The 2009 Grand Marnier/Navan Mixology Summit is coming!

So my favorite event of 2008, the Grand Marnier/Navan Mixology Summit is happening again in Vail Colorado. Led by Steve Olsen, Andy Seymour and the rest of their gang again, it promises to be one of the highlights of 2009, and I sincerely hope that I get the opportunity to attend next year.

You can read about my experience at this years Mixology Summit on some of my earlier posts. Looking back, there were two very valuable things that I took away from 2008's Summit.

First, Grand Marnier/Navan really did an outstanding job with the program, and there was plenty of time to interact with outstanding presenters like Leo Degroff and Aisha Sharpe which allowed me to pick their brains and exchange some thoughts and ideas with them. I came home to Oregon filled with new ideas and techniques. I'd never be doing a bacon bourbon if I hadn't talked to Don Lee and Jim Meehan at the Summit. In fact, I wouldn't be working on a duck fat washed Grand Marnier for a Duck a l'Orange cocktail that I'm going to be submitting as one of my entries this year (note to readers; its a subtle duck flavor achieved by fat washing duck fat into straight Grand Marnier, and a couple of other ingredients marry pretty damn well with it to make for an interesting cocktail) without talking to those guys, and even better, seeing them actually demonstrate some of their techniques.

Second, I made some of the best contacts in the industry ever at this years Summit. Even better, a number of them, including Ky Belk of Elway's Steakhouse in Denver, Doug Miller of Culinary Institute of America, and the great Jimmy Patrick (www.mixographer.com) have become great friends and have even come out to visit me in Oregon. Others have been "internet friends" and acquaintances, but meeting Jonathan Pogash on the ride from Denver to Vail turned out to be a great resource when we were trying to publicize the cocktail competition portion of the Great American Distillers Festival. This was the top 100 bartenders in America, in one resort with one of the finest liquor brands in the world showing us a first class time and allowing us to learn about their products.

Oh yeah, this wasn't all about learning about Grand Marnier, Navan and bartending. There was world class skiing, snowmobiling, and other activities available as well. Even better, this wasn't one of those events filled with PR types (nothing personal)and salesmen, this was bartenders being brought together to learn and share knowledge. I relax around bartenders. I instinctively trust them and I can let my guard down around them and share stories of life behind the stick that I'd never in a thousand years share with the salespeople or enthusiasts. For me, this was a chance to learn, make new friends, and have a great time at one of the most beautiful places on planet earth.

So how can you attend? Well, first you've got to be a professional bartender. Next, go to www.mixologysummit.com for the application and rules. Good luck to all of you and I hope to see you in Vail again next year.

Barrel Aged Orange Bitters Update

Well, I've left the barrel outside all week, I'll probably bring it into the garage now, but I want it to experience some weather to bring the madeira in and out of the wood.

I put together my bitters recipe Wednesday night. I'm going to let this soak for a month, and then into the barrel in June. Here's what I'm doing-

2 750 Ml bottles of Everclear
5 orange peels
8 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf

Its in the basement right now, sitting next to the Bacon Bourbon. More on that soon.

So what do you do when you make bitters and end up with 5 peeled oranges? I make dessert.

Navan Oranges
5 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds (if this was for a dinner party, I'd slice the pithy edges off, but at home I leave it as is)
3 oz Navan Liqueur
3 dashes Angostura Bitters

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly to incorporate
2) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
3) Serve and enjoy. Best topped with a little whipped cream spiked with Grand Marnier.

Qi, Grand Marnier and the Green Truck

Well, its been quite a day. The fine folks at St. George Spirits have generously sent me two bottles of Qi (pronounced chee) Tea Liqueurs. They sent both the Black and the White, and I can't believe that I've been able to stay out of them all evening. Tomorrow evening though, I'm meeting with Neil Koppelin of Carlyle, Daniel Shoemaker, and Kevin Ludwig and I'm afraid that if I don't save the bottles until tomorrow night, there might not be any to share. Usually I taste spirits and liqueurs by myself initially, and then I like to get others to taste in order to get their feedback, so this will be a little different, but I'm intrigued to see what happens. I've liked everything I've ever had from St. George, and I'm optimistic that these liqueurs can match the high standards that St. George sets for itself.

