A card, just for me? Thanks!

And welcome to another edition of Bars You Must Try! Today we’re going to visit the Columbia Room, and if by today you mean February 9th, which was when I went, the first day it reopened to the public since closing in the Passenger on NYE 2014, which made me so excited I made reservations for right in the middle of what was to be our last staff meeting con call, leaving me standing in Blagden Alley taking the call and freezing my butt off before going inside to see the new joint.

The Mural is pretty, especially with JP standing in front of it

But man oh man, is it nice. I walked up the stairs, through the Punch Garden (which I believe is opening tomorrow!) and met Derek in the Spirits Library, where Alex was serving up drinks. The Library is a more casual place with drinks a la carte and a chance to try some rare liquors. But I’ll come back there in a moment.

Menu for then (not for now, ‘s different now I believe)

After Derek took my coat I was escorted into the Tasting Room. If you’d visited the Columbia Room’s previous incarnation, you knew it to be quite the intimate spot, as it was quite easy to have someone accidentally touch your intimate spots you were so close together. Now, it’s a bigger room with more seats (and cool booths behind you) and much, much more comfortable. I’d gone for the five course drinks (three drinks with food is $75, all taxes and gratuity included, and the extra two drinks costs an extra $25) because of course I did. Out came the Shoot One, a delightful riff off Coca-Cola, and away we went.

I could’ve drank it all day but it was too small to drink all day

It’s amazing how quickly two hours can go when they’re spent in an atmosphere like this, with amazing drinks like these, and with people so passionate, knowledgeable, and entertaining as JP Fetherston, Derek Brown, Adriana, and their crew. Each drink was beautiful and delicious with the accompaniments pairing perfectly with them.

I WANTED TO STEAL THIS GLASS SO BAD

(Oh, and if you’re looking at the menu, I went for the Robert Frost Cocktail despite the incredible amount of venison I’ve been eating this winter because bourbon. The presentation was AWESOME on that with charcoal on the side, I should’ve taken more pictures but I didn’t because I am not good with the picture taking as you can tell by the pictures I do manage to take.)

Pick one! I dare you! PICK ONLY ONE!

As we finished up in the Tasting Room, JP told me he wanted to buy me a drink in the Spirits Library. I walked over to the bar – it was fairly packed by this point – and perused the menu while Alex (whom you may remember from Southern Efficiency) finished up the drinks he was working on. I did my best to pick just one drink which was very difficult, but I feel that I chose well.

With the E!-V-! OH OH OH! no wait only two OHs.

Why? Because I chose the Steady Cocktail, a combination of gin, dry vermouth, Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse (which is g-ddamned delicious, and no, I won’t look up how to put all those accent marks into WordPress), with a garnish of three beautiful drops of extra virgin olive oil and accompanied by complimentary olives (they told me I was very pretty that day).

Oh wait I did take a picture of the Robert Frost with food

Friends, please believe me when I tell you that it was quite the wonderful drink.

The kelp water and oyster leaf gave me my veggies for the day!

I could’ve stayed in the Spirits Library and hung out all night, sipping all of the cocktails on the list until I stumbled home. But, alas, I knew I needed additional sustenance to maintain my svelte figure, so it was time to take my leave and hopefully not get as lost leaving as I did arriving.

VEP Green chartreuse + egg yolk + meyer lemon = AWESOME

If you’d like to experience the Tasting Room, you need to make reservations via their website. The other parts are open seating. Let me know if you want me to join you!

Have you been? Comment on Twitter or Facebook!

Dan Searing is a bartender, business owner, booze rep, author, husband and father. Many people would find their effectiveness as a leader of anything with so many other responsibilities impossible, but that?s exactly what Searing has done. The sum of his years as vice-president of the D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild (D.C.B.G.)?really demonstrates the passion The Punch Bowl author continues to have for the organization.

?I think that there are few things in this world as powerful as a group of people getting together to organize around a common mission,? says Searing. ?I think that?s exciting.?

