horn of plenty

1 oz Dry Gin
1 oz Rooibos-infused Dry Vermouth (*)(**)
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz Aquavit

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass
(*) Bar manager Evan Zimmerman declared that this drink is good with regular, non-infused dry vermouth as well.
(**) While we did not ask for a recipe for the infusion, one recipe I found suggested a rooibos tea bag for every 6-8 oz of dry vermouth. Shake every hour until the desired flavor is achieved and remove the tea bag(s).
The cocktail Andrea started with at the Woodsman Tavern was the herb and fruit-laden Horn of Plenty. The aquavit's caraway and other botanicals filled the drink's bouquet; as the drink warmed up, the aquavit was joined by a funky fermented honey-like aroma. Next, the sip offered up dry vermouth and cherry flavors, and the swallow was rather herbal with gin and aquavit's spice. Overall, the drink was rather well balanced and the aquavit was kept in check so as not to dominate the flavor profile.

hendee cocktail

1.5 oz Punt e Mes
0.8 oz Applejack
0.425 oz Willet 4 Year Rye
1 barspoon Maple Syrup

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. The volumes seem odd, but it is a rough breakdown of a  pre-batched drink.

After Laurelhurst Market, we took Eric Nelson's recommendation to walk over to Woodsman Tavern to sit at Evan Zimmerman's bar. We had to wait for a bit since the tavern was full of diners, but eventually a pair of seats opened up at the bar right in front of Evan. The drink I started with was an aperitif-like number called the Hendee Cocktail. Evan explained how the drink was dubbed after the initial name of the Indian Motorcycle Company after co-founder George Hendee.
Like the No. 9 Park motorcycle drink, the Moto Guzzi, the Hendee offered up a whiskey and Punt e Mes aroma. The sip showcased the rye's malt, the maple, and the grape with perhaps some of the fruit notes of the applejack. Next, the swallow began with Punt e Mes' bitter flavors and ended with the maple's sweetness.

a drink with something in it

1 oz Old Overholt Rye
1 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
6 drop Salt Water

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top.
For the last round of drinks at Laurelhurst Market, my eye spied A Drink With Something in It that reminded me of something Maks Pazuniak might have created especially with the Campari, Punt e Mes, and salt. I did not ask bar manager Eric Nelson if the drink was named after the Ogden Nash poem, but I assume that it must have despite this being a rye and not a gin drink.

A Drink With Something In It
There is something about a Martini,
A tingle remarkably pleasant;
A yellow, a mellow Martini;
I wish I had one at present.
There is something about a Martini,
Ere the dining and dancing begin,
And to tell you the truth,
It is not the vermouth--
I think that perhaps it's the gin.

The twist's lemon oils joined the rye aroma and hint of Punt e Mes on the nose. Malt and grape on the sip were chased by rye followed by Punt e Mes and Campari that were mellowed out by the salt. The Dolin Blanc was less detectable here, but its softness and sweetness surely aided in the drink's exquisite balance.

friends of trees

1 oz VSOP Calvados
1 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Cardenal Mendoza Spanish Brandy
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1+ dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a wine glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top.
The drink that Andrea started with at Laurelhurst Market was the Friends of Trees featuring Byrrh, a French red wine-based quinine-containing aperitif that Eric Seed has helped to free from its Europe-only designation. The cinnamon syrup in the drink joined with the lemon oil on the nose. The Byrrh and perhaps the Spanish brandy and dry vermouth contributed a wine flavor to the sip, and the swallow was a rich apple and cinnamon combination. Overall, the Friends of Trees made for an excellent Fall drink.

mortimer stump

3/4 oz Kronan Swedish Punsch
3/4 oz House Spirits Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz Powers Irish Whiskey
3/4 oz Cardamaro
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube. Garnish with a lemon twist.

