A couple of Saturdays ago I appeared on the KXAN Morning Show and prepared a cocktail for all of those people who are up and at 'em and in need of a stimulating seasonal cocktail at 8:30 am. As it happens, exactly one of my friends/colleagues called me to congratulate--shows what kind of crowd I roll with. Even my mom was out of town and could therefore not be relied upon to check the local news. Because of the the earliness of the hour, I didn't take it too seriously but I chanced to look at the stats for our Web traffic today, and noticed this tremendous spike in visits a few Saturdays ago. It was the day of the news broadcast! I so didn't think anyone was going to come visit, that when I said, "Check the Web site for the recipe," I didn't think anyone would really do it. But they did. Early-risin', hard-drinkin' mofos looking for a cocktail. Sorry I let y'all down, here's the drink if you're still interested.

Harvest Punch
1.5 oz Treaty Oak Rum
1.5 oz Fresh pressed apple cider
.5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
.25 oz simple syrup
Bar spoon St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram
Dash Cruzan Blackstrap rum
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, or serve "up" in a cocktail glass or punch cup

Okay I don't want to get all Perez Hilton and junk but how is it that the Tipsy Texans were in the paper on two consecutive days this week? If we are somehow famous, I would like someone to please fix the handle on the truck so I don't have to reach out the window to open the door. Yesterday we got a shout-out from social columnist Michael Barnes about the Boy George cocktail we served last Wednesday night at the release party for the new L Style/G Style magazine ( I wrote an article for that rag if you want to view it here.) and today there is a picture of Tipsy himself, chomping down on some chow that was being served at Meaty Monday Madness.

The picture in today's paper identifies Tipsy (on left, with our friend Kevin Smothers, right, and who's that guy in the middle?) but does not indicate that he was there not in a civilian capacity, but in a Tipsy one, serving up some bad-ass cocktails. Actually, I can't remember what all we served but it was awesome.

The Manhattan, chilling in the fridge with the other agar agar (doesn't sound as sexy as Jell-o, does it?) shots

For starters, I showed up to Meaty Monday with a special treat for the host--a cocktail in a miniature boar's head-shaped terrine. Moreover, I made a bitchin Rittenhouse Rye Manhattan, congealed that sh!t with agar agar, and submerged an authentic Luxardo maraska cherry. The theme for this month's event was "Any Baby Can...Be Delicious" so this presentation was particularly hot.

At first I thought I looked kind of bicepy in this conversation with Bella Verdi Farms's Darrell Joseph, then I realized it was just because my arm was moving

The Statesman may have neglected to mention our mixological presence at Meaty Monday Madness but we have the photos--and empty bottles--to prove it.

We were out of town doing a two-night engagement at the Blue Javelina in Marfa this weekend and so we missed the Austinist interview that came out on Friday. (Marfa is known more for its broad horizons than for its broadband.) Tolly Mosely interviews David (Tex, me) on the subject of winter-appropriate cocktails. Tex debuts the Prefect Cocktail, which spell check keeps trying to make the Perfect Cocktail, which I am neither talented nor cocky enough to claim.

The Prefect
1.5 oz 100 Proof Rye Whiskey
0.75 oz Ruby Port
0.5 oz Averna
Barspoon Creme de Cassis
Dash Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters ( if you have them; if not, use Angostura)
Stir ingredients with ice to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a real maraschino cherry.

There is also a brief discussion of how to employ the ice cream ball in adult holiday entertainment. Proprietarily known as the Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker, the device works by filling one end with ice and rock salt, and the other end with your favorite ice cream recipe. This time of year, when the weather is right and mood is festive, we prefer to fill it with some member of the overly-sweet-and-creamy cocktail canon, of which we are shamelessly fond: a batch of Grasshoppers, Pink Squirrels, Banshees, Golden Sleighs or Brandy Alexanders, for example. Then you roll the ball around and shake it for about ten minutes, at which point you refresh the ice/salt and scrape down the sides of the ice cream canister. Seal it back up and play with it for another 5-10 minutes, and your frozen treasure should be ready. You could, I suppose, do this by yourself but it would not be as fun and your arms might fall off, kind of like if you tried to do a 6-minute Ramos Gin Fizz without shaking assistance. Some Grinchy-ass bastards might point out that you accomplish this in the blender in a fraction of the time, but those haters probably also prefer Slice n' Bake cookies and not mixing the Play Doh colors til they look like poo.

Today there is a story in the Austin American-Statesman about how to ring in the New Year with a big bowl of punch. Since I knew that there would be quite a few Austinites and expatriate Longhorns in the Burnt Orange Diaspora who would be in need of a special beverage next week as well, I created a two-birds-with-one-stone Championship Punch. Fun enough for New Year's Eve, but strong enough to fortify our nerves for next week's football game.

