Sauced

New Year’s Eve Parties

Boozy bashes for ringing it in right.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Dec 21, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Time to start making your New Year’s Eve plans.

Plenty of bars are open on New Year’s Eve, but if you’re seeking a more organized affair here are some promising options.

Little Water Cantina is hosting a fiesta with Georgetown Brewing Co. and El Mayor Tequila. Dinner comes with a complimentary glass of champagne, plus there’s pints for $3, flights of tequila for $8, and other drink specials. And can you beat that patio for taking in the fireworks? We think not. 5pm. No reservations required.

At Pike Pub and Brewing Co. ‘s Old Bawdy New Year party, guests can be the first to taste the 2011 Old Bawdy barley wine. Enjoy live music by the Atlas String Band, sip on the brewery’s lightest beer, Naughty Nellie Organic Artisan Golden Ale, and enjoy a dinner of short ribs, onion soup, cannelloni, and cheesecake. 4pm–1am. Make reservations by calling 206-622-6044.

Rob Roy is counting down by blasting music that was popular during 2011 and passing around a free drink at midnight (they’re thinking something with Hendrick’s gin). No cover.

The Local Vine on Capitol Hill will have a DJ plus upwards of 25 varieties of champers and sparkling wine by the glass. $10 reservation.

Perpetually packed Havana is having a dance party of sorts, those who want the VIP treatment can make reservations on the Havana website.

The Palace Ballroom will prepare a five-course meal and provide glasses of bubbly at midnight and dancing to the Portage Bay Big Band. Great view of the Space Needle fireworks, too. The shindig starts at 8:30. Tickets are $99 (including taxes and gratuity).

Pearl Bar and Dining is going full Cinderella with its New Year’s Eve Ball, where partygoers can enjoy multiple bars, dance floors, and a champagne toast at midnight. 8pm. $40 at the door or $30 in advance at brownpapertickets.com.

Find a live dj and 10 oz. craft cocktails at Tini Bigs and karaoke and tiki drinks at Hula Hula during their joint bash. Cover into both bars is $10. Call 206-284-5003. Tini Bigs opens at 4, dj starts at 9. Hula opens at 7:30. Karaoke begins at 8.

Spur is offering champagne and caviar service. For $50, enjoy one ounce of caviar, two glasses of bubbly, and some accompaniments. There will also be a chef’s tasting menu and a traditional toast at midnight.

At The Hideout expect “glitter, joy, and merriment” courtesy a DJ and lots of bubbly. Get there early, this bash fills up fast. Nearby Vito’s is providing live music by the Moonspinners.

EMP is throwing its annual, huge (3,000 people huge) New Year’s Eve party, Indulgence. Expect 25 bars, multiples entertainment stages, live comedy, a 140,000-square-foot dance area, an “80’s invasion,” and other such debauchery. Tickets are $59–$350.

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Tags: Sparkling Wine , Bar Events, New Year's Eve 2011

Drink Mixers from Sambar, Barrio, Vito’s, Sun Liquor, and Serafina Compete in Iron Bartender

Sign up to judge drinks from very good tenders. Then go early so you can hear Shelby Earl.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on May 04, 2011 at 08:19AM 0 Comments

Don’t be frightened by this image—I’m confident nobody will ask you to drink Malibu rum at the Iron Bartender comp. I just thought it was a funny.

Courtesy: nightlifedenver.com

On May 29, Serafina in Eastlake is hosting a cocktail competition called Iron Bartender and instead of inviting a panel of judges, the restaurant is putting the decision in the hands of guests.

You pay $75, you watch as five tenders create cocktails to pair with five dishes, you drink the drinks and eat the food. Then you decide who wins. The “iron” part refers to the fact that bartenders must include a secret ingredient in the cocktail, just like the chefs do on Iron Chef.

Here’s who is competing: Chelsea Anderson from Sun Liquor, MacGregor Boswell from Serafina, Jay Kuehner from Sambar, Jared Scarr of Cicchetti and Vito’s, and Casey Robinson, who runs the bar show at Barrio. Serafina bar manager Chris Bollenbacher will be the emcee.

The competition begins at 4pm on the 29th, but it’s just one piece of an all-day party celebrating the restaurant’s 20th anniversary.

Last night, I popped by Serafina for a press event aimed at drumming up buzz for all this. Here’s what I learned: you should definitely show up at 2pm to see a performance by Shelby Earl, a singer/songwriter who is also a server at the restaurant. Her voice is quite beautiful. You needn’t take my word for that, however, I’ve included a video below in which she sings one of the world’s great songs.

For more details on the Sera party, head here.

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Tags: Eastlake, Drinking Events, Food Events and Festivals, Cocktail Competitions, Bar Events

Analog Tuesdays at Rob Roy: Bring Your Records to the Bar

Vinyl lives on, once a week in Belltown.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 06, 2010 at 08:17AM 0 Comments

Every Tuesday is Analag Tuesday at the Rob Roy

I had a dream about Belltown cocktail bar the Rob Roy last night—guess I’m due for a visit.

And hey, would you look at that, it’s Tuesday. Or, as they call it at Rob Roy, Analog Tuesday. Basically, it’s a record-listening party, just like the ones the teens in Judy Blume books are always attending (only with cocktails). You can bring your own records or just come and listen to what the staff and their friends are playing.

Analog Tuesday is one of the many ways in which RR owners Anu Apte and Zane Harris have embraced the 70s era-bachelor pad they inherited from Linda Derschang (Linda’s, Smith, Oddfellows ). Always an inspired decorator, Derschang outdid herself in this particular space. It has to be the most cocainey-looking lounge in the city. There are padded black walls and bar stools, mirrors galore, an amazing row of tubular ceiling lamps that cast a disco glow upon the bar, and ginormous wood-framed speakers propping up thrift-store paperbacks on the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves along the back wall.

So while Apte and Harris have scratched (ha) Derschang’s practice of inviting house and trance DJs to spin records for drunky club kids in expensive jeans, you can still listen to records at the Rob Roy. It’s just you’re more likely to be listening to Johnny Cash than Basement Jaxx. Some change is easy to embrace.

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Tags: Seattle Bartenders, Rob Roy, Anu Apte and Zane Harris, Bar Events