Thinking of Drinking

Proper Independence Day Cocktails

2009-07-02T14:01:00.015-05:00

In my last post, I promised to suggest some proper cocktails for this upcoming July 4th holiday weekend. I got some great comments from visitors, and some cocktail suggestions too. Then I promptly got busy with a bunch of stuff and didn't post anything else. Before the holiday passes me by entirely, here are a few ideas.

Guiding Principle: Drink American
In these tough economic times, on this most patriotic of holidays, you should support American-owned and run companies with your Independence Day libations. Maybe that small craft distillery in your area, or that craft brewery or winery. If you don't have those, or don't want/like those, then stick with American-made, traditionally American spirits & beverages.

OPTION ONE: Rye Whiskey
A spirit similar to the rye whiskeys you find in liquor stores today was popular in the US early on in the colonies - immigrants came here and brought grain distilling traditions with them, which they applied to the grains they found here. Rye was common, so rye-based whiskey was common too. It was popular enough that when the government tried to tax it to pay off the national debt in the1790's, we had the Whiskey Rebellion.

Whiskey Smash
(Adapted from this one on the Rye Whiskey is for Patriots blog)
2 oz Rye (Rittenhouse 100)
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 ratio)
2 sprigs of mint
Add ingredients to shaker, including one sprig; shake well with ice. Strain into ice-filled old-fashioned glass, and garnish with additional sprig of mint.

As far as I know, this drink originated in the US, and derives from the julep - a faster version, really, without all the pomp & circumstance. Some recipes leave out the lemon juice (and have less sugar), but I like that bit of citrus to lighten it up a little for the summer.

Or Try Rock & Rye
This is another interesting rye whiskey-based option, that I must admit I've not yet tried. Rock & Rye was created in the US, and was one of the few US-made spirits poured at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 according to Eric Felten's recent article. It was originally a medicinal tonic, thought to help colds and other illnesses.

I've never bought a bottle of the pre-mixed product labeled "Rock & Rye" at the liquor store. I imagine, like so many things, it won't taste like what it's trying to be. So I'll be trying this recipe, by the legendary LeNell Smothers:

LeNell's Homemade Rock & Rye
1 750-ml bottle rye whiskey (I prefer Rittenhouse 100 proof)
1 6-inch string rock candy (add more according to your sweetness preference)
2 orange slices
2 lemon slices
2 fresh cherries pitted or perhaps brandied or whiskied cherries (not the fake red maraschino, please)
2 dried apricots
1 pineapple slice
Tea bag full of dried horehound (optional)

Put all ingredients in a large jar and cover. You can start enjoying after one day; however, the flavor will change as rock candy dissolves with time. As you deplete the supply, add more whiskey and candy as needed. If the fruit slices show signs of breaking down, replace. Always keep fruit covered with alcohol; this stores indefinitely as long as the fruit is submerged. Of course, like all alcohol it will oxidize after a really, really long time.

Note: Horehound adds an extra bitterness to balance the sweetness and also acts as a cough suppressant. If you do use horehound, only steep for a couple of hours, then remove to prevent overly bitter flavors.

While some drink Rock & Rye on it's own over ice, I would recommend trying LeNell's Rock and Rye Cooler, or perhaps some other concoction with it. I better start mine tonight so I can have it on the 4th, assuming I can find or make some rock candy!

OPTION TWO: Bourbon
Bourbon is another distinctly American creation, and there are many fine brands available. With bourbon, I am inclined to either try one of the recipes that Alex Smith suggested in the comments (in the spirit of the great melting pot, using a few accents from other places) or do something with the fresh berries coming out in the farmers markets near me, such as:

Blackberry Julep v3.0 (adapted from v2.0)
1 1/2 oz Bourbon
1/2 oz Blackberry Liqueur
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 ratio)
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
4 fresh blackberries
6 Mint Leaves + One Mint Sprig
Muddle the mint, blackberries and simple syrup in a mixing glass. Add the liqueur and bourbon. Strain into a highball (or julep) glass filled with crushed or shaved ice. Swirl with a bar spoon until the outside of the glass frosts up. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a fresh blackberry.

OPTION THREE: TIKI
The whole concept of Tiki culture in restaurants/drinks is a distinctly American creation as well, and most of the drinks use rum, which was popular back in the 1700's. So there are lots of options - I'd recommend consulting one of the great tiki bloggers, or try this one from the legendary Kahiki restaurant:

Polynesian Spell
1½ oz Gin (we used Distiller’s Gin No. 6, are you shocked?)
1 oz Grape Juice
¼ oz Triple Sec
¼ oz Brandy
1 tsp Simple Syrup
¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Whatever you drink this Independence Day, enjoy it and have fun with your friends & family!

Note: pictures in this post are from istockphoto.com.

Cocktails for Independence Day

2009-06-19T13:18:00.011-05:00

You Must be Joking
One of the consequences of being a cocktail blogger is that I receive press releases from PR people for lots of other spirit companies - several a week. And often they are for companies that only make products in the same categories that we do. It's not like I hide who I am or what I do for a living. Do they really think I'm going to write about that Russian vodka? At least I know what they're up to, I guess.

This week, I've received several with ridiculous suggestions for cocktails for the 4th of July holiday. In every single case, they suggest that we use an imported spirit for the cocktail. Really, for the celebration of American Independence? We should use imported vodka (from Poland, or even (gasp) England?), tequila, gin (from England again), or absinthe (France)?

What to Do, What to Do
I think a proper 4th of July cocktail should be made with an American-made spirit, perhaps influenced by what was popular back then. For what was popular back in the day, I'd go with RUM. A great American-made rum. I'm reading And a Bottle of Rum right now, so I've definitely got rum on the brain - and I know it was quite popular in that era, although it became scarcer once Britain stopped letting us import molasses from the islands.

As for other ingredients, I'll probably use what's in season, and what is common to the USA. Or maybe I'll go Tiki - an American phenomenon, after all. Or maybe back to cocktails from the 1770's, or with an American whiskey drink? Next week I'll report with some recipes for 4th of July.

In the meantime, anyone have any suggestions or ideas of what you'll be drinking on the 4th of July? Please share - as long as it doesn't call for tequila or imported vodka.

