Stock for the Liquor Cabinet

add some flash to your bar by picking up inexpensive decanters and carafes at thrift stores.

Personally, I've never been able to have more than one bottle of liquer, one bottle of vodka and a case of cellared wine at any given time. I asked a friend how he manages to keep his liquor cabinet stocked - his reply, 'Have guests over a lot. They always bring a bottle or two.'. Thanks Kev.

A simple home bar can have:

beer
Scotch
bourbon
sweet and dry vermouth
sherry
brandy
a few liquers
rum
vodka
gin
seltzer
soda (ginger ale, cola)
tonic
fruit juices (oj, cranberry, grapefruit, Clamato)

Cocktails with

Mr. Paul Lynde

Mr. Dustin Hoffman

Ms. Anne Bancroft

Mr. Al Pacino

Ms. Lucille Ball

Dealing with Drunk Guests

It's your party and your guests are your responsibility. Be attentive and don't get drunk yourself. There are a few things you can do to try and curtail the guest that over drinks:

1. You should mix your guests' drinks.
2. If a guest proceeds to the bar to make his/her own drink go with them and ask them to grab the ice, mix or whatever while you pour the drink.
3. Avoid having more than one bottle of liquor visible.
4. Make it obvious you use a jigger to pour drinks and hand it to your guest before he/she pours their own.
5. When it is obvious a guest has had too much to drink don't offer him/her any more. 50% of the time they'll get mad. There will always be someone there to assist you in dealing with them. They usually get embarrassed then sit down and be quiet.
6. If your guest has drank so much that he/she is going to pass out have two or three other guests assist you in taking them to a bed to sleep it off overnight. If they have a spouse or guest with them offer them accommodation as well or offer them a safe ride home.
7. Always have coffee, tea, soft drinks, water or juice available.
8. You are responsible and liable for your guests. You are responsible for seeing that a drunk guest is taken home. Ask a good friend, take him/her yourself if they live nearby, or call a cab, give directions and pay for it. I've been to some parties where it's mandatory for you to drop your keys in a bowl before you're allowed to enter.
9. Don't invite people over who are unable to control their liquor

Quote of the Week - Mary McFadden

A hotel room is just a place to sleep. However, as soon as I arrive, I do order Champagne and Perrier.
Mary McFadden

1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila floor: Charro Negro

Charro Negro

Favorite drink of celeb: Antonio Bandares
Ingredients: salt, fresh lime, ice, cola, 100% agave tequila
How to Create: Squeeze half a lime into a glass, then rub the rim with the remainder of lime and scrape the extra pulp onto the glass rim. Shake 1/4 tsp or more of salt into the glass hitting the lime rim while doing so. Stir until salt is disintegrated. Add ice to your preference. Add 1 shot of 100% agave tequila. Fill the glass with cola.

Enjoy!
- Rockelle

Related Posts:
Cocktails & Van Gogh
Oldies But Goodies: Cocktails & Bubbly

Things to do in Portland

Inspired by some fabulous online Portlanders I decided to take a trip to the city with the grandiose motto; 'In livable cities is preservation of the wild'. Having just less than 24 hours during a very cold January I plopped myself down in the Pearl District and let my five senses lead the way.

SIGHT

Stacy Reynaud

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside bring your laptop, have a coffee and be visually soothed by the thousands of titles

vintage Apple Macintosh computer at Powell's Technical

Stacy Reynaud

Powell's Technical Books sits just outside the North Park Blocks at 33 NW Park Avenue. A feast for techies that holds the most obscure Dover collection I've seen. Don't miss the vintage Apple computers (circa 1984) and the IMSAI 8080 (circa 1975).

the common area at The Ace Hotel Portland

Stacy Reynaud

Not only is the Ace Hotel, 1022 SW Stark Street, a great place for people watching, it's a great place to stay. Sandwiched between two of their sister companies, Stumptown Coffee and the Clyde Common, the Ace Hotel provides an exceptional boutique hotel experience.

