I’m late for Mixology Monday, it’s true. Though rather than blame it on a dog eating my homework or, rather, drinking it, allow me to blame it on a certain dog in San Francisco who inspired me to chase its tail in the recreation of this drink. This is a tale of a weary traveler, who after long nights in bars, long days in distilleries, and sampling many fine brandies and Eau de Vies, was left in Oakland and drifted back to the other side of the Bay one Sunday afternoon looking for respite. Walking aimlessly around Union Square, drifting by noted liquor stores and finding them cruelly closed and, parched and listless, glancing at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and grimacing at the slice of life observed at 6th and Mission, I found my oasis, Heaven’s Dog. And, just as it opened.

Heaven’s Dog’s bar is constructed from a single cut of wood from a white cedar tree and the blend of contemporary and natural elements strikes you as you sit and face a long string of delights, spaced evenly and uncluttered behind the bartender, and contemplate what joys may come. Erik, it so happens, was part of the Feng shui on this visit. Heaven’s Dog features a “Freedom from Choice” on its menu and, in my deprived state, I was in need of such freedom. I glared at the bottles along the wall and, seeing Amaro Nonino, told Erik, “Something using Amaro Nonino, but dry, crisp, and refreshing.” Erik passed me my glass of water and, my trust and palate in his hands, went to work. This, as best as I can work out¹ , is what I was served:

Upward Dog

• 2oz Rye whiskey
• .75oz Dry vermouth
• .75oz Amaro Nonino (used Amaro Meletti at home in the recreation of it)
• 2 barspoons Maraschino liqueur

Stir and strain. Serve with a lemon twist.

This is a delightful drink. I always develop crushes on simple and classically-styled cocktails that come across well-constructed and deliver complex and pleasing results. The balance of amaro against the rye and dry vermouth avoids the overly earthy or perfumey quality many amaro-heavy drinks acquire and the maraschino liqueur adds a sweet nutty touch without creating too much body. I highly recommend this and, if you can’t get Amaro Nonino, use a brighter and spicier amaro in your arsenal as a sub. Amaro Meletti is very light-bodied and brings a brightness to this that is most enjoyable. I also recommend using a drier rye than Old Overholt or Russell’s Reserve. Something on the order of Rittenhouse Bonded or Sazerac 6-year is called for here.

Heaven’s Dog assembles an incredible array of talent behind its bar. Erik Adkins, Thad Vogler, Erik Ellestad, and the other notable bartenders behind the stick represent a repository of cocktail knowledge and sound mixological principles that should be recognized and appreciated by the cocktailians of San Francisco. While Heaven’s Dog’s cocktail menu is squarely centered on vintage cocktails with a focus on local and natural ingredients, any bar where a patron can ask for a “Freedom from Choice” and have J. Wray Nephew Overproof rum as the called spirit and have delivered such a delightful cocktail as Thad managed, on the fly, to create deserves not only our respect but a bit of our awe as well.

I highly recommend the Bumblebee and Pisco Apricot Tropical. Or, if Ellestad is behind the stick, the Upward Dog.

Upward Dog Rating:

1. and with the help of Erik [↩]

“What marketing budget?,” is the refrain. Time and again when talking to craft and artisanal distillers the question turns to “how do we get our product in front of the right people and noticed?” Ralph Erenzo of Tuthilltown Spirits, Sonja Kassebaum of North Shore Distillery, Lance Winter of St. George Spirits, and Rory Donovan of Peach Street Distillers all have answers. And, despite the fact that these aren’t the distillers of Copperhead Road, their passion, colorful approach, and war stories entertain, inform, and illustrate how nothing sells product better than the person who made it, the distiller.

