MxMo: Beer!

This month's theme for MxMo was a bit fortuitous as we've been screwing around with beer cocktails for the last month or so. Here's how Frederic over at Cocktail (Virgin) Slut describes our theme:

“While beer being used as an ingredient in modern cocktails has gotten a lot of press as of late, this is not a new trend. Beer has played a historical role in mixed drinks for centuries. For example, it can be found in Colonial drinks like the Rumfustian, Porter Sangaree, and Ale Flip. While many of these drinks are not seen in modern bars save for craft cocktail establishments, other beer drinks are though, including the Boilermaker, Black Velvet, and Michelada. And present day mixologists are utilizing beer with great success including Kelly Slagle's Port of Funchal, Jacob Grier's Averna Stout Flip, and Emma Hollander's Word to Your Mom. Bartenders are drawn to beer for a variety of reasons including the glorious malt and roast notes from the grain, the bitter and sometimes floral elements from the hops, the interesting sour or fruity notes from the yeast, and the crispness and bubbles from the carbonation. Beer is not just for pint glasses, so let us honor beer of all styles as a drink ingredient.”

This theme works for us this week because, as it turns out, we're hosting an event this Sunday as a kick-off party for Tales of the Cocktail. Ted Munat, the ever-charming writer behind Left Coast Libations will be there reading from the aforementioned book and Liberty's Andrew Friedman will be guest bartending. The idea behind the event is that if people procure tickets ahead of time, then they get their choice of 3 cocktails for $20 from a shortened menu which will feature 6 cocktails (3 from our favorite Seattle bartenders that were published in Left Coast Libations, 3 interpretations of those cocktails by 1022 staff). The event is being put on with Tacoma Alcohol Consortium. Check TAC out, Todd's doing really good work.

Anway, here's our interpretation of Jay Kuehner's drink, Cavale. This guy kick's ass. Go see him at Sambar. He's the bartender I want to be when I grow up.

Running Up that Hill
1.5 oz Clear Creek Apple brandy
½ oz Pineau des Charentes
½ oz Domaine de Canton
½ oz lemon juice
Ephemere

Combine everything except for the Ephemere in shaker over ice. Shake and double strain into chilled cocktail glass. Float with Ephemere.

Those of you who've read the blog or checked out our contributions for MxMo, then you know that we're never satisfied doing one. Here's what Corey concocted (w/a few tweaks by me) when someone requested a Flaming Dr. Pepper

Corey's “Flaming Dr. Pepper”
1.5 oz Zaya rum
.5 oz Lazzaroni amaretto
2 dashes St Elizabeth Allspice dram
1 barspoon Ramazotti amaro
Ephemere (Corey used Duvel, but I had a bottle of this open)
Combine everything except the beer in shaker over ice. Stir, strain, into Belgian glass. Float w Ephemere.

MxMo: Niche Spirits

Well, it doesn't get more niche than this, I guess. Thanks to Filip for hosting. Pics forthcoming.

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy
1 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Green Chartreuse
.5 oz simple syrup
1 egg white
cocao powder
soda water

Combine everything (3 healthy shakes of raw cocoa powder) sans soda in shaker over ice. Shake like a psychopath. Double strain into a short collins over ice. Finish with soda water and more cocoa powder. Drink.

Spring/summer menu 2011

For those that missed the party, here are the new menus. Suffice it to say, I am immensely proud of everyone for their hard work on these, especially Lauren who put together this food menu.

The Little Bar that Could

A couple of months ago I tried to get in on the Pappy Van Winkle action and bring a few bottles to Tacoma. The liquor stores in Seattle that had been promising to hold one for me for months seemingly forgot and the stores that I found bottles in refused to sell to me as those bottles were being sent to Seattle. I was angry and jealous. We work in a small (very small...) market and we have enough struggles without the state refusing to sell us product. I fumed for a couple days, but eventually let it go. A couple of weeks ago I was reading Imbibe magazine's profile of Boston bars and I commented to a colleague of mine that nobody talks about Tacoma. At best we are Seattle's ugly sister; at worst, we are forgotten or ignored entirely.

Big thanks to Jordan for this piece and mucho, mucho thanks to everyone who has been coming out for the last year and a half. I can't really express how much I appreciate our regulars who sat in the bar when it was 20 degrees and sipped G&T's while playing cribbage or the patience everyone demonstrated as we dialed in recipes or ran out of different items. Much love to everyone who has supported us and helped spread the word. Finally, thanks to everyone who's worked at the bar and had to deal with a moody boss who's constantly adding new product and techniques.