In the coming month, Searing officially hands over duties to his elected successor, Gyspie Soul mixologist Jo-Jo Valenzuela. Searing and his ranking colleague, Owen Thomson, succeeded by Bourbon Steak?s Jamie McBain, leave their leadership roles to two acclaimed District barmen.

?I think [Valenzuela] and Jamie are going to do a great job as the new leaders,? says Searing. ?They are both really committed and really intelligent and people who I?m always happy to see.?

When asked about Searing, Valenzuela reflects on his kindness and willingness to teach. Sponsorship, he says, is one of the hardest parts about organizing an event. Searing can be relied on to complete that piece of the puzzle.

?It?s just a pleasure to work for him,? says Valenzuela. ?For me, it?s just really some big shoes to fill.?

The importance of an active guild representing members of the service industry should not be understated. The mission of the D.C.B.G., according to its website, mention two important characteristics of a true craft cocktail community: education and contribution.

?To contribute to the growing national and international community of craft bartenders,? the D.C.B.G. website says. And ?to encourage the [dissemination] of knowledge and innovation in craft bartending with a focus on hospitality.?

Searing embodies those values as an admirer of history and a teller of stories our society seems to have forgotten. Once, at a guild meeting, he cited a grand tradition of parliamentary procedure in saloons and taverns to move along a vote by roll call.

?There was a time and place in history where the existence of a guild of tradespeople in a city was sort of a guarantee of a minimum level of craftsmanship,? says Searing.

This is a time of transition for the D.C.B.G. It has enjoyed little competition as it neared a decade of operation. Suddenly, the United States Bartender?s Guild, a national organization unaffiliated with the D.C.B.G., has a chapter in the city. For the past year, it has acquired over 120 members. According to the president, Taha Ismail, it is the fastest growing U.S.B.G. chapter in the region.

To make things more challenging, the guild experienced what Searing calls an organizational trough in the past few years. Still, the annual Repeal Day Ball and Rickey Month Competition, organized by the D.C.B.G., continue to be successful.

Since last January, both Searing and Thomson have sought to quicken the guild. The effort, Searing says, has focused on more activities, events and educational opportunities. With the reduction of leadership responsibilities, Searing will have more time so he plans on giving back to the organization and fulfill the educational mission.

?I think that seeing new leadership takeover will give me the opportunity to spend that time in a different way,? says Searing. ?Coming up with educational events and opportunities.?

?It?s something we?ve always wanted to have more of in the guild and I think there?s an almost unlimited opportunity for further educational activities as our community gets bigger and the bartending world gets wider,? he says. ?Not everyone has to learn things the hard way.?

Searing looks on his role as vice-president with nostalgia. The D.C.B.G. has been an organization that has brought some of the leading personalities in the restaurant and bar industry. He recalls some of the more memorable moments he experienced as second in command.

?Making punch along side Dave Wondrich at the Repeal Day Ball a few years ago was pretty gratifying because he is someone I admire so much,? says Searing when asked of his fondest memories in the role.

When I admit to Searing that I have always felt lucky I got to experience his service behind the bar at Room 11 (which he owns) before his drink-making work became isolated to conventions and events. He acknowledged the absence, having not been behind the bar very much in the last few years.

?That?s my dirty little secret. I?m one of the least bartender-y bartenders in town,? says Searing. ?That relationship between bartender and patron is one that I miss very much and that I?m working on coming up with a practical way for me to have again on a regular basis.?

?I mean there are fewer things that are more satisfying to me that making something and sharing it with someone and seeing them enjoy that creation.?

There?s almost a ministerial-quality to Searing whenever he speaks. He is authoritative but warm.

?You know one of the things that I have always loved about the hospitality business is the esprit de corps,? says Searing. ?And I think there is a very strong esprit de corps in our bartending community in D.C. Even as things have grown.?

You appreciate getting a slice of his time — but, more importantly — he seems to appreciate it more.

D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild President, Owen Thomson, holds up to the crowd a rectangular can the size of a deck of cards. A grin spills across his face. Thomson is about to reveal the next ingredient for the contest.

?Smoked sardines,? he says. The crowd collectively cringes.

