I have three children that attend Eliot Elementary in the Tulsa Public School district and this Friday, April 25th is the annual Eliot Auction held by the Eliot PTA. Naturally, when asked if I could, 1: provide a drink idea to fit in the ‘Sky’s The Limit’ theme and 2: provide an item or idea for auction I took up the charge.

The signature drink of the auction will be the Stardust, a drink that’s not particularly my style but won the taste-testers over and was simple to make in a five-gallon batch. I made a couple of modifications to bring out and improve the peach element and, of course, I eliminated the sweet-and-sour mix, but that was about it. I’m sure by 10pm everyone will love it.

What I’m most proud of though is the “Cocktailnerd’s Guide to Better Drinking” bucket I’m donating. Valued at over $250 this is what it includes:

• Gin: Quintessential
• Vodka: 360
• Light Rum: Angostura 5 Year
• Dark Rum: Coruba Jamaican
• Vermouth: Martini & Rossi Dry and Sweet
• Applejack: Laird’s
• Cachaca: Pitu
• Misc: Lillet (blanc)
• Misc: Stock Maraschino Liqueur
• Bitters: Angostura and Peychaud’s
• Equipment: Boston shaker, wooden muddler, and OXO measuring cups
• Guidance: The Joy of Mixology, by Gary Regan and Cocktailnerd recipe/info cardset
• Mixers: Orgeat syrup, Falernum (homemade), Pimento Dram (homemade), and Grenadine (homemade)
• And, of course, a big “party” bucket

If you’re in or near Tulsa please come by and support our PTA as they provide a good many things for the school and students that aren’t able to be provided by TPS. My wife will be providing some of the free food (along with locally-recognized BBQ and other establishments) that you get with the $25 admission and the drink tickets are $2 apiece . Here are the details:

The Eliot Auction (our adults-only evening) is April 25th at 7pm at the Christensen Hangar, Jones/Riverside Airport. The committee has been very busy collecting lots of great things to be sold that night. The raffle is being handled by Susie Page and will begin soon. There are still opportunities to volunteer for this event. Please contact our chairs Tim Hoss and Jeannie Farrar, with any questions or donations. This is going to be a fun party with great food and entertainment, featuring our own Jeff Turner as MC for the evening. Tickets are available at $25.00 each. Hope to see you there!

I’ll be karaoke-ing my ass off, generally making a fool of myself, and eyeballing the restored Vespa that’s up for live auction. So, keep your mitts offa it.

I tend to not think much about limoncello. Too sweet for me to sip on its own as an after-dinner quaff and too much a cordial to be much used in cocktails, I just find myself glancing at it from time-to-time and thinking, *hmrph*. Until I found myself with four bottles of it, that is. How this came to be I’m not entirely sure but I blame my wife and Danny DeVito primarily, though not in conjunction.

My wife became interested in limoncello after seeing it featured on one of Giada’s shows on Food Network and decided to whip up a batch…boom, 1.5L of limoncello hanging around the house. Then, to compare the homemade to a manufactured brand we purchased another bottle and taste-tested them for comparison. And purchased one once again, after Danny DeVito’s infamous appearance on The View where he was fairly visibly intoxicated after a night out with George Clooney due to his, “…last seven limoncellos…” I found it amusing and then some months later unexpectedly running into a bottle at a liquor store here in Tulsa went ahead and picked it up. Why not, right? (Let’s just hope Avril Lavigne doesn’t take it on herself to develop her own line of limoncello as well). So, wham, I then have approximately 3L of limoncello cluttering my bar. Urg. And finally, a marketing firm saw fit to send a bottle of limoncello to me without warning and, great gobs of goosefat! , I have nearly 4L of the stuff sitting around the house. What to do? Oh, yeah, write a damned post, that’s what. Read More »

