The Gibson, Washington D.C.

Noelle and I visited one of D.C.'s speakeasies, "The Gibson," this evening. The outside is exactly what you'd expect; a blank building face with a single (fluorescent, as opposed to the more classic incandescent) light above a windowless door. The atmosphere inside is really rather nice; it reminded me of Bourbon and Branch in SF, only quieter and better music, which was jazz and early Ska, for the most part. The host was far from polite, which is standard for the pseudo-speakeasy, but he did lack the gentlemanliness of the hosts at, say, the Violet Hour.

We were fortunate enough to get bar seats, since we arrived at 6 pm, which is when the Gibson opens. As is my habit, I asked the bartender which drink was her favorite to drink, and which was her favorite to make. The answer was the same, some unremarkable number on the menu, which she described as "sweet." I declined that drink, and opted instead for the Meridian: Tanq 10, Dolin Blanc vermouth, Dolin Dry vermouth, Creme de Violette, rose water, orange bitters. The Meridian, my bartender told me, was invented by Jackie, another bartender at the Gibson.

It was at this point that I began noticing strange things about our bartender. My suspicion was first aroused when she took out a giant ringed stack of index cards and began to flip through them. I heard her whisper to Jackie that "her cheat sheet" was gone. Oh dear. Jackie told her the recipe - coached her along as she made it, in fact - and the bartender did admirably. The drink, I think, is flawed by design. The Creme de Violette and rose water, designed to bring out the floral notes in the Tanq 10, somehow didn't work. The dual vermouths ended up overpowering the drink, rendering it remarkably unsubtle and unremarkable. Noelle's drink was hardly any better, but she can write about that.

Qualifier: I do not blame our bartender for being new. Everyone starts somewhere, and who the hell am I to say, anyway? But I am blaming the Gibson for putting someone on a Friday night shift who doesn't even have the house drinks memorized. That's just bad business. The customers gets sub-par drinks, the bartender feels bad about him or herself, and they can't interact because the bartender is too busy trying not to panic. Bad form, Gibson, train your people better.

Before calling it quits, I wanted to see how Jackie's chops were. The best way to gauge someone is by testing their Old Fashioned, I think. Jackie did not do so well. Firstly, she used Old Overholt rye. An Old Fashioned is a great way to show off a middle quality bourbon, gussy up a low quality bourbon, or wreck a high quality bourbon. Not sure how rye got invited to the party, but whatever. She used what appeared to be a white sugar simple syrup, which, while not bad in principle, fails to bring out any subtler notes in the spirit. Finally, she was so heavy handed with the Fee Brother's "Old Fashioned" bitters that the bitters and the sugar were all I could taste.

The lighting was nice.

What a horrible Veterans Day

How can we celebrate this patriotic national holiday when Pabst is being put up for sale?

Pabst is nearly cheaper than water, so it's the natural choice for those of us on a tight budget (Yes, that IS a hint to our wealthy readers. Donations are accepted). Noelle and I really enjoy it because it's light on the wallet, light on the stomach, and still tastes good. Most cheap beers leave me feeling like crud after just one, not to mention their wateriness. And at 11 bucks for a case of 24, well, hell, I'm getting tears in my eyes.

God Bless America, and God Bless Pabst! *Salute*





Hipsters get out your tissues.

Something short on orange wines

Cross post from Holy Kaw on orange wines!

Just trying to keep things fresh, yo.

Bubbles aren't just for cheap thrills

Apparently, the bubbles in champagne and sparkling wine do more than throw a party in your mouth (to which everyone is invited). Quoth the BBC: "Research shows there are up to 30 times more flavour-enhancing chemicals in the bubbles than in the rest of the drink."

So next time someone offers you champagne in a solo cup at New Years, you can throw it in their face, citing this article. Don't expect an invite for next year, but hey, who wants to go to that kind of party anyway?

Champagne bubbles' flavour fizz

Most Successful Experiment To Date

Usually recipes of my own creation come out horrendous at first, but this one blew my mind. I give all credit to Noelle for helping me with the proportions:

1.5 oz Rye
.5 oz blackberry cordial
.25 oz simple syrup
.25 oz Amaro

7 drops peychauds
3 drops Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters
Lime peel garnish, squeeze oils liberally over drink


Last night I made this drink stirred, but I found that as it warmed, the blackberry cordial began to separate a bit. Tonight I shall try shaking. I'm thinking a swizzle stick would work nicely. This drink as a BEAUTIFUL color, and as soon as I get the picture uploaded from Noelle's camera, I'll post it.

The Whiskey Smash

The Whiskey Smash is the perfect refreshing cocktail. The classic combination of lemon and mint makes a great companion for any hot summer's day or maybe even a picnic.

And actually, a picnic is what our friend Lorraine Thompson (@WritersKitchen) was planning. I suggested a Whiskey Smash, and as luck would have it, Josh had just spent yesterday evening adjusting the proportions.

For most cocktails recipes, we defer to our cocktail hero Toby Maloney. He provides a great YouTube video on how to make his version of a whiskey smash--and with flair! But for some reason, when we replicated the recipe at home, it always came out too sour and a little oily. So, this is how Josh adjusted the Whiskey Smash:

The Whiskey Smash

2 oz Rye (we used Wild Turkey--at least 100 proof is usually great)
1 oz simple syrup (we use a 1:1 ratio)
Quarter of a lemon, cut in half
handful of mint

Muddle the mint and lemon (you can "push" the lemon, instead of pulverizing it). Add the sugar and rye. Fill your shaker with ice. Shake it hard. Strain. Serve over ice.

Enjoy!

Kold-Draft Ice

Ice is a big deal. Not Vanilla, not T, not Cube - Kold-Draft.




Apologies for the lame introduction. Kold-Draft brings out the worst in me. Worst, as in, driving a sketchy van to the back of a Waikiki hotel to pick up a bucket of the stuff in a trash bag and then drive home with the A/C on full blast. True story. Erik Adkins of Heaven's Dog once told me that if you got a map of Kold-Draft ice machines in San Francisco, you'd have a map of the best cocktail bars.

Kold-Draft ice gets things colder, keeps them colder longer, and won't dilute the taste of your drink. It whips up a nice meringue, too. It's made by shooting water into a super-cold, upside ice try. The water freezes one layer at a time, producing denser, purer ice. That's the gist, for the skinny, go here.

So, what's the point of this post? Is Kold-Draft paying me? No (but, if you're reading, and would like to send me a few bucks, I've got some serious student loan debt). The point is that I got to use some of this, and it makes a huge, huge difference in the drinks I made. The stayed cold until I finished them, dilution was more under my control, and it made a better froth on my drinks. Don't screw around with your ice, people! Use filtered water and cold, cold freezers! The bigger the better, too.