Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
November 28th, 2008
This December 5 marks 75 years since Prohibition was repealed, and Eastern Standard is celebrating this historic day with a blowout befitting the most extravagant speakeasies of the Roaring Twenties. (They’ve been celebrating all year, actually, with Prohibition-era cocktail specials.) The party starts on Thursday evening, December 4, and ends appropriately with a wee-hours-of-the-morning breakfast on December 5. If you’re up for a splurge, or ready to demand an early Christmas present, I strongly encourage you to get tickets for this thing.
In fact, the ticket price of $120 per person is a pretty great deal. The evening starts at 6:30 with a “juice joint” reception featuring bathtub gin, hors d’oeuvres and live of-the-era music by Miss Tess. This is followed by a six-course dinner with cocktails (see below). At 10:00 p.m., the dancing starts, courtesy of Jazz Age tunes by DJ Brother Cleve. But wait, there’s more: a 1:00 a.m. breakfast to fortify you after all that dancing and drinking. So, pull out those vintage threads you wore to the LUPEC Boston Tea Party last year and call 617-532-9100 or email for reservations. If you’re strictly a late-night owl, arrive at 10:00 for only $40 per person.
Eastern Standard Repeal Day Six-Course Dinner
First Course: Ampersand Cocktail
Buttermilk Fried Oysters with Standard Caesar Salad and Pernod Remoulade
Second Course: Waldorf-Astoria’s Perfect Martini
3 eggs, 3 styles
1) Thin, Toasted Rye Wheel, Smear of Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese, Caviar
2) White Truffle Scrambled (with shaved white truffle)
3) Deviled Egg
Third Course: Maiden’s Prayer
Maine Lobster in Pastry with a Sherry Cream Sauce, Peas and Carrots
Fourth Course: The Scofflaw
Philadelphia Pepper Pot Stew
Lamb Neck, Sweetbread, and Cockscomb, Root Vegetables
Fifth Course: The Charles Lindbergh
Roasted Karabuta Pork Chop
Scalloped Potatoes, Housemade Sauerkraut
Dessert: Corpse Reviver #3
Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Cardamom Tapioca
Hope to see you there!
Tags: 1920s speakeasy party, December 5, Prohibition, Repeal Day
Posted in Cocktails, Events, Gin | No Comments »
November 28th, 2008
Calling all Boston imbibers: This Monday, December 1, a group of Boston bartenders will compete in the semi-finals of the Domaine de Canton 2009 Bartender of the Year contest. The competition will, of course, involve mixing an original cocktail using the exquisite new French cognac-based, real ginger-infused liqueur.
The event takes place upstairs at the Beehive in the South End from 5:00-7:00 (after the judges have made their selection) and features complimentary appetizers and Domaine de Canton cocktails. It’s open to the public, but you gotta RSVP by emailing paul@tipplingbros.com.
The contestants are:
Jennifer Harvey – 33 Restaurant & Lounge
Mike Paquette – Scampo Restaurant
Bob McCoy – Eastern Standard
Josh Caron – Five Fifty-Five
Steven Shur – Boston College Club
Jeff Grdinich – White Mountain cider Co.
Clif Travers – The Beehive
Chris Whitney – Alibi Bar & Lounge
The judges (with their titles quoted verbatim from the invite) include:
John Gertsen. Cocktail Guru – No.9 Park & Drink
Liza Weisstuch. Sprits & Lifestyle Writer – Imbibe Magazine, Whisky Magazine, Massachusetts Beverage Business
Misty Kalkofen. Mixologist Extraordinaire – Drink, Founder LUPEC Boston
See you there!
Tags: bartender, contest, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, mixology
Posted in Cocktails, Events, Liqueur | 4 Comments »
November 25th, 2008
Ah, yes, the famous World War II novel and movie, evoked in my mind by the estimated 200 people who showed up at the LUPEC Boston USO Show Friday night dressed in 1940s costume. It’s also an apt description of the line at the bar that night!
I and the rest of the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails are exceedingly grateful to all the generous, fun-lovin’ folk who came to the party with bells (and sailor hats and swingy skirts and two-tone pumps) on, and who were patient beyond the call of duty while waiting to order cocktails. We thank you, and so do the women at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans, the recipients of the evening’s ample proceeds (still being reckoned).
These pics are just a few of the many taken that evening. See C. Fernsebner’s post on the Bostonist for additional photos, and check in with the LUPEC Boston blog this week for more possible links to photos.
Boston imbibers, we salute you!
Tags: 1940s, cocktail events, LUPEC Boston USO Show
Posted in Events | 6 Comments »
November 8th, 2008
If you were reading drinkboston around this time last year, you may recall the post I wrote about one of the most fun parties ever: the LUPEC Boston Tea Party. The Boston chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) took over a riverboat docked near the North End and turned it into a 1920s speakeasy, with vintage cocktails and music, oysters and appetizers from some of Boston’s best chefs, and a bunch of festive people in period dress. The party, along with the This One’s for the Ladies cocktail promotion at area bars, raised $10,000 for Jane Doe, Inc.
On Friday, November 21 (7-11 p.m.), the ladies are doing it all again — 1940s-style — with their second annual fundraising bash, the LUPEC Boston USO Show. This time, we’re taking over a larger, land-based venue, the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center (85 W. Newton St., South End, Boston), for a party inspired by the USO variety shows that entertained American troops during WWII. Rest assured, like the USO shows, the party is coed.
Entertainment will include swing music spun by DJ Brother Cleve, the burlesque comediennes Two Girls for Five Bucks, a Bob Hope impersonator (Boston comedian-actor Harry Gordon) and the Boston Derby Dames, who will skate around serving chocolates.
Vintage libations, like the classic rum-and-lime daiquiri (one of WWII veteran JFK’s fave cocktails), will be served by some of Boston’s best bartenders, and oysters and apps will again come from some of the city’s culinary stars.
Scour your local vintage clothing shops for 1940s-era attire, and do not — I repeat, DO NOT — miss this party. Unless you hate having fun.
This year’s proceeds from This One’s for the Ladies and the USO Show will benefit women at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. Tix are $35 ($45 at the door) and include four cocktails and all the eats. And you can buy them online this year at grandthestore.com (includes a service charge) or in person at Grand, Toro or Tremont 647. Lots more details on the USO Show and This One’s for the Ladies are available on the LUPEC Boston blog. Hope to see you there!
Tags: 1940s, LUPEC Boston, USO show
Posted in Cocktails, Events | No Comments »
November 5th, 2008
At 11:00 p.m. last night at the Independent, it was like the Red Sox finally winning the World Series, only with more crying.
Holy crap, we just witnessed a turning point in American history. That happens, like, once or twice in a lifetime. And despite an assembly line of Ward Eights at the beginning of the evening, and shots of rye passed around after Obama gave his acceptance speech (man, is that guy steady), my memories of Election Night ’08 are clearly branded on my brain. Here are some photos from the drinkboston-Indo party celebrating the end — the new beginning, actually — of a two-year political saga.
CNN’s Dana Bash calls Ohio for Obama.
Partygoer Zack Hickman won a $25 Indo gift certificate for Best Election Night Getup.
The crowd is stirred as the winner is announced. That tall guy in the back looks familiar.
Barack Obama is announced President-Elect. Much cheering, toasting, hugging, crying. The DJ plays “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and people laugh and sing along.
We wish you luck, Mr. President.
Tags: 2008 election, barack obama, the Independent, Whiskey
Posted in Events, Whiskey | No Comments »
