Monthly Archives: April 2012

Apr26

Don Q Ultimate MixOff Challenge- LA Regional

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Don Q punch

A week ago, I judged the LA Regional competition for Don Q along with Julian Cox (Rivera, Picca, Sotto, Short Order, Playa), Rich Andreoli (Areal), Rachel Burkons (The Tasting Panel) and Jason Schiffer (320 Main) served as the technical judge. The event was held at the Spare Room in Hollywood. There were pretty punches made with Don Q and plenty of Carribean food to add to the festive mood.

The Spanish Conquest

Ten bartenders competed. Their cocktails were scored on appearance, aroma, creativity and taste. Bartenders were asked to keep to Don Q’s theme, “Mix Up the Island’s Spirit.” This competition was run according to USBG rules and each chapter conducted their own competition. Winners from each regional wins a trip to New York to compete in the finals during the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. The winner of the MCC competition wins $1000 and a trip to Puerto Rico.

I was sequestered in the back with the judges. We did not know who made the drinks though I did find out most of them afterward. The Spanish Conquest by Brent Falco was the first drink. I first met Brent from Cole’s when she won the cognac competition at Cana a few months ago.

This drink featured Don Q silver anejo, Black Beard spiced rum, creme de cacao, Royal Combier, fresh cream with cacao and coffee garnish.

Look Normal

The next cocktail was from Matt Robold entitled Look Normal. Matt, better known as Rumdood, came up with a cocktail with Don Q Cristal (white rum), lime juice, orgeat, absinthe and orange peel and maraschino garnish. This wasn’t the first time I was a judge at one of his competitions. Matt also works at 320 Main.

Island Time Swizzle

Next came Island Time Swizzle by Chris Bostick of the Varnish. At the time I didn’t realize it was Chris’ drink but I should have known when he mentioned before the competition started he had brought his own ice. Besides, the drink also had Meletti and I know that is his favorite amaro. The swizzle is made with Don Q gran anejo, Don Q anejo, Rothman and Winter Orchard peach, falernum, Meletti, lime and grated cinnamon as the garnish. Chris’ drink came in second place.

La Boriquena - 1st place winner, Edwin Cruz

The fourth drink came from Edwin Cruz, owner of Tlapazola on the Westside. His drink, La Boriquena which means Puerto Rican Girl, had Don Q Cristal, Don Q Anejo, Luxardo liqueur, orgeat, simple syrup, lime and garnished with a sprinkle of adobo seco. Edwin won with this cocktail!

Hot in the Hacienda

The fifth cocktail came from Drago Centro’s Jaymee Mandeville. Her Hot in the Hacienda featured Don Q Anejo rum, Velvet Falernum, Miracle Mile Forbidden bitters, pineapple, cilantro, Anaheim chile and lime juice. I liked the hot pink flamingo cocktail pick, hand cut pineapple and a decorative pineapple leaf garnish. It was a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet just like Jaymee.

 

No Name

Next came the “No Name” cocktail by Sotto‘s new bar manager Yohan. The sour-style cocktail comprised of Don Q Cristal rum, Velvet Falernum, Green Chartreuse, lime, egg white and Maraschino liqueur drops. Sotto just launched their new cocktail list last night. I’ll have to swing by to check out out Yohan’s drinks.

 

Hemingway's Delight

I’m not sure who created the next drink, Hemingway’s Delight. It’s a take on a Hemingway daiquiri with avocado. The Don Q Cristal is muddled with avocado,  plus there’s lime, grapefruit, Aperol and Maraschino. I’m almost positive this drink did not have the Aperol as the later samples appeared to be a different color than what we tried. Also, the flamed avocado cubes did not work out for this bartender. While mine was small and not flamed, another judge got a huge hunk that was partially seared.

