Tag Archives: rye

Dec19

Colorful Drinks at the Varnish

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Jason at the Varnish

Jason at the Varnish

 

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Varnish and Jason Hubert was behind the stick. Jason moved to LA from Oakland earlier this year and has been helpful with his tips for the East Bay spots I’ve tried.

Green

Green Elevator

I mentioned to Jason I wanted something with Chartreuse– green Chartreuse and he complied with a classic drink called the Green Elevator. It was perfect since I tend to like egg white drinks as well. Read more about the cocktail here.

The Green Elevator

 

  • 1 oz Green Chartreuse
  • .5 oz lemon
  • .5 oz grapefruit juice
  • egg white

 
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

I did translate the measurements of the recipe to something a bit more familiar. Let me know if you make adjustments.

Blue

Blue Collar

 

But I started off the night with a Blue Collar. I’ve seen different recipes for this but it involves rye, Amer Picon, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur and bitters. I saw a variation with Cio Ciaro that looks great. Looks like Short Order has a version but they use Cherry Grenadine instead of maraschino.

Ah, did you expect neon colored drinks? I think I rather have a Green Elevator or Blue Collar any day.

Varnish
118 E 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014 — (213) 622-9999
 
© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012

 

 

 

Nov30

Rum Spotlight: Sailor Jerry at Neat’s 1-Year-Anniversary Party

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Aidan at Neat Bar

Aidan Demarest at Neat Bar – Don’t Stop Believin’

Has it been really just a year Neat Bar has been open? Must be as owner Aidan Demarest and Neat celebrated their one-year-anniversary a few weeks ago.

Sailor Jerry sponsored the huge bash guest bartenders including former Neat bartender Arash Pakzad who’s working in the Bay Area now, Erick Castro (former SF bartender and Plymouth Gin ambassador who’s opening a bar in San Diego) and John Lermayer from Miami. Local bartender pals Mia Sarazen and Rich Andreoli also helped out.

Although I’ve had plenty of Sailor Jerry at events, I can’t say I really have ordered a cocktail with it in it. These cocktails this night changed my mind. In the hands of the right bartender, the Sailor Jerry really comes through as a great spirit. I can still taste the wonderful bacon in the Sailor Jerry’s Bloody Mary from Art Beyond the Glass.

cap from Erick Castro

Capricorn Punch from Erick Castro

 

First up, I had some of Erick’s Capricorn Punch (Sailor Jerry rum, velvet falernum, batavia arrack, lime, pineapple). This eased me into my bar stool and probably should have warned me I had a long night ahead of me.

Army Navy by Mia Sarazen

Navy Army by Mia Sarazen

I also tried Mia’s take on a Army Navy (with gin) — her’s is the Navy Army (Sailor Jerry rum, orgeat, lemon, lime, nutmeg). I like the Army Navy but I think I may like the Navy Army just a bit more.

Sailor Old Fashioned

Caribbean Old Fashioned

Mia also had a Caribbean Old Fashioned on the list. The Sailor Jerry is paired with 14-year-old Balvenie Scotch that’s been aged in a Caribbean barrel. Instead of sugar, there was honey syrup. And all topped with toasted pecan bitters. Ah-mazing.

Catalina by Rich

Catalina Island by Rich

I will pretty much order any drink with Fernet Branca in it. The Catalina Island (Sailor Jerry rum, Fernet, Rittenhouse rye, Carpano Antica, lemon, lime, demerara syrup and Mexican Coke) probably sounded a little scary to others but there’s something about it that appeals to enthusiasts. Bring it.  Ah, wonderful.

Sailor Daiquiri

Sailor Daiquiri

Then Arash started his guest stint and his list rolled out with the Sailor Daiquiri. This evened out my keel that was slowly rockin’… (this means I was starting to feel that last drink).

Jerry Curl

Jerry Curl

 

Good thing because I still wanted to taste the Jerry Curl (Sailor Jerry rum, mint, lemon, gomme, Scrappy’s cardamon bitters). Ooh, very nice. I really liked the spicy cardamon bitters co-mingling with the spices in the Sailor Jerry rum.

Daiquiri by John Lermayer

Daiquiri by John Lermayer

 

But my night was made with the blender daiquiri from famous bartender John Lermayer. My night as a fan girl was made. It was garnished with a fuzzy bird and it was very festive to toast Aidan Demarast and his team at Neat.

