The Oregon Trail

So I'm taking back the previously mentioned recipe and renaming it the Northwest Trail. Works great with any northwest gin so people get to choose the path they take similar to the Oregon Trail Game

Just another manic monday.

I wish it was Sunday.

I'll be a bit of a fanboy and say I had a few instances tonight where I was making drinks for some really rad people. Early in the evening I had Robert Hess and he gave me bartenders choice. I tried out an experimental cocktail I've been working on and while its a drink I'm working on for Spur, I did a variation at Sun tonight. In the classic cocktail spirit I'm going to offer variations #1 and #2. Its the hessgin. Its pronounced like Hessian, could be spelled hesitian, or for fucks sake be called the Charlton Heston. I like naming drinks almost as much as I hate naming drinks.

Hessgin #1 (spur version)
1.5 oz. Gin
.5 oz lime
.5 oz Licor 43
dash of Fee bros. Lemon bitters
drop of Rose Flower water on top

Hessgin #2 (Sun version)
1.5 oz Gin
Juice of half a lime
.5 oz. Tuaca
dash of Fee bros. orange bitters
drop of Orange Flower water on top.

later in the evening I had Andrew Bohrer sit down right before Keith and his new wife (who wouldn't let me charge them nothing as a belated wedding gift >.< ) sat down. Ended up talking more about the guild idea as Andrew showed off some things he had been working on. I am honesty curious about the homemade blue curacao recipe. I have made up such recipes as :

Blue Myself

1.5 oz. Vodka or Gin
Juice of half a lime
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 oz Simple
1/4 of Blur Curacao

I need to sleepp. I am going to Oregon tomorrow!

T.W.I.B. - This week in bartending

Back again.

TWIB #4 : The Bulleit Dinner

As I'm sipping on a Bulleit and h2o I wanna give the highlights without giving away the whole scoop. Things went better then expected. Mr. Bulleit himself is a venerable ol' gentleman and I was happy to meet him and have pictures taken afterwards. Dave put together an incredible program that paired cocktails with a 7 course meal and all were top notch. There is expected to be a nice write up in several placeas and I'll post them when I see em.

It was supposed to be my day off so as soon as possible I got out of there and tried to catch up on my usual thursday and went to the Zigzag and asked Murray to make me anything not using Bulleit which got one of the biggest laughs that I've ever gotten from him. Unexpectedly, Keith sat down next to me sporting a sleek new summertime / p.o.w. camp haircut and we finally got to talk about the idea of the Washington bartenders guild at length. We bonced ideas off of Murray and Eric for a bit (aside: I heard Eric broke his arm and I want to wish him a speedy recovery and want to say the guy who gets to cover his shifts is one lucky son of a bitch. We talked a bit about my upcoming Vegas trip to see Motorhead and discussed what concerts were worth traveling to see. Get well soon.) and I am hoping they will want to be a part. There's a lot to do in prep but I want to help get the guild off the ground. I'm going to Oregon for a few days this week and am looking forward to picking Jeffery Morganthaler's mind for advice. That and I want some Everclear

TWIB #5: I quit and didn't throw a fit.



I never want to see a ticket like this again. Yes, it says "Light on vodka". they deserve a punch in the ear.

My last night at the Sitting Room was slow as hell and it justified my decision. I will miss everyone there and wish em the best. ( I just mt'd beat and contemplated leaving it.) I ended the night by discounting a shot of the Remy XO and quickly making a beeline to Sun. There I ran into the girl for the first O.A.A. segment only to find out that her Grandmother had passed away. Turns out her Grandma was my Grandma's bestfriend and someone I had known all my life. I felt very small and like a very big asshole at the same time.

Work is great but..

nothing sux like walking in and finding your dog has been sick all night. I'm starving but can't fathom eating due to the stench. My parents have agreed to watch her twice over the next two weeks and I hope she gets back in good health.

Gawd I miss old Ballard.

Effing tied one one yesterday.

I used to live in Ballard circa 01 to 06 and also worked there for a long time and although I rarely get out there anymore, I still love that part of town. Yesterdays excursion was a journey to hang with my old roomate and meet up for our old tradition of the BBC. BBC stands for Ballard, Beer and Chili.

