Monday, June 22, 2009

I am blessed by the waters of life!


Praise the cocktail goddess in all her glory! Boy did I have good day at work. And it was work...glorious joyful work, but it took endurance and strength nonetheless.

Well what would you call a blind tasting of 5 categories of spirits? Creating 9 cocktails? Non-stop consuming, tasting, feeling, loving...ok, yes..It was heaven. A hedonistic paradise that literally fed my cocktail loving body and soul completely.


Oh and did I mention the food? The tongue tingling delicious cacophony of flavors that will live in my heart forever?


I will have more details later. But right now I must sleep the Sleep of Angels. Sweet dreams dear ones...especially you of the 6/21 crew...see you in the Crescent City!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Land of the Lost

We now will take a journey back to the recess of RyeGirl's past. The place is New York City's West Village. The time is 1995. Enjoy this flashback.

To-Ho-Ta-Le you guys! My birthday is coming up! And have I got the perfect place to celebrate! And its so close to my house so we won't waste out money on $5 cab rides
home from the East Village! Yes..its a gay bar, that is all there is in my neighborhood! But this one is MY OWN...my local! So I can wear the fancy shoes and just stumble home!!!

I know I said Henrietta's was gonna be my local, but their White Russians are
gross and so is that lady who bit me on the cheek. No no no...I prefer the boys! They are so much cuter that any left over piece of grunge in the East Vill anyway!

There is this one bartender, Marcus. Well I don't think that is his name, but he looks like that model Marcus Shekengurger whatever, so that what I call him.
He thinks I am cute...I think he is a god! He weaned me off White Russians with this drink called the Cosmo? Its pink and so delish! He says they invented it there at the Universal. That is what this place is called. The Universal Bar and Grill. Oh yeah. I suppose that does mean it has food too. Who can afford food though?

Anyhoo, at my party we can ge the Cosmos by the PITCHER! Bitchin! And the boys will bring out the tambourines and sing the Wonder Woman them
e song for me. Jesus is there a better way to celebrate your 22nd birthday?! I am such a NYC gal now, right?!? I am bummed not to have a boyfriends, but who needs one when I have like 20 every night at the bar. Marcus told me that Liza came in one night. She was mobbed by the boys. LeSigh! I wish I was mobbed by the boys! I know! I am turning into such a Fag Hag..oh wait, I am sorry that is so offensive. Like Marcus says, "I may be a Fag, honey, but you are no hag!" That's right Bitches! I am only 22! And hot! How come I don't have a boyfriend??!...Jeeze!

Gosh I hope Marcus is there! He is so cute. I am gonna write a screenplay about us. This gay bartender will get drunk one night with his lady friend and they end up in bed.. Then she gets pregnant and they have to decide what to do! He tries to go straight, but is just doesn't work...for either of them. There is fighting, there is tears. But in the end the kid is raised in this NYC utopia, a loving extended family full of love.
And you never need a babysitter between him and his boyfriend and me and my boyfriend! Its perfect. I can't wait to grow up and live this life, man! That is why I am so excited about hitting 22. Things are really gonna start to happen for me now, I feel it.

Ok. How do I get the girls from Brooklyn here? Its like a mental black when they go across that damn river and I can never get them back in the city!?? What is there to do anyway? Monteros? Please. The 50 cent pool table is cool but the boys in Brooklyn kinda blow.


Pitchers of Cosmos ladies! That is the key! Pitchers of Cosmos! And shirtless boys singing the Wonder Woman Theme song. "Fightin' for your rights, in your satin tights...for the old red white and blue oooooo!"

Daddy-O (formerly Universal Bar & Grill)

All about the Brown

David Chang opened up a corner in his Momofuku Saam bar for a real bar earlier this year. This small area houses only brown liquor and the cocktail creativity of Don Lee (PDT). That is good enough for me.

Having spent all day without food at the NY Bar show, I was looking forward to some greasy products du pork. But how could I resist a bartenders choice with my favorite spirit, Rye?!


