Save the cocktail, save the world…or, less dramatically, Christmas. As a cocktail enthusiast, there’s little more depressing than having to open yet another wine bottle gift bag full of booze I can get a half mile away at the liquor store. Hell, not even my favorite liquor store. Mind you, the Tanqueray 10 and the Appleton Extra and the Blanton’s Bourbon are all welcome and will be put to good use, but they don’t excite us the way you hope. If you really want to thrill a cocktailian, be they friend, family, or spouse, then here are some items that they might not already have or, if they do, have to go out of their way to acquire and will appreciate the effort and thoughtfulness. However, if you’re in a pinch and looking for a present at a liquor store on the way to our house, here are some brief pointers: Tanqueray 10 over Bombay Sapphire, Noah’s Mill or Rowan’s Creek over Blanton’s, we’ll buy our own cocktail glasses , and, dear god in heaven’s judy, anything over vodka.

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Cheapies:

Ice Ball Molds (~$16.95): These “Ice Big Ball” molds from Japan do a fine job of making ice spheres that are approximately 2″ in diameter. The design of the two-piece mold is fairly ingenious and though you won’t get true clarity with them, they are sure to amuse guests and chill your whiskey in style. You can find them on eBay or get a two-ball version at the MoMa online store.

TraderTiki’s Tropical Syrups ($9.00/bottle): Blair, at tradertiki.com, has been promoting quality tiki drinking and tropical mixology for many years. He’s just rolled out a new line of syrups that make tiki drinks more accessible and replace the insipid orgeat at cinnamon syrup products on the shelves. I highly recommend the Cinnamon Syrup and Orgeat for those new to mixing tiki drinks and the Don’s Mix if you’ve been around the block a few times. Great products at a great price for 375ml worth. He’s also offering a Gift Pack which, for all orders placed by December 12th, will be shipped by the 14th and arrive in time to warm the heart of your favorite mixologist. Plus, you’re likely to get a hell of a drink out of them afterward.

Japanese Barspoons ($15.95-36.95): These japanese barspoons have become some of my favorite tools at my bar. The trident looks terribly nifty when you get a good stir going and the turning and machining of the spiral along the arm is very smooth and goes the full length of the shaft . The bowl of the spoon is also turned in nicely and measures out at an almost perfect 1/8oz. They’re very easy on the fingers and superior to the original trident spoons offered by Cocktail Kingdom. I suggest starting with the 32-33cm versions but any of them will do your bartender proud.

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Reasonable:

Yarai Mixing Glasses ($36.95-49.95): The Yarai Mixing Glass (again from Japan) has also become an attractive and useful part of my bar. The additional width it gives you for stirring, compared to a traditional mixing glass, makes it much easier to get a fluid and quick rotation started and the bottom-heavy weighting makes it much more secure and allows for one-handed stirring with less sweating. The seamless one is slightly more expensive (and I can vouch for the sizable seam on the $36.95 version) so if aesthetics are of primary importance to you then opt for the seamless. Cocktail Kingdom also offers an array of other mixing glasses included weighted, tall, and stemmed versions. Any of these will make stirring more fulfilling and flashy.

Out-of-Print Cocktail Books ($29.00-99.00): It’s hard to find, much less justify buying, out-of-print cocktail books to help build out our collections. A “can’t miss” way to please your cocktail swilling friends is to gift them a copy of any of these. Hell, we don’t much mind the condition given they’re likely to be put to work amongst the muddlers, ice debris, and bitter-stained tops of our bars. Here are a few I heartily recommend: “Esquire Drinks” by David Wondrich (a great price right now), “Jones’ Complete Bar Guide“, by Stan “Mutha-uckin’” Jones (you may have to dig around for this one, but it is highly-prized), and “Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century“, by Paul Harrington and Laura Moorhead (a book at the leading edge of the online cocktail revival, the recipes are top-notch)

Cocktail Glassware ($39.95-??): There are strong feelings about whether the 45 degree angled cocktail glass is a boon to or the bane of the bartender’s craft but it can’t be disputed that they are iconic and coupe and older more steeply-sided small glassware is hard to come by. So, all that said, I love my Reidel Vinum cocktail glasses. They are perfectly sized at 4.5oz capacity and are not so tall or lanky to feel risky to use, not to mention classy-looking as hell. They also aren’t so outrageously expensive to warrant keeping them out-of-circulation and unused. You can try to dig up vintage cocktail glasses but it can be hit-and-miss and nearly impossible to find something that meets the right combination of size and style. These fit the bill nicely.