“The story sells.” says Ralph Erenzo over the din that occurs when you get over 50 of the most innovative and passionate distillers together in a hangar doubling as a distillery. And, with Ralph, even then it’s hard not to hear him, “We had a group of potential investors in a couple of weeks ago…that argued that the story [of a spirit] was meaningless and that someone in Indiana or even Rochester or Buffalo wouldn’t buy it because of a story. I had just that morning returned, from Buffalo and Rochester, where I’d sold everything I had that was alloted, to people who’d never tasted it before.” From bringing bartenders and bar managers to your distillery and providing them a quick course in Distilling 101 to “[having bartenders] tasting it coming out of the still and having your product become theirs,” Ralph believes in sharing your products’ stories and letting that story sell for you. He’ll gladly tell you his.

Sonja, quick to make a cocktail for you and quick to tell you, “we’re a scrappy little distillery just north of Chicago,” emphasizes a different tack, that of credibility through cocktails.

“Everything [in our product] is hand-done and we’re really trying to appeal to the foodie audience and the cocktail audience. So, I’m a member of our bartender’s guild, I write a blog about cocktails, I was a cocktail nerd before I got into this and is partly why i got into this. So I try to do those things so that I can make a suggestion to a bartender and they’ll listen to me because I’ve earned some credibility with them….A lot of brands are just throwing out sugary schlock cocktails…on your website have current content and quality cocktail recipes that are really basic but have some pretty complex ones too….We have a monthly email newsletter that’s a great way to make people aware and excited about your product and be creative in your approach. [For example] we do cocktail pairing dinners and innovative stuff that demonstrates the quality of our products and ways to use them.”

And, once you’ve had some of Sonja’s cocktails, you’ll be excited about her products too. Until you sit down and talk to Sonja about North Shore’s Gin No. 6, you may not realize just how well lavender works in a gin, and why it does. Once you know that, though, you want to try their other products as well. But, aside from the product, there’s Sonja herself.

Running into Sonja Sunday night at Heaven’s Dog in San Francisco close to closing time and starting a conversation about the absinthes in front of you is like walking into a buzzsaw formed of equal parts excitement and knowledgeable appreciation. You can fully expect a night with Sonja to end with promises of future good times to be had, invitations to discuss your shared passions more, and a hearty hug. And once a distiller makes this connection with you, in the words of Erenzo, “you come out of the realm of the salesman and into the realm of craftsman.”

“If Rory were any more laid-back I think he’d be dead,” I overhear. Almost true. But, behind that laissez-faire demeanor lies a shrewd observer who observes, after a discussion about labeling and packaging of products, the importance of the initial roll-out and launch of a product. Rory’s cooly-delivered, if laser-focused, observation is:

“Take time to do it right the first time. Talking about redesign and the money you can spend you get anxious to get out there [telling yourself] ‘ok, I’ve been doing this for two-to-four years,’ your equipment is here and you’re ready to see something go out the door, and you’ll do whatever it takes to get some piece-of-shit label slapped on your bottle so you can get it on the shelf. And, you only get to roll-out once and your roll-out is your biggest moment. You can always come out with a new variety or brand and try and do it again but your first time is always the most important….whether it’s in your backyard or you’re moving into a new state or something, make sure you sit down and make a plan and do everything you can that first time because it’s your only shot.”

Later, Rory bluntly tells the audience, his peers, “Contests are bullshit…I mean, they’re great for the person who wins them.” And Rory’s approach is reflected in his products. From Jackalope Gin, to Jack & Jenny Pear Brandy, to their newly-released Bourbon, the first in Colorado, his products present a bold and honest approach to distillation and craftsmanship. As do almost all the products I tasted that weekend from these fine and brave distillers that pour years of their lives into their product. Take a moment, next time you see that bottle you don’t immediately recognize on the third shelf down and buried in the middle, to take a second look and consider taking it home and pouring it into your glass. Chances are, you won’t be sorry.

