Recharge After Christmas at the Boxing Day Social

Christmas is such a tiring day of the year.  So much preparation. So many dishes to cook, presents to wrap and stockings to stuff.  The day after you need to recharge after one last helping of Cousin Florence's fruitcake.  What better way than at the Boxing Day Social at the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel?

A $10 minimum suggested donation gains you entry to the "Social" event of the year on Monday the 26th.  The event is a fundraiser for the Hospitality Kitchen, which feeds and cares for the homeless.  Live music will be provided by Hobo Jazz, who contrary to expectations are not homeless clients of the Hospitality Kitchen.  In addition to the live music, your donation gets you a bottomless glass of punch (which puts any bottomless cup of coffee to shame), bar bites and entry to the legendary Jenga Tournament.  If you strapped for cash after being guilt tripped into buying too many presents for friends and relatives, blankets, sleeping bags or warm clothes will also be accepted as entry donations in lieu of cash.

In addition to all proceeds from entry benefiting the Hospitality Kitchen, there will be the First Annual Bartenders with Bar Tabs Auction.  You can bid on drinks with one of the top bartenders in LA at one of the best bars in the city.  Each bartender is generously donating their time and a bar tab at their establishment; the tabs will be mixed and matched and you can bid on an evening with folks such as Kate Grutman, Aidan Demarest, Marcos Tello, Dave Kupchinsky, Lacey Murillo, Lauren Osbourne and more.

This Social will be hosted by Naomi Schimek, so you know it will be legit.

Monday December 26th, 7 - 11 pm @ the Spare Room at the Roosevelt.
7000 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood.  Phone: 323.769.7296 | Website: http://www.thompsonhotels.com/hotels/la/hollywood-roosevelt/drink/the-spare-room

Summer Cocktails at Sotto

Kate Grutman & Julian Cox

Sotto launched a new cocktail menu this week with no fewer than fifteen cocktails.  Julian Cox and Kate Grutman worked overtime to create the list, which is divided into Aromatic and Shaken cocktails.  Grutman, who got her start at The Tar Pit and subsequently worked with Cox at Rivera is the bar manager.  This list gave her the opportunity to collaborate with her mentor on the extensive cocktail menu.  Just as Sotto has an Italian food menu, the cocktail list veers towards Italian cocktails and liqueurs in inspiration.

The Vampire Shark, (above) a tribute to bartenders Julian Wayser and Dave Fernie, is served on the rocks and is made with a sex wax tincture.  The flavor of the aged rum comes through as does some sweetness from the Luxardo morlacco cherry.

The easiest sipper on the menu may be the Holland Daze (above) as it is well balanced, frothy and appealingly garnished with mint.  The name is a play on the main ingredient Genever, as it comes from Holland and the "daze" that many visitors to Amsterdam experience in coffee houses as well as a take on the ever popular Hollandaise sauce.

Il Cavallo Bianco (above) is a crisp and aromatic cocktail that is made with a pineapple and thyme infused Bianco Vermouth.  The name translates as "The White Horse."  Infusions are a Grutman signature, so it is not surprising to see some on the menu.  What was surprising was how well pineapple and thyme went with the rest of the ingredients.  This is a subtle cocktail that should appeal to fans of a classic gin martini.

The Bicycle Thief

The Dude Abides #2 (above) is made with double barrel aged rum, double cream and espresso among other ingredients.  The coffee flavor predominates and it is frothy like an egg cream.

The 5th Amendment is a smooth and boozy Bourbon, wine and Ramazzotti based cocktail that seems designed to lure in LushAngeles, perhaps the #1 fan of Ramazzotti in Los Angeles.

If you get one snack on their menu, I recommend the chickpea fritters as they are light, airy, and have just enough cheese.  A squirt of lemon and you are in business as these addictive snacks will seem to disappear from your plate with alarming speed.