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Absurd Silliness:

Bartender’s Kit Bag ($???-660.00): Jim Meehan, of PDT fame and winner of the vote for “Best Bartender” at Tales of the Cocktail, has designed an exceptional, and ludicrously-priced, bartender’s utility bag . It’s gloriously useful and beautifully designed but, unfortunately, does not come with any of the barware you’ll find pictured with it. Do I want one? Absolutely. Should I have one? Certainly not. Unless the recipient is a full-time bartender who travels between sites often and is meticulous about using their own kit, it’s a bit much. Another option, though still pricey, is using an old doctor’s kit bag. There are often interesting finds on eBay and some even come with all the old gear… creepy and exciting.

Ice Ball Mold (Mark II) ($160.00-1200.00): Ice Ball Molds of this sort differ from the ice trays above in that a solid block of ice is set in between the heated weights and an ice ball is formed from it. This allows for much more clarity in the ice ball since any section from a large block can be chunked off and used to form a sphere. In other words, awesome. You can buy them in sizes ranging from 33mm-80mm and you will pay accordingly. I’d suggest at least 55mm if you’re going to bother (nevermind that $800 jump in price!). Messy, dazzling, and fun.

Kold Draft Ice Machine ($2700.00-5000.00 + installation): You can’t do much better than gifting a personal Kold Draft machine if money is no object. They produce exceptionally cold ice at just over 1″ square (or other dimensions) and they handily replace the 8 Tovolo square ice cube trays your pal has been using since you’ve known them. Obviously making sure the giftee’s space allows for installation and doesn’t mind the increase in his or her water bill, should you choose a water-cooled unit, are considerations before buying. I recommend the GT350 for home or personal use. Oh, and do the recipient a favor and get the service plan on the unit, they’re notoriously temperamental.

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Odds and Ends:
Anvil Ice Pick $47.95 (I love this thing)
Kuhn-Rikon Paring Knives $10.00 (I have 4 that I rotate)
Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum $28.99 (My single favorite spirit of late)
Vintage Ice Crusher $10.00-30.00
Bitter Truth and Bittermen’s Bitters (get the whole damned line)
Lewis Bag (bonus points if you include a wooden mallet of doom)
Parisian Shaker or Parisian Shaker +10 defense against lameness (The second is my favorite but may not be available)

One of my regrets, and I have many, is not writing Ted Haigh ahead of this post. You see, he’s done so many great things; helping Fee Brothers craft their falernum, solving the riddle of the origins of the Singapore Sling, and, of course, playing the role of “Bartender” in “Superbad,” and having his insight into the origin story of this drink would be enlightening. In the Whoa, Nellie! you have a set of strange bedfellows, glancing nervously at one another and wondering how they arrived in the same drink, much less the same city. And it’s worth talking about the city in which this drink resides.

The Whoa, Nellie! calls the Cafe Adelaide and Swizzle Stick Bar in New Orleans its home. It was contributed to the Swizzle Stick’s menu as a tribute to the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina and in a stupefied fit of unfit drunkenness I ordered it and it broke through my haze of disorientation and inebriation and brought the guiding light of clarity and “Damn, this is GOOD,” to my soul and I scratched out the recipe from the poor bartender’s lips as I slurred my way through understanding.

Whoa, Nellie!

• 1.25oz Rye Whiskey (Sazerac or the like)
• .75oz Dark Rum (Coruba or Myer’s)
• .75oz Cointreau
• .5oz Grapefruit juice
• .5oz Lemon juice
• .5oz Simple syrup

Shake all ingredients and double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Think recuperative thoughts.