For the past year-and-a-half, I’ve been spending a lot of time in Denver. Well, more specifically, I’ve been spending a lot of time here, and making the 60-mile commute into Denver after-hours to do a liquor store circuit and discovering hidden treasure here-and-there as I coast down Broadway and keep my eyes peeled. Then, making the trip back to the hotel and packing my luggage to the gills, I come home and watch the luggage carousel at Tulsa Int’l with great trepidation wondering which of the $30-60 bottles of booze will break on me and ruin, not only my clothing but my mood as well¹ . It is because of such treks and risks that I find my bar well-stocked with the likes of Carpano Antica, Punt e Mes, Leopold’s gin, Old Raj, Pappy Van Winkle 13yo Rye, Junipero, Creme de Violette and the like.

In other words, it’s been worth every trip.

I’ve been told that there’s at least one other store I need to visit and I’ll add it to this post if I find it worthy, but for now, here’s where you can find the goods in the Mile High City² :

---

Divino, 1240 S. Broadway, Denver, CO 80210:
This is first-and-foremost a boutique wine store and, for the record, their selections of wine is wonderful for a store this size and you can tell the owner pays a lot of attention to the wines they carry. Fortunately, he also seems to pay attention to their spirits and liqueurs as their small selection offers some wonderful gems³ . If you see Dustin, tell him Gabriel says “hi”⁴ :
Rums:

• Westerhall’s
• Charbay Rums
• Flor de Cana Rums (almost the whole line)
• Gosling’s Family Reserve
• Oronoco White Rum

Gins:

• Leopold’s
• Jackalope
• Blackwood’s
• Junipero⁵
• Olifant
• Zuidam

Whiskey:

• Black Maple Hill Ryes and Bourbons
• Michter’s US 81 Rye
• Four Roses Bourbons
• Pappy Van Winkle’s Ryes and Bourbons
• Old Potrero Rye
• Sazerac 6yo Rye

Liqueurs/Apertifs:

• Rothman & Winter Creme de Violette
• Cynar
• Carpano Antica
• Fernet Branca and Stock’s Fernets
• Punt e Mes
• Leopold Bros. Fruit Liqueurs
• Zirbenz Alpine Liqueur

---

Total Beverage, 770 E 104th Ave., Northglenn, CO 80233:
This is a monster warehouse of a liquor store. Don’t expect much in the way of customer service or knowledgeable staff walking the floor, but in terms of sheer I-could-spend-3-hours-in-here-itude it’s hard to beat. They also have a lot of unusual liqueurs and vodkas that are legitimate “old country” finds such as Krupnik Honey Liqueur (Polish), Okhotnichya, Balsam Riga, and many others. If you have the time, make the stop and get the credit card ready:
Rums:

• Sea Wynde
• Leopold’s
• Cadenhead’s Green Label
• Stroh’s 80
• Appleton Extra
• Goslings Family Reserve
• Flor de Cana Line
• J Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum

Gins:

• Damrak
• Old Raj
• Leopold’s
• Indigo
• Jackalope
• Zuidam
• Olifant
• CapRock Organic/li>

Whiskey/Rye:

• Pappy Van Winkle’s Ryes and Bourbons
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• Old Potrero Rye
• Eagle Rare Line
• Stranchan’s Colorado Whiskey

---

Lukas Liquors, 8457 S Yosemite St. Lone Tree, CO 80124:

This is the newest consistent addition to my circuit of Denver Liquor stores and it has, by far, the largest selection of wines I’ve seen in a long time but I can’t speak to its selectivity and quality of stock. As far as spirits, the whiskey and rum sections are impressive and the gin and liqueur sections less so. Worth the visit:
Rums:

• Vizcaya 21yo
• Zaya⁶
• Flor de Cana (whole line, as far as I know)
• Stroh’s 80
• Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum
• Appleton Extra and 21yo
• Prichard’s Rum (almost the entire line)
• Oronoco White Rum

Whiskey/Rye:

