Two At The Most » Thursday Drink Night

Pisaq Cocktail and the PDX Cocktail Invitational

Stevi — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:04:23 +0000

As mentioned in my previous post, my prize for winning the Live TDN at Portland Cocktail Week was a slot in the semi-finals of the PDX Cocktail Invitational. I had watched the finals of the 2009 competition live-streamed, and already knew many of the bartenders competing this year, so I knew it was a great event to be a part of.

Sun Temple at Pisaq

But I also knew the rules included bringing all your own equipment, and guess who had come down to Portland with no tools, not expecting to be in a competition at all? Yours truly. So when I found out at 9 pm on Friday night that I would be competing sometime the next day, a mad scramble began.

First was getting samples of the products I had to choose from to feature in my cocktail. I learned from Dänny Ronen that my cocktail needed to feature at least one of the three products from the Fair Trade Spirits Company. My choices were the FAIR. Vodka, Goji, and Café. Dänny helpfully brought over samples of each, and lent me some of his bartools so I could start experimenting with ideas.

While I enjoyed the Goji and Café liqueurs, I decided to focus on the Vodka.¹ This product is made from 100% fair-trade sourced quinoa.² It manages to keep hints of the nutty flavor of its base product, with a rich mouthfeel.

Given my short prep time, I decided to go simple in my final cocktail, and chose to do a riff on the perfect martini. I would be competing against bartenders who knew what they would be working with for more than a few hours, and would have more complex signature cocktails, likely including homemade ingredients. I decided that for my first live cocktail competition I would focus on featuring the product as well as I could, and, frankly, not embarrassing myself. This was my first chance to play with the big boys, after all!

The next big step was to gather additional ingredients in sufficient quantities. A big thanks to John the Bastard, who drove me to Pearl Specialty Market, where I was able to choose from several dry and sweet vermouths. Also thanks to Trader Tiki, who gave me his bottle of Urban Moonshine citrus bitters when I made a desperate call out.

Then it was back to my hotel room to make sure my idea would work. I decided to use Cocchi Americano, first because it’s an excellent product, and second, because I thought the cinchona flavor would help create a theme for my variation; as with quinoa, cinchona is a native South American ingredient. I also chose to go with Vya sweet vermouth, as I really enjoy its overall flavor profile and how well it mixes.

I have to say, I was very happy with the result. I felt the Urban Moonshine citrus bitters were aromatic enough to preclude the need for an additional garnish.

Pisaq Cocktail

2 oz FAIR. quinoa vodka
0.25 oz Cocchi Americano
0.25 oz sweet vermouth (Vya)
2 dashes citrus bitters (Urban Moonshine)

Stir over ice until as cold as an Andean glacier, strain into a cocktail glass.

I decided to name this drink after one of my favorite archaeological sites in Peru, Pisaq, located in the Urubamba valley.

Now having created the drink, I had to compete! I was pretty nervous, especially when I arrived at the Great American Distillers Festival, and realized I would be making drinks on a stage overlooking the whole event! Everybody with the Oregon Bartenders Guild was very reassuring, however, and before I knew it, I was up there, stirring and straining, and even talking reasonably amiably with the various attendees passing by for tastes.

Then I was told it was time for judging. I had to make a full size drink for each of my judges. Naturally, I didn’t have my own glassware, so the OBG provided me with wineglasses. I was amused to discover one of my judges would be David Pickerell, former master distiller at Maker’s Mark and mentor to Woodinville Whiskey.³ The judges were very friendly and put me at as much ease as I could possibly manage.

And then they were gone. I mixed a few more drinks for tasting, and then my 45 minute shift was over. I had competed in my first real cocktail competition, and hadn’t embarrassed myself, at least not that anyone would tell me.

Congratulations to the winners of the finals, Ali Tahsini (first), Tommy Klus (second), Art Tierce (third) and Trevor Easter (fourth). Thanks to the OBG and GADF for letting me participate. It was a great experience, and I’m looking forward to next years festivities.

1 I know! Whoda thunk it!
2 Yes, wurmouroboros, you were right, it’s not a true grain
3 It was no doubt bad form, but I had to ask him if it would it help my chances that I used his Headlong White Dog in the cocktail that got me into the competition. He laughed.

No related posts.

Red Wood Road Cocktail

Stevi — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:44:58 +0000

This past week was the first annual Portland Cocktail Week, and the CSOWG decided to hold Drink.Write 2010 in conjunction with the festivities. And since many of us were in Portland together, it was only natural to hold a live Thursday Drink Night.

Thanks to the valiant efforts of Lush Life Productions, we had a wide selection of spirits and a camera crew on hand to record the shenanigans. Jacob Grier emceed as several of gave it our best shot.

