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May 17 Angostura Orange Bitters
But before I get to that (don't worry, I'll spill the beans by the end of this post), let's cover a little background first to get everybody up-to-speed. Here is a little bit about bitters that was published in "The Old Waldorf Astoria Bar Book", by Albert Stevens Crocket from 1935:
Elsewhere in that same book he says:
This particular book was published right after American Prohibition ended, and is based upon the bar book that had been in use by the Waldorf Astoria before prohibition hit. During the time of Prohibition, the Waldorf Astoria hotel was torn down to make room for the Empire State Building. After Prohibition, things changed drastically. A few bitters survived this terrible time, Angostura being primary amongst them. The others that survived (which I am aware of) were Peychaud's bitters, Abbott's bitters, various folks who produced orange bitters (or re-started production), and Fee Brothers, who survived prohibition by manufacturing products which could be used in non-alcoholic drinks. Over time, the notion of adding bitters to a cocktail gradually fell away, with fewer and fewer customers requestiong them, or bartenders adding them, to their drinks. Today, we are at a point where the only common drinks which you might still find bitters used in are the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Champagne Cocktail. Time was however, when by its very definition, anything known as a "cocktail" would include bitters. Yes, even the Martini was properly made through the use of bitters, and specifically through the use of orange bitters. When I first started getting into cocktails, the ony bitters I could find were Angostura bitters. As I read up more and more about the history of the cocktail however, I became intent on finding the various other bitters which were being listed for various other drinks. Eventually I found some Peychaud's bitters, but it was orange bitters which I really wanted to track down. And I wasn't the only one, this is the time when the classic cocktail was gradually seeing the glimmer of a resurgance. Eventually I came across Fee Brothers out of Rochester New York, who appeared to be the only remaining company that manufactured orange bitters. I also came across a recipe for "orange bitters #4" in "The Book of Bourbon" by Gary Regan, this recipe prompted me to try making a batch of orange bitters myself. I then found some bottles of full Abbott's bitters on eBay and scarfed them up. Gary Regan eventually was able to bring his orange bitters to market, although by this time it had gone into revision #6. I have since acquired a few different bitters that are manufactured in Peru, for the use in their famous "Pisco Sour", some friends over in Germany are manufacturing bitters (aromatic, orange, lemon, and Boker's) in small batches under the name "The Bitter Truth", and the Suntory company in Japan makes an orange bitters under their "Hermes" label. My quest for bitters led me to attempting to re-create Abbott's bitters, and my early experiments ended up with a product that was different from all of the bitters I have tried so far, and thus was born what I refer to as "House Bitters" (others refer to them as "Hess Bitters") the recipe for which was just recently published in "Imbibe" magazine. One of the things that really sunk home for me as I was doing my various experiments with bitters, is that Angostura bitters rocks. It's rich complexity along with its overall flavor balance, really can do wonderful things to cocktails when properly utilized. It is no surprise that of all the pre-prohibition bitters, it came out as almost the sole survivor. The bitter landscape has radically changed in just the last ten years. Where once there was only a single noteworthy bitters available, today there around a dozen different ones which can be found if you look hard enough, add to that some of the bars across the country which have taken to making their own bitters (The Zig Zag Cafe, Vessel, and Licorous here in Seattle, No. 9 Park in Boston, Pegu club in New York... just to name a few). Overall however, bitters is still the unsung hero of the cocktail. Their might be small and dedicated pockets of "cocktail geeks" who really get into using bitters in their cocktail, but the general public, and even the average bartender, is still clueless when it comes to the value of bitters. Imagine my surprise then on a recent trip to London, when I am asked to sample two different possible recipes for a new orange bitters that is looking at coming onto the market. The bottles were distinctly unlabled Angostura bottles, and a glance and a nod indicated that this indeed was the company behind this new product. These bitters had the complexity and balance of flavor that I had come to appreciate in Angostura, but with the subtleness that is appropriate for a bitters that is indended more for gin cocktails than it is for whiskey. Now I knew the who and what, but the burning question remained of "when". Within a year or so was all I could find out. Recently I had heard a variety of rumors that Angostura's new bitters would be coming out fairly soon. Some were saying in a month or so, others were saying in the fall. I decided to take the bull by the horns and today got in contact with Patrick Sepe, the CEO of Angostura Spirits & Wine here in the US. As