November 28th, 2008
An article that will appear in this Sunday’s Boston Globe Magazine, “Find. Join. Learn. Go. The World Wide Hub: Sixty-four websites on Boston life that you should know,” includes drinkboston in its food/restaurant category.
There are a bunch of good sites mentioned here in categories ranging from politics to sports to commuting. A couple of these sites participated in a recent confab of bloggers: Povo (the host of the gathering), which “seeks to be an encyclopedia [of Boston] by neighborhood,” and Universal Hub, which “provides a broader slice of the city than you’ll see anywhere else” (this from the newspaper that runs Boston.com!).
Thanks for the thumbs-up, Globe Mag.
Permalink | 2 Comments | Filed under drinkboston in the news | Tags: best Boston blogs, Boston Globe Magazine
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!
Permalink | 6 Comments | Filed under Events | Tags: 1940s, cocktail events, LUPEC Boston USO Show
November 21st, 2008
A wonderful thing happened recently. I got whiskey in the mail. Rye whiskey. This never happens. Sure, I’ve received gin in the mail, and cachaca, and tequila. All were welcome. But whiskey — and this is a relatively high-end whiskey — people don’t just give that stuff out. But here I was, opening a sleek white box containing a bottle of … um … well, the label appeared to be some sort of mathematical equation or unpronounceable glyph, like the thing Prince changed his name to.
I had to read the promotional materials that accompanied the bottle to figure out that this whiskey, produced by Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., is pronounced “rye one.” The label and the contemporary design of the bottle could not have broadcast more clearly that this is not your grandfather’s whiskey. There’s no “old” in the name, no 1800s font.
“[Rye one] is a cutting-edge spirit for today’s top tastemakers and cocktail drinkers who are looking to expand their ultra-premium spirits repertoire,” Brand Manager Mara Melamed is quoted in the press release.
Playing the part of “top tastemaker,” I sampled the Rye One neat alongside a few ryes I bought myself: the bargain brands Old Overholt and Jim Beam, the premium Sazerac 6-Yr, and the increasingly rare Michter’s 10-Yr. In terms of complexity, depth and the spicy kick you look for in a rye, the Rye One came out ahead of Old Overholt and Jim Beam, stood about equal with (but was a bit hotter than) Sazerac 6-Yr, and was clearly not on the same plane as Michter’s 10-Yr. Later, Scott joined me in comparing Rye One to Old Overholt and Sazerac in a 3:1 Manhattan with a dash of Angostura bitters. Scott preferred the Sazerac. I was on the fence between the Rye One and the Sazerac.
Conclusions? I thought Rye One was pretty comparable in quality to Sazerac 6-Yr. But here lies the rub: Rye One is $46-$48 a bottle. Sazerac is $25-$30. What’s the deal with the high price of Rye One? I’m guessing that in packaging this rye to appeal to the Nightclub Set, Beam Global is simply borrowing a page from the vodka-marketing playbook: put your booze in a sexy bottle and charge conspicuously more for it than any of your competitors. This ploy has made premium vodka wildly profitable. It will be interesting to see if it works for whiskey.
Permalink | 9 Comments | Filed under Whiskey | Tags: liquor packaging, rye whiskey
November 18th, 2008
This is the time of year when every culinary scribe in the nation chips in to solve a seemingly widespread problem: What to Drink with Thanksgiving Dinner. Wine writers have made pinot noir a standard tipple to pair with turkey and stuffing. Beer writers are making inroads with the argument that, actually, craft brews offer way more variety for Thanksgiving pairings than wine. Historical purists would advocate drinking water, as that is likely all the Pilgrims had on hand during their 1621 feast with the Wampanoag Indians. I don’t know if hosts are really in as much agony over what to serve with gravy-soaked root vegetables as they’re made out to be, but if they are, I have an easy answer: Plymouth Gin.
Unlike, say, wine, Plymouth Gin actually has a connection to the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. The Mayflower set sail from the original Plymouth, in England. Not only that, the night before they left for the New World, the Pilgrim Fathers lodged in a former monastery dating from the 1400s that is today known as Black Friars Distillery, a.k.a. the producer of Plymouth Gin. The ship that appears on the gin’s label? Yep, it’s the Mayflower.
