#thesipologist

One of my highest priorities as The Sipologist is to celebrate and discover the art of the cocktail with old and new friends alike. There are only a few events per year that are must-do's for me, and one of those is certainly the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival. Based in my home city, it's the perfect opportunity to deep dive into food and drink topics of interest while experiencing the stories behind their creation. The educational tracks are top notch and I always leave thirsty for more. 2017 attendees had the opportunity to rub elbows with the likes of cocktail expert David Wondrich, the brothers of Belle Meade Bourbon in Nashville, and the founders of Cure in New Orleans. If you've ever had a desire to expand your culinary network, this is the festival to do it. 

While down in Savannah a couple of months back, I made a quick trip to Tybee Island. While there, I was pleased to stumble upon Swizzle & Shake, a vintage bar goods shop. I met Kathy Black-Dennis and talked to her a little bit where her idea came from and how she ended up at Tybee. Make sure to give her a visit next time you're down that way. 

What was the first cocktail you ever had? The first cocktail...hmmm. Bourbon on the rocks. I grew up in Kentucky so not a real cocktail, just a very solid choice. Coming of age in the 1970's it was probably something tiki and fruity!

What's your favorite cocktail nowadays? Favorite cocktail today....I am always trying new cocktails, but my tried and true is a Hendrick's Gin and Tonic, extra lime or Bourbon on the rocks. The Bourbon varies because I like trying new ones. So many interesting choices today. I love going to bars where they do flights-I'm experimental!

How did you get into selling vintage barware? Tell me about your path to where you are now. I started collecting vintage barware  ten years ago. I fell in love with the elegance of the 1930's sterling silver shakers, the fun of the kitchy 1950's shakers and the overall variety of shapes and sizes of the shakers. I then  expanded into flasks, jiggers and accessories. My husband, Gary, really jumped into the flask collecting and he is responsible for most of the great finds in that category. I  enjoy researching the barware-there are some interesting stories....if only all the shakers could talk! Collecting barware started as a hobby, became a passion and now a business. As I was collecting, the shakers started overtaking our condo in Washington, DC and my office. The name "Swizzle and Shake" came to me one day while commuting to work. I mulled over the idea of opening a shop for a few years. I did not have any retail experience whatsoever. I decided on Tybee because I wanted to move to the beach and I loved Tybee.  All the stars aligned on a very sad day for me. After two years of being on a wait list for space, the call came on the day my mom passed away from pancreatic cancer. Gary and I had left our jobs to take care of mom. At a very vulnerable time I started the wheels in motion, then opened on May 22, 2015. I like to think she has a hand in this adventure.  I love to travel so I get to combine work (not really work) and pleasure wherever I go.

It's been a lot of fun and a lot of work, but I love it! I meet people from all over the world, I still get to buy barware and it "keeps me out of trouble" in retirement! The really hard part is when I sell a piece I absolutely adore. I have actually interviewed prospective buyers of some of my really special pieces to make sure they are going to love their purchase as much as I do.

When did you open your shop in Tybee? We opened Swizzle and Shake on May 22, 2015. It is a constantly evolving shop with new cocktail culture and vintage items. We carry very unique items for both the professional bartender as well as for the at-home cocktail enthusiast. I have return customers so I try to keep the shop fresh. The shop has everything from a plastic cocktail shaker you can take to the beach for $6.50 to a 1929 sterling silver shaker for over $650.00 and everything in between!  There are fun items for our out of town visitors, as well as exquisite shakers for the serious collector.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Clair McLafferty, author of The Classic & Craft Cocktail Recipe Book: The Definitive Guide to Mixing Perfect Cocktails from Aviation to Zombie, a few questions about how the book came about and her path in cocktails. I've known Clair for a while, and aside from being a nice human, she's also extremely knowledgeable about cocktail culture and process. The book really is a great guide through not only cocktails, but barware, and technique as well. You can grab your own copy here. 

Mary Katherine Morris Photography

The book does a remarkable job of indexing the entire world of cocktails, from the ingredients to the glassware. Can you touch on your process for researching and executing the flow of the book? I wish I could say that the flow was all my idea, but when the publishing company contacted me about writing a book in seven weeks (phew), they already had an outline in place. That was a huge help for me in structuring my approach, since it allowed me to break the subject matter down into small, easily manageable chunks. I'm a Type A nerd, so I immediately broke the outline down into a color-coded Excel spreadsheet [laughs]. Every time I finished a section, I changed the color and updated the total word count.

