The ball really got rolling yesterday at 7:30am when the contractors showed up to begin the basement renovation. Tearing down walls, rewiring the current lights, and adding additional lights were on the docket. We got everything set before having to run out the door to get the baby to day care and us to the office. All day, I kept my phone within grabbing distance in case the contractors called or texted. Maybe I watch too much HGTV, but I had a pit in my stomach waiting for that “We have an issue . . . ” call. Thankfully, it never really came. The electrician called mid-morning and asked about lighting configurations, locations, and the (unplanned) installation of an access panel in the ceiling. The access panel needed to be installed to bring the basement electrical up to code.

In talking with various contractors I knew that we’d need a solution on fixing the holes in the floor once the walls came down. The easiest, and most affordable, solution was to use the flooring located in two adjacent closets to fill in the holes in the bar area and replace the flooring in the closets with something new or similar enough to what was removed. To that end I went to Home Depot and bought two cases of flooring that?almost matched what was currently there.

Hey, it’s going inside a closet, it ain’t gots to be a perfect match.

When I got home yesterday though, I learned that the flooring I bought was too thick to match what was there. The way one guy described it, “What was here was the lowest grade. What you bought was the best. What we put in was middle-of-the-road.” That was an interesting lesson in flooring. For me at least. Luckily, what they ended up putting in is an even closer match to what I bought that it’s virtually seamless.

Needless to say, I was really excited to see the work after I got home. I practically sprinted from the car to take a look. What I saw was amazing. Although unfinished in several places and more electrical still to do, it matched my vision to a tee.

This is what the closed off portion of the basement looked like before we moved in. If you remember from the last post I called the enclosed room the “weird room.” Here is what the space looks like now:

Standing a bit further back from the perspective of the picture above, you can see how different it looks. We had wondered about the use of this room ever since we first looked at the house. Shaped odd, power outlets high on the walls, and no, that’s right?no air registers really made this room something of a conundrum. After talking with the contractors, they confirmed what I had guessed, namely that the walls we just removed were put up by a previous owner to make this area a bedroom/living area. The high outlets were probable placed there because of a countertop which was removed. I bet if they had never put up the walls to begin with, they could have asked a lot more for the house. Another good lesson in long term planning when it comes to owning/selling a home.

Here is a close-up of the lights we had installed that will be above the bar. We’ll put vintage Edison bulbs in them when all is said and done.

In the last post, I asked folks to email me thoughts on their own renovations, home bars, or what I’m currently doing. My friend Sylvan from?Tasty Libations?emailed and strongly suggested we not scuttle the sink/plumbing from the plans. Has he stated;

“You won’t miss the money after a few months, but you’ll regret not having the sink every. single. time. you need to wash something. And every time you do use it, you?ll smile.”

While I don’t disagree with him, at this stage of our finances we just couldn’t make the sink and plumbing work without sacrificing something, which, quite frankly, is higher on the priority list such as the backbar cabinets and seating. But the option for adding a sink is always there in the future. Of course, we may have to find a new location for it since the countertop will be one huge slab of granite, but it’s still an option. While it does suck a bit, we also get a bit of luck on the sink front.

If you look at the photo above (sans walls) you’ll notice two columns. The one on the left supports the ductwork in that particular bulkhead. The one on the right was a bit of a mystery. Does it house anything other than support for the cross beam of the house? Most likely it was structural so we couldn’t move it, but was it hiding anything else? Maybe something like . . . plumbing?

This my friends is what we found. Apparently it is the main drainage pipe for the entire house. If you look closely at the bottom third of the pipe you’ll see a 1.5 inch pipe nubbin. (I’m pretty sure that’s a plumbing technical term.) Our contractor said that at some point there was a sink within the vicinity of this pipe and that nubbin was where the sink drain connected to the main drain. HUZZAH!!! Of course, unless we do some more investigative demolition, we don’t know where the water for the sink came from. But the point is, we have a pipe! And for future projects that could come in quite handy.

That’s it for this update. The next update should have the space completed and ready for back-bar cabinet installation and the bar itself. Cheers!

