Odells, Great Divide, Funkwerks, Crooked Stave, Renegade Brewing, and Dancing Pines Distillery. Thank you, Highland Wine & Spirits.
Getting the Job Done, Colorado Style
Mar 2nd, 2013 by David Flaherty
Vaca Barley Wine
Feb 28th, 2013 by David Flaherty
Ask an Insider: Sother Teague, Beverage Director
Feb 18th, 2013 by David Flaherty
Ask an Insider is an interview series that talks to the people that make, serve, shake, sip, pump, pour, crush, distill, and bring life to this industry. (For other interviews in the series, click the Ask an Insider tag at the bottom)
Sother Teague, Beverage Director
Amor Y Amargo
Sother Teague
Where are you currently working and how long have you been there?
Currently I’m the Beverage Director at Amor Y Amargo on 6th street at A in NYC’s East Village. It’s the most unique bar I’ve ever been a part of. It’s intimately small, only 13 seats. We’re a bitters tasting room with over 30 tincture bitters (think Angostura and Peychaud’s, as well as several more modern flavors like Chocolate Mole, Sriracha or celery) and we have close to 90 potable bitters (AKA amaro’s like Campari, Cio Charo, and a host of Fernets). We don’t use any juice so none of the drinks are shaken. All of our drinks are basically “brown, bitter and stirred”. There are only 2 ingredients on my bar that are non-alcoholic, water and bubbly water. So the drinks are pretty stiff. Additionally, we’re a “General Store” of sorts. We sell bitters, bar ware and cocktail books. We also teach classes about bitters, amaros and vermouth. It’s amazing.
What is it about bitters that capture your attention?
Bitters have long been a key ingredient in cocktail preparation. The original cocktail, the Old Fashioned, was cited simply as “Sugar, Water, Spirit and Bitters.” Now that bitters are undergoing a renaissance, there are literally hundreds of choices on the market. If we use that “recipe” as a template, there is no limit to the number of Old Fashioneds that we can make. Classically, Rye, Angostura, a sugar cube and a splash of water can become Rum, Demerrara sugar syrup and Tiki bitters (Island spices like nutmeg and mace). A rum Old Fashioned is not to be beat. The combinations are limitless. The enormity of flexibility that bitters have is what captures my attention.
Tell me about the concept of Amor y Amargo, specifically how you’re not using citrus or syrups?
We remain true to the spirits: amari, vermouth and bitters, by not adulterating them with juice or syrups. We pay close attention to the ABV% of each product and do our best to blend drinks that are balanced and palatable (obviously with a slant toward bitter). Also, by only using ingredients that come from a bottle, it means that we can make any drink that we’ve ever made at any time. It also means that our guests have a great chance at making our drinks at home. We’ll gladly write you the spec and you can pick up the bitters at AyA and grab everything else you need at the liquor store. Win, win.
Now That’s Just Purdy
Feb 16th, 2013 by David Flaherty
Stoked to Announce!
Feb 13th, 2013 by David Flaherty
I’ll be writing a monthly column for Nation’s Restaurant News
called “Raising the Bar.”
A pic of my first print piece:
I Made This. Uh.
Jan 29th, 2013 by David Flaherty
Birthday Beers
Jan 26th, 2013 by David Flaherty
Beer vs Wine Dinners at Hearth
Jan 23rd, 2013 by David Flaherty
Wine vs Beer: The United States Battle
Tuesday, January 29th, 7:00 pm
(menu below)
Wine vs Beer: The International Throw-Down
Tuesday, February 12th, 7:00 pm
(menu below)
Scholars and historians tell us that ales are the oldest alcoholic beverages produced by man (although some Mead fanatics may dispute that….but who cares about those Viking-loving heathens). It is also believed that the Egyptians paid the workers of the Great Pyramids with daily beer rations. And while we have been making beer for nearly 7,000 years, mankind’s fascination with fermented grape juice (read: “wine”) has an equally long history. The oldest known winery was discovered in a mountainous region of Armenia, and appears to date from 3,000 B.C.
