Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
March 1st, 2010
Join drinkboston and four of the Boston bar scene’s rising talents at a cocktail party at Green Street on Sunday, March 14. Boston Bartenders on the Rise will showcase some of the men and women around town who are making a name for themselves with a combination of drink-mixing prowess, hospitality and character.
Each bartender will mix a favorite cocktail and spend some time mingling with the crowd, talking cocktails, spirits, bartending and matters of similar importance. Bios and recipes below. Call Green Street today to make your reservation. Here’s the lowdown:
- Green Street, Sunday, March 14, 7:00 p.m.
- Four cocktails, plus a special welcome punch
- Passed appetizers
- Tickets: $40
- Reservations strongly suggested. Call 617-876-1655.
Carrie Cole of Craigie on Main started working in Boston restaurants when she moved to the Hub from Portland, Oregon, to attend Boston University. She started as a bartender, moved to cooking, became a pastry chef, then returned to the bar. After a stint at Sibling Rivalry, she was scooped up by Craigie on Main, where she is now senior bartender. Her cocktail is the Loose Translation: Scorpion Mezcal, Aperol, Mathilde XO Orange Cognac, pineapple syrup, lime juice, Allspice Dram and Angostura orange bitters. Rocks, splash of ginger.
Evan Harrison of Deep Ellum hails from Sherman, Texas. While studying literature and philosophy at UMASS, he began learning classic cocktails and craft beer as principle bartender at the Independent in Somerville. Late last year, he crossed the river to join the staff at the cocktail/beer bar Deep Ellum in Allston. His cocktail is the Peralta: Old Overholt Rye, Cynar, green Chartreuse, fresh grapefruit juice. Straight up.
Bob McCoy of Eastern Standard grew up in Middleton and started cooking in his uncle’s Malden restaurant when he was in high school. In college, he spent summers tending bar on Block Island, then moved to the Wild Horse Cafe in Beverly. After six years there, Bob was “looking for another opportunity, one that would take my profession to another level, and found it at Eastern Standard.” His cocktail is the Saving Daylight: Plymouth Gin, homemade “golden” vermouth, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Cointreau and homemade bitters. Straight up.
Emily Stanley of Green Street entered the industry as soon as she turned 18 and left her hometown of Westford to study briefly at Suffolk University. She worked at Fire and Ice, Bukowski Tavern in Cambridge, Deep Ellum and Trina’s Starlite Lounge before nabbing her current position as bar manager of Green Street. Along the way, she went to school for esthetics and to be a personal trainer. Her cocktail is the William of Orange: Bols Genever, Benedictine, Punt E Mes, Aperol, orange bitters. Straight up, orange oil.
Appetizers include tuna tartare on tostones, Swedish meatballs and house-made charcuterie among other delights. This is gonna be fun. I’ll publish the full recipes after the event. Hope to see you there!
Tags: Bob McCoy, Carrie Cole, Emily Stanley, Evan Harrison, Green Street
Posted in Bartenders, Cocktails, Events | 3 Comments »
February 18th, 2010
Put March 14 on your calendar, imbibers. Drinkboston and Green Street are teaming up for another event: Boston Bartenders on the Rise. The night will showcase four of the Hub’s emergent talents behind the bar, each of whom will serve a favorite cocktail:
- Carrie Cole of Craigie on Main
- Evan Harrison of Deep Ellum (recently of the Independent)
- Bob McCoy of Eastern Standard
- Emily Stanley of Green Street
While more familiar names in the Boston bar scene still command a lot of attention, the above individuals represent the up-and-coming generation of sharp personalities who know how to mix a killer drink and take good care of their guests. More details on this event in a later post.
Speaking of events, you’ll never guess what I’m doing this Sunday, February 21: judging a vodka cocktail contest. The Cocktail World Cup is put on by 42 Below Vodka and the U.S. Bartenders Guild and takes place at Bond, in the Langham Hotel, starting at 8:00 p.m. Bartenders in Boston and several other American cities are competing to go on to the national competition in New York on March 7. Three national finalists will then move on to the international competition in New Zealand, where they are expected to mix cocktails while bungee jumping and riding in speedboats. I’m not kidding. Hey, if a Boston barkeep gets to fly across the world for that kind of adventure, I’m happy to play a part.
