(click for a larger view)

• Access to a 4-week curriculum designed for professional bartenders by the likes of Paul Pacult, Steve Olson, Dale DeGroff, and David Wondrich including video content featuring David Wondrich,
• A BarSmarts branded messenger bag full of the necessary bar tools to study and complete the practical portions of the program,
• Hands-on exercises to study and perfect the “The classic 25 drinks every bartender should know” and evaluation using the BarSmarts Wired’s online “Drink Builder” application, and
• Certification by B.A.R. as “BarSmarts Wired Certified” allowing you to demonstrate your qualifications by adding “BSWC” to your title or on your resume.

According to Pernod-Ricard, who sponsors the program:

BarSmarts WIRED targets bartenders across the country by offering them the opportunity to participate in BarSmarts through a web-based education and certification program offered exclusively through password-protected entrance to the BarSmarts WIRED site. Unlike BarSmarts Advanced, which launched in October 2008 and includes LIVE training from all six BAR, LLC partners, WIRED is not an invitation only program. It is available to any bartender who is interested in learning the craft, advancing his or her career and becoming certified in advanced education. The BarSmarts WIRED on line course went live online on August 1 and will run through September 30.

If you’re a bartender or cocktail enthusiast who is unable to gain an invite or attend BarSmarts Advanced Live, I highly recommend BarSmarts Wired as a way to freshen up and revisit skills through content presented by some of the best in the industry. Everything from the history of distillation to achieving service and efficiency as a bartender to managing inventory control is touched upon. And, while not a Master’s class in bartending or bar operations, the course provides valuable insights into the bartending profession and I can recommend it to relatively new bartenders looking to learn more about the industry they’ve entered and increase their value to their business or to enthusiasts who have considered joining the ranks of those behind-the-stick and would like to get a glimpse of how the profession might suit them.

Hell, the bartending kit alone is worth the price of admission, so go for it¹ . And, you get to play with this; what more could you ask?

For a full-on marketing blast of a preview of the program you can view the Flash Demo.

Are you Bar Smart? is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. though that julep strainer remains a glorious piece of shit, Blair

“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.

ADI Brandy Conference: Marketing your Craft Brand is a post from: cocktailnerd

“The internet helped in tracking down these ingredients and recipes could be found for the ingredients that were not commercially available. My book collection grew steadily….When I finally gathered all the books in one place there were close to 2,000 books from 1940 and earlier. Now my collecting madness includes innumerable bottles of long discontinued booze.”

Then, something changed. Suddenly, Creme de Violette, Pimento Dram, and other long-forgotten cocktail ingredients, so many of which are required to faithfully reproduce the recipes in the vintage tomes Greg had assembled, began appearing on the market. And, likewise, a burgeoning community of cocktail enthusiasts were publishing, and promoting, recipes for lost liqueurs and spirits on the Internet and in mainstream magazines such as Imbibe. And Greg was sitting on an accidental Alexandrian Library of the Cocktailian Arts. “In other words, the books were now a living history and part of the cocktail renaissance that was in full force. And, once I decided to republish the books, they had to be as accurate as possible.”

But, how would the purists, the collectors who had been using out-of-print cocktail books as a commodity for trading as collector’s items, and the general reader receive these reprints? Fortunately, because these are not mere “reprints” but faithful reproductions of the original works, down to the paper’s weight, the book’s binding, the typeface, the embossing and imprints, and the dimensions, they have been widely welcomed. “The cocktailian community has been incredibly supportive of Mud Puddle’s cocktail book publishing program,” confides Greg with a mixture of pride and relief. “It has been incredible to see bartenders across the world re-creating old drinks and also creating new ones based on the old recipes form the books [and,] for the most part, cocktail book collectors are happy with the reproductions…luckily for [them], the reproductions seem to actually have increased the value of the originals. Perhaps more people are aware of the old books now.”

