It seems my typing muscle is gimped.

Lookit!

When you have Nothing Original to Post...

Just lift from someone else. This from Scotchblog caught my fancy today.

How about Air Ramos Fizz Shaking?

So this guy has been showing up at the bar this week with a sweet 'stache dyed bright red and fairly looney burner look. I got to talking to him last night and got the story. He is couch surfing in the neighborhood so he could compete in the US Air Guitar Championship.

Pretty Damn Cool.

Another New York/San Francisco Discussion.

Michael Bauer, the food editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, blogged today on the closing of the very well respected Rubicon. He contacted the owner, who operates mostly in New York, and a some very interesting points concerning the differences between the Coasts as far as dining goes. In my opinion, some of these translate to the cocktail world as well. Gary Regan focused a column on this awhile back (wherein I was featured...guess this whole post is just here to point that out...again,) and many of the same points were echoed.

Here are the points I agree with most as they translate to drinks:

• San Francisco is less trendy. "They seem to be more interested in the rituals of dining rather than just going out to say they've gone to the latest place," he says.
  Diners and chefs are more respectful of and knowledgeable about the ingredients here.
  I think a better way to phrase this is that in San Francisco is cooler to know about what you are consuming than to consume it in a cool place.
• People eat earlier in San Francisco; it's difficult to get people to accept a reservation after 9 p.m.
  Definitely the same with drinks. Very few bars are full at last call during the week...damn 9-to-5ers.
• "There's a very tight food community here where everyone plays their part," he says. That level of camaraderie doesn't exist in other places, he says.
  Word.

ri 1

A couple of months ago I was contacted by some market researchers who wanted my thoughts on American Whiskey. I told them I was looking for transparency as to what is actually in the bottle (what distillery, mash bill, higher proof, no chill filtering.) They in turn gave me absolutely no information at all as to what they were researching for.

John Hansel of the Malt Advocate might have just shown us. There is a lot I like about this bottle right away without having even held it yet. 46 ABV means no chill filtering, it's not overly aged, we know it was made on the Jim Beam stills, these are all things I really like. Lets see what it tastes like in a few months.

Only 3 Days Left

Spot the Barrel is almost here. I just entered again.

Look at this Beautiful Woman

From the Portland Bee:

A Solid Drink out of DC.

Camper is going to love this one.

Being a good Maryland Boy, I keep up with the news of the East via online editions of my ex-local papers. Check out this drink from Kathryn Bangs at the Tabard Inn (my favorite brunch spot in the District) I found in the Washington Post.

I did a quick ghetto version just now with Russel's Reserve and a 20 year old balsamic...kickin'.

Another Reason I love this Profression.

The excellently mustachioed Joshua Harris let me in on the latest shooter craze at his venue. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Lindsay Lohan. Well actually we will skip the recipe, it is just a Red Headed Slut with a splash of Coke.

Malt Advocate catches up to OH Group

To be fair, John Hansell has a LOT more going on than I do. But I still couldn't help but giggle to myself when I saw his recent review of High West's Rendezvous Rye. I dropped my review back in April.

And speaking of our beloved Rye, here is a cocktail we have been calling the Porkchop Express or sometimes the Porkchop Manhattan depending on how loose the guest is. While I am not a huge fan of cocktails with dinner, this one provides the steady base line that lets a grilled chop find it's voice and sing like the smokey angel it wants to be.

The Armargo Cuzco bitters are my version of the Peruvian Chuncho bitters that were used a substitute for Angostura when the Pisco Sour made it's way back south to it's ancestral home. I use my homemade Angostura recipe but with a ton more Cinnamon. You can take a more simple and speedy route by infusing a bottle of Angostura with Cinnamon for a week.

1 3/4 oz. High West Rendezvous Rye

1/2 oz. Carpano Antica

1/2 oz. Creme de Mure (Leopold's is perfect for this recipe)

5 hits Amargo Cuzco aromatic Cinnamon bitters.

Stir gently over ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. No garnish needed.