An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

Ragtime!

Before I even moved up to the northern Virginia area, I knew Ragtime – it was the bar we always seemed to end up at in Courthouse around 1 AM, just before last call, with a “surprise” tray of shots and a hangover the next day. Indeed, that reputation stuck with me for a while after moving to NoVA, mostly courteous of one friend who was always giving his number to the servers.

When I moved into Courthouse, though, I discovered that it’s actually a fantastic bar – not just because it’s a WVU Mountaineers bar (which made my parents happy when we went there just after my move) but because of a great staff and a constantly improving beer selection. I’ve been there hundreds of times (according to Foursquare, nearly 400 times) and probably had just about everything on the menu.

The one thing I never really drank, though, were the mixed drinks, with just two exceptions. One was when they did a martini night, and I could get a nice big glass of cold gin with extra vermouth for cheap. The other was the infamous (to us) pomegranate martini, which despite being called a martini was based off tequila. We (we being the guys) would go to Ragtime claiming girlfriends/wives wanted the pomegranate martini, but really we’d end up drinking lots of them. They were kind of addictive.

The latest restaurant by the same owners had a more focused cocktail program and Ragtime went through a time of doing flavored liquors, but still I was surprised recently when they announced their new cocktail program, focusing on classic drinks and fresh ingredients, including squeezed to order juices and housemade syrups such as orgeat. I, of course, needed to check this out as soon as I could, on a night when I wasn’t doing something stupid like drinking two or three pitchers of Blue Point Toasted Lager.

Death in the Afternoon

Fortunately, I got my chance last night finally when I was meeting a friend there (like I’m going to drink all nine cocktails in one night!).

The first thing that really surprised me was the cost of the drinks. The most expensive drink on the menu was $10, and most were $7-$8. In this town that’s a steal! But still, I’d have to try them first. Just to note: I wasn’t sitting at the actual bar, but at a high top near it. I could see the bartenders making my drinks, but I did not notice brands being used.

Death in the Afternoon – $8 – absinthe, lemon, simple syrup, champagne. I’ve had these before and never been a huge fan, but this one hit me just right – the absinthe taste was prominent, and I’m not a fan of absinthe for the most part, but the combination worked out really well. It was served in a traditional champagne coupe (see right) and was exactly the drink I needed to start off the night.

Vieux Carre

Vieux Carre – $10 (only $10 drink on the menu) – rye, cognac, Dolin Rouge, green Chartreuse, Angostura, Peychauds, lemon. First off, I was glad to see Dolin listed! That’s my favorite vermouth. As you can see in the picture, it’s served over one large ice cube and felt like a substantial drink (I did not measure, so that’s why I said “felt like”). I sipped off the top first and wasn’t impressed but liked it more as I drank out of the straw. For me, personally, it could’ve used a bit more bitters in it, but I also know the environment they’re working in – a super-bitter drink probably ain’t gonna work in a sports bar. (Really, the fact that they’re doing this menu at all is amazing and exciting to me, and makes me even more excited about football season!)

Unfortunately, they were out of mint, so the?mint julep and the?Queen’s Park Swizzle weren’t available (the latter being my next choice). So let’s stick with Hemingway!

Hemingway Daiquiri and Pimm’s Cup No. 1

Hemingway Daiquiri – $8 – white rum, maraschino, grapefruit, lime, simple syrup. This came out well-balanced as well, with a solid taste of maraschino in the back end that I thought brought the whole thing together nicely. My companion didn’t agree, as she felt it tasted more alcohol-y, but I’ve grown an appreciation for the taste of maraschino recently. It’s very easy for maraschino to overwhelm a drink so someone newer to those flavors might be hesitant at the flavor but I think after a drink or two they would really enjoy it.

My friend got a Pimm’s Cup.

