Tales Teaser

For those of you who haven’t been following my footsteps on Twitter, I arrived in New Orleans yesterday for the Tales of the Cocktail festival. My trip didn’t start so well, after listening to the lady sitting next to me on the plane verbally assault our fellow travelers about their “flight etiquette” for a half an hour straight.

But things changed dramatically for the better once I was safely within the French Quarter limits. I’m staying at the Hotel Monteleone, a New Orleans landmark with a rich history. I’m so glad to be in the middle of all the action this year (last year we stayed in a hotel just outside the French Quarter).

After attending an awesome Welcome Reception put on by Beefeater gin, Steve & I headed over to the Mixo house, a Bed & Breakfast that's been completely rented out by a couple of crazy bloggers with an insane collection of booze, for the OVAL vodka infusion contest judging. There judges Gabriel Szaszko of Cocktailnerd, Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin, and Chantal Tseng, bartender at the Tabard Inn in Washington, DC, put these infusions (and their respective cocktails) to the test. I'd like to send a huge thanks their way, and I'd also like to extend a huge thanks to Chris Stanley, who prepared all the cocktails for judging (which, once you see the recipes you'll understand, is no small feat-especially when you're vying for bar space with dozens of cocktail afficianados).

In the coming days (ok, perhaps when I get back to the office) I'm going to write up a more detailed post and share some infusion recipes, cocktail recipes, and cocktail photos with you dear readers. But for now I'll have to leave it short and simple. Marshall Fawley of Scofflaw's Den took top prize with a creative Thai infusion and a delicious cocktail to boot! The judges were in complete agreement that his entry deserved the grand prize so Marshall will be having a portion of his stay in New Orleans paid for by OVAL vodka. Congratulations Marshall & well done!

More from New Orleans in the coming days...

Thursday Drink Night Wrap

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the good fortune of visiting our nation’s capital last week—not to partake in the Inaugural festivities (I was two days too late) but to partake in some Absinthe—namely Mata Hari. That’s because this past week’s Thursday Drink Night event was sponsored by Absinthe Mata Hari, and I joined a few bloggers participating live from the Tabard Inn in D.C.

Much to the disgust of Steve, I had never actually been to Washington before. Well, I shouldn’t exactly say that—once, on a family road trip to North Carolina, my father stopped in D.C. at two in the morning and woke us all up to show us the monuments. This was not a particularly good memory, as it involved being awoken at two a.m. and was soon followed by being pulled over by D.C. police for looking sketchy at two a.m. Nevertheless, I guess it would be better to say I’ve never stayed in D.C.

Thankfully, my first stay in D.C. was a great one, as I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Tabard Inn—what a cool place. I have a hard time explaining it to people, but it’s just so funky. It’s a really old building with antique furniture and wood-burning fireplaces, beside which you’d expect to find an old man smoking a pipe (were smoking not prohibited). The whole layout of the Inn is like a crazy labyrinth, with brightly painted walls, dark corners, and loud artwork. I guess that’s not coming out right because it doesn’t really sound that appealing, but trust me, it’s awesome!

That is, except for one thing—the clown. Yikes. If you have an issue with clowns, avoid room number 55 or this is what you’ll see staring back at you all night. Notice the orb in the upper left-hand portion of the photo. Creeeeeeeeeeeeeepy. Needless to say I did not sleep very well at the Tabard, but it was worth it just to taste the hanger steak with gorgonzola mash and their Pisco Presidential Punch—yum!

For Thursday Drink Night itself, I joined SeanMike and Marshall down at the bar, where the fabulous Chantal was working her mixology magic. I owe a huge thanks to Chantal, who let us totally hog her bar the whole night, made more than a couple crazy cocktails, and even helped me snake an extension cord around the barware and over the posi machine when my laptop died. Kudos!

Later, Rick and Nathan joined us, while Owen, our videographer, documented the whole thing with a flip camera (which I am now totally obsessed with, by the way). I should have the final video this week and will definitely post it as soon as possible so you can see us all in action!

Now let’s get down to it because this post is getting long…the drinks. There were so many it’s hard to keep them all straight, but I know I enjoyed how raspberry and Mata Hari played well together in Gabriel’s Zelle’s Betrayal (pictured) and I think my favorite of the night was Rick’s Dead Spy (recipes for both below). For the full list and a transcript of the evening’s activities, keep an eye on the Mixoloseum blog for an official wrap-up. Cheers!

Zelle’s Betrayal by Gabriel Szaszko of Cocktailnerd:

1 ½ oz. Rye
½ oz. Absinthe Mata Hari
½ oz. Orange Juice
¼ oz. Sweet Vermouth
¼ oz. Raspberry Syrup
¼ oz. Simple Syrup
3-4 Mint Leaves

Dead Spy by Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin:

Swizzle:
1 oz. Lemon Hart 151
1 oz. Appleton Extra
¼ oz. Absinthe Mata Hari
¾ oz. Lime Juice
¼ oz. Cinnamon Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Thirsty Thursday!!!

Join us for Thursday Drink Night (TDN) this week, sponsored by Absinthe Mata Hari. TDN is a weekly event that takes place in The Mixoloseum chat room. Each Thursday, spirits writers & enthusiasts gather to focus on a single product or category. This Thursday’s focus is, of course, Absinthe Mata Hari, and the participants will be suggesting uses for the product in new cocktails, trying the drinks live, and perfecting their recipes.

If you haven’t taken part in a TDN yet, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. The event is open to the public. Just grab yourself a bottle of Mata Hari and meet us here (create a username/password and you’re in!) with some ideas for Absinthe cocktails in mind.

The fun starts at 7 pm EST. Come early if you can because Gerry Fischer, Mata Hari’s master distiller from Vienna, Austria will be joining us to discuss the product and answer any questions.

I’ll be joining in from the Tabard Inn in Washington, D.C., with SeanMike Whipkey and Marshall Fawley of Scofflaw’s Den, Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin, and perhaps a few others. We’ll be filming our participation at the Tabard and I’ll be sure to post the video here afterward.

See you Thursday! Cheers!