124 Down the Rabbit Hole

Shhh... There is a cool little bar amid the college puke scented row that is McDougal St in Greenwich Village. It has no sign, nothing on tap, no hard spirits and nothing that is not from Europe. In fact, you have to buzz to be let in. Its so small, I imagine once it is full, the management used that buzzer wisely to keep the overflow out. I hope I am never so unfortunate as to receive no answer to my buzz. Our host was Drew, former manager from Death & Co who opened this gem with the help of D & Co's owner. Formerly a fondue bar, the Old Rabbit Club is more partial to European liquid beer and wine, rather than liquid food. The wine selection is small and comes in half-bottles only. For the price I would have appreciated something other than the dinky dollar store glasses it was served in. But you can tell Drew's real passion is in his beer. When you order a beer, you can be sure it will arrive in the proper glass to match the brew. I had an organic Elder Weiss that had strong hints of banana. Drew was also kind enough to give us "shots" of a Grand Cru Reddenboch made with sour yeast. The taste was tart, almost like my Grandpa's sour cherries. There are a few pretzel bread sandwiches on the menu too if you don't want to lose your precious spot at the bar. This bar is for serious beer drinkers and the price matches. That and the buzzer should keep the NYU boys out and that is OK. I met a lovely art student who appreciated my Theresa K punk rock back. Like Alice, I'll fall back down the rabbit hole again.

My Night with Mr Tom Collins

There is a lot of stories as to the oriGIN of a Tom Collins, pardon the pun. The obvious is the gin you use. There was, at the time, a sweetened gin on the market called "Old Tom". Throw in some sour mix and you have a Tom Collins. Naturally, there more than one barkeep with the Christian name of "Tom Collins" who claim paternity to this drink.
The one I created last night to keep me company was like a great date. He made me happy, made me feel good, and then I felt great in the morning. The secret is, as usual, fine fresh ingredients. My instinct reached for the No 209 gin, but finding my reserves low, opened a new bottle of Hendricks. Wanting to enhance the herbal qualities of the Hendricks, I tossed in a dash of rose water and some organic lavender simple syrup (thanks Square One!). I poured a healthy dose of fresh squeezed lemons juice and them some agave syrup when the first taste was too tart. Gently stirred over ice, I had a fragrant, wonderful companion for the night. And I did not feel like sharing him with anyone. He was mine...all mine! Ahh sweet Tom!

sweet dee's spicy manhattan

I am quite particular about my Manhattan's, especially in Brooklyn. For years I only let Lee concoct my high end bourbon blessings, and even he had to be trained. I'll never forget his face when, upon finding a cherry in my Manhattan I drunkenly slurred into the mic from on stage, "Cherries are for virgins, pies and slot machines...You see any of those around here, bub?!?!"

But last Thursday, Devon won my confidence over with a very well-crafted Manhattan. The ingredients are simple. Eagle Rare Bourbon and extra bitters. I like my Manhattans spicy and the Eagle Rare has a wonderful spicy pepper and toasty tobacco leaf flavor to it that lends itself well with the bitters.

Those fine ingredients alone are perfect for a Thursday night, but no, Devon has lovely technique too! She mixed the bourbon and bitters over ice gently with a metal bar spoon. You don't want this bourbon to bruise. The Manhattan comes out clear, strong with both flavors still intact. Perfect!

Family Meals!

Yhay! My house is my own again! And it is due entirely to the wonder loverly friends and family in my life who come over and remind me how awesome my home is!

I have been having "Family Meal" nights. Its started when my beautiful cousins, who finally moved to NYC, came over in October for a real "Grammy and Gramps style meal" of meat and potatoes. Of course we updated it with a twist from the neighborhood; sweet potatoes and yams and gorgeous fennel salad. These meals are now a regular event at the casa uptown and they are fun! Especially with beautiful cocktails to wash down a fabulous home cooked meal and a rousing game of Bonanza to finish the night!

Last week we had a Cuban theme for the unusually warm weather here in NYC. Cuban Sandwiches, garlicky Yucca, Cuban steak and onions and a gorgeous green salad. We washed it all down with a couple of pitchers of Cuban rum punch (Made with Dominican Rum, Natch!).

Family Meal Punch
Golden Dominican Rum
Lime Juice
Agave Syrup
Orange & Lemon Bitters
Triple sec
Mango Juice
Pomegranate juice

Ludachristmas Cocktails

Sorry so late getting this post up. This year the holidaze were kinda shite. There was no full out party this year at mi casa, but I was commissioned to do the cocktails at my office xmas party. There is a wide variety of people I work with so I tried to please everyone. The Christmas Sparkler and Under the Mistletoe was a great success, especially in Kent's trademarked Green and Red pitchers. Thanks Kenton!

I also had a private tasting with my foodie boss where I introduced him to my classic Ginger Old Fashioned and my new twist on the EO Ginger Smash.

Christmas Sparkler
Cranberry juice
Pomegranate juice
Lime juice
Vodka
Sparkling cider or wine
Pomegranate seeds

Under The Mistletoe
Midori Liquor
White Rum
Pineapple juice
Soda Water

Ginger Smash
Fresh cranberries
Apple Cider
Calvados
Fresh Ginger Good Gin (Beefeater Wet, Millers)

Ginger Old Fashioned
Ginger infused Bourbon
Orange bitters
Old fashioned bitters
Oranges
Cherries
Soda Water