Gearin’ up for NOLA

Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about you.  It’s just been one trip right after the next as of late. 

I’m prepping for Tales of the Cocktail this upcoming week, and trying to keep my head on straight.  I owe you a full explanation and dissection of my trip to the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, I know.  I’m pretty sure I won’t get to this until after Tales.  Pitty, isn’t it?  I know you’re anxious to see some pics.  I sure am, myself!

Happy 4th of July, by the way!  I don’t want to leave you empty-handed on this day, so I thought I’d include a drink I came up with for this festive weekend.  Yes, I know, the whole “Red, White, and Blue” themed cocktails is so passe, so please don’t cringe at the  fact that this drink is borne of the same ideal.

So sit back, put some shrimp on the barbey, and sip on my “Red, White, and Blue Collins”

1 1/2 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin

3/4 oz. Fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz. Simple syrup

4 bing cherries, pitted

6 – 8 blueberries

Directions: In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle the fruit and the lemon juice and simple syrup.  Add the gin and shake briefly.  Pour into collins glass.  Top w/ club soda.

Garnish: 1 bing cherry

 

Jimmy’s, Aspen, CO

 Jimmy Yeager saddles up to our cocktail table, looks me straight in the eye, and exclaims, “Jonathan Pogash – great to see you!  How are ‘ya?”  

“I’m…doing well,” I respond, embarrassed at the fact that I didn’t recognize the bloke.  “Where have we met?” I ask.

“Here…Aspen…” Jimmy says reluctantly.

Nope.  Not here.  Never been here.  Well, came here when I was 16 years old, but that doesn’t count.  I was young…unable to experience the things I had experienced during this trip to Aspen.

Before we can figure it out, Jimmy tells me that Jill DeGroff just made a drawing of him and did a feature about him.

“The Cocktailian Calendar! I saw your drawing!  October, right?” Jimmy asks.  “That must be it.”

We agree that we had probably met beforehand in person, and before we can disect the situation event further, Jimmy strides up to his bartender and shouts out over the packed crowd: “Strawberry-Jalapeno Margaritas for my pals over here.”

As we sip our fresh strawberry jalapeno Tequila infusions, Jimmy chats along, infusing us with his vibrant energy and  never-ending enthusiasm.  He appreciates the craft of the cocktail…he thrives on industry people frequenting his establishment…he’s humbling when told of the impact his bar/restaurant has on the working class folk of Aspen, Colorado.

Jimmy’s is a destination – it’s where you party before you go out to party, and it’s where you always end up at the end of the night.  The food is on par, and the drinks are fresh and balanced.

I was at Jimmy’s nearly every day I was in Aspen.  Some of the best times were spent on the patio, sipping Mezcal and slinging back beers ’til 2am. 

The next time I’m in Aspen, I think I’ll ask the cab driver at the airport to bring me directly to Jimmy’s.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they respond with the folllowing: “Ah yes, Jimmy’s.  Tell Jimmy I said ‘Hi.’ Shall I schedule a pick-up there when you’re ready to go back to the airport?”

“Yes, please,” will be my response.

Jimmy’s, An American Restaurant & Bar, is located at 208 S. Mill St, Aspen, CO

970-925-6020

 www.jimmysaspen.com  

Boston/NY Love

As you may be able to tell from this post’s title, we’ll be chatting a bit about Boston, and the cocktail culture that seems to have sprung up there, really out of nowhere. 

There’s real talent in bean-town.  I’m not only talking good bartenders who sling quality drinks – I’m talking enthusiastic, warm bar professionals who create some of those trend-setting cocktails we see spanning across this fine country of ours.  Jackson Cannon was one of the first to spring onto the scene.  His beverage program at Eastern Standard is tight…I mean TIGHT!  Dozens of classic drinks, new innovations, egg drinks, variations on classics, adorn his cocktail list.  And they just celebrated their four-year anniversary (Congrats Jax & the crew at ES!)

John Gertsen and Misty Kalkofen are two others who have enlightened Americans on the scene in Boston.  With the opening of Drink, a sub-terranean menu-less innovation of a bar, they mix up drinks based on what you’re interested in at that moment in time.  Love it!  You tell them what spirit, ingredient, etc. you’d like to imbibe in, and they create it. 

