Tomorrow, April 29th, at 7pm (EDT) the Mixoloseum, the Quarter Bar in Brooklyn, and the Monkey Hut will all join arms in welcoming Beefeater 24 to American shores. Inspired by the fact that Desmond Payne’s grandfather was a tea merchant, Beefeater has released a premium gin that is infused with botanicals including sencha and green teas for 24 hours prior to distillation. This brings some nuances and additional light notes to an already solid gin. And, in Thursday Drink Night, we’ll be getting to know it better

This TDN will bring to bear many good things. The Quarter Bar and Beefeater 24 have been gracious enough to host a live event for us to celebrate TDN and try the submitted drinks for evaluation. Dan Warner will be there and, as rumor has it, may be able to shake a drink or two from behind the stick. Greg Boehm and David Wondrich are also slated to appear along with the Mixoloseum and TDN regulars as we broadcast the event live on the Mixoloseum channel. We also have the traditional online event where you’ll be able to submit your drinks and try others’ and Craig Hermann will be hosting an event in the Monkey Hut in Portland, OR. So, please join us. Whether online, in New York City, or in Portland, OR, you’re bound to have a great time alongside a great product.

It will likely be a wild wooly mass of drinks submitted but all will be tweeted and, if Dan’s arm holds up, all will be made and tried in good will. I look forward to seeing you there.

Details:

• When: This Thursday Night, 7:00pm (EDT) (but join in any time)
• Where: The Mixoloseum Bar
• Feed of Live NYC Event: Mixoloseum Channel
• Bring: Drink inspirations, an appreciation for the finer things spirits have to offer, and a love of laughter and a friendly group.

FREE STUFF:

The best drink of the evening will receive a copy of “Jones’ Complete Bar Guide” courtesy of Greg Boehm and Cocktail Kingdom.

MORE FREE STUFF:

The most participatory newcomer of the evening¹ will receive an unused copy of “The Mixicologist” from my own library.

TDN: Beefeater 24 – Live from NYC is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. and yes, this means you’ll have to submit a drink

This TDN many fun and unique things will happen. Effie Panagopolous, the Metaxa Muse, will be joining us to discuss the history and merits of Metaxa in mixed drinks and cocktails and will be sharing her depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the spirit throughout the evening.² We will also be broadcasting this Thursday Drink Night from the home of Erik Ellestad who will be hosting a Live TDN event where the likes of Martin Cate, Rick Stutz, Matt Rowley, Marleigh Riggins, Camper English, Matt Robold, Michelle Whiting, myself and many other TDN enthusiasts will be descending upon his house, generally wrecking his liquor supply and creating drinks with style, panache, and good company. The feed for the TDN web broadcast will be at BlogTV under the Mixoloseum channel.

Imbibe Metaxa Contest

We will ALSO be taking part in Imbibe’s Ultimate Metaxa Cocktail Contest where the best drink of the evening will be submitted to the competition under the submitter’s and Mixoloseum’s banner. And hell, even if you participate and yours isn’t selected, take your TDN submission and submit it to win the contest.³

Details:

• When: This Thursday Night, 7:00pm (EST) (but join in any time)
• Where: The Mixoloseum Bar
• Feed of Live SF Event: Mixoloseum Channel
• Bring: Drink inspirations, an appreciation for the finer things spirits have to offer, and a love of laughter and a friendly group.

FREE STUFF:

The best drink of the evening will receive a bottle of blueberry bitters courtesy of Greg Boehm and Cocktail Kingdom.

TDN: Metaxa – Live from SF is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. there are also 12-star and Grand Reserve varieties, but they’re rarely seen
2. Effie, unfortunately, will not be able to join us, so we’ll just have to do Metaxa justice all on our own!
3. Please note that residents of California are not eligible to win the content – Of course, we’ll just submit it under the “Mixoloseum” and call it a day then, shan’t we?

ok – need to find for a birthday gift – any idea where to find Amarula in Tulsa? surely you have heard of it – like Bailey’s but MUCH better – from Africa?

Cocktailnerd:

Absolutely I’ve heard of it and have a bottle, bought in Tulsa, and agree that it’s a *very* tasty liqueur.

It’s available at Ranch Acres at 31st and Harvard and several others (including Parkhill’s) but I’ve seen it most consistently there. I’ve also confirmed that they currently have 3 bottles in stock.

Gesondheid,
-Gabriel

An additional note, of course, is that Amarula is like Bailey’s as Creme de Menthe is like Creme de Cassis. Both Amarula and Irish Cream liqueurs include dairy cream but Bailey’s is based on Irish Whiskey whereas Amarula is a fruit-based liqueur using the Amarula fruit from South Africa. I do *not* recommend subbing one for the other and expecting the same results. I hope you found it Paula, it’s good stuff.

