By Paul Nelson –
It’s been another beautiful week here in the American Riviera, but clearly winter is coming. Temperatures hover in the low 70’s during the day and can dip down into the 40’s at night, all of which puts me in the mood for house slippers and something liquid to drive away the winter chill. Flipping through another of my bartending resources this week, I opted for the classic Brandy Alexander.
By Paul Nelson –
I’m somewhat back into my normal routine after traveling to the other side of the world. Ready for something different, I checked out one of my cocktail recipe books for some new ideas the other night. What I came up with was a little something called the Apple Fizz.
By Paul Nelson –
I am sitting in Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok waiting to check in for my flight to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. I am alone. My wife is jetting back to Hanoi, and because of several unexpected twists and turns, my colleague isn’t accompanying me to HCMC. Neither is my interpreter. I’ll reconnect with him at the airport in HCMC, as we’re on separate flights and departing different airports in Bangkok. In the meantime, I’ve had to negotiate my own way to the airport, the check-in process shortly, and immigration when I reach my destination. I’m in a city I barely know, clinging to a Wi-Fi connection as my only real means of communicating with anyone I know. And the vast majority of people I know are on the opposite side of the globe. It’s a strange feeling to be a stranger in a strange land, and this is the first time I’ve had to sit with this reality alone, without my wife or my colleague. I’m not worried but keenly aware that I stick out here like a sore thumb.
By Paul Nelson –
Cocktails, as much as I love them, are not a universal thing. Several of the places I’ve traveled over the years really just don’t do them. It’s not their culture. They may have a distilled beverage that they drink over ice, but there isn’t a history of mixing it with anything else to create a cocktail. We’re finding out that this is sort of the case with Vietnam. I hope to report on some locally sourced and inspired creations at one place in town. But in the meantime, we relaxed on the rooftop of the second-tallest building in Hanoi, the Lotte building (check it out here if you’re curious) this evening after dining on street sushi. There we tried a cocktail with a Southeast Asian flavor courtesy of passion fruit juice. My guess as to the recipe would be:
By Paul Nelson –
In a few days, my wife and I will be heading overseas to Vietnam and Thailand to visit with friends and do some other stuff. It’s been over two years since we found a Vietnamese inspired cocktail in an issue of Sunset magazine, and while I hope to be able to share some local recipes in the next couple of weeks, for now, this is as close as I can get to a Southeast Asian cocktail I’ve actually made. This originated in Seattle, and is named for Tran Hung Dao, a 13th century Vietnamese general regarded by many as one of the most brilliant tacticians in military history due to his victories over, among others, Kublai Khan. It takes a bit of work, but the complexity of flavors will likely have you making it over and over again, particularly if you enjoy Asian food!
By Paul Nelson –
We’re familiar with the major liquors that make up a majority of cocktails in the US: tequila, whiskey/bourbon, rum, gin, and vodka. Each has major brands that you’ll typically find in your liquor store or bar. Each also represents just one type of production or process. Around the world, there are other liquors that are similar in some respects to the ones we’re familiar with but different enough to be worth exploring.
By Paul Nelson –
A couple of years ago my wife and I were able to get away by ourselves for a week. We headed up the coast to San Francisco and enjoyed time in that city and the beautiful country north of there. After a long day of walking around the city to see the sights, we found ourselves in the financial district. It was on a weekend so it was fairly deserted. We were pleased to stumble upon Harrington’s Bar and Grill, a delightful little pub in a historic building.
By Paul Nelson – I try to be as egalitarian as possible in terms of providing drink suggestions […]
By Paul Nelson –
I was helping a group of colleagues host a happy hour at an annual collegial event earlier this week. They asked me to bartend and left the choice of libations up to me. Remembering the same event two years earlier, I knew that the most popular alcohol of choice by far had been rye and bourbon whiskey, so I decided to limit the menu to drinks with those as the main base. One option that I added to the list is one I’ve made before but have never been terribly impressed with – the mint julep.
By Paul Nelson –
Last week we enjoyed the classy Manhattan. This week we’ll move to something with less of a pedigree, but still a perennial crowd pleaser. Most folks peg the genesis of the Alabama Slammer to sometime in the early to mid 1970’s. It’s refreshing, tasty, and for folks who don’t appreciate the taste of straight alcohol, this drink is smooth and easy to drink.
By Paul Nelson –
Christians have the Bible. Aspiring singers have The Great American Songbook. Bartenders have a cluster of drinks that never go out of style. Being able to offer one effortlessly and quickly demonstrates that you’ve done your homework. You can do more than just pour Coca Cola and Jack Daniels into a glass over ice. There’s nothing wrong with a Jack and Coke, mind you, but some occasions call for a bit of class, a bit of savoir faire.
Enter the Manhattan. Simple. Classy. Timeless.
By Paul Nelson –
Last week, you made the pisco sour, a drink that utilizes the white of an egg to create a thick, foamy topping on the drink. Technically, the pisco sour qualifies as a flip, a variety of mixed drink that utilizes all or part of an egg. The term flip is a bartending adjective dating back to the mid-19th century, and there are any number of variations because there are all sorts of potential liquors to work with. The egg adds thickness and creaminess to the drink.
By Paul Nelson –
One of the things you learn by making your own drinks is to keep your eyes and ears open for new concoctions. You find recipes in all sorts of places: magazines, newspapers, and online. But the best is when you actually enjoy a drink somewhere else and then figure out how to make it for yourself (at a fraction of the cost).
By Paul Nelson –
The Harvey Wallbanger was popularized in the disco era along with other drinks that were sweet, colorful, easy to make, and easy to drink. According to tradition, it originated in the Los Angeles area in the 1950s, named after a surfer with the last name Harvey. You might meet people who poo-poo the drink because of the era it was popularized in or because the flavors are basic and anything but subtle. Lots of people have opinions about drinks. Ignore them. Don’t apologize for what you like to drink or what the people you’re making drinks for like to drink. If it isn’t cool, hip, organic, or whatever, get over it. Sometimes being a rebel and standing out from the crowd simply means continuing to do what others have done for generations.
By Paul Nelson –
Last week, we started off with a basic liquor (whiskey or rum) mixed with Coca-Cola (never Pepsi, remember?). Now you want to do something a little more interesting, right? You want to create a real cocktail, not just one of the most popular drinks in the world. How about you take that rum and Coke you made last week and squeeze ¼ of a lime into it. Voila—you just created the classic cocktail Cuba Libre, which adds a touch of class and elegance to the whole affair, doesn’t it?
By Paul Nelson –
– The Jagged Word has done it again, we went out and got ourselves our very own bartender! Cheers! –
I have been invited to provide the Jagged Mafia with a weekly cocktail recipe. The fact that I’m an ordained minister as well as a licensed bartender should explain my interpretation of the Biblical stance on alcohol. It should also indicate my level of trust in pension plans and Social Security, but hey, that’s really another blog post all together. In the realm of distilled alcoholic beverages, my exegesis is: God made them possible. Let’s enjoy them responsibly.
