Our final stop on our year-long drinking odyssey is Trader Vic’s - the “Home of the Original  Mai Tai.” Why not?  Atlanta’s Trader Vic’s - located under the Hilton in downtown ATL – is one of thirty or so world-wide locations of this Polynesian themed restaurant and bar.  A chain? Yes – but it is the oldest franchise in the U.S.  If you have never stepped into this time-warped kitchy joint, you need to get down there one Thursday night for Tongo Hiti with Big Mike and the Dames Aflame and sip on some potent cocktails in funky vessels of joy.

We happened to be there while University of South Carolina fans (Ashley’s alma mater) and team were at the Hilton for the Chick-fil-a Bowl.  They were still happy and exited when we were there because they had not yet played that craptastic game and embarrased the entire conference.  At any rate…

Trader Vic’s featured signature cocktails in unique glassware before it was cool to do so.  I am fairly certain the drink menu and bikini-clad-lady drinking vessels have not changed since the 1940s.   With over 70 cocktails to choose from, plus many meant to serve a group, you are bound to find one that suits you.

We ordered the Original Mai Tai – clearly – and the Somoan Fog Cutter – mainly because of the glass in which it was served.

The Mai Tai is a glass full of Jamaican rum, French garnier orgeat, orange curacao, Trader Vic’s own rock candy syrup, and fresh mint.  It is served with a pineapple slice and cherry.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

Let’s rate the Original Mai Tai first.

Presentation: 4.5 olives.  Shaved ice, decorative glass, sprig of mint, pineapple slice and a cherry – purty!

Creativity: 5 olives. It’s an original cocktail from the 1940′s that is now world-famous and still popular.

Taste:  3.5 olives.  Classic rum goodness, but Ashley couldn’t drink it all because she claims it was the strongest drink she has ever put in her mouth.  I tend to think her straight-up dirty vodka martinis are stronger..;)

Overall: 4 olives.  Party in a glass!

The Soman Fog Cutter is a mixture of OJ, rum, gin, brandy, sherry wine, and orgeat…and is one of the more potent drinks on the menu.

Presentation: 4 olives.  A tall ceramic glass covered in bikini-clad ladies and tropic scenes makes you happy.

Creativity: 4 olives.  It’s like a tropical version of a long island iced tea.

Taste: 3.5 olives.  Dangerously tastes just like an OJ and pineapple juice blend.

Overall: 3.5 olives.  Tall, potent, and tasty…

Trader Vic’s may be one of the potent weeks of our journey.  Good thing it is ending!  We enjoyed our time, but are grateful it is over.  We will try to do some highlights of these 52 weeks next week and then think of new things to do with our free time!

Happy New Year!

Amy Grant Christmas music makes Ashley happy.  She loves that album.   It makes me want to drink Christmas Ale.  If you are in the mood for yummy seasonal craft beers, or yummy beer in general, there is no better place in the world to get your fix than the Brick Store Pub in Decatur.

I hate to add to the Brick Store’s accolades because this place has people flocking to it from all over the world all of the time.  I am not a fan of too many people in my personal space, and Ashley is not a beer drinker, so we do not get here as often as we should.  We have figured out that mid-day weekend visits are best to avoid long waits.

The bartender’s recommendation of Anchor Christmas 2010 was a nutmeg and clove inspired pint of pleasure.  We have altered our usual rating system for beer:

Our (beer) ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Pints.  One Pint = waste of my blogging time;  5 Pints = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

Presentation: 3 Pints - For beer this one is hard.  A beer in its own custom glass makes me happy.  This one came in a plane old pint glass, but was a nice dark color with a good head. (That’s what she said)

Gravity:  4 Pints-  Unlike some seasonal brews, this Anchor doesn’t try to compete with liquor to get you through the holidays.  Nothing wrong with high gravity, but I’m old and like to enjoy a couple of beers without wanting to pass out.  I like a nice dark cozy beer for the winter and this one makes you want to curl on the sofa and watch football.  But not too heavy or thick.

