5 Tips for gifts to give the Bartender that you love

HOLIDAY SEASON is in a full swing now, we are about 2 weeks away from Christmas, and while the bars are heating up with guests, us bartenders LOVE to receive gifts as well! So here is my top 5 gifts for the season for the bartender in your life... (hint, if anyone wants to get me any of these, Ill gladly accept)



1. Illegal Mezcal Barrel Aging Gift Set
This gift set includes 3 bottles (750ml) of Illegal Mezcal Joven, a 3 liter barrel, Barrel Aging instructions and a cocktail booklet.
http://www.drinkupny.com/Ilegal_Mezcal_Barrel_Aging_Gift_Set_p/d0022.htm


2. Cocktail Books! Who doesn't love a great read on these cold winter nights. While there are many many worthy publications, the one that stands out this season is one of the new kids on the block, " Apothecary Cocktails- Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today" by Author, and good friend of mine Warren Bobrow.  This cocktail book features 75 traditional and newly created cocktail recipes that are medicinally themed.
http://www.amazon.com/Apothecary-Cocktails-Restorative-Drinks-Yesterday/dp/1592335845


3. What bartender doesn't love new shiny things?? Be sure to check out Cocktail Kingdom for all your favorite bartenders new tools, toys, and gadgets!! My personal favorites, the Yarai Mixing Glass, the Copper collection, the silver collection, and the wide array of bitters bottles.
http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/


4.  The GEAR!!! We all like to look nice, especially behind the bar looking approachable and neat is a must. And the Chef wear brand  keeps myself and hundreds of my counterparts looking mighty dapper. If you act now, they are doing free shipping for a limited time..
http://www.chefwear.com/index.asp


5.  AND the one thing that you can always get your favorite bartender for the holidays, "drum roll"...... SPIRITS!!!! Its a wide array of tasty spirits for that bartender that you love, but for some of us who are whiskey lovers, I was doing a little research and found a gem of a Japanese whiskey that just hit the states. Hakushu Heavily Peated is now available, and is different from the Hakushu 12 year that has been available for awhile now. After reading the review on Men's Journal, this seems like it will be on the wish list of Scotch whiskey lovers all over!
http://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/drinks/japans-subtle-peaty-whiskey-20131204


So hopefully these tips will help you find something for the drink slinger in your life, and if not maybe you found something for yourself!!

Be sure to watch our posts starting tomorrow where the " 12 days of Christmas" cocktail series will start. This will be a fun Boozy time!!!

Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

New Cocktail-- Blood on the Leaves

The Blood and Sand cocktail was a classic cocktail created in the 1920s. It was a scotch cocktail with Cherry Heering, sweet vermouth, and Orange juice. It was aptly named after Rudolph Valentino's bullfighter movie Blood and Sand. Its one of my favorite cocktails, but I thought about doing a twist on it with Pama Liqueur. Pama Liqueur is a liqueur that consists of Pomegranate liqueur, vodka, and a touch of tequila. Its bottled at 34 proof so it can be an essential modifier in a wide array of cocktails

So I been playing around with it and I came up with this very tasty riff on the classic Blood and Sand....

Blood on the Leaves

Blood On the Leaves

1oz Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
.75oz Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel
.5oz Coochi Americano
.5oz Passion Fruit juice
.25oz Mint Syrup
2 dashes Bitter Truth Creole Bitters

Combine all Ingredients in a shaker, shake hard and strain into a chilled cocktial glass.

So next time you get yourself a bottle of Pama, try this cocktail out and let me know what you think...

Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

A Perfectly Scary Cocktail

Since its Halloween I decided to share with all of you one of my favorite "spooky" cocktails.. I don't  celebrate the holiday but if I had to pick out one drink to enjoy today it would be the Corpse Reviver 2.

Great Classic cocktail that was originally meant to be a hangover cure( along with its predecessor the Corpse Reviver, which is a Cognac based cocktail.) in a sense to "Revive the body" after a long night of drinking. Its a very delicate blend of a Botanical spirit, Fortified wine, citrus, Orange and Absinthe liqueurs. So imagine how this drink will attack every part of your palette. This is one of my favorite cocktails and is considered a "Classic Cocktail" So without any further adieu, I give you my version of the  Corpse Reviver 2.

