The Bon Vivant’s Companion

In the Midwest, ice the size of a golf ball is something you run from as it falls from the sky, in LA it’s something you swirl in a cocktail.

At Bar Centro, part of the newly opened SLS Hotel near Beverly Hills, ice is the centerpiece of their “Ultimate Gin and Tonic”.  Floating in edible flowers, herbs, and your choice of tonic, is a perfect, frosty sphere.  No clunky rocks, nothing from a 1,000-pound machine, just an elegant, crystal-clear ball of ice.  Thick and round it melts slowly, chilling the cocktail without diluting it.

Throw in cucumbers, spices, and greenery, and you have a garden in a glass; a deconstructed gin and tonic if you will.  Perfect for a party, and with the right tools, easy to recreate at home.  A trip to the produce department, and a spherical ice mold is all you need.

I recommend the mold from the MoMa store. Its thoughtful design is compact and doesn’t require an engineering degree, although filling it takes a little patience.  Running water slowly through a pour spout (the kind you put in a bottle of spirits) inverted over the mold’s tiny hole helps it fill faster.  The resulting little ice balls are fun and worth the time.

Having survived an icy Chicago Christmas, these cocktail spheres are the closest I’m getting to snowballs or ice for the rest of the winter.  Home in LA, I will gladly sip my perfectly chilled gin and tonic in 75-degree weather, and think fondly of friends and family stuck in subzero temperatures.  (Those suckers are going to need all the good thoughts they can get…)

If you are in the LA area, Bar Centro is worth a visit.  The bar is filled (almost exclusively) with Sex and the City-type women, and has been designed by uber hipster Philippe Stark.  The lounge buzzes and whirs with a modernity that will go out of style quickly, but be remembered fondly (like disco lights and Halston jumpsuits) so catch it while it’s hot. There are two restaurants and a sweet shop on the bar level as well.

Bar Centro @ SLS Hotel
465 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone: (310) 247-0400
Monday-Wednesday, Sunday 6pm-12am; Thursday-Saturday 6pm-2am
Map

Looking for a cocktail to serve at your Inauguration party next week?  Try an Obamartini or Biden Beer Bomb. I created these cocktails during the presidential debate season last fall, and they were two of my most popular posts for ’08.  Interest in them seems to be spiking again, so I thought I’d present them together.  Besides having catchy names (if I do say so myself) these cocktails are easy, festive, and in the case of the Obamatini, downright patriotic.

Throw your own Inaugural Ball next Tuesday. Invite friends and family over, huddle around the big screen (while our fellow citizens freeze in DC), and raise a very full glass to the peaceful transfer of power, a new era, and a whole lot of hope.

Fun Party tips:

-Buy a life sized Obama cutout at a party supply store for photo ops.
-Burn a copy of the Inaugural address and loop it all night long.
-Treat your guests to a West Wing Marathon.  Even on mute this series (democratic porn, really) will raise hopes and elevate spirits.

The Obamartini

2 oz original Grey Goose Vodka
1 oz fresh pressed blueberry juice
½ oz simple syrup
¼ oz Chambord
¼ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pour all ingredients over ice into a Boston Shaker
Shake until cold and strain into a martini glass
Skewer blueberry, marshmallow, and piece of strawberry (in that order) onto an olive pick and garnish away.

The Biden Beer Bomb

½ bottle of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat Beer (or beer of your choice.  Wheat beer or hefeweizen works best)
1½ oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon
½ oz Cherry Brandy
¼  oz simple syrup

Run water over beer mug and put in freezer while preparing cocktail.

Place bourbon, cherry brandy, and simple syrup in a Boston shaker with ice.  Shake until cold.
Pour mixture into the bottom of an ice-cold mug.  Add beer to taste.

After a month (or two) of holiday imbibing I take it easy during the first week of the year.  So instead of a cocktail recipe, I wanted to share a fun find — Absinthe lollipops.

Available online from Lollyphile, these pops are substantial but won’t leave you tipsy, or talking to green fairies (that’s what the liquid stuff is for).  They use real absinthe in these (excuse the pun) suckers, but during the cooking process the alcohol burns off.  Legal levels of thujone (the alleged hallucination causing chemical found in wormwood) and a subtle licorice-green flavor remains. Yes, I said licorice-green flavor.  (Turns out candied Absinthe is tough to describe.)

Made in San Francisco by Jason Lewis, a self-described candyphile, these lollipops are elegant conversation-starters.  Give Absinthe lollipops as gifts, add them to packages, or share them as party favors.

They’re tasty, so remember to keep a couple for yourself.

Check out the Lollyphile website for a chuckle and more info:

http://www.lollyphile.com/

Wasabi-ginger, and maple-bacon (yes, bacon) lollipops also available.