Taste: 5 Pints – Smooth, not hoppy, with hints of nutmeg and spice and everything nice.  My new favorite seasonal brew.  My least favorite is Sweet Water’s Festival Ale.  WAY too hoppy.

Overall: 4 Pints  - One of the best seasonal beers I have had this season.  (I also really liked Terrapin’s Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout on draft at the U Joint. ) So many to love, and just one of hundreds of lovely beers available at the Brick Store.

We love this pub – one of Atlanta’s best treasures.  Worth bucking the cocktail theme for a week.  Especially when you get some yummy food and that mustard.  To die for.  We’re heading back this Monday for a festival ale and cheese dinner.  Double winner!

We are grateful that we didn’t name this adventure “52 Consecutive Weeks of Drinks” - considering our inability to stay on track.  But I guess we will just roll over into the first couple of weeks of 2011, if necessary.  Who’s really counting?

Week 42 brought us the official launch party for the [tag]Atlanta Food and Wine Festival[/tag].  Our dear friend Elizabeth is one of the brilliant minds behind Atlanta’s soon-to-be can’t miss annual festival - uniting barbecue pit masters, award-winning chefs and mixologists, Master Sommeliers, fry cooks and local growers in the spirit of celebrating the rich food and beverage traditions of the South in May of 2011.  

Ashley missed all the fun because she was off finalizing the details of her 20 Year Class Reunion.   Michael agreed to come as my man-date in Ashley’s place – which meant I got to stay out late! 

As soon as we entered the party, we were greeted by happy, attractive people serving the featured cocktail crafted by [tag]Greg of Holeman & Finch[/tag] – “A Taste of Things To Come.”  I assume this is a reference to the great things to come with this festival , but who knows, or cares, this was a great drink.  And our insider status earned us the actual recipe for this one!  You want to make a batch.

This southern-inspired cocktail was served in a mason jar and featured: Bonal Gentiane-Quina (Vin Aperitif),Lemon juice, Hayman’s Ole Tom Gin, Cointreau, Peychaud Bitters, and top with  Fever Tree Tonic.

Greg says you must use Fever Tree Tonic or it will be too cloying.  I have no idea what “cloying” means, but it sounds bad, so I would listen to Greg.  OK – so I looked it up – it is craft-bartender-speak for too sweet.  Which could be a risk for this arnold-palmer-esque style cocktail.  If you make this at home, don’t add tonic to a large batch; if you do large batch splash in mason jar at the end. 

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

Presentation: 5 Olives.  Over ice in a mason jar garnished with a sprig of mint and orange peel plus a cool little Atlanta Food and Wine Festival logo thingy.  Casual classy and appropriate for the event. 

Creativity: 5 olives:  Can you say ”Bonal Gentiane-Quina”?  Of course not.  Not one of the members of the hip “in” crowd at this event had ever heard of this either so don’t feel bad. 

From the website I found when Googling – “Bonal Gentiane-Quina, once nicknamed ‘ouvre l’appetit”‘(the key to the appetite), is a delicious aperitif wine that has been in production since 1865.  It is made by infusing gentian root, herbs from the Grande Chartreuse mountains, and cinchona (quinine), in a Mistelle base, producing a wine that is known for its complexity. It is traditionally enjoyed neat, on ice with a twist, or in many classic mixed drinks.”

Who knew?  The French.

Taste: 4.5 olives: Not too sweet, crisp, cold, freshing and yum. 

Overall: 4.8 olives: Make a batch for your friends, even if you aren’t hosting a festival launch party.

Now go and buy tickets to this festival, because the libations were delightful.  Good drinks, good food, good idea. 

This week we celebrated the 4th of July with a glorious meal at Shaun’s in Inman Park.  We were accompanied by Ashley’s Mom and two Mystery Guest Tasters who did not wish for their names, likenesses, or any vaguely identifying information to be published on the world wide web – you never know who will discover your unpatriotic distaste for Bourbon and put you on a Do Not Fly List! To protect these guests, we will refer to them only as Guest X and Guest Y.

