The Manhattan’s less-interesting cousin. I came across this drink while flipping through David Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Embury calls for a standard dry Manhattan with orange bitters and 2-3 dashes of Chartreuse, and explained that some recipes call for equal parts vermouth and Chartreuse. I split the difference, with not unpleasant results. Dry, subdued, a little spicy–a very well-mannered cocktail, with just a hint of excitement around the edges.

St. Moritz

• 2 ounces rye
• 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
• 1/4 ounce Chartreuse
• 1 dash orange bitters

Stir with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Tags: Drinks, Rye, Vermouth by Paul
No Comments »

I enjoyed a brief infatuation with this drink when I first became interested in the whole cocktail thing. Trying one now, I kind of remember why–it’s not a terribly complicated drink, flavorwise, but it’s not flat-out simple, either. Rather than using a sweetener to smooth out the tanginess of the lime, the Bronx Terrace uses dry vermouth, a flattening modifier that lends just enough complexity to keep the cocktail from being boring.

I know little about the Bronx Terrace, other than it’s old–it appears in Patrick Gavin Duffy’s Standard Bartender’s Guide and in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book, both of which were first published in the early 1930s. It’s also a good drink for those times when you just need something different.

Bronx Terrace

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce dry vermouth
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a cherry.

Tags: Drinks, Gin, Vermouth by Paul
No Comments »

“This cocktail was introduced around here about thirty years ago by Frank Fogarty, who was very well known in vaudeville. He was called the ‘Dublin Minstrel,’ and was a very fine monologue artist.”

So wrote Ted Saucier in 1951 when introducing this drink in Bottoms Up. Saucier credits the drink to the Detroit Athletic Club, and if the bartender’s recollection is correct, that would place the Last Word as a Prohibition-era cocktail.

If that’s the case, then the Last Word is one of the finest cocktails to come out of that bleak period in American history. Four ingredients–two of them fairly exotic–working in equal parts to create perfect harmony.

I first experienced this drink last summer, when the recipe initially caught my attention. Later, I found out that it’s on the specialty cocktails menu at the Zig Zag Cafe, and since then I’ve been allowing myself the luxury of having Murray make them for me. From what Chris says over at Boston Cocktails, apparently the Last Word is getting around, showing up on the cocktail list at B-Side Lounge. And according to an old post on eGullet’s Fine Spirits & Cocktails Forum, Pegu Club in New York offers a variation on the Last Word, subsituting rye for the gin and lemon juice for the lime juice. That’s a great version as well, but for depth and complexity of flavor matched up with an elegant look in the glass, it’s hard to beat the Last Word.

Last Word

• 3/4 ounce gin
• 3/4 ounce lime juice
• 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse
• 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur

Shake well with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Shut up and drink.

Tags: Drinks, Gin by Paul
11 Comments »

All successful insurrections begin over drinks.

OK, I have no evidence to back that up, other than a vague recollection that the Sons of Liberty gathered support for the American revolution in Colonial taverns, and that French anti-royalists plotted their rebellion in Parisian coffeehouses. But if this half-remembered notion holds true, what I witnessed earlier this week is the latest evidence that well-crafted cocktails may yet win out against the tyranny of frilly vodka drinks and sticky Jaeger shooters.

On Tuesday night, in an upstairs room at Oliver’s in Seattle’s Mayflower Park Hotel, the Museum of the American Cocktail held its second in a series of local seminars aimed at sloughing off the oppressive chains of bad drinks and improving the quality of the drinking habits of a group of curious imbibers. Robert Hess, aka Drinkboy, and Ryan Magarian, a beverage consultant and professional mixologist, were the Robespierre and Marat of the evening, and during the seminar—billed as “How to Stock and Use Your Home Bar”—they ranged far beyond the original theme. In between addressing basic Cocktail 101 questions such as, “What’s the difference between bourbon and rye?” and “Bombay Sapphire is a good gin, isn’t it?” Ryan and Robert urged the dozen or so participants to broaden their palates, explore spirits beyond vodka and experience well-crafted and well-balanced cocktails in order to understand the full range of the cocktail universe.

