Bad Religion. Acoustic.

Just another vice in my life.  Music.

This was not just another night though.  This was Bad Religion.  All early stuff.  With an acoustic set thrown in the mix.

Unbelievable.

Gin.

If any of you read the LA Times this past Wednesday, you may have noticed the nod to gin.  A spirit that has gotten tossed aside to make room for vodka, gin is a reason to drink, a bouquet of flavor, and a cocktail slinger's dream.

My personal favorite of the moment is Hendrick's, which has a slight cucumber flavor blended with its other botanicals.  Another cocktail that I developed recently uses gin as a primary ingredient, and it is selling like crazy - to a crowd that drinks primarily vodka - I guess I tricked them with the name.  We call it the Strawberry Thyme Martini.  Simple, unassuming name that makes you think it will be approachable and interesting (I think).

Ingredients and Preparation:

1 whole Strawberry

3 sprigs of Thyme

Squeeze (1/4-1/2 oz.) of Agave Syrup

*Muddle*

Add ice

2 oz. Hendrick's gin

Splash of Soda Water (or a variation uses Rhubarb DRY Soda)

Shake for 10 full seconds

Strain through fine mesh strainer

Garnish with sprig of thyme.

Although the gin is the primary ingredient, the balance of the other flavors don't allow people to be turned off by the flavor.  Instead, I bumped up the herbal quotient with thyme, which actually brings out more of the gin flavor, but with a different balance.

The drink is a beautiful light pink color, clear of any thyme leaves or chunks of strawberry to cloud its simplicity.

This is my wife's new favorite.

It's a keeper.

Drink well,

HB

Kirkland wine.

It has been my experience so far that every Kirkland label wine I've purchased from Costco has been very tasty.

The most recent I indulged in a 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

I expected a watered down, flabby wine.  I ended up with a structured, balanced, fruit forward, juicy, robust Pinot.  What a find.  I think it was around $15-16 for the bottle.

Grab one or six when you get a chance.  Oh - try the Châteauneuf-du-Pape as well.

Drink well (but not "well"),

HB

Chapurrines. Enjoy.

So, we added a drink that comes with a side of edible grasshoppers yesterday.

The response was interesting.  It was rather slow, so we didn't sell any of the actual cocktails, but I did hand out a few samples.  No one refused - which surprised me quite a bit.  The reviews of the grasshoppers themselves... "kind of tastes like bark."

Bummer.  They are actually quite good.  They are air popped and flavored with salt and lemon.  It's just the texture, and then the smoky aftertaste that turns people off.  They remind me of dried chilies.

We'll see how it goes.

Drink well,

HB

Morimoto NYC

I snuck this picture while having lunch at Morimoto. What a gorgeous
bar.

The food was incredible as well.

Yellowtail pastrami.  Enough said.

HB

Absinthe

So, the Absinthe craze is in full tilt here in the States...

Many bartenders (or mixologists as they like to call themselves) are using this wonderful liquor with a confusing history in cocktails of all types.

You have those that are mixing the classics (i.e. Sazerac), those coming up with new concoctions, and others simply serving absinthe in all of its glory.

I happen to believe in and practice all of these at the unnamed restaurant/lounge I work at.

I call it "unnamed" because it has no sign, no phone listing, and an inconspicuous location.

Welcome to...

Anyhow, it does have a name - you just won't know it unless someone has told you.

Enough about that.  Back to Absinthe.

We serve Lucid exclusively at the moment, although we are gauging whether or not St. George will be a good addition to our family.

Lucid was developed by a New Orleans native who moved to France to distill his product.  He came up with the recipe after testing pre-prohibition absinthes.

Authentic as it may seem, it is said to be more approachable than most absinthes, and to have more mass appeal.  So it tastes better?  In my book, that isn't a bad thing, especially when a product is made in the authentic manner it was intended to be.

St. George was developed by the good folks behind Hangar One Vodka, amongst other things, and is the first absinthe made and sold in the United States.  Having not been able to sample it yet, I will leave my opinions to a future tasting.

Drink well,

HB