The final Thursday Drink Night of 2008 brought us Sandeman Port as a theme and, I must say, I was surprised at both the volume of turn-out and the general quality of the drinks offered up throughout the evening.

Port can have a tough time in cocktails and Sandeman’s 10-year Tawny and Founder’s Reserve (a ruby-styled port) both earned my respect as ingredients that bring a unique character to cocktails and, generally, can stand up to the bolder flavors and profiles of juices, spirits, and liqueurs with which they’re mixed, a problem I’ve often had when trying to work port into a drink. Hell, we even had a submission using a healthy dose of flaming absinthe that the port stood up to, so that’s saying something. All that being said, I’ve only found a couple of port recipes that I’ve put in standard rotation but another I’ll add to the list¹ is Logan’s Harbor, submitted that night by JenTiki.

Logan’s Harbor

• 2oz Sandeman Founders Reserve
• 1 1/2oz Domaine de Canton
• 1/2oz lemon Juice
• club soda, to top
• lemon peel, for garnish

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with club soda and garnish with a lemon twist.

Originally called “The Prestige” (apparently there was already a drink named this, but not as a nod to Hugh Jackman…unless Hugh Jackman is 80+ years old, which, after seeing “The Fountain”, I suppose is possible), this drink has a very nice effect of adding a layer of bright spiciness on top of the ruby port’s inherent sweet character and the citrus adds just enough tart to keep the liqueur and port from running away over the hills towards candyland. In fact, as the drinks warms the ginger bite of the Domain de Canton comes forward and the port takes more of a back seat. This led me to work the drink with the 10-year-old Tawny port and while it added a more dry character it also lended an additional spicy edge that compounded the separating of flavors. So, grab the Sandeman ruby port for this one.

I also like this drink because I’m a sucker for all things fizzy and effervescent, except bubble baths…they’re creepy² . There’s a nice feel to the Logan’s Harbor but it’s important to strike the right balance. Too much and you, obviously, dilute the drink (though the flavors tend to separate less) and too little and it lacks the feel that suits the drink best and the flavors separate more quickly. This means you should probably chill your club soda for this one too.

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Logan’s Harbor Rating:

1. well, as soon as I can score a full-sized bottle of Domain de Canton [�]
2. except for that one time in Vegas when we put bubbles in the hot tub and filled the bathroom floor with bubbles and tried to flush them all to get rid of them, that was just flat-out fun [�]

Be sure to read the last installment if you want a peek into the diary of a man who is prone to compulsive collecting in very short bursts¹ . Since then I’ve managed to acquire Bundaberg, D&G, Jamaica’s Finest, Blenheim’s, A&J Stephans, and The Ginger People brands of ginger beer that will extend this series by a couple of posts² . And I’m still hunting down a few others, so, hold onto your butts.

In this episode I’ll be reviewing Fentiman’s, Cock ‘n Bull, and Reed’s Original. Before we proceed, a note on the Reed’s line of products. I did my best to keep this exercise strictly to Ginger Beers or “Brews”³ . However, while discussing this project in the Mixoloseum Bar I kept being asked, “Oh, have you tried any of the other Reed’s ginger beers/brews/products besides the Extra?” or some variation thereof. Then, assuming the good folks meant well by me and surely wanted my post to be exhaustive and survive the studious eyes of the cocktail intelligentsia, I bought them. Make no mistake, the Reed’s Original and Premium are definitely in the “Ale” category, folks. So, please take my ratings of the Reed’s Original and Premium products with a grain of salt and understanding that I’m rating them as Ginger Beers and testing how they play on their own and in a Moscow Mule. (See the original post to review my testing process)

We’ll start with Fentiman’s as it seems a good place to start and it’s fun to say.