If you’ve read this site for anything length of time at all you know my feelings on fresh juice specifically and mixers generally. Mixers on the order of Finest Call and Master of Mixers are the bane of good drinking and it is an extreme rarity when use of these products lends you anything but heartache, pain, and a solemn promise to never ever ever again follow the proportions requested on any damned bottle at all. The weird 3-gallon buckets with a spigot inviting you to throw in a bottle of tequila and go should be banned, taken from shelves, and drop-shipped to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, where between the methane, nitrogen and these toxins some ammonia-based life and intelligence will surely sprout. Malevolent and sinister life, certainly, but life nonetheless. The vast majority of bottled “bloody mary” , tom collins , margarita , and manhattan mixers are one grade above a mix of Nonoxynol-9 and Nads and should only be served when Ipecac is nowhere to be found and someone’s life is severely at risk lest they hurl post-haste.

So, on that tasteful note, I’d like to present the first contest, in conjunction with Stirrings, hosted by Cocktailnerd.com to share your worst cocktail mixer experience where your response, if selected, will earn you a selection of Stirring mixer products through you which you can turn your nose up at the Master of Mixers and Finest Calls of the world and make a far better cocktail. My experience with Stirrings products has only been positive, especially where their syrups and tonic water is concerned but they are largely unavailable in my area and their products feature more natural ingredients and they tend to have a care about the drinking experience they’re springing on the often hapless public.

Tell me about your worst mixer experience below including the circumstances, use, and aftermath and submit it by April 21st and, if selected by this highly subjective panel of one, Stirrings will send you bottles of their Mojito, Strawberry Daquiri, and Blueberry mixers free-of-charge. All submissions will become the property of Cocktailnerd World Domination Enterprises, LLC and may be used in the compilation post summarizing the contest results and winner along with my own tale of woe.

Now, bring it:

Submissions after April 21st shall be mocked and generally rued. Unless, of course, there are very few submissions at that point. Then, well, we’ll be more than happy to receive it.

As I venture further into being published locally, I felt a ‘Locals Only’ category was required for those who may visit from the articles I’ve written in the fine and magnanimous publication that has seen fit to print my musings and I will use this category to make any corrections to references I’ve made concerning local access to ingredients or expand on subjects directly related to those articles .

In this last month’s article I discuss the Aviation and my personal discovery of Maraschino Liqueur and I referenced the sole availability of Maraschino in the Tulsa area being Parkhill’s Liquor Buttpirates Mart. Funny story, that.

It was about a year and a half ago that I found Parkhill’s was the only store carrying Stock’s Maraschino within 100 miles and while I would sometimes find it missing from the shelves, within a few weeks I would see it again and relief that I would still have access to the elixir of the Aviation washed gently across me. Until recently. Literally as soon as I began writing my piece for the assignment I found that it was no longer there-an anxious hole on the shelf with a worn pricing label promising its return like some prodigal prat. And still it was missing, time after time. So, as an honest, thoughtful, and diligent youth I wrote the management of the store (or whoever answers their damned correspondence) with a heads-up that, given my guidance, patrons were likely to request Stock’s Maraschino Liqueur, that I hadn’t seen it there in some time, and that in the interest of business and mutual feel goodiness they might ought to ensure it’s available when the piece comes out. This was their response:

“Stock’s hard to get, we have Cherry Kijafa.”

Ahem.

Underwhelming and off-putting don’t begin to describe it. And, naturally, everyone in my family and neighborhood heard about my impressions of piss-poor business practices; references to gift horses, mouths, and where exactly they could put certain unpleasant objects abounded. I was a cocktailian scorned, and I had misled my readers.

So, the correction is this: due to the efforts of my now even-more-highly-regarded mother-in-law, you can find Stock’s Maraschino Liqueur in Tulsa at Ranch Acres Wine & Spirits at 31st and Harvard. I will be looking to work with them and Old Village Wine & Spirits at 41st and Peoria to ensure any difficult to find ingredients might make their way here and/or stay stocked in anticipation of future articles. Thanks to my m-i-l and thanks to Ranch Acres for turning it around so quickly. It’s on the back wall about knee-level near where the brandies are.

