Wedding Fever

As promised, we are bringing you the cocktail recipes from our recent nuptials. We would like to extend a huge thank you to Nick and Marco from Bittercube for creating these recipes and for being on site to craft these cocktails for our guests. Much to the surprise of regular readers of this blog, we are kicking the drink recipes off with a vodka based cocktail. It is not often that you will find us drinking vodka. Much of this has to do with the inherent lack of flavor and aroma of a quality vodka. This cocktail packs a ton of flavor and aroma. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Wedding Fever

1.5 oz. 45th Parallel Vodka

.5 oz. Bittercube Creme de Flora*

.75 oz. fresh lemon juice

.25 oz. simple syrup

Pinch of bee pollen**

Combine ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a pinch of bee pollen. 

*If you cannot obtain Bittercube Creme de Flora, St. Germain could be substituted

**Bee pollen is available from many farmers markets, bee keepers, or organic markets

Spirit of the Time

The Zeitgeist Arts Cafe is the kind of place that would make any bourbon lover feel right at home. We happened through on a Monday afternoon when it is oh so conveniently half off whisky pours. On the Great Bourbon website, Zeitgeist is the only listing for Great Bourbon Bars in America in Minnesota. Although there are other great bourbon places in the state, we agree 100% that this is the place to go for Bourbon and Rye when you are in Duluth. They have a selection that would appeal to even the most seasoned whisky drinker.


The Hedonists indulged in tasting three Rye whiskies – High West Mountain Rye 21 yr, Sazerac 18 yr, and Thomas H Handy Barrel Proof. The Sazerac was very assertive with a tangy, bakery aroma. Definitely some sweet notes, very warming and finishes with a spice that lingers on the tongue. The High West 21 and the Thomas H Handy came out on top in our opinion. We enjoyed the Thomas H Handy which we thought had a slightly floral and toasty bread aroma that started with a sweet beginning and blended to a spice and heat at the end of a sip. The High West 21 did not have as strong a warming effect when on the tongue as the others, but it certainly had that same sweet caramel start with a slightly malty middle and pleasantly spicy finish.

After treating ourselves to liquid goodness we indulged in the fresh pretzels and cheese plate. The pretzels here put all other pub pretzels to shame. Fresh out of the oven, three pretzel sticks about the size of an artisan baguette; a crispy outside sprinkled in coarse salt, and a warm chewy center perfect for tearing open for dipping. There were three dipping sauces, but to be honest we enjoyed the stone ground mustard and the jalapeno sauces so much we neglected to note what the third one was. The cheese plate had three local choices, plus a fig spread, olives and super crispy crostini bites to help shuttle the tastiness in salivating mouths.

Here are a few pictures to pique your interest (sorry, no food pics. we were too busy eating to stop and grab the camera)

Our beautiful sampling of rye

1. High West Mountain Rye 21yr, UT

2. Sazerac 18yr, KY

3. Thomas H Handy Barrel Proof, KY

The view of the bar

<--------  A variety of spirits and wine

Rye & Scotch  --------->

<-------- Whisky!!!

The Aviation (look familiar?)

Bombay Dry, Luxardo Maraschino, lemon juice, simple syrup, Crème de Violette

The Aristotle O ------>
Leblon Cachaca, Aperol, lemon juice, agave nectar, Peach bitters, pasteurized egg white

<-------- A Whisky Sour made with egg white, yum!

  Four Roses, lemon juice, simple syrup, pasteurized egg white

Pisco Sour  ------->

Don César Pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, pasteurized egg white

We hope you make a point of stopping by the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe next time you are in Duluth. We will definitely be making this a mandatory stop any time we are in town.

Cheers!

Try this classic cocktail

This is one all you flying aces will enjoy. The pale blue color beckoned us to take our taste buds on an adventure, much like a clear day and favorable tail wind calls a barnstormer. Aptly enough, this cocktail is named the Aviation. It is a seemingly long forgotten cocktail that we were pleasantly surprised to stumble upon.
We surmise that the lack of popularity was because many bars in the early twentieth century did not carry Marischino or Creme De Violette (essential ingredients in our humble opinion). And certainly it did not help that many recipe books omitted the Creme De Violette, which left us with a bastardized cocktail missing the beautiful pale blue color and lacking the floral notes of the violette liqueur. 
Fast forward to present time where we can once again obtain Marischino and even Creme De Viollete with a teeny bit of searching. Trust us, a little bit of effort is well worth it to make this classic cocktail.

Aviation

2 oz. Hayman's Old Tom Gin

1/2 oz. Marischino liquer

1/2 oz. Creme De Violette

1 oz. fresh lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice until well chilled.  Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an edible flower or twist of lemon if desired.

Cheers!

Cocktail to Try

Despite this weeks weather, we at The Hedonistic Bar are looking forward to warmer weather.  Here is a light refreshing drink perfect for spring and summer weather. It has a nice tart flavor for people that are fans of something a little sharp in taste.

Gin & Sin

1 oz. Plymouth gin

1 oz. fresh lemon juice (we prefer Meyer lemons)

1 tbs. fresh orange juice

1 dash of grenadine 

Combine all ingredients and shake with ice.  Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a thin lime wedge.

Cheers!