We spent Saturday, the day before Portland Cocktail Week sign-in, walking around shopping. Our wanderings took us across the river, and Andrea commented that we were close to Laurelhurst Market. I became excited because that is where Evan Zimmerman worked; I first experienced his mixology and love of hardcore music with his Minor Threat. Once seated at the bar of this restaurant, we discovered that Evan had moved elsewhere but the new bar manager Eric Nelson had continued Laurelhurst Market's proud tradition for good drinks; in fact, we stayed for two rounds.
Eric described how the Mortimer Stump was named after the first person who was murdered in Portland; Mortimer made the mistake of eloping with a girl whose parents did not approve. When the couple came back to Portland, the father, who could not take anymore of his "bewitched" wife's desire to have their daughter returned, took care of it with a double-barreled shotgun in 1858. The drink itself began with lemon oil and Swedish Punsch aromas along with a hint of darker notes from perhaps the coffee liqueur. The sip presented the coffee liqueur's dark roast flavors with grape notes from the Cardamaro; next, the Cardamaro, coffee, and Swedish Punsch flavors mingled in harmony on the swallow. As the ice melted, the drink became more spice driven on the swallow. The Irish whiskey was not as evident in the flavor profile here, but it was certainly not out of place.

mission bell

1 1/2 oz Pueblo Viejo Reposado Tequila
3/4 oz Kümmel
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave Syrup (2:1)

Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

For my last drink at Kask, I asked Ciaran Wiese for the Mission Bell. I forgot whether I googled it to see if it was related to the Division Bell or the Day Bell, but I found an article in Esquire about the drink itself. It described how the cumin in the kümmel made drink creator Tommy Klus think about Mexican cuisine; from there, he utilized it in a Margarita riff. When I spoke to Tommy right after the Portland-Seattle soccer game during Portland Cocktail Week, he mentioned that he created it for Tales of the Cocktail and the original version included muddled pineapple sage.
The kümmel's cumin and caraway came through on the aroma. The lime sip led into a tequila swallow with a spice finish. Indeed, the kümmel paired well with the lime and the tequila here.

prospector

1 1/4 oz Laird's Applejack
3/4 oz Batavia Arrack
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup (2:1)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe containing ~1 oz Gruet dry sparkling wine. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

For my second drink at Kask in Portland, I asked bartender Ciaran Wiese for the Prospector. When I later saw bar manager Tommy Klus at a Portland versus Seattle soccer game a few days later, he described how the Prospector was one of the first drinks created for the inaugural Kask cocktail menu. This Prospector was different than the herbal-chocolate one from Vancouver's Pourhouse that I wrote about back in 2009; this one was more akin to a tricked out Bee's Knees with Batavia Arrack and sparkling wine.
The Prospector showed off its honey and apple components on the nose along with spice notes from the nutmeg garnish. The lemon, honey, and white wine sip led into further sparkling wine notes and Batavia Arrack on the swallow. The finish was a bit intriguing for I could not place where the cherry-almond notes were coming from.

divine delusion

1 1/4 oz Novo Fogo Aged Cachaça
1 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Aveze Gentiane Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Shortly after getting to our hotel in Portland and grabbing dinner, we headed out to Kask. The bartender on our half of the bar looked familiar, but I could not place him to a Portland personality. I figured that I had seen him at Tales of the Cocktail or other. Turns out it was Ciaran Wiese who used to bartend in Arizona before Kask's bar manager Tommy Klus recently lured him up. I first interacted with Ciaran online at Robert Hess's Chanticleer Society site and soon after made his Old New York Cocktail back in 2009. Since then, I have made his Expatriate and Trans-Europe Express. For a start, I asked Ciaran for the Divine Delusion that was subtitled "the root of all evil."
Note that the bitters behind the drink in the photo are stored in a vintage wooden poker chip holder. The Divine Delusion offered up an orange oil and gentian aroma. The Punt e Mes' grape filled the sip, and the swallow presented the cachaça's grassiness and the Punt e Mes' bitter along with a gentian finish. Overall, the drink had a sort of Negroni feel to it.

