Joe Riley

So long between posts about PX? *Sigh*.... such a shame. The little gem lit by a blue light deserves so much more attention. I encourage anyone who is a fan of gazpacho to go to PX and try their gazpacho cocktail. Tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, Lustau Jarana Sherry, Ketel One vodka, and green pepper ice cubes. Fantastic, and refreshing!

The homemade Pappardelle and rabbit was unbelievably delicious. I also very much like the frites. Theo Rutherford is doing quite an interesting cocktail program. He's got a Bulleit Bourbon-based drink in the works which I got to try at 95% completion (Theo is still awaiting a finishing component to arrive). It will be awesome. That wine list looks extensive and most compelling. I had a theory that their degree of business is greatly affected by the movie playing across the street at the Uptown. "Inception" is playing right now, and so there are a lot of 20's/30's in the neighborhood as a result, whereas a recent run of "Twilight" skews too young to bring business across the street. So before you venture out to try Ripple, you might check the movie listings first just to give yourself a broad gauge of the crowd size to expect. Ripple is a fun place to tipple (Oh, c'mon, you just KNOW that I had to say it...)

Well, it seems that FedEx Field, Verizon Center, Nationals Park, and Oriole Park all have their share of gross food vendor violations: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100725/stadiumconcessions I can certainly attest to a horrible bout with gastrointestinal insurgency the night before Nationals Park opened, after a spring training game there. I blame an undercooked hotdog

Went last night and really enjoyed the Hangar Steak. Beautifully prepared, cooked to perfection for me. At 9:00-ish, the place was packed, which speaks well for them on a Tuesday, but of course their novelty is certain to last a good while. As a beverage-enthuisiast, I continue to be seriously impressed by their selection of potables. The Niftyfeet-Red, Cachaca, Lime and Mint Sangria is just so interesting to me. Refreshing, too. The Pelacios Bierzo is a most compelling red that, at first, was a little muted but then really seemed to open up shortly after being served. The Reir-Bourbon and salt-cured orange soda was a brilliant , tall refresher. I CANNOT recommend that highly enough, and it's made with Four Roses Bourbon, which is a PERFECT choice for the Bourbon base. I hope that will be available year-round. It made for a terrific starter drink. Special mention has to be made for the Pourron offerings. Those are in what I can only describe as a glass decanter with a side pouring-spout, and they offer three different drinks from it. I believe I tried the Txakoli, Lemon Soda and Orange Bitters, courtesy of a chance encounter with Brian Miller, who was kind enough to offer it, and that's some enticingly cool beverage service right there. You'll need at least two people to finish one, but it's well worth it. A very fun way to consume a compelling drink. I'm starting to think that I'll be happy with whatever I eat or drink at Estadio. This is no casual observation for me, either. I definitely have a "comfort zone" when dining out, and it takes a modicum of effort to move me out of it. I like to think that I'm an adventurous diner, but when I'm in less familiar culinary territory, I appreciate the assistance that a well-trained server can offer to me. Of course, I do have to remind myself sometimes that the kitchen staff is talented and enthusiastic, and I just prod myself with the old, "Really, how bad can anything be?"-way of thinking and I usually find that I enjoy what is served to me. But Estadio is making this VERY easy and quite a lot of fun for me. If I lived nearby, they would see me quite often. As it stands, I'll try to go as often as I can. Yep, color me an enthusiastic fan. Oh, and it was a pleasure to read what Sietsma had to say about them in today's Washington Post. They ought to be very busy for the foreseeable future.

(Personally, I always thought that water was the world's first palate-cleansing beverage, but....) I was asked to order in some of this today: Santasti I know nothing about it except what I read on the website. It sounds interesting. We'll have to see. Has anyone had any experience with this stuff yet?