As we pass the half-way mark of our year-long drinking adventure, we are refining our tastes, increasing our expectations, and realizing the inter-connectedness of Alanta’s mixology community.   We first met the fabulous Master of Mixology at Shaun’s – Callie – in May when we surprised – or intruded – upon some friends during their anniversary dinner.  We learned that the Mixologist at Abattoir, who we found so very attractive, formerly shook ice right here behind the bar at Shaun’s.  We are not going to speculate about which direction the “inspiration” for lovely cocktail-making may run, but the cocktails we tasted at both of these locations are hands down our favorite of the entire first 28 weeks.

At Callie’s recommendation, I ordered the Black and Blue off of the seasonal cocktail menu.  Ashely opted for The Thistle.  Both of these drinks were superb, delightfully summer-y, and well-balanced.

The Thistle was a unique cocktail with cane rum, green chartreuse, allspice dram, lime, maple syrup served up with a lemon slice garnish.  The chartreuse can be a dangerous ingredient, but like all great cocktails, this one used just enough to balance off the rum and create a refreshing summer sipper.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

Presentation: 4.5 olives – Nothing fancy, but the presentation perfectly matched the drink – a low cocktail glass with a nice thinly-sliced lemon floater.

Taste: 5 olives – Memorable and uniquely satisfying on a hot summer day.  A nice blend of flavors that sipped smoothly.

Creativity: 5 olives – Sometimes unique ingredients can create a less than unique taste or a taste that is so odd you just have to stop sipping.  Not here – perfect balance.

Overall: 5 olives – Ahh…

The hands-down crowd favorite of the table was the Black and Blue.  Berry-anything makes us worried that a cocktail will be a big hot sweet mess.  Boo-Berry Bliss = ick. But in good hands, a house-made blueberry soda is just what is needed to balance the Bourbon and give this drink a refreshing, not-too-sweet, twist appropriate for the Fourth of July.  The ingredients of the Black and Blue included Black Maple Hill Bourbon, apricot eau-de-vie, pernod, house made blueberry soda, and was served on the rocks.

This drink is exactly what we meant a few weeks back about a great Mixologist being able to make Bourbon taste good to non-Bourbon drinkers and cut the strong taste with seasonally-appropriate flavors.  Everyone wanted a second sip of this one – even Tasters X & Y – “more please!” (Notice Taster X’s hand holding the drink. And that’s Ashley’s mom in the background. She loves getting her photo taken…)

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

Presentation: 5 olives – Two tiny dark cherries on top – simple and yummy.

Taste: 5 olives – Not an unsatisfied palette at the table.  Taster X HATES Bourbon (shh…don’t tell anyone), but could not get enough of this delightful concoction.  Mmmm!

Creativity: 5 olives – We can longer support anything above a 4 for drinks that do not involve some sort of house-made mixer.

Overall: 5 olives – You want one.

We feel as though Shaun’s website might want to have Callie’s amazing cocktails as part of the menu on-line.  They rock and are worth a trip to the bar.

The bar has been raised this week.   Ashley and I joined the rest of the cool kids looking for the latest place to be seen on the Westside for this week’s drinks.  The word about town was that the place to be was [tag]Ormsby’s – a pub in the White Provisions building[/tag].  After a quick walk-through, we decided that we would save Ormsby’s for another Random Atlanta quest – maybe best beer list? best use of in-door games involving sand? bar with the most patrons wearing white Polos with the collars popped?

Instead, we went upstairs to the bar at [tag]Abattoir[/tag].  As soon as we walked through the door, we knew we had made the right decision for this week’s drinks.  This space is amazing – understated and classy, yet comfortable.  The menu features a small and ever-changing list of hand-crafted cocktails featuring house-infused liquors, homemade mixers, and wonderfully diverse flavors.

We had trouble deciding what to order because our bartender – and the artist behind the yummy goodness we soon consumed – is also mesmerizingly handsome.  But we should not objectify our bartenders/mixologists/makers-of-goodness, and you should know our bar-setting high ratings this week are not because we were hypnotized by Brian’s blue eyes.  They are because these drinks justify the entire 52 Week adventure.

