(Note: The Statesman has been good to me personally and professionally over the years and I don't mean to imply otherwise in the tirade you are about to read. But the article that this letter is written in response to has no business in the pages of Austin's most influential media outlet)

Today this article appeared in the print and online versions of the Austin American-Statesman. The Statesman has never been much on covering the trending topics in cocktails and spirits, but has made some strides in recent months with Emma Janzen's well written piece on Mezcal (though for some reason the Statesman editors insisted the spirit be spelled "Mescal", in spite of its more common spelling with a "z"); Beth Goulart's piece just yesterday on Punch; and the tremendously ambitious Austin 360 Cocktail Database that they launched last month, in which they graciously allowed me to blab on for minutes on end in a series of cocktail instructional videos. Whereas the Statesman usually takes the approach of simply omitting cocktail coverage (such as their review of Annie's on Congress, in which my award-winning bar program completely escaped mention), they have taken the bizarre step today of publishing a hackishly written slam piece that would be more appropriate for a high schooler's or insufficiently talented college kid's blog.

Not only is the piece horribly written, it insults a community of bartenders who have made enormous progress in the last few years, quite literally putting Austin on the map. This week, three industry luminaries of national and international renown were in Austin: Charlotte Voisey, who was in town training the staff at the W; Raj Nagra, who was here to announce that Austin is a qualifying city for the 2011 Cocktail World Cup; and David Nepove, who is the president of the United States Bartenders Guild, and who was in town addressing our local chapter. It causes me considerable pain to think that before these individuals boarded their planes today, they could have picked up a copy of Austin 360 and read this hateful piece, exposing how poorly at least some members of our local media community think of all that we have accomplished.

I attempted to leave a very long comment explaining all of the things wrong with this piece (though a full report would have been longer than the actual article), but was thwarted a by a character limit on that site. I encourage anyone who takes cocktails seriously to comment on the Statesman article and to email the paper's editors demanding that they start taking this subject seriously, and stop leaving coverage of it in the hands of people who know no more about the topic than the paper's readers do, who come to such articles seeking informed coverage. Other than the piece I wrote two years ago, and the recent Mez(s)cal piece, I cannot recall a single article about cocktails, bars, or spirits that was written by someone with more than superficial training in this area.

The full text of the comment I wanted to post at Statesman follows the jump (Note: Comments cannot be posted on Tipsy Texan at this time due to a glitch that we can't figure out, but any comments are appreciated via email, info at this url):

Last week I had the incredible good fortune of coming upon a luxurious ceramic snail from the Spanish manufacturer Hispania. Cost was 9.95 so I passed, preferring my thrift store treasures to come in at the $.59-$.99 price range. But then I had passers remorse so I went back and made the purchase. I am convinced that this is an object of fine art, although Joe has deemed it to be merely a tchotchke (actually I called it a tchotchke, Joe is catholic so he called it a piece of junk).

More than this being a piece of ceramic heaven, I actually became convinced when I saw it on the thrift store shelf that it was a lost treasure of our Tiki past. Although I can find no citations in any of the literature on this subject, I am sticking to my guns here, and will make up the story if I have to.

The evolution of this cocktail's name shall remain obscured by the conditions of this particular evening, mainly because I can't remember the details after getting totally Snailed on this concoction. According to my notes:

Iron & Spite
8 oz Flor De Caña 4 yr Gold Rum
4 oz Daron Calvados
2 oz Cruzan Blackstrap
2 oz St George Aqua Perfecta Pear Liqueur
2 oz Cachaca
2 oz Domaine de Canton
2 oz Balcones Rumble
1.75 oz Aperol
.5 oz Hum
2 oz Simple syrup
4 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
6-8 oz Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas's Own Decanter Bitters
Build ingredients in a large mixing cup and transfer to a porcelain snail filled with big ice, topped with crushed ice. Serve with colorful straws.