I had the honor of hosting a lunch for some of Boston’s top bartenders and enthusiasts earlier this week at Eastern Standard.  It was a jam of sorts, with  (ri)1 Rye Whiskey being so kind as to fascilitate this mad scientist laboratory of an afternoon.  I noticed the closeness of the bar community here, the openness, and willingness to learn new things.  We came up with some really tasty drinks, and I think I’m not alone in saying that we could have spent several more hours (or days, really) experimenting with rye whiskey cocktails.

The neighborhood surrounding Eastern Standard is quite pleasant.  From my hotel room at the Hotel Commonwealth (conveniently located in the same building as ES) I could see bustling Commonwealth Ave, and some of the 19th century buildings surrounding the Boston University campus.  Oh yeah, did I mention you can see Fenway Park from the hotel.  Well, you can’t actually see a game, but the top of the big green giant is in full view.  This hotel is perfect for those Sox fans, and this New Yorker found it just fine for himself, too.

I’ve got so much more to say and so little time to say it in…so I’ll leave you with this:

Ward 8

(a true original Boston drink, created to commemorate the 1898 election of stage legistlater Martin M. Lomasney)

2 oz. (ri)1 Rye Whiskey

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz. fresh orange juice

1 tsp. home-made grenadine*

Directions: Shake all ingredients very well in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish: maraschino cherry

*home-made grenadine: over the stove top, dissolve 2 parts POM pomegranate juice and 1 part sugar.  Chill thoroughly before serving.

A good rye cocktail brings Bostonians and New Yorkers together…

Rye, oh my!

This will be brief and to the point…I will be going into more detail on what I’ve learned about Rye Whiskey in the coming weeks:

Attention Boston area Bartenders:

You’re invited to a Rye Whiskey luncheon mixer! 

When: Monday, June 8^th 1pm

Where: Eastern Standard (528 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA)

What: a jam of sorts in which ingredients and tools will be provided in order to facilitate the production of new rye cocktails, with lunch being provided, of course

Who: hosted by Jonathan Pogash, and made possible by the fine folks at (ri)1 Rye Whiskey (from Jim Beam)

Why: because Rye Whiskey was the “King of the American Barroom” (-Gary Regan & Mardee Haiden Regan, The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskies, 1995), and is on its way to being so once again.

RSVP: jonathan@thecocktailguru.com

I Left My Hawthorne Strainer in San Francisco

It’s long, silver, springy, and kinda looks like the one above. 

I didn’t really leave my Hawthorne strainer there.  Just thought this was a cute play on words.  I did, though, leave behind a few brain cells that I’ve just now re-grown.  It’s been about four days since I took my trip to San Francisco for World Cocktail Week.  Every year, various cities across the world celebrate all that is the cocktail – with parties, educational events, bartender gatherings…

I had never experienced the full on event that is WCW.  And in my opinion (which does not really mean that much), San Francisco tops the list of best places to imbibe during cocktail week – actually, best places to imbibe period!  The main impetus behind my going to San Francisco was to compete in the US Bartender’s Guild National Championship.  I won our local NY chapter’s competition with a drink I call “The Pulitzer,” and just when I thought I didn’t have to slap on that black suit and white button-down shirt required for all USBG competitions once again, I was told the fine folks at Fernet-Branca would send me to nationals in SF.  Free trip?  I was down.

San Francisco is constantly in the vocabulary of bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts alike.  The history, cocktail culture, modesty, and consistent want and need of more education in this West coast city is quite prevalent.  The bartenders are as nice as can be – the cocktails are balanced and made with care wherever you go - and the openness and willingness to share ideas and inspirations struck a chord with me.  It is true that San Francisco is much smaller than NYC, and that in smaller cities the community tends to be tighter and more in tune with each other.  Yet this was refreshing, and something I hadn’t really expected until my first sip sitting at the bar at Nopa.  After all, the great  father of mixology Jerry Thomas even had a bar here called the Occidental.  The bartenders here are in good company. 

The U.S. Bartender’s Guild creates a community just by being present in one’s beloved city, but this was epitomized in SF, where the guild is strong and the membership numerous.  I competed against talent I had never been exposed to before – the strength and gusto of Armando from Las Vegas – the consistency and skill of Renaldo from San Francisco – needless to say, the competition was tough and the pressure thick.

The Competition Begins

Sponsored by Tres Generaciones Tequila, the USBG National Competition was held at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room - a nightclub on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square.  The views at the top were amazing, and the space couldn’t have been more suited to what the day was about to hold.  The San Francisco chapter competed in their local competition earlier in the day, and the winner of that would then compete later on in the national competition.  At around 5:30pm the national competition began, with Bobby “G” Gleason from Beam Global serving as Emcee, and Livio Laurio, USBG National President, holding forth as technical judge.  The tasting judges were all sequestered in a separate room, as the cocktail entries were to be tasted blind.

