Finally Posted the Spring Cocktail Menu!

It took a few weeks of experimenting, but I finally have five winners for my spring cocktail menu (see above in the green). I love all of them, but I'm especially fond of the Mediterranean Fig Cooler, as I'm absolutely in love with Edmund Briottet Creme de Fig. It reminds of me of my Maltese heritage, and the sweet date and fig desserts we usually eat at family functions. Let me know what you think about my five winners!!

April's Specialty Drink Revealed...

I've been in a vintage mood lately. Hell, who am I kidding- I'm always in a vintage mood, but this month it is reflected in my choice of specialty drink...*drumroll please*... the mint julep. The mint julep was first noted in writing in 1803 as a libation of "spiritous liquor that has mint in it, commonly consumed by Virginians in the morning". Thus, it's safe to assume that the drink is southern-inspired. No suprise then that these days the "spiritous liquor" used in the mint julep is non other than bourbon whiskey.

But just wait whiskey haters- this drink is prepared similar to a mojito, muddling mint with simple syrup, adding crushed ice, and floating the whiskey along top. The result is whiskey with a delicate sweetness. It's refreshing, full of flavor, and perfect for springtime. Hence- my April drink of the month. Drink up!!

Spring Specialty Drink Menu...

I'm working on a Spring themed specialty cocktail menu and should be able to perfect it in a few days. Stay tuned!

Delicious Libations on the Hollywood Tower Rooftop

What could be better than sipping tasty cocktails at a hype party on a beautiful Saturday night? Doing so on top of the historical Hollywood Tower. Last night I bartended for an awesome young lady on the occasion of her 25th birthday. There were about 60 guests at the party, enjoying the fresh grilled burgers, the airbrush artist who painted custom t-shirts, and the amazing view of the Los Angeles cityscape.

As for the bar, I offered four specialty cocktails: the Russian Rose (the birthday girl happens to be of Russian heritage), the Hemingway, the Lynchburg Lemonade, and the Cuba Libre. The Cuba Libre is a very popular drink, as its basically just a fancy name for a rum and coke with a lime. The Lynchburg Lemonade is a great whiskey drink, mixing Jack Daniels, Triple Sec, Sweet and Sour, and Sprite (it's potent, sweet, and tangy...so perfect for summer).

The two most popular drinks of the evening were the Russian Rose and the Hemingway. The Russian Rose is a sweet, vodka based drink which is usually comprised of vodka, grenadine, and orange bitters. To make it less strong we switched out orange bitters with orange juice, which makes the drink taste quite different from the original recipe (bitters have a very aromatic, unique taste), but it was still delicious. My favorite drink of the evening was the Hemingway. This drink is usually comprised of a light rum, maraschino cherry liquor, lime juice, and grapefruit juice. I substituted pineapple juice for the grapefruit juice with great results (I mean honestly, does pineapple juice not taste amazing with anything?). The maraschino cherry liquor we used was Luxardo brand and adds a fresh, complicated, almost floral flavor to the drink. I am definitely going to be experimenting more with this stuff. Absolutely delicious!

Custom Drinks for Vintage Inspired Wedding

So I will be bartending a wedding in a few months, and I spoke with the bride this week regarding her bar needs. She was going pretty simple, some beer, margaritas, and a signature drink. She said that she'd like the signature drink to reflect the wedding's theme, vintage Hollywood. She is a big fan of fruity drinks and not a big drinker, so would prefer a cocktail without any bite. And so I went off to the drawing board and came up with the following ideas:

Shutter Island:
Vodka, Passion fruit liqueur, Mango liqueur, Pineapple Juice

Great Gatsby:
Muddled fresh blackberries, Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Creme de Cassis (black currant flavor), Sour Mix

Hemmingway:
Vodka, Elderflower liqueur, Vanilla-infused simple syrup, Strawberry Lemonade

The bride is going to try them out this weekend and let me know which drink will be HER drink. Can't wait to hear what she thinks!

Take Me to The Moon!

There's an interesting article in the LA Times about the resurgence of "Moonshine"- the liquor so named because it was brewed illegally (under the moonlight) during the time of prohibition. Moonshine, in this sense, refers to whiskey. Whiskey, easily distinguished by the brownish-caramel hue, obtains this coloring through being aged in wood. Moonshine, however, is a sort of juvenile Whiskey lacking contact with the wood and thus, is clear in color. It's flavor is still intense, and mixes differently than wood-aged Whiskey. Check out the article below!

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-moonshine-20110113,0,3897667.story

Back and Inspired!

Sorry I've been gone for a while, I took a trip to New York City- only one of the most amazing cities in the world and one that I lived in nearly two years ago. It never ceases to amaze me the pure energy that one feels upon setting foot in the metropolis; it's as though the air is charged from the very first breath. And with that inspiration, I set upon my mission: (1) to spend time with my amazing friends and (2) to eat/drink myself silly without creating an asteroid sized cavity in my bank account. Mission #1- a give in, Mission #2- that would be much harder.

The first night in New York, I went to a bar in the West Village called Employees Only. It's a trendy restaurant with a great ambiance, very popular with young professionals, and it's definitely a splurge. They have a fantastic cocktail menu and the bartenders are very knowledgeable- they nailed my requests for a mint julep and pink lady. From their cocktail menu, I chose the "Mata Hari"-Cognac with chai-infused vermouth and pomegranate juice. It was absolutely delicious. I shared with two drinking companions who ordered the "Ginger Smash"- muddled ginger and prickly pear with gin, apple liqueur, and fresh lemon juice and the "Fraise Sauvage"- gin with wild strawberries and Tahitian vanilla, topped off with Prosecco. All were amazing and well worth the $15/drink average.



