Look it Up Dear

Many of us from my generation remember when "Look it up dear," meant going to the dictionary or the encyclopedia rather than "googling it." Growing up, I was (and still am) a huge fan of Scrabble and Balderdash. So my growing up years had me flipping pages and reading lots of historical fiction. In 6th grade I read Roots and Sacajawea. In 7th grade, I heard the word "yoga" and checked out books at the library and enrolled in a class at the JCC. There was always something new to learn. One of my favorite tricks was that I memorized all the state capitals. When we went out to eat, my dad always told the waiter or waitress to pick any state and then I would proudly relay the capital of said state. My science fair project one year was how to distill perfume, to extract the essential oil from the rose.

As a yogi, I know all of these are linked (I'm not saying it is my karma to be a mixologist), but there's something about the chemistry, geography, history, and this idea of learning. Many of my colleagues probably hate when someone comes in with some obscure drink, or says, "I had this amazing thing involving passion fruit juice at a hotel in Miami, can you make that?" But in truth, I love those moments.

When it's slow, I love reading the bar book. Who knew there were so many drinks with the word "screw" in them? Some involving the pacing, the location. Most with triple sec. But I digress...

Towards the end of the night on Monday two gentlemen come up to the bar. "Do you know how to make a Sazarac?"

I don't, but I know that I love my bottle of Sazarac Rye. It's my favorite vase at home, and though we have the Rye, I decide after consulting the recipe in my trusty book and what I have available at the bar to mix it this way:

coat the bottom of a rocks glass with Pernod

top with ice

add 2-3 dashes of bitters (we have Angostura)

2 oz. Woodford Reserve

1/2 oz. simple syrup

stir, add a lemon peel for garnish

A woman who had come in for wine got caught up in watching me make the drink and ordered one just because she had been hearing so much about the resurgence of the Sazarac.

And if you google it, you'll learn about pre-civil war New Orleans, a senate bill proclaiming this the official drink of the city, that the drink was originally made with Cognac...and perhaps that will give you a thirst for more than just a good drink, but a chance to learn something new about someone else, delve deeper into history, or even make some new discovery, to get a thirst for something that you will have to make the time to look up. But I promise, it will be worth toasting about. Cheers!

Ohio Lady (sans the sauce!)

Memorial Day in Ohio, I'd be remiss if I didn't share an Ohio treat here---and this one doesn't have the sauce :)

Here's a mock-tail inspired by the homemade lemon shakes at the Canfield Fair (the Labor Day tradition).

Even in a kitchen sans proper bar equipment, you can make an Ohio Lady!

Microwave two mugs full of hot water (one mug per person).

Stir in 3 teaspoons of sugar.

Put in fridge to cool.

Slice fresh 2 strawberries and half a lemon per person.

Shake each serving in a mason jar with ice and mug of simple syrup.

Drink up and toast your loved ones!

Dante's Sweet Number

Last night one of my regulars came in---the one who inspired the Basil Devil, but since we didn't have the micro basil anymore, I created this little hot and sweet number. I'm calling it: Dante's Sweet Number after the discussion in yoga class about inviting both g-d and the devil in. It was a depends on how you look at it question, in the way that the glass is either half full or half empty. However, this drink is so good, the glass will most likely be totally empty until you order another round!

Dante's Sweet Number

muddle two strips jalapeno with 2-3 lime wedges

2 1/2 oz. 10 Cane Rum

1 oz. Simple Syrup

1/4 oz. fresh lime juice

Shake and strain over ice.

Make eyes at Beatrice across the bar.

Finding Balance

The classic cocktail was originally comprised of a base spirit, a bitter, and a sweet. Quite a bit like life. After practicing yoga for years, I’ve come to let go of the idea of smoothing out all the wrinkles of living. I had thought that if I practiced enough, I could eliminate all that was unpleasant or uncomfortable. However, after years of standing upside down and placing my limbs in various positions, I’ve come to find that peace is not some external state of bliss to be journeyed to, but rather it’s the small seed within that grows no matter what’s happening externally. Without the difficult times, the joy is muted and the challenging times make happiness that much sweeter. And just like life and yoga, a cocktail is a balance between bitter and sweet, sugar and sour. Life, like a cocktail is all encompassing.