That’s the kind of curveballs participants faced at last Sunday afternoon?s Negroni Throwdown at The Gibson. The winner, Chris Martino of Barrel, faced strong competition. In the end, he emerged the champion winning a bartending spot at this year?s Repeal Day Ball and all the shit-talking privileges thereto appertaining.

E.J. Apaga of Pearl Dive, Dave Lanzalone of Iron Gate and Julien Bourgon of TNT each fell to Martino despite the various obstacles thrown his way. Apaga certainly gave the crowd their ?money?s worth? (the event was free) in the Ramos Gin Fizz round when he opened a fully charged soda syphon sending streams of cream, egg whites and gin into the air.

Jack Rose bartender and Tiki Throwdown winner, Justin Hampton, judged the final products. The barman sampled each cocktail, looking pleased with some and wincing a little from others. Guild members Jamie McBain and Jo-Jo Valenzuela hosted the show. Valenzuela pulled the event together with sponsorship from Plymouth and Beefeater.

Each contestant went through a vigorous competition structured similarly to Cutthroat Kitchen. The Throwdown?s contestants used poker chips to bid on various sabotages against one another. One participant was handicapped by having no ice for his cocktail while another was denied use of his arm and a leg.

The back patio of the RAMMY nominated bar served as a serene setting for the raucous competition. Audience members filled up on bar-b-que ribs, sliders and mushroom fritters while sloshing around frozen ?Negronis and Cream? cocktails spun by Gibson general manager, Frank Jones.

When the jigger was eliminated from Bourgon?s use, he could be seen swiftly dumping spoonfuls of spirit into his mixing glass as time ticked away. Lanzalone made use of a reusable, refrigerated ice pack to chill down his drink since he was handicapped with no ice. No one was safe from the crippling obstacles thrown at them at the event.

Apaga dove right into the smoked sardines. He muddled a poor little fish into the concoction and scooped fingerfuls of oily red sauce out of the can and into his shaker. When asked what his bloody mary-like, sardine cocktail was called, Apaga smiled.

?Fish 75.?

Washington, D.C. — Bartender, Jo-Jo Valenzuela, pours the winning cocktail during the finals of the D.C. Craft Bartender’s Guild (DCBG) at Cafe Saint Ex in northwest.

“Jo-Jo! Jo-Jo! Jo-Jo!” chants the crowd. They had their champion.

City Tap House and Old Glory barman Jo-Jo Valenzuela won the D.C. Craft Bartender?s Guild?s (DCBG) Budget Booze Build-Off competition at Cafe Saint Ex Tuesday night. Valenzuela toppled opponents throughout the event on his way to the finals where he defeated Dane Nakamura of Range. City Paper?s Jessica Sidman, Washington Post?s Fritz Hahn and DCBG?s Jason Strich, declared quickly and decidedly that Valenzuela’s cocktail was the winner.

Could you make a drink with this? @cafesaintex tonight at 7pm pic.twitter.com/xqKjKQw7F0

— DC Craft Bartenders (@DCCraftBarGuild) February 25, 2014

The light-hearted contest was filled with several talented bartenders attempting to incorporate “cheap” products into the most palatable cocktails possible. The champion won a coveted bar-table spot at the 2014 Repeal Day Ball. There were plenty of oohs and ahhs during the event and certainly moments of all-out laughter.

While both finalist could barely recall the ingredients at the end of the round due to the excitement, Valenzuela managed to remember the recipe Wednesday morning. This little sipper, he calls the Mexican Slurpee, consisted of:

1 1/2 oz Absolut Cilantro
1/2 oz Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz grapefruit syrup
Shake ingredients. Double strain into a highball glass over crushed ice. Express lemon, lime and orange zest over the top and leave peels as garnish.

The base spirits were a little insane but somehow Valenzuela made it work and walked away the champ.

Guild president, Owen Thomson, revealed the secret ingredients at the start of each round. Any opinions about these brands and their quirky flavors could be heard in a low hum throughout the audience once announced. Some speculated about which bottles would end up being used.