I was talking with [name withheld], today and he shared your site, indicating you might be interested in an interesting margarata recipe. Anyone I’ve ever served it to says it is the best they’ve ever had, so here goes:

In a blender, combine:
4 shots of tequila
4 shots of beer
6 oz. Minute Made Limeaid (brand matters)
Ice to fill about 2/3 of the pitcher.
Top with about 2 shots of Grand Marnier (or more if you like it sweeter).

Blend
Serve
Enjoy!

Cocktailnerd:

I’m always appreciative of readership and enthusiasm for drinking quality drinks. And, maybe, the drink outlined above is tasty; I don’t know. But, I do know it’s not a Margarita. There’s also a logical inconsistency in it where, apparently, the brand of limeade matters, but the brand of Tequila, or beer(!), does not. This, use of limeade aside, is a give-away. Here’s a proper Margarita, and yes, brand does matter – a great deal:

3 parts Tequila (100% agave and I use blanco)
2 parts Cointreau (you can use Grand Marnier but it doesn’t stand up quite as well)
1 part Fresh lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed and chilled cocktail glass.

Salud,
-Gabriel

hope you can help me out with this. i made a vodka infusion first time. pretty simple i know, but this girl cant make ice cubes. i combined strawberrys, blackberrys, grapes, simple syrup and some yucky rain vodka( i only used it because this was an experiment and didnt want to use the good stuff). the directions said to sit for a few days. now, i put it in the fridge even though it didnt say to or to leave it out. three or four days go by and today i sampled it. at first when i took a whiff out of jar, it smelled like fabulous sweet strawberrys. i poured a tad to taste. was good. then i poured a tad bit more and it smelled musty! i poured it out after i tasted again with a friend this time. and he concluded it was musty smelling. i smelled the fruit on its own and tasted as well. they tasted fine. i smelled a strawberry that looked kinda slimey, even though it wasnt just looked like the alcohol must have sucked the color out. but, it had a faint smell of musty. but, after a few tastings and eatings, i could no longer tell. my friend said that maybe it was the pairing of the fruits. the recipe called for blackberrys, blueberrys and strawberrys. i didnt have any blue thats why i used grapes. anyway, now that you have drank yourself into oblivious after reading this, can you tell me what you think gave off that odor?

Cocktailnerd:

Cynthia,

Thanks for writing and, most of all, thanks for reading. While I can’t pin-point a single cause for the musty funk you’re getting, here’s where I think you could improve the process:

1. Infusions are a simple matter of neutral grain spirits (such as vodka, 80-proof will do) and your flavoring agent, nothing more. The simple syrup you’re adding may affect how the oils from the fruits are extracted and interfere with the alcohol-soluble elements you’re looking to get out of your flavoring agent (in this case, fruits). Simple syrup is added *after* the infusion (and straining/filtering) are done to create a liqueur.

2. Grapes are difficult (along with strawberries) as they have a certain must that comes out any time they sit (see: wine). Lemons, limes, and other citrus work famously well in infusions and to create liqueurs (see: limoncello). I suggest reducing the difficulty level (and cost) and working with an infusion/liqueur-producing process using those first before venturing into items that have more complexity.

3. Straining, filtering, and timing are key. For highly-fleshy and pulpy fruit like strawberries, grapes, etc. practice with a shorter infusion period at the front and see what intensity of flavor you’re getting and then advance it to see what else is extracted as time goes on. After the infusion is done, strain and filter (I use cone coffee filters 2-3 times to get all of the pulp and other elements out (if left in they tend to turn the mixture dank). Also, make sure you’re properly cleaning and hulling whatever you’re infusing. In the case of strawberries I cut them in half; in the case of citrus I may limit the amount of pith…etc.

A good place to start, if you have strawberries on hand and on the brain, is here: http://www.cocktailchronicles.com/2007/06/21/tequila-por-mi-amante/

Cheers,
-Gabriel

A note on straining: Straining takes forever. Seriously, like, “go play a game of Bridge and then grab Monopoly” forever. I use natural cone filters set in a funnel. Rinse them with water before use, set one into the funnel and jar you’re using, fill it to near the top of the filter, and then walk away. Once that first bit is strained, replace the filter with a fresh one, and keep running the remaining volume through until you’re done. Don’t squeeze of force the liquid through the filter, please.

Hi Gabriel,

Just wanted to say how much I’ve been enjoying your blog. especially some of the more recent postings on ginger beer. I’m originally from Michigan and am used to a strong ginger ale called Vernor’s. It’s hard to find outside of the Midwest but great when you can get it.

