic's in Chicago, Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA, and the Conga Lounge in Oakland, CA. Seems like Tiki, along with classic cocktails, is having a bit of a resurgence perhaps? Or maybe I was just missing the boat until now.

Tiki is a lesser-explored segment of the cocktail realm for me, but I've been trying to learn more about the culture, lore and drinks favored by my Tiki-crazy blogger friends.

Chicago's New Trader Vic's
For some reason, we ended up here at the end of our St. Patty's day pub crawl. Perhaps it was because it was the only place we found without a huge line on a Saturday evening (and perhaps that was because it's not Irish). The decor is fantastic, and the menu has many favorite cocktails I've read about. We tried a few of them, but honestly my taste buds weren't at their best due to the beer and Irish whiskey consumed earlier in the day. We did enjoy the Pupu Platter (no longer called that) and the Tiki Puka Puka cocktail, but the Mai Tais were dyed green and too sweet. So were the crazy shots that our friend Maeve insisted on ordering for us.

I gotta go back and give Trader Vic's another shot, and I'll post more about that when I do.

Conga Lounge, Oakland, CA
I was hanging out with Melkon Khosrovian from Tru Spirits and Jonathan Forester from Penobscot Bay one night last month after a craft distilling conference, and we were trying to go and have dinner at one of our joint customers. Unfortunately, the place was tiny and also packed, with a 2 hour wait. So we wandered down the street and settled on pizza at Pizza Rustica. They didn't have any tables either, but said we could order pizza in their upstairs bar. So up we went.

What we found when we went upstairs was a decked out Tiki Bar called the Conga Lounge - fun, with lots of great things to look at on the walls and hanging from above. The pizza was great, but unfortunately our drinks were not so great. We only had one drink each, and didn't even finish those. Darn, we wanted to like the place.

Forbidden Island, Alameda, CA

Since I happened to be in Alameda, of course I had to go to Forbidden Island. Unfortunately, the legendary Martin Cate recently left, so I couldn't see him there, but I knew I had to go anyway.

Every drink I tasted was great, and the ladies behind the bar were a blast. My favorite drink was the Sidewinder's Fang (pictured), although the Forbidden Island and Painkiller were both great too. Definitely have to go back next time I'm in the area.

It was definitely fun to try some more Tiki drinks, I'll have to continue my explorations in Tiki.

Tales of the Cocktail and Monteleone Contest

I'm behind on my blogging again, and am going to get caught up soon! In the meantime, I wanted to remind everyone to make plans now to attend Tales of the Cocktail this year - July 8-12, 2009 in New Orleans.

The venue for Tales, Hotel Monteleone, is also celebrating a big anniversary and running a cocktail contest. The Hotel Monteleone is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Carousel Bar (loads a .pdf) on May 21, 2009. From 1949 until about the late 60’s or 70’s there was a drink on the specialty drink menu called the Monteleone Cocktail.

Unfortunately, we have no idea what the exact recipe or ingredients were. The Hotel Monteleone is hosting an online contest to accept drink recipe nominations for a new official Monteleone Cocktail. The recipes will be judged by VIPs who will be at the Carousel anniversary celebration on May 21. There are no requirements on types of liquor or style of drink, but all drink entries must be received by May 18, so that the ingredients may be acquired and drinks prepared at the May 21 event. Participating bloggers should post their entries online, and all participants should e-mail their drink recipes, along with their name, address and phone number, to athornton@hotelmonteleone.com. The winning entry will become the new official Monteleone Cocktail, and the winner will receive four free nights at the Hotel Monteleone during Tales of the Cocktail 2009.

Get going - here's your chance to win a free stay at the Monteleone for Tales and be part of history!

A Taste of Rum Jumbie

We didn't see much that was new to us in terms of drinks on our recent trip to Florida. Initially, we were surprised to see only one bottle of absinthe the entire time we was there, given how prevalent it has become elsewhere in the country. After seeing what people are drinking in Key West, however, I'm not really surprised.

The only bottle that was new to us was Rum Jumbie. According to their website, it is/was available in Chicago, but we've never seen it and I could not find it on the website they suggested was selling it online. Other things are out of date on the website (links don't work, latest news is from 2005, etc.), so things might not be going so well for Rum Jumbie in the US these days.

At any rate, it was new to us, so I asked to try it. It tastes quit ea bit like Hawaiian Punch, something I had entirely too much of as a kid, with orange notes. Although the Ministry of Rum's website indicates that it is bottled at 40% alcohol, ours definitely wasn't - I'm pretty sure it was 20%, but I didn't write it down and can't remember for sure.