The notorious Pinnacle products made a strong appearance. A bottle of cinnamon roll vodka and peachberry cobbler vodka could be found among the bunch. Fresh juices were used and appreciated. And eggs, interestingly enough, were popular choices for the contestants.

Anyone looking for a more serious drink could find Dan Searing mixing up punches and passing out glasses of the stuff. He jovially answered questions about the concoction, pointing it out as a variation on a recipe detailed in his book The Punch Bowl.

Washington, D.C. — Author and bar owner, Dan Searing Jr., pours punch at Cafe Saint Ex.

Washington, D.C. — Jo-Jo Valenzuela garnishes the cocktail that won him the cocktail competition.

Valenzuela always has a smile on his face but last night he was ear-to-ear. He came out from behind the bar clutching his bar tools. Nodding his head as the crowd chanted…

“Jo-Jo!”

RT @AnthonyJRivera Congrats to @jojothebarkeep for winning the @DCCraftBarGuild #cocktail competition @cafesaintex! http://t.co/S7LvB61LPS

— DLDGLG (@DLDGLG) February 26, 2014

Anthony Rivera stands guard behind the bar at Beuchert’s Saloon. Photo courtesy of Tony Richards.

Behind the Stick is a series highlighting perspectives and experiences of Scofflaws Den?s veteran barman.

I?m dying for a drink. My eyes watch warming brown whiskies, sudsy beers, bubbly sparkling wines and more pouring all around me. A picture in my head shows me leaping across the bar, knocking over glassware and garnishes, to catch a stream of booze into my mouth. And it has only been three days into my month without alcohol.

It may seem a little strange to write about sobriety on a site dedicated to good hooch in its various forms. Yet, here I am, writing about just that.

Why not one drop of alcohol and why now?

First, February is the shortest month of the year with the second fewest intoxicant-related events behind January. Second, the bar/restaurant industry demands a life so drowned in the hard stuff I feel every so often one needs a real, meaningful break – a challenge.

I have done this exercise several times before of course. The only amendment I am making this year is starting before the Superbowl. I suppose I wanted to up the ante a little. As one of my favorite journalists, Christopher Hitchens, often said, the drink is a wonderful slave but a terrible master. Life, in many ways, can be about mastering one?s weaknesses.

The tricky part for a craft bartender is performing my job as flawlessly as possible. Guests often ask me to experiment when making their next cocktail. This proposition forces me to perform with one hand tied behind my back. After all, good chefs obsessively sample their food as they go along, tasting for too much salt, too little, proper seasoning and so on.

How do I get around this predicament as a mixologist?

Luckily, I have cultivated a skill set for building drinks without absolutely having to taste them. The classics: the Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Manhattan, Martini. I have mixed so many of these drinks I could serve them in my sleep (sometimes, in fact, I have lucidly dreamt of making them).

I also rely heavily on only the most trusted co-workers? palates. You see, ultimately I am never really certain of my own taste buds to determine if an original tipple is enjoyable. Brutal honesty can actually be scarce from folks expecting a high level of craftsmanship. In the end, the true test comes when a guest has swiftly gulped down one of my concoctions.

Lastly, I often prepare a guest for an eventual flop. Food and drink is so subjective even the best bartenders fail to meet expectations. Much of the service industry is designed to provide its customers with a high quality product. If that product does not meet a guest’s expectations, most of those establishments are happy to try with another attempt free of charge (this is often called a ?spill? or a ?comp?). I am upfront about that obligation and, particularly during this challenging month, make clear one does not have to commit to the beverage before them.

As I like to remind guests cheekily, ?besides, it?s not my booze.?

Washington, D.C. — A girl stirs an old fashioned cocktail at a bar on Pennsylvania Avenue in Capitol Hill.

Behind the Stick is a new series highlighting perspectives and experiences of Scofflaws Den’s veteran barman.

“If some of our guests had a stick, I know they’d poke me with it.”

I’ve been known to say this a few times when describing what it’s like to be a craft bartender (or mixologist). I?m implying, of course, that there?s a certain sideshow aspect to the cocktail revival. You truly are a performer on a stage when creating drinks.