• Sazerac 6yo Rye
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• Old Potrero Rye
• Eagle Rare Line
• Stranchan’s Colorado Whiskey
• Wild Turkey American Spirit
• Four Roses Bourbon
• Old Overholt Rye
• Pappy Van Winkle Bourbons and Ryes

Liqueurs:

• Mathilde Fruit Liqueur Line
• Leopold Bros’ Liqueur Line
• Luxardo Maraschino
• Brizard Parfait Amour
• Berentzen Apfelkorn

---

For other mixers you can find Stirrings Tonic Water and Stirrings Club Soda at Total Beverage but mostly you’ll likely have to shop at your specialty food stores to find anything excitement-worthy beyond that. I’ve been told to check out Tipsy’s Liquor World and will be doing so next week. Should I find it worthy, it will be added to this post and I will be creating a “Where to Shop” area of the site for reference.

Next up, Vegas, baby!

Do you have any places in Denver or your area that you go to pick up quality, hard-to-find, or generally fantastic items? Add it in the comments and let me know!

1. thankfully, there’s only been one such incident, a bottle of Lemon Hart 151 that completely shattered in my bag. Needless to say my bag smelled like a bum in East L.A. on a warm Saturday morning. [↩]
2. note that I’m not necessarily recommending each of the products below (I’m looking at you, Sea Wynde Rum) but merely pointing out where some of the more esoteric products can be found [↩]
3. and they were willing to work with me on special-ordering Creme de Violette and now carry it full-time [↩]
4. I also managed to get them to order Batavia Arrack for me which was nice though it’s not regularly stocked [↩]
5. I highly recommend this gin [↩]
6. Trinidadian version at this point, Guatemalan is gone [↩]

Because of Oklahoma’s asinine liquor laws¹ you have to make 3-5 stops to truly restock your bar. See, here in Oklahoma (for the out-of-state crowd reading this) liquor stores aren’t allowed to sell anything non-alcoholic. That copy of “Wine Advocate” in the rack there? Why, go ahead and snag it; we can’t ring it up in this store, sir, it’s free! What, you think we sell bitters here? Why no! That would be illegal; they’re a non-alcohol product!²

This sort of thinking leads to several other oddities:

• You can’t chill products in a liquor store³
• You can’t sell 6-point beers or wines in a grocery store
• You can sell mixers in a liquor store, but only certain ones that contain X% alcohol
• There will never be a Trader Joe’s or World Market in Oklahoma so long as the restriction on wine sales through non-package store outlets remains
• 6-point beer can’t be sold after 9pm, on Sundays, on federal holidays, or election days but you can still buy 3-point beer at the grocery store

I could go on and on here but suffice it to say that this is a hell of an annoying state to a cocktailian and not least of all because there’s no incentive for grocery stores to sell higher-end syrups, mixers, and bitters when the demand is suppressed by it being a pain-in-the-arse to go one place to buy the spirits and another to buy everything else and that said difficulty causes demand and awareness of these products to be nearly non-existent. Have it shipped, you say? Don’t get me started⁴ . All that being said, the purpose of this post is to provide a guide for a few spots in Tulsa where harder-to-find ingredients may be found and put to good use (after you make the run to 3 different liquor stores, of course).

---

P & V Cigar Shop and Wine Accessories, 5109 S. Lewis:
Best known for its walk-in humidor and having one of the largest cigar selections in Tulsa you can find a few mixing gems that I’ve been unable to find anywhere else in Tulsa including:

• Peychaud’s bitters
• Collins Orange bitters⁵
• Sioux City Ginger beer⁶
• Rose Flower Water
• Orange Flower Water
• Collins Orgeat Syrup
• Underberg bitters
• Barritt’s Ginger Beer

⁷

---

Parkhill’s Liquor Store, 5111 S. Lewis:
This liquor store, of course, is the largest in Tusa and has some things you can’t find anywhere else, including a top-notch champagne selection. Among things you’ll find here but perhaps not elsewhere are:

• Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
• Liquor Strega
• Stock’s Maraschino Liqueur
• J. Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
• Coruba Jamaican Rum
• Blanton’s Bourbon
• Russell Reserve Rye
• Cherry Heering

---

Ranch Acres Wine & Liquor, 3324 E. 31st St.:
This is, by far, my favoritte store for wine in the Tulsa area and the people there are top-notch. While, it doesn’t carry too many things, spirits-wise, you can’t get elsewhere they have a great overall selection and some good finds:

• Wakatake Sake
• Stock’s Maraschino Liqueur
• Rogue Spruce Gin
• Whitley Neill Gin
• Citadelle Gin

(one of my favorites)

• No. 209 Gin

(I don’t really see this there anymore, but if you see it on the shelf, grab it)

---

Seventy First, 11234 E. 71st St.:
I don’t make it, or care to make it, to Southside Tulsa very often but this is the store I go to get higher-end rums and rums that aren’t available elsewhere. Occasionally I’ll find a liqueur or something else unusual but for rum, especially Angostura brand, it’s the place to go:

• Angostura Gold
• Angostura 1919
• Zaya
• Pyrat 1623
• Clement Premier Canne Rum
• Russell’s Reserve Rye

---

For other mixers you can find Stirrings Tonic Water and Stirrings Club Soda at Petty’s Fine Foods, Reed Ginger Beer at Whole Foods on Peoria, and Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer at most Reasor’s. There are also several different tonic waters at Whole Foods but I don’t recommend them at all except to generally train your palate that Schweppes’ isn’t that damned bad when it comes down to it. I’ll be adding this as a “Page” up above for continued reference and will also include a Denver-based version in the near future.

Have any places in Tulsa or your area that you go to pick up quality, hard-to-find, or generally fantastic items? Add it in the comments and let us know!

1. Liquor stores can’t open on Sunday, but I CAN go to a restaurant, have them open a bottle of wine, recork it and drive home which THEN causes me to be in violation of the “open container” law… fuckin cute [↩]
2. yes, yes, this is absurd rationale, but bitters are classified as “non-alcohol” and therefore can’t be sold [↩]
3. this leads to large beer producers selling only their 3-point beer in Oklahoma b/c the volume of sales they garner through grocery outlets, where the “non-alcoholic” beer is chilled, is so much greater [↩]
4. to have freaking TONIC WATER delivered I had to sign that 1: I was over 21 and 2: I was not currently intoxicated upon delivery [↩]
5. I do NOT recommend these, but in a pinch, hey [↩]
6. they don’t always have this, but it’s an interesting find [↩]
7. this stuff is cruddy, but it’s tough to find ginger beer in Tulsa so, in a pinch [↩]

Besides all the awesome schwag at TotC¹ I also managed to score some impossible-to-get spirits and liqueurs from Jay, Vieux Carre Wine & Spirits on Chartres St., and Dorignac’s in Metarie, LA² on the way out of New Orleans. I’ll catalog them here and add them to my ‘In My Bar’ page to keep it accurate.

Courtesy of Jay:

• Hayman’s Old Tom Gin (thanks!)
• St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram³

Vieux Carre’ Wine and Spirits :

• Herbsaint
• Sazerac Rye Whiskey
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• Carpano Punt e Mes
• Old New Orleans Dark Rum
• Ron Zacapa 15-year Rum⁴
• Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer

Dorignac’s in Metarie, LA:

• El Dorado 5-year Demarara Rum
• Boomsma Jonge Genever
• Clement VSOP Rhum
• Clement Creole Shrubb
• Cachaca 61
• Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6

But still no Vya Vermouth. I would have gotten much much more but there’s only so much the pocketbook, and Prius, can take⁵ . However, after the “Potions of the Caribbean” session I also sought out Zaya Gran Reserva and found several bottles available in Tulsa. If anyone is having trouble getting it or would like to try it and it’s unavailable, let me know and we’ll work out an exchange.

