tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78352523354256688102024-02-06T19:26:05.078-08:00Windy City CocktailsJohn Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-44604050292744130532008-08-27T11:52:00.000-07:002008-08-27T13:09:51.441-07:00Fish Guy Market - Wellfleet Dinner (August 22, 2008)Here's the cocktail and food menu for this great event that happened last Friday. I'll work on getting the recipes up prior to events to whet appetites for these drinks. NOTE: These recipes are for two tasting portions (i.e., one cocktail).<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;">Peru-style Ceviche</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Sawing Bunk, No. 2</span></strong><br />2 oz. Martinique rum infused with herbs (3:1 by wt. parsley to cilantro)<br />1 oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur<br />0.75 oz. lemon juice<br />0.5 oz. grapefruit juice<br />3 drops cilantro tincture<br /><br />Shake first four ingredients and fine strain. Tincture.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;">Swiss Steak of Surf Clam w/ Tartar Sauce</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">Sundew</span></strong><br />1.5 oz. North Shore No. 6 gin<br />1.5 oz. agave nectar & raspberry-infused malt vinegar (2:1 by vol. agave to vinegar)<br /><br />Shake and fine strain. <br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;">Native Sweet Shrimp Mac and Cheese</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><strong>Buttery Californian</strong></span><br />2 oz. Granny Smith-Butter Spirit<br />1 oz. Lillet<br />0.5 oz. Grand Marnier<br />0.5 oz. lemon juice<br /><br />Shake and fine strain. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;">Giant Scallop with Jerusalem Artichoke</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">Andalusia</span></strong><br />1.75 oz. sherry, amontillado<br />0.5 oz. Hennessy VSOP cognac<br />0.5 oz. Martinique rum<br />3 dashes Bitters (Angostura)<br />1/4 oz. maple syrup (optional)<br /><br />Stir and strain. <br /> <br /><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span></strong>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-80313073736796803512008-06-15T08:26:00.000-07:002008-06-15T09:05:42.298-07:00Spirited Dinner @ mk - June 10, 2008 (POST-GAME)Here's the re-cap from this past Tuesday's dinner with Amy Smolensky (old colleague from pre-bartending days) and her friends. There were six in all. Here we go . . .<br /><br />I started the ladies off with a <strong>Biter's Cocktail</strong> from "The Savoy Cocktail Book" (1930). I used Gabriel & Andreu cognac, fresh lemon sour and green Chartreuse. Dry, aperitif cocktail to get it started.<br /><br />I changed the name on the menu of the next drink to <strong>Coastal Herb Cocktail </strong>because . . . well . . . Islay Herb Juice sounds like crap. I don't use a lot of herbs to infuse the vodka so that it remains subtle. 2:1 ratio of parsley and cilantro. This drink is based on a drink I did recently for starchefs.com gala in late May, <strong>Sawing Bunk</strong>, where I have the same spirit, but use lime juice instead of lemon, for a green acidity. However, with the lobster, I wanted to provide an acidity that people are familiar with when enjoying lobster. Also, rather than use some of the smoked grapefruit in the drink, I used an inland Islay malt, Caol Ila 12 yr., to provide the smoky nexus with the grapfruit. <br /><br />NOTE: Of course, I've been tinkering with the drink since the dinner some more and will replace the grapefruit juice with orange juice for an even better pairing for Simmons' beautiful and tasty lobster salad. <br /><br />As mentioned below, the <strong>Earthy Burg No. 4 </strong>brought me the most excitement from this week's dinner. The extraction proved better than I expected. I toned back the black tea and mushrooms because I wanted to see how the flavors worked. I bagged the drink up in my adult 'Caprisun' bags and temp'd them with the white wine. <br /><br />The coolest thing about the drink for me was how the jammy strawberry flavor transitioned into the earthy mushroom. This transition plays well as mushrooms and strawberries share a number of the same aroma/odorant compounds. Also, I discovered through serendipity that my strawberry juice extraction caused a small amount of pectin to form in the spirit which ended up giving the drink a velvety smooth texture. Yum. <br /><br />For the <strong>Coffee Cocktail </strong>pairing with the dessert, I used Ted Haigh's (a.k.a. Dr. Cocktail) recipe from his great book, "Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails" (2004). NOTE: if you've ever seen the movie <em>Super Bad</em> you've seen Haigh . . . he's the bartender who serves McLovin and