Erica Reilly and I are doing another awesome pop up this Saturday to raise money for Planned Parenthood and the cocktail list is done.  Syrups are a brewing, tonics are curing, and flavors are infusing.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Not sure what a pop up is?

You see it a lot more with chefs who will create a restaurant space in a warehouse or another empty space for only one night. Erica and I have been doing pop up bars the last couple of months, both of them being password speakeasys with pre-prohibition cocktails. This time we are doing a much larger event – a cocktail lounge that morphs into a high-end nightclub in Cafe Sintra (a breakfast cafe). The party is titled Blush, and we’ve decided to use it as a way to raise money for Planned Parenthood.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Anyhow, here are the drinks!  The name of the party is Blush: The Red Party Continues… so I thought it would be fun to do all the drinks of a blushed hue with similar titles.

GARNET
a festive lemondrop

Rose hip infused Crater Lake Vodka with marionberry syrup, fresh lemon juice, and plum bitters finished with a hibiscus sugar rim

FLUSHED
my twist on one of my high-school favorites, tequila rose

Jasmine tainted tequila with strawberry confit and liquid white chocolate

CORAL
a citrusy rendition on a Tom Collins

Lemon peel doused Cascade Mountain Gin with pomegranate nectar and a dash of celery water topped with parkly water

RUSTY
the whiskey makes it manly

Straight Kentucky Bourbon with ginger syrup and lemon-infused orange pineapple juice and housemade orange bitters

SCARLET
sort of a spin on a lot of old tiki drinks

Cardamom nutmeg infused Crater Lake Vodka with fresh squeezed orange, campari, and a hint of banana essence

HOT PINK
my most famous cocktail that won big money in Vegas

Mazama Pepper Vodka, X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, and fresh-squeezed lime sour

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If you would like more information about the party, the press release follows.  If you are in Bend this weekend and would like to buy a ticket to the event, please go to www.bendticket.com

Cheers!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Erica Reilly and Columbine Quillen like throwing a party, better yet if it is a party with a cause.  It is no secret that the House of Representatives has tried to bar federal funds to Planned Parenthood for any purpose, including providing basic primary and preventive health care like birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, HIV testing, STD testing, and other essential care. “We used to do a party at The Grove to raise money and awareness for Planned Parenthood and when Columbine approached me about putting an event together – I really wanted to bring that party back,” said Erica Reilly, former proprietor of The Grove.  The Grove used to throw The Red Party, with part of the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood, right around Valentine’s Day.  “The decorations were red, the staff wore red, and the guests came clad in hues of red.”  “When Erica approached me with the idea, it was absolutely brilliant,” Quillen said.  “I was hoping we could do more of a cocktail lounge/upscale nightclub scene with good music, hand-crafted food, and creative cocktails.  The ideas came together perfectly with her vision and mine and it always feels good to give to a good cause.”  Reilly also thought it an opportune time to create community and invited several small business owners to help with the collaboration. “Manuel of Café Sintra has generously allowed us to use his space; Utilitu is decorating the space with contemporary art; Herbal Goddess will have a separate bar with tonics and elixirs; Mod Fox Style is bringing in a photo booth; Spork, Honey Pot, and Ida’s Cupcake Café are doing all of the food; Crater Lake Vodka donated spirit; and The Source has been fantastic in helping build awareness about the event,” Reilly added. “We at Planned Parenthood are really excited for this event,” said David Gurule, Bend Planned Parenthood Health Center Manager.

Blush, The Red Party Continues is a benefit for Planned Parenthood this upcoming Saturday, May 14.  The doors open at 8 p.m. to a passed appetizer party with live music duo Flying Kites, composed of DJ Swett and vocalist Phoebe whose gut-wrenching lyrics and bravado will have you clamoring for more.  Tickets are being sold for the cocktail party for $25, which are available at www.bendticket.com or at the door.  Included in the ticket price is entrance, passed appetizers, and two cocktails of your choice (either mixed drinks or from the specialty cocktail list). Around 10:30 the party will morph more into a nightclub scene with Jackson Hole DJ El Jefe and DJ Smoke (in a rare appearance).  After 10:30, it is a $10 donation at the door which includes a drink of your choice.  (Obviously, if you buy a ticket for the cocktail party – once you are in, you are in.  No need to make another donation – unless you want to.)

BLUSH

The Red Party Continues…

(a benefit for Planned Parenthood)

Saturday, May 14th
Cafe Sintra, Downtown Bend

8pm – 10:30 . Cocktail Party
passed hors d’oeuvres . special libations . live entertainment
tickets $25 per person . includes 2 drinks
limited availability . advance purchase encouraged . bendticket.com

10:30 – close . $10 at the door . includes 1 drink

We encourage everyone to wear red.