it turns out, Angostura Orange Bitters is set to be officially announced THIS WEEKEND, at the National Restaurant Associations annual show in Chicago. The plan is then to role out the product for nationwide distribution in late June or early July, with it expected to be available through every location that regular Angostura bitters is within six months. The role out is going to be accompanied by both a marketing campaign aimed at raising the awareness of the importance that bitters can play in both cocktails and cooking, as well as a focus on getting bartenders to re-discover the cocktail craftsmanship that was common place prior to Prohibition. Angostura USA will also get it's own website, so that not only will information on it be more appropriate to an American audience, but it will also make it easier for contact, sales, marketing, and product information to be distributed quickly and efficiently. I am very excited about the potential of having Angostura enter the orange bitters market, It may be just the shot in the arm that we have been needing to move the classic/culinary cocktail out of the small pockets of devotees that it has today, and into a larger audience of customers. Joe Fee over at Fee Brothers, and Gary Regan, are both very good friends of mine, and while on one hand it might seem that Angostura orange bitters might be biting into their sales, I fully expect that what we will see instead is that everybody will see higher sales. Not just Joe and Gary, but I expect that Angostura's original aromatic bitters will also see higher sales, since there will be an increased awareness of bitters overall, which will increase in it's use across the board. The next battle? Improve sales of vermouth by getting people to realize that a great Martini can be made by using a lot more vermouth than is commonly seen used today... and of course a dash of Orange Bitters! May 16 Tales of the Cocktail
To begin with, Tales of the Cocktail is a wonderful event that takes place each year down in New Orleans. It is essentially a conference all about spirits, mixology, and cocktails, with a little bit of New Orleans flavor tossed in for good measure. The audience is a broad mix of people including restaurant owners, bartenders, and ordinary people who just have an interest in learning more about quality cocktails. The event is described as:
The speakers at this event are essentially a "who's who" in the culinary and mixology world. With such notables as Tony AbouGanim, Ted Allen, Kevin Brauch, Dale DeGroff, Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh, Gary Regan, Julie Reiner, Audrey Saunders... and that's just the tip of the iceburg. There are a wide array of different types of events that will be going on. Some events are free, but many cost around $35 to attend (many sessions include cocktails being served). You can purchase a "Founders Day Pass" for $485, which essentially is an "all you can eat" ticket. You'll pre-register for 8 seminars, and then be able to get into any other seminar (that isn't already sold out) once you get there. Some of the major events are: Cocktail Hour - Where attendees get a chance to meet many of the authors of famous cocktail books, purchase copies, get them autographed, as well as sample each author's and mixologists signature cocktail and collect their recipes. Spirited Dinners - Many of New Orleans most famous restaurants hold a special dinner on Thursday night, with a fixed menu that has been carefully paired with individual cocktails by the attending authors and mixologists. The dinners range in price from $65 to $85 per person. (FYI: If you want to come to the dinner that I will be doing the cocktails for, sign up for NOLA!). The restaurants participating this year are:
Raising the Bar - A special series of seminars specifically targeted at the professional mixologist to help them advance their overall knowledge and understanding of cocktails and cocktail service. Ask The Experts - A casual lunchtime gathering of many of the guest authors and mixologists to allow attendees to ask any questions they might have on a variety of related topics. The Bar Chef Challenge - In the vein of "Iron Chef", this event will test the abilites of several mixologists as they work against the clock to come up with a cocktail which best utilizes the "secret ingredient". Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Awards Ceremony - The "Oscars" of the cocktail world, this event will present a wide range of awards for notable accomplishments and abilities related to food and drink. Movie Night - A chance to get a brief seminar about the important role that cocktails often play in movies, before the showing of the classic "Thin Man"... cocktails will of course be served. Tasting Room - With the various products on the market it can often be difficult to have a good understanding of what each one is, and what it should be used for. The Tasting Room will be a regularly scheduled series where the producers of various products will have the opportunity to describe their product to attendees and in many cases allow them to sample as well. The Seminars - At the heart of Tales of the Cocktail, are the large number of seminars and panel discussions which will be presented. Here is hopefully a full listing of the seminars being presented, I've marked in bold the ones that I will be hosting so you can be sure not to miss them!
