I was reminiscing this weekend with my girlfriend about an event at Tales of the Cocktail a few years ago. Zwack invited the CSOWG to a lunch where they were showing us their new American release (and giving us sample bottles). If I remember correctly, there was even the Countess Zwack there to promote it and we had a good time.

Afterwards, one of our crew (John the Bastard, again, if I remember correctly), pointed out that it didn’t taste like the Zwack he had before and that we should go get some of the older variety. Off we went to one of those little liquor stores that had a supply and we bought some. The bottles were similar, though not the same:

Two kinds of Zwack!

The American variety is to the left, the older on the right. Note how logos are slightly different and the placement of the name varies, with the older also prominently declaring itself “Unicum”.

So the reason I was thinking of this was that the Boozy Book Club I’m in had recently covered a book on amaro, and my girlfriend, who is also in it, commented that she had a mini of Zwack that she’d been given a few years ago. She brought it over and I compared it to the bottles I have. Like the older bottle, it said both “Unicum” and “Zwack” and the gold cross was slightly offset from the outline.

Now, when we had tasted Zwack back at TotC I remember liking the American version and being blown away by the bitterness of the older one. We tasted her mini and it was herbaceous and bitter but it wasn’t bad.

Tentatively, I poured out a shot of the older variety. They certainly looked the same. They tasted almost identical, close enough that the variance could perhaps be explained by storage conditions and age.

Curious, I poured a shot of the American variety. Immediately there was a difference, it was much lighter in color than the others had been. We tasted it and couldn’t pick up any bitterness at all! It was just slightly herby and sweet.

So now I no longer fear that older bottle of Zwack like I once did, which means, in all probability, I’ll be draining the bottle then wondering how to get more.

Do you have thoughts on Zwack? Tell me on Twitter or comment on our Facebook post!

Alright, it’s Tuesday, so sue me. ?We had some site issues that kept me from posting this yesterday and hey, look, content!!!

I was sitting at work the other when my phone beeps alerting me that someone on Twitter mentioned me. ?I check the tweeters and it was my buddy Chris?informing some of us old fogies that this MxMo would be the last. ?He sent along Fred’s announcement on Cocktail Virgin Slut?that after almost 11 years, MxMo would be ending. ?I tested Sean and we decided that the occasion called for an old-school Scofflaw cocktail makin’ hootnany. ?Scofflaw’s Den has posted 52 articles for MxMo over the years and we’re happy (and a bit sad) to participate in the final one.

The theme is “Irish Wake” and as you can read from Fred’s post, the goal is to uncover or create a new recipe using Irish whiskey or tell a story where Irish whiskey played a role. ?If you know Sean or I, or have read this site before, you know we like our whiskey and Irish whiskey is no exception. ? Sean brought over a bottle of Powers and a bottle of Writer’s Tears. ?I contributed a bottle of Redbreast 12 Year Old and Slieve Foy.

Sean brought over a bottle of BG Reynold’s Orgeat?which we simply had to use. ? Considering a theme of an Irish Wake, it only seemed appropriate to use an amaro as well. ?Something dark and bitter just seemed appropriate. ?We started with Nardini Bassano Amaro. ?The roasted and coffee notes seemed perfect for a sad theme. ?So after several drams of Irishwhiskey, we started mixin.

2

The Nardini Amaro was determined to be too complex for the drink. ?We needed something just as dark and bitter with just a little less going on. ?Sean and I looked at each other and both said “Averna!” ?After a couple of attempts we had a cocktail that we both really enjoyed. ?I give you . . .

The Irish Goodbye
2 oz Irish Whiskey
.75 oz ?Averna
.5 oz ?fresh lemon juice
.5 oz orgeat

Mix all ingredients in an ice filled shaker and shake it like you’re hoping a potato will pop out. ?Strain over ice and garnish with a maraschino cheery.

Now, of course, we can’t leave well enough alone. ?When we go out there is a phenomenon we call the Irish Goodbye where a person simply disappears. ?One second they are talking with you at the bar and then next, POOF, they are no where to be found. ?The thing about the Irish Goodbye though is that you’ve still had quite an enjoyable night and you know that you will see your compatriot soon and bend elbows again. ?With this in mind, I wanted to make the Irish Goodbye something eye catching for the final MxMo.

