Most Popular Drink Of The Holiday Season

The most popular drink of the holiday season - at least at the dinner parties we threw - was the French Blond. It was the cocktail of choice at both dinner parties and holiday brunch, and will be a perfect addition to any New Year's Eve drink menu.

2oz White Lillet
1 oz Gin
2 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
.5 oz St. Germain

Holiday Party Cocktail Menu

We are hosting two holiday dinner parties at our house this year and this gives me the perfect opportunity to show off my cocktail making abilities. It's a good thing cocktails are prior to dinner because my libations would be completely upstaged by my wife's mad cullinary skills.  Let me know what you think about my menu

Silver Bells / Gold Bells
Gin, Vodka or Boubon, with Ginger, Mint & a Candy Cane Rim

Clove & Oak
Holiday flavors of Bourbon, Lemon, Apple Cider, Clove & Ginger Bitters

Manhattan Sunrise
Bourbon, Sweet Vermouth and Aperol

French 75
Gin, Lemon Juice, Rosemary Simple Syrup and Champagne

French Blond
Lillet, Gin, St. Germain, Grapefruit Juice and Citrus Bitters

Hot Apple Pie
An original Thirsty Lawyer cocktail. Rum, Apple Cider, Clove & Cinnamon Simple Syrup, House Made Hellfire Bitters

Vesper
An Early Favorite of James Bond. Gin, Vodka & Lillet

Dark & Stormy
Rum, Ginger Beer (Optional Splash of Lemon Juice)

Thir13en - Hard To Spell But Great Cocktail Program

When I told Chris Macias, food writer for the Sacramento Bee, of my foray into the role of cocktail scribe, he asked me if I had yet to try the cocktail program at Thir13en.  Since I hadn't, Chris and I made plans to explore the bar offerings together.

Thir13een operates under the deft hands of Chef and proprietor Adam Pechal (from well regarded Tuli Bistro) with Sara Kitchens in charge of all things cocktails.  The bar menu is rich with original offerings and new takes on old classics.  The Loon is one of the new twists on the Dark N Stormy.  It is made with Bacardi Silver, house made ginger syrup, fresh squeezed lime juice, with a float of  Myers dark rum.  The ginger syrup adds a touch of sweetness that you don't normally find in a traditional Dark N Stormy.



The Loon



Now for a fact you may not know, Dark N Stormy is a registered U.S. trademark owned by  Gosling's, the Bermuda producers of Gosling's dark rum and ginger beer.  Technically, any bar purporting to  serve a Dark N Stormy would have to do so with Gosling's rum and ginger beer, otherwise the bar would be engaging in trade mark infringement.  Does this mean that bar owners should have a trademark attorney review their bar menu?  I say yes, emphatically; see if you can do a deal for trade.   (My opinion may be a bit biased.)

Chris had the Old Flame, a twist on the classic Negroni.  The Old Flame substitutes Cynar for Campari and includes a splash of fresh squeezed orange juice.  Cynar's is an interesting liquor; it is made from 13 herbs and plants, with the predominant plant ingredient being the artichoke.  Its bittersweet flavor profile is the halfway mark in between Campari and Aperol. 

As Chris, Adam and I began discussing the numerous variations on the Negroni we all had seen, Brian the bartender whipped up a tequila based take on the Negroni - Cazadores Reposado, Cynar, Sweet Vermouth, fresh squeezed lime juice, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and blood orange bitters.  Although the Cynar does not produce the same bitter quality as one normally expects from a Negroni made with Campari, Brian's new drink is extremely refreshing and well balanced. 

Paper Plane @ Rickhouse

In between board meetings in San Francisco this weekend I was able to stop into Rickhouse (246 Kearny, 415-398-2827, www.rickhousebar.com), one of my favorite places to enjoy a cocktail in the City.  Rickhouse is a a venerable temple to the cocktail revival movement, with plenty of thirsty parishioners.   I arrived a few minutes before the bar opened at 6 pm Saturday and there was already a short line.  This isn't surprising during the week given the bar's location in the financial district,  but on a drizzly Saturday this is a testament to Rickhouse's popularity .

My first cocktail was The Paper Plane (Bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino and Fresh Lemon Juice )

Amaro Nonino is one of many different varieties of Amaro ("Bitter" in Italian) liqueurs.  The base alcohol for Amaro Nonino is grappa, it is infused with  herbs, grain alcohol, caramelized sugar, rhubarb, saffron, sweet orange and tamarind and aged for 5 years in an oak cask.

 Burbon and Aperol always mix well together.  The Amaro Nonino added a layer of bitter orange that mixed well with the sweet orange and fresh lemon. This has inspired me learn a bit more about the wide vairiety of Amaros out there and see what they bring to classic cocktail combinations.

Thirsty Lawyer to Speak @ Wine Law Program

This Thirsty Lawyer will be speaking on trademarks and wine labels at a wine law seminar for Northern California Wineries and Vineyards.  The programs take place on November 9, 2011 at the facilities of Oak Ridge Winery (one of my clients), and on November 17, 2011 at the Amador County Fairgrounds.  For more information go to http://www.motherlodewinelaw.com/.

A copy of my presentation is below

Wine law

View more presentations from shervey

Halloween Manhattan?

Not really; its an Aperol Manhattan with a halloween appropriate garnish (a gummy eyeball). It is a great cocktail and good to serve any time of the year..

I am really enjoying experimenting with Aperol; it is a nice mix of sweet and bitter orange (like Campari but not as bitter). I am playing around with it and am certain I will have a few more great cocktail recipes to share

1 ¾ oz Bourbon
1 ¼ oz Sweet Vermouth
1 ¼ oz Aperol
juice from ½ fresh lime & ½ fresh orange.
4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Baby Shower Cocktail Results & Hellfire Bitters

It was lots of fun playing bartender for a few hours at my friend's baby shower; it took me back to my college days. The most favorite drink by far was the Hot Apple Pie. The contrast between the sweetness of the clove and cinnamon simple syrup and the heat of the Hellfire bitters seemed to be what made this drink the crowd favorite.

The recipe for the Hellfire bitters is easy:



16 Habanero Chiles, halved
3 Limes, quartered
2 Tbsp Molasses
16 Allspice Berries, crushed
2 Cups high proof spirit (I used an inexpensive 100 proof Vodka)
Combine all ingredients in a mason jar and let it sit for about 2 weeks. Strain and then bottle.

This is some seriously hot stuff, so use it sparingly.