We both ordered gin drinks, but you would never know it because they were completely different,yet equally delicious.  We paced ourselves and savored every sip.

I opted for the Westside.  Why not, when in the  Westside?  This cocktail featured house-made grapefruit soda, a dry London Gin, and Fernet Branca.  I suppose we should not be blogging about drinks if we have never heard of Fernat Branca, but I went to the website and still can’t tell you exactly what it is.  “Orange bitters” is just too much of an over-simplification.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

The Westside:

Presentation: 5 olives.  Served on the rocks with a nice orange rind and a wooden stirrer.  No straw.  It would be a sad waste of this cocktail to suck it through a plastic straw.

Taste: 5 olives.  Perfect summertime gin drink.  I do not even care for grapefruit, but the house-made grapefruit soda was not too tart and was carefully balanced with the other flavors.  I had to resist the urge to clap.  Brian was way too cool for clapping, and he would have kicked us out.

Creativity: 5 olives.  I love when a drink is perfectly balanced and utilizes ingredients I simply will never have at home.  I will never make grapefruit soda.  Never.

Overall: 5 olives. What else can I say?

Ashley had the equally divine Chimney Swift, or as she kept calling it, the “Chimney Sweep .”   The Chimney Swift consists of house-infused blueberry gin, Vya, fresh-squeezed lime juice, orange curacao and thyme.  Vya is apparently “America’s Aperitif” and is “recognized as the finest vermouth on the planet.”

Presentation: 5 olives.  Served up in a stemless cocktail glass with a dark liquor-infused cherry waiting for you at the bottom of the glass.

Taste: 5 olives.  Neither Ashley not I care for sugary-sweet cocktails, and we get worried about any blueberry-infused anything.  But again, the house-infused blueberry gin was not too sweet and was perfectly paired with the citrus flavors and “America’s Aperitif.”  I though Ashley was going to pass out. Plus, she was so excited to not have cocktail envy.  She loved my drink as well, but felt hers way the best one ever made, ever.

Creativity: 5 olives.  Excellent combination of ingredients.  Who knew? The thyme was a nice touch.

Overall: 5 olives.  Bliss.

Brian carefully measured and stirred each of our drinks using precision.  Brian is not a fan of shaking very many cocktails.  And I would not question Brian on these things.

We can’t break our rule of reviewing more than 2 drinks, but the house-made ginger beer in a unique twist on this year’s “it” drink – the Dark and Stormy – also was wonderful and had a lovely presentation – pictured below.  Overall, we think anything you ordered on this menu would be amazing.   We also think that had we started our adventure here, we would have been more stingy with the “5 olives” rating.  Others who follow will face an up-hill battle to top Abattior.

Our apologies to Jill & Scott for having to cancel our planned outing to [tag]Parish[/tag] for [tag]Inman Park restaurant week[/tag].  Cocktails do not mix well with acetaminophen.

So instead of reviewing Parish’s cocktails, our post was going to be about Yogi Cold Season Tea because we spent all weekend losing a battle with nasty head colds.  We sipped Yogi Tea - organic hippy crap that makes you feel better with fluffy words and warmth.  There is a picture of a dude named Yogi and his story about bringing healing tea, yoga and philosophy from India to the good old US of A where he can capitalize on our need for comforting words during cold season:

“When the north wind starts blowing, warm yourself from the inside with our soothing Cold Season tea.  Our Wellness Blend starts with the warming herbs of Ayurvedic medicine…to support nasal and bronchial function.  We add lively eucalyptus, peppermint, and basil to promote free breathing and a healthy sinus.  Sip a steaming cup to keep your internal fire blazing through any cold season.*  *These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.”

