Embury cocktail lounge

It's been awhile since I've posted to this blog. My apologies. But with good reason, I might add. Where this post started as a forum to share thoughts on wine that I, as a prominent Wine Director in Pittsburgh, had many opportunities to taste throughout the years, after losing that position I found myself employed by the one place I soooo badly wanted to write about: Embury Lounge located at 2216 Penn Ave, Strip District, Pittsburgh.

The original blog would have begun "I have found my new home! A classic cocktail bar in Pittsburgh! Hosted by a true cocktail craftsman Fred Sarkis..." and gone on to lavish Fred and Embury with praise upon praise for raising the bar (no pun intended) on cocktail culture in da 'Burgh. However, before I could even start that article, I found my self unemployed and quickly hired by the very establishment that I wanted to dote on.

Not that that was a bad thing.

I spent the last 9 months learning how to prepare classic cocktails. Techniques, recipes, new liquors, the joy of gin, better whiskey, Pickle Backs and Chartreuse consumed my every waking hour. Classic cocktailing is not an occupation, it is an obsession. Fred & Geoffrey both took me under their wings and taught me how to make a proper, well-balanced libation. In turn, I was given the opportunity to introduce hundreds of Cosmopolitan or Jack & Coke drinkers to the joy of a perfectly designed tipple.

But, alas, all good things must come to and end. And last night was my final shift at Embury. Moving on to Mio Kitchen & Wine Bar in Aspinwall (http://www.mio-pgh.com/) where I will take over duties as General Manager (more on that later). I leave Embury with a heavy heart. As much as Fred started the trend for Pittsburgh craft cocktailing, I can't help but think I added a special touch to the place, and after only 9 months helped fortify a steady clientele who will continue to imbibe there long after I'm gone. There's nothing like the look of honest satisfaction on a customers face when they take that first sip of an Embury cocktail.

What this means to you? Well, I'm back in the wine game and will be sharing more tasting notes with all my readers in the months to come, BUT, I will also take the cocktail knowledge I've gained and share thoughts and comments regarding trends and tastes in the cocktail kingdom as well.

What I've learned at Embury:

1) Jalapeno makes an excellent addition to a cocktail recipe

2) Chartreuse has to be one of the greatest liqueurs ever created by man or God

3) Gin is king when it comes to mixing a cocktail

4) Vermouth is good. Vermouth is, in fact, great! Dolin, Punt A Mes & Antica Carpano

5) Absinthe, Scotch, bitters from a tincture dropper can change the whole profile of a drink

6) Ice cubes matter. Get yourself a rubber tray and start making your own good cubes

7) Bourbon is the best whiskey, followed closely by Rye. Try 'em both out.

8) Patience is not a virtue but a necessity when waiting to a good cocktail.

9) Always double strain a shaken drink through a fine mesh tea strainer. And shake HARD!

10) Beer can be a great mixer for a cocktail. Try a Michelada this summer and tell me I'm lying.

11) Stir drinks that are all alcohol. Shake drinks with juice. Dry Shake drinks with egg before adding ice for a second shake.

12) Measure EVERYTHING. There is no "counting" in classic cocktailing. Recipes are precise.

What I drank at Embury: Aperol, Vieux Carre Absinthe, Eagle Rare Bourbon, Old Pogue Bourbon, Maker's Mark Mint Julep, Rittenhouse Rye, Rhum Barbancourt, Sazerac Rye, Green Chartreuse, Yellow Chartreuse, Shot of Jameson followed by shot of pickle juice, Aviations, Amaros, Velvet Falernum, Navy Grog, Benedictine, Cynar, Antica Carpano Formula Vermouth, Flaming Bijous, Ginger/basil/honey/strawberry-habanero syrups, Blackstrap Rum, Maraschino Liqueur, Bluecoat Gin, Bacon bitters, Firehouse Punch, Buffalo Trace, Peychauds Bitters, Sazeracs, Faust Pacts, Guilty Roses, Pepper Delicious, Bitter Slings and Death's Comebacks.

That and so much more. What an education!

I leave you now with a few cocktail creations I designed in my time at Embury. Slainte!

