Sweet Blog O'Mine

Tag: cocktails

  • Booze You Can Use

    – Lani Kai is starting brunch service this weekend and man, it looks good!!  I particularly like the one-egg option for some of the dishes.

    - There's spirits shopping galore on Saturday between the Astor Center Holiday Gift Bazaar and the Dizzy Fizz Holiday Bazaar, which also benefits the Museum of the American Cocktail

    – Finally, if you haven't been there yet, head over to Carmine Club Cafe, which recently opened in the West Village.  Find out more about the team behind it on my latest post on Serious Eats New York, go get some prosecco on tap, and tell them Laren sent you!

  • Pacific Time

    I returned to NYC from LA on Thursday night but still feel somewhat like I'm running on Pacific time — I slept until 11 both days this weekend (which doesn't happen that often).  It could be that I'm just recovering from the trip generally, as it was jam-packed.

    I drove straight from the airport to visit my cousin and his family in Culver City, and spent a chunk of the day catching up with them and meeting their baby Kai for the first time (he's adorable, for the record).  We had a snack at Ugo Cafe, then I drove to my hotel in West Hollywood, the Farmer's Daughter (which I loved, BTW.  Thanks, Sarah!), quickly showered and changed, then @ThirstyinLA picked me up to head to Jonathan Gold's Cocktail Speakeasy fundraiser for Zocalo at Union Station. At the event, I was able to taste food from a wide variety of restaurants and bars — an efficient culinary tour of LA!  We went for a nightcap at Varnish, but I was fading fast, thanks to the jetlag.

    Sunday I slept late, then headed to Venice for a day with my friend Arielle.  We probably walked more that day than most Los Angelinos walk in a week — after lunch at the Venice Beach Wines, we wandered over to the beach to admire the skaters, take in the activity on the boardwalk, and relax in the sand.  We walked back to her house via the Venice Canals, then rested up at her lovely, bright apartment watching Garden State before a sushi dinner at Kiriko.

    Monday I visited the Original Farmer's Market and started the day with a donut and coffee from Bob's and a walk through the market and the Grove.  After a bit of work in the courtyard of my hotel, Marco picked me up for a delicious lunch at Pizzeria Mozza.  Highlights included the bruschette with white beans alla Toscana with extra virgin olive oil & saba, the pizza with squash blossoms, tomato & burrata, and of course, Marco's wonderful company.  I spent my afternoon hiking of some of my lunch with a hike up and around Runyon Canyon, where I caught my first view of the Hollywood sign, but no celebs walking their dogs (which I was told I might see).  After returning home for a bit more work, I met Zac for dinner at BLD, where we took advantage of Dine LA week.  Speaking of dogs, Zac's story of his recent dog adoption definitely helped to convince me that I want a dog too.  Soonish.

    Tuesday I got up early to catch up with Chris over breakfast; I was happy that we were able to catch up and that he was able to squeeze me in before heading off to shoot for Law & Order LA (ah, actors!).  Then back to my hotel for some work before meeting yet another Chris (hee) for lunch at Umami Burger, my first of two meaty meals for the day (hatch burger!).  He and my friend Jimmy had both suggested visiting Griffith Observatory, so I took a detour there after lunch to wander around a bit before heading downtown to my new hotel.  Once downtown, I went to visit Allan at Caña, where Jono joined me for a quick drink.  Afterwards, I picked up some work friends and headed to Animal for an amazing dinner, heavy on the pig parts (although the fried rabbit legs might have been my favorite).

    Wednesday was a work day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. (eek!) with a meeting, followed by the APBCo Academy.  I've got to admit, I'm very lucky to have not only a job that I like that makes a difference in the world, but I've got an amazing pack of colleagues across the country, and it's always inspiring and fun to see them.  Plus, we had lunch from the Border Grill Truck — yum!  After a long but productive day, I took a nap before heading to Rivera to meet @LushAngeles for some excellent pre-dinner cocktails (V.E.P. Chartreuse Swizzle, anyone?).  The last stop of the night was Drago Centro for dinner with @tallnoe.

    I headed back to NYC Thursday morning and had a relaxing recovery weekend from my jam-packed trip.  Thank you, L.A., for a fun-filled first visit.  I'm not moving out there anytime soon, but I had a great time, and, as your Governor says, I'll be back.  Thanks to all who were a part of it — it was wonderful to see you and I'm sorry it took me so long to get out there!  Pictures from the trip are here.

  • Booze You Can Use: Leblon at Lani Kai

    Often I am invited to attend events that don't completely mesh into something I can write about for my current freelance columns, but which are great for gathering information, getting pitch ideas, increasing my knowledge, and making contacts.  I'm going to do my best to write about them here instead.  I figure that between those of you who read my blog, plus 800+ of you on Facebook and 1200+ of you on Twitter who see my blog posts via feeds, at least someone will be reading them!