 

Coco Almond Coconut

 

close up on the dolphin garnish

 

The Coco Almond Coconut came in third place and is by Juan Alvarez, the former So Cal USBG President. The week before, he won the LA Campari competition so this man is on fire. His adorable dolphin garnish won high praise from us. The drink is made with Don Q Anejo rum, Don Q Coco, dark creme de coco, creme de coco (Coco Lopez), Frangelico and a splash of cream. This is not a diet-friendly cocktail but real boozers wouldn’t order skinny cocktails anyway. It was kind of amazing as it’s a blender drink. It’s fun, it defies the seriousness of the whole “mixology” thing that’s happening around the country and yes, that “dolphin looking thing” garnish. I might have to take a trek down to Juan’s restaurant, J. King Neptune for more tropical drinks.

 

My Cherry Amour

 

From Eveleigh’s Kiowa Bryan came the My Cherry Amour, made with Don Q Cristal, Maurin Quina, orgeat, Bitter Truth pimento dram, lime. There was great color to this cocktail and quite drinkable. It definitely had an island feel to it. This was probably the only cocktail that I had a hard time scoring. For sure it was one of my favorites of the day.

 

Oro de Cervantes

 

And lastly was the Oro de Cervantes from Seventy7 bartender Randy Tarlow. I happen to really like red bell pepper in my drinks but when I tried to eat a piece, I thought it hadn’t been washed. It was so bitter and it ruined the cocktail. Too bad as I did like this drink made with Don Q gold rum, Green Chartreuse, lime, sugar cane syrup,  red bell pepper, ginger beer, Bitter Truth Creole bitters.

I’m looking forward to the finals in New York in a couple of weeks. Let’s see if Edwin’s drink can bring home a big win for LA! Go La Boriquena!

Don Q

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

Apr25

Godiva Chocolate-Infused Vodkas

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Godiva Vodka

 

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to check out the chocolate infused vodkas from Godiva. I had known about their liqueurs but didn’t realize they’ve been produced a chocolate and chocolate raspberry infused vodka as well. The event featured Miss Speed Rack LA, Kylee Van Dillen‘s cocktails.

Parisian Breakfast

 

The first charming cocktail I tried was the Parisian Breakfast (Godiva Chocolate Raspberry vodka, Lillet Blanc, lemon, simple syrup, egg white). Kylee explained this was a light cocktail. It was quite magical and evoked a longing for a city I’ve never been to- Paris. I could see myself at a little French bar nibbling on a piece of chocolate (Godiva, of course) and sipping this. I had this whole afternoon fantasy mapped out but then remembered it was supposed to be breakfast. Ah, the French- so chic.

Heartbreaker

 

Kylee then showed me her Heartbreaker (Godiva Chocolate vodka, lemon, fresh red jalepeno pepper, rimmed spicy sugar). At first she experimented with infusing the chile pepper for more than a few days but found it would be too spicy. If you would like to do this on your own, infuse the pepper for no more than a day. And that spicy sugar left a pleasant tingle as well.

mini milkshake

 

Miniature milkshakes were floating around the party. I loved the fun polka-dotted straws. The shot glass worth was the perfect serving of this delicious boozy milkshake.

Smoke Signal

 

For a dinner party, I could imagine wowing guests with the Smoke Signal (Godiva Chocolate vodka, Godiva Caramel liqueur, Oban 14-Year-Old Whisky, cinnamon graham crackers, marshmallow, coarse sea salt). When guest ordered these, a marshmallow was toasted as the garnish. This drink could lean on the sweeter side but the Japanese whisky brings in a smokey kick.

Catch Kylee at the Speed Rack Finals on May 10th in New York. Get your tickets and I’m rooting for her to bring the championship home to LA!

 

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

Apr17

Port Cocktails by David Wondrich at Cliff’s Edge on Thursday

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Booze Nerd Alert!

Cliff’s Edge in Silver Lake will be serving port cocktails with recipes from David Wondrich along with some original cocktails. $50 gets you 2 cocktails, 2 plates, dessert and a flight of port to taste. Enjoy port from Taylor Fladgate, Croft Porto and Fonseca Porto.

Thursday, April 19

7:30-10 PM

Call (323) 666-6116 to reserve or just drop by!

Cliff’s Edge

3626 West Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90026-1059

Apr17

A Cuban Manhattan at Charlie Palmer

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Cuban Manhattan

After tasting a couple of drinks from the late night happy hour menu at Charlie Palmer, I spotted Brugal Rum and asked for an Old Fashioned with it. As it turned out, I got a Rum Manhattan instead. The internet gods have decreed this drink a “Cuban Manhattan.” Brugal though is from the Dominican Republic.

