'Old Shanghai on the Bowery' at Madam Geneva and talking ice with Mr. Ueno

Round 2! Tuesday night was "Old Shanghai on the Bowery" at Madam Geneva, the second event in the three-day line up for the New York City Cocktail All-Stars tour.



The cool surprise of the evening was Mr. Ueno showing off some of his ice carving. I cornered him after his time behind the bar to ask him a quick couple of questions (unfortunately, leaving Kenta Goto standing by holding a heavy bucket of ice and things. Sorry about that, Kenta...)

"Ice balls are popular in Japan, but ice companies started making them after they became popular," Mr. Ueno said, but nonetheless as a bit of eye candy, it's still a draw because, "It is something you can't create in your own home."

However, he added, "The main eye candy in a drink is the liquid."

Kenta chimed in, that the carved ice are part of the package of providing an experience for the guest. "People come into his bar looking for this experience."

I couldn't help but notice that Mr. Ueno wielded a small knife when carving the ice from it's base square shape. I asked him about this, since most people (OK, me) are probably more familiar with the ice pick.

"I haven't carved with an ice pick recently...maybe not for the last 10 years," Mr. Ueno answered.

While he still trains young bartenders to start off with an ice pick, he stopped using an ice pick himself because the results can sometimes be a bumpy surface.

As for the knife he uses, it's a folded iron knife, "the same material as a Japanese sword, so it's really sharp, but it also rusts really easily."

This means proper care, and making sure to wipe water off of the knife immediately after use.

Believe it or not, Mr. Ueno made this tool himself. It started off as "15 cm fruit knife," but through eight years of sharpening, he brought it down to its current 4-5 cm length.

Kenta explained that the ice Mr. Ueno uses is frozen about 2-3 days. At least three days being the optimal length of time. In Japan, ice is bought from a vendor who brings in blocks of the stuff.

"After three days there are no bubbles...the ice is harder and clearer and that is the ice he uses," Kenta said.

As Mr. Ueno explained, the ice is so clear that when in the glass, you should be able to see through to the bottom of the glass and read the logo of the bar on the napkin.



Mr. Ueno also shined light onto a diamond shaped ice he carved (it was shaped kind of like an old single cut, or the candy gem in a ringpop). This, he explained is also part of presentation.



"Like how a diamond is cut, the edges have a reflection," Mr. Ueno said, and explaining that with bars usually being dark, it's hard to see how beautiful the ice can be. So he helps demonstrate using a laser pointer or pen light.

A line up of 9 bartenders took turns serving their concoctions to a packed house.

COCKTAIL MENU
JIM MEEHAN
Parkside Fizz: Buddha's Hand vodka, lemon, orgeat syrup, club soda, mint

EBEN FREEMAN
Indochine: Aged rum, Domaine de Canton, pineapple, pastis, lemon bitters

NIKOLAJ BRONDSTED
Gin & Leaf: Vodka, sake, kaffir lime, yuzu, ginger, soda

MISTY KALKOFEN
Delhi Daisy: Tequila, elderflower, lemon, curry simple syrup, aromatic bitters

ALEX DAY
Tunnel Vision: Cachaca, sherry, lime, creme de peche, Angostura bitters

RYAN MAGARIAN
Pepper Smash: Gin, red bell pepper, lemon, mint, honey

HIDETSUGU UENO
Full Bloom: Scotch, cherry blossom liqueur, anisette

MARSHALL ALTIER
Trans Continental Clipper: Five spice Pisco, lemon, house made grenadine, Absinthe rinse

JACKIE PATTERSON
Buckshot: Bourbon, dry vermouth, orchard apricot, orange bitters

The theme of the evening seemed to be "BIG BOLD FLAVAH." Misty's drink had sweet and tangy amped up to an 11. The curry simple syrup added a little something without making the drink taste exactly like curry. Marshall's drink, on the other hand, didn't shy away from its spice base. It totally punches you in the face. The menu said "five spice pisco" but at the time I was getting more of a garam masala feel. I couldn't help but puzzle over this a bit. I finally figured out that when I read the "five spice" I instantly thought of Chinese five spice, but I was totally forgetting about panch phoron. How dumb of me. I need to ask Marshall this the next time I see him or over Facebook or something (or, I don't know, leave a comment. Hint, hint).








Did everyone agree to a dress code beforehand? All the folks scheduled to be behind the bar came in dressed pretty snazzily.

Epilogue: When I left Madam Geneva's I left with the fire of mezcal burning in my belly. Just as I was about to leave I was pulled into doing a shot of mezcal with Misty Kalkofnen, Alex Day and John Deragon.

This made me think. You know, I've been recently playing Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner on the PS2 (I sometimes like to kick it old school like that), and I'd forgotten how flippin' hard that game was. I couldn't walk even two or three steps before finding myself in a battle.

Wait, wait. I had a point in mentioning this...it waaaassss...oh! OK, so, yea, as I was walking away from Madam Geneva with mezcal heating me all up in my midsection like a boiler, I realized that bar events are like playing a RPG. The more you walk around without a glass in your hand, the more you're just asking to trigger a battle sequence, a.k.a., having a drink put in your hand.

I mean, the way that mezcal encounter went down it would've gone something like this:

Little icon of me wandering around a map, all of the sudden!

[Sonya encounters a band from the Order of Booze]

Oh, noooooo! I totally don't have the experience points to get through this AND I'm outnumbered.

[Dram of mezcal thrown!..-10 HP!...+10 STR! +10 MP!]