Happy New Year everyone!

2010 Fall/Winter Menu

Fall/Winter menu debut party

The press release:
1022 South, Tacoma's premiere craft cocktail lounge in the Hilltop neighborhood, will celebrate the debut of its Fall and Winter Cocktail Menu with a party, 6 pm on October 22, 2010. The new menu features nearly 40 delicious, innovative, and potentially curative handcrafted cocktails.

Tacoma, Washington, October 18, 2010

1022 South will throw a cocktail party to celebrate the debut of the new fall and winter menu, 6 pm on Friday, October 22. Featuring over 40 cocktails, the new menu showcases 1022 South's exploration and innovation, respect for classic cocktail construction, excitement for apothecary techniques, and commitment to showcasing seasonal ingredients. Also look for the return of some of your favorite seasonal drinks.

Two examples of the new drinks include: the Beatrice, a concoction of vodka, Amaro Averna Liqueur, lemon, and fig balsamic vinegar, and the herbal Echinacea Cocktail featuring echinacea and cayenne infused gin, lavender/chamomile infused honey, orange, and kava kava. In addition to craft cocktails and apothecary infusions, the menu features a variety of delicious small plate items and includes vegetarian and vegan options.

To celebrate, all menu cocktails will be specially priced at $6 the night of the party.

A cocktail lounge open since March 2009 in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood, 1022 South creates and serves craft cocktails from quality ingredients. 1022 South is inspired by conscientious observance of the history and evolution of the mixed drink, and an acknowledgment that the distinction between bartender and apothecary was once only loosely made. 1022 South cocktails are made with a variety of housemade bitters and botanical infusions including herbs such as kava kava, valerian, chamomile, damiana, yohimbe, and ginger among others.

The highly-trained bartenders of 1022 South look forward to sharing the new cocktails and relish the opportunity to experiment: let them know what you are in the mood for and they will do their best to accommodate. As 1022 South incorporates many unconventional ingredients from botanicals and infusions, housemade sodas and tonic, to spirits, wines, and beers, questions are welcomed and humor and a sense of adventure are encouraged.

1022 South hours: Sun - Mon 4 -11pm, Tues - Wed 4pm - 12am, Thurs - Sat 4pm - 2am.
Happy hour: 4 – 8pm everyday featuring $3 wells, $3 draft beers, and $4 glasses of wine.

Industry Night Monday: happy hour all night to service industry professionals
Wine Night Tuesday: 1/2 off all bottles
Ladies Night Thursday: happy hour all night for ladies

See what people are saying about 1022 South:

follow us on twitter: @1022South http://twitter.com/#!/1022south

read our reviews on yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/1022-south-tacoma

1022 South is located on South J. Street, between S. 10th and 11th Avenue

253.627.8588. 1022south@gmail.com. www.1022south.com.

Mixology Monday

Alright, I missed last month's MXMO challenge, but lord knows I know how to make an obnoxiously difficult drink. Here's how this weeks host at McSology set the rules of engagement:

So my charge to you all is to document your (least) favorite drink that is the proverbial thorn in your side. It can be virtually anything stylistically- The point here is to have fun and share that little ticket item that throws you off your cleaning game 10 minutes before last call!

As usual, I have two entries. Sorry for the lack of pics. I'll try to get some up tomorrow.

Bloody Mary
2 oz horseradish infusion*
2 olives
1 cocktail onion
1 caper berry
pinch of Himalayan salt
pinch of celery salt
.5 oz vegetarian worcestershire sauce (try Amy's)
2 lemon wedges
.5 oz fire cider**
3 dashes of Sriracha
organic tomato juice
garnish: lemon wedge, olive, caper berry, pickled lotus root
Muddle lemon, olives, cocktail onion, caper berry together in mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients and ice, then shake and strain over fresh ice in pint glass. Add garnish, then smile.