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Fentiman’s:

This is an intriguing beast. Fentiman’s puts out a line of very interesting sodas of which Ginger Beer is one of the more traditional flavors4 . Their unique approach to flavors and production come through soundly in this product as well. The ingredients are listed as fermented ginger root extract, carbonated water, sugar, glucose syrup, natural flavouring (ginger, capsicum, lemon, speedwell, juniper, yarrow), cream of tartar, citric acid. It’s that “natural flavoring” section there that gives one pause when first confronted with this. It hits you with a nice twang of ginger and then slowly has a general wave of herbal “otherness” that keeps you guessing without making you think you’ve accidentally grabbed gin for your mule and threw in a dash of elderflower liqueur to boot. Fentiman’s has a nice clean finish and doesn’t overstay its welcome or overpower the other things the Moscow Mule tries to accomplish. Fentiman’s can be hard to find in the U.S. but is making in-roads. Personally, I had to raid the media suite at Tales of the Cocktail last year as I’d not heard of it and wanted to get a few bottles home for a try. The carbonation in Fentiman’s is also worth noting as it’s less “frog eyed” than more cheaply-produced brands. It has a nice mouthfeel and the cream of tartar keeps things suspended nicely while giving it a rich texture. A departure from the most traditional of ginger beers, it is well worth trying and having around though I’m not entirely sure its charms aren’t wasted on a mule and it should be used in more delicate applications. Grab it, if you can get it.

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Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer:

I’d heard good things about this. From people I respect, mind you. And I’m left with the distinct impression I’ve been giving them far too much credit. This stuff is awful. Allow me to put the flavor and impression of this brew in one phrase: used bookstore. You know that smell of yellowed paper and mustiness that slams into you as soon as you enter one? Put that in your mouth. Mind you, I love the smell of a used bookstore and old books. It speaks of knowledge and time and curiosity but I sure as hell don’t want to taste it. This, however, is a tale of two bottles. I found a 4-pk at a locally-owned grocery store here and had never seen it in Tulsa before, so, naturally, I grabbed it. As soon as I tasted it, and hearing my friends’ voices in my head singing its praises, I assumed it was bought on-remainder or something and I’d had a bad batch. So, I bought another online and, lo and behold, the bottles were different. Filled with hope, I cracked it open, smelled it, and….despair. Same story. It’s a little less awful when mixed in a Moscow Mule, but why suffer it? Skip it, unless you have always wanted to eat old books. Then, in that case, knock yourself out….freak.

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Reed’s Original Ginger Brew (Ale):

Holy pineapple bits, bartender! After having used Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer as my stand-by ginger beer for a good long while I was expecting something more…actually tasting of ginger. As I mentioned earlier it’s almost unfair to include the Reed’s Original and Premium in this round-up as they are completely different beasts. But, still, this is like pineapple juice that had some ginger oil thrown in, got cut and carbonated, and bottled. And, in reviewing the ingredients, sure enough, pineapple and honey feature prominently. I won’t say this tastes cheap (see: Capt’n Eli’s) or disgusting (see: above), just that it tastes unlike you’d expect a ginger beer to taste and behave in a drink. Which is to say, as a ginger beer it fails miserably. As a ginger ale? Well, let’s see. I used this to top off a Pimm’s cup5 and it pretty much murders it. It’s a shame because it’s not horrible-tasting on its own, it’s just not gingery enough. Overly sweet for me and likely to overtake any drink in which you use it I can’t recommend this for mixing. If you like this sort of thing on its own then maybe you should pick it up. But, if you’re looking for ginger beer or ginger ale to use in mixed drinks, move along.

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Fentiman’s Rating:

Cock ‘n Bull Rating:

Reed’s Original Ginger Brew Rating: ⁶

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Things you should also read:

From Eric Felten’s “How’s Your Drink?”

Wikipedia’s entry on Ginger Beer

Scottes’ Rum Rundown of Ginger Ales and Brews

A nice discussion at Ministry of Rum

1. I have over 5,000 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Collectible Card Game cards thanks to a 3-month fascination a couple of years ago - such is my burden [�]
2. of course, I’ll likely also be making my own and will need to resist the urge to test four or more recipes against each other [â�©]
3. a nomenclature that seems to belie a product closer to ginger beer in nature but whose PR firm decided “beer” was too off-putting a term for our delicate children to contemplate drinking lest they proceed to, EGADS!!!! BIRCH or ROOT BEEEEEEERRRSS! [â�©]
4. Burdock & Dandelion?! [�]
5. I frequently use ginger ale instead of lemon-lime soda, it depends on what’s available and how hedonistic I’m feeling [â�©]
6. not a poor-quality product, but tough to evaluate or consider and ginger beer [�]

