“If you could have only one cocktail book, what would it be!”, called out a bartender, just barely audible over the rumble of other discussions around out.

“Why, Embury of course!” I replied, with barely a moment’s hesitation.

“See!” said the bartender as he elbowed his pal next to him. “And you don’t even have a copy?”

Embury, David Embury. Need I say author of “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks?” This fine book was originally published in 1948, and which has ever since been a prized volume of many bartenders across the country, if not the world. By his own admission, Mr. Embury wasn’t a bartender. He was simply somebody with a deep passion for, as well as an opinion about, what it took to make a proper cocktail. Books which attempt to cram within their pages as many different cocktail recipes as possible are almost a dime a dozen, and can often be seen behind many bars. As a simple reference, I suppose they have their place, but Mr. Embury’s book isn’t a simple reference book. While it does contain a fair number of cocktail recipes, this is a book that is intended to be read.  Its recipes, and more importantly the information and opinions around those recipes, are intended to be educational, and that is what sets this book apart from almost any other.

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, has unfortunately been out of print for many years, but thanks to online auction sites as well as online used book shops, copies of it can usually be found. Ten or so years ago, when I first became aware of this book, it was relatively easy to pick copies up for around $40. That however was just at the beginning of the modern resurgence of the cocktail, and David Embury’s book become the “required reading” for all who wished to participate. Such popularity eventually drove the prices fairly high, there is currently a copy on eBay selling for nearly $400, that that’s for a paperback version!

A reprint was clearly in need, the problem was that not only was the book new enough as to still be covered under copyright, but nobody seemed to know who actually held the copyright to the book now that Mr. Embury himself had passed away. Enter Gregory Bohem, owner of “Mud Puddle” a New York publisher, as well as an avid collector of old cocktail books. He decided that he really, really, needed to come out with reprint of this book. Diligently he followed various leads, many of them dead-ends, until he finally located Mr. Embury’s only surviving relative, his daughter Ruth Embury. Mud Puddle was quickly able to arrange to do a reprint, and an excellently executed one at that.

You can order your copies from Amazon.com, or from Mud Puddles website: http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been working with Gregory Boehm as he worked toward creating this reprint, as well as several others that he offers, and I also wrote the forward for “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks”. But I’d be heartily recommending this book even if I hadn’t been involved!

Notable this year in the awards was an international recognition of people, venues, and products. While cocktails may have originated in the United States, their impact, and their craftsmanship can be seen and appreciated all over the world. A challenge with spreading such a broad scope over these awards is of course being able to adequately experience and understand the various offerings. The overall awards process is overseen by Simon Difford, noted authority on cocktails and bar culture, and author of “DiffordsGuide to Cocktails”. To assist Simon in reviewing the nominees and carefully selecting the winners, he has gathered an international panel of judges consisting of:

Helmut Adam - Editor of Mixology Magazine
Jacob Briars - Vodka Professor for 42 Below
Philip Duff – Cocktail Expert and Consultant to Bols
Robert Hess – Host of “The Cocktail Spirit” and a founder of “The Museum of the American Cocktail”
Anistatia Miller – Author and Director of Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux
Xavier Padovani – Global Brand Ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin
Audrey Saunders – The Libation Goddess behind the Pegu Club
LeNell Smothers – The Spirited Palate behind LeNells, NYC
Jamie Terrell – Mixologist and Sagatiba Global Brand Ambassador
Charlotte Voisey – Mixologist and William Grant Ambassador
Angus Winchester – Playboy Bartender and Founder of Alconomics

…all of whom worked closely together to select this year’s winners. So without further adieu, here they are:

World’s Best NEW Cocktail Bar
Le Lion - Bar de Paris - Hamburg, Germany
 
Best New Product
Fever Tree Mixers

Best Cocktail Writing
Gary Regan (San Francisco Chronicle)

Best Drinks Brand Representative/Brand Ambassador
Xavier Padovani – Hendrick’s Gin 

