XXX Monday!

MxMo XXX is officially over, (it's over dammit so stop with the emails,) and we have swept up the barroom floor and have a pretty good pile of history, locally inspired cocktails, and a glass of Ohio tap water to boot. (Not kidding.) Thanks to everyone who participated... I had a great time reading all of your blogs and learning about each of your places. I even gave out some awards to entertain myself as I typed for, like, hours. So you better read every damn word. As soon as I finish typing, I'm getting drunk, so here we go...

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First up in the roundup is Tiare at A Mountain of Crushed Ice. Tiare gives an exhaustive history of Aarack and Swedish Punsch that every serious cocktailian should review. She provides us with recipes for the Revenge of Hannah and the Karlstromare on the Rocks, while giving props to Erik's Underhill Punsch recipe that I agree is phenomenal. She also provides photos of throngs of Caloric Punsch (available readily in, um, SWEDEN,) that make me swoon.

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Sunday Cook at Cooking 4 the Week tells the two stories of Boston's Ward 8, one of my favorite simple whiskey drinks featuring citrus juice and grenadine.

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At Cocktail Virgin (Slut), Fred (the Slut) mixes up the Winter Hill using a local Boston low-shelf vodka called Ruble. Although the vodka is caca, Fred pulls the drink together with flavors that compliment the vodka's chemical qualities. He also offers alternatives to said turpentine that could be used were it not for my damned theme.

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As a Spanish speaker, Ana Bolena perdió su cabeza wins my personal award for the most unique blog name in MxMo Triple X, and Stevi's recipes for Blackberry Shrub Syrup, Blackberry Wine Syrup, and the Blackberry Gin Shrub all sound like great ways to deal with the pest that is blackberry bushes in the Seattle area.

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At Flyboyz, Max makes what I can only imagine is one of the most delicious Manhattan variations ever, The Yorkville. Not only does he use Tuthilltown Rye, (of which I cannot even dream of getting ahold,) but he combines it with Carpano Antica Formula, Fee Brothers Aromatic Bitters, and a simple/effective/kick-ass addition that you'll have to read for yourself. Way to go, Max.

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Xiphias contributes the second recipe for the Ward 8, along with a variation for pre-boozers invented by her 10 year old, Winter. Winter, if you're reading this, I think you're recipe is bitchin'. But listen honey, just add the Rye. Give your palate a jump start... It wouldn't hurt, and I won't tell.

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Mark Sexauer provides a recipe for both a Baked Apple Puree and a cocktail using it with Washington's Dry Fish Gin called the Washington Orchard Apple. Nice job, Mark. This sounds like a perfect drink for the coming Fall season.

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Blair at TraderTiki offers us the Bridgetown Shamble, a Portland, Oregon cocktail that seriously represents from the name to the berries to the beer. This drink is a perfect example of representing your place. Yeah Blair, you represent.

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Jamie Boudreau manages to only sort of be a smart ass with his post, featuring equal parts snark and song with his homage to Canadian cocktails, spellings, and funny phoenetic expressions. (I'm excluding the bromidic "eh?" at this point, but he didn't.) Each of the four drinks he posts offer a date and a source, which makes me want to do more research. Later. Jamie gives recipes for the Martin Casa of Montreal, the Habitant of Quebec, the Hotel Georgia of Vancouver, and the Vancouver of Stan Jones Complete Bar Guide. This is a veritable cocktail road trip sans DUI. Nicely done, Jamie.

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Cocktailians takes us through the various histories and recipes of the New Yorker cocktail, featuring an interesting mixture of whiskey and red wine, and offers various pieces of trivia that I found very interesting. Vidiot's photo of the NYer is one of my favorites in the whole roundup.

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The ever-charming Chuck Taggart lives in my concrete hometown of Los Angeles and still manages to grow figs?! Aaaand a "large grove of pomegranates?!" Chuck, how do you do it? Gumbo Pages graces MxMo Local Flavor with two L.A. bourbon cocktails, the Brock & Co., and the Los Angeles Cocktail. Chuck's research is, as usual, exhaustive and generally badass, as are the comments that follow the post, arguing the use of the whole egg or only white, according to this author and that historian. I had no damn idea about any of it, to tell the truth, but I'm sure going to try both of these drinks. Thanks, Chuck.

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Tilen Krivek hails from Slovenia and publishes Slocktail, where he's posted recipes for the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (ahem,) and the Heart of Slovenia. Both drinks feature natively Slovenian products, Absinte Supreme and Fukoff Vodka, respectively. Tilen points out that the PGGB is indeed a cocktail invented by a fictional character in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which I think is nothing short of rad.