So this one is obnoxious for a couple of reasons. First of which, it's a mess; it clogs up dump sinks and will make all of your bar tools smell like fire cider (this isn't a problem for those of you with a dishwasher...) Most of us don't have all of these ingredients in our mise, so we also have to dig all of this out of the coolers (which, again, is not a problem for those of you who don't bartend in a submarine...) Finally, what makes this such a hassle is the making of the following:

Horseradish infusion
1 large horseradish root
750 ml 151 proof neutral grain alcohol

Remove outside of root. Cut remaining into thin strips, then place in clean mason jar. Fill with NGA, then let rest for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, double strain, then add 1 cup of filtered water to bring proof down to around 120.

Fire Cider
1 large horseradish root
1/2 lbs ginger
2 cloves garlic (I use more for batches that are not for cocktails...)
1 lbs ginger
1/2 medium white onion
1 lbs turmeric root
3/4 gallon unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar
1 oz cayenne

Juice horseradish root, ginger and turmeric. Add juice and pulp to clean container. Roughly chop garlic and onion, then add to juiced mess. Add cayenne and apple cider vinegar, then let rest for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, double strain into clean container.

It's a lot of work for a cocktail that most people only drink when they're hungover. Still, it is really good.

Inappropriately Named Cocktail
2 oz bourbon
1 oz cold press coffee (Ethiopian Harrar from Valhalla)
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz Grand Marnier
.5 oz Stroh
Irish cream foam*

Rim brandy snifter with sugar. Pour in Stroh, light on fire, use fire to carmelize sugar rim, then extinguish flame. In mixing glass, combine bourbon, coffee, simple syrup, and Grand Marnier over ice, stir, then strain into snifter. Top with Irish cream foam. Smile.

Irish Cream Foam
1 oz Irish cream
.5 simple syrup
splash cream
egg white

Combine ingredients in mixing glass over ice then shake like hell until you have a barely-pourable foamy-cream. Have fun with that.

The second cocktail is very time consuming and well, kinda of tiring to make. You say shaking a cocktail shouldn't be tiring? It's not, but make one and you'll sell five.

God, I hate these cocktails, but they are so good...

1 year anniversary party

Here's the press release in case you haven't seen it everywhere else:

1022 South, a craft cocktail lounge in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood, will celebrate its 1 year anniversary on Monday, March 29 with a party debuting the spring/summer menu featuring over 40 innovative, delicious, and, in some cases, curative handcrafted cocktails.

Tacoma, Washington, October 17, 2010

1022 South will throw a cocktail party to celebrate its one year anniversary and to debut the new spring menu on Monday, March 29. Featuring over 40 cocktails, the new menu showcases 1022 South's respect for classic cocktails, an enthusiasm for apothecary, and a few of the favorite cocktails from the original menu. In addition to craft cocktails and apothecary infusions, the menu will feature a variety of delicious small plate items. To celebrate, all menu cocktails will be specially priced at $6 the night of the party.

A cocktail lounge open since March 2009 in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood, 1022 South creates craft cocktails from quality ingredients with a conscientious observance of the history and evolution of the mixed drink, and an acknowledgment that the distinction between bartender and apothecary was once only loosely made. 1022 South cocktails are made with a variety of housemade bitters and botanical infusions including herbs such as kava kava, valerian, chamomile, damiana, yohimbe, tulsi, and ginger among others.

The inventive, delicious, and potentially curative drinks at 1022 can address the stress of a long day, strengthen immune systems, or enhance an evening with aphrodesiacs. Highly-trained bartenders look forward to sharing the new cocktails and relish the opportunity to experiment: let him or her know what you are in the mood for and they will  do their best to accommodate. As 1022 South incorporates many unconventional ingredients from botanicals and infusions, housemade sodas and tonic, to spirits, wines, and beers, questions are welcomed and humor and a sense of adventure are encouraged.
 
1022 South hours are Sun - Mon 4 -11pm, Tues - Wed 4pm - 12am, Thurs - Sat 4pm - 2am.
Happy hour: 4 - 8 everyday featuring $3 wells, $3 draft beers, and $4 glasses of wine.
Nightly specials for $6

Industry night Monday: service industry professionals get happy hour all night.
Wine night Tuesday: 1/2 off all bottles.
Ladies night Thursday: happy hour for ladies all night.

1022 South is located on South J. Street, between S. 10th and 11th Avenue. 253.627.8588. www.1022south.com.

###

January Happy Hour Menu

Our goal is to rotate through various cocktails on the happy hour menu. So, here is the first of the new year. While it's not noted on the menu, the Jack Rose includes clove/black walnut bitters.

