Please join us for another culinary cocktail excursion with the 3rd installment of the Tipsy Tech Summer Class series! This week’s topic: the rich tradition and unique flavors of Japanese cocktails.
When: Wednesday July 28th, 6:00-7:30pm Location: Twin Liquors Marketplace at Hancock Center Cost: $35 Payments: made via Paypal (the widget in the column). Please note that when paying for classes, it is important to state which class you are signing up for. You will receive email notification to confirm registration and payment. “Walk-in” registration for single classes may be made up until noon of the class day.
Tipsy Tech, Austin’s original spirits education class, is proud to introduce the summer cocktail class series. Here’s a preview video for the first class, which will be held on June 30 at the Twin Liquors in the Hancock Center. If you’d like to attend, please register and pay using the PayPal widget on the right. Hope to see you there.
The first semester of Tipsy Tech was a great success. We’re continuing the educational series with a shorter summer session. Here’s the summer schedule, so you can plan ahead for all the fun we have in store for you.
(Photo: Adam Harris of Maker’s Mark teaches how to craft a traditional Mint Julep.)
Punches and Batches
Wednesday, June 30th
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Japanese Cocktails
Wednesday, July 28th
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Brunch Cocktails
Wednesday, August 11th
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Twin Liquors Marketplace at Hancock Center
Cost: $35 per class (space is available)
Payments: made via Paypal (the widget in the column). Please note that when paying for classes, it is important to state which class you are signing up for. You will receive email notification to confirm registration and payment. “Walk-in” registration for single classes may be made up until noon of the class day.
I have just returned from Portland (OR that is) and I am happy to report that the west coast kings of cocktails are still serving them up right! I had only one day to check out as much as possible and that wasn’t nearly enough (I missed Beaker and Flask for example, so sad) but I did make it to The Teardrop Lounge. The Teardrop is by now the grandfather of innovative cocktail lounges. They have been getting their swerve on in Portland for sometime when it comes to mixology, but as first generation as they maybe, they’re still leading the pack. I only had time enough to taste 6 cocktails (note: I didn’t DRINK 6 cocktails) and of those here’s my favorite:
Back to the Beginning: La Favorite Vieux Coeur agricole rhum, Batavia Arrack, rich demerera syrup, Peruvian Amargo Bitters, iocane powder
I am going to see if I can get the exact recipe for all to view, but that’s how the menu reads. What I really love about the Teardrop is how they think about cocktails. This philosophy, if you will, is reflected in a tri-fold menu that is divided into three catagories:
House cocktails (they list 9 house originals here)- keeping things cutting edge and innovative
Classics: ( 10 classics found here)-these are the real deal, original recipes that expand a patron’s knowledge of our rich cocktail history
Friends: (here they highlight 9 cocktails by other bartenders in other places)-a community building honorary nod to those who work in the industry
Not to mention that the beer and wine offerings are limited and spot on. There’s no wading through a bible of potions, you just have your pick of a few excellent choices. They also include a glossary list of terms to help those unfamiliar with their cocktail ingredients learn the ropes. Basically these guys are fantastic from conception to execution and I just can’t say enough good things about them. If ever in Portland…you simply much give it a try.
Here’s some good news. Twin liquors is hosting our Tipsy Tech classes, God bless ‘em, and that means we have more space, so we’re extending the deadline for registration until Feb 15, 2010. So, if you are intersted, do not fret, you’re in the clear. Sign up today here.
Not being a fan of orange juice, the Mimosa is out for me. Most restaurants in the US offer that and perhaps a Poinsettia and I am sadly disappointed on a regular basis. If the restaurant in question has only a beer/wine license then you scratch any possibility of a French 75, and forget that Bloody Mary (although I’m not a vodka drinker so even that isn’t on my approved list of morning liquids). So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found a Bellini on the fabulous brunch menu today at Olivia. This Bellini is an adaptation to be sure, yellow peach puree and Cava replaced the traditional white peach and Prosecco, however, it was delicious all the same. Here’e the original recipe created in Venice at Harry’s Bar by famous bartender Guiseppe Cipriani, circa late 1930’s.
Bellini
2 oz White Peach puree (add a little lemon juice as needed for balance)
3.5 oz Prosecco
Pour the strained puree into a champagne flute, top with chilled prosecco.
Yes, that’s a bold statement, but, to mind mind a true one. There IS a perfect cocktail, well, maybe several of them in fact, but the one I’m referring to is the Sazarac. And, as luck would have it we will have a chance to see it done right on February 16. See you there!