Because if anything, mezcal would probably boost your magic points/mana and overall strength, but with the unfortunate side effect of taking some health points/stamina, amirite?

I littered glasses all over the bar all evening since I couldn't juggle a drink and a camera. I'd put down a glass, only to have another one thrust in my hand just a couple of minutes later.

I have to admit, it's kind of freakin' awesome.

Blue Blazer Mix-Off at Pegu Club

(videos near the end of this post)

Oct. 27

"...90 percent of the reason I'm here is because I want to see fire," I said to Alex Day as I nursed a Whiskey Smash.

The setting? Pegu Club. Six contenders were set to duel in their mastery of the most basic of elements required for human life. Fire and alcohol.

To kick off Slow Food NYC's first annual "Slow Drink Week," Audrey Saunders was hosting the launch reception at Pegu. Slow Foods NYC announced last week that several restaurants and bars in the city would be participating this week with their own menu of "slow" cocktails.

Pegu was serving its own list of slow cocktails that evening with a list of hors d’oeuvres.

(Part of the proceeds from Slow Drink Week, as well as the ticket sale for the opening reception, will go to benefit Slow Food NYC's Harvest Time Program, including Good Food Education, a Youth Farmstand, and Edible Schoolyards at schools in East Harlem and Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

For a list of participating locations and dates provided by Slow Food NYC, click here.)

Earlier in the evening I greeted Eben Freeman, Alex Day and Joaquin Simo at the door of Pegu as we got ready to enter. I was asked how my cocktail education with Eben was going. I answered that it wasn't going too bad, but practicing with the shaker wasn't going too well because, "it sounds like nothing."

"It's all right as long as it sounds like a good nothing," Eben said with a smile.

Wait, was he just messing with me or did he just drop some kind of Yoda-like aphorism that I needed to get to be the best cocktail shaker EVER? I decided to go with the former to make it easier for everyone involved.

Upstairs the crowd was pretty big, but it wasn't too packed, which was nice. Pinballing around I found myself bumping into folks like John Deragon, Phil Ward, Jim Kearns, Don Lee and Naren Young. I spotted Dale DeGroff in his snazzy red jacket and Dave Wondrich's top hat teetered around in the crowd.

Now that I was feeling better, I figured I could slowly wade back into drinking, but was still mildly worried about my body taking terrible offense to that. I sipped at a French Pearl that went unclaimed. Just then Gary Regan walked by me and cryptically warned, "You behave yourself now."

Though I knew he said that independently of what I was debating in my head, I couldn't help but reluctantly put down the half-empty glass.

After a few words from Audrey Saunders and the drawing of straws, the Blue Blazer Mix-Off started with Dave Wondrich and Jim Meehan. They went for a historical and patriotic theme with their presentation of Jerry Thomas' Spread Eagle Punch. The liquid was Blue Blazerfied then poured into glasses with a gelatin (I didn't catch what was in it, if anybody could let me know what was in the gelatin, that'd be awesome).

The second group to go was Gary Regan and Phil Ward. The two warned that they had not practiced their Blue Blazer beforehand, but had a "special ingredient" on hand that they said was a tip of the hat to Eben Freeman. After a couple of false starts, Phil fortified the mixture a bit more and Eben jumped in to offer the service of a blow torch.



The third team was Dale DeGroff and Kenta Goto. With a recipe concocted by Kenta with the help of Audrey, Dale showed off his liquid fire taming skills as Kenta added some (literal) flare to the presentation by tossing cinnamon powder into the line of fire to create sparks. Instantly, the place was filled with the scent of what seemed like apple pie. The drink was then poured into cored apple halves.

Though these were the three teams announced to compete, Audrey announced yet another surprise team that would be participating.



Johnny Iuzzini and Dave Arnold tried their hand at competing with a more of a "scientific" approach. Dave utilized a kinda sorta technically illegal ingredient of a 120 proof tea-infused vodka of sorts for a Blue Blazer twist on a tea and lemonade drink. Then using a hypodermic needle, the liquid was shot from across the bar into a caraffe/pitcher held by Johnny Iuzzini. His forearm caught on fire. And while it was insanely cool to watch, it did smell like burnt hair at the bar.

But before I go on, I'd like to apologize for my unsteady camera hand and lack of lighting. I'm still not used to capturing video and it was dark in that bar to better capture the flames. Kind of lame excuses, but what can you do. Hey, I'm the one providing a service here with a video for those who couldn't attend. Also, this is a hardy drinking group. There might be some blue language. Maybe not R, but perhaps a PG level. If salty language is not your thing...I really don't know what to tell you.



I didn't stick around to see who ultimately won, because in my mind everyone's a winner...or something like that. Instead I headed over to Death and Company to bug Alex Day (he had to leave in the middle of the Blue Blazer Mix-Off to start his shift) and Thomas Waugh for a bit. I tried to get a head start on trying some new drinks for when the menu update rolls around. Out of the couple I tried, Thomas' Strange Brew won me over. With gin, pineapple juice, lemon juice and falernum it didn't seem like the usual drink I'd go for unless I was in the mood for something light. However, Thomas topped it with a bit of Hop Devil IPA that gave it a hoppy kick. I have to say, the guys at Death and Co. have been doing a pretty decent job of helping me get over my fear of sweet drinks.

Allen & Delancey's new cocktail menu

I met up with Alex Day at Allen & Delancey to talk about the new cocktail menu he created. I got a taste of it at Death & Co. a little while ago, then had a more blurry hectic try of the menu at the Star Chefs After After party.