Blogging Tales of the Cocktail

2009-06-17T11:56:00.003-05:00

I'm participating in the group blog for all things Tales of the Cocktail again this year, and my first post, about Mixologists and their Toys, is up on the blog. Be sure to keep an eye on the group blog for the lowdown on this year's festivities!

And for anyone who doesn't know, Tales is happening in New Orleans from July 8 - 12, and all the cool cocktail aficionados are going to be there. Won't you join us?

Note: photo is from New York Times

New Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails

2009-06-16T15:51:00.004-05:00

I got a very exciting email yesterday from none other than Dr. Cocktail himself, Ted Haigh. His 2004 book, Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails, was one of my primary inspirations for getting into cocktails and a frequent reference source for me. I've made almost every drink in that book, and have recommended it to many people.

Unfortunately, it's been out of print for awhile now, and copies were going for a pretty penny on eBay and Amazon. Well guess what? An updated version is coming out on July 1st! And Dr. C was kind enough to include some notes about a bunch of us cocktail bloggers in the new edition, so yours truly will be mentioned in the book. This is much cooler than being immortalized in a hypothetical in a law school textbook, which is my only other known appearance in a book.

I haven't seen it yet, but I would highly recommend checking it out - I will be! You can pre-order it on Amazon here: htt p://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Spirits-Forgotten-Cocktails-Alamagoozlum/dp/1592535615/ or ask for it at your favorite book store in a couple of weeks.

Perhaps I'll have to make an Alamagoozlum Cocktail tonight after dinner...

MxMo XL: Glorious Ginger

2009-06-15T22:57:00.000-05:00

This month, Rum Dood is hosting Mixology Monday and the theme is ginger. Long story short, I love ginger and we use it in lots of cocktails. One of my ongoing favorites is the ginger gimlet that I blogged about a couple of years ago (using a 2:1:2/3 ratio these days). Lately, however, I've been playing with ginger and our award-winning Aquavit.

Aquavit is an under-appreciated spirit in our book, and it's something that we love. For those who don't know it, the dominant flavor is caraway seed (that's the definition these days, anyway - gin is juniper, aquavit is caraway). It's up the distiller to decide what else, if anything, is used. Ours is made with caraway seed (the required element), cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and anise, and then aged in new American oak. That combination of spices plays spectacularly with ginger.

Without further ado, here are a couple of favorite cocktails with ginger and aquavit. I'm afraid I'm running out of time to get my MxMo submission in by midnight, and it's been a long day, so I'm going short and sweet this month (but hey, at least I'm getting in a post!).

The Gingervit
2 oz Aquavit Private Reserve
½ oz Ginger Syrup (1:1 ratio, 4" of fresh ginger root peeled & sliced, simmer 5 mins)
1 - 2 Dashes of orange bitters (Regan's)
Club Soda
Combine Aquavit, ginger syrup and bitters over ice. Top up with club soda, stir briefly and garnish with orange slice.

The Good Life
Developed by my friend Benjamin Schiller from In Fine Spirits here in Chicago
1 1/2 oz Aquavit Private Reserve
1 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
3/4 oz Fresh lime juice
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup (2:1 ratio)
Dash of orange bitters (housemade)
Shake ingredients with ice; stain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel rose.

As you might expect, I've only tried these with our aquavit, but I expect it might work with others. Cheers, and thanks to RumDood for hosting this month!

Seen in a Bar 06.09 - Cool New Gadget

2009-06-11T12:38:00.004-05:00

We were in Colorado recently for our nephew's graduation from high school. Suffice to say, we did not have much time for cocktail adventures due to family commitments, but we did manage one trip to a couple of places in Boulder. Our favorite by far was the West End Tavern, which was recommended by a friend of ours.

While there, we saw this cool gadget on their back bar, holding fresh basil. The bartenders said it extends the life of the basil for several days - basil is a notoriously short-lived herb, but is also a great addition to certain cocktails.

This gadget is called the "Herb Savor" and is made by a company called Prepara. They have some other cool stuff on their website, especially this "Power Plant".

I think I've got some ordering to do....

Drinking in San Francisco

2009-06-10T14:00:00.003-05:00

Well, this post is now way overdue so I better get on with it before I forget what happened! Here are a few of the highlights from my cocktail drinking adventures in San Francisco in April, beyond the Tiki drinks I wrote about last month.

I tried to cram a lot of bars into a short amount of time, with so much to see and so many great people to meet. I didn't get as many places as Rick over at Kaiser Penguin, but I did pretty well considering that I often was driving and had other commitments during my visit.

Perennial Favorite Stops: Nopa, Alembic, Absinthe
Although I don't have pictures of them from this trip, I really enjoyed seeing Neyah White the cocktail genius at Nopa again, and hanging out at The Alembic again and meeting Daniel Hyatt. I also had the pleasure of meeting Jonny Raglin at Absinthe and having lunch (and a fabulous cocktail) there (and my own personal autographed copy of Jeff Hollinger's book too).

Day One: Alembic, Heaven's Dog, Beretta
After a light dinner and cocktails at Alembic (one of our friends had never been there, so we went again) we headed to Heaven's Dog. Lucky for us, we found some blogger friends there, as well as Erik Ellestad and Thad Vogler behind the bar. Great drinks again (I only had sips since I was the driver), and fantastic food. I got to try a new (to me) absinthe, Leopold Bros.

At right, a shot of Camper English, cocktail and spirits afficionado and writer extraordinaire, at Heaven's Dog. When it was closing time,Camper took us over to Beretta, which we closed down as well. At Beretta, my most memorable cocktail was the Single Village Fix with smoky mezcal, pineapple gomme syrup and lime. I noticed many mezcal cocktails on menus, and also many with gum/gomme syrup, so I hunted down some Small Hands syrup to bring home.

Day Two: Clock Bar, Cantina, Dosa on Fillmore
On my next free evening in the city, I stopped in at the Clock Bar to meet Marco Dionysos and try the Chartreuse Swizzle that I'd been hearing about. It was really busy, so I enjoyed my drink then continued my adventure.

It was a short walk to Cantina, where I met Duggan McDonnell, and found our friend Gabrielle Barnes behind the bar. Gabrielle was one of the first people we met when we came to San Francisco a couple of years ago - she was working at Bourbon & Branch then, and when we asked where else we should go for great drinks, she recommended Nopa (sit at the bar). We had an amazing time there with Neyah behind the bar.