And so, from “Barflies and Cocktails,” a book in which Greg had to find, “…a printer that was wiling to go the extra step [of using] 3-piece binding that is never used today,” to “The Modern Bartender’s Guide” which has the original “blind stamping” on the front and back Greg has brought us Mud Puddle Books’ Cocktail Kingdom. The original books to publish were selected through the best possible means imaginable, “Bartender and fellow cocktail book collector from London, Jeff Masson and I sat down with David Wondrich and Ted Haigh at the French 75 bar in New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail to discuss what books to publish next.” This organic process of selecting and reproducing classic and vintage books has been a boon for cocktail enthusiasts interested in the first recorded recipe for Parfait Amour as well as the casual reader wanting to enter into the world of better drinking with books such as Robert Hess’ “Essential Bartender’s Guide.”

In fact, so flexible and open-ended are Greg’s pursuits for the next cocktail classic reproduction that he relates how his latest project came about in this way:

“Mud Puddle is a small company and we are all very hands-on. It would be difficult to be as flexible as we are if the company was larger. For example, while in the Mixoloseum chat room last week it was suggested that we should republish “The South American Gentleman’s Companion” by Charles Baker. And, we started working on the project the very next day. Sterling Publishing was a much larger company and while we published cocktail books, they were a tiny part of the business. “

Greg freely confesses that it’s “by some miracle” that the Cocktail kingdom endeavor has stayed afloat. I highly recommend any of the beautiful reproductions but especially Embury’s “Fine Art of Mixing Drinks“, Jerry Thomas’ classic “The Bartender’s Guide: How to Mix Drinks: A Bon Vivant’s Companion” and Charlie Paul’s “Recipes of American and Other Iced Drinks“. Between these three vintage books you will find yourself immersed in the language and history of the American Cocktail and can appreciate its history, colorful contribution to culture, and keep yourself mired in long lost flavors for as long as your heart, and your curious mind, desire. Just be sure to keep the miracle alive and start building your collection today. You won’t be sorry.

This is a reposting of my work over at The Mixoloseum’s Blog, please take a look over there and what other great work you can find.

The Great Aggregator: Greg Boehm and Mud Puddle Books is a post from: cocktailnerd

Jay, in the past year-and-a-half has managed to assemble, publish, and maintain a blog that easily makes it into my Top 5 of cocktail blogs that impress me with their insights, thoroughness, and entertainment value. It’s also pretty damned easy on the eyes. So, click the “More” link and vote for him, he needs your support. You can vote once perday from the machine you’re currently using¹ until January 13th. After all, we can’t have a delusional rant-a-riffic horror of a Pro-Palin blog or a bland and lazy snippet-hogging liberal blog winning this thing. Cocktails are way more cool. Do the Internet a favor and vote for Jay; the poll is below the fold:

What You Need to Do, Now is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. wink wink, nudge nudge

So, “what’s special about this one?” you don’t ask? Well, firstly, it’s the first sponsored Thursday Drink Night the Mixoloseum will be having. The good folks at Leblon have seen fit to sponsor the event, take questions, and, hopefully, use the recipes we develop to solve the global financial crisis, reduce poverty by 45.71% and solve the looming energy crisis by using our drinks to catalyze cold fusion. As you can see, they got a hell of a deal.

Secondly, after much whining on my part about being stuck in Vegas sans my home bar, they’ve taken pity on me and kindly set myself and Rumdood (who will be joining me after a drive from L.A.)¹ up at a location on the Las Vegas strip where we, our laptops, and hopefully a small crowd of people will take part in TDN live and on-site at Trader Vic’s in Planet Hollywood. We will be there featuring Leblon in the drinks submitted by the online bar crowd, requesting the crowd or the bartenders submit drinks for TDN, or generally running up legendary bar tabs and ensuring the resulting mayhem and awesomeness doesn’t lead to a destroyed laptop or two.

So, if you’re in Vegas, come by and visit. We’ll be there around 6:00pm and would love to see you and, if the bartenders aren’t already sick to tears of us and giving those smoldering withering stares only barkeeps can, we may even buy you a drink. If you’re not in Vegas, join us at the online bar, pull up a seat, mix a drink with Leblon cachaca, and enjoy the show. It will prove to be a fun, informative (we’ll have Gerry and Steven from leblon on-hand to field questions and provide the edutainment of the evening), and lively time.