The friendly poolside bartender advised that he uses it in tropical drinks sometimes, although he couldn't remember a time he'd used it recently. Tropical drinks are probably the right category for it, given that it comes from St. Maarten and has a rum base. Anyone else tried this and/or have a recommendation for drinking it?

Drinking in the Keys

We went to Florida for a wedding last week, and spent most of our time in Key West. We saw some beautiful scenery, and were part of a wonderful wedding.

However, we didn't have any great drinks. The best drink I had was a Mojito at Ortanique in Coral Gables. It was well made and tasty, but it was very small (total liquid must've been about 2 oz tops), and it cost something like $15. Even more than I would pay here in Chicago, and I'd likely get a larger drink.

Ernest Hemingway Haunts
We of course made the requisite visits to Ernest Hemingway's house and saw his 6-toed cats, and also stopped at Sloppy Joe's and Capt. Tony's (the original Sloppy Joe's) to walk in his shoes a bit. Ever since Phil Greene's session at Tales of the Cocktail last year about Hemingway, I was anticipating this trip.

Disappointing Drinks
At most of the bars we visited, virtually everyone was drinking beer or a pre-mixed rum concoction (usually far too sweet for me). The other mojitos I tried were not as good as the first, so I ended up sticking to beer too. Boy does Bacardi spend a lot of money down there getting placements on menus and listings for the "Bacardi Mojito," and people claiming to serve a Hemingway daiquiri always put sweeteners in it - it's just not right.

And the beer was not very interesting most of the time - aside from the big brands, which dominate there, Key West Sunset Ale was relatively common, and we found some interesting beers at Sloppy Joe's back room and at the Wagon Wheel. Surprisingly (to me), Yuengling has quite a presence there.

Just for fun, here are a couple of photos from the Everglades - that was the highlight of the trip by far, aside from the wedding. It's the dry season, so wildlife congregrates near the larger water holes looking for food. We happened onto one trail that had many alligators resting nearby - it was mating season so we even got to hear some of their mating calls. Cool! And it truly is a sea of grass, but when you look down, there are a few inches of water or more - did you know that the water is actually moving? It moves slowly (about 1/4 a mile a day, I believe), but it is moving.

100 Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire

Recently, Darcy over at Art of Drink posted a list of 100 Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire. Like Rick at Kaiser Penguin, I'd likely put different things on my list. But it's not my list, so here goes nuthin'!

Here's where I stand on the list so far (items I've tried are bolded) - where are you?

1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Weasle Coffee)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe
4. Rootbeer
5. Gin Martini
6. Sauternes
7. Whole Milk
8. Tequila (100% Agave)
9. XO Cognac
10. Espresso
11. Spring Water (directly from the spring)
12. Gin & Tonic
13. Mead
14. Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budweiser
17. Maraschino Liqueur
18. Mojito
19. Orgeat
20. Grand Marnier
21. Mai Tai (original)
22. Ice Wine (Canadian)
23. Red Bull
24. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
25. Bubble Tea
26. Tokaji
27. Chicory
28. Islay Scotch
29. Pusser’s Navy Rum
30. Fernet Branca
31. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider
32. Bourbon
33. Australian Shiraz
34. Buckley’s Cough Syrup
35. Orange Bitters
36. Margarita (classic recipe)
37. Molasses & Milk
38. Chimay Blue
39. Wine of Pines (Tepache)
40. Green Tea
41. Daiginjo Sake
42. Chai Tea
43. Vodka (chilled, straight)
44. Coca-Cola
45. Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
46. Barley Wine
47. Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
48. Pisco Sour
49. Lemonade
50. Speyside Single Malt
51. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
52. Champagne (Vintage)
53. Rosé (French)
54. Bellini
55. Caipirinha
56. White Zinfandel (Blush)
57. Coconut Water
58. Cerveza
59. Cafe au Lait
60. Ice Tea
61. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
62. Vintage Port
63. Hot Chocolate
64. German Riesling
65. Pina Colada
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guiness
73. Rhum Agricole
74. Palm Wine
75. Soju
76. Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
77. Belgian Lambic
78. Mongolian Airag
79. Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
80. Sugarcane Juice
81. Ramos Gin Fizz
82. Singapore Sling
83. Mint Julep
84. Old Fashioned
85. Perique
86. Jenever (Holland Gin)
87. Chocolate Milkshake
88. Traditional Italian Barolo
89. Pulque
90. Natural Sparkling Water
91. Cuban Rum
92. Asti Spumante
93. Irish Whiskey
94. Château Margaux
95. Two Buck Chuck
96. Screech
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daiquiri (classic)

I was fortunate to be able to cross off #91 just last night - I was at an event where someone had contraband Havana Club rum - both the Anejo Reserve and the 7 Year. I'll look forward to someday trying more Cuban rums, but I was delighted to try my first two.

