So I find myself back in my old life, far removed from the rigors of law school. (Although it has this perverse way of making you always feel guilty for thinking of anything else.) I am just finishing the last minute touches on two beautiful cocktails that will be presented tomorrow at a trade only gala here in San Francisco tomorrow evening.

Anyhow, I wanted to post the recipes here so people had access to them after the show tomorrow or to anyone else who for some reason wanted to spend hours in their kitchen making bitters and vermouth so to enjoy one cocktail. The base spirits are Pendleton 1910 Rye Whisky and Broker’s Gin. The Pendleton 1910 is a 12-year old 100% Canadian rye whisky finished in white oak barrels. The whisky has a nice vanilla (reminiscent of the regular Pendleton) backdrop with pepper, tobacco, an dark cherry dancing in the forefront. Hood River Distillers just released this rye this year. If you haven’t ever tried the Broker’s, you should as it might just be my favorite London Dry Gin. A wealth of botanicals leaps out in every swig, which isn’t surprising as the Dawson brothers let beautiful herbs and botanicals steep in the juice rather than using a gin basket, whereby the gin fumes escape through the botanicals.

Here’s tomorrow’s lineup – enjoy!

Pomegranate Penhatten

Ingredients:

3 parts Pendleton 1910 Rye Whisky

1 part pomegranate vermouth

3 shakes easy Wild Sweet Orange Bitters

Method:

Place ingredients in a shaker with ice

Shake

Strain into a coup glass

Garnish with a homemade marashino cherry

Wild Sweet Orange Bitters

1 cup Pendleton 1910 Rye Whisky

2 Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea bags (contain lemongrass, blackberry leaves, rose hips, spearmint leaves, orange peel, hibiscus flower, rose petals, ginger root, and licorice root)

The peel from ½ of a lemon

Place ingredients in an airtight container and let steep overnight. Strain and bottle in a dropper bottle. Very very long shelf life at room temperature.

Pomegranate Vermouth

1 cup white wine

1 Tazo Sweet Orange tea bag

½ cup pomegranate juice

¼ cup sugar

Bring ingredients to a rolling boil. Immediately take off heat and cool. Date and refridgerate up to 10 days.

Marashino Cherries

1 cup dried cherries

1 Tazo Sweet Orange tea bag

2 cups cherry juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring cherry juice to a boil with Tazo tea bag. Pull off of heat and allow to steep for five minutes. Add vanilla extract and stir. Add cherries. Place in airtight container and allow to sit overnight at room temperature. Date and refridgerate up to 15 days.

Brokers Sling

Ingredients:

4 parts Brokers Gin

1 part Luxardo Maraschino Liquor

1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 part pineapple juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 part Hard Yazi Gingerale

Method:

Place all ingredients in a collins glass except for Hard Yazi Gingerale

Stir

Add Ice

Top with Hard Yazi Gingerale

Garnish with tropical fruit

Hard Yazi Gingerale

One cup fresh squeezed lemon

½ cup simple syrup

½ cup Yazi Ginger Vodka

4 shakes Angostura Bitters

1 cup soda water

Method:

Mix lemon juice, simple syrup, ginger vodka, and bitters together until well blended. Add soda water and stir. Place in an airtight container to preserve bubbles or in a soda syphon if you plan to use over time.

Image thanks to zazzle.com. If you still use a mousepad you can buy this one there.

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One of the most brilliant things that ever happened to me as a bar manager was to manage a bar owned by a man who was almost always on the verge of bankruptcy. It made me learn how to stretch the dime, make and create a lot on my own because we couldn’t afford to buy it, and made me figure out how to fix nearly every piece of equipment behind the bar because if I didn’t fix it, it wasn’t going to get fixed. It also made me extremely good at doing costing, inventory, and forecasting – because I didn’t ever have the luxury of overspending. Friends often ask for advice on these matters and it occurred to me that it might be information that others would like.

