Check Out DLDGLG on Diep 9's Website!

Our contributions to Diep 9 are featured on the website's cocktail section. I wrote about one of these drinks a few weeks ago and stand still by it's incredible deliciousness. Try out the other recipes that are featured there.

By the way, the Calypso Flip, which is featured on the site, was actually created by former Last Exit bartenders Matt Carson and Bryan Flynn. It's an absolutely delicious cocktail. However, I had no part in its creation.

Don't Miss Scofflaw's Den's Final Class at Last Exit!

Image via Twitter

Scofflaw's Den will be hosting its final class at Last Exit this Sunday. The class is called Tiki Lounge and boasts:

Summer is here and what better way to celebrate than relax with an icy, fruity, boozy tiki drink? This summer when you invite friends and family over for a cook-out and some drinks, throw in a touch of polynesia by serving the best tiki drinks around! Learn the history of tiki drinks, the tricks to making them and how Tiki became synonymous with Americana. Class limited to 10 students, $50/person.

Why do a class on tiki drinks? Well, it's been a disgustingly hot summer. Plus, there's more to these refreshing cocktails than rum, fruit juices, and a hollowed-out coconut. 

Besides, who doesn't love tiki drinks?

Don't miss this last opportunity to learn from DC's most knowledgeable cocktail enthusiast/blogger at Last Exit!

Did Philip Greene Just Uncover the Real Jack Rose?

Philip Greene of the Museum of the American Cocktail (MOTAC) makes the case for the real Jack Rose cocktail. According to Greene:

"The first recipe shown above is the commonly accepted, conventional recipe for the Jack Rose. However, submitted for your approval is a quite different recipe. In 1922, there was published in Paris a classic cocktail book titled Barflies and Cocktails, written by Harry MacElhone and Wynn Holcomb, with contributions from Harry Moss. MacElhone was the owner/bartender at Harry’s New York Bar, in Paris, and Holcomb was a noted caricaturist and society reporter for the Paris edition of the New York Herald. Arthur Moss’ job was apparently to scare up interesting recipes from the bar’s regulars [...]

Well, dear reader, here you have a recipe published around the same time (Barflies was published in 1922, my edition 1927) that Hemingway wrote and published The Sun Also Rises (1926).  Further, Hemingway happened to live in the same town (Paris) where the inimitable Mr. MacElhone tended bar, at a saloon that Hemingway was known to frequent.  So, does it not make sense that Hemingway, and Jake Barnes, might have been drinking this version of the Jack Rose?  Pardon me, I’m an attorney by training, I can’t help the leading questions.  But I happen to think that this is Jake Barnes’ Jack Rose."

Fascinating stuff.

Varying interpretations of this cocktail is nothing new to me. I've put together a tasty Jack Rose using Last Exit's house-made grenadine. It was absolutely delicious. 

America Eats Tavern features one that is truer to the conventional recipe and seems to use grenadine that is more widely available. But Greene has uncovered something very different. 

Jack Rose - Harry MacElhone’s 1920s Paris recipe:

- 1 1/2 oz Applejack or Calvados
- 3/4 oz dry gin
- 3/4 oz fresh orange juice
- 3/4 oz fresh lemon or lime juice
- 1/3 oz French vermouth
- 1/3 oz Italian vermouth
- 1/3 oz grenadine

Shake well with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with twist of lime or lemon peel.

After giving this version a try, I found that it expresses a little more complex citrus flavor compared to the more mainstream Jack Rose recipe. Some of the other notes that dance on the tongue come from the gin and vermouth. There's a lot to work with here.

Is it better than the Jack Rose cocktail I made with house-made grenadine? I'm not so sure. It is, however, quite delicious compared to the interpretation I experienced at America Eats Tavern. Others may disagree.

Either way, Greene tells an amazing story that had me reaching for my old copy of The Sun Also Rises from college. And just like in college, I was left asking myself again, "what is this cocktail called the Jack Rose?"


Note: This post has been revised since its original publication

My National Cherry Blossom Centennial Cocktail - Two Sakuras

As you may or may not know, I'm the head bartender at Last Exit and in charge of the concept's R&D. When you see the cocktail menu, much of it was arranged based on my direction and recommendation.

So when I began thinking about Last Exit's spring menu I knew that I wanted to create a drink that would honor the Centennial of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in our home town of Washington D.C this year.

Lucky for me, our little bar has a respectable whiskey selection which includes Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old Single Malt Whiskey. Not only is this spirit distinctly Japanese but it is also a tasty whiskey.

I took a little inspiration from another great whiskey cocktail, Blood and Sand. After a slight change in flavor profile and few additional ingredients to enhance an already winning combination, I named it Two Sakuras.

For those who don't know, sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese. The "two sakuras" name refers to the first two cherry blossom trees which were planted next to the Tidal Basin on March 27, 1912. 

Two Sakuras

- 2 oz Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey

- 3/4 oz Luxardo Cherry Liqueur

- 1/2 oz fresh orange juice

- 1 spoonful of Luxardo Marsachino Liqueur

- 3-4 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

Class Is in Session: Scofflaw's Den Helps Take the Mystery Out of Cocktails

Image via Twitter

Cocktail blogger/enthusiast/historian, Marshall Fawley III, has launched several new cocktail classes which he'll be teaching at Last Exit this spring and summer. A full schedule of these fun and informative courses can be found at Scofflaw's Den. Some of my favorites in the line-up:

Spirits of Mexico

05/05/12 Celebrate Mexican heritage with a discussion on the national spirits of Mexico, tequila and mezcal. We will discuss, and taste, the differences between tequila and mezcal and learn how to use them in cocktails. We will also learn the importance of quality in these spirits and how important they are to many of the small villages who make artisanal tequila and mezcal. Please note that this class begins at 3:30pm at Last Exit. The cost is $50 per student and limited to only 10 students.