As my friend Rick said upon first tasting this drink, “The first sip reminded me of the Alamagoozlum in its strangeness. The melange of ingredients produces a symphony where no one instrument is heard, yet a chorus of sound echoes in your ears.” Yes, something like that.

The Whoa, Nellie! brings the unusual pairing of Rye and Dark Rum together in a way that allows this to be more than a sour but, even with the grapefruit, less than tiki. It’s one of my favorite types of drinks, built on simple and easy-to-find ingredients but bringing with it enough complexity to be wildly interesting without being fussy and demanding voodoo-like ritualistic principles of process or construction to achieve its goals. In short, it’s divine and yet accessible. It also goes great with hearty summer dishes such as grilled sausages, grilled flat-iron steak, or barbeque. This is a drink that cries out to be put into rotation as the mercury threatens to burst out of the thermometer out your window and poison the Hydrangeas you’ve nurtured so well.

Also, if you’ll allow me, back to Ted Haigh and New Orleans. Tales of the Cocktail is next week and, with it, a gaggle of cocktailians, bartenders, and other enthusiasts descend upon the Big Easy and raid bars like the Swizzle Stick and make them their own. One of the things I look forward to most at Tales this year is the release of a new version of “Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails,” by Ted Haigh . The first edition was the second serious cocktail book I purchased, right behind “The Joy of Mixology.” Ted opened my eyes to such wonderful drinks as the Blue Moon, the Alamagoozlum, Picon Punch, the Income Tax Cocktail, the Pendennis, and many others. He also did it with a degree of grace, detail, and intrigue that made it great fun to read.

In this deluxe edition Ted brings us back to those drinks but with new insights, new sources, and with a look at how the Internet has affected and supported the burgeoning cocktail culture. If you are thinking of dipping your toe into cocktailian waters and are at a loss for a place to start, you can’t do much better than this guide. If you are a seasoned mixologist or aficionado of quality drinks and don’t yet have this on your shelf, your library is incomplete. Buy it at Tales and get it signed by Ted himself or order it on Amazon, it’s one of the good ones.

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Whoa, Nellie! Rating:

I’m late for Mixology Monday, it’s true. Though rather than blame it on a dog eating my homework or, rather, drinking it, allow me to blame it on a certain dog in San Francisco who inspired me to chase its tail in the recreation of this drink. This is a tale of a weary traveler, who after long nights in bars, long days in distilleries, and sampling many fine brandies and Eau de Vies, was left in Oakland and drifted back to the other side of the Bay one Sunday afternoon looking for respite. Walking aimlessly around Union Square, drifting by noted liquor stores and finding them cruelly closed and, parched and listless, glancing at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and grimacing at the slice of life observed at 6th and Mission, I found my oasis, Heaven’s Dog. And, just as it opened.

Heaven’s Dog’s bar is constructed from a single cut of wood from a white cedar tree and the blend of contemporary and natural elements strikes you as you sit and face a long string of delights, spaced evenly and uncluttered behind the bartender, and contemplate what joys may come. Erik, it so happens, was part of the Feng shui on this visit. Heaven’s Dog features a “Freedom from Choice” on its menu and, in my deprived state, I was in need of such freedom. I glared at the bottles along the wall and, seeing Amaro Nonino, told Erik, “Something using Amaro Nonino, but dry, crisp, and refreshing.” Erik passed me my glass of water and, my trust and palate in his hands, went to work. This, as best as I can work out , is what I was served:

Upward Dog

• 2oz Rye whiskey
• .75oz Dry vermouth
• .75oz Amaro Nonino (used Amaro Meletti at home in the recreation of it)
• 2 barspoons Maraschino liqueur

Stir and strain. Serve with a lemon twist.