Rusted Root

1 oz. Root Liqueur

1 oz. Drambuie

1 oz. Famous Grouse Scotch

Glass: Rocks

Ice: large cubes

Garnish: Orange Peel

Fill mixing glass with Root, Drambuie and Scotch. Add 2 large ice cubes. Stir until the outside of the glass get cold. Strain liquor into a rocks glass. Using a peeler, peel a 4 inch strip of orange peel (no pith). Squeeze oils over the drink and add peel to glass. Add 2 new large ice cubes. Laugh at the sun.

Crisis Car

1 oz. Cognac
.5 oz. Absinthe
.5 oz. Grand Marnier
.5 oz. Lemon Juice

.5 oz. Simple Syrup

Garnish: 4 drops Angostura Bitters

Glass: Coupe

Mix all ingredients, except the Bitters, in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously. Strain through a fine mesh tea strainer into a cocktail coupe. Add four drops of Angostrua bitters to 4 corners of the top of the drink, using a tincture dropper filled with the bitters. Swirl Angostura drops with a straw to make a pretty design. Lay low.

http://www.firehouse-lounge.com/Firehouse%20Lounge/EMBURY.html

http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/firstbites/archive/2009/04/28/embury.aspx

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09190/982550-389.stm

http://boringpittsburgh.com/boring-pittsburgh/embury-1920s-style-bar-in-the-strip-district/963/

the magic mixer elixir... (pt 2.)

Vermouth!

The idea of vermouth has been so demonized in contemporary "bar culture" that it has been relieved of duty in just about every vodka martini requested by patrons... which is a sincere shame. On the other hand, vermouth has seen a huge resurgence in

"cocktail culture" as better educated mixologists have realized that with a better vermouth comes a better crafted cocktail.

Vermouth is, for all intents & purpose, a fortified wine flavored with aromatic herbs & spices. There are 3 basic types of vermouth, dry & sweet (which are the most popular) and blanc or white. Dry & blanc vermouths are clear in color (while blanc may have a little more straw coloring) and sweet will be a dark reddish color that will be difficult to see through. Vermouth is a primary component in classic cocktails such as Martini, Manhattan or Rob Roy. Typically the lighter vermouths are used in the lighter colored cocktails (ie; gin or vodka based liquors) where sweet (or red) vermouth is used in more brown liquor based cocktails, though this was not always the case.

There are two reasons for the decline of vermouth in martini's.

1. 1) most bars use cheap vermouth... the cheapest they can find. One of classic cocktailian David Embury's primary principles of drink mixing is "use good quality liquor". Certainly, the idea of using the best quality liquor with a substandard mixer defeats the purpose of using that mixer to enhance the flavor of the cocktail.
2. 2) Vermouth is wine, and as such needs to be treated as a delicate libation, rather than as a high alcohol well-pour that can withstand the deteriorating effects of air and heat. Vermouth SHOULD be kept in coolers overnight, and pumped with a vacu-vin everyday. I'd say 99% of all vermouth used in bars and restaurants today never receive this kind of care.

Now, onto the good news! As I said earlier, most cocktail culture bartenders are getting hip to the notion that vermouth is an integral part of most cocktails. AND better vermouths are finding their way onto the shelves of better establishments. These newer vermouths may be difficult to find... however they are well worth the search. I've been able to find most online. My recommendations for the best vermouths out there with links to purchase, are as follows:

Dolin Dry Vermouth: $13.99

.750ml. http://www.winespecialist.com/ecart/product.asppID=5046&cID=62&utm_source=Vinquire&utm_medium=WineFeed&utm_content=Dolin%2BVermouth%2BDry&utm_campaign=base&c=52141

Dolin Vermouth Blanc: $10.99

.375ml.

http://www.grandwinecellar.com/vsku1548573.htmlutm_source=Google%20Products&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=DOLIN%20VERMOUTH%20DE%20CHAMBERY%20BLANC

Carpano AnticaFormula Vermouth: $25.95

1L.

http://www.napacabs.com/Carpano-Antica-Formula-Vermouth-1L-P4059.aspx

My favorite recipe with these new vermouths is to do a 50/50 split between vermouth and gin. When you've got good vermouth, why wouldn't you want to taste it?

