Sazerac 18yr rated #1 by Whiskey Bible

The Sazerac 18yr vintage rye whiskey was just named the Best Whiskey of 2009 by the Whiskey bible

This is kind of a landmark event in the Whisky industry. It's the first time the annual publication has afforded a Rye whiskey the honors of "Best in the World," an honor typically afforded to scotch. This further emphasizes the worldwide recognition of rye whiskey. As the article describes, Rye was THE whiskey of choice before prohibition. Following prohibition, the major marketing campaigns of Vodka – a flavorless spirit must rely on crafty marketing as opposed a testament to quality – quickly influenced bourbon manufacturers. Those manufacturers would quickly become profitable enough to purchase and control the weaker, prohibition-stung, rye distillers and effectively manipulate the industry in the favor of bourbon.

Why is this award a big deal for ELDo in particular? For starters, we offer the Sazerac 18. Also, any recognition rye whiskey can acquire is good for the cocktail industry. Over our last two menu rotations, we've switched gears and now focus more on rye whiskey.

Why is a rye whiskey so important in cocktails? When compared to the rather smooth and sweet notes of bourbon, the spicier/dynamic flavor of rye whiskey stands up against competing flavors. When using several modifiers in a cocktail – e.g., citrus juice/zest, syrups, vermouth, bitters, liqueurs, etc. – the rye's flavor will remain distinct, imparting maximum deliciousness. Without a doubt, rye whiskey will be one of the – hopefully theeeee – most coveted spirit(s) of the next decade. Let's do our best to help this become a reality.

We're not the only folks yapping about the ressurection... The NY Times, LA Times, SF Chronicle have all chimed in, as well as various cocktail blogs (notably the blind tasting efforts of Mr. Clarke at Cocktail Chronicle and Mr. Huegel of Drink Dogma... both present bars with essential details for stocking).

Now, let's get back to the cocktails...

Here's our latest Rye menu offering:

BUSTER BROWN

3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz rich simple syrup
2 oz Rye whiskey
1 dash Angostura Orange bitters
Preparation: Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon zest and serve with a big smile!
Notes: Got this recipe from David Embury's outstanding bartender's guide 'The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks' (an essential purchase for any aspiring bartender!!!)



What're some tasty rye cocktails you've tried lately?

xoxo

- ELDo

Appleton tastes good

Last week, we had a great rum tasting with Appleton Rum and Willy Shine from Contemporary Cocktails Inc.

Here's a the rest of the photos from the event...

And here's the list of cocktails they were foolin' with (very delicious! Particularly, the Dub Treo)

Dub Treo
1.5oz Appleton Estate Reserve
.75oz Carpano Antica
.75oz Aperol
Dash of whiskey barrel aged bitters
Garnish: Orange Flame
Glass: Cocktail glass
PREP: Build all ingredients over ice, stir till freezing and strain into a chilled coop glass and garnish



Appleton-Ting
1.5oz Appleton Estate Reserve
Juice of half a lime
Bar spoon Agave nectar (1-1)
Ting (Jamaican grapefruit soda) -- VERY IMPORTANT!
Garnish: Lemon thyme or pink grapefruit skin
Glass: Highball
PREP: Build in the highball glass



Reserve Luxury Daiquri
2oz Appleton Estate Reserve
1oz Demerara syrup (1-1)
1oz Fresh lime juice
1 blackberry
.5 Pom Wonderful
1 Bar spoon Maraschino liquor (luxardo)
Garnish: Lime wheel
Glass: Cocktail glass
PREP: Muddle the blackberry build the rest of the ingredients shake and strain into a chilled coop glass and garnish

Wednesday, Nov 25th = Debut Party for our Fall/Winter menu!

This Wednesday, Nov. 25th, we'll be unveiling our Fall/Winter Cocktail Menu! We're very excited to showcase the newbies! Why? Well, we've worked very hard to get these tasting great. However, our taste isn't the end-all-be-all of cocktails. So, we're hosting a cornucopia of fun, and discounting all our new cocktails!!!

We're feature our new menu items at $5 a piece ALL NIGHT LONG! Our goal is two-fold... (1) looking for your feedback on the new batch, and (2) we wanna start the holiday season right by offering thanks/discounted booze to y'all for supporting our endeavors.

Check the new list:



Hope to see ya Wednesday! Thanks again and Happy holidays!

- ELDo

POSSO GIRLS RETURN TO YOU GUNS!

This Saturday Young Guns welcomes back the Posso girls for some spicy dance party action!! DJ Groundfloor will be playing your favorite indie jams, and Dan Merino will be celebrating his 25th birthday!!

TO GET IN FREE BEFORE 11, EMAIL FULL NAMES TO:

groundflooronline@gmail.com

ALL THINGS RAD!!!

Thats right y'all guess who's back with a BRAND NEW BAG!!!

