Tag Archives: kate grutman

Aug15

Spirits of the Times: Artisinal Spirits Tasting

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Chagossian Fight Song with Pink Pigeon & Soberano

I recently attended another LA Times and Liquor.com Spirits of the Times tasting event. This time it was for artisinal spirits at Sadie in Hollywood. I’ve always loved the back patio at Sadie and there were four tables set up to taste. Before I even got two steps in, everyone said I had to go check out Pink Pigeon Rum.

I’ve known about Pink Pigeon for a little bit as Kate Grutman from Formosa is also the Pink Pigeon ambassador. I tried the Chagossian Fight Song with Pink Pigeon rum, Soberano 8-year-old Spanish brandy, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, orange bitters, Jerry Thomas’ Decanter bitters, Luxardo maraschino cherry. If you like Manhattan twists like I do, I highly recommend this drink.

Lepanto Brandy

You were also able to taste the Soberano and Lepanto Brandy expressions neat at the Pink Pigeon table. Like the previous tasting I went to, not only were you able to try small bites from the restaurant, you were able to vote for your favorite cocktail. It was very close but I did eventually pick one which I’ll reveal at the end.

El Mayor

Moving on to the tequila table. We tried the three El Mayor expressions; blanco, reposado and anejo. The rep really wanted us to try the reposado though I tend to go anejo first (and usually only) and she was right. I did like the repo more. The anejo didn’t have the depth I usually like. However, in general I wasn’t too into this tequila. And the drink wasn’t great. The Paloma called the for the El Mayor blanco, club soda, lemon-lime soda, lime and a pinch of salt. In general, every Paloma I ever had was made with grapefruit soda. Even Squirt would do. This was just too watery for an already watery tequila. I really wanted to advise people to drink it straight.

Makers 46

Thatcher’s Organic Artisan Liqueur

Well, if “artisan” is part of your spirit’s name, of course Thatcher’s apple spice ginger was invited to the tasting. First I tasted it neat and realized quickly I rather have it cold or at least with water. I was ready for a cocktail. They were making the Harvest Hatten (Maker’s 46, Thatcher’s Apple Spice Ginger, Martini & Rosso Rosso, Cherry bitters, Angostura bitters). It was served as a punch but I would have of course liked it up. I do realize it was a crowded tasting so I understand why they did serve it that way. Still, it was already quite watered down within the first hour. Like the failed Paloma, this was not a contender for best cocktail of the night. With that said, I bet it’d be pretty fine if I had it freshly made.

Karlssons Vodka

The last drink I tried was the La La Land from Karlsson’s Vodka. Jaymee Mandeville from Drago Centro developed the recipe for them. And although it was pre-batched, the cocktail was freshly chilled before serving (take note, Thatcher’s). I really liked this summery drink made with Karlsson’s vodka, Aperol, raspberry & white pepper syrup, lemon, cucumber, mint and Bitter Truth celery bitters. I have always thought of Karlsson’s as more of a savory vodka which is why it tends to go well with peppery notes. Enjoying it neat and chill with a fresh grind of black pepper is also ideal.

And it seems most of the crowd agreed. La La Land from Karlsson’s won the best cocktail that evening though I actually vote for the Pink Pigeon’s Chagossian Fight Song. Both were great and I look forward to the next tasting.

LA Times Events

Liquor.com

Sadie Kitchen & Lounge

1638 N Las Palmas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028 — (323) 467-0200

© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2012

 

Jun29

Akvinta Vodka & Formosa Cafe’s Duck Confit Infused Bloody Mary

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Akvinta Vodka

A few weeks back I was sent a bottle of Akvinta Vodka. I had never tried it before and decided I needed to first taste it straight- as is, from the bottle and not chilled. I was surprised by how savory it was. But I did not take that into consideration when I started mixing cocktails. First I mixed the Akvinta with Lillet Rouge and added a few drops Arizona Bitters Lab‘s Orange Sunshine bitters.

I decided it wasn’t quite right or sweet enough. Back into the tin it went and it was drinkable. My next few attempts weren’t getting any better. I kept trying to use this vodka thinking the end result would be more of a typical sweet vodka cocktail but really, this vodka would be better suited as chilled shots with Russian food. Or perhaps as a “martini” or a Kangaroo (Akvinta, vermouth, stirred and served up– I’d go for a cocktail onion over a lemon twist).

