Voting with your glass

I was recently reading a press release from DISCUS talking about how several states still have an Election Day alcohol sale ban. The press release said that Kentucky, Indiana and South Carolina banned Election day alcohol sales in restaurants, bars and package stores. Utah, West Virginia, Alaska and Massachusetts don't allow alcohol sales at package stores, though Alaska and Massachusetts governments can provide exemption.

Certainly didn't seem like there were still such laws in place in some states considering all the press material I've managed to collect about places offering drinks with some sort of election theme. So let's take a look at what I have here.

Some went with red vs. blue. Hudson River Cafe in New York announced it'd be offering a Blueberry-Acai Caipirosca (muddled lime, fresh mint, Van Gogh blueberry-acai vodka) and a 12th Ave. Secret Red Sangria (a red wine sangria with calvados) for you to sip on election night as you watch everything go down live on TV.

SushiSamba also went two-toned, offering both The Obamarama and The Maverick (both $11). The Obamarama is a blueberry lemonade made by muddling lemon and blueberries with sugar then adding Pearl Bluberry Vodka, blue Curacao, and shaking all the ingredients. The drink is then topped with club soda and garnished with a lemon wheel.



The Maverick is a raspberry white tea drink, made by muddling four raspberries with sugar, then adding raspberry rum, triple sec, grenadine and unsweetened white tea. The shaken and strained drink is garnished with an orchid.

Another New York establishment, the organic and vegetarian-friendly Counter, departs from the color theme with its drinks, and instead mixologist Tonia Guffey decided to play with names (all $12). The McCain Campaign on the Rocks is a Penn 1861 vodka "in celebration of the year McCain was born." The Palin Whine Spritzer is American white wine with a splash of club soda and homemade grenadine. The Obama Mama is Papagayo white rum, Papagayo spiced rum, coconut milk, muddled blueberries. The Joe the Plummer, a plum-infused vodka with homemade lemonade.

Indebleu in Washington, D.C. has had candidates' home state-themed cocktails available since early October. The drinks will be available until Nov. 4. Note that the vice presidential cocktails cost less than the presidential ones. They include:

Arizona Hard Iced Tea ($12), a savina pepper-infused Long Island Iced Tea, is made with Hangar One Chipotle Vodka, rum, gin, and whiskey. It also includes home-made sour mix and grenadine and is garnished with dried whole red chilis.

Bleu Illinois ($12), a version of the Cosmo made with Bombay Sapphire Gin mixed with home-made sour mix and blue Curacao then garnished with an orange wheel.

Drunken Baked Alaska ($10), a martini made with Stoli Vanilla Vodka, Frangelico, and pineapple juice. A whipped cream topping is supposed to be an homage both to the state's mountains and the eponymous dessert item.

Delaware Stinger ($10), a version of the Stinger made with green Creme de Menthe blended with Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey.

DISCUS sent out a their own suggestions of electoral elixirs created by Jonathan Pogash:

The Maverick

1 oz. Bourbon
3/4 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Lemon Wedges
1/2 of a Ripe Peach
1 oz. Champagne

Directions: Muddle the peach and lemon in the simple syrup. Then add the Rye and ice and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Top off with champagne and garnish with a peach slice.

Cocktail for a Change

1 oz. Gin
1/4 oz. Biscotti Liqueur
1/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Directions: Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel.

Red State Round-Up

1 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
3/4 oz. Homemade Grenadine**
1/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Egg White
Club Soda

Directions: First, shake the egg white to emulsify. Then add remaining ingredients to cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with sparkling water and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and lemon wheel.

**to make home-made grenadine, simply take 1 cup of store-bought pomegranate juice, and 1 cup of superfine sugar, and shake until all the sugar is dissolved.

Blue State Build-Up

1 oz. Light Rum
1 tsp. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 dash Aromatic Bitters

Directions: Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 floating blueberries.