USBG competitions couldn’t be more stylized and awkward for most: one must use thongs when picking up fruit and garnishes, pour your cocktail from left to right, never drip onto the white cloth napkin lining your work station, show your empty shaker to the technical judge, etc.  The rules for IBA (International Bartender’s Association, of which the US has a chapter: USBG) competitions number approx. 10 pages, and dissecting them can take weeks, if not months.  Challenging it was, and up for it was I.  As I approached the stage to set up my work station, I looked out into the audience and saw the spectators eyes staring back at me, eagerly awaiting my presentation.  Nerve-racking?  Absolutely.  Fun?  Heck yeah!  I mixed up my drink, lifted it high above my head at the end, and walked off the stage with a sense of pride for my NY chapter, knowing that I had done the best that I could, and that I really had a chance at taking home the gold.

The winners were announced shortly after 8pm, and although I didn’t win, I know that Armando will respectfully and skillfully represent our country in Berlin at the World Cocktail Championships.  Oh, and he gets a free trip to the Ice Hotel in Sweden courtesy of Absolut Vodka.  Did I mention that? 

The Bars

 I’ll keep this section short and sweet, as the photos below are really what you’ve been waiting for – the hard proof of my visit to SF.  The first night of my trip, I was taken around by Reza Esmaili, a very enthusiastic and kind-hearted bar-man and USBG member.  The whirlwind of a time with Reza began at Fly-Trap, a middle-eastern restaurant where he designed the cocktail list and program with great care and pride.  I sipped Reza’s very own minted white vinegar syrup, which he uses in the “Minted Memory,” along with Bombay Gin, Pimm’s No. 1, and lemon.  The “Minted Memory” was then prepared for me, and as I slurped the last sip in record time, I realized the drink was just a memory.  And it’s still engrained in me and probably will be for quite some time.  Following our memorable, although be it brief, time at Fly-Trap, we  hit up a loft party being held by Altamar Brands, the fine folks behind Kubler Absinthe and Right Gin.  The music was pumping and the drinks killer.

Before I release you from my lofty lingual expressions, I’d like to give some shout-outs to some of the other superb places I visited and people I met:

Neyah White at NOPA and his “Mexican Standoff” (Mezcal, Averna, creme de cacao, hellfire bitters),

Steve at Boulevard with his “Black Briar” (blackberry and pasilla pepper puree, Woodford Reserve, and a lemon twist),

The Rye Club cocktail at The Slanted Door (Sazerac Rye, orchard apricot brandy, lime juice, egg white and Peychaud’s bitters),

H at Elixir mixing up some mean Pisco Sours,

Duggan at Cantina doing what he does best,

Bryan, Mark, and Sean from the Colorado Bartender’s Guild,

David Nepove and everyone at the USBG SF Chapter,

Harry Denton for being himself,

Debbie Rizzo of Drink-PR for getting me into the CUESA event,

Tres Generaciones tequila,

and finally Fernet-Branca, without whom, none of this would have been possible!!!

Thanks guys!  “Til next time, when I promise to visit all of the places I didn’t get to visit during this trip.  There are just too darned many awesome places!

San Francisco Cocktail Week Opening Party at Le Colonial

Diego (Barsol Pisco), Steve (Boulevard), Donny (Domaine de Canton), and Bobby “G” (Beam Global)

H mixing up a mean Pisco Sour at Le Colonial

Tres Generaciones ice sculpture

Jonathan and the one and only Harry Denton. Can you guess what he was in the middle of saying in this photo?

Jose Ancona (IBA Vice President), Livio Laurio (USBG President), Bobby “G” (Beam Global Mixologist), and Tony Abou-Ganim (the Modern Mixologist)

Brunch at Boulevard

SF Giants baseball, folks!

Thank you Fernet!

Bourbon and Branch

Rare look inside Bourbon and Branch. I was chastised for taking this pic…

The great Elixir Saloon

Jonathan and Diego – our heads are just a bit too close together, don’t you think?

Jonathan and Sean Kenyon from the Colorado Bartender’s Guild

Jackie Patterson making some cocktails at the CUESA event.

Neyah White’s Mexican Standoff at NOPA

The bar at NOPA.