On the day I visited, newly recruited Maxwell Britten of Brooklyn's Jack the Horse Tavern was busy behind the bar. Alex was there to train Maxwell since he'd only signed on to consult with revamping the restaurant's bar program. The menu's official debut was at the Star Chef's party, so it was still brand new. He had just finished the last drink on the menu, the Atlantic Ruin variations, a week and a half before the debut.

Alex explained that cocktails sometimes get categorized with terms that don't exist in the true culinary world. He wanted to reflect that with his menu as well as get away from the what he described as the "ego issue" that sometimes comes with giving cocktails clever names well as making a more well-rounded cocktail menu that was accessible and not intimidating for the customers.

"It's drinking. It's about more than making a name for yourself." Alex said.

For the new Allen & Delancey cocktail menu, Alex lists five different categories of drinks, each with two variations that are connected by a theme.

"Sometimes you're in the mood for something boozy or sometimes you're in the mood for something refreshing," Alex said about the dual-nature of each drink category.

As the preamble to his menu states: "Instead of simply providing a catalog of drinks, our cocktail menu is a little different...No. 1 is light and festive, with citrus and fruit meant to refresh the mind and whet the appetite, while No. 2 showcase base spirit, a stirred cocktail best enjoyed with thought, time and good conversation."

He explained, "The first four are connected by base...also with modifiers such as spice or rinse."

For example, the William and Mary variations both contain gin, but overall connecting theme of the drinks, so to speak, is listed as "Juniper, spice and alchemy."

Variation one contains gin, lime, yellow Chartreuse, Maraschino liqueur, rose and lavender bitters, while the second is gin, vermouth bianco, green Chartreuse and a dash of cinnamon bark tincture.

Before the revamp, the previous menu was "pretty basic," but Alex said he worked out the numbers to show the exact cost of how using a variety of ingredients doesn't have to mean very expensive ingredients and cocktails without much return. Even with pricier modifiers, the menu balances itself out.

"Some drinks are more expensive, but it's paid for by other ones and the menu," Alex said. "And the menu has a lot of different things."

"I wanted to do something different. I don't want to give them a list and a Kold-Draft machine and end it there."

According to Alex, his intentions with this "first experiment" of a format was to make it easier for the customers as well as for any bartender who would be working with this menu in the future.

While for a cocktail enthusiast it'd be easy to point out exactly what they wanted or what they are looking for, for those who are not well-versed in cocktail geekery the menu gives them a basic structure of flavor and components that makes it easier for them figure out what they enjoy. From there, they have a better way of conveying what they want to their bartender.

At the same time, the revamped menu along with changes in the bar works as a jumping off point for any bartender who will work with the menu and the restaurant. However, you could see his fingerprints here and there, from housemade tinctures and bitters to the use of maple syrup.

Alex said he luckily got a lot of freedom in doing what he wanted to do, but he still worked with what was already in the bar. He filled in the shelves behind the bar with more bottles. Glasses line the wall and tools such as jiggers and shakers are front and center where the guests can see the bartender working on their drinks. The changes are both aesthetic and practical.

The menu itself is using a wide variety of spirits and ingredients, but fuller stocked shelves appeals to the eye with the different bottles with different contents and labels. Alex added that the stacked glasses are all used for the drinks, but they also add to the atmosphere. The guests have something interesting to look at while hinting to the fact that this is a professional bar and what htye can expect, whether it's by seeing what spirits are on-hand or that juices are fresh-squeezed from the juicer in the center of the bar.

How's the response so far?

"Pretty good," Alex answered.

The important thing was, "Overall, people are more enthusiastic about cocktails here."

Allen & Delancey's new menu:
WILLIAM AND MARY
~Juniper, Spice and Alchemy~

1 Gin, lime, yellow Chartreuse, Maraschino, rose and lavender bitters

2 Gin, vermouth bianco, green Chartreuse, dash cinnamon bark tincture

ATLANTIC RUIN
~Cain, Molasses and Heritage~

1 Tea infused white rum, Batavia Arrack, lemon, maple

2 Aged rum, Batavia Arrack, demerara, Angostura bitters, roast coco bean tincture, orange twist

TINKER'S STAND
~Grain, Oak and Revolution~

1 Bourbon, Amaro, lemon, honeyed ginger syrup

2 Rye, Amaro, sherry, elderflower, Benedictine, aromatic bitters

JALISCO TRAIL
~Agave, Pacific Winds and the Jimadors~

1 Blanco tequila, acacia honey, lime, Angostura bitters, rinse of Luxardo bitter

2 Reposado tequila, antica, green Chartreuse, orange bitters, rinse of Campari, orange twist

L'HEURE VERTE
~Wormwood and Company~

1 Old Tom Gin, lemon, egg white, absinthe, bitter orange foam, seltzer	2 Reposado tequila, Isly whisky, agave nectar, absinthe, Peychaud's and Angostura bitters, discarded lemon twist

The stuff of myth and legends

"Did you hear about Don and the contest?" John Paul Deragon asked me last night at Allen & Delancey, where the Star Chefs After After Party was taking place. I was only going to stay for an hour or so, but the whole thing quickly turned into one giant catalog of who's who. It was so jam packed that I honestly could not leave even if I wanted to. There were bartenders from the city such as Sasha Petraske, Audrey Saunders, Sammy Ross, Mickey McIlroy, Marshall Altier, Joaquin Simo, Junior Merino, Kenta Goto, Toby Maloney and many other who I can't remember right now thanks to alcohol, but I also spotted some chefs in the crowd. Wylie Dufresne made an appearance as did Paul Liebrandt, Sam Mason and Johnny Iuzzini. As I overheard Eben Freeman quip later in the evening, "We just need to bring back Jerry Thomas and everyone is here."

