cocktail

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Have you ever tried absinthe? Prior to Monday’s Art of Absinthe event with                La Clandestine Swiss Absinthe at ArtBar in Cambridge, I may have had it a few times in cocktails, definitely when we were in Prague, but never sipped it on its own. Like many people, when I heard absinthe, I thought of The Green Fairy and the supposed hallucinogenic properties of the spirit. I instantly equated that to absinthe’s illegal status but soon learned that some of the mystique around absinthe is pure misinformation.

Over the course of a couple of hours, I got to see some of my favorite Boston bloggers, learned a ton about absinthe, and enjoyed some tasty bites from ArtBar’s new menu. (Speaking of the menu, I really just want to eat the macaroni and cheese eggs rolls all day, every day. Extra truffle fondue, please.)

First up, I had to get a cocktail to see what La Clandestine was all about.

ArtBar

ArtBar’s head bartender, Elizabeth Powell, whipped up a Clandestino for me. Based on the Caipirinha, the Clandestino contains La Clandestine absinthe instead of cachacha. The absinthe is mixed with demerara sugar, lime, and lots of crushed ice.

absinthe cocktails

I won’t lie. On my first sip, I made a face. The wormwood in absinthe gives it an herbal, licorice flavor that was at first a little surprising. A couple of sips later, I got into the refreshing qualities of the drink, and the licorice flavor definitely mellowed. Overall, I ended up enjoying the cocktail.

absinthe cocktail

In addition to the Clandestino, Elizabeth had made a punch containing absinthe and was also making a drink called East Meets West. Of course, the absinthe drip, which we learned about later, was also available.

absinthe punch

absinthe glasses

Before presenting to the group, Alan Moss, Global Brand Ambassador for La Clandestine, greeted our little blogger group. We soon learned he is a blogger himself and writes The Real Absinthe Blog.

image

Alan started with 10 Things you didn’t know about absinthe, and pretty much all of the items on the list were news to me! Absinthe originated in Switzerland (For some reason I thought it was from Eastern Europe as it is popular in Prague.) Over the history of absinthe production, women have been key players, preserving the tradition and passing recipes down from mother to daughter.

Absinthe experienced bans and booms over the years, but the Swiss ignored the bans which has resulted in absinthe being continuously produced in Switzerland for 220 years. Funny enough, one of the bans was not due to hallucination but to the alcohol binge of a Swiss laborer who then killed his family. Absinthe made for two of the drinks he had that night, two of the 17 drinks, that is!

And what about The Green Fairy, you ask? Here’s what Alan’s blog/presentation has to say:

Absinthe will not help you see green fairies, and is no more likely to cause any effects
than any other strong spirit. While there is a naturally occurring substance in absinthe called thujone and while this can have “effects,” you’d have to drink so many bottles of absinthe to get them, you’d die of alcohol poisoning long beforehand.

 

absinthe

Once the presentation was finished, Alan demonstrated a traditional way of drinking absinthe. Absinthe starts clear, and water slowly drips through the metal fountain, mixing with the essential oils and making it cloudy. One of the highlights of the evening was trying Butterfly Absinthe which originated in Boston in the early 1900’s. It’s made in Switzerland now and not yet available in the US. I loved how smooth and refreshing this absinthe was due to the use of mint and citrus in this recipe. It also had a creaminess to it making it easy to sip with just a bit of water.

ArtBar food

As always, ArtBar kept us well fed. Sliders, tacos, and of course those mac and cheese egg rolls filled us up as we drank and mingled.

ArtBar

I had a great time and learned a lot at the Art of Absinthe event. ArtBar and the Royal Sonesta is doing a really great job with their food and beverage, and they have some great events. I can’t wait to return to celebrate some of my favorite blogger bachelorettes over Memorial Day weekend!

If you’ve tried absinthe, what did you think? How did you drink it?

Tags: absinthe, ArtBar, cambridge, cocktails, events, Royal Sonesta

Summer definitely paid us a visit this past weekend, and I was lucky enough to be home in NJ with my family to enjoy it. Celebrating three moms (my own, my sister, and my sister’s mother-in-law) along with my brother-in-law’s birthday called for a great dinner, margaritas, and cake. Perfect sunny weather was an added bonus that allowed us to enjoy dinner outside.

agave

Over Cinco de Mayo weekend, we made a quick stop at Bin Ends in Braintree and ended up buying their margarita “kit” a bottle of Reposado Tequila, 12 limes, and a bottle of agave. The recipe was included on the bag, and we discovered a new favorite, easy, at home cocktail.

My sister loves margaritas, and the weather was perfect, so I mixed up a batch of these.

2 ounces Tequila

1 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce agave

1/2 ounce water

ice

Mix up and enjoy! My sister thought the drink was a little too strong, so she added some orange juice to hers.

limes

Dinner was better than any restaurant. I picked up some fresh tomatoes and ended up eating them raw, topped with the sour cream/horseradish cream sauce we made for the filets. Yum.

My nephew, who is just learning to talk, kept grabbing tomatoes and saying “ball”. He’s too cute.

tomatoes

My brother-in-law also grilled up a ton of vegetables including red onions, yellow peppers, zucchini, and eggplant.

grilled vegetables

grilled eggplant

We also had filets and grilled scallops, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes.

summer grilling

It was an outdoor feast!

eating outside

I love nice weather eating because it is so simple. Other than a little steak seasoning and the horseradish cream, all of the food was pretty much plain, allowing the freshness to shine through. As much as I love recipes, I find it kind of refreshing to enjoy bright colors and flavors of nature and high quality ingredients.

How have you celebrated the nicer weather (fleeting as it may be!)?

Tags: agave, family, grilling, margaritas, scallops, tequila, vegetables

Monday morning seems to come even more quickly when you have been out late on a Sunday. Thanks to some cold medicine, I spent Saturday completely out-of-it while my dear husband tackled our taxes. When you have worked for about 12 businesses throughout the year, it turns out to be quite the task. Luckily the taxes are about 90% done and my cold/flu, after about nine days, seems to be giving up on me.

Sunday we had a successful trip to Wrentham Village to do some clothes shopping. Since I work from home, I almost never buy clothes, and with more and more meetings outside my house, I needed a few things. It was insanely crowded, and I hate clothes shopping, so I was happy to be done.

The highlight of the weekend was definitely the very end; a Sunday night cocktail class at The Urban Grape.

The class was taught by Boston’s best-known mixologist, Jackson Cannon from Eastern Standard and now The Hawthorne, along with his Hawthorne partner, Nicole Lebedevitch.

Throughout the evening, we learned how to make a classic rum punch, a French 75, and a Vieux Carre, and of course got to sample all three. I also ate about a dozen deviled eggs from The Hawthorne; they are topped with pickle and bacon. Need I say more?

The Urban Grape Sunday night events are a fantastic deal and a great way to spend a Sunday night, even if they leave you exhausted the next day. While I caffeinate and kick off a very hectic week, I leave you with some cocktail class images.

cocktails at Urban Grape

{Bar setup}

The Hawthorne

Masciarelli Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

{Masciarelli Trebbiano d’Abruzzo}

cocktail class

{Rum Punch}

Jackson Cannon and Nicole Lebedevitch

{Stirring Vieux Carre}

deviled eggs

{Deviled Eggs from The Hawthorne}

How was your weekend? Are your taxes done, or do you wait until the last minute?

Tags: Boston, cocktails, events, Food, Jackson Cannon, The Hawthorne, Urban Grape

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