Whisky = Fuel

I read on the Huffington Post that "Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University produced a type of fuel called butanol using "pot ale" - the liquid residue from copper stills - and "draff," or leftover grain."

Quite possibly the greatest discovery since "Doc" Brown supplanted the plutonium fuel source for a more environmentally-friendly fuel source on his Delorean time machine. 

Indeed, the future is NOW, dear reader.

The Proust Questionnaire

As promised, I have built a series of inquiry inspired by the Proust Questionnaire.  For the inaugural interview, I have completed the examination myself.  Each succeeding interview for DLDGLG should be faithful to this format. 

The Proust Questionnaire: Anthony Rivera

What’s your favorite virtue?
Reason.

What do you believe is your chief characteristic as a person?
Honesty.

What’s your main fault/shortcoming?
Patience. I strive every day to exercise greater patience with people.

What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
Honesty and forthrightness.

What’s your favorite qualities in the same sex?
Economy of emotion.

What’s your favorite qualities in the opposite sex?
Humor.

What’s a natural talent you'd like to be gifted with?
A photographic memory.

For what fault do you have the most toleration?
Aloofness.

For what fault do you have the least toleration?
Arrogance.

What’s your idea of happiness?
An overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.

What’s your idea of misery?
ED.

How would you wish to die?
Saving the life of someone else.

What is your football/baseball/basketball/college/hockey/soccer team?
Philadelphia Eagles.

What’s your favorite occupation (besides bartending)?
Writer.

Where would you most like to live?
Somewhere on the coast of the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

Who’s your favorite actor/actress?
Al Pacino.

Who’s your favorite comedian?
Dave Chappelle.

Who’s your favorite band/musician?
Right now: Broken Bells.
Overall: The Beatles.

Who’s your favorite art (painting, poem, sculpture, song)?
A poem: “A Game at Salzburg” by Randall Jarrell.

What’s your favorite book?
Right now: god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens.
Overall: Deliverance by James Dickey.

Name your favorite hero/heroine in fiction?
Ed Gentry, Deliverance.

What was your favorite subject in high school?
Art.

What was your least favorite subject in high school?
Math.

Name your favorite American president?
Thomas Jefferson.

Name your favorite non-American historical figure?
George Orwell.

Name your favorite hero/heroine in real life?
The passengers of United Airlines Flight 93.

The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
The Beatles.

Coke or Pepsi?
Coke.

Cats or dogs?
Dogs.

What do you believe is your greatest characteristic as a bartender?
Attention to detail and the quality of the product.

What is your main fault/shortcoming as a bartender?
I overstock everything.

What is your shot of choice?
Jameson.

Who is your Obi Wan Kenobi (i.e. Who taught you the most as a bartender)?
A couple of fellas named Bobby Ferguson and Matt McCue.

At which bar did you grow the most?
Grevey’s Restaurant and Sports Bar.

Who was your favorite customer?
Prashant Uppin.  Also known as "P".  Never in my career have I met someone who completely understands and appreciates what bartenders go through.  And yet, he hadn't worked a day in a restaurant/bar.

Who was your worst customer?
I once had to throw a guy out of my bar by his head.

AM or PM bar shifts?
PM.

What’s your favorite beer?
I currently fancy Allagash White.

What’s your favorite wine?
Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

What’s your favorite spirit?
Scotch – Johnny Walker Black Label.

What’s your favorite cocktail?
Sazerac
- 2 oz of Old Overholt Rye Whiskey
- 1 oz of simple syrup
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
- ¼ oz of absinth or pernod
- 1 lemon zest
(BTW – If your someone who dump the excess absinth in the sink, shame on you.)

What is the stupidest cocktail?
The Booty Bomb
- ½ can of Red Bull
- 1 oz of Bacardi Dark Rum
- 1 oz of Malibu Mango Rum
- splash of cran
I'm told it's like Beyonce in a glass…

What is your favorite cocktail name?
Mint Julep.

What bar has the most unique/funny name?
Busboys and Poets.

If you had to choose only one, would it be beer, wine, cocktail, or spirit?
Spirit.

Who’s your favorite bartender?
Derek Brown.  I mean... the guy made cocktails for President Obama.

What’s your favorite bar/restaurant (in DC)?
The Passenger.

What’s your favorite bar/restaurant (outside of DC)?
The Slanted Door - San Francisco, CA

What side-work do you have the most toleration?
Restocking.

What side-work do you have the least toleration?
Sweeping/mopping.

Have you ever been fired from a bar job?
Kinda.

Next Song for the Jukebox

The Oopsy Daisy

Our dear friend Laura challenged us to construct an original cocktail for what I expect to be a glorious wedding reception.  Nicole would express the spirit of the bride with a clever combination of pear, elderflower and brut sparkling white wine (itself an inspiration from other similar cocktails).  My prompt?  The fiancé, Eric, fancies margaritas and favors tequila.  I found a pivot in the past.

I will not reach as far back into the past as May 5th, 1865.  I have already covered this ground (albeit in a poorly triggered gag) when I wrote about the Tequila Daisy last Cinco De Mayo.  And besides, the underdoggish triumph in a nearly insignificant and ultimately failing Western European military campaign has close to nothing in relation to a punch that eventually became an abused cocktail.  At least, that's the twist I think I was attempting to make. 

In this instance, I replaced the soda water, which is traditionally added in the final stages of the mixture process, with Prosecco.  Fitting for the celebration of a Laura and Eric's union, I believe it adds a dry bite of carbonation that introduces the imbiber's lips to fresh and complex ingredients.  I can't claim any valient depth of thought on this effort.  Thus, the stumble of its creation inspired me to playfully name it the Oopsy Daisy.  So far, the reception has been extremely encouraging and I'm beginning to feel like I can carry a tune.