Pimm’s Cup No. 1 – $7 – Pimms, rosemary syrup, lemon, ginger beer, garden garnish. Yes, technically the “Pimm’s Cup No. 1″ is the name of the liqueur in the drink, as Pimm’s makes a few varieties (which you really can’t get any but #1 in the US). I’ve never had one with rosemary syrup in it and at first was hesitant, but I grew to like it – it gave it a dry herbaciousness (is that a word?) which I think would make it more easily drinkable in quantity on a hot summer day than a sweeter version may be, though it still had a sweetness to it.

…and with that, I switched back to Toasted Lager, because I didn’t really need more liquor.

Tomorrow (Friday, May 30th) at 7 PM in the back bar they’ll be releasing some barrel-aged cocktails: Basil Hayden Manhattans and Makers 46 Sazeracs. I’m going to try to swing by because I’d like to see how they come out, so say hi if you see me!

– ?SeanMike

Back in the day, when Mr. Fawley and I were still, let’s say, “learning how to drink” at Mr. Jefferson’s University, the traditional drink was bourbon and Coke. (No, it HAD to be Coke. If you EVER say “bourbon and Pepsi” I swear to god I will get very angry in my mind and think less of you than I already do.) There was quite the debate about whether one should use Diet Coke or regular, and some people added extra stuff (amaretto, even peach schnapps by some damn strange folks), but that was the big thing. Sometimes we’d feel fancy and do bourbon and ginger ale.

Well, that’s a whole lotta sodas!

I don’t remember when I stopped mixing with sodas for the most part, but by the time we started this here site I didn’t really do it a lot. That doesn’t mean others don’t – my brother, for instance, and my dad are big fans of it. I’ve also tried to cut back on most of my sodas with the whole “diabetes” thing I’ve gotta deal with.

The other night one of my friends I play Borderlands 2 with online asked about what to mix with his bottles of Bulleit and Eagle Rare. “Don’t mix the Bulleit!” I cried, but he pointed out that he wanted something he could drink for a while. I thought about it a bit and said, hey, this could make a post.

Let’s break them down a bit by types of soda, really.

Ginger Beer – man, I do love me some good ginger beer. Bourbon and ginger beer is a great combo, in my opinion. Obviously, the traditional however is rum and ginger beer (plus a bit of lime, and you’ve got yourself a stew a Dark and Stormy). With vodka, that’s a Moscow Mule, and if you’re a type of drinker who doesn’t dig on the taste of alcohol that might be the way to go – or use a lighter ginger beer/ale, like Q.

Cola – There are so many colas out there that this can be problematic. The Fentiman’s CherryTree cola is dying for some rye, in my opinion, but I don’t know if I’d mix their Curiousity Cola (I do like to give it to non-drinkers, as it’s quite delicious). Obviously, the “…and Coke” combo is a common one, and unless you’re still in college, I don’t want to hear about vodka and Pepsi. I would consider white whiskey and RC cola, but only if you eat a Moon Pie with it too (which I have done). Fernet and Coke is a popular South American combo.

Root Beer and Cream Soda – Spiced Rum. Or most kinds of rum.

Various specialty sodas – Now here’s where it gets fun. Vanilla bean soda? I’d do bourbon, or dark rum. Victorian lemonade? Bourbon for a riff off the “Lynchburg Lemonade”. Cola made with coffee? Spiced rum or maybe tequila or Mezcal.

Sprite or other lemon-lime sodas – Well, you can make SpriTequilas, but you better be good at your mixology game. Also try gin, Pimm’s and gin, or Calvados.

Soda water – Don’t make me punch you in the throat. Really. Asking me a question like that. Just add bitters to it, I GUESS.

What combos do you like? Comment to me on Facebook or on Twitter!

The bar at Tender

One of the “advantages” of my job is that I get to travel regularly. Last week, my job took me to Pittsburgh, PA, and West Springfield, MA. I decided to drive because, well, I prefer driving over flying, and it gave me a chance to listen to BABYMETAL over and over and over again.

I highly recommend that.