This post: Costing

What is Costing?
A way of figuring out bar costs by breaking down the cost of each ingredient in a recipe so that you know exactly how much money it costs to make each drink. It is best to figure this out before you price your menu – as then one can ensure they are charging enough to ensure a profit. (You would think that all bars made profit off of their drinks, but I’ve been in many that sell boozy cocktails for less than they paid for the raw materials or absinthe pours that are so grandiose that it would be cheaper for the neighbor bar to buy absinthe from them rather than the liquor store).  A bar should be extremely profitable – and it will be if you know exactly what your raw materials cost and how much you are charging for them.  Which sounds quite simple – and is if you are willing to put in the leg work.

I’ve actually worked in very few bars that cost out everything behind the bar. I believe it’s one of the main reasons restaurants fail. I have time and time again gone into a place and turned their bar around by lowering liquor costs by pricing according to the actual cost of what is in the drink and taking drinks off the list that are not profitable.

One of the most important thing that a bar manager must recognize is that he/she is almost always going to lose money on Grey Goose (or any premium call) martinis and top shelf manhattans. If a Grey Goose martini has 6 ounces of Grey Goose in it and Grey Goose is $1.20 an ounce. The cost of the spirit in the martini is $7.20! Unless you are in a hot spot in a city, a bar manager is going to have a hard time charging much more than $9 for this drink which only leaves $1.80 in profit. Once you add in the labor of shaking the drink, the garnish, washing the glassware and breakage – it is a loss liter. Therefore, the smart bar manager creates a cocktail list that is highly profitable to compensate for the straight booze drinkers.

What should I cost out?
As much as you have time for. The constant battle with the restauranteur and the restaurant manager is that the job really takes a human being that doesn’t need to sleep. But even Randy Gardner who holds the world’s record for most days without sleep (eleven) eventually has to get some rest medicine. It is understandable why one might not have the time to cost out every tiny ingredient behind the bar (i.e. the salt on the rim of a margarita) but the main ingredients should be accounted for.

Do what you have time for in this order.
1. Cost out the spirit.
–If the spirit is an infusion – you must account for the cost of what was used to infuse.
2. Cost out fresh fruit mixer.
3. Cost out any other expensive mixer (i.e. fruit puree, heavy whipping cream, coffee, tea)
4. Cost out syrups

How do I figure out how much a mixed cocktail costs?
First, you need to have a recipe for each drink that states how many ounces of each ingredient are in the drink. For example we will take a lemon drop that is made with 2 ounces of vodka, 2 ounces of simple syrup, and 2 ounces of lemon juice.

How to figure out how much an ounce of vodka costs:
It is easy to figure out how much an ounce of vodka costs in Oregon because the OLCC does all the costing for you and publishes each month when any price changes (or sales) go into affect. However, if you do not live in Oregon – it is easy math with a calculator.
First you must know how many ounces are in a full bottle.

• In a 750 ml (a fifth) there are approximately 25 ounces.
• In a liter bottle there are approximately 34 ounces.
• In a 1.75 bottle there are approximately 59 ounces.

Take the price of the bottle. Let’s say a .750 bottle of Absolut costs $22. Take $22 and divide it by 25. Absolut vodka is 88 cents per ounce.

How to figure out how much simple syrup costs:
If you make simple syrup with granulated white sugar, there are 2 1/4 cups per pound of sugar. Let’s say that five pounds of sugar costs $5. Therefore, one pound (2.25 cups) costs one dollar. Each cup of sugar yields 1.3 cups (approximately 10.5 ounces) of simple syrup. That means that 10.5 ounces of simple syrup costs $1. Or simply that simple syrup costs about 10 cents per ounce. ($1 divided by 10.5 ounces)

How to figure out how much lemon juice costs:
If you are using lemon juice that is already squeezed and bottled – use the same equation as the liquor costing by dividing the cost of the bottle by the number of ounces in the bottle. For example if 30 ounces of lemon juice costs $5 then each ounce costs 17 cents. ($5 divided by 30 ounces)

If you are using fresh squeezed juice, there are obviously more variables since you don’t know exactly how much juice you are going to get from a piece of fruit and there is labor involved in the juicing. I have done costing where labor is included – but that can get complicated and if you have never costed out a bar before I would leave labor out until you feel really comfortable with costing in general. Then it might not be such a difficult calculation.

