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Posts Tagged ‘maraschino liqueur’

Cocktail Wars

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

by Pink Lady

Who doesn’t love a good head-to-head battle, especially when it comes to cocktails? This spring the Woodward at Ames will resurrect Cocktail Wars, one of our favorite industry events, back again after a long, cold winter’s break.

Cocktail Wars is an Iron Chef-style bartending competition that will take place every Sunday from now until May 15. Two of Boston’s best mixologists will go head-to-head to create the best cocktail using a series of secret ingredients (typically a spirit, a fruit, an herb, or a vegetable) in the allotted time. The creations will then be judged by some of Boston’s biggest industry experts (which on one magical upcoming Sunday will include a LUPEC lady).

Thirty-two bartenders from Boston’s different neighborhoods will compete during this seven-week tournament for an amazing grand prize: a weekend in New York including roundtrip airfare, swanky hotel accommodations at one of the Morgan’s Hotel Group properties and some cold, hard cash. The stakes are high for these bar stars. For the rest of us, the event means a killer party featuring snacks, a DJ and inexpensive cocktails with some of our favorite beverage industry folks.

Next up on the docket: Asher Karnes – KO Prime (Beacon Hill)
Domingo Barreras – Market at W Hotel (Theatre District)
Chris Majka – The Citizen (Worchester)
Mark Vandeusen – Tico (Back Bay)

Loryn Taplin – Coppa (South End)
Eric Smith – Mezcal Cantina (Worchester)
Jon Parsons – Sam’s at Louis Boston (Waterfront)
Don Wahl – Deuxave (Back Bay)

And mix up one of these, created by New York’s John Pomeroy when the US Bartender’s Guild of New York went head-to-head with Boston as you wait with baited breath.

LA PAROLA ULTIMA
by John S. Pomeroy, Jr.
Omnibibulous.com

1 oz dry gin
1 oz Galliano L’Autentico
1 oz Maraschino liqueur
1 oz fresh lime juice
Fresh basil

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed lime disc.

[Cocktail Wars. Sundays at Woodward at Ames. 1 Court St., Boston. 617.979.8200. 5:30pm/21+/free. woodwardatames.com]

CIN-CIN!

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Mountains of Ice*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , on December 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

*Recent ruminations from LUPEC Boston as originally published in the Weekly Dig.

by Pink Lady

Did you know that ice is an American invention? Well, kind of. No one can claim ownership of frozen water, of course, but dropping a cube of it into beverages on a hot summer day was not such an easy luxury in the days before refrigeration. We can thank Frederic Tudor’s Yankee ingenuity for exporting the wonders of the ice-cold beverage to warmer regions of the world.

A well-to-do Bostonian, Tudor dropped out of school at Boston Latin at age 13, spurning a college education at Harvard to pursue fortune in his own inventions. As the story goes, Tudor discovered his calling at 17 while seeking a cold beverage in Cuba without success. He decided then and there to create a business out of “harvesting ice” from the local New England ponds that freeze so solidly each winter.

Tudor’s idea was at first met with ridicule but eventually grew into an empire. He sourced ice from familiar spots like Walden and Fresh Pond and shipped it around the world to Europe, the Caribbean, and even to the British East India Company in Calcutta. Tudor became known as Boston’s Ice King and died in 1864 a wealthy man. He even created an offshoot industry for Maine’s sawmills by insulating his precious cargo with the sawdust they’d previously thrown away.

Let’s raise a glass to Tudor as the holidays – and the many parties that ensue – approach. Several weeks ago, we LUPEC ladies got our hands on a special, modern invention that has satiated our high volume ice needs, the NewAir AI-100SS countertop ice maker from Air & Water. The kind folks in the marketing department offered us a chance to put this toy to the test. We’ve done so at several cocktail parties and found the machine to be true to its promise: it can make up to 35 pounds of ice per day and the first batch of ice cubes are complete in 15 minutes. Set-up and clean-up is delightfully facilement.

You may rarely have need for 35 pounds of ice, and equally little use for the urn you bought that offers coffee service for 45. But if you do enjoy entertaining, or simply enjoy being totally prepared every single time you do, this kitchen gadget may be just the thing for you.

Frederic Tudor would be impressed by how far we’ve come.

 

FROSTY DAWN

1 1/2 oz light rum

1 oz orange juice

1/2 oz falernum

1/4 oz maraschino liqueur

Shake in iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled vintage cocktail glass.

Cin-cin!

FOR MORE GREAT COCKTAIL RECIPES VISIT LUPECBOSTON.COM.