Rye Club Cocktail at The Slanted Door

Grown-Ups, Too, Can Have Fun in Orlando!

What I speak of is last week’s Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Convention held at the illustrious JW Marriott Resort Hotel in sunny, kid-saturated Orlando, Florida.  If you can imagine multiple levels of pools, tropical rainforest-like gardens, a golf course, packs of Suits making distribution deals, and me – along with a handful of other mixologists from across the country, judging nearly 2oo spirits and liqueurs.  How, you might ask, was this feat accomplished without ending up sprawled out on the convention show floor, eyelashes fluttering, drool leaking out of my mouth, and a stomach about to burst?  It’s all about technique, folks.  Of course we didn’t swallow.  Spitting is key, along with drinking plenty of water and eating plenty of bread, cheese, and celery sticks.  That’s right.  Celery sticks.

So along with the relaxation I enjoyed by the many pools at the JW Marriott, I met some really neat folks.  First there are the two gentlemen by the pool who stopped me in mid-track and asked me to join them.  They turned out to be contractors who build distributor warehouses, and were very curious to learn a bit more about the spirits biz.  They quizzed me and tested me and picked my brain, and by the end, I couldn’t even believe how much I knew about the business.

There’s Joel Black and Elad Zvi, two very talented mixologists from L.A. and Miami, respectively.  We compared notes, judged some really great products together, and  judged some really awful products together (mainly those ready to drink cocktails).

Ann Tuennerman rounded out the judges circle.  She’s the powerhouse behind that week-long cocktail festival they call Tales of The Cocktail in New Orleans every year.

And then there are those lovely ladies from Tasting Panel Magazine, without whom, none of this would be possible.  Allison Levine and Meridith May did an amazing job organizing the tastings, and basically keeping us at bay, which after sun and booze, can be a tricky thing to master.

Some old friends were in attendance, as well.  Ben Jones of Rhum Clement and Colin Appiah of U’Luvka Vodka were there, and we had some great times together.  One of those times was when we crashed a private cocktail party at the  hotel.  Remember guys?  We snuck in with my media badge, drank some wine, ate some apps, and came to find out this was a party for Dan Akroyd’s new wines.  Yes, the same Dan Akroyd of Crystal Head Vodka (go to this website – very cool) .  Could you believe it?!  Check out the photos below for one of me and my new BFF Dan Akroyd.

My pals from St. Germain were there.  They seem to be everywhere.  Rob, Elizabeth, and Samantha represented their brand with the same gusto bartenders evoke when they pour that delicious liqueur into their cocktails.  One bit of new info from the St. G folks – the newly released Creme de Yvette.  This classic ingredient made popular by the Aviation cocktail is back, re-created from the original recipe much prized by cocktail enthusiasts.  This is a must-have for anyone’s home bar.  Dinner at Luma the second evening was absolutely wonderful.  Although nearly 30 miles from our hotel, the drive was well worth it, and the cocktails (made with St. G, of course) were definitely something to write home about.  Or write on a blog about.  Which is what I’m doing now.

In conclusion, I would like to leave you with a photographic retrospective of my 3 days in Disney-dominated Orlando, Florida.  Quack, and enjoy:

The lobby of the JW Marriott Orlando.

Joel Black from L.A. loving the attention he rightly deserves.

And the judging begins.  See…celery sticks…

Elad Zvi from Bar-Lab Consulting holding up some neon-colored liquids ready to be judged.

Betcha didn’t know funny man Dan Akroyd had his own line of wines.

The winner’s case.  One of our favorites: Pumpkin Spice Cream Liqueur from a company called Creamy-Creation.  Go to their website why don’t ya?

See what’d I tell ‘ya?  Me and Dan: BFF.

Scotland

SCOTLAND

 

by Aiden FitzGerald

 

 

ISLAY, SCOTLAND—“You may not like it, but you’ll start to appreciate it,” said thirty year old Edinburgh native David Blackmore, whose passion for single malt whisky is as ardent as his hair is red. He poured a couple of drops of amber colored Ardbeg into his hands, quickly rubbed them together and inhaled. “Aaah,” he said. “Smokey, beautiful, delicious.”

 

Such adjectives are uttered frequently on the island of Islay (pronounced eye-luh), home to the world’s largest concentration of whisky. Seven distilleries within the island’s narrow bounds, just 25 miles long by 20 miles wide at its broadest points, produce the world’s most bold and briny malts. Enthusiasts pilgrimage from far off places for a taste from the source of the peaty mystique of Islay. Ardbeg. Laphroaig. Bowmore. Lagavulin. Bunnahabhain. Bruichladdich. Caol Ila. The names themselves conjure images of an ancient fairyland.