"Are you talking about how Don shaved his head for the beard off?" I asked John in answer to his question. I have to admit, I was distracted by all the facial hair in the place. I practically squealed like a little girl when I saw John had a full-on beard. Alex Day's beard was a thick ginger carpet that probably was contributing to the sweat he was working up as he valiantly kept up with drink orders off of his new menu for the throng that choked the tight bar area. Though Matty Gee said he wasn't participating in the beard-off, when he showed up with his shock of fluffy beard and a pair of glasses perched on his nose I did a visible double-take as I covered my mouth in shock and asked squeakily, "Matty???"

"No, the Averna competition. He broke his wrist three hours before his flight to Italy, so he was rushed to the emergency room and missed his flight," John explained.

"Oh, no way! That sucks!"

But the story doesn't end there. According to John, Don then grabbed the next flight he could, flew almost 12 hours to Sicily. COMPETED. Then went on to win for several categories, including one for...wait for it...speed.

"Damn!" I said. "Getting your ass kicked by a...a..."

"A one-armed bartender?" John helpfully interjected.

"That's insane, man."

OK, this is how folk heroes are born. I can easily see the Elder Edda first taking shape under similar circumstances. The first premise of epic poem coming to light over the exploits of a contemporary over some drinks (uh, mead instead of cocktails I suppose). Heroes and giants easily borrowed from the pantheon of greats still alive during their time.

This Don Lee urban legend needs to snowball so that decades from now our grandchildren will be in bars sipping on drinks made by robot bartenders and one will say, "I don't know man, I heard back in my grandparents' days there was this one-handed bartender. No one knows how he lost the hand, but they said he later replaced it with a mechanical one that was a manual juicer. He was bald, and could out shake any bartender in town with just one hand."

A kinda, sorta Beard Off update

Or more like, a tale of how work continues to slowly seep into my personal life and I better watch how I behave or dress while out and about because I am no longer safe in New York. Oh, and it's also a sorely needed update on this blog that I've been neglecting:

Ran into mixologist and Plymouth Gin brand ambassador Simon Ford at the movies a weekend or two ago. No, I really mean I just bumped into him. It wasn't prearranged at all. One moment I'm settling into my seat getting ready to watch "The Dark Knight" because I was at Tales the weekend it came out and by the time I was in New York again everyone I knew and their moms had already watched it (in some cases twice), the next I'm saying hi to Simon Ford sitting in the seat next to mine.

Things of this nature are beginning to happen with alarming frequency now. I was waiting outside Mercury Lounge on Sunday to get into the Tokyo Police Club "secret show" and wound up bumping into superstar pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini and his very nice and very beautiful girlfriend. No, like, seriously, it's bananas how amazing she looks. She's willowy with glowing, sunkissed skin and dark hair and always looks like she's wearing little to no makeup with just this amazing bone structure and seems so chill and is all kinds of nice and gorgeous...aaaaannnnnd, great, I just outed myself as totally having a girlcrush on Johnny Iuzzini's girlfriend.

Anyhow, back to Simon Ford, when I saw him his beard was coming in in a pretty serious manner. He informed me that Allen Katz was already reaching epic bearddom early on in the game.

So yea, these people are NOT playing. Mr. Bret Thorn was telling me about how he visited Death and Co. last night, and reported on the continued plucky fierceness of Alex Day's beard.

Go, go, go, gentleman! Continue on with your quest towards hirsute glory!

Why saying "I'm just here for just one drink," guarantees you won't leave after just one

August 24

After finishing my drink at White Star I started walking up Essex. The weather was nice out and I wasn't really keen on trying to hop on an N or W train below Houston, so I figured a walk was in order. As Essex melted into Ave. A, I checked the time and saw that it was just turning into 11 pm. When I looked up from my phone I saw that I was now nearing 6th St. I paused for a quick second, looked back at my phone, shrugged and hung a left.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me," I thought as I pulled the door to Death and Company open. I only wanted one drink and the place was closing in an hour but it was still bursting at the seams. It's Sunday people. Don't any of you have jobs to get to in the morning?? Oh wait, that's why you are probably all here. Carry on then.

I got steered to the back bar to wait for a seat to open up. I waved hi to Damon Dyer who I hadn't seen since the reception party at Tales and had me mildly worried that New Orleans had devoured him whole.

As I sat down Alex Day came from behind the bar and jutted out his chin to show his week's progress for the Papa Doble Beard Off (thanks to everyone who commented and emailed with more info on this). I was impressed. And I say impressed, because if you have seen Alex in person you don't really think facial hair.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" he asked later. "Is it disturbing that I have a beard?"

"No, noooo...well, I mean, I wouldn't say disturbing...just, you know, it's more, like, 'Hey, wow, he, like, grows beards too,' kind of thing," I offered.

"That's from a week of growing a beard," Damon said. Then pointing to his own chin he said, "This is from just a day of not shaving."

Damon's not taking part in the beard off, but he wasn't going to let an opportunity of trash talking go to waste.

Up until that point in time, I was still pretty certain I was only there for a drink. A drink. So I settled in with my Faithful Scotsman and went over my notes from the past week to begin laying out the Chicago blog entries.

Alex held out a jar to me. I looked at the bottle then at him, puzzled. "What is it?"

"Just straw taste it. Don't worry, it's not booze," he said.

