Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
April 26th, 2009
One of the things I like about this town is that events in bars have evolved. Of course, it is still often the case that “event” + “bar” = a liquor or beer company decorating the room with plastic banners and table tents and handing out keychains. If you’re really lucky, you get a T-shirt and maybe your photo taken with someone dressed as, say, the St. Pauli Girl or Captain Morgan. It’s not much different from one of those themed birthday parties for six-year-olds.
But now we have bar events that embrace adulthood and a bit of tradition, like the Run for the Roses party this Saturday, May 2 — a.k.a. Kentucky Derby Day — at Drink from 4:00-7:00 p.m. Don a stylish spring hat, strap your bourbon-drinking liver on, grab a racing form, and join in the excitement of one of America’s most storied sporting events.
Drink’s skilled bartenders will serve up classic bourbon cocktails (Mint Juleps, Old-Fashioneds, Horse’s Necks, and more), canapes will be passed, and the race will be broadcast live. Tickets are $40 per person and include the eats, three drinks and a vintage cocktail glass (tax and gratuity extra). Advance purchase of tickets is recommended; to reserve, call Drink at 617-695-1806.
For inspiration (and hat ideas), check out this great series of Kentucky Derby party photos that Alfred Eisenstaedt shot for LIFE in 1937. See you there!
Tags: bourbon, Kentucky Derby, Mint Juleps
Posted in Events, Whiskey | No Comments »
April 7th, 2009
Finally, a bartending class for the armchair mixologist. It’s called Home Bar Basics, and it’s happening on April 13 at the Boston Shaker, Adam Lantheaume’s store within a store at Grand in Union Square (374 Somerville Ave.). Remember? He’s the guy who’s selling hard-to-find cocktail ingredients, books and tools. Well, now he’ll show you how to mix a proper drink. From the course description:
Want to start making cocktails at home but are befuddled by the different tools, ingredients and recipe instructions? Do the drinks you make at home never come out as well as the ones you have out? Want to understand some of the “hows and whys” of making cocktails? Check out this hands-on workshop!
It’s $30, and the best thing is you can buy tix online.
Tags: Boston Shaker, cocktail classes, Grand, home bartending, somerville
Posted in Books & resources, Drinking supplies, Events | 3 Comments »
April 6th, 2009
It’s always interesting when you have evening plans to start drinking Zombies at 2:00 in the afternoon. Yes, Zombie Punch, resurrected from a 1934 recipe once thought to be as swept away by the sands of time as Donn Beach’s original Beachcomber bar in Hollywood, was the first drink served at the Taste of Tiki party at Eastern Standard on Saturday. This is a remarkably delicious and potent drink containing a full four ounces of rum, one ounce being 151 proof!
The other drinks on the menu were the exotic Cactus Flower, created by Brother Cleve for last year’s Tales of the Cocktail tiki block party, and another original, the Flying Dutchman, created by Eastern Standard bartender and tiki enthusiast Bob McCoy. (Oh, and let’s not forget about the welcome tipple, Trader Vic’s punch.) Cleve and McCoy took turns speaking to the 50+ guests about the origins of the tiki phenomenon, and the cocktails, music and sometimes fabulous but often kitschy restaurants that were part of it.
Luckily, there were egg rolls, coconut fried shrimp, roast pig and beignets to soak up some of that hooch. Many thanks to McCoy, Jackson Cannon, Molly Hopper and the rest of the Eastern Standard staff for putting together a terrific party. Thanks also to Mike Sullivan (aka Bargoyle) of the New England chapter of the Fraternal Order of the Moai for co-promoting this shindig with drinkboston. (Check out this group’s plans for a weekend-long tiki bash in Lake George, NY.) And a special thanks to Lorna Wilkerson, a Boston cocktail enthusiast who thought up the whole idea of having a tiki party at Eastern Standard in the first place.