 

This often-overlooked island, with a population of 3,000, holds plenty of allure for teetotalers, too. The pace of life is as slow as aging whisky. Wooly sheep and shaggy Highland cows graze freely. Drivers wave to passersby on winding, one-track roads. Fishermen unload their day’s catch of lobster and crab. Great stones standing since Neolithic times are scattered on granite hills. Storms give way to sunshine. Islay’s weather seems to change in the beat of a bird’s wing.

 

“People come to Islay for mainly one thing—whisky,” said Ian Munro, who, with his wife Mavis, owns the Bowmore Bed and Breakfast. He gestured to the bottle of ten-year old Ardbeg in his hand. “But once they arrive, they enjoy the rest of the island.”

 

In the Muro’s comfortable living room with a view of Lake Indaal, we sipped “wee drams” of the smooth and smokey single malt. “There are many drinks that I enjoy,” Ian said with a smile, “but whisky is my favorite. More so than others, it’s meant to be savored and sipped slowly.”

 

Islay’s past is never far from its present. Relics and ruins rise from green pastures like cliffs from the sea. On the southeastern coast of the island, at the end of the road past the Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg distilleries, stands a place of worship that far precedes the creation of whisky. The Kildalton cross is Scotland’s only surviving complete Celtic high cross. Raised in the 8th century, the cross seems to unite elements of Christianity and more ancient faiths. Monks from Iona carved the nine-foot tall cross from a single slab of local blue stone. Biblical scenes of the Virgin and the child and of David slaying Goliath decorate one side of the cross, while the other is carved with animals and Celtic patterns. Weather worn and unprotected, the cross is in remarkable condition. It rises among chapel ruins in the Kildalton churchyard. Across the single-track road, deer frolic in a field.

 

The only road to the Kildalton cross begins beyond Bowmore, the capital town in the heart of the island. On the return inland, we pass Seal Bay, where seals swim and sunbathe on rocks. A hen and her chicks stop traffic as they cross the road. “It’s like a safari out here,” calls Christine Logan, our guide and driver. Logan has recently started her tourism business, “Queen of the Isle,” a fitting name considering her apparent personal popularity. She knows every islander’s name and story. Turns out, we were Logan’s first clients, her “guinea pigs,” as she said.

 

In Bowmore, a main street leads directly from harbor to hilltop where The Round Church overlooks the town. Made round to ensure that there were no corners in which the devil could hide, it was built in 1767. In medieval times Islay was the center of a kingdom encompassing much of Western Scotland, the Western Isles and parts of Northern Ireland. On the northern part of the island remain fragments of Finlaggen, the home of the Lords of the Isle for almost four hundred years. At its height, during the 12th to 16th centuries, the Lordship governed virtually the entire west coast of Scotland From this tiny island. Surrounded by expansive moorland, a stream brown with peat carves its way to Finlaggen Lake.

 

Islay is the most southerly of Scotland’s western isles, the Inner Hebrides. It is a half an hour flight from Glasgow. On a clear day, you can see the coast of Ireland, just 25 miles south. 

 

Single malt scotch appears to be the most natural spirit. More than any other, the single malts are formed by their environment. Whisky is all about the place from where it comes. Those derived from the rugged, peaty land of Islay, with great exposure to sea-air, are said to be the most smokey single malts. Malted barley is infused with water and fermented with yeast, then distilled in a copper pot-still. It must mature for a minimum of three years in Scotland. Despite being priced on the high end – typically, a bottle of Ardbeg 10 year costs $55; Ardbeg 1965 sells for $4,000— single malts are growing in popularity. The term single malt indicates that the whisky in one bottle came from one source, unblended with other malts.

 

Whisky connoisseurs treat their beverage favorites as saucy and sensuous.

 

“I want to spank it. I want to calm it down,” said one man, who sips his whisky “neat”—without water or ice—the way most Scots do. 

 

“It fires me up,” said another. “This is for troops preparing for battle.” 

          

Islay scotch is a taste that is worth acquiring. Slainte!

 

Aiden FitzGerald is a freelance writer pursuing her MFA in creative nonfiction at Emerson College. She loves to travel and mingle with the locals wherever she goes. 

 

She’s also The Cocktail Guru’s Sister-in-Law.