Herman Miller, vintage industrial artifacts and handmade soap.

Stacy Reynaud

Until May 19th you have the opportunity to 'stick it to the man' with your room key. Leave your corporate costume behind. View more photos of The Ace Portland on our Flickr Photostream here.

SOUND

830 East Burnside Street

Stacy Reynaud

The Doug Fir Lounge serves 299 of Portland's uber cools their music seven nights a week. Across the bridge from the Pearl District so cab it, skate it or take one of Portland's biodiesel buses.

511 NW Couch Street

Remember the arcade? Across the street from Upper Playground is Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade. You can finally beat Sinistar while downing a few pints listening to an Industrial Dj and having the Portland Pinball League compete behind you. What more could you ask for, really?

203 SW 9th Avenue

Stacy Reynaud

With vinyl record sales up by 50% in 2008 you'll need to pop into Jackpot Records. Admit it, those CDs should really be recycled into something useful anyway.

TASTE

Parsnip cake with cream cheese frosting and clove ice cream at Clyde Common

Portland is an epicurean's dream. Local Microbreweries (Terminal Gravity), creameries (Rogue Creamery), trophy class trout and fresh produce are found readily. Vegetarian friendly Portland offers more than a cobb salad hold the meat on the menu.

Concordia Brewery at Kennedy School

Stacy Reynaud

So many restaurants and so little time. Arriving in Portland later in the evening, I dined at the hotel restaurant, Clyde Common. My meal was a wonderful half order (yes, you can have a half order) of pappardelle with cranberry beans, sage, rosemary and granapadano. For dessert, I savored every inch of a Parsnip cake with cream cheese frosting and clove ice cream.

interior of Clyde Common

Stacy Reynaud

Full from the night before I shot back a few cups of French Press in my room and inhaled a croissant from Whole Foods. I gloriously snacked on a slice of Rocco's Pizza for lunch - 949 SW Oak Street.

SMELL

820 SW Alder Street

Stacy Reynaud

I love the smell of a cigar store. Tobacco in its raw form smells divine. Rich's Cigar Store carries over 200 blends of tobacco not to mention Euro design mags.

Pearl District

Stacy Reynaud

In my short time there I felt that Portland really was living up to its motto. A pedestrian friendly city, which, in turn, doesn't have that big city smell.

TOUCH

333 SW 10th Avenue
stacy reynaud

Redlight, with a sister store in Seattle, offers up some great finds. With vintage clothing representing over seven decades on the racks, the texture and color alone in this store are enough to set Liberace rolling. For the trained eye, 1970s Lanvin dresses can be found for less than $20.

apparently, bmx is not the bike of choice in Portland

Stacy Reynaud

Street art is pretty much on every corner in the Pearl District. Classical, modernist, brutalist it's there for you to touch.

Let Portland be your best kept West Coast secret. Did I mention there's no state tax?

9 Toast Worthy Hip Flasks

Indiana banned the sale of cocktail shakers and hip flasks in 1920. Well, prohibition is over. When giving a flask as a gift it shouldn't be empty.

Here are 9 worthy flasks.

1. sterling silver vest pocket

2. lexan low key

3. pirate booty

4. Cole Haan

5. Links of London

6. Sigg

7. Carl Mertens

8. pilot's flask

9. sterling silver

Related Posts:

12 Men's Wear Trends

5 Men's Jackets To Carry Into 2009

Men's Hair Style Trends for 2009

9 Men's Jewelry Looks: The Trends, The Designers

7 Excuses To Catch The Red Eye To London

Get out of here! Go grab a bargain basement last minute flight from British Airways and head to London for a quick fix of cool before settling in with the relatives for the holidays!

If you need an excuse here are seven:

1. Angels Vintage Sale

December 6th 2008

vintage Biba is impossible to find in NA.

watch out for Cameron's crew - they'll be in vintage rock tees and bangles

cash, caffeine, no holds barred

2. YO! Sushi

the most expensive sushi robo I've ever had

worth a visit at lunch in the business district just to ride off the energy!