Corpse Reviver 2

1oz Few Spirits Gin
1oz Lillet Blanc
1oz Cointreau
1oz Fresh lemon Juice
Absinthe Wash
Cherry Garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker glass. Shake hard for 15-20 seconds.  Wash your glass with 2 or 3 drops of absinthe( St. George Spirits Brand preferred). Swirl it around, then strain your cocktail into the glass. And Garnish with a cocktail cherry.



So while most tonight will be enjoying candy and scary movies, Ill be in my kitchen making a few of these and enjoying a quiet evening at home. This honestly to me is one of the perfect cocktails to be used as an aperitif, or a before dinner drink. It really is smooth, elegant, and wakes up your palette.  You should make yourself one and tweet of Instagram your cocktail with the hash tag #DrinkOneTeachOne to @MrMixologist and let me know how it turns out..

Until Next time
Mr.Mixologist

Top 10 moments of Portland Cocktail Week

Portland Cocktail Week.... 1 word. WOW!!! I spent some of last week in the state of Oregon with about 200 other bartenders from all over the country. This was a great event to learn, associate, drink( we are bartenders) and generally remember why we chose this profession. This was my second time at PDXCW and this event has really set the bar for events in the future. So instead of just giving you a long recap of the entire week, I want to share with all of you my personal Top 10 moments from the week. Some will have visuals included.. Well the visuals that i can share.. lol

So here we go....

10. Winning 2nd Place in the Templeton Rye Shoes and Cue Horseshoe tournament.
Never played Horseshoes before, but drank plenty of Templeton and myself and my teammate Toki made it to the finals.

9. Swig and Swine 2013
The Bon Vivants did it again!! Always a great party, always for a good cause. Trashcan punch and plenty of Pig. AND all proceeds go to charity. I think Im going to gather all my Pig and Punch and Swig an swine t-shirts and have them framed.

8. Hale Pele
No other words be spoken.. Great Tiki Bar in Portland run by my main man Jesse Card.


7. Education
2 days, 8 classes. lots and lots of information. My course was "Beyond the Bar" TOok classes on sponsorship, Brand Ambassadorship, Dealing with the Press, Making cocktials on Camera, just to name a few.

6. Hennessy Dinner
The Uptown Billards Club was turned into the Hennessy House for the evening, where my Bar Major group enjoyed a 4 course meal paired with 4 cocktails made with the different expressions of Hennessy Cognac.

5. Rum Club shenanigans
Hanging with my "Superfriends" group of bartenders. the 6 of us shut down this great Portland cocktail bar 2 nights in a row. Thank you rto Adam and the rest of the team there for the cocktails.

4. Bar Mashup
1 night, 4 bars. We traveled by limo and Party bus between 4 bars in one night. Oven & Shaker, InterUrban, Hale Pele, and St. George Mobile Libation laboratory. Not to mention we shut down Rum Club after... EPIC night!!

3. Man I love them Strippers
 Im sure we paid a few ladies college tution over the past week, lol and I wont name names but we sure enjoyed our after school wind down time at Union Jacks, Sassy's and Mary's to name a few....


2. Field Trip Day
On the 3rd day we all had field trips to choose from. Mine was sponsored by Talisker and I had the opportunity to learn how to navigate and sail a sailboat. A once in a lifetime opportunity and I truly enjoyed being out on the water for 3 hours watching fighter jets fly above, and sailed right into Mount Hood. A religious experience

AND THE NUMBER 1 MOMENT OF THE WEEK WAS..............................

1. Murray Stenson
We had a service class and Mr. Murray Stenson was once of the speakers. If you don't know who he is, google him. He is a very instrumental person in the service industry and he got a standing ovation upon walking up to the podium. I even got the opportunity to chop it up with him for a moment and felt like I knew him forever. Great, GREAT person.


So that didn't even begin to touch how great of a week I had, or even all the things we did., This was just a few of the highlights for myself that stood out. I cant wait until next year to go back again.. Cheers to everyone I met last week and to my old friends who reconnected with me. I cant wait to see you all again!


Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

Cocktail Thought of the Day- National Vodka Day

Welp, its here. October 4th is National Vodka Day. So to all you Vodka lovers out there I raise my glass to all of you. Let's celebrate early, and celebrate often today. For some of my readers that are just discovering Vodka, I'll share with you a few tidbits and Vodka facts that you might not have known. I know  you probably thinking Vodka is easy, Vodka is a spirit that isn't that complex, but its the opposite. Vodka is labeled as a neutral grain spirit because the process of making it is fermenting and distilling grain which could be a myriad of things including Potato, Rye,  and Wheat. One of the most popular Vodka's today, Ciroc, is distilled from Grapes which makes its taste very distinct. Vodka is usually distilled a minimum of 3 times, and in some cases I've seen Vodka's distilled 10 times and more. Now once its distilled, the filtration process begins, most of the time thru Charcoal. Now Vodka requires no aging process and is ready to drink, BUT you still have to add water to bring it down to a bottling  proof. Most vodkas are bottled at 80 proof, which translates to 40% ABV, or Alcohol by Volume.


Now the fun thing about Vodka is, while it really doesn't have a certain taste( I tend to joke with my clients that  Vodka is the cocktail world's whore, it just goes with everything.. hahaha... but I digress) but each brand of Vodka has some little nuisances and subtleties about them. Here are some of the tastes I got from some of the most popular vodkas on the market today, and while I'm not a big Vodka guy I own all of these in my home bar/lab....Needless to say its been a great day in the lab tasting spirits. I must say this, when you taste you might get some different flavors. I learned from the great Steve Olsen, that when you are tasting spirits, there really isn't a wrong answer. Everyone's palate is different, some mature, some not, and everyone will pull something different out of what we are tasting.

• Belvedere- Citrus, a little Vanilla, Melon, Cherry
• Hangar One- I get all citrus.. Orange, Lime, Lemon. But a smooth clean taste
• Absolut- Dried fruit, and very Floral. 
• Square One- 1 word.. Delicious. Made from organic Rye so very rich and full, spicy,dried fruit, and earthy
• Ciroc- Smooth clean taste,  and grape

Vodka is still the worlds most popular spirit, with over 200 different brands and more and more popping up everyday. And we haven't even touched on the countless flavored vodkas that are on the market. But for today we are just going to celebrate the essence of pure Vodka. So go out today and get yourself a Martini, Moscow Mule, or a Vodka/Tonic and enjoy what truly is a great spirit...

Cheers,

Until Next Time

Mr.Mixologist

Chicago Independent Spirits Expo

Happy Thursday folks! I'm just climbing out of bed after a WONDERFUL night at the Independent Spirits Expo at the Chicago Hilton last night. All I can say is wow. A fun night filled with tasting some excellent spirits, and chatting it up with some of the industries finest. 

Last years event had 80 suppliers and over 400 independent and artisan spirits from all over the world. This years was no different  I tasted thru the entire event and was pleased with everything I was able to sample. From some of my favorite spirits, Like Few Whiskey, ANYTHING from the St. George portfolio, Diplomatico, and Del Maguey, to some newer brands that I haven't had the opportunity to try. 

One standout to me was the Barrel Aged Gin from Smooth Ambler Spirits. WOW is all I can say.  Their Barrel aged gin uses their award winning Greenbrier Gin as the base distillate and is aged 3 months in Oak barrels. This is a complete sipper. To me, it still tastes like a London Dry Gin but I get some peppery notes on the finish so it feels like a Rye whiskey. So my palate was very happy with this spirit!  Check out the video of the distillery here: 

Also at this years indie spirits expo was the authors round table  and my good friend Mr. Warren Bobrow was one of the speakers. Warren has been featured on this blog in the past and now my main man is releasing his 1st cocktail book, "Apothecary Cocktails: Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today." Had the opportunity to have some conversations with my friend this week and even got to thumb thru the book as well. Needless to say this is not just a cocktail book. Back at the turn of the century, most would go to their local apothecary and would get prescribed something herbal that includes some sort of spirit for all your ailments. Without giving to much of the book away, there are some great recipes in there that were used for Medicinal purposes. It will be a must own for anyone in our industry and for cocktail enthusiasts as well.  You can pre-order this book by following this link...  http://www.qbookshop.com/products/212140/9781592335848/Apothecary-Cocktails.html


So to all that was able to experience the Indie Spirits Expo, I'm glad to have ran into you and we all had a good time. To any who missed it, DO NOT MISS NEXT YEAR!! 