Anyway, I’m actually a librarian by trade and in a couple of weeks about 8,000 of us will be descending on Denver for our annual winter conference.

I’m wondering if you have any advice on good places for cocktails–I’m a regular at Violet Hour in Chicago, Zig-Zag in Seattle, and used to go to Vessel when Jaimie B. was working there.

If you know of any decent places I’d sure appreciate the advice.

Thanks in advance and thanks for the great posts.

Regards,
Jon-Mark

Cocktailnerd

Jon-Mark,

As much time as I spend in/near Denver I’m usually just dropping in to visit liquor stores. I could use this information as well.

Belatedly,
-Gabriel

So, readers:

1. What advice to you have regarding infusing and straining tinctures, infusions, and liqueurs?
2. What’s your ideal Margarita recipe that doesn’t involve frozen yick?, and
3. Where’s a good place to get a cocktail in Denver?

I leave it in your capable hands.

And keep the mail coming folks, I enjoy what I get and hope to be helpful wherever I’m able.

Cocktailnerd Mailbag: Of Infusions and Grandeur is a post from: cocktailnerd

You can also join us in the Mixoloseum Bar and submit and mix drinks of your very own!

TDN: Beefeater – Live Feed from Vessel in Seattle is a post from: cocktailnerd

As he mentions, there are fairly few mixed drinks or cocktails (aside from the mixing with Cola or Red Bull) that go anywhere near Fernet Branca as an ingredient. Beginning its life as a medicine and tonic, it’s simply too bold, too brash, too concentrated, and to overwhelming for most cocktailians to pull off the shelf except to take the occasional stimulative shot, or two. Until now. This Thursday, March 5, join us as we mix drinks with Fernet Branca and sample others’ drinks as they work their magic in any way they choose. Nicole Hajek, a representative of Fernet Branca will be joining us to answer questions about the origins of the product and how its renewed popularity has come about and how its colorful reputation was earned . It will be flavorful, fun, and, as always, illustrative of just how far into Fernet-infused happiness we can go and come out the other side still loving it . Join us, won’t you? ,

• When: This Thursday Night, 7:00pm (EST) (but join in any time)
• Where: The Mixoloseum Bar
• Bring: Drink inspirations, an appreciation for the finer things spirits have to offer, and a love of laughter and a friendly group.

Guidelines:

1. Join the fun.
2. Dare Rick to mix and give tasting notes on some ridiculous drink idea.
3. Watch as it’s tweaked, discussed, and mocked.
4. Mix it up along with everyone else and share your thoughts.
5. Consume (or treat your sink to a drink) and return to Step 2.

Thursday Drink Night: Fernet Branca is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. yes, it’s a great line from a great movie and I stole it…extra points if you knew it immediately

Within six hours of our posts starting to go up the PR firm had reached out to almost every single one of us personally and apologized and asked what could be done to make it right and asked to speak to as many of us as possible by conference call yesterday. Well, it turns out the conference call was with Vinet-Ege, the distiller and importer of Le Tourment Vert. The tone was exceedingly contrite, cordial, and sincere. And I, for one, appreciated it. As an outcome of the call they’ve decided to make a public apology to the cocktail bloggers they offended, you, our readers, and to the cocktail community at-large. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, I run it here in its entirety:

Dear Cocktailing Community,

We very much appreciate your feedback and concern regarding our brand, Le Tourment Vert absinthe. Our efforts to communicate with the online community were clearly misguided and we apologize for inadvertently offending you and your readers. This began with us wanting to convey the positive attributes of Le Tourment Vert and the simple belief that it can be mixed well in a cocktail. We do not pretend to be experts in online communication nor do we have a corporate communications department. We are a small import company and we relied on the recommendations of an outside party and authorized them to communicate to the online community about our product. This decision was ill-advised and we deeply regret the obvious insult that it has caused. We take full responsibility for this and are taking the following actions immediately to address the situation.

1. We have instructed the outside party to stop any and all further communications representing our company and our brand.
2. Any online communications on blogs or message boards from this point forward will be will be clearly identified as emanating from our company or representative.
3. We will seek to personally apologize to any and all members of the online community who have been hurt by unsolicited communication that we or our representatives have caused.

In addition, we would like to ensure that we have addressed any and all of your concerns. We welcome any suggestions or comments whether on an individual basis or as a group. Please feel free to contact us directly at info@vinetege.com.