Oh, and I'll also be doing some filming for future episodes of "The Cocktail Spirit" for Small Screen Network down there as well. I always have a great time down there, and I'm sure you will to! April 16 New Episodes: The Cocktail SpiritAs previously mentioned, I'm involved with a new project for producing videos that will hopefully help expose folks to cocktails and mixology. We did the filming for this a couple months back and are now starting to post the episodes up in a "one-per-week" schedule. The first two episodes are now available, so be sure to check back later to see how this project progresses! Episode 1: Cocktail History and the Champagne Cocktail Episode 2: Stocking your bar and the Last Word
February 12 The Cocktail SpiritThis last weekend we headed out to my "still under contruction house" and got the bar all set up and filmed about 30 episodes of an upcoming "web show" that I am going to be hosting called "The Cocktail Spirit". This will be one of the first (of hopefully many) different shows being offered by "Small Screen Network". You can see a segment from a "Pilot" episode we filmed a few months back on a beta version of their website here: http://www.SmallScreenNetwork.com, with our new episodes hopefully ready to be posted on a weekly basis starting the end of March. The original pilot was filmed with the notion that it would be a half-hour show with guests that I'd be serving drinks to and discussing the overall process and concepts of cocktails. We decided after the pilot to take a slightly different approach, and go for shorter episodes (about 7 minutes... although some still ended clocking in at 20 minutes or more!), and to just have it be me talking straight to the camera/audience. My intent with this show is to try to raise the awareness of people to the culinary value that cocktails can play, and to see them as far more than just an alcohol delivery vehicle. I discuss history, methodology, construction, quality ingredients, proper recipes, and sometimes even creative enhancements. I try not to get overly fancy or fussy with how I make the drinks, but instead just focus on showing how just about anybody can make great drinks, using great ingredients. The first few episodes that will air will cover "The History of the Cocktail", "Stocking Your Home Bar", "The Basic Tools of the Bartender", and "Your Cocktail Library", we'll then run through episodes in which I breifly touch upon each of the six base spirits (Brandy, Gin, Rum, Tequila, Whiskey, Vodka), plus episodes on Bitters, and Champagne. Some of the drinks that I'll be showcasing are the Last Word, Champagne Cocktail, Caipirinha, Champagne Flamingo, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Bloody Mary, Opera, Sidecar, Jasmine, Martini, Daiquiri, Floridita, Margarita, Rosita, Whiskey Sour, Kir Royale, French 75, Harrington, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Pegu Club, Black Feather, Frostebite, Irish Coffee, Moscow Mulse, and even an episode on Abisnthe. Each episode was basically shot fairly "off the cuff" (ie. no scripting or rehearsal), and there were only a couple of times where we eneded up needing to stop camera to re-shoot. In one particular case, I ended up getting into a bit of pontification and forgot to add the last ingredient to the drink. When we finally stopped, one of the cameramen pointed out that I still had something in my jigger... Duhooo! So we did a quick pickup shot to show me pouring that into the mixing glass... but if you watch carefully you should be able to pick out the episode where this happens. I'll leave it up to you to find it! Once these episodes are posted, and we start getting some traffic, we'll listen to the feedback we get from all of you and will use that to make any adjustments to the overall show when we film the next set of episodes sometime in the Fall. Hopefully, you will enjoy the show, and perhaps I'll have some things to say that you'll find interesting, if not educational, about cocktails and mixology. Here we're getting the lighting all set up and checking the camera angles to make sure we can properly get all of the action: I brought along a "mascot" to keep me company on the set. If you look closely, you should periodically be able to see him in some of the episodes: I mixed up a LOT of drinks, and the crew seemed to always find enough time to at least take a sip of each one. They claimed it was quality control, but I think they were just glad I was doing a "Cocktail" show, and not one on vetrinary medicine. January 25 The Mixology Summit
It often seems like I travel a lot. When I’m not traveling as part of my day-job at Microsoft, I’m traveling for my “night-job” as a Cocktail Evangelist. I enjoy both of these occupations a lot, so it really doesn’t seem so much like work. It shouldn’t be surprising then to learn that I really don’t make it a habit of taking time off for “vacation” trips. I did just get back however, from an honest to goodness vacation. It was, as you might expect however, slightly related to my involvement in the world of mixology and cuisine. Some good friends of mine, Anistatia Miller, and Jared Brown, who are cohorts in my cocktail adventures, annually take a vacation in the United Kingdom where they rent out property that is part of the Landmark Trust. This is an organization which buys up old (and often in heavy need of repair) buildings of historic importance. They then fix them up and turn them into vacation houses which people can rent out and stay in. Landmark Trust shouldn’t be confused with the National Trust, which is an organization which similarly purchases historic buildings, but they open them up for tours instead.
