Some Well-Meaning Banter

Some comments I had to post on Off the Presses,

Autumn and Galliano

Inspired by Morganthaler's use of Strega, I just used the last of my Galliano L'Autentico sample bottle in a wonderful Autumnal cocktail. While my program is doing it's part to chew through San Francisco's supply of the old, lower proof stuff (two bottles a week!!!!!), I still don't think we are going to get into the new supply for few months. So, in preparation of a fall drop, I give you the Autunno:

1 oz. Calvados
1 oz. Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz. Galliano L'Autentico
1/4 oz. Maraschino

Stir gently over ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with lemon zest.

It's Funny Because it's True.

Camper, will write my eulogy?

Why bother writing original posts when you have friends who blog like this.

Mean New Zester found on Liqurious

This thing is just plain vicious

Tales

It pains me to no end to find myself quoting Jimmy Buffet:

My head hurts, my feet stink, and I don't love Jesus.
It's that kind of mornin', really was that kind of night.
Tryin' to tell myself that my condition is improvin'
and if I don't die by Thursday I'll be roarin' Friday night.

I knew going into Tales that I was not going to be up to posting while there and I am sort of gratified (justified?) to see that most blogs cocktailian are noticeably thin on their Tales coverage. There was just too much going on. Rather than attempt to give a detailed recap, I am just going to freeform it. If you fit in here somewhere, thanks. If you were there with me and you don't see a reference to yourself, don't feel bad, I was just too drunk to focus.

10 Po'Boys (that's right, 10!!)
The Alibi
The Oregon Cocktail Suite
Elevator Networking
Carousel Bar Networking
Lobby Networking
Sidewalk Networking
Poolside Networking
In the Pool Networking (only a little bit gay)
Late-night Suite Networking
Morganthaler ('nuff said)
Mother's
MotAC (just lovely)
Sunrise...all 5 of them
lime juice
Meyer the Hatter
Lance Winters sitting next to Ted Breaux Sitting next to me
Gary muthergrabin Regan!
LUPEC Boston (I love you gals)
Last call at the Old Absinthe House (don't we get a T-shirt or something for making that long)
Where the hell is Dominic Venegas?

One last Blog before Tales

If you profess to care about Whisky at all, this will fascinate you.

Bruichladdich is replacing their oldest washback right now. This is big doings for a number of reasons. The one that just blows me away is this. The man in charge of the procedure is one Duncan McGillivray, Distillery Manager and one of the most gentlemanly men I have ever met. Well, it turns out that the wood he is replacing was installed by his great uncle... 105 years ago.

In a world of hi-tech column distillation and white grape-passion fruit confected vodka, stories like this border on biblical for me.

Off to Tales I Go

I doubt I will blog for the next week, but expect some fun stuff when I get back.

Here is an interesting site put up by the folk at Hendrick's Gin in the meantime.

Rick Nails it Again

I love Martini Groove.

Tales of the Cocktail

Alright. So I am completely overwhelmed by the line up this year. I have noticed many other bloggers posting their itineraries (none of which have included my panel yet....bastards) and I am quite impressed with how well thought out and organized they seem to be. I, for one, will be winging it.

Wish me luck.

PS: I promise to post a pic of each and every po'boy I eat.

Diet Sodas get you drunk

Science proves diet sodas really do suck. Todays NY Times.

The Express Train to Awesometown

Wow!

How not too smell spirits.

Friday's San Francisco Chronicle had a piece on the latest release of Rye from Anchor Distilling. The above pic of me seemingly killing my olfactory nerves accompanied. I would just like to point out that someone had put ice in all the samples and I had pulled my cube and was trying to warm up the whiskey so I could actually smell something. It was way under 90 proof by the time I stuck my nose in it.

As for the whiskey, Jackie and I both were simply dumbfounded by how tropical the nose was. Pineapples all over the place. On the palate, it is much more mature and restrained than the previous releases. A definite must buy if you can find it.