But who really wants to read  review of hot tea?  Although we have had at least two boxes of it, we made the ultimate sacrifice for our readers and changed out of our PJs for the first time in several days and made the short drive to [tag]Mac McGees Irish Pub[/tag] in Decatur.  We ate a late lunch of bangers and mash and beef and mushroom pie and finished the meal with a lovely Hot Toddy consisting of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, honey, hot water, and lemons with fresh cloves.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmm

Presentation: 4 of 5 olives: The cloves strategically placed in the fresh lemon wedge made this drink.

Taste: 5 of 5 olives:We can’t tell you how nice this toddy felt going down our sore throats.  The whiskey and honey combined were enough to make you swoon.

Creativity: 4 of 5 olives: I am telling you, the Irish know how to make their toddy’s.  The cloves again were a kicker.

Overall: 5 of 5 olives:  Nothing – not even water- has tasted good to us in days during this wretched cold.  This drink soothed our coughs, throats, and congestion – and made us sleep when we got home!
Again, this was the best thing for a stuffy head and sore throat.   Forget Yogi tea – the Hot Toddy did more to clear our heads and calm our throats.

This week we ventured to one of our favorite Midtown spots for a nice meal at the bar of [tag]Ecco[/tag].  This was by far the most vibrant bar scene of all the places we have rated so far.  [tag]Sauced[/tag] had lots of cool kids floating around for sure, but Ecco has a great mix of people that made for excellent people watching and mingling.  The scene this Saturday at 7ish was a combination of regulars mingling with the friendly staff, couples dressed up for a date night having dinner before heading to the Fox, conference attendees working their way out of downtown, and a few people venturing intown from just outside of the city.   If we lived closer and could afford it, we would be here every week just to see if the one bar fly with chest hair coming out of his shirt has better luck with the ladies next time.

Eric was our fabulous bartender (pictured with us) and recommended two signature cocktails – both of which were given rave reviews by Jerry, our wonderful new friend we met while dining at the bar.

I went with [tag]Long Live the Queen[/tag].  This cocktail has been on the menu the longest and during that time has won numerous (national) awards and contests.  It has Bombay Sapphire with hints of Elderflower, lemon, and peach and is served up with fresh mint.

Ashley opted for the [tag]GiGi Says[/tag] – Eric’s own amazing contribution to the signature cocktail list- Hanger vodka, fresh ginger, and a squeeze of lime.  Served in a short glass on the rocks.

The great thing about all of the drinks at Ecco is the integration between the kitchen and the bar -  the chef mixes lots of the ingredients – such as the lavender simple syrup and guests get to taste them in the cocktails as well.  Yum.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmm

My ratings for Long Live the Queen:

Presentation:  4.5 of 5 olives

Taste: 5 of 5 olives – very tasty, not too sweet, and very balanced.  Good stuff.

Creativity: 4 of 5 olives

Overall: 4.5 of 5 olives

Ashley’s ratings for GiGi Says:

Presentation:  4 of 5 olives

Taste: 5 of 5 olives – We both agreed this was one of our favorites so far.  Ashley does not like ginger, but it was such a nice mix that the ginger was very subtle.

Creativity: 4 of 5 olives

Overall: 5 of 5 olives – I realize this does not add up – but we needed more points for taste.  It was just sooo good.

You must go to Ecco for not just the cocktails.  The food is delicious and the staff is incredible.  We have enjoyed every dinner there thus far!   Oh, by the way, we saw Avatar after visit to Ecco and loved loved loved it.

We spent a cold and rainy Friday night dining at the bar at Serpas.  We were joined by two wonderful ladies who have been following our [tag]52 Weeks of Drinks[/tag] postings and wanted to join the fun – Doreen & Michele.  If you have never been to Serpas – you must geaux.  [tag]Serpas is in the Old Fourth Ward[/tag] and is part of  Studioplex.  The chef/owner has South Louisiana roots so you will see a nice selection of Abita beer, bar tenders sporting fleur de lis ties, and andouille sausage stuffed into things.  The space is open and vibrant and the food is yummy.

We also love the manager – Matt.  He is a handsome strapping lad with impeccable taste in clothing who will never steer you wrong on wine, food, or cocktails.  Look at him mixing it up behind the bar with Mike, our wonderful bartender!