Happy hour is 4 to 8 everyday and all day on Mondays for industry folks and all day on Thursdays for the ladies.

Happy Hour, Holiday hours

We haven't experimented with very many new concoctions lately as we've tried to dial in everything on our plate right now. However, a lull in the Saturday night found me experimenting with a few ideas that have been rattling around in my head for sometime.
First, we are so happy with how our pear bitters turned out, that I thought we might give a couple of other base flavors a try. Here's a quick list of what we're up to:
We bottled apple and sweet pumpkin in the last week and we'll add the spices and botanicals sometime after Thanksgiving.
Also, we are experimenting with a different version of our damiana infusion where we use a high proof rum instead of NGA.
Black walnut leaf, clove, and wormwood. Yeah, it's an anti-parasitic. I bet it ends up being tasty as well.
A variation on the saffron/cardamom bitters that includes a bit of quassia.
Coffee, cocoa, cloves, cinnamon, grains of paradise and galangal in NGA.

We will be closed on Thanksgiving, but we will be open the night before. Since we will be closed, we'll move Ladies Night to Wednesday where we will also debut our new happy menu. I'll post more about this menu later, but for now here's a look:

The Apothecary and the Late Night

I work diligently exploring the apothecary aspect of bartending. My work has led me down a path where I've discovered (as I've mentioned a few times) the wonders of kava kava, valerian, chamomile, damiana, yohimbe, and what they can do when combined with such garden-variety ingredients as cayenne, ginger, and, well, a bit of sugar. All in all, I think the fall/winter menu is pretty amazing. However, this is what I am most proud of:

Fire cider. You take it when you're getting sick. You take it when you're sick. You take it as a perk-me-up. You take it to take it because it's good for you. And it contains no booze.

Yeah, it looks terrible. And, frankly, it's very "aromatic". It looks like what those of us in the trade fear most, cleaning up after a guest. But, for those acclimated to "flavor country;" those who have palettes that are, shall we say, open, it's actually quite good. A bit shocking at first, but really quite tasty. So, with no further ado, here's what's in the 1022 recipe for Fire Cider: apple cider vinegar, horseradish root, ginger, onion, garlic, cayenne, and turmeric root. Let it soak maybe 4, maybe 6 weeks, then bottle and do shots regularly.

It's a fun, hippie remedy that I've kept stocked in my kitchen for years. Every single housemate has appreciated this...I've always thought the bars I've worked at should stock this and Emergen-C (is this the trade name?), and bag balm. Fire cider is one of those things that best characterized as some sort of dad-platitude in that it's "good for what ails you."

Speaking of good for what ails you, one of our local favorites came in tonight asking for a pre-bottled shot for this magic elixir. I worked it out (filter and double strain...), and then he asked for the golden seal cocktail. For those not keeping score, this is part of the apothecary section of the new menu. Our friend has sampled a few of the new wares and is familiar enough to order off the new menu, apparently. While I'm (and this is understating the fact) quite stoked that anyone not on staff is familiar enough with cocktails still in the trial stage to order them, I was a bit bemused to find that the "goldenseal" infusion is totally gone. Apparently it wasn't that secret after all...So, in a pinch, knowing our friend was feeling not so hot, I whipped up a cocktail. Before I give the recipe, I have to say that I never get it on the first pass. Most of the time it's kind of a labor of love (and by love, I mean god bless the space monkeys). There's an idea, it gets tweaked, then tweaked some more, and eventually we carve out a really nice cocktail. Usually it starts with some idealism, which I stubbornly adhere to, then eventually something pretty comes out of it after people politely offer me suggestions (thanks K...) The damiana and flowers is the quintessential example of this process...

Now, this is not perfect. It needs a few minor teaks here and there, I think. But really, I sold a few of these tonight, so I'm not sure. I'll update after I sit down with one in a couple of days.

So, here it is:

1.5 whiskey

.5 fire cider

1 raw ginger syrup

.5 green chartreuse

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters

Shake, strain, and serve up.

And, quite to my surprise, it's awesome. If you don't see this on the new menu, then you'll see it's pretty sister. However, I suspect that this is the pretty sister...

Cheers.

