International Woman's Day March 8th 2012

This event is part of my Farewell NYC Tour, so make sure you come out!  

Since I first started with LUPEC NYC, this has been one of my favorite events that I look forward to every year.  Women & Whiskey?!  How can it get better?!  Well, this year I am making my critically acclaimed drink, the Charlie Hustle.  And we are having this event at one of my favorite bars in NYC, Lani Kai.  I am glad my scotch drink has some tropical flair with its smoking rosemary and live rosemary branch garnish.  I think I need to wear a hat festooned with Rosemary...what do you think?

Charlie Hustle

1 1/2 oz Great King St Scotch

1/2 oz Peat Monster Scotch

1/2 oz Maple Syrup

1/2 oz Green Chartreuse

1/2 oz fresh Lemon Juice

Garnish: Rosemary "Smoke" and fresh Rosemary branch 

To "Smoke" your glass, take a dry sprig of rosemary and set it on fire on a heat proof service. When it smolders and smokes, invert an old fashioned glass over the smoking branch.  This adds and smokey warm aromatic quality to the drink.  Shake the rest of the ingredients in a tin filled with ice and strain into  your smoked glass filled with fresh ice.  Garnish with a fresh branch of rosemary.

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

No. 209 and Western Gin

My luggage was briefly lost on my way back form San Francisco and I panicked thinking my treasure from the Sierras would be lost forever.

Thankfully, Jet Blue delivered my suitcase today and I was able to make my first cocktail with No. 209 Gin.

Originally a distillery in the Napa Valley during the Gold Rush, No.209 gin was revived in this century by Leslie Rudd and the Edge Hill Winery. The gin is distilled five times making it smooth and the juniper is tempered with citrus and fruity notes. One sip and I feel transported to those dry western mountains.

When Adam and I were in San Francisco last month, we noticed a plethora of fine gin available at the local watering holes. Gin is one of Adam's favorite spirits and I have recently been converted as those gins of high quality go so well with the classics. One of our favorite discoveries was the Spruce Gin at the Rouge Public House. Not available for purchase in the state of California, we were lucky enough to get snifter full right at the bar. The character of the gin reflects the distinctly different climate where it was made. While No 209 gin is dry, with hints of sage, Rouge's Spruce gin was more wet and juicy. The piny notes were softer and greener. And they make it with "Free Range Coastal water"! I sure that water is so much happier being free...to range. I am currently looking how to get my hands on a bottle here.

In the meantime, last night we made some classics with No. 209:

Lavender Gimlet
No 209 Gin
Lime
Agave
Lavender

I ground the lavender with a mortal and pestle and threw it in the glass with the lime, gin and agave, stirring briskly, but gently with cracked ice. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a chilled cocktail glass.

The Bijou Cocktail
No 209 Gin
Green Chartreuse (that fun stuff in the little wooden box I got in Paris)
Sweet Vermouth (Antiqua Formula)

Stir ingredients gently over cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.