And that these forces or tastes work together---that they actually enhance each other. Something as simple as ¼ of an ounce of fresh lemon or lime can change an entire drink. Or how I tell my yoga students that even practices one posture a day can bring change, that this small action of standing up well and tall, all muscles engaged, is like tossing a stone in a pond, the ripples reach all the way to the other shore. They may not feel it right away, but these subtle forces work their magic in our unconscious minds. Like the way freshly ground pepper and strawberries enhance my twist on the pisco sour, The PS. As a yogi, it’s important for me to fuse my love for health with mixology and so the strawberry adds some vitamin c and the black pepper has some medicinal properties (thanks google). I’m not saying that this is completely healthy, but ps, there’s some goodness here.

PS

2 oz. pisco

¾ oz. fresh lemon juice

½ oz. simple syrup

¼ oz. pasteurized egg whites

Muddle 1-2 strawberries with 3-4 twists of freshly ground pepper

Add the pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg whites.

Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice.

Strain into a champagne flute and garnish with freshly ground pepper

Basil Devil

"So, I get the orange and the grapefruit," she says, "but the avocado?"

"It's for a margarita," I tell the woman drinking a Jack and Diet. "It's avocado, jalapeno, and honey."

I love that someone has picked up on the subtleties---that just by leaving something interesting out on the bar, a conversation is born, as is a new cocktail!

The jalapeno part catches the attention of one of my regulars sitting next to her. Unfortunately no peppers in house and so I create the following for him (still a work in progress):

Basil Devil

rim a rocks glass with lime and sugar

muddle a healthy pinch of micro basil with 2-3 wedges of lime

2-4 dashes of Chipotle Tabasco and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

shake with:

2 1/2 oz light rum

1 oz. honey syrup (made with equal parts boiling water and honey)

you can serve right from the shaker or strain depending on your preference

top with a splash of soda water

Back in Action

After a long hiatus, Bathtub Gin is back. Re-inspired with new recipes and ideas thanks to Jacques, our fantastic Kimpton master mixologist, I've decided to keep up this blog with cocktail musings at least once a week. This week has been a re-birth in a way. Last night was a typical slow Saturday and two guys came in for a few drinks. After ordering a few G and T's, one of the guys switched to one of my newest spring cocktails on the menu. I was a little bashful asking if he liked it--he was drinking a purplish drink garnished with blackberries and sometimes the fellas shy away from the pretty colored beverages. However, he loved it---not too sweet and refreshing was what he said. I blushed when I told him it was my creation.

"So," he says, "you're not like a bartender, but a mixologist." And after 8 hours of intense measuring and mastering some classic cocktails, I was able to reply, "yeah, just wait until we bring out the new menu."

And so the rest of the night was spent naming the lovely little libations born from this week. I told the cocktail server, "if I'm having this much trouble naming my drinks, imagine when I make babies."

So come on in this week and ask for The Perfect 10, PS, The Whispering Echo, Carly's Sunrise, or some Sweet Redemption...

Off and On

For a while, I thought I was done with this blog---perhaps in the way that you drink something and then all the sudden, you've moved on to the next thing. I think of my progression from Jack Daniels to Woodford Reserve. Or perhaps my more recent switch from a single malt replacing said Bourbon.

Or maybe it's the bars that change. In college, the cheap beer and dance clubs to my now preference to bar with classic cocktails and a place to sit down---and a big cheers to my regulars P & A who introduced A and I to Beekman Bar and Books last night. Best Old Fashioned I ever had!

And so I'm back here (more sporadically) blogging when a thought arises. Last night was one of my favorite nights working (lots of regulars) and interesting new hotel guests. May have even cultivated an audience for my upcoming poetry reading in Detroit. One of my standard questions begins with where are you from and to get people talking about home. How much we all want to connect and how a bar can be that place. To get folks talking, to ease them into conversation with a stranger, how much we all want to be heard. 

And so find me here every now and again---with insights and tips and random musings about tending.