Giving a quick scan of the table, I discovered a bottle of Woodinville Whiskey‘s Headlong White Dog. I had my first taste of this product just the weekend before at their grand opening event, and was pretty excited with what I tasted.

I also saw a bottle of Dimmi, an Italian herbal liqueur I first tasted at Tales of the Cocktail 2009. It brings the sweetness of nebbiolo grappa with a rich blend of herbs.

Blending the two, I felt not much more was needed. I found some Scrappy’s grapefruit bitters completed the picture, and my drink was done.

Red Wood Road

2 oz Woodinville Whiskey Headlong White Dog
0.5 oz Dimmi Liquore di Milano
4 dashes Scrappy’s Grapefruit bitters

I named this strong, boozy drink with lots of flavor after the road I drive between Redmond and Woodinville. This was popular enough when I passed it around that it was voted best drink of the night.

My prize? I had a spot in the semi-finals for the Portland Cocktail Invitational. And that’s a story I will save for the next post.

Pisaq Cocktail and the PDX Cocktail Invitational

TDN Crystal Head Vodka – Live from Chantanee

Stevi — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:58:12 +0000

This week’s Thursday Drink Night promises to be a lot fun.

It’s sponsored by Crystal Head Vodka. Vodka may get a lot of derision from cocktail geeks, but it can present a true challenge when trying to create a well balanced cocktail. And, just in time for Halloween, it comes in a gorgeous bottle in the shape of a crystal skull!

Here in Seattle, we’ll be participating live from the Naga bar at Chantanee Thai Restaurant in Bellevue, where we’ll be mixing up and tasting all the drinks invented for the night and generally having a great time.

We’ll be starting at 4 pm PDT / 7 pm EDT. Log in to the Mixoloseum chat room and share with us your ideas for drinks that feature Crystal Head vodka. The best drinks will be put up for a vote; the winner will receive a Baron strainer courtesy of Cocktail Kingdom. A

And be sure to check the Mixoloseum blog for the live video feed from Chantanee where I know bar manager Andrew Bohrer has some fun ideas in store for us!

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!

Beefeater 24

Stevi — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:05:42 +0000

Beefeater London dry gin has long been a go-to gin in my collection. Now Desmond Payne, the Master Distiller, is bringing us a premium take on the standard recipe, Beefeater 24. I had already heard great things when I received not one, but two full bottles for review in preparation for this week’s Beefeater 24 sponsored Thursday Drink Night.

Fizzing Sands with Beefeater 24

The 24 references the 24 hours that Beefeater steeps its botanicals in neutral grain spirits (24 hours) before distillation. Payne was supposedly inspired by the fact that Beefeater founder James Burrough was the grandson of a tea merchant. In addition to Japanese sencha and Chinese green tea, Beefeater 24 is flavored with Seville orange peels, grapefruit peel, lemon peel, coriander seed, licorice, angelica root, angelica seed, almond, orris root, and of course, juniper. After steeping, the gin is distilled in copper pot stills, and finally finished at 90 proof (45% ABV).

The resulting gin provides far stronger citrus on the nose and the tongue than regular Beefeater. The influence of the tea is, to my taste, fairly subtle but provides a nice acrid roundness. Despite the higher proof, I find this to be a slightly sweeter gin than than the regular Beefeater. Perhaps that’s because the peppery notes are far less dominant, and the higher proof creates a richer mouthfeel.

Overall, I’m really impressed with this gin. The suggested retail price is in the $28 range. At that price, I think it’s an excellent choice in the premium gin range, and I expect to keep it in rotation in my home bar.

The suggested 24 martini is 3:1 Beefeater 24 to Lillet, with three dashes of Regan’s orange bitters. While I do like the Regan’s, I’m still having a love affair with Angostura orange bitters, so I made mine like this:

Astoria 24

2 oz Beefeater 24
1 oz Lillet
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters

Stir until well chilled, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with lemon twist.

Beefeater 24 and Lillet blanc work exceptionally well together. I haven’t been using as much Lillet lately, and this drink has given me a whole new appreciation for it.

Glancing through the Beefeater 24 recipes, another caught my eye, the Shifting Sands. Credited to Sasha Petraske, this take on Milk & Honey’s Sands cocktail pairs 24 with maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice. I didn’t have a fresh grapefruit on hand, but I did have a bottle of Fizzy Lizzy Lonestar grapefruit soda, which tastes remarkably fresh, so I modified the recipe.

Fizzing Sands

1.75 ounces London dry gin (Beefeater 24)
0.25 ounces maraschino liqueur
0.25 ounces lemon juice
2 ounces Fizzy Lizzy Lonestar grapefruit soda

Shake first three ingredients, strain into ice-filled collins glass. Top with grapefruit soda. Garnish with spring of mint.