Cheers,

Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

Wine Wednesday on Bottoms Up----- The Summer of Riesling

Good afternoon Folks!

Well now that we are officially in the last week of summer, and although it is my favorite season, the fall season is fastly approaching. Football, Basketball, leaves changing color, its gets dark a little earlier, all are letting us know that its time for a whole new flavor of cocktails and wines. Plum, Cherry, Cinnamon, Spice, whiskey, cognac, hot cocktails, port wines, all are about to get a BIG boost with the temperature falling.

BUT, we still have a few days left and our resident wine expert, the extremely talented Tanisha Townsend of Girl Meets Glass is giving us one last wine reminder for the summer. So enough of me talking, lets find out what the Summer of Riesling is all about.........

As much as we try to hold onto the warm days, long nights, and short skirts, the temps are getting lower. And as of September 21^st, summer will be officially over. (Collective sigh) And along with it goes the Summer of Riesling.

Summer of Riesling was created by Paul Grieco from Terrior NY as a way to promote the diversity of the grape. Five years later, over 500 restaurants, wine bars and retails shops around the world have joined in and offer multiple styles of Riesling by the glass. Riesling is regarded as one of the world’s finest and most elegant grapes. Its fruity aromatics and bright acidity, make it excellent for pairing with food. Riesling is also late ripening but hardy, lending to sweeter flavors and late harvest styles.

Riesling is most at home in Germany where it’s welcomed by a cool climate. To get the grapes to ripen fully, they are grown on steep sun-facing slopes allowing for grapes to get a maximum amount of sunlight. German-style Rieslings are light in alcohol and age remarkably well with noticeable honeyed aromas. But in the glass, the German style is easily and quickly identified by a distinctive diesel aroma. But don’t fret! The diesel gives way to aromas of melon and wine. German Rieslings also have various levels of sweetness designated on the label.

·        Kabinett: dry

·        Spatelese: semi-sweet

·        Auslese: very ripe, hand selected bunches, typically semi-sweet or sweet

·        Beerenauslese: overripe grapes individually selected from bunches and often affected by noble rot, making rich sweet dessert wine.

·        Eiswein: (ice wine) The grapes are frozen on the vine and then pressed for their juice

·        Trockenbeerenauslese: made from overripe shriveled grapes often affected by noble rot making extremely rich sweet wines.

In warmer climates such as Austria and Australia, Rieslings take  more citrusy and peach notes. Due to their high acidity, they are also one of the few white wines that age well. The older they get, they developed honeyed and smoky notes.

Chateau Tanunda Riesling (Australia) – A bit of petrol on the nose swirls away into aromas of lime blossom and citrus. A drier style, but a long finish on the palate.Willm Reserve Riesling (Alsace, France) – White flowers and citrus on the nose with a racy acidity. Clean flavors on the palate pair well with spicy foods or sushi.

JJ Prum Sommeheur Auslese (Germany) – The petrol aroma jumps up from the glass, but once you get past that there is ripe peach and mango to be had. Great minerality and acidity on the palate, very well balanced.

Dr. Loosen Blue Estate Kabinett (Finger Lakes, NY) – Excellent aperitif wine with its white peach and floral flavors. Tons of flinty minerality from the blue slate the vines are planted in.

For more information on Riesling, check out #summerofriesling on Twitter as we chat away the last few days of summer. Of course, with a glass of Riesling by our side.

So thanks Tanisha again for spreading her wine knowledge over here to myself and my readers and I think Ill be picking up myself a bottle of Riesling tonight to have before summer ends. Be on the lookout for more wine based posts from our favorite wine expert Tanisha in the near future.

