http://www.tipsytexan.com/ en Copyright 2008 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:36:23 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Dale/David Project continues with the Michelada. I have no idea where the Michelada comes from but it seems to be everywhere I look these days. (Including, quite tragically, in the beer case at your neighborhood grocery, in the form of Budweiser Chelada) Dale offers no historical background on the drink; there is no recipe or mention of it in the Joy of Mixology. Simon Difford refers to it simply as a "Mexican classic" in his book. The Michelada starts in a beer glass with a squeeze of lime, a few dashes of Tabsco, soy sauce, and worcestershire sauce; with a twist of black pepper and an ounce of Maggi seasoning. Dale specifies that it is served over ice, though I see it often served without. The Michelada is not one of my favorite beverages. But those bison sausage & potato enchiladas topped with bison chili and farmer's market cheese...]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_46the_michel.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_46the_michel.html The Dale/David Project Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:36:23 -0600 Dale/David Project continues and what a joy this drink is. It brings back memories of sitting in a small restaurant in the late summer in southern Germany and experiencing the beauty of the radler, a mix of lager and lemon-lime soda (the European version). Like that drink, this one is incredibly refreshing. It's a delightful blend of ale, ginger beer, lemon juice and orange curracao. The recipe in The Craft of the Cocktail can yield two drinks depending on the size of the mug. Known as the Shandy today, most recipes call for a mix of ale and . . .]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_45shandygaff.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_45shandygaff.html The Dale/David Project Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:25:32 -0600 Dale/David Project went on the road last week in an exciting trip to Houston, specifically to Beaver's and the current home bar of Bobby Heugel. (You can read about my previous Houston field trip here.) The original post was going to be Live Blogging at Beaver's! But then I had a few too many of Bobby's libations and now will be posting 4-5 days after the fact. So be it. If I had been live blogging people would have been too busy watching Olympians wrestle in skimpy singlets, which is what was on the TV at the Beave that night. Beavers bar man Bobby Heugel honored us by mixing a few drinks from the Dale First I want to share an image with you that I think is very intriguing. This photo was taken not at Beaver's but rather at a shitbox burger joint I can't remember the name of. The point is that there is something very appropriate about there being a Zima sign right above the urinal: Is it because it tastes like piss? Or because you might as well just pour it down the pisser? Do they still make this stuff? It was all the rage during my high school years (before we graduated to the Mickey's hand grenades) In addition to heading up the bar team at Beaver's, Bobby Heugel is the founder of the acclaimed DrinkDogma.com, a comprehensive online beverage resource. Whereas I just like to ramble on about drinking, post a bunch of shoddy photos, and talk the occasional smack, Bobby's site is focused on delivering usable information to readers--if I could just take a page out of his book. On this evening, Bobby very generously agreed to take a page out of Dale's book, so to speak, by participating in the Dale/David Project. But first, I tried a couple of Bobby Heugel originals. The Lost in Madrid Cocktail Lost in Madrid 2 oz. Plymouth Gin 1 oz. Vya Dry Vermouth 1/4 oz. Licor 43 2 Dashes Orange Bitters (Angostura) Stir & strain, garnish with a lemon twist The Brave is an intense experience The Brave 2 oz. Averna Amaro 3/4 oz. Laphroaig 10 yr. 1/4 oz. Orange Curacao 1 Dash Angostura Bitters Flamed Orange Zest Swirl to warm thoroughly I handed Bobby the book and he selected two cocktails. The first is the Man O' War. The Man O' War consists of Wild Turkey 101, orange curacao, sweet vermouth, and lemon juice, garnished with an orange slice and a cherry. Dale/David Project #43--The Man O' War Next up Bobby made a Silver Fizz. Actually, two Silver Fizzes. The first followed Dale's recipe, which oddly has as much simple syrup as it does gin. I have made this drink several times before but never really noticed how sweet it was until Bobby made the drink following his own formula. Dale/David Project #44--Silver Fizz Silver Fizz (Bobby Heugel version. Double simple syrup for DDG version) 1 1/2 oz Gin 3/4 oz Lemon juice 1/2 oz Simple syrup 1 Egg white Shake vigorously with ice so as to emulsify the egg, then strain into a highball glass--Dale calls to top with soda. The drink is served without ice.]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_on_the_roadhouston_f.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_on_the_roadhouston_f.html The Dale/David Project Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:48:02 -0600 ]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/this_wednesday_there_is_a_1.