I call this the Prohibition Martini. Vermouth was used heavily during prohibition to cut the flavor of bad bathtub gin. Now with exceptional gins and exceptional vermouths, the opportunity for a delicious gin martini is in your all-to-capable hands:

Prohibition Martini:

• 1 1/2 oz. Cadenhead Old Raj Gin
• 1 1/2 oz. Dolin Vermouth Blanc (I've also used Dolin Dry to some excellent result)
• 1 preserved lemon zest and goat cheese stuffed olive (if you don't have the time or patience to preserve some lemons... a simple lemon peel works well. Try to peel with no pith)

Cheers!

Art is wine & wine is art

You ever wonder why wine is served at art gallery openings or poetry readings? There is an intrinsic value to wine as an alcoholic consumable that you just can't get from a beer or a shot of whiskey. As an art promoter in years past, I was asked by a reporter why I entered into the Wine Director world after years of promoting local artists with a variety show entitled yawp Carnival Poetica. I told him "wine is poetry".

My band played the other night, for the first time in 6+ years, a percussive poetry performance that was created as an alternative to the dry, coffeehouse poetry readings I had attended. It got me thinking again about the new role I had taken in life, and how poetry evolved into a wine position. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQtIRkAcmc

As much as I believed that photography has a poetic element to it, I've always felt that wine has the same aspects of poetry that you might find in a photograph. There are levels of enjoyment you can discover with each sip from the same bottle, that may not strike you immediately, but the more you consume, the more flavors and characteristics attack your senses. A poem, which differs from prose in that it gives you snippets of a story or conversation, allows the listener to build a complete image reflecting partly on their own personal reference point. Wine's enjoyment will also be built upon the foundations of the drinker's own personal experiences with wine.

The winemaker is a poet. He/she carefully designing what is, for all intents and purposes, an alcoholic beverage, to produce a product that transcends it's aforementioned lot in life. From a fermented grape juice we can find the most varied list of taste profiles, ie; tobacco, chocolate, berries, mint, citrus, herbs, caramel, stone, grass... the list goes on and on...

dare I throw cat urine into the mix?

The point is wine is a natural accompaniment to art. Not because it has always stood beside artistic gatherings simply as a staple beverage, but because it is a consumable that makes us think about what we're drinking and gets the creative juices flowing to examine everything around us with an interpretive eye.

Pittsburgh has an amazing art scene, as I imagine most readers will agree their hometown does as well. Think about what you're drinking when at local art events and consider that there is a reason those glasses of wine are being offered with alongside the artists work which hangs on the gallery walls.

For other art events I'm including a list of what you might want to consider drinking. If you have any recommendations I'd love to hear them as well.

1. Steelers game = beer. Preferably Iron City, Yuengling or Straub. Rolling Rock if absolutely necessary
2. Punk rock concert= see above but there has to be copious amounts of whiskey shots (Jack Daniels or Maker's fro the truly discerning)) also included between sets.
3. Jazz concert = Nothing like a well made martini. I prefer gin with a good quality vermouth (good luck with that one) but a dirty vodka martini with blue cheese stuffed olives performs quite nicely.
4. Poetry reading = in honor of Charles Bukowski, I'm going to recommend a nice whiskey cocktail like a Manhatten or Old Fashioned. Also recommend Absinthe for all the 19th century poetry lovers. Why not mix both, cover all your basis. Absinthe rinse, muddle some bluberries with bitters and a little simple syrup, splash or Grand Marnier, fill with Makers Mark, top with soda (very little soda)
5. Pop Concert = Margaritas. They're easier to make than you think. Forget about the blender. There's nothing better than a margarita on the rocks. Thinking Dave Matthews to Jimmy Buffet. Tequila, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, triple sec (or Grand Marnier) http://video.about.com/cocktails/How-to-Make-a-Margarita.htm
6. Traditional Irish music concert = duh? Gotta be a Guinness! And don't forget that Guinness is a mandatory substitution for regular beer at any Irish-punk show as well... here substitute Jameson for your shots of Jack.

I await your recommendations.