We had an overwhelming number of entries this year and so the judging took a little longer than expected. This is the third year for this contest, and it has picked up an amazing amount of momentum. It was challenging to narrow the entries down to just five, so we picked five contestants and an alternate. In the case that one of the five contestants is unable to compete, the alternate will take his or her place. We also received a very interesting dessert drink, which wouldn't show fairly with the others, so we have made the decision that after the contestants compete, the judges will be treated to a special dessert cocktail.

And this year's finalists, in no particular order:
Nate Wales, La Condesa/Malverde
Bill Norris, Haddingon's (Opening Soon)
Ace Manning, Peche
Nancy Mitchell, The Backyard Bartender
Bryan Dressel, Bar Congress (Opening Soon)

Alternate: Garret Mikell, Peche
Dessert: Josh Loving, FINO

Thank you to everyone who entered a recipe. We look forward to seeing you all at Drink Local Night, next Tuesday December 7 at Cedar Street (below Peche). Tickets can be purchased here.

Tipsy Texan has been nominated in the Best Cocktail/Beverage Blog category for the 2010 Austin Blogger Awards! Please be sure to go online and vote here to support all of your favorite bloggers. (Note: they do not look kindly upon ballot stuffing and any suspicious votes will be deleted, so don't "help" your peeps out by voting gratuitously...)

The fourth annual Drink Local Night is tonight! Benefitting Urban Roots, Drink Local Night is a celebration of Texas spirits and seasonal flavors and is one of the signature events of Edible Austin magazine's ambitious Eat Local Week. Event runs 6-9pm tonight.

Tonight's contestants include, in no particular order:
Nate Wales, La Condesa/Malverde
Bill Norris, Haddingon's (Opening Soon)
Ace Manning, Peche
Nancy Mitchell, The Backyard Bartender
Brian Dressel, Bar Congress (Opening Soon)

Alternate: Garret Mikell, Peche
Dessert: Josh Loving, FINO

The judging panel will consist of:
Lara Nixon, Tipsy Tech/Balcones Spirits (and winner of last year's contest)
Joe Eifler, TipsyTexan.com
Adam Harris, Maker's Mark Distillery Diplomat
Emma Janzen, curator of Austin360's cocktail database
Ben Craven, Perla's

Here is a nice little fall cocktail featuring Tito's Vodka that was featured on their blog this week. I know that vodka is not the first spirit that comes to mind when you think of "winter cocktails"... but if you're thinking of vodka and need a winter cocktail, have I got a deal for you:

Père Noël
1.5 oz Tito's
1.5 oz Mathilde Pear Liqueur
.5 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Barspoon St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram
Shake vigorously with ice to chill; strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of pear.

For the uninitiated, the Père Noël cocktail is a play on words. Père Noël is the French name for Father Christmas, or what we called Santa Claus at my house even though we were technically Jewish and shouldn't have been expecting some fat bastard in red to come popping down the chimney bearing gifts and in search of cookies. Père Noël is pronounced like Pear Noel and so that is why I called the cocktail by this name. Perhaps a cocktail name that needs to be explained should be named something else. You be the judge.

This cocktail video was filmed in my kitchen. Note the lovely mid-century suburban fixtures, such as faux knotty pine cabinets. Video highlights include:
Jigger the dog poking his head in the background, which is covered in a big ass cone due to a recent surgery, somewhere around the 1:25 mark ( you can see a glimpse of tail around 1:31); and around the 1:38 mark you can see my own Father Christmas belly shaking like a blubber whale while I cut that pear. I need to hit the gym.

I met the gentleman behind Austin Bloggy Limits, who took the award for Best Overall Music Blog

The Austin Blogger Awards were announced at the #BleetUp on Friday night at the Whole Foods Terrace downtown. Among the winners were Hilah Cooking! for Blog of the Year; our buddy Mando at Taco Journalism for Best Restaurant Review (they are thoroughly amusing, and his coverage of Tamale House makes me weep with joy); Rebeccamendations for entertainment tips; and of course your Tipsy Texans for Best Cocktail/Beer Blog. I hope next year they are able to expand the offerings and separate the Cocktail blogs from the Beer blogs, so that voters are really comparing apples to apples, etc.