Mike's Chili Parlor has been serving it up for over a hundred years and is the spot where me and my ex roomie/bestfriend get together to hang out and reconnect. The Geoffmon is one of the more intelligent people I know. I can sit down with him and spew out all the crazy shit I've been up to and catch up with all his masters program studies in racial topics in the USA and we can both seem like scholars in our respected fields.

After a BIG ASS BOWL of chili we ventured onward to Sambar. I mistakenly had thought forever that it as called Sandbar and now feel like an idiot. That place is one of the coolest, coziest bar i've been in. Michael was in Sun on monday and I wanted to repay the visit. the drinks were topnotch and as soon as I can find a date i'll be back.

From there we went down market street and I was a little heartbroken as we passed 1420 and the ol' bowling alley was fenced off and decrepit as hell. The day I walk by and see it no longer standing will be a sad one. I had 2 CD's i've been wanting to purchase, so we went to Sonic Boom and grabbed the last copies of The Airborn Toxic Event and American Steel. I'll agree with the Tank (despite him owing me ten bucks) and say its the punk rock record of the year.

After that me and the G went to our favorite best kept secret in Ballard and went to the Fu Kun Wu, which we always have called the fuckin' wu. The yohimbe drinks were tasty and we got to go downstairs and check out the opium den which is their private downstairs space. We don't know the reason for it yet, but we want to hold a cocktail event down there. ( I'm gonna think G's masters celebration. ) At the Wu we had a very serious conversation about one of our friends who is currently behind bars (not like I am behind bars, he's in for 9 counts of B&E) and we need to go up to Bellingham and visit him. He's a Kevin too.

Next stop was the Bal-Mar which Sun has a deadbeat connection with. Mr. Staley also won Sun's halloween costume contest for portraying Walter from the Big Lebowski which is one of my favorite movies of all time. He wasn't working apparently but Joey was rad and made some great drinks. By this point in time I don't remember what they were.

I ended up back on the hill at the Saint slamming drinks before I went home with a twelver. So when I woke up and did the usual where is my sh*t routine and while looking for my keys I checked the door and found the roomie's keys still in the handle. Glad I wasn't the only one last night. p.s. I can't find my phone again.

My new sundays.

So when I got the new job I had already been scheduled for a few sundays that they were more then happy to accommodate me as well as my manager covering and giving me my birthday off. Go, go run on sentences! Basically out of the 31 days we've been open, and the five sundays so far I've worked I've only done one. Aside from sept 7th I'll be at the pub every sunday, and if sundays are like this from here on out i'm stoked

A while back I was lent the Ritz Paris book from Casey and found it absolutely amazing.

I honestly love it when people leave their drink decisions to me and give me a set of parameters based on their liking. It gives my interests in the field of craft bartending solid validation.

Today when I showed up, the chefs showed me Catmint for the first time. My mind started racing....

The Kittycat Julep:

1 sprig Catmint
1/2 oz Catdaddy
2 dashes Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel bitters
Muddle sprig, Moonshine, and bitters in a pint glass, fill said pintglass with Ice and add 2 oz. bourbon. (I used Bulliet)
Shake vigorously
In a separate pint muddle the hell out of some bare ice.
Strain mix into rocks glass and add crushed/muddled or shave ice to glass.
Garnish with a sprig of Catmint.


I sold a few of the kitties tonight and was very happy about it, considering it was a first time recipe. I was more happy about the group of five around midnight that trusted me with there selections and only had one drink deemed unhappy with. Two rounds of five and one return. I batted .900.

Also I had Jim and Zane from VESSEL come in tonight and play bartenders choice and that was quite an effing thrill. I made them an American Beauty, a varied Jersey Sour and the Lack of Will.

I'm feeling good and validated after tonight.

How did I miss this?

So I just went through and cleaned out my inbox and found this overlooked gem from my Ma. I remember who Floyd is. He brought a fifth of scotch to my parents 40th anniversary a few years back when I was living back at home. I remember drinking that bottle and finding a like for Muirhead scotch

From: "ELDA" <****.**********@msn.com>
Date: June 25, 2008 7:46:59 PM PDT
To: <*************@aol.com>
Subject: Funny Story !!!


