MurrayAid with House Spirits & Bastille

LUPEC gathered in the near past at Bastille's back bar to drink some House Spirits cocktails and to raise money for Murray Stenson.

The evening started with a Swedish Finn  (Punch featuring House Spirits Distillery's  Krogstad aquavit. Additional ingredients in the punch were lemon, allspice dram, sparkling apple cider  and nutmeg. Bastille served it with the smoked salmon (Pacific Northwest's answer to pickled herring?), arugula and chanterelles. All the drinks that evening were enjoyable, but this was my favorite drink of the night. The punch gave a nod to the season, and the aquavit gave it a nice hint of anise without over powering the blend of flavors.

Next we moved on to a classic Gin Rickey which was made with House Spirits' Aviation Gin.  As a brief aside, you may not know that this gin is named with the Aviation cocktail in mind.  House Spirits' targets a gin with a clean, neutral profile and faintly spicy finish.  It's not a London Dry, it's a new American style.  Bastille served a bruchetta with shaved broccoli, cheese, tomato and house made frommage blanc.

Finally we had a barrel aged cocktail called the Four Saints Cocktail. This cocktail showcased House Spirits White Dog Whiskey. byrrh, cynar and orange bitters rounded out the ingredient list. This was paired with a pumpkin soup with a brioche bun.  Like all barrel aged cocktails the barrel aging rounds out some of the rough edges and was a good presentation for the white dog whiskey.

The drinks, food and comradery of LUPEC may be why we all come out, but for me the best part of this evening was raising money for Murray Stenson. Murray who has been a great ambassador to the cocktail community. Murray has made many of us the first vesion of a classisc cocktail. For me, The first time I had a Liberal, it was served to me by Murry. I am proud to say the we raised $1545 in cash, and Bastille kicked in another $1000 from our bills for a total of $2545! Much of this was due to the LUPEC Queen Bee's, (Wendy Miller)  'force of nature' personality as she asked patrons who came in during and after LUPEC for donations. We hope that Murray is well soon.

A big thank you to House Spirits and Bastille for hosting a lovely evening.

And a big thank you to guest blogger Jen Burch who has been in the group since the very first meeting. Also huge thanks to guest bartender and SF LUPEC lady Brooke Arthur, everyone at House Spirits and everyone at Bastille, these are a fine bunch of generous folks!

LUPEC Seattle really appreciates all the businesses, brands and bartenders who have hosted us over the past year and have helped us when we try to give back to the community. Happy holidays and cheers to a wonderful new year! ~Wendy

LUPEC Seattle teams up with Novo Fogo's Bars on Fire!

For September's gathering, LUPEC Seattle participated in a convivial, combined event at Poquitos with Novo Fogo's established Bars on Fire series.

If you haven't heard of Novo Fogo yet, it's time you learn about them! They produce an excellent line of cachaças, easily available in the Seattle area thanks to the tireless advocacy of one of the owners -- and LUPEC ally -- Dragos Axinte.

Dragos is a welcoming host, and we were all given a special cocktail menu, developed by our two bartenders for the evening: Erik Carlson (pictured left) and Evan Martin (pictured right).

Our cocktail menu:
Nelson's Passage
Evan Martin
Silver Cachaça, passion fruit syrup, cinnamon syrup, lime, mint, I.P.A.

O Melhor
Evan Martin
Barrel-Aged Cachaça, Amontillado sherry, orgeat, Combier Pamplemousse Rose, lime, lavender bitters.

Gaby's Punch #2
Erik Carlson
Silver Cachaça, pistachio orgeat, lime, absinthe, Angostura bitters.

Cane Chopper
Erik Carlson
Barrel-Aged Cachaça, orange curaçao, cane syrup, mole bitters, coffee bitters.

As with any LUPEC event, there was lots of sampling and sharing, and this time with Poquitos' delicious Mexican food available to accompany our cocktails. Our fearless leader stated the O Melhor was her favorite, and another member chimed in that its sherry, orgeat, Pamplemousse Rose and lavender were perfectly-balanced. The Cane Chopper was a light, yet dynamic drink, and Gaby's Punch was punctuated by an unconventional pistachio orgeat. Another at our gathering declared that the Nelson's Passage encapsulated Summer for her --"Summer's either a mint julep or this drink!"

