Alchemist

Here are some pics of the menu at The Patterson House. Photos by Josh. Toby

So here is a rough list of the cocktails. There are some old favorites, and some new interesting things that we are doing. A shout out to Eben on the Jennings. Thank you for your blessing on riffing on your idea. The training has been intense to say the least. The staff has really stepped up and embraced the craziness that is opening a cocktail bar. I am very excited to see them there making cocktails, and spreading the gospel of good things to drink. The Patterson House Spring Cocktail List 3.29.09 Gin Cooper’s Bright Plymouth, Lemon, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, House Made Grapefruit Liqueur, Sparkling Wine Briar Patch Plymouth, Lemon, House Made Blackberry Cordial Juliet & Romeo Plymouth, Lime, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water The Maisie Day Luzianne Infused Gordon’s, Lemon, Egg White, Lemon Bitters Maloney Negroni Variation Tanqueray, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Campari, Lazaroni Amaretto, Coffee Pecan Bitters Rum Mai Tai Brugal Anejo, Lime, House Made Orgeat, House Orange Bitters Hotel Nacional Barbancourt 3 star 4yr, Lime, Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur, Pineapple Dark & Stormy Matusalem, Lime, Cruzan Black Strap, Ginger Syrup Golden Age Angostura 5yr, Lemon, Egg Yolk, Cherry Heering, Lemon Bitters Tattooed Seaman Sailor Jerry, Demerara Syrup, Root Beer Bitters Whiskey The Jennings Jack Daniels #7, Hickory Wood Smoked Cola Whiskey Smash Rebel Yell Bourbon, Lemon, Mint, Peychaud’s Bitters Blinker Bulleit Bourbon, Grapefruit, House Made Raspberry Syrup, Spring Bitters Vincent’s Ruin Bulleit Bourbon, Lemon, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, La Muse Verte Absinthe, Lemon Bitters Spring Sazerac Old Overholdt Rye, Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur, Herbsaint, Peychaud’s Bitters Bacon Old Fashioned Benton Bacon Infused 4 Roses Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Coffee Pecan Bitters Reelfoot Manhattan Weller 107 Bourbon, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Laphroiag, Regans’ Orange Bitters Tequila La Paloma Lunazul Blanco, Lime, Grapefruit Spanish Margarita Lunazul Blanco, Lime, Licor 43, Hell Fire Bitters El Diablo Lunazul Reposado, Lemon, House Made Ginger Syrup, Briottet Cassis Brandy Spring Sidecar Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Senior Orange Curacao, Rothman & Winter Violette Liqueur The Terra Rica Inca Gold Pisco, Pineapple, Egg White, Aperol, Spring Bitters Jack Rose Laird’s Bonded Applejack, Lemon, House Made Grenadine Vieux Carre Maison Surrenne Cognac, Jim Beam Rye, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Benedictine, Peychaud’s Bitters Cordials Pimms Cup Pimms #1, Tanqueray Gin, Mint, Cucumber, Strawberry Huckleberry Fizz Plymouth Sloe Gin, Lemon, Egg White, Spring Bitters Stingy Brim Luxardo Coffee Liqueur, Barbancourt 3 Star 4yr Rhum, Sweetened Heavy Cream, Fees Old Fashioned Bitters Vodka Vodka Cobbler Prairie, Lemon, Lillet Blonde, Seasonal Fruit, Regans’ Orange Bitters Moscow Mule Prairie, Lime, Ginger Syrup The Gilded Rubel Prairie, Lemon, Egg White, Honey Syrup, Grapefruit Bitters Classic Cocktails Aviation Tanqueray Gin, Lemon, Luxardo Maraschino, Rothman & Winter Violette Liqueur Corpse Reviver #2 Plymouth, Lemon, Lillet, Senior Orange Curacao, La Muse Verte Absinthe Champagne Cocktail Gruet Sparkling, Sugar Cube, Angostura Bitters Daiquiri Appleton White Rum, Simple Syrup, Lime Gimlet Plymouth Gin, Simple Syrup, Lime Manhattan Bulleit Bourbon, Dolin Sweet Vermouth, Angostura Bitters Margarita Lunazul Blanco Tequila, Lime, Senior Orange Curacao Martini Plymouth Gin, Dolin Dry Vermouth, House Orange Bitters Mint Julep Bulleit Bourbon, Demerara Syrup, Mint, Spring Bitters Mojito Flor de Caña 4yr Rum, Lime, Mint, Angostura Bitters Negroni Tanqueray Gin, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Campari, Regans’ Orange Bitters Old Fashioned Jim Beam Rye, Demerara Syrup, Peychaud’s Bitters Presbyterian Wild Turkey 101, Lemon, Home Made Ginger Syrup, Soda Water Ramos Gin Fizz Beefeater Gin, Lemon, Lime, Egg White, Cream, Orange Flower Water Sazerac Old Overholdt Rye, Herbsaint, Peychaud’s Bitters Sidecar Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Senior Orange Curacao, Fees Orange Bitters Silver Sour Booze, Lemon, Simple Syrup, Egg White Southside Plymouth Gin, Lime, Mint, Peychaud’s Bitters Tom Collins Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, Lemon, Soda Water The room is so very, very beautiful, even covered in saw dust. If anyone is in the area PM me. Just finishing a 16 hour day. Must try and sleep for s couple of... Toby