We’ve been in the house for a little over two weeks now. Moving was an experience. We were scheduled to move on a Saturday. The weather gods decided that Saturday was the perfect day to have a huge snowstorm on the East Coast. So the move was rescheduled to the Thursday?before the storm. It was hectic. The movers finished everything by Thursday afternoon and on Friday, I had four contractors out to look at the basement, take measurements and prepare quotes. We also had the cable/internet guy out and luckily got everything hooked up just before the storm hit.

Dealing with the contractors has been interesting. Most came in, measured the space, talked briefly about the project and left. Some, spent considerably more time discussing the project, providing ideas and suggestions, and generally seemed to be more interested in the job. After a week of having a couple more contractors in, we slowly started to get estimates. Some were laughably high. Some pulled out of consideration because the project was “too small” for them. ?One of these latter contractors actually said that he would be happy to do the work, even though it was too small, if I agreed to meet a minimum of $25k. Twenty. Five. Thousand. Dollars. Right, that was ridiculous. I mean who would say yes to this? It’s not like we’re having the entire basement remodeled. Crazy. A few of the estimates came in under our budget but still seemed high for the work we wanted to do.

When we met with all of the contractors we clearly detailed everything we wanted done to the space – two walls to tear down, some plumbing and a sink installed, light electrical work, and cabinet purchase/installation. After receiving a handful of quotes, we decided that the plumbing aspect was too time consuming and too costly at this particular time.?It was a very intense discussion with my wife over making this a true “wet bar.” It would be fantastic to have a fully function sink right behind the bar to wash glasses, tools, fruit, etc. and not have to cart dirty items upstairs to the kitchen. However, there is a full bathroom right around the corner from where the bar is being placed with a perfectly good sink installed. And truly, I don’t think we’ll be serving so many people at one time that taking a few dirty glasses to the dishwasher in the kitchen is a big deal.

I also went to Home Depot and met with a kitchen design person and had them draw up plans for a service bar counter and cabinets. I’m currently waiting for the finished estimate on these to see if Home Depot is a good option for this aspect of the bar. It was really exciting to see my vision put in a 3D print out containing many of the very specific details I requested. I’m looking forward to seeing the final numbers.

As promised in my last post, below are a few pictures of the basement as it looks now, before any work is done. In the next post, I hope to have some “after” shots of the basement and some more info on the service bar area.

This is looking down the basement hallway. the steps coming down from the living room are to the right and the bathroom is to the left. At the end of the hall, just before the carpet, there is a door on each side. To the right is a storage closet. To the left is the entrance to the “weird room.” This is the room we’re removing.

This is affectionately called the “weird room” due to it’s shape and unclear purpose. We think it was an office, but it could have also been a bedroom. This is the room we’re opening up to the rest of the basement. The wall directly to the left (door jam) will be removed as will the perpendicular wall to the left.

This is looking at the enclosed “weird room” from the main basement floor. The wall right in front will be removed. The door to the right is to the utility room (hot water heater, HVAC, etc.) The carpet will eventually be replaced with hardwood or the like.

This is the wood burning fireplace and sliding door to the fenced in patio.

I want to wish anyone who still reads these words we put on here a Happy and Prosperous New Year! I hope everyone has had a great holiday season.

2016! I mean, 2016!!! I think the first day of this new year is really appropriate for this post. A lot of people made resolutions last night. Their resolutions are generally things they want to accomplish in the new year or lifestyle changes they want to stick with for the next 365 days. This is not a resolution post. Rather, with the start of a new year, there are new adventures and this is a space I want to use to share these adventures. Don’t worry, they will still be booze related, and who knows, maybe more posts will be born from these adventures.

If you know me in real life or follow me on the social medias, you are already aware of the biggest change and adventure that began in 2015. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I became a father. I’m not going to give too many details here (those are elsewhere in the web) but my wife and I have a beautiful 5-month old girl, Addie. The next biggest adventure began just before the New Year, we bought a house!

