The Bon Vivant’s Companion

I’ve been working on this blog post since March.  Not because it’s so special, but because life happened, and then death did.

Originally, my plan was to write about the St. Francis Hotel’s newly opened Clock Bar and their best selling cocktail, the Persephone — a new drink done in a classic style by mixologist Marcovaldo Dionysos (who, unless he’s using a nom de plume, was clearly born to be a bartender.)

The Clock Bar, run by Chef Michael Mina, features world-class bar snacks and a cocktail menu that thinks it’s 1935.  But it’s not 1935.  It’s not even March any more, and this blog post has lingered unwritten long enough…

I’m a sucker for all things mythological and the Persephone, a cocktail made with Charbay vodka, homemade grenadine, and pomegranate juice, struck me as clever (and made me wonder why more libations aren’t named after Olympians…the Hephaestus anyone?)

Persephone, the goddess of spring, and daughter of Demeter (harvest) and Zeus (everything) was a hottie, devil-may-care kind of Olympian until Hades fell for her, dragged her to the underworld, and made her his queen.

Demeter, unable to find her daughter, rendered the earth barren while Persephone was missing.  Needing live people to worship him, and seeing no upside to mass starvation, Zeus stepped in and forced Hades to release his new bride.  Persephone was returned to her mother, but having eaten several seeds from an underworld pomegranate, she was tied to Hades forever.

(Travel advisory – skip the roadside snacks in hell.)

In a rare compromise, the gods decided to share, and Persephone spent the rest of her days splitting time between her mom’s house and her husband’s kingdom.

Mythology meets modern mixology. That was the concept.  That’s what I planned on talking about back in March, but as I said, life happened, and then, ironically, death did.

Shortly after I got home, and busy, and sick, my cousin Jamie died.  She was more than the word cousin implies, she was my little sister, my friend.  Jamie died suddenly, and young, and without much explanation.  Reeling is what I’ve been up to since it happened. In general, mornings have not been seen, work has not been done, and blogs have gone unwritten.

In dealing with the loss of Jamie, and my aunt’s grief, the myth of Persephone has taken on a whole new meaning.  I understand it better.  I know first hand that, if she could, my aunt would make it snow every day until someone gave her Jamie back.

So as the weeks have passed, and the fog has lifted, I’ve decided to revisit the Persephone.  After doing research, and discovering that there isn’t a definitive version of this cocktail (all apologies to Mr. Dionysos) I decided to come up with my own.

Because it’s summer now, I turned to gin as my base spirit.  I added homemade grenadine, pomegranate juice, and a little muddled mint.

Turns out, mint is a sacred plant closely tied to Persephone.  As the story goes, Hades cheated on Persephone with a nymph named Menthe.  When she found out, Persephone trampled on Menthe until she became a sprig of mint.

Maybe I find retribution funny, but I get a kick out of that story.  I think Jamie would too.

Here’s the recipe:
The Persephone
1 ½ oz Plymouth Gin
1 oz Pomegranate Juice
¾ Homemade Grenadine (I chose a recipe created by Jeff Hollinger, owner of Absinthe and author of “Art of the Bar”)
¼ Fresh lime Juice
3 or 4 pieces of mint
Fever Tree Bitter Lemon to taste
Mint for garnish
Put 3 or 4 pieces of mint in a Boston shaker, cover with Grenadine, and muddle ingredients until completely mixed.  Add gin, pomegranate juice, and ice, and shake until chilled.
Pour entire contents of shaker into a rocks glass.  Garnish with mint.

Jamie

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.

When life gives you lemons – put them in booze.

You know the economy is bad when Confederate dollars are worth more than GM stock, and Monopoly money is up 2 to 1 against the US dollar. (Apparently, Monocle Guy did not get into sub-prime mortgages. He stuck to a strict “four houses for one hotel” policy.)

What are the rest of us to do? Sell a railroad? Learn Hobo code? Hope someone lands on Baltic Avenue and pays rent on our one mangy house?

I suggest we do what they did during the last Great Depression – drink copious amounts of American gin (minus the still in the bathtub).

In my search for an American solution to an American problem, I came across a small batched gin called Leopold’s. Handcrafted by Master Distiller Todd Leopold, this gin has a smooth blend of floral and citrus flavors. It impressively rivals Hendrick’s (a top notch British import) in complexity and character, and features nicely in my “Bailout Lemonade” cocktail.

To build yourself a Bailout, combine homemade ginger syrup with lemon juice in a Boston shaker. Muddle mint and cucumbers into the mix. Add Leopold’s Gin and shake.