How to figure out how much fresh-squeezed lemon juice costs:
In general there are about two ounces of juice in a lemon. You need to figure out how much that lemon costs. Ask your produce man how many lemons there are in the cases you are buying. A lemon weighs on average six ounces. So if you have a 40 pound box there are around 106 lemons in the box. (Calculated by multiplying 40 (pounds in the case) x 16 (ounces in one pound) and then divided by 6 (ounces in one lemon). 106 lemons will produce approximately 212 ounces of lemon juice. Lemon prices heavily fluctuate during the year depending on the season. If a case of lemons costs $40 then each ounce of lemon juice costs 18 cents. (40 (dollars) divided by 212 (ounces of lemon juice))

So to figure out the cost of the lemon drop:
Vodka = $.88/ounce
Simple syrup = $.10/ounce
Lemon juice = $.18/ounce

2 ounces of vodka + 2 ounces of simple syrup + 2 ounces of lemon juice =
$1.76 + $.20 + $.36 = $2.32

How do you use this number to get figure out a percentage of cost to price?
Determine the price you would like to charge for this drink based on the price. Then divide the cost by the price of the drink.

For example:
If you charge $5 for the drink – then you are running 43% cost.
::::: 2.14 (cost of lemon drop) divided by 5 (price of drink)

$5 for the drink – 43%
$6 for the drink – 36%
$7 for the drink – 30%
$8 for the drink – 27%
$9 for the drink – 24%

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How much juice is in?
One lime: 1 ounce
One lemon: 2 ounces
One orange: 2 ounces
One grapefruit: 8 ounces

How much simple syrup does one cup of sugar make?
1 1/3 cups

How many ounces of booze are in a bottle?
In a 750 ml (a fifth) there are approximately 25 ounces.
In a liter bottle there are approximately 34 ounces.
In a 1.75 bottle there are approximately 59 ounces.

by Anthony Russo from the New York Times review of Rules of Civility.

I am honored once again to be a part of the Deschutes Public Library’s Novel Idea Program. Just what is A Novel Idea (other than just another novel idea!)? It is one of the smartest library programs I’ve ever heard of. Every year Deschutes Public Library chooses one book and then spends a month bringing that book to life in every dimension imaginable. They will hold discussion groups about the book, show movies and documentaries that pertain to the genre or era of the book, encourage reading of similar books, have storytellers tell their tales related to themes in the book, invite the author to speak about his/her book, and lastly have a food and cocktail demonstration pertaining to the book’s genre. This year the book is Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, which is a post-prohibition tale of two young women, Katey and Eve, finding their way in New York City Society in 1938. Both girls fall for a dashing young banker named Tinker Grey and throughout the year they both have their chances with him, usually eased with a cold gin martini. As this novel centers around a few central characters, I thought it would be fun to name the cocktails after them – so we have the Tinker Grey Toddy and the Miss Kontent (pronounced Kahn TENT). As Mr. Grey is warming and cordial – so is his cocktail. (As a small trivial note to those who have read the book, I also chose tea to work with since when Katey and Anne Grandin make amends over their relationship with Tinker they do so over a couple of cups of hot tea. Other than gin and bourbon, tea is the only other liquid that the characters imbibe!)

The Tinker Grey Toddy

In order to make the Tinker Grey Toddy, you will need to infuse a bottle of Crater Lake Vodka with earl grey tea bags (found at nearly every grocer). Place three tea bags in one bottle (750 ml) overnight. No need to try to remove them, as they might break in the process and blight your bottle of vodka. (If you just would like to make a smaller batch the tea bag to vodka ratio is one tea bag to one cup (eight ounces) of vodka.