What a fun idea - thanks Darcy! And I see I've got some drinking to do... anyone know what Screech is?

Absinthe Ice Cream & More

I've been traveling a lot lately, and somehow my blogging has gone by the wayside again. I even missed the last Mixology Monday, which was a good one and I had lots of ideas for it.
In the spirit of getting back into it, I bring you some highlights from my recent road trip. I traversed the middle of Illinois, and a good chunk of Indiana. I know you're jealous!

Most interesting Food: Absinthe Ice Cream
My friends at Radio Maria in Champaign, Illinois worked up a series of small plates that paired with pre-Prohibition cocktails for an event we planned together. And they surprised me with absinthe ice cream for dessert, made with our Sirène. It was fantastic, really kind of like eating your absinthe instead of drinking it. Sweet, but not overly so, creamy and oh so complex. If you find yourself in Champaign, stop by and ask if they still have any, or if they've made more - it was a big hit. In any event, their chef Matt is a genius and I highly recommend the food there.

Best Food & Cocktail Pairing: Ginger Gimlet & Scallop Ceviche
I helped organize four cocktail and food pairing dinners in the last month or so. The award for best pairing goes to Seven Saints in Champaign (sorry, no website), where we paired a Ginger Gimlet (gin, fresh lime, ginger syrup) with a Scallop Ceviche (ginger-cilantro oil, green onion and tomato). It was the most popular of the evening by far among the guests, and stands out in my memory as one of the best I've ever had.

Most Interesting Drink: (ri)1 Whiskey
I only give this award to ri because it was the only thing I drank that I had never had before. I've tasted so many things anymore, it's very hard to find something new that I actually want to try. Thanks to Dennis Cheng at the Irish Lion in Bloomington, Indiana (another great restaurant) for sharing a taste of his new bottle of ri with me. It had a wonderful nose (and a great package), but was a bit lighter on the palate than I expected (especially for a rye). Not sure I'd pay $50+ for it, but it was definitely sippable. Interesting to note that there doesn't appear to be an age statement on the bottle.


Now that I'm back in Chicago, I'll soon be out and about looking for cocktail adventures. Stay tuned!

Top Ten Tales Tidbits - Take Two

Here are my top five tidbits from Tales - the ordering was the hardest part, but here goes nuthin'!

#5 - Cocktails, Cocktails, Cocktails
When we weren't at the Tales sessions or other happenings at the hotel, we wandered around the area watering holes. We had some fantastic cocktails in the great bars found in the Quarter. Our favorites were probably the Napoleon House (try the Pimm's Cup), the French 75 Bar (try the French 75, or whatever Chris Hannah is making), and the Carousel Bar (try the Vieux Carré, and definitely sit at the bar).

#4 - Sarah and Evil Bob
At the Grand Soiree d'Absinthe (#10), we met Sarah and Bob. They live in New Orleans and both work in the hospitality industry. Bob is behind the stick at Johnny White's, one of a few bars in NOLA that never closes (he was on the 3 am to 9 am shift later that night), and Sarah is a GM at another area restaurant (unfortunately I can't remember the name!).

We were having a great conversation, and Sarah and Bob offered to take us around to some favorite places. So off we went. First stop: Johnny White's, where we hung out with Jamie, the very fun bartender on duty. Unfortunately, after a few beers & a shot or two, Bob (now we know why his nickname is Evil Bob) left us to go home and get some rest before his shift.

Next stop: Yo Mama's, where we had quite possibly the best hamburgers ever. Granted, we had been drinking absinthe, and then beer (and maybe a shot or two) all day, so we might've been hungry & a bit drunk, but they were fantastic. Final stop of the night: Erin Rose, another great neighborhood bar. By then, we had to call it a night, so we walked Sarah home and headed back to the hotel.

#3 - Burying the Appletini
For those who haven't heard, the Appletini is now dead & gone. We buried it, and held a proper funeral procession for it, including a band and a brief funeral service. This was fantastic - at midnight, the police stopped traffic so we could march down the street in our funeral procession, following the band and casket with our good cocktails in hand.

#2 - Chicago Camaraderie
Although our group was small (we have to get more folks from Chicago there next year, so we can hold our own against the NY and SF contingents), it was fantastic to spend some time with the Chicago crew. My funniest memory probably falls into the category of "you had to be there," based on my husband's reaction when I told him. If you're curious, ask me over a cocktail sometime - I still think its funny when I think of it (maybe its just me? nah...).