One of the stranger consequences of the economic downturn has been the marketing of Oktoberfest/Autumn seasonal beers earlier than ever. Usually, us D.C. retailers get hit with these in August, which is bad enough, as I don't think that most of us want to think about autumn beers in the middle of summer, but this is the earliest they've ever been pitched to us. I've also seen offerings for winter/Christmas beers coming our way, but those are mostly pre-orders for kegs; those beers aren't actually available yet, whereas some of our beer wholesalers already have the Oktoberfest beers in stock, ready to ship to us. I understand that, in Germany, Oktoberfest really begins in September, as a sort-of welcoming to autumn, and celebration of the harvest, which makes complete sense. After all, autumn technically begins around September 21st in the northern hemisphere. But in good conscience, I just cannot sell these beers before Labor Day. I'd like to enjoy summer while it is here, even though most of our summer seasonal beers are sold through. I think that we can still get plenty of Bell's Oberon, and perhaps Sam Adams "Summer", maybe even Sierra Nevada "Summerfest", but others, such as Brooklyn Summer, have already sold through, as some breweries released their summer beers early this year in response to a warmer-than-usual spring. This definitely puts pressure on bars and retailers, though. We want to be able to offer these products in a timely fashion, but it means purchasing them now and then sitting on them for several weeks, tying up money until we can sell them. But don't be surprised if you walk into Whole Foods or Safeway next week and see these beers on the shelf or floor displays, since, in some instances, wholesalers know exactly how many cases of particular beers will be available ("We've only got x-hundred cases, so you'd better get them while you can, we won't be getting any more.") I realize that this phenomenon isn't unique to the beer business. I'm well aware that other retailers have to buy seasonal items in advance, but for the most part we aren't talking about perishable goods, except perhaps for candy and such; in some retail situations, seasonal goods leftover can be put into storage until the following year (I'll bet you can do that with Easter Peeps! ) I suppose that I'm just impressed by the degree that these sorts of decisions have been pushed-up on our calendars. It seems a bit excessive to me.

Never tried the hangar steak at RTS, but my standard for great hangar steak was always Les Halles (gone, but not forgotten!) I'll have to try it the next time I visit. Slushito's are all kinds of awesome, aren't they?

Two year old rye? Where, perchance, did you happen to try this? Has to be from the Jake Parrott private collection, not available to the general public.

Alas, it doesn't tell you what the components of each Rickey are. It's a safe bet that most, if not all of them, are using Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Bourbon or Hendrick's Gin as their base (in at least one case, both in the same cocktail!) since Brown-Forman is a sponsor, but after that, it's a free-for-all. I've only tried four so far, and I'm thrilled at the diversity of ingredients and the fun combinations. I sure hope that the D.C. Craft Bartender's Guild is putting together a book someday with all of the different recipes because there really needs to be an accessible record of them

I had a Jamon Wrapped Fig, stufffed with Cabrales, Salmorejo "Chilled Tomato & Bread Soup" with Jamon, and Duck Breast with Rainbow Chard & Quince Sauce. All wonderful to me I also enjoyed a taste of Sherry Glazed Halibut with Smoky Romesco. Oh, for dessert, I shared Crema Catalina with Raspberries (Crème Brulée) and Almond & Citrus Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. As lovely as you would expect. Beverage-wise, I started with a Barcelona beer called Moritz, which was suggested to me by Mark: And then I had a nice, cool Slushito, made with quince, paprika, lemon, Sherry, and Scotch: Yeah, they're going to hit the ground running, and be a great success, I think. I can't wait until they are open and I can go back and try some other dishes and cocktails, and perhaps even try something wonderful off of Sebastian's wine list. This is a great addition to the already-vibrant dining scene on 14th St. I'm very happy for them, and especially my friends who are involved with it. Kudos to all concerned!

Pick up your official D.C. Craft Bartender's Guild "Rickey Passport" (available at all 21 participating bars/restaurants): Againn Jaleo Poste Brasserie PS7 Ripple Wine Bar The Passenger The Tabard Inn Tryst PX Urbana Mie N Yu Bourbon (Glover Park) Room 11 Proof Estadio Chef Geoff's Vermillion Bourbon Steak W Hotel Café Atlantico Bibiana Get 10 (or more!) stamps on your passport and you can enter the final contest on August 2nd at The Passenger for free! Otherwise, it's a $10 entree fee, but that includes a complimentary classic Rickey Note: a couple of participating bars have more than one Rickey to offer, so you can get several Rickeys taken care of with just a couple of stops.

I went to that soft opening last night and I promise to post some of the menu. It was and will be awesome. With Justin Guthrie and Max Kuller managing, with Sebastian doing the wine list and Adam Bernbach doing cocktails, they cannot fail. I am anxious for them to open!