This time around, Gabrielle had just returned from the Mixology Summit, and made me a great cocktail with Black Seal rum, Grand Marnier, and Cynar - she didn't have a name for it, but it was a fantastic drink. Gabrielle is competing in one of the cocktail competitions at Tales of the Cocktail this year, so I'll be cheering her on there.

Wrapping up the night, I stopped in a Dosa on Fillmore, and had the Bollywood Hills made with Subrosa's Saffron-infused Vodka, as well as a nice little cocktail made with our Distiller's Gin No. 6. The cocktails (menu designed by Jonny Raglin) were great, and so was the Dosa Masala (yum).

That was it for this trip, so many bars, so little time....

Check out Chicago Mixologists

2009-05-20T11:57:00.001-05:00

Cocktail competition season is in high gear, and I wanted to report some of the achievements of the fine mixologists in Chicago. The photos are from the cocktail competition held last night for Right Gin, in their private loft here in Chicago.

Charles Joly, of the Drawing Room, won last night's competition, and will be going to San Francisco later this year. He also won $500, for his twist on a classic Julep using Right Gin and a little absinthe. Congrats Charles!

DJ Love from Le Bar at the Sofitel, who won the Illinois WCC finals last month, won the silver in the national competition last week. Well done DJ!

Adam Seger from Nacional 27, was just announced as a finalist in the Buddy are Your Bitters Better? competition at Tales of the Cocktail this year. Congrats Adam!

Tim Lacey and Cristi DeLucca from the Drawing Room made it to the finals of the USBG Caipirinha Competition to be held at Tales. Good luck Tim and Cristi!

Kyle McHugh from Drinks Over Dearborn and Mike Ryan from The Violet Hour were selected as cocktail apprentices for this year's Tales of the Cocktail. Congrats Kyle and Mike!

I have undoubtedly forgotten to mention something, please chime in on the comment section if you know of one!

2009 American Distilling Institute Conference

2009-05-19T11:57:00.002-05:00

This year's American Distilling Institute conference was a bit of a blur, and already a month has passed since I got home. Before any more time passes, here's a quick rundown of the conference.

Friday night - Tour of Anchor Distilling
I wrote about this in another post. Suffice to say, it was a treat to see the stills and meet up with some of my blogger friends. After the bus ride back to the hotel (on which I was sampling one of Anchor's fine beers), I was exhausted. My car (with me in it) was rear-ended by a drunk driver the night before (a bit ironic, since I was leaving my distillery), and I only got about 30 minutes of sleep before my flight that morning. So I went to the restaurant across the street for dinner and called it a night.

Saturday - Distilling Conference
We convened at St. George Spirits at a fairly early hour, and followed along on a schedule of sessions on a variety of topics. This year's theme was brandy/eau de vie/grappa, so the presentations were about distilling spirits from fruit. We heard from many great craft spirit producers, including Dan Faber from Osocalis and Hubert Germain-Robin. We also had a panel session on marketing craft spirits, and lobbying legislators for changes to arcane state liquor laws that many of us confront.

Awards were also given out in a variety of categories, and we had an opportunity to taste the entered spirits. We didn't enter anything, since we don't have anything out from fruit (yet).

That night, I had both bad and good tiki experiences - more on that here.

Sunday - Crafts Spirits Public Tasting
For the first time at one of these ADI conferences, we had a public tasting event. This was a welcome addition to the conference, and provided many of us a great opportunity to interact with consumers in the Bay Area about our products. Members of the general public were invited to come out to St. George and try spirits from all the distilleries present, and in most cases, meet the distiller/founder. We had a pretty good turnout, and it was a lot of fun. I hope to see more of these types of events at future conferences, ideally with more publicity to increase the interest & turnout, but this was a great start.

The only beef I had with the event, which I voiced to the powers that be, was that there were some products that do not meet my definition of American craft spirits, so I wouldn't have allowed them to be poured. For instance, there were some imported spirits.

At any rate, we went on a proper cocktail crawl on Sunday night in San Francisco - more on that in a post coming soon.

Monday - Meet the Mixologist
On Monday, Bay Area bartenders and mixologists were invited to come out and taste spirits and talk with the distillers/founders. Unfortunately, the turnout was fairly light, but this was also a fun event and a good idea. As my friend Gabriel over at Cocktail Nerd noted, bartenders and mixologists are an essential partner for small distilleries.

Bring on the Bloggers
One of the highlights for me was to meet some of my blogging friends. It was fantastic to have them at the conference, and I was very happy they were invited to participate and write about our group and our industry.

Thanks to St. George!
The folks at St. George were wonderful hosts, and a lot of fun too. Thank you to Jorg, Lance, Andie and the rest of the team at St. George for hosting us and letting us invade their distillery for three days!

MxMo XXXIX: Amaro

2009-05-18T23:52:00.001-05:00

Well, so far, I'm about 3 for 5 on the Mixology Mondays for the year, despite my New Years resolution. This month, our host is Chuck Taggart over the Gumbo Pages, home to tons of great stuff (and my main source for restaurant recommendations in New Orleans at Tales last year).

Our theme this month is Amaro, and Chuck advises this "refers to the bitter liqueurs usually drunk as an after-meal digestive, either alone (neat or on the rocks) or in some kind of mixed drink or cocktail...wherever somebody drinks a bitter liqueur, that's a source for your drink this month."

Open that Bottle
I figured this was a perfect opportunity to open up that bottle of Amer Picon that I conned one of my former coworkers into dragging back from Paris for me awhile back. Derek and I had been in Paris, and I tried a "Picon Biere," which was essentially a pilsener with a shot of Amer Picon in it. I happened to like the drink, while Derek despised it. Then when we got home, I read up on Amer Picon a little, and figured I ought to get my own bottle. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to Paris anytime soon, but my friend Bill was.

Bill dragged it home for me, and there it sat. For awhile. Guess I got distracted, or read these about how this version is a shadow of the pre-1970's version, or I was focusing on other spirits, or whatever, but I found it again a couple of months ago and vowed to open it soon. Plus, I picked up a bottle of Torani Amer when I was in San Francisco last month, so I wanted to taste them side-by-side.

