New Year's Eve Party roundup #1

As 2010 comes to a close, there are a variety of options to ring in the new year in high style. Here are some fun ways to begin 2011:

The Varnish's Rare Groove New Year's Eve Soul Revue

The Varnish, the jewel in the 213 downtown crown, will be hosting a New Year's Eve party for $125 (tip included).  The party will go from 9 pm - 2 am and includes the Varnish's classic handcrafted cocktails, unlimited servings of Bols Genever punch and a Midnight champagne toast.

Varnish hostess/server Rebekka Johnson's comedy band, the Apple Sisters will lead a countdown to 2011, which will conclude with a champagne toast.

A twist contest is promised, so be sure to wear your dancing shoes.  Reservations can be made for parties of 2, 4 or 6.  The Varnish is quite small, so reserve early or miss out.

Reserve by calling General Manager Chris Bostick at (213) 622-9999 or by emailing thevarnish@thevarnishbar.com

Havana 1909 at La Descarga

La Descarga is pulling out all the stops for their first New Year's Eve celebration.  Tickets are $150 for the black tie event at which attendees will be dressing to impress as if they were in Havana 100 years ago.

The all inclusive tickets include hors d'oeuvre, live entertainment, open bar, champagne toast at midnight and dancing.

If you have been to La Descarga on a regular night, you know the quality of the entertainment.  I've been told that they are kicking it up a notch for this celebration.

La Descarga has some of the highest quality drinks in town, so open bar will be quite a treat.  The great sounds of Cuban music by the live band will be sure get you dancing.

RSVP by emailing nye@ladescargala.com

I have been told that this event is almost sold out, so get your tickets or miss out til next year.

New Year's Eve Downtown LA

If you can't make up your mind so want the smorgasboard approach to New Years, then the New Years Eve in Downtown LA is for you.  A single $119 ticket entitles you to open bar at eight different downtown watering holes, including Cana Rum Bar, Casey's, Seven Grand, the Golden Gopher, Cole's, Las Perlas, Tony's Saloon and Broadway Bar.

At Casey's, the band Gram Rabbit will be performing live and well spirits and 11 craft beers are included in the open bar.

Cole's will be offering champagne cocktails and the Cole's classic cocktails all evening.

Cana Rum Bar will be serving daiquiris and their signature cocktails to the beat of a band performing Gypsy Jazz.

Paul Chesne of the Paul Chesne Band will be performing at Tony's Saloon.


Where can you get tickets for this event?  Buy them online at www.nyedowntownla.com

CASA's Tequila Toast New Year's Eve

If your New Year's Eve plans lean towards the food as well as the drink, then CASA Cocina & Cantina may be the option for you.  They are celebrating their second anniversary as well as New Year's Eve with a four course prix-fixe dinner for $35 with seatings from 5 pm to 9 pm.  At 10 pm, the New Year's Eve party begins with open bar, a midnight tequila toast and a guest DJ for entertainment until 1 am.  So for $85 you get dinner plus 3 hours of open bar and entertainment.  (If you opt for both dinner and the party, a combo pack discount may be available.)

New Year's Eve Dinner Menu:

First Course: Sopa de chile poblano

Second Course: Ensalada de Caesar Cardini

Third Course: Enchilada con Langosta y Camarones OR Tamale de Elote OR Braised Beef Short Ribs Birria

Fourth Course: Rice Pudding

The $50 price for the New Year's Eve open bar party goes up to $75 on December 28th, so book early.  Why pay more to be a procrastinator?

Reservations may be made by calling (213) 621-2249


Happy New Year!

The Deep Blue Sea @ The Varnish

Recently I had the Deep Blue Sea cocktail at the Varnish in downtown Los Angeles. I really enjoyed the drink that manager Chris Bostick made and when I looked online most recipes for a drink of that name have curacao in them but the cocktail I had at the Varnish was crisp and aromatic, not sweet.  I believe Bostick said that it was a Sammy Ross recipe, but I may be remembering incorrectly.

The recipe is:

2 dash orange bitters
1/4 oz Crème de Violette
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
2 oz Gin
Stirred
Lemon peel to garnish

As you can see, the cocktail is beautifully clear and deserves a prime spot in your rotation of aromatic gin cocktails.  In a crystal clear cocktail, the twisted lemon peel garnish adds a dramatic element, in addition to the citrus scent.  If you are a fan of a gin martini, especially the Vesper, you may find this to be up your alley.  The glass had been chilled and the drink was mixed with ice before being stirred and strained, so the cocktail was refreshing and crisp.

All Aboard: Jonathan Gold’s Union Station Cocktail Party

All aboard the Speakeasy Express as LA Weekly restaurant critic Jonathan Gold is hosting his second annual Speakeasy themed Cocktail Party at Union Station featuring bartenders from several of Cedd Moses's 213 Group's bars and benefiting Zocalo Public Square, an organization that sponsors and organizes lectures, panels, and other public discussions of the issues of the day.

The party will be held on Saturday October 9th from 7 - 11 in historic Union Station as conductor Jonathan Gold welcomes revelers aboard and collects tickets, which are $185 per person ($150 for non-profit employees & $125 for those under 30). The drinks will be provided by the talented crews of Seven Grand, The Varnish, Las Perlas, Cole’s and CAÑA. Restaurants from downtown as well as across the city will be providing vittles to munch on, and these aren't just any gin joints but top notch spots such as John Sedlar's Rivera, Michael Cimarusti's Providence, Josef Centeno's Lazy Ox Canteen, Neil Fraser's Grace, Susan Feniger's Street, David Myers' Comme Ҫa, and Suzanne Tracht's Jar, among others. There is no danger of going hungry with that crew on tap.