Until Next Time

Mr.Mixologist

Cocktail Thought of the Day-- National Cabernet Day

Thursday August 29th is National Cabernet day. So for all my wine lovers out there, I have a very special post. While Mr. Mixx is predominately a spirits guy, I do appreciate Wine and what it brings to the spirit world. It is a very complex study and while I have some wine knowledge, for this post I brought in my very special friend Tanisha "Girl Meets Glass" Townsend,

Tanisha, along with being a good friend of mine, and a Chicago native, is a Washington, DC based wine & spirits educator. She also has a excellent wine blog, aptly named., Girl Meets Glass. Her goals are to make spirits and wine education available to all, from the in home novice, tot he most trained accomplished spirits professionals. Tanisha has quite a few wine education credentials, and you can check her out at www.girlmeetsglass.tumblr.com

So since today is National Cabernet day, I could think of no one more essential than her to drop a few jewels on us all about Cab.. Here are her thoughts on Cab and a few things you may not have known.. Enjoy....

Cocktail Thought Of the Day

What is Cabernet?

I took a Cab to the Left….

Is the line I used to remember the difference between Left Bank and Right Bank wines of Bordeaux, France.  Cabernet Sauvignon is the predominant grape in the blends from the Left Bank. I passed that particular exam years ago, but when I think about Cabernet Sauvignon, I always think back to that simple sentence.

The Left Bank gets its name due to the fact that they vineyards lie on the lefts side of the Gironde, an estuary that runs through Bordeaux. Haut-Medoc and Medoc are the main sub-regions of the left bank. These regions produce Cabernets with high levels of astringency and tannins, but the addition of Merlot and Cabernet Franc lends some complexity and softness. Left Bank Bordeaux will age 5-10 years before showing any signs of mellowing out. And will then keep for years after that with new layers and flavors deepening in the bottle.

Also note that the most expensive wines of Bordeaux come from the Medoc region, mainly as a result of the 1855 Classification. This classification divided the 61 chateaus into First Growth, Second Growth, Third Growth, Fourth Growth, and Fifth Growth. A recent search for a First Growth Bordeaux Chateau Latour found the lowest price at $1500 for a 2008!

But don’t fret my friends, all Bordeaux are not that expensive! There are some much more affordable examples with just as much texture and tannins, and not nearly as much price tag.

Chateau Saint Sulpice

Earthy and oaky on the nose moving into dark berries on the palate. May be a bit tight upon opening, swirl this one in your glass a bit as to not miss out. Pairs well with meat and pasta dishes.

Chateau La Cardonne

A bit dusty at first, but the ripe berry fruit is there mid-palate. Then comes the tobacco and acidity bringing up the rear. Enjoy this with steak.

Barons de Lafite Rothschild Reserve Speciale

Deep ruby red in color with smoky, toasty and spicy notes on the nose. Give this one a good swirl in the glass to reveal the blackberry and blackcurrant aromas. The soft, velvety tannins and chocolate hit you right at the finish.

I know this gave me some new insight into the world of Cabernet. It's much more complex than I initally thought and Im glad to have a friend like Tanisha who can break down to me and help me to expand my knowledge into the wine world. For those of you who want to know more about Tanisha and wine here is where you can find her ---

Twitter- @GirlMeetsGlass

Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/GirlMeetsGlass

YouTube-  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnQLhb-gVeJzzjdexPs49bw

She is #MrMixologistApproved and look forward to hearing from her on my blog again...

Cheers,

Until Next Time

Mr.Mixologist

Mixing it up Monday's --- introducing the Sorel Iced Tea

I'm bringing back Mixing it up Mondays on my blog, because well, I want to.. Lol But seriously, most( if not all) weekends I am about town and mixing up cocktails at Various events. This weekend was no different but with a twist. With my new position at Sorel, I was about to get the product out to the masses at 2 separate occasions. Both events were a hit and the cocktail I created was literally sucked down by everyone in attendance, even someone who doesn't partake in spirits loved the product and the cocktail.