Thursday Drink Night: Vegas Style is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. and yes, Matt, I will continue in my persistence that you live in L.A.

Hendrick Cocktail²

• 2 dashes syrup
• 2 dashes bitters (used Angostura)
• 1 dash absinthe (used Mata Hari)
• 1 jigger old Kentucky bourbon³
• 1 slice of lemon

Fill an old fashioned toddy glass 2/3’s full with ice. Stir, and serve in the same glass without straining.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a total bourbon bomb but it hits a peak after about 5 minutes of sitting that is divine. Joana, upon tasting it, noted, “It’s somewhere between an Old-fashioned and a Sazerac,” and that’s a pretty fair assessment of its charms. However, if you let it sit for more than 10 minutes it starts to deteriorate rapidly, so be mindful of your progress and take heart.

The bitters are really forward in this and their spiciness calls for a sweeter bourbon such as Woodford Reserve. Blanton’s also worked wonderfully. I was tempted to add more absinthe to the drink but in retrospect am glad I didn’t as I can see it easily reaching a tipping point that masks any of the light citrus and may conflict with the bitters too much.

A note on the absinthe: I used Mata Hari because its profile, less fully anise than most, seemed better suited alongside the bitters. As Darcy used it in the Green Swizzle, I see it being used here. And, yes, there’s an ad over there and it makes a really awful absinthe frappe, but I think it suits this drink very nicely.

MxMo XXXI: Hendrick Cocktail is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. Knob Creek, Blanton’s, Bulleit, Eagle Rare, Booker’s
2. From Christopher Lawlor’s “Mixicologist”
3. 2 ounces

The Richmond Gimlet has been well-covered, and deservedly so. But, when I approached our Man in Eugene, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, about interviewing him for a piece on the Richmond Gimlet for Oklahoma Magazine’s September issue he graciously obliged. It was the word count that did not. So, I am posting on the Richmond Gimlet, and the remainder of my interview with Jeffrey, here at cocktailnerd to promote a fine drink as well as satisfy my prolific hunger for adjectives. For a look at the original Oklahoma Magazine article you can register and login¹ and view it online² . I hope you enjoy the interview and the recipe:

CN: Do you find most great cocktails are discovered by deliberate attempts and trial-and-error (Edison) or by bright flashes of inspiration, imagination, and accident (Tesla)?

JM: I find that I come up with new cocktails in one of three ways: simple substitution, where one or more ingredients are substituted to create any entirely new one (try a Negroni with white rum sometime), deliberate attempts, which happen when I want to use a specific ingredient and build a drink around it, or pure accident, when I’m just not paying attention to what I’m doing.

CN: The Richmond Gimlet recipes cited by Eugene Weekly and Wine Magazine change up the recipe in seemingly small, but ultimately important, ways versus the 1oz juice and syrup cited on your blog. Which version did you make at Vaquero and why?

JM: The variations you see represent a long process of evolution of that particular drink. I think a lot of drinks go through such a phase. What we’ve landed on at Bel Ami is 2 parts gin, one part lime, one part simple syrup and a sprig of mint, shaken. As my palate has developed I think it’s really the best recipe out there. But that could always change

CN: There’s also a variation involving Rose’s Lime Juice and sweet-and-sour mix. Given most cocktailians’ abject horror at using sweet-and-sour mix versus fresh juices, what does this variation have going for it, and why?

JM: I haven’t seen the Rose’s lime and sweet-and-sour mix variation³ , but I’ve never seen an instance when using pre-mixed ingredients is easier or better tasting than using fresh.

And now, a break in our regular programming as our proud sponsor invites us to enjoy a fine Richmond Gimlet, prepared thusly:

Richmond Gimlet

• 2 oz Tanqueray Ten Gin
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz lime juice
• 4-6 mint leaves

Place all ingredients except mint leaves in a mixing glass. Fill a shaker with ice and place the mint leaves on top. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish is unnecessary – because it’s awesome just the way it is.