The Shifter

People ask me all the time, what do I drink? The honest answer is everything. As much as I like not serving Bud Lite, I enjoy a cold Rainier, Oly, PBR, or High Life. And as much as I nudge and wink at people who scoff at shots, I do them. With probably alarming regularity. Probably more than I drink anything artisanal.
So, here's what I'm drinking tonight: starting with Liquore Strega and a luke-warm, half-full Henry Weinhard's private reserve. Why am I drinking a crappy beer in such a condition? Because I paid for it and it's the last one. One of my roommates, ahem: K, drank the rest. And also, frankly, because I don't care. I'm not squeamish about beer and I spend enough time in "flavor country" that I don't need my beer to be a taste explosion in my mouth. Besides pop-rocks, I probably need few things exploding in my mouth...
I'm drinking the Strega straight because it's tasty. And I'm tired. Yeah, I could break out the bar gear and whip up a tasty cocktail, but then I get to do dishes. And my shoulder is already sore from whipping up tasty cocktails for 6 hours. And I'm tired. And, finally, I like to taste, feel, experience, whatever I am drinking. For instance, up next is a glass of Wild Turkey 101. I want to feel that. The burn, the lurch, the physicality of it. Not always, but at 3 am when I am just off after negotiating screaming, shuffling, intoxicated masses and life's rich pageantry that constantly presents itself in Hilltop, I want a shot and a beer and I want to feel it.
To circuitously get the meat of the question, here's what I drink: sidecars, sazeracs, and negronis. I seriously love these cocktails when done right. They all help me get a lay of the land. I never order any of the aforementioned cocktails in bars that don't stock the ingredients. Once I've established that the bar has the necessary ingredients, I'll order the appropriate cocktail, each of which is a fantastic measure of the kind of bar you are in. Sidecars, sazeracs, and negronis are all classic cocktails with origins that tickle the tongue of any raconteur. In my humble opinion, these are the types of drinks that bartenders love to make. Simple recipes that need to be executed with care to create cocktails that stop conversations. Cocktails that dance across the palette and challenge bartenders to come up with something better. These are the drinks that are personal classics. You could throw in Old Fashions or martinis, but really, why? Only to be disappointed...?
Anyway, here's me after a long night. I don't actually have black eyes, but I might as well. I'm dog-tired and not wanting to mix much of anything at this point. That's why it's shots and beers...

Beta testing, guinea pigs, and space monkeys

Before we place any new concoction, apothecary or otherwise, across the rail, we find a few brave souls who are willing to imbibe our concoctions. Most of the time the responsibility falls upon the shoulders of off-duty bartenders who are, and let us be honest, more than willing to be the monkey shot into space for the sake of a little research and development. Tonight, we experimented with the aphrodisiacs.

Before I continue, I must say that I was the monkey for the bulk of the soporifics and stress reducers/resistors that we will feature in the fall. That was fun...So, now we are a couple of stages later where we are experimenting with maca, yohimbe, and cacao. First the cocktail:
1.5 oz reposado tequila
1/2 tsp maca
1/2 tsp cacao
.5 yohimbe infusion
.5 kava infusion
a couple of healthy shakes of cayenne
.5 simple
Shake like hell and strain.

Initially the cocktail was earthy, dirty, and not quite there. I added .5 Licor 43 and that rounded it out. The drink was nice, but still not quite there. I think a different base spirit would work better...or maybe with the yerba mate infusion. That would certainly make for a long night...

So to the effects. My ever willing and always compliant test subject expressed feeling a bit funny initially. It very well could have been from the fact that it was a rather stiff cocktail, but we waited to see how it played out. After about half an hour, our little space monkey did indeed feel a bit randy. I'm not sure what to think about this as it could be the power of suggestion, a psychosomatic reaction, or simply the unremitting charm of the bartender. What we are left with are more questions. I suppose more exploration is necessary...