Finally, there was the classic, the caipirinha. These were served in mason jars for drinkers to shake before imbibing. This fun rendition of the definitive cachaça cocktail became a popular choice by night's end.

While many folks associate cachaça exclusively with caipirinhas, thanks to Dragos, Erik, and Evan, we learned again at this month's meeting that it can also be an integral ingredient in other delightful cocktails, too. Thanks to them, all those who participated for another successful LUPEC Seattle night out!

Thanks to this month's guest blogger Rachel Thibodeaux who if off to live in jolly ole London for a bit. Maybe if we are all real nice to her she'll bring us back some special gin in about 6 months! And of course HUGE thanks to Novo Fogo and Poquitos for having us! ~Wendy

Bastille: Une Soirée Très Agréable! *

 All our LUPEC meeting venues welcome us graciously, but LUPEC ladies who walked in the door of Bastille’s Back Bar for our April meeting may have felt a little extra special. It was a delightful surprise to see three large tables decked out with black tablecloths, cloth napkins, cocktail plates, drink and dinner menus, and (the always important) water glasses. But maybe I should have expected that from a bar with a gigantic Illuminated chandelier as its central decoration.

I was immediately drawn to the two barrel aged cocktails featured on the menu: Barrel Aged Primrose Hill Cocktail (gin, dry vermouth, maraschino, fernet branca) and the Barrel Aged White Point (white dog whiskey, punt e mes, yellow chartreuse, angostura & orange bitters). I have been reading about barrel aged cocktails, even seen a few featured in online cocktail menus, but thus far, hadn’t had the chance to try one. Always a sucker for Punt e Mes and generally preferring whiskey over gin, I selected the White Point. In traditional LUPEC manner, my cocktail was passed around for tasting by the ladies at my end of the table. I am happy to report that even those that aren’t white dog fans agreed it was very tasty, and a few ordered the White Point for themselves.

By the next round of drinks large platters of cured meats, bowls of olives, crostini and mustard arrived to help sustain us through the lively evening.

Throughout the evening I had the delightful opportunity to taste several cocktails from the menu, including: Bankhead Cocktail, Saint-Marc Daiquiri, and Trinidad Buck. However, my favorite was the Pinfire Cocktail—basically a double old fashioned, but with some house coffee bitters and one of Bar Manager, Erik Carlson’s signature hand-chipped ice cubes. It was an appealing presentation, lovely flavor, and a smooth coffee finish that I didn’t expect, but was truly delightful. I was so pleased with this drink that I am determined to make some coffee bitters for my next liquor project.

Some other LUPEC members chose to let our bartenders get creative, so I got to taste some funky rhum agricole-based drinks as well. I will definitely be expanding my rum horizons and the number of rums in my liquor cabinet as a result.

This meeting reminded me why I enjoy LUPEC so much. Sometimes there is a formal educational element or structured tasting. But more often than not, I’m just socializing and learning about cocktails and ingredients from my fellow LUPEC members. Some of my favorite LUPEC things:

• I can taste at least three cocktails before ordering my own.
• Everyone understands eye contact with them may be sketchy until you place your first drink order.
• Having a passion for trying new drinks and owning more than five types of sweet vermouth is not viewed as a “problem”.
• I go to bars I never would have gone to and taste drinks I never would have ordered on my own.
• The more meetings I go to, the more welcome hugs I get from the fabulous ladies I get to know better every month.

Who wouldn’t like that?

A big LUPEC thanks to Bar Manager, Erik Carlson, and all the delightful Bastille staff for the great service, tasty bites, and of course, the delicious cocktails. À votre santé! **

* A delightful evening

** Cheers! (more literally "to your health")

April's guest blog post is brought to you by Karen Kenyon, a true enthusiast and connoisseur of fine cocktails. Thank you so much Karen for a very well  written account of our meetings, I couldn't agree more! And big thanks and kudos to Bastille's bar manager Erik and his team for treating us all so well. And of course for making such fine cocktails. ~Wendy