An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

For the first time since I got into all of this cocktail wackiness I had a chance to visit San Francisco.? I’ve met a number of people from there, know at least one person who has moved out there from here, know others that moved here from there.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a trip solely to introduce myself to the food and drink delights that San Francisco has to offer; I was going out there for work, which meant I was there with a few coworkers and got to spend a week working while here in DC a snowstorm shut down the Federal government for four days straight.? I was lucky in terms of flights – not so much as a delay, despite leaving from Reagan National Airport.

I knew I had three places I definitely wanted to visit.? I heard a lot of good things about Alembic and Bourbon & Branch.? I’d also had a chance to meet Martin Cate at Tales of the Cocktail last year and I knew he’d just recently opened a new tiki-themed place called Smuggler’s Cove.? Having talked to a Facebook friend out there, I decided to try to hit Alembic Tuesday night and then Smuggler’s Cove Wednesday night.? Bourbon & Branch I’d save for Thursday night.

Tuesday my coworkers wanted to join me so we piled into a cab and went to Alembic.? We got there just a bit before 5 PM, which is when their lunch menu switches to a dinner menu.? However, they were having a Stone beer dinner that night, thus we could still order off the lunch menu if we wanted.? Two of my coworkers got rockfish sandwiches, which surprised them with how good they are, and another got the banh mi – again, he was surprised at how good it was.? I got the jerked duck hearts and some peppers that were fried and covered with smoked salt and loved them.

Most of the time I was asked to order.? For one guy who I know likes proper martinis, I ordered a Gilded Lily – Plymouth gin, yellow Chartreuse, orange flower water, topped with sparkling demi-sec and gold flake.? That was definitely a hit drink while I enjoyed a Vasco de Gama (Buffalo Trace bourbon, garam masala spiced apple syrup, Islay scotch).

The Vow of Silence had rye, Benedictine (always a good combination), creme de griotte (which is cherry), and Angostura bitters.? It reminded me a bit of a De La Louisiane without the absinthe.? Camper English via text suggested the Blue Steel, a drink whose Zoolander reference I’d missed, which was Appleton rum, creme de cassis, dashes of absinthe and Angostura, a splash of rye, and garnished with a sprig of cilantro and a twist of lemon.? A very interesting drink and the cilantro definitely was a different garnish, but yet it added something to it that I couldn’t quite pick out.

I felt a bit bitter that night thanks to [SECTION REDACTED DUE TO OBSCENITY]ore and so I asked for a bartenders choice with something of his choice, but bitter.? I saw Cynar, bourbon, Benedictine and Angostura, and definitely missed something else – it was an interesting change of pace.? I couldn’t resist tasting the Southern Exposure – Junipero from Anchor, mint, lime, sugar, and celery juice – however you juice celery, I guess.? It was a nice change of pace from the previous drink.

We finished up with a Negroni which was made just the way I like it – Beefeater gin, Punt e Mes, and Campari in equal proportions.? Yummy.

The next night my coworkers headed out for dinner; it didn’t really sink in until I got there (despite having been on the website that day) that Smuggler’s Cove doesn’t serve food, but hey, that’s okay, fruit juice is like food.? I met Jennifer and hung out with the bartender.? She sipped rum and told me about the rum programs there and at Forbidden Island; he told me about his trip to Dubai.? Martin wasn’t there, unfortunately, so I left a note for him, and started with the drink that was always my favorite at Trader Vic’s in Atlanta – a Navy Grog.

Reza, the bartender, said that the “Three Dots and a Dash” was the best drink on the menu so of course I had to try it.? Camper told me to try a Jet Pilot if I dared, so of course I did, and I had to get a Rum Barrel so that I could get, well, a rum barrel tiki mug.? While there one of my coworkers joined me and fell in love with the place.? He (and the next night the other coworker confirmed it) how much better they liked the bartenders at the Cove than at Alembic.? Reza was the epitome of the gracious, talented and knowledgeable bartender, patient with all of his customers and more than happy to help you out and give you his thoughts and opinions when asked for them.? Our bartender at Alembic wasn’t rude, but definitely had the “if I don’t see you I can relax, even if I’m right in front of you and your glass is empty” attitude you get sometimes.

How could you blame him?? The decor is great, vintage tiki.? It’s a small place, with three levels – you walk in on the second level right to a bar, and there’s one below.? The upper level is just seating and there’s no table service.? We sat on the middle level bar and hung out, and I have to admit, I did read the entire “Yo ho ho” poem on the wall of the men’s room.

You’ll note that I didn’t write down the ingredients here.? I’m going to be honest with you – it’s too much of a pain in the butt to do that with tiki drinks on a Palm Centro!? Just go buy some tiki books, why doncha.

