'Are you sure that's not Ken Cosgrove?'
LP assured me that the dapper blond gentleman in the Mad-Manly hat was not Aaron Staton who plays the accounts man. I thought it was a stretch, but there was no one else who looked like they might be one of the "special Mad Men celebrity guests" promised in the event information provided by the Manhattan Cocktail Classic (MCC) for Monday evening's event Heering Goes Mad (Men).
We considered for a moment that we were being dense and couldn't identify the celebrity off-screen, but then decided that either a) the event organizers would have announced their presence and/or b) we would have noticed other people noticing.
No matter. I am more likely to swoon over a sexy cocktail than a handsome star, and that, my friends, is exactly what happened when I tasted Jamie Stephenson's delicious drink: We Got the Business. The cocktail was one of four finalists in a global competition held by the makers of Cherry Herring liqueur (fun!).
The finalists were stationed in their four respective 'corners' mixing for the crowd. LP managed to sidle up and interrogate a few of them about their ingredients and techniques. In our minds (and possibly our hearts) the winner was Jamie Stephenson. Cardamom is like a drug. I love it and can't get enough of it, though I have fallen out of habit with it. (I used to put a few crushed seeds in my coffee every day.) I was delighted to find someone had thought to use it in a cocktail. Brilliant!
And... delicious!
The syrup Mr. Stephenson used is made by Monin. Rumor had it that one might not be able to find it in the States, but it's easy to make an infused simple syrup at home. (I only know this because Trader Vicky, friend and fellow Cocktail Clubette has become a pro at making not only infused syrups but also cordials!) The full recipe is below for your drinking enjoyment. The liquors in this fabulous libation were Xanté (a pear-infused cognac) and Drambuie.
Sadly, Mr. Stephenson was not the victor in this competition. The mixologist who took home the laurels was Stacy Nikkala--her prize drink a Sour Cherry Herring Side Car. It was a good, solid drink, but it wasn't as brilliant as We Got the Business. And though there was mention of Don Draper, I can't imagine him ordering a Side Car. Whose drink would that be? Peggy's?
This MCC party was the second event LP and I had attended in two days. Sunday afternoon found us sipping various Irish whiskeys and cocktails made therewith while being schooled by the charming Philip Duff. The cocktails were mixed and explained by the seemingly shy, but brilliant (and award-winning) Sean Maldoon.
What a treat! A lesson in the history of Ireland through the lens of the whiskey bottle. I was surprised to learn that back in the heyday, if you drank whiskey it was Irish (not Scotch)! In fact, in the mid-19th century 'Irish whiskey conquered the world!' (The phylloxera--those pesty insects that decimated grape vines in Europe in the 19th century helped open up the liquor market.)
If you are an amateur whiskey geek like me, you might enjoy perusing Mr. Duff's slides: A Drop Of The Hard Stuff: The History And Uses of Irish Whiskey And Its Liqueurs, though without his presentation, it is perhaps less dynamic and informative.
The top tastes of that event were the Hot Whiskey Punch and the Lamb's Wool concocted by Mr. Muldoon followed by the straight-up sipping of Irish Mist, a whiskey blended with honey and herbs, and the Michael Collins 10-year single malt. The Michael Collins blended was also quite good. (I've included Muldoon's recipe for the Lamb's Wool below, but the house-made spiced syrup is a bit of a wild card. What I found really interesting was the use of Harpoon's Oyster Stout with the whiskey. The punch had lemon-infused Irish Mist and whiskey and a mystery house made lemon sorbet. It was phenomenal, but I doubt it could be easily replicated at home.)
The presentation and the tastings were very branded--I walked out with a goodie bag filled with an Irish Mist T-shirt that says, 'I.M. ridiculously sociable, wanna mist and mingle?,' a similarly branded compact mirror and a Michael Collins pen. I would have much preferred a few small bottles of the liquors to experiment with at home. But, on the off nights that I don't order a cocktail or a bourbon on the rocks, I might ask if they have Michael Collins.
Actually, I was ridiculously social (and soused) this week... The remaining days included a work outing at Flatiron Lounge; a visit to Craftails, a cocktail event at Colicchios' private dining room with drinks by Sean McClure (which preceded a fabulously good time at Sleep No More); and experimenting with a local gin recommended by an affable gentleman at Astor Wines & Spirits at home (more on that later... the gin, that is). Of the Craftails' cocktails, I had one with rye, Carpano Anitca, and green chartreuse. Each sip was a battle between the flavorful carpano and the heavily herbal chartreuse. It was interesting.
Anyway, I have rambled. So, stay tuned! And, in the meantime, enjoy the flowers. It is Spring after all even if NYC doesn't seem to know it.
We Got the Business by Jamie Stephenson of Corridor (Manchester, England)
(Excuse the millileters... he is British after all. I've provided ounces where I could. Best thing to do is pick up one of those handy shot-size measuring glasses.)
30 ml (1 ounce) Xante
25 ml (between 3/4 and 1 ounce) Drambuie
25 ml Lemon juice
12.5 ml (just shy of a 1/2 ounce) Monin cardamom syrup
Dash of Regan's Orange Bitters
Half an egg white
Sean Muldoon's Lamb's Wool
2 ounces Michael Collins Blended Whiskey
4 ounces Harpoon's Oyster Stout
3/4 ounce housemade spiced syrup
3.5 ounces housemade baked apple puree (email me if this is a mystery to you)
Heat and garnish with sliced apple and grated nutmeg
LP assured me that the dapper blond gentleman in the Mad-Manly hat was not Aaron Staton who plays the accounts man. I thought it was a stretch, but there was no one else who looked like they might be one of the "special Mad Men celebrity guests" promised in the event information provided by the Manhattan Cocktail Classic (MCC) for Monday evening's event Heering Goes Mad (Men).