About Amer Picon
Amer Picon appears in many old cocktail books, although it disappeared from the US market a long time ago and is difficult to find except in parts of France. It's a bitter (and sweet) liqueur, with orange notes.

After some research, I determined that Amer Picon is now owned by Diageo, and there are actually two versions - Picon Biere (intended to be mixed with beer) and Picon Club (intended to be mixed with wine). The spirit goes back to 1837 according to their website, and they don't mention the formula change.

I have the Club version, so I'll have to try it with wine sometime. For today, I tried a classic Picon cocktail with both versions of Amer.

Picon Punch
2 oz Amer Picon or 1 1/2 oz Torani Amer
1/4 oz Real Grenadine
Club Soda
1/2 oz Brandy

Pour Picon and grenadine over ice, top with soda nearly to the top. Stir briefly to chill. Top with a float of the brandy. Garnish with a lemon curl.

With the Torani Amer, it is much more bitter and potent so I backed it down a little to my taste. The Torani has twice as much alcohol and stronger bitter notes. Both were very interesting, though, and I'll be experimenting more with them.

I definitely want to try the Hoskins Cocktail that Chuck posted on his blog awhile back, and I found many others to try. Unfortunately, I am out of time if I want to meet the midnight deadline!

Monteleone Cocktail Entry

2009-05-18T22:31:00.010-05:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, the Hotel Monteleone is hosting a contest to develop a new signature Monteleone Cocktail. I've spent some time the last week or so playing with recipes, and I came up with one that I really like. I tried to think of something that was reminiscent of classic New Orleans cocktails and themes, but also unique.

I didn't want it to be too trendy or faddish, lest it go out of style or an ingredient be no longer available, so I tried to stick to fairly standard ingredients with a twist.

Monteleone Cocktail (Sonja's Version)
2 1/2 oz Cognac or Brandy
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey
1/4 oz Absinthe
Stir all ingredients without ice first, to dissolve honey and intermix with other ingredients. Add ice, shake well, and strain into chilled coupe glass. Garnish with flamed orange peel.

Ingredient notes:

I used very basic brandy, but also tried it with some others and some basic-level cognacs. As long as the brandy is well-balanced and smooth, it seems to work well.
The honey is very important - it should be fairly standard honey, nothing too fancy or flavorful. I did try a lavender honey, and it was an interesting variation, but I liked standard clover honey best.
I used our absinthe, but I think it would work with others that are more widely available, as long as it has a traditional flavor profile and is not overwhelmingly bitter.

Cheers to the Hotel Monteleone and the contest winner, I look forward to having one of the winning drinks at Tales of the Cocktail in July!

I Saw Fritz Maytag's Stills

2009-05-13T13:33:00.001-05:00

The 2009 American Distilling Institute conference was held in Alameda, CA last month, at St. George Spirits (more on the conference in a future post). The folks at St. George were wonderful hosts, and provided a great location for our conference.

Since we're distributing in Northern California now, I figured it made sense to go to the conference and then spend some time with our distributor's folks in San Francisco.

In addition to the public tasting event for craft spirits, which was a terrific addition to the ADI conference, one of the highlights was getting to tour Anchor Distilling.

Really? A Tour of Anchor?
The first time I saw Fritz Maytag speak a few years ago at one of these conferences, I found it kind of comical. I have no doubt he is a wonderful man, and I'm sure we'd get along famously if we actually spoke face to face, but he was asked to speak to a group of new distillers and he revealed virtually nothing about anything he does at Anchor. I found myself wondering why he was speaking to us, given that he felt everything was a secret and wouldn't really tell us anything about what he was doing, or about his stills, etc.

So when I heard we'd have a chance to not only visit his brewery facility, but also see the stills, I figured I had better be there. Funny enough, when he spoke to the group this time, Mr. Maytag admitted that historically he didn't even let all of his staff see the stills, let alone others in the industry or (gasp) members of the public. So at least he recognized he was "keeping everything close to the vest."

Here are a few photos from the tour - it was a lot of fun. I only wish we could have tasted some of their spirits, rather than only the beers. They make some great beers, of course, many of which I can't get in Chicago, but they also make some spirits I can't get (e.g., the Hotalings).

Pictures are:

Mr. Maytag and his head distiller making a presentation in front of their three stills - one for genever, one for gin, one for whiskey (left to right)
The hops room
The tasting room, where the rest of our group was hanging out while waiting for their tour group
The Anchor uniform, which I loved. I think we should have a distillery uniform or something. So far, Derek's not going for it.

Good Tiki, Bad Tiki

2009-05-12T22:43:00.003-05:00

I've been to no less than three Tiki bars in the last two months, more than I've visited in all my years until now. I still haven't made it to the Hala Kahiki, but I did get to the new Trader Vic's in Chicago, Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA, and the Conga Lounge in Oakland, CA. Seems like Tiki, along with classic cocktails, is having a bit of a resurgence perhaps? Or maybe I was just missing the boat until now.

Tiki is a lesser-explored segment of the cocktail realm for me, but I've been trying to learn more about the culture, lore and drinks favored by my Tiki-crazy blogger friends.

Chicago's New Trader Vic's
For some reason, we ended up here at the end of our St. Patty's day pub crawl. Perhaps it was because it was the only place we found without a huge line on a Saturday evening (and perhaps that was because it's not Irish). The decor is fantastic, and the menu has many favorite cocktails I've read about. We tried a few of them, but honestly my taste buds weren't at their best due to the beer and Irish whiskey consumed earlier in the day. We did enjoy the Pupu Platter (no longer called that) and the Tiki Puka Puka cocktail, but the Mai Tais were dyed green and too sweet. So were the crazy shots that our friend Maeve insisted on ordering for us.

I gotta go back and give Trader Vic's another shot, and I'll post more about that when I do.

Conga Lounge, Oakland, CA
I was hanging out with Melkon Khosrovian from Tru Spirits and Jonathan Forester from Penobscot Bay one night last month after a craft distilling conference, and we were trying to go and have dinner at one of our joint customers. Unfortunately, the place was tiny and also packed, with a 2 hour wait. So we wandered down the street and settled on pizza at Pizza Rustica. They didn't have any tables either, but said we could order pizza in their upstairs bar. So up we went.