And somewhere along the way, some intrepid soul thought, “Huh, this wine really pairs lovely with this roast mastodon,” to which his wife replied, “Oh, I completely disagree. The charred skin is really accentuated by the malt profile of this beer.” And there, on some remote, barren hilltop, the first Wine vs Beer Dinner ensued.
We, at Hearth, have taken this age-old challenge by the mastodon horns. In one corner, General Manager Paul Grieco will lay his axe on the battlefield in the name of the great grape, while in the other, Beer Director David Flaherty will stake his pike in the ground in the name of the holy barley grain.
“I Was Totally Expecting a Hefe, and Then I Got a Tart Smack in the Face”
Dec 28th, 2012 by David Flaherty
Last night in Texas. Figured I’d introduce my brother to the tart, smoky delights of the Freigeist Abraxxxas. His reaction? Well, it’s the quote above…
Certainly one of the strangest, most beguiling beers I’ve ever tried, the Abraxxxas is technically a Smoked Lichtenhainer Weisse. Inspired by an Eastern German tart wheat beer, it’s a bit like unleashing a smoky, Sweet Tart that’s been wrapped in a horse blanket, that also carried your unfiltered Lucky Strike cigarettes.
Saddle up, lil doggies. Shit be getting real in smoky town, and there ain’t no way out of this gunfight. Giddy up.
Merry Christmas from 1984
Dec 25th, 2012 by David Flaherty
Well, Hello Again, Australia
Dec 18th, 2012 by David Flaherty
The Best Beer in the World…and I Got None Today
Dec 12th, 2012 by David Flaherty
The beer I ain’t drinking today…Westvleteren XII
Today was a day for the history books. Westvleteren XII, the beer that many evangelists have touted as the “best beer in the world” on various websites, books, and stone tablets, saw its first (and possibly only) release today in the United States.
But it was a one-shot deal, and if you’re not sipping on it now or staring longingly at your unopened bottle like I did my first pair of Air Jordans in junior high, then you ain’t getting it.
The most famous of the eight Trappist Monasteries in the world of beer, Westvleteren has gone to incredible lengths to protect their prized brew, and the only way to get it is to go to the Abbey, itself, or the tasting room across the street. Sales are limited to one order every 60 days per person, per license plate, and phone number.
But the monks needed money for some new construction, and made a limited deal to have it brought into the US today. And I got none. But I do have a picture of me drinking it when we visited the brewery last year, so I’ll have to stare at this and remember its sweet nectars.
And, come to think of it, does anyone know where I can buy some early 90s era Air Jordans?
Ask An Insider: Carla Rzeszewski, Wine Director
Dec 11th, 2012 by David Flaherty
Ask an Insider is an interview series that talks to the people that make, serve, shake, sip, pump, pour, crush, distill, and bring life to this industry. (For other interviews in the series, click the Ask an Insider tag at the bottom)
Carla Rzeszewski, Wine Director
The Spotted Pig, The Breslin & The John Dory Oyster Bar
Carla Rzeszewski
How many beverage programs are you running?
I am the Wine Director for The Spotted Pig, The Breslin and the John Dory Oyster Bar, as well as Salvation Taco, Ken and April’s new spot in the POD Hotel.
What is it about wine and spirits that most excites you?
This is a cliched answer at this point, but if it’s true, what are you gonna do? I am thrilled when a wine or spirit speaks for itself. When this notion of terroir is on full, shining display. When you know without a shadow of a doubt that there is only one place on this planet that any said beverage could originate from. And if that is a hard idea to grasp, imagine a faceless, anonymous wine, one which could very well be from any wine-growing area, one without provenance, and what excited me if the polar opposite of that.
What part of your job do you love the most?