The eggs at TVH are thoroughly washed, but not pasteurized. I read up on eggs and found oout that Sam was on the outside, so we wash the outside and drop the inside directly into booze. Toby

So we finished the first 5 days of training last night. Training went from 5pm to 1am, so there could be construction happening all day. So that ment that every night the bar had to be broken down, packed up and moved. Then every day at four the bar had to be cleaned, and re set up. Training is set up classroom style, just sitting at a bar, where there is lectures, labs, and hands on work. Cocktails are made and consumed, but they are pulled apart, broken down, and talked about with the same intensity as Shakespeare is in an english class. These are the wonderful students trying NOT to get drunk while sitting at a bar at midnight on a Sat night. Toby

I'll be there in exactly one week. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to my visit here, Toby. If I had to guess now what I'll be ordering off this menu, I'd say: Juliet & Romeo Beefeater, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water Eyes Wide Bulleit Bourbon , Grapefruit, House Made Raspberry Syrup, Hibiscus Syrup La Goutte d’Or Scarlett Ibis, Punt e Mes, Yellow Chartreuse, Spring Bitters ← I am not sure when the spring menu will go in effect. The Juliet & Romeo, and Eyes Wide will be available, as they are on this menu as well. I belive that there is a search for the perfect amaro for the La Goutte d'Or is going on as we speak. Not sure when it will be ready. Toby

Here is a video that we did on the fly at The Patterson house in Nashville. I hope that it is more enjoyable than watching paint dry. Cheers, Toby

I am a big fan of Deadwood. I think the writing is so beautiful a layman’s Shakespeare. It’s impossible not to like Swearengen (if that is not an appropriate name…) while at the same time being glad not to ever have to be around him. In his honor I want to make a libation called a G*ddamn Fk!ng C@^kS$ck%r. I am not sure if I should put it on The Violet Hour list or maybe on the list Down here in Nashville. You know make a statement on the first menu at The Patterson House. It would have to have Bulleit, as that is one of the bottles on the bar at The Gem. That is as far as I have gotten. Toby

