Martini Mixoff Finals

It's funny how I always forget the insanity that comes upon Downtown Boise the minute the sun comes out. And amid the patio dining which nearly doubles our business, there's the summer events. One such event, the May Martini Mixoff, brings tongues of thirsty martini drinkers downtown to watch judges determine who makes the best drinks, and to drink and judge for themselves.

Bittercreek competed two weeks ago, and Red Feather competed last week. At the end of it all, we made three drinks into the finals collectively; the Martinez at Bittercreek, and the Lovelocker and Penicillin at Red Feather.

These are three drinks I've posted on consecutively in the last month or two, and you can imagine my surprise when the third of which, the Penicillin, actually made it into the finals. (?!?) Dare I say that we have some whiskey drinkers in our panel of judges?!? I've been wearing this pompus badge noting myself as the victim of an adventurous palate; I've assumed everyone would hate it, and I've loved being such a bitch about it. I suppose this is what I get.

The charming and historically minded Bingo Barns seemed the most fond of the Penicillin, which I expected, but I didn't think it would be enough to put in the top three.

Only two bars were knocked out of the competition throughout the month of May, leaving a hefty seven competitors for the final judging to be held this Wednesday, May 28th, at Gusto Jazz Bar on Main Street between Capitol and 6th. The finalists are Pair, Chandler's, Bardenay, Tablerock, Modern Hotel, Bittercreek, and Red Feather.

Here's the Red Rye Bread at BitterCreek. This drink is a loser, but I love this photo! Aqvavit and tomato juice with a little spice. This defines savory!

The Lovelocker and a snifter of Cardamom Cordial. In an effort to turn the tables on their asses, Mark and I made a scorecard for each judge. Our egos are fragile! Forgive us!

Something about her expression just says "not happy." Poker face? Let's hope so.
Here's me making a Bourgeois Pig, which I understand was damn close at having a chance to compete against the slow-as-hell martini over at Chandler's. (Sorry Pat, couldn't resist.)


The photos in the body of this post were provided by Addis Manly, general dreamboat and the legs and eyes of the Martini Mixoff... The three photos below the post are the work of the generous David Day. For more great photos of Martini Mixoff and of general happenings in Boise, check out his blog, Boisee.com.

MxMo Rum: The Scarlet Ibis & Death

I've been gearing up for this Mixology Monday post since I first tasted (the better part of a bottle,) and then smuggled home from New York last week, The Scarlet Ibis blended rum of Trinidad. The first thoughtful sip is pictured at right. The latter sips were not so carefully tasted, as I recall.

The Scarlet Ibis is subtle but hot, releasing light floral and caramel notes throughout the finish. It makes a great cocktail rum because of its versatile flavor and generous proof. It's imported by Eric Seed, (all-around great guy and my bar's personal portal between Boise and the outside world of fine spirits,) especially for Death & Co., my favorite dimly lit watering hole with heavy wooden doors in New York's East Village.

That being said, I'm not the most rum-oriented cocktail guy (I know, I know... sacrilege!) It's not that I don't like rum and its application in drinks, but is probably best explained by my general aversion to tiki culture, (just hang me already,) and the fact that the company I work for used to own a tiki bar, (in, cough, IDAHO, USA!) and I'm a little scarred from the labor of digging up old rum drinks only to sell margaritas and vodka tonics to college students with bad manners. After writing a few drink menus that nobody understood, and training a few staffs that simply did not care, we took a bow to the Idaho context, and tapped out of the tiki game all together. Although all rum is not tiki, I have a little PTSD related to this experience. And when I realized I was loosing my MxMo cherry to a rum post, I swear I heard Victor Burgeon himself snicker at me from the great Trader's in the sky, amused by the irony, watching me flounder.

The Scarlet Ibis is a delicately sophisticated rum. It is, in my mind, beautiful respite from the tacky tiki nightmare that surrounds a culture, (and a style of dress for that matter,) that I simply do not understand. The rum is like everything I love about D&C; the classy and demure dark humor of the place, its beautifully gothic and morgue-like sensibility, the subtle air of something old. I made the punch below in a bowl that is so drastically ugly when set against the soft, alabaster punch pots I remember at Death that I refused to photograph it. It's melodramatic, I know, but that's how I feel about Death & Co...

Since anybody who's anybody has already had The Scarlet Ibis and the subsequent hangover, I decided to enlist the help of David Kaplan, co-owner of the nightlife establishment, and he directed me to Philip Ward who, from what I understand, is basically to Death & Co. what Mickey Mouse was to all those brooms in Fantasia.

The Gustad Noble Punch
In large pitcher disolve 12 demurara sugar cubes in 3 oz soda (Muddling is usually neccesary,) Stir in:
3 oz Lemon
1.5 oz Pimento Dram
6 oz Scarlet Ibis
4.5 oz fresh pressed Fuji apple juice
6 dash Peychaud's Bitters
Add ice and stir until chilled Pour into punch bowl over large piece of ice
Add 4.5 oz club soda
Garnish with slices of apple

Get Drunk!

Barring a few minor modifications, (my own dram and tart, granny smith apples,) I made this recipe for a group of friends in celebration of, well... The new Mixology Monday logo?... and am now feeling lucky that I wrote the majority of this post beforehand. Since the supply of Ibis is so effing limited, I would suggest dropping by D&C and ordering a bowl of this tart, spicy punch from Philip or whomever happens to be issuing libations at the time. On David's recommendation, I've also tried it in a Mai Tai. If you can rip yourself from the grip of Appleton's to try a Trinidadian variation, it's lovely. And, if you can get your hands on your own bottle of Ibis, do it before it's gone...

The Cure...

I'm sure I don't need to tell any of who live in Boise about our recent media event, but for the sake of any out-of-state readers, I'll give you a little background on the Penicillin...

Last Winter, a server of ours went to Nicaragua to surf and unwind for three months. After having returned and worked for three weeks, she fell terribly ill. Two days later, Central District Health called and informed me that she had hep A. To make a long story-- which I am still living-- very short, the media got a hold of it and made news of a fluke. The news media in Idaho can be likened to a flatulent old dog dressed in drag; bored and stinky with bad hair and makeup. Sooooo, with morale at an all-time low, the Penicillin is helping us have a some fun with our bad press. Its medicinal flavor is sure to scare the hysteria from any hypochondriac-- of which, we have learned, there are many in our little city. We're entering the Penicillin in the May Martini Mixoff, and its less-than-universal flavor profile leads me to believe it may win the competition the day that I'm seen wearing a pair of beige dockers... which, of course, is never.

Penicillin
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Brown Sugar Cordial*
2 oz Bourbon (We use MM for the competition)
1 dash of Angostura Bitters
Stir gently and garnish with a smacked mint leaf.

*Make a very thick simple syrup out of brown sugar and add 1 ounce of Lemon Hart 151 for every cup of sugar used.

The Penicillin is bitter and aromatic with an almost syrupy finish. Placing the mint leaf on your palm and giving it a good smack before placing it on the drink's surface creates an herbal aroma that is surreal and compliments the flavor of the Fernet quite well. The smacked mint leaf is a favorite garnish of ours-- thanks, Audrey.

The flavor of bourbon breaks down rather quickly when poured over ice and stirred. If you're using room temperature bourbon, don't go nuts with the stirring. You want this drink to be strong and hot so you can skip the vaccination. If you have big ice, stir with that. It will chill the drink without watering it down too much.

Oh, and for those of you wondering... there has not been a single case of hep associated with Red Feather. It's amazing what a small town will do on a slow news day...