I agree with the bartender that this dark rum made a better Manhattan than an Old Fashioned but I wouldn’t have been adverse to one. I told her sometimes I’d get a tequila Manhattan which the internet gods are calling a “Tijuana Manhattan.” Calling these drinks by location reminds me of the freeway signs in LA. You have to know that San Bernadino is to the East and Santa Monica is to the West on the 10 freeway. Cuban = rum, Tijuana = tequila.

Caribbean Sunset

Caribbean Sunset – 10 Cane Rum, Star Anise, Clove, Citrus, Sugar Cane

For a drink with a lot of spices in it, I didn’t get much from this cocktail.

Eno

Eno – George Dickel Tennessee whiskey, orange, ginger infused ginger honey ale

I am afraid I didn’t fare much better with the Eno with its confusing ginger infused ginger honey ale.

So, how do you drink like the Minty? Order something you know you’ll like. It this case, let’s go Cuban Manhattan!

Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s

South Coast Plaza

3333 S Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 – (714) 352-2525
 
© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012
Apr13

Plymouth Gin: LA Regional for New Classic Cocktail Competition

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Winner Oscar Takahashi poses with judges Stanislav, Gaz, Erick and Dan

A couple of weeks ago, the regional competition of Plymouth Gin’s New Classic Cocktail contest was held at Eveleigh in West Hollywood. Hundreds of bartenders entered and six regional finalists competed in LA. Some came as far as away as Portland and San Diego. Ultimately LA’s Rachel from Plan Check and San Diego’s Oscar from Serenity took second and first place respectively.

Judges Joseph Brooke (Mixology 101), Stanislav Vadrna, Gary (Gaz) Regan, Erick Castro (for Plymouth Gin)  and Dan Dunn (The Imbiber) had their hands full picking their favorites out of a pool of talented bartenders. Stanislav and Gaz were in town for Bar Smarts’ Pioneers in Mixology. Peat and Smoke did a great job live blogging it here.

Oscar Takahashi with his winning cocktail

Oscar Takahashi's Medicinal Courage

Medicinal Courage – Plymouth gin, Amaro Nonino, Angostura bitters, rosemary garnish

The Marguerite

Guests were also treated to Plymouth cocktails and the fabulous food from Eveleigh. I tried the Marguerite (Plymouth gin, Dolin dry vermouth, orange bitters) Eveleigh’s bar manager Dave stirred up for me.

Southside Fizz

I didn’t get to try the Southside Fizz but I heard it was refreshing. Southside Fizz features Plymoth gin, lime, mint, simple syrup, soda.

Clover Club

I did try the Clover Club (Plymouth gin, lemon, raspberries, egg whites) which was quite lovely and I treated it as dessert. Not that it was sweet but I have decided if I must have sugar, I rather have it in the form of booze!

Regional competitions have now been concluded for LA, SF, NY and Chicago. I’m looking to attending the finals at Manhattan Cocktail Classic!

Plymouth Gin

Liquor.com

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

Apr10

Nightclub & Bar: Drink Engineering with Tobin Ellis

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Drink Engineering with Tobin Ellis

 

At Nightclub and Bar, I attended a lecture by Bar Magic‘s Tobin Ellis. It was entitled Drink Engineering. I didn’t really know what to expect as the title just sounded like how to make cocktails. But as it turned out, it was so much more. Tobin should really teach a whole class on how to open and run a bar. It would make a great course at a hospitality school.

Tobin Ellis

 

I had met Tobin last October at Portland Cocktail Week. There he taught a class on free pouring. I also respected his judgement when he judged the Triple Buck with the Bon Vivants. Though I didn’t really get to know until a few months later at Social Mixology’s Repeal Day party at the Cathouse in Las Vegas. I knew he and his company recently trained and hired the bar staff for the new Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ restaurant and bar.

First Tobin opened with knowing what kind of bar you wanted to open. Whether it would be a dive, speakeasy, or sports bar, you needed to know that. And know your market. If you’re a mid-market bar, maybe you don’t need a fancy POS system.

