The Week Ahead

I have a ton events this month and this week starts it all off:

Monday - 3pm, I'm making blueberry "mocktails" on ABC-TV's "View from the Bay" with Janelle Wang and Spenser Christian 4:30pm - I'll join our monthly USBG Meeting, featuring Right Gin and Kubler Absinthe 8pm - over to Cantina for Thad Vogler's benefit and then 9:30 off to the airport for a redeye to NYC.

Tuesday - arrival and prep for my gig pouring and teach at The Astor Center. I'll be joined by my friend and NYC Cocktail Ambassador Jonathan Pogash where we'll be pouring Square One Cocktails and I'll be teaching seminars in "Farmers Market Cocktails" and "A Cornucopia of Cucumber Cocktails" Come join me by clicking here!


Wednesday - It's off to Washington DC to make drinks at the Poste Brasserie for a Trust for Public Land benefit with Kimpton Hotels From 6pm to 8pm LATER THAT NIGHT - join me at Bar Pilar for a late night industry happy hour with Square One Cocktails (10ish on)

Thursday - 6:30pm to 8:30pm I'll be at the FRESHFARM Markets culinary and cocktail event at the United States Botanical Gardens. Get you tix here.

Friday I'm on my way home to pack and prep for Tales of the Cocktail the following week. Oh what a month! Please join me...

Radio Free Cocktails

Yesterday morning I got a phone call from KQED radio with a request for a little chat about cocktails and "the cocktail renaissance". We spoke for about 10 minutes and I thought that was the interview. I figured they'd use some of what I said in reference to some other people's perspectives on cocktails. Then I was asked to come down to the studio the next morning for the segment. I didn't think too much of it and said ok.

The last time I was on the radio (a few weeks ago), I got all prepared for this live segment on a cooking show. They told me that they wanted to talk about my career and how I got to what I am doing today (what was that again?). I called in, was introduced and was asked to describe my background and career. Since I thought that was exactly the topic, I went on a little too extensively and before I knew it, I was being cut off. I was on the phone a bit befuddled when the host came back on and said it was over. Opps. I guess I thought it was going to be longer than the 6 or 7 minutes (I was never told how long it would be, so that was my error). I left that with a lesson learned on radio shows: be brief and specific.

So when this thing got kicked off, it was apparent that I was there for a full hour show and was going to be in a conversation with a relative cocktail novice as a host and two of the most knowledgeable men in the business. It was a great set up for asking pointed questions that the wide reach audience of NPR would really get into. And they did.

The hour was thoroughly enjoyable and except for the thousands of miles between us, I felt like I was sitting in the same room with Dale and Doc, just shooting the shit with people who were honestly interested in what it is we each do. The only thing that was missing, as I said in an email to Dale and Doc later in the day...was a cocktail. But we'll be sharing some soon in New Orleans...talking to more people about the lucky lives we lead, sharing cocktails with the world. Click here to hear it. (You'll need about 55 minutes to hear the whole thing and you can download it as an mp3.)

Busy, busy

It never stops. Right now I am scrambling with:

- Finishing the opening of Level III Restaurant and the cocktail program I did for them. See Camper English's review on June 16th at http://www.alcademics.com

-Consolidating two offices into one

-Planning my next bar opening (oooo, mysterious)

-scheduling my next cocktail classes (http://www.cocktailambassadors.com/classes.html)

-Planning for July Travel Marathon:
1. Indy Spirits Tasting at the Astor Centor in NYC - July 8th
2. Trust For Public Land Event at the Post Brasserie in Washington DC - July 9th 6pm
3. Square One Industry Night Cocktail Party at Bar Pilar in DC 10pmish
4. United States Botanical Gardens Party July 10th
5. Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans, July 15th to 21st
6. Boston Industry Night cocktail Party July 28th (Location TBA)
7. Boston cocktail Pairing Dinner July 29th (TBA)

And more. Stay tuned. I'll get back here with links, ticket info, times, etc. Just email me for more info in the meantime. I have a little over a week to get everything caught up before I leave. In the meantime, check out the Elixir site (www.elixirsf.com) as I just updated the events, cocktail club, press (a ton!) and more (oh and the June Cocktail menu)

I'll get more photos and recipes up soon. I promise.

Back in the saddle

Well, I haven't written in a long time and it's about time I took a new approach. Rather than babble on, I'm going to attempt to get short entries in here about the things I'm doing. I'm simply too busy to do more, which I guess is a good thing.

Recent happenings:
- I had a great third seminar in my series with Western Athletic Clubs. To see the rest of the schedule for the year and sign up for a class, check out my Cocktail Ambassadors site. You can see a great review of this class on Jimmy Patrick's blog, Mixographer.com- Thanks to Simon Difford for stopping by this weekend for a cocktail at Elixir. I hope you enjoyed it.
- San Francisco Cocktail Week planning is a bit behind schedule but will be getting updated this weekend. All events are on and we apologize for delays in getting info out.
- Next week starts Elixir's Latin Spirits Series for our Cocktail Club. Thanks to all who made the Whisk(e)y Series great over the last 4 months.
- Green and Tonic are hosting our third event to green another bar in the San Francisco. Wednesday, April 30th will be the fundraiser for Casanove Lounge on Valencia Street in the Mission. (The website is not updated with that info.)
- I recently spent a great week of powder days in Vail with my college buddies Joe and Chris, but it all started with three days of mixology fun with many bartender friends, old and new, from around the country for the Grand Marnier Mixology Summit. You can read about it here on Jonathan Pogash's blog(and see a photo of me and Jim Meehan from NYC's PDT).
And lastly, some of the Green Bar press I've been getting and have coming up:

Thanks to Paul Clarke for connecting me with Anita. She attended one of my recent seminars and visited Elixir and wrote this great piece: And thanks again Paul, for this piece.

