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Sometimes we have to make tough decisions. For example, Derby Day or Cinco de Mayo? As a friend of ours recently said, you don't really have to make that choice—you can have a Mint Julep in the morning and Margaritas all day long! It's good advice, but instead of focusing on Kentucky or Mexico, we decided to break from tradition and feature a cocktail invented in Portland, Oregon with influences all the way from Argentina.
La Yapa is a wonderful whiskey cocktail based on a sour formula with a complex flavor profile. It was created by Jamal Hassan during his tenure at Whey Bar, boozy companion to Portland's Ox restaurant. Ox cuisine is Argentinian inspired, so it stands to reason that the cocktail program would have similar influences. More than one cocktail on the menu
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We heard a rumor that everyone in San Francisco is talking about Locanda's Church cocktail. It's been around since at least last summer, but it can take time for a cocktail to build city-wide momentum. We have family and friends that live in the city by the bay, so this past weekend while they were visiting Portland we asked them about it. They hadn't heard of it. Then we realized that they are all avid readers of Summit Sips and since we hadn't posted the recipe for the Church, how would they find out about it?
We decided to remedy the situation last Sunday by making the Church for everyone to try, and it's definitely worthy of our Drink of the Week. If you happen to live in San Francisco and frequent Locanda, you might already know about it. If not, here's a great drink for summer, or for
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Anyone with a sustained interest in cocktails inevitably collects a few books. Some of us find pleasure in the obscure, letting a beat-up vintage tome transport us to another place and time. Such was the case last holiday season when we were presented a gift of several old cocktail volumes. One of them entitled Prelude to Pleasure by Ogden Nash was published in 1934 as a 1000 copy limited edition for the Continental Distilling Corporation of Philadelphia. What made this book so intriguing wasn't the poetry or the dated photos and kitschy line art—it was the handwritten recipe on the last page.
The rest of the book confirms some delightful classics that appear in other publications, but we wanted to know more about this personal notation. The book was purchased in a used bookstore in St. Paul, Minnestota, and a little research reveals that a Charles Nybeck did indeed live
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We are sometimes asked: Where do you find content? What inspires you to write about one particular topic or another? How do you come up with recpies to post? While completely original ideas do come along, it’s far more common (and often more interesting) to find inspiration among existing sources. We certainly didn’t invent the recipe for falernum, nor did we make the first homemade tonic or cola. Even barrel-aged cocktails are documented at least as far back as the first published cocktail book. Acknowledging previous accomplishments is one thing, but confirmation is so much more rewarding. Drink books both old and new are good places to start. The online cocktail community is also very collaborative. But nothing quite compares to sitting opposite a professional and watching a master
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It's a new year, and for many, it's also a time to take an oath, make resolutions, or to simply look forward to whatever the new year brings. A lot has happened over the past twelve months, so before we look back, let's take this opportunity to look ahead to new opportunities and personal growth.
If we are religious about anything at Summit Sips it's the tradition of sharing great technique, recipes and ingredients. However, we are deeply spiritual (especially when we are taking about whiskey, gin, rum--get it--spirits?) Anyway, the following cocktail comes to us by way of a dear friend. It would have perhaps been better to post as a holiday treat, but we think this is the perfect moment to share it.
My New Religion by Ann Ruud
1.5 oz reposado tequila .75 oz Campari 2/3 oz lemon .25 oz simple syrup (or agave nectar)
Shake and
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If you are a frequent reader of Summit Sips (and we really hope that you are!) you may have noticed that activity here has slowed down a bit lately. You may have also noticed that we recently made a long migration to the Pacific Northwest. Moving takes its toll on free time with a never ending list of projects. It's an unfortunate coincidence because we often have a lot to share at this time of the year. But now that we are finally getting settled, it's time to resume where we left off.
The Paddington cocktail is one that we have been meaning to make for a while. It comes to us by way of Jim Meehan's PDT Cocktail Book. This one was created by David Slape in the fall of 2008. It's another recipe that always makes the list of favorites from the book whenever you do a
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There's a new Tiki bar in Portland, Oregon that just opened on NE Broadway called Hale Pele. It's in the space previously occupied by Thatch, for those of you who know the area. This bar is the brainchild of Blair Reynolds, (formerly AKA "TraderTiki"). Reynolds is definitely a veteran of Tiki culture as well as a celebrated professional in the world of bartending. In addition to collecting various honors, accolades and published references, his skills as a tropical drink maker and dedication to quality ingredients led to the creation of his own brand of cocktail syrups. The B.G.Reynolds' line includes everything from Cinnamon to Vanilla, and practically every other Tiki syrup you will ever need. We visited Hale Pale the first Friday of their opening last week and had a lovely time. The space is cozy, filled with warm, natural Polynesian decor represented by
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There aren't a lot of cocktails that feature Scotch as the base spirit, and because of that, you don't find very many here at Summit Sips. Over time, we'll slowly add to the list, but it's not the easiest spirit to pair with other ingredients. Besides, most folks that have Scotch like it the way they like it—on the rocks, neat, with water, etc.—and may not be interested in messing with their own personal traditions. Of course, that never stopped us. Let's see, we have the recent Saw Tooth, which is a wonderful way to use watermelon (who would have thought!), the Blood and Sand, an excellent classic, and there's the London Sour for a little Tiki action. But the most common cocktail is probably the Rob Roy, something we have never featured. That's
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Some time ago when we featured the Negroni as our Drink of the Week, we included the Americano as a bonus recipe. Today, we'd like to give the Americano it's due. It's a simple and light cocktail that works great as a late summer refresher. But despite its simplicity, we have to say more than just recommend this drink to beat the heat or to enjoy at a backyard barbecue. If you aren't expecting the bitter nuance that comes from the Campari you could be in for a bit of a shock. That's because most Americans are not used to Campari's bitter flavors (an ironic twist, considering this cocktail's name). These days, most carbonated beverages familiar to Americans are packed with high-fuctose corn syrup. However, anyone who already enjoys the Negroni or one of its many variants should recognize that the Americano was the
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Sometimes, it's all about the lady in your life. That statement means different things to different people, of course, but let's face it: not everyone wants to drink the latest Manhattan variation. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, not because it leaves more rye whiskey for the rest of us, but because plenty of people either don't like whiskey or don't yet have an affinity for spirit-forward cocktails.
We're not saying that ladies don't like Manhattans. We're not saying that at all. We simply recognize that every so often, it's fun to put what we've learned into a drink that is accessible to everyone. That's not to say we think this is a "girl drink"—or that there is such a thing—but you could do a lot worse than the Pink Panther. We'll even go a step further and say that if you (or your lady friend) doesn't like our
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