I pulled out the straw sticking out of the top and gave a taste. It was a bit of ginger and acacia honey syrup that he had made for a drink he was working on for Allen & Delancey.

I wanted to try whatever that was in(drink two, if we're keeping count).

Alex whipped it up for me, using the syrup, Amaro, lemon juice and bourbon.

I took a sip. Alex asked me what I thought. I said "it's like fireworks," and that I'd explain later in this space, so here goes.

The best analogy I have for it is that it was sort of like fireworks. Specifically the kind that goes "boom!" then snap, crackles and pops sparkling trails. The boom part was coming from the lemon and the sweet and the bourbon, but then as I swallowed the ginger and honey was the snap, crackle and pop that fizzled.

Soon it was last call. Alex asked if I wanted anything before they stopped taking orders. Really if you put it that way I'd be rude to refuse. I said I'd have whatever he thought I should have and he mixed up another drink he was working on made with rye with Averna, amontillado sherry and a little bit of Benedictine and St. Germain elderflower liqueur. Now if we are to stick with the fireworks analogy, this one was more like that variety of fireworks where they sort of fluffily disintegrate into a "PFOOM, fssssh." More than having a flavor, when it hit my tongue it instantly was all scents (that's now three).

So, basically, I went from saying I was just stopping by to have a single drink to having three in about an hour. I thought walking in close to closing would spare me, but apparently not. One of these days I'm going to have just one. I won't give into peer pressure. It's going to happen.

New menu at Death & Company

June 29
After four months of gestation, the staff over at Death and Co. debuted their new baby on Friday.

Seventy-four drinks. 74. More like 64 brand spankin' new ones if you don't count some drinks that are from the old menu (like the Oaxacan Old Fashioned). I saw that Joaquin Simo's Carroll Gardens (rye whiskey, Amaro, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur) was one of the newcomers, though I wasn't unfamiliar with it. I had given it a try back when Charles Vexenat was in town.

So where to even begin? Damon Dyer and Alex Day both had looks in their eyes that practically glinted with the excitement at the prospect of showing off the new drinks as I kept flipping back and forth through the menu.

The first thing you notice about the new menu is that it's a whole lot less unwieldy compared to the long and narrow predecessor. More like a neat little square photo album, the menu doesn't take up too much space on the bar. The pages are easy to remove and replace so menu updates are no longer cumbersome.

"Muddled Mission," I finally stated, picking a drink from the gin category (gin, elderflower liqueur, muddled strawberry, yellow chartreuse, fresh lemon juice).

"Come on, that's like the first thing on the menu," Alex protested.

"I know, I know! I'm just trying to get a start here," I answered defensively.

The drinks are organized into neat sections organized by drink type or spirit type.

"Did you notice the images?" Alex asked.

"I saw them, yes...why, is there something else going on? There's not a test in the back is there?"

Not really, but kind of. More on that later.

The art accompanying the menu do more than just look pretty, they help guide customers through what they might want to drink. Once you decide what spirit you want, if you need anymore help, the drawings indicate which drinks are stirred and which are shaken.

So to make a long story short the menu is there to help customers navigate the menu and determine what kind of drink one might like to enjoy.

Coming back to the test aspect. If anything, I suppose I'm young enough that the new menu layout uncomfortably reminded me of the verbal section on the SATs. If you want to relive the nail-biting days of yore, just flip to the back and there's a multiple choice section...except, surprise! It's about booze. It was like one of those dreams you had when you were in school where it starts out all freaky. Like, you have a final you didn't study for, but then a wave of relief washes over you because you realize the final is something you could totally ace because it's an opinion essay asking you to defend your choice of favorite pizza topping or something.

The last page is not really a test so much as it was a Choose Your Own Adventure drink page. Different drinks were listed with a list of a final spirit element you could choose.

I also tried a Spicy Paloma (jalapeño-infused tequila, fresh grapefruit and lime juice and salted rim), a lips and throat-tingling version of a Paloma. A Paloma usually registers as refreshing with a bright bite to it and a little I don't know what savory side from the bit of salt, but the jalapeño seemed to pull it down into the savory region even more. It's not something you'd want to pound back.

I couldn't stay for more drinks because I got wind of the new menu just a couple of hours prior and had already made plans to be in Queens so I had to end with a third. The Doc Daneeka Royale (Champagne, gin, maple syrup, fresh lemon juice and grapefruit twist).

As I was leaving I told Damon, "You guys can't sneak up a new menu on me like this."

"I'm the one who has to memorize 74 new drinks," he answered.

I asked him how he even went about beginning to do that. "Do you just go through making each drink on the list or something?"

Damon answered that he makes flashcards with the drink names on one side and recipes on the other.

I was less distressed this time and more amused at yet another reminder of my SAT studying days.

The 3rd Annual Clement Cocktail Challenge

April 29

PDT swept up prizes when Don Lee and Daniel Eun placed second and first place, respectively, for the Rhum Clement cocktail challenge. Daniel made a drink called Bitches Brew, using Clement Premiere Canne, fresh lime juice, Pampero Anniversario, St. Elizabeth All-Spice Dram, demerara syrup and an egg. Don's Sargasso is made with Clement V.S.O.P., Lustau East India Sherry, Aperol, dash of angostura bitters and garnished with an orange twist. Lydia Reissmuller of Elettaria got third place with her Sweetie Pie, a drink made with Clement V.S.O.P., St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, fresh pressed apple juice, angostura bitters, a pinch of salt and garnished with salt-tipped apple slice.