The research part was fun, and I did a lot of it while I was sketching out the content for each of the sections. Much of that time was spent poring over my library of cocktail books, but I also spent a couple evenings going through articles I had already written to find sources for information I'd need again.

In the intro of the book you describe your path from becoming a cocktail consumer, to learning more about the process, to eventually bartending yourself. What was your favorite component of bartending? What drink did you discover back then that you still enjoy today?  My favorite part was introducing customers to cocktails and seeing their faces light up when they realized they liked cocktails. I miss being behind the bar every day.

I was so fortunate to find many, many drinks that I still love. The most enduring (and what's become the most expensive) has been discovering how much I love whiskey. My collection has grown and grown and taken over the basement.

Did you learn anything new while writing the book that you hadn't known before? I learned a lot about mezcal and rum and how the two spirits work with different flavors. I also discovered that making oleo saccharums by muddling citrus peels with raw sugar is super easy and makes some delicious punches.

What's the plan for the book now that it's out in the world? Push it, push it good.

In all seriousness, promote it through social media and traditional media, schedule some signings (anybody in ATL want to host?), and generally get the word out.

Team Hidi, now in its 5th year, has brought together an amazing collective of chefs, bartenders, artists and community in order to raise money for The Giving Kitchen. The Giving Kitchen provides emergency assistance grants for Atlanta area restaurant workers facing an unanticipated hardship. This year, the event raised over $500,000 and I had the opportunity speak with several of the bartenders about their drinks and what Team Hidi means to them. Have a look below. 

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position?  Ben Richardson. Staplehouse. Bartender. What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Thing 1 & Thing 2 Thing 1 recipe:  1.5 oz gin, .75 oz Aperol, .5 shrub, .5 tonic. We made a giant batch of this (300 portions) and diluted by 25%. So a cup of water per quart of base. Then we carbonated it. Thing 2  recipe: 1 oz grapefruit, .5 oz bourbon, .5 oz Cynar, 3 oz pilsner. We batched everything but the pilsner and poured 2 oz of base and topped with 3 oz pilsner. What was the process like for coming up with the drink? It kinda fell in to place fairly easily. For Thing 1 I had made this shrub hoping to use it for HIDI. When we got assigned gin and Aperol it seemed like a no brainer. I had the idea of doing some sort of cinchona syrup but our new AGM Melissa Davis happened to have a homemade batch of delicious Kaffir lime tonic that worked perfectly. For Thing 2 we got someones allotment because they were not going to be able to make it to HIDI. It was bourbon and Cynar. Melissa and I were talking about how the Stiegl Radler is the best thing to drink for these kind of events because it's low octane and really refreshing. So we took the idea of a grapefruit radler and applied that to our bourbon and Cynar. We taste tested both of them to figure out ratios but it went through very little tweaking. We kinda knew what we wanted before we started mixing and they were both fairly straight forward. Thing 1 wasn't inspired by anything in particular other than thinking certain thing would taste good together. Thing 2 was for sure a grapefruit radler. 

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta?  I think it is incredible. It is a true testament to how tight knit the restaurant community is. I didn't know at least 70% of all the folks working the event but I have full confidence it wouldn't be hard to strike up a conversation with any of them. Team HIDI and TGK are very tangible example of how powerful community can be. Out of tragedy goodness was born. And that goodness continues to build momentum each year. That is truly incredible

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Evan Milliman, Ticonderoga Club, Bar Manager. I was working with my wife. Amber Aristy Milliman What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Lost Voyage

Recipe: 1.5 oz clément vsop the agricole, .5 oz yzaguirre Rojo reserva vermouth, .5 oz becherovka, .5 oz lemon, .5 oz spiced lemon cordial, .25 oz Campari What was the process like for coming up with the drink? The inspiration for the drink was to take a old rum sling/sour and give it a spiced and savory finish. The Campari came in as a bitter element when I was searching for a way to balance the acidity without adding any extra perceived sweetness. Overall I loved the drink myself, but tasted it around my staff and bar partners. Simply bc feedback and constructive criticism should always be welcome. Sometimes the flavors one person likes doesn't translate into a crowd pleaser. And with so many people at an event like Team Hidi you want your drink to be pleasing to all not just the cocktail aficionado.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta?