Formosa Cafe’s  Duck Down (Bloody Mary)

Then I heard Kate Grutman over at Formosa Cafe was doing an infusion with the Akvinta. Specifically she came up with a duck confit infusion for Formosa’s fabulous Bloody Mary. Her new drink called Duck Down has the Akvinta washed with duck confit, Vince’s original Bloody Mary mix,  lime, Sriracha and garnished with fried spam, gobo root and an olive.

It was in a word, delicious. I don’t think I gulped down a Bloody faster. I also really enjoyed the fried spam and pickled gobo root. This was umami city.

Akvinta is kosher, organic and does not have any added sugar. It’s triple distilled and made from organic Italian wheat and Croatian spring water. It’s filtered through five natural materials; charcoal, marble, silver, gold, and platinum. Akvinta claims these materials does the following:

  • Birch Charcoal — purifies the water to reduce impurities and contributes
    to the taste
  • Marble — reproduces the natural filtration process found when rain
    water     is purified in a natural spring
  • Silver — softens and smoothes the taste
  • Gold — adds warmth to the taste
  • Platinum — unifies all components and adds half-tones to the after taste

I think I’ll make a Bloody Mary next with my Akvinta. I have plans for the wonderful heirloom tomatoes now in season.

Formosa Cafe

7156 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046 — (323) 850-9050

© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2012

Jan20

Becherovka Competition at Villains Tavern with LA’s Best Bartenders

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Becherovka at Villains Tavern

I recently helped judge the Becherovka competition at Villains Tavern along with Dan “The Imbiber” Dunn and Zahra Bates who manages the bar at Providence. The local chapter of USBG put out a call to bartenders to mix it up. The winner got the admiration and love from fellow bartenders. It was organized by LA chapter president Marcos Tello who based the competition on previous ones he organized for Chartreuse and Bols Genever. We started out with 16 bartenders from some of the best bars in LA whittled down to 8 then 4 then the final 2. We saw LA’s best bartender Justin Pike (The Tasting Kitchen) competing along with 3 bartenders from the Varnish; Eric Alperin, Chris Bostick, Devon Tarby, plus Kate Grutman (Sotto), Cooper Gillespie (Thirsty Crow), Vincenzo Marianella (Copa d’Oro), Jason Bran (Roger Room), Garrett McKechnie (1886), Dave Kupchinsky (Eveleigh), Kenny Arbuckle from La Descarga, Dave Whitton from Villains Tavern and more.

Villains Tavern

After some great food from Villains (I’m in LOVE with the grilled cheese!), we were seated upstairs while the bartenders were shaking things up on the side bar. It was a blind taste test which was better for everyone and we (the judges) weren’t biased.

secret ingredient- oro blanco grapefruit

secret ingredient- passionfruit

The twist to the competition was incorporating ingredients from the farmers’ market. There was coconut, grapes, passionfruit, cherries, cherry tomatoes, fig jam, grapefruit soda and lots more.

secret ingredient- apple

secret ingredient- cherry tomatoes

Becherovka is a spicy liqueur that has over 30 ingredients. I first had it at Playa and have seen it at various Speed Rack competitions. To me, it taste like Christmas and so I tend to think of it as a warm cocktail- maybe punched up with whiskey. The first few drinks we tried were more tropical in flair and probably because of the secret ingredients such as mango. There was a lot of citrus going on. Zahra thought bartenders were going for sours and using the Becherovka like a pimento (all spice dram). I found them somewhat tiki like especially the drinks come with lots of packed crushed ice.

secret ingredient- sage

Being a brown, bitters, stirred girl I was really excited whenever I saw a brown drink in a coupe. It’s funny to later hear from one of the bartenders that he scraped two versions of the above sage cocktail and went with “lots of whiskey.” It would seem he agreed there was a lot of citrus in the rounds.

secret ingredients- grapes

For the most part, I agreed with Dan and Zahra on the drinks. We compromised sometimes though. There was one drink that used grapefruit soda and while I loved both, one used some sort of sherry that I just loved but then again, I’m into sherry cocktails. The other was completely and utterly wonderful but it wasn’t as thought-provoking. I described it as something I’d drink all night but if I wanted just one memorable cocktail of the evening, I had to go with the other. I think I persuaded my fellow judges on that one.

In one of the final rounds, we were torn about the grapes. The one with the ice was served without a straw. We were told to drink it but the lime pulp got in our way and no one wanted to think about what happened when we got to the end of the drink. I asked for a straw. And you know what? I didn’t like it as much! The bartender was right in this case. But ha ha on them, we smashed down the ice and then drank it from the glass. Aha, it works that way as well.

finals- secret ingredient: cherries

The last two of the cocktails arrived. The final round came down to Joe Parelli of Neat and Dave Whitton of Villains Tavern. After some deliberation, we chose Dave’s cocktail. I recently met Joe at Neat and he told me he just moved to LA. In SF, he would compete in competitions and always traded the first and second spots with one of his good friends up there. It is bittersweet that Dave, our hometown hero, won.

scoreboard

It was a great competition and it was nice to see some of LA’s best bartenders having fun.

