Sauced

Upcoming Drinking Event: Organic Cocktails at Tini Bigs

It is Washington Organic Week, and there are cocktails involved.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 12, 2011 at 12:27PM 0 Comments

Tini Bigs hosts the organic cocktail contest, part of Washington Organic Week (or WOW!, if you’re into acronyms and explanation points).

Photo: Tini Bigs via Facebook

UPDATE 09.13: Devin Cutler from Bathtub Gin won the popular vote with “First Come, First Served," a mixture of Woodinville Whiskey Headlong White Dog Whiskey, Yellow Chartreuse, Blackberry Mint Shrub, and Scrappy’s Grapefruit Bitters.

On Tuesday, September 6 eight local bartenders made drinks at Tini Bigs for a panel of judges.

The event took place in advance of Tilth Producers’s Washington Organic Week, the public will chose a winner from among the four finalists today.

But which bartenders competed? You may well ask. These:
Andrew Bohrer of Rob Roy, Ross Lincoff of The Hunt Club, Rich Fox of Poquitos, Tiffany Friday from Taste, Eric Patno at Epulo Bistro (that’s in Edmonds), Jason Saura from Naga Lounge, Bathtub Gin’s Devin Cutler, and Stephen Nogler, also employed by The Hunt Club.

And who judged their drinks?
Tom Douglas did, and so did Seattle Weekly editor Mike Seely, and Shane Shar, who won this same competition last year. These illustrious cocktail tasters selected four finalists from the group, and those finalists will make their drinks from 6 to 10:30pm on Monday, September 12 at Tini Bigs. The public will select a winner.

Each competing cocktail had to contain two alcoholic ingredients, and one of those ingredients has to appear on a list of local products that includes Woodinville Whiskey’s Peabody Jones vodka, Scrappy’s Bitters, and the Battlepoint Organic Wheat Whiskey from Bainbridge Organic Distillers.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Lower Queen Anne, Cocktails, Cocktail Competitions

Eastside Barman Mark Sexauer Wins “Most Inspired” Competition

Here’s the recipe for the winning cocktail.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 24, 2011 at 12:06PM 0 Comments

Mark Sexauer: The man behind The Forager.

Score one for the Eastside. Mark Sexauer, who manages the bars at Hector’s and Milagro Cantina, both in Kirkland, won last night’s Most Inspired Bartender competition with his original cocktail, The Forager. Sexauer will travel to Las Vegas in September to compete for the national Most Inspired title. He’ll go up against tenders from cities around the country in the contest, which is put on by GQ and the United States Bartenders Guild and sponsored by Bombay Sapphire.

The bartenders were tasked with making a creative but “approachable” drink, and I love that a cocktail that includes microplaned carrots and cumin seeds can be considered approachable. How far we’ve come with our drinking, no?

Without further ado, The Forager:

Ingredients
2 tbsp microplaned carrots
.5oz fresh lemon juice
.75oz Simple Syrup
2 tsp egg white
1 pinch (15-20 seeds) cumin seeds
2oz Bombay Sapphire Gin (Of course, you can sub in another gin. You’re under no obligation to the sponsor, after all.)
1oz Lillet Blanc

Garnish
1 flat sprig parsley
1 pinch orange zest

Instructions
Muddle whole cumin in mixing glass until all the seeds are broken. Combine
the rest of the ingredients and shake very hard to incorporate the carrot
flavor and emulsify the egg white. Double strain into a cocktail or coupe
glass of choice. Garnish with a large flat parsley sprig and a pinch of
orange zest.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Kirkland, Seattle Bartenders, Cocktail Competitions

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.

Add a Comment »

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

Road Trip it to the Great American Distillers Festival

On October 23 and 24, all the regional distilleries gather in Portland. Join them.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Oct 13, 2010 at 10:13AM 1 Comments

A fall weekend in Portland is never a bad idea. There are the cozy restaurants with their mushroomy fall menus, the crisp leaves on the city sidewalks, the woozy-making, hella-potent cocktails at Teardrop Lounge, the tax-free Christmas shopping on Nob Hill, the meatball sliders at the Bluehour happy hour.

Last year, the Great American Distillers Festival was held on a fine fall weekend at the Wonder Ballroom, the venue equivalent of a frayed pair of well-loved jeans—a little stained, a little tattered. A lot awesome.

But this year, the festival is at the considerably fancier Tiffany Center downtown, on October 23 and 24. Tickets cost $10 for a one-day pass, $16 for a two-day pass. So…not exactly breaking the bank here, folks. In addition to the opportunity to sample all sorts of regional spirits (we should start seeing a lot more reps from Washington in the next few years), there are seminars and tours of Portland’s Distillery Row.

And there is also the Cocktail Invitational, in which 24 bartenders make drinks from the spirits at the festival. The finalists in this competition go on to a second round. Here, they must craft a drink using an ingredient that is revealed to them on the spot. Exciting! I was a judge in the first round last year and I’d say it was probably the most fun cocktail competition in which I’ve ever participated. Last year, Portland ’tender Evan Zimmerman (Laurelhurst Market) won out against some fierce Seattle competition.

We’ll see what happens this time around. For now, here’s Portland’s Evan Zimmerman doing what he did to win the Cocktail Invitational last year.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Microdistilleries, Cocktail Competitions, Portland

Five Questions for the Bartender: Mike McSorley

Do not threaten Bellevue’s fiercest cocktail competitor. He’s got weapons.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 13, 2010 at 10:07AM 1 Comments

Mike McSorley

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Mike McSorley

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Cocktails at Naga

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Naga Cocktail Lounge

There’s a bar in Bellevue called Naga Cocktail Lounge, it’s attached to Chantanee Thai restaurant.

Behind that bar, two bartenders are making award-winning cocktails. Evan Martin’s punch just became the official cocktail of Tales of the Cocktail 2010, a massive drinks convention in New Orleans. And Mike McSorley, who is the bar manager over there at Naga, was the regional winner in the verybigdeal 42 Below World Cocktail Cup. And here’s a little-known fact about Mike McSorley: his homemade maraschino cherries will change your cocktail-making life. Guaranteed.

Here, five questions for Mike McSorley.

What is the most underrated spirit?
Well, there are many… but my current vote goes to aquavit. I’m working really hard to make it the new bartenders’ shot of Seattle (the way Fernet is in San Francisco). When frozen, it’s a really delightful shooter. It makes me think of drinking a slice of pumpernickel.

What’s your favorite Seattle bar (other than Naga)?
I can’t say the Zig Zag Cafe, or Vessel, or Naga, so I have to talk about my local: Snoose Junction part dieu on 105th and Greenwood. They have a vinyl menu, and will play an entire side of a record upon request. They also have a great selection of liquors, liqueurs, and absinthe. Happy hour isn’t bad either.

What drink do you order at that bar?
Manny’s Pale Ale and a whisk(e)y of some sort. Excellent bedfellows.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen someone do in a bar?
Threaten to jump over the bar and “teach me a lesson”. I promptly grabbed my fish billy club (which I use to crush ice) in one hand, and then grabbed my 7 1/2 inch Nakiri-style chef’s knife by Ryusen in the other. Needless to say, the customer in question did not stay around to see what I planned on doing with said items.

Scary. Name three reasons you live in Seattle.
I came to Seattle to go to college at the UW. I stayed here because I like how people relate to one another. I keep staying here because of my wonderful girlfriend.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Bellevue, Cocktails, Five Questions for the Bartender, Cocktail Competitions