They can be ordered for you by a D.C. retailer, or else you can contact them directly for purchase: Copper Fox barrels

It's available here now. It really tastes like a long-aged Bourbon, no Scotch notes to it at all, but I wouldn't expect those sorts of flavors in this product.

For the first time, Maker's Mark has released a new product as a line extension: Maker's 46, which is Maker’s Mark bourbon that received additional aging in barrels containing internal seared French oak staves. There's a lot of information about it online, and Malt Advocate has followed this product as it's been created. Here's a nice video of Maker's Mark President Bill Samuels, Jr. and Master Distiller Kevin Smith discussing it: Video I've tasted it and it's pretty decent stuff. Definitely notice the aggressive wood.

Buffalo Trace White Whiskey ought to be available here in D.C. sometime this month. Stay tuned.

For some strange reason, I've had more requests for this product over the past year and a half, and the distributor was out of it seemingly forever. We finally have it in stock. It seems to have a very devoted following, possibly from people who've had it on a cruise ship or in the Caribbean somewhere. It certainly has a unique bottle. Reminds me of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. More product information here: Rum Jumbie

I remember reading once a long time ago that a noted wine authority had an amusing message on his answering machine that went something like this: "I'm not home right now, please leave a message at the sound of the beep. If this is an emergency, remember: red wine with meat, white wine with fish."

I'd read where the Costcos in Texas had Mexican Coca-Cola, and that made a certain degree of sense, given their proximity to Mexico, so I was happily surprised to see some stacked in the Pentagon City Costco today. I know people who buy this stuff online, too, so it's nice to see it around. There is something of a cult sugared-soda market in this country. I have Dublin Dr. Pepper made with cane sugar, and I can get RC Cola and a few others also made with cane sugar. Are they more expensive than their HFCS counterparts? Sure, but you're buying a different experience. I guess my interest in it simply goes back to being able to experience something simple and pleasurable that I haven't been able to have since my childhood. I wonder what today's kids would think of these, compared with what they're used to? In all probability, they'd find them too sweet, I think.

And people wonder why Americans are so overweight, especially the kids: http://worldmysteries9.blogspot.com/2010/05/harmful-drinks-in-america.html I'd like to know just who on earth consumes the Cold Stone PB&C at 2,010 calories and survives.

Even worse, Jake - $19.99 on my shelf.

Oh, I'm all too familiar with the Gosling company's trademark, so yes, I too deliberately use "Dark & Stormy", and let's face it, the drink long pre-existed the Gosling company's trademark, but they're determined to keep anyone else from profiting off of it. I deliberately left out Gosling's "Dark 'N Stormy" ginger beer off the list because it isn't very good. It's not awful, but it does lack a nice ginger snap and bite that defines a good ginger beer. One cute variation that I've heard is at Boston's Highland Kitchen, is the "Mark 'N Stormy", made with Maker's Mark Bourbon and chili-infused ginger beer.

One of the simplest drinking pleasures for me is ginger beer, especially in a Dark & Stormy, but the most famous American drink with ginger beer is the Moscow Mule, invented at the Cock 'N Bull bar in Hollywood in the 1940's. Another version of the story... Cock 'N Bull brand ginger beer is now available here, in bottles, and made with both corn syrup and cane sugar, but we are lucky to have several good ginger beer brands available to us: Barritt's (Bermuda) - both in cans (HFCS) and bottles (cane sugar). There's even a diet Barritt's in bottles. Regatta (Bermuda) - both in cans (cane sugar) and bottles (HFCS). Fever Tree (U.K.) - bottles only, cane sugar. Fentiman's (Pennsylvania, under license from the U.K.) - bottles only, cane sugar. Reed's Extra Ginger Brew - bottles only, (fructose, pineapple juice, honey) Gosling's - cans only, (HFCS) Dark & Stormy and Moscow Mule fans have much to play with. What are some of your favorites?

Attention must be paid to the new High West Silver whiskey, the world's first oat whiskey. (not on the High West website as of today) Oats are more expensive than the other grains, which is why you don't see it used, and it is trickier to distill. They do taste great, though, and they make a soft, vanilla-ish, silky whiskey. I've tried this in a couple of cocktails (a "Silver Sour", with sour mix and simple syrup, on the rocks, for one) It's really very lovely stuff, and quite useful