Best Cocktail Menu
1806 Bar in Melbourne, Australia

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
“Imbibe!” by David Wondrich
 
Best Classic Cocktail Bar
Milk and Honey, New York City
 
Best Drinks Selection
Salvatore at Fifty

Mixologist/Bartender of the Year
Nick Strangeway – Hawksmoor, London, England
 
World’s Best Cocktail Bar
Milk & Honey New York

Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award
Dale DeGroff - King Cocktail

Plans are already starting up for next year’s “Tales of the Cocktail” (July 8th thru 12th), and we are all looking forward to another round of Spirited Awards, will your favorite bar or bartender perhaps be one of the nominees?

(Photograph courtesy Jennifer Mitchell Photograpy)
 

I find that the best way to describe Aperol, is that it is a very mild version of Campari. It has that same balance of bitter sweetness, but with the volume turned way down. You can essentially use it in any drink you might otherwise have used Campari in, and it should be not only more approachable, but would also help you get accustomed to this flavor profile which appears in a variety of Italian aperitifs. While its recipe is one of those “closely guarded secrets”, some of the ingredients are known, which include bitter orange, gentian, cinchona, and rhubarb.

Aperol was first introduced in 1919 at the first “Padova Fiere”,  a trade exhibition held in Padova Italy (aka. “Padua”, the setting for Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”) created to try to help Padova rebuild its business district, which was seriously damaged (physically, financially, and spiritually) after the World War I. It was created by the Barbieri Company, who were attempting to create a light and flavorful aperitif with slightly lower alcohol content. At 11%, it even has less alcohol than most wines. The product struggled for a while, but following World War II, its popularity grew, and was soon found in most bars and homes across Italy.

The brand was purchased by “Barbero 1891” in the 1990’s to build up their portfolio of products, and then in 2003, “Barbero 1891” was in turn purchased by The Campari Group, where it joined the ranks of Campari, Cynar, Cizano, and various other aperitifs and spirits.

If you try looking for recipes calling for Aperol, you will soon discover that there really isn’t a lot out there. The most commonly seen recommendations are to simply serve it over ice, or with a splash of soda or champagne. Simple enough, but not terribly exciting or original.

When I recently saw a bottle of Aperol at one of my local bars, and being equally curious as to how people might be drinking it, I asked the bartender what he used it in. Picking the bottle up with a quizzical glare, he admitted that they usually just serve it over the rocks, and even that, not very often.

I decided to see if I could come up with a cocktail that might work well to showcase the product, but at the same time illustrate some of the components of a classic cocktail.

Gin seemed like an obvious starting point, but just gin and Aperol seemed far too simple. It needed something to add some additional character, without hiding anything. It suddenly struck me that just a dash of scotch would be just the thing. The result I must say was pretty good on the first try. In honor of Padova/Padua and its fictional home for “The Taming of the Shrew”, I’ll christen it the “Petruchio”.

Petruchio

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz Aperol
• 1 Dash Scotch (preferably a Single Malt, but blended would work too)

Stir with ice, serve in a cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.

Tales of the Cocktail

At this years Tales of the Cocktail (July 16-20) they will be announcing the winners for the following categories:

Best Drink Selection
A venue stocking an outstanding range of spirits and liqueurs. The judges will favor discernment as well as sheer numbers of bottles stocked.

Best Classic Cocktail Bar
Classic bars continue to uphold best bartending practices and serve drinks in relaxed lounge-like environments. The judges are looking for bars, which uphold this tradition (but are not necessarily old) and offer superb service and consistently well-made drinks.

World’s Best Cocktail Bar
This award recognizes the international influence on cocktail trends and seeks to award the world’s best cocktail bar.

Best New Cocktail Bar
Only bars which have opened in the 18 months preceding the awards may be nominated. This award aims to reward new creativity and ideas as well as well executed drinks.