Tags: 42 Below Vodka, Bob McCoy, Bond, Carrie Cole, Emily Stanley, Evan Harrison, next-generation bartenders
Posted in Bartenders, Events, Vodka | 5 Comments »
January 6th, 2010
And the Franklin-drinkboston Industry Night series continues… This month’s ingredient? Chartreuse. Which makes us pioneers of a new decade, according to Derek Brown of the Atlantic online.
Next Thursday night starting at 8:00 p.m., bar manager Joy Richard and the gang at the Franklin Southie will stock the bar with many, many bottles of the Carthusian monks’ famous herbal liqueur for our cocktailing pleasure. Original and classic drinks with both green and yellow Chartreuse will be on the evening’s menu and will be a steal at $6. Another steal–$7 shots of VEP Chartreuse in iced shot glasses. Yes, I said $7 shots of VEP Chartreuse in iced shot glasses.
Not to mention a $5 bar menu starting at 9:00 p.m. and some coveted Chartreuse swag (while supplies last).
And if you are as inspired as we are by the charitable ways of the monks, bring in a canned food item to be donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Very Special Gift from Chartreuse.
Whether you’re industry, or you just like hobnobbing with industry, or you just like Chartreuse, come join us for some botanical shenanigans.
Tags: chartreuse, Franklin Southie
Posted in Events, Liqueur | 2 Comments »
December 7th, 2009
Here we come a wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a wandering
So fair to be seen.
– Traditional Christmas carol
* * *
We serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast, and we don’t need any characters hanging around to give the joint “atmosphere.”
– Nick the bartender, It’s a Wonderful Life
» Clarence the Angel, the character who prompted that famous remark from Nick the bartender by ordering mulled wine, would be pleased with the offerings this Thursday, December 10 at the Franklin Southie (152 Dorchester Ave., South Boston). Drinkboston joins with Kate Palmer (aka Saucy Sureau) of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur and Franklin bev manager/bartender Joy Richard for St. Germain Industry Night. Like the inaugural industry night that featured Fernet cocktails last month, this informal gathering is an enticement for bar and restaurant workers but welcomes non-industry folk alike with signature cocktails, swag and whatever shenanigans ensue. The menu of $6 St. Germain cocktails launches at 8:00, the $1 Island Creek oysters at 9:00. The festivities last ’til closing time at 2:00. Don your reindeer sweater and come on by!
» Patrick Maguire, a regular commenter on drinkboston and a frequenter of Boston restaurants, is on a mission to drum up respect for people in the service industry. He recently launched his own blog, Server Not Servant, and was interviewed in Sunday’s Globe about his mission and its related book project. If you happen to run into him while you’re out on the town, be sure to shake his hand and say hello. Especially if you’re in the service industry — he’s got a questionnaire for you.
» Given that I touched on the topic recently, I was really excited to see an article on Massachusetts’ liquor licensing racket in the latest Boston Magazine. That’s because there isn’t a lot of thoughtful explanation out there on the matter, which looms large over Boston’s drinking culture. “The Drinks Are on Them,” by Jason Schwarz, is about how the law firm of McDermott, Quilty & Miller dominates the city’s liquor licensing. With their success in winning over state and city politicians, the liquor licensing board and persnickety neighborhood associations, “these lawyers are the arbiters of where, and how, we eat in this town,” argues Schwarz. It’s an interesting read, but, in typical Boston Mag fashion, it doesn’t delve nearly deep enough into an issue that deserves a good investigative report. For instance, the article offers up this tidbit: “That’s why a lot of [restaurateurs] boycott the city,” says Charlie Perkins, who brokers restaurant (and liquor license) sales as the head of the Boston Restaurant Group. “You have to pay $200,000 just to serve a drink. A lot of people go to the suburbs.”
Hey, how about an anecdote or two about those restaurateurs who forsook Boston for the ‘burbs? There’s nothing like a sharp-clawed exposé of Boston liquor law to put me in the holiday spirit!
Tags: Franklin Southie, St. Germain
Posted in Cocktails, Events, Liqueur, Nips | 4 Comments »
November 20th, 2009
Polish your cowboy boots and dust off your bolo ties! Drinkboston, the Independent and Brother Cleve are throwing a big ol’ hillbilly hoochfest on Monday, November 30 at 8:00 p.m. — Barstool Mountain Monday: Country Drinking Songs and Country Drinks. What says “only 25 shopping days ’til Christmas” more than bourbon, Lone Star beer, Georgia Mint Juleps, and “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home?”