Thanks to everyone who voted for us! Maybe this blogger award will actually inspire us to start blogging again. And to get the comments section on this POS fixed...

Last night we conducted the third annual Drink Local Cocktail Contest. Every year I am amazed to see the amount of talent that is developing in this community, and this year was no exception. A record number of entries, and a very enjoyable time watching these great folks present their drinks.

Here are the winners, and recipes for all seven drinks presented last night follow the jump:

First: Bill Norris
Second: Brian Dressel
Third: Nate Wales

Special thanks to Peche/Cedar St for hosting; to all of the Texas spirits producers for showcasing their products and supporting this movement; to Trio at the Four Seasons, Perla's, and Twin Liquors for sponsoring our contest prizes.

Note: Photos from the event coming soon, when I receive them from the event photographer.

Since before it even broke ground it seems as if the buzz has been almost deafening about the new W Hotel opening downtown across the street from City Hall. Much has been written about this property hosting the new facilities for KLRU's beloved Austin City Limits program. And there has been much speculation about who would be doing the food & beverage amenities, including the now-defunct prospect of a non-sushi concept from Tyson Cole (TRACE is the restaurant, and features the cuisine of chef Paul Hargrove).

What has not been covered as thoroughly is the bar program, the menu for which was developed by Charlotte Voisey, who is the company mixologist for William Grant & Sons, and heads up their team of brand ambassadors.

Still fine-tuning the bar in the "Living Room". There is also a "secret" main bar and a restaurant bar

On the morning of last week's opening I had the opportunity to interview Charlotte about the W program specifically and about her cocktail philosophy in general. Originally from London, Voisey began to gain attention for her program at Apartment 195 and for winning UK Bartender of the Year. She moved to the US when offered the Hendrick's Gin ambassador position by William Grant. After spending four years in New York City, she moved to San Francisco, though spends most of her time on the road.

It is super exciting that we have a personality of this caliber working on a project in Austin. We talked for more than an hour but here are the highlights.

DA: Do you miss being behind the bar?
CV: I miss the energy of being behind the bar, in the groove, but not enough to make the lifestyle change, to jump back behind the bar--your whole pattern of life changes. I miss it, but I involve it enough in what I do to get my fix. I do enough events where I have to make drinks for several hours. It keeps you connected with the tools and ingredients you need to work with. It keeps your practical skills and empathy with bartenders in check.

DA: What is your creative process like?
CV: My kitchen is set up like a bar, but I'm only back there every week to ten days. But my Blackberry is my life, so I keep a running list of cocktail names, flavor profiles & ideas. When working on a new project, I think of how many cocktails there should be & what style--for example in Texas, you can't ignore the margarita, so we have several specialty Margaritas at the W.

Then I go back through my saved notes to see what ideas fit in, and I fill in the gaps.
Then it's a process of figuring out what would sound cool, interesting or comfortable. I don't want to exclude any groups of people, I want to make sure none of the drinks are intimidating--that's how you alienate people.

I always include one perfect, classic cocktail recipe on every menu. At the W, it's the Hotel Nacional, which is approachable and lovable, but has a story behind it, a credibility. Then many others are inspired by classics, which helps the bartenders find the right drink for each customer.

A few people have been asking me about the drink we did for Wine & Swine Weekend, the three-day orgy of "pork and cork" events sponsored by the Hill Country Wine & Food Festival. I had the good pleasure of serving the Swine Flu Shot at the kickoff event at the fabulous courtyard at the ATT Executive Education & Conference Center, the awkwardly-named but beautiful home to Josh Watkins's Carillon restaurant on the UT campus.

Josh Watkins's pig. Some people, like my mother, would consider it in poor taste to display a cooked pig on the table where pork is being served. She also never liked the taxidermy displays in certain BBQ establishments. It makes some omnivores uncomfortable to be reminded that they are eating animals. I think it is the omnivore's responsibility to acknowledge as much; but maybe I've been drinking too much whiskey...