Daniel wasn't there to accept his prize, an all expense paid trip to Martinique, because he had to go back to work. "He's not here?" Jim Meehan asked almost incredulous as he made his way up to receive the prize on Daniel's behalf.

"Yea, he went back to work," Don answered.

"What? I can't believe he's not here." Jim said.

"Wait, aren't you his boss?" someone asked Jim as the room broke out laughing.

And those were just three drinks out of all the drinks mixed by 18 (some submitted two recipes, while others just one) mixologists/bartenders for the evening. The Astor Center was packed to the gills with bartender that I knew and new ones for me to meet.

I drafted my friend Marc Almendarez to come take photos for me. We've done the "Wonder Twin Powers, activate!" thing before for concerts (Marc: "In the form of a pretty decent photographer!" Me: "In the form of a wannabe concert writer who goes to shows and writes about them for fun every now and then, but hasn't had anything professionally published in that realm!"), so I knew I could trust him to snap some nice photos so I could concentrate on the note taking and writing. It also doesn't hurt that he takes way better pictures than I do, has a nicer camera than I do, and is willing to work for food and drink. Actually, now that I look a bit more closely at the pictures, some of them look like...

...Clement Cocktail Challenge edition baseball cards!! Collect them all!

Alex Day, Death and Co.


Joaquin Simo, Death and Co.


Tarcisio Costa, Alfama


Besides the bartenders participating in the challenging, the judges of the competition included Jim Meehan, Julie Reiner, Tony Abou-Ganim, Jerry Banks and last year's winner, Tad Carducci. There were plenty of familiar faces weaving in and out of the crowd as well.

I spotted Willy Shine and said hi to Aisha Sharpe and Leo DeGroff. At first I thought they were all in attendance, but then Leo told me that the Bar Alcohol Resource was holding classes just next door (quite literally next door, since the classes are being held in the same building), so some people were popping in from there to check things out.

Later when I ran into Kenta Goto from Pegu Club, who I hadn't seen in a while, he said that he too had just come from next door.

Contestants showed a wide range of variety in flavor as well as cocktail styling. Some showed off their bar chef techniques through housemade ingredients. For example, Damon from Death and Co. created a kumquat syrup for his Doctor D's Beach Planter (Rhum Clement X.O., demerara syrup, fresh lime juice, kumquat syrup, herbsaint, Angostura bitters). Kumquat peels were macerated in high-proof demerara rum, and some kumquats were pressed and the juice added to simple syrup. The two were then combined and strained to create the syrup.

Fresh fruit made its appearance in a variety of ways in several cocktails. Abel (Dylan Prime) served the Martinique Passion that had muddled fresh strawberries and white peppercorn as the base. Jacquelyn Leon's (Martinique Cafe) Cava Fresca had muddled Bartlett Pear (and was garnished with a pear petal. The Blackberry Smash by Brain Matthys from Izakaya Ten had the flavor combination of muddled fresh blackberries and shiso leaf. Ethan Kelly from Brandy Library created a surprisingly not so sweet banana cocktail that muddled bananas. Elba Giron from Bar Milano made what seemed to be a rum version of a Bellini using not only Clement's Premiere Canne, but the Creole Shrubb as well to combine with the white peach puree, prosecco and a bit of lime juice.

While some played with fruit, Don Lee created a streamlined, spirits-based cocktail. He explained that he wanted to create something a little different and also used sherry to make the cocktail a bit lighter for the summer.

Something entirely different was Maria Polise's (Sansom Street Oyster House, Philadelphia) Hot Seersucker Fizz. The combination of heavy cream as well as egg white gave a really luxurious mouthfeel to the drink that contrasted sharply with the tart and throat-tingling flavors of Clement Premiere Canne, Creole Shrubb, fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh jalapenos and a garnish of cinnamon-heavy aromatic bitters.

(You can view more photos from the event by clicking here. Though I just realized I need to help Marc label these photos.)

Gin in teacups

April 15

I didn't drink any gin out of teacups, instead I drank my neat sloe gin out of a highball glass, but there were plenty of teacups available if people were inclined to drink out of them. Why the teacups? Well, it's quite natural that there was tippling out of teacups since Plymouth Gin was holding its Sloe Gin launch party at the Lower East Side speakeasy, The Back Room.

While it was described as a launch party, it's already available in the United Kingdom. Oh, and it won't be available in the United States until May. And by "available," not retail. So only bars and restaurants. At least for now that is, that might change.

Plymouth's sloe gin is made with just sloe berries, water, sugar and gin. Sounds simple enough, but talking to Sean Harrison, Plymouth's master distiller as well as one of the people who determines whether or not a batch of sloe gin is indeed sloe gin, he explained that using fruits makes can make the product's flavor and taste vary from bottle to bottle. And say the weather isn't all that sloe berry friendly one year? Look forward to a very small supply of sloe gin. It even goes through taste testing to make sure a batch is good enough to unleash upon the market.

Mr. Harrison said, that even in UK sloe gin isn't something that's ordered on it's own a lot out in bars. Some of the reason has to do with a lot of artificially flavored varieties of sloe gin souring people's opinion of it. Also as a traditionally homemade liqueur, it sort of had the image of something your mom would sneak a sip of, or it was something you had in the winter around the holidays. To the average drinker out on a night on the town? Not sexy at all.

So the people who want to purchase Plymouth's sloe gin are those who know what they're doing with it, or at least those willing to serve it. Bartender demand is also a large part in why its finally making its way here to the United States.