Thursday night, November 19th, Profile & Iron Mike bring you ALL THINGS RAD!!! This is STRICTLY for those of you that have no where to go hear the music you grew up on, and are tired of getting dragged out to some shitty club just to spend a note on 3 drinks, shitty music and even SHITTIER people!!!! Well come on DOWN!!! We will be taking out the " Downtown " garbage so to speak, and replacing it with ladies and gents who respect good music, good people and GREAT FUCKING ATMOSPHERE!!! We will be premiering and playing skate flics and classic movies all night while Iron Mike & Profile + Special guests throw down the raddest " FUCK THE CLUB " tunes to get your feets a tappin!!! there will be giveaways from some of our sponsors and contests to win FREE SHIT!!! So put on your best Chucks, Winos, Flannels, Vans and 501's and bring a healthy appetite for HOT CHICKS, CLASSIC COCKTAILS, THE BEST TUNES & THE BEST TIMES!!! All going down Thursday Nov.19 th @ El Dorado Bar 1030 Broadway San Diego, Ca 92101... BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

BOYS & GIRLS SATURDAY 11/7

This Saturday Boys & Girls brings you SAUL Q. VS. ADAM SALTER - PART II. The last episode was straight bananas....broken glasses and stolen guitarras included. We have Squid Vicious opening up again w/ his solid mix of indie dance that all the chicks seem to love, plus Carla & Daniel hosting so you know the party will get started right. Come through....and come through early. RSVP to our Facebook event www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166573292676&ref=mf or send an email request to asalter1@hotmail.com.

-Salter

EL(Do) Falernum #1

So, the fall menu has brought us to new reaches of cocktail nerdery...

FALERNUM!!

This awesome liqueur is a staple to those seeking expertise in tiki cocktails. However, we're interested in it for other reasons.

Ya see, a major flavor component in falernum is its spices: clove and star anise (some will add others - This is where you take creative license). What better way to usher in the fall/winter with a spiced beverage?

There's several brands of pre-packaged falernum, but, as usual, our curiosity is taking over – we gotta make the stuff from scratch!

So, next step – find a recipe!

For our first attempt we're using RumDood's latest concoction. Homeboy is one of few elite internet gurus on all things tiki/rum. And his falernum recipe? It's relatively basic and obviously well-researched, not to mention, it sounds really tasty! Check it:

RumDood’s Falernum #2

• 8 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
• 2 oz Lemonhart 151 Rum
• 2 oz (by weight) minced or shredded ginger
• Zest of 8 limes
• 40 whole cloves
• 2 anise stars

Combine the above ingredients in a jar or bottle and let sit/steep for 24 hours After steeping, strain the contents of the jar through cheesecloth or a coffee filter – making sure to squeeze and ring all liquid out of the solid ingredients. Then add the following ingredients to the jar:

14 oz Simple Syrup (2:1 sugar to water, cold-process)
.25 tsp Almond Extract
3.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Shake the new mixture good and hard until everything is thoroughly mixed and you have a greenish-yellow mixture. It’s ready to be used right away!

Unfortunately, we couldn't get our paws on the Lemon Hart 151 before our impulsive tendencies set in! We substituted an extra oz of Wray/Nephew as well as an oz of another Demerara rum: El Dorado Rhum 12yr. As RumDood mentions, folks will often number their falernum... since it isn't quite the same as the Dood's recipe, we'll be naming this potion EL(DO) FALERNUM #1. ha

PS: we're rookies when it comes to this process. Any advice is welcome. If you have any experience in homemade liqueurs and/or falernum, give a shout

PPS: if you'd like to learn a bit more about the history of the stuff, check out Darcy O'Neil's post about what might be the first use of the stuff

_________________________________________

Just unleashed that little jar of tropical fury – WOW – it's fragrant to say the least!! The anise was a perfect touch and definitely adds spicy notes. The ginger takes a backseat to the cloves and lime, but, again, that star anise brings a dynamic aroma and drinking experience. Props Mr. Dood. The stuff is good alone over ice, but we've opted to test a classic cocktail recipe:

Corn 'N Oil

3/4 oz Falernum

3/4 oz Fresh Lime juice

2 oz Dark Rum – "Oil" – we used Goslings

Shake and strain over ice. It's tradition to squeeze half a lime for the juice and garnish with the spent lime half. We used a fresh wedge. The ratio of Falernum to Rum is different all over. Velvet Falernum, a pre-packaged brand, recommends 3:1 Falernum to rum. Barf (Unless you have a strong urge for sugar, that's a tough one to swallow)!

The result? Basic and delicious! The spices still linger!! It's the perfect beverage for a San Diego Holiday season... imagine another 75 degree San Diego turkey day with one of these bad boys in your mit. Yum! Pair it with some spiced pie, maybe pumpkin, and prepare your friends cuz the mind-blowing is about to start

It apparently originated in Barbados. Can't get a confirmation on that, though. And we're not to sure why the "Corn" – if you have details, fill us in!

Happy mixing - and thanks again to RumDood for the awesome recipe

- ELDo

New Menu coming soon!!! Fall/Winter 09

We're getting geared up for our Fall/Winter Menu. It will be another set of five delicious cocktails, inspired by the changing seasons. However, we sure could use some inspiration...

That's where y'all come in! What cocktails would you like to see on our new menu? Light up the comment board and give us a piece of your mind/taste. Remember, we wanna keep 'em focused on the changing seasons.

In terms of weather, not much changes in SD. The produce, on the other hand, takes a huge shift. Check this calendar for seasonal SD goodies, then pass your cocktail on to us. If it sounds, looks, and – most importantly – tastes good, don't be surprised if it ends up on our new menu!

Happy concocting!

- ELDo

PS: here's the existing menu... no repeats!