Becherovka

USBG

Sporting Life

Check out Dan’s podcast about the event here.

For more pictures, check out my flickr set.

Dec19

Boxing Day Fundraiser at Spare Room, 12/26/11

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As we gear up for the holidays, I find myself increasingly aware of how many things I’m grateful for. The basic necessities of life are covered and I don’t need the “gifts” (though, please, I like them :) . What I enjoy the most is spending time with friends and family.

With a suggested $10 donation, Spare Room is featuring live jazz, a Jenga tourney, food and bottomless punch on Boxing Day, Monday, December 26th. There will also be the first annual Bartenders with Bar Tabs Auction. Spare Room Beverage Director Naomi Schimek says the city’s finest including Kate Grutman, Aidan Demarest, Marcos Tello, Dave Kupchinsky, Lacey Murillo, Lauren Osbourne, and more will be on the auction block. Winning bidders get paid drinking dates with these fine bartenders. The proceeds of the door and auction will be donated to Hospitality Kitchen.

The event is from 7 to 11 PM.

Spare Room

Mezzanine Level of the Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 – 323-769-7296

Dec16

The Making of Kate Grutman’s “I’m on a Boat!” Cocktail

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Kate with her tiki stencils

 

For Social Mixology’s Repeal Day party at the Cathouse (Luxor Hotel) in Las Vegas, Kate Grutman from Sotto, came up with “I’m on a boat” (Sailor Jerry’s, pineapple, lime, unsweetened Thai coconut milk, Orange Crush soda, Angostura Bitters spray). I had the opportunity to see how this cocktail evolved from specs to the actual drink that was given to guests.

cocktail specs

 

I'm on a Boat!

let's try this spray-on design

in a coupe?

 

The drink was originally planned for a rocks glass but Kate wanted to see how it’d work in a coupe. The idea was to mist the Angostura over the tiki stencils to create a pattern over the drink. It didn’t leave much of an impression. If only this cocktail had an eggwhite foam. A sour drink would showcase the tiki stencil superbly.

back to the drawing board- original plan for the glassware

 

But this now meant there was no garnish. Should we use an orange slice? Kate and I left for a quick meal and the barbacks quickly chopped up orange slices to go with her cocktail.

voila!

 

After dinner, Kate was inspired to add simple syrup to the mix. She felt the fresh pineapple juice wasn’t quite sweet enough. I really thought it added to the mouthfeel of the cocktail. Voila, it’s now perfect.

stenciled bev naps

 

But what to do with the stencils? She was inspired to spray the designs onto beverage napkins. Brilliant!

club is now ready, let's get this party started- family meal of Mezcal

 

final product- I'm on a Boat!

 

Sometime later in the night, I happened to catch the drink was now garnished with dehydrated orange wheels. Very nice.

Stay tuned for a full report on the Repeal Day party presented by Bar Magic’s Tobin Ellis on The Minty soon.

 

Links!

Kate Grutman

Sotto  – new post on The Minty

Bar Magic

Tobin Ellis teaching free pouring at Portland Cocktail Week

 

 

Oct10

Behind the Scenes: The Making of Guns and Moses

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ingredients including Cherry Manischewitz

Yesterday, I attended the second annual LA’s Best Bartender Competition sponsored by Table 20 and ran into Kate Grutman, the bar manager of Sotto. I had nominated her and it was cool to hear about which Karlsson’s Gold Vodka cocktail she submitted. As it turns out, it was the Guns and Moses, one of the more favored cocktails of the night.

Guns and Moses by Kate Grutman

Guns and Moses

  • 1-1/2 oz Karlsson’s Gold Vodka
  • 3/4 oz lime juice
  • 3/4 Maraska Maraschino
  • 1 oz Cherry Manischewitz
  • Scant 1/2 tsp. rose water

Garnish with rose petal.

Kate paid tribute to her Jewish ancestry by using Manischewitz and naming the cocktail Guns and Moses. I was a little doubtful when I first saw this drink until I had a sip. (Later we were doing shots of Manischewitz but no one needs to know that right? Oh wait…)

I’ll be recapping the competition on The Minty soon!

 

Sotto

9575 W Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035 – (310) 277-0210