lightning rod

1 1/2 oz Siembra Valles Tequila (Arette)
3/4 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Campari
1 tsp Marie Brizard Crème de Cacao
1 tsp Giffard Passion Fruit Liqueur (Passion Fruit Syrup)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Tuesdays ago, I selected Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book from the shelves and found the Lightning Rod by Shannon Tebay. This 2017 drink was created as a tequila Negroni riff, and the tequila Negroni with cacao aspect reminded me of the Darkness Calls and Flaquita, while the tequila, Campari, and passion fruit trio has worked well in the M.N. Roy and Spider of the Evening. With the cacao and passion fruit combined, the Lightning Rod offered up orange and chocolate aromas. Next, grapefruit and passion fruit notes on the sip flowed into tequila, chocolate, bitter orange, and tropical tangerine flavors on the swallow.

two scoops

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Amaro Pasubio
1 oz Cardamaro

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Mondays ago, I visited the Haus Alpenz website and spotted a drink in the recipe section called the Two Scoops that utilized a pair of amaro from their portfolio: Pasubio and Cardamaro. Since the name made me think of the cereal commercial with the slogan "two scoops of raisins", I assume that it is a reference to the fact that both amaro are wine based. This Boulevardier of sorts launched off with lemon, blueberry, and grape aromas. Next, grape and blueberry notes on the sip continued on into bourbon, herbal, and blueberry flavors on the swallow.

last shadow

1 1/2 oz El Dorado 15 Year Rum (Hamilton Demerara River 86°)
1/2 oz Lemonhart 151° Rum
1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup
1 tsp Demerara Syrup
1/2 tsp Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Sundays ago, I reached for Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book and spotted Tyson Buhler's 2014 Last Shadow which had a similar Old Fashioned sweetened by amaro and cinnamon syrup theme as the Armstrong. I had previously passed over this for I do not have El Dorado 15 Year Rum, but I realized that I probably would never carry it at home (and only have a little El Dorado 12 Year left), so I decided to make it with a younger yet flavorful rum from the same distillery. In the glass, the Last Shadow began with a grapefruit, caramel, cinnamon, and herbal bouquet. Next, caramel and woody notes on the sip were drowned out by rum, molasses, minty, cinnamon, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

armstrong

1 oz Rye Whiskey (1 1/2 oz Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Aged Rum (3/4 oz Doorly's 12 Year)
1/2 oz Zucca (3/4 oz Amaro Sfumato)
1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup (1/4 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcard set for Idlewild, a menu-less speakeasy in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, the Armstrong as a split base rye-rum Old Fashioned accented by a smoky rabarbaro and cinnamon syrup caught my eye; while I have not had that pairing, I have had similar cinnamon Old Fashioneds with amari like Montenegro in the Battle Annie, Cardamaro in the Leather Bound Book, and S. Maria al Monte in the Front Street. Here, the Armstrong proffered orange, roast, caramel, and cinnamon aromas. Next, a caramel sip stretched into rye, rum, bitter herbal, smoky, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

last pontoon

1 1/2 oz Remy Martin 1738 Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/4 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/4 oz Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal (Banhez)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, top with 3/4 oz IPA (Sierra Nevada Atomic Torpedo), and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Fridays ago, I was perusing the KindredCocktails database when I came across an intriguing beer cocktail called the Last Pontoon. The drink was created by Chaim Dauermann at The Up & Up in Manhattan circa 2015 as his update on the classic Japanese Cocktail and published in Saveur. The Pedro Ximenez sherry accents to the orgeat here reminded me of how well the combination worked in the Kartini and Sherry Mai Tai. Using the West Coast-style IPA from Sierra Nevada that I had on hand, the Last Pontoon welcomed the nose with grapefruit, caramel, and raisin aromas. Next, a creamy, molasses, and dried fruit sip paddled into Cognac, raisin, nutty almond, grapefruit, and pine flavors on the swallow with a hint of smoke.

subtly sinister

1 1/2 oz Planteray Xaymaca Rum
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/4 oz White Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup
2 dash Smeby's Black & White (chocolate/vanilla) Bitters (2 dash Savoy Society Chocolate-Chicory + 2 dash Savoy Society Orange-Vanilla)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with mint (chocolate mint) with drops of Black & White Bitters (3 drops of each of the two bitters above on the mint sprig).Two Thursdays prior, I revisited the online recipe flashcards for The Violet Hour in Chicago. There, I spotted the Subtly Sinister from the Fall 2021 menu that I had previously skipped over when I lacked Ancho Reyes on my shelf. While Ancho Reyes has generally been paired with agave spirits in the recipes that I have tried, it did work rather well with funky Jamaican rum in Shameful Tiki's No Woman, No Crime and in the night before's split-base Bootlegger's Barrel. The cacao-chili pairing had been already set in my mind when I first had it in 2015 with the Battle of Puebla, so that was also a plus. In the glass, the Subtly Sinister approached the nose with a rum funk, mint, chocolate, and vanilla bouquet. Next, a caramel sip turned a bit more aggressive with funky rum, chocolate, and chili flavor on the swallow.

bootlegger's barrel

3/4 oz Bulleit Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a barrel mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a lemon wheel and 2 Bird's Eye chilis (1 dried Matchbox pepper).Two Wednesdays ago, I turned to another volume of the City Series with Trevor Felch's San Francisco Cocktails. I continued on with the tropical theme from the night before by selecting the Bootlegger's Barrel from the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar. I found the drink posted on the bar's Facebook in early 2020, and I uncovered their menu which described it as "This is what happens when a whiskey man leaves the mountains and heads for warmer climates." The rum, Bourbon, Amaro Nonino, and passion fruit reminded me of Death & Co.'s The Lonesome Crowded West, but here, there was chile liqueur and lemon juice in the mix and not an Old Fashioned in structure. Once prepared, the Bootlegger's Barrel lifted off with a lemon and passion fruit bouquet. Next, lemon and caramel notes on the sip smuggled in funky rum, Bourbon, passion fruit, and chili pepper spice flavors on the swallow. The Amaro Nonino save for the caramel in the sip was a bit lost here in the balance.