There apparently is a strange “mystery” surrounding the Campden House property, which has been come to be known as the “Campden Wonder”. It occurred in 1660, when William Harrison, the estate manager headed out for Charingworth. When he failed to return, a search began, and eventually turned up a hat, shirt, collar, and comb which apparently belonged to Mr. Harrison. The worst was feared. Eventually John Perry, who worked for Mr. Harrison came forward and confessed to having killed Mr. Harrison. He later also implicated his mother and brother in the deed as well. They eventually were tried, and found guilty, and later hung. The “wonder” however, comes in the fact that two years later, Mr. Harrison walked into town, claiming that he had been abducted by three men and shipped to Turkey and into slavery. Why John Perry would have confessed to a crime he obviously never committed, was never discovered.
With the rooms available, we had sleeping for up to 10 people maximum, and by renting a couple of additional rooms at the 8 Bells Restaurant and Pub, we could get up to 12. The core group consisted of just myself, along with Jared and Anistatia. During the course of the week however, we had a rotating group of additional visitors who participated in our festivities. These consisted of Nick Strangeway (from the “Hawksmoor” restaurant in London), along with his girlfriend Claudia; Dre Masso from the Worldwide Cocktail Club; Nick Blacknell, from Beefeater gin; Sasha Petraske, from Milk & Honey in New York (and London); Simon Ford, from Plymouth gin; and Adrian Hodgkins, a beer aficionado and good friend of Anistatia’s from Oxford, along with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law. Essentially we had a group of folks where every single one of them was either directly associated to food, drink, or both, so it should be no surprise that we had a wonderful time.
The next day, we started prepping some of the food that we would be cooking over the course of the week, including a brace of four ducks which Anistatia marinated in a honey glaze and then hung in the fireplace to age for a couple of days before we would cook it. We eventually discovered that the Lygon Arms had wireless internet, and so we had to briefly stop in so we could do a quick checkup on e-mail and such. The only downside of this was that in order to get access to the wireless, you had to buy a pint of beer. Did I say downside? What was I thinking!
When Nick Strangeway showed up (along with Claudia and Dre), he brought with him a huge goose, as well as a bone-in brisket which was absolutely fabulous. When Nick Blacknell and the Hodgkins arrived, we kicked things into full gear and started pulling out some of the various spirits and such, and started doing some experiments with various cocktails. Pomegranates, quince jelly, blood oranges, oak infused gin, various scotches, tequilas, and vodkas, homemade rhubarb syrup, and a broad assortment of bitters would be brought to bear as we tried one drink and then another… unfortunately, I think we were too busy tweaking the various libations and so nobody remembered to actually takes notes on what we ended up with. Sasha then showed up, in his typically dramatic fashion, by knocking on the door of the East Banquet Hall just as we were finishing our main course. It should be noted here that the property is surrounded by a tall wall, which is designed to keep out trespassers, and Sasha really didn’t know exactly how to find us. As luck would have it, when his train arrived in another town, and he called for a driver, he just happened to get a driver who not only knew exactly where Old Campden House was, but he also owned the sheep which often grazed on the property, so he knew exactly how to get into the property, and which building we would probably all be in. Leave it to Sasha. Many of the pubs in Chipping Campden appeared to carry Hook Norton beers, usually their “Hooky Bitters” and their “Double Stout”. We were also right in the middle of where Donnington Brewery distributed their beers, and so part of our adventures were to seek out a few of their pubs to try this special brew. One of the places we found was the Farmers Arms, where we not only had several pints, but some great food and conversation as well.