As I sit here unwinding from a very hectic Monday, I'm enjoying a nightcap that I haven't poured myself in ages, a snifter of Grand Marnier. The BBC America premier of "Last Restaurant Standing" is on in the background, it looks to be quite entertaining and its providing the perfect soundtrack to my own private little celebration. You see, on Friday, I found out that I have been selected to participate in Grand Marnier/ Navan's upcoming Mixology Summit in Vail Colorado. I'm excited on a few different fronts. One, it will be a great opportunity to network with some of the best bartenders in the country. Two, I'm really excited to see what the people from Grand Marnier/Navan have planned.I've never tasted the Grand Marnier 150, and I'm anxious to get the opportunity taste it. So far, everything seems first class and I'll be crossing the days off the calendar until we leave. And lastly, since we have family in Denver, we're planning on coming in a little bit early and spending some time in town before leaving for Vail. I'm really hoping to tour Stranahan's Distillery, makers of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey while we are in town. The idea of regional whiskeys that reflect the tastes and character, perhaps even the terroir of where they are made, has great appeal to me. I'd love to see more craft distillers create authentic products that are true to the essence of where they are made.

Speaking of quality products, while I've really been focusing on spirits in my blog, I have a confession to make. I love wine. Not just love it, I'm passionate about wine. I love mixed drinks as well, but nothing is as food friendly (most of the time, an important caveat) as a wonderful wine. When it comes to spirits or wine, what I am most passionate about are those individuals who create high quality products because to create anything less would be unthinkable for them. Off the top of my head, House Spirits and St. George both stand out as distilleries that meet this description. Well, I'm about to reveal my absolute favorite wine in the world. I'll preface this by saying that 1) I'm generally a Zinfandel man (and it doesn't come in white, thank you) and 2) there may be more expensive wines, and wine regions more highly regarded for this varietal than his, but to my palate this is the best stuff out there. Green Truck Pinot Noir is the kind of wine that my wife and I have arguments about. We will schedule a dinner party with, perhaps a couple that we know enjoys fine food and wine. When planning the menu, the subject of wine always comes up (if you come to the Casa De Mayhew, expect cocktails with appetizers, wine with the meal, and then digestifs), and will, if we are sufficiently impressed, result in a discussion as to whether our invited guests are "Truck Worthy". Please don't take it personally if I invite you to dinner and serve something else. I have a nice wine collection and I promise, I never pour something cheap, but I only get 12 bottles of grin inducing Pinot Noir a year to be doled out very carefully over the years. The reason I'm sharing this information, is that the next release of the Truck is 3/1, so if you get over to the website, you've got a great chance to get in on this wonderful wine. I think Kent charges 30-35 a bottle these days, and production has increased ever since I became a Trucker from 250 cases to about 400 now. Green Truck is made from some of the premier grapes in the Napa Valley, and one of the real hallmarks of the craftsmanship that goes into Green Truck is that even in "off" vintages, the Truck is always well structured and extremely approachable wine. Kent Fortner, the winemaker and genius behind Green Truck describes his mission as producing "grin inducing pinot noirs". Get on board now and you'll thank me later when the Truck has a 10 year waiting list for allocations and you'll always have the perfect wine to serve at Thanksgiving.

Well, thanks for allowing me to share. More updates soon, but for now, I need to get back to that snifter of Grand Marnier.

Coconut Rum, Half Forgotten Bitters, Navan and Ice Cubes

I started a new project this evening, a toasted coconut rum. I hate Malibu and its sickly sweetness, so today when I was at 23rd Ave Liquors, I spotted a bottle of Appleton White Rum that just seemed to call to me. I toasted 8oz of shredded coconut in the oven tonight until I got a nice light toast on the coconut, put it in a pyrex bowl and covered it with the rum. Its now wrapped up and in the basement to do its magic. I'm not the biggest fan of the flavor of coconut, but I really felt like a drier rum with a coconut flavor might be nice for doing some tiki-inspired drinks next month. Now, I'm wondering if I should start a batch of coconut bitters. They sound like a perfect complement to tiki drinks. Perhaps I'll start a batch after Xmas.

Next up, I actually carmelized some sugar (3 tblsp sugar, 1 tblsp water) and added it to the grapefruit/ tomato bitters. I'll stir it 2x a day for a week to let the flavors get to know each other a bit and it'll be time to bottle it up next week. I'm happy to have that project in its final stages. I think I'm going to call these bitters my Half Forgotten Bitters.

Also, I picked up a bottle of Navan. I'll have a full product review up tomorrow, but let me just share my initial impression. Its delicious stuff. My mind is racing thinking about the possibilities. Currently I'm drinking 2oz of Navan, 3 dashes of Peychauds bitters, and equal parts 1/2 and 1/2 and soda water on the rocks. Its nice, but I think this is a bit of a work in progress, I need to punch it up just a little more.

Lastly, I got some new ice cube trays from Amazon today. More on ice cubes to come soon, but Daniel Shoemaker from the TearDrop Lounge has made an ice cube believer out of me.