For fun (and blatant social commentary) serve the Bailout over ice in a mason jar (a handy bit of glassware no depression era household should be without).

Bailout Lemonade

2 1/2 oz Leopold’s Gin

1 ¾ oz Ginger Simple Syrup

½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Soda Water

1 Slice Cucumber

2 Sprigs of Mint

Extra Cucumber and Mint for Garnish.

Put ginger simple syrup, lemon juice, mint and cucumber into half of a Boston shaker, and muddle ingredients together. (Muddling is the act of crushing ingredients together to release natural oils and flavor. The bar tool designed for this purpose is conveniently called a muddle or muddler. In a pinch, use a wooden spoon.) Add ice to ingredients and shake. Pour entire contents of shaker into a small mason jar. Add additional ice if needed. Top with soda water. Garnish with sprigs of mint and small pieces of cucumber.

Ginger Simple Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
One small piece of ginger cut into slices.
Combine sugar and water in a small pot. Slowly bring up the temperature dissolving all of the sugar. When the mixture begins to simmer add slices of ginger to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.

This will make about 1 1/2 cups of syrup that can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

*Cocktail Notes:

This recipe calls for a lot of lemon juice. I want every drink to be consistent so I use organic Lemon Juice from the bottle. Juice squeezed from lemons can be hit or miss in amount and intensity. If you miss the real thing, add some to the garnish.

*No-Bartender, Party Friendly Version:

In a pitcher pour in a quart of the highest quality lemonade you can find. The lemonade will have sweetness so add ginger syrup to taste.  Stir in cucumber and mint (you can give this a little muddle before you drop them in). Make the lemonade mixture first, put the Leopold’s and soda water on the side.  Your guests can help themselves.

Barack Obama’s running mate (can I call him Joe?) inspired the Biden Beer Bomb, my fourth “Candidate Cocktail”.  Friends and family came over for the final Presidential debate and dined on delicacies from Chicago (My hometown, and Barack’s base of operations).  With comfort foods like Portillo’s Hot dogs and Lou Malnati’s pizza, the Biden cocktail needed to be simple and go down easy with cheesy deep-dish.

Basically, it needed to be beer.  I chose Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, added a shot of Woodford Reserve Bourbon, and to convert women whose first choice would never be beer, a splash of Cherry Brandy.  The result? The Biden Bomb is an elder statesman of a cocktail with cherry undertones and a warm smooth finish.

Folks might consider the use of the word “bomb” a gaffe, but I stand behind it as the right name for the right cocktail at the right time.

Here’s the recipe:
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.

Other Partisan Pours:

The Obamartini

McCain’s Cocktail: The Maverick

The Yukon Sarah

My Friends — The Maverick.

Words that make me think, “Good Lord, I need a drink.” So I created one. Here’s the recipe:

The Maverick

2 oz silver tequila
2 oz fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
1 oz lime juice
¾ oz jalapeño simple syrup
Sugar
Rim margarita glass with sugar
Pour all of the ingredients into a Boston shaker over ice. Shake and pour entire contents into sugar-rimmed glass

Jalapeño simple syrup? Grapefruit juice?

My McCain cocktail is loosely based on the 1970’s classic The Salty Dog . I kept the grapefruit juice (the main mixer) and tossed everything else.

I know it sounds like a weird combo, but once I started experimenting, this cocktail took on a personality of its own. Tequila was an easy choice given McCain’s Western roots, and jalapeño syrup was fun to experiment with. The result was a subtly spicy, and slightly bittersweet cocktail. (I’m not even trying to be pithy there.)

During the second 2008 Presidential debate, I served the Maverick alongside pulled pork sandwiches and homemade bbq sauce. The tanginess of the grapefruit cut through the richness of the meal and made itself right at home.

Want an alternate strategy? Serve it at brunch; it’ll kick that snooty mimosa’s ass.

Jalapeño Simple Syrup

1-cup sugar
1-cup water
One small jalapeño cut into discs.
Combine sugar and water in a small pot. Slowly bring up the temperature dissolving all of the sugar. When the mixture begins to simmer add slices of jalapeño to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove jalapeño slices, they’ll be candied and can be used as garnish.

This will make about 1 1/2 cups of syrup that can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

Other Partisan Pours:

The Yukon Sarah

The Obamartini

This is the second installment of “Candidate Cocktails.” Actually, that category is new — I just made it up — I kinda liked the alliteration. Basically, the Obamartini was a hit, so now both Presidential candidates and their running mates get a cocktail. As you know, Governor Palin weathered a couple of tough weeks of — well — questions and such. By the time she got to the Vice Presidential debate last week, the woman clearly needed a drink.