3. Bon Iver

December 7th 2008 - Apollo Victoria Theatre

congratulations to Joe M. - hope you enjoy the show!

View the visually stunning video for Wolves here.

4. Harmony Sex Shop

103 Oxford Street, Soho

njoy toys, the jessica rabbit

5. Tate Modern

Mark Rothko exhibition

free collection displays on Levels 3 & 5 (Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism)

6. Spitalfields Market

food, vintage, people watching - the best things in life

check out Absolute Vintage

voted one of the top 100 stores you must visit in the world

7. Ten Bells

84 Commercial Street

when all is said and done

Magners, Aspalls and Scrumpy Jack on tap

Thanks Sarah!

10 Cigar Topics For Conversation

I'm noticing a return of the cigar.  Could it be that 'e' word that's plaguing the news lately?  Are we cashing out and lighting up?  

Here are 10 cigar subjects to share over your next puff:

1.  120 year old Swiss cigar house Villiger sold 600 million cigars in 2007 worth a total $148 million.

2.  Don't use your Zippo to light your cigar.  Use wooden matches or cedar spills.  Your sentimental Zippo will leave its lighter fluid taste and odor on the cigar.

3.  Cigar houses are encouraging politicians and media 'not to accept at face value the facts being served up to them day by day by the highly organized lobby (the WHO and EU).' as efforts to create a 'smoke free society' continue. Heinrich Villiger

4.  Puff not toke

5.  Cigar bands are popular collectors' items.

6.  Cigarillos are popular among hipsters, Europeans and some aficionados yet scorned by others.

7.   A 5-inch cigar should smoke for 20 - 30 minutes.  A 7.5 inch cigar may last for over an hour.

8.   A cigar is done when you've finished enjoying it.

9.   Sugar occurs naturally in tobacco.  Darker wrappers contain more sugar.

10.  Sudlaj Napoles, the second woman in history, won the title of Champion Cigar Sommelier at the International Cuban Cigar Festival in Havana this past February.

source:  moodie report, cigar clan, simply cigars, cigar aficionado

ebony wooden match holder 

25 Cocktail Party Must Haves

Friends are coming for cocktails tonight.

25 things to have on hand:

1. hand size snacks such as -  popcorn, cheese, pickles, crackers, wasabi peas, Cheezies, or other nibbles - nuts with a vintage nutcracker are always a hit, make sure you have a bowl for the shells
2. ice, ice and more ice
3. cocktail napkins and regular napkins
4. coasters
5. vintage serving bowls
6. tea lights, candles, lighter
7. ice bucket or two
8. soda, tonic, juice (cranberry, orange, tomato), pop, cold flat or carbonated water
9. cocktail straws, cocktail picks
10. garnish -  lemon, lime and good cocktail cherries (check what your drink recipes call for)
11. extra toilet paper
12. whiskey, bourbon, rye, rum, vodka, gin, dry and sweet vermouth, cognac, two bottles of both white and red wine, beer, bubbly
13. clean cloth to quickly wipe up spills
14. plenty of clean hand towels in the washroom
15. bottle opener and corkscrew
16. a game - personally I can't stand games but some people love them at parties
17. burgundy glasses, beer glasses, martini glasses, rock glasses, champagne flutes
18. list of cocktail recipes - check the drink section of my blog, or Art in the Age and MasonShaker have some of my current favourites
19. clean house slippers if you insist your guests take their shoes off
20. organized front closet with empty hangers (no wire hangers)
21. bitters, simple syrup (easy to make - boil two parts sugar, one part water or 1:1 shaken until sugar dissolves)
22. an empty garbage under the sink
23. cocktail shaker
24. phone number for a cab or designated driver service - the host should pay or prearrange
25. appropriate music