#1 - Tasting, Tasting, Tasting
Because it was such an overwhelming part of the experience, I have to put the experience of tasting so many new spirits, cocktails, and flavor ideas down as my favorite part of the Tales experience. Just of few of my favorites tastes:

• Sazerac 18 Rye - I went to Rye Nation, and we discussed and tasted 7 different ryes. The Sazerac 18 was my favorite, slightly edging out the Vintage 23. It was fun to see the range of variations within the rye category and hear a couple brand representatives talk about how they make them (and, importantly, what a minute part of their production time goes to rye - maybe we all need to start stocking up if you haven't already)
  

• Plymouth Sloe Gin - I've never had a good sloe gin, just the syrupy sweet stuff that you might see at a run-of-the-mill liquor store in the liqueur aisle. I was impressed with this one, so much so that I bought a bottle of it when I got home. Gotta love a good sloe gin fizz in the summer, and it's fun to play with in cocktails too.

• Noilly Prat Ambre - On Sunday morning (the fifth day of Tales), we found ourselves meandering around the lobby. We happened upon a tasting room for Noilly Prat vermouths, and decided to step inside. To be honest, it was the enticing buffet of fruit and pastries that got us in the room. Once we were there, however, we took a seat and listened to a very interesting presentation. Read on for a few notes from the NP seminar.

Truly, there are far too many to name. I got to revisit many favorites, and try many new things, and taste spirits and cocktails made in unusual ways. I'm still working through my notes and trying to build a cohesive summary for myself, so I may write more on that down the road.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few factoids and notes from the Noilly Prat seminar:

1. NP has recently changed the US formula for their dry vermouth - it will now be closer to the European version, which is less sweet and more herbal.
   
2. They are also introducing new packaging this year, perhaps following in the footsteps of Martini & Rossi in that regard.
   
3. They use 25 herbs in the dry, 30 herbs in the sweet and 4o herbs in the ambre.
4. The ambre is not usually available outside of their facility in France, so it was a rare treat indeed to be able to try it. It tasted like a sweeter, dessert-style wine with hints of cinnamon, rose and vanilla. Very interesting indeed.

Top Ten Tales Tidbits - Take One

Sorry for the long gap in posting, folks! Somehow I fell off the blogging wagon again, but I'm back on it now. Since it's now been a couple of weeks since I started my Tales of the Cocktail recap, I've decided to fast forward to the highlights. Here's the first half of my top ten tidbits from Tales 2008.

#10 - the Grande Soiree d'Absinthe
On the last day of Tales, a large group of absinthe enthusiasts gathered in a lovely upstairs room at Muriel's for this event sponsored by the Wormwood Society. Filled with a mix of WS members, NOLA locals, and people from around the world, this event offered the opportunity to sample a range of absinthes in a relaxed, social setting. We met some great people, tried a couple of absinthes that were new to us, and shared our Sirène with the crowd. More on what came afterward when I get to #4.

#9 - Fantastic Food
The French Quarter is filled with great restaurants (as well as a lot of tourist traps). We had great food everywhere we went, once we started following Chuck Taggart's recommendations. Some of the fantastic places we went, and that we'd recommend, include Coop's, Mr. B's, Mother's, Johnny's, and the Napoleon House. I'd also add Yo Mama's to the list, which wasn't on Chuck's list. It might've been that we were hungry and drunk, but the burgers we had there were quite possibly the best we've ever had.

#8 The Scented Trail
This session was led by Audrey Saunders and Tony Conigliaro, and focused on building and enhancing the aroma in your cocktails. We started the session with a tasting of aromatized waters and a discussion of top notes, mid notes and base notes in aroma, and strategies for developing and enhancing them. This was the best tip I got from the conference, I think - Audrey and Tony suggested that instead of infusing flavors into syrups, where the aromas are pulled to the bottom of the drink with the weight of the syrup (and masked by the sugar), consider infusing them into waters or low-alcohol spirits, and then misting your garnishes, glassware and/or drink with them right before serving. Now that I'm caught up on things again, I'm going to be trying this very soon! I don't have a vapor still like Tony, but I might be able to get close to that... more soon!

#7 The Hemingway Bartender's Companion
This was the first official session I attended, and it was a fantastic way to start the conference. The session was led by Phil Greene, a true Hemingway scholar. We tasted five (yes five) cocktails that were Hemingway's favorites at different points in his life, and heard many great stories and related passages from Hemingway's works. I just might have to start reading Hemingway again, and I definitely have to go to Captain Tony's Saloon when I'm in Key West early next year. So the count stood at five drinks before noon, in true Hemingway style.

#6 Bloggers and the Blogosphere
I had the fortune of meeting many of the bloggers I correspond with in the ether, and to participate in a group blog and interact with many of these great folks throughout the conference. It was a great opportunity to make some new friends, and put many faces with names & blogs - I look forward to more opportunities like this in the future, both at Tales and elsewhere!