Now to look for Both’s Old Tom and the Xoriguer Gin from the Juniperlooza session.

1. AmEx clipboard and 18 fucking mini-shakers excluded [↩]
2. thanks go out to Morgan with Drink Dogma for the tip to stop there [↩]
3. I have some things to say about this product…hmmmmmm [↩]
4. this after finding out in the “Potions of the Caribbean” session that Zaya and Zacapa were bought and are being retooled [↩]
5. besides, I scived a ton of Domaine de Canton, G’Vine Gin, St. Germain, and Death’s Door Gin from the tasting rooms [↩]

I met many fine people last night in our informal cocktail bloggers meet-up. It was like a flash-mob of well-spoken storytelling awesomeness that descended upon the Carousel bar and then Arnaud’s. That is, until Arnaud’s became rife with pretension and the sorts of people that actually care to be seen and wear those damned fitted t-shirts with tailored flat-fronted pants¹ . At the Carousel I had Negroni which was more than passable and Joana has a dry martini which was not² . We then asked an employee of Hotel Monteleone for recommendations on oysters and the less said about that, the better³ . While there, though, we did mix up some sparkling wine with Pernod and some of Blair’s (TraderTiki) Falernum Bitters to good effect, so all was not lost. Then, fed up with oysters and lobster, then night got started truly. Read More »

1. don’t they know pleats are IN, baby?!? [↩]
2. let sit in the ice too long before shaking. Note: there was only one bartender who was run ragged–seriously, you don’t staff up when TotC folks are checking in that very damned day? What, you think we AREN’T going to hit the bar? [↩]
3. There was a warning sign re: drinking and pregnancy in the MEN’s restroom; it was that sort of place I guess [↩]

In this series we look at how I get around Oklahoma’s insane liquor laws as well as use the air transit system as my own personal freight service by my visiting warehouse-style, and in this case, boutique liquor stores when I travel for my business. Last time I went to an immense big-box liquor store on the north side of Denver and had a hell of a spending spree. But, on this trip, I was out for finer things, questing for windmills at which I could tilt, and generally mucking about in traffic in which i had no business being. You see, it’s a disease, people. I’m already compulsive enough to have bought 3,000-4,000 cards the instant my small circle of friends and I got interested in a collectible card game last year in which no man my age and with my responsibilities had any business spending that much time on (but I still don’t have THIS card! Or, this one, honey!!). And so it is with cocktail ingredients; the more obscure, the better. And, for the past 3 months since the first early winds of its arrival on these Continental shores after a 10+ year forlorn absence, I’ve been searching for Rothman & Winter Creme’ de Violette. And, lo and behold, in my research I found a distributor to one of these boutique wine/liquor stores also distributes Rothman & Winter products. Oh, it’s ON! Read More »

It was hard to resist. Being in Oklahoma means you don’t have access to many delectable treats in the spirit and cocktail world. At the liquor store, forget about it, they don’t allow stocked items to be refrigerated so any live culture beers or other products requiring cooling don’t bother to enter this market. Oh well, can’t you just mail-order stuff from bevmo.com, internetwines.com, or elsewhere you ask? You wish. Oklahoma law doesn’t allow intrastate transport of alcohol to a private residence. Go ahead, go look at their shipping policies and ‘OK’ is off the list. *sigh*

That’s ok, I’m a consultant, I travel all the time. Damn the 50 lbs. load limit for a bag, I’ll bring two if I need to, along with loads of bubble wrap (I get the giggles sometimes thinking of the TSA guys rummaging through my bags, ‘What the hell is this ‘Genever’ shit?’). So, seeing as how I’m 60-70 miles outside of Denver for this week, and well, I do have to work my ass off when I’m at client sites, I’ve been angling for a way to make the trip in one evening, shop, and get back so that I can get enough sleep and be functional the next day. Last night, cocktailnerd went questing for goodness. Read More »