This was only the second Team Hidi I've participated in, but boy howdy how it's grown since year 1. It's just a joy to be able to come out and do what you love and be surrounded by people who love what we do. All the while knowing that every ounce of energy going into the event is out of love and kindness for helping others. That's what community is all about. I just hope the event continues to grow and maybe one day our community will be a national one, hell maybe even international. The more people that can be reached and helped when in the most dire of circumstances the better the world will be as a whole. Because that's what being part of a global society is all about. Bettering the world for our fellow people. ________________________

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Stephen Racheff, Holeman and Finch Public House, General Manager What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Dry Personality

Recipe: 1.5 oz Gin, 1 teaspoon st. George Raspberry liqueur, .5 oz vanilla thyme Demerara, .5 oz lemon juice, .25 oz grapefruit juice, 8 dashes bittermens tiki bitters What was the process like for coming up with the drink? It was tough. We went though about 20 variations. I knew the profile I wanted, but even though the raspberry is delicious it over powers any drink very quickly.  We finally found the base, but couldn't get which bitters to use so we tried every bitters we could until tiki bitters just hit he spot.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? It is an amazing event and this is my second year. We have been going through some transitions and Holeman and Finch, but no matter what I knew we had to be a part of it. It is about showing people the gratitude for supporting our industry. The giving kitchen gives a lot, but it's the people that come to these events our patrons that make it possible for TGK to do what they do.

________________________

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Erik Ellickson, Muss & Turner's/Eleanor's, Lead Bartender

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Old Man Martinez

Recipe: 1.5 oz High West American Prairie Bourbon, .75 oz Miro Rojo Vermouth, 1 barspoon Cynar, 3 dashes Orange Angostura Bitters, 1 Luxardo Maraschino Cherry. Stir in glass, strain, add ice, garnish with cherry. What was the process like for coming up with the drink? I wanted to showcase what Eleanor's is all about in terms of creativity, originality, and the ability to call back to crafting/riffing on classic cocktails. The Old Man Martinez features the flavor profiles of an OLD Fashioned, a MANhattan, and is proportionally designed like a Martinez.  

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta?Team Hidi is an inspiring event that proves year in and year out that the Atlanta restaurant industry as a whole is a force to be reckoned with. It brings out the best of us in terms of creativity, hospitality, and generosity.

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Bobby Dudley, SOS Tiki Bar, Bar Manager

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Pretty Pomelo

Recipe: 1.5 oz Avion Blanco, .75 oz Lime Juice, .5 oz Giffard Pampelmousse, .5 oz Cocchi Americano, .33 oz SOS Tonic Syrup, B.S. Punt e Mes, 2D Jamaica #2 Bitters. Short shake and strain into a Collins glass, top with soda and garnish with an orchid and parasol.

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? I just wanted to make a nice refreshing, light grapefruit & Tequila cocktail. There are many variation on this flavor profile, most notably the Paloma cocktail. This was a basic variation on that adding a bit of bitters and fortified wine to spice things up a bit. I sat down at Victory Sandwich Bar, Decatur on the Tuesday afternoon before Team Hidi and had my buddy Joe mix this cocktail up a couple of times  during his shift while we honed it in. Just a sunny day drinking Tequila. Thats what we wanted everyone to feel drinking this cocktail.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? Team Hidi is first of all the coolest, most fun event I’ve ever been part of. It was truly a pleasure to work the event, and I cannot give a more props to everyone that organized and executed. I was honored to be part of such an important event for our community, and I think that that is where the charm to Team Hidi lies. The mood in the room is electric. Everyone is smiling and laughing. You can feel all the good will both in the volunteers and in the patrons. It feels good to be a part of something good, plain and simple.

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Navarro Carr, The Sound Table, Bar Manager

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Johnny Blood

Recipe: Rittenhouse Rye, Pommeau de Normandie, Lemon, Blood Orange Cordial, Angostura Bitters

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? Yes, I collaborated with the owner of the Sound Table (Karl Injex, who made the cordial) and my partner at the event (Cameron Reno).  We did go thru several variations..but mainly simple proportion changes.  I originally looked at the Scofflaw Cocktail for inspiration.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? I think the event is amazing!  So much talent under one roof, and all for a great cause.  I would buy a ticket to this event if I wasn't working it.  