Now with a houseful of mixologists, it should be no surprise that we not only spent a lot of experimenting with cocktails, but also in discussing the state of cocktails and spirits in London, America, and the world. Many of us are involved in the Museum of the American Cocktail, the Worldwide Cocktail Club, as well as various bars and restaurants. Sharing information at this level, and in this sort of environment proves to be extremely useful for helping us all get a better understanding of where things are going, as well as who is going there. The fact that we also had some representatives from both Beefeater and Plymouth in attendance allowed us to also discuss how and where these spirits could and should fit into the overall equation. It was interesting to hear about their various marketing and distribution approaches, as well as where they felt they needed to go in the future. Anistatia and Jared say that each year their little “vacations” move closer and closer to turning into an “industry” event… I can only imagine what next years will be like! December 19 Qube, a new Seattle Restaurant and Bar
Like I said, I was "expecting" Qube to be a dissapointment. But they weren't. They really showed some promise with their cocktails, and even the general knowledge and ability of the bartender. When I ordered my Old Fashioned, he asked me if I wanted it with bitters or not, and bemoaned along with me those sad few who prefer it without. Their appetizer menu featured a nice collection of "Sticks" (Satay), as well as various other asian inspired fair (apparently prepared in French fashion). I went with the Salmon Tartare, which I thought was quite wonderful and flavorful. Eventually, the bartender and I got into a discussion about their "infamous" Cosmopolitan, and he quickly assured me that all of the bar staff was opposed to it, and were petitioning the management to get it off of the menu. It can't come off soon enough in my mind, such a menu item has no reason to exist. I plan on checking back with the folks at Qube over the coming months to see how they are going, they do have some work ahead of them to bring things up to what I would consider a "Quality" bar, but they do show promise.
December 08 Herb Flavored VodkaThose who know me may be a little surprised to see me actually saying something favorable about a vodka. To clarify, it's not so much that vodka is evil incarnate or anything, but that the general publics over-facination with such a totally non-descript product doesn't do my culinary sensibilities any good. The masses are attracted to vodka for two very specific reasons. 1) Their "young" palates haven't yet acquired a taste for the other spirits (brandy, rum, gin, tequila, whiskey). The distince lack of significant flavor of vodka allows it to add alcoholic effects to any drink, without actually forcing them to encounter unexpected flavors. 2) They fall prey to marketing hype and/or peer pressure. Smirnoff Vodka made great inroads by getting James Bond to always order a vodka Martini and have that bottle of Smirnoff strategically located on-screen. Smirnoff has given way to Grey Goose, Belvedere, Chopin, Stoli Elite, or one of the various other brands out there, but in truth, when mixed as a cocktail, it really is hard to tell one from the other once you get into the premium brands. Flavored vodka on the other hand starts moving things into slightly more interesting territory. And I'm not talking about the "citrus", "vanilla", "raspberry", or "green apple" flavors either. I'm instead refering to the flavored vodkas that might be introducing you to slightly unexpected flavors. First there was Charbay and Hangar One which introduced people to not only distinctively fresh flavors, but sometimes slightly unique flavors as well, as in Hanar One's "Mandarin Blossom", or Charbay's "Green Tea". Gradually, the general public is getting the idea that their spirit can actually have flavor in it.
On the Herb's website they provide a few example cocktails:
Which, while perhaps good "training wheels" to introduce folks to their new flavors, while retaining some semblence of other vodka drinks they might be familiar with, such attempts fall short of being representative of the potential. As a personal challenge I took it on myself to attempt to build up a few simple cocktails which I felt played upon some of the specific flavor qualities presentd in these different vodkas, and perhaps also represent slightly new overall cocktail flavors for many. Here they are, and as of yet unnamed: Dill Leaf Cocktail
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.
Rosemary Cocktail
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.
Fennel Cocktail
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.
Cilantro Cocktail
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.