What is Sorel you may be asking? Sorel is a magnificent blend of Brazilian Clove,  Indonesian Cassia, Nigerian ginger, Indonesian nutmeg, and Moroccan Hibiscus. All of those exciting botanical s, Pure Cane sugar and Grain alcohol make honestly an AMAZING liqueur. This can be sipped by itself, or used as one hell of a modifier to re create many of the classic cocktails. Think spice, think islands, think GREAT TASTE.. So that brings us to today's cocktail. The Sorel Iced Tea. I was bartending an event held out on a patio yesterday. Smooth music, older crowd, laid back environment, so I thought refreshing, summertime cocktail. A blend of Bitters to accentuate the spice in the clove, and ginger, a little tea to give it a soft feel, and some fresh citrus to tickle your palette.. So here it is.....

Sorel Iced Tea

Sorel
Earl Grey Tea
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Ginger Syrup
Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin. shake hard and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

1 word.... Delicious!!! Perfect sipper for a warm summer day! Be on the Lookout for many many more Sorel cocktails in the near future...


Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

Cocktail Thought of the Day-- National Rum Day

I pity them greatly, but I must be mum, for how could we do without Sugar and Rum"- William Cowper, English Poet 

Its Friday, Its Payday, and its NATIONAL RUM DAY!!! What a great day this is. Rum is one of my favorite spirits to drink, and also to mix with. So today's blog post is going to kill 2 birds with one stone. I am going to give you the cocktail thought of the day, with some cool Rum facts, AND leave you with a couple of my own Rum cocktails for your pleasure and to try at home.

Cocktail Thought of the Day

What is Rum?

Rum is a distilled spirit that is made from Sugar Cane byproducts, such as molasses or directly from sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. Light Rums are commonly used in cocktails, where as "golden" or "dark" rums are generally consumed individually( i.e. "neat") or in some cases used in cooking, and now with the classic cocktail coming back and being popular, now are being used more in cocktails. Ultra Premium Rums are also available and used more so for sipping. Where Rum is made has 1 major thing in common, ITS HOT!!! Every major Island group boasts its own Rum. From Barbados, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad to name a few. Brazil boasts another type of light rum called Cachaca. But we will cover Cachaca real soon in another post.


So now that leads me to my favorite part of my posts, its sharing with you some of my cocktails. Now don't get me wrong there is a myriad of rums that i enjoy, including Chairman's Reserve, Zacapa, Shellback, Bacardi, but I do have a favorite and its from the Serralles USA portfolio and Its Don Q. Don Q RUm is a Puerto Rican rum and is the #1 selling Rum in Puerto Rico. If you've been to or booked me for events, you know this is usually my go to rum of choice for cocktails, punch, etc.. So the 1st cocktail i give you for National Rum day has Don Q Cristal as the base....

1.5oz Don Q Cristal
1oz Triple Sec(Cointreau preferred)
.50z Lemon Juice
.50oz Pineapple Juice
.25oz Strawberry Puree
Garnish with a Strawberry Slice









My next cocktail is one that I was asked to do for Koloa Rum company. They are a company based out of Hawaii that produces an award winning single batch rum at their distillery near Kalaheo. I was asked to come up with something a little different from your  go to cocktails like a Daiquiri or a Dark and Stormy. So this is what I give you all,...

The Apple Fritter
1.5oz Koloa White Rum
1oz Lairds AppleJack
.50oz Spiced Simple Syrup
.50oz Fresh lime juice
2 dashes homemade Apple Bitters
Garnish with an apple slice or Cinnamon Stick



I hope you ALL enjoy National Rum Day today! I know I will.

Cheers,

Mr Mixologist

Great News!!!

As I woke up this morning I got some great news! I will be the brand ambassador/mixologist for Sorel liqueur here in the Chicagoland area. Sorel is a handcrafted liqueur comprised of Moroccan Hibiscus,
Brazilian clove, Nigerian Ginger, Indonesian cassia, Indonesian Nutmeg, and 100% organic grain alcohol. Sorel scored a very high rating at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2013. To me personally, it can be just as much of a " Must Have" liqueur as St. Germain. Be on the lookout for me hosting tastings, events, education, and a lot of recipes.. The fall recipes are already starting to come to me now.