I've got a funny story to tell you, in response to your e-mail about your son making the newspaper with his new drink. I thought it sounded so good for a summer drink. Wine gets a little heavy in the summer. I went over to Ocean Shores this past weekend and my girlfriend and I decided to make the "Whippersnapper." Well, she didn't have martini glasses so she pulled out two beer schooners filled with ice. I didn't know how many shots of Absolute Pear to use in the shaker for those two big glasses so she said probably "four shots," which would be eight shots for two schooners. We pureed the pears, made the simple syrup and added several "dashes" of anisette. I shook it up and poured into the iced glasses. Well......we were breathing fire!!! I told her not to light a cigarette! Oh, man! We laughed so hard and were snockered by noon! Whoo-hoo! We kept adding ice and eventually the drink became what I'm sure it's supposed to be. We loved it, but will have to "tone it down a bit!" Isn't that funny?

First, we were improvising because she didn't have martini glasses, secondly, she didn't have a shaker so we used a wine carafe that had a top, thirdly, we didn't have a bartender strainer so the pulp was also in the drink. In fact, we didn't have a bartender! That's what we really needed. You'll have to tell Kevin. I'm sure he'll shutter at the thought! We loved the drink, though, after it was watered down a bit (or, a lot!)

Now that I'm home I'll try it again with a little more restraint! haha If nothing else it was a fun day! Neither of us got sick or had a hangover so that's good.



Effing awesome.

T.W.I.B. - This week in bartending

I'm not gonna lie, I see some really funny things spending all the time I do behind the bar, and decided to pay homage to my favorite part of a rain delay and start a new blog segment detailing some hilarities.

Also I'm kicking myself for missing the local flavors segment of MxMo. The pub prides itself on using local and naturally organic ingredients so I should have had something stellar all lined up, but all I've been doing is drinking and sleeping, occasionally interrupted by times of awesomeness interspersed with some rock and roll.

TWIB Notes #1

They were actually really nice.

So there was a pair who was obviously at odds over something drinking at the bar. She is all dolled up and the dude is standoffish as all hell. The visual I can't fully describe here is the lady had obviously had a boobjob or two at sometime in her life. She is in a low low cut top sitting across from the guy doing every motion except landing a plane or touching her elbows together behind her back to fully grab his attention while he sat there arms crossed.

The drink order doesn't change the entire time they are there and after the 2nd drink I decide to see if this guy can just loosen up. I start pouring a touch heavier for the next round. After using the lavatory, he settles in next to her and is no longer across the table. Progress. They moved on to cuddling after the next drink, to making out during the next round, to me contemplating to ask my server to request the lady keeps her hands out of the gentleman's lap when she dropped of the last round. Certain parts of the job I really love.

TWIB Notes #2

The Chocolate Martini

So a guy who I had seen once or twice over the past few months had a seat and orders a Hendricks Martini and strikes up a conversation about Gin. He inquires about recommendations and I tell him as much as I can about the uprising of micro-distilleries popping up in the northwest and had a debate over my feelings that drier london gins work better with olives and the more flavor heavy gins work better with a twist, or in Hendricks case a cucumber.He is soon joined by two ladies and the first one asks me if we have cranberry juice.

*momentary look of confusion*

Um... yes, yes we do.

Can I have a cranberry vodka?

*thinks people need to learn how to order by stating liquor first then mixer*
*makes drink*

Oh! can I have a lime???

*Next time order a Cape Cod for chrissakes!*

The other lady asks if we can do a Chocolate Martini , but can you make it kinda creamy? I decided to step it up a notch. I also thought about making her a Brandy Alexander to see if she'd notice, but went creative. I also made this later in the week for one of my cooks who graduated culinary school and decided to name it for her in her honor. I've made this lately with both strawberries and blueberries and both are tasty

The Chocolate Lily:

1oz. fresh seasonal fruit muddled in 1/4 oz. 40's style heavy whipping cream
1.5 oz vodka
1.5 oz godiva chocolate liqueur
Use a peeler to flake bakers chocolate on top.

Insert sexy picture here when I buy a camera.

TWIB Notes #3

Long promised visit.