In a mug or other type of glass made for hot drinks, please add

3 teaspoons honey
2 ounces lemon juice (the juice from one lemon)
2 ounces Earl-grey infused vodka
4 ounces of boiling hot water

Stir all of the ingredients together and enjoy. If one wishes, add a tad of half-and-half or milk after mixing.

a little side note :: What is a hot toddy? The hot toddy is one of the most loosely defined cocktails needing only to contain a spirit, a sweetener, and a warm base. Toddies can be made from tea, coffee, apple cider, sugar, syrup, brandy, bourbon, or rum. But the most traditional toddies are made from honey, lemon, hot water, and bourbon. Want to know the history of the hot toddy? Click here

Everyone in the book has a penchant for gin and it is on very rare occasion that everyone isn’t enjoying a cold gin martini. I thought it would be fun to play around with the gin martini, making it a little more feminine in honor of the beautiful and daring Miss Kontent.

The Miss Kontent

To make the Miss Kontent you will need to first make rose-petal syrup.

How to Make Rose Petal Syrup :::::::

This syrup has just a hint of rose petal flavor to it, as petals often have a lot of tannins in them and can make syrups bitter. Rose Petal Syrup 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1/8 cup rose petals (Rose petals can be found at most herbalists and often times you can find rose hip tea bags at the grocer or at a health food store. If you use the tea bags, the ratio is one tea bag to 8 ounces of water.) Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Strain off rose petals and allow to cool. I recommend making this syrup the night before if possible (especially if you are making a larger batch), that way it will have plenty of time to cool.

In a shaker, mix the following:

2 ounces of Cascade Mountain Gin
1 ounce Rose-Petal Syrup
1 ounce Grapefruit Juice
1 Splash of lemon
1.5 ounce of Soda water

Add ice to the shaker, shake and strain into a cocktail glass or a coup.

If you are daring – this cocktail tastes delicious with an egg white. Just add the egg white to the mixture, shake without ice and then add ice. A gorgeous frothiness will brighten the flavor and create a silkiness that is very becoming.

Tony Sachs, who is a self-declared Drinker of Spirits, Listener of Music, Watcher of Baseball, Writer of Words put together this list of what he considers the Best New Spirits of 2011.

Click here for the full article (which includes tasting notes and pricing).

10. Bols Barrel-Aged Genever
9. Drambuie 15 Liqueur
8. Brugal 1888 Rum
7. Grand Marnier Quintessence Liqueur
6. High West Double Rye!
5. Pierre-Ferrand 1840 Original Formula Cognac
4. Auchentoshan 1999 Bordeaux Cask Matured Scotch Whisky
3. No. 3 London Dry Gin
2. Mackinlay’s “Shackleton” Rare Old Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
1. Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon

With honorable mentions going out to
Honorable Mention: Don Julio Anejo Claro Tequila
Honorable Mention: High West Silver OMG Pure Rye
Honorable Mention: Johnnie Walker Double Black
Honorable Mention: Ron De Jeremy Rum
Honorable Mention: The Vodka By Ransom

It’s that time of the year to re-cap the best of 2011.

What’s hot?  What’s not?  I honestly don’t have a clue, but here’s what I do know about what happened this year.

The craft spirit industry is on fire with over 200 small distilleries producing vodka, gin, whiskey, and liqueurs all over the country. (I have yet to hear of one making American tequila – if there can even be such a thing???). Here in Oregon, Portland alone has thirteen distilleries and then there are other small batch distilleries sprinkled throughout the state such as Superfly, Oregon Spirit Distilleries, and Stein Distillery. The practice of opening a distillery has become so commonplace that there is now a website ran by the state of Oregon giving you a step-by-step guide as to how to do it! link here

What are people around the country excited about this year in the craft market – surprisingly a lot of people are talking about whiskey! I have felt that all of the new whiskeys I’ve tried need five or six more years in the barrel – but word on the street is that some of these distilleries are turning out a respectable product.

 Northwest

In the Northwest people are excited about

Black Mariah Marionberry Liqueur :::::

Sweet and thick, made with locally harvested marionberries, local botanicals, and hazelnuts this will make you laugh in Chambord’s face when it comes to making a jaw-dropping kir royal this New Year’s eve.