For my favorite Pittsburgh band check out Salena Catalina video I shot the other night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VuCGmivegI

Western Pennsylvania Consumption Society

Every season we meet with about fifteen friends, old and new. The guest list includes restaurant folk, wine directors, chefs, teachers, bartenders, hairdressers, bankers, photographers... etc. Every guest brings one entree item and 2 bottles of wine to match with that item (sometimes, Lexi will bring a bottle of vodka and just mix some martinis to start the night). Each event is themed, from Mediterranean to Party Appetizers to Cooking with Alcohol. It's a great opportunity to take the time out of our hectic lives and agree on one day when a whole group of us can get together and enjoy each others company. 

This last Saturday was Cooking with Alcohol, and what a great selection of menu items we enjoyed! Chef Monique Ruvolo made a spicy grilled calamari & shrimp dish using vodka which was reminiscent of the famous Cafe Allegro appetizer, only sprinkled with crumbled goat cheese which was a nice touch. Ex-Cafe Allegro Wine Director and current server at Table 22, Jim Kwiecinski prepared Steamed Mussels cooked with white wine and Pernod, adding some peppers and onion as well. Jim also brought a bottle of Regaleali which was the perfect accompaniment. Bartender at Harris Grill and lead singer of Salena Catalina, Lexi Rebert made Mango Margarita Seviche with tilapia & corn chips. We paired with some Vouvray that our hosts Dan & Jess Lukac had had on hand. My dish was a Grand Marnier Cheesecake which I paired with Churchill's White Port, which I felt was a little too hot for this dish. Expected the cheesecake to be dryer in flavor, hence the white port, but I think it's sweetness would have been better matched with a sauternes? All in all a great evening had by all. 

I certainly recommend collecting five of your best friends (kinda have to have a little "foodie" blood in them) and ask them to invite a pair of friends each, and start your own supper club.

WPCS Dinner

Saturday August 1st

Cooking with Alcohol

1st Course

Mussels in White Wine & Pernod

wine selection: Regaleali

2nd Course

Spicy Grilled Calamari & Shrimp with Goat Cheese Crumble

wine selection: Vouvray

3rd Course

Mango Margarita Tilapia Seviche

wine selection: Vouvray

4th Course

Spaghetti with Garlic, Garden Tomato & White Wine

wine selection: Meritage

5th Course

Penne Pasta with Red Wine & Pancetta

wine selection: Meritage

Desserts

Rum Soaked Grilled Fruit Compote Over Grilled Angel Food Cake

Grand Marnier Cheesecake with Honey Drizzle

wine selection: White Port

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Grand Marnier Cheesecake

Crust

  Amount  Measure   Ingredient

--------  -------   --------------------------------

    1/4     cup     chocolate graham cracker crumbs

                    unsalted butter for pan

Butter bottom and sides of an 8-by-3-inch pan (if you use a

springform, it will have to be a very tight fitting one that won't

leak).  Sprinkle crumbs into pan and turn pan carefully to coat

bottom and sides.  Coating will be very thin and spotty.  Refrigerate.

Filling

  Amount  Measure   Ingredient

--------  -------   --------------------------------

      2     lbs     cream cheese, room temperature

    1/2     cup     whipping cream

      4     Tbl     Grand Marnier (liquor available at most liquor stores)

      1             Grated rind of 1 large orange (orange part only)

      4             eggs, large

  1 3/4     cup     sugar

      1     tsp     vanilla extract

    honey for drizzling over the top when finished

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Place cream cheese, cream, Grand Marnier,

orange rind, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in bowl.  Beat slowly on low setting

until ingredients bland, then increase speed to high.  Beat until

ingredients are smooth.  Pour into pan and tap pan gently to level batter.

Bake for 1 or until top just starts to brown. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutesbefore moving to refrigerator cool for 2 hours. seperate from wall of ban by sliding a knife along the edge, then unmold. Cut into slices and drizzle the top with honey.

Hangtime Pinot Noir

A wine I'd highly recommend...

To anyone who is drunk at 2 am... watching the Highlander, after drinking three rum and colas (that's Gosling rum, Moxie cola with a splash of lime juice) after a ten hour day on your feet from 2-12:30...