Then two nights later, I visited another memorable bar called Mayahuel. Mayahuel is located in the East Village, a part of New York City renowned for unique stores/restaurants and creative thinking. Mayahuel did not disappoint! While it is primarily a tequila and mezcal bar, their bartenders have some of the best skills I've seen and can surely whip you up anything. The bar itself is small, like Employees Only and a majority of other bars in the city, and there's not much room for roaming. This isn't a problem though, because the decor itself is so unique, channeling a dia de los muertos fiesta, that you'll just want to gaze at the eye candy. The biggest strength of Mayahuel lies in the complexity of its drinks. They do a great job with combining the sweet and the spicy, the sour and the delicate, creating libations that you will want to sip down slowly...infinitely. My favorite was the "Whoopsy Daisy"- blanco tequila, joven mezcal, pomegranate molasses, and lime. Also well worth the $14/drink average.



All in all, my mission in New York was a success... except for the small dent in my pocketbook. Thank you NYC for your constant source of energy and inspiration. Alas, I'm back in Los Angeles.

KCRW's Good Food and Hollywood's The Library Bar

If you're a fan of eating local, then you can also drink local at The Library Bar located in Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel. A recent story covered by KCRW'S comestible-oriented Good Food followed The Library Bar's Matthew Biancaniello (bartender extraordinaire). Biancaniello makes his drinks with fresh ingredients found at local farmers markets, resulting in well-crafted cocktails that change with the seasons. He's currently fond of the citrus that is now in season and the rum "St Elizabeth Allspice Dram".

The interview is definitely work listening to and can be found here:

http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf/gf110115salt_gluten_free_bee#idc-container

February's Drink of the Month- The Caramel Martini

In honor of February being one of the sweetest (and sexiest) months of the year, I chose the Caramel Martini at the drink of the month. It's vanilla flavored vodka with godiva caramel liqueur, shaken on ice and strained into a caramel-lined martini glass. Scrumptious! Pictures to come soon!

The CUT!

Sunday afternoon I headed out to La Verna, CA to hold a tasting for a summer wedding that I'll be bartending. I originally met the bride (Ashley) through Pam and Gina, a fabulous couple that I bartended a birthday party for last October. Ashley works at the liquor store where Pam and Gina bought their booze, and I'm very grateful that Pam and Gina put in a good word for me ;)

When I met the bride and her husband-to-be for the first time a few months ago, Ashley had said that she was hoping to get one or two specialty drinks made for the wedding. She said that she really enjoyed drinks with fresh ingredients (as do I) and berry-flavored drinks.

For yesterday's tasting, I showcased four drinks: a superberry mojito (mint, fresh strawberries, simple syrup, Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum, Fragoli Strawberry liqueur, club soda), a strawberry basil lemonade (fresh basil, simple syrup, vodka, St. Germain liquor, strawberry lemonade), a berry cosmopolitan (vodka, Grand Marnier, Roses Lime Juice, Pomegranate Juice, fresh blackberries), and a strawberry cooler (Vodka, fresh strawberries, soymilk, simple syrup, and Fragoli liqueur).

While the tasters enjoyed all four drinks, they ended up going with the first two- the superberry mojito and the strawberry basil lemonade. Awesome choices that are perfectly suited for a summer wedding!

Dark and... Beardy?

Last night I worked a 30th birthday party in the Echo Park/Silverlake area thrown for a hubby by his fantastic wifey. The hubby, sporting the "Silverlake beard" had wanted three specialty drinks for the party. He chose to go with his favorite, the Dark and Stormy, renaming it "Dark and Beardy" in honor of himself. It was one of the most popular drinks of the night, right beside the "Echo Park Iced Tea" which was basically a John Daly, or an Arnold Palmer by way of vodka (nam-nams). The two kept me very busy all night, and everyone's buzz a steady hummm.

The last specialty drink was a Berry Mojito, affectionately renamed "Inglorious Bastards" (although it should have been Basterds). It wasn't as popular as the first two, but I'm pretty sure the cold weather had something to do with it. For me, mojitos are synonomous with summer and heat.

It was an amazing party complete with Ipod cupcakes, a face painter, a photo booth, a taco truck, and a priceless view of downtown Los Angeles at night. Later this afternoon, I'm traveling to La Verne to do a tasting for a wedding I'm tending this summer. I'm creating some custom drinks for the bride and groom, and today's

tasting will decide (enter Heidi Klum voice) which cocktails are eeeeen or aut.

Will keep you posted!

January's drink of the month- Raspberry Lemon Drop Martini

January's drink of the month honor's the upcoming citrus season. You may remember the lemon drop shot from your college days, and if you used a bottom-shelf vodka those memories might be particularly painful. The raspberry lemon drop martini, however, is a classy twist on the shot. It uses vodka, Chambord, fresh squeezed lemon juice (a whole medium lemon), and a pinch of cane sugar. Shake everything on ice and then strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass. It's the perfect coupling of tart and sweet, and a great way to use the lemons that will be popping up at your local farmer's markets.

All Saint's Day

I'm officially obsessed with St-Germain. No, he's not a religious deity but he very much deserves to be cannonized. St-Germain is an elderflower liqueur that is grown in the foothills of the Alps. What does an elderflower taste like, you might ask? It's not citrus, and its not pear-like, but a sort of infusion of the two. It's sweet and light with a delicate floral aftertaste. And whatmore, the elderflower blossoms are handpicked and gathered by local French farmers.

If you're a bartender, St-Germain offers a really interesting program called the "Bartender Exchange" where you can switch 3 bartending shifts with other bartenders over the same 3-4 day period, learning new drinks and tricks of the trade. You can check this out here: http://www.stgermain.fr/exchange.php

I love this stuff!