But I hear you there behind your computer or smartphone saying, “So, what does that have to do with Scofflaws Den and drinking boozy goodness?” Well, the house has a finished basement and a wood burning fireplace. And with those bones, what is a Scofflaw to do but put in a working bar! To be clear, our basement will be, generally speaking, our family room where we hang out, watch TV, and relax with friends and family. The formal living room will be upstairs, but the basement will be a relaxed oasis.

My goal is to document the process of creating this oasis. Writing about the process, what I want to do with the space, what my wife lets me do with the space, and the final product will, I hope, be a fun exercise and interesting to others. If anyone has built a custom home bar, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

To begin, I want to share my (very amateurish and childlike) drawings of what I envision. In the next post, I’ll share photos of the basement space as it currently is. Without further ado, here is the beginning:

This would be to my left as I stand behind the bar.

The back bar.

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!

The next thing I want to highlight is the Cuisinart Electric Kettle.

It holds 1.7 liters (that’s almost 7.2 cups to us non-metric folks) of water and has a handy window to see exactly how much water is in the kettle.

The kettle is “cordless” which means that the base is plugged into an outlet and the kettle heats up by being placed on the base. One design that I love on this appliance, and one I wish other manufacturers would implement, is that while the cord is rather long there is a built-in cord wrap on the bottom of the base. This lets you reach far outlets if necessary or keep the kettle close to an outlet without excess cord getting in the way.

The main selling point on the kettle though is the automatic temperature settings. Each setting has the temp and general type of beverage for that temp (even french press coffee!!!) and a “Keep Warm” function.

We use this kettle almost nightly for hot tea, on weekends for french press coffee and any other time we need boiling water. And you know what, it’s perfect for hot toddies!!!

My next gift suggestion is a simple CO2 soda siphon. Now I know you can go to the market and pick up soda water. Or you can get one of those fancy soda rivers that make all sorts of fizzy drinks. But I don’t want to keep buying plastic bottles of soda water that will go flat after I only use half of it. I also don’t drink lots of fizzy drinks so a machine that spits out all different types is overkill. That’s why I like the simple soda siphon.

This is the siphon I use at home. It also happens to be a wedding gift from my cohort SeanMike. I’ll admit it’s a little fancier than most models but you can find a bunch of different types on Amazon.

Well there you go, two more suggestions from me to you. Both the electric kettle and the soda siphon are practical gifts for the cocktail fan or budding chef in your life.

The first tool is one of the handiest gadgets I have. It hangs on the wall right next to my mixing station in the kitchen so it’s within easy reach. During parties I throw it in my back pocket to use throughout the night. What is it? It is the Microplane Bartender’s Garnishing Tool.

This little gem is a zester, peel curler and bottle opener. It fits comfortably in your hand making opening bottles and garnishing those holiday martinis pretty simple. But honestly the neatest thing about this tool is the zester. During the chilly months of the year I find myself making more drinks where a quick zest of fresh nutmeg on the top puts a cocktail over the edge. Think eggnog, spiced apple cider or mulled wine. Having a nutmeg in my pocket and a zester is easy, slightly theatrical for guests and really just fun. (Never claimed I was not a huge nerd!) At $20 MSRP it is a great stocking stuffer or lost cost gift to someone who loves making drinks for friends and family all year long.

My next favorite thing is a relatively new addition to the bar. I was gifted a set of these rocks glasses by friends for working on their wedding cocktails. I originally saw them on a random “neat stuff” website, fell in love with them and immediately put them on my Amazon wish list. I can’t say these glasses “do” anything except hold my tasty beverages, but just look at them!

For those of you who don’t live in the DC area, these glasses are etched with the streets and neighborhoods of Washington, DC. The picture above is of the same glass rotated so you can see the full etching. These glasses feel substantial in your hand and have a nice heavy bottom. These glasses come from The Uncommon Green and each rocks glass runs $12.50. They also have pint glasses and carafes etched with lots of different city street maps. Check out their website to see if your city is there.

That’s it for part 1 and I’ll have a few more favorites in a couple of days. Maybe a few other Scofflaws will chime in with some of their favorite things as well!