 The West

In the West, people are raving about

Dancing Pines Chai Liqueur which won double gold medal winner from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition this year. The liqueur is distilled in a hand-crafted copper pot still with their own blend of chai tea made from whole leaf black tea and five secret spices. Jacob T. who told me about this delicious sounding liqueur said, “I’ve never really tasted anything like it before: balanced, complex bouquet, sweet ….but not too sweet, perfect in a hot drink or over ice cream! They really did a nice job!”

Roundhouse Imperial Barrelhouse Gin  :::::

My favorite new spirit I tried this year was Roundhouse’s new barrel-aged gin. They took their award-winning gin and decided to barrel age it for six months and it is delicious. It tastes like a fragrant well-balanced gin met a honey=kissed bourbon and fell in love so you could fall in love with it.

The Midwest

In the Midwest, there’s hype about Templeton Rye.

Jeff H. who told me off this whiskey said, “It’s out of Iowa and they allegedly were one of Capone’s major producers during prohibition. It’s delicious!” Templeton claims that they have been producing whiskey for eighty-five years. Their claim to fame is that during prohibition they secretly produced in very small quantities for a few select customers.

The Northeast

In the Northeast people are pysched about what Tuthillton Distillery is creating out of New York and about a very small distillery called Ryan & Wood which is in the small town of Gloucester, Massachusetts right on the Atlantic Coast.

Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey is crafted from New-York grown corn and aged in small American Oak barrels. As for their rye, Hudson was the first distillery to make rye whiskey in the state of New York in 80 years. It is crafted one small batch at a time.

Sarah S. who told me about this spirit said, “Baby Bourbon or Manhattan Rye … oh So freaking amazing! why? because when I sip on them, the subtle flavors pop in just the right way…I’m not a whiskey drinker either…”

Ryan & Wood Rye :::::

Frederic Y. told me about Ryan & Wood Rye, “Tastes like a fuller flavored Sazerac 6. And unlike many small distilleries’ whiskeys, it was well worth the price.”

Ryan & Wood might have one of the most beautiful stills I have ever seen – it looks like a musical instrument.  It is 600 liter alembic copper pot still which was crafted in Germany.  See a photo of it here.

The South

What’s hot in The South? (Well more than the weather.)

Southern Corn Whiskey :::::

Clare H. told me about this Southern Belle, “I love it with just a cube or two of ice to allow a sweet spicy flavor with just a little bit of heat.”  Getting your hand on a bottle might be a problem as the distiller Thirteenth Colony Distillers  did a tiny run of only 400 bottles last year.

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As for the the cocktail world, I was able to ask Alan Dietrich, national sales manager for Crater Lake Vodka, a bit about trends he’s seen this year.

What spirit surprised you?

::::: There has been a huge jump in interest in gin this year. It’s really noticeable in the number of inquiries we have received to create private label gins.

What trends have you seen in the bar scene?

::::: I have noticed an increase in the number of bartenders trying to create new drinks. The mixology trend appears to be growing.

What trends did you notice in mixology?

::::: I have also noticed that the established mixologists are tending toward simpler concoctions. They seem to be acknowledging that the average drinker is not very sophisticated yet. It might just be the holidays but I have seen a number of new champagne drinks showing up on menus and in the trade press. I have also seen a growing interest in Prohibition era cocktails – maybe due to the Ken Burns series?

What will 2012 hold? Keep me posted.

thank you Public Domain for the 2011 photo

Once many years ago in a futile attempt to leave the service industry, I found myself temping at a real estate development company in downtown Denver. It was the first time I became hyper aware of the office man’s caste system. There were many tools that the office men used to distinguish themselves from one another: placement of their office, number of windows in the office, the tardiness as to the time they found themselves at work, the length of their lunch, expense or their suit, quality of their haircut, but the easiest way to tell who was who was to look at their chair. The chair alone could tell you their rank amongst their fellow men. Obviously the nicer the chair: the higher up the back went, the quality of materials, and the element of the swivel told you immediately his place in life.

In a bar, all the chairs are the same and the bar truly is the great equalizer of men. There are no Misters or Misses in the bar, everyone goes by their first name. Great powers of industry sit next to guys who clean out sewers and chat about how their wives drive them crazy and how proud they are of their kids. Bars are these magical places, where it doesn’t matter who you are during the day, when you square up to the rail – you are just a thirsty man like any other thirsty man at the bar.