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/this_wednesday_there_is_a_1.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:12:28 -0600 Salt and Pepper Martini I posted about below. If I had noticed this earlier I would have posted them together. Instead, I found it while scanning the book trying to figure out what to do with an "open" grapefruit. According to Dale, he created this drink as a response to the Salty Dog, which he liked the idea of but the recipe for which he thought was boring. This is a wetter version of the S & P Martini, with 3 full ounces of grapefruit juice as opposed to 3/4 oz. This is a sweet drink but a delicious starting off point for people who are getting into cocktails. I would recommend this to anyone drinking something salty dog-like as a "next step."]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_42salt_peppe.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_42salt_peppe.html The Dale/David Project Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:48:48 -0600 How to Mix Drinks (1862). It does not appear to have anything to do with Japan, but it is tasty. The recipe in the Dale consists of Cognac, orgeat, lime juice, and Angostura bitters. The lime juice is a latter day addition. According to Dale's notes, the original drink involved a couple of pieces of lemon peel. Some of the versions I found still hew closely to this formula, such as the one in Simon Difford's Cocktails. I thought it was a lovely cocktail; Tipsy thought it was too sweet. I told him to go suck a lime.]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_41the_japane.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_41the_japane.html The Dale/David Project Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:07:13 -0600 The Greyhound is a delicious tart alternative to the Screwdriver. I was all excited by the Grapefruit Cocktail in The Savoy Cocktail Book which calls for lemon juice, grapefruit jelly and gin. An adaptation listed below the main recipe calls for gin, grapefruit juice, sugar and "plenty of ice." This appears to be a progenitor of the Greyhound, though I've only found this in one source. Cheers and let me know different.]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_40the_greyho.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_40the_greyho.html The Dale/David Project Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:12:48 -0600 Dale/David Project, and me cramming a bunch of buffalo wings into my mouth because I was so hungry that my stomach was digesting itself, since the meal took so long to prepare (next time--Pluckers). Don't worry, there were more wings on the grill. I had to get the table set so that we could take a damn picture and start eating. I decided for no apparent reason (no big game, no abundance of time) that I was going to cook Buffalo Wings from scratch--make the pepper sauce, then the Buffalo sauce; trim celery, make bleu cheese dressing; cut up chicken wings into drums, flappers, and freaky nub that nobody eats (I added these and some veggie scraps to make a quick stock), then smoke over charcoal and toss in wing sauce; cut and fry potatoes. And drink a bunch of cold Leinenkugel's, which Jenna and Tipsy thought tasted like "Grandpa beer." While I grunted and bitched in the kitchen, Tipsy mixed cocktails with our esteemed guest Jenna Noel, associate publisher of Edible Austin magazine. Jenna chose for her first drink the Mark Twain Cocktail. This cocktail follows a rather simple formula: Scotch + Lemon juice + sugar + bitters = yummy. It was supposedly described by Twain himself to his wife in a letter he wrote from London in 1874. The Mark Twain was well balanced, simple, and delicious Tipsy flipped through the Dale and found the Paris Cocktail. Consisting of gin, dry vermouth, and creme de cassis, shaken and strained, and garnished with a flamed lemon peel. It was reportedly created by Colin Field at the Hemingway Bar, Ritz Hotel, Paris. Tipsy was getting artistic (and tipsy) with this photo. The Paris Cocktail is much sweeter than we expected. For dessert we had a lemon cheesecake pie that a friend brought us from his aunty Marie (Calendar's). To wash it down I made two frothy creamy drinks. The first was the Parisian Blonde. According to Dale, "This is a vintage cocktail in the tradition of the classic Alexander... The name remains a mystery to me." She consists of rum, orange curacao, and heavy cream, with a few drops of vanilla as a garnish on top of the frothy head. This cocktail was not super exciting. Next up I made a Pink Squirrel. This is a drink that I have been meaning to make for a decade or more, ever since my first job in a restaurant/bar where they had the mysterious and aged bottle of Creme de Noyaux. If only the rest of the squirrels at Tipsy Manor were as well-meaning as this Pink one! I saw one of those bastards climbing up a tree with a couple feet of squash vine + blossoms hanging from his mouth; since all of the neighbors have dogs, the squirrels take refuge in our yard (and make refuse out of my Drinkable Estate). The twisted little sister of the Grasshopper]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_36mark_twain.