I actually volunteered for the Pittsburgh gig – I’m from Morgantown, WV, originally, and I have friends in the ‘burgh. I arrived too late Sunday to do anything fun, but we got done quickly on Monday and I planned on leaving Tuesday. So avoiding the protests at UPMC I jumped into a cab and went to Tender, a bar where my friends Craig (aka Doctor Bamboo) and Nathan work – I’ve known those guys since the CSOWG days.

Super Punch!

Tender is a really cool bar. They don’t do a lot of beers on tap there (across the street, evidently, is quite the beer bar) but they have a solid cocktail program.

Something else they have is Super Punch Jannamico – call it the Malort of Pittsburgh (though much better tasting). Imported really only in that area, it’s a bitter, herbal amaro with a bit of a sticky sweet side to it. I don’t find it as infinitely quaffable as Fernet Branca, but on the other hand, it’s still good, and has an amusingly translated back label.

Super Punch Back Label

Originally, I hadn’t planned on necessarily eating at ?Tender because, well, I hadn’t really thought my day through completely at this point. After all, I’d been trudging through snow drifts earlier in the day looking at equipment that, well, I have no idea what most of it does, so I could write a report about for work. Huzzah, and stuff. I was also still coming off the stress of the drive up to Pittsburgh – I’d stopped in WV to visit my grandfather, who has been struggling, and an incoming snow storm made driving very stressful the entire day.

However, Mondays at Tender are burger days. I haven’t eaten a lot of burgers lately due to the whole “diabetes” thing as well as the whole “cholesterol” thing and to be honest, I’d rather not die quite yet. But they were very cheap on Mondays ?($7 wha?!?!?) and everyone kept telling me how great they are. Sure, they work there, but whatevs, I’ll give it a shot…

Menu and a “Second Spring”

Holy crap. I had the Blue Burger – blue cheese, fried egg, onion jam, balsamic aoli on a 1/3rd pound burger – and it was FANTASTIC. It was quite possibly one of the best burgers I’ve eaten in longer than I can remember. For me, it was the perfect size (not too thick, not too thin) and the chef just rocked it.

Seriously, folks, try it.

I washed it down with Craig’s Second Spring: Templeton rye, Cardamaro, creme de framboise, black walnut bitters. Also quite tasty. All of the drinks on the menu were marked with the initials of the creator so I made sure to try his and Nathan’s.

Food and drinks (lots of drinks) in me, I’d made plans to meet a friend of mine at another bar (Bar Marco). The USBG NE meeting was in town, which included folks from DC, and they had an event there that night. I hopped an UberX and went over there.

DIGRESSION TIME

I use Uber a lot here in DC. In Pittsburgh, they weren’t there the last time I was, and my encounters with Pittsburgh cabs were basically that they were unreliable, hard to find, and usually driven by some form of lunatic.

The bar at Bar Marco

Now UberX is there and I have to tell you, the guys driving those cars were FANTASTIC. And right now the rates are cheap as hell – it cost me $4 to get to Bar Marco from Tender, and $5 to get back to the hotel. (The unmetered car that took me to Tender cost me $20.)

HEY YINZ! USE UBERX! (If you sign up, use “UBERSEANMIKE” as your code and I think we’ll both get stuff and stuff.)

Bar Marco was a pretty cool place, maybe a bit smaller than Tender. They do chef specials on Monday but I was stuffed from Tender.

On the other hand, I got to see an old DC friend I hadn’t seen in ages – JP Carceres!

Wall art at Bar Marco

It was great to be able to talk to him for a little bit and get the lowdown on how life has been treating him since having to deal with DHS. He said he’s going on a bit of a vacation and going to do some research and experimentation on some projects, and then we’ll have to deal with him again. He definitely seemed to be in good spirits which is always good to see.

Unfortunately for me, I went back to my hotel to drop off the bottle of Super Punch that I’d…found…and fatigue overwhelmed me. It’d been a long week already, and the next day I had to drive back to Arlington (and then up to Massachusetts!) so I called it a night and did what we politely call “pass the %*@! out”.