    Last week I went to a Leblon event held at the soon-to-be opened Lani Kai in SoHo.  Lani Kai, Julie Reiner's newest project, is a tribute to a beach in Hawaii, with modern tropical decor and menus that reflect flavors of the region (More about all this from Julie in the not-too-distant future is in the works).  The food, by chef Craig Rivard, was fantastic, starting with an ahi poke (something I haven't had since my trip to Hawaii a few years back), a pork bun slider with "Lani Kai secret sauce," a fried whole red snapper with a selection of dipping sauces, and steak served with bibb lettuce, bean sprouts, friend shallots, fried purple potatoes, hoisin, and ginger scallion sauce, made to be wrapped. 

    Snapper
    snapper!

    The cocktails served that night were all made with Leblon cachaça.  Many people don't know much about cachaça beyond the caipirinha — Brazil's national cocktail — but this spriit, distilled from sugar cane juice, and in Leblon's case, aged in XO cognac casks, has a delicate, somewhat floral flavor that plays well with others.  Joe Swifka, who I first met when he worked at Elettaria (RIP), is running the bar at Lani Kai.  Joe has a flair for tropical flavor and is one of the nicest guys around.  I'm quite excited to see what he has in store there.  He created a Leblon cocktail that was served with the ahi poke and will be listed on the opening menu. 

    The Tides

    2 oz. Leblon cachaça
    1 oz. Falernum
    3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
    3/4 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
    1/4 oz. cane syrup
    2 dashes Peychaud bitters

    Shake with ice and strain over fresh ice in a collins glass.  Garnish with a lime and grapefruit twist.

  • A Boozy Taste of Summer

    Maraschino Cherries!

    What you see here is a jar of homemade Maraschino cherries — got the cherries at the Greenmarket last weekend and put them in to macerate on Monday morning.  Perhaps I'll taste them this weekend, but I'm sure they just get better with age.  Recipe from the New York Times:

    Time: 20 minutes, plus 2 days' macerating

    1 cup maraschino liqueur

    1 pint sour cherries, stemmed and pitted (or substitute one 24-ounce
    jar sour cherries in light syrup, drained).

    Bring maraschino liqueur to a simmer in a small pot. Turn off heat
    and add cherries. Let mixture cool, then store in a jar in refrigerator
    for at least 2 days before using, and up to several months.

    Yield: About 1 pint.

  • For Your Reading Pleasure

    In case you've missed some of my recent Serious Eats NY posts:

    20100604frenchitalian

    Mix It Up: The Ginger in the Rye at Minetta Tavern

    Meet & Eat: Talia Baiocchi, WineChap.com

    Mix It Up: The Counting Room

    Meet & Eat: Karen Uribe, Co-Founder, Gourmet Latino Festival

    Mix It Up: Mother's Ruin Punch at Death & Company

    and more!

  • Booze News

    I've got all kinds of info to pass along that doesn't fit into my weekly Serious Eats NY cocktail columns, so here you go:

    You think it's easy to be a mixologist (Bill, I'm looking at you)?  If so, it's time for you to give it a shot.  Louis 649 is holding a Consumer Cocktail Competition, inviting patrons to step around to the other side of the bar.  

    The winning cocktail of Louis 649's first "Anyone Can Be A Mixologist" Consumer Cocktail Competition will be highlighted on their upcoming Spring Menu and credited to the winner. The winner will also receive a much coveted Plymouth Gin Bartending Kit, a 1-Year Subscription to Imbibe Magazine and a $100 Gift Card to your friendly neighborhood Louis 649.

    Recipe Submission Guidelines
    1) Submission DEADLINE is April 18th
    2) Send all recipes to [email protected]
    3) Be creative, but not over the top. Please remember, we have to make this cocktail all Spring.
    4) You must use one of the following spirits as your base ingredient:
    – Beefeater Gin
    – Becherovka Herbal Liqueur
    – Chivas Regal 12yr Scotch
    – Jameson Irish Whiskey
    – Luksusowa Vodka
    – Martell Cognac
    – Pernod Absinthe
    – Plymouth Gin
    – Ramazzotti Amaro
    – Ricard Pastis

    5) All other ingredients are up to you, but refer back to Rule #3

    On April 21st, ten semi-finalists will be invited to Louis 649 to prepare your cocktails in front of a panel of bartenders who will then decide the winning cocktail based on criteria the recipe’s creativity, ease of preparation, flavor and balance.

    _______________________

    On April 25th, The Dizzy Fizz and Nosalikes today announced a partnership with Tales of the Cocktail to host a benefit at The Delancey, 168 Delancey St., for relief efforts in Haiti and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.

    The Sazerac, the official cocktail of New Orleans, will be the featured cocktail, along with Oloffson’s Punch, invented at the Grand Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince and made with the famous Rhum Barbancourt of Haiti.

    The suggested donation will be $5 per person during an open bar from 7 to 8 p.m., and $10 per person from 8 to 11 p.m. Drink specials will be in effect throughout the night. All proceeds will be split between the SOS Children’s Villages of Haiti and United Saints Recovery Project of New Orleans.