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_36mark_twain.html The Dale/David Project Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:33:05 -0600 I attempted the much more complicated Pousse Cafe that Dale uses to introduce the category, and it has 7 layers. It started out as a beautiful drink but then one of the layers tricked another layer to switch places with it (the result, I guess, of the green Creme de Menthe I used being of a different density than the one Dale uses) Ultimately the drink began to look like a disaster and I scrapped the project for another day. The ABC Pousse Cafe, with three layers, proved to be much easier than the7-layered Pousse Cafe that is found elsewhere in the book. If I had hit the top layer just right, it would be clear, but my hands proved not to be as steady as I thought they were! Note: The reason why we decided to do Pousse Cafes last night is because we were out of ice. No ice = no cocktails, an important thing to remember if you plan on embarking on a journey such as this one. ]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_35abc_pousse.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_35abc_pousse.html The Dale/David Project Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:45:25 -0600 Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook, without the orange juice specified in Dale's recipe. Anybody have an earlier citation for this cocktail? Medium rum, Wray & Nephew overproof rum, orange curacao, orgeat, and fresh lime and orange juices.]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_34the_suffer.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_34the_suffer.html The Dale/David Project Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:22 -0600 Old Potrero the day before and was excited to find that DDG created a cocktail specifically for use with this whiskey. Old Potrero is distilled at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, and they produce a small handful of boutique whiskeys and gins that are hard to get in Texas. Their whiskeys are unique in that they are made in a style that attempts to replicate the earliest American whiskeys, and so are not aged as long and are bottled at a considerably higher proof than most modern whiskeys. According to Dale, drinks like this served over shaved ice are called "Mists." The Rye Club consists of Old Potrero shaken with orange curacao (I used Grandma) and a dash of orange bitters, served over shaved ice. I didn't have the necessary hardware to create shaved ice, so I put it in a cloth sack and beat it with a heavy muddler, to good effect]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_33the_rye_cl_1.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_33the_rye_cl_1.html The Dale/David Project Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:39:20 -0600 Elvis Presley Yahrzeit Memorial Coffee Stand in the morning in honor of the King's death; in the evening we were serving cocktails at the Dai Due Supper Club's fundraiser dinner for the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. But in between that we hosted a Bitters Practicum with local mixologists Moxy Castro and Bill Norris demonstrating the production of homemade bitters. And since we had so many great mixological minds gathered together, we thought it would be a good idea to knock out some drinks for the Dale/David Project, and so Bill became our first Guest Mixologist. Bill's first choice was the Whiskey Peach Smash, a DDG original drink that involves muddled peach, lemon, and mint, shaken with whiskey and served on the rocks. This was a good refreshing summer whiskey drink. The Wild Turkey Rye was Bill's choice; the recipe calls for Canadian whiskey, which we don't stock Bill's second choice was the Honeymoon Cocktail, which was a real crowd pleaser. Consisting of Applejack, Benedictine, orange curacao, and lemon juice, this reminded me of a Sidecar. The Difford's Guide recipe calls for half of an egg white. The 1946 Old Mr. Boston does not. The Honeymoon Cocktail originates from the Brown Derby in 1930's Hollywood]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_3132guest_mi_2.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_3132guest_mi_2.html The Dale/David Project Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:14 -0600 Not everybody was as enthusiastic about the King's yahrzeit as we were. But there were still a handful of patrons who eagerly participated in Elvis Trivia, and shared their own stories about how Elvis touched their lives. One man from Memphis couldn't remember the answer to a trivia question about Elvis's parents' names, so he called a friend of his back home who used to fly Elvis's plane for him, and got not just first names but middle names and Gladys Presley's maiden name. Another woman explained that the night that Elvis played the auditorium in her town, she was grounded and had to miss the show. One of the highlights of the day was when when this customer stopped by: her name is Lisa Marie, and her birthday is the day that Elvis died. To honor the King, we served the Burnin' Love Latte, which is based on the grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich that was supposedly one of his favorite things to eat (although in a series about the last day of his life, one of his confidantes said that Elvis liked to eat a mixture of crisp bacon, sliced tomato, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. I don't know how well that would translate to a coffee drink...) Burnin' Love Latte 1/2 oz. Torani Creme de Banana syrup 1/4 oz. Torani Peanut Butter syrup 1/4 oz. Torani White Chocolate syrup Top with equal parts cold-brewed coffee concentrate and whole milk (about 4 oz. each). Shake and serve over ice. A surprisingly delicious tribute!]