It’s been quiet around here recently. Very quiet.

In case anyone was quietly wondering if I’d gone on the wagon and lost all interest in this thing, let me knock away that idea right away. Instead, I’ve been busy with another project — so busy in fact that I haven’t even taken the time to blog about the incredible experience I had in Portland last weekend, at the Tribute to Jerry Thomas event with David Wondrich at Teardrop Lounge, and during the long aftermath of the evening in the accompaniment of drinking companions and fellow bloggers Jeff Morgenthaler, Lance Mayhew, Blair Reynolds, and the menacing Munat brothers.

What has kept me away from such things? Perhaps nothing could do this but Tales of the Cocktail.

Tickets for the 2008 event go on sale — let’s see; NOW! And to make this year’s event even more unforgettable, around 30 of the most talented and dedicated folks in the mixological blogosphere are coming together on a little something we’re calling Blogging Tales of the Cocktail: 2008.

This group blog is now running; over the next 3 1/2 months, keep an eye out for previews of Tales panels, posts from featured guest bloggers, and whatever else we decide to put up. During Tales of the Cocktail? Good lord, there’s no telling what’ll happen with 30 bloggers in New Orleans at a five-day event built around booze. Whatever happens, you’ll find it on the site, which should be reason enough for subscribing to the RSS feed.

Anyway, that’s where my free time has been recently, but now it’s up to everyone else. If you’re a participating blogger, THANK YOU; if you’re a veteran from Tales, keep an eye out, because we’ll have opportunities for you to get involved; and if you’re coming to New Orleans in July, we’ll keep you informed of what sessions and events you’ll want to check out.

So stop by, bookmark or subscribe, and stay tuned for actual drinking business back in these parts sometime soon. Really.

Tags: Events by Paul
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…as did my guidance counselor, while dissuading me from pursuing anything ambitious in life.

Now, apparently the San Francisco Chronicle thinks so, too — see, it’s right there next to the byline: “Special to the Chronicle“. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, almost as warm as the new St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram I wrote the article about makes me feel.

Plus, the editors gave this one of my all-time favorite headlines:

Hot dram!
Complex Jamaican liqueur’s American revival captures imaginations of connoisseurs

Eric’s liqueur really is fantastic — as someone who’s worked up several batches of pimento dram by hand, I’m excited to have a convenient, well-made product on the market. So much for hand-grinding the allspice berries from here on out.

Tags: General, Pimento Dram by Paul
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Tonight’s drink comes with a tip of the hat to Rick at Kaiser Penguin, who is hosting this month’s Mixology Monday with the theme, Limit: One. Thanks to this theme, Rick has created an event that is guaranteed to be followed by “Hangover Tuesday.”

When in the need of a cocktail that comes in heavy, you have two options that are pretty safe, if such a word can be used in this situation: go with the rum-soaked goodness of tiki; or, reach for the green stuff*. Me, I’m fond of both, but considering our host and the eager participation of Blair and Craig, I was sure tiki would be well represented for this round. Just to be a contrarian, I’m reaching for the absinthe tonight.

Before you take a glimpse at the recipe and gag in disbelief, hear me out: this drink actually kind of works. Sweet? Oh, yeah — part of the reason you’d only want one — but the redeeming factors in the Weeper’s Joy far outweigh, in my mind, this detraction.

Consider this: between the absinthe, the vermouth and the kummel, you’ve got, what, a few dozen botanicals in the drink. So is it really that different from something like a Widow’s Kiss (which it resembles somewhat in terms of flavor intensity and its presentation of the taste of antiquity) or — okay, I’ll write the name one more time — the Flower Power Martini? And as for the horsepower: I’m not doing the math to see if this fits under the “3 oz. of 80-proof or higher booze” requirement Rick laid out, but anything with an ounce of absinthe in it comes on like a bucket full of knuckles.

This drink — originated by “The Only William” Schmidt and recently dusted off in IMBIBE! — is yet one more reason why David Wondrich is expected to take the top prize at the upcoming National Soused Book Award. Okay, I just made that up, but wouldn’t it be great if there was such a thing?

Weeper’s Joy, using Wondrich’s updated measurements from IMBIBE!

