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.
Permalink | 12 Comments | Filed under Cocktails, Events, Rum | Tags: Cactus Flower, eastern standard, Flying Dutchman, tiki party, Zombie
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!
Permalink | 2 Comments | Filed under Cocktails, Events, Rum | Tags: exotica, Polynesia, rum drinks, tiki party
March 31st, 2009
Established: 1885
Specialty: Cocktails, wine
Prices: Moderate
Atmosphere: A historic bar in downtown Boston that isn’t a tourist trap and mixes classic cocktails? We’re there. See Best Boston bars for address and contact info.
Drinkboston is wholeheartedly rooting for the new-and-improved Restaurant Marliave (10 Bosworth St. near Downtown Crossing), even though it still has some stuff to work out, vibe-wise. Chef Scott Herritt of the Grotto bought the 125-year-old establishment last year and reopened it as a three-level enterprise featuring an itty-bitty oyster bar on the first floor, a cafe-bar on the second floor and a fine-dining restaurant (with a small bar) on the third floor (3 floors + 3 bars = woohoo!).
The place is a historical, architectural treasure that I pray, given our economic predicament, can stick it out for the next few years to become a bulwark against the usual type of downtown Boston watering hole: corporate, expensive, dumbed-down. When people ask me, “I’m staying near Faneuil Hall, where can I get a good drink nearby?” and I have to tell them to get on the Red Line and go to Cambridge — well, that makes me mad. Now I tell them to go to the Marliave.
Herritt wanted his bar program to reflect the quality and thoughtfulness of his cooking (classic French, Italian, New England fare), so fresh-squeezed citrus and Kold-Draft ice became basics for a menu of classic and classic-influenced cocktails. (In fact, the Marliave was the first place in Boston to use Kold-Draft ice.)
Some of my faves are the Jennie Churchill (a good Manhattan, named after Winston’s American mom, with Rittenhouse rye, Noilly Prat sweet vermouth and bitters, garnished with a Luxardo cherry), the FDR (a tall pitcher of gin martinis — this is where the Kold-Draft ice, which melts slowly, is crucial — with Vya vermouth that you can share with friends), and the Molasses Flood 1919 (Sailor Jerry rum, molasses, fresh lime, bitters). Bar manager Jackie Ross, who worked at the Grotto and, before that, the B-Side, brings solid experience and a no-nonsense style to the job. Two other B-Side alums, Christopher Duggan and Al Harding, pull a few shifts here, too.
On some nights, the Marliave feels like it’s struggling to find energy. And sometimes — at least in the main bar, which is where I usually am — there’s a palpable lack of personality, which is only exacerbated by a too-large TV behind the bar. But I’m calling these quibbles for now. I wish the Marliave all the luck in the world, because downtown Boston needs it.
Permalink | 21 Comments | Filed under Boston bars, Cocktails | Tags: downtown Boston, historic bars, Marliave
March 27th, 2009
I am a big fan of drinks that taste a bit like medicine. Pour some bitters, be they Angostura, orange, Campari, Aperol, Fernet, etc., into a glass of whiskey, gin or brandy, and chances are I’ll slurp it up. Bitter cocktails are, like blue cheese or anchovies, something we start out thinking is disgusting but that, as we get older and wiser, we grow to savor.
Ben Sandrof at Drink has made me many a medicinal cocktail, so he knew he had a good guinea pig for a new drink that takes the idea of a bitter cocktail all the way to Crazy Town: the Trinidad Sour. Created by a bartender [Giuseppe Gonzalez] at Clover Club in Brooklyn, it uses Angostura bitters (which are made in Trinidad) as a base. Here’s what I mean:
Trinidad Sour
1 oz Angostura bitters
1 oz orgeat
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Rittenhouse rye
Shake hard and double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
A full ounce of Angostura modified with a bit of whiskey? That’s, like, 50 times the amount of these “non-potable” bitters that are usually measured by the dash. Nonetheless, I poted them. And surprisingly, the drink was potable. With the sweetness of the orgeat (almond syrup) and the sourness of the lemon juice, the deep-red potion tasted kind of like a really strong, and medicinal, Sweet Tart. The weirdest part of it was the white head that just sat atop the liquid in the glass until the drink was drained, like the head on a Guinness. Ben was fascinated and mystified by it. I could only guess that all the plant matter that goes into a bottle of Angostura creates some really fine particles that somehow bind to the other ingredients and froth when shaken. I may be way off but, hey, it sounds good.
Another bitter cocktail I tried recently and have to mention, because it’s every bit as bold in its own way as the Trinidad Sour, is the No. 47 at Hungry Mother (the cocktails here have numbers instead of names). The cocktails during my first two visits to this instantly acclaimed, year-old Cambridge restaurant were underwhelming. But this time around they were perfect. The ingredients in the No. 47 are Laird’s Applejack, Aperol and Buffalo Trace Bourbon — in what proportions I don’t know exactly, but none seemed overshadowed by another, and together they created a mixture that transcended the individual spirits. The drink was served “down” in a heavy rocks glass with a large sphere of ice, which made all the difference. The drink started out strong but stayed cold and balanced as the ice slowly melted. I thank bartenders Ned Greene and Duane Gorey, plus co-owner Alon Munzer, for creating Hungry Mother’s short but sweet cocktail menu and for adding some more delicious medicine to my first-aid kit.
Permalink | 23 Comments | Filed under Bitters, Cocktails |
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!
Permalink | 3 Comments | Filed under Cocktails, Events, Rum | Tags: Donn Beach, luau, Polynesia, tiki, Trader Vic