On special occasion, there is that one individual who is has grown accustomed to an air of obnoxiousness as he spends most of his day rolling around in a million dollar Pininfarina office chair (styled by Italian luxury car designers). He finds himself in the bar trying to wield his power, mostly by treating everyone around him like they are lucky to breathe the same air as himself. But within minutes, his neighboring bar customers and the bartender will remind him that this type of behavior has no place in such an egalitarian society. And it is on very rare occasion that such an individual doesn’t get the hint, typically after one or two he’s sharing stories and buying rounds on his quarter-inch thick Amex black card.

I find myself now, not behind a bar but rather in the caste system (sadly bottom feeding with all of the other hungry sucker fish). If only the only available chair on the market was a bar stool – well the world might just be a much nicer place.

Whiskey: the great equalizer of men.

Here are a couple of my favorite whiskeys that can be afforded on the budget of a hungry sucker fish.

Henry McKenna

The flavor of this bourbon is very light and crisp with a hint of sweet maple and toasted oak. I truly believe you can not get a better whiskey for the price (typically runs between $11 – $15 a bottle).

A brief history: Henry McKenna was a distiller originally from Ireland and settled in Fairfield, Kentucky in 1837. He built a distillery in his new home which opened in 1855. He made whiskey just like he did in Ireland, except he had to use corn – but believed he made a superior product and soon Henry McKenna’s whiskey became known as “Kentucky’s Finest Table Whiskey.” I also like one of their motto: “Henry McKenna Bourbon honors that heritage with a Bourbon that can be served with pride and poured without pretension.”

Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey

This is a real treat with light fruit, gentle spice, and the sweet taste of honey. However, if you find yourself a notch up from the sucker fish level, try their older whiskeys – awesome spirit in a bottle for a great value. Their run-of-the-mill bottle typically runs between $15 – $20 bottle.

A brief history: When you are at the liquor store looking for Four Roses, you will find that many of the bottles have beautiful roses sculpted into the bottle design. Supposedly the story goes that the founder, Paul Jones, Jr. had a huge crush on a beautiful Southern belle. He was said to have sent her a proposal and if she were to say yes, she would wear roses on her gown to the upcoming grand ball. She arrived with four red roses on her corsage and thus he named his second love after his first love.

Minnesota Street – downtown Bend, Oregon
photo by Brad Goettemoeller

To my blog readers:

I would first like to apologize for the lack of posts – I could offer up one of many excuses, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to time and I spent the summer visiting friends and family and moving a large household that had been settled for nearly a decade. Today I started law school, and I have the sneaking suspicion that my posts will remain few and far between as I have my nose jammed in case law rather than cases of Scotch or vodka. But I know I will always be tempted by intoxicating ingredients and I have full intent on finishing the Jerry Thomas Project – it might take my lifetime, but Jerry and I have something special now that I’m not willing to give up on.

Otherwise, I have walked away from an invigorating career as a bar chef for this new challenge of life. I will no longer write a snarky cocktail column for the local rag, but rather dry research-laden scholarly text for the law review. On that note – here’s my last column for The Source. For the meantime, please enjoy the archives on the blog and check back from time to time, as I cannot help but guess that I will be inspired by all of the fruit growing around me (just on this one block there are hazelnuts, blackberries, apples, and pears) and from time to time, I will set the kitchen up and see WJD – What Would Jerry (Thomas) Do?

The Jerry Thomas Project
Pre-Prohibition Measurements
Cocktail Recipes
The Source Columns

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Last Call

Last night was my final bartending gig in Bend, Oregon. And so appropriate that it was smack dab in the middle of Minnesota – a street filled with bars whose history and mine are woven together with blood, sweat, and tears. I have worked in almost every bar on that street, some for years others for days.

It is on this street where life has thrown me some its greatest joys and oddest curve balls. It is on this street where I met many of my closest friends by working night after night together, learning what makes this town tick. It is on this street where I won the most awards and it is the place where I really became a connoisseur of spirits and learned how to mix delicate cocktails. But it is also on this street where I was fired, for no apparent reason. In retrospect, it is laughable as my boss later turned out to be using a fake name in order steal many a man’s money in what was a short-lived ponzi scheme.

