An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

This year is the 10th Anniversary of Tales of the Cocktail. Tales (for short) is an event thrown annually in New Orleans, Louisiana which celebrates the American gift to global culinary-world, the cocktail. Between July 25th and 29th the world’s best bartenders, brand ambassadors, restauranteurs, distilleries, writers,  importers and aficionados will meet to attend educational seminars, network, reconnect with old friends and meet new friends.

It just so happens that through a strange feat of cosmic happenstance, my bachelor party is going to be held in New Orleans July 22nd through 24th.  Since I’m already going to be in NOLA, why not stay for Tales?!?! Now, I know what you may be thinking; “Poor Marshall, he’s having a bachelor party in NOLA followed by a cocktail convention. I hope he has is affairs in order because he’s going to die.” In response I say yes, I have everything in order and I’ll be surrounded by good people and good friends so  I don’t foresee anything dangerous. Of course, I would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t a little worried about what my bar buddies will do once they know I’m on my bachelor party!

I haven’t been to Tales since 2009 so I’m really excited to get back. One reason I’m so excited about Tales this year is because of the Scofflaw’s Den expansion. With the popularity of classes and the requests for private events, we will be officially offering cocktail consulting services (private events, private classes, custom cocktail catering, event consulting and bartending) this summer. I want to talk to experts and potential partners and sponsors for events, classes, etc.

Another reason I’m excited is to be able to meet and discuss bitters with those who currently make and sell their own brand of bitters. As regular readers of Scofflaw’s Den and good friends around DC know, I’ve been making my own personal brand of cocktail bitters for personal consumption and gifts to friends and bartenders around town. I have three flavors of bitters, a barrel-aged aromatic, lavender and a floral bitters.

During next week, I’ll have bottles of my bitters available for purchase if anyone is interested. (I’ve got to help pay for my trip somehow!) 50ml bottles are $15 and 100ml bottles (Aromatic & Lavender only) are $20. All three flavors in 50ml bottles are $40. If you’ll be at Tales and are interested in reserving some bitters, email me at Marshall@scofflawsden.com and I’ll set aside some bottles and we’ll arrange a time to meet up.

Also, if you’re going to be in NOLA and at Tales, feel free to meet up for a drink anytime during the week! I’m always excited to meet other enthusiasts, writers, bartenders, ambassadors, etc. Below is some great ways to keep in contact and find out where I’m causing trouble.

Twitter – @VAScofflaw

Foursquare – Marshall

I’ll have ye olde smart phone with me at all times so I hope to do some live blogging at various Tales events and get-togethers. But for liability purposes and to protect the innocent, there will be no live-blogging to the bachelor party!

Cheers!

Not long ago I received a question via the Twitter regarding what to order at an airport bar. Then, just yesterday I was asked about what drinks someone should order out at a bar that wasn’t as complicated as my usual missives. And the final nail in this coffin was a friend commenting that he was really tired of telling bartenders that Jack Daniels was not bourbon.

All of this got me to thinking – dangerous I know – about how tough it really is to still get a decent drink. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of bartenders who aren’t into the booze-nerdyism. A shot and a beer and the occasional gin and tonic or something-and-soda is just fine thank you very much. And I have no problem with that whatsoever.

In my opinion, what it comes down to is this: as the drinker, what are you looking for and can you adapt? Bottom line is that you shouldn’t force the bar to conform to your expectations, especially if those expectations are contrary to the type of bar you’re currently sitting in.

For example, if I’m out at a speakeasy-style craft cocktail bar and order a Southside, I have a level of expectation on how that drink will be made and the quality of the final product. If I’m at Chili’s, I’m not going to expect the bartender to know what a Southside is, much less how to make it. And if they do make me something called a “Southside” that is not at all what I was expecting, then that is my fault.

Once I was sitting at a well known craft cocktail bar here in DC and listened to two baseball-cap wearing, fraternity row gadabouts bitch and complain about the menu being too wordy, the drinks taking too long to make, and the lack of drunk sorority chicks dancing on the tables. (And yes, this was the exact topics of their discussion.) They finished their first round of drinks, threw some wadded up bills on the bar and walked out. I don’t think they ever got their bill and I’m sure they left a paltry tip, if any at all.

Since their expectations were out of sync with the bar, they had a bad time and took it out on the establishment. The bar did nothing but operate along it’s normal course.

So, what to do at the airport or hotel bar? Adapt.