At the same time it's not like Plymouth's sloe gin is something easy to produce on a very large scale. The sloe berries are ordered from sources in Europe. And these aren't large farms dedicated to cultivating sloe berries with a dedicated contract with Plymouth. Harrison said it's more subsistence, where if Plymouth does not put in the order for sloe berries, the berries wouldn't even be picked by the suppliers.

While this limited availability might help with maintaining a sort of exclusive image for Plymouth's sloe gin, the production truly is limited by the availability of sloe berries and quality.

A pretty good crowd had gathered for the event. I couldn't help but joke that it was taking me ten minutes to leave the place because I kept finding people I recognized. Not that I'm complaining though. I remember it used to scare me to go to events because it'd freak me out to be there on my own just, sort of out there and totally new to everything. I don't have that much anxiety about that anymore...well, maybe a little still, but it's nice to be able to say "Hi" to folks.

I finally got to meet Dale DeGroff, whom I've only spoken to on the phone or through email before. I'm just going to say it: It was so cool to finally meet him. He told me that The Museum of the American Cocktail was gearing up to reopen, so I was pretty excited to hear that. I waved to Don Lee of PDT early in the evening, and spotted Jim Meehan later when I was about to head out. Willy Shine and Aisha Sharpe were also there, both whom I hadn't seen since the summit at Vail. Talking to the always (or at least the times I've seen him) well put together Alex Day, I learned that he's though he's still at Death and Co., he's no longer behind the bar at Tailor, but is now at and Milk and Honey. I even saw Marshall Altier and we both kind of reminded each other that we needed to talk about the drinks at Terroir. I had missed out talking to him about it because I was in Vail at the time. He's not behind the bar at Terroir, and the last time I talked to him he said he was at Insieme, but hearing about Alex's shift in venues also reminds me that I should double check with him about where he's behind the bar, since its been a little while since I've talked to him.

Drinks from the launch party:

Sloe Gin Fizz
Plymouth Gin, Plymouth Sloe Gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, egg whites, simple syrup, club soda

Sloe Gin Genie
(created by Wayne Collins)
Plymouth Gin, Plymouth Sloe Gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, mint leaves

Gin Wibble
Plymouth Gin, Plymouth Sloe Gin, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, wild blackberry liqueur

Aviation
Plymouth gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, Maraschino liqueur

A manic Monday

or "Even Mondays aren't safe from Death & Company"

March 24

“You’ve been here before?” Alex, who I had met before at Tailor, asked me as he prepared several drinks.

I had already polished off a Oaxacan Old Fashioned (El Resoro Resposado, Los Amantes Mescal, Agave nectar, dash of Angostura bitters, flamed orange peel) sans dinner so the Mucho Picchu (champagne, pisco, Maraska Maraschino Liqueur, fresh grapefruit juice) I was nursing was beginning to work its magic, but the whir of Alex’s arms grabbing at a bottles and shakers and jiggers was plenty distracting.

After a slight pause, I shook myself out of my reverie and answered sheepishly, “No.”

Alex shot me a half-serious and half-joking look of shock.

I do go to bars and it's not that I'm a teetotaler. Besides the fact that a) I'm only one human with one liver that I'm beginning to worry about increasingly as I get on in the years, b) I've found that my fascination with cocktails ended up being something almost academic. Drinking a cocktail? Fine with that. But drinking something you've only read about or something entirely new? That's where the fun is. I'm more than happy to pick the brains of bartenders and watch them do their thing, but at the same time I get nervous about visiting hot spots because my previously mentioned awkwardness in crowds kick in. I've gotten over that a bit since I started doing beverage-related things for NRN, since, if anything, I'm all about working around my quirks. But for the large part I still try to sneak in all ninja-like at non-rush times so I can grab a seat far from the madding crowd.

And that was exactly why I’d stepped through the doors of Death & Company at 7 pm on a Monday night. I was grimly determined to do a tactical strike of the place. I heard it could get crowded and I wanted it to be clean. In early and out the door by the time the crowds descended. Things didn't go that way.

Damon, the “new” guy (new by virtue of having joined Death & Co.'s ranks just a week or two ago, though he'd mixed elsewhere before), had manned the bar for the first hour and a half all on his own in a frenzied yet impeccable solo performance.

However, he handled the entire situation with perfect aplomb even as the drinks queue grew longer and longer and the wait time grew between drinks. He apologized for the wait, but I didn’t mind waiting since I could very much see with my own two eyes how busy the place was. I also was busy copying down drinks of interest and their ingredients into my notebook while jotting out possible story ideas. While doing this, I found time to be inspired to write several haikus. Here's one.

Chereography
of frantic cocktail mixing;
Drinks warm a cold spring.

...I never said I was a poet.

The crowd had arrived early and hit the place hard. Eventually people were getting turned away. At one point I was apologetically asked if I didn't mind moving over to make room for two guests because they were from London and had never been to Death & Co. I was more than happy to oblige for the out-of-towners.

After traveling over to the other side of the bar, two gentlemen sitting next to me got up and left and another two filled their place. One of them was Naren.

"Oh yea! Bret wrote about you!" I exclaimed, almost a bit too enthusiastically, in a stroke of inspired recognition after he figured out I worked for NRN and with Bret. The other gentleman, Kenta Goto, also recognized me at the same time I recognized him because I'd run into him previously when since he can be found behind the bar at Pegu.

In all honesty, as busy as things got, and even in the small intimate space, my crowd-hating self was doing pretty OK. Without a throng of people standing around you don't feel the press of people behind you as you sit at the bar, and those at tables have an unobstructed view of the bar so you didn't feel like your order sort of disappeared over the sea of heads into some kind of blackhole.