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/elvis_presley_yahrzeit_memoria.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/elvis_presley_yahrzeit_memoria.html Coffee Crusade Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:50:54 -0600 Today the Statesman's XLENT entertainment supplement features the You (heart) Austin list of everybody's favorite things about Austin. Has anybody else noticed the proliferation of "best of" polls? I can't even keep track of them anymore. There's so many that I barely have time to give my professional analysis of why my choices are better than everybody else's. But I'm going to give it my best shot... The good news is that Paula's Texas Orange was voted favorite Locally Produced beer, liquor, or wine. I think we can all agree on that. I agree that best Breakfast Taco (TacoDeli), Wings (Pluckers), Seafood (Quality), and Annoying Pseudo-celeb (tied: Leslie and Mayor Wynn) have all been rightly annointed. Leslie Cochran, a living, breathing Greetings From Austin billboard Best Gay Bar went to Chain Drive. If you haven't been, the Chain Drive is one of those places where mustachioed men in leather and Levi's walk around with beer guts and chest hair--basically the opposite of any gay bar downtown where the plucked eyebrow is the norm) But here is the troubling news about today's news:]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/booze_newsgood_news_and_bad_ne_2.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/booze_newsgood_news_and_bad_ne_2.html Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:57:53 -0600 Dale/David Project continues with the Cadillac Margarita and the Frozen Margarita. This Cadillac might not be luxurious enough for some Texans Dale's Cadillac Margarita consists of 100% Blue Agave Tequila, Grand Marnier, and Fresh Lime Juice, shaken and strained into a chilled cocktail glass that has been rimmed with salt. I went ahead and gave this one a half-rim job for the picture, though I usually don't take salt with my Margaritas. I think this concept of the "Cadillac" margarita is an interesting one. I can't speak for any place else, but in Austin you will often see some variation of this "super-premium" margarita. Whereas Dale's just calls for "100% Blue Agave Tequila", that is considered the standard for a lot of higher-end places these days. Therefore the "Cadillac" would include some extra-añejo high dollar tequila, and maybe even one of the Centenaire products from Grand Marnier, in the case of a "Millionaire's Margarita". For the prices they get for some of these "Millionaire's" margaritas, I'd come to the millionaire's house and shake drinks all night. The Frozen Margarita, in its ubiquitous blue glass. Bowling trophy optional. The Frozen Margarita is something that would generally not cross my lips except for during an academic endeavor such as this one. I followed Dale's recipe, which calls for 2 ounces of Tequila to 1 ounce of triple sec, and 2 ounces of simple syrup to one ounce of lime. Notice that the ingredients are much longer than in the shaken margarita; this is to accommodate for the melting water of the blended ice. The ingredients are also skewed towards the sweeter--are we to assume that this is because the Frozen Margarita drinker favors a sweeter beverage? Perhaps. The important thing to remember is that you cannot achieve the proper frozen-ness if you put ice from your freezer into the blender. The ice from the waffle-bottom tray will be too big to properly break down; the ice from your ice maker most likely will have absorbed a bunch of funky freezer flavors. It is recommended that you pick up a bag of ice at the grocery store, the cubes are smaller and it will likely be fresher-tasting. I opted to smack some homemade ice cubes wrapped up in a towel; this worked pretty well though I still had some larger ice pieces left after blending the drink. I chose to present this drink in the traditional blue glass that every middle age white Texan I know seems to have. I bought a bunch of these for a Tex-Mex feast that Tipsy and I prepared for my mother's 60th birthday this year. I don't know what the reasoning behind these glasses is. They're very cumbersome and I would like to know who the hell came up with such a thing. If you want to waste 2 oz. 100% Agave Tequila, forget to put the blades on the blender cup before pouring in ingredients]]> http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_2930_more_ma.html http://www.tipsytexan.com/2008/08/daledavid_project_2930_more_ma.html The Dale/David Project Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:10:52 -0600