This post carries a warning: watch what you say. You never know who may be listening, much less recording. And, if you’re a college professor, you might as well assume the latter at all times. This is a verbatim transcript of a section of a Biochemistry course in which an instructor, perhaps unwisely, decided to expound on what may cause the difference between a person being a “sad” drunk versus a “happy” drunk and manages to divulge some interesting personal details, a recipe for “Hopping Gators”, and thoughts on spousal shootings in the process.

Is there Biochemistry involved? Yes. Is it the most appropriate topic, or approach, in a college classroom? Well, you decide.

I think one of the more interesting things is why you get happy drunks and sad drunks. Right? You guys read this chapter? I should give you a quiz so you’ll read it.

If you’re exercising a lot, real strenuously, you sort of wear out your glycogen reserves and you sort of get in a hungry stage, and if you go out drinking with your buddies, right, you get a bigger bang for your buck ¹ . Right? And depending on how well fed you [are or] not, you can, you can, get sort of, as we say here, uh, agitated? Impaired judgment? Shall we say? And why does that happen?²

Well it happens because when you drink, you have to uh, remove the alcohol, and you remove the alcohol by alcohol dehydrogenase and acid aldehyde dehydrogenase. This creates higher levels of NADH in the cytosol. And so you’re not really getting a lot on energy, per say, at that point in time. And then those higher levels of NADH cause a shift of pyruvate to lactate, and it also causes oxaloacetate to malate shift. These are the precursors of glucose from the liver.

So, you know, if you’re exercising, and you go drinking, you get, you get a little, little wilder, you know. Have you ever tried Gatorade and beer?³ Hopping gators? Get drunk on that? It used to be popular when I was in college. Well, well, Gatorade and anything ⁴ , because the the the carbonate and the glucose gives you [I couldn't really hear this part, something about the carbonate and the glucose and an enhanced uptake, and screwing something.] ⁵

Anyway, so, so you end up, uh, um, screwing up your glucose levels and just like any war usually starts when people are hungry⁶ . Or fights start when people are hungry⁷ . Or if you look at the Saturday night shootings of spouses, you know, it all happens after alcohol⁸ . So, vitamin B’s play a role in this. I’m going to ask you some roles for thiamine and, and uh, pyridoxine and some of this stuff. You know, beer has a lot of B vitamins, but, but typically if you’re drinking a light American beer in, into excess, you’ll go into a vitamin B deficiency.

So. If you want to be happy and drunk, you should drink and eat, like Europeans do⁹ and have lots of B vitamins. And don’t drink – don’t go out, like, at midnight and and drink like a fish, and not expect to have the consequences¹⁰ .

So, to make sure we understand the drinking rules according to Professor Bombast, the promised quiz:

* Please note that my views on alcohol consumption are in no way linked to the professor quoted above and that I believe moderation, safety of one’s self, and the safety of others are always of primary importance and that this is not meant to glorify or encourage overconsumption in any way. I’m not sure how you might get that impression, but someone surely will, so, if that’s you, go back and re-read this several times until it sticks.

1. is this actually something many people do, get all work-out sweaty and tired and then drink themselves silly? [�]
2. the answer is “the booze” right, chief? [â�©]
3. sounds delicious, orange, green, or blue? [�]
4. Zima!! [�]
5. heh, the side effect of Hopping Gators? You get to screw something…nice. [â�©]
6. Yes, correct, Hitler just needed a Twinkie…good call [â�©]
7. this guy’s family at Thanksgiving must look like a WWE PPV event [â�©]
8. this is just a weird thing to throw in there, just the most unscientific creepy thing he probably could have said - sort of like Ben Stein [�]
9. this guy’s big on socio-cultural generalizations [â�©]
10. Thanks doc, I sure won’t, especially after my 1am spin class [â�©]

Port, in my opinion, is too little used in cocktails. Aside from Sangarees, the Dead Reckoning, and the Last Resort, it’s a relative non-starter. With its rich and flavorful character port is more friendly and warm than red wine and less aloof and dangerous than white wine in mixed drinks.