The participating bartenders are creating specialty cocktails for the event. I am particularly looking forward to trying The Plymouth Fitzgerald from Chris Bostick of the Varnish. It is his take on a gin sour with Plymouth Gin, fresh lemon juice, sugar, shaken and served up and lightly drizzled with Angostura bitters. It sounds refreshing and the Angostura bitters should provide a nice counterpoint to the citrus.

Attendees are encouraged to wear period dress and to put folks in a party mood, KCRW’s Garth Trinidad will be spinning. Should be an awesome party with a bonus of supporting a great cause (I'm a big fan of Zocalo's panels and events). Get your tickets here. Hurry up because once this train leaves the station, you will want to be onboard, not watching from the platform as it pulls away into the distance.

Tickets are available here: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/union_station_event/

Chris Bostick in as new Varnish GM

Tonight is Chris Bostick’s (pictured above) last night as head bartender at The Varnish, downtown’s hidden bar focused on classic cocktails. He will be still be at the Varnish, but stepping up to the position as General Manager, as current GM Eric Alperin will be spending less time at the bar as he works on outside (non-bar) projects. That means after Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this week, Alperin will now be behind the bar at the Varnish several times per week, a treat for the Los Angeles cocktail community.

If you have enjoyed Bostick’s beverages as much as I have, stop by the bar tonight for his last official shift. He has assured me that he will still make drinks at The Varnish when it gets busy or when people ask for him, if he is able to do so.

This is the latest in a series of changes in the management of several bars in the 213 family in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, Alan Katz took over for Joel Black as General Manager of Caña Rum Bar. Black left to work on projects with Rivera’s Julian Cox, with whom he had worked previously at Comme Ca. Black had been a bartender at Caña since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn earlier this year. In addition, Skyler Reeves has been promoted from his position at Tony’s Saloon to run operations for the 213 Group. His Manhattans will be missed.

Dalmore Whiskey Tasting

Richard Paterson, the 3rd generation Master Distiller for Dalmore Scotch Whiskey, came to Los Angeles last week as part of a San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas west coast tour and I was fortunate to be able to attend a tasting he hosted at the Varnish in downtown LA of various Dalmore single malts.

The afternoon began with a round of Penicillin cocktails featuring Dalmore that bartenders Eric Alperin and Devon Tarby mixed. The Penicillin is a great drink, originally created by Little Branch and Milk & Honey bartender Sam Ross. The penicillin includes fresh lemon juice, honey, ginger and scotch whiskey and was garnished with candied ginger. The cocktails were refreshing and it was a good introduction to the Dalmore by demonstrating that single malts can have a place in mixed drinks.

Paterson, the author of Goodness Nose, is an engaging and charismatic speaker/performer. He has a shtick down and got the audience involved in the tasting beyond the rote routine. He stressed the importance of smelling the whiskey before you drink it and of letting it stay in your mouth so you can fully taste the nuances of it before you swallow.

The Dalmore is produced in the Highlands of Scotland, in a distillery north of Inverness. Paterson brought 4 single malts to sample: the 12 year, the Gran Reserva, the 15 year, and the King Alexander III. The 12 year was a lighter scotch and was aged in 50% American oak and 50% Oloroso sherry casks. The Gran Reserva is aged in 60% Oloroso sherry casks and is described as being a great whiskey to drink while smoking cigars. In fact this scotch used to be known as the Cigar Malt but some confused people actually thought that this meant that tobacco was an ingredient in the whiskey. It had a rich and slightly sweet flavor and does seem suited for a postprandial treat.

The third Dalmore we tried was the 15 year. This was my favorite of the tasting. The citrus flavors that are a signature of the entire Dalmore line came through along with a light spiciness. I found it to be exceptionally smooth and balanced. It was aged in Matsusalem, Apostoles and Amoroso sherry casks. I tend to favor citrus, so perhaps that is why I preferred the 15. The final whiskey of the day was the King Alexander III, named for the Scottish king whose life was saved by the Mackenzie clan and who in exchange gave the clan the right to use the stag as their emblem. The King Alexander was aged in six different casks including french wine, Madeira, Sherry, Port, Marsala and Kentucky bourbon. This whiskey also had a little bit of sweetness in the flavor, perhaps because of the port and bourbon casks. A complex flavor that held less of the citrus than the other Dalmore single malts we had sampled.

A highlight of the tasting was when the gentleman seated next to me got to sample a small amount of the most expensive single malt whiskey in the world, which combines 6 different vintages of Dalmore. A bottle retails for $175,000 according to the Nose. Online research indicated that the Dalmore 62 has sold for 32,000 GBP, which is approximately $49,000 at current exchange rates. I am not sure whether the price we were quoted was off or whether this was a different offering. In any case my table-mates and I got to sniff the glass which held the whiskey and it smelled wonderful. I'm not in the market for a bottle of spirits which costs as much as a luxury car, but if I was, this would be a great place to begin.

Dalmore has an illustrious history but had been owned for a number of years by Jim Beam, the American based bourbon producer (largest in the world) who seem to have had a policy of benign neglect. Beam sold the company in 2000 but retained North American distribution rights until the end of 2007 when producer Whyte & Mackay bought back the rights. Since then Patterson has been crossing the globe raising the profile of whiskey and of The Dalmore in particular to build up brand recognition and move the whiskey further upmarket.

Dalmore 12 year $35-49, Dalmore Gran Reserva, $49-75, Dalmore 15 Year $80-99, Dalmore King Alexander III $249
In Los Angeles, Dalmore is available at K&L Wines, Bevmo, Wally's, Wine Expo etc. note that in my quick online search, K&L wines had the best prices

You can follow Richard Paterson online & on twitter