It is also our hope that we may be able to reintroduce Le Tourment Vert to you, in terms as you see appropriate. We hope you will give us the opportunity to make this right. We appreciate your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Ashley Garver
Field Marketing Coordinator
Distillerie Vinet Ege SA

The decision to run this wasn’t easy given how hard I took down the whole enterprise and the product in my posts. But, consider this, not once did Vinet-Ege or any of their representatives request that I remove or change a single piece of my work. Granted, this would have been met with derision and I was ready and loaded for bear were that request to be made. But, it made their statements of apology, respect, and desire to correct any wrongs that much more sincere. They owned their side of the issue, and allowed me to own mine.

Le Tourment Vert: The Response is a post from: cocktailnerd

As you may have seen in my last post in this series of absinthe reviews, I’ve collected a few absinthes and will be giving them my due consideration over the next few months. You can read more about my tasting process in that post but suffice it to say that I’m allowing the absinthe to express its character in a very specific way, by mixing it with sugar and water in various forms¹ . This, to me, is slightly more reliable than drinking it neat (though I’ve been known to do that) and a better measure of it’s quality than dousing it in something like a Corpse Reviver or Monkey Gland.

But, in this post, I’ll be doing something a bit different with one of them. You see, something has caught my attention, and my ire. Allow me my traditional reviews of Obsello and Pernod and then indulge me in a trip to cocktail-blogger-hell where we’ll discuss Le Tourment Vert and all its ignominious and ignoble qualities.

Obsello has only very recently come to the U.S. and was the first Spanish absinthe to visit our shores. Spanish absinthe originated after many distillers moved from France to Spain in the early 20th-century and is typically considered a sweeter form. The bottle is reminiscent of a champagne bottle and is mercifully free of anything mentioning artificial coloring, a common problem among many of these. It also comes with a harrying and large wax seal around the cap. Several crow-bars, near misses with knives, and chipped chisels later, I was ready to try it. Drip: Obsello recommends a 3:1 ratio of water-to-absinthe. I don’t. Back this down to 1.5-2oz water to an ounce of absinthe to make it really sing and have the “oomph” it deserves. This has a very strong anise front that, thankfully, dissipates quickly. It settles quickly into a woodsy and wormwood bitterness and slight vanilla hints with a long long finish. There’s still a bit of heat throughout the ordeal. Frappe: This is lovely in a frappe. The thinness it struggles with in the drip is completely gone and the concentration of the Obsello comes through in a fine way. The initial bite of anise in the drip is tamped-down but lingers longer and a new cocoa flavor comes along for the ride as it finishes. There’s less bitterness and, all in all, it makes for a more pleasant drink than the drip. This is a very nice traditional absinthe that, if you can find it for around $60, I highly recommend. It pours a beautiful, and natural-looking, pale green color and louches quickly and in fantastic fashion. This isn’t the most deep or complex absinthe in the group, but it’s very respectable and you could do worse. Much worse.

Pernod, of course, is known as the “original” absinthe having started production in the late 1700s. It’s only recently reached Oklahoma and I was glad to add it to the mix. It pours a slightly yellowish-green, belying its FD&C Yellow No. 5 roots, but isn’t horribly artificial in its appearance, unlike some. Drip: This takes longer to louche than the Obsello but, once it does, appears creamy and lush. Pernod stands up in a drip better than the Obsello and asserts itself nicely with a more dry and herbal profile. The anise flavors are present, but ultimately it rounds itself into more gentian/herbal tones with a lighter hint of wormwood than most. The anise is also more of the “star anise” quality than fennel which leads to a little less complexity than I’d like. Frappe: Surprisingly, this dries out even further in a frappe. It made me realize that the sweetness I experienced in the Obsello may be mostly due to its creamier feel, as the Pernod runs quickly across the tongue. The Obsello’s frappe beats this hands down in terms of both pleasantness and richness. Unfortunately, I would look to Pernod Absinthe for dry and minor complexity as an absinthe for use in mixed drinks rather than featuring it on its own. It’s not a depressingly horrid product but as I drank it in these two drinks and let it sit on the palate it devolved into a sort of chemical artificiality that was wholly unwelcome. On its own, it leaves something to be desired.

I’m going to save you $60. Right now. Call your dad. Don’t worry, he’ll take your call2 . Ask your dad for two things, his Aqua Velva (Old Spice will do in a pinch) and a bottle of cheap tequila. If he doesn’t have tequila then Everclear will do. Or, barring that, a gun. Once acquired, set them side-by-side. Pour 1oz of your father’s aftershave of preference in a glass…down it. There, you’ve now tasted Le Tourment Vert at 1/30th the price. Your problem now? How to forget. You have two options, down the tequila or Everclear in one great Herculean swig and hope that the resulting brain damage erases the memory of having tasted Le Tourment3 . Or, you can make damned sure you forget with a bullet. Whatever’s on the other side is preferable, I assure you. Unnaturally blue, uninspiringly flaccid, astoundingly nasty, unfathomably thin, unsparingly acrid, and unrepentently synthetic it’s everything bad sex is, and more, and is probably the second-worst booze I’ve ever tasted. Thanks, Le Tourment, the torment is all mine. To add insult to injury? They’re fucking spammers. And I have something I’d like to say about that, meet me under the fold, please.