• 1 ounce absinthe
• 1 ounce vino vermouth [I used Carpano Antica, to toss a little extra bitterness in the mix]
• 1 ounce Kummel
• 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup
• 2 dashes curacao

Stir well with lots of ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

As Wondrich notes, you can leave out the simple syrup to cut back on the sweetness, but it does bring a fuller mouthfeel to the drink.

This Mixology Monday is brought to you by Gilka Kummel, the official spirit of Kaiser Penguin. Be sure to head over to Rick’s place to see how everyone else weighed in this round.

* OK, so I used a blanche absinthe instead of a verte. Poetic license and all; deal with it.

Tags: Absinthe, Drinks, Mixology Monday, Vermouth by Paul
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I really try to ignore St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a time when the fair-weather drinkers like to lay into the stuff, making bars about the last place I want to be. And as someone who’s let this particular interest slip among colleagues and casual acquaintances, it’s the time of year when I invariably get asked how to make an Irish car bomb, or what’s my favorite green drink. It’s almost enough to make you go on the wagon (fortunately, there’s Rick’s booze-whopper “Limit: One” Mixology Monday coming up, so I’ll be spared that particular inconvenience).

But hey, here it comes, and while preparing for my Serious Eats post earlier this evening I was digging through books looking for the earliest recipe for the Emerald I could find — this version, that is, not one of the handful of other drinks that have gone under that name — when I came across one such Emerald variation in Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide that seemed worth a shot.

And no wonder — after a closer look at the recipe, I had one of those “hey, wait a minute–” moments, and realized this is simply a Bijou wearing a different hat. (And I know this very same drink pops up again with a different name somewhere — no, I’m not thinking of the Tailspin, that’s got a dash of Campari in place of the orange bitters — so if anybody has better recall than I do, please chime in with a comment.)

But what the hell — Emerald, Bijou, whatever, it’s a nice drink. If you need something that sounds kind of Irish on the big day, but want to avoid the typical crap, keep the Emerald name on the drink and go for it.

Emerald / Bijou / ????

• 1 ounce gin
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 ounce green Chartreuse
• 2 dashes orange bitters

Stir well with ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Tags: Drinks, Gin by Paul
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Okay, it’s been a while since I mentioned the upcoming Mixology Monday schedule, and considering the line of e-mails in my inbox from bloggers patiently tapping their feet, this hasn’t gone unnoticed. My apologies for the delay, but now I think we’ve got things lined up for the next few months.

The next round, for March, takes place Monday, March 17. Hosting this round is our good friend Rick, from Kaiser Penguin. For the theme, Rick has chosen “Limit One, Please,” and here’s how he describes it:

Exotic cocktail spots would often advertise their potent potions by limiting a customer to one per evening. It wasn’t all gimmick, however; some recipes like the Zombie contained up to 5oz of 80-proof spirit! This phenomenon isn’t limited to just tiki drinks; in fact, many locales even have laws that forbid a bartender to create a drink with more than a specified quantity of liquor.

So for this month’s round of Mixology Monday, dig up your most deadly cocktails. No Long Island Iced Teas allowed!

I plan to blatantly rip off Gabriel’s format from when he hosted, as it was just wonderful. So make sure to include a picture, unless you want a screen-shot of your blog text.

Got it? Great — we’ve got about a week and a half before the big day rolls around, so think about the drinks you like but have to approach cautiously, and put one together by the 17th. Let Rick know when your post is up, and, uh, you might want to send him that e-mail or comment before you start in on the drink.

Now that March is taken care of, let’s look ahead:

• April? Let’s go for fruit — Fruit Liqueurs, in particular. That’s the theme for next month’s Mixology Monday, hosted by Anna at Morsels & Musings on April 14. It’s a theme with plenty of options, and I think we’ll see some really interesting drinks.
• May is all about Rum, thanks to Blair at Trader Tiki. The most versatile spirit of all is the topic for Mixology Monday on May 12; keep an eye on Blair’s site for details to come.
• In June, Mixology Monday takes on Kentucky’s native spirit, when host SeanMike from Scofflaw’s Den gets all of us to start mixing with Bourbon. More details to come — no really, I mean it this time.

In July, there’s something extra special planned; details are still being worked out, but I’ll be sure to put up the news as soon as everything is settled. Sorry to be cryptic, but this one’s gonna be a Mixology Monday for the ages.

And now, back to the drinks…

Tags: Mixology Monday by Paul
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