Tales of the Cocktail hosts Austin Sazerac Cocktail Academy: Take a sip of History
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Twin Liquors: 1000 East 41st Street #810 Austin, TX 78751
We are pleased to announce that Twin Liquors Marketplace at Hancock Center will be hosting us in their training room.
Due to the expanded size of our meeting place we are able to increase enrollment and so have postponed the registration date for the full course to Tuesday, February 9.
Updated Class Info
Time: Tuesdays 6-8 pm
Location: Twin Liquors Marketplace at Hancock Center
Cost: $350 for the full course ($250 for members of the United States Bartender’s Guild); For students not seeking program certification, individual classes may be audited for tuition of $35 per class, when space is available ($25 USBG. For more information on USBG, visit the national site here. Special $50 discounted membership is available through the local chapter by contacting Lara Nixon at boxcar@me.com)
Payments: made via Paypal at here. Please note that when paying for individual classes only, it is important to state which class you are signing up for. You will receive email notification to confirm registration and payment.
Course Schedule: Listed here
Registration Deadline: Tuesday February 9th for the full course; “Walk-in” registration for single classes may be made up until noon of the class day
This past Monday was the premier of ″tiki happy hour″ at ESSR. This will be an ongoing Monday exclusive at the showroom for the foreseeable future. I was there and ″got my Rum on″! My fave of the 6 offerings was the Navy Grog, but that said I didn’t have a taste of one I didn’t like.
I’m a huge rum fan in all it’s forms– rhum agricole, demerara, cachaca, and the list goes on. And the blending of rum’s is really what “tiki” is all about. What could possibly be wrong with a drink based on 6 blended rums? The answer: Nothing, nothing at all.
So, I highly recommend those of you in austin TX to make the Eastside Showroom your Monday night destination. Tiki hour starts at 5P and runs till 9P, or whenever David Alan and Adam Bryan decide they’ve had enough “tiki madness”.
Austin’s Tipsy Texans Present:
“The History and Practice of Cocktail Mixology,”
The First in a Series of Ongoing Academic Programming:
Austin, TX—The Tipsy Texans, an Austin-based beverage consultancy, bartending team, and well-known voice in the blogosphere, have announced a 12-week intensive academic program covering all aspects of recreational tippling. Led by award-winning bartenders David Alan and Lara Nixon, the course begins on February XX, 2010. The course will begin with the origins of alcohol in pre-modern medicine, travel through cocktail history from the golden age of the 19th century to the “noble experiment” of Prohibition and its aftermath, then conclude with the modern cocktail revival of the last decade.
Also included in the curriculum will be a class on each major category of spirits, with a lecture on the history and styles of the spirit followed by a hands-on discussion and demonstration of cocktails featuring that spirit. Other classes will cover such topics as Molecular Mixology and Garden-to-Glass bartending. Participants in the full course will be treated to field trips, special lectures and workshops covering diverse topics in cocktail mixology and hostpitality.
Classes will be taught by the team of Alan and Nixon with special guests such as Dorsey Barger of Eastside Cafe, Addie Broyles of the Austin American-Statesman and renowned bartender Bobby Heugel of Anvil Bar & Refuge (Houston.) Class size will be limited to twenty students. A limited number of interns will also be accepted for enrollment in a specialized independent study track.
Details:
Registration deadline for full program is January 15, 2010.
Regular classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:30 at various locations
Student enrollment fee is $350 for the full course, $250 for members of the United States Bartenders Guild.
For students not seeking program certification, individual classes may be audited for tuition of $35 per class, when space is available.
“Walk-in” registration for single classes may be made up until noon of the class day
If you are interested please fill out the form above under the tab “spirits class”, and you can e-mail me at boxcar@me.com. See you there! And if you want to go ahead and enroll, just pay here with paypal!
It is difficult to find an exact date of origin for 'blue ruin', however, it is generally held that this term was coined in the mid 18oo's. To the best of my knowledge the first time it appears in print is in E. Cobham Brewer 's (1810–1897) Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898:
"Gin. Called blue from its tint, and ruin from its effects."
Of course, I don't ascribe to anyone actually experiencing a 'blue ruin,' but I do find the term enigmatically beautiful. Just like Gin herself. (Oh yes, Gin is most definitely a woman.)
So here it is, an homage to gin and libations in general ...the blue ruin.