Sotto Cocktail Menu:

Aromatic:

Il Cavallo Bianco
Reposado tequila, pineapple.thyme infused Bianco Vermouth, Cocchi Americano, grapefruit peel

The Bicycle Thief
Scotch, Holland Gin, Italian Vermouth, West Indian orange bitters

American Trilogy
Rye whiskey, Applejack, brown sugar cube, orange bitters, flamed orange

Vampire Shark (Tribute to Wayser & Fernie)
5 year aged run, Luxardo Morlacco Cherry, Mr. Zoggs sex wax tincture

The 5th Amendment
Bourbon, Barolo Chinato, Ramazzotti, Angostura bitters, orange essence, cherry

Cornwall Negroni
English Gin, Campari, Punt e Mes, Carpano Antica, burnt orange

Life Is Beautiful
Dry Vermouth, Cocchi Americano, Benedictine, Absinthe, lemon twist
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Shaken:

Amaro Daquiri: Fall Redux
Rhum, fresh lime, Averna, pimento dram

Grappa Don't Preach
Vodka, Grappa, fresh strawberry and nectarine, lemon, Aperol, Fresno chili tincture

Dem Apples
Bourbon, fresh pressed apple, Clear Creek pear eau de vie, fresh lemon, cassia-infused honey, dehydrated apple chip

Holland Daze
Genever, fresh lemon, pistachio orgeat, maraschino sambuca bitters

Paloma Italiano
Blanco Tequila, fresh grapefruit, Campari, agave nectar, San Pellegrino Aranciata, salt

The Dude Abides #2
Double Barrel Aged Rum, Cynar, double cream, espresso, Bassano bitters, egg yolk

Use Your Illusion
Rye whiskey, Amaro Nonnino, fresh lime, Velvet Falernum, grapefruit essence, Peychaud's bitters

Smart and Fennel
London Dry Gin, fresh lemon, housemade bitter orange marmalade, fennel-scented egg, fennel frond

Sotto: 9575 West Pico Blvd, West LA.  Phone: (310) 277-0210.  Website: www.sottorestaurant.com

Kate Grutman's Kiss Me Kate cocktail

Native Angeleno Kate Grutman can normally be found behind the bar at the Tar Pit or Terroni but on Monday evening she was showcasing several of her new cocktails at the Test Kitchen.  Her signature cocktail of the evening was the aptly named Kiss Me Kate.  The clear cocktail is smooth and crisp and the small amount of orange bitters in the drink add some roundness without taking over.

Grutman selected Beefeater 24 as the base spirit in the Kiss Me Kate as the Beefeater 24 has strong grapefruit flavor elements and grapefruit is a classic pairing with Maraschino, which she planned to include in the cocktail.  Grutman noted that Beefeater 24 also has notes of orange peel and Sencha (green tea) which led to her to add the orange bitters, the bianco vermouth and the Lillet to round out the natural acidity and smoothness in the gin.  Maraska is a Maraschino, a clear liqueur made from Marasca cherries, including the pits, from Zadar, Croatia.  Maraska is an aromatic maraschino, which Grutman chose over Luxardo Maraschino, for its earthier and funkier flavor profile.

If you like a classic gin martini (is there any other kind?) then the Kiss Me Kate may be your kind of drink.  Crisp but booze forward, no citrus other than the bitters, fresh and well balanced.  Grutman described the drink as "clean and aromatic and leaves you kissable."  Now that is my kind of endorsement.

The ingredients are:
1 tsp Maraska Maraschino
0.25 oz Martini & Rossi Bianco Vermouth
0.25 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
0.50 oz Lillet Blanc
1.50 oz Beefeater 24 Gin
1 dash of orange bitters
edible flowers

Directions:
Pour all the ingredients (except the flowers) into a pint glass with several pieces of ice.  Stir for several minutes.  Once the beverage is suitably cold, pour into a coupe glass and garnish with flower(s).

Kate Grutman at Test Kitchen