Teaching and learning. Teaching the staff (and occasionally tables), and learning every step of the way. Some days the learning is obvious in its attack: at a tasting with a wine or winemaker, with my chefs and the language of their food palates, with my staff, who are constantly pushing me to learn more in order to answer their questions, and from tables. The guests are the most quiet in their teaching, but if you can really listen to what they are asking for or sometimes what their lack of speaking says, what their body language tells you about their enjoyment, you learn to offer them what they couldn’t even articulate for themselves. So pretty much mind-reading is what I’m into.
What words of advice would you give to someone who is just starting to run a beverage program?
Ask for help! Do not think you need to have all of the answers! Ask around, see what everyone else is up to, what works well in their programs and what they think could use attention, what they wish they could change, what advice they may have on your program from the outside… It requires a swallowing of ego, and occasionally taking a hit. But I promise you will come out more balanced in the end. And put in the work; honor your kitchen by meeting their passion, and honor your staff by raising the bar, requesting more of them than they thought they could give. They will thank you for it.
How to Make A Vodka Christmas Cake
Dec 8th, 2012 by David Flaherty
A Trusty Sous Chef (Pic by Faith Durand, Executive Editor of TheKitchn.com)
One of my English relatives is known for his famous Vodka Christmas Cake. While the exact creator is unknown (and an undisputed genius in the kitchen), I was able to liberate the recipe from his guarded lair. And lucky for us, fair readers, it was fresh in his mind as he, “Made mine this morning!!!!”
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- Lemon juice
- 4 large eggs
- Nuts
- 1 bottle Vodka
- 2 cups dried fruit
PROCEDURE
- Sample a cup of Vodka to check quality.
- Take a large bowl, check the Vodka again to be sure it is of the highest quality then Repeat.
- Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.
- At this point, it is best to make sure the Vodka is still OK. Try another cup just in case.
- Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eegs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
- Pick the fruit up off the floor, wash it and put it in the bowl a piece at a time trying to count it. Mix on the turner.
- If the fried druit getas stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver Sample the Vodka to test for tonsisticity.
- Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something. Check the Vodka.
- Now shit shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
- Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don’t forget to beat off the turner.
- Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the Vodka and wipe the counter with the cat.
Strand Smokehouse Opens in Astoria
Nov 21st, 2012 by David Flaherty
After months of curious gawkers cruising the windows and hypothesizing on the local blogs as to what exactly this massive project would bloom into, the Strand Smokehouse opened on Broadway in Astoria this weekend.
In a former Blockbuster space that really shouldn’t have surprised anyone when it went out of business last year (although I will miss my once-every-eighteen-months drunken visit to rent an 80′s era movie), the place is massive. With seating for hundreds at hand-carved wooden tables made by the owner himself–he told me this when I sat down only to feel the bench tip back wildly and nearly launch the girl at the other end like a teeter totter turned evil–and a facade entirely made of windows that runs the full width of the space.
More impressively are a row of ten barrels, each branded with a different whiskey, suspended from the ceiling behind the bar (yes, they really hold whiskey, although I’m curious to know in what way…plastic bladders on the inside?)
But the spine that sends the space into a true thing of beauty is the ceiling. Massive beamed, exposed rafters give the sense that you’re inside some crazy BBQ-obsessed gallion on the open seas, with only a jug band to provide the soundtrack. I asked the owner, Tommy Vasilis, 41, about the ceiling, jokingly saying, “It’s almost like you removed the skin of Blockbuster to find this beautiful wood underlayer.” His reply, “That’s exactly what happened. We uncovered it and realized they’d left us a great gift.” (Editor’s note: we told this story to the guys next to us at the table, and they turned out to be Irish carpenters, who were astounded. “We were just saying, whoever made this frame with that level of work, must have spent a g-damn fortune.”)
I’m yet to try the food (they ran out by around 7:30 pm on opening day), but I was thrilled to see a beer list that heavily featured Barrier Brewing, the awesome Queens-based brewery that was completely wiped out by Hurricane Sandy. Working out of Bakeway’s massive kitchen next door (same ownership), the meats and down-home sides will change frequently and hopefully give Astoria a new Mecca for good BBQ, after John Brown Smokehouse closed earlier this year (only to reopen recently in Hunters Point).
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