Cleve will spin highlights from his vast collection of country drinking songs and “hillbilly noir,” while Evan Harrison — on his last night at the Indo, folks! — doles out the Lone Star, the bourbon and the cocktails. Drink specials ($8 each) include:
- Country Gentleman Cocktail: apple brandy, orange curacao, lemon, sugar. Served up.
- Georgia Mint Julep: fine whiskey, fresh mint (not muddled) and powdered sugar. Served over crushed ice.
- Mississippi Mule: gin, creme de cassis, lemon. Served up.
- Tennessee: Tennessee whiskey, lemon, maraschino liqueur, cherry. Served up.
If you’re ready for solids again after Thanksgiving, there’ll be some pork rinds and shell peanuts to snack on. This is (obviously!) a casual party, so no reservations or tickets required. The party goes ’til closing time or ’til you get tossed out by the belt loops of your Wranglers. See y’all there!
Tags: country drinking songs, country drinks, hillbilly noir
Posted in Cocktails, Events | 3 Comments »
November 14th, 2009
Finally, last night, I met Seattle legend and internationally renowned bartender Murray Stenson. What a treat. As I’ve said here before, I’m one of many people nationwide who have encountered Murray’s hospitality from afar, by way of a surprise, complimentary drink delivered by a mutual bartending acquaintance. (I first heard about Murray from one of our city’s best bartenders, Scott Holliday, and was flattered to learn that Murray has been a drinkboston reader from early on.)
Acting as ambassador of the Murray Stenson Fan Club, New England Chapter, I presented him with a book on the history of Boston signed by several of our city’s bartenders — most of whom, like me, have only admired him from afar — plus a bottle of Chartreuse milk punch from the staff at Drink. Murray opened the punch right then and there and poured several shots for patrons at the bar. Then he mixed a few rounds of strong, elegant drinks — doling out some rare treats like the above — for me and my companions, West Coast drink writers Paul Clarke and Charles Munat. I’ll tell you more about Murray and my Seattle bar-hop in a later post.
» Save the date for drinkboston’s next event: Barstool Mountain Monday: Country Drinking Songs and Country Drinks, November 30 at the Independent in Union Square, Somerville. Think southern-style cocktails, shots of bourbon and Lone Star beer flowing to a soundtrack of classic country drinking songs spun by Brother “Taco Brim” Cleve. There’ll be well-known faves like “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Made a Loser Out of Me),” but also lesser-known gems like “Four on the Floor (and a Fifth Under the Seat),” and “She’s Acting Single (I’m Drinking Doubles).” More details to come soon.
» Also this month, swing by the bar at Clio between the 16th and 22nd, when bartender/mixologist Todd Maul celebrates the birthdays of David Embury and William “Cocktail” Boothby. Embury, born in 1886, is the author of the biblical Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Boothby, born in 1862, was perhaps the best-known bartender just before Prohibition. He plied his trade most notably at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and authored World’s Drinks And How To Mix Them and The American Bartender.
“We will be serving the Boothby Cocktail, the Casino and two creations from the Clio bartenders. For 10 bucks you get a drink and some rock shrimp,” says Todd, who provided the recipe for his homage to Embury and Boothby below.
Todd Cocktail
2 oz Rittenhouse 100 rye whiskey
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Dolin sweet vermouth
Dash Angostura bitters
Stir over ice, serve straight up.
Tags: Clio, drinking songs, Murray Stenson, Todd Maul, ZigZag Cafe
Posted in Bartenders, Cocktails, Events, Nips, Seattle | 3 Comments »
October 27th, 2009
The eagle has landed. Boston imbibers, you’re invited to a joint drinkboston - Franklin Southie production: Fernet Branca Industry Night.
What: A festive gathering for industry and non-industry folk alike who are curious or passionate about the pungent, dark and mysterious digestif Fernet Branca. A special drink menu will feature Fernet cocktails by bartenders around Boston.
When: Thursday, November 5, 8:00 p.m. - last call.
Where: The Franklin Southie, 152 Dorchester Ave., South Boston.
Who: On the stick — Joy Richard, bar manager and head mixologist for the Franklin Southie and the Franklin Café, and founding member of LUPEC Boston; and Peter Cipriani, longtime bartender on the Boston scene (you may also know him from Silvertone and Stella). Joy’s original Fernet cocktail recipe will be joined by recipes from:
- Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli - Craigie on Main
- Misty Kalkofen - Drink
- Josey Packard - Drink
- Jackson Cannon - Eastern Standard
- Emma Hollander - Trina’s Starlite Lounge
What else: Fernet cocktails $7. Fernet in ice shot glasses: $5. Fernet swag (get it while you can). No tickets or reservations required. Fernet, plus appetizer specials and the company of fellow Fernet fiends and curious cocktailians, are what it’s all about.