It also reminded me of two things: 1, I need to visit Pittsburgh more often. 2, we need to get the band, errr, bloggers back together and hang out. Craig suggested that and I think that’s a FINE idea. So expect some email on that sometime here soon.

Cheers y’all!

– SeanMike

FIRST A QUICK NOTE: I have changed my Twitter handle to @BeerAndAShot. I know this might be distressing to some of you, but it’ll be okay, we’ll get through this together.

Ahem.

As you know, we don’t take advertisements here. We talk about what we want to talk about when we want to talk about it. Most press releases I get are deleted unread. (After all, most of them don’t even read our blog before sending them. Those who do and work with us we love.)

But Catoctin Creek is not only one of our local distilleries, but they make great products and they’re just goshdarn great folks – they helped sponsor our five year bash, for one. So when I heard Andrew Shapiro from Green Pig Bistro was going to be doing some cocktails there, I decided to trek out to Purcellville to visit.

Catoctin’s Stills

First off, if you haven’t been out there yet, I highly recommend going. It’s a gorgeous facility and downtown Purcellville is a charming area. I’d planned on getting lunch there, but I was running later than I would have liked for my afternoon “fun” (helping Marshall pack his liquor).

I chatted with Emily and Chad, two of their brand reps, when I came in as well as Andrew. He was making three drinks in a small flight for $10: a Rye Daisy, a Catoctin Stormy, and a Bubblelicious.

Bubblelicious, Rye Daisy, Catoctin Stormy

I drank them in order – thanks to VA ABC regulations, there’s no chance of having too much to drink at a tasting.

Bubblelicious
2 oz Mosby’s Spirit
1 oz falernum liqueur
3/4 oz hibiscus-grapefruit syrup

Shake ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled glass with ice.
Hibiscus-Grapefruit syrup:?Simmer 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 3/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers, and zest from 1/4 a grapefruit for 10 minutes. Strain. Keep refrigerated.

I was a big fan of that drink. It went down nice and easy. I’m also quite lazy, so I don’t know if I’d make the syrup, but I should try.

Behind their counter

Rye Daisy
2 oz Roundstone Rye
1 oz pine needle honey syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
2 dashes Bitterman’s Boston Bittahs
Lemon slice

Shake ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled glass with ice. Garnish with the lemon slice.
Pine Needle Honey Syrup:?Simmer 1 cup water, 1 cup water, and 4-5 pine needles for 10 minutes. Keep refrigerated.

This one?was also tasty – a little different taste than I’m usually up for with the pine needle, but on a snowy day it seemed appropriate. Do I still have any Zirbenz, I wonder?

Dog treats!

Catoctin Stormy
2 oz Watershed Gin
Good quality ginger beer
3-4 dashes vanilla bitters
Lime wedge

Stir together in a glass with ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Emily had made the bitters and Andrew the ginger beer. Man, it was good. I really need to make my own ginger beer.

After hanging out a bit more it was time to head back to the ARL. Since I have basically all of their stuff already, I picked up a bag of dog treats made from spent rye for my brother’s dog and a cigar from the humidor.

Passenger’s bottling of Roundstone Rye

The next day the folks from the Passenger went out there to bottle their barrel of Roundstone Rye. I happened to be at the Passenger when they came back (I KNOW AMAZING) and so I got a chance to try their specific bottling.

I’m telling you what folks – it’s damn good. I’m jealous. It has a buttery taste to it that just makes it so quaffable. AND YES THAT’S A WORD FELLOW BAR PATRONS.

Catoctin Creek is having their 5 year anniversary party and unveiling this bottling on Saturday, February 15th, at the Passenger. There will be giveaways and such starting at 8, though things will start going when the doors open at 5. You can be assured I will be there, as unlike some people named Marshall, I do not have to move.

Also in relation to both the Passenger and CCDC, Alex Bookless will be doing their next bartending gig on March 8th out at the tasting room from 12-4. I’m going to the Brewer’s Ball that night, but should have time to swing by beforehand…