This is a great Summer drink, though I get requests for it all year, that is refreshing, light, and brightly aromatic. As I said in the article, I’ve rarely had anyone not ask for a second, or third. The only thing I’d note about it is that using a rich simple syrup makes it a tad too sweet and thick and that a 1:1 or 1.5:1 sugar-to-water ratio works best (I prefer a 1:1 syrup and Joana the 1.5:1). Also, as the temperature drops and the seasons approach gray I would say that using a demerara or brown sugar-based simple syrup adds a richer profile and adds a small layer of spice to the drink that gives it a little extra dimension that the season call for. However, I’ve not run this apocryphal change by Morgenthaler and could receive a serious drubbing in the comments for such heresy. But, as you’ll see, given his magnamity when it comes to taste, I doubt it:

CN: What, besides the Negroni and RG, are your favorite gin drinks and what makes them special?

JM: I like classic gin cocktails like the Negroni and the Bijou, and a Martini made with the right ingredients. I also like the newer drinks we’ve been experimenting with at the bar. We have a drink right now made with Bombay Dry, elderflower liqueur, lemon and a reduction of pinot gris wine. It’s wonderful.

CN: What are your preferred brands of gin and, specifically, what do make of the trend in straying from traditional gin flavor profiles (G’Vine, Sarticious, Aviation, etc.)?

JM: I like the classic gins, Bombay, Beefeater, Plymouth, etc. But I’ve been getting excited about the micro-distilled products that have been popping up right here in my own backyard around Oregon lately. Aviation gin is a big, creamy gin in more of a Dutch style. Twelve Bridges is infused with a wicked dose of cucumber, and there’s a new all-organic gin coming to the market this summer that I’m especially excited about.

CN: How is architecture like bartending and/or developing drinks? (This is as close as I’ll get to the ‘If you were a tree…’ question)and why blog? Why evangelize about cocktails and quality drinking, and what do you drink at home when no one’s looking?

JM: Architecture and bartending are surprisingly similar. Both are simultaneously an art and a craft. Both require math and attention to detail. And both require dealing with some very picky clients at times. But in the end I chose bartending because of my passion for food and drink and my love of entertaining.

I evangelize about cocktails and quality drinking because I don’t think there are enough bartenders out there doing it. While there is a strong group of cocktail enthusiasts out there, I think other bartenders respond more positively to one of their peers saying, “Look, this is worth examining, let’s work together to return cocktails to their rightful place in the pantheon of world cuisine.” [And while] I don’t really drink that much, on my days off I love to entertain at the house. I’ll get some friends to bring food over to throw on my grill, and I’ll come up with some cocktails to pair with the food they’ve shared using as much local, fresh ingredients as possible.

CN: Finally, a question close to my heart: what bothers you more, when people pronounce your name ‘heff-ree’ trying to be cute or misspelling your last name (or first for that matter)?

JM: [You know], I don’t really get miffed when people misspell or mis-pronounce my name. When you’ve got a last name like mine, you learn to live with it.

Richmond Gimlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Jeffrey for being so generous with his time and his willingness to conduct the interview in such a short time. He’s a mixologist among bartenders and, if the money’s right, I’ll turn over the photos I have of him shortly after taste-testing Daniel Shoemaker’s drink at the Swag-Off where a sense of defeat creeps into his eyes. Best of luck in Germany.

This post dedicated to Steve “How do you make a Richmond Gimlet Again?” Rhodes, a great pilot and a decent guy.⁴

Last Night’s Dogbite: Richmond Gimlet is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. login using – user: gabriel@cocktailnerd.com and password: forkboy10 to avoid registering
2. page 160
3. look at the Eugene Weekly article linked above for details on this recipe at Turtles Bar
4. or reverse those if you like, Steve

I ran out of ice.

Run out of a spirit or liqueur? Fine, if you know your way around a bar you can get by with substitutions and adjustments most of the time to at least approximate a drink and please your guests. All your cocktail glasses are dirty? Hey, go the Julia Child route, act like nothing’s wrong, take advantage of everyone having developed a habit of defering to your mixological knowledge and simply claim, ‘Why, of course the martini was originally served in a rocks glass. What, you think they had the technology to mass produce cocktail glasses back then? Pshaw!,’ with a look of incredulous bemusement on your face. But, out of ice? Sorry Charlie, time to hang it up.