Spring has sprung. Here is a preview of what might be close to what is in store. The Violet Hour Spring ’09 Cocktail List Gin Sitting Limbo Beefeater, Pineapple, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, Apry Juliet & Romeo Beefeater, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Bombay Dry, Lemon, House Made Honey Syrup, La Muse Verte Absinthe, House Orange Bitters Cymbeline Plymouth, Lemon, Egg White, Jasmine White Wine The Riviera Pineapple Infused Bombay, Lemon, Egg White, Campari Golden Gate 24 Anchor Distillery Genvieve, Lemon, Egg Yolk, Briottet Cassis, Fees Old Fashioned Bitters Rum Bula Mai Tai El Dorado 5yr, Lime, House Made Roasted Orgeat The World Cup Mae de Oro Cachaça, Lime, Tangerine, Amaro Nonino, Regans Orange Bitters Hush & Wonder Matusalem, Créme de Violette, Lime, Grapefruit Bitters Dark & Stormy Cruzan Black Strap, Brugal Anejo, Lime, House Ginger Syrup La Goutte d’Or Scarlett Ibis, Punt e Mes, Yellow Chartreuse, Spring Bitters Whiskey Manhattan Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Sweet Vermouth, Angostura Bitters Eyes Wide Bulleit Bourbon , Grapefruit, House Made Raspberry Syrup, Hibiscus Syrup The Zarzamora Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon, Lemon, Fernet Branca, Blackberries, House Orange Bitters Harlan County Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Lime, Apricot Liqueur, Spring Bitters Seeing Traces Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Lemon, Egg White, Lillet Blonde, House Made Ginger Syrup, Orange Flower Water Brooklyn Rittenhouse Rye, Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth, House Made Amer Picon, Luxardo Maraschino, Cherry Bitters Tequila Spanish Margarita Herradura Silver, Lime, Licor 43, Hell-fire Bitters The Hummingbird Herradura Silver, Lemon, Egg White, Cherry Heering The Aleph El Tesoro Blanco, Luxardo Maraschino, Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal Brandy Sidecar Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Cointreau Beatriz Sheets Uvina Pisco, Lemon, Egg White, Chamomile The Elder Jack Laird’s Applejack, Lime, St. Germain, House Made Grenadine, House Orange Bitters Spring Sazerac Maison Surrenne Cognac, House Made Orange Curacao, Kubler Absinthe, Spring Bitters Potable Bitters Pimms Cup Variation Pimms #1, Lemon St. Germain, Mint, Grapefruit Bitters Giralamo Sour Luxardo Amaro, Lemon, Egg White, Luxardo Bitter Roman Holiday Amaro Montenegro, Amaro Lucano, Lemon, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Regan Orange Bitters Vodka Moscow Mule Tito's, Lime, House Made Ginger Syrup, Soda Water Part & Parcel Tito's, Grapefruit, St. Germain, Grapefruit Bitters Gilded Cage Tito's, Lemon, Egg White, Honey Syrup, Regans Orange Bitters Wine and Sparkling Champagne Cocktail Gruet Sparkling, Sugar Cube, Angostura Bitters The White Sparrow Gruet Sparkling, Lemon, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Velvet Falernum Spring Sangria Rosé Wine, Aperol, Peach, Grapefruit, Pear The Etiquette Gruet Sparkling, Tabernero Pisco Acholado, House Made Raspberry Syrup The Libertine Gruet Sparkling, Lemon, Pernod Absinthe, Plymouth Sloe Gin Some favorites, and a bunch of new ones. The crew of TVH is really putting out some amazing cocktails each season. I am always impressed and humbled by the creativity and passion that goes into the making of each list. Please note that the Cordial section is gone and we now have a POTABLE BITTERS section. It was a long time coming. Cheers, Toby p.s I am sorry taht I am too tired to reformat, and BOLD in the proper places.

So last night was the first night of training. Whoo=Hoo! There were no major injures, no one had to get fired, we did not set the place on fire. SUCESS!!! Here are a couple of photos of random things. Here is the Taisin in a water bath. Here she is crushing an ice sphere. Her handywork. It looks like a tree after an ice storm trapped in the ball. Why we do what we do. A mint daiquiri. Cheers, Toby

What I meant to say about mad-Men. I think that it would be "trying to hard" to Retro-Make a cocktail for Mad-Men. It was set in the 60’s so people were drinking cocktails that people drank in the 60’s. TV I think is often considered lowbrow. I can see naming some silly drink after Desperate House Wives, served in some silly bar. But what show would you name a cocktail after that is served in D&C, PDT, M&H? I find a lot of cocktails named after books or literary figures, seems more dignified. Toby