the cops.John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-57352473684348022572008-06-10T10:09:00.000-07:002008-06-10T10:26:36.458-07:00Spirited Dinner @ mk - June 10, 2008 (PRE-GAME)Here's the menu for tonight's dinner. I'll give post-game tomorrow. <br /><br />I'm really excited about this iteration of the Earthy Burg, no. 4. I'm using <em>sous vide</em> to extract juice from strawberries leaving behind the flesh. I'm blending that juice with my dried shiitake ratio. Tannins (black tea syrup) and aroma (strawberry-tarragon tincture) complete the drink. <br /><br />No. 4 is going to be good. <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><em>aperitif</em></strong><br /><em>cognac, lemon sour, green chartreuse<br /></em><br />_______<br /><br /><strong>lobster</strong><br />steamed and chilled maine lobster, pickled spring onions, wild watercress,<br />smoked grapefruit, easter egg radish, puffed rice<br /><br /><em><strong>islay herb juice</strong><br />cilantro-parsley chopin vodka, st. germain, lemon juice, grapefruit juice, caol ila 12 yr.</em><br /><br />_______<br /><br /><strong>swordfish</strong><br />hardwood charcoal grilled north atlantic swordfish, braised swiss chard, roasted baby beets, whole grain mustard, beet reduction<br /><br /><em><strong>earthy burg, no. 4</strong></em><br /><em>strawberry-shiitake spirit, cranberry juice, black tea syrup,<br />lemon juice, strawberry-tarragon tincture<br /></em><br />_______<br /><br /><strong>chocolate and cherry</strong><br />bitterweet chocolate souffle cake, bing cherry sorbet, cherry-vanilla compote, anglaise<br /><br /><em><strong>coffee cocktail<br /></strong>cognac, port, egg, sugar</em>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-38731704584990505612008-06-07T10:18:00.000-07:002008-06-07T11:30:58.283-07:00Spirited Dinner @ mk - June 3, 2008I was fortunate enough to have the compnay of five guests at the bar this week for my spirited dinner: Chris and Susie; Jane with Rebecca and Kathleen. <br /><br />Here's the menu . . . my notes throughout.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>aperitif</strong></span><br />bacon whisky, sugar snap pea juice, snap syrup, lemon juice<br /><br />NOTES: <em>While not a true example of what I typically call an aperitif cocktail, this is more akin to a cocktail 'amuse'. It was the first time I got to use our house cured and smoked bacon in a drink (we have a Bradley on the roof). We used maple. 'Snap syrup' is simply the pulp from from the snap pea juice infused into a syrup. I was looking for a different medium to work my pea-cognac-whisk(e)y. See mid-course below.</em><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;">________</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>hamachi</strong></span><br />raw sliced yellowtail, pencil asparagus, piquillo peppers, black olive oil<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">oyster's last gasp</span></strong><br />kumamoto oyster spirit, mineral water reduction, lemon juice<br /><br />NOTES: <em>As you've seen prior, I've infused oysters into everything: gin, neutral, junmai sake. My idea here was for a low alcohol neutral that is cut by a reduction of mineral water (i.e., reducing 2 L of Pellegrino down to about 240 mL). I wanted to get the texture from the TDS (total dissolved solids) and minerals to go with the 'sea life' tate of the spirit. Lemon juice is a familiar acidity for most when dealing with oysters. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I think the umami from the drink is an exciting way to set up the palate for Chef Erick Simmons' raw fish dish. </em><br /><em></em><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Mid-Course</span></strong><br />snap pea bourbon sour<br /><br />NOTE: <em>I replace the snap syrup for simple and give the bourbon a green earthiness. I think it's the best I've done in showing that cognacs and whisk(e)y share many flavors. In fact, I'm looking forward to enjoying a refreshing one on a late Spring day off soon. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>_______</em><br /><em></em><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>lamb</strong></span><br />boneless roasted rack of four story hill farm lamb, crushed fava beans, black trumpet mushrooms, baby carrots, veal reduction<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">earthy burg, no. 3</span></strong><br />pomegranate-shiitake spirit, black tea syrup, lemon juice, rosemary tincture<br /><br />NOTE: <em>This is my first time using dried shiitakes and I loved the results. Much more earthiness for less (by weight) than when I use the freshies. The key is to not over do the earthiness. I left out from the spirit my typical 'black' (i.e., black peppercorns and black tea) or 'blackness' (i.e., same as before but with black trumpet mushrooms) with this style drink. I wanted to taste the shiitake unfettered.