The cocktail list is one of the most creative we have seen and changes seasonally.  Most of the original drinks are named after songs – see if you can guess the artists.   Two of the seasonal cocktails included fresh muddled apples and spice – one was served warm.

As comforting as those sounded on a rainy night, we went for drinks that helped us pretend it was a warm summer afternoon.  Ashley and Michele went with the Relax – a refreshing cocktail served up with Praire Organic Vodka, organic green tea, mint, fresh citrus, and lavender syrup.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmm

Ashley’s rating on the Relax:

Presentation:  4 of 5 olives

Taste: 5 of 5 olives

Creativity: 4 of 5 olives

Overall: 4.5 of 5 olives – damn delicious!

I opted for the Debaser - served in a champagne flute with a burnt orange garnish - it includes Plymouth sloe gin, orange bitters, VeeV acai berry liquor, and cava (sparkling white wine).  This bubbly drink was very refreshing and had a unique taste.  Despite the fact that all of the ingredients were some form of alcohol – it did not taste like it had any – but in a good way.  (Mike even kindly explained to us the difference between sloe gin and regular gin.)

Alison’s ratings on the Debaser:

Presentation:  5 of 5 olives

Taste: 4 of 5 olives

Creativity: 5 of 5 olives

Overall: 4.5 of 5 olives – cheers!

I have not looked back to confirm, but I think this round may have been the best-scoring to date.  Creative and tasty!  Test your music skills – the cocktail list had songs by The Pixies, The Smiths, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and others - see if you can name the artists. 

No – we didn’t get sauced, we just went to Sauced – the restaurant.  Come on people -despite the cocktail tasting theme, we are not getting trashed for the cause.  [tag]Sauced[/tag] is the hip new place to be on our side of town – Inman Park on the edge of Cabbagetown.  Brought to you by [tag]Ria of Ria’s Bluebird Cafe[/tag], this cool little hipster joint has some nifty cocktails, yummy food, and a cozy kitschy vibe.  We had some guest tasters this week – Lea and Ed – Hipsters.  Tar Heels.  Sex Symbols.

Sauced has an excellent selection of premium liquors and beers and all juices are fresh-squeezed.  There are about 5 signature cocktails – and we tried 3 of them.  Lea went with the Delirium Tremons on draft – beer with the potency of a cocktail – that counts?

Ed had the Dixie Cup – 4 rose bourbon, red rock ginger ale, sugar cane syrup, and a lime twist.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmm

Ed’s ratings on the Dixie Cup:

Presentation:  2.5 of 5 olives – it did have a garnish

Taste: 4 of 5 olives – smoooooth

Creativity: 4 of 5 olives

Overall: 3.5 of 5 olives. Ed’s joy is pictured below.

Ashley had the La Rosa – Gran Centenario hibiscus tequila, orange bitters, clementine, agave nectar, pink Himalayan salt rim – served up with the extra on the side in an ice-filled glass.

Ashley’s ratings on the La Rosa:

Presentation:  5 of 5 olives – up, fancy slated rim, orange slice

Taste: 3 of 5 olives- Ashley is not a fan of bitters and could taste the bitters more than the wonderful tequila

Creativity: 5 of 5 olives

Overall: 3.5 of 5 olives

I had the Derby Crash – old tom gin, dolin blanc vermouth, orange bitters, spearmint leaves – also served up with extra on the side.

Alison’s ratings on the Derby Crash:

Presentation:  5 of 5 olives

Taste: 5 of 5 olives – tasty, tasty, tasty.  Refreshing and crisp.  Everyone’s favorite at the table.

Creativity: 4 of 5 olives

Overall: 5 of 5 olives. My favorite cocktail to date. WOW.

Again, we could go on and on about how fabulous the food was…and we will at another date, but to stick with our theme of 52 Weeks of Drinks, we will stop here.  Oh, by the way, we loved our cute waitress, Mel.   She is pictured with us as we enjoy our drinks!