:: highlights of portland cocktail week 2012 ::

On Friday, we got back from a 7 night adventure in Portland centered around Portland Cocktail Week. In the tradition of Tales of the Cocktail and the Boston Cocktail Summit, I will start my posting quest with a best moments of PDXCW. Luckily, the long flight back gave me some time to compose my thoughts. Order here connotes nothing here:

• Location: First off, just being in Portland was amazing. It felt safer, the people seemed more pleasant, and it had a higher than average quality and quantity of bars and coffee shops. Even the homeless people were polite and apologized when you walked by them as they were using the um, open-air facilities.
• Fred doing public speaking?: One of the reasons I was at PDXCW was to give a talk on writing a book. It was great hanging out with my co-panelists of Natalie Bovis and Dave Stolte to discuss it all the night before at Kask. I made an audio recording of the seminar which I will post later, and thanks to our sessions sponsor Glenfiddich for making public speaking easier.
• Best inter-city trashtalking: The dunk tank at Pig & Punch charity event was a lot of fun. The photo above was one I took (although the caption aspect was someone else's) and is of one of my two kills, namely Todd Richman, with the other one being Joe Fee. My favorite Richman heckle directed at me was, "Your city's hero is a janitor who knows math." Luckily, all this trash talk was for the kids and a lot of money was raised for a Portland school.
• Just not Dale DeGroff: Another reason I was at PDXCW was to take Bar Smarts Advanced. I was praying that I did not have to impress Dale DeGroff during the drink making session; instead, I got Don Lee... who compiled a long list of critique. He prefaced it with the fact that none of these were counting against me, but the litany of complaints was his attempt to make me into a better technical bartender. Perhaps Dale would have been easier to please in the end.
• Boston in the House: While it was great meeting all of the West Coast bartenders new and old (as well as bartenders from elsewhere), it was great to hangout with Boston bartenders including Corey, Sabrina, Chad, and John H. and Worcester's Dave and Joy. Also, we had our own DJ (TJ a/k/a Senator John) and photographer (Natasha Moustache) working the event.
• Best booze-flavored food: Yellow and Green Chartreuse cream-filled donuts from Voodoo Donuts served at two events.
• Best "It doesn't feel like Portland" moment: The tropical paradise of Hale Pele! We got to visit Blair (of BG Reynolds ex-Trader Tiki syrup and blog fame) and see his dream come true. Replete with thunderstorms and rainfall (not on the patrons) ever 15 minutes or so, as well as lots of classic Tiki drinks. The house originals will apparently be added once the bar becomes a more oiled machine. When we went, it felt like New Orlean's Cure bar in that it was filled with industry folk from the cocktail week.
• Funniest seminar: Charlie Pap of the Windmill Lounge in Dallas did a seminar on shots. Besides a discussion on traditions for toasts and beverage choice, the jokes bandied about were amazing.
• Best seminar on a spirit class: Tad Carducci and Todd Richman's Blinded by the Dark talk on amaros replete with the Zwack family in the audience (they released Unicum, the more bitter and complex forefather to Zwack liqueur, to the U.S. market later that week).  See next item below.
• Best amaro tasted: Varnelli Amaro dell'Erborista. Honey, smoky, gentian, citrus peel, clove, with tea-like notes.
• Runner up seminar on a spirit class: The Demystifying Vermouth one run by Giuseppe Gallo (Martini & Rossi), Neil Kopplin (Imbue Vermouth), and Junior Ryan (bartender, Clyde Commons).
• Craziest event: The Jägermeister "Tankz ünd Drankz" event. They quickly answered the question of whether they were trying to make Jäger a craft cocktail ingredient (which it definitely can be), as it was a fun circus with an amusing photo booth and tons of swag. I was impressed at how intellectual people can look when they punch the lenses out of Jäger sunglasses. Above is a photo of Morgenthaler explaining his Jäquiri (2 1/2 oz Jäger, 3/4 oz lime, 1/2 oz 2:1 simple) that was put into a frozen drink machine.
• Best room at the Kennedy school during PDXCW: Tough call, but the Detention Room with free Fernet Branca shots might get it. The hidden Bacardi mixing room replete with free snacks and a teacher with a ruler (although sadly, she didn't smack anyone with it) was a close second.
• Best event booth concept: For the "Red, White, and Booze" event honoring the 34 USBG chapters in attendance, the L.A. one set up a casting couch with faux-coked up sirens.
• Best quotable quote I tweeted: "Sugar is the airbrushing of the cocktail world." by Todd Richman.
• Best Drink of the Week: Luc-Lac's White Buddha. Recipe to follow in the next week or so.