Thursday I planned on going to Bourbon and Branch but ran into two problems.

First, I didn’t realize how important it was to get reservations.? I hadn’t, and there was no room at the inn, as it were.? There were possibilities but I was feeling a bit daunted at that point.

Second, after training was over, I passed out for an hour.? I didn’t mean to, but I sat down on the bed and WHAM, out.? That put me running a bit behind.? I went down to the hotel-ish sports bar and got some happy hour nachos, a beer or two, and some Fernet to wash it down, which showed one of the nice things about SF – Fernet even at crappy hotel sports bars!? YAY!

When I got back ahold of my coworkers from their foray to Chinatown they wanted to go back to the Cove, so away we went!? This time Martin was there and it was good to be able to say hi to him again.? He’s an amazingly nice guy and runs a heck of a shop at Smuggler’s Cove.? I tried a few different drinks and ended the night with a delicious Painkiller (3).? Yummy.

Next time I go to San Francisco I will definitely need to try to make reservations for Bourbon & Branch – but I can’t wait to go back to the Cove.

Remember how I mentioned before about books and drinks?? Obviously, the same thing works for movies – but with the shorter run time, and the possibility of spoilers, it can be harder…

Tonight I watched Inglorious Basterds.? Yes, it took me a long time to see it.? Yes, it was a GREAT MOVIE.? I’d like to put in a lot of cuss words to show how much I liked this movie, but I just finished watching it, so I’m high on adrenaline and lots and lots of booze.

How do you do a drinking game for a movie you haven’t seen yet?? It’s called the pause button.

I’d been out with a friend of mine earlier, came in, fired up the movie.? The joys of pay-per-view, though in my case, it took a few tries because, well, FiOS was having “issues”.

Okay, we’re watching a movie with Germans, French, and Americans.? We need a drink, and I make one, declaring it the “Inglorious”:

Inglorious
2 ounces rye whiskey
1 1/2 ounce Belle de Brillet (a French pear-flavored cognac)
1/2 ounce Underberg (I originally used 3/4 ounce, which is the size of a mini-bottle of it, but that’s too much)
Stir, strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a twist of lemon peel.

Actually, that was pretty good.

I kept watching the movie and needed another Lt. Aldo drink.? I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS DRINK.

The Basterd
2 ounces applejack
1 ounce Dolin dry vermouth
1/2 ounce Barenjager
2 dashes Marshall’s moonshine bitters
Shake and strain into a glass with a twist of lemon

Unfortunately, the Barenjager overwhelms the drink in this one.? It needs work.

Notice something on those?? I went for French-German-American.? But I got tired, and the movie went to a scene where they order “33 year old” Scotch whisky.

WARNING SPOILERS

Once again, it’s Mixology Monday, and for the first time in a while, I’m actually participating.? AREN’T YOU SO EXCITED?!? I KNOW I AM.

Sorry.? Got a little excited with the caps lock key there.? Don’t think that it wasn’t anything like that you dirty dirty person you.

Anyways, this time it’s hosted by Frederic and company over at Cocktail Virginia Slut.? (What?!? They’re blog isn’t named after our precious commonwealth but is actually “virgin“?? Well, fine.)? (Actually I knew that, but typo-ed, and thought it was funnier that way.)

So today’s is tea.? And also today is Robert Burns Day, which means you should be drinking Scotch and eating haggis.? Not that I’ve done either one (…yet) but it seems like despite my initial choice to find that mini of chai cream liqueur and dump it into some tea (which was also negated by it being gone, probably for almost six months now, oops) and avoiding using delicious, delicious Castries because TDN this week is “Nuts” (hee hee hee!) I figured I should do a tea/Scotch drink of some sort.

When I was a kid, my mom taught me how to make iced tea.? She’s a Southerner, so it was sweet tea (and not that damned bastardization of “oh, we’ve got unsweetened iced tea and sweet & low NO THAT IS NOT HOW SWEET TEA WORKS) and my tea was what a friend of mine called “tea-flavored sugar sludge”.? If I didn’t drink it quickly enough – and to be honest, I usually drank it at room temperature – it’d mold up something fierce.

Now today in DC might have been weirdly temperate, but I also wasn’t feeling great most of the day.? (To continue over-using parenthesis, it was one of those “24 hour stomach blech” kind of days.)? Thus, I figured something with hot tea.? And sweet.? Admittedly, it took until – oh, what time is it now – about 10 PM at night to be working on it, which means caffeine late, but fortunately for me a) I’m mostly able to ignore caffeine these days and b) I’ve got some stuff that will take care of that problem.? So off I went.