Ryan and Robert had a really effective approach: Walk participants step-by-step through the liquor store (figuratively speaking, of course), mentioning a few decent brands to purchase; briefly explain the basics of balance in popular drinks, using as examples familiar sour-type cocktails such as Sidecars and Margaritas; and demonstrate how to properly measure, shake and pour a cocktail. Beyond these basics, though, they ranged in every direction, and this is where I think the planners of MOTAC seminars should take future programs.

After the groundwork is laid, and a few dozen individuals around town have started mixing carefully measured 4:2:1 sidecars in their new Boston shakers, an array of smaller, graduate-level courses should come in (I know, the who’s and where’s and how-much-it’s-gonna-costs all come into play, but this is a what-if I’m talking about). Some topics, spun off from the original seminars, would of course be of more limited popular appeal—how many people in the Seattle area, other than myself, would pay to spend an evening talking gearhead stuff like PUG muddlers and hawthorne strainers, after all—but more in-depth discussions of topics such as the world of rum or a night of gin cocktails would, I think, bring out at least as many people as I saw on Tuesday night. As with my previous experience at a Cocktails 101 event, my response, ultimately, is “more, please.”

More: The third Seattle MOTAC seminar, “Shaken & Stirred: Everything About the Martini,” takes place at Oliver’s on May 2, from 6:30 – 8:00, with presenters Robert Hess, Ryan Magarian, Anistatia Miller & Jared Brown. Tickets and more information on this and all MOTAC seminars nationwide are available at the museum’s website.

Tags: Events by Paul
No Comments »

Following up on my last post, I’ve thought for a while that it’d be great to have a regular event in the fine cocktails and mixology community that would provide a way for readers and participants to explore some really great drinks and have a good time. Drawing on the examples established by the food blog community, with events such as Is My Blog Burning? and Wine Blogging Wednesday, I propose the start of Mixology Monday.

As with these other events, the goal for Mixology Monday is simple: Bloggers and other participants focus on a predetermined theme for each scheduled event, then blog about that theme by a certain date (being sure to notify the event host of their relevant post). Following that date, the host compiles a link-rich roundup of the event, and posts it on his or her blog. Couldn’t be easier.

The first round of Mixology Monday will be held Monday, April 24. I have offered to host this inaugural event and–following notes of interest from Rick at Kaiser Penguin and Darcy at The Art of Drink–the first event will be themed Pastis. Mix with it, drink it straight with a little ice water, or use it to soak your contact lenses, let’s hear what you’re doing with this intricate liqueur (or, if you can’t stand that whole anise-thing, let’s hear about that too–be assured you’re not alone).

Mull it over, sip a little Ricard to get your juices flowing, and put up your post by midnight on April 24 (be sure to e-mail me at paul@cocktailchronicles.com that you’ve done it so I don’t leave anybody out. No blog? No problem–just e-mail me the whole thing and I’ll stick it with the rest). I’ll pull together a roundup within a day or two after the event closes.

Who’s with me? Chime in and spread the word. Let’s see how many Herbsaint-addled posts we can throw at Technorati in one day.

[also contributing to the fun, Mike over at Days that end in Y has established a page at Blog Carnival for a weekly blog event that spans the drink spectrum. Check it out.]

UPDATE: Thanks to Darcy at The Art of Drink for designing the spiffy logo.

UPDATE II: I’ll keep updating this post as new MxMo events are scheduled and posted, so using the permalink for this post should keep you clued in as to the current state of MxMo events.