This is a great summer refresher. I never realized maraschino and grapefruit would pair quite so well as flavors. I’ll definitely return to this combination in the future. Honestly, this may not be the best way to experience all that Beefeater 24 has to offer. It does mix well with the citrus flavors, as I had expected from the gin’s flavor profile.

I’m happy to help welcome this new gin to the market. I’m even more excited at the chance to see what the collective cocktail consciousness comes up with at TDN.

Mount Gay Extra Old Rum

Stevi — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:32:28 +0000

This Thursday, April 9, Thursday Drink Night will be sponsored by Mount Gay Extra Old Rum, and I received a sample bottle to prepare for the event.

Milanese Sailor

Mount Gay Distilleries holds the distinction of being the oldest rum in the world, with documentation of rum production at the Mount Gay estate dating to February 20, 1703.

The Extra Old is perhaps the most distinguished product of Mount Gay Rums. The rum is blended from the distillery’s aged spirits reserve, and has a maturity of 12-17 years. The rums have been aged in 200 liter charred oak barrels. By using smaller barrels, there is more surface area relative to the rum, and there is a marked oak flavor in the finished product.

On the nose, Extra Old is redolent and rich of oak and molasses, with a hint of cocoa. Straight, it is far more dry than I expected given the nose. The oakiness is there, and the chocolate, as well as some coffee notes. This rum is 86 proof (43% ABV), but the extra alcohol doesn’t provide any extra sting.

I had read that a lot of people enjoy this as a sipping rum, so I was expecting a bit more body to this. For me, while a fine, flavorful rum, this won’t edge out Ron Zacapa Centenario or Ron Zaya in my heart when it comes to sipping.

But while I am loathe to mix with either of those Guatemalan beauties, to me the Mount Gay Extra Old begs to be mixed with.

I’m certain I could happily stick with mai tais and daiquiris and never regret a single drop, but I need to get into the mood for TDN.

What first came to mind was bringing out that chocolate flavor by adding some crème de cacao. But I didn’t want to create a heavy, sweet dessert drink.

On a hunch, I picked up the Amaro Ramazzotti. Ramazzotti is one of my favorite amari. I think it blends well with the MGXO.

Given that Ramazzotti is from Milan, and Mount Gay has a long association with sailing, I dubbed the drink the Milanese Sailor.

Milanese Sailor

1.5 oz Mount Gay Extra Old
0.75 oz Amaro Ramazzotti
0.25 oz crème de cacao

Stir over ice and strain into rocks filled ice glass. Would also be great as a swizzle.

Think you can do better? Be sure to join us for TDN this week and submit your new cocktail featuring Mount Gay Extra Old.

Metaxa Seven Star and the Moschaton Cocktail

Stevi — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:03:23 +0000

When I was 10, I won a trip to Greece.¹ My dad and I went on a two week tour of the country, and I learned I did not like ouzo.²

The Author, age 10

I also learned that Metaxa is a Greek liquor that my dad wanted, and it was important he get the seven star. That I did not get to taste. It wasn’t until a bottle of the seven star arrived in preparation for Thursday Drink Night (TDN) that I finally could put a flavor to the memory.

Metaxa was created by Spyros Metaxas in 1888. It has an astonishingly complex production process. Various wines, mainly Savatiano and Rhoditis, are distilled and then aged in limousine oak barrels. The stars (3, 5, 7, and 12) on the label represent how many years the distillates have been aged.

Wine is matured separately in used Metaxa barrels for two years . Then the brandy and wines are mixed with a secret blend of herbs and spices, including rose petals. This mixture is aged for another 6 months before being chilled and filtered prior to bottling.

Moschaton Cocktail

The rose scent is evident on the nose. I was expecting the taste to be somewhat sweet from the additional wine, similar to pineau des Charentes, but it’s really more in line with most brandies I’ve tasted. In retrospect, this shouln’t have surprised me, given that it’s 80 proof (40% ABV). The general spices are well blended, with the rose bringing an interesting floral note that I quite like. There’s some honey and vanilla notes, and a hint of cinnamon as well, with an oakiness throughout. The spices linger longest on the tongue.

Now it’s time to try mixing. I wanted to start with some complimentary flavors. Since Metaxa already brings wine and brandy, I thought it would be fun to add some tartness with green grapes. Greece also makes me think of baklava, dripping with honey, so I added some for a little sweetness and roundness. I didn’t want to add a liqueur, so I went with some gin instead to open up the Metaxa flavors without diluting it too much.

Moschaton Cocktail

1.5 oz Metaxa 7 Star
1 oz London dry gin
0.5 teaspoon honey
6 green grapes

Muddle the grapes and honey in a mixing tin. Fill with ice, add Metaxa and gin, and stir for at least 30 seconds. Double strain into cocktail glass and garnish with additional grapes.