Pernod Absinthe Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Le Tourment Vert Rating: 0.5 out of 5 stars⁴

Spam This, Bitches:

It’s not enough that your product is despairingly bad, Le Tourment, and that people everywhere have to pay for the privilege of such bottled evil before realizing it. It’s not enough that you’ve put a sub-standard product on the market that is riding the coattails of ever-growing absinthe appreciation and enthusiasm and on the backs of quality brands such as Marteau, Obsello, St. George, and others. It’s not enough that your product barely resembles anything remotely related to absinthe much less something potable. No, you have to spam my comments and burn 10-15 minutes of each of my days for the past few weeks filtering it out. Shame on you, on both counts.

As a cocktail blogger and writer I can tell you that some PR firms “get” it. They understand that to gain our attention requires time, respect, and communication. You know, like any other human with self-respect. Sure, blogging is a labor of love, first and foremost, but it also requires time and effort and attention and a good many of us also write in some professional capacity. That you would think, essentially, taking a dump on our doorstep every day⁵ and making us clean it up would engender some sort of good will, admiration, or desire to promote your product only illustrates your ignorance, disregard, and, I suspect, your secretly-held disdain for bloggers in general. After all, if I shit on *your* doorstep every day, you might take it that I don’t like you either.

Let me provide this illustration by example. You know those folks going door-to-door trying to get you to attend their church, subscribe to The Watchtower, or generally asking you personal questions about your relationship with God which is none of their damned business? Off-putting at best, and insulting at worst. Now, take that example, have them arrive every day for the past 3-4 weeks and then add a kicker. Not only do they make daily visits, they also have an associate that writes “Jesus is the awesomezt, have you tried him?,” or, “I’ve heard Shiva is nice, but have you tried Jesus? Americans are crazy for him!” on your front door in dry-erase marker. Every…single…fucking….day. Some days two or three times. Yes, easy enough to clean off. Yes, it’s not really *hurting* anyone. But, what does it say about how they feel about you, your home⁶ , and your time? It says, to me, “Fuck you, our message is more important than you and you’re not deserving of the respect or time it would require to actually key your interest in our message, product, or business.” And, what does it make you think of that church, religion, or publication? Nothing good, I assure you. So, thanks Le Tourment. I didn’t like your product in the first place but was willing to equivocate a bit. Then you had to spam me. All your PR firm has done is prove that it has no respect for me, and, I would venture, no faith in your product.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are firms that do this right. I’ve had great experiences with Brand Action Team, The Baddish Group, and Brown-Forman and would put them in front of anyone looking for best practices on how to work with the cocktail blogging community to build influence and exposure for a product⁷ . Each of them, in different ways, has taken our influence seriously, taken their time to speak with us personally and inquire after their product(s) after sending it to us, and sought our feedback and insights on those products. I’m willing to listen carefully to them about their products, share my issues, and take their feedback into account when they disagree with my assessment. I would think this should be any firm’s goal.

Spamming my comments⁸ , sending me unsolicited emails asking me to feature a crappy batch of recipes that I can tell by looking at them didn’t have mixological principles in mind, just the heavy use of XYZ product for its own sake, or emailing me a lamely-worded press release in-toto and asking me to run it on my site is telling me that you either don’t know me, don’t read my site, or, if you do, don’t take me seriously. I can live with that. But, please, do me the favor and be honest in your not respecting me and my ilk. In other words, leave me the fuck alone. Pretend I don’t exist, and I’ll pretend you don’t either.

Because, when you act like I exist, here’s what I get:^{9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25}

And this is only what I can dredge up from my history in the past week or so. Sad, alarming, and completely unnecessary. I hope any brands reading this know that I’ll be happy to give your product a fair shake and its due. I just hope you’ve selected a PR firm that can treat us with respect, forthrightness, and dignity. As for you, Cashmere, the IP addresses from which the above come²⁶ have been permanently banned. Well done for you, and well done for your client.

Darcy at The Art of Drink

Jon at DrinkPlanner

SeanMike at Scofflaw’s Den

Marleigh at SLOSHED!