What we found when we went upstairs was a decked out Tiki Bar called the Conga Lounge - fun, with lots of great things to look at on the walls and hanging from above. The pizza was great, but unfortunately our drinks were not so great. We only had one drink each, and didn't even finish those. Darn, we wanted to like the place.

Forbidden Island, Alameda, CA

Since I happened to be in Alameda, of course I had to go to Forbidden Island. Unfortunately, the legendary Martin Cate recently left, so I couldn't see him there, but I knew I had to go anyway.

Every drink I tasted was great, and the ladies behind the bar were a blast. My favorite drink was the Sidewinder's Fang (pictured), although the Forbidden Island and Painkiller were both great too. Definitely have to go back next time I'm in the area.

It was definitely fun to try some more Tiki drinks, I'll have to continue my explorations in Tiki.

Tales of the Cocktail and Monteleone Contest

2009-05-10T13:53:00.003-05:00

I'm behind on my blogging again, and am going to get caught up soon! In the meantime, I wanted to remind everyone to make plans now to attend Tales of the Cocktail this year - July 8-12, 2009 in New Orleans.

The venue for Tales, Hotel Monteleone, is also celebrating a big anniversary and running a cocktail contest. The Hotel Monteleone is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Carousel Bar (loads a .pdf) on May 21, 2009. From 1949 until about the late 60’s or 70’s there was a drink on the specialty drink menu called the Monteleone Cocktail.

Unfortunately, we have no idea what the exact recipe or ingredients were. The Hotel Monteleone is hosting an online contest to accept drink recipe nominations for a new official Monteleone Cocktail. The recipes will be judged by VIPs who will be at the Carousel anniversary celebration on May 21. There are no requirements on types of liquor or style of drink, but all drink entries must be received by May 18, so that the ingredients may be acquired and drinks prepared at the May 21 event. Participating bloggers should post their entries online, and all participants should e-mail their drink recipes, along with their name, address and phone number, to athornton@hotelmonteleone.com. The winning entry will become the new official Monteleone Cocktail, and the winner will receive four free nights at the Hotel Monteleone during Tales of the Cocktail 2009.

Get going - here's your chance to win a free stay at the Monteleone for Tales and be part of history!

Illinois WCC Cocktail Competition Finals

2009-04-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

Last month, I had the privilege of judging the Illinois finals for the World Cocktail Cup. I was a last-minute add to the judging panel, as one of the judges was not able to attend. On the plus side, I got to hang out with some fun folks and taste lots of cocktails and comment on them. There were many drinks that I liked, and a few that I loved. On the minus side, I didn't get to cheer on my friends who were competing and watch all the action.

I did my best to not hear who was competing, nor what they were using in the drinks - I wanted to judge the drinks solely on their own merits. Unfortunately, this was not always possible - the competition was taking place in the next room, and there was no divider. Plus, we had our fantastic host for the evening, Serafin Alvarado, talking on a microphone and giving the full play-by-play.

As taste judges, we evaluated drinks based on appearance, aroma, taste and overall impression. The taste score had the highest weight, but all elements were important. There were also technical judges assessing each competitors performance on a variety of technical measures, and the scores were combined to determine a winner.

Appearances First: Garnishes
There were lots of creative garnishes, and a few were a bit over-the-top. Some of the judges responded quite negatively to the larger or more unusual garnishes, while a few really loved them - it was interesting to see how divergent the views were on garnishes. Garnishes were sometimes quite intricate, others simple and elegant, and a few were a bit strange.

The Taste: Drinks
The category for the cocktails was aperitif, which means they should be a before-dinner drink, to stimulate the appetite, and made with no more than 3/4 of an ounce of sweeteners. Many of the drinks were great contenders for the category, only a few were too sweet, or too heavy, for a before dinner libation. The event was sponsored by Pernod Ricard, so their products were used for base spirits in all cocktails. Many competitors used gin, while some chose cognac or rye whiskey. I think there may have been a vodka drink or two in there, but as I said I was trying not to listen, so I'm not sure.

One of my favorites was the first whiskey drink we tasted, but because it was the first whiskey drink and no other brown spirit based drinks had been tasted, some on the panel felt it was too heavy. Of course, once we tasted some of the other whiskey drinks, that one wasn't heavy at all. Unfortunately, as judges we were not allowed to go back and revisit scores after seeing the full spectrum of drinks, so what was done was done.

Here are shots of the drinks that I managed to photograph:

Victory
Competitor no. 19, DJ Love from Le Bar at Sofitel, won the day with a beautiful, tasty drink. Congratulations to DJ, who is off to San Francisco next month to compete in the WCC nationals. In the meantime, I think you might be able to try his drink if you stop by Le Bar.

And I'm going to have to go and find out who made the other drinks I loved so I can order them again - all I got was a sip (so as to be able to judge 20 cocktails), and I want more!

Adventures at Bar DeVille and More Malört

2009-04-14T13:42:00.012-05:00

A few weeks ago, we stopped in at Bar DeVille (701 N. Damen in Chicago) on a Sunday evening, and I am terribly delinquent in writing about it.

We'd heard about this new bar several times, and knew our friend Brad Bolt was running the show there, so we were happy to get a chance to check it out (finally). Brad and his comrades Eric and Jason were a blast to hang out with, and we tried a few fantastic drinks. We also had a fun discussion about Malört, something I've done a few times in recent weeks.

First Up: Bar DeVille Cocktail
I asked for whatever they felt like making, and Jason made this fantastic concoction for me. Here's the recipe:
1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse 100
1/2 oz Campari
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 egg white

Shake the ingredients together, without ice, thoroughly. Add ice, shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Apply a few drops of Peychaud's bitters to the foam, and swirl them.

We also tried Brad's take on a Hemingway Daiquiri, which he called the Ernest Cocktail, also delicious. Far better than any of the so-called Hemingway Daiquiris we tried in Key West back in February.

Ernest Cocktail
2 oz Flor de Cana 7 year
1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino
Half Dollar Slice of Lime
3 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters

Combine ingredients in a rocks glass, add ice and stir. Garnish with a big, fat grapefruit peel.

The Hard Sell and the Malört
As I wrote about awhile back, Malört is a Chicago thing. Funny enough, Brad mentioned that Mike Sula at the Chicago Reader was working on a story about Malört, and asked several Chicago mixologists to develop recipes for it. Mike even had the owner of the Malört brand try them, and Brad's drink was the winner. Here's the recipe:

The Hard Sell
3/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze a large swath of red grapefruit peel over the drink, to add the essential oils from the peel to the surface.

