771 Links Added, New Reviews Added

We have just finished the semi annual update of links (after a few days of struggle) adding 771 links to our various categories and adding a few new categories in the process. We now have a total of exactly and approximately 4,576 links in our links page most of which of course have something to do with distilled spirits in one form or another with occasional sidetracks .

We have also posted reviews of the new Kahlua Peppermint Mocha, Creme Yvette, and Ventura-Limoncello .

New Reviews January 6th 2011

Breuckelen Gin - Breuckelen Distilling Company, Inc. (Brooklyn, New York) is Spirit of the month,  Two new absinthes are reviewed Absinthe Amerique 1912 Rouge - Great Lakes Distilling (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) , Absinthe Amerique 1912 Verte - Great Lakes Distilling (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) , along with a new make whiskey Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1 - Buffalo Trace Distillery (Frankfort , Kentucky) .

We should also have our year end overhaul of links done soon (where we integrate all of the past years monthly new bookmarks into their proper categories- so look for a large expansion soon of our already over 4,000 bookmarks of every webpage we have found about alcohol by category!

RSS Feeds Rebuilt after Forced "Migration" by Bloglines

After days of rebuilding our RSS feeds (Thank you Bloglines for "migrating" our feeds on us for their new "look " ) ,  we have 407 feeds back on the Spirits Review.com RSS feed.

If you have a blog and are wondering what happened to your readership you may want to look into this. We lost about 3/4 's of our feeds and had to manually reconstruct them one at a time. We also rebuilt them in Google reader and will change our links to Google so we don't have to do this again.

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52 Martinis: One-handed Cocktail Adventures: le 47 at Chateau Fontenac

52 Martinis: One-handed Cocktail Adventures: le 47 at Chateau Fontenac
An excellent review of the Bar where the 2000 Euro Ramos Gin Fizz was born by Forest of 52 Martinis who was there at the time.

The 2000 Euro Ramos Gin Fizz Part 2

                                                  We got to the Bar 47 @ Hotel Chateau Frontenac around 10 PM or so. Lovely Bar on the corner and attached to the hotel. Nice selection oof spirits, very n ice drinks menu and wonderful liitlle bar set in this 4 star hotel. Ugo Frabbeti is the bartender there- a excellent, world class bar tender and outstanding host. Ugo will do anything and will meet your most demanding and elastic desires  in order to make sure you have exactly what you want.
It is because of this that the title is what it is.
Joan ordered a Ramos Gin Fizz- both because she loves them and it was on the menu.. 

What they neglect to mention on the menu is that the hotel does not supple Ugo with eggs.
So.....

Ugo has to break into the kitchen to get his egg, Crawling through a window and around other thing s to actually gain access to the refrigerators where they lock down the egss. When he was coming out egg in hand (left) someone else  came in and the door whacked his hand - breaking his hand in 2 places.
While we were unsure about this at first hoping it was just a sprain or minor dislocation , he was in extreme pain but he did not lose or crush the egg. He also gamely insisted on trying to make the Ramos , and when shaking proved too excruciating other help was pressed into service- the clerk from the front desk.
Meanwhile I stepped behind the bar and poured Ugo a double gin for the pain and we iced the hand in the hopes of reducing the swelling and pain.

After the clerk proved to not be suitable ( and he had to go back  to the desk) I took over bartending until around 2 AM Which was a lot of fun, as the bar only had a few people and we were able to keep them served no problem . At some point someone ordered in some pizza and the bar continued until the end around  Ugo remained bravely and gamely on station until the end. At which point he went to the emergency room to have his hand  looked at - hoping there would be a beautiful nurse he could fall in love with- more on that later.

Reviews and Updates August 18th 2010

We have just added new reviews for Smooth Amblers Greenbrier Gin, Stilltheone Distilleries Comb Honey Vodka, and also added a new revised tasting for Tequila Tamers sangrita mixer as they have changed the formula/makeup.

Day 1 at Tales 2-Later On

After hanging about a bit at the Carousel we went out to our second home at Tales- The Alibi Lounge.We were there until about 5 AM meeting up with old friends and crew along with making  some new ones.

Tales Day 4

Tales of The Cocktail Day 4
You know you must be having a good time if you need to us e discarded schedules and pocket litter to forensically reconstruct what you have been doing for the past 4 days.

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It's 4 AM at Tales

Went to the shaker and barware symposium at the Museum of the American Cocktail which was a lot of fun and very informative. For the full batch of pictures please go to our flickr page for some of the photos of the barware and the people doing the presentations. On the way back Johnathan Forester and I realized we must go to Meyers hat shop - about 15 minutes before they normally close. After much discussion we end up buying some hats.This for me is a stellar event. I ever can find a hat that fits me. Ever.We got to talk to Mr Meyer himself and get fitted out with some outstanding hats.