Years later it is on this street I would fight for my livelihood and eventually have to threaten a slander case against a Bulgarian illegal who ran around this town on a high-horse with a stolen identity later to be found that of a murdered three-year-old. It is on this street where I used to hide in the shadows and kiss my lover and it is in the same shadows where I’ve pulled drunks off the wall to save the building from their urine. Ah, Minnesota Street, you’ll always have a place in my heart.

Minnesota Melt-Down

A little bit of this
A little bit of that
Shake it all together
And well, that’s that

This was first Published in The Source Weekly

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

Almost all of these drinks I made this week have Batavia Arrack in them. If you aren’t familiar with Batavia Arrack, it is nasty rum made in Indonesia, which is special order in Oregon. Its flavor profile is abominable combination of rubbing alcohol and burnt sugar and quite honestly I can’t think of anything that can make it taste good. I made the cocktails with Batavia Arrack – only to be disappointed. I immediately made the drinks again with Pyrat (my favorite rum for the money) and was pleasantly surprised. Simple but perfect for summer – enjoy this week’s installment of the Jerry Thomas Project (most likely substituting the Batavia Arrack for a good rum).

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Trivia Note: Thomas called for a measurement, liqueur glass that I hadn’t seen before. After a bit of research I found it to be 30 grams, which equals about one ounce.

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Tip Top Brandy

(for a party of four)

28 oz champagne (one bottle)
56 oz soda water
1 oz of curacao
2 table-spoons of powdered sugar
1 slice of pineapple cut up

Put all the ingredients together in a small punchbowl, mix well, ice and serve in coup glasses.

This drink is poorly titled, as it does not contain any brandy and honestly it tastes like watered down champagne.

Tip Top Brandy

(for one)

4 oz of champagne
8 oz of soda water
1 dash of curacoa

Stir, add ice and garnish with a pineapple slice in a coupe glass.

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Bimbo Punch

(for a party of 10 – 12)

Too bad Jerry Thomas doesn’t tell us the history of this cocktail’s name!

32 oz of brandy
4 oz of Batavia Arrack
6 lemons
1 pound of sugar
32 oz of boiling water

Cut the lemons into thin slices, and steep them in the brandy for six hours. Remove the lemons without squeezing them. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and add it while hot to the brandy and Batavia Arrack. Then let it cool. Ice and serve.

Bimbo Punch

(for one)

2 oz of lemon-infused brandy
1 dash of rum
2 oz of simple syrup

Add ice and enjoy

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Cold Ruby Punch

(for a party of 20)

32 oz of Batavia Arrack
32 oz of port wine
48 oz of green tea
1 pound of sugar
12 oz of lemon juice
1//2 of a pineapple in small pieces

Dissolve the sugar in the tea, add the other materials. Serve iced.

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Trivia note: How much juice does one lemon make? Approximately 2 ounces.

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Cold Ruby Punch

(for one)

2 oz of rum
2 oz of port wine
3 oz of green tea
4 sugar cubes
1 oz of lemon juice

Stir all of the ingredients together. Add ice. Garnish with a pineapple.

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Imperial Arrack Punch

(for a party of six)

32 oz of Batavia Arrack
6 lemons
1 pound of sugar
32 oz of boiling water

Cut the lemons into thin slices, and steep them in the Arrack for six hours. Remove the lemons without squeezing them. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and add it while hot to the Arrack. Then let it cool. This makes a fine liqueur, which should be thoroughly iced before serving.

Imperial Arrack Punch

(for one)

2 oz of lemon-infused rum
2 oz of hot water
4 sugar cubes

Place sugar cubes in hot water and allows to dissolve. Add lemon-infused rum. Add ice and enjoy.

Lemon-infused Rum
(one bottle)

Pour one bottle of rum into a glass or stainless steel a closed container. Cut up five lemons. Allow to steep for at least six hours but no longer than overnight.