So, in our last Thursday Drink Night of 2008 we’ll be featuring and mixing drinks with Sandeman Port and using the 10-year and Founder’s Reserve all the while. Also, Ted Emerson, Brand Director for Sandeman, will be available to discuss the product and answer questions

Please join us for a wonderful time and to see what sort of seasonal goodies we can come up with, just in time for your holiday parties!

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Place and Time:

• When: This Thursday Night, 7:00pm (EDT) (but join in any time)
• Where: The Mixoloseum Bar
• Bring: Drink inspirations, an appreciation for the finer things spirits have to offer, and a love of laughter and a friendly group.

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FREE STUFF:

1. The best cocktail creation of the evening will be featured here on Cocktailnerd.
2. A random newcomer who stays for at least two hours will receive a bottle of Sandeman Founder’s Reserve Port.

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Guidelines:

1. Join the fun.
2. Dare Rick to mix and give tasting notes on some ridiculous drink idea.
3. Watch as it’s tweaked, discussed, and mocked.
4. Mix it up along with everyone else and share your thoughts.
5. Consume (or treat your sink to a drink) and return to Step 2.

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Let me set the record straight, I don’t cook. Any piece you see under this category, “The Boozy Chef”, is due to my wife’s efforts to marry the flavors I introduce her to by way of the bar into the kitchen. And, since she makes money doing this sort of thing, the results are almost universally positive. And, in the spirit of the holidays and given that pumpkin pie is my OMGITSMYFAVORITESTTHINGEVER dessert, this one, I wanted to share - especially with Craig Hermann’s “MxMo: Spice” theme. After all, we’ll be looking at how to add spice and zing to cooking by way of what’s behind the bar.

The basis of this dessert is, of course, a simple pumpkin pie; cinnamon, nutmeg, and the usual blend of spices blended with pumpkin puree and baked in a wonderful crust to create a heavenly aroma and warm memories. But, when I first served Joana a Corn n’ Oil (pictured on left) after making my first batch of Falernum last year, she instantly recognized the potential of the blackstrap as a molasses/rum combination and the Falernum as a way of adding to the spicy twang of a traditional pumpkin pie. Me? I handed her the bottles and enjoyed the bounty of her efforts. I hope you will as well:

Blackstrap Pumpkin Pie

• 3 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 15oz pumpkin puree
• Pinch of sea salt
• 2 1/2T Blackstrap Rum
• 1T Pimento dram or Falernum
• 2t cinnamon (Vietnamese cassia used)
• 1t ground ginger
• 1t ground clove
• 1/4t fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cup cream

Mix eggs and sugar and once blended add pumpkin puree and continue mixing until well-blended. Add cream and spices and continue mixing.
Once blended, add rum and falernum or allspice and whisk and then pour into a pie shell.

Bake at 350° for 50 mins. or until center is just barely set.

I’ve had both versions, the allspice dram and the Falernum, on numerous occasions and both ingredients lend their own natures on top of the Blackstrap’s rich molasses profile. The Falernum creates a welcome tart and deep clove character to the back of the pie’s taste and the pimento/allspice dram lends a much more focused spicy edge to the dessert. Both have their merits and, as you’d expect, I’d recommend trying both side-by-side. Rick recently posed the question, “I wonder how many mornings in-a-row I could eat pumpkin pie before tiring of it?” I would say with these at your disposal that number would be lofty indeed. As for the drink that inspired Joana to develop such a wonderful variation on an old stand-by dessert the guilty party is, of course, the Corn ‘n Oil (pictured on left of photo above):

Corn ‘n Oil

• 3oz Blackstrap rum
• Squeeze of half a lime
• 1oz Falernum (or whatever your preferred ratio is)

Build in an old-fashioned glass in the order given, stir well, and drop the spent lime hull for garnish. Serve.

I was introduced to this drink by way of Paul after I’d found a bottle of Blackstrap rum, got it home, and then wondered what in the hell to do with it as it’s referred to extremely rarely in the books i own. The Corn ‘n Oil features the sweet rich depth of Blackstrap well and lets the lime and Falernum bring a bright twang to the drink that, if kept well-stirred, will have you asking for seconds.