Cheers

Until next time 

Mr Mixologist

Cocktail Thought for the Day 8-8-2013

In this last year I had the opportunity to head up a new program with Courvoisier USA as one of 8 Courvoisier "Courvoisiologists" from across the nation. We we in charge of executing events, new cocktails for the brand, and education. It was a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge of the iconic brand and share it with many others. It all culminated with the Courvoisier lab event here in Chicago on June 5th. Cocktails, cocktails, and more cocktails. I was the featured mixologist and had 6 of my own created cocktails being featured at the event. But with that came the responsibility to really dig deep into the brand and learn about who I was representing. So with that the cocktail thought of the day today is all about Courvoisier Cognac. Anyone who knows me knows, I enjoy a finely distilled grape spirit, namely Cognac. Its a beautiful spirit and very very unique in its taste. So here is a little history about this iconic brand...

Cocktail Thought of the Day

Background and Present day Facts about Courvoisier

The origin of Courvoisier goes all the way back to the 19th with Emmanuel Courvoisier and his associate Louis Gallois running a wine and spirit company. In 1811 Napoleon Bonaparte visited their warehouse in Bercy. The rumor is that Napoleon took several barrels of Cognac with him to St. Helena, which in turn, the ships officers began naming it, "The Cognac Of Napoleon." Courvoisier was also served at the 1889 opening of the Eiffel Tower. As far as the aging process of this fine cognac, the Vs is aged up to 8 years with the majority of it being Fins Bois grapes, the VSOP is aged up to 10 years with a little of 50% of it being Grande Champagne Grapes, and the XO Imperial being a blend of up to 40 different Cognacs. 

So now to present day. Not only does Courvoisier have just Cognac but they introduced a New Blend of Cognac and 2 liqueurs to add to the portfolio. C by Courvoisier, Courvoiser Rose', and Courvosier Gold. 

C by Courvoisier is a small batch Cognac blend selected from 50 different Wine Growers and is double barreled for a completely different type of experience. Rose' is a blend of Courvoisier and Premium red wine grapes, and Gold is truly a one of a kind blend of Courvoisier and Moscato grapes. So for the 1st time in a long time I'll leave this blog post with some of my own recipes with each expression for all of you. Feel free to try these at home, as I took a BYOB( Be your own Bartender) approach to make quality cocktails but also ones easy enough for the at home bartender.. 

The Spoken Word

C By Courvoisier

Tripe Sec

Maraschino Liqueur

Lemon juice

Angostura Bitters

Top with Club Soda

Lemon Peel Garnish

A Rose Grew from Concrete

Courvoisier Rose

Lemon Juice

Lime Juice

Blackberry Liqueur

Angostura Bitters

Top with Ginger Beer

The Golden Sangria

Couvoisier Gold

Courvoisier VS

Moscato Wine

Blood Orange Juice

Lemons

Limes

Apples

Strawberries

White Peaches

Hopefully you enjoy the cocktails, and let me know if you try them by tweeting me at @MrMixologist with the hash tag #DrinkOneTeachOne

Until Next Time

MrMixologist

Cocktail Thought of the Day 8-7-2013

On my Instagram pages I started this little thing called the cocktail thought of the day. It was a fun way for me to communicate with everyone and also give out some information about cocktails that alot of the consumers on my side of town might not have been aware of. So on a bigger scale, why not share it with my blog friends and get even more of a way to get out and help educate the general consumer that isn't in the spirit world, but still enjoys cocktails and the cocktail world. So each day I'll pose a random thought and give some insight on it. Since my mantra is Drink One Teach One why not share things with the masses.

So here we go.....

Cocktail thought of the day--

What are Cocktail Bitters?

Bitters are a variety of herbs, fruits, spices, and roots distilled in a base spirit. Bitters were a staple in the early cocktail days, and have seen a resurgence since classic cocktails have made a resurgence in the last few years. Bitters can also be used in cooking, and once upon a time, Orange bitters were favored over aromatics. Some of my favorite brands of bitters are Angostura(Iconic brand), Peychaud's, Fee Brothers, Bittermans & Bitter Truth, and of course my good friend Gary Reagan's Orange Bitters No. 6. But my absolute new favorite thing to play around with in Cocktails is Dale DeGroff's Pimento Bitters. First of all anything made by " King Cocktail" is always worth a try. But his Pimento Bitters are handcrafted by the man himself and are a blend of Allspice berries., anise, and several other herbs. These bitters enhance the taste but they dont change it so much that all you are tasting is the bitters. I put 2 dashes of these in a Daiquiri at an event a couple weeks ago, and needless to say it was a HIT!!! I suggest all bartenders try the out and give it a try as well!! So hopefully for those who didn't know about bitters, this gave you an introduction to them! Stay tuned for many more cocktail thoughts of the day each day!