I was served a version of the Last Word, a classic with equal parts lime,
Maraschino, green chartreuse, and Gin (but in my case, Rye). It was a healthy pour in a thick Japanese rocks glass. It was delicious and actually went quite well with my pork buns, snap peas, muscles, bread and butter (with whipped lardo). Yes...we feasted. But the real stand out was the spicy rice cakes with pork sausage and the BBQ rib sandwich. I want to marry that sandwich and take it to Niagara Falls I love it so much.

Despite the fact that I was ready to waddle out of there, the lovely Anna Margaret blessed us with more food (pusher!) including cookies to go from the Milk Bar next door. Thanks to the cookies in the now greasy bag, I now have eaten nothing but Momofuku for two days now! Boy, am I happy!

Milk Bar Cookie Grease

Orange you glad...


This past weekend I worked the NY Bar show pouring Orange V vodka. To me a flavored vodka is just a chance to bring a nice infusion to the masses. And I am all for whatever gets the masses to drink better.

It seems like everyone in the 'oughts came out with flavored vodkas that make for great mixin' in some unusual cocktails. I love my grapefruit Bloody Mary's. But straight, the taste could be chemically bad and not at all like the flavor it was supposed to be.

But Orange V is different. The Idaho distilled, Florida orange filled vodka is an American Spirit we can be proud of. The triple blend of Valencia, Mandarin and Tangerine oranges gave the spirit a juicy mouthfeel and a sweet taste. They use the skins and all so you have that nice orange oil, blossom water sort of taste too.

It mixed great and so easy... just with some lime and white cranberry, the flavor comes through crisp and refreshing. I would use this powerful Orange V in place of triple sec or cointreau in my margaritas. And at 76 proof, that is some pop in that margarita! Yum!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Cocktails of the Moment at my house (and on the train)

I do not support cute terrorist otters holding our beer for ransom..just wanted to warn you of the dangers lurking out there.
Its been a while since I have posted my own cocktails made from home. Well, I have not been home often and my own sticks were recently depleted. But I am slowly making a comeback. Here are some examples of what I have been making up at home.

Myself and the new roomies retreated to the roof for some sundown refreshment. I had some new Creme de Violet to experiment with so I tried a tequila based Purple Haze. Its looked delightful in the light of the full moon.

Lavender Moon
Luna Sueno Blanco (perfect for a night of dreaming on the roof under the full moon)
St Germain (just a touch)
Creme de Violet (ditto)
Lime

Shake vigorously and strain into a in a cocktail glass

The humidity is rising here in NYC and that mean its time for me to start making my ice tea based drinks again. The other night in a blender I threw in some ice, Limocello, Mint Iced Tea. Refreshing! Light! Frosty! And pretty too!

Danny & Rhea
Limoncello
Iced Tea (Always home brewed)
Ice
Creme de Violet
Fresh Mint

Blend together Limoncello, tea and ice. Pour into a Collins glass. Drizzle the Creme Di Violet on top and garnish with a fresh mint sprig. Purple, Yellow and green..its like upstate in full bloom!

Sadness descended this week as I had to say good bye to a dear friend and colleague. I determined we had to have an Irish wake on the subway ride to Queens for the memorial service. Since were were in Queens, and in clandestine transit, I made a version of my Mets "Daddy Juice".

The Traveling Mango Margarita
Luna Sueno Anejo
St Germain Liquor
juice of one fresh lime
juice of one fresh lemon
Triple sec
Mango Sorbet
Soda Water

Pour or scoop all ingredients over ice into a aluminum water bottle. Top with soda water. The ice and sorbet should keep the concoction cold all day, night or game long. Makes a great punch for parties too!

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Speakeasy, Speakcheesy...

The NY Times today discusses the prominence of real speakeasy type joints and what makes them "Speakeasys" They don't seem to go much into Speakcheesys, so this article looks like safe research material for me and the Cocktail Daddy.

There is also some history about the real speakeasys during prohibition, which were not the glamorous places we'd like to think they were.
“This ‘speakeasy’ business must be the most independent and prosperous business in the world, especially in New York, for no other industry in the world could afford to kill its customers off like that,” Will Rogers wrote in a letter to The New York Times in 1928. “They must run an undertaking business on the side.”


Bar? What Bar?
[NY Times]