My two new hats, One is a straw fedora and the other is a tweed porkpie with the old style 2 inch brim.

Luckily Mr Meyer ships so you don't have to risk flying them home

Mr Meyer Himself- In business since 1937
Meyer the Hatter Hat Shop

After this major shopping adventure we headed back to the hotel. After a quick rinse off we went on to the Beefeater Party around 7 PM - not bad in the scale of things -- not as crowed as last year but less food and the drinks were not quite as interesting. The theme was a Alice in Wonderland - a sort of William Burroughs version of Alice and Wonderland.
Alice was a rather tired looking lingerie model version, with the Mad Hatter looking like a Johnny Depp on a bad day and the Red Queen reminding me of the old saying " There is never a prostitute too old or too ugly to make a living in Paris" Substitute Drag Queen for Prostitute and the location for New Orleans and you get the picture.
After staying there long enough to be polite we decided to make our escape. On the way out we encountered a line of Ford Model A  cars parked at the curbside and snapped a few shots of them . Not sure why they were there but they did add some nice texture to the scenery as it were

After jumping on the bus and discussing the crew from extreme makeover with the bus crew (who had worked with them recently) we got back to the hotel and ran over to our dinner date at G.W. Finns with the CEO of Van Gogh Vodka Norman Bonachick. Who is a really nice gentleman and gourmand.
The meal we had there was outstanding and quite reasonable. I would definitely recommend the place if you are looking for a higher end but not too pricey place to eat during Tales.
We are falling asleep at the keyboard so we will continue this chronicle in a few hours,

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Tales Day 2

Ed Hamilton The Minister of Rum

Up early Kahlua Coffee Bar and Cocktails at 8:30 AM followed by Breakfast at the media room compliments of Oxley Gin.Potato cakes, scones , ham scrambled eggs. Great Irish cheese also - Just not quite up to solid food today and so early.
Hanging with the Minister of Rum. Wireless network at Monteleone is not working at all it seems- going with a cellular modem to get a signal out.
Tried the Oxley Gin- Interesting but not overly impressed. Also they never seem to answer inquiries so I doubt if we will ever get to review them formally.

Outlaw Blogging At Tales Day 1

Got in Early and promptly took up residence at the Carousel.3 drinks later (Sazerac,Veiux Carre and a Manhattan) then off to d.b.a for a tasting of small, artisanal spirits.
Some real stand outs from Haus Alpenz. Also a aged grappa that was quite a revelation.
Then off to the Alibi for the Bloggers in exile anti reception.Alibi has outstanding gumbo by the way as we had that for a quick dinner after meeting up with some PR people. Afterwards we went to the Drambuie Rusty Nail event at the Roosevelt which was lightly attended.
I think everyone went to the Cointreau Burlesque Show.

Still Life of Tales of the Cocktail 2010

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Alibi Lounge July 20th (Day 1 of Tales)

Bar at the Alibi
This is the scene from the Alibi Lounge (815 Iberville) . The Alibi is my second home or base during Tales each year. Contrary to popular belief, I do take a hotel room and do not actually live at the Alibi itself during Tales. I do go to my hotel about twice a day to shower, change clothes, and on rare occasions lie down. It has many advantages over a number of other bars or even the media room for a writer ( or anyone else) who needs a good ( notice I didn't say nice) place to drink, eat, and hangout with friends at all hours and not be bothered.
The beer selection is one of the best in the area there, they serve good bar food 24 hours a day and even deliver, and it is a service bar so most of the clientele are bartenders, wait staff and off duty strippers.
So guys, if a woman expresses an interest in you there you know they are serious as they are off duty.
Another advantage is because they do escort services for customers carrying fair amounts of cash (see above), the staff are armed - so like a cop bar it's a safe place to be- it has a reputation and the local criminals (at least the robbery types) know to avoid it. Downside is don't ask for a Sazerac or any other mixed drink that needs much in the way of ingredients or mixology skills- won't happen.But otherwise it is at least 1/2 the price of the Absinthe House and much less crowded. It is also relatively isolated being around the corner from Bourbon Street - so you don't get all the amateurs and riffraff that you get on Bourbon Street.


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I will be blogging at Tales of the Cocktail. No, I am not part of the club that does it. I tried a number of times to become part of it and gave up. Including last year when I was supposed to be a "Guest Blogger" but they never bothered to acknowledge or publish my dispatches or answer my emails as to why not.
I will be an outlaw ( as in beyond/outside the law/rules/society/organization). In the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson and William Burroughs I will attempt to report on what is going on without dressing it up or making it pretty and more acceptable. I will continue to be the "Contaminating Antiauthoritarian Element".

Harbor at Dusk

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