Mixologist/Bartender of the Year
The absolute best drinks mixer. The winner should be proficient at making all recognized classic drinks and also have created contemporary cocktails, which have been copied by his/her peers.

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
The best book published in 2007 regarding cocktails, liquor, bars, bar design or bartending in general. New editions of existing works published in 2007 may also be nominated.

Best Cocktail Writing
Great journalism is one of the best ways to communicate to the general public the value and significance of great cocktails and related products. This award is for any non-book journalism (Magazine, Newspaper, Website, etc) which promotes bars, bartender, or cocktails in general.

Best New Product
This is awarded to what the judges consider to be the best new cocktail ingredient (spirit, liqueur, syrup or juice) or piece of cocktail equipment (muddler, shaker etc.). To qualify products must be on general retail sale in at least three US states.

Best Cocktail Menu
The judges seek to reward innovative and thirst inducing cocktail menus. Both the design and content will be considered.

Best Drinks Brand Representative/Brand Ambassador
An award which recognizes the importance of personality in the promotion of drinks brands.

Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award
The impact that some people have on the general cocktail community can span over the course of many years. There are individuals who have worked long and hard to change the industry and educate the public. This award is to provide special recognition to these individuals and the wonderful efforts they have undertaken.
And the nominees are…

Best Drink Selection

• Cantina - San Francisco, USA
• Death & Company - New York City, USA
• Der Raum - Melbourne, Australia
• Doheney - Downtown Los Angeles, USA
• The Merchant Hotel - Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Salvatore’s Bar at Fifty - London, England
• Trio Bar - Berlin, Germany
• Matterhorn - Wellington, New Zealand

Best Classic Cocktail Bar

• American Bar - Connaught Hotel, London, England
• Bramble - Edinburgh, Scotland
• Death & Co. - New York City, USA
• Dukes Bar - Dukes Hotel, London, England
• Experimental Cocktail Club - Paris, France
• Flatiron Lounge - New York City, USA
• Milk and Honey- New York City, USA
• Bar Le Forum - Paris, France
• The Merchant Hotel - Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Montgomery Place - London, England
• Widder Bar - Zurich, Switzerland

World’s Best Cocktail Bar

• The Flat Iron Lounge - New York City, USA
• Le Lion - Hamburg, Germany
• The Lonsdale - London, England
• The Merchant Hotel - Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Milk & Honey - New York, USA
• Milk & Honey - London, England
• Paparazzi - Bratislava, Slovak Republic
• Salvatore at Fifty - London, England
• Star Bar - Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

Best New Cocktail Bar

• Bar Milano, New York City, USA
• Beretta, San Francisco, USA
• Death & Company, New York City, USA
• Le Lion de Paris, Hamburg, Germany
• 02 Lounge, Ritz Carlton, Moscow
• PDT (Please Don’t Tell), New York City, USA
• Ruby, Copenhagen, Denmark

Mixologist/Bartender of the Year

• John Gerstern - No.9 Park, Boston, USA
• Kenta Goto of Pegu Club - New York City, USA
• Charles Joly - The Drawing Room, Chicago, USA
• Duggan McDonnell - Cantina, San Francisco, USA
• Erik Lorincz - Purple Bar, London, Englan
• Jim Meehan - PDT, New York City, USA
• Ago Perrone - Montgomery Place, London, England
• Sam Ross - Milk & Honey New York City, USA
• Nick Strangeway - Hawksmoor, London, England
• Charles Vexenat - The Lonsdale, London, England
• Philip Ward - Death & Company, New York City, USA

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book

• Imbibe by David Wondrich
• Mixing New Orleans, Cocktails & Legends by Jennifer Adams
• In The Land of Cocktails by Ti Adelaide Martin & Lally Brennan
• And a Bottle of Rum - A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis.