I had the awesome pleasure of serving the best bartender I've ever met and his ladyfriend this week. I mean I served them this week, not she's his ladyfriend this week. Damn you grammar! One Negroni, one Corpse reviver #2 ( we both admitted we had no clue about the #1) and one Blood and Sand variation using rum ( i went with the Flor de Cana 7 ) and Sun Liquors' own house infused cherry brandy, garnished with one of the infusion pit-in cherries. Staying with going against the grain I served it neat in a chilled rocks glass instead of up. I also rocked the Juno

Sun and Sand:

Juice of half an orange
1 oz. Flor de Cana 7 year
3/4 oz. Cherried Brandy
1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth ( I didn't use Cinzano but would have )
Served in a frosted rocks glass with a brandied cherry

Insert sexy picture here when I buy a camera.

HOLY HANGOVER BATMAN!

I just wanna say that last night was sorta epic, Actually the whole day was kinda awesome

I needed to see a guy about a thing and since he was near the sodo I had to meet him at Hooverville. Its been a long time since i went to a bar I had never been in before, let alone heard of, and I really took a liking to this place. They didn't seem to have any neighborhood to rely on for clientele but here was a constant flow of people swinging in and they had a great bottle selection to say the least. I had a shot (againtst my better judgement for that time of day) of the black maple hill for eleven clams. The decor and layout reminded me of several bars I used to love to hang out in so in a weird twist of fate I felt like home in a place I've never been before. Oh yeah, the whole reason I was out was a buddy had an interview for a bar manager position and I hope he gets that.

After that we went to what is quickly becoming one of my favorite places. The Deluxe is within walking distance and they have 2 pool tables that are usually not in use. I think I am going to use pool to fill the bowling hole in my soul. They have some awesome brews on tap and good bottles so I've been there the past 3 days with no explanation. Oh yeah, burgers. Thats why.

So after the pool we decided to actually "go out". Drunkenly deciding to make it a western shirt night was a bad idea. Granted the two shirts were similar, but something had to be going on for totally random strangers to walk up to me and decide to comment on it. The first place we stopped by the Dunnes for some cherry bombs, and Andrew, the guy I took my class 12 with asked us how was the sale at the western wear store. Drink shots and make a hasty exit through the side door.......

So with great weather, the city of Seattle at our feet, and looking for adventure I decided to finally go to a place I had been avoiding. I had heard all the past reviews of pretentiousness and stayed away, but after meeting one of their guys as a customer at my new place I wanted to go in. I am truly impressed with VESSEL

I literally just poked my head in the door and wanted to see if there was two seats next to each other at the bar and the bartender politely asked two beautiful ladies if they would be willing to move down a seat so we could sit down. After seating I asked the bartender to put their drinks on my tab. A quick perusal of the selection I saw something I have heard about in legend and went for it. I'm sorry Seattle, but I finished their supply of Red Hook Rye. I cant remember the name of the drink my friend had but it involved macerated cherries and a flaming misto which I have read about but never actually seen that show. It was extremely awesome but didn't take the gold that night. Solid silver.

From there went to the friends current place of work and had a glass of Bulleit cause they were out of Makers like everyone else in town. After the biggest Jagerbomb I've had since the bowling alley closed, we went right around the corner to the Zigzag and I had 2 delicious drinks then on to the Can where outside, Casey literally fell down laughing about the western shirts. I ]m not sure about why but after killing my first diamondback I called out for The Show. I wanna learn that shit. It looks freaking awesome. Tasty as fiery hell and gold medal all the way.

I'm close to sensory overload. / Is Bartending the new Comedy?

I've finished the entire BECK : Mongolian Chop Squad saga and I fully will show it off to ANYONE interested.I have merch and the soundtrack. This is what I'm talking about!

Geek aside a and cocktail specific I'm plannng on using Mr. Budreaux's bacon infusion idea and trying it with applejack. I'm gonna look for some apple smoked bacon, oh yeah. I'll be working a Bulleit dinner later in the month that is looking innovative. I got contacted by a PR company promoting Dr. Mixologist He better be good. That's a big title. I have liked and used the Cocktail Specialist moniker in the past. I know I put Dr. in my myspace name and that is more of a Jekyl and Hyde reference. People like Dr. Dre and Dr. Folds use the title because they are a master of the crafts they persued but didn't actually go to college. The vodka drinks look nice but I would have made the McCain Julep much more red. If I get the chance when I go to NY I wanna see this guy.

Dirty 30

Thanks to everyone that helped me turn 30 yesterday. I honestly had the best day I could have.