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The Scribe at A Mixed Dram, (the blog formerly known has A Dram of Brine), offers up, or should I say throws down "Mixology Monday: Gimme Some Flavouh." He reluctantly posts on the grounds that things should come from everywhere, but manages to give us recipes, (locally themed or not,) and suggested alterations for the New York Sour, the Rum Swizzle, and the Twilight Squall Cocktail.

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I am about ready to propose marriage to Jacob Grier after reading his post. No, no, no, it's not the late, late hour. Or the coffee. Or cocktails. Or pills. Jacob nailed this theme with his as of yet unnamed Spruce Cocktail. Jacob finds a local vodka, infuses it with a flavor/aroma that is characteristic to his home in Upper Peninsula, Michigan, and combines it with other ingredients to create very place-based drink. Tip of the hat to you, sir, as the winner of my personal award for most context-appropriate post.

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Anita at Married (... with dinner) posts on the Cable Car, a San Francisco classic. She offers a higher quality contemporary version that sounds amazing at the very least. Even more valuable in her post is a weekend full of cocktails to try and where to try them. I've got a trip planned soon, Anita, and I'm taking your drink tour.

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Tennessee-based Ponteuf at Southbound Train gives us the Cool Cucumber, a corny name, (for which she makes no apologies, and certainly shouldn't,) for a drink that sounds light, crisp, and well, cool. The akvavit is the real turn-on here for me. I imagine that dry flavor of caraway blending so well with the other bright ingredients in her CSA basket.

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Felicia's Speakeasy goes fist to cuffs with a bottle of

 Ithaca reisling and fistfuls of sage, two ubiquitous ingredients in her northeastern region. She comes out clean with the Sage Reisling Cocktail and cheers from the crowd ensue at Atomic Lounge. Reisling and Sage are both readily available where I live as well. I may have to try this pairing on for size.

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Doug Winship is drunk-posting, I think, while offering hot coverage of  a glass of water at The Pegu Blog. No photo, but I guess we can pretty much imagine what it looks like. Let's give Doug some traffic, shall we?

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If you haven't noticed yet, I'm into giving out awards in this roundup that mean nothing but teal font. (If I'm roundin' 'em up, you're gonna hear what I like, dammit.) But Jay at Oh Gosh! gets my personal award for the overall coolest blog in the lot. I burnt up my eyeballs just clicking away. Oooooo, the colors, the content. For this episode of MxMo, Jay gets after the G&T, explaining what makes it good, some of what's given it a bad rap, and where it came from. Jay, why don't you ever call me?

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The Bloody Fairy is a drink that speaks to me in a way that none of you can possibly understand. It's anise. It's clams. It's blood. It's fairies. Check out Matthew Rowly at Rowly's Whiskey Forge for great writing and great drinks, namely the Bloody Fairy, inspired by drinking traditions in San Diego and the Baja.

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Erik at Underhill Lounge is re-posting with something I'd be glad to read twice. His various musings about Old Fashioneds, bourbon and rye and brandy alike, are a great reminder of this drink's origins.

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The boys at Scofflaw's Den have taken on the Rickey in two variations, the Dupont "gin" Rickey and the Falls Station Rickey. Along with various accounts of the drink's origins, they provide two very good recipes for either the gin or bourbon lover, respectively. Well done, gents.

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Aside from having the coolest business cards in the group, Orange County-based Matt Robold at Rumdood gets the award for the most artistic angst expressed in his submission. I can't really say anything clever about the Tragic Kingdom because he just says it so damn perfectly. The drink sounds pretty good too, featuring Pyrat XO rum, orange liqueur, fresh lemon and mint, and brut champagne. 

Kudos, Matt.

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I was actually getting really tired of reading when I stumbled upon the post from those crazy fruits over at Infusions of Grandeur. I tell you this because I was so thankful for the audio link of their tasting notes, complete with catversations and no less than three uses of the word "fruity." I am seriously LOLing right now. Check out their North Cackalacky Sangria and seriously, listen for that kitty. Meow.

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Next up is Darcy at Art of Drink. Everything Darcy touches turns to gold, so it's no surprise that his drink is great and so is the photo. He posts about gathering local ingredients and making local drinks with them, namely the Blueberry Crush, a mixture of many ingredients that sounds very good right now... okay, you're right. I'm tired and need a drink. Just read the damn post.

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My good friends at Cocktail Buzz make easy work of giving compliments. Not only is the Brooklyn Nonino a beautiful drink, but its way of reflecting their locale is so beautifully stated.

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Another Rickey submission by Fred at The Mixology Lab. Check out his post on the Old Line Rickey using rye. Fred also offers a good history lesson on the drink and some good tips for preparing them properly. I was foolishly unaware that Maryland and Pennsylvania were the rye whiskey capitals of the US until prohibition closed the distilleries' doors. Good info, Fred.