The Apothecary

It's been awhile since posting for which I definitely have been remiss. I've been incredibly busy working on the fall menu. Our focus has shifted more towards the apothecary aspect of bartending. It started somewhere between deciding to make tonic and cola from scratch and deciding to make 1022 absinthe (which has led me down the rabbit hole trying to figure out how to make Chartreuse). I've followed this path to where I'm now consulting herbalists, visiting Chinese apothecaries, and endeavoring to make medicinal cocktails that are very, very tasty. We are working with such ingredients as kava kava, yohimbe, valerian, and chamomile. Now, I definitely feel like these are easy. If you check out any "apothecary" bar worth their weight, they are doing drinks with these same ingredients (and the others we use: nettles, yerba mate, etc.) We can do more. We can make better drinks; we can make cocktails the way they should be made: with care, exacting precision, and conscientiousness.
We can make drinks that are transformative.
Is this ambitious? Yes.
Is it pretentious? Yes.
Is it good for our community? Yes.
There's so much I want to say, but I'm not sure where to start. I want to write about the pound of damiana leaves I ordered today for our aphrodisiac infusion (with cocoa, yohimbe, kava kava, etc.); our experiment in a flower bitters that turned into a beautiful liqueur; or the stress relief formula that highlights the amazing properties of chamomile and valerian in conjunction with gotu kola and siberian ginseng. This doesn't even scratch the surface, though. Our 1022 bloody mary features an infusion of horseradish root and fire cider; we play with tulsi; we make drinks with golden seal, raw ginger juice, and turmeric infusions. I write all of this and I have yet to work with maca, catnip, sassafras, or mugwort. These are all coming soon...

So, suffice it to say, I'm very excited about what we are doing. I do have a difficult time translating this to marketing...but that's another post for another place. What I can say is that we are about to do something very interesting in our neighborhood. If you want a flavor or a feeling, then come challenge us to find it for you.

The Continuing Alchemy

Earlier this week I finally made it to the herb shop in Pike Place market. Inspired by Morgenthaler at Clyde Common in Portland, I decided sometime ago that I wanted to make tonic from scratch. The problem is that the majority of the ingredients are not readily available in Tacoma. Hence, my excitement when I was finally able to make it to Tenzig Momo. I had my shopping list for scratch tonic in addition to a few other items. After discussing with the gentlemen from Notre (who provide our 1022 absinthe), I decided that we would try that as well...

I work happy hour Tuesdays, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some of this done. Feeling exceptionally ambitious, I went in early with the intention of making tonic, cola (inspired by...something, I decided that we are going to try to make house sodas and move away from the canned, high fructose corn syrup nonsense that we currently use), ginger beer, and absinthe. Suffice it to say, I only accomplished a small portion of my goals yesterday.

As I was working on refining the cola recipe, I realized that the infusions on the apothecary shelf were ready. Last week I infused Everclear 151 with raspberries and strawberries. I only had enough strawberries to make 750ml, but I had a little over a half flat of raspberries, so there was some room to experiment. I made a couple of 750mls of straight raspberry infusion using two pints to one 750ml. In another bottle, I added about a cup of ginger to the mixture. In the last, which was 375ml, I added one roughly chopped serrano pepper. All in all, the infusions are very good. The raspberry/serrano infusion, however, is going to be difficult to work with given its heat...

Straining off the pulp and bottling the infusions, making cocktails for the ladies who joined me for happy hour, and trying to dial in my cola recipe quickly consumed my afternoon. I was very happy with my first try at cola. Given that it was wine night, we ran a special on Marcels:
1 oz cola syrup (recipe listed later)
4 oz red wine (we started with tempranillo, then moved on to pinot noir after it was gone)
.5 amaro
seltzer water
Shake and strain into collins glass (minus seltzer water), top with seltzer and finish with a cherry and an orange twist. I think that, while this cocktail is really nice, it could really use a shot of rum.

Here is the fabulous Corey making Marcels, Chartreuse and Spruce gin cocktails.

The game plan for today is to get started on the absinthe and to make our first batch of house tonic. We'll see how it goes...Drop by if you want to be experimented on. Cheers.
-C

Fresh fruit, berries, and alchemy

It seems that the strawberry season has blown right by me. I managed one half bottle of a strawberry rhubarb infusion. It was (mas o menos as I didn't measure in the beginning...), one pint of organic strawberries, one large piece of rhubarb, and 375ml of Everclear 151. It infused for a week, then we made this cocktail:
Strawberry Rhubarb Flip
.75 straw/rhubarb infusion
.75 vodka
.5 amaretto
.5 lemon
.5 simple
powdered egg white
Shake and strain into cocktail glass. No need to double strain as the infusion had the seeds and pulp strained off already. Finish with a flamed lemon zest.