This is a delightful drink. I always develop crushes on simple and classically-styled cocktails that come across well-constructed and deliver complex and pleasing results. The balance of amaro against the rye and dry vermouth avoids the overly earthy or perfumey quality many amaro-heavy drinks acquire and the maraschino liqueur adds a sweet nutty touch without creating too much body. I highly recommend this and, if you can’t get Amaro Nonino, use a brighter and spicier amaro in your arsenal as a sub. Amaro Meletti is very light-bodied and brings a brightness to this that is most enjoyable. I also recommend using a drier rye than Old Overholt or Russell’s Reserve. Something on the order of Rittenhouse Bonded or Sazerac 6-year is called for here.

Heaven’s Dog assembles an incredible array of talent behind its bar. Erik Adkins, Thad Vogler, Erik Ellestad, and the other notable bartenders behind the stick represent a repository of cocktail knowledge and sound mixological principles that should be recognized and appreciated by the cocktailians of San Francisco. While Heaven’s Dog’s cocktail menu is squarely centered on vintage cocktails with a focus on local and natural ingredients, any bar where a patron can ask for a “Freedom from Choice” and have J. Wray Nephew Overproof rum as the called spirit and have delivered such a delightful cocktail as Thad managed, on the fly, to create deserves not only our respect but a bit of our awe as well.

I highly recommend the Bumblebee and Pisco Apricot Tropical. Or, if Ellestad is behind the stick, the Upward Dog.

Upward Dog Rating:

Last year I did a post rounding up mail I’d received from readers and, looking back, I can see I have a pretty good list of items to cover. I always try to answer quickly and honestly but, this year, have found it challenging. The quickly part, I mean. Also, this round-up, I need your help. There are some questions I simply cannot answer and you, dear reader, will do far better than I at answering them. Let us see what we have, shall we?

Read More »

Join us tonight at 7pm EST with a live feed of TDN: Beefeater from Vessel in Seattle where Paul Clarke, Stevi Deter will be hosting TDN at Vessel with guests such as Robert Hess, Jamie Boudreau and others. The fine bartenders at Vessel will also be submitting drinks and putting their skills into the mix.

You can also join us in the Mixoloseum Bar and submit and mix drinks of your very own!

It goes like this; first, Simple Syrup…easy, and quick, and tasty. And then, trying something a little more challenging and varied, you make grenadine…still easy, and tastier, and superior. Great! Then you decide to get all esoteric and historic and brave. A few skinned knuckles and ruined cheese cloths later you have Falernum (this despite the fact it’s not often used outside tiki drinks, but the Corn and Oil is a MIGHTY nice parting gift)…a little more difficult and cumbersome, but unique and rewarding and a great way to dazzle friends. Then, you go mildly insane, much like our mariner friend here…

I made my first batch of Pimento Dram (Allspice Liqueur) last Fall and, given that it takes a month-and-a-half to make it properly, set it on the shelf, tried the occasional tiki drink that called for it, added it to a batch of Egg Nog or two (delicious), but otherwise found it a fantastic ingredient for which I had yet to find a natural, recurring, and fitting home for. Until, that is, I came upon the Ancient Mariner in Jeff Berry’s Grog Log. This is the rare life-changing drink. My secret shame is that it’s taken me this long to write about it and Pimento Dram . Let’s look at the secret weapon of the drink, the Pimento Dram, first. Read More »

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.

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 »

I received the ultimate birthday gift a few weeks ago, notice that two things for which i’m very passionate would be coming together in a fit of perfection: drinking and classic films. Awesome. Cheryl Charming wrote me to let me know she is hosting the 1st Annual Cocktail Film Fest through Tales of the Cocktail.

I’ve dreamt of something like this for a long long while, watching movies like You Can’t Take It With You, Key Largo, The Apartment, The Big Lebowski and so many others thinking, “hey, there’s really a set of drinks that could be themed around this…” Well, they’ve gone and done it, and a month from now you can find yourself in New Orleans enjoying just that very thing:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Ann Tuennerman; 504-343-4285; ann@talesofthecocktail.com
Debbie Rizzo; 617-233-8024; darizzo@gmail.com

COCKTAIL FILM FEST CELEBRATES SIPPING IN CINEMA WITH THREE SCREENINGS AT W NEW ORLEANS HOTEL

Host Cheryl Charming presents movies and themed cocktails and food March 21 – 22.