Many bartenders adopt a ring leader-like persona. Others, like me, wish to commit their craft to the glass – mostly sotto voce. What’s fascinating is eventually everyone feels performance pressure from (or sadly even indignation towards) wide-eyed, mesmerized spectators. I often think how professional magicians can lose fondness for their audiences after doing the same trick nightly over the years.

Don’t take this the wrong way. I enjoy serving guests. I like displaying not only the glory of the final product but also the beautiful process of building a craft cocktail. I avoid pretentiousness and I am happy to chat with customers about all the bizarre tinctures and toys we use. I even love telling guests some of my tips for making great cocktails.

Still, sometimes the abrupt demands and precocious inquiries can get a bit overwhelming for some of us, particularly when we are busy. Here?s a scenario:

A guest watches as I pour whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters into a glass and begin to stir.

?HEY, what’s that you?re making there,? the guests asks.

?It’s a Manhattan,? I reply.

This exchange alone isn?t nearly as aggravating as when it?s been asked for the billionth time or the question is coming from a serial asker. Any good bartender learns to hide his or her annoyance. You see, from their perspective, somewhere along the way customers have taken on the habit of seeing a bartender work, pointing at a drink, and asking, ?what manner of witchcraft is this??

Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of a similar impulse. (I often look back at my intrusive interactions with craft bartenders several years ago and cringe). My curiosity overwhelmed my sense of perspective.

To be fair, it?s hard for a seasoned bartender to remind him or herself what it?s like to be in a guests’ shoes. The foodservice business has also encouraged much of the extra attention. Many restaurants now find an edge by providing more than just good fare and good service or a quick gimmick. These days the industry tries to offer guests an experience.

None of this observation really brings profound insight into some of the big problems in the world. But there’s always an interesting dynamic with each interaction between barman/barwoman and guest. We in the industry very rarely get to express our thoughts on those interactions.

?Everybody knows the Martinez, right?? asks Dave Wondrich before his demonstration. Open before him is one-time Esquire Magazine drinks writer, David Laskin?s, Wine and Liquor Handbook published in 1984.

?Gin. Vermouth. Stirred. A little splash of liqueur. A very elegant drink. The beginning of the martini, et cetera,? he says.

Jeff ?Beachbum? Berry listens intently. Wondrich looks down at Laskin?s recipe very closely and begins building it.

?First, we put into the blender cracked ice…?

The seminar, Dark Ages: Mixology, 1967-1988, is one of the last for this year?s Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC) event in New Orleans. And for a week filled with deliciously sophisticated cocktails this particular discussion is a delightfully sharp turn backwards.

Wondrich, who also writes for Esquire, hammers home his point as he dumps some cura?ao into the blender.

?I?ll call that three dashes each right there… who gives a shit,? he says. This is Wondrich?s interpretation of the prevailing attitude towards cocktails around that time.

For Berry, the seminar was a slight return to the fern bar topic he?d covered with Smuggler?s Cove owner Martin Cate in 2010.

Since, according to the tiki expert, these bars were more about mingling with the opposite sex, the craft and attention to detail suffered.

?The reason why the drinks were so irrelevant was everyone was doing other drugs,? says Berry. ?Cocktails were basically what your parents drank – they were for squares.?

The seminar takes a jaunt through the worst of the worst and the best of the worst. Wondrich quotes Hunter S. Thompson?s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as well as Heywood Gould?s movie (and novel) Cocktail to show just how bad mixed drinks got.

?Right now we?re kind of having a little bit of backlash against the more precious edges of mixology but it?s worthwhile remembering that, you know, we don?t maybe want to go all the way back,? he says, ?You?re treating people poorly and there?s no excuse for that.?

Berry rifles through a series of hysterical photographs. Many provide only a glimpse of menus coming out of this era?s popular bars. Other images display the Three?s Company-style decor and fashion that filled those places.