Blair at Trader Tiki’s Booze Blog

Chris at An Exercise in Hospitality

Stevi at Two at the Most

Tiare at A Mountain of Crushed Ice

Paul at the Cocktail Chronicles

Chuck at Looka!

Matt at A Jigger of Blog

Absinthe, Absinthe every where… (Part II w/ Special Feature!) is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. in other words, an absinthe drip and an absinthe frappe
2. as long as you didn’t give him Le Tourment Vert for Christmas
3. but please, go all “Memento” and leave notes to yourself all over the joint saying “Don’t trust the Blue Reaper” or something along those lines
4. it will keep you alive when the zombies come, so it gets 1/2 star for caloric value
5. granted, you’ve been nice enough to mold the fecal material into the shape of your brand name, thanks for that – at least I know who to blame
6. and believe me, this is my “home”
7. there are others, mind you, these just come to mind first
8. I’m sorry, “virally-seeding message board discussions” is the euphemism of choice, right?
9. “I keep hearing about his bohemian absinthe. The only brand i have tried is LE TOURMENT VERT. It was really good too! I suggest it to all absinthe lovers!”
10. “I might have to try this”
11. “Is this drink in the states yet?”
12. “Verte is the best one to me! Le tourment vert is so good and is really taking Americans by storm”
13. “Can’t wait to start trying absinthe!”
14. “That looks like fun…I’m gonna have to attend!”
15. “absinthe nice. my new favorite drink.”
16. “gonna try the financial district tonight”
17. “Not a big fan of vermouth but that drink sounds good!”
18. “what is this guy talking about?”
19. “since it has the word “ginger” in it, it should be pretty healthy, right? that’s what i’ll tell anyone who asks.”
20. “What are some great new cocktails?”
21. “Your description makes my mouth water. “Almond and lemon lingers after swallowing, with a modest alcohol burn.” Sounds incredible.”
22. “Yaw silly….. what yaw drinking on?”
23. “this looks delicious!”
24. “i’ve never been a fan of mixed drinks until i came into the poison apple martini

    POISON APPLE MARTINI
    Easily batched for the mini carafe bottles
    1oz Le Tourment Absinthe
    1/2oz Apple Pucker
    1/2oz Sweet Sour
    Splash Cranberry Juice
    - Shake well and strain into rocks glass
    “

25. “I’m starting to grow on absinthe.”
26. of which there are only 2
27. albeit much more judiciously than myself, I’m sure

As a cocktail blogger and writer I can tell you that some PR firms “get” it. They understand that to gain our attention requires time, respect, and communication. You know, like any other human with self-respect. Sure, blogging is a labor of love, first and foremost, but it also requires time and effort and attention and a good many of us also write in some professional capacity. That you would think, essentially, taking a dump on our doorstep every day¹ and making us clean it up would engender some sort of good will, admiration, or desire to promote your product only illustrates your ignorance, disregard, and, I suspect, your secretly-held disdain for bloggers in general. After all, if I shit on *your* doorstep every day, you might take it that I don’t like you either.

Let me provide this illustration by example. You know those folks going door-to-door trying to get you to attend their church, subscribe to The Watchtower, or generally asking you personal questions about your relationship with God which is none of their damned business? Off-putting at best, and insulting at worst. Now, take that example, have them arrive every day for the past 3-4 weeks and then add a kicker. Not only do they make daily visits, they also have an associate that writes “Jesus is the awesomezt, have you tried him?,” or, “I’ve heard Shiva is nice, but have you tried Jesus? Americans are crazy for him!” on your front door in dry-erase marker. Every…single…fucking….day. Some days two or three times. Yes, easy enough to clean off. Yes, it’s not really *hurting* anyone. But, what does it say about how they feel about you, your home² , and your time? It says, to me, “Fuck you, our message is more important than you and you’re not deserving of the respect or time it would require to actually key your interest in our message, product, or business.” And, what does it make you think of that church, religion, or publication? Nothing good, I assure you. So, thanks Le Tourment. I didn’t like your product in the first place but was willing to equivocate a bit. Then you had to spam me. All your PR firm has done is prove that it has no respect for me, and, I would venture, no faith in your product.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are firms that do this right. I’ve had great experiences with Brand Action Team, The Baddish Group, and Brown-Forman and would put them in front of anyone looking for best practices on how to work with the cocktail blogging community to build influence and exposure for a product³ . Each of them, in different ways, has taken our influence seriously, taken their time to speak with us personally and inquire after their product(s) after sending it to us, and sought our feedback and insights on those products. I’m willing to listen carefully to them about their products, share my issues, and take their feedback into account when they disagree with my assessment. I would think this should be any firm’s goal.