As for last night, I was dismayed that strawberries were gone, but consoled by raspberries. After infusing a number of bottles of the aforementioned Everclear with various combinations of raspberries and ginger, I set about making our special for last night, which was made with fresh raspberries that were left over. The first was a combination that I had been thinking about all day: raspberries and ginger. After a few failed attempts, we came up with this:
2 white rum
.5 simple
.5 ginger simple
8-10 raspberries
Zardetto cuvee
The raspberries were shaken with the rum and simple syrups, double strained into a cocktail glass, then floated with Zardetto and finished with a lemon twist.
It is a clean, crisp cocktail that has a beautiful color (I need to get a camera that can take pictures in the bar at night...).

However, when sipping the above concoction, my mind kept wandering to the batch of cold press coffee (made with Valhalla dark espresso roast). From there it was a hop, skip, and a jump to this delightful and as-of-yet unnamed cocktail. When the infusions are done, I recommend everyone stop by for this beauty:
2 white rum
.5 simple
.5 Ramazzoti amaro
.5 cold press coffee
8-10 raspberries
Shake and double strain into a cocktail glass. Finish with an orange zest. Absolutely beautiful.

Well, that's it. I think I'm going to attempt to hunt down more strawberries, but I suspect it's a lost cause. Otherwise, we've got something special in store this evening with basil...
-C
(Tip of the hat to Cynthia for her help in the above recipes.)

OK, so here we go....

FI'll be honest, this is a little strange. I think about the guys and gals whom I respect that publish the nuts and bolts of their work and I pause. As I finish my last beer of the night and as I hammer at the keys trying to articulate exactly where we are coming from, I think of what a good friend once told me, "Progress, not perfection." With that in mind, here is our first installment.

Tonight Corey and I visited Cynthia at 1022 South. We talked on the walk over about how I am full of ideas for aggressive or odd flavors as I bartend the opening shifts, but I rarely have the opportunity to express them. I usually want to experiment (such as riffing on Morgenthaler's Norwegian Wood - we used Krogstad Aquavit, Calvados, Punt e Mes, and experimented with yellow Chartreuse and Strega), but the opportunity is limited. So tonight, we were the guinea pigs.

Tonight we started with a riff on a cocktail called the 2 by Sweet (details manana). I have not stocked creme de cacao or any other chocolate liqueur, so here's our version:
2 reposado tequila
.5 Cynar
.5 simple syrup
2 drops of chocolate extract
drop of Angostura
egg white (powdered)
Cynthia shook the drink then dropped a touch of bitters on top. It was damn fine cocktail...

Next was a riff on the Honeysuckle cocktail that did not end up quite so awesome. Now, just so we are clear, we have a variation on the Corpse Reviver No. 2:
3/4 gin
3/4 Barenjager
3/4 lemon
3/4 Lillet
1/4 Pacifque absinthe
lil bit cayenne
Shaken and strained. Floated with a serrano pepper wheel.

Given the flavor profile of this cocktail, anything with cayenne, citrus, and an anise liqueur falls in the same general family. We ran a special over the weekend on what was a essentially a spicy caipirinha sweetened with Falernum and agave nectar and people commented on the resemblance with only two of the three components.

So, on to the Honeysuckle riff. I wanted to stay away from the anise/citrus/cayenne pairing and I have had success with a rum/honey/citrus cocktail before (recipe later...), so I decided to try the drink mas o menos as the recipe called for with the exception of substituting green Chartreuse for absinthe (I know, it's a big mas). As it turned out, the drink was imminently quaffable but ultimately disappointing. I didn't want and don't strive to make drinks that are only quaffable, I want to make something astounding (especially when Chartreuse is involved). We slowly sipped this one as we decided what was next...

Heading in a completely different direction, I eye-balled the bottle of Drambuie. Corey mulled over possible combinations perusing first the rum shelf. I was a bit discouraged because one of the first cocktails I ever learned was the Road to Bali (courtesy of Jeff McCilvaine), which was essentially a Rusty Nail that substituted Lemonhart rum for scotch and was finished with a lime twist. We kept looking and I glanced up at the 12 yr. Yamazaki. After a moment, this is what we came up with:
2 Yamazaki
1 Drambuie
1 dash Regan's No. 6 Orange bitters
dash of cayenne
orange twist
It was nearly the best way to finish the night. I'd be lying if I said we didn't finish with shots of Flor de Cana and Cacique, both splashed with Angostura. Overall, it was a good night. Cheers.