Championship Punch
3-4 Tangerines, Meyer Lemons, Oranges, Lemons, mixed
24 oz (about 1 750ml bottle) Flor de Caña 4yr Aged Rum (or other aged rum, such as Mt. Gay or Texas-made Railean)
6 oz fresh squeezed Tangerine juice
6 oz fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon juice*
1/2 cup demerara sugar (or white sugar)
6 oz strong green tea
6-8 dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram (available at the Austin Wine Merchant and finer liquor stores)
Over a punch bowl or glass pitcher, remove the zests of several tangerines, meyer lemons, oranges or lemons, about 3-4 fruit total. Be careful to remove only the outer zest and not the white pith, which is bitter. Leave the zests in the bowl and add sugar and warm green tea. Stir to dissolve and allow to steep a few minutes. Add rum, fruit juices, bitters, and allspice dram. Strain mixture into a punch bowl. Add a large block of ice, which you can make by freezing water in a Jell-O mold, bunt pan, or half of a paper milk carton. A large block of ice will take several hours to dilute and so will not water down your punch as will regular ice. Makes about 12 4-oz servings.

*If you do not have access to Meyer Lemons, try an equal mixture of regular lemon juice and orange juice

Each year the various Edible Communities publications host the Local Hero awards in their various communities to award the best in locally produced food and beverage. This year's winners:

Farm/Farmer: Carol Ann Sayles and Larry Butler of Boggy Creek Farm
Restaurant/Chef: Mark Paul and Eric Polzer (Wink)
Food Artisan: Jesse Griffiths (Dai Due Supper Club & Butcher Shop)
Beverage Artisan: Joe Eifler and David Alan (TipsyTexan.com)

Congrats to all of the winners! We humbly thank all of you who voted for us, since this year we forgot to beg/bribe all of our friends and family to vote, and I even forgot to vote for myself.

On Thursday we did a live chat interview on Michael Barnes's Out and About blog at Austin360.com. This is a part of a series on the state of Austin nightlife. The format is interactive, and readers can join in on the conversation. The archived chat is viewable here.

Tex will be making the Treaty Oak Cocktail this morning on KXAN local news at around 8:40 am. Unnatural hours for a bartender to be up and at 'em, but what sacrifices we make for shameless self promotion!

The Treaty Oak Cocktail appears in the most recent issue of Edible Austin magazine, in a cooperative ad with locally-made Treaty Oak Rum and the Tipsy Tech, the educational program of this Web site.

Treat Oak Cocktail
2 oz Treaty Oak Platinum Rum
3/4 oz Rosemary syrup
3/4 oz Fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz Paula's Texas Orange liqueur

When I created this drink I was aiming for something that captured my impression of the flavors of the Hill Country. The locally made rum, the subtle herbaceousness from the rosemary, and the bright citrus all call to mind a bright sunshiney Texas afternoon on the patio. I structured the drink such that it would be familiar to Texans, but that it would still taste new and interesting. At it's core it is a Rum margarita, with a localized twist in the Rosemary which grows like a weed here. To make the syrup is easy--make a 1:1 batch of simple syrup (heat water and sugar til they're warm enough to dissolve the sugar), and while still warm infuse a couple sprigs of rosemary for a few minutes. Strain herbs from syrup and cool.

Note: This blog's comments section is not currently functioning :(

The summer Edible Austin is available at news stands around town

The new Summer 2010 issue of Edible Austin is out and I wrote my column on the thing that I think of most when it is hotter than hell outside. Most of you are probably thinking "Air Conditioning," but this is a publication about food, not HVAC. Ice--air conditioning for you mouth--is the stuff of summer. It is also the stuff of much contemplation, and no small amount of journalism, lately.

The Macallan has taken the lead from the Japanese and started to issue the ice ball maker, for the whisky drinker who likes the cold of ice, but not the dilution

As soon as I received my advanced copy of the book I realized that I left out a crucial part about ice: clarity. I was certain that my colleagues, having seen the big but opaque ice in the image above, would be calling and texting about my having reached a new level of hackery. Instead they just expressed jealousy that I had the ice ball maker and they didn't. (For the record, I had to send the machine back to the Macallan folks.)
Fortunately Camper English at Alcademics has recently written a concise guide to addressing the opacity issue, so that I don't have to. Hackery (mine) restored.

Thanks to Jenna Lane of Edible Austin for her fab photog

The 2010 Out & About 500 was announced today at Austin360.com and in the print edition of the Statesman. Lots of familiar faces, including our own. Special congrats to our friends Jenna Noel (Edible Austin, Honorary Tipsy Texan ) and Zack Northcutt (Mulberry, Hadddington's) for making their debut on the list and as an official 'social unit!'