Though the staff tried to be accommodating, seat numbers were strictly adhered to with people encouraged to come back later when space opened up. I'm sure not every bar can get away with this, but if people desire what you're offering in terms of atmosphere and product, then they're going willing to come back. But in the case of the guests from London, it also is a good thing to be smart enough to recognize when customer relationships can be forged.

The most important part of this equation is the attitude of the bartenders. Ahem, "Like a glass for a cocktail, the good bartender is always chill." I really apologize for that. Would it make it better if I said that's from my notes for "Chicken Soup for the Bartender's Soul" that I'm shopping around? OK, not really. I will say, if anyone out there is interested and is willing to offer me an advance, I can come up with some more no matter how painful.

I asked Alex about the difference between yellow and green chartreuse besides the color (Answer: There's a slight difference in proof and some difference in flavor).

I asked Damon if the Elder Fashioned was in the spirit of an Old Fashioned, but with elderflower flavors (Answer: Yes).

Alex guided me through the murky depths of picking a third drink with actual conversation (Alex: "Hm, so do you want to stick with tequila?" Me: "Well, I already had something with champagne in it so I don't think sticking to the similar spirits is going to save me at this point.").

Damon humored me when I asked for a Paloma and made a pretty decent facsimile even though he didn't have any authentic grapefruit soda on hand.

All this while churning out drink after drink.

'These aren't the food items you're looking for...'

I went down to Tailor to give the "solids" cocktails a spin. I wasn't expecting to, but ended up running into Eben Freeman (previously) on my way downstairs to the bar. We exchanged greetings and he said he'd be down in a few.

Even though the bar is downstairs, it's not a dark tucked away affair, but is a whole other level of the restaurant that's pretty bustling.

As I looked over the menu, I realized that besides the solids I had no idea what else I was going to have. I needed a plan of attack. Since I was going for solid cocktails, I figured why not go for "drinks that taste like non-drinks"? Though quite honestly, when you look at Tailor's beverage menu, a lot straddles the line with food-based flavors. For example, the "Tailor Made" spirits include the Pumpernickel Raisin Scotch, as well as a Huitalacoche Mescal.

The Grape Nut Shochu used for the Asa Gohan (Grape Nut shochu, Crazy Milk Sake and raspberry)? Flavored with real cereal. Bartender Alex said that the infusion process required vacuum sealing the mixture to help draw out the flavor.

I had a Pumpernickel Flip while I waited for the solid cocktails to be prepared upstairs. Made with aforementioned pumpernickel raisin scotch, pomegranate, molasses, egg yolk and freshly grated nutmeg.

Eben got behind the bar to mix some drinks and was asked if he was doing a hard shake. Eben laughed and said that since he talked about it in a Food & Wine article, "I have to do it all the time now."

Eric, a fan of Eben's work who followed him to Tailor from WD-50 came in and Eben served him his usual, bourbon and elderflower syrup. Eric explained that it's not on the menu at Tailor, but he used to order it at WD-50.

The solids arrive plated like little appetizers. The order suggested by Eben is to eat the Cuba Libre jelly, then the Ramos Gin Fizz marshmallow, and finally the White Russian breakfast cereal.

The Cuba Libre jelly cube used to be a gin and tonic jelly cube, but Eben said he decided that he didn't want two gin drinks together. Also, since it was a cube of jelly, it sort of made a pun with "Cuba." One thing to know about Eben Freeman is that he likes puns. It's fitting that he's a fan of this particular device that uses confusion between similar things since what he does with cocktails is much the same. Food techniques and flavors somehow manage to find their way into beverage form around Mr. Freeman.

Eben explained that since a well-made Ramos Gin Fizz is almost meringue-like, it seemed like a natural conclusion to make a marshmallow with it.

As for the crispy cereal in the White Russian? It's real cereal tossed in Kahlua, then blasted in a dehydrator, then tossed in Kahlua and blasted once more. The "milk" is vodka, simple syrup and half-and-half. Drinking this one is a bit of a challenge since if you're not careful a bulk of the cereal stays in the bowl and all you get is milk. It's best to try and throw it back as vigorously as possible without hurting your neck.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it's definitely a weird Jedi mind trick to pop a bit of brown jelly sitting on a lime chip in your mouth only to get hit with an alcoholic tang. Or to look at what looks like a miniature bowl of Cocoa Krispies, only to empty the bowl into your mouth and think, "White Russian."

The Crumble I had afterwards provided a same sort of complex disconnect. Made with brown butter, a lime and clove cordial called Falernum and pear cider. The brown butter taste is there. Buttery and fruity. Simply put, it was crumble-esque.

Alex explained that the brown butter rum is made by fat washing, a process I talked about previously in regards to the foie gras bourbon created by Don Lee at PDT.

The Crumble comes with a square block of ice sitting in the middle of the cup. I asked Alex why that is and he said that smaller pieces of ice provide too much surface area which then makes the ice melt faster, diluting the drink. So to keep dilution at a minimum and the bubbles in the cider alive, a huge block of ice is used to cool it.

"Like those huge balls of ice Japanese bartenders use?" I asked.

"Yea." Alex answered. "You know they actually hand carve those? We haven't gotten that ridiculous yet."

I ended the evening with a Bazooka. And I really wish I had more occasions to use that line. It's exactly what you'd think it'd be. It's a cocktail with bubble gum flavor. Oddly enough I will say that vodka, bubble gum cordial and house sour does not taste odd at all.