Such it was that one Sunday afternoon entertaining a few guests in a very Victorian Parlour¹ -esque fashion that, after a brief and warm welcome and many “How do you dooooooo’s” that I politely asked everyone’s drink preference and went to my ice dispenser in my refrigerator and heard the sad, slow, grinding roar of…nothing. No satisfying clang against the shaking tin nor brightly anticipatory clink of the glass. Nothing.

I was reduced to scraping remnants from that back shelf thingy behind the ice tray where stray ice cubes fall and sit slowly evaporating in the cold dry for months on end, pulling out the tray and detaching old off-tasting ice cubes from the sides of the bin, reducing the ice used in the shakers to pitiable levels chilling very little except my mood, and generally cursing my fate and my refrigerator as I was unable to do something in which I take great pride and number as one of the few things I do very well: mix a good drink for my guests.

I was pissed. Glaring sternly upon the waste that was my guests’ drinks and downtrodden and embarrassed glances I vowed, “Never Again.”

So, my wife, being her well-tuned, thoughtful, and well-adjusted self decided I should have a portable ice maker as a gift on my birthday, and allow me tell you how that’s gone.

Now, unless some company woud like to send me a demo model of a competing ice maker, this is the only portable unit I’m able to honestly give my impressions of and share my experiences regarding. There are several models in this price range (Haier, New Air, and Sunpentown) that all seem comparable in volume of ice, features, and function.

They all essentially use a 1 gal. resevoir to hold water (preferably filtered) under a basket and a pump sumps the water up into a tray area where the cooling elements are. Once the ice is formed, a mechanical shelf lowers and drops the ice into the basket and then the process starts all over again. Here are the general features:

• 30-33 lbs. ice per day
• 3 different-sized ice cubes
• First set of ice within 11-15 minutes (for large cube size, shorter for smaller cubes)
• No drain line or water line required
• Push button controls (and some provided a timer function)

Shape:
All in all I prefer a nearly perfect 3/4″x3/4″ cube when working with ice (or as close to 1″x1″ as you can get) but that’s hard to find in non-commercial equipment and nearly impossible in portable units. So, the shape of ice made in these table-top units, shown on right, is far from ideal. First of all, the ‘thimble’-shaped ice (see right) creates little resevoirs of whatever you’re pouring. So, for example, in making a gin and tonic, if I build it using the gin first, little pockets of gin form in the ice cube that are facing upwards. This is fine and dandy if you’re measuring but if you’re eyeballing it, then the fluid rising in the glass is not going to be an accurate measure. Not to mention it’s a bit of a shock to hit one of those pockets through a sip-n-stir straw. Not tasty.

I do like that it creates more cooling surface area as more liquid comes into contact with more ice, but it also means quicker thawing of the ice in the drink. One other, but perhaps minor, point on the shape from these makers is that it’s not very traditional and doesn’t come off very well in the glass. There’s a lot of air in these cubes which clouds them up, and while I’m not a zealot for crystal clear ice, that along with its shape doesn’t make it the most aesthetically pleasing. See below about using this ice when shaking.

In building a drink or using the ice to fill a glass into which you’re straining a drink the ice fares much better but you will still get more meltage than you will with ice from your refrigerator’s ice maker. Also, please note that the frigidity and hardness of the ice improves after the first couple of batches. By the third or fourth batch the ice is respectable but still has the issues I’ve listed. So, at this point I tend to use this ice for built drinks and the refrigerator ice for shaken.

And, while I can’t confirm this, apparently the next ‘grade’ of portable ice makers up from the $180-$220 range are superior in this area especially. However, you’re looking at $350-$400 (see: Waring or Whynter) and that’s just not worth it to me. At that point I’ll get an under-the-counter unit and run a water and drain line.

Usage of the unit is very simple and the resevoir is a nice size; I’ve rarely, if ever, had to refill it for a night of steady drinking with 4-6 people, but again I’m getting ice for shaking from the fridge still. So,no complaints in this area and I’ve only had an error once when I let it run for about 36 hours which meant the ice would melt and get remade into ice in a Sisyphean cycle of ice machine torture. So, yeah, I managed to freeze up the compressor, but once it thawed it ran perfectly again.

