Sauced

Drinking Events This Week: Sexy Syrah, Scotch and Cigars, Two Parties at Liberty

Also coming up soon: the Sorrento’s Absinthe Soiree.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 12, 2011 at 01:17PM 0 Comments

Belly up.

Art by Dale May courtesy: oneeyeland.com

If it’s Tuesday, April 12, then it’s Sexy Syrah at Salty’s on Alki. You pay $45 for the right to sample syrahs from 40 Washington wineries, proceeds go to Farestart.

Meanwhile, two parties will happen at little Liberty bar this week. The first takes place Wednesday, April 13 in the back room and celebrates the new local cocktail app Seattle Cocktail Culture. Then, on Sunday, April 17, the bar will honor its fifth birthday with an “epic party.” Festivities begin at 4pm.

Also on Wednesday: 12th and Olive Wine Co has planned a free champagne tasting from 4 to 8pm and will offer a deal on bubbly: $19.99 for a bottle of G. Chopin & Cie champagne, usually $29.99.

Brouwer’s hosts its Blind Lion Scotch and Cigar night this Saturday, April 16. A $100 ticket buys you a cigar, access to the buffet and—ho, boy—two hours of unlimited scotch tasting. Details here.

Looking forward to next week: The Absinthe Soiree returns to the Sorrento, and Bookstore Bar hosts a single-malt scotch tasting on Monday, April 18 from 7 to 9pm. It’s $30 for “flights and bites.”

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Tags: Wine, Drinking Events, Scotch, Cigar, Absinthe

Distillery News: Local Bottles Win at San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Plus, now you can buy Woodinville Whiskey products in state stores.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Mar 29, 2011 at 10:09AM 2 Comments

Photo: Andrew Waits

Pacific Distillery’s excellent Absinthe Pacifique won big in San Francisco.

Starting March 29, Headlong—Woodinville Whiskey’s unaged whiskey—will be on shelves at Washington State liquor stores; the Peabody Jones vodka is on its way to getting listed in state stores too, reports Woodinville Whiskey’s Cameron Rogers.

The week before last Peabody Jones won a silver medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. And speaking of that competition, another Woodinville-based distillery, Pacific, did some butt-kicking there this year too. Distiller/owner Marc Bernhard’s Voyager gin won a double gold medal, his Absinthe Pacifique won gold.

I agree with your choices, San Francisco World Spirits Competition. That’s why I included both of Voyager’s products (as well as Headlong, onto which the Beverage Testing Institute recently bestowed a whooping 92 points—pretty fly for a white guy) in this recent roundup of recommended local spirits, bitters, and grappas.

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Tags: Whiskey, Awards and Accolades, Vodka, Microdistilleries, Distillery Report, Absinthe, Seattle Spirits

Monday Night Green Hours at Bastille in Ballard

Try any of nine absinthes for $8, and you’ll see why quality ’sinthes never go out of style.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 24, 2011 at 10:10AM 0 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

The absinthes of Bastille, all $8 on Monday evenings in the back bar.

To quote the frog puppet, it’s not easy being green.

So many people, when the subject of absinthe comes up, say: “Wasn’t that a trend like two years ago?” It’s as if we were talking about something as ephemeral as form-fitting velour sweatsuits. (Though come to think of it, those had more staying power than anyone might have imagined).

But really, quality absinthe has been around for…a really long time. From what I understand, absinthe’s origins date back to 18th century Switzerland, where there are records of it being made in the Neufchâtel region. Then again, I don’t know much about it; if you really want to learn about absinthe you should turn to the website of the Seattle-based Wormwood Society. Its founder, local distiller Gwydion Stone, makes an absinthe under the brand name Marteau—it should be available in Washington liquor stores in days to come.

Like Stone, Bastille bar manager Charles Veitch is a total absinthe obsessive. As such, he has brought nine absinthes to Bastille—I recently had the chance to try them all diluted with a little water. My three favorites were: Woodinville-distilled Pacifique (Pacific Distillery), elegant Trillium made by Integrity Spirits in Portland, and the extremely hard-to-find, exquisitely complex Nouvelle Orleans from New Orleans’ famed absinthe distiller T. A. Breaux of Jade Liqueurs.

Bastille’s other absinthes: St George, Taboo, Kubler, Duplais, Lucid, Pernod.

Monday evenings in the back bar at Bastille, all the absinthes are $8. That’s a deal when you consider some of the higher-end ’sinthes here go for as much as $19 regularly (and that a bottle of Nouvelle Orleans, should you be able to find one, will cost you over $100).

I suggest you check this out early in the evening during Bastille’s happy hour—4:30 to 6pm daily.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Seattle Bartenders, Ballard, Special Menus, Absinthe, Seattle Bars

Night School: Blind Tasting with Liberty’s Andrew Friedman; Absinthe Soiree Returns

Value-priced drinking events coming up at the Sorrento Hotel.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 20, 2011 at 11:50AM 0 Comments

She’s baa-ack. The Sorrento’s Absinthe Soiree returns.

Oh boy, vodka. It’s been so maligned among members of the cocktail community, it was an inevitable that it would make a comeback.

On January 24, Andrew Friedman—co-owner of Liberty on Capitol Hill—is hosting a blind vodka tasting at the Sorrento Hotel’s Fireside Room. It starts at 7pm and costs a measly $20. Quite the bargain.

Whatever your feelings, there’s a lot to talk about, and vote on. In addition to trying a number of the world’s notable vodkas, you’ll also be helping to choose Drinking Lesson’s vodka of the year. Not sure what happens from there, but it’s always fun to vote on stuff, I suppose.

Tickets at Brown Paper.

Another highlight on the Sorrento’s Drinking Lessons schedule is its second-ever Absinthe Soiree. In attendance will be two local absinthe notables: Gwydion Stone, who founded Seattle’s Wormwood Society (celebrating all things absinthe), and Marc Bernhard, distiller at Pacific Distillery in Woodinville. Nathan Webber of Tavern Law is mixing drinks, DJ Greg Vandy is mixing music.

This happens April 18th, also begins at 7pm, and also costs just $20. Tickets at Brown Paper.

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Tags: Drinking Events, Vodka, Drinking Lessons, Absinthe