My freezer contained several hollow ice spheres I made for a party. ?Using my smoke gun, I filled the ice sphere with apple wood smoke and plugged the hole with a maraschino cherry. ?I then poured the cocktail over the ice sphere in a double old fashioned glass. ?After the drink is served, using an ice pick you crack the ice sphere and POOF a puff of smoke rises from the cocktail and disappears into the ether. ?A true Irish Goodbye.

Pictures!

Pouring the drink

Tapping the first ice ball

Tapping the second ice ball

Smoke on the cocktail

When you’re stocking a home bar from scratch, some folks will immediately think “I need one of everything”.

And hey, if you have the budget for it, go for it! It’s not like (most) liquor goes bad (though it may lose some flavor). But other ingredients do go bad, and you might not have an unlimited budget.

As I’ve been told, and I agree with completely, the best way is to buy the ingredients you need for your favorite drink. For instance, if you want to make negronis at home, you’d buy Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth. Then, maybe look for related drinks – oh, hey, if I add in rye, I can do rye Manhattans and Old Pals. It’s all up to what you like.

From that, I’ll give some ideas of what I’d look for in liquors, prices based on Virginia ABC unless otherwise marked. (For instance, you can get most of these cheaper in DC, but that doesn’t mean it’s?automatically?cheaper – you have to go to the right places, etc. etc.)

Bourbon – For a mixing bourbon, I like to go with Four Roses yellow label ($18.99). The Four Roses higher end bourbons are also good deals (Small batch, $37.99, Single Barrel $41.99). For one with more spice, I go Bulleit ($32.99).

Rye – For mixing and shots, I tend to stick to Old Overholt ($21.99) though some like the extra punch of Rittenhouse 100 (a few bucks more, evidently not in VA anymore) – but it seems to have changed recipes recently maybe. Higher end, the High West Rendezvous ($69.99) is nice, as is their other stuff. I’d also look at the E.H. Taylor or Russell’s Reserve (both $59.99), or if you want something local, the Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye 92 proof ($52.79).

Gin – In my opinion, you need two kinds of gin: a London dry, and Plymouth. The former can easily be done by a number of brands, typically around $20, such as Bombay (*not* Sapphire!), Beefeater (my fave for martinis), Tanqueray, etc. The latter is one brand, Plymouth ($39.99), and has a lighter taste. Past there, you really run into “what are your preferences” as not many folks drink gin neat. A lot of folks like Hendriks for the cucumber/etc. taste ($39.99) and it makes a nice change in gin and tonics or in a collins. I also like Aviation ($25.99). Bols Genever ($41.99) is an older form of gin that’s quite good, and Hayman’s Royal Dock Navy Strength (not available in Virginia, ?~$38).

Vodka – Ugh, this topic can be contentious. I tend to stick with Tito’s ($21.99) as a go-to. Other than that,??_(?)_/?

Brandy – Remember this covers a ton of subkinds, including cognac, armagnac, calvados, etc. I tend to have some Hennessy VS ($36.99) around or something of equivalent for mixing or sipping, but I’m not hugely knowledgeable on them. (I will try to edit this later to reflect what I might have at home).

Scotch – I like Black Bottle ($27.29) for mixing. Beyond that you’re hitting a HUGE different field, so I’d hit up Jack Rose Dining Saloon or some other good whiskey bars for advice.

Bitters – A bottle of Peychauds ($4.89), Angostura (~$10 in grocery stores or the District), and Regans Orange (~$10, I think).

Other liqueurs – These will vary by what you make. If you’re not making sidecars or margaritas do you really need that curacao/Cointreau? Bitter liqueurs can be a whole lecture on their own. Fernet Branca ($28.99) is quite popular with many cocktail geeks.

Vermouth – I tend to go with the Dolin brand (~$12 in the District), especially if you can get the 375s (as vermouth is made from wine, and needs to be refrigerated and can go “off”). Carpano Antica sweet ($35.99) is popular and good.

So that’s most of it to begin — got thoughts on it? Tweet me or us about it!