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Support Our Boys in Moustaches

Posted in Events, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

by Pink Lady
Wondering why such a high percentage of Boston and Cambridge boys are sporting moustaches these days? Is it because the moustache is the new hipster beard? No – well, maybe yes, but that’s not the only reason. It’s because they’re participating in Movember a campaign to raise funds and awareness about cancers that affect men. Seems less creepy now, doesn’t it?

We LUPEC ladies believe that it is every man’s secret wish to someday grow a moustache. Just for a minute, just to see. Movember harnesses that desire challenging men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing one for a good cause. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.

Tonight a good group of Boston and Cambridge boys will be throwing a big party fundraiser at Toro which you will not want to miss for the following reasons:

1. Pencil thin, Magnum PI thick, curling handlebars: the moustaches themselves are a spectacle.

2. Special Canadian Club cocktails will be served, all delightful libations created by lovely and talented barmen like Andy McNees, Nick Korn, and Chris Olds. They boast amazing names such as the Stiff Upper Lip, the Peach Fuzz, the Milk Moustache and more.

3. There will be delicious delightful complimentary snacks.

4. There will be a raffle featuring amazing prizes including Red Sox tix, gift certificates to some of Boston’s best restaurants, Canadian Club (so you can recreate those fabulous cocktails at home) and more.

5. Groove to the musical stylings of TJ the DJ and his moustache-themed mix (we can’t wait to hear what that means.)

The party begins at 10 p.m. at Toro. Click here for more details. To learn more about Movember and support our boys with a donation online, click here.

And if you can’t make the party, mix up one of these and raise a glass to our boys in moustaches (after you donate, of course)!

THE CALGARY MOUSTACHE RIDE
2oz.  Canadian Club
1 oz. Maraschino liqueur
.5  lemon
.5 pineapple juice
Dash of simple syrup
Shake ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

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What We’re Drinking: Oloffson’s Punch*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

*The latest ruminations from LUPEC Boston, in case you missed them in The Weekly Dig

by Pink Lady

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake; over 1.5 million left homeless; as many as 200,000 dead. The statistics flickering across the television screen nightly about the recent earthquake in Haiti seem improbably tragic, difficult to comprehend from the comfortable vantage point of a barstool.

Restaurant industry colleagues have rushed to donate time and talent to raise money to support relief efforts: Via Matta and Radius will donate 100 percent of dessert sales, servers at Myers + Chang have been donating a portion of their tips, Stella did a mini-celebrity chef dinner, and Upstairs on the Square held a day-long fundraiser offering guests opportunities to dine and donate at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our friends over at Drink offered an opportunity for charitable imbibing via a special menu of tropical cocktails made with Haiti’s famous Rhum Barbancourt, with a portion of proceeds going to Haiti relief. The list goes on an on, and we only hope it will grow.

Generous Bostonians, LUPEC salutes you. We invite our readers to do the same by raising a glass of Oloffson’s Punch, invented at the Grand Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince. The eponymous hotel has been many things since it was erected at the turn of the 19th century: a fancy private residence for the then-ruling family, a military hospital occupied by US Marines, a fashionable tourist destination for glitterati like Mick Jagger and Jackie Onassis, and an artistic hub, a sort of “Greenwich Village of the Tropics.”

The enchantingly decrepit hotel also served as backdrop for Graham Greene’s novel, The Comedians. In his words, “You expected a witch to open the door to you or a maniac butler, with a bat dangling from the chandelier behind him.” The hotel’s “tropo-Gothic gingerbread façade” also inspired cartoonist Charles Addams, creator of the famed Addams Family. LUPEC loves a good story, and the Grand Hotel Oloffson is full of ’em, from tales of an eccentric owner who raised alligators in the hotel swimming pool to the American expat owner who fancied himself a Caribbean version of Rick from Casablanca (weapons scandal and all).

Even as it fell into disrepair in the early ’80s, the Oloffson remained a destination for reporters and aid workers needing a safe place to stay near the heart of the city. Today, it’s where many American journalists are staying as they cover the earthquake that has devastated the country.

LUPEC hopes to partner with member chapters in other cities in the coming weeks to prepare a fundraiser of our own, allowing you to sample some of Haiti’s fine alcoholic heritage, from Rhum Barbancourt to cordials like Combier and Grand Marnier, which source bitter oranges from the tiny republic. Stay tuned for updates, and in the interim, enjoy one of these.

