Do you think that most people who are consumed by craft mixology can clearly pinpoint the genesis of their obsession, that single come-to-Genever moment at which they realized that perhaps salvation could be found in bottles and shakers? For me, it is not so difficult to determine when I was infected with the spirit of spirits. One night a couple of years ago I came home to discover that Tipsy had found this book at the Half Price Books store by our house. It set off a period of soul searching the likes of which I had never experienced. Sure, I had been through phases before, but I had never seen the light. It was a cocktailian coming out, a voyage of discovery that satisfied so many basic needs: Suddenly I had an academic excuse to spend time and money in liqour stores and bars. "Booze hound? Thanks for your concern, Mom, but this is research..." This mixological mission also breathed new life into my thrift store scavenging. I was growing tired of the search for the same old kitchen wares, now I had an entirely new category of unnecessary items to pursue.
And by that I mean booze. We needed a few supplies, so we went shopping...
For readers who are familiar with the Julie/Julia project, this will sound like a familiar gimmick: Begin by selecting one of the most significant works in the canon of gastronomical writing, set out to prepare and consume each recipe in the volume within the course of one year, and blog the entire process for the world to see. (The next steps, of course, are: get press coverage from The New York Times, gain an international readership and score big book deals/ quit day job/ start new job of being famous foodie person.) Julie Powell set out to cook and eat every recipe in Julia Childs’ Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year, 524 recipes in all. She was, as far as I can tell, a possessed woman for attempting such a feat. I am no Julie Powell. Julie toiled through Pate de Canard en Croute and Rognons de Veau Flambes. I have chosen a different path: I would instead like to attempt to drink my way into the blogosphere's stratosphere. I have selected The Craft of the Cocktail and intend to mix and drink each of Dale DeGroff’s 500 recipes in the span of one year, and hope that my liver, my wallet, and I live to tell about it. This will be in many ways a crash course in the classic cocktail cuisine, as MtAoFC was a crash course in French cooking for Julie Powell. Dale actually offers a brick & mortar cocktail course that he teaches in New York City. Someday I hope to muster up the $3k+ that the cocktail camp costs, and go spend a week with the master. In the meantime I will be taking the distance-learning approach.
This is no Julie/Julia Project (I can probably produce a Knickerbocker cocktail faster than I could a Mousseline de Crustaces) although I thank Ms. Powell for giving me the inspiration for it.
Why Dale? Why David? Why now?
Dale is preeminent among mixologists, and his book is in my opinion the most authoritative and approachable of the modern tomes on the subject. This book was going to be the theme of our blog from the beginning, but going into it we had a number of hesitations, most of which have subsided. What if we meet Dale, we worried, and then found out he is a total jerk? (We did, and he wasn't) What if we started the project and then got a cease-and-desist letter from Dale's attorney? What if he hates our idea? (We didn't get to talk to him about it, but we told his wife Jill, who seemed hip to the idea as long as we didn't publish his recipes.) What if we get bored/change our mind? We would be stuck with a website devoted to an idea we were tired of... So we came up with TipsyTexan, a general beverage blog that has never been quite as disciplined as this project will require. (As for getting tired of getting tipsy, that hasn't happened yet and I think we are probably not at risk for such an eventuality.)
Then there was the matter of the booze. When I turned to the A section of Dale's recipes, I had to thumb through half a dozen drinks before I found one for which I had all the ingredients. What I thought was my well-stocked bar appeared to be woefully inadequate for this project. So, over the last year we have been spending many countless hours, and many more shekels, at the liquor store. I may not have every spirit that I will need to complete this project--for example, what is up with Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur? Anybody?--but I certainly have enough to get started.
And for starters... where to start? Not at the alphabetical beginning, as they have been doing at Stomping Through the Savoy--that could, depending on our pace, put me drinking Margaritas in December, or Toddies and Tom & Jerry in June.
I want the beginning to represent a beginning of sorts, and so I choose the Sazerac. Depending on who you ask, it is among the first cocktails to be called a cocktail. Also, I have just returned from New Orleans where the Sazerac is the legislatively-mandated 'official cocktail,' but where a great one is scarcely to be found. I feel compelled to help give the Sazerac its due. So let's mix one.
Comments (5)
If you've got a line on Creme De Violet, please, please, please email me.
Posted by Bill | July 26, 2008 1:43 AM
Posted on July 26, 2008 01:43
At Tales we met some folks from Haus Alpenz who are importing Creme de Violette as well as Batavia Arrack and some other cool stuff.
I think there are a couple of companies in NY that you can order it from. LeNell Smothers of LeNell's in Brooklyn has it and I think she ships. LeNells.com.
(Austin Wine Merchant said you were looking for some Canton--we have a couple bottles that we ordered online as well)
Posted by Tex | July 26, 2008 10:30 PM
Posted on July 26, 2008 22:30
Do you know if I can offer stuff ordered from out of state over the bar? I was under the impression that TABC wouldn't allow me to do that.
Posted by Bill | July 27, 2008 2:00 PM
Posted on July 27, 2008 14:00
Binny's in Chicago (www.binnys.com) has creme de violette and other esoteric spirits we can't get in Texas - their shipping rates are very reasonable if you are buying several bottles - I got 3 bottles (gin, absinthe and creme de violette) and it was $17 to have them fedexed to Houston, unfortunately if you just get one bottle, the fedex charge is about the same. I have some Passoa - one of the guys who works for me brought it back from a trip to Puerto Rico, so now I have to go out and buy Dale's book to figure out what to do with it;)
Posted by Cmelton | July 27, 2008 6:25 PM
Posted on July 27, 2008 18:25
I wanted to thank you for mixing up the most amazing cocktail at the 2008 La Dolce Vita! It was just spectacular. I'd love to have another. Where might you be serving these again in the Austin area?
Posted by Michelle Sain | October 19, 2008 9:39 AM
Posted on October 19, 2008 09:39