Best Cocktail Writing

• Debra C. Argen & Edward F. Nesta (Luxury Experience Magazine, USA)
• Jeff Berry (Tiki God)
• Paul Clarke (Imbibe Magazine & San Francisco Chronicle)
• Ted Haigh (Imbibe Magazine)
• Gary Regan (San Francisco Chronicle)
• David Wondrich (Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whisky Smash)

Best New Product

• Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
• Fever Tree Mixers
• Lucid Absinthe
• Domaine de Canton
• Plymouth Sloe Gin
• Q Tonic
• Qi White Tea Liqueur
• Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur
• Sagatiba Pura

Best Cocktail Menu

• 1806 Bar - Melbourne, Australia
• Bayswater Brasserie - Sydney, Australia
• Death & Company - New York City, USA
• Doheney - Downtown, Los Angeles, USA
• The Drawing Room, Chicago, USA
• Bar Italia - Vienna, Austria
• Pegu Club - New York City, USA
• Ruby - Copenhagen, Denmark
• Tailor Restaurant - New York City, USA

Best Drinks Brand Representative/Brand Ambassador

• Jacques Bezendenhout - Partida Tequila, USA
• Julio Bermejo - Tequila, USA
• Jason Crawley - Maxiuum, Australia
• Phil Duff - Bols, Global
• John Gakuru - Sagatiba, Global
• H. Joseph Ehrmann - Square One Organic Vodka, USA
• Diego Loret de Mola - Pisco Bar Sol, USA
• Stuart McCluskey - Miller’s Gin, UK
• Xavier Padovani - Hendricks, Global
• Charlotte Voisey - William Grant, USA

Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award

• Salvatore Calabrese - Mixologist, writer & bar owner
• Dale DeGroff - Mixologist & writer
• Peter Dorelli - Formerly of the Savoy, London
• Phillip Hills - Founder of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society
• Desmond Payne - Master Distiller Beefeater Gin
• Brian Rea - bararchives.com, former 21 Club bartender, etc. etc
• Gary Regan - Mixologist & writer

You’ll have to check back after Tales of the Cocktail in July to see who won!

There were 847 products submitted, across 439 different brand classifications. Judging was done by a 25 different judges, who come from various parts of the industry and are well recognized as influentials in their fields. The products were submitted by the manufacturers, who also paid a fee (per product) to participate. Judging was done blind, and over the course of two days at this closed event.

Awards were given out for Double-Gold, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, as well as some special awards when the product s merited it. This is not an “Olympics” style award with only a single winner per medal, instead there can be multiple winners per award level. There can also be no winners for a particular award level if the judges didn’t feel any products were worthy of it. Out of the total 847 products submitted, there were 731 awards according to my count.

You can access the full list of award winners, along with more details and information about the competition here: http://www.sfspiritscomp.com/

But here are some highlights:

Vodka:
Top Vodka = Snow Queen
Double Gold = Cold River, Primo, Puriste, Rain

Gin:
Top Gin = Plymouth
Double Gold = Beefeater, Martin Miller’s, Rehorst Premium, Rogue Spruce

Rum (Dark/Gold)
Double Gold = St. Lucia Chairman’s Reserve, Sergeant Classick Gold Hawaiian Rum

Cachaça:
Best Of Show – White = Weber Haus Silver Cachaça
Double Gold = Cuca Fresca, Bossa

Tequila (unaged)
Top Tequila = AsomBroso Silver
Double Gold = Blue Head, El Tesoro Platinum, Gran Centenario Plata, Milagro Premium Silver

Tequila (Reposado)
Top Reposado = El Tesoro
Double Gold = Amanecer Ranchero, Herencia De Plata, Semental, Tequila 5150

Tequila (Anejo)
Top Anejo = Siete Leguas
Double Gold = Blue Head, Don Tepo, La Certeza

Whiskey (Straight Bourbon)
Double Gold = Wild Turkey 101

Whiskey (Straight Rye)
Top Rye = Rittenhouse Single Barrel
Double Gold = High West, Thomas H. Handy