Check out this beauty! B&Cs are UVA traditions.

The other night I was taking an UberX home from Marshall’s house after watching football, clutching my new bottle of Bulleit Bourbon in a 1.75 L container that his wife had very considerately picked up for me at Costco (with reimbursement, of course). I had a super awesome driver named Diana (or Diane, I apologize if she’s reading this and I get it wrong) who was jealous of it. Our conversation also made me realize I needed to update the blog.

(And also hope that she emails me at seanmike – at – scofflawsden.com sometime!)

The biggest thing I thought I’d post about was the punch I helped make for Marshall’s birthday. Just a note: it was partially inspired by a gift from Torani of some of their new “Sweet Heat Syrup”, made with ghost peppers.

Ya see, Marshall’s birthday was a big cookout, and his wife asked me to make punch. “Sure,” I thought, “that’ll be easy.” Then she said the numbers of people: 30-40.

Oof!

Now, you can go the fancy David Wondrich method and make oleosacchrum (I am sure I misspelled that) and what-have-you, but this was a mid-August out in the sun party for lots of folks, most of whom aren’t cocktail geeks. So I ended up with two inspirations: a bit of heat and mango.

I don’t own a juicer or even a big blender so I had to be careful about what I wanted to do. I then thought watermelon juice would also work. Since no one makes (that I could find) pre-juiced watermelon, I ended up taking a plastic container of cubed watermelon, smashing it repeatedly with a wooden spoon, then double straining it through mesh strainers to make a liter of watermelon juice. It took…a lot of work.

And mango juice on its own wasn’t so great. I ended up using “Simply Lemonade” but the version with mango in it.

Finally, I had originally planned on using gin in it, but a friend suggested the smokiness of mezcal would work better. I had some Sombra mezcal at home, but I needed more. Joe at Ace Beverage suggested the?Mezcales de Leyenda “El Peloton de La Muerte”, which at $30 a liter, wasn’t just a great deal but really damn good as well. I also discovered there that buying the 16 ounce bottle of Angostura, at about twice the cost and four times the size of the “normal” bottle of Angostura, is so much better of a deal.

At the party, we tweaked the recipe a bit, but it came out darn good (thanks to James Lindahl for the Meyer lemon juice suggestion).

Marshall’s Birthday Punch from SeanMike
Mix to taste:
Around 2 parts Simply Lemonade with Mango
Around 1 part watermelon juice
Around 1/2 part mezcal
Around 1/4 part Meyer lemon juice
Around 1/8 part each Torani Sweet Heat Syrup and Angostura bitters.
Depending on volume, stir or shake, serve over ice with a mint garnish.

UNRELATED CIGAR NOTE!

The next weekend I was at the GWAR-B-Q in Richmond, VA, for an amazing show. While there I picked up some of the Tatajue “CiGWARs” – a three pack for around $30 (IIRC, that was a long day of sunshine and beer). They’re not bad cigars at all, milder than I expected. I’d definitely pick some up if you see them (especially if you’re a GWAR fan).

FINALLY!

If you’ve heard me talk about depression in the past, here’s more of it, in case you care.

Anyways, now I need a cigar and something other than red wine. CHEERS!

– ?SeanMike

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!

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…

Such is the way I followed the opening of San Diego’s Polite Provisions and its proprietor Erick Castro. Over the years I have met Erick at several cocktail events and was even able to introduce him to a friend at StarChefs one night at New York’s Milk & Honey. All this is to say I knew his talent behind the bar was superb and he had a personality to match. When he announced the move from San Francisco to San Diego to open his own place, I couldn’t wait to see how it worked out. As he built Polite Provisions, I watched via Twitter and knew I’d have to go visit.

The only problem? I have never been to San Diego! So when discussing our Christmas plans with my wife, I was excited when she suggested we take a few days away from visiting her folks in Cali and spend them in San Diego.

Which, a few days after Christmas, I found myself walking through the front door of Polite Provisions.

This bar is simply gorgeous. The tile floors, dark wood and metal seats and tables make you feel like you’ve stepped into a swanky soda shop. Now I can talk about how good the drinks are (fantastic) and how attentive and nice our bartender Frankie was (extremely) but I want to mention some of the small details that truly made drinking here a treat.