Spamming my comments⁴ , sending me unsolicited emails asking me to feature a crappy batch of recipes that I can tell by looking at them didn’t have mixological principles in mind, just the heavy use of XYZ product for its own sake, or emailing me a lamely-worded press release in-toto and asking me to run it on my site is telling me that you either don’t know me, don’t read my site, or, if you do, don’t take me seriously. I can live with that. But, please, do me the favor and be honest in your not respecting me and my ilk. In other words, leave me the fuck alone. Pretend I don’t exist, and I’ll pretend you don’t either.

Because, when you act like I exist, here’s what I get:^{5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21}

And this is only what I can dredge up from my history in the past week or so. Sad, alarming, and completely unnecessary. I hope any brands reading this know that I’ll be happy to give your product a fair shake and its due. I just hope you’ve selected a PR firm that can treat us with respect, forthrightness, and dignity. As for you, Cashmere, the IP addresses from which the above come²² have been permanently banned. Well done for you, and well done for your client.

Speak Out, Bloggers!:

Darcy at The Art of Drink

Jon at DrinkPlanner

SeanMike at Scofflaw’s Den

Marleigh at SLOSHED!

Blair at Trader Tiki’s Booze Blog

Chris at An Exercise in Hospitality

Stevi at Two at the Most

Tiare at A Mountain of Crushed Ice

Paul at the Cocktail Chronicles

Chuck at Looka!

Matt at A Jigger of Blog

Spam this, bitches is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. granted, you’ve been nice enough to mold the fecal material into the shape of your brand name, thanks for that – at least I know who to blame
2. and believe me, this is my “home”
3. there are others, mind you, these just come to mind first
4. I’m sorry, “virally-seeding message board discussions” is the euphemism of choice, right?
5. “I keep hearing about his bohemian absinthe. The only brand i have tried is LE TOURMENT VERT. It was really good too! I suggest it to all absinthe lovers!”
6. “I might have to try this”
7. “Is this drink in the states yet?”
8. “Verte is the best one to me! Le tourment vert is so good and is really taking Americans by storm”
9. “Can’t wait to start trying absinthe!”
10. “That looks like fun…I’m gonna have to attend!”
11. “absinthe nice. my new favorite drink.”
12. “gonna try the financial district tonight”
13. “Not a big fan of vermouth but that drink sounds good!”
14. “what is this guy talking about?”
15. “since it has the word “ginger” in it, it should be pretty healthy, right? that’s what i’ll tell anyone who asks.”
16. “What are some great new cocktails?”
17. “Your description makes my mouth water. “Almond and lemon lingers after swallowing, with a modest alcohol burn.” Sounds incredible.”
18. “Yaw silly….. what yaw drinking on?”
19. “this looks delicious!”
20. “i’ve never been a fan of mixed drinks until i came into the poison apple martini

    POISON APPLE MARTINI
    Easily batched for the mini carafe bottles
    1oz Le Tourment Absinthe
    1/2oz Apple Pucker
    1/2oz Sweet Sour
    Splash Cranberry Juice
    - Shake well and strain into rocks glass
    “

21. “I’m starting to grow on absinthe.”
22. of which there are only 2

Upcoming TDN: DOM – B&B and Benedictine

B&B and Benedictine are classic and elegant ingredients used in a host of cocktails from the Singapore Sling (ok, *some* versions) to the Widow’s Kiss to whatever you decide to make at this Thursday’s TDN. THIS week’s special feature will be a LIVE! broadcast of the goings-on at the Monkey Hut where Craig, Blair, Rick, and special guest star Jeffrey Morgenthaler will be mixing and waxing poetic the whole evening. As always, festivities begin at 7pm EST in the Mixoloseum Bar.

TDN Vermouth Wrap-up

It was going to be tough to follow TDN: Mata Hari what with its awesome live action at the Tabard Inn and mocking of Oklahoma and sinking of such glorious failures of drinks as the Cannibal Curse (1.5oz Batavia Arrack, I rest my case) but TDN Vermouth came close. Vermouth, in many ways, gave birth to the modern cocktail and opened up endless possibilities beyond the simple “spirit, sugar, bitters, and water” make-up of the earliest cocktail form. The Manhattan, Martinez, and, in turn, the Martini, of course, being the primary examples of the explosion that happened after vermouth was introduced and popularized in the U.S. Whether our contributions will reach that same level of global appreciation and ubiquity remains to be seen, but at least it wasn’t for lack of trying:

Winning Drink

If I had no shame I would award it to my own drink, The Right Stuff, because the use of Pisco and how it came together was really sexy. However, the Financial District was a widely-tried and very well-regarded drink submitted by drink-well of LA who needs to get ahold of me to pass along his information to get his prize to him. Congrats, sir¹ .

