Tag Archives: vegas

Jan23

Las Vegas: The Hottest Cocktail Spots

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Even slightly close to the Cosmopolitan? Go to the Vesper!

Even slightly close to the Cosmopolitan? Go to the Vesper!

It’s not really a secret The Vesper at the Cosmopolitan is my favorite bar on the strip in Las Vegas. It’s pretty much like coming home.

Bangkok

One Night in Bangkok

It’s apparently been a while though since I looked at Vesper’s menu. I prefer to go off the cuff but bartender George Sproule said I should try some of the new cocktails. Quite a few looked attractive and I tried a couple including the One Night in Bangkok (Tanqueray Rangpur gin, ginger beer, cardamon, lime, coconut cream, kaffir leaves, egg whites). The Tanqueray is rangpur lime flavors — a sort of hybrid of mandarin orange and lime.

This was so delicious that my friend who tasted all my drinks this weekend asked for another sip. This fragrant and frothy concoction is probably something I’d sip at the end of a night at the bar.

Mulberry

The Mulberry

Next I tried The Mulberry (Baker’s bourbon, Nonino Quintessentia, DOM Benedictine, whiskey aged bitters, Creole bitters) which is generally my brown, bitter, stirred style. I liked it though I still love the Mayan more from their opening menu. Check out George in this video mixing the Mulberry.

My other picks from the menu would be:

#1 License – Laird’s applejack, La Gitana Manzanilla sherry, pear eau di vie, lemon juice, bitters

Fear & Loathing – St. George Terroir gin, Crema de Mezcal, maraschino, lemon, pineapple, cherry bark bitters

Corpse Bride – Bols Genever, Aperol, Solerno, absinthe ice sphere, lemon, strawberry-rhubarb syrup

rye

Redemption rye, Swedish Punsch, Citron Sauvage

I was at the Vesper three times my last trip so there are a few more cocktails to cover. George asked if I had tried the Bittermens Citron Sauvage yet which I haven’t. Bars are using the Citron Sauvage in place of orange curacao (Triple Sec). With the Redemption Rye and the Kronan Swedish Punsch, this cocktail was not as “old man drinks” like as my usual whiskey drinks. Tart, odd, different came to mind. None of it bad, of course. Actually, I liked it because it made you think about the drink a bit.

mezcal

Don Julio blanco, basil eau di vie, mezcal, absinthe

On my way out of Vegas, I hit up the Vesper for old time’s sake– er, sure, okay I was planning on an one & done sort of thing but we had some time to kill. We had just come from a great buffet lunch upstairs at the Wicked Spoon but I was saving my drinking for Vesper. I wanted some brunch cocktails.

Bloody with St. George Breaking & Entering Bourbon

Bloody with St. George Breaking & Entering Bourbon

First I asked George for something along the lines of a Bloody Mary but no vodka. He got to work and about 7 minutes later presented me with a Bloody with St. George Spirits Breaking and Entering bourbon. A guy sitting next to me was so fascinated by the use of Bitter End Memphis BBQ bitters and the amount of time it took to make the drink. “I think it took him half an hour!” No, really, it was more like 7 minutes. It was delicious of course with the right amounts of savoriness and piquancy.

Then I let George have at it with both tequila and mezcal. For good measure, there was also basil eau di vie and absinthe. Although it didn’t taste the same as the Scotch drink I had the night before, it reminded me of that wizardry.  I don’t have a great shot of it but imagine a brown, bitter, stirred drink with: Macallan, Talisker, Cocchi di Torino, Amer Picon, Fernet-Branca and Campari at Vesper. Luckily though I got the recipe.

Flying Scotsman

  • 1.5 Macallan
  • .5 Talisker
  • 1 cocchi di Torino
  • .5 Campari
  • dash Fernet-Branca
  • dash Amer Picon

Stir, strain, serve up and garnish with lemon twist.

Flying Dutchman

Flying Dutchman

The Vesper Bar at the Cosmopolitan

3708 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV 89109  –  (702) 698-7000

Clear jiggers at RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay

Clear jiggers at RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay

Over at RM Seafood at the Mandalay Bay, I’ve been hearing good things about the bar program where Nathan Greene (formerly of Vanguard) just took over. He says he’ll be rolling out a new menu at the end of this month. And for those in the know, he’ll also have a secret menu. Now you know.

1

gin & byrrh

I let Nathan have free reign over what I was going to drink and he gave me a cocktail of St. George Terroir gin, Byrrh, Drambuie 15, Dubonnet Rouge, Dolin Blanc, bitters, orange oil. The Drambuie 15, Dubonnet Rouge and Dolin Blanc is his custom blend he likes to use in cocktails. Normally I’m not a Drambuie sort of gal but the 15 is actually pretty good.

pisco & June

Pisco & June

Next I spotted June, one of my favorite liqueurs. I first had it in Seattle and haven’t seen it in LA yet. I don’t think it’ll be as popular as St. Germaine but it has a similar floral quality but it’s less sweet and cloying. This unnamed cocktail is pisco based. Nathan used Barsol pisco, Espirit de June liqueur, orgeat, lemon, orange blossom water and grapefruit bitters.

RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay

3930 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV 89119  —  (702) 632-9300
 
Herbs & Rye menu

Herbs & Rye menu

When I originally did research on cocktail bars in Las Vegas, I came across Herbs & Rye but never quite made it. Downtown Cocktail Room was the furthest off the Strip as I got.

Bijou

Bijou

I enjoyed reading through menu mentioning the different eras of cocktails. I usually get a house specialty but since we were at a table, I couldn’t talk to any of the bartenders. I ordered a classic cocktail, the Bijou (gin, Green Chartreuse, sweet vermouth) off the menu. It was very good.

Aviation

Aviation

Next, I decided to have an Aviation– made properly with both maraschino and creme de violette. I hadn’t had one in a while and felt like one. Like the Bijou, it was perfect. I ran into some (bar) industry folks as I was leaving and Herbs & Rye is definitely their hang out spot (like the Varnish in LA) but we were off to our next adventure.

Herbs & Rye

3713 W Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89102  —  (702) 982-8036
 
Frankie's Tiki Room

Frankie’s Tiki Room

 I love a good tiki bar and had been dying to go to Frankie’s Tiki Room ever since I found out the designer also did the Tiki Room at Disneyland. Of course, they do say a bunch of respected tiki carvers contributed to the overall aesthetic to the bar.
mai tai

mai tai

Sadly, I think things have changed at Frankie’s. A local bartender in Vegas told me they stopped doing the fresh juices. My Mai Tai was way too sweet. I could not finish my drink and we left early. It would have been fun to just hang out if we were at the bar but the tiny carved wooden seats at the tables were well, tiny, carved wooden seats with the thread-bare cushions. They looked cool though.

 
Frankie’s Tiki Room
1712 W Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89102  — (702) 385-3110
 
© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2013
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

Mar30

Nightclub & Bar: The Parties

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Bellagio Pool

 

I was in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago for Nightclub and Bar, the convention that drew approximately 30,000 people. While there are official happy hours and parties, it was fun to go events thrown by friends. Or rather, I should say friends of friends. We stopped by the Moonlight Mix  – Bartender’s Brunch party at the Bellagio. There we had pina coladas and Encanto Pisco punch along with some munchies.

 

pina colada

Encanto Pisco Punch

 

Encanto Pisco is now available at the Bellagio pool, a coup for us craft cocktails nerds.

Keep an eye on their Facebook page for future Moonlight Mix events.

Bellagio

3600 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV 89109 — (702) 693-7111

 

Next we pool hopped over to the Cosmopolitan Pool where the Wirtz Party was in full swing. The Lunar New Year themed party featured drinks and a Chinese dragon dance. We were welcomed with boozy punch served in teacups and several bars were set up. Bar Stars like Patricia Richards (Wynn), Gaston Martinez (Milagro Tequila), Mariena Mercer (Chandelier Bar) and Kristen Schaefer (Bond Bar) were working it.

The bartenders I was with agreed the drinks at the Wirtz party were all great. They were made to order and if that didn’t suit, there was another bar out back.

 

My favorite this night was the Pumpkin Spiced Cooler (Hudson Valley rye, Root liqueur, pumpkin juice, lime, ginger beer, Jerry Thomas bitters) from Gaston.

Mariena’s drink, the Lush Life (Maestro Dobel tequila, Olorosso sherry, butter washed John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum, Perricone apple juice, spiced syrup, lemon, egg white) was pretty kick-ass, too. Not only did it remind me of the Queen of it all, Lindsey Johnson from Lush Life Productions, the tequila is probably the fuel to keep the party going.

Other drinks I tried were the Braided Dragon (Beefeater 24, lemon, Nagomi yuzu sour, gunpowder green tea syrup, Moon Rabbit sparkling sake) and Dragon Cooler (Jim Beam rye, Red Stag spiced bourbon, Red Stag Black Cherry bourbon, lemon, maple syrup, Fee’s orange bitters, ginger beer).

There was also food and some gorgeous desserts but I didn’t try any as I was full.

 

Wirtz Beverage Group

 

Mar30

Speed Rack Las Vegas Recap + Countdown to the Finals

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Jessica Fessler vs Hsiu-Ting Yu

Speed Rack has wrapped up its 10-city tour with a stop in Las Vegas. The competition took place at the Swingers Club at the Plaza Hotel in Downtown Vegas. The winner is Hsiu-Ting Yu from Fusion Bar at the Palazzo. She beat out 7 other ladies including a few who traveled from out of state. She joins Yael Vengroff (NYC), Sabrina Kershaw (Boston), Melissa Cross (Seattle — from the Portland, OR competition), Kylee Van Dillen (LA), Karin Stanley (Washington DC), Jill Webster (SF), Alba Huerta (Houston), Amanda Olig (Denver) and Jennifer Contraveos (Chicago) on May 10 in New York for the finals.