22 Albums To Play At Dinner Parties

1.   Sergio Mendez & Brasil 66 - Herb Alpert Presents... 

2.   Maury Muehleisen - Gingerbread

3.   Stevie Wonder - Talking Back

4.   The Verve - Urban Hymns

5.   The Rolling Stones - Aftermath

6.   Nick Drake - Pink Moon

7.   Frijid Pink - Frijid Pink

8.   Portishead - Portishead

9.   The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

10.  Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall 1971

11.  Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Gold (1959-1991)

12.  Jim Croce - I Got a Name

13.  Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills

14.  Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

15.  Modern English - Ricochet Days

16.  The Charlatans - The Amazing Charlatans

17.  Tom Waits - Small Change

18.  Beastie Boys - The In Sound From Way Out!

19.  Dead Presidents Soundtrack

20.  Johnny Cash - at San Quentin

21.  Marvin Gay - What's Going On

22.  Sigur Rós  -  Ágætis Byrjun

Cocktails & Van Gogh

Baccarat Talleyrand Tumbler  no.7

photo Royal Art Glass

A friend of mine infuses her own vodka.  Her specialty is basil vodka - she's a chef.  I'd like to see home infused vodka take the place of home made wine - please.

Last week I had the pleasure of my name sake - Stacey (with an e) - fix me up a few of his specialties at the Wedgewood's Bacchus Lounge.

  

Stacey's Van Gogh 

2 oz Van Gogh Espresso Vodka

2 drops Crème de Cacao

Add a bit of ice to a rock glass.  Drizzle in a few drops of Crème de Cacao.  Top with Van Gogh Espresso Vodka and enjoy!

Nice Lemons

Polly George Mr. & Mrs. Jones Squeezers

photo Polly George

I use a lot of citrus.  Whether it be for a nice hot, honey, lemon water or in my infamous '70s Fish' recipe it always tastes better without the pits.

Polly George has designed the Mr. and Mrs. Jones lemon and lime squeezers.  Pure and simple white shapes are the trademark of her studio and no two are ever exactly the same.

Practical - not so much.  Voodoo doll like quality - definitely!

Dom Pérignon Champagne Sleeve

Perfect for a little Afternoon Delight.

The Dom Pérignon II champagne sleeve/cooler designed by Marc Newson (Lever House Restaurant, NYC).  Made from aluminum.  Keeps the bubbles cool and the goodies in your day bag dry!  

Oldies But Goodies - Cocktails and Bubbly

Rye & Ginger short and stiff

Drink from 4-7pm during news hour

Ingredients:

2.5 ounce rye whiskey

4 ounce Diet (!) Ginger Ale

Add ice and rye to a rock glass top with Ginger Ale

Conversation topic over rye: Crown Royal was created in 1939 to commemorate the visit of the Queen Mum to Canada - thanks Mum!

Old Fashioned

2 0unce rye

1 sugar cube

dash of bitters

1 slice lemon

1 slice orange

1 cherry

Combine the sugar, bitters and 1 tsp water in a Carlo Moretti Ottagonale gold rimmed whiskey glass. Muddle well, add rye and stir. Add a twist of lemon peel and ice cubes. Add slices of orange and lemon and top with the cherry. Serve with a swizzle stick.

Veuve du Vernay Brut

Always a fun beverage to get you started. Goes well with everything, particularly, Panago Primo Vegetarian Cracker Crust Pizza.

Jackson Triggs 2006 Proprietor's Chardonnay - again. Not as good as last week. Kind of tasted like Gala Keg (wine in a box) this week.

Speaking of wine. What are your thoughts on those stemless glasses from Reidel? I'm not sold on them. Just too many fingerprints all over the glass and I like to swirl. I prefer to use vintage colored glass goblets like the one to the left.

Sweet Charlotte (Gramercy Park Jade Bar, NYC)

2 1/2 ounce bourbon

fresh muddled ginger

1 cube sugar

1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

Shake with ice and strain over an iced rock glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

Grower's Extra Dry Apple Cider - excellent all year round!

Serve with a lime wedge in a pottery beer stein like this one from White Horse Pottery .

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