Also, you should be aware of costs. The price of limes goes up and down throughout the year. If you don’t know how much limes cost, that could affect your bottom line.

It was interesting to hear about how the money maker is booze. We have always known that but Tobin pointed out that small beers are actually money makers because bars tended to reduce the price of bigger glasses of beers.

Then he delved into supplier relations. He mentioned while some suppliers want to put all their products in your bar and come up with your drink list, don’t let them. Don’t fall for pay for play.

When training, make sure even the bar backs know what simple syrup should taste like. And what good is training the opening staff when they may not be there in 6 months. Training and testing is important at all times.

In preparing the drinks menu, know you will have a loss leader but you can always side sell. So you have a craft cocktails bar. The name of the game is hospitality. Maybe you don’t want to make a Cosmopolitan because you’re a booze nerd. Well, make one and then make someone even better. Perhaps an Aviation. Make that customer love it, make your bar memorable and make that customer come back.

We delved into some finer points of menu design including making sure there is a letterbox around some key cocktails. Those cocktails will sell the most. And typography is important. Headers should be san serif and the body text in serif but don’t use too many different kinds of fonts. It’ll be confusing. There should be an odd number of drinks like 7. You want people to order multiple rounds and even numbers make it too easy to try the whole menu. Also have a hook like Old Milwaukee in a can. It’ll rarely sell but it makes your list memorable.

If you put limits on your menu, never break your own rules. If you tell people they can only have 2 of one drink, that’s it. Also, if you run out of an ingredient, 86 the cocktail right away. Don’t substitute. It’ll never be the same. People might come back for it. They always want what they can’t have.

Then we got down some brass tacks. A good bartender can engage their guests at all times. They make sure everyone is having a good time.

Without a doubt, I thought this presentation was phenomenal. Tobin had 50 minutes to speak but I’m sure he could expound on so much more given his experience in the industry. He did eventually get into drink recipe making (– don’t be afraid to sell sweet drinks– you want to make money)  or what I naively thought of as drink engineering but I found the information on running a bar so much more interesting.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a lot of inquiries after his presentation. It would be worth the investment if your sales soared with his recommended tweaks.

 

Check out the slides from the lecture here.

 

Nightclub & Bar Convention

Bar Magic

Apr10

Nightclub & Bar: Josh Harris Wins Shake it Up 2012

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Finalists and winner Josh Harris with judges at Shake it Up 2012

Shake it Up is not just any cocktail competition, it’s the cocktail competition of the Nightclub and Bar convention in Las Vegas. Last month, 30 bartenders competed for the chance at the top prize, $15,000.

Shake it Up - soon it'll be full of drinks

The 30 competitors were selected from hundreds of submissions. I had a hard time deciding who to root for- Cooper from Thirsty Crow in LA? Adam from Rum Club in Portland whom I original met at Park Kitchen, bartenders from some of my favorite bars like Jasper’s on Tap in SF or Vesper Bar in Las Vegas or Josh from the Bon Vivants?

Who to root for?

One of the cool prizes is this the light up bar the competitors competed with. I spoke with Mathias Simonis who won last year and he said it’s very easy to assemble and break down.

Francesco LaFranconi

Our genial host was Francesco LaFranconi who I was amazed knew hundreds of dates and facts about every product he was holding up.

Kate Gerwin from New Mexico

I like swizzles

Francesco really did a great job with the commentary, even remarking about the coffee Kate Gerwin from New Mexico had time to make and then carbonate.

Cooper Gillepsie from Thirsty Crow in LA

Adam Robinson from Rum Club in Portland, OR

The competition was divided into six rounds of five. Then judges voted for 5 finalists.

cocktails!

One of the finalists, Mike Henderson from Root Down in Denver made it with his cocktail called Beet Down #2- gin, Aperol, Domain de Canton, mint, yuzu, marinated beet cubes garnish.

A Snowball's Chance in Bangkok by Steven Yamada

Another finalist, Steven Yamada from New Orleans made it with his cocktail; A Snowball’s Chance in Bangkok.