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Adrian Fessenden-Kroll, Kimball House, Bartender

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Hopped Blood Orange Daiquiri

Recipe: Diplomatico Anejo, Aixa Bianco, Lime, Blood Orange Sherbet, Simcoe Hop Tincture

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? The drink came from David Chapman's creative mastermind. He started wanting to do a take on a Scofflaw, which turned into something more like a daiquiri.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? The guys I work for were all good friends with Ryan, and are still great friends with Jenny. I think what they are doing with Team Hidi is like nothing else you can find in any other city. The Hospitality community here is already so strong, it's amazing to know that we have this to bring us even closer together and to know that people are there for you, always, no matter what life throws at you. ________________________

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? David Chapman, Kimball House, Head Bartender

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Hopped Blood Orange Daiquiri

Recipe: 2 oz Diplomatico Anejo Rum, .75 oz Aixa Vermouth Bianco, .5 oz lime juice, .5 oz Blood orange sherbet (a rich syrup flavored with citrus zest with juice folded in), 2 droppers of simcoe hop tincture

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? Coming up with the drink was fun. I was assigned a really good aged rum and white vermouth to mix with. I wanted something refreshing with those ingredients, so I referenced the classic Scofflaw cocktail, which combines rye whiskey and dry vermouth with lemon juice and grenadine. I basically just took our specs for that drink and translated it to a rum drink that ended up tasting like a good daiquiri. In order to play off the rum a bit more and because it's citrus season, I swapped out the grenadine for a rich blood orange component. I love rum and citrus together, so this is a good time of year to work with the two. I added the hops to dry the drink out a bit more and add a pleasant, subtle bitterness in the finish.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? I love team Hidi. This was my second time working it, and I never want to miss it. It's a big party, but it's also a physical reminder of the community we as restaurant workers are a part of and the responsibility we have to each other. You look around the room while you're putting up really good drinks and food as quick as you can, and it's full of industry friends and regulars, and all the while there are people throwing up auction paddles and putting up huge amounts of money so The Giving Kitchen can continue the work of looking after us and keeping us on our feet if something goes wrong in any of our lives. The people who run TGK and the love they have for this city and its restaurant workers is the reason you get that group of talent in the room every time. Thanks to the TGK and all their volunteers for putting on the most fun, positive, and worthwhile event every year. ________________________

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Brandon Kemp, The Bookhouse Pub, Bar Manager

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? El Camino

Recipe: Resurgent Rye, Cynar, Campari, New Orleans Coffee bitters, Antica Carpano, Del Maguey Vida floater, Orange twist

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? I was inspired by simple plays on manhattan's and the boulevardier cocktail.  Mild and bitter tones with a beautiful soft finish.  

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? Team Hidi has been an event that I hold dear to my heart.  The ability to spring forth so much talent and love into one event is overwhelming-I mean GOD!!! There is not another event like.  Its why I love this industry.  

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Kellie Thorn, Empire State South, Bar Manager

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Safe Passage

Recipe: Great King Street Scotch, Fino Sherry, Green Tea, Coriander, Lemongrass, Lemon Juice

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta? Team Hidi is such a special event. A lot of us donate our time and talents throughout the year for various causes. This event gives an opportunity to raise money to help people in our vibrant hospitality community, and it is always an honor to get to serve beside all of these legends.

________________________

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Adam Rowe, Leon's Full Service, Bar Manager

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Dutch Revolt

Recipe: 1.5 oz Highwire Hat Trick Gin, .5 oz Boosma Cloosterbitter, .25 oz (3:1) Honey Syrup, .5 oz. Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice, .25 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, 20 drops of Hop Bitters. Shake/double strain/garnish with a grapefruit peel

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? This cocktail came together pretty quickly. The first version was a touch too sweet for what I wanted so I dropped the honey and added a bit more bitters. The cocktail could be traced back to several classics but was not directly inspired by them.

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta?

I am honored to be a part of a community of talented individuals that help to make Team Hidi happen every year. It shows how much we all appreciate one another and care for each other's well being. I look forward to being a part of Team Hidi for many years to come.