Absinthe
Top Absinthe = Vieux Pontarlier

Herbal/Botanical Liqueur
Best Of Show – Liqueur = Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur
Double Gold = Averna Sambuca, Chartreuse Green VEP, Cynar, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Fruit Liqueur
Top Fruit Liqueur = Cointreau
Double Gold = Grand Marnier

You can access their full listing here: http://www.sfspiritscomp.com/2008_results.html

Here in the Pacific Northwest, it might be Salmon which appears to get all of the attention, perhaps it’s just because they have a good PR agency. But you’ll also often find great Halibut being proudly featured on menus in many fine restaurants.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a special “Ode to Halibut” dinner that was put on by McCormick & Schmick’s in downtown Seattle. McCormick & Schmick’s is a nationwide restaurant group with more than 50 locations across the US, specializing in seafood. On this night there was a special focus on Halibut, and why I’m specifically paying attention to it is because the menu was specifically pairing different specialty cocktails with each course.

Food and wine pairing has of course been the de-facto standard for diners across the country, but equally exciting, if not more so in my mind, is the concept of pairing cocktails with individual dishes. There are a number of benefits here. To begin with the restaurant can now highlight the skills of both the chefs in the kitchen, and the chefs behind the bar. Second is that both the dishes and the drinks can be unique creations, which might only be available here. And thirdly is that it makes it very easy to pair individual drinks with each course and to individual diners at the table, while with wine it is often necessary when buying a bottle of wine to find something which works across multiple dishes and courses.

Chef Eric Naruszewics prepared for us the following lineup:

Appetizer:
Four Citrus Ceviche, with toasted tortilla chips
Served with: White Wine Sangria

The Cerviche was wonderfully constructed, with a nice balance of citrus and spices which teamed up well with the halibut. The Sangria was almost a fruit salad in the glass, a combination of apple, melon, and citrus with a light white wine along with some sweetener, either just simple syrup, or perhaps a triple sec (I forgot to ask). Unfortunately it didn’t quite match up with things as well as it could. It was too sweet, and didn’t have the complexities of finish to stand up against the ceviche. As I was drinking it I was thinking how much better a good gin punch might be here instead.

Salad:
Cashew Crusted Filet of Halibut, on a bed of mixed greens tossed with honey mustard vinaigrette, pears, and red grapes
Served with: Basil Grape Refresher

The cashews went really well with the halibut, with the entire dish also working really well as a follow on to the appetizer course. The Basil Grape Refresher was made by muddling red grapes, simple syrup and basil, then adding vodka and topping it off with ginger ale. Like the previous drink, I felt that this one was also too sweet, and likewise didn’t quite achieve the pairing which would have properly accompanied the dish. Just switching the vodka to gin would have been a good start, but cutting back on the syrup (if not leaving it out entirely) would definitely be recommended. I did like the use of basil however.

Main:
Seared Halibut, on udon noodles with fermented black bean and white miso sauce
Served with: Lychee Martini

The thing that almost everybody seemed to note about this dish, was how “just spicy enough” the black bean and miso sauce was. This Asian inspired dish really made a great impression, and even with the spicy kick, the halibut was still the star attraction. The Lychee Martini was made with vodka, a little cointreau and apparently shaken with a lychee sorbet, and garnished with a canned lychee nut. The pattern with the drinks was being continued here, in that it was again too sweet, and being made with vodka it was fairly two dimensional in flavor. A couple of us ended up squeezing some fresh lime juice into our drinks, which improved them considerably.

Dessert:
Spiced Asian Pear Tart, with a vanilla bean and cinnamon reduction
Served with: Blackberry Mojito

Part of me was a little disappointed that Chef Eric didn’t try to find some way to bring halibut into the dessert course as well, but then I’ve also seen some of those “Iron Chef America” episodes where fish ice cream was attempted, and perhaps I’m better off that he didn’t. The pear tart was delicate and flaky, and a nice gentle closer to the evenings meal. Pairing it with a Mojito however really didn’t make sense. This was essentially the biggest drink of the evening, and so that just seemed a tad odd. Something which would function better as a digestif would have been far more appropriate, even if it were a simple snifter of calvados.