The noise of the ice maker is a bit off-putting but not terrible. We’re generally playing music any time we have guests and it blends into background noise very easily. However, when a load is done and the shelf drops the ice into the basket, it does make a rather sudden plopping-like noise that we affectionately call, ‘the ice maker taking a dump.’ Sue me, I’m crass.

All in all it’s been a good to almost-great investment. It relieves my refrigerator’s ice maker and ensures that I won’t run out of ice in a pinch. The ice is fine for built drinks or as the ice used to fill a highball or collins glass into which you’ll be straining an already chilled drink so it’s not too limiting, and the clean-up, fuss, and installation are a non-issue.

There are some rumors of these units having a short shelf-life and I’ll certainly update this if that turns out to be the case, but I’ve run this for a month on a fairly regular basis and met with no issues. At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a backup ice maker and hate plumbing, need to be able to generate ice in the outdoors or some other off-site event to make cocktails then you can certainly do worse.

ShapeRating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Hardness/Frigidity Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars (3 stars after the second batch)
Usage/Speed/Misc. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (good value and no embarrassing ice-less moments)

* The exact line is “Welcome to Pacific Tech’s ‘Smart People on Ice!’” Obviously I had to modify it since I dropped out of Pacific Tech (too easy). Great movie, btw.

Welcome to Nerds on Ice!* is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. see the ‘u’, that means it was fancy

So, all that being said and now that you and I understand one another, when a marketing firm, distributor, or producer contacts me with a request to try a sample, and it’s vodka, I usually decline. However, with ‘Pinky’ vodka, that it’s infused with roses and violets along with other botanicals caught my attention, especially given my pursuit, capture, and subsequent love of Creme de Violette anything with violet overtones was welcome.

As with most tasting features here, I’ll break it into three parts; nose, neat tasting, and mixing:

Nose/Aroma: Pinky vodka comes across as very aromatic and floral. The concentration I found to be mainly in the violet/general flowery area more than specifically rose and it’s very pleasant if not particularly deep or complex. There’s a heavy and sweet quality to the smell and it’s certainly has far more character than most vodkas and seems it’s not afraid of making itself known in a drink.

Neat Tasting: This is much more dry than I expected from its smell. I was taken aback by how subtle, but lasting, the flavor of the floral bouquet was. It’s very clean and the floral tones hang around a long time, dominated by rose and then a general floral taste on the verbenia side of the spectrum. Very nice, but it made me realize that Pinky vodka won’t muscle itself over any cocktail it’s used in. Unlike G’Vine gin, which uses grape flowers to create a very heavy floral tone and overpowers most drinks in which it’s used, Pinky vodka is more like a vodka that will bring its character to a cocktail in much more accented ways. So, it’s a vodka that will blend nicely, but could also be easily overpowered. And, with that consideration I started experimenting³ .

Mixing: Joana and I discussed the flavors typically used with rose in cooking and generally associated with rose petals and rose hips and struck upon light fruitiness, chocolate (it was Valentine’s Day after all) and nuts. And, given the name ‘Pinky Vodka’, my mind immediately went to Pink Gin and replacing the Angostura bitters with Peach Bitters (Fee Brothers).

Pinky and Peach

• 2 oz Pinky Vodka
• 2-3 dashes peach bitters (used Fee Brothers)

Fill an old fashioned/rocks/lowball glass with ice and build the drink in the order given.

Yeah, ummmmm, this is drinkable but only just. Yeah, the peach and rose come together very very nicely but it’s just too damned dry and thin in flavor to go anywhere. A start, certainly, but a bad one. It was pretty though!

So, onto better things, thinking we might need to take a different tack after that peach-laden disaster. Ok then, let’s go the nutty route. There’s a recipe in The Joy of Mixology called the ‘Russian Walnut Martini’ that consists of vodka, walnut liqueur (which i seldom get to use), and dark creme de cacao which would incorporate the nut and chocolate pairing we thought the floral of Pinky vodka might accent wonderfully.