Cheers


Until next time
Mr Mixologist

Shaken or Stirred

" I like my Martini shaken not stirred"- Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger

Happy Saturday Afternoon everyone! 

So this topic has came up because of something I posted on my business Instagram page ( IG- DomBarService). I tell this story that I was at a 5 star hotel in downtown Chicago for a wedding reception. While waiting, myself and a couple friends went to the hotel bar for cocktails. I proceeded to ask the bartender for an Aviation. She responded we don't carry those. So now you can just tell the look on my face at this point.....lol but I digress. So, I asked for a Negroni( one of my favorite cocktails).  So since they " had those" lol I watched the bartender prepare it. And right at the end of the drink SHE SHOOK IT!!! Imagine my horror as I watched that beautiful blend of Plymouth, Campari, and Antica shaken agitated, full of air bubbles, cloudy and just not very appealing when it went into my glass.. Needless to say, I ordered a beer and sent the cocktail back. 

Which brings me to today's post. Some bartenders don't know when to shake and when to stir. Myself I generally follow this rule, when the cocktail is all spirit( base spirit and modifiers) I ONLY stir. When I have a cocktail that requires any type of citrus or juice, eggs, or cream, I shake. Cocktail example to stir would be a Negroni, Manhattan, Rob Roy. Some cocktails you would shake could be margaritas, daiquiris, and long islands. (Yes a well made, shaken Long Island can be a very tasty cocktail. But that's for another post on another day).

With a stirred cocktail you don't want any air bubbles or ice chips in the cocktail, and shaking it agitates it waaaay to much for my taste. So generally when making cocktails and creating new ones I follow these simple rules to making them tasty. So why did James Bond want his martini shaken and not stirred?? We may never know.. But what we do know is that following these simple cocktail rules will produce some very tasty cocktails every time. 

Until Next Time

MrMixologist

Back to Blogging/Drink One Teach One

Hey everyone!

Its been a long time but Mr Mixologist has finally got the blogging bug back in his system. I have been a part of soooo many great events this year, and have so many coming up that I want to share them with all my Twitter/Facebook/Instagram followers. But before I get going I first want to say THANK YOU, to all who have supported me and DrinkxXx On Me bartending Service over the last few years, We started off doing house parties and now have grown to working for various spirit brands and hosting and bartending some of the biggest events here in Chicago.Now for those of you who have been a subscriber to this blog, thank you and now you're in for a treat because we will have postings on everything from Spirit reviews, to some of my favorite bar/restaurants, How to cocktail videos, and the ever infamous "Cocktail Thought of the Day".

So now that brings me to the point of this post today.. my ever famous catchphrase "Drink One Teach One". many have asked me where this came from and why do I always say it and use the hash tag on twitter( #DrinkOneTeachOne) Well here is your answer....

This phrase is the gist of my entire career. Unfortunately, in my community the overall "cocktail" scene is lacking. So when I''m working, or creating menus for clients I try to bring a little more cocktail awareness to the forefront. I love alcohol, I love all the different spirits that are out there(for the most part) and I love learning while I'm enjoying cocktails. Learning about the origin of a cocktail, or breaking down the flavors in the base spirit, or just figuring out all the ingredients in a cocktail while tasting blindly are some very enjoyable things to "Drink One Teach One". Understand spirits and know what you are putting inside your body. Its called "Edutainment" learn something and have fun all at the same time.

Now that im back in the blogging world, I look forward to sharing with you all my experiences, tastings, evenings out, events, recipes, and just views on different trends in the cocktail world. If you have anything you would like to see in this blog that you haven't yet or don't, by all means email me at info@dombartending,.com or tweet me @MrMixologist or @DomBarService and use the hash tag #DrinkOneTeachOne

Until Next Time
Mr. Mixologist