Financial District

• 1.75oz Bourbon
• .75oz dry vermouth
• .25oz coffee liqueur
• dash orange bitters
• dash peychaud

Stir, strain, and garnish with a lemon twist

Other drinks you should try:

By beautiful wonderful, me.

The Right Stuff

• 2oz pisco
• 1oz bianco
• .5oz grapefruit juice
• .25 simple
• .25 curacao (used Grand Marnier)
• 2dash old fashioned bitters

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Submitted by Paul who warns, sharply, do NOT use McClelland’s Islay single malt for this drink, gabe.

Ex

• 1.5 oz sweet vermouth
• .5 oz cask-strength rye
• .5 oz Campari

Stir & strain in glass rinsed with Islay single malt

Offered up by Rick who will claim it’s the greatest drink ever made, and is dead wrong. But it is awfully damned good.

Jaynestown

• 2oz Firefly sweet tea vodka
• 1oz Dolin blanc
• 2 dashes lemon bitters

Stir and strain over ice

R.W. APPLE’S ORCHARD

• 1.5 oz apple brandy
• 1.5 oz Dolin blanc²
• dash peach bitters
• dash Decanter bitters³

Stir/strain and garnish with a lemon twist

Offered, presumably with affection, by Rick and Craig.

Tiki Antica

• 1.5oz Carpano Antica
• 1oz Appleton Extra
• .5oz dark Jamaican rum (used Coruba)
• 1oz Licor 43
• .5oz lime
• .25oz falernum
• float 1oz ginger beer and .5oz Blackstrap Rum

Kick Rick and Craig’s collective asses with a swizzle stick for throwing in the kitchen sink where it’s not likely needed, and then make think and probably enjoy it.

Submitted by John, a surprisingly good drink that I would cut back on the orgeat with if made again.

Well Stocked Bar

• 2oz gin
• 1oz lillet
• .5oz cynar
• .5oz dry vermouth
• .75oz orgeat
• 1oz lime
• 1 egg white
• 2 oz soda

Shake, strain, top w/ soda

NOTE: In the future, TDN judging will be handled in a new and exciting way. YOU can be part of selecting the winning cocktail each week. The host(s) will select a group of 4-5 cocktails they feel are worthy of consideration and post them on Friday in a poll on the Mixoloseum blog. Then, over the next few days, try the drinks and vote on your favorite and it will be declared in Tuesday’s wrap-up. Viva la Democracy!!

Original Vermouth Recipes: TDN Vermouth is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. or ma’am, you never can be sure
2. I used Cinzano Bianco
3. I used Fee’s Old Fashioned

As you’ll note in the first post in my series reviewing and tasting absinthes, there are three major styles; blanche, verte, and Czech (or Bohemian). Bohemian-style absinthe is the least anise-intense style of the lot and there’s some consternation as to whether it should be considered a true absinthe and, instead, be considered a wormwood bitters. For me, this is mostly a matter of angels dancing on a bloody pin.

All of which is to say, this is a unique ingredient that I believe can be worked into cocktails in new and interesting ways. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing this Thursday, January 22. So, join us as we mix drinks with Mata Hari Absinthe and sample others’ drinks as they work their magic in any way they choose¹ . Also, Gerry Fischer, a direct descendent of the original family owning the Austrian distillery and the master distiller of Mata Hari absinthe will be joining us to answer questions about the origins of “Bohemian-style” absinthe and just how “Czech-style” absinthe got such a bad rep. among many other things. It should be fun, informative, and, as always, enlightening as to the inner workings of our souls as we approach the witching hour on the West Coast and the 7th hour of TDN approaches. Join us, won’t you? ,

• When: This Thursday Night, 7:00pm (EST) (but join in any time)
• Where: The Mixoloseum Bar
• Bring: Drink inspirations, an appreciation for the finer things spirits have to offer, and a love of laughter and a friendly group.

1. The best drink submission from a first-time participant will be featured here on Cocktailnerd.
2. The best drink of the evening will receive a bottle of Hayman’s Old Tom Gin courtesy of Greg Boehm at Mud Puddle Books.

Guidelines:

1. Join the fun.
2. Dare Rick to mix and give tasting notes on some ridiculous drink idea.
3. Watch as it’s tweaked, discussed, and mocked.
4. Mix it up along with everyone else and share your thoughts.
5. Consume (or treat your sink to a drink) and return to Step 2.

Thursday Drink Night: Mata Hari Absinthe is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. hell, fire even makes an appearance some nights