Currently, you can vote for 6 Wild Cards to join the finals here. You can vote once a day.

Judges Charlotte Voisey with Kathy Casey

Judge Tony Abou-Ganim

The four judges were Charlotte Voisey, Chef Kathy Casey, Tony Abou-Ganim and Audrey Saunders with Chris Patino as the MC. Having attending two other competitions, I knew the drill. There was an elimination round that culled the group down to 8. The competitors had to make four cocktails, one for each judge. You could be very fast but judges can add time to your score if they didn’t like the drinks for whatever reason. I saw one completely miss the mark on an old fashioned- using rum instead of whiskey. The recipe cards are right in front of you and you have given time to study but the name of the game is speed and sometimes you hope your good time will help. It’s interesting to note most did not use jiggers but those who did would lose time for that move.

Also, in the immortal word of Audrey Saunders “if the drink calls for bitters, USE bitters.” Some just didn’t use enough.

Chartreuse Luge!

The admission price included food and drinks. I saw the Chartreuse luge and knew immediately that this would be my favorite stop. What a beautiful sculpture.

Brugal Daiquiri

Lillet with Mariena Mercer from Chandelier Bar helping out

I also did tastings with Four Roses Bourbon, had drinks from Macchu Pisco, Lillet (prettiest booth!) and Brugal Rum.

Kate Grutman for Pink Pigeon Rum

But my favorite drink was the Rootbeer Float with Pink Pigeon rum, Fernet, cream and root beer.  The mint garnish was just perfect.

I’m looking forward to the finals in New York.

Keep an eye on Speed Rack’s Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.

 

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

Mar9

Catch Speed Rack in Las Vegas This Sunday!

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The Speed Rack National Tour comes to Las Vegas this Sunday, March 11th. From 3 – 7 PM at the Swingers Club at the Plaza Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas, guests are invited to punches, cocktails, beer, food and fun! Watch Vegas bartenders compete to raise money for breast cancer research. The winner wins a trip to New York to compete in the finals. Tickets are only $25 at the door or pre-sale online.

Guest judges include Tony Abou-Ganim (The Modern Mixologist), chef Kathy Casey, Charlotte Voisey (Portfolio Brand Ambassador – William Grant & Sons) and Audrey Saunders (owner of New York’s Pegu Club).

Sponsors include: Absolut vodka, Beefeater gin, Cointreau liqueur, Herradura tequila, Plymouth gin, Famous Grouse scotch, Four Roses Bourbon, Brugal rum, Lillet, Becherovka, Kahlua, Pernod, Macchu Pisco, Chartreuse, Barritt’s Ginger Beer, Perfect Puree, Gran Classico, St-Germain and more!

The Tour has swung through New York, Boston, DC/ Philly, San Francisco, Portland/ Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston/ New Orleans and will be heading to Chicago after Vegas. The finals will be on Thursday, May 10.

I love this event and will be there on Sunday!

Recap of Speed Rack in Portland

Recap of Speed Rack in Los Angeles

BUY TICKETS

Dec20

Las Vegas: Chandelier and Vesper Bars at the Cosmopolitan

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Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan

On my last night in Las Vegas, we went to check out what was going on at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. I’m in love with the Vesper but I figured it was good to see the other bars there. At the Chandelier, the massive 3-story bar that is the darling of the hotel shines with incandescent light made more brilliant by the thousands of crystals surrounding the bar. Since it was a Monday, it was a bit slower than usual so they had closed down the middle floor. Well, not to us.

looking down to the second floor from the third floor of the Chandelier

 

We had beer and Sambuca shots here. I’ll have to come back to try the cocktails from Chandelier’s Property Mixologist Mariena Mercer. I had her molecular Old Fashioned the evening before at the recent Repeal Day party.

The Chandelier

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV 89109 – (702) 698-7000
 

Vesper Bar - taking Little Steve along

 

Do you know Flat Stanley? Well, the bottle of cinnamon is a private joke between this guy and that guy that’s similar. You’ll just have to ask them.

Meletti

 

When you hang with bartenders, you tend to not bother other bartenders on duty with trivial things like cocktails. We got a bottle of Meletti. Funny, Vesper is the first place I ever had that amaro and of course I love it.

It’s not a trip to the Cosmo without stopping at the secret pizza place. And then we headed back to Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer to crash the Country Music Awards after party…

VEGAS! VEGAS! VEGAS!!

 

Vesper Bar

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV 89109 – (702) 698-7000
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