Tag: Cocktails

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Needed or Not – BarSys

Yes, the above does look like a Star Trek cocktail replicator down to the interior mood lighting. It also looks like a Dyson bladeless fan which could lead to trouble.

But it is the BarSys system. Kind of a boring name for basically a cocktail database plus pouring system plus light show. You pour your alcohol in the top as well as mixers on the other side, set your glass in the center and voila, time for a cocktail.

And yeah, it is cool that you can program your recipes plus others and it does look all future-y but part of the pouring a drink process for me is how it is calming and anticipatory to craft a drink. This robs you of that simple pleasure while also making you have to remember when you last cleaned the bourbon section of the device or if there is enough tonic.

Not Needed – make your simple favorites yourself and go to a fancy bar to have fancier cocktails made, that is so much simpler and fun.

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PDX Pop-Up Cocktails

Just because the main construction is complete on the Portland airport does not mean that additions are not still underway.  In addition to Loyal Legion for beer and food and the excellent Westward Whiskey shop, there are two other drinks spots to hit, plus Powells.  Cause it’s Powells and books must be bought.

Freeland Spirits will be available as well as Straightaway canned cocktails including airport exclusives. And lest I forget, there is also Deschutes and HopWorks beer too!

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Slow Cocktails

I am a hearty supporter of taking your time with your drinks.  No beer bongs or shots for me and bartender and writer Danny Childs has taken his work as an anthropologist and ethnobotanist and merged those studies in the botanical world and bartending into the new book Slow Drinks.

And it must be quite good since he won a James Beard Foundation Award. Makes me wonder what I could forage here in Glendale.

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Sip & Stroll

The Los Angeles Zoo is presenting their first Sip & Stroll at the Zoo. on April 13th. The brewery list isn’t large but it does have a good sampling of local favorites plus some distillery action too and as I have said previously, it is a great location to drink at.

Here is the basic info: “It’s a playful parade of specialty cocktails, craft brews, and mocktails and other nonalcoholic delights, all paired with live beats, pop-up animal keeper talks, food trucks, and more! This celebration of beverages, melodies, and wild encounters will be an event to remember.”

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Portland 2024 Cocktail & Spirits Report

First non-beer stop was Freeland Spirits in NW Portland near the towering Montgomery Ward blocks.

Lovely spot with nibbles and seasonal cocktails and mocktails and a little shop too with their signature bottle shape and an RTD Gin Rose and Tonic.

I sampled the “whole flight” which had three gins and three bourbons. The gins were each distinct from the previous one and I quite liked them all. The flagship gin had a mint top note. The Forest Gin despite the presence of chanterelles was very spring day in Oregon. The Navy Strength had a real punch to it and would be a boon to the G&T.  The bourbons were less impressive in contrast. I found the standard bourbon a little weak and the rye was extra malty and cereal laden.  The Cask strength was my favorite of those three.

Next stop (not the same day, don’t worry) was a trip to the Alberta bar and restaurant, the Radio Room.  A multi-level and multi-room experience with a fun cocktail list filled with creative new cocktails as well as reimagined old standbys.

Last, but not least was my first visit to Aviation Gin HQ. Since they only have a distillery license, they can only serve so much gin per person but you can get a flight of special monthly cocktails or classic Ryan Reynolds choices or just a G&T.

The candy Valentine cocktails was my choice and all but the last one was really good. The presentation was excellent and the setting and staff was really cool. Did not see any Wrexham gear though.

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Spirit Day – Haunted

Disney has been slowly moving into liquor from their California Adventure park to EPCOT to cocktails at in the Star Wars universe.  But the one attraction that I thought could really capitalize on drinks has been missing, Haunted Mansion.

I am not going to ever recommend a cruise but I will be looking out for more information about the The Haunted Mansion Parlor styled to “resemble a first-class drawing room of a classic cruise liner from the golden age, invoking inspiration from the original Haunted Mansion with a nautical twist.”

If the floating parlor is successful, maybe it will come to the parks and who knows with the Disneyland Haunted Mansion slated for refurbishment all of 2024, maybe a ghoulish cocktail will be a possibility in Anaheim.

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Another Capistrano Christmas – Cocktails

I love me a hotel bar. Something about the charging of a drink to your room gives me a charge. And the Inn at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano has a really nice one. This year there was even nightly free hot cocoa with marshmallows.

This year my goal was to splurge on a smoked cocktail….

I will circle back to it at the end but first I had to try their signature Mediterranean Old Fashioned with Old Forester bourbon and a sprig of burnt rosemary for a touch extra. I could order these by the case. That initial whiff of flame and herbs is great.

I also partook of two selections from their Heritage Classics section of the cocktail menu and I will start with what could be a new favorite drink for me, The Aviation (not the Deadpool gin) with a combination of gin, maraschino liquor and creme de violette. Soft and floral and each flavor component got a turn but none wore out their welcome. I sipped from coupe next to a Christmas tree while watching guests check in.

The other classic was my first ever Brooklyn which is rye whiskey, maraschino liquor and dry vermouth. It was just fine but far too close to a Manhattan in my limited cocktail experience book.

As promised, the smoke. I went the Gin route. The presentation was great. Smoke piped into an empty tequila bottle, then the drink was mixed separately and then added into the smoke. Wait for the two to meld, then poured. Mine tasted of, you guessed it, smoke. Nothing but smoke. I smelled smoke all night, it was on my pillow in the morning. Yikes. The rye drink was better but still the balance was tilted to the smoke.

Despite that, I was glad to have tried it because now I know a bit more about my tastes and what will be more successful choices in the future.

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Cold as…

Ice is a cocktail thing but beer is linked via water so I am interested in the new Camper English book, The Ice Book.

I fear that I do a lot of wrong things with ice much like my disregard of proper beer glass etiquette at times. Always good to have people hold one to the mark.

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Thunderbolt

I veer into cocktails on occasion, actually bulking up my bar this year for once, so I was excited to try Thunderbolt and their primarily pre-made drinks.

I started with one of two cocktails on the menu that had a charity component to it. $2.00 from the Highball of the Month goes to the Another Round Another Rally fund for hospitality workers. The glass and the slab of ice was very eyecatching with the red/pink of the brambled gin. This is a raspberry drink that you can drink all day.

Next was a final attempt at the famous Negroni. I have had two before this and the strange Campari flavor had left me unfulfilled. The Thunderbolt version was fine but it put the nailin the coffin of me liking Negroni’s.

The location on Temple is done up real well with a dark bar vibe that is pierced by sunlight from two sides. They also have beer and cider but the star is the spirited concoctions.

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Bittered Sling

Each alcoholic beverage has its own rabbit holes that you can plunge into. What if you combined two of them together?

The world of cocktail bitters and the aromas of hops maybe…

That is what the Canadian company the Bittered Sling has done with one of their aromatic bitters…