First, look at a menu. What is the most prominent spirit used? Do the cocktails look somewhat tasty on the menu? Second, look behind the bar? Are there 30 flavors of vodka, 1 bottle of Beefeater, a few random whiskeys, and a bottle of sweet vermouth with half an inch of dust on it’s shoulders? Or do they have bitters prominently displayed, multiple kinds of gin, whiskey, and liqueurs, and gleaming barware ready to be used? Finally, see what others are drinking and, just as important, how the bartender is interacting with the customers. This will tell you if he or she cares what the customers are drinking or whether he or she couldn’t care less.

What to drink? Depends on what you find. If it’s a vodka heavy hotel/airport bar and I’m going with hard alcohol, I’ll order a two ingredient drink: bourbon and ginger, gin and tonic, rum and coke, etc. Or I’ll stick with beer if they have something interesting. Since I’m not a big beer drinker, it would have to be something that catches my eye and outside the Sam Adams, Corona, Bud Light rubric.

If the bar looks like it could crank out a proper cocktail, talk to the bartender. Does he or she know how to make a negroni? Will they ask you if you want fruit salad in your Old Fashioned? Do they have bitter and if so, do they actually use them? You’ll learn a lot just by talking to the bartender and then you’ll be directed on which libation road to travel.

If you get really lucky and the bar has a bottle of Campari and a reasonably fresh bottle of sweet vermouth, you may be able to ask for a negroni.

Negroni
1 oz each Gin, Campari & Sweet Vermouth
-Stir over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
-Alternatively just build it an ice filled rocks glass and you’re set. None of that thar fancy stirrin’ stuff.

Starting this evening with the celebration of my esteemed co-writers birth, Scofflaw’s Den will be embarking on a journey that is exciting and bit terrifying.   The next ten days are going to be awesome.  Let me tell you why.

Tonight, July 2nd, you will find us celebrating Sean’s birthday with some good friends, great drinks and tasty food at The Gibson.  There’s going to be a roast pig and tasty beverages.  Enough said.

Friday and Saturday, we’ll be hanging out around DC with Rick and Jay.  Both these fine gentlemen will be in town leading up to the week of Tales.

Which brings me to next week.  Sunday, July 5th, we fly down to New Orleans, Louisiana to attend the most spirited event of the year, Tales of the Cocktail.   As a prelude to Tales, for the first time ever, the Cocktail & Spirits Online Writers Group, of which we are both proud members, is hosting a writers conference.  The conference, Drink.Write 2009, will bring the best bloggers and online cocktail writers in the world under one roof for two days of seminars and hazing meeting new people.

If you’ve noticed the banner to the left there, you know Sean and I were asked to contribute to the official Tales of the Cocktail Blog.  Check there for updates on what’s going on during Tales.   The Tales Blog is a collaborative effort with many of the same writers who make up CSOWG.  That is your one-stop-shop for the best writing and news related to Tales 2009.

So for the next week or so, The Den will be a little quiet while we focus our energy on the Tales Blog.  If you want to keep track of what’s going on in real time, get over there to that Twitter thing and follow us.

Follow Sean here.
Follow Marshall here.

If you’re out in DC the next few days, find us and say hello!  If you’re in NoLA for Tales, find us and say hello.

Cheers!

Well, I’ve started this whole series, can’t stop now!

Tonight, as is usual on Thursdays, is Thursday Drink Night over in the Mixoloseum chat room.  The theme is “muddled drinks” and the other day I had an inspiration.  Like last night, it’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying has it – this time, to present a new drink for TDN as well as to make one to honor somebody locally, Mr. Derek Brown.

The drink basically jumped almost fully formed into my head.  I just made one, after posting it in the chat room, and people seem to like it!  Kaiser Penguin was even kind enough to take a picture of it and let me use it:

Pretty, ain’t it?

The Derek
3-4 leaves of mint
1/2 ounce Domaine de Canton
3 ounces Dolin Blanc
1 dash orange bitters (Regans #6)
Lightly muddle the mint and Domaine de Canton in an old-fashioned glass.  Add the vermouth, bitters, and ice.  Stir gently to mix.  Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.

In my opinion, this is a nice, sweet, light drink.  I think it’d make a wonderful digestif or apertif.  Someone else who made one (Chris aka DJ HawaiianShirt) said that it worked well with a “past its prime bottom shelf bottle of French vermouth”, so you have that, too.  Others who thought it was too sweet (such as JohnTheBastard) I suggested additional bitters, though he went with a bit of tonic syrup and something else (I believe club soda).

Enjoy!

[Fourth in a series of drinks named after bloggers, mixologists, and random others who'll hopefully be at Tales.  The first post in the series is here.]