An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

On February 10th, the Smithsonian Associates in conjunction with the Museum of the American Cocktail are hosting a Famous New Orleans Cocktails! seminar.

I’ll quote Phil Green after the jump:

If you are a regular reader of the Scofflaw’s Den, you probably already are familiar with Thursday Drink Night (TDN.)? For those who aren’t, here is a little primer.

Every Thursday night (officially) beginning at 7pm EST, cocktail enthusiasts, bloggers, writers, bartenders and other sundry forms of riff-raff gather at the online Mixoloseum Bar.? We usually have a particular theme and everyone throws out recipes utilizing that particular themed ingredient.? Some drinks work, others get tossed down the sink never to be thought of again.? The fun is trying new things and occasionally hitting upon an undiscovered gem.

I’ve been lucky to co-create two drinks that have turned out to be favorites.? The first was way back in December when Rick of Kaiser Penguin and I collaborated and came up with the . . .

Cilician Voyage
1oz Citadelle Reserve Gin
1oz Strega
1oz Lime Juice
.50oz Grapefruit Juice
.50oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Fee’s Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
1 dash Fee’s Grapefruit Bitters
Ginger Beer to top

Build everything except ginger beer in a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.? Give it a good stir and top with ginger beer.? Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a lime twist.? Rick likes to throw a few strands of saffron on the top to gild the lilly.

Thanks to Rick contacting the good folks at Citadelle Gin, they tried it and loved it.? In fact, they liked it enough to send Rick and I a bottle of Citadelle Reserve for our efforts.? Keep your eye on the Den for a write-up on Citadelle Reserve.? It is a fantastic gin!

This past Thursday, TDN was sponsored by Mata Hari Absinthe and we were lucky enough to have a live outpost at the Tabard Inn here in DC.? Gathered at the Tabard’s bar were Sean and I, Rick of Kaiser Penguin, Nathan, a cocktail enthusiast from Pittsburgh, PA, Sam of Brand Action Team and Owen our videographer for the evening.? You can find Sam’s post on TDN here.? Chantal Tseng, head bartender at Tabard Inn was graciously making our drinks as we wrote down the recipes that came across the computer screen.

For my drink, I gave Chantal a list of five specific ingredients and asked her to find a good ratio.? The ingredient list consisted of brandy, amaro nonino, Mata Hari Absinthe, sherry and bitters.? The drink that was invented was . . .

The Bitter Industry
1.5oz Brandy
.50oz Amaro Nonino
.50oz Amontillado Sherry
1 dash Mata Hari Absinthe
2 dashes orange bitters

Stir in a quadrangular motion with cracked ice and strain with the flick of the wrist into a chilled cocktail glass.

And what do you know, The Bitter Industry won for best cocktail of the night!? A platitude I am more than honored to share with Chantal.? If you are interested in reading the full write up of this past TDN, you can find it here on the Mixoloseum blog.? For the brave of heart, there is also a link to the full transcript of the nights festivities at the end of the write up.

Give both of these drinks a try and let me know what you think!? While you’re at it, stop by the Mixoloseum Bar and chat for a while.? And please join us Thursday nights for a great night of recipe collaboration.

Cheers!

Just got word from Phil Greene of the Museum of the American Cocktail that they are having another event in their DC cocktail seminar series.? This one is titled “Presidential and Political Cocktails” and here is the info:

All Cocktails is Local – Presidential and Political Libations in American History
Presented By: Derek Brown, Phil Greene, Nick Wineriter & Dennis Pogue
$35.00 per person pre-register
The ‘at-the-door’ fee may be higher ($40).
Museum Members receive discount.

Tuesday, January 13 2009, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Rock Creek Restaurant Mazza Gallerie
5300 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (next to movie theatre)
Washington, DC? 20016
(Friendship Heights Metro Station, Jenifer Street exit, parking available in Mazza Gallerie parking garage

How to Register: Via PayPal, go to http://www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org/events

Come join us in celebrating the inaugural in style!? Join Derek Brown and Phil Greene of the Museum of the American Cocktail, renowned bartender Nick Wineriter of Rock Creek, and Mount Vernon curator Dennis Pogue, in this 90 minute discussion of notable cocktails and libations throughout American history, beginning with George Washington’s rye distillery at Mount Vernon, and through to the present era.? Drink samples will be servied to attendees, as well as delicious appetizers.? Sample classics such as the Ward Eight, the Rickey, the Bronx Cocktail, the Daiquiri, Navy Grog, and others.

The MOTAC page for this event is here.

I’m a proud member of the Museum and, as I’ve said before, I love the fact that they are giving these seminars in DC.? This sounds like a very interesting seminar and something that fans of cocktails and politics can both get behind.

Cheers!

Okay, it’s been a week – I know.? We met up with the one and only Kaiser Penguin last Friday and headed out to the Repeal Day Ball.? Washingtonian has some coverage of it over here, and we got to run into a lot of people that we know and got to meet all kinds of new people as well, including LeNell Smothers, Tony Abou-Ganim and Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

(I tried to think up something witty to say there but alas, it was not to be.? What I will say is that I made his eggnog recipe the other day and it was damn delicious.? Of course, I also saw his coverage of Repeal Day and man, I need to learn how to pose for the camera like he’s learned so well to do…)

But enough about that.? If you missed it, you missed out, ha ha!? It was quite possibly the most fun party I’ve ever had in DC.

Back on topic.? Earlier this week I was logging in to work where my browser, be default, goes to www.msn.com for whatever reason (possible reasons: I’m too lazy to change it, it is IE after all, PopCap.com would be too obvious).? There they had a link to “95 Chic Cocktail Recipes for the Holidays”.? Me being me, I felt compelled, after viewing a few of them, to go through and comment on EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM just for you, our loyal readers.

And because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll put it after the cut.