It's an interesting drink, balanced and complex, with those fresh but bitter grapefruit notes on top. Some of that Malört flavor (is that the right word?) comes through on the finish and lingers. It's always the finish with the Malört that gets ya, and stays with ya for a long while. Eric's apt description of Malört was that it "tastes like earwax... earwax and bug spray aged in a gymshoe."

I'm still not loving Malört, although I do find it quite entertaining to talk about lately. At any rate, thanks to Brad, Jason and Eric for a lot of laughs and some great cocktails! Check out Bar DeVille if you haven't already, it's a great addition to Chicago's cocktail scene.

Seen in a Bar - March 09 Edition

2009-03-23T22:00:00.003-05:00

I've been spending more time in bars, and less time at the computer, lately. A couple of things I've seen recently that were notable:

Indiana and St. Germain - a rep for the largest distributor in Indiana was out telling people about St. Germain today and I crossed paths with her at a nice restaurant in the NW corner of the state. Only thing is, she told the restaurant owner and bartenders that it was a PEAR liqueur (and her boss, who was with her, reiterated it). When I asked her if there was elderflower in it (trying to give a hint but be nice about it), the response was "it tastes like pear, and besides, no one knows what elderflower is anyway." Interesting.

St. Patrick's Day in Chicago - a relatively new Irish bar in the River East/Gold Coast area of Chicago was charging a cover charge just to get into the bar and drink/eat after the downtown parade on Saturday March 14th. No band, nothing special going on, just doing it because they could, I guess. As a restauranteur, maybe it's smart - work less for the same money, perhaps. It seemed a little exploitive to us, given the economy and the occasion, so we moseyed on down the street and found another place that just wanted to take our money for our beer and food, thankyouverymuch.

March Mix-Off - Illinois USBG

2009-03-11T13:22:00.012-05:00

Last night, the Illinois chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild convened at Nacional 27 for our monthly meeting and cocktail mixing party. It was a great time, as always. Here are a few highlights and pictures.

USBG IL Updates
We (finally) got emails yesterday with the results of our Master Accreditation level one tests. We were the guinea pigs for this first-ever testing program for mixologists, intended to follow the Master Sommelier program.

About 25 of us took the test over two weeks ago, and afterward, everyone had many questions. There were some errors on the test itself, and some poorly worded questions - suffice to say, there were issues. Hopefully they sorted all that out before the next group took the test (in Las Vegas at the Bar Show). Luckily, I passed so I won't have to find out!

We covered some other upcoming events, most notably the Illinois finals for the World Cocktail Competition is scheduled for March 31st at Boka. Should be another fun competition, and the winner goes to San Francisco to compete in the national competition.

This Month's Sponsor: Tru Organic Spirits
My friends Melkon Khosrovian and his wife, Litty Mathew, make Tru Organic Spirits out in Los Angeles. They kindly sponsored this month's session, and Melkon brought along his organic vodkas & gin for us to taste and use. Melkon gave a brief presentation about their upcoming bitters challenge at Tales of the Cocktail this year, and also about their spirits.

Cocktail Competition
Our monthly competitions are typically not as rigorous as formal competitions, and this one was no exception. Most contestants were aiming for a pre-dinner drink, and brought along all their ingredients, per the instructions. But since we were working in his bar, Adam Seger also offered his full array of syrups, fruits and mixers, which is one heck of an offer.

The competitors included Adam Seger from Nacional 27, Benjamin Schiller from In Fine Spirits, Daniel de Oliveira from Boka, Cristi DeLucca from The Drawing Room, Chris Bloom, who is a member-at-large (and a lawyer by day), and Martin from Maxwell Street Trading.

This group came up with a wide array of cocktails and used a broad range of ingredients. Four used Tru Gin as their base, while two used the straight vodka. Only one used any egg, and three used Aperol, while one used miso and rice wine vinegar. Benjamin even created some homemade gelées with Aperol and Tru Gin, and a fun (and novel) presentation for his garnish (in picture at far right).

The winner, in a very close decision, was Chris Bloom. The judges said his drink had the edge based on aromatics. Congratulations to Chris!

Here's his recipe:

Puesta Del Sol, by Chris Bloom

1½ oz Tru Organic Vodka

¾ oz Aperol

¾ oz Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur

¾ oz Lime Juice

Orange Bitters (Regans)

Garnish: One blood orange slice, one long lemon curl and dried, grated Seville orange zest

Combine Vodka, Aperol, American Honey, Lime Juice and 3 dashes of orange bitters. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with dried orange zest. Place Blood orange slice on top and twist lemon peel across glass.

Here was Chris's description of the drink: "Puesta del sol means sunset in Spanish (literally 'place the sun' - - as you place the orange slice to float on top of this drink). Hopefully it reminds you of a summer sunset on a beach relaxing at the end of a beautiful summer day."

Afterward, it was off to the Drawing Room for more cocktails and conversation. A blast, even if I did get home at 3:15 am (yawn).

Lab Created Flavorings

2009-03-10T11:26:00.005-05:00

It's just so wrong I had to blog it. A few minutes ago, I received an email from a flavoring company. I get them periodically - there are lots of flavoring companies out there, and they often call us to try and sell their wares. Rest assured, we do not use any flavorings in any of our spirits, we only use actual ingredients. This sets us apart from most of the other spirits companies in the United States - the big brand flavored vodkas, for example, are virtually all flavored with flavorings from a lab.

So what was in this offending email? It was an introduction to a class called Grain Flavor 201. Seriously.

Natural/Unnatural Flavorings
From our limited exposure to them, we've learned that flavor companies can engineer just about any flavor you want. They can use "natural" ingredients, to make "natural flavors," which only means they are derived from things that exist in nature (and may or may not contain any of the ingredient for the flavor you were after). For example, "natural lemon flavor" may or may not contain any part of an actual lemon (usually it doesn't, and bears more similarity to things used in floor cleaners, etc. - mmmm, tasty).

These flavor labs also create artificial flavors, which are often cheaper too - the sky's the limit on your options, if you're okay with the words "artificial flavors" on your product.

There's Grain Flavor Too?
I know spirits are flavored with these lab-created flavorings, and I've read books about how fast food companies use flavorings to make their food taste like something. But I didn't consider a grain flavor. When I shop at the local grocery store, I wasn't imagining that my breakfast cereal, and hell, even my bread are probably flavored with these things too. Wow. Welcome to the world of processed foods.

Think about that the next time you see "natural flavors added" or "artificial flavors added" on a label. As for me, I think I'm going to start having eggs for breakfast instead of cereal (organic, free-range eggs from a local farmer of course - let's not get into the egg topic).

MxMo: First Time Cocktails

2009-03-09T15:44:00.021-05:00

I managed to break my resolution after only one month when I missed Mixology Monday last month, but this month I'm all over it.

Our hosts are the lovely ladies of LUPEC Boston, and their chosen theme is "First Times." They've challenged us to write about a cocktail you might suggest to a cocktail virgin. Inspired by Pink Lady's story of meeting a Christian rocker who, at age 32, had never had a cocktail, I started thinking about the people I know that haven't had a cocktail. A few different types of people popped into my head:

"I Don't Drink" (Much) - I have some friends, mostly from earlier times in my life, that don't really drink. No beer, and often no wine either, let alone cocktails. There are a variety of reasons why they don't drink, but on occasion they might be open to trying something.

"I'll Have a Bud" - Perhaps you have some relatives like some of mine - nice enough folks, but they aren't adventurous drinkers. At all. They drink beer, American big-brand beer. Like Budweiser or maybe MGD if you're gettin' exotic.

"I Only Drink Wine" - Know any of these? They consider cocktails "too strong," and prefer to "take it easy" with wine, even if they have several glasses (or more) in a night. They might've had (bad) cocktails when they were younger, but it's been a long time.

For the first group, I was thinking Violet Fizz. It's a lovely, light cocktail, with complexity and an interesting ingredient that would be fun to talk about. It might work for the third group too, but definitely not for the second one (too frou-frou sounding and flowery tasting).

So I went for the Tom Collins. It's a classic, light and balanced cocktail when made with fresh juice & simple syrup. Plus, it's easy to make, and not so complex or strong as to overwhelm the inexperienced.

Tom Collins
2-2½ oz Gin (Distiller's Gin No. 6)
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup (adjust to taste)
Club Soda

Shake gin, juice and simple with ice. Strain into ice-filled collins glass. Top up with club soda, and garnish with orange slice and maraschino cherry.

This is an old drink, first printed in Jerry Thomas's bartending guide in the 1860's. However, the origins of it's name, and it's original composition, are hotly debated topics. I figure my non-cocktail loving friends won't want too much story anyway, so I probably wouldn't get into all of that.

Absinthe & Maple Syrup* Challenge

2009-03-03T10:32:00.012-06:00

How it Started
My husband Derek and I are fairly competitive with each other sometimes, usually where we are fairly evenly matched. Some examples include tennis, air hockey, darts and Golden Tee. And sometimes we challenge each other in the kitchen, to see if we can come up with something decent from weird ingredients.

On Sunday night, two things were co-existing on the kitchen counter - we had pancakes for breakfast, and I had brought home some of our Sirène Absinthe Verte for my cocktail development projects this week. So of course Derek challenged me to make a drink with both of them.

Now as I mentioned over on the Spirit World awhile back, I don't put real maple syrup on my pancakes - I was raised on Log Cabin "maple-tasting syrup." So I was supposed to mix maple-flavored corn syrup and absinthe.

Can't Back Down Now
Of course I couldn't back down or I'd never hear the end of it, so I poured a few ounces of absinthe into my mixing glass. And then some maple-tasting syrup. Stir, then taste. Yuck. "Get me a lemon," I uttered, hoping it would help.

In went the juice of one lemon, some Distiller's Gin No. 11, and a splash of Cointreau. Another stir and taste. Better, much better. A tad more Cointreau, and then it was tolerable, even. You could still taste the maple, but only a tiny hint on the finish. The absinthe dominates, as one would expect, but the citrus and gin spices complement it nicely.

Not sure it's a recipe worth repeating here (and I don't know the exact proportions), but I successfully completed the challenge. Sonja:1, Derek:0. Now to think up some ingredients for him to try and mix with...

Note: pic at right is from istockphoto.com. I didn't take a picture, so went for one that looked very similar. Mine was very green indeed, and a bit cloudier from the citrus.

Reflections on Bartending

2009-02-25T16:17:00.012-06:00

As mentioned in my earlier post, I recently spent three nights behind the bar covering for a friend. I've never been behind the bar professionally before - only at events & parties that I planned. I have been known to make several hundred drinks in a day, but they're all the same drink and I make it in batches. Plus I don't have to ring it up in the computer, etc. and take care of everything else.

To prepare, I went in a couple of nights beforehand to try and learn the computer system, menu, kitchen setup, etc. I was nervous, because I wasn't working just any weekend, it was Valentine's Day weekend. As Erik put it in the comments to my last note, I "jumped in with both feet."

Here are some highlights of what I learned, now that I've had a chance to look back at the experience a bit.

Bartending is Physically Hard Work
I found I was running (well, OK, I'm exaggerating - I was walking very fast and hustling) pretty much from 6.30 pm until the end of the night on Friday and Saturday. Whether pouring drinks, entering food & drink orders into the computer or taking payment, carting dishes to/from the kitchen, drying glassware, or whatever, I was extremely busy, even with a coworker (who was just as busy, if not more so). I came home exhausted each night.

On Saturday night (V-day), we had a third bartender, who pretty much ran circles around me in term of speed on the service bar and dishes (he has worked in several high-volume bars). And to be honest, he wasn't very nice about it either. I've come to understand that's pretty common in the bar business too.

Bartending is About Service & Hospitality
Even though one's interests might lie in coming up with a new cocktail, or in certain types of drinks, bartending is primarily about service. And this is especially the case on a holiday like Valentine's, where people are out to have a nice, romantic evening, and your job is to facilitate that experience. I remembered a post I'd seen on Neyah White's blog awhile back about lessons for a new bartender, and he was spot on.