The Zombie Punch (1934)
By Donn Beach
1 ½ oz. Appleton Estate V/X Rum
1 ½ oz. Bacardi Gold Rum
1 oz. 151 Lemon Heart Demerara Rum
¾ oz. lime juice
½ oz. Donn’s Mix (2 parts grapefruit juice to 1 part cinnamon syrup)
½ oz. falernum
1 bar spoon grenadine
6 drops Pernod
Dash Angostura bitters
Build in a mixing glass and dry shake. Pour in a chimney (tall) glass filled with crushed ice and stir. Add more crushed ice to fill and garnish with a mint sprig.
The Cactus Flower
By Brother Cleve
1 ½ oz. Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
1 oz. Cruzan Estate Light Rum
¼ oz. Cruzan Estate Blackstrap Rum
½ oz. Bols Orange Curacao
1 oz. prickly pear puree
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz. pineapple juice
¾ oz. lime juice
½ oz. simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz. club soda
Build in a mixing glass and dry shake. Pour into a double old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice, add club soda, and stir. Garnish with an orange slice.
The Flying Dutchman
By Bob McCoy
1 oz. citrus- and spice-infused Batavia Arrack*
¾ oz. St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
¾ oz. crème de cacao
½ oz. pineapple juice
Dash Elemakule Tiki Bitters
Build in a mixing glass, add ice, and shake. Strain into a chilled lowball glass, no garnish. *For the infusion: Combine the peels of 20 lemons and 5 oranges with 1 1/2 liters of Batavia Arrack in a glass jar. Toast 20 cloves, 10 green peppercorns, and 5 cardamom pods over medium/high heat, tossing frequently until the aromas are released. Add to the jar, cover, and infuse for 14-19 days.
Tags: Cactus Flower, eastern standard, Flying Dutchman, tiki party, Zombie
Posted in Cocktails, Events, Rum | 12 Comments »
April 3rd, 2009
UPDATE: Sorry, imbibers. I did not realize how close this event was to selling out when I wrote this reminder post about the tiki party at Eastern Standard. For anyone still interested in attending, there is a waiting list. Click on the link below for contact info.
Still making weekend plans? In case you hadn’t heard already, drinkboston is co-hosting a tiki party at Eastern Standard tomorrow starting at 2:00 p.m. What could be better than escaping a cold, grey New England afternoon to mingle in a roomful of people wearing tropical garb, listening to Martin Denny, drinking luscious rum drinks and eating roast pig and other tasty Polynesian fare? Not only that, you’ll learn about the curious, kitschy history of Polynesia in the U.S. and Boston from Brother Cleve, professor of cocktail/bar culture, DJ, musician and all-around Boston legend. All this for $50, tax and tip included. See you there!
Tags: exotica, Polynesia, rum drinks, tiki party
Posted in Cocktails, Events, Rum | 2 Comments »
March 23rd, 2009
Dust off your lei, your hula skirt and your Don Ho loafers and join drinkboston and the Fraternal Order of Moai for a tiki party-urban luau at Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks on Saturday, April 4 starting at 2:00 p.m.
A roasted pig will be the centerpiece of a three-course luncheon of traditional Polynesian-American fare in the great Donn Beach/Trader Vic tradition. Three freshly squeezed, rum-soaked tiki cocktails accompany the food: a recent creation by Brother Cleve, who will program the exotica music soundtrack for the day and also give a keynote presentation on the history of Polynesia in both the U.S. and Boston; another tiki original by the Eastern Standard bar staff; and a classic recipe from tiki’s early era in the 1930s and ’40s.
Cleve points out that Eastern Standard is “within staggering distance of Boston’s original 1940s Polynesian Village, later the Aku Aku — a favorite haunt of the early punk rock crowd in the ’70s due to its proximity to the Rat. The goldfish-bowl bar railing full of dead goldfish helped create the proper vibe. And people wonder why these places died out!”
All the eats, drinks, education and entertainment are included in a ticket price of $50 per person. Tix can be purchased over the phone (617-532-9100), via email (mhopper at easternstandardboston dot com) or by stopping into Eastern Standard anytime between now and April 4. Hope to see you there!
Tags: Donn Beach, luau, Polynesia, tiki, Trader Vic
Posted in Cocktails, Events, Rum | 3 Comments »