:: engaging with challenging guests ::

Yesterday, USBG Boston hosted all four of its Education Week 2024 events that included a comparative tasting of tequila production techniques with John Mayer Spressert of Burke Distributing, a class on ice carving history and technique with Iruma Shibuya, and a roundtable on cocktail competitions with a trio of veterans. The one that I took the most notes for was a roundtable entitled "Engaging with Challenging Guests" that discussed how to best handle situations that involve drinking, drug use, and entitled behavior especially when it becomes disruptive if not before that point. The panel moderated by USBG Boston president Justin Silmon consisted of Keith Bennett – the head of security at the Middle East restaurant and rock club, Corrie Masison – AGM of MIDA in East Boston, Nestore Polce – GM of Branchline, and Geoffrey Thompson – currently working on the South Shore but spoke a lot of his time managing the Sinclair rock club, Foundry on Elm gastropub, high volume Riverbar, and other venues around town.

For folks working in the service industry, we have all experienced dilemmas of how to deal with guests who have consumed too much, who are acting in inappropriate ways towards staff or other patrons, or who are beginning to get belligerent or threatening. The roundtable speakers considered these issues from their experiences working at rock venues on one end to fine dining on the other as well as all sorts of establishments in between. Keith, after telling a wild story of his younger days as a bouncer, started off sharing what he learned over time. His advice was de-escalation that included not taking the bait as the person in question calls you every name in the book or wants to fight, and not taking it personally for it is only work. With that also came leaving life's problems at home, and he described how a boring night at security is a sign of a job well done. Nestore reiterated the leaving your day's troubles at the door and continued on with a focus on staying calm as the guest tries to make you upset. Nestore explained that our job is to make the business move forward while keeping an eye on the safety and comfort of the other guests. Corrie learned a lot from watching her friends who have become moms and dads, and she extracted gentle parenting techniques on how to guide people in the desired direction. In a later part of the session, she expounded by declaring that course correction is crucial before things become a problem, and this needs to be direct with the boundary setting. Geoffrey had two major points in this round which were that we have to take care of our guests as we "poison" their systems with alcohol. The second part was that this begins with teaching the hosts, bartenders, and servers how to make the night go smoothly; he continued on with the importance of getting to know your local beat cops who can help to de-escalate situations faster than calling 911. Later, the discussion honed into the public perception of the police. Keith best summed it up by saying that regardless of what you think of the police and the issues in the news, this is what police are really good at which is making the problem dissipate before violence erupts.

Keith later added to his previous points by stressing to make sure that you are not alone in any confrontation. His thought process as a bouncer is not how can you hurt someone but how can you diffuse the situation without getting hurt yourself. In fact, if there is violence of any sort, he feels a great sense of failure, and he alluded to the financial risks of lawsuits as well. Geoffrey also spoke of legal issues but more regarding the finances involving liquor licenses that are rather expensive investments in this state. If something happens to a guest, a manager may have to bring in a lawyer to face city officials include councilmen and police and fire chiefs, and this turns into a pricy affair in the defense alone. Geoffrey condensed this topic with the point that you have to make decisions throughout the night to protect your establishment's livelihood. Keith as part of the security team worked at being welcoming, helpful, and invisible. With the first two, the tone can be set at the door. With the last point, he did not want to be the catalyst for problems to happen; however, he and his staff communicated on who to keep eyes on, so invisible was expanded into observe, report, and invisible until it was time to act. Nestore in the restaurant environment took a more direct style of approaching potential issue tables with an introduction and perhaps a question of what they were celebrating or other to make it known that they were being watched and perhaps acting a step away from the usual demeanor. He makes sure his staff is trained to notice if someone is making others uncomfortable and to alert a manager. Moreover, he focuses on checking in with the guests around the issue and communicating that they are seen, heard, and protected. Finally, Geoffrey brought up the point that guests are always watching and will take notice of what the management and other staff allow to happen and thus what directly or indirectly is deemed acceptable. If those guests see you doing nothing, that is only going to hurt your business even more in the long run.

the duke

2 oz Hamilton Pot Still Gold Jamaican Rum (1 1/2 oz Appleton Signature + 1/2 oz Smith & Cross)
3/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Don's Spices #2 (1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup + 1/4 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Stir with crushed ice, pour into a Collins glass, and top with crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel, cinnamon stick, and cinnamon powder (freshly grated cinnamon).Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for another book in the City Series, namely Nicole Schaefer's Portland Cocktails. There, I spied The Duke by Lindsey Dixon at Hale Pele that made me realize how I had neglected tropical drinks for much of the summer. While the book surmised that it could be a reference to the Duke's Pearl, I found on Hale Pele's website a description of this 2017 creation which declared, "Duke Kahanamoku popularized surfing in the early 20th century. Join him by riding this strong wave of citrus, spice, apricot, and Jamaican rum. But watch out for the undertow!" I was surprised that the instructions had this as a built and stirred drink which is unusual for the Tiki genre and most citrus recipes in general, but once prepared, The Duke paddled out to the nose with a cinnamon, apricot, and lemon aroma. Next, lemon and caramel notes on the sip caught the wave into funky rum, allspice, apricot, cinnamon, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.