It seems to have been a really busy, if inebriating, week and a half for us around here in the Den. You have read SeanMike’s post recapping the last few events and I wanted to follow up with some of my own observations and recollections. I’m going to try my best not to re-hash what has already been said, so bear with me here.
Over the past year, we have seen this sight grow and, hopefully, we have grown as writers, as reporters and as a resource to those wishing to drink better in DC and everywhere else. As SeanMike stated, the best part of this whole trip has been meeting and befriending tons of people, both professionals and amateurs, and the genuine camaraderie among everyone involved with cocktails. It truly is a blessing to be a part of this thing we do.
More musings from me after the break . . .
Our whirlwind started on October 10th, the one year birthday of The Scofflaw’s Den. We started the night at Bourbon where we enjoyed a few beers and I had a great bacon cheeseburger. I had been craving a burger all day and this certainly hit the spot. Then, we headed to Central to meet up with Justin. SeanMike has covered most of this night admirably, but here are a few points from my perspective.
First, Justin made a Green Apple Martini. Yes, a Green Apple Martini. But, thankfully, he eschewed the use of Green Apple Pucker for a much more natural and culinary based method of using green apples. Originally, he tried infusing green apple with gin. Apparently after a week, he still didn’t get the flavor for which he was looking. He then decided to sous-vide the green apples with Bombay Sapphire gin. Within 20 minutes of the warm bath, he had a flavorful gin infusion that contained all the deliciousness of the apples. For the Green Apple Martini, he simply stirred two ounces of the infused gin with a dash or two of orange bitters, strained into a chilled cocktail glass. That’s it. Simple. And hands down the best chilled glass of gin I have ever had. I gave our friend Danielle a sip and she really enjoyed it as well.
Other drinks that I had at Central were just as wonderful. A highball of applejack, Benedictine and San Pellegrino Chinotto was rich and light at the same time. A great early fall sipper. Nikki, our bartender after Justin had to make his farewells, then mixed me up a proper Aviation, replete with Creme de Violette, which was fantastic. The night ended with me ordering a French 75 to celebrate with a little bubbly. Justin also arranged for a desert tray to be sent out. As SeanMike has already said, it as fan-fugu-tastic!
Saturday was a trip to Ace and meeting a reader, Steve - which was really cool. Just a reminder for those of you how have not met us yet, I’m in picture to the left (shaved head and goatee) and SeanMike is on the right. A trip to Ace is always a fun way to kill an hour or two chatting with Joe and other customers.
I wrote about Hummingbird to Mars and it’s eventual closing. On Friday, while at Central, Justin invited us to come by the following Monday (Oct. 13) for their final night of service. Now how could we refuse an invitation such as this?!?!?! So on Monday night, after staying in the office until 8:15pm, I headed to meet SeanMike and cab up to Hummingbird. Luckily, there were two seats at the bar waiting for us when we got there. As usual, Justin, Derek and Own did a wonderful job on the cocktails. There were a few friends of ours from DonRockwell.com, including Bill Thomas (Bourbon’s owner), Adam Burnbach (Bar Pilar) and Joe Riley (Ace Beverage), having drinks and whooping it up at Bourbon. We got to spend some time with everyone and really enjoy the last night of Hummingbird with great people. Hummingbird will sorely be missed.
While at Hummingbird a neat little occurrence happened that I want to share. First, I love a Cocktail a la Louisiane. This is probably my favorite cocktail. If I’m only allowed to drink one cocktail for the rest of my life, this would be it. I also like to order it when I go places that have good cocktails. SeanMike jokes that I should have the recipe printed on the back of my business cards. That isn’t a half bad idea. For those who don’t know:
Cocktail a la Louisiane
1 oz Rye
1 oz Benedictine
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
.25 oz Absinthe
3-4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
-Stir everything with ice for a slow 20 count. Strain into a chilled glass and finish with a lemon twist.
This drink is everything a cocktail should be - sweet, spicy, complex and adult. I love making this for people and having them enjoy it as much as I do.
Back to Hummingbird - So I order a Louisiane from Justin and he remembers that it is my favorite but can’t quite remember the full ingredient list. I tell him the recipe and I get a sort of quizzical I’m-not-certain-that-is-going-to-taste-right kind of look. But he continues on and makes the drink. I watch as he slips the straw in to give a little taste to check for balance and then it happens. His eyes light up, his jaw drops and he says “Wow!” He then tells me that while he’s a big fan of the sour category of drinks, this just propelled into a favorite. That is the power of the Louisiane!
After finishing my Louisiane, I head down to talk to our friends downstairs. Upon returning to my bar stool, Adam Burnbach (Bar Pilar) is sitting at the bar with SeanMike and a few others. SeanMike looks at me and asks me to guess what Adam is drinking. I look at the cocktail and confidently say “A Louisiane!” to much cheering! (Or at least there was cheering in my head!) Adam then sips his drink and says that I have to send him the recipe so he can use it at Bar Pilar. This whole exchange, my friends, made me honored and humbled to be the ambassador of such a great cocktail.
The following day, Tuesday Oct. 14th, was the Museum of the American Cocktail’s seminar on Great Hotel Bars, Part 1. The session was presented by our friend Derek Brown and Phil Greene. We learned about history and cocktails coming from Raffles (Singapore Sling), Waldorf=Astoria (Rob Roy), Hotel Monteleone (Vieux Carre) and the Ritz Paris (Sidecar). Chantel Tsing also created a Tabard Cocktail for the night consisting of tequila, sherry and Drambuie. Very tasty indeed. At the seminar, we also met another reader, Matt Hamlin. It really is cool to meet you folks!
Wednesday, Oct. 15, placed us in the hands of Gina Chersevani of EatBar. Wednesday night was Gina’s first cocktail class titled “Stocking the Home Bar: Vodka v. Gin Showdown.” It was a small class, only eight people signed up, but everyone was enthusiastic and asked tons of questions. Gina served up some tasty cocktails including a Beet and Champagne cocktail, a berry-shrub, her chocolate and blue-cheese reduction cocktail and a few tastings of gin and vodka. Chef Andrew Markert preparred courses that went along with each cocktail Gina made and even came out and explained them to us. Each dish was fantastic! Truth be told, with the cocktails and full dinner, the course more than paid for itself!
Gina did a great job teaching the class and said how happy we attended to keep her on track. I don’t think we contributed much, except the occassional smart-ass remark and ingredient suggestion. But we talked with the other students and it seemed that everyone had a great time. After the glass, Gina, SeanMike and I, along with two of our classmates, went to Spider Kelly’s in Clarendon for more drinks and to try their pork chop. The pork chop was delicious and after several irish whisky shots and a beer or two later, I stumbled home and crashed. Except for the morning hangover, it was a great night.
After taking it easy Thursday through Saturday, Sunday brought along the DonRockwell.com Fall Picnic. For the picnic, I decided to bring along a bottled cocktail. I wanted to do something that screamed Fall. I played around on the interwebs and looked in my various books and personal recipes and came across the “Northern Spy” created at Alembic in San Francisco. The recipe looked like this:
Northern Spy
2oz Applejack
1oz apple cider
.5oz fresh lemon juice
.25-.50oz apricot brandy
-Shake, strain.
I made one of these and while it was tasty it was still a little boozier than what I wanted. So I decided to play around. I’ll write about my tweaks in my next article, because frankly, this is getting long. Needless to say, that the two beverages I supplied were big hits and both bottles were finished off in fairly short order.
That brings me up-to-date with all the goings on. If you have read this whole thing, you really do deserve a cookie. Or a cocktail. Leave a comment and maybe the next time I’m out, we can belly up to the bar.
Cheers!