Tiki Lounge

06/24/12 Summer is here and what better way to celebrate than relax with an icy, fruity, boozy tiki drink? This summer when you invite friends and family over for a cook-out and some drinks, throw in a touch of Polynesia by serving the best tiki drinks around! Learn the history of tiki drinks, the tricks to making them and how Tiki became synonymous with Americana. Choose whichever date fits your schedule! Each class begins at 5:30pm at Last Exit. Cost is $50 per student and each class is limited to 10 students.

Punch into Spring

05/19/12 When entertaining at home, having a punch or two for your guests keeps you chatting with them instead of stuck in the kitchen mixing drinks. In this class, learn the history of punch and the basics to punch making. This is not your parents neon green sherbet-topped fruit punch or the Rubbermaid tub of anything goes punch from your college days! This punch is based in traditional cocktail methods and culinary flavors. Class begins at 5:30pm at Last Exit. Cost is $50 per student and limited to 10 students.

"Although some beer lovers recoil at the thought of other ingredients tainting their sacred substance..."

"Some take delight in the fact that the beer cocktail often functions as beerdom’s Trojan horse. It’s a means of slipping the goods into enemy territory."

Daniel Fromson covers the District's growing use of beer in cocktails. In the process, he briefly discusses the Cascade hops-infused gin concept that I brought to Last Exit for last year's winter cocktail menu!

A Bartender In Action

I have a deep admiration for photography. As a writer, I rely on pictures to fill in the details that writing can't. Unfortunately, I have neither the formal training nor the equipment for professional photography.

One photographer, Corey Thompson of Photoleer, took some great pictures of me in action behind Last Exit's bar one Wednesday night. I'm still adjusting to the fascination that folks continue to have with craft-bartending. So when Thompson wanted to take some shots of me building cocktails, I couldn't resist the opportunity. My favorite image is of me pouring him a healthy Jameson whiskey shot with the slight smirk on my face. I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking at that moment but must have been pretty amusing.

By the way, Photoleer has an impressive catalog of photographs. I'm a big fan of Thompson's "Breakfast With..." photo series so I recommend you spend some time checking that out.

Anyway, Corey was nice enough to let me post these images for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Scoutmob Makes Me Famous for a Day

Image via Scoutmob

 
Scoutmob writer Marissa Payne came to Last Exit to taste a few of the cocktails. A week later, Scoutmob featured my picture in one of their write-ups. 

I received a startling amount of emails, text messages, and phone calls about this. 

Gotta say, it was fun to feel famous for a day.

MxMo - Local Colors: The Vermouth Cooler with Sloop Betty

For Alcohol Alchemy's Mixology Monday theme, "Local Colors," I chose a Maryland-based distillery which produces Sloop Betty vodka. This theme made for great timing because Sloop Betty will be visiting my bar, Last Exit, for a tasting on Thursday, October 13th. And I am currently thinking of ways to utilize this local spirit.

When I drink Sloop Betty I get a ethanol nose but the taste and texture is very smooth. I even get a very slight creaminess.

According to the website:

"Sloop Betty was an historic ship that sailed the Chesapeake Bay. The name appealed to us because of our love of Maryland's history, as well as her amazing location right on the ocean and Bay."

The cocktail I chose to mix is called the Vermouth Cooler. I concocted this little ditty based on the recipe I found on CocktailDB. I couldn't find anything bad to say about this tasty sipper and so I submit it to my favorite monthly cocktail party, MxMo.

The Vermouth Cooler

- 2 oz Dolin Rouge vermouth

- 1 oz Sloop Betty vodka

- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

- tspn simple syrup

- splash of soda water

Glassware: Collins glass

Add vermouth, vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup into shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with a splash of soda water. Garnish with a lemon twist. Enjoy.

BTW - If you are in the Mount Pleasant area on Thursday, October 13 and would like to taste the Vermouth Cooler for yourself (or another drink with Sloop Betty), pay a visit Last Exit. And if I'm there, make sure you let me know you read about it here.

Note: This post has been revised since its original publication

“Tucked away on a quiet stretch of Mt. Pleasant, is a cocktail lounge which looks like the inside of Al Capone’s private jet...”

Girl Meets Food meets Last Exit. Mary Kong, the distinguished DC food blogger, visited my bar a few weeks ago and provides her readers a glimpse of our little cocktail lounge.

Grand Opening of Last Exit Tonight

Last Exit, Tonic's contribution to the district's mixology movement, will have its grand opening tonight at 7:00 pm EST (basically, right now). Patrice Hammond, the beloved matriarch of the Tonic Mount Pleasant tribe, is the creative force behind the endeavor.

In speakeasy fashion, the new lounge is located right next door to the original Tonic and accessible only through that location. Simply go inside the Mount Pleasant location and ask to be taken to Last Exit.

Tonight's opening will feature small plates, infusions as well as craft beers and cocktails. Your humble correspondent will be helping out the crew of Last Exit tonight so drop by and enjoy a refreshingly different bar experience.