I actually have not tried the fat washing before this. A couple of my guys at TVH have been working on a pecan&bourbon. I think they were using butter. It's really cool you can impart so much flavor in such a short time. I did the second Test Batch of Bentons Bacon and Four roses in an afternoon. Wow,....... Crisco. Toby

Some people think that a when opening a bar it's all about the booze, staff, smallwares ect. It's really all about the coffee. Have I mantioned that the bar is 68' long with 30 barstools. The first real bar I worked in had three, then four. I think We might be totally out of our minds. Check out that wicked royal roll. Toby

So this post may be a little all over the place. Please excuse the spelling, lateral thought process, and the lack of a good solid theme. We got some of these to color our bitters since Campari has using them to color theirs. This is what they look like after a little bit in Everclear. Josh was making the Irie BBQ the other night and this was some of what her used. Some people think that bars are all about the booze. Opening a bar is all about coffee. Late night, not enough coffee (or beer) trying to figure out where the well, Slim Jim, glass ware, sink, dry storage, ALOHA, liquor tears, and the rest of the crap goes. MMMMMMMMMmmmm.. Bar. Toby OK. Have double posted some pics, and cant find others. Will fix in the AM.

Making a test batch of Grenadine. Toby

That is why I am trying to figure out a way to produce it with out fresh or dried apricots. I think that using an apricot jam might be the way to go. Has anybody tried making a "liqueur" with a jam/jelly/preserve? Toby

Without going on a rant dripping with vitriol I will say it is the ability to get their products consistently. Toby

OK, I am totally over Marie Brizard. I am trying to figure out a way to NEVER, EVER, EVER buy another bottle of their products for any of the bars I am involved with. I am going to try to find a way to produce a product that is a higher quality for less money. I need it to be relativity easy and fast to do, as when you start adding labor into equation things can get pricy fast. I need to be able to produce large amounts, as it is for a bar, so running out is not an option. I need it to have integrity. No food coloring ect. But I am not above using commercial products. Smuckers Simply Fruit might work if it imparts good flavor and can be bought in large quanities for the right price. I am wondering if an inexpensive sweetish wine could help add bulk and body to the concoction. This is a little different that “Homemade”. As price and time are of particular concern. I am looking to produce an Orange Curacao and an Apricot Something. They need to be right about 35-40 % ABV. Anybody have any ideas? R&D starting soon. Thanks, Toby

When you are separating the egg try to only get the clear part of the white (the albumen) and not the twisty white white part (the schlaza). I have heard from someone who a palate far superior to mine that that helped her with the smell. Best of luck. Toby

So we got our hands on some Benton bacon and some four roses yellow label. What an amazing combo. The last version with supermarket bacon and Old Crow pales in comparison. I know that sounds like a no brainier, but the difference is awe inspiring. So we rendered the fat of the Benton’s, and well we had bacon left over. That is with out a doubt the first time I have ever thought the phrase “left over bacon” let alone put such a horror in print. Here is the solution to –Shudder- left over bacon. Bacon, escarole, tomato, kosher salt, dill pickle, mayo. Toby ETA what was on the "Bacon Taco"

There are two aspects to the program. There is study material and there will be a class in certain cities with the BAR partners (Wondrich, DeGroff, et al) as they travel the country. It gives an overview of "mixology", everything from the history of alcohol production to practical things like how to handle cash behind the bar. The study material consists of DVDs and a workbook. It's designed to be a four week program each week culminating with an online quiz. Passing the quizzes is required for attending the class. Here in Chicago, we'll have the class on April 22. The website barsmarts.com has more information. Toby, as for cocktail theory and technique, I'm not sure yet. I'm still on the history and breakdown of spirits. ← So the class on the 22nd will it be with Wondrich, Degroff...(Olsen?) face to face? The website says a full day of seminