On a recent Friday night we went to FINO to pay a visit to Bill Norris. Bill, you may recall, is the winner of the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup semifinals, who went on to compete in the finals in New Zealand, on a team that placed second among some truly world-class talent. On this particular evening, however, it wasn't Bill's resume that drew us to FINO, but rather his promise of a showcase of Don Julio beverages which he was working on for a special promotion. By special, I mean that the fine folks of Don Julio were paying and we were sipping.
This post will be typical of many in which I take a bunch of pictures and no notes, and therefore have to sift through my tipsy memory to figure out what the hell we were drinking. Here goes:
This drink had Don Julio reposado and St Germain. And egg white. And something else. This drink was custom made for the evening's festivities, and I cannot recall the recipe. Perhaps Mr. Norris himself will fill us in.
Bill does a drink on the winter menu called the Sunshine Port, featuring white port, Dripping Springs vodka and Q tonic with house-made NOPA bitters
There is a Gazpacho Martini on the regular cocktail menu that I know they sell a lot of at FINO. It's made with Sauza Blanco tequila that they infuse with grilled tomatoes, cucumbers, chiles & bell peppers in a big jar. I sometimes get the feeling that this is a drink that Bill would rather not make, but it's so popular they can't take it off the menu.
I believe that this is a Southside cocktail
The Mediterranean Martini 2.0, if that's what this is, consists of Charbay Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka, Grapefruit Juice, and Grapefruit bitters.
Is this a Last Word?
Ultimately this is what we were hoping to get a taste of (no offense to your fabulous cocktail, Mr. Norris). It retails at $100+/bottle, and $30-something for a glass at a restaurant, so we had never had the pleasure. It's really a treat to partake of, very supple and buttery. Thank you, friendly Don Julio rep!
And when you've had enough cocktails and need to grub, you have two choices. The first is to eat at FINO, which has great food. But if you're on a budget, we recommend going down the street to Salvation Pizza and getting one (or two) of their bitchin' pies.
Since this particular evening, I have been back to try some brand new Bill Norris cocktails--highly recommended. I am particularly fond of the Irish Monks cocktail, which consists of Jameson, Yellow Chartreuse, and Earl Grey syrup. Go check it out during weekday happy hours and this beauty is only $7.
Comments (5)
Hey Tex,
Those pictues look awesome, your photo skillz are blowin' up G!
The Drink pics made me thirsty, but the Pizza pic really worked at makin my tummy rumble.
Posted by Mike | January 25, 2009 1:37 AM
Posted on January 25, 2009 01:37
Ok..
The DJ drink with the egg white, is DJ Rep, St. Germain, Fresh Texas GF Juice, Egg White and GF Bitters.
I think the nutmeg garnished drink is another Don Julio, with the Reposado, Amaro Nonino, Maple/Cinnamon Syrup, egg white and lemon with what I called "Christmas Bitters--basically an orange/aromatic hybrid, heavy on the clove.
I think the lime wheel and mint leaf is actually a lavender mint gimlet--Boodles infused with lavender and mint, fresh lime and a touch of simple.
That does indeed appear to be a Med 2.0, an offering that was made with plain old Angostura until I started making my own bitters.
The alleged last word, is, I think a Corpse Reviver #2, although it could be any number of things in that glass, with that color and that garnish. It is, however, not a Last Word, because a) The Last Word is green, b) I don't garnish it and c) I serve it in a coupe.
The Gazpacho Martini is one of the most popular drinks on the menu--not my personal favorite, but it's much loved and not going any place very soon. It tastes like the bastard love child of a margarita and a bloody mary.
The NOPA Sunshine Bitters are saffron and cardamom flavored. The recipe comes from the terrific NOPA in San Francisco where they use them in a great Fino sherry based drink called The Girasol.
And, Salvation Pizza is my favorite--best pie in town. I love the white clam pie.
Thank you guys for the terrific photos and press--it's always a pleasure to see you, in or out of work.
Posted by Bill | January 25, 2009 5:35 PM
Posted on January 25, 2009 17:35
Bill-
Thanks for the clarification on these drinks. After tasting 8-10 cocktails it can be hard to remember the details (I should note at this time, in the event that there are any prudes, teetotalers, or law enforcement professionals reading this, that there were four of us drinking these cocktails and that I did not go it alone)
I thought about editing my post but your comments are so much more amusing--especially the part where I get schooled about the proper color/serving glass for the Last Word. Just for that, I've decided to make one tonight, to make sure the lesson sinks in. (At least I didn't make the mistake where I get the venerable cocktail confused with the Moody Blues album, and call it the Lost Word...)
Posted by Tex | January 25, 2009 11:35 PM
Posted on January 25, 2009 23:35
I hope I didn't come off as an idiot above--I wasn't trying to be snarky--I'd spent the afternoon drinking St. Germain cocktails with brunch, and there was far more cocktail than brunch.
BTW, I don't know if the Last Word is traditional in the coupe or not, I just like it that way. There's a Death & Co. variation that swaps Rye for the Gin and Lemon for the Lime, called the Final Ward, that's also pretty tasty.
Posted by Bill | January 27, 2009 9:32 AM
Posted on January 27, 2009 09:32
Bill-
I can see how easy it would be to get carried away with St Germain cocktails at brunch. Sometimes I set out with that goal...
I was so motivated by your comment to make a Last Word, and I even took a picture to prove it, but sadly the blogging software wouldn't let me post a picture in the comments section.
Posted by Tex | January 28, 2009 9:16 AM
Posted on January 28, 2009 09:16