How much Falernum you use relative to the Blackstrap will depend heavily on the character of your Falernum. My falernum¹ , which is a blend of Morgenthaler’s and Paul’s techniques, is very heavy, spicy, and rich and so a little goes a long way. I keep it at a 3:1 ratio though I’ve heard rumor of those pushing the envelope at 2:1 and even 1:1 (egads!). That’s just too much Falernum in my boat.

I will say this about the Corn ‘n Oil, it goes great with pumpkin pie.

1. I’ve tried about 6 different variations and *still* find that this one is the best I’ve had [â�©]

It started more than a year ago. I’d be going through some specialty boutique cheese store in Kansas City and, “Oh, look! A ginger beer I’ve never seen!” You can see where that gets me. Over the next couple of months I will be rounding these up in posts and explaining my taste-testing results and rating them on a scale of abysmal-to-glorious. And, trust me, some of them are bloody abysmal.

As you may guess from the photo I will be reviewing, at the very least, the 3 Reed’s products (Regular, Premium, and Extra), Stewart’s, Goya, Fentiman’s, Sioux City, Capt’n Eli’s¹ , Maine Root, Regatta, Barritt’s, Cock-n-Bull, and Buderim. I’m also in the process of acquiring several others over the next month or so² , so those may make a special guest appearance in a future episode of “Ginger Beer Extravaganza”. For now, let’s talk process:

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Tasting Process: To my mind, there’s no simpler and consistent way to measure the quality of a ginger beer except in a Moscow Mule. So, I, and a friend of mine who has a predilection for Mules, will try each of them straight from their respective bottles (and can), and then in a Moscow Mule³ .

What I’m Looking For: I don’t drink this stuff on its own except for the purposes of this tasting, and can’t imagine doing so⁴ . So, in a Moscow Mule, I’m looking for a nice ginger bite that, hopefully, has something else to bring along to the party. A little surprise at the door, if you will. And then I’m looking for a relatively light body and a clean finish. After all, guests who linger too long are often worse than those uninvited. The last thing I’m looking for is it to play well with others. In this case, lime and vodka. If it’s unmixable, it’s mostly useless to me.

We will review Capt’n Eli’s, Goya, and Regatta in Part I, Fentiman’s, Cock n’ Bull, and Reed’s Regular in Part II, and Stewart’s, Maine Root, and Reed’s Premium in Part III. Beyond that, I may just shoot myself out of boredom or decide to go with homemade and never speak of this enterprise again. We shall see. So, “Capt’n Eli”, did you and Aquaman ever hang?

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Capt’n Eli’s Ginger Beer:

And, if so, did he kick your ass for making such a horrible product? Despite having only 5 ingredients: water, cane sugar, natural ginger flavor, citric acid, and sodium benzoate, it manages to go horribly wrong. There is a nice crisp and sharp ginger bite at the front that makes one hopeful and then it breaks your heart by devolving into a muddled mass of musty cellulose-flavoring. All the woodsy funk of Fernet Branca without the charm or the cache’. Also, this shit lingers. Terrible on its own, it manages to ruin a a Moscow Mule. And listen, I abhor sinking5 drinks. To avoid sinking the drink I let it sit, my mood darkened, on my coffeetable for an interminable amount of time. My pal-in-testing took another sip of the orphaned beverage on the table, his face puckering, and said, “It’s not as bad when it’s been sitting out awhile.” Glancing at the clock I quickly mentioned that it no longer completely sucked because all the ice had melted and our good friend water had come to our rescue. I had another sip after its languorous 10-minute stretch on the table, and then sinked it. I’m not sure what branch of the service Capt’n Eli was in, but it’s certainly been decommissioned if its standards were so low as to admit him. One of the worst of the lot. Stay away.