MxMoI - April 24, 2006
Host: The Cocktail Chronicles
Topic: Pastis
Roundup Permalink: Mixology Monday I: Pastis

MxMoII - May 8, 2006
Host: The Art of Drink
Topic: Coffee
Roundup Permalink: Mixology Monday II Roundup

MxMoIII - June 5, 2006
Host: Kaiser Penguin
Topic: Mint
Roundup Permalink: MX Monday III Roundup

MxMoIV - June 26, 2006
Host: Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour
Topic: Aperitif
Roundup Permalink: Mixology Monday IV Roundup

MxMoV - July 17, 2006
Host: Jiggle the Handle
Topic: Lemon
Roundup Permalink: Mixology Monday V Roundup

MxMoVI - August 7, 2006
Host: Saving the World, One Drink at a Time
Topic: Grape-based drinks
Roundup Permalink: Mixology Monday VI Roundup

MxMoVII - September 18, 2006
Host: The Cocktail Chronicles
Topic: Farewell to Summer
Roundup Permalink: See-ya-later Summer Roundup

MxMoVIII - October 16, 2006
Host: What’s For Lunch Honey?
Topic: Exotic Drinks
Roundup Permalink: The Roundup

MxMoIX - November 13, 2006
Host: A Dash of Bitters
Topic: Bitters
Roundup Permalink: Bitters Roundup

MxMoX - December 11, 2006
Host: The Spirit World
Topic: Drinks for a Festive Occasion
Roundup Permalink: Drinks for a Festive Occasion Roundup

MxMoXI - January 15, 2007
Host: Imbibe Unfiltered
Topic: Winter Warmers
Roundup Permalink: Winter Warmers Roundup

MxMoXII - February 12, 2007
Host: Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour
Topic: Whisk(e)y
Roundup Permalink: MxMo XII Wrapup

MxMoXIII - March 12, 2007
Host: Saving the World, One Drink at a Time
Topic: Shooters
Roundup Permalink: Shooters Roundup

MxMoXIV - April 16, 2007
Host: Married…With Dinner
Topic: Champagne Cocktails
Roundup Permalink: A Toast to MxMo

MxMoXV - May 14, 2007
Host: My Bar, Your Bar
Topic: Tequila
Roundup Permalink: Tequila Monday

MxMoXVI - June 18, 2007
Host: Morsels & Musings
Topic: Creme de la Creme
Roundup Permalink: Creme de la Creme Roundup

MxMoXVII - July 16, 2007
Host: The Cocktail Chronicles
Topic: Blog Love
Roundup Permalink: The Mushiest MxMo Ever

MxMoXVIII - August 13, 2007
Host: Intoxicated Zodiac
Topic: Orange
Roundup Permalink: Orange roundup

MxMoXIX - September 17, 2007
Host: Cocktail Nerd
Topic: Fizz
Roundup Permalink: MxMo XIX: Fizz

MxMoXX - October 15, 2007
Host: The Liquid Muse
Topic: Pairings
Roundup Permalink: A Little Sustenance with the Sauce

MxMoXXI - November 12, 2007
Host: Oh, Gosh
Topic: Gin
Roundup Permalink: Gin Round-Up

MxMoXXII - December 3, 2007
Host: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Topic: Repeal Day
Roundup Permalink: Prohibition

MxMoXXIII - January 14, 2008
Host: SLOSHED!
Topic: Brandy
Roundup Permalink: Brandy

MxMoXXIV - February 11, 2008
Host: Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour
Topic: Variations
Roundup Permalink: Variations Wrap-up

MxMoXXV - March 17, 2008
Host: Kaiser Penguin
Topic: Limit: One
Roundup Permalink: Limit: One Roundup, Chapters 1, 2 and 3

MxMoXXVI - April 14, 2008
Host: Morsels & Musings
Topic: Fruit Liqueurs
Roundup Permalink: TK

MxMoXXVII - May 12, 2008
Host: Trader Tiki
Topic: Rum
Roundup Permalink: TK

MxMoXXVIII - June, 2008
Host: Scofflaw’s Den
Topic: Bourbon
Roundup Permalink: TK

UPDATE June 2008 - This schedule is now being updated at mixologymonday.com. Head over there for archives and details on upcoming events.

Tags: Events, Mixology Monday by Paul
32 Comments »