The rest of the night was filled with sipping from the Sailor Jerry cask (I didn’t but others enjoyed) and laybacks (maybe that happened).

Happy Anniversary, Neat!

Don’t Stop Believin’.

Sailor Jerry

Neat Bar

1114 N Pacific Ave., Glendale, CA 91202 – (818) 241-4542

© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012

May22

The Sporting Life with St. George Spirits

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Single Malt Whiskey

What I love about going to Sporting Life meetings is getting to try new (to me) spirits. St. George Spirits sponsored the May. As I previously noted, I was familiar with the St. George absinthe but can’t recall tasting their spirits individually. After tasting and loving the St. George Terroir gin, I was eager to try the others.

At the meeting, I got to try the Single Malt Whiskey which I thought tasted a bit chocolately. It was explained to me that “Evil Genius” (founder and distiller) Lance Winters was a beer brewer before he became a spirits distiller. Ah, that explains the botanicals and quite the nose on many of his spirits.

dry rye gin

 

I tasted the Dry Rye Gin and then sipped the Dry Fashioned (St. George Dry Rye gin, grapefruit and lemon peel). It was really perfect.

Singapore Sling

And what about the Bontanivore Gin? I couldn’t leave St. George’s third gin out. I had it with the Singapore Sling (St. George Bontanivore gin, Benedictine, Cherry Herring, lemon, pineapple). It was a sunny day and the perfect libation on the patio.

I really must make it up to the Bay Area soon to visit the distillery.

St. George Spirits

© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012

Previously: St. George Spirits- Terroir Gin and Breaking & Entering Bourbon

May18

Derby Day at Seven Grand with Bulleit Bourbon

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Hollis Bulleit

 

 

Bulleit Bourbon celebrated Derby Day earlier this month at Seven Grand with friends and family. Guest enjoyed Mint Juleps and Horse’s Necks. I also tried an old fashioned with Bulleit rye which was delicious as expected.

Seven Grand

Mint Julep – Bulleit Bourbon, mint, sugar

 

Seven Grand is opening another location in San Diego soon and the SD crew was in town to train. They kept the drinks coming for the thirsty crowd.

Seven Grand was the perfect choice for a Derby party

Horse’s Neck- Bulleit Bourbon, ginger beer, Angostura bitters

 

The horse I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby this day. But everyone wins when you have another.

 

Best Hat at the party

Everyone dressed up in their derby finery but no one had a better hat than Hollis Bulleit, World Ambassador for Bulleit Bourbon (and 6th Generation Bulleit). Still, this one was pretty fun!

 

Bulleit Rye Old Fashioned

 

I’ll have to come up with a better hat for next year’s party!

 

Bulleit Bourbon

Seven Grand

515 W 7th St., 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014 – (213) 614-0737
 
© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012
Dec23

2012 Cocktail Trends

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Queen's Park Swizzle from Black Market Liquor Bar

When I was applying for my press pass for Portland Cocktail Week, I was asked what I wanted to cover. I was particularly interested in cocktail trends. Here’s what I see happening now and will continue to be strong in 2012:

  • It’s a given new restaurants will open with a custom cocktail program, venerable restaurants will revamp cocktail lists to thoughtful cocktail programs. They will at least start with a list of classic cocktails and grow from there.
  • Bartenders who follow a “farm to glass” philosophy- using fresh ingredients they buy from farmers’ markets, working more with chefs and utilizing cooking techniques, spices and unexpected flavors
  • Bartenders who make their own bitters, tinctures, infusions
  • Non-spirit based cocktails (beer cocktails, wine cocktails– like sherry and port cocktails)
  • “New” spirits like pisco, cachaca, aguardiente, baijiiu, grappa, arrack will be discovered
  • Amaros – Americans falling in love with bitter flavors versus going for sticky sweet “martinis”
  • Small-batch, independent distilling

 

I’m looking for more fine drinking in the new year! I’m hoping to get to Manhattan Cocktail Classic and Tales of the Cocktail in 2012. Also, I would love to see a cocktail week in Los Angeles. Maybe Santa will bring that for everyone next year. For more food and restaurant trends, check out this article on The Minty.

 

Happy Holidays from the Minty and LA Cocktails!