Remember to sign up for the drinkboston email list at drinkboston (at) comcast (dot) net to get announcements about upcoming events.
Tags: Fernet Branca, Franklin Southie, South Boston
Posted in Bitters, Events | 9 Comments »
August 18th, 2009
Boston imbibers usually like it the other way around, which is why I’m damn appreciative of last night’s great turnout for my talk at the Boston Shaker, “A brief history of drinking in Boston.” We covered almost 400 years in an hour and a half, and we sampled Ward Eights and Maharaja’s Revenges along the way. Not bad.
From Coles Tavern (Boston’s first bar), to the Bunch of Grapes tavern (known for its punch), to the New England rum industry, to the rise of saloons and statewide prohibition (that’s right — Massachusetts was dry for roughly 20 years starting in the 1850s), to the ice trade and Boston’s role in the birth of cocktails, to Beacon Hill speakeasies in the 1920s, to the popularity of tiki bars in the 1950s, to today’s revival of mixology … Boston has a rich and often conflicted drinking history. You’ll likely hear more about it here as my book-learnin’ progresses.
Tags: Boston history
Posted in Events | 8 Comments »
August 13th, 2009
I just want to say to anyone who thinks they have to stay home this Sunday night to see Old Overholt’s debut on Mad Men: you know you can watch it the next day on On Demand, right? And what better thing to do when hungover on Whiskey Smashes than watch 1960s ad men sit around their office drinking all day?
This Sunday night, Eastern Standard is celebrating the fact that it has sold 21,000 (!) Whiskey Smashes since opening in 2005. These classic cocktails take, like, five minutes to make. They’re filled with lots of crushed ice, good bourbon, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and a little simple syrup muddled with mint. The delicious and potent drink has done much to introduce restaurateurs all over the city to the idea that they can put a few whiskey drinks on their clear spirits-dominated menus without scaring away their clientele. In fact, some of their clientele just might like this.
I don’t know how McDonald’s celebrated when they sold their one millionth cheeseburger, but it wasn’t as cool as this: Starting at 7:00 p.m., Eastern Standard will throw a Whiskey Smash party that features the making of the largest Whiskey Smash ever; different iterations of the drink made with Chartreuse, peach, Cognac and rum; and guest bartenders and chefs from around Boston. Tickets, which include food and one Smash, are a steal at $30 (they can be purchased beforehand at the bar). If you’ve been to an event at ES before, you know that these people do not slack off when it comes to showing their guests a good time. So, for the love of god, get off the couch and over to Kenmore Square Sunday night.
See you there!
Tags: eastern standard, Whiskey Smash
Posted in Events, Whiskey | 3 Comments »
August 6th, 2009
Hear ye, imbibers of the Hub. I’ve been brushing up on my Boston booze history, and I thought it would be fun to lead, you know, a little salon with fellow boozehound-historians interested in the topic. So I mentioned this to Adam Lantheaume of the Boston Shaker one day, and he said, ‘Why don’t we do a class?’ And I said, ‘You’re on.’
“A brief history of drinking in Boston” will take place Monday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Boston Shaker, which resides in the Union Square, Somerville, store named Grand. Tix are $20 (includes cocktails). Topics on the agenda include:
- Colonial taverns
- The New England ice industry & Boston’s role in the evolution of cocktails
- Saloons
- Massachusetts temperance and prohibition laws
- Locke-Ober and the Parker House
- Scollay Square
- The Cocoanut Grove fire
- Tiki bars
- The revival of classic mixology in Boston
Sure, it’ll be educational, but it’ll also be informal and festive, as Adam and I will be serving samples of both classic and new Boston cocktails, including a Ward Eight made with Sazerac 6-Yr Rye (aka Baby Saz). Whether you know beans about Boston bar history or work for a tour company called the Boston Hooch ‘n’ History Trail (in which case we need to get acquainted), reserve yourself a spot — you’re bound to learn something.
See you there!
Tags: Boston history, Boston Shaker, drinking history
Posted in Books & resources, Boston bars, Events | 4 Comments »