But things I’ve done lately:

• Cigar Advisor revamped as an online magazine. You’ll see something from me in their July issue. But they’re doing tasting competitions with a great deal on the cigars involved, and I did my first round last night. It was a J Fuego Origen Original versus a Schizo 60 versus a Trocadero Honore. The Original was good, though quite a tight draw, and unlabeled which made it hard to figure out which one it was at first. I liked the Honore at first, but it had an interesting spice taste that got a bit old after a while. The Schizo 60 was just a solid cigar, and so I voted for it.
• And it looks my “raccoon traps” – bowls with rags soaked in ammonia – are working to keep the bugger away from me!
• Plum Deluxe posted an article I wrote about upgrading your bar. Read it and comment about it on Facebook should you desire!
• If you know me, you know I like beer. That being said, I am now boycotting Rogue. It started with them suing some NOLA bartenders after they dared name their book “Rogue Cocktails” and now they’re suing a local restaurant, Rogue 24. That’s Not Cool, Rogue.
• Next Friday DC Toasts salutes African-American bartenders. You should go. I will be there. It will be fun.
• Just an FYI: Looks like neither Marshall nor I will be attending Tales this year. It’s sad, but it will be good for my wallet. I will probably write more at length on the biggest reason I’ve decided against going later, but if you’ve read my coverage from previous years (especially 2011) you can probably guess the gist of it.

Well, that’s about it for now. If you’re looking for a good brunch spot, go bug our fellow scofflaw Anthony at Beuchert’s Saloon. Order many Ramos Gin Fizzes and mimosas. Try the oxtail gravy and biscuits, because I haven’t yet but they look fantastic!

But my bar is, well, rather large:

bar

So anyways, while there’s no way I can drink it ALL before I move, I’m going to work on drinking some of it. Last night I got a bottle of wine out of it. Yay.

In the DC area? Want to help? Let me know!

And I’ll keep y’all up to date about cool stuff I might actually find in it.

March 4, 2012 & March 11, 2012

Come learn how to stir, shake and muddle your way to a successful cocktail party! Each student learn the techniques of making cocktails, how to stock a basic home bar and three recipes to show off your new talents. Oh, and the professional tools you use to practice your new skills? Yeah, you get to keep those! Two dates to choose from, this class is a must for anyone wanting to throw a cocktail party!

Class: Basics of the Home Bar
Cost: $75.00 per student
Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: March 4, 2012 or March11, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Each class is limited to 8 students.

March 25, 2012

Come celebrate the season premiere of AMC’s Mad Men and learn about the cocktails imbibed within the halls of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Advertising Agency! We’ll discuss the history of each ingredient and the history of the cocktails and learn how to make each one. Students will receive recipe cards to take home so they can recreate a Mad Men style cocktail party while watching the show.

Class: Drink Like Mad Men
Cost: $50.00 per student
Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: March 25, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Class is limited to 10 students.

April 15, 2012

Class: Bitters
Cost: $50 per student
Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: April 15, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Class is limited to 10 people.

Each class is $45 per student and will be limited to 6 to 10 students depending on space.? Payment for classes will need to be made prior to class in order to reserve your spot.? Cost of consulting services will be based on your individual project and goals.? Classes will be held at Last Exit and the schedule will be announced as a post here on the Den and on the Scofflaw’s Den Facebook page.? If you are interested in setting up a class or tasting at your home, we can arrange that as well.? To sign up for a class or consulting service, please email Marshall@ScofflawsDen.com.

For more details on individual classes, new classes and consulting services, please check here.

Our Bitters class will be offered on February 12, 2012 at 5:30pm. Come learn everything you wanted to know (and probably more) about bitters! An essential class for anyone interested cocktails.? This class also makes a great early Valentine’s Day gift for that cocktail lover in your life.

Where: Last Exit, 3155 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W., Washington, DC
When: February 12, 2012 @ 5:30pm
Class is limited to 10 people, so sign up early!? Email Marshall@ScofflawsDen.com

Hope to see you on February 12!? Cheers!