Festival Director Erika White emailed me suggesting that we do a Swine Flu shot for the event. At first I thought she was being cheeky, so I didn't give the idea much consideration. But when I realized she was serious, I jumped to action and came up with this little concoction, a portable and easy-to-inject variation on the Old Fashioned.

Swine Flu Shot
2 oz Maker's Mark
.5 oz Blueberry/Black Peppercorn Syrup (or experiment with your own flavored syrup)
Dash Angostura Bitters
Dash Fee Brothers Barrel-Aged Bitters
Expressed lemon peel
Stir to chill and strain into a shot glass; garnish with the expressed oil of a lemon peel, but do not drop the peel in the glass unless you intend to sip this shooter.

Maker's Mark has been a big supporter of the festival and sponsored the contest for Official Cocktail of HCWF 25 this year

Today in the New York Times there was an article about barrel-aging cocktails, and I remembered that one of our local bar stars debuted a barrel-aged cocktail of her own a few weeks ago at the Tigress. According to the Times piece, barrel aging was first explored by London bartender Tony Conigliaro in 2004. The first time I really started paying attention to it was when Jeffrey Morgenthaler started writing about it (and when others in turn started writing about him) with his aged Negroni experiments.

For those of you who are not inclined to travel to either New York or Portland for a cocktail, there is good news: at the Tigress Pub on North Loop, a comfortable drive for most Austinites, you can sample a barrel-aged cocktail from the hands of Lara Nixon, "Brand Wrangler" for Balcones Spirits and my partner-in-crime for Tipsy Tech. For her first go at the Barrel, Lara chose that venerable classic of New Orleans, the Vieux Carré. Typically made with a base of Cognac, Rye, and Sweet Vermouth, Lara decided to substitute Balcones Rumble for the Cognac. The cocktail would then be aged in a Rumble barrel. Though Rumble defies categorization, the distillate of figs, wildflower honey and turbinado sugar has a very brandy-like quality to me. The barrel aging rounds out the corners of this cocktail, and the cocktail will be available for a short time at the Tigress.

Nixon was putting on a showcase of cocktails made with Balcones spirits. She made a hell of an Egg Nog that night, and if I successfully coax the recipe out of her I will post it here.

2010 was a hell of a year for your Tipsy Texans. Thank you to Edible Austin, the Austin American Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, L Style/G Style and all the other publications that supported us throughout the year. Thanks to Twin Liquors and all the spirits companies who sponsored our first two semesters of Tipsy Tech, as well as all the numerous events we produced throughout the year. And thanks to all the folks who stopped by to have a drink and conversation with us wherever we were.

So, where were we in 2010?

Of course, there were the events. More than I can recall. We made a shitload of cocktails for people who don't work daily behind bars. Here are a few of the places you may have seen us mixing, shaking, stirring, or ladling:
Winter Luau at Eastside Showroom
Cocktail Showcase, Coyote Café, Santa Fe, NM
Beignet Breakfast featuring Chartreuse, SXSW 2010 at Frank
Marfa Film Festival SXSW Preview Party featuring 42 Below
SXSW Google Party featuring The Macallan

Joe and David at the 2nd Annual Derby Day Austin at Rainlily Farm, brought to you by our good friends at Maker's Mark

Here is Tipsy (r) assisting Adam Harris of Maker's Mark. We served over 2,000 Mint Juleps at Sunday Fair, 25th Annual Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

With Rebecca Rather and the crew of Camp Javelina, we rocked the Building 98 Brunch at Marfa Film Festival. I did St. Germain Cocktails by the carafe, and a fresh Bloody Mary Bar with fresh mix from the local Marfa hydroponic tomatoes, pickled vegetables, and boiled shrimp. Thanks to Bombay and Tito's for sponsoring the goodies

We threw a two-night After Party for Marfa Film Fest at Blue Javelina, Marfa. There were so many of us staying at "Camp Javelina" that I slept in the bar the first night. Thanks to Bacardi for supplying my bar that weekend.