My sincere hope with these new vodkas, is that they allow people to take the next step in cocktail appreciation, which revolves around truly undestanding and appreciating the culinary potential of the cocktail, and to discover how a drink which is artfully designed to draw together several different flavors can be far better then "yet another" Lemon Drop. To me, vodka is till just vodka. It is the "entry level" spirit that can provide new drinkers with the introduction to what cocktails are all about. Vodka does represent craftsmanship and art in it's distillation, and plain vodka does have a place in the cocktail landscape, just not a very big one. Flavored vodkas can raise the steaks a little further, by providing the mixologist (and the customer) with an ingredient that has more value then just the cleanliness of the alcohol. Herb's Aromatic Vodka represents what I think is the next step in this flavor journey, and is worth spending some time with. After all, gin is really nothing more than a flavored vodka anyway. November 13 "Cocktail Smarts" A Beginner's Intro to Cocktails
There are games about DRINKING, and games ABOUT drinking. Hopefully we gave up the former back in our college days, but the latter are few and far between. I recently had the chance to preview a new drinking game coming onto the market which fortunately at no time in the playing of the game is it necessary, or even a perceptible option to, partake in a drink in order to continue playing. “Cocktail Smarts” is what could be considered a “Trivia” game that revolves around exposing people to various aspects of cocktails, cocktail construction, and cocktails in the media. Players take turn answering the questions on the cards, and as they answer enough of them correctly advance from Barback, to Bartender, and finally to Mixologist. The questions needed to be answered range from bartender basics such as “True or False: Bourbon is a type of whiskey”, to recipe knowledge “A White Lady, a Sidecar and a Between The Sheets all have which flavor in common?”, to media trivia such as “True or False: When Rick Says “Here’s looking at you kid” in the film Casablanca, he and Ilsa drink Champagne.”. It would only be the “media trivia” questions that should even phase an experienced bartender, but a cocktail neophyte will probably find many of these questions to be fairly challenging. One issue I have regarding this game, is that the instruction booklet that comes with it spends almost all of it’s time being a mini cocktail pamphlet, and leaves only a single paragraph to actually describe how to play the game. Hopefully they will update this in follow-on updates. While I would love somebody to come out with a cocktail game that would be challenging and entertaining for experienced bartenders and bar customers, I have to take some solace in the fact that this game isn’t just another excuse to drink, and instead will actually impart some information and understanding about cocktails to those who play it. You can find more information and purchasing details for “Cocktail Smarts” on the website of the game publisher: Smarts Co: http://www.smartsco.com Or it is (or soon will be) for sale through the following:
San Francisco of Modern Art Fresh Egg Paul Smith Bibelot Grace & Company Paperie October 27 Beefeater Global Gin Symposium 2006
The overall focus of this event was "The Global Gin Symposium 2006", which was put on by Beefeater Gin, in association with the Worldwide Cocktail Club. This was a day long set of presentations that covered a wide variety of gin related topics. In attendence, were about 80 bartenders from the London and surrounding area. Beefeater also flew in a variety of speakers and guests (such as myself) from around the world to participate in this event. Things started off with a history of gin presented by Professor Geoff Palmer and author Geraldine Coates, followed by a comparison of gin styles with Desmond Payne (Master Distiller for Beefeater Gin), Larry Ebersold (Master Distiller for Seagrams in the US), Piet van Leijenhorst and Philip Duff (both from Bols). Then after a wonderful lunch at Bumpkin Country Brasserie, we returned to the Cinema where Audrey Saunders presented on Matching Gin Styles to Cocktails, then Anistatia Miller, Jared Brown, and Angus Winchester provided an examination of a variety of "Lost" gin cocktails which bore rediscovery.
From the Anglesea Arms, we next went to Montgomery Place, which is a cocktail lounge in Notting Hill, a wonderful and compact little bar which served a variety of classic cocktails. We then headed down to Lonsdale, where we finished out the evening (and the first half of the next morning) running through a great selection of drinks that they had to offer as well.