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I added cranberry and pomegranate to the black tea syrup for more tannic tartness. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>________</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">panna cotta</span></strong><br />lemon buttermilk panna cotta, rhubarb consomme, fresh berries, cornmeal<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">spring bubbles </span></strong><br />mocato d'asti, strawberry-tarragon tincture<br /><br />NOTE: <em>Didn't want to get in the way of the subtleness of Pastry Chef Amy Sampson's dessert so I worked the nose with a spring-scented tincture. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>That sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? </em><br /><em></em><br /><br />Finally, as a heads up: we're sold out for this upcoming Tuesday. I'm excited for the drinks as Chef's going with an entire seafood tasting menu for the next three to four weeks. <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>As always, at 6:30pm every Tuesday, I offer a three-course spirited dinner for $65. Max seating is eight (8) so call me (773-206-3357) to book a reservation. </strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-49196617499074522732008-05-13T13:24:00.000-07:002008-05-13T13:36:30.056-07:00Spirited Dinner @ mk - May 13, 2008Here's the new spirited dinner for this week. Hectic week with NRA show in town. I'm working tonight and Thursday through Sunday. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">aperitif<br /></span>north shore gin no. 6, lillet, orange juice, peach bitters<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />____________________<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">hamachi<br /></span></span></span>raw sliced yellowtail, pencil asparagus, piquillo peppers, black olive oil<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">wet as an oyster<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">oyster-scented junmai ginjo sake, manzanilla sherry, lemon juice, agave nectar, parsley tincture</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />____________________<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />kobe<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>hardwood charcoal grilled kobe skirt steak, potato puree, artichokes, crispy garlic, madeira reduction<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">simply bored<br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">black currant-morel-black tea spirit, lime juice, mint tincture</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />____________________<br /><br /></span></span>panna cotta</span><br />lemon buttermilk panna cotta, rhubarb consomme, fresh berries, cornmeal<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />tarragon zest<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">tarragon spirit, moscato d'asti</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-6197864757953419572008-05-06T10:21:00.000-07:002008-05-06T11:00:46.383-07:00Spirited Dinner @ mk - May 6, 2008Here's my menu tonight. As always, one seating at 6:30 p.m. for $65 per diner. Max of eight (8) or enough to fill the bar:<br /><br /><br /><strong>aperitif</strong><br />cucumber-oyster spirit, st. germain, lime juice, cilantro tincture, nam plaa<br /><br />___________________<br /><br /><br /><strong>walleye</strong><br />crispy skin lake erie walleye pike, pancetta, fava beans, dandelion greens and caramelized onion broth<br /><br /><strong><em>buttery californian</em></strong><br /><em>granny smitth-butter spirit, lillet, grand marnier, lemon juice, olive oil</em><br /><br />___________________<br /><br /><br /><strong>lamb</strong><br />boneless roasted rack of four story hill farm lamb, crushed fava beans, black trumpet mushrooms, baby carrots, veal reduction<br /><br /><strong><em>tannic port</em></strong><br /><em>cranberry-port-black spirit, black tea grenadine, tarragon spirit, lemon juice</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>___________________</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong>citrus blueberry</strong><br />orange blossom scented pavlova, citrus curd, blueberry sherbet<br /><br /><strong><em>tarragon zest</em></strong><br /><em>tarragon spirit, moscato d'asti</em><br /><em></em>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-36843148090104916252008-04-29T11:02:00.000-07:002008-04-30T09:49:59.878-07:00Spirited Dinner @ mk - April 29, 2008Here's the menu for tonight's spirited dinner. As always, seating is at 6:30 p.m on Tuesday nights. $65 dollars gets you an aperitif, three courses paired with cocktails and my gesticulations.