I usually use Black Bottle blended Scotch for my drinks using that spirit but this time decided to use something with a bit more character to it and thus chose the Highland Park 12 year old.? I’d bought a bottle of the 15 year old for my grandfather, who is also a Scottish Rite Mason – I’m not Scottish Rite yet but as a Mason I’d planned on joining once I remember to, you know, go to meetings and stuff – so I thought it’d be good.

As for tea, I had a variety pack from Twinnings.? Earl Grey, Lady Grey, and English Breakfast Tea seemed too – well, English for a drink with Scotch, so I grabbed Irish Breakfast instead, bolstered by the fact that it’s the strongest tea in the pack.? No, that doesn’t necessarily make sense (other than the “strongest tea” bit) but shut up.

Boiling water, five minutes steeping, let’s pour that into a bigger mug, and we need some liquors and sweetener.? Hey, a friendly PR company sent me Barenjager!? Now I’ve got some ideas…

Now that’s a “get you up and get you going” drink!

Ad Hoc Burns Night Tea Drink #1
1 1/2 ounces Scotch (Highland Park 12)
1 ounce Barenjager
2-3 dashes lemon bitters
Irish Breakfast tea
Brew a mug of black tea like your mom – strong and hot.? In another mug, pour in the other ingredients.? After the tea finishes steeping, pour it over the other ingredients and stir until blended.? Drink, but not at 10 PM at night unless you have a desire to avoid sleep like the plague.

I don’t normally put lemon in my tea but I had the thought it might help, so I used some Urban Moonshine lemon bitters that they sent me (there you go FTC, yuk it up why don’t you).? They also sent me maple bitters and I’m kind of wishing I’d used those instead – yeah, sure, I could make another drink, but I really don’t need one, especially as I have another idea I want to play with first.? I might also have considered using the Fee’s Rhubarb Bitters (which I paid for thank you very much) or even regular aromatic bitters.? THE POWER IS YOURS TO CHOOSE.

Let’s get back to delicious sweet tea.? That’s all about the summer time to me so it’s time to get rid of the Scotch.? Sorry, Scotch, you’ll have to wait until my next cigar, or next time I hang out with my grandpa.? (And then I can finally share that mini of Highland Park 18 with him too, yummy.)

I thought about making something using Castries, that delicious, delicious Castries, and maybe some of the Chairman’s Reserve Rum (the former I’ve bought a number of times but got a single free bottle of and the latter I’ve already given away bottles of because it’s well priced and delicious and I’m in no way shape or form trying to influence Clyde into hosting a TDN) (maybe), but this week’s TDN is nuts, as I said before, and I’m basically repeating myself.

But sweet tea…

Last year it seemed like sweet tea vodkas were a huge thing, perhaps because, uh, they were.? Maybe not as much in the “cocktail” world, because we can be some snooty bastiges when it comes to stuff like that, but I remember having bartenders telling me how quickly they were selling out of it.? I did a taste test of the Firefly (regular) sweet tea vodka versus Sweet Carolina and the Firefly won by a huge margin.? Let’s put it this way: Firefly is made in South Carolina near a tea plantation.? Sweet Carolina is made from Maine.? One of those tastes like chemicals, and to give a hint, it’s not the one called Firefly.? I haven’t tried the flavored sweet tea vodkas but I can’t be bothered to pay my money for more variations of the same thing, and I haven’t tried Jeremiah Weed for the same reason, but I will admit I do like the Firefly.

And it might not be summer but it hit at least 61 degrees today (seriously, y’all in SoCal, just don’t even say it) so I want a sweet tea drink and I don’t feel like making my own sweet tea because I am very, very lazy.

For a summer type drink, though, I think I need citrus with my tea.? Thus, we have my:

The Citrus-tea
1 1/2 ounces Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce triple sec (Combier – also, again, a freebie)
2-3 dashes Bittermen Bitter Truth Grapefruit Bitters
Shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.? Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

I don’t know what I think of this drink yet – it’s fun, but I think it needs some work, and I think it needs to be in warmer weather.? If it’s warmer for you, give it a shot!

Thanks again to Frederic and Cocktail Virgin Slut for hosting, and as always, Paul Clarke for doing MxMo.? Cheers y’all!

Yeah, believe it or not – it’s just me.? I know I haven’t been around a lot lately, and I’m not going to make excuses for that.? From now on my goal is one post a week!

Feel free to chuckle or what have you.

Obviously, I was posting pretty hardcore up until Tales last year.? Then we hit Tales, then soon after that I was sent to Korea for a month, and then…well, it’s been busy.? However, I’ve been redoing a few things the past few weeks, one of which means cleaning and redoing a lot of my apartment (thanks to mom and dad a lot for that) and it’s made it much easier for me to cook and make drinks in my place.