My overall summary of this event is that the food was great, and Chef Eric did a wonderful job at selecting the individual dishes, what was unfortunate however is that for a menu which was attempting to create a food/drink pairing, that the same level of attention to detail wasn’t spent on properly selecting the drinks which were served throughout the evening. All of the drinks were overly sweet, and while aside from that most of them were reasonable well balanced, they also weren’t great choices to pair with the dishes that were served. But I do have to give them credit for trying!

I was recently traveling with some friends in England, and happened to be passing through Whitstable, a seaside town well known for its oysters. In England the local beverage is often beer, and in Whitstable the local food is clearly going to be oysters. When we stopped into a beachside pub, and saw that one of their specialty ales was an “Oyster Stout” by the Whitstable Brewery, we clearly knew what to order!

Personally I love a nice dark beer, their full malty flavor seems to be a perfect choice for a chilly England (or Seattle) afternoon, but their light crispness is also very refreshing. The Oyster Stout was a perfect fit for a quick round of oysters before we headed back out along the beach. The light and subtle sweetness of the stout didn’t overpower the oysters, nor did it get overwhelmed by them. Instead the two suited one another with great harmony. We even picked up several bottles, as well as a bag of oysters as we headed back home for the evening so we could repeat our repast in order to celebrate the local cuisine.

Today, we are thankfully graced with an ever expanding collection of bitters. Recently I was made aware of a bitters being manufactured and sold in South Africa, “Santy’s Aromatic Bitters”. A little online searching was able to find some information about them. Ok, ok… so a little online searching was able to find just a SINGLE bit of information about them, that being that they are made and sold by “Edward Snell & Company Ltd.” in Isando South Africa.

I eventually got in contact with a representative for the company and he confirmed that they do in fact provide this product, but that it currently is not being distributed in the US market. He also provided the following description of their product:

“A unique blend of oriental and occidental herbs and spices imparts a lingering warmth to this exotic bitters recipe which contains Angostura bark, Red Sandalwood, Galangal Root, Mace, Cloves, Orange Peel, Cinnamon, Cardamon Seed, Liquorice Root and Ginger. All these herbs and spices are macerated with extra fine spirit in small oak casks to produce this acclaimed health-enhancing aperitif and tonic.”

I am of course intrigued by the prospect of new/different bitters to add to my collection, and so I jumped through a few hoops in order to get a few bottles to test out. Special thanks to both Andre Brink at “Edward Snell & Company”, and Dominic Venegas of “John Walker & Company” in San Francisco (an excellent liquor store with a great selection of products) for helping me with negotiating the details of arranging for this shipment. From start to finish, it was about a 5 month expedition to complete.

Tasting Notes:
As might be expected, they have a fairly similar flavor profile to Angostura bitters, however they are also fairly different as well. Specifically noticeable is an additional “heat” to the Santy’s bitters. This almost certainly is from the ginger, which isn’t overpowering at all or even unpleasant, but is clearly detectable. Also there is more of a clove forward flavor, with cinnamon accents then there is in Angostura. When compared side-by-side, there is also a slightly noticeable sweetness to Angostura, which isn’t as present in the Santy’s.

I think that Santy’s would make an excellent addition to any bar which is interested in having a robust collection of cocktail bitters at their disposal, that is of course if a US distributer ever picks them up.

The “V” shaped cocktail glass has become commonly known as a “Martini” glass to pay homage to the drink which so often calls it home. The same also happened to the short and stout rocks glass, which is commonly referred to as an “Old Fashioned” glass. Many people even mistakenly refer to any drink served in this iconic cocktail glass as being a Martini, without realizing that a Martini is a specific cocktail, and not a drink category.

