Sauced

Three Worthy Booze Updates (Okay, One is Technically Booze-Free)

San Francisco bartender Brooke Arthur visits Bastille, Moe Bar streams Coachella, and Rachel’s Ginger Beer goes growlette.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Apr 20, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Rachel’s Ginger Beer is now available in these ridiculously appealing 32-ounce growlettes. Whether you use it to make cocktails or drink it straight is up to you. Photo courtesy of Rachel Marshall.

Bastille
On Tuesday May 1, San Francisco drink-slinger Brooke Arthur will be stepping behind the bar with resident barman Erik Carlson. Arthur currently manages the bar at Wing Ho General Store, a newer spot from Asian food and cocktail master Charles Phan (also the owner of the Slanted Door). The duo will be mixing it up from 7 until midnight, and Arthur will create a special cocktail menu to serve up alongside Carlson’s impressive concoctions.

Moe Bar
The Capitol Hill venue (which is opening a brand-new space, by the way) is screening Coachella today through Sunday. While set times vary, the streams will generally start at 3pm. Concidentally (or not), so does happy hour, which runs till 7. Well drinks and microbrews are $3, domestic beer is $2, and the cover charge is $0.

Rachel’s Ginger Beer
Is it possible for a growler to be adorable? Apparently, hell yes. Local ginger beer doyenne Rachel Marshall (also co-owner of Montana bar) now offers her bracing drink in a 32-ounce “growlette” size, a quantity well-suited to two-person households. Find the growlettes at Montana, the soon-to-open ginger beer dispensary next door, and area farmers markets, where these vessels will replace the 12-ounce glass bottles. Marshall says these reusable containers are also more environmentally friendly. She will be on of many welcome attractions when the Broadway Farmers Market returns on Sunday.

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Tags: Bastille, Moe Bar, Rachel Marshall, Rachel's Ginger Beer

Bloody Sunday: The Winning Recipe

Bastille’s Erik Carlson achieves Bloody Mary victory with a farmers market theme and some purple fingers.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Apr 06, 2012 at 09:55AM 0 Comments

Erik Carlson’s finger-staining, produce-centric Bloodies. Photo: Barbie Hull Photography

On Sunday, March 25, six esteemed Seattle bartenders got up awfully early (after many of them worked a closing shift the previous night) to face off in our Bloody Mary competition. Six excellent drinks later, the people had spoken: Bastille bar manager Erik Carlson’s Farmers Bloody Mary proved the favorite of both drinkers and our highly official judging panel, made up of myself, nattily attired spirits rep Rocky Yeh, Bloody Mary devotee and Matt’s in the Market bartender Robbie McGrath, and the lovely and spice-loving Kamala Saxton of Marination.

Carlson served up his winning drinks with fingers stained purple from beets. This victorious version isn’t for amateurs: It involves a housemade tomato juice, mirepoix, and a bottle of Oola vodka infused with horseradish and lovage. It also involves knowing the definition of words like “mirepoix” and “lovage.” Hey, if creating awesome drinks was easy, everyone would do it.

A giant thanks to Marley Tomic-Beard of The Sexton, Aleko Lilly of Barrio, Evan Martin of Chino’s, MistralKichen bar manager Matt Bailey, and Poquitos barman Jonny Spielsinger for getting the crowd good and Bloodied on a Sunday morning. Here’s Carlson’s winning recipe for those of you feeling ambitious.

Farmer’s Bloody Mary
(1 serving)

Ingredients:
4 ounces house made tomato juice (recipe follows)
2½ ounces horseradish- and lovage-infused Oola vodka (recipe follows)
¼ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
¼ ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon 10-year-old aged balsamic vinegar
⅛ teaspoon piment d’espelette
⅛ teaspoon sriracha
⅛ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of ground peppercorn

Garnish:
1 teaspoon pickled mirepoix (finely chopped celery root, carrot, shallot, onion) on top of the drink.
2 pickled baby red beets and 2 pickled chanterelle mushrooms on a skewer.

Execution:
Combine all your ingredients in a mixing tin and stir with a bar spoon until thoroughly mixed. Fill a 16 ounce glass with ice cubes and pour the mixture over, gently roll the drink back and forth from the glass to the mixing tin. Garnish with house pickles and a fat straw.

Vodka Preparation:
1 bottle Oola vodka
1 bunch of lovage (leaves only)
¼ pound of peeled and diced fresh horseradish

Place horseradish and vodka in a glass container, cover and place in cool area for 5 hours, stirring every hour. Strain out horseradish pieces and add the lovage leaves. Let the vodka and lovage sit in a cool place for 12 hours, strain out lovage leaves, and bottle.

Tomato Juice:
Cut 6 tomatoes in half and place on baking sheet, season with sea salt and place in the oven at 200 degrees for 3 hours. Remove tomatoes from the oven and let cool in the refrigerator. When cool, peel the skin off of the tomatoes and place in food processor, blend tomatoes until smooth. Pour the tomato puree through a sieve and place in a sealed glass bottle and refrigerate.

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Tags: Bloody Marys, Bastille, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Erik Carlson

Bastille Joins the $1 Oyster Crew

Hama Hamas and oyster-friendly beer and wine: Yours for a pittance Monday through Wednesday.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 05, 2012 at 11:50AM 0 Comments

Hama Hama oysters. Photo via Ballard Farmers Market.

Never forget how lucky you are to live in a region where dollar oyster happy hours are possible. And look—here’s another one. Ballard spot Bastille announced today that it’s joining the dollar oyster club as of Monday, January 9.

The offering: Local Hama Hama oysters for $1 apiece with ever-changing accompaniments from chef Jason Stoneburner. And to wash these down, $5 glasses of Cremant and Chuckanut Brewery’s excellent kolsch for just $3.

The oyster happy hour will run Monday through Wednesday, from 4:30 to 6pm (Bastille’s regular happy hour is still 4:30 to 6 daily and Sunday through Thursday from 10pm till midnight).

The restaurant’s Capitol Hill sibling Poquitos has been running a series of “meet the distiller” happy hours. Not to be outdone, Bastille is hosting Hama Hama head oyster farmer Adam James at the February 1 oyster hour of happiness. And by “hosting” I mean “putting him to work shucking.”

So, Ballard. Now you have a place to go when you’re desirous of discounted oysters and can’t deal with the wait at Walrus and the Carpenter.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Oysters, Bastille, Seattle Happy Hours