?Vodka over gin. Vodka over whiskey. White rum over dark. Lighter over richer. Fruity over herbal. The rise of schnapps,? Wondrich says, ?Each one of those products in and of themselves are fine but when they take over the whole ecosystem you?re losing a lot of flavor, you?re losing a lot of richness, you?re losing a lot of interest in the drinks.?

The seminar culminates with a discussion of the legendary Harvey Wallbanger cocktail, which according to the speakers, was invented by a bartender named Donato ?Duke? Antone.

Harvey Wallbanger

3 parts vodka
1 part Galliano
6 parts orange juice
Add vodka and orange juice into a highball glass with ice. Float Galliano on top. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.

TOTC volunteers not only provided samples of Galliano?s most famous cocktail but also distributed swag for attendees to wear donned with the infamous drink name printed on them.

Berry and Wondrich finish off the event with a recitation of the ?The Last Barman Poet? from the lampooned?Cocktail,?posted here for your viewing pleasure:

I am the world’s last barman poet.

I see America drinking the fabulous cocktails I make.
Americans getting stinky on something I stir or shake.

The sex on the beach.
The schnapps made from peach.
The velvet hammer.
The Alabama slammer.

I make things with juice and froth.
The pink squirrel.
The three-toed sloth.

I make drinks so sweet and snazzy.
The iced tea.
The kamikaze.
The orgasm.
The death spasm.
The Singapore sling.
The ding-a-ling.

America you’re just devoted to every flavor I got.
But if you want to get loaded.
Why don’t you just order a shot?

Bar is open.

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!

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.

I’ll leave the political comments off of the blog, but I will say one thing: the next day is the election, so you can go to the Passenger, booze it up, go to work late the next day and tell your boss “I was voting”. I can’t do that, because I voted early, but if you also vote early, you’ll have the sticker to prove it!

I’m just saying.

(And a special hint: both Brown brothers are supposed to be behind the bar, along with JP Featherston and Alex Bookless, so really, get your butt in there and drink yo’ face off. IT’S FOR CHARITY!)

Second, in the spirit of giving, the Passenger hosted our five year anniversary party a couple of weeks ago. We raised a couple of hundred bucks for our charities (the Museum of the American Cocktail and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) and had an overall great time. Many thanks to our sponsors: The Passenger, Chartreuse and Edinburgh Gin, Whisked Bakery, Diep 9 genever, Catoctin Creek, and Chairman’s Reserve Rum.

Now my drink came in second to Marshall’s in voting, but since Hurricane Sandy is about to give our area a punch to the nose, it seems appropriately named and timed for me to give you my drink.

Dark Storms Travelling Slowly
2 ounces Chairman’s Reserve Rum (gold)
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/4 ounce allspice dram
2 dashes Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub
Shake ingredients together and pour into a highball glass unstrained. Top with two parts ginger beer, one part soda water. Garnish with a wheel of lime.

(Also see this news article for the origins of the acronym I used.)

Yes, it says “whiskey” here but they insist it’s “whisky”.

Third, also in the spirit of giving, thanks to Joe at Taylor Strategy I was sent a sample of George Dickel rye whisky. (No “e”! Except on the sample bottle. Oops!)

The aroma out of the bottle was nice. Kind of sweet. I poured some into a glass and tried it straight.

It’s … different than a lot of ryes I’ve had. My very first taste, I liked it at first, then the after taste I did not care for. However, my second and third tastes I liked a lot better, and got the impression it has a different over all “build” to the taste than a lot of ryes have. I haven’t played with it in a cocktail yet but I’ll probably make a Manhattan and/or a Sazerac at some point this weekend OH MY GOODNESS I FORGOT TO STOCK UP ON VERMOUTH BEFORE THE FRANKENSTORM I HOPE THERE IS STILL SOME TOMORROW AT THE STORE!

(Any rumors that I might have also done a “Gangnam Style” tasting, dancing around in my house with no pants on and listening to the song while drinking Dickel rye out of the sample bottle, may be completely and utterly true.)

So I’m off to finish preparing for Sandy’s vengeful wrath upon DC. Have a great weekend everyone! And hopefully see you November 5th!