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Goya Ginger Beer:

Please, Goya, please treat me better than that maniacal clash of manga and bad-60s comics, Capt’n Eli. And treat me better, it does. A slightly less austere recipe than Capt’n Eli’s, Goya’s includes: carbonated water, HFCS6 557 , ginger flavorings, oil of ginger, caramel color, capsicum, citric acid. This is a light-bodied version that hits the palate with a strong bite of ginger and then, that’s odd, something else…something…burny… OMGWTFDIDIBITEINTOABELLPEPPER?! But, it’s not unpleasant; you just have to be ready for it and the capsicum8 it brings. While it’s not something I would drink on its own as my tastes don’t run that direction, I do find myself occasionally wanting a Moscow Mule with just this additional touch. A “Burro” perhaps. You will find this next to the religious candles and Jarritos hyper-sweet sodas in the ethnic food aisle of your grocery stores. I recommend it, not as a traditional ginger beer, but as a great twist on it and an unexpected surprise in a Moscow Mule. As one reviewer noted, “…hotter than Blenheim’s red cap - guaranteed cough with first sip!”9 .

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Regatta Ginger Beer:

This, along with Barritt’s, is one of the “Bermuda Stone”-style ginger beers available on the market. The primary difference being in the fermentation process where the ginger ferments in stone containers. Traditionally, it is considered less sharp and to have less “bite” than the Jamaican-style ginger brews. Whether this is a good or bad thing, we shall see. Regatta’s ingredients are our first foray into thickening and “mouthfeel” agents in the ginger beer line-up. Numbering among its constituent parts are: sparkling water, fructose, natural ginger flavor extracts and other flavors, citric acid, quillaia bark extract, caramel color, gum arabic, ester gum, and guar gum. This litany of tongue-twisting ingredients gives Regatta a smoother and richer feel while, at the same time, clamps down a bit on the harsh bite of Jamaican ginger beers. It also provides a cloudiness that encourages you to tilt the bottle once or twice to makes sure the perceived sediment is incorporated. Simply put, this beats Barritt’s hands-down10 . It’s a bit simple in its approach, “one-note”, if you will, but it doesn’t finish in a funky collapse like some or leave you smacking your lips with a tacky “need a chaser of water, STAT!” feeling from being overly sweet. So, if you’re looking for a milder ginger beer that doesn’t bowl you over from ginger11 and/or kill you with sweet, you could do far worse than Regatta though it has more body than I like for a Mule. The packaging is underwhelming but the product is quite clean and quite tasty.

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Capt’n Eli’s Rating:

Goya Rating: ¹²

Regatta Rating:

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Things you should also read:

From Eric Felten’s “How’s Your Drink?”

Wikipedia’s entry on Ginger Beer

Scottes’ Rum Rundown of Ginger Ales and Brews

A nice discussion at Ministry of Rum

1. they really love their apostrophes apparently [�]
2. Ginger People, Blenheim’s, Bundaberg, Barritt’s Bermuda and others [â�©]
3. 2oz Vodka, squeeze of half-lime, top with ginger beer for those too lazy to click the link above [�]
4. but I don’t drink sugared sodas anyway so that may have a lot to do with my aversion [â�©]
5. verb: to pour down the sink with a grotesque expression of disgust, abject horror, and sadness clashing on your face all-at-once [�]
6. yes, the “dreaded” HFCS. I think the case against it is more than a little overstated, but that’s for another time [â�©]
7. whatever “55″ means [â�©]
8. the essence of the pepper family of plants [�]
9. note to self, double your efforts on acquiring Blenheim’s [â�©]
10. at least the stuff not produced in Bermuda, I’m looking to get my hands on a Bermuda-produced can for comparison [â�©]
11. or capsicum [�]
12. just be sure you know what you’re getting into. This is not a “starter” ginger beer nor representative of the classic style [â�©]

I’m sure the employees give get great french benefits.¹

1. Taken by good friends of mine driving through Kansas who, naturally, had to backtrack and get a photo. Thanks guys. [�]

If you don’t know by now, and really, you should, there’s a weekly online drinking event called Thursday Drink Night hosted by the indomitably-spirited Rick of kaiserpenguin.com at the Mixoloseum Bar. Now, normally, this is your run-of-the-mill affair whereby bartenders, enthusiasts, and mixologists get together and mix drinks that are submitted on-the-fly and put them through the gauntlet of criticism of the sort not seen since Baby Geniuses. Which is to say, unlike the movie, it’s an absolute blast.