Nick Blacknell presided over the first half of the tour, and then we met up with Desmond Payne (their master distiller) who walked us through the process of how they produced their gin, from sourcing of the raw ingredients, all the way through distillation. The facility at Beefeater is larger then the distillery at Plymouth gin (where I toured a little over a year ago), but it still seems very small when compared with some of the larger breweries and distilleries we have here in American. One aspect of this is that gin producers don't (and legally can't) distill the neutral grain spirit (NGS) that they use to make their gin with, they have to purchas their NGS from others. So that greatly reduces the size needed for their facility. After the wonderful Beefeater Tour, we headed over to Bedford & Strand, a new wine bar that Nick Blacknell had opened up, where we had more cocktails, as well as a wonderful dinner. Since it still wasn't quite time to call it a night, a number of us quickly headed off to Milk & Honey where we hung out until the wee hours of the morning. Bright and early Tuesday morning was the Gin Symposium that I have already described, and following that we headed back to the Lonsdale for a variety of cocktails and appetizers. We then all jumped aboard two chartered "double-decker" busses and were driven the "long way" around town, with a little London bar history along the way (unfortunately incomprehensible through the busses speaker system) before arriving at our next destination, "Volstead" on Swallow Street near Piccadilly. After an hour or so of cocktails and conversation at Volstead, it was back onto the bus for another spin through town before arriving at "Hawksmoor" on Commercial Street. Here we had a wonderful "Sandwich Buffet" set up, with thick sliced breads and a great array of various meats and cheeses to use. The featured drink here was a classiclly made "Punch", served of course in elegant glass punchbowls. It was naturally a very late evening once again, with the next day all of us flying out to our various respective cities. I was fortunate in that my flight wasn't until 3pm, and so was able to sleep in almost until noon before having to set off to the airport. Others unfortunately were not quite as lucky. More pictures from this trip can be found here. October 18 Vessel, Seattles Newest Cocktail Lounge
The schedule originally had them set to open in late August... then delays pushed that into mid-September... then late September or early October, but finally here we are just past mid-October and they've finally opened. Frankly, that's not too bad considering the delay's I've seen other establishments face as they were racing to the finish line.
For my second drink, I chose the Rubicon (Flamed green chartreuse and rosemary sprig, gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice), mostly because Brandon (the barback, and a friend of mine) recommended it. It was indeed a tasty drink, and it even comes with a bit of a floor show as Jamie ignites a misting of chartreuse over the sprig of rosemary in the glass.
Seattle has gradually been establishing itself as a strong center for true cocktails. While we might have our share of places that are more interested in just being "hip and trendy", there are several establishments that are really focused on breathing a little culinary excitement into the cocktails they offer. I think that Vessel will be a wonderful addition to the scene, as well as a good sign of the increasing momentum that is underway. (picture set on flickr) October 15 WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT
To start off with, if the appreciation of food and drink, as well as the proper flavor pairings of these two culinary components is something that interests you, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of the recently published book “WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT” by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Go ahead; place an order by clicking the image below. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.
Done? Great. That didn’t take too long now did it? :-> It was one of their early books “Culinary Artistry” which clued me in that these two had a great grasp of the concepts associated with flavors and flavor pairing. Think about it for a second. While at its very core, cooking is all about the proper and appropriate combination of flavors, very few cookbooks actually cover this topic in any meaningful way. Sure, they might make some sort of passing comment about how the flavors they are using were because of how well they complimented each other. But they don’t actually provide details about “how” these flavors work, or perhaps more importantly what doesn’t work. After all, we often learn more from our mistakes then we do from our successes. To produce a reference guide that lists specific flavors and what other flavors work with them takes guts. That is what Andrew and Karen did with “Culinary Artistry”. Now they are back with their second salvo. In “WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT” they expand their flavor guidance and reference by cross referencing it with what liquids will provide a proper culinary accompaniment to the foods you might be serving. As a chef, food is very important to me, as a mixologist the cocktails are also very important to me. Combining the two is just an obvious culmination of the culinary arts, and provides an opportunity to draw these two crafts together. “WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT” is a fabulous resource for anybody interested in how to better understand how these two draw together these two seemingly opposing cuisines. I’ve been conversing electronically with Andrew and Karen for a while now, but it was only recently that I had the opportunity to not only meet them, but work with them as well. At the 2006 “Tales of the Cocktail” in New Orleans, I hosted a panel on “Pairing Cocktails with Food”, and joining me on this panel were Audrey Saunders, Ryan Magarian, as well as Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. In this session we discussed not only the importance of understanding how food and drink can be combined together, but also provided a few specific “hands-on” examples for the audience to work with. Obviously, both “Culinary Artistry” as well as the still-unreleased “WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT” provided a lot of valuable content and discussion topics for this session. But don’t just take my word on this, as part of the publication drive for their new book, Andrew and Karen have been doing a “virtual” press tour, which has been including a variety of different websites and blogs. You can see their entire release schedule here: http://www.becomingachef.com/what_to_drink_virtual_book_tour.php And here is a list of the blogs that have already covered the book:
And here are links to Andrew and Karen’s other books:
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