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 41^st Street #810     Austin, TX 78751

One session: 1:00 PM to 3:00pm

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 19^th 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!

So here it is, the first Blue Ruin post, and what more appropriate topic than gin, the original blue ruin. My colleague Adam Bryan, of eastside showroom fame, let me tipple a little Tru2 gin the other night.  And for that, I will be forever grateful.  This organic gin has a beautiful amber color reminiscent of Genever, but with a much richer orange hue. The color is strictly a manifestation of  the botanical makeup. Just stunning to behold.  The flavor profile is boldly citrus peel, which seems orange to me but it’s actually fresh lemon zest in the botanical compliment that accounts for this. And, of course, all the usual suspects show up in the mix as well.  I’ve decided that my life is no longer complete without Tru2 gin, and here’s a little cocktail I christened in it’s honor:

Tru Confessions

2 oz Tru2 gin

1/2 oz Orchard Apricot Liqueur

1/2 oz Benedictine

1 barspoon organic apricot preserves

shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an expressed orange peel, it you feel really fancy you just might set the peel alight