We considered for a moment that we were being dense and couldn't identify the celebrity off-screen, but then decided that either a) the event organizers would have announced their presence and/or b) we would have noticed other people noticing.
No matter. I am more likely to swoon over a sexy cocktail than a handsome star, and that, my friends, is exactly what happened when I tasted Jamie Stephenson's delicious drink: We Got the Business. The cocktail was one of four finalists in a global competition held by the makers of Cherry Herring liqueur (fun!).
The finalists were stationed in their four respective 'corners' mixing for the crowd. LP managed to sidle up and interrogate a few of them about their ingredients and techniques. In our minds (and possibly our hearts) the winner was Jamie Stephenson. Cardamom is like a drug. I love it and can't get enough of it, though I have fallen out of habit with it. (I used to put a few crushed seeds in my coffee every day.) I was delighted to find someone had thought to use it in a cocktail. Brilliant!
And... delicious!
The syrup Mr. Stephenson used is made by Monin. Rumor had it that one might not be able to find it in the States, but it's easy to make an infused simple syrup at home. (I only know this because Trader Vicky, friend and fellow Cocktail Clubette has become a pro at making not only infused syrups but also cordials!) The full recipe is below for your drinking enjoyment. The liquors in this fabulous libation were Xanté (a pear-infused cognac) and Drambuie.
Sadly, Mr. Stephenson was not the victor in this competition. The mixologist who took home the laurels was Stacy Nikkala--her prize drink a Sour Cherry Herring Side Car. It was a good, solid drink, but it wasn't as brilliant as We Got the Business. And though there was mention of Don Draper, I can't imagine him ordering a Side Car. Whose drink would that be? Peggy's?
This MCC party was the second event LP and I had attended in two days. Sunday afternoon found us sipping various Irish whiskeys and cocktails made therewith while being schooled by the charming Philip Duff. The cocktails were mixed and explained by the seemingly shy, but brilliant (and award-winning) Sean Maldoon.
What a treat! A lesson in the history of Ireland through the lens of the whiskey bottle. I was surprised to learn that back in the heyday, if you drank whiskey it was Irish (not Scotch)! In fact, in the mid-19th century 'Irish whiskey conquered the world!' (The phylloxera--those pesty insects that decimated grape vines in Europe in the 19th century helped open up the liquor market.)
If you are an amateur whiskey geek like me, you might enjoy perusing Mr. Duff's slides: A Drop Of The Hard Stuff: The History And Uses of Irish Whiskey And Its Liqueurs, though without his presentation, it is perhaps less dynamic and informative.
The top tastes of that event were the Hot Whiskey Punch and the Lamb's Wool concocted by Mr. Muldoon followed by the straight-up sipping of Irish Mist, a whiskey blended with honey and herbs, and the Michael Collins 10-year single malt. The Michael Collins blended was also quite good. (I've included Muldoon's recipe for the Lamb's Wool below, but the house-made spiced syrup is a bit of a wild card. What I found really interesting was the use of Harpoon's Oyster Stout with the whiskey. The punch had lemon-infused Irish Mist and whiskey and a mystery house made lemon sorbet. It was phenomenal, but I doubt it could be easily replicated at home.)
The presentation and the tastings were very branded--I walked out with a goodie bag filled with an Irish Mist T-shirt that says, 'I.M. ridiculously sociable, wanna mist and mingle?,' a similarly branded compact mirror and a Michael Collins pen. I would have much preferred a few small bottles of the liquors to experiment with at home. But, on the off nights that I don't order a cocktail or a bourbon on the rocks, I might ask if they have Michael Collins.
Actually, I was ridiculously social (and soused) this week... The remaining days included a work outing at Flatiron Lounge; a visit to Craftails, a cocktail event at Colicchios' private dining room with drinks by Sean McClure (which preceded a fabulously good time at Sleep No More); and experimenting with a local gin recommended by an affable gentleman at Astor Wines & Spirits at home (more on that later... the gin, that is). Of the Craftails' cocktails, I had one with rye, Carpano Anitca, and green chartreuse. Each sip was a battle between the flavorful carpano and the heavily herbal chartreuse. It was interesting.
Anyway, I have rambled. So, stay tuned! And, in the meantime, enjoy the flowers. It is Spring after all even if NYC doesn't seem to know it.
We Got the Business by Jamie Stephenson of Corridor (Manchester, England)
(Excuse the millileters... he is British after all. I've provided ounces where I could. Best thing to do is pick up one of those handy shot-size measuring glasses.)
30 ml (1 ounce) Xante
25 ml (between 3/4 and 1 ounce) Drambuie
25 ml Lemon juice
12.5 ml (just shy of a 1/2 ounce) Monin cardamom syrup
Dash of Regan's Orange Bitters
Half an egg white
Sean Muldoon's Lamb's Wool
2 ounces Michael Collins Blended Whiskey
4 ounces Harpoon's Oyster Stout
3/4 ounce housemade spiced syrup
3.5 ounces housemade baked apple puree (email me if this is a mystery to you)
Heat and garnish with sliced apple and grated nutmeg
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