________________________

What's your Name, Restaurant Name, and Position? Dan Durnell, Amer, Restaurant Manager

What was the name and recipe of your cocktail? Goose Got Me Loose

Recipe: 1.5 oz Fords Gin, .5 oz Gran Classico, .75 oz lemon juice, .5 oz Grapefruit sherbet (a syrup made from grapefruit juice and grapefruit oleo saccharum), .75 oz Goose Joose ( a Gooseberry syrup made with 5 oz gooseberries, 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar, blended)

What was the process like for coming up with the drink? Gin and citrus were born for each other so us being given fords gin and gran classico ( an orange forward amaro) my partners and I felt that a shaken sour cocktail would be best. Like most drinks we like to showcase to the public, this drink went through many variants. Each of the varients was a sour but balanced with different ingredients. We settled with a gooseberry syrup as gooseberries were something new to us at the time (and we love new toys) and we felt that a tart and earthy fruit would work nicely in a sour, thus we have "Goose Got Me Loose"

What are your personal thoughts on the Team Hidi event and it's ability to bring together such talent in Atlanta?

The New Orleans Sazerac continues it successful festival circuit this fall with the Bend Film and New Orleans Film Festival this October. You heard that right, our short doc is returning to home turf to celebrate with ALL of the Sazeracs. Follow our journey between October 7 - 15 on Instagram. The event in Bend will be an intimate experience at The Oxford Hotel during the opening night reception. In New Orleans, we are pulling all of the stops with a partnership with Seed&Spark and the Sazerac Company. We'll be taking part in the Taste Of New Orleans party in the lawn of a Garden District home. Additionally, we'll have a happy hour just after our screening on Saturday Oct 15 at 3:30pm at the Ace Hotel bar. It's always the perfect combination to pair a screening of the film with a tasting of the actual drink. 

As Spring begins its transformation into Summer, there’s an event that comes along each year called the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. With it, the best in the culinary and beverage world come together for four days to celebrate, create, teach, learn, and consume. Naturally, I gravitate toward classes ands seminars that focus on cocktails and spirits, but with those, comes the typically exquisite pairing of food.

To kick things off, I attended the Destination Delicious event at American Spirit Works. There’s no denying the beauty of the distillery as you wander around, hugging friends and trying cocktails and food from some incredible restaurants. Also, we can’t forget a seemingly endless supply of Sazeracs from the team at Cure and Cane & Table. One thing that makes events like this magical, are when local bartenders collaborate with brands and create unique drinks to sip on while checking out the food tables. This event was a perfect gateway to the rest of the festival. It’s blend of education and consumption tied in seamlessly as the weekend progressed.

Early Drinks with Nick Detrich & Paul Calvert The first seminar I attended was Early Drinks, which walked through a brief history of how drinking was closely tied to necessity, rather than the pleasurable hobby most of us treat it as nowadays. For so many, water was either unattainable or sadly undrinkable at all. In order to still get some water in their system, it was commonplace to make ciders. There was a bunch of varieties of apples around (over 6,000), and so they’d crush it up and let it ferment. The natural waters and sugars, along with fermentation, made a decent enough drink for people of any age. Also, a fun word to know is Jacking, which is allowing the pressed cider to freeze and then skimming the ice off to create higher proof, because you’re essentially removing the water from it.

The first Spirit in America: Rum with Wayne Curtis & Todd Thrasher Things kicked off (and stayed this way): Wayne Curtis’ impeccable knowledge of all things Rum, and Todd Thrasher’s knack for mixing up a few Rum cocktails for us to sip on while Curtis spoke. When they interacted with each other, whether it be by commenting on various recipes or Rums of the past, they complemented each other well. Thrasher just as enthralled by Curtis’ stories as the rest of us. The seminar went by fast because of this. There was a natural flow of things, including the various straight Rums we were also able to try as we learned about it’s historical significance, including the distilling process, the trade, and even marketing strategies of some of the bigger brands.

Masterclass: Breakfast Batched One of the events that really captivated me, both by the concept itself, and also the folks that hosted, was Breakfast Batched. The 86 Co. put together a series of batched cocktails that paired brilliantly with the food by Chef Andrew Curren. The main point of the event was to teach us how to make cocktails ahead of time, so that you can enjoy the party you’re hosting, while still presenting your guests with fresh drinks. Craig Collins & Jason Kosmas were compelling, offering anecdotes that were funny, but supportive of their class. Take a look at the courses below: