Sauced

Upcoming Drinking Events: Beer Junction’s Impending Move, Queensrÿche Singer Plus Wine, An HH for Dogs

This is the booze situation in Seattle this week.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 22, 2011 at 09:48AM 0 Comments

There’s a cold wind out tonight: Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate comes to town Friday to pour wines from his Insania label.

Photo via this blog

A while back I wrote that the Beer Junction was planning a move. Update on that: The store is scheduled to relocate in three months, per a company employee.

And this Thursday, August 25 starting at 5pm, the West Seattle beer emporium will host Stone Brewing from San Diego. Delicious beers, those. Try five of them for $4.

Friday, August 26 is the all-white party at Matthews Estate in Woodinville. Tickets are available on the website and cost $10 a piece. [SADNESS UPDATE: This event is sold out.]

Queensrÿche fan? On Friday you can meet singer Geoff Tate as he pours you some of the wine from his Insania label. The Insania project—don’t look at me, I didn’t name it—is a collaboration with Holly Turner of Three Rivers Winery. This happens from 4 to 7pm and is free.

And on Friday from 6 to 9pm the Maxwell Hotel does “Yappy Hour.” It’s $20, there’s a canine beauty contest and a drink called a “puptail,” and Q13’s Lily Jang hosts. Did I mention that you’re supposed to bring your dog? The event benefits the Humane Society.

Another way to do good as you booze: Sign up for the Ring Around the Needle pub crawl, a drinking tour of Lower Queen Anne that takes places this Saturday, August 27 from 1 to 5pm. It’s a fundraiser for the Melissa Erickson Foundation and the details are on the website.

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Tags: Wine, Seattle Drinking Scene, Beer Tastings in Seattle

Someone Should Buy Poco Wine Room and Turn It Into a Tiki Bar

Seriously!

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 08, 2011 at 11:40AM 12 Comments

Seattle needs this.

Photo: tikimaster.com

For far too long now, Seattleites have slouched damply on our barstools made of repurposed wood, peering listlessly into our beers and our dainty craft cocktails and our bordeaux-style blends.

Can you see us? We are not wearing goofy smiles. We are not glugging Diki Dikis and Mai Tais and Zombies and Major Baileys. We are not dressed in ridiculous button-down shirts decorated with lurid orchids or coconuts or hula dancers balanced on surfboards.

We have no tiki.

As Andrew Bohrer recently pointed out in this article, Portland has tiki. San Francisco has tiki. New York City has tiki. Where is our tiki? Who will bring us the tiki?

News came this morning that Poco Wine Room is up for sale. And you know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking TIKI. I can easily see the two-tiered, intimate Poco converted into an island paradise. A little thatch, some paper umbrellas, maybe a parrot perched on a shoulder or two and we’re there.

Come on, some talented Seattle bartender who also has business sense, open a tiki bar!

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Tiki, Seattle Drinking Scene

Seattle’s “Good Bootlegger” Featured in Prohibition.

Filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick became fascinated with a local outlaw.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 03, 2011 at 08:05AM 0 Comments

The baby lieutenant

Roy Olmstead was a Seattle policeman turned hooch smuggler who was known locally as “the good bootlegger.” Lynn Novick—Ken Burns’s collaborator on the upcoming PBS doc Prohibition—has a thing for Olmstead.

“I found his story fascinating, partly because it goes so much against the grain of what we think of when we think of bootleggers,” said Novick on Tuesday afternoon. “He went about this unsavory business with a great deal of honor.”

Novick and Burns were in town with their third collaborator on the project, Daniel Okrent, author of 2010’s already-definitive history of the era, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. They had just come from an indepth talk at MOHAI; later that evening they would screen clips of the film at Intiman Theatre.

Olmstead was a precocious cop, promoted to lieutenant at an early age. (“The baby lieutenant” was his other nickname.) When Washington started enforcing the dry laws in 1916, the police were charged with cracking down on illicit sales. The bootleggers tended to be disorganized and sloppy, and this did not escape Olmstead’s attention. When the 18th Amendment went into effect in 1920, he went into the bootlegging business for himself, smuggling booze from Canada into King County. Much of the police force and local government was on the take, and Olmstead made a fortune.