Tipsy Tech Graduation Party at the Tigress
2nd Annual Tales of the Cocktail Send-off Party at the Swoop House
Spirits of Texas Luncheon, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans
Zhi Tea Third Anniversary Party
Chef Zach Northcutt's Meaty Monday Madness
Farm to Plate benefitting Sustainable Food Center
Sustainable Foodies Fundraiser benefitting Sustainable Food Center sponsored by Republic Tequila

The most unexpected reunion of all! Annies on Congress First Anniversary Party. I got the opportunity to jump back behind the bar with then-bar manager Tiffany Short. Afterwards Bill Norris (original consultant for the project) and Christa Haxthausen (bartender during my tenure) joined for a reunion picture.

Essential NY Times Cookbook, Cocktail Demo for Launch Party at Rainlily Farm
Third Annual Oyster Club benefitting the Rude Mechanicals, The Plant at Kyle
Official Cocktail, 2010 Dolce Vita at Laguna Gloria benefitting Austin Museum of Art
Little Lucifer’s Luau, benefitting Transgender Education Network of Texas
Bourbon, Bluegrass & BBQ at Stubbs
HELM Handmade Trunk Show at Stag
Blue Javelina Cocktail Showcase, Chinati Weekend, Marfa
Swine Flu Shot! For Wine & Swine Weekend, Hill Country Wine & Food Festival
Third Annual Drink Local Cocktail Contest, benefitting Urban Roots
Potocki Vodka VIP event at Austin Wine Merchant

We made a special punch for the Contigo Ground-breaking Party. Joe obviously wasn't taking his shoveling task very seriously, since he didn't even set his cup down long enough for the photo opp

We picked up a few Awards & Recognitions along the way...
Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll—“Most Critical Thinking About Drinking”
Austin Blogger Awards---Best Cocktail/Beer Blog
2010 Local Hero Award—“Beverage Artisan”
Out & About 500—“Food Stars”

I'm most proud that we graduated our first two classes of Tipsy Tech students. Here we are on our first semester field trip to the Balcones distillery in Waco. We won the Austin Chronicle Best of Austin Award—“Best Tippler Teach-ins” for Tipsy Tech

A few people, amazingly enough, wanted to hear me blab on about this subject even more than I usually do:
Out & About Interactive Chat with Michael Barnes, on the state of Austin nightlife
Southwest EXPO, Houston—“Texas Booze: More Homegrown Choices for your Bar Menu”
Growing Concerns, back-to-back interviews w/ Cecilia Nasti, KUT Radio
Heath Riddles, OUTcast Radio, KOOP
Spirits of Texas Cocktail Showcase at Twin Marketplace, Waco
Nerd Nite Austin—“History of the Martini”

Tipsy Tech alumn Emma Janzen curated a massive Austin 360 Cocktail Database, at Austin360.com. I had the pleasure of doing the first 20 or so videos of what will grow to be a great collection of cocktail instructional videos and recipes from Austin's craft bartending scene. (The astute observer will notice that I underfilled the jigger when pouring the Cachaca--no meniscus--what else did I mess up? Discuss)

Me with Tom Michael after our interview at the Marfa Public Radio studio

We made a few appearances in the media:
“Luck of the Irish coffee” Austin American-Statesman Glossy
“Punch Up Celebration with Old Favorite”—Austin American-Statesman
“Blogging Pair Has Imbibe and Scribe Down to a Science”—Austin American-Statesman
Treaty Oak Cocktail made on KXAN live morning show
Holiday Cocktails, Jewell Magazine Winter 2011

And had good luck at a couple of contests this year as well...
1st place, Don Julio Luxury Drop (Team with Ben Craven, Jenn Tucker, and Bill Norris

Look at these hard-ass gangsters. Tara, Bill, Jeff, David: The Austin delegation arrives in Dallas for Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Showcase. My cocktail advanced to the national round in 2011

Then there were all the private events, the events I forgot, and a few events that we didn't have to work! Thanks to everyone who made 2010 a great year. Looking forward to seeing you all again, on one side of the bar or another, in 2011.

Note: This blog software is out of date and the the comments feature doesn't work. Please look for a new Tipsy Texan early 2011