What's in a name

If you ask a room full of bartenders what the hardest part of making up new drinks is and you will almost always get the same answer...The Name. This is mostly because we want people to actually drink our creations and generally speaking, the name printed on the menu is the best way to get the consumers attention. Yet we also don't want to to come of as too silly. I often quote Simon Diford and suggest using racing forms and stealing horse names.

Well here is a non-boose-related site that turns up some interesting names.

Weird

My good buddy Phil Mauro found this video.

Go VA

Check it!

Nice!

From NPR today.

I need to brush up on my Japanese.

here

Future of Cocktails

This article is why I am worried about the future of the craft.

Good Advice, Well-Traveled

Fair warning: I feel a long-winded post coming on.



I just read a page of advice for aspiring Sommeliers that I found very energizing. It came to my screen in a kind of a cool way too.



Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Chicago's Ms. Jane Lopez of Lush and The Violette Hour (just started there) at my bar. She was the best kind of guest, curious and completely open to new drinks. As I am planning a trip out her way this Fall, we traded emails which led to trading blogs. Today she posted a note given to her by my friend Christie Dufault, Somm. at Quince here in San Francisco.



I giggled to myself as I read it. Jane and her friend (sorry, I cannot remember your name, but thanks for all the Tea!) had just come from Quince when I met them so I kind of felt like I was a part of meeting in a tenuous way. As you can see, the advice is straight forward and general so I kind of whipped through the first time and went on with my morning emailing. I couldn't get it out my head though so I went back to it.



With just a little translation, these simple 5 points are the absolute best advice for aspiring bartenders I could ever hope to give.



Below is a copy of the note wherein I have swapped the words Bartender for Sommelier and Cocktails or Spirits for Wine (except at the very end where I feel it did not quite fit).

Jane ended her post by saying. 'Thanks, Christie.' I will do the same.



Not Necessarily Invited (but well-meaning) Advice for Aspiring Bartenders

1. Be certain you love SERVICE.
Being a sommelier is above all about service- and not just serving cocktails. A bartender must be able to perform every job in the front of the house and jump into all aspects of service when the team needs it. Remember, being a bartender means working in the restaurant/hospitality industry. It does not mean working solely in the cocktail industry.

2. Study Study Study. Taste Taste Taste.
Be sure that you have the desire to train your palate and to learn to be a fastidious taster.
Tasting spirits analytically is not always fun at 9 o’clock in the morning. Tasting wine professionally is obviously not the same as drinking wine. In addition, be prepared to taste and to study spirits laws & regions of spirits that you may not even like.

3. Be an Assistant Bartender.
You could be on the fast track to a great bartending career if you assist an accomplished bar director. Be a sponge- learn everything you can about wines, service, purchasing, public relations and more. Work your butt off for your boss. Always make her look good.

4a. Get serious about food.
Eat. A lot. Know food. Cook-when you have time. Love food as much, no- more, than you love wine. Converse with chefs & cooks. Go to the farmers market. Smell everything. Taste everything you can. Try as many different foods as possible: be open-minded. Think about which Cocktails or Spirits would pair well with the foods you are tasting/cooking/receiving. This will teach you MORE about Cocktails than you could ever imagine. I promise.

4b. Dine out a whole lot.
Spend your rent money at restaurants you really cannot afford. (Okay- don’t do that regularly, but once a year is acceptable.) Rather, dine out a lot, even at restaurants you can afford. Observe service. Study the menu. Study the wine list.
Ask questions. Recognize what you appreciate in service and food & wine pairing.

5. Be a cocktail ambassador to everyone.
Never be a cocktail snob- but you knew that. Rather, be a cocktail ambassador. Encourage people to try new spirits, to make discoveries. Always remember that wine in moderation is healthful, so embody that. A glass of wine at lunch? Naturally. The world might just be a more peaceful place if people drank more wine and drank more wine together.