On Valentine's day, I was assigned to take care of all patrons at the bar on Saturday night, and I knew I was in for a challenge. I would be not only the bartender making drinks & pouring wine for them, but also a server, because many people came in to eat dinner at the bar (couldn't get a reservation, so that was the option). And I would deal with all the people who were waiting for a table and wanted a drink. This was all a bit more than I could actually handle, but I did my best. Thankfully, the restaurant has wonderful customers who were patient, especially when it was clear that the bartender is in over her head.

Using Proper Technique is Challenging
I measured virtually all of my cocktails (not the vodka & sodas, or vodka rocks-type drinks, but the others). This really slowed me down compared to the free-pouring done by the other bartenders, especially when I was also juggling food orders, wine pours, dishes, etc. I am not experienced in free-pouring, and generally do not trust it to be accurate, so I did not do it. But it was challenging to take this stance - there was peer pressure and some funny looks. I've had other bartenders tell me I must not know what I'm doing if I measure, and I still haven't fully figured out the best response to that.

Making a cocktail with proper measurements takes a lot more time than pouring a glass of wine. However, that isn't necessarily reflected in the pricing - you get $10 either way for the restaurant, at least in the north suburbs of Chicago. Perhaps this is why the cocktails aren't overly emphasized in the menu.

Many Bartenders Work Really Hard for the Money They Get
The way money flows in a restaurant is rather complicated, and many bartenders work really hard for what they actually take home. Of course there are some rock star bartenders, especially in high-volume city clubs, that do quite well. But I think that's the exception, not the rule. I only brought home tips, but there was a huge swing in what I brought home that didn't necessarily relate to how busy I was or how busy the restaurant was.

I learned a lot from this adventure, and I'm really glad I did it. I haven't officially asked, but I hope the restaurant feels I did a good job for them too. I definitely have a whole new appreciation for how hard my friends behind the bar are working, and how many things they are juggling.

A Taste of Rum Jumbie

2009-02-13T13:09:00.004-06:00

We didn't see much that was new to us in terms of drinks on our recent trip to Florida. Initially, we were surprised to see only one bottle of absinthe the entire time we was there, given how prevalent it has become elsewhere in the country. After seeing what people are drinking in Key West, however, I'm not really surprised.

The only bottle that was new to us was Rum Jumbie. According to their website, it is/was available in Chicago, but we've never seen it and I could not find it on the website they suggested was selling it online. Other things are out of date on the website (links don't work, latest news is from 2005, etc.), so things might not be going so well for Rum Jumbie in the US these days.

At any rate, it was new to us, so I asked to try it. It tastes quit ea bit like Hawaiian Punch, something I had entirely too much of as a kid, with orange notes. Although the Ministry of Rum's website indicates that it is bottled at 40% alcohol, ours definitely wasn't - I'm pretty sure it was 20%, but I didn't write it down and can't remember for sure.

The friendly poolside bartender advised that he uses it in tropical drinks sometimes, although he couldn't remember a time he'd used it recently. Tropical drinks are probably the right category for it, given that it comes from St. Maarten and has a rum base. Anyone else tried this and/or have a recommendation for drinking it?

Time Behind (the) Bars

2009-02-12T14:14:00.004-06:00

A mixologist friend of mine asked me for a favor. Kind of a big favor, and not one she could ask any of our bartender friends because of the timing. She asked me to cover a couple of shifts for her on Valentine's Day weekend. She has an important family event to go to that had to be moved up on the calendar, but it's a big weekend in the restaurant business and everyone we know will be working. So, with some trepidation, I said I'd do it. I've never been professionally behind the bar before, although I've made thousands of drinks at home, at parties and at events.

So far, I've spent one night behind the bar, trying to learn the computer system, the menu and the basics of where everything is kept, and I have one more training session tonight. The restaurant has a very nice wine list and food menu, but I was surprised at just how much wine by the glass was ordered compared to other drink options. Most of the cocktails were very simple ones - scotch on the rocks, vodka tonic, etc. - only a couple of the specialty cocktails were ordered all night, despite the nice list.

I'm figuring it'll be a lot of wine & champagne this weekend, like it was the other Friday night I was there, but who knows? Tonight, my final night of training, is half price martini night, so at least I'll get to shake some cocktails. Last time, the only thing I shook was a Negroni (that wasn't really a Negroni, since it had dry vermouth not sweet and grapefruit juice added).

I've got my fingers crossed for a smooth weekend behind the bar - wish me luck!

Drinking in the Keys

2009-02-12T11:57:00.019-06:00

We went to Florida for a wedding last week, and spent most of our time in Key West. We saw some beautiful scenery, and were part of a wonderful wedding.

However, we didn't have any great drinks. The best drink I had was a Mojito at Ortanique in Coral Gables. It was well made and tasty, but it was very small (total liquid must've been about 2 oz tops), and it cost something like $15. Even more than I would pay here in Chicago, and I'd likely get a larger drink.

Ernest Hemingway Haunts
We of course made the requisite visits to Ernest Hemingway's house and saw his 6-toed cats, and also stopped at Sloppy Joe's and Capt. Tony's (the original Sloppy Joe's) to walk in his shoes a bit. Ever since Phil Greene's session at T ales of the Cocktail last year about Hemingway, I was anticipating this trip.

Disappointing Drinks
At most of the bars we visited, virtually everyone was drinking beer or a pre-mixed rum concoction (usually far too sweet for me). The other mojitos I tried were not as good as the first, so I ended up sticking to beer too. Boy does Bacardi spend a lot of money down there getting placements on menus and listings for the "Bacardi Mojito," and people claiming to serve a Hemingway daiquiri always put sweeteners in it - it's just not right.

And the beer was not very interesting most of the time - aside from the big brands, which dominate there, Key West Sunset Ale was relatively common, and we found some interesting beers at Sloppy Joe's back room and at the Wagon Wheel. Surprisingly (to me), Yuengling has quite a presence there.

Just for fun, here are a couple of photos from the Everglades - that was the highlight of the trip by far, aside from the wedding. It's the dry season, so wildlife congregrates near the larger water holes looking for food. We happened onto one trail that had many alligators resting nearby - it was mating season so we even got to hear some of their mating calls. Cool! And it truly is a sea of grass, but when you look down, there are a few inches of water or more - did you know that the water is actually moving? It moves slowly (about 1/4 a mile a day, I believe), but it is moving.