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Cindy at My Beautiful Mistakes writes about an abundant supply of blackberries at her parents' home in western Pennsylvania and makes the delicious Blackberry Gin Daisy. The drink features a syrup made from the blackberries and rosemary. This is so simple and so effective. I haven't tried it but it sounds great. Nicely done, Cindy.

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Back over at Scofflaw's Den, we have another Rickey post, this one featuring a Mixed Berry Shrub for The K Street Rickey. Now, I confuse easily at this hour unless I have booze, and I do not have booze, so I don't really know who is whom at SD. But this post is decidedly more process-oriented and I like that. The shrub recipe is very good, and the K Street follows suit. One thing's for sure, these guys know their stuff.

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Shrub, shrub, shrub! Our daddy, Paul Clarke, offers up the Apple Bramble Buck at Cocktail Chronicles. Though the shrub thing always has and will continue to elude me, (I drank too much turned wine at high school garage parties, I guess,) I love the use of Clear Creek Apple Brandy in this drink. Paul's missives about procuring berries in storm-ridden western Washington are damn near poetic as well. 

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Speaking of Clear Creek, our next blogger is Lance Mayhew from My Life on the Rocks. He features a drink called the East of Beaverton Cocktail using Clear Creek Pear, Dolmen Worker Bee Honey Sprit, Sake One Joy G Sake (huh?), lemon juice, and as an afterthought, Fee Brothers Orange Bitters and Clear Creek Pear Liqueur.

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Seamus at Bunnyhugs (that makes me feel snuggly,) has provided us with the Rainbow Warrior featuring 42 Below Feijoa Vodka. We agree that sometimes a flavored vodka can actually make a vodka interesting, and Seamus has done a nice job with the 42 Below. I've had it, and I can imagine this drink tasting very good.

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More berries from the Oregon folks; Craig at Tiki Drinks and Indigo Firmaments brings us the Summer Berry Smash, featuring berries, mint, lemon juice, and Aviation Gin. It's looks delicious with an entire bush of some kind as a garnish, very reminiscent of the Summer in Portland. Craig also takes us thorough his tour of Kruger Farms, where he rounded up said berries.

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MxMo Triple X really has gone uncensored at this point as Ted Munat drops the f-bomb in his post as he waxes poetic about a recipe inspired by Don Quixote and channels his mother in the author's notes. Please pass the Lithium, stirred if you don't mind. Recipes for the aforementioned Balm of Fierabras, lead to a more serious cocktail called the Carkeek Club, inspired in part by the Clover Club. The Rosemary Gin in the Carkeek is also featured. Good post, Ted. Now take your medication.

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Next up is Metagrrrl who mixes up the Princess Alice Cocktail, inspired by the Victoria cocktail found in William Boothby's The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them. Metagrrrl's variation features an intersting mix of maraschino, grapefruit, and creme de violette to which she adds absinthe. The mixture was also inspired by her discovrey that grapefruit and maraschino, when combined, release the floral notes in both ingredients.

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Cocktailnerd provides us with both an excuse for his tardiness and whole new drink abandoning said excuse in his contribution. He and I agree that watermelon is an innocuous thing, and I'm glad for the change, despite his delay. The new drink, the Do-si-Do, features peach and raspberry mixed with Gold Rum, allspice, prosecco, and more.

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Marleigh at Sloshed! wins my personal award for mentioning a tabloid superstar in her post, and then gives us a great recipe for Jim's Special, inspired by a bar superstar, Rasta Jim, regular at the Tiki-Ti. I really like Marleigh's culture-oriented approach to this post. Very creative, even if we couldn't get coke of a hooker's ass to mix into the Lindsey Blohan Sling. (Oh yes I did.)

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Over at Blotto is a post featuring one of my favorite of Oregon's 1,400 craft distilleries, Clear Creek. The post takes us through the author's tour of Clear Creek, and then offers up the Pepper Delicious, a... delicious... mix of Aviaton Gin, bell pepper, mint, and lime. Way to go with the peppers, Blotto! Very unique.

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Over at Science of Drink, we have a beautiful photograph of the Honey Pepper Manhattan, an equally beautiful and unique cocktail. This was my first exposure to the Ukrainian national drink, gorilka, and it's almost too much to handle. The author describes it as a "cocktail for real men with big heart." Bartender!

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The last drink in this roundup in my own. And if any of you make it down this far, here you have it. It's the Huckleberry Sour, inspired by the state fruit of Idaho, the huckleberry. It features 44 North Huckleberry Vodka, local huckleberry syrup, and local ice wine from Koenig Wineries. It's pretty good.

Thanks to everyone for posting on local flavor. This has been a wonderful, red-eyed journey for me, and I have learned so much.