October 10, 2017
At least, “Three Seattle Bars for Comfort Drinking” was what the fine folks at Seattle magazine asked me to write about for a recent issue. I wasn’t sure, exactly, which way to take it – then decided to just write about three bars I thought were always ready with good service, good drinks, good food, and individual personalities that set them apart to me, in a way that’s fun. What’d I pick? I’m not telling – you have a read the article! But one hint: the bars are No Anchor, Witness, and No Bones Beach Club. But no hints – go read up on great Seattle bars.
October 6, 2017
Some old poet said something about good fences and good neighbors – and maybe it was sorta astute in a way. But even moreso is the well-known phrase, “neighbors who bring you booze make the best neighbors.” You remember that one, right? Well, we have some great neighbors – Steve and Diane – who proved that recently by bringing us back a bottle of Crater Lake rye (from the Bend Distillery) after a vacation. Crater Lake being in Bend, OR, and not here in WA. This rye is made from 95% rye grain (and 5% malted barley, if you’re curious) and has a nice spicy peppery-ness and cinnamon, softened a touch by a toffee and honey sweetness and rounded out by a little oak. A neat sipper.
And also (and you know I can’t not try a new bottle in a cocktail), it mixes well with the right neighbors. I decided to go with all Italian neighbors (having lived in Italy, I still feel I have lots of neighbors there), thinking that some of the herbal notes in things like Averna amaro, Punt ‘e Mes sweet vermouth, and maybe even maraschino might work? Could I be right? Would these combined be the finest neighborhood in town – pretty darn close! This meets you smoothly up front, and follows with an assortment of subtle herbal hellos. A good neighbor indeed.
The Good Neighbors
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces Crater Lake rye
1/4 ounce Averna amaro
1/2 ounce Maraschino
1 ounce Punt e’ Mes
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Give a toast to the good neighbors, and the finger to the bad ones.
Tags: Averna amaro, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Crater Lake rye, Friday Night Cocktail, Maraschino, Punt e’ Mes, The Good Neighbors, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Recipes, Rye, What I'm Drinking
October 2, 2017
If you haven’t had tonic syrup (as opposed to just pre-bottled tonic water), well, I feel pretty optimistic about your future. Because tonic syrups will change your life. Really! The good ones deliver so much more flavor, and give so much more control, that things from the classic G & T to the should-be-a-classic Sherry & T and many, many more combos and trios and whatevers-you-can-think-of-a are raised to new heights. And naturally Washington state makes the finest tonic syrups. But enough of my palavering here – I wrote all about our local tonic syrups (and gave some recipes for using them) in a Seattle magazine tonic syrup article you need to read now. And then, I went onto New Day Northwest to talk tonic syrup (it’s the swell-est show in town). So watch that, too! Tonics on!
September 29, 2017
Like you, some nights (not many, but say one or two or three a lifetime) I find myself just browsing The Calvert Party Encyclopedia (1960 edition). It is “Your complete guide to home entertaining,” after all. Not to mention being,“the party book that gives you the power to please.” Now that’s power! But all joshes aside, it’s a better version than many company sponsored books (and worse than some as well), with a bunch of drink recipes including their products, and some others not, and some food ideas, and general party ideas and tips, and bar set up stuff. Not a bad little browser. And when browsing, I came across the Up-to-Date – maybe again? Maybe I’ve seen it somewhere else? I was intrigued, no matter which or what, and decided to give it whirl. In the book/manual/novella, it’s made with Calvert Reserve, but to keep it really up-to-date, I decided to sub out the Calvert Reserve (sorry Calvert!), with the latest bit of WA-state deliciousness to show up at my house: Epic Sht Gin, from the fine folks at Cadée Distillery on Whidbey Island.
It’s not as big a switch as you might think – being that the Epic Sht Gin is of the barrel-aged gin variety, so shares a kinship with whiskey as you might imagine. It’s a nicely-layered number, with the botanical notes of the gin still there, but also notes of spice and wood and a little nuttiness from the barrel, with a vanilla undertone, too. It’s not easy to get outside of the distillery as of this writing (but the distillery is well worth visiting), but hopefully by the time you’re reading, it’ll be more available. Also, its particular character I thought would go well with sherry – and I was right! Me and the fine folks at Calvert, that is! Try the below and see if I’m right (tip: I am).