The glass itself is believed to have been formally introduced to society at large at the 1922 Paris Exposition, although I have yet to uncover specific details to this effect. What had cocktails in general, and Martinis in specific, been served in before that time? Then, as now, glassware options were extremely varied, with each manufacturer and even each line from a specific manufacturer, providing different flourishes, and design concepts. Bars would often carry a wide variety of glasses, and would choose different ones based on the drink they were serving, or sometimes the customer they were serving it to.

Today, the form of the cocktail glass has become so engrained in the minds of most customers, that glass manufacturers seem reluctant to stray too far from the stiffly slopped angles. In my mind, this results in glassware that becomes highly predictable, if not boring. Periodically I encounter a glass design which tries to buck the trend a little bit, but more often than not, when I approach a restaurant supply store to order them, I discover they have gone out of production.

It has been noticed however, that as the cocktail resurgence gradually evolves, craft style cocktail lounges are striving more and more to impart some of their personality into the glassware that they use. It is becoming more common for such bars to have their glasses custom made for them by a local glass manufacturer, this allows them to not only have a glass which reflects the specific character they wish to impart upon their customers, but it also allows them to select glasses of just the right size for the drinks they choose to serve.

The average home mixologist however would find it difficult to justify both the expense, as well as the often minimum required order it would take to have glassware custom made for them. This does not however mean that all is lost. A fabulous option for finding unique, inspired, and high quality glassware is to simply visit a local antique store and carefully browse through their offerings. Chances are good that you’ll uncover a wonderful variety of glasses to select from, and who says they all have to match?

For an example, here is just some of the different glasses I picked up on a recent visit to a single antique store, prices ranged from $6 to $12 apiece on average, which is cheaper than I could have picked up a “boring” cocktail glass at many department stores.

Another benefit of shopping at antique stores, is that you can return to an era when cocktails were a more manageable size. Most cocktail glasses from the 40’s and 50’s were in the far more appropriate 5 or 6 ounce size. Today, such sizes are next to impossible to locate, stores like Crate & Barrel feels we want 9 to 12 ounce cocktails. I don’t know about you but that just seems like too much to swallow for me.

Now that the holiday season is over, and that Christmas tree is begging to be put out to pasture, it might be worthwhile to consider alternate ways at disposing of it besides just putting it out on the curb. While carving it up at the kitchen table might be something only Euell Gibbons would have attempted, it might be interesting to know that Clear Creek Distillery has thought of another means of recycling a little bit of the holiday spirit.

OK, so they probably aren’t using old Christmas trees, but they are making a wonderful product from the freshly picked buds of Douglas fir.

There apparently is a slightly obscure Alsatian liqueur known as “Eau de Vie de Bourgeons de Sapin” (translates to: “brandy of fir tree buds”), which is a spirit made by careful maceration of Scotts Pine buds in brandy and re-distillation to create a product that has a wonderfully piney character.

The folks at Clear Creek Distillery, who have a penchant for going out on a limb for their craft, have recently come out with their own take on this product, using the more common Douglas fir from the Pacific Northwest. If you think about it, there is little else which could possibly be more representative of this area, besides of course applejack or perhaps a salmon liqueur.

It took Steve McCarthy, founder of Clear Creek Distillery, nearly 10 years of dedicated experimentation to arrive at a process which he felt properly captured the woodsy essence he envisioned. And it frankly is an excellent product with lots of interesting potential.

At about $50 for a 375ml bottle (which is a half-bottle, or also known as a “split”), it may not necessarily be something you’ll be seeing becoming a standard product at your local bar, but it hopefully will make appearances at some of the bars which enjoy blazing new trails.

I decided to take my bottle out for a spin and see if I could work up a new cocktail which properly used this product.

Woodsman Sour

• 2 ounces Eau de Vie of Douglas fir
• 1 ounce St-Germain Elderflower liqueur
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The combination of the slightly piney flavor from the eau de vie, and the floral notes of the St-Germain really worked well in this slight variation of a traditional sour.