Olmstead was arrested several times during his bootlegging career, but he was a well-loved figure in Seattle. Historylink has a great essay detailing his story, but it really comes alive when you watch Prohibition, which includes fascinating interviews with a local man whose father worked for Olmstead.

Burns and Novick spent time in Seattle during production, shooting water scenes and poring through the local archives. Both said they developed a crush not just on the Olmstead story, but on Seattle itself. When they visit, said Burns, “We think: why don’t we live here?” Part of their affection comes from the fact that Seattleites treat documentary filmmakers the way other cities do pop stars—last night’s event at Intiman, which included a reception with a jazz band and vintage cocktails, was sold out, and a not-small portion of the crowd came dressed in 1920s garb—flapper dresses, feather boas, suspenders—in homage to the film.

Prohibition airs October 2,3, and 4 on PBS.

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Tags: Drinking Events, Drinking Culture, Seattle Drinking Scene, Seattle History

Upcoming Drinking Events: Wiener Blessing at Bottleneck, $2 Frites, RN74’s First Wine Happening

Seattle comes out for pride events, wine dinners, and discounted French fries.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jun 22, 2011 at 10:20AM 0 Comments

Animale pairs up with Emmer and Rye on Wednesday, June 29.

This weekend is pride weekend—always a cause for celebration.

And we begin our imbibing agenda with a Pride-related event that has become a sacred Seattle tradition: On Friday, June 24 it’s the fifth annual Gay Pride Hot Dog Blessing at The BottleNeck Lounge. This year Jason Stratton, chef at Spinasse and Artusi, will be blessing the wieners. Doors open at 8; ceremony at 10.

On Monday, June 27, RN74 Seattle hosts its first scheduled wine happening—an intro to Burgundy. Eater has more info.

A second noteworthy pride-related event: the Lobby Bar on Capitol Hill is hosting a happy hour for the Victory Fund on Wednesday, June 29. San Francisco mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty is the special guest; there is a suggested donation of $25.

Also on Wednesday, June 29: it’s Bastille’s second anniversary party in Ballard. The festivities take place in the back bar and on the patio, where you can partake in $2 frites and $2 Stella Artois. (Fine print: that offer is limited to one fry cone and/or beer per person). This deal lasts from 4:30 to 6pm.

And here’s one last Wednesday evening consideration: Emmer and Rye on Queen Anne is hosting Animale winery that night. The restaurant has created a pairing menu to accompany the Ballard-made wines, and it includes the magic words “spot prawns.” That costs $70 and starts at 6:30.

One more thing before we part ways: Rover’s is running a special deal right now I thought mention-worthy. Through June, subscribers to its newsletter are eligible for a free wine pairing (a $55 value) with a five-course meal. The dinner costs $99; the offer is available Sunday through Friday. So, like, tonight.

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Tags: Wineries, Drinking Events, Wine and Food Pairings, Pride Fest, Seattle Drinking Scene

Drinkboy’s Robert Hess at Suite 410 Cocktail Lounge; Dusted Valley at Poco Wine Room

This Thursday, January 20: Two drinking events for your consideration.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 17, 2011 at 11:32AM 0 Comments

Robert Hess stops by Suite 410 on Thursday.

Remember Suite 410 on Stewart Street? It reopened last summer under new ownership, and there are some good people there trying to do some good stuff there. Could I be more specific? Yes, but I want to encourage you to go over there and talk to the bartenders. They’ll win you over.

On Thursday, January 20, Seattle’s own Robert Hess—a true cocktail luminary and the guy behind DrinkBoy and other boozy projects—stops by. You can pick up a signed copy of his book, The Essential Bartender’s Guide, for $10 and talk to him about how to make your mixed drinks much better.

The event is free, includes light appetizers, and begins at 6pm.

Also this Thursday, Poco Wine Room is hosting a tasting with one of my favorite Washington wineries, Dusted Valley Vintners. That costs $10 and lasts from 6 to 9pm. Dusted Valley owner Chad Johnson will be there to pour and chat.

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Tags: Downtown, Cocktails, Capitol Hill, Wine Tastings, Drinking Events, Free Food, Seattle Drinking Scene