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Day 2: Where There’s Smoke…

John Lennon once famously said, “I’m an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I’ll bring you something out of it.” Well, I’m like that, but with Laphroaig. What can I say? It’s my muse, my inspiration, and my life partner. So this one here, well, it’s gonna be huge… arguably bigger than Jebus himself.

Where There’s Smoke…
1.5 oz. Blended Scotch (I like White Horse here)
.5 oz. Grade C Maple Syrup
.5 oz. Lemon Juice

Shake, double strain into a rocks glass.  Add a few ounces of Laphroaig foam*, and a dash of cayenne pepper over top.

*To make Laphroaig foam, combine five ounces of the balls, plus two of water and three of simple, and four egg whites in an iSi prof-whip canister.  Chill and shake before use.

Day 1: The Johnny Rottenseed

Since the start we’ve had an old fashioned on our menu.  First it was the Autumn Old Fashioned (wild turkey rye, apple cider reduction, ango), and then it was the Blackfoot Old Fashioned (riverboat rye, grade C maple syrup, blackfoot bitters, flamed orange peel).  And these have been consistently our best seller.  Maybe because they’re always the cheapest drink on the menu at $7 – but maybe also because people still enjoy simple, complimentary flavors without all the hoopla.

The concept for this drink actually came to me in the middle of the night.  Not really in a dream, cause only pussies dream, so let’s say… in a whiskey induced hallucination.

The Johnny Rottenseed (Old Fashioned)
2 oz. Laird’s Bonded Applejack
.5 oz. Coca Cola Syrup*
Dash house orange bitters

Build this in the glass, add a few large cubes, and give it a stir. Let those cubes dilute a bit, since we’re dealing with 100* goods here, and then add a few more cubes. We use large cubes from our Kold Draft, but you can use whatever the fuck you want, my homey.

*Reduce Mexican coke down to about 25% of it’s original volume to make the syrup. It’s pretty rad stuff.

Tomorrow’s drink: Where There’s Smoke…

Twelve Days of Drinksmas

Since we opened in early October, we’ve changed our menu 19 times.  I know…. like, really? And then we’re like, yes.  Not complete makeovers, mind you, but swapping out this drink for that, etc.  And not a single drink we opened with still exists on our menu, which you’ve got to admit is pretty cool.  Now, not all of them have been the complex masterpieces we are known for, but we also wanted to keep the menu a bit accessible for those people who don’t really know what we’re about yet.  I know what you’re thinking: that’s not what you signed up for.  I get it.  You want new and exciting, and we want to give that to you.  But listen brohammers, it’s not easy being sleazy, as they say.  Actually, that has nothing to do with the conversation, but I wanted to slip it in there… ahem … so to speak.

So, we’ve been plotting and planning, spending all hours working on new drinks that will eclipse our previous drinks in terms of complexity and sophistication.  Yes, we’ll still make you a sazerac and be pretty happy about it, but we’re rolling out some balls-deep shit here.  We’ve even got some fancy new toys we’re going to show off.  But slow.  Slowly.  Slow. Don’t get all jazzed up.  The new menu will be released on NYE.  Until then, I’m going to drop a new drink from the menu on the blog, along with a photo and the recipe, so you can make it at home, or rip it off, or whatever.  Consider it a gift, from us to you, during this holiday season.

Tonight’s drink:  The Johnny Rottenseed

Barrel Aged Knickerbocker

Yeah, I know, all the kids are barrel aging crap these days.  Manhattans and Tridents and Caprices and whatnot.  And I hear that shit.  It’s rad.  Cocktails, barrels, etc,… why not?  But I’m thinking to myself, “dear Captain, what are we really missing in our lives?”  And you know what I said to us?  “Old Tom gin?  Yes.”  Number one thing that makes my life incomplete.  And yes, when I think private thoughts I address myself in the third party.  And also as a Captain, which anyone can tell you is much cooler than just some douche bag.

Where was I?  [DuPont cider is magnificent, but tends to lead the mind astray if one has too many whilst blogging]  Ah yes.  Barrels!

We recently scored a lovely 5 gallon whiskey barrel from our friends at New Holland Spirits. If you’re not familiar with New Holland’s line of spirits (or beers, for that matter), I’d say your priorities are probably a bit of mess at this point, and maybe you should start reconsidering some of those decisions that you made earlier in life, and get yourself a bottle of Superior Rum and Zepplin Bend Whiskey and just hang out in your room for a few days and figure some shit out.

So we hatched a little scheme – the two of us – to barrel age some gin, and make a house Old Tom.  It required about two cases of Knickerbocker, and I think it’s gonna take about two months, but I’ll be damned if some no talent douche bag tell me what I can and can’t do with my gin.

Design Detroit

Here’s a link to pretty cool blog and a photoshoot that was done at the bar a few weeks back.  Check it out…

http://designdetroit.us/2011/09/23/1019/