OLOFFSON’S PUNCH

2 oz Haitian dark rum
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
3 oz orange juice
1 1/2 oz lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a goblet and fill with crushed ice. Serve with straws and garnish with twists of orange and lime.

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What We’re Drinking: The Gail Collins*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

by Hanky Panky

*LUPEC Boston’s latest ruminations, in case you missed ‘em in this week’s Dig

After a damp start to summer, afternoons by the pool and furloughs to the beach are upon us. When the dog days of summer come barking at my door, this LUPECer likes to put down her Hanky Panky and pick up a Collins. This classic tall drink is the perfect refresher for an afternoon on the patio.

The Collins is a tall variation of a classic punch. The most common Collins is the Tom Collins, a mixture of Old Tom Gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda water. According to David Wondrich’s Imbibe, the Tom Collins was born as the John Collins and shared its moniker with the headwaiter at Limmer’s Hotel in London. We aren’t certain how the drink made the jump from John to Tom, but most likely it was related to the drink’s use of Old Tom Gin. After the switch took place, the name John Collins became used for a bourbon Collins.

I enjoy both the Tom and John Collins, but in true LUPEC fashion, I would like to throw my hat in the ring with the Gail Collins. In 2001, Gail Collins became the first female editor of the editorial page of the New York Times. She also penned one of my favorite books on women’s history, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines. The Gail Collins features the current hot spirit tequila and forgoes simple syrup by using maraschino liqueur as a sweetener. The sloe gin and lemon provide refreshing tartness and balance. Grab your ice trays and build yourself a thirst-quenching Gail Collins.

GAIL COLLINS

1 oz blanco tequila

1 oz sloe gin

0.5 oz maraschino liqueur

0.5 oz lemon juice

2 dashes angostura orange bitters

soda water

Build in a Collins glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

CIN-CIN! LUPECBOSTON.COM

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The Bachelorette Party

Posted in Travel, Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 10, 2009| 2 Comments »

by Pink Lady

Along with several other LUPEC ladies, I spent 5 days in July pickling myself at the Tales of the Cocktail festival in New Orleans. Instead of heading home after so much debauchery, I continued my trip over to the Left Coast where my high school bestie’s wedding was scheduled for the following weekend. For future reference, I would NOT recommend tacking another whole week of boozy travel on to the week after Tales, unless you have a liver the size of Texas. That said, my travels introduced me to a whole new world of Left Coast libations of which I was thrilled to partake. The adventure included a night of bar-hopping in Seattle to check out the Zig Zag Cafe and meet living legend, Murray Stenson, followed by several drinks at the ultra-sleek cocktail venue Vessel, Tini Biggs for a visit with blogger/bartender Jamie Boudreau, and last call at Sun Liquor. (Special thanks to my lovely tour guides, Rocky and Kevin.)

After a one-evening break (which involved sipping rose instead of cocktails), I headed to Portland, Oregon, where I was shepherded from train station to nail salon to dinner in a whirlwind of bachelorette party madness. I’m typically wary of bachelorette parties – penis straws and screaming girls wearing identical tee-shirts and over-sexualized pieces of flair are just not my thing. I circumvented silliness this time by planning the party myself.

IMG_3306Perhaps against his better judgment, PDX bartender Dave Shenaut invited me to bring the ladies to the Teardrop Lounge. The venue is a classy place, not one I’d typically bring a gaggle of drunk, screaming girls into, but Dave insisted it would be the best place to take our group. He arranged for there to be pitchers of cocktails waiting for us on the table they’d reserved, allowing me to introduce the group to the deliciousness that is the Hemingway Daiquiri. Each pitcher was cooled with meticulously carved special ice: one held two perfectly round balls, the other contained the obligatory phallus. As we imbibed, they played the bride’s all-time favorite movie on the screens above the bar, Dirty Dancing. Around 11:30, just as the busy evening crescendoed, the lounge-y background music suddenly stopped, supplanted for a few glorious minutes by this song/scene from Dirty Dancing. The ladies – and some other awesome bar guests – sang along.

To outside observers, especially jaded restaurant industry vets like myself, the drunk, screaming bachelorette party can seem insufferable…until all of a sudden you’re inside the lady explosion. Then it can be fun. Thanks to Dave and our good friends at the Teardrop Lounge, I think it’s safe to say: the bride had the time of her life.

HEMINGWAY DAIQUIRI

1.25 oz white rum

.25 oz maraschino liqueur

.5 oz fresh grapefruit

.75 oz simple syrup

.75 oz fresh lime juice

Shake with ice; strain into a chilled vintage cocktail glass.

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