    _________________________

    One more late addition:  Tickets are now on sale for the Three Hour Cruise (a.k.a. the Three Hour Tour, Around the World in Five Cocktails), part of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. 

    First of all, kids, it's on a BOAT, so you're not going to want to miss it.  Jason Littrell of Death & Company and Dram and Gianfranco Verga of Louis 649 have put together an amazing event sponsored by Moet Hennessy and The Tippling Point.  "You'll drink delicious cocktails made by some of the country's most talented bartenders: Jacqueline Patterson of Heaven's Dog (San Francisco), Thomas Waugh of Death & Co. (New York City), John Lermayer of The Florida Room (Miami), Richard Boccato of Dutch Kills & Pain Killer (New York City), and Danny Valdez of Cure (New Orleans). Pause on this majestic journey and use your passport to enter some of the world's most intriguing ports: sip authentic 10 Cane Rum in tropical Trinidad, Ardbeg Scotch in mythical Islay, Belvedere Vodka on the banks of the Baltic Sea, and indulge in Hennessy Privilege in the sunny South of France and Grand Marnier in lively Paris." 

    And did I mention it's ON A BOAT?  Sunday, May 16th, 5:30pm – 9:00pm, tickets available online.

  • More Women, More Whisky

    Share photos on twitter with Twitpic
    Cheers to all for such a fantastic event at Astor Center last night! The International Women's Day festivities continue all week long with Compass Box drink specials created by members of LUPEC NYC, with a portion of the proceeds going to Dress for Success.

    Death & Co., Battle of the Rude by Jessica Gonzales: Oak Cross, Asyla, Cinnamon Bark Syrup, Lime, Lemon, Pineapple

    Louis 649, Sendak by Eryn Reece: Peat Monster, Applejack, Carpano, Demerara, Lemon

    Raines Law Room, Highland Crossing by Meaghan Dorman & Katie Emerson: Oak Cross, Amaro Nonino, St. Germain, Lemon

    Rye House, Muriel's Spark by Lynnette Marrero: Spice Tree, Drambuie, Yellow Chartreuse, Dolin Dry, Flamed Orange Zest

  • Booze You Can Use

    is the title of my most recent post on Serious Eats NY.  Plus, for extra cocktail credit, a Q&A with PDT's Jim Meehan.  Enjoy!  Tune in this weekend when I FINALLY try to catch up and write about some of the amazing events I've attended recently.

  • Melty, Gooey Goodness

    Last night I went to The JakeWalk to sample one of their cocktails for an upcoming Mix It Up column for Serious Eats.  Given the cold weather, we naturally had the fondue.  To be totally honest, part of the reason I invited friends to join me was so that I could order the fondue (and it was lovely to see you all, but THE FONDUE!!!  YUM!].  This morning I got word that JakeWalk offers several types of fondue in addition to the classic Alpine-style we got last night, one of which was this delicious-looking Blue Cheese fondue:

    Blue Cheese Fondue recipe:

    1 clove of garlic

    3/4c White wine (recomend chenin blanc)

    1 T flour

    6 oz gruyere (grated)

    6 oz Creamy Blue Cheese. (When we make this fondue we tend to use either Fourme which is a French Blue or Roaring 40s blue, which is a creamy blue from Tasmania.

    Rub the side and bottom of pan with raw garlic clove. Set garlic aside or throw away. Add the wine to pan and heat just until slow simmer. Slowly whisk in flour. Wine will begin to thicken. Make sure to remove any lumps, if sifted slow enough you wont get lumps. Continue whisking while adding half of your cheese. As cheese incorporates itself into the wine slowly add the rest. Serve with fresh and dried fruit. Apples, pears, Dried Figs, apricots, and baguette.

    Doesn't that sound tasty?  And, for the record, my favorite fondue to make at home is this Gruyere Fondue with Caramelized Shallots from epicurious.  Sounds like it's about time to have people over for fondue!

  • Passing the Bar

    Wired_header_w_menu

    As many of you know, I am an attorney by trade.  I have taken two bar exams in my life and am technically admitted to practice law in both New York and Massachusetts.  I'm currently in the process of taking my third bar exam: Bar Smarts Wired, which is designed by Pernod Ricard USA.  As I've started to write about cocktails in addition to food, I figured I should get a little more in-depth knowledge of my subject matter, and Bar Smarts is giving me the ability to learn from experts in the field, the team behind Beverage Alcohol Resource
    (BAR), LLC    , Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost, Steve Olson, F. Paul Pacult, Andy Seymour and David Wondrich.  They do a full-on live course, but the Wired course is jam-packed full of information — creation of spirits, categories of spirits, mixology, and practical application.  There's even a virtual drink builder in lieu of the live exam offered by the live course.  I'm halfway done, and proud to report I've passed the first two modules.  I am a bit up against a time crunch — I have 30 days total to complete the process, which I started on September 17th, but I'm hoping my trip to Boston this weekend on the Bolt Bus will give me some time to focus.  Registration for the Wired course is closed for the time being, but will be offered again in February 2010 — I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about the bartending industry, spirits, or cocktails.