Russian Walnut Martini

• 2 oz vodka⁴
• 1 oz Nocello walnut liqueur
• 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad drink, and I’d like to see how it goes off in the original non-Pinky version, but at least with Pinky I can say that it never quite melds and comes together the way you’d like it to. The Cacao and Nocello are a very tight squeeze but with their richness against the Pinky vodka’s light, but distinctive, tones they sort of just sit and mock the vodka like it’s trying to get into the car and they’re the asshole buddies who keep scooting it forward as it reaches for the handle; the liqueurs just don’t play nice in this one.

So, back to the drawing board and, incidentally, back to the peach concept; it had enough potential for me to want to give it another go, but this time with a more cocktail-based approach in ratios. This one came off very well.

Peachy Keen

• 3 oz Pinky Vodka
• 1 oz Peach Schnapps⁵
• 2-3 dashes peach bitters (use Peychaud’s if Peach is unavailable)
• Champagne (preferably in the Brut-to-Extra Dry family)

Shake all ingredients, except champagne, and strain into a cocktail glass. Top wth champagne and garnish with a sugar or cinnamon-sugar rim or a peach/cherry flag.

The first iteration of this was missing something and adding the final touch of champagne really pulled it together and added effervesence along with a dry edge that it needed. Everything blended very well with the floral and peach combining to create a very spring-like touch to the whole arrangement. Nothing got lost and the bitters and Pinky Vodka add a complexity that’s necessary to keep this from being a chain restaurant’s ‘Peach-a-tini’ exercise in annoyance.

Pinky Vodka impressed me with its ability to ride the edge of being a vodka that’s easily mixed with many other ingredients versus being simply an infused clash of sweet, citrus, and cheap into a drink. It’s subtle but flavorful and could easily be featured in many different drinks to add additional character and complexity: just not the Russian Walnut Martini. For those of you reading in Oklahoma it’s supposed to arrive here eventually so keep an eye out for it; you’re sure to notice it as the packaging and bottle are striking in their classy and retro feel (it looks like Trump Vodka’s well-bred, far less gauche, and highly embarrassed sister – man that Trump bottle is horrible).

Now I’m off to shave with the straight razor Joana bought me for Valentine’s Day along with a life insurance policy. Wish me luck!

Pinky and Peach Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Russian Walnut Martini (modified) Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Peachy Keen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Roses are Pink, Vodka is Too is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. yes, I know it’s a Padawan hair braid people – please don’t write me concerning this
2. ok, maybe I shouldn’t go to THAT extreme
3. sure, I could just try a couple of recipes from the packaging, but where’s the fun in that?!
4. calls for Stolichnaya in the original
5. creme de peche would be too sweet in this application

David did a wonderful job, came across as winning and very sincere, and when able over Conan’s antics, knowledgeable. I saw the two goblets come out and said to Joana, ‘Is he going to make a Blazer?!’, and so he did (unfortunately the flames don’t come across in studio lighting at all, a drink made for darkened bars for sure). Other highlights are his making a Clover Club and discussing girly drinks with Conan (though I much prefer the Club’s cousin, the Pink Lady), Conan dissing the Clover Club² and mixing it with the Blue Blazer,  and, of course, the requisite discussion of absinthe and its legality. I was very happy to see David cross the Writer’s Guild picket line and have an opportunity to shine in a national forum³ as this is not the type of guest or subject frequently invited on such stages.

[Update: 2008]It’s been taken down off YouTube (it lasted only a few hours) so you’ll have to go to the MySpaceTV area of ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ to view it. Click the image below, click the video’s forward button three times (and sit through a blasted cruise line commercial after each click), and it should then load David’s segment. Worth the view and good to see him get the notoriety he deserves:

[Update 2009] And now, with the advent of Conan taking over the Tonight Show, it looks as if it’s been taken down from MySpace as well. I’ll keep looking and put a new link up here if I can track it down. Bloody networks.

Wondrich Knows Best: Conan O'Brien Makes the Worst Drink in History is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. somebody please reprint this dammit
2. it was voted one of the worst cocktails in history by Esquire in the 50s mind you
3. For the record, I support the WGA but a fortunate side-effect is a subject like Wondrich’s getting a window of opportunity for exposure