<br /><br />However, if you ask nicely, I can serve these to you during the remainder of the week. Just give me a heads up and it's done.<br /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">aperitif</span><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">cilantro vodka, st. germain, lime juice, grapefruit juice<br /><br />***<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">walleye<br /></span>crispy skin lake erie walleye pike, pancetta, fava beans, dandelion greens, carmalized onion broth<br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">great lakes cocktail<br /></span>butter and olive oil spirit, lillet, cognac, sugar, lemon juice, dandy green tincture, lavender tincture</span><br /><br />***<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">lamb </span><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span></div><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span></div>boneless rack of four story hill farm lamb, crushed fava beans, black trumpet mushrooms,<br />baby carrots, veal reduction<br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">funky red<br /></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">cranberry and blackness spirit, black tea-port-coffee bean sour, parsley tincture</span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /><br />***<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">citrus blueberry</span></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>orange blossom scented pavlova, citrus curd, blueberry sherbet<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /><br />shattered bulb<br /></span></span></span></span>fennel and orange spirit, moscato d'asti, club soda, fennel seed tincture<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span></span>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-35413950390287634632008-04-29T05:35:00.001-07:002008-04-30T09:59:26.804-07:00Drinks with Sugar Snap Peas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tmEby-r4gOxuRq2lWG5AKCMgD7-k1Sey-Gxjawm5cBLyHyqF0-TwcWTsSWDaRDzuO4LkKe1H7_x0IfKOidCE3Utqt_Eo0fCnKYiFv_Cpt-ftnFUFoB6SbejEjJoAb4rrkJlQZLUUHiAC/s1600-h/NorthShoreDistillery-_Apr_21_2008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195083207996200738" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tmEby-r4gOxuRq2lWG5AKCMgD7-k1Sey-Gxjawm5cBLyHyqF0-TwcWTsSWDaRDzuO4LkKe1H7_x0IfKOidCE3Utqt_Eo0fCnKYiFv_Cpt-ftnFUFoB6SbejEjJoAb4rrkJlQZLUUHiAC/s200/NorthShoreDistillery-_Apr_21_2008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNRYNPRIIPfl_qzWbeFCovgRI4gXyu3dXz5jQHUIm8dhRLFZSWjEzCemwUcn6UCsqssnp6DOQVeqX_uA_-w0zVj5fTrAgEKYnqbkLoZVz-Bq4DF8reCrqFx374PnFX_fA-r4z2B98TVtX/s1600-h/NorthShoreDistillery-_Apr_21_2008.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><div>There are those of you out there who know of my current obsession: peas. Peas are the new mint! Here's why:<br /><br />I started some research last year prior to a visit to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans on odorant compounds and Odor Activity Values (OAV) (i.e., the things that make drinks, wine and food smell and taste good) and found that peas share a lot of similar odorant compounds as whisk(e)ys and cognacs. However, since pea season ended right after making this discover, I had to sit on a number of recipes. Here's my first recipe last year with peas:<br /><br /><strong>Green Kathy</strong><br />1 1/2 oz. whiskey (I used Suntory Yamazaki, 12 yr. )<br />2 oz. sugar snap pea juice<br />1/2 oz. simple syrup<br />1/4 oz. lemon juice<br /><br /><em>Shake and strain into chilled glass. </em><br /><br />The first recipe is a drink I created for the guys at The Violet Hour. They asked if I'd like to go on a distillery tour at North Shore Distillery with the crew last Monday. I had a great time. Derek and Sonja Kassebaum were hospitable and great as always. The picture taken above was of the Violet Hour crew and me with the Kassebaum's 250L pot still. </div><br /><p align="left">Anyway, as a thank you to those at The Violet Hour, I decided to take my base pea recipe ('Green Kathy') and tweak it to make my first bacon bourbon. I made the drink (enough for 5 - 6 people), put it in a cryo-vac bag and brought to the guys last Saturday.<br /><br /><strong>Twenty Beds</strong><br />1 1/2 oz. bacon bourbon<br />2 oz. sugar snap pea juice<br />1/2 oz. simple syrup<br />1/4 oz. lemon juice<br /><br /><em>Shake and strain into a chilled glass.</em><br /><br />MOTO'S Mike Ryan was the first person in Chicago I knew of who made bacon bourbon back in 2006. And given that there are a number of people in town making bacon bourbon (e.g., Adam Seger, Peter Vestinos, et al.), I decided to stay away and do things with duck fat, et al. However, in thinking of ways to add depth to my base pea drink, I decided to throw in the towel.