On February 13, 2012 Herradura Tequila and UrbanDaddy sponsored a Mixologist Battle with four of San Francisco’s finest mixologists. It was a lively party, themed like an epic boxing match, complete with vintage gloves, posters, and even an announcer introducing each contender. Three judges were on hand to taste and grade each contender’s tequila cocktail: Robert Polacek of the Puccini Group;  Virginia Miller of the SF Bay Guardian; and Greg Lindgren of Rye on the Road, 15 Romolo, Rye, and Rosewood. Over 100 people attended the event at 111 Minna Gallery to watch Carlo Splendorini, Kate Bolton, Mike Vegas, and Joel Titelbaum battle it out to win a trip to Mexico, courtesy of UrbanDaddy. Joel Titelbaum won the bout and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is sitting on a beach right now drinking his winning libation, The Sleeping Sage. Enjoy the drink yourself and imagine you are soaking [...]

Drink Me just got back from Trinidad and Tobago – the beautiful south Caribbean island home to soca music, bake ‘n shark sandwiches (deep fried shark in a fried bread bun with mouth watering toppings) and ground zero of  the world famous Angostura bitters and rum. The Brand that has brought your little bottle of bitters and has been aiding your cocktails for years has an entire line of rums that are bursting into the US in a big way. We joined about a hundred other people for an exclusive tour of the distillery (stay tuned for a recap of Angostura Rums and some wonderful photos from the trip) and then were welcomed to the prestigious Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge… 15 bartenders from around the world competing in front of a panel of judges vying for the world title, a significant cash prize and the prestige of being the Angostura [...]

  Drink Me presents our first party of the year, an all Absinthe Soiree on Wednesday, February 29th at Rosewood Bar. Come taste the many styles of Absinthe, have your Tarot cards read on this “extra” special day, and enjoy the sumptuous sounds of live music. VIP’s will get early access to the party at 6pm, and have an exclusive Absinthe class and tasting. WHEN: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 from 7-10pm, VIP hour at 6pm WHERE: Rosewood Bar, 732 Broadway, San Francisco, CA TICKETS:  http://drinkmeabsinthe.eventbrite.com/            

The ladies of the Drink Me staff are big Man Repeller fans, so it’s only natural that we’re going to feature a cocktail inspired by the woman herself. Just like the sartorial meaning of ‘man repellant,’ this one’s a big, pink, fruity, stylish doozy. Please note: you must wear an arm party and/or a mullet dress in order to do it right. 1.5 oz Kanon Organic Vodka 1/2 oz Triple Sec 1/2 oz of freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 oz fresh pear juice 1 oz fresh cranberry juice Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and cherry.  

Terroir is a winemaking term. And, understandably, some might find the application of the term to whiskey inappropriate and pretentious.  But then, some might find people who pepper their language with accented French terminology to be pretentious regardless of their drinking preference. In any event, terroir is the idea that the local environment affects the flavors of the wine produced. The raw materials and environment impart certain unique flavors, for better or worse, that are specific to the region.  So how does this French winemaking term relate to our beloved water of life? On the surface, the impact of terroir on whiskey appears to be more than a drinker’s whiskey-addled epiphany.  The traditional segregation of Scotch into distinct whiskey-producing regions screams of terroir.  Each region is distinguished from the other by unique flavor profiles, not just geographic location. The Lowlands are famous for their light and floral flavors while Campbeltown [...]

One of my most vivid alcohol-related memories is going to Kyoto in the summer of 2003 and trying my first shochu drink. I was visiting Japan’s former capital with my dad’s new wife, Sachiyo. Sachiyo is but a memory, but the impact she left on me the moment she casually ordered an oolong-hi (shochu iced tea) for me would last forever. Sitting on the tatami mats in an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) overlooking the Kamo River in Kyoto, our feet were finally free from the confines of our shoes and our throats were parched from a long day of sightseeing in the scorching humidity. Seeing that tall glass of shochu with oolong tea, glistening in the glare of the setting sun, touching down on our wooden table was seductive. The first sip shuttled me back to childhood, when I would come home from school and my mom would pour mugi-cha (cold, [...]

“Have you ever considered how often we set stuff on fire?” the bartender asked as he set my Manhattan down. As if to illustrate his point, he deftly flexed an orange peel over the drink, sparking the citrus oils into flame with a match struck on the edge of the bar. It’s true, when you think about it. Everyone has a hazy memory of sucking down flaming shots of one kind or another and feeling a bit dangerous. For me, it was ouzo. Some like to set absinthe on fire as part of the elaborate drinking ritual; this practice was developed in order to make Czech absinthe palatable, but most distillers I’ve met frown on having their product cooked. I once watched author Wayne Curtis use a charcoal starter to ignite overproof rum-soaked gunpowder – WHOOSH! – to demonstrate how alcoholic content was tested prior to the invention of the [...]

Two years ago, Brad Estabrooke lost his job as a Wall Street bond trader. A year later, with the help of a severance check and a decade of deregulation in new York’s distilling industry, he followed his distillation dreams and started Breuckelen Distillery. He sold the first bottle of gin last summer and just added a wheat whiskey to Breuckelen’s repertoire. Across New York, a state known during the twenties for its gin-soaked speakeasies and gangster bootleggers, a new boutique distilling license is making it cheaper and easier for the latest generation of tipplers to make and sell their own liquor. Distillers such as Finger Lakes, Kings County, Tuthilltown Spirits, and Breuckelen are re-engaging in the state’s historical tradition by producing artisanal whiskeys, gins and vodkas that are as bold and flavorful as they are potent. The result is so good you’d think they’d been distilling the stuff for years. [...]