 

I Command You To Bid on Tavern on the Green

As a former employee of the Warner LeRoy empire that was The Russian Tea Room and Tavern on the Green, this tidbit of info hit a bit close to home.  As a frequent visitor to New Orleans and Commander’s Palace, this tidbit of info came even that much closer to the front door of my home.

According to the Times-Picayune of New Orleans, and more recently, the New York Times, Ti Adelaide Martin, the owner of the Brennan’s empire that includes Commander’s Palace in NOLA, is in the running to bid on the former sheep-house on the western side of Central Park.

We know the reputation that Tavern on the Green has, and if you know anything about the cocktail and culinary scene in New Orleans, you know the reputation that precedes the Brennan group of restaurants.  I think this is a match made in heaven: how incredible would it be to sit on the terrace at Tavern, overlooking the well-groomed, manicured animal hedges (inspired by Edward Scissorhands, according to Tavern management), while nibbling on a shrimp po’ boy and sipping a Tavern Sazerac. 

Ms. Adelaide and her team would bring a much needed boost to the food quality at Tavern.  We all know that Tavern is not known for its food, but its mass-processed production and delivery of it for parties that can reach up to 1,000 guests.  According to the NYC Parks Department, Tavern on the Green is one of the highest grossing restaurants in New York, with revenue that topped $35 million dollars last year.

You can read an interesting interview with Ms. Adelaide herself on NOLA.com:

http://blog.nola.com/brettanderson/2009/03/commanders_palace_owner_ti_ade.html

Let’s hope the city parks department keeps their wits about them, and truly chooses the right candidate for this much-prized ownership.  It may be tough to dismiss the highest bid, but the highest bid may not be the right one.  Choose wisely NYC…

What I’m Nursing Right Now: A Burnt Red Face and Grand Ma

What a peculiar title for a blog post, you may be saying to yourselves.  If you could see my face right now, you wouldn’t necessarily be perturbed by the title.  Okay, so I brought sunscreen to Vail just for this very purpose.  Okay, so I forgot to actually apply the sunscreen to my face whilst on the slopes.  The Grand Ma just got to my head…and face, apparently.

Every April, one hundred of the country’s top mixologists join the team behind Grand Marnier and Navan in sunny and snowy Vail, Colorodo, for the Grand Marnier - Navan Mixology Summit.  I had the privelege of returning this year as an alumna, and I can say with certainty that this year was better than last.

Our accomodations were the Vail Cascade Resort, a mountainside establishment with its very own lift (very key), and its very own bar with fireplace (even more key).  Here are some highlights of the quick-form variety.  You can infer your own stories from the incomplete sentences below:

150th anniversary GM flowed like the bubbling water rushing down Eagle creek.

Steve Olson and his team of mixologists – talent, education, and inspiration.

Craps, blackjack, roulette, skiis, and itouches.

Iphone application…look it up at Iphone store.

Spinning out on the slopes.

Good Morning Vail on TV 8.

Pork belly cubes marinated in Navan.

Powder.

Sun.

Altitude.

Hot Tub.

Eucalyptus steam room.

Grand Marnier 150th Anniversary Crusta.

Get more details in my upcoming April Newsletter.  To subscribe, click here.

Summit pics:

Andy Seymour and Steve Olson, the AKA Wine Geek Crew

GM 150 Crusta

The Gala Dinner held at the Vail Cascade.

Mr. Bartender of the Year John Lermayer mixing up some GM libations.

Danny Valdez in all his glory.  Way to look down when you’re slammed at the bar, Danny!

Aisha  Sharpe from Contemporary Cocktails, back again for the 2nd year in a row.

Grand Marnier makes us happy.  Me, Megan FitzGerald, John Pomeroy (The Hideout), and Lesley Townsend (Manhattan Cocktail Classic)

The decadent dessert at our Gala dinner.

Centerpieces at the Gala Dinner.

Ciao!

Want video?  There’s also word of a vlog posting coming up soon.

Video Diary – In Search of Manischevitz: Part II

Here is the conclusion to the two-part series, “The Finger Lakes: In Search of Manischevitz.”

See what happens when I, along with my dad, visit Canandaigua, New York, and the New York Wine and Culinary Center, in search of good cocktails and that sweet, sweet wine served on Jewish high holy days:

 

See Part I here.

Next week: Part I in the 3-part series: “The Champs of Champagne”

My good friend Andy and I explore the Champagne region in France.  Coolness ensues…