Thus, right now, I’m sipping a freshly made mai tai while smoking a Rocky Patel Edge Lite on my balcony.? Why a mai tai?

I’m using the Mr. Boston recipe for it, not the original Trader Vic recipe: 1 ounce each light and gold rum (I used El Dorado 3 year old and Scarlet Ibis), 1/2 ounce orange curacao (Creole Shrubb), 1/2 ounce lime juice (fresh squeezed mojito lime from Wegman’s), and 1/2 ounce orgeat, shaken, topped with one ounce of dark rum (Coruba) and garnished with a maraschino cherry (Luxardo – mine didn’t go bad like Marshall’s did).? But it’s the orgeat that made the drink for me.

For Christmas I bought myself (and Marshall) a selection of Trader Tiki‘s syrups.? He’s even having a TDN using the syrups February 11th – be there, or be square, or something like that.? Oh shoot – I’ll be in San Francisco that week!

Trader Tiki, of course, is a friend of the Den and a member of the CSOWG, and so when I saw he was making the syrups, I had to get some.? Also, the only orgeats I’ve had were from Fee’s, and I really wanted to try someone else’s.? I had bought some almonds to make my own but hadn’t gotten around to doing it yet.

Well, tonight I decided I wanted a drink with orgeat in it.? A mai tai came to mind, and a mai tai I did make it.? It wouldn’t fit in a lot of the smaller, vintage cocktail glasses Marshall got me for Christmas but that’s okay.

It’s still quite delicious.

Other than that I haven’t done much non-beer home drinking.? I’ve gone out to the Passenger a few times – and Eventide a few times, PS7 once or twice.

Repeal Day was at the beginning of December and if I thought last year’s was good, this year’s was even better!? Jeffrey Morgenthaler was the MC for the event, we had drinks from all over DC – and bartenders from all over the country – making fabulous drinks, great food from PS7, I wish I’d written this earlier so I could remember more of it.? One of my favorites was a thick, scotch-based drink with oats and I can’t remember what all else, made by the kilt-wearing Dan Searing (and which went great with my cigar from Curtis Draper in the heated cigar tent).? All in all, it’s a night that you shouldn’t miss.

I was also happy to introduce people to stuff that I can get readily in the DC area lately.? I gave my buddy Dan a bottle of Chairman’s Reserve rum, which is a great, well-priced rum that just hit the market (and for the next few months, a portion of its proceeds will go to help Haiti).? My granddad got a bottle of Highland Park 15 year old Scotch which it sounds like he’s enjoying a lot, and I gave my parents a couple of nifty bottles.? That’s my favorite thing about this whole hobby, to be honest – introducing new people to all the stuff that’s out there (like getting my brother hooked on Dark & Stormy-s) that they might not have known about.

I’ve also got a bunch of samples I really need to work up write-ups about, so hopefully you’ll see some of that coming up.? That being said, let me make sure I caveat something just in case you didn’t realize, and also to help cover our butts with the FTC.

From time to time, marketing folks like to send people free samples.? For the most part, we accept almost any samples, though Marshall is a bit pickier than I (and I still feel really guilty about drunkenly making fun of one offered sample back to the marketing person involved – I mean, I just feel bad about that, that’s unprofessional, though “unprofessional” is not an uncommonly used adjective around me).

HOWEVER, a sample does not mean we will necessarily cover it unless we specifically agree to ahead of time and NEVER means we agree to give it a good review.? We will review it as we find it.? We will review stuff we buy on our as we find it.? We will talk about drinks and products from bars, people, etc., that we get, no matter how it’s gotten, truthfully.? The advantage of us accepting samples from marketing folks is that it gives us more of a chance to tell you, our readers about it, and also to use our own money to “fill in the gaps” as it were.

And sometimes it’s also a second chance to try something we might not have wagered the money on again.? I’ll use Bulleit bourbon for an example.? I’d only tried it straight, from a mini bottle, and wasn’t impressed with it.? Mike Manning hooked me up with a sample of it, and I experimented a bit more and found it rather useful in a number of cocktails thanks to its flavor profile.? It’s not a straight-drinking bourbon, it’s a mixing one, but it works well as long as you keep in mind that it’s also not a SWEET bourbon.? The folks representing Bulleit have been very nice and generous, but if someone asks me for a bourbon to drink on the rocks, I’ll be suggesting something else.? If someone asks me for a bourbon to use in a Suffering Bastard, though, or a bourbon that likes to act like a rye, then I’ll say Bulleit.

Okay, enough of that.? It’s making me thirsty for whiskey.? What time do the Saints play?? That sounds like a good time for some Sazeracs…