Josh Harris of the Bon Vivants

Josh triple-shaking

Francesco noticed Josh had three shakers of his cocktail Coppa de Corsica lined up and asked if he needed help. Josh then showed us he could triple shake! The crowd went wild for this move. He along with fellow SF bartender Victoria D’Amato-Moran made it to the finals.

The finalists' cocktails

The finalists were given a secret ingredient and allowed some time to come up with a cocktail. They could use any of the products displayed.

Before they announced the winner, they released balloons on the audience filled with cash. Pandemonium ensued.

And then the big moment. Josh Harris from the Bon Vivants won first place! He won with his cocktail, I Left My Heart in San Fran-Pisco, a cocktail of Barsol Italia, St. Germain, the secret ingredient- Mionetto Il Moscato, lime, egg white, Monin agave syrup and carbonated grapes garnish. It’s the cocktail marked #2 in the above photo. For the recipe, check out his interview here with Nightclub.com.

Nightclub & Bar

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

Apr5

Social Mixology’s 3rd Anniversary Blowout

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Naomi of Spare Room Guest Bartending SMX

When I heard the pop up Social Mixology was throwing their third year anniversary party with the theme “Blowout,” I immediately checked my calendar. I had so much fun at their Repeal Day party last year and knew this would be even bigger and full of more surprises. It was then a happy coincidence that a couple of LA bartenders were also guest bartending including Naomi Schimek from Spare Room and Alex Strausfrom the Bon Vivants/ Hemingway Lounge. Also guest bartending that night was Nightclub and Bar’s Bartender of the Year, Russell Davis, Josh Harris from the Bon Vivants, Kristen Shaefer from Bond (The Cosmopolitan), Patricia Richards (Wynn), Gaston Martinez (Milagro Tequila), Chris Hopkins (Vesper Bar), Mathias Simonis (Distil) and many more.

Carbonated booze for your pleasure

Held at the Royal Resort, you were greeted with carbonated cocktails immediately upon check-in.

some cool "blowouts"

Tobin Ellis, founder of Bar Magic and Social Mixology, had specified everyone had to have a cool hair-do for the event. I saw some really fun and hair-raising styles. One of the girls in the above picture had her hair rolled all the way up! That must have taken not only gobs of gel but I suspect wire.

Kristen Shaefer for Absolut Vodka (with bottle in her hair)

Danny Ronen of Fair Trade Spirits

As we hopped from station to station, it was obvious how much pleasure everyone derived from the fun hair styles. Danny Ronen wrapped a boa around his head. Many of the guys sported colorful hair while many ladies went for pompadours.

Josh with his amazing tropical drinks

Normally leery of brightly colored cocktails, I happily sipped and finished Josh’s tropical drink. I also enjoyed his buddy Alex’s gin cocktail. It was a nice one for the serious booze nerds in the house.

Bartender Adrienne Miller from New Mexico

Those tropical umbrellas love to wander.

El Melon

The main bar featured Corvo Tequila cocktails. El Melon from Patricia Richards was an easy drinkin’ cocktail Corvo silver, Monin rock melon, fresh citrus sour, Boiron watermelon, fresh basil, kosher salt and peach bitters. I also loved Naomi Schimek’s Sado County Auto Show (Corzo silver, Boiron passionfruit, Yerba Mate, Monin agave, fresh lemon, Angostura).

Cock...Tails

stealth mixing

Mathias Simonis partnered with Dustin Drankiewicz to provide some stealth mixology. The two walked around wearing trench coats with “cock” and “tails” written on the back of their coats. If you asked for a drink, you were served a damn good one.

Everyone was raving about Gaston’s mad scientist hair and station. I was aiming for Russell Davis’ Amaretto cocktail but he ran out of mixers and in the meantime, Gaston wrapped up his Sailor Jerry station. Most continued to party at the tequila bar or danced the night away. There was also a food truck but many opted to go to one of my favorite Vegas joints, the Peppermill.

Social Mixology is on the move. I hear they’re heading to New York soon. I hope that means I get to catch them at Manhattan Cocktail Classic!

Links! Get on it!

Social Mixology

Bar Magic

Social Mixology Repeal Day 2011 Party

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012