So, “what’s special about this one?” you don’t ask? Well, firstly, it’s the first sponsored Thursday Drink Night the Mixoloseum will be having. The good folks at Leblon have seen fit to sponsor the event, take questions, and, hopefully, use the recipes we develop to solve the global financial crisis, reduce poverty by 45.71% and solve the looming energy crisis by using our drinks to catalyze cold fusion. As you can see, they got a hell of a deal.

Secondly, after much whining on my part about being stuck in Vegas sans my home bar, they’ve taken pity on me and kindly set myself and Rumdood (who will be joining me after a drive from L.A.)¹ up at a location on the Las Vegas strip where we, our laptops, and hopefully a small crowd of people will take part in TDN live and on-site at Trader Vic’s in Planet Hollywood. We will be there featuring Leblon in the drinks submitted by the online bar crowd, requesting the crowd or the bartenders submit drinks for TDN, or generally running up legendary bar tabs and ensuring the resulting mayhem and awesomeness doesn’t lead to a destroyed laptop or two.

So, if you’re in Vegas, come by and visit. We’ll be there around 6:00pm and would love to see you and, if the bartenders aren’t already sick to tears of us and giving those smoldering withering stares only barkeeps can, we may even buy you a drink. If you’re not in Vegas, join us at the online bar, pull up a seat, mix a drink with Leblon cachaca, and enjoy the show. It will prove to be a fun, informative (we’ll have Gerry and Steven from leblon on-hand to field questions and provide the edutainment of the evening), and lively time.

1. and yes, Matt, I will continue in my persistence that you live in L.A. [�]

For the past year-and-a-half, I’ve been spending a lot of time in Denver. Well, more specifically, I’ve been spending a lot of time here, and making the 60-mile commute into Denver after-hours to do a liquor store circuit and discovering hidden treasure here-and-there as I coast down Broadway and keep my eyes peeled. Then, making the trip back to the hotel and packing my luggage to the gills, I come home and watch the luggage carousel at Tulsa Int’l with great trepidation wondering which of the $30-60 bottles of booze will break on me and ruin, not only my clothing but my mood as well¹ . It is because of such treks and risks that I find my bar well-stocked with the likes of Carpano Antica, Punt e Mes, Leopold’s gin, Old Raj, Pappy Van Winkle 13yo Rye, Junipero, Creme de Violette and the like.

In other words, it’s been worth every trip.

I’ve been told that there’s at least one other store I need to visit and I’ll add it to this post if I find it worthy, but for now, here’s where you can find the goods in the Mile High City² :

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Divino, 1240 S. Broadway, Denver, CO 80210:
This is first-and-foremost a boutique wine store and, for the record, their selections of wine is wonderful for a store this size and you can tell the owner pays a lot of attention to the wines they carry. Fortunately, he also seems to pay attention to their spirits and liqueurs as their small selection offers some wonderful gems³ . If you see Dustin, tell him Gabriel says “hi”⁴ :
Rums:

• Westerhall’s
• Charbay Rums
• Flor de Cana Rums (almost the whole line)
• Gosling’s Family Reserve
• Oronoco White Rum

Gins:

• Leopold’s
• Jackalope
• Blackwood’s
• Junipero⁵
• Olifant
• Zuidam

Whiskey:

• Black Maple Hill Ryes and Bourbons
• Michter’s US 81 Rye
• Four Roses Bourbons
• Pappy Van Winkle’s Ryes and Bourbons
• Old Potrero Rye
• Sazerac 6yo Rye

Liqueurs/Apertifs:

• Rothman & Winter Creme de Violette
• Cynar
• Carpano Antica
• Fernet Branca and Stock’s Fernets
• Punt e Mes
• Leopold Bros. Fruit Liqueurs
• Zirbenz Alpine Liqueur