The Up-to-Date
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces Cadée Distillery Epic Sht Gin
1 ounce Tio Pepe fino sherry
1/4 ounce Grand Mariner
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add it all. Stir in a party manner.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Get up-to-date
Tags: Angostura bitters, Cadée distillery, Cadée Distillery Epic Sht Gin, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Grand Mariner, The Calvert Party Encyclopedia, The Up-to-Date, Tio Pepe Fino sherry, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Gin, Liqueurs, Recipes, Sherry, What I'm Drinking
September 26, 2017
Obviously, Alfred Hitchcock was the tops. Movies, television, and being an overall memorable figure, today, we sometimes forget that he also edited a host of anthology horror and mystery books. How much did he actually have to do with them? Heck, I’m saying a lot, but he was a famous figure, and you know how that goes. Doesn’t matter one way or another to me though – I have a couple of these little pocket-sized collections, and keep my eyes open for more. Recently, I grabbed another one called Bar the Doors, which contains “thirteen superlative tales” selected, as it says, by Alfred himself. One of those is a sea-going yarn called “The Upper Berth,” by F. Marion Crawford – more a ghost or creature feature, it mostly takes place on a ship you wouldn’t want to voyage upon. It was a favorite of mine in the book, as well as having a whisky cocktail and a sherry scene with a great name in it.
“One hundred and five, lower berth,” said I, in the businesslike tone peculiar to men who think no more of crossing the Atlantic than taking a whisky cocktail at downtown Delmonico’s.
The steward took my portmanteau and greatcoat. I shall never forget the expression of his face. Not that he turned pale. It is maintained by the most eminent divines that some miracles cannot change the course of nature. I have no hesitation in saying that he did not turn pale; but, from his expression, I judged that he was either about to shed tears, to sneeze, or to drop my portmanteau. As the latter contained two bottled of particularly fine old sherry presented to me for my voyage by my old friend Snigginson van Pickyns, I felt extremely nervous.
—The Upper Berth, F. Marion Crawford
September 22, 2017
It’s now Fall, as of today, actually, September 22, and your summer is now fading into a dream, as summer sadly always does. But if you miss the hot nights of the sunny months now in the past, and want to try and rekindle a little of that lovely summertime feeling, you might try this drink – though I wouldn’t have it alone. Have it with someone you are either close to (in a cuddly sense) or want to be close to, as it is – legends say – a romantic summer drink. That’s my advice, at least.
Hot Night in Hidalgo, from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
1-1/2 ounces Damiana
3/4 ounce fresh pineapple juice
Pineapple chunk, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Damiana, and pineapple juice. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the pineapple chunk, and dream of a sunshine daydream with your favorite daydreamer.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Damiana, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Hot Night in Hidalgo, pineapple juice, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
September 19, 2017
Feeling poorly because you’ve missed out on some of my recent pieces for Seattle magazine? Well, friend, feel bad no more. Check out the below and put a spring in your step and a wiggle in your walk:
September 15, 2017
Listen, you can disagree and I won’t budge (I also won’t get up all in your face about it, cause that kind of discourse should be saved for fools of the worst order, of which sadly there are many): Washington has the best distillers distilling. Am I a local nerd? You betcha. But they just keep making tasty things in bottles, and I keep tasting them and being happy. You should come out here and do some tasting (and buying, to help the cause) and be happy too. Recently, I put two of our newer releases together, and the end result also made me awfully happy. It started with Westland Distillery’s Garrayana 2|1. The first version won “Best American Single Malt” last year, and this will win plenty of awards, too. It’s aged in casks made from Garry Oak (Quercus garryana), a native oak only growing up here in the Pacific Northwest, and admittedly a limited-edition (get it while you can). It has a molasses, smoke, berry, citrus flavor. And goes remarkably well with another new-ish release, Salish Sea Organic Liqueur’s Honeybush liqueur. Honeybush is an herb out of South Africa that is usually used to make tea, but here it’s crafted into a liqueur that is super tasty, with a smoky honey flavor on the front end, and a fruity ending. It goes well with whiskey, as evidenced here.
The Fountain of Fantastic Flora
Ice cubes
2 ounces Westland Distilling Garryana single malt whiskey
1/2 ounce Salish Sea Organic Liqueur Honeybush liqueur
Bigger ice cube
1. Filling a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add our two Washington delights. Stir, but not too long.
2. Add a big ice cube to an Old Fashioned or other comparable glass. Strain the flora (in liquid form) over the ice cube.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Honeybush liqueur, Salish Sea Organic Liqueur Honeybush liqueur, Single Malt Whiskey, The Fountain of Fantastic Flora, Washington distillers, Washington distillery, Westland Distilling Garryana single malt whiskey, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