I remember this wine as offering so much more, 10 years ago when I started tasting it. So disappointing now. After a phenomenally rich aroma. the palate was flat and completely unrefined. Where the nose gave notes of toasted berry fruit, the palate left me wanting. 

Thank god for The Highlander, the rum and the Queen soundtrack to keep me entertained. The Hangtime performed well as a guzzling wine to keep moving through the film. 

Is it me or does Ramirez look exactly like Joe Barsotti?

Pittsburgh Wine Festival 2009

Chef Eric "Spudz" Wallace, radiant as ever

Guests line up for glasses of the good stuff

Too little time to sample all the fine wines

The absolute highlight of the wine festival is the chance to once again taste Chateau D'Yquem. 2006 from Bordeaux, France. The best way to describe this wine is to say it's like licking the nipple of God. I go back to this table again and again. Nothing like a good Sauternes, and D'Yquem is the king. The only white wine to deserve 1st Growth status. This is the wine referred to when referencing "the nectar of the gods".

The magic mixer elixir... (pt 1.)

As important as your base liquor for any cocktail, is the addition of your mixer. I've been tasting a slew of new products lately that have reminded me of how important your choices for mixing agents are. I mean, come on... this is the stuff we're diluting our liquor with, right?

Top of the list, for me, is your bitters. What ever your cocktail preferences, you should alwasy have a bottle of bitters on hand. Recommended mostly for addition to brown liquors (whiskeys, rums) bitters is an herbal blend that is actually alcoholic. Used primarily in a Manhattan, Old Fashioned or Rob Roy, I recommend it for one of my favorite cocktail concoctions which has undergone many different name changes depending on which restaurant I'm selling it from (ie; Donerion, Make Mine Fluffy, Whiskey Tango) which is comprised of 3/4 Makers Mark, 1/4 Grand Marnier & splash of Angostura bitters. Shaken over ice.

Bartenders across the country are playing with in-house bitters. In Pittsburgh, resident "bar-crafter" Michael Mincin has created a Blood Orange Bitters used in his "Badlands-hatten" at the bar of Eleven Contemporary Kitchen. http://bigburrito.com/eleven/eleven.shtml

Along the same lines as bitters, is the "official state soft drink of Maine" known as Moxie Cola. Anyone can tell you I am an avid proponent of Moxie Cola. Moxie used to be called "Moxie Nerve Food" or "Moxie Original Elixir", which apparently cured everything from imbecility to "lack of manhood". Moxie waned in popularity when the newly formed FDA decided that the beverage could not advertise itself as a food... and lacked many of the curative qualities it purported to possess. In the 60s when one of Moxie's leading ingredients; sarsaparilla, was banned Moxie lost roughly 50% of its fan base, and now is difficult to find even in the New England states which are it's home base.  http://www.moxiecongress.org/

Every year I return to Pittsburgh with 20+ cases of Moxie Cola... enough to get me through the year. It brings me great pleasure to share this soda with my bartender and chef friends who invariably all love it. Moxie and a lime are the perfect accompaniment to a nice rum. Stay away from spiced rums, the flavors tend to compete, but a nice rum like 10 Cane or Zaya make a perfect match for this soda who's maine ingredient (yeah, I spelled it "maine") is now gentian root... the same ingredient found in Angostura bitters.

Another great pairing for your summer rum drinks is Ginger Beer! The spicier the better! There's nothing like a dark & stormy (rum, ginger beer & lime) on a hot summer day by the water. Dark & stormy tradition dictates that Gosling Dark should always be the rum of choice. I'd agree it is one of the best matches for this cocktail, though I have had equally impressive success with spiced & flavored rums as well. Combining two cocktails; the mojito and the dark & stormy, can add a whole new world of Caribbean flavors to your summer party. 

Muddle some fresh mint with sugar in the raw and a dash of simple syrup. Add 1 & 1/2 oz. rum (for this cocktail recipe I recommend Khukri rum from the Himalayas in Nepal),  1 oz. of Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, juice from 1/2 a lime and shake. pour over ice into a tall collins glass and top with ginger beer. There is only one ginger beer I will recommend (though there are plenty of good quality ones on the market) and that is Natrona Bottling Company Jamaica's Finest Ginger Beer, pictured here.

(to be continued...)