The Oopsy Daisy

- 2 oz of Patron Silver tequila
- 3/4 oz of home-made grenadine
- 3/4 oz of simple syrup
- 3/4 oz of fresh lemon/lime juice
- 1 oz of Prosecco sparkling white wine

Glassware: cocktail/martini glass or margarita glass

Pour 2 oz of Patron Silver into a pint glass.  Add 3/4 oz of home-made grenadine, simple syrup and fresh lemon/lime juice.  Fill the glass with ice and shake.  Strain the mixture into the cocktail glass (by the way I double strain).  Pour 1 oz of Prosecco into the glass and garnish with a slice of lemon rind.  Enjoy.

If by chance, I do suffer from cryptomnesia please let me know.  It is a wonderful drink and my Google searches for an original copy of this recipe yielded no hint of plagiarism on my part.  I follow Paul McCartney's example and request, dear reader, that if you know this cocktail to be originiated by another more gifted bartender, please reach out to me by email.  Thanks.

In the photo: Tonic bartender, Lauren Matthias, takes her first sip of an Oopsy Daisy that I made as her "shift drink" for working brunch.

Will Tipping Lose Its Power?

Yes... if you make it compulsory.

Pimm's Cup #21

There was no rotund introduction when Pimm's washed up at Tonic.  I'm now sure the bottle was hiding in plain sight behind the bar for weeks before I was aware of its inventory.  When the chance arrived to feature a cocktail using Pimm's, I went to bat.  So today, Tonic featured my take on the Pimm's Cup to accompany their crab special.  I have designated it "21" in recognition of 21st street which runs southbound through Foggy Bottom.

Pimm's Cup #21
- 1 1/2 oz Pimm's No 1
- 3/4 oz of fresh lemon/lime juice
- soda water, ginger ale press (1/2 soda water, 1/2 ginger ale)

Glassware: highball glass

Pour 1 1/2 oz of Pimm's in the glass.  Add 3/4 oz of fresh lemon/lime juice.  Then add a soda water and ginger ale press.  Garnish with a lemon and enjoy.

Christian added a touch of Old Bay to the rim to bridge it with a pile of Tonic's crabs.  Special thanks to him for the solicitation.  Perhaps Pimm's will accrue more attention.

The DC Craft Bartenders Guild Presents The 3rd Annual Rickey Month Contest

With a reluctant backward glance the well-disciplined child held to her nurse’s hand and was pulled out the door, just as Tom came back, preceding four gin rickeys that clicked full of ice.  

Gatsby took up his drink.

“They certainly look cool,” he said, with visible tension.

We drank in long, greedy swallows.

When looking at the lime I can't wait to ravage it. Letting a knife strike through the middle of this produce with citrus juices spilling about is unfettered happiness. The Rickey is an excuse for happiness and The Third Annual Rickey Month Contest by the DC Craft Bartenders Guild was last Monday. 

We may have been present at The Passenger approximately fifty seconds when suddenly we had two of Gina Chersevani's Rickey Ricardo cocktail in our clutches.  Frankie of PS7s was the mixologist fashioning this beauty.  For me, the coconut soda was really a highlight of that drink, and really glided onto one's taste buds.   
 

Jay Gatsby could have been seen at this soirée.  And the old sport would have instantly felt relief, however brief, from the torture in his life.  Instead, the distinguished guest seemed to be "Eric On A Stick," and he did not drink much.
 

Derek Brown served as the host for the suspiciously terse awards ceremony (a party thrown by bartenders values time spent with one's drink).  The second place honors went to Dan Searing of Room 11 with his Lemon Balm Rickey.  Tragically, I was not able to delight in this cocktail's instance.  But I will surely and suddenly be found at Room 11 one day for a chance at the experience.  

The finalist was the lovely Alex Bookless of The Passenger for her iteration called The Root of All Rickey.  Alex has been my bartender on several occasions and there was a tickle of gratification knowing she was receiving some recognition for results to which I have been accustomed.  I'm sure that satisfaction amplified for Derek and his Passengers.  

My own honorable mention rests on Adam Bernbach of Proof for the Salty Limey Ginny Thing.  Saltiness has never occurred to me to be so refreshing.  Bravo Zulu to Alex and Dan for their accomplishments! 

At Tonic, Ballin' Is A Habit

On Saturday nights, the bespectacled alter ego is slipped off and the tapster uniform is revealed.  Bartending is an inherently social profession.  The image below heartily portrays just how social the job can get. 

Meet Rob Dauster, fellow barkeep and college basketball SME.  Rob's first tenure at Tonic at Quigley's Pharmacy began in the early days when it was surviving without a license to sell alcohol in any form (as Thomas Paine once said, "these are the times that try men's souls").  He left, only to return for another spell, this most current one.  I've watched him grow as a bartender and have such reverence for having an active writer/blogger to add to the different flavors of personalities stewarding a piece of the Foggy Bottom neighborhood's vitality.

Moving forward, I am going to feature a fellow bartender that I hold some level of admiration and interview him/her in the form of a basic Proust Questionnaire.  Stay tuned for some bartender/intoxicologist/mixologist interviews.

With such a deep appreciation for these bartenders, I hope to bring a little more recognition to who these folks are, what inspires/impacts them, and why they choose this industry to make their mark.  And, just maybe in the process, I can pick apart my own answers to these questions.