Two At The Most » Fun

TDN Tiki — Our First Anniversary

Stevi — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:00:33 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but Thursday Drink Night (TDN) has been around for a whole year.

An entire year of cocktail enthusiasts getting together once a week to invent new drinks on the fly. Dozens of themes have been tested. Hundreds of recipes have been tried¹. Thousands of Your Mom jokes have been told.

To celebrate, this week the Mixoloseum Bar is having a special Tiki TDN, with Special Guest Beachbum Berry! Jeff Berry has joined us before and is both a delightful person and font of vast tiki knowledge. Come armed with questions about kitsch culture and mixing up rums, because Jeff is the man to ask.

And there’s more. Because it’s our anniversary, there will Fabulous Prizes. Now, we have had some pretty fantastic prizes over the past year, but this TDN will have some serious loot: a gold Japanese bar spoon, all six of the newest classic cocktail book reprints from Mud Puddle Books, a signed bottle each of Obsello Absinthe and Port of Barcelona gin, and a bottle of Old New Orleans Cajun spice rum.

I need to learn how to invent a tiki drink and FAST.

This promises to be a fantastic TDN. The fun starts this Thursday Night (September 3) at 7 pm EDT (4 pm on the Best Coast). Be sure to join us at the Mixoloseum bar for all the fun!

[1] Some have actually been keepers!

Jerry Thomas Night at Vessel

Stevi — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:33:44 +0000

My passion for cocktails and mixology was in part inspired by From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas by David Wondrich. In discussing Jerry Thomas, America’s first celebrity bartender, Wondrich also covers some of the most important basics in creating great cocktails.

Jerry Thomas makes a Blue Blazer

I’m not alone in my admiration for Mr. Thomas. Vessel, one of Seattle’s top cocktail bars, is trying to create a bartender’s holiday in his name. That’s why this Presidents Day, Monday, February 16, from opening at 4 pm until close, Vessel is hosting Jerry Thomas Night, in honor of the Founding Father of bartending.

Vessel bartenders Jim Romdall and Zane Harris¹ are working with other Seattle bartenders to create a great list of Thomas’ cocktails for the event.

What promises to be even more fun is they’ll be asking all bartenders who attend to get behind the bar and make one of Thomas’ signature drinks, the Blue Blazer.

Blue Blazer

2 1/2 oz rye or bourbon whiskey or Brandy
2 1/2 oz boiling water
1 tsp powdered sugar
lemon peel

Use two large silver-plated mugs, with handles. Put the whiskey in one mug, and the boiling water into the other, ignite the whiskey and, while blazing, mix both ingredients by pouring them from one mug to the other. If well done, this will have the appearance of a continued stream of liquid fire. Sweeten with sugar and serve with a piece of lemon peel. Serve in a four-ounce stemmed mug.

The result is a whiskey toddy, with a great show to boot.

It promises to be a great night. I’m looking forward to it, and if you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!

Jerry Thomas Night
Monday, February 16, 2009 (Presidents Day)
Vessel
1312 5th Avenue
Seattle, WA
Google Maps

[1] Call Zane a mixologist. I dare you!

Happy Holidays from Two at the Most

Stevi — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:09:58 +0000

Here in Western Washington, we’re getting a new layer of crisp white snow, making for a rare white Christmas.

I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season, however you celebrate it!

And if you are looking for a festive drink, I highly recommend Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s egg nog recipe. It takes less than 10 minutes to make (although the hour rest to let the flavors blend is highly recommended), no egg seperating required, and has earned rave reviews from my family this holiday. Cheers!

Happy Discovery

Imbiber’s One Hundred

Stevi — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:31:14 +0000

Over at Art of Drink, Darcy O’Neil has come up with a drinker’s response to the Omnivore’s 100. I thought I’d fill it out and keep it around for ideas of new things to try.

Instructions:

Copy this list into your blog, with instructions.
Bold all the drinks you’ve imbibed.
Cross out any items that you won’t touch
Post a comment here and link to your results.

If you don’t have a blog, just count the ones you’ve tried and post the number in the comments section.

List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire

1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Weasle Coffee)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe
4. Root beer
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 Ale¹
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budwieser
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. Tokaj
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
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. Piña Colada
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guinness
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. Mulled Cider
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daiquiri (classic)

If you have any questions on what something is, please post a comment on Darcy’s site. Any items you think are missing?

[1] I actually have a bottle in my fridge right now, ready for the right moment to taste. Look for a review soon. Thanks, Matt!

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Black River Sidecar and Thursday Drink Night

Stevi — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:06:35 +0000

This past Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum was a resounding success.

And not just because my submission, the Black River Sidecar, was named best off-the-cuff drink of the night.

But I’m thrilled at the wonderful write-up Rick did over at Kaiser Penguin, including a great photo.

Black River Sidecar

1 1/2 oz cognac
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz pimento dram (St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram)
1 tsp. agave nectar

shake over ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with whole allspice berry tied in lemon twist

The St. Elizabeth’s is very potent; people who have tried with their own homemade recommend upping the dram to 1/2 oz, at which point you may be able to drop the agave nectar, which I used to balance the lemon juice. You can always just reduce the amount of juice, if you want.

Thanks to Rick for the nice post, thanks to Gabe for creating and hosting the Mixoloseum, and thanks to everybody who participated in TDN. Please join us Thursday nights to get in on the fun!

likker quiz

Stevi — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:44:00 +0000

97%ALCOHOLIC

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I did not know that

Stevi — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:12:00 +0000

Bushmill’s is the preferred whiskey of Irish Protestants, it being made in Northern Ireland, while Catholics tend to prefer Jameson, vatted in Dublin and distilled in Cork.

I suspect it’s my long-held preference for Scotch that prevented me from learning this critical information; that and generally avoiding reading about St. Patrick’s Day drinking tomfoolery.

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