NEW ORLEANS – (January 18, 2008) –
Tales of the Cocktail and the W New Orleans invite movie buffs and libation lovers to indulge in two evenings of celebrating cocktail in film. Cheryl Charming, cocktail writer and founder of MissCharming.com, plays hostess for the screenings of Casablanca, Guys and Dolls, and The Seven Year Itch, on the evenings of Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22, at the W, located at 333 Poydras St. in downtown New Orleans.

“Cocktail scenes in film have been around since the invention of cinema,” said Ann Tuennerman, founder of Tales of the Cocktail. “Our film fest looks at the specific cocktails and spirits served in great films and offers guests an opportunity to learn more about these drinks and of course taste and enjoy them in the sophisticated atmosphere of the W.”

The Film Fest schedule is as follows:
Friday, March 21, 8 p.m., Casablanca
Saturday, March 22, 5 p.m., The Seven Year Itch
Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m., Guys and Dolls

Tickets are $25 per film, per person, and include drinks, cocktail food and snacks. A weekend package that includes all three films is $65 per person, which saves $10. For tickets, visit www.TalesoftheCocktail.com or call 504-377-7935 beginning March 1, 2008. The W New Orleans is featuring a special rate of $129 a night for Cocktail Film Fest goers. Visit W Hotels New Orleans for more information.

Themed food and drink by Zoë will coordinate with each film. During Casablanca, guests will enjoy French 75’s, Champagne Cocktails, Champagne, Brandy, Grand Marnier and Moroccan themed food. As The Seven Year Itch is screened, potato chips (dip ‘em bubbly if one cares to), popcorn, retro candy, Martinis, Tom Collins’, Scotch, Whiskey Sours and Gin and Tonics will be served. On Saturday, during the Guys and Dolls screening, guests can taste TV dinners, wedding cake, Mojitos, Cuba Libres, Milk Punch and Mexican Beer.

Lay this on top of the fact that my wife is a professional foodie and we are absolutely going to make it. Errrrr… or not. Easter Sunday as well as my daughter’s 7th birthday are on the 23rd and it’s a ten-hour drive from here to the Big Easy…but hell, I’ll try and make it to Casablanca at the very least. This is a great opportunity at a great price to spend time with three of the great things in life; drink, food, well-made movies, and people that enjoy the same . Don’t miss it.

Greetings, winos and wingnuts! As you may already know, yours truly is hosting Mixology Monday XIX next Monday for which the theme is ‘Fizz!!’. Once Paul contacted me to see if I was interested in hosting an MxMo (to which I think it took me about 6.23 seconds to respond with a ridiculously emphatic, ‘Yes!!’) I ran through several possibilities, each of which were either too restrictive, too obscure, or too specific to encourage participation (though I thought ‘Equinox’ (drinks with equal parts) showed some promise, but then I considered how few Negronis I can handle in one sitting).

Fizz is close to my heart because, as I’ve mentioned before, I spent about an entire year and three months drinking nothing but Champagne and sparkling wine, much to the chagrin of my financial planner who promptly deemed me hopeless and quit for a career in ice trucking, apparently a much more sane and stable occupation. After leaving the world of the sparkly I quickly found myself drawn to gin fizzes, tom collins(es?), and mojito variations which seemed liked fine and warm cousins to the roommate who’d moved away and was now only occasionally stopping by and crashing in my wine refrigerator.

So, as we watch the warmth of Summer seep into earlier and earlier evenings I’d be honored to have you share your favorite fizzy recipes, be they based on cola, soda, tonic, champagne, or any other myriad of possibilities so we give a final huzzah to Summer and anticipate Fall and her cool blanketed ways. And remember, school’s back in session and I know the lot of you got high marks, so I expect only top-notch work. Mark your calendars for next Monday, do all your homework over the next week, and bring your ‘A game’ folks; just post your entry no later than Monday, September 17th, and trackback to this post. Also, please fire me an email with your name and a hyperlink to your post (gabriel at cocktailnerd dot com).

I can’t wait to see what you come up with, you glorious bastards you.