Music by:
Flying Kites
Dj Smoke
El Jefe

Live Dance Performances

Cocktail List:
Columbine Quillen

Spacial Design:
Utilitu

Elixirs:
Herbal Goddess

Foto Booth:
Mod Fox Style

Food:
Honey Pot
Spork
Cupcakes by Ida’s Cupcake Café

Merrymaking by:
Erica Reilly & friends

For info call 541.848.5930

brought to you in conjunction with :::::::
Planned Parenthood. Plum . The Source . qmixalot.com . Herbal Goddess . Honey Pot . Spork . Boneyard Brewery . Crater Lake

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Link to The Source article about the event  ::::::   click here

Link to past post about speakeasy pop – ups :::::  click here

Link to bendistillery – Bend’s oldest small batch distillery :::::  click here

I was fortunate to be chosen as the cover article of Mix Magazine this week. Thank you Kathleen Bauer for writing such a beautiful piece and Thomas Boyd for the gorgeous photography.

Mix Magazine piece

Friday, I was honored to make The Help cocktail for Kathryn Stockett - author of The Help – the best-selling novel which takes place in the South during the 60s and is a moving tale about the relationship between white women and their black maids.  What was even more enjoyable however, was seeing Stocket’s reading the next day.  She read with her good friend Octavia Spencer, who will be playing the part of Minnie in the movie that is about to filmed this summer by Steven Spielberg.  Hearing Octavia’s voice bring that book to life is truly one of the most magical things I’ve ever been a part of.  And to be in a room with so many people who were moved by a book and to see a Ms. Stockett’s humbleness in light of a success that is spiraling without any limits was mesmerizing.  So thank you Ms. Stockett for letting me take a plot from a book and make it into a cocktail – but even more, thank you for moving a community.  There’s no doubt you’ve written a classic and you will move the world.

Once again, thank you to Bendistillery and Crater Lake Vodka who generously donated all the spirits.  Remember the number one name in making ginger tea vodka – Crater Lake Vodka.  Makes it good every time.

Link to recipe to make The Help Cocktail.

Columbine Quillen Doesn’t Just Mix Drinks
She Tells a Story

By David Holley / The Bulletin
Published: January 16. 2010 4:00AM PST

Come February, a Bend mixologist could be dubbed “Bartender of the Year.”

Columbine Quillen, the 34-year-old bar manager at The Blacksmith Restaurant, was one of four bartenders picked nationally by Nightclub & Bar Magazine as a finalist in the best bartender category of the magazine’s annual awards. The winner will be announced in early February, profiled in the magazine’s March issue and invited to attend the Nightclub & Bar Trade Show in Las Vegas in March.

Although Quillen, an experienced and innovative drink mixer, remains confident about her chances, she is up against some stiff competition. Her opponents are from much larger cities — Chicago, San Francisco and Austin, Texas — and are highly involved in the bar world.

The owner of The Blacksmith, Gavin McMichael, nominated Quillen for the award. He said she’s the best bartender he has ever worked with, adding that she approaches the job as if she were a chef.

“She tells a story through her drinks,” McMichael said. “She’s whimsical, technical. She’s very, very good.”

Nightclub & Bar picks four finalists for each of 14 categories. It received more than 230 entries for the categories, and a panel of 20 judges will decide the winners. Quillen was the only person from Oregon who made it to the finals. No Oregon bar made it either.

Although she earned an international business degree in college, Quillen has been working in bars and restaurants since she graduated. She started at The Blacksmith in September 2008 and said she has revamped the bar, making it more efficient and personalizing it with her own pair of cocktail lists — one for happy hour and another for normal business hours.

“I really wanted to do something behind the bar that would really flatter and complement The Blacksmith,” she said, adding that she created cocktails meant to play off the restaurant’s atmosphere and cuisine, such as the Bubble Gum Lemondrop or the Vulcan.

With maple-infused vodka, ancho chile, a hint of lime and epazote, Quillen said the Vulcan will test a person’s pallet and their senses.

Additionally, Quillen created two cocktails for causes.

One is the Maui Zowie. For every one sold, $1 is donated to the Central Oregon Police Chaplaincy, which works with police officers who have been injured in the line of duty.

And her Save the Pacific Lamprey cocktail is meant to promote awareness about the species.

Quillen’s involvement in the alcohol industry spreads beyond The Blacksmith, however, a reason she thinks she was picked as a finalist.

She makes her own bitters, teaches occasional mixology classes at The Blacksmith and runs an online blog, called the Jerry Thomas Project, on which she writes about mixing drinks invented by Jerry Thomas. A bartender from the 1800s, Thomas is considered the father of mixology, according to Quillen, who has the book “Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tender’s Guide or How to Mix Drinks.”

Quillen also makes and sells earrings.

Although she started bartending merely as a way to earn money, Quillen said she fell in love with it.

“I love the chaos of it, the excitement of it,” Quillen said. “I love that every day is different.”