It seems as though it is the season for cocktail competitions. Even though they surely run year-round, like their culinary compatriots, a whole host of comps have rolled through Portland over the past few months, highlighting spirits from light to dark, as well as local mixers worthy of note.
The latest was DISARONNO’s “Mixing Star” competition, where nearly twenty competitors from up and down the West Coast descended on Portland’s Spirit of ’77 bar to mix away for a chance to appear in a Bollywood film. A number of the city’s …

“Do you remember the 90’s? You know, people were talking about getting piercings, getting tribal tattoos; people were singing about saving the planet, forming bands. There’s a place where that idea still exists as a reality, and I’ve been there.” –Fred Armisen, Portlandia
Not long ago a fellow bartender recounted a little story about a guy who sat at her fancy cocktail bar. She tossed a cocktail napkin down in front of him and asked what he was drinking.
“How ‘bout a Blue Hawaiian?” the guest inquired.
“Never heard of that. What’s in …

We, of the video game generation, have sought the glory of saving a princess while collecting a fortune in coins from question marked blocks for years. I grew up with video games. They were a part of my life since I opened my first Nintendo on Christmas morning when I was eight. Imagine my surprise all these years later when I discovered The Sims™ collection of games, where one can live virtually – and be challenged to ‘gain fame and fortune as a mixologist’.
Level 1: Read books on mixology to …

In an age where a good libation is more accessible than ever, booze aficionados are gravitating towards barely potable potions these days. From shots to craft cocktails, bartenders are pouring fashionable tipples that cause us to ask, “Why would you drink that?!”
Raise your hand if you’ve ever grabbed the pickle jar from the fridge and taken a big ol’ swig of the brine. How about taking a shot of whiskey before that pull from the jar? Anyone? Alright, a few of you have, and I may or may not be …

In my days in the restaurant industry, I’ve worn many different hats. Donning a suit and tie as a Food and Beverage Director was a bit more cumbersome than the weathered jeans and sport coat attire of a General Manager. As a career barman, I’ve worn a variety of getups behind the stick. But I’ve never worn a fedora…
Most bars, especially those housed in a restaurant setting, establish guidelines for employee dress. “The encouragement of staff members to personalize their style within those guidelines,” remarks Rocky Yeh, of Seattle cocktail …

In the last five to ten years, we’ve seen beverage culture take fantastic strides in most major markets. Boutique spirits have begun pop up on the backbars of cocktail bars and finer restaurants alongside the ‘bar wallpaper’ of the big box spirits brands we grew up with. Bartenders have started to experiment with new expressions while consumers have turned to expecting more from their libations. Classic cocktails have re-emerged with a vengeance, as have the consumer’s desire for high quality ingredients.
Enter artisan vermouth, a fortified wine enhanced with botanicals essential …

Posted by R.K. Gella
Say Champagne, think celebration.  The two have become quite synonymous since Dom Perignon accidentally stumbled upon the recipe in the Abbey cellars during the 17th century (and to think the French monk initially sought to rid his wine of effervescence in which he considered a flaw.)
Four centuries later the world still prizes the tickle of bubbly.  And as the anticipation for grandest party of the year peaks, the revelers stock up on the tipple of choice for the occasion… sparkling wine.
Wait.  Sparkling wine?  Don’t you mean…
The reason …

Posted by R.K. Gella
Wading in fantastic burgundy tinted spas under colossal bottles of Beaujolais, the celebration was in style of which only Japanese wine buffs could pull off, as they inaugurated the coming of Beaujolais Nouveau.
A young and vibrant wine, it’s France’s early gift to the world and the first wine released from this year’s harvest.
While the rest of the world plays catch up with Japan – who had the advantage of beginning the new day – it wouldn’t be curious to find wine drinkers purple toothed by lunchtime.
In their …

Posted by R.K. Gella

The last day of the NYC Wine and Food Festival finished with a spectacular arrangement of seminars hosted by notable beverage writers, educators and producers. 
On Sunday afternoon at Del Posto, George Sandeman – representing the seventh generation of the legendary House of Sandeman – talked about the tradition of tawny port and its future.
Trying through the ports in ten-year increments, one captured baked cherry and vibrant peach in a young 10 year and ended with hazelnut, cedar, leather and vanilla in a mature 40 year.
For many, …

It is believed by a growing number of mixologists that a cocktail garnish should attribute more function than aesthetic filler.  In Sydney, Australia, the philosophy is being applied in a sprits of beach essence sprayed over the faces of blindfolded consumers strapped to an I-Pod.
Grant Collins’ aforementioned design is one of four sensory cocktails debuting at Zeta, a trendy nightspot in downtown Sydney.  The cocktail is actually a colada of rum, pineapple and coconut, but it’s the semi private area, the blindfold, and shots of Hawaiian Tropic sun tan oil …

There are few cities in the world with an official drink, but as Lu Brown, bar chef of The Swizzle Stick Bar in New Orleans so appropriately stated to NPR last month, ”If ever there was a city that deserved an official drink, it was New Orleans.” 
She made the elated comment following the Louisiana House of Representatives decision – a vote of 62-33 – to appoint the sazerac New Orleans’ official cocktail.
But as Eric Asimov asks why in today’s The Pour (he would have preferred the more palatable Ramos gin fizz), I applaud the Louisiana …

When I mentioned a piece on sloe gin that appeared in the NY Times a few weeks back, a sommelier friend of mine scoffed, proclaiming it must having been a very sloe news day.  The pun aside, the retort was expected.  The notion of a return to the gin-based liqueur does seem rather dubious, though there are a few less skeptical bartenders who are willing to experiment. 
An alias to the Alabama Slammer and muse to the Sloe Gin Fizz; could the ruby tinted liqueur that lost its American popularity some forty …

Posted by R.K. Gella

Summer is upon us, and moods are prompted for brightly sapid libations, clean and cool, able to assuage under the rising temperatures.  Already with a wide array of hedonistic temptations to choose from this season, a new method is being infused to classic recipes to offer a bit of bubbly character.
Flat drinks are being gassed up.  I’m not speaking in terms of splashes of soda water or tonick-ing up a highball of gin, rather, injecting the effervescent goodness right into the spirit itself.
Places like David Chang’s Momofuku (Ko, Saam, …

The wine shop on my block has a corner rack specifically devoted to organically grown bottles.  Next door to my favorite bar to grab a salted Tecate or Micholada, a wine bar has opened, dealing exclusively in organic wines.  The term organic wine possesses a tone that in a way sounds fittingly appropriate, especially when paired with a menu of locally shopped ingredients prepared by an eco-conscious chefs.
But how about an organic martini?  Or better yet an organic gin-fizz?  Appealing?  Perhaps.  Niche?  Yes.  Healthy?  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Organic …

As the warming season brings cravings for margaritas, sangrias and mojitos, there is one cocktail that is finding greater appreciation with American imbibers—the caipirinhia.
Often misunderstood, this Brazilian concoction tends to be grouped with and outplayed by the heavily promoted mojito.  Yet the comparison is misguided, considering the most similar items between the drinks are the muddle of lime and sugar, the caipirinhia offers quite a different scale of flavors, predominantly identified by the use of cachaca.  
Cachaca (ka-SHA-sa), produced in Brazil since about 1530, is distilled from sugarcane juice and has …