<br /><br />I settled on Ancient Age because of it's taste and price. I added 6 oz./wt. cooked bacon to a liter of bourbon in a bag. Infused under sous vide at 173.8 F for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Strained and froze. Strained again and bottled.<br /><br />The next drink was an entry to Hennessy VSOP's recent cocktail competition. This drink seeks to have the peas subtly highlight the cognac in a dry, aperitif cocktail (which was a contest stipulation). Despite timing issues during my round (none of us finished within the alloted five minutes), I think the drink turned out great.<br /><br /><strong>Dismissed Pea</strong><br />2 oz. Hennessy VSOP<br />3/4 oz. 10 Cane rum<br />1/2 oz. pineapple juice<br />1/4 oz. grapefruit juice<br />2 - 3 sugar snap pea pods<br /><br /><em>Muddle pea pods with pineapple and grapefruit juices. Add cognac and rum and sharply shake and strain into chilled glass. Garnish with pea tendrils.</em><br /></p><em></em></div></div>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7835252335425668810.post-10227871732814176052008-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:002008-04-26T10:27:48.443-07:00Writing Anew; Munster Cocktail recipeA blog spot (windycitycocktails.blogspot.com) devoted to my cocktails and food. It's been a while since I've routinely written my newsletter about cocktails and libations; I've had my head down working on cocktails and spirits that excite me. A few of you got some newsletter-ish 'updates' about what I've been doing here and there with my spirited dinners (Tuesdays @ 6:30 p.m.; aperitif and three paired courses for $65. Contact me if interested) and other fun drinks. However, after talking with family members, friends, and industry peers (local and beyond) about how many of them actually read my musings on what I quit my day job for, I thought it necessary to begin my writing anew. Also, a recent <em>Gourmet </em>post (see below) has more people interested in your favorite half-Thai bartender's drinks.<br /><br />Besides, I'm running out of room in the journals Jamie, my wife, makes for me.<br /><br />So, for those who've known my work in the past, and those whose email addresses I've collected over time, here's an quick update:<br /><br /><br /><ul><li>Selected as 2008 "Rising Star Bar Chef" Chicago by starchefs.com. The title is currently held by Nacional 27's Adam Seger. As you may note in the picture, I had a great evening the night before eating and drinking with friends. "Who's the pale, bloated guy holding this photo shoot up?" <a href="http://www.starchefs.com/features/editors_dish/rising_stars/2008/Chicago/index.shtml#top">http://www.starchefs.com/features/editors_dish/rising_stars/2008/Chicago/index.shtml#top</a></li></ul><p><em></em></p><ul><li><em>Gourmet </em>magazine likes some of the things I pour <a href="http://www.gourmet.com/winespiritsbeer/2008/04/kindercocktail">http://www.gourmet.com/winespiritsbeer/2008/04/kindercocktail</a></li></ul><p></p><ul><li>Journalist David Tamarakin shot a video story regarding some of the taste and techniques I'm using for my spirited dinners. Here 'tis: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_E_k93p9U">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_E_k93p9U</a></li></ul><p>Of course, I can't leave you without a recipe. This one's from some experimenting my wife and I did with cocktails and cheese. </p><p>We bought some nice Alsatian Munster cheese and a bottle of gewurztraminer to drink with it. Unfortunately, the gewurz was flabby. So, rather than drink the wine begrudgingly, I decided to combine it with some kummel (german caraway liqueur) and white wine vinegar. The vinegar gives the drink a non-citrus acidity while the kummel brings alcohol and sweetness. </p><p>It's an incredible pairing! The fruit from the wine and the kummel's caraway spice combines with the barnyard aromatics in the cheese in a great way so that you're left with this note in your mouth that makes you want to do it all over again (i.e., the vicious cycle). </p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Munster Cocktail</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p><p>1 1/2 oz. gewurztraminer </p><p>1 1/2 oz. kummel </p><p>1 t white wine vinegar</p><p><em>Shake ingredients and strain into chilled cocktail glass. No garnish. </em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Here's to sharing thoughts about cocktails. Hope to hear from you soon. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong></strong></p>John Kinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17026195356041250987noreply@blogger.com0