First, the chairs for the high-top tables have built in foot rests that are actually comfortable. If you can’t sit at the bar but still want to see the action, these are great seats. Second, there are copious hooks under the bar for coats, hats, purses, etc. Third, there is a perfect amount of light. It’s just dark enough that the candles and other sources of light provide great ambiance but not so dark that you can’t read the menu. I hate going to a bar and needing a flash-light to read a menu.

A few other things I noticed which really impressed me: Each bartender station had an antique desk lamp built into the bar allowing them to see their work (and their work to be seen!) without ruining the guests’ time with excessive lights. Along the bar at several intervals were multi-level lazy susans holding various bitters, tinctures and tonics. Much less bar space taken up with their prodigious bitters collection since they go up rather than out. One of the neatest things I noticed were the hidden storage built into the columns behind the bar. These were used to hold glassware, extra tools and at least one bottle of George Stagg Bourbon.

It was also great to look across the room and see row upon row of my friend Darcy’s Acid Phosphate and Lactart for sale.

The bottom line is that if I lived in San Diego, Polite Provisions is a bar I would be spending a lot of time. It had everything that makes my haunts here in DC so loved – great drinks, great atmosphere and, most importantly, great people.

Polite Provisions
4696 30th Street
San Diego, CA

http://politeprovisions.com/

A couple of years ago, I made bathtub gin (basically) for Marshall for a present. Now, thanks to the Washington Post’s Carrie Allan (who is awesome) and Fiola’s Jeff Faile (who is also awesome), we have a recipe for homemade amaro.

I’d say: give us your recipes in the comments, but they ain’t working. Instead, tweet them to Scofflaws Den’s Twitter account. If I give anybody presents this Christmas (sigh, I will, I GUESS), it might be homemade amaro. I just need to get off my ass.

And I’d love to see what you like in yours. Maybe you’ll get a bottle of mine…

Later this week, I’ll post some drink ideas that don’t involve simple syrup (diabeetus, after all) and are based off my favorite video game. Until then, just keep thinking about me while you sleep.

Cheers!

- SeanMike

On Sunday, I helped Beuchert?s Saloon with an afternoon media event at their East Oaks farm located in Poolesville, Maryland. Two punches supplied the cocktail element for guests at the farm. One in particular (which we will simply call the ?St. Lucian Brunch Punch? for now) utilized an ingredient I?d never heard of before: fish pepper.

Fish peppers have an interesting history. According to owner Brendan McMahon, these peppers were particularly popular among African-American farmers in the nineteenth century. They were used predominantly in seafood houses along the mid-atlantic coast. The flavor of the pepper lends itself nicely to fish and shellfish.

The ingredient is said to have lost its popularity. Lately, according McMahon, it has been making a comeback.

The McMahon family, which owns the farm, planted the peppers this past season. The crop grew enough for harvest just recently. Some peppers were planted from seed while others were transplants that were grown in another location and transferred to the farm. The transplants, it seems, have been growing with considerable success.

The look of the plant in the field, McMahon says, reminds him of Christmas trees due in part to the distinct white, green and reddish coloration in the leaves and peppers themselves.

The punch itself involved a balanced mixture of Chairman?s Reserve St. Lucian Rum, fish pepper syrup,?fresh lime juice, Angostura bitters, and sprigs of fresh mint. The syrup is simply a one-to-one blending of sugar and water which was then infused with the peppers. Many of the participants at East Oaks said the flavors were rounded and refreshing. Some even said they found hints of spices they would expect to find in Bloody Marys which seemed fitting for the restaurant’s off-site afternoon event.

What makes my job fun at Beuchert?s Saloon is the involvement of East Oaks farm in not only the food but also the cocktails. The numbers vary but generally sixty-to-seventy percent of the produce used in the saloon?s food comes from East Oaks. That means day-to-day availability and variation of ingredients can be head-spinning. Yet, the end result is particularly rewarding when all of these elements come together to produce a drink the guest truly enjoys.

As part of their coverage they interviewed yours truly on the subject of cocktail bitters. Click here to head over and give it a read.