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Arrack Punch

(for a party of 10)

4 oz Batavia Arrack
6 oz of Jamaica Rum
4 oz of lemon juice
4 oz of simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio)
4 oz of water

Stir ingredients together and serve over ice.

Arrack Punch

(for one)

2.5 ounces of rum
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
1 oz water

Stir ingredients together and serve over ice.

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Link to Batavia Arrack
Link to Jerry Thomas (pre-prohibition liquid) Measurements
Link to the Jerry Thomas Project Index

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www.qmixalot.com :::: a bartender blog

I would like to briefly apologize for falling off the face of the earth, but I found that taking a true break from all of my responsibilities was the best thing that I’ve done for my health in a very long time. I’ve been spending a lot of time with dear friends and family and it has reminded me of the importance of food and drink and how warm meals can bring cultures together, a simple punch can turn a get together into a party, and that preparing dinner with a friend can lead to a heart-felt candid conversation that would never happen otherwise.

Which is why I’m saddened that I can’t be with my dad this Father’s Day – a perfect day to spend with family over bbq’d spare ribs and limey gin and tonics. A father is who makes you strong and teaches you to stand up for your beliefs. A mother’s love is unconditional – but a father attaches many conditions to his affection. For the most part, I knew that to ensure an endearing father I needed to never borrow his scissors; have a deep personal scorn for moneyed Republicans; and have a penchants for knowledge (preferably narrow-gauge railroad history, but I’ve found that knowing the story behind the gin and tonic has sufficed).

Some time during my youth, my father read an article about how to raise successful daughters which glamorized father and daughters doing typical male activities. From that point forward he referred to the article in order to get me to partake in filthy, dirty, nasty chores such as changing the oil on his 64 Chevy pickup (a government-orange beater with the silver bumper’s letters retooled so that the bumper now stated HERO instead of Chevrolet); and helping with the wood pile, which was always filled with spiders and vermin.

Bizarrely, even when I was old enough to understand that the supposed key to success was really just a ploy for free child labor – I realized that these were special times with my dad. I was really helping him and he honestly appreciated it and enjoyed spending time with me. And although there were times when I had wished he had never read that  article – like the time we were locked out and he persuaded me to go down the coal shoot (my parents live in a turn-of-the century Victorian) or the time when he wedged the 64 Chevy on the edge of a cliff on Mount Princeton and warned me to get out while he wielded it further up the mountain – I would never give up these special moments with my dad.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

my dad

For those who can spend the day with their father and want to make him something special. Or for those dad’s who would like to celebrate with a drink – I include three easy recipes below, one for every type of dad.  Perhaps make them a little stronger – for the man who made you a little stronger.

Ginger Bee

For this drink you need to make an easy-to-concoct ginger syrup (recipe follows)

2 ounces of whiskey (my dad personally loves rye)
the juice from half of a lemon
1.5 ounces of ginger syrup

Stir and add ice

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Ginger syrup

Go to the grocery and somewhere in the tea aisle you will see either a ginger tea or a lemon ginger tea – buy a box of whatever is the least expensive.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 tea bags

Bring to a boil and immediately take off of the heat. Allow to cool – strain out the tea bags.

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Agave Agent

2 ounces of tequila
2 ounce of honey
the juice from half of a lemon
2 ounce of pomegranate or cranberry juice

Stir and add ice and top with a little splash of soda water

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for the teetotaler dad

Strawberry Lemonade

For most of the country – it is strawberry season, so why not make your dad the best strawberry lemonade ever.

For this recipe you’ll need an easy-to-concoct strawberry syrup (recipe follows)

3 ounces strawberry syrup
2.5 ounces of lemon juice (best if you can use fresh-squeezed – and the lemons are really juicy this time of the year)
3 ounces of water or sparkling water

Stir and add ice.

Strawberry Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1.5 cup cut up strawberries

Bring the ingredients to a boil. Allow to cool. Either run it through a blender or a food processor until smooth.

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Later this week, I’ll be back with more from the Jerry Thomas Project – as I’ve been toiling away (only hitting a road block or two).

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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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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

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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