Now, go make an Aviation.

I won’t miss it this year, not on your life. My blog was only two months old last year when TotC: 2007 went down and it was a downright tortuous (and mildly OCD) experience whereby I found myself checking my RSS feed far too frequently, watching my billable hours drop like a rock on behalf of seeing Paul’s, Rick’s, Darcy’s, and many notable others’ sites updated with pictures of swag, events, and general awesomeness of which I couldn’t take part. So, instead I grimly posted my heart out about glassware and vodka. Yes, folks, it was that bad…

But not this year, the hotel reservations are made , the Prius is gassed up (or as gassed up as it’s going to get) and the wife and I are preparing our wardrobes for a long hot time in New Orleans, a city I’ve not yet been to but am anxiously looking forward to experiencing.

And, as part of this journey, Paul Clarke has been foolish kind enough to ask my involvement on the first TotC shared blog experiment. This is what Paul has to say about the entity he’s wrought:

In the months to come, these bloggers will use this site to preview some of the many sessions and events that will take place in New Orleans this summer. In addition, guest bloggers will use this space to give a glimpse of the sessions, dinners and parties they have planned. In July, these bloggers will convene in New Orleans to enjoy all that Tales of the Cocktail has to offer. In between Sazeracs, they’ll document many of their experiences on this site for the enjoyment of everyone who likes a good drink. And this site isn’t just for regular bloggers: Tales veterans and participants are invited to share their own thoughts and experiences related to this remarkable event.

I am among great and humbling company and am terribly excited about taking this on, though I have a feeling my asking quasi-professional questions about editorial standards and style guides may earn me a quiet, and hopefully gentle, mocking should I persist. Please keep an eye on talesblog.com and keep informed via the previews for the TotC: 2008 events and experience all of the drunken kindly smiles as I get to meet these wonderful people and share a fantastic time. I may be starstruck for the first time in my life.

Cheers, y’all.

For my MxMo XIX theme in September of last year I chose ‘Fizz’ generally because I thought it’d be fun and narrowly because I have trouble denying myself any reason to have a drink topped with sparkling wine, champagne, tonic water or club soda. Or hell, any with champagne as a base for that matter. So recently when my glorious wife shoved a stack of papers in my face with a great number of drinks she felt I needed to make for her to try post-haste I had no trouble taking that honey-do on when I saw how many involved the bubbly.

Among the many she found were the winners of last year’s Tales of the Cocktails competition; the Crescent City Blossom, the Starfish Cooler, and the Sparkling Sakepom as well as several from the Food Network and Martha Stewart websites including the Laughter in the Rain , the Killer Mango Champagne Cocktail, the Grand Champagne Cocktail, and the Frizzante Mojito. Now, many of these require more work than I’m immediately willing to put in sight unseen but several of these I could try with little pre-work and had the right ingredients ready, and willing, to go. We tried the Starfish Cooler, the Crescent City Blossom, and the Frizzante Mojito. Each had their considerable charms, and none fell flat or disappointed. Read More »

In my attempt to get to better know St-Germain Elderflower liqueur I went on a hunt for recipes far and wide at one point landing squarely and confidently on Michael Dietsch’s ‘The Flying Cucumber‘ which he posted at his blog, A Dash of Bitters, many months ago. I was attracted to this recipe for various and sundry reasons, among them:

• Cucumber….goooood
• Elderflower liqueur…looking for a better use for this puppy
• Gin. duh.
• Sort of a modified Aviation.
• Reminds me of these folks