Join us at the Mixoloseum for TDN with your bottle of Metaxa 7 star and join in the fun. And as an extra incentive, the person who submits the best Metaxa cocktail will receive a bottle of blueberry bitters and will be entered into Imbibe’s Ultimate Metaxa Cocktail Competition and get the chance to win his or her own trip to Greece!

[1] Actually, I won a free round trip on TWA to any place they flew. I was obsessed with Greek mythology, so Greece it was.

[2] A story I’ll tell if I ever get a bottle to reevaluate my traumatic childhood memory against.

San Martín Cocktail

Stevi — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:31:10 +0000

I’m eagerly looking forward to this week’s Thursday Drink Night. Our sponsor is Beefeater Gin. I’m expecting there will be a lot of fun and interesting drinks invented based on this London dry gin, which is one of my favorites because it brings high quality at an affordable price.

San Martín Cocktail

To get into the spirit, I wanted to try a a new-to-me gin cocktail. I picked up my copy of David Wondrich’s Killer Cocktails, and happened upon the San Martín. Wondrich expanded upon the drink’s history in Esquire Magazine. He quotes from Charles H. Baker’s The South American Gentleman’s Companion, which will soon be reprinted by Mud Puddle Books.

Named after José de San Martín, this was a popular drink in South America at one point. What caught my eye is that it is a natural progression from the Martinez, one of my favorite cocktails (and one I will post about soon). Here yellow Chartreuse stands in for maraschino liqueur and orange bitters. And it’s a great change. There’s just a teaspoon, and I seriously thought about adding more when I first tasted it. But as I sip the cocktail, I find this is a case where more would have been too much of a good thing. There’s just enough for a hint of the herbal richness, while leaving this cocktail, already sweet with vermouth, a great apéritif.

San Martín Cocktail

2 oz London dry gin (Beefeater)
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 tsp Yellow Chartreuse

Stir ingredients over ice until suitably chilled, strain into cocktail glass, and garnish with lemon peel.

In Killer Cocktails, Wondrich calls for two ounces of gin and one ounce of vermouth. In the Esquire article, he keeps to a basic 3 ounce cocktail, but goes 1:1 on gin and vermouth.

In this case, I prefer the 2:1 gin:vermouth version. It makes the final drink a little drier, and gives more room for the yellow Chartreuse to work its magic.

Be sure to join us this Thursday (and every Thursday!) at the Mixoloseum bar for TDN Beefeater!

The Campari Dolce

Stevi — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:28:02 +0000

Has this ever happened to you? You invent a new drink, and you think it’s the greatest thing ever. You sweat over a good name, you brag about it to all your friends. And then you forget about it. You remember a few months later, and try it again, and cannot imagine what lead you to think it was a great drink.

Campari Dolce

Happily, this is not the case with the Campari Dolce. I invented this drink at a Thursday Drink Night in October. The ingredient for the night was honey mix. I wanted to balance the sweetness with a good dose of bitterness, and had just started experimenting with Campari, so it seemed a natural ingredient to try. I decided to use gin as my base, and some orange bitters to add depth. It was one of those drinks that came together naturally. I was of course happy when the other participants that night seemed to like it, and even happier when it was declared the winning drink for the night.

In my never ending quest to try new drinks, the Campari Dolce fell off my radar until last night. I thought I would try it again, and see how my old friend was. I was delighted to discover I still really like the drink!

Campari Dolce

1.5 oz London dry gin (Right Gin)
1 oz Campari
0.5 oz honey mix
2 dashes orange bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir ingredients over ice for 30 seconds or more, strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with brandied cherries.

Honey mix is one part honey to one part water. Heat over low heat until they mix, then store in the fridge. This makes the honey far more mixable than straight.

At the original TDN, I offered up a slight variation for those who are still intimidated by the bitterness of Campari.

Campari Dolce Variation

1.5 oz London dry gin (Right Gin)
1 oz Campari
0.75 oz honey mix

0.5 oz bianco vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters (Angostura Orange)

Have any drinks you invented stood the test of time?

Thursday Drink Night goes Video

Stevi — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:41:33 +0000

I’ve mentioned Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum Bar a few times. But what really goes on?

Now you have a chance to see! Our recent TDN sponsored by Mata Hari absinthe had a special live event. Several folks, including Rick from Kaiser Penguin, SeanMike and Marshall from Scofflaw’s Den, and Samantha from the Brand Action Team, showed up to the Tabard Inn, Washington, D.C. There bartender Chantal Tseng gracefully withstood being handed brand new recipes, and mixed them up on the spot. A videographer was on hand to record the fun.

The rest of us had to mix (and occasionally sink) our own drinks at home, but hopefully some day there will be a live TDN event in your neck of the woods! Check out the writeup of some of the best drinks.