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Total Beverage, 770 E 104th Ave., Northglenn, CO 80233:
This is a monster warehouse of a liquor store. Don’t expect much in the way of customer service or knowledgeable staff walking the floor, but in terms of sheer I-could-spend-3-hours-in-here-itude it’s hard to beat. They also have a lot of unusual liqueurs and vodkas that are legitimate “old country” finds such as Krupnik Honey Liqueur (Polish), Okhotnichya, Balsam Riga, and many others. If you have the time, make the stop and get the credit card ready:
Rums:

• Sea Wynde
• Leopold’s
• Cadenhead’s Green Label
• Stroh’s 80
• Appleton Extra
• Goslings Family Reserve
• Flor de Cana Line
• J Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum

Gins:

• Damrak
• Old Raj
• Leopold’s
• Indigo
• Jackalope
• Zuidam
• Olifant
• CapRock Organic/li>

Whiskey/Rye:

• Pappy Van Winkle’s Ryes and Bourbons
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• Old Potrero Rye
• Eagle Rare Line
• Stranchan’s Colorado Whiskey

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Lukas Liquors, 8457 S Yosemite St. Lone Tree, CO 80124:

This is the newest consistent addition to my circuit of Denver Liquor stores and it has, by far, the largest selection of wines I’ve seen in a long time but I can’t speak to its selectivity and quality of stock. As far as spirits, the whiskey and rum sections are impressive and the gin and liqueur sections less so. Worth the visit:
Rums:

• Vizcaya 21yo
• Zaya⁶
• Flor de Cana (whole line, as far as I know)
• Stroh’s 80
• Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum
• Appleton Extra and 21yo
• Prichard’s Rum (almost the entire line)
• Oronoco White Rum

Whiskey/Rye:

• Sazerac 6yo Rye
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• Old Potrero Rye
• Eagle Rare Line
• Stranchan’s Colorado Whiskey
• Wild Turkey American Spirit
• Four Roses Bourbon
• Old Overholt Rye
• Pappy Van Winkle Bourbons and Ryes

Liqueurs:

• Mathilde Fruit Liqueur Line
• Leopold Bros’ Liqueur Line
• Luxardo Maraschino
• Brizard Parfait Amour
• Berentzen Apfelkorn

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For other mixers you can find Stirrings Tonic Water and Stirrings Club Soda at Total Beverage but mostly you’ll likely have to shop at your specialty food stores to find anything excitement-worthy beyond that. I’ve been told to check out Tipsy’s Liquor World and will be doing so next week. Should I find it worthy, it will be added to this post and I will be creating a “Where to Shop” area of the site for reference.

Next up, Vegas, baby!

Do you have any places in Denver or your area that you go to pick up quality, hard-to-find, or generally fantastic items? Add it in the comments and let me know!

1. thankfully, there’s only been one such incident, a bottle of Lemon Hart 151 that completely shattered in my bag. Needless to say my bag smelled like a bum in East L.A. on a warm Saturday morning. [â�©]
2. note that I’m not necessarily recommending each of the products below (I’m looking at you, Sea Wynde Rum) but merely pointing out where some of the more esoteric products can be found [â�©]
3. and they were willing to work with me on special-ordering Creme de Violette and now carry it full-time [�]
4. I also managed to get them to order Batavia Arrack for me which was nice though it’s not regularly stocked [â�©]
5. I highly recommend this gin [�]
6. Trinidadian version at this point, Guatemalan is gone [�]

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a fan of guilty pleasures. I refuse myself as little as possible in life and, occasionally, this leads to make drinks that, shall we say, I would be ashamed to serve my high school girlfriend’s sorority-loving sister. And, about once-a-year, that means the Horny Monkey. This is a Pina Colada gone horribly wrong, and that’s saying something.

The malevolent forces that align to drive me into the arms of the Horny Monkey tend to fall out like this:

1. It’s late, very late
2. I’m drunk, very drunk
3. It’s Summer
4. I’m looking for a combination of alcohol and sugar shock to stay awake
5. There are no manly men present.¹

So, should you find yourself in this scenario, your demise goes something like this:
Read More »

1. unless you’re looking to distract a group of gentlemen playing cards by fits of laughter, this drink is a bad idea to pull amongst men whose regard of your virility you value [â�©]