I learned all this on a little junket I attended recently: a dinner in Eastern Standard‘s private dining room with Plymouth’s brand ambassador, British drinks expert Simon Ford. (For the record, I was a devotée of this crisp, balanced gin before the company plied me with product.) This was a multi-course Thanksgiving of sorts that paired Plymouth Gin-based cocktails with dishes that featured some of the botanicals used in distilling the spirit. Kevin Martin led the Eastern Standard bar staff in mixing up French 75s, Alaskas and Gin Flips, among others. Dishes included a coriander-crusted venison chop, rabbit terrine with juniper berries, and cardamom tapioca pudding. And, believe it or not, before dinner we were given a steamed towel scented with orris root. Fancy!
Reps from the Pernod Ricard company, which owns the Plymouth brand, informed me that Boston is a hot market for this gin. Given that every bar doing classic cocktails stocks the stuff (thanks largely to the pioneering B-Side Lounge), I’m not surprised.
Fun facts about Plymouth gin:
- Not long after it was first distilled in 1793, Plymouth Gin became the official gin of the British Royal Navy. And because the navy shipped it everywhere, it became one of the first global brands.
- Black Friars Distillery is the oldest working distillery in England, with records of spirit-making dating to the 1600s.
- Like Scotch whiskey and Cheddar cheese, Plymouth Gin has its own appellation contrôlée, which means the spirit can only be distilled in Plymouth.
- The pot still in which every drop of Plymouth Gin is made was installed in 1850.
- In 1896 the first printed recipe for a Dry Martini, in Stuart’s Fancy Drinks and How to Mix Them, specified Plymouth Gin.
Permalink | 19 Comments | Filed under Cocktails, Gin | Tags: eastern standard, Mayflower, Pilgrims, Plymouth Gin, Thanksgiving
November 13th, 2008
A reader named Daniel emailed me recently asking what I knew of recent “bartender movement” around Boston, including what has become of the crew at the B-Side. Timely question, Daniel, because Boston drink-slingers are engaged in a lively round of musical bars right now.
Let’s start with the crew at the B-Side, which, it turns out, will not be opening again under new ownership as I wrote earlier. The lounge on the corner of Hampshire and Windsor in Cambridge is officially in limbo. Sad. From what I’ve heard, among the principal bartenders left standing when the place closed, Dave Cagle is heading to Deep Ellum, Al Harding is at the new-and-improved Cafe Marliave (along with ex-B-Siders Jackie Ross and Christopher Duggan, who’s also occasionally at the Indo), Russ is at the Beehive, and Rob … I totally forget where Rob’s going (update forthcoming). While I’m on the subject, the B-Side’s swan song, last Sunday, was an evening of fun insanity, with customers doing their damnedest to drain the place of every last ounce of liquor, and most of the above B-Side alums — plus Joe McGuirk and Claudia Mastrobuono, both now at Highland Kitchen — stepping behind the bar to help out.
As for the other bars with personnel in flux … Misty Kalkofen is moving from Green Street to Drink. That means Drink will now boast a ridiculous roster of talent including Kalkofen, John Gertsen, Ben Sandrof and Josey Packard, among others. Meanwhile, as Daniel informed me, Green Street has lured Emily of Deep Ellum across the river. She joins Andy McNees (formerly of Bukowski and Eastern Standard) and Bice (formerly of B-Side, Deep Ellum, etc.). Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, who earned renown at Eastern Standard, is now boss of the bar at chef Tony Maws’ new place, Craigie on Main, which is scheduled to open this Friday.
I know I’m missing a few other significant moves, here. I’ll post updates when I get them, along with reviews of Boston’s new star bars Drink, Cafe Marliave and Craigie on Main. In the meantime, best of luck to all you ‘tenders in your new gigs.
Permalink | 14 Comments | Filed under Bartenders, Boston bars | Tags: bartender movement, new Boston bars