To create an unknown cocktail firmly rooted in Joe-Six-Pack simplicity I drew inspiration from the “Sarah” cocktail found on drinkmixers.com. Their recipe called for vodka, cherry brandy, and crème de bananes, creating an intriguing, and for my purposes, subtly ironic combo. Crème de bananes?!?! There’s a special place in heaven…

Armed with inspired mixers and a little Yukon Jack — ‘cause with Putin rearing his ugly head, vodka was a no-can-do.  I cobbled together a little somethin’ usin’ some American hard-workin’, and you know, sort of, like, Maverick healthcare ingenuity, into a cocktail I lovingly call “The Yukon Sarah.”

Paired with a debate menu of Elitist Cheesesteak Sandwiches (crusty rolls filled with grilled New York steak, goat cheese and arugula), and Baked Alaskas for desert, the Yukon Sarah Cocktail was the end all be all.

Here’s the recipe:

Yukon Sarah
1 oz Yukon Jack Bourbon
½ oz Cherry Brandy
¼ oz Crème de Banana
¼ oz lemon juice
Ginger ale
Pour ingredients into a Boston shaker, add ice and shake. Pour the entire contents of the shaker into a rocks glass. Top with ginger ale.  Garnish with a pink elephant.

Much like McCain’s VP pick, the Yukon Sarah is sweet, sparkly, and folks who drink it up won’t quite know what’s in it.

No questions please.

Other Partisan Pours:

McCain’s Cocktail: The Maverick

The Obamatini

A few friends came over to help me yell at the TV during the first Obama/McCain debate on September 26th. We dined on cheese-laden pizzas, apple pie, and Obamartinis — a little Obama cocktail I whipped up to take the edge off.

I assumed I was not the first person to try such a punny concoction, and in doing my due diligence – thank you broadband – I was proven right. Most Obamartini recipes were either Kahula or Bailey’s based. And while that may have been delicious, I thought perhaps it was a little too race-based for my taste. Instead, I chose to pull together a bipartisan cocktail that relies on its closest allies for support. Here’ how:

French Grey Goose Vodka or “Freedom Vodka” is the base of the cocktail. Blueberry juice provides the DNC blue, and reaching across the aisle for RNC red, I added a touch of raspberry liqueur for good measure.

Although the Obamartini stands on its own, a flag pin of a garnish lends some gravitas. I obliged with an all-American blueberry, slice of fresh strawberry, and fluffy white marshmallow layered between the two. Marshmallow was key; I needed filler that would float. Pork seemed disgusting and earmarks sink.

Stay tuned for cocktails inspired by the next round of debates!

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.

Repeat as needed.

Other Partisan Pours:

McCain’s Cocktail: The Maverick

The Yukon Sarah

The Soolip Wedding Show Crew

Welcome to our very first blog.

I’m in the events business in Los Angeles, and for the last five years I’ve owned a company called Bon Vivant Events. I started out by sending event staff to parties (some of the crew is pictured above). Over the years I added managing special events and planning the occasional party to the list of “things I do”.

Recently, friends began asking me to staff their parties (a dinner party runs smoother with some help in the kitchen), for cocktail suggestions, and general tips on where to get things, and how to get it all done.

It occurred to me that by cataloguing the information friends could check in and use it at their leisure. A blog is born. Its name? The Bon Vivant’s Companion.

Besides the obvious (my company’s name for one), The title comes from the first collection of cocktails ever published, How to Mix Drinks: or The Bon Vivant’s Companion was written in 1860 by Jerry Thomas and remains remarkably relevant today. That is — if shaved ice and fruit garnishes apply to your life at all in 2008.

Tipping my hat to Mr. Thomas I’ll share one cocktail a week from his book in a series called “Companion Cocktails”. Other posts will touch on general mixology, recipes for entertaining, great places to eat, and venues to throw your own events in. I’ll also talk about vendors I use as resources, and introduce you to my team of mixologists.

Most of my blogs will deal with life and times in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but I travel a bit and plan on sharing what I find while I’m out on the road.

Knowing exactly how to begin this blog or when has proven to be a challenge for me. I’m still working on the site’s design,  and want to make sure it’s easy to use, but in order to speed things up I’ve decided to make changes as I go. Please excuse the occasional dust.

My goal is for The Bon Vivant’s Companion to become a casual conversation with friends and those who stumble across us because they too enjoy good food and drink. So I’m going to do what I do best –and just start talking —

Thanks for stopping by.