At the time I had this drink, I was having a terrible time finding a consistently good use for St-Germain, and while I’ve found a few other drinks that use it well, it still remains problematic for me. I find its body a bit too heavy and tacky and while it’s not exactly sweet it is a very powerful ingredient that I find easily overpowers most drinks. It’s exceptionally good in a a champagne glass (with the champagne mind you) and adding a half ounce of it to a dry champagne or even a prosecco adds a wonderful floral quality. The only other full-blown cocktail in which I’ve seen it really play well and blend harmoniously with others is the Crescent City Blossom, which received a 3rd place tie at last year’s Tales of the Cocktails competition. It uses a full ounce, which was mind-blowing to me when seeing the recipe, but that’s for another post. For now, on to The Flying Cucumber. Read More »

I will be posting a more complete missive later today, but I just saw this through the wire and for anyone turned onto this site via my Oklahoma Magazine articles or just happening to live in the Tulsa area, I wanted to give a plug to an event you might be interested in attending:

Planned Parenthood fundraiser to feature karaoke, cocktails

Planned Parenthood of Tulsa is having a fundraising event featuring karaoke and cocktails at Club 209 on April, 2 at 6:00p. I would be there with big clanging bells on except that I’m out-of-town on a business trip and am cursing the fates that I’m unable to support such a fine organization through three things near and dear to my heart; cocktails, karaoke, and good company.

If you have a chance, please attend. $25 gets you two drinks, karaoke, and snacks and there are door prizes to boot. Seriously, I do a mean Billy Joel.

For an additional laugh, visit the link to the Tulsa World article above and read the comments. I swim in a sea of stupid.

More and more I find myself receiving questions via my contact form about cocktail-related subjects and, like the Gong Show, find myself stumbling for answers and occassionally having helpful insights that I can only hope help the, usually, nice and well-meaning person head down the right path. I always endeavor to respond in a very positive and affirming way as, after all, if this blog had a mission statement it would go something like, ‘Drink better, foo!’ or ‘I pity the foo that don’ drink better!’. You get the idea; Mr. T imitations and exclamation points abound in my head. I try to keep them to a minimum when responding to the queries.

As my profession is related to the training and development field and in Super-Special Trainer College they taught me that if one person has the question in a class than there a greater than 80% chance that others do as well I’m compelled in my magnanmous and completely selfless ways to offer you the following Q&A’s: Read More »

As any bartender or cocktail afficionado will tell you, it’s death. And it finally happened to me-

I ran out of ice.

Run out of a spirit or liqueur? Fine, if you know your way around a bar you can get by with substitutions and adjustments most of the time to at least approximate a drink and please your guests. All your cocktail glasses are dirty? Hey, go the Julia Child route, act like nothing’s wrong, take advantage of everyone having developed a habit of defering to your mixological knowledge and simply claim, ‘Why, of course the martini was originally served in a rocks glass. What, you think they had the technology to mass produce cocktail glasses back then? Pshaw!,’ with a look of incredulous bemusement on your face. But, out of ice? Sorry Charlie, time to hang it up.

Such it was that one Sunday afternoon entertaining a few guests in a very Victorian Parlour -esque fashion that, after a brief and warm welcome and many “How do you dooooooo’s” that I politely asked everyone’s drink preference and went to my ice dispenser in my refrigerator and heard the sad, slow, grinding roar of…nothing. No satisfying clang against the shaking tin nor brightly anticipatory clink of the glass. Nothing.

I was reduced to scraping remnants from that back shelf thingy behind the ice tray where stray ice cubes fall and sit slowly evaporating in the cold dry for months on end, pulling out the tray and detaching old off-tasting ice cubes from the sides of the bin, reducing the ice used in the shakers to pitiable levels chilling very little except my mood, and generally cursing my fate and my refrigerator as I was unable to do something in which I take great pride and number as one of the few things I do very well: mix a good drink for my guests.

I was pissed. Glaring sternly upon the waste that was my guests’ drinks and downtrodden and embarrassed glances I vowed, “Never Again.”

So, my wife, being her well-tuned, thoughtful, and well-adjusted self decided I should have a portable ice maker as a gift on my birthday, and allow me tell you how that’s gone. Read More »