I will be on NPR tomorrow talking about green bars. It should be posted here by late afternoon:

And I will be on a Restaurants and Institutions Webinar on May 7th, 10am Central: We just recorded it yesterday and will be live for Q&A that day. You can register for it here.

And look out for some serious work from Jenny Adams in July’s Bar and Nightclub Magazine, just in time for the seminar.

Tales of the Cocktail - Day Two

TALES - DAY TWO
My day began with an entertaining seminar on the role of women in spirits and cocktails as presnted and performed by two of my favorite women in the business today: Charlotte Voisey and LeNell Smothers. They were dressed in 19th Century period garb and told stories of some of the most influential women in the industry. It was a nice way to start the day, but I had to run off as Ed Hamilton and his Rum Competition called. I was to be a judge in the 3rd Round: Premium Rums. (That's me and Ed with the tray of 22 rums that I tasted). It was two hours of focused tasting that left me a nice bounce in my step as I headed over to Cafe Giovanni to start prepping for our dinner. My results? #3 -Vizcaya VXOP 21 Year from Dominican Republic (scored 87); #2 - El Dorado 12 year from Guyana (scored 89) and #1 - Pyrat Cask 1623 from Anguilla (scored 92). For the total round up, see Ed's Ministry of Rum Site (see Drinks with my Friends below). After the rum contest, I headed over to Cafe Giovanni to meet with my co-workers for the evening: Francesco Lafranconi and Allen Katz, two of Southern Wine and Spirits' Directors of Mixology. Francesco and I had gone back and forth about the menu in the months prior to the event, but I basically took his lead as we pulled together a menu of 5 cocktails to be paired with Chef Duke's meal. It was actually as fun an afternoon of prepping cocktails as I've had getting to know these two great bartenders. Francesco pulled all of the stops and incuded such entertaining elements as flying in small crabs from Japan to be deep fried and "glued" to the base of a glass as a garnish. That's me, Francesco, Duke and Allen in the kitchen after revealing the box of live crabs to Duke. I think Duke thought Francesco was nuts at that point. By the end of the evening, he knew we were all nuts, and that we fit right in. Check out that shot of Allen with the crab on the glass. Hilarious. Anyway, 4 hours of prep for 5 rounds of 60 drinks and we were ready to serve. Our friends, new and old, arrived and we began slinging drinks. The food flowed, the people laughed and finally, we were done and ready to roll out into the night. This was a great night of fun for us and, I hope, for our guests. I look forward to doing a dinner like this again next year. I don't know if we can out do those crabs though...Here's one recipe (we were asked to use a new, limited edition product: Absolut New Orleans, a mango and black pepper vodka whose procedes will go to Gulf Hurricane Relief projects):

New Orleans Wine Cup
.5oz Absolut New Orleans
.5oz Barsol Pisco Quebranta
.5oz Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry
3oz Trinchero Sauvignon Blanc
.25 rock candy syrup
a dash Herbsaint to coat glass
Pour all ingredients ina white wine glass coated with the Herbsaint and garnish with a sprig of thyme wrapped in a lace of orange zest.

Tales of the Cocktail - Day One

Day One at Tales of the Cocktail was not much of "day" for me since I didn't get into the Hotel Monteleon until about 7pm and we went right over to Harrah's for the Opening Cocktail Party. As soon as I entered, I recognized many of my friends and acquaintences from around the country. I knew right away that this was going to be one heck of an event from the talent in that room. But the reunion I was most excited about was seeing my first mentor in the industry, Chef Duke Lociciero. Chef Duke and I met in the summer of 1986 when I was a 16 year old beach bum on Long Beach Island, NJ. Duke had just finished his degree in Hyde Park and was a New Orleans fish out of water dropped in the center of "the Shore". To this day he can't believe how many breakfasts we'd do at Ott's Sea Ketch on a daily basis. The place was insane, and Duke taught me how to handle "insane". Chef Duke taught me how to use every tool in the kitchen, how to prep and how to pair. He put me through the fire and taught me every position on the line. When I left that summer, I had a whole new perspective on what work was and what food was. The work ethic, the palate and the passion are the take aways that have stayed with me ever since, and I owe it all to Duke. So when we re-connected after all of these years, I was thrilled to be a guest in his home town, where he is no small fish in a big food pond. He introduced me to his lovely wife Kelly and invited me and Jeff Hollinger back to Cafe Giovanni to see the restaurant and have my first Sazerac of the trip. This photo is at the bar. If you ever make it to New Orleans, stop by and see Duke and Kelly, and tell them H sent you!

Check out all of the Day One Photos here:

Tales of the Cocktail Day One

An Invitation: Tales of the Cocktail

I'd like to invite anyone who reads this and enjoys cocktails to what is sure to be the event of the year in the cocktail world: Tales of the Cocktail. It is a 5 day extravaganza of some of the best and the brightest bartenders, mixologists, chefs, distillers, writers and booze geeks of all levels. I'll be:

• an attendant at many of the panel discussions


• a bar fly at the Hotel Monteleon


• a judge in Ed Hamilton's rum competition http://www.ministryofrum.com/2007.php


• a bartender, along with Francesco Lafranconi and Allen Katz, at the Cafe Giovanni "Spirited Dinner"; pairing cocktails with a 5-course meal from my first kitchen mentor: Chef Duke Locicero http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/2007/menus.php


• a competitor in the First Annual Bar Chef Competition http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/2007/events_info.php?id=155


• and a finalist for Brand Ambassador of the Year at the Spirit Awards Brunch. http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/2007/events_info.php?id=155

So check it all out online, make your travel plans and BE THERE! You won't regret it!

My Tales of the Cocktail profile: http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/2007/personalities_info.php?id=101