In my social circle at least, it seems like many people are planning to make an event of the evening on election day to go out and enjoy a drink and meal to watch the polls close like the would a sporting event. Whatever reason you find yourself drinking tomorrow night, at least remember to vote before doing so.

Edit: As we go into election day I'm getting more notices. It looks like Employees Only is also hosting an Election Night Radio Coverage Party from 6pm-4am. Looks like they're taking dinner reservations, so call them up.

Vegetarian food and American gin

Counter hosted an event last night for Bluecoat Gin, an American dry gin from Philadelphia.

Counter provided food paired with gin cocktails created by their pixieish bar manager Tonia Guffey. Even though I list myself as carnivore first, I personally have nothing against vegetarian cuisine and even enjoy partaking now and then. However I was intrigued with this combination of vegetarian food and cocktails since when it comes to drinking alcohol, my stomach tends to steer me towards fried chicken, tacos or burgers in its aftermath.

When I got there I was handed a Blue Rose (gin, lavender liqueur, dry vermouth and rosemary). It had a very floral scent to it. Before taking a sip my brain assumed it would be sweet because it decided to connect the smell with something like a creme de violette or violet syrup. Instead the liquid itself was clean and not sweet at all. Tonia later explained that the drink was a take on a classic martini.

I got a chance to chat with owner Deborah Gavito before they sat us down for the dinner. Keeping true to its food philosophy, Counter's beverage program also features organic spirits as well as organic and biodynamic wines that were a part of the beverage menu since the place opened six years ago. Deborah also pointed out the bottles of house-made triple sec. There are a lot of house-made drink ingredients at Counter to make sure the end product fits the goals of the restaurant in providing earth friendly cuisine and drink.

Over an appetizer of bitter green salad with zucchini, fennel, orange & pistachio with gin-citrus vinaigrette, our drink was the Spicy Cucumber Gimlet. A combination of jalapeno-infused gin, muddled cucumber and jalapeno, fresh lime juice & agave nectar. Tonia received particularly rave reviews from people dining for this drink. It was a bit of sweet and spicy, some savory from the cucumber and jalapeno, while you had both heat and cool vegetable flavors duking it out in one glass. Tonia said that she personally really enjoyed spices and wanted to create a drink with a little kick to it.

I asked Andrew Auwerda, president of Philadelphia Distilling, about what made Bluecoat Gin particularly American besides the fact that it was made here. He explained that the idea wasn't just that it was made in America, but also the gin's flavor profile takes into account the American palette, as well as what he said were more American flavors, which is predominantly citrus. Besides juniper, the gin is also has a citrus finish to it that's a combination of sweet orange, lemon peels, and some other combination top secret organic citrus peels that I wasn't supposed to know about.

The entree of braised seitan in juniper-red wine sauce with seared mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes & sauteed escarole, was paired with a Claret Philly (gin, brandy, lemongrass liqueur, juniper syrup, Malbec and a splash of lemon).

Finally, the dessert of Drunken Fruit (seasonal fruit poached in gin-infused syrup, served with lemon biscotti) was a double-dose of warm gin with its pairing of a Poached Ginger Toddy. The toddy was made with gin, red wine, pear reduction, ginger liqueur and chai syrup. Tonia said that the plating for the dessert was a moment of her and the chef being on the same page. They had a chance to taste each others creations, but both independently decided to use a white teacup.

I met Yuri Kato, publisher of Cocktail Times, and got a chance to ask her a bit about the Marie Brizard Cocktail Challenge. I had only heard of it recently thanks to Facebook updates and I was curious about how the thing was going down. The contest is technically two-pronged. On one side, the people can make their voices heard and cast votes to decide who wins the Hospitality Award (one for the East Coast, another for the West), but then there's the regional finals where winners get to go on to France for the 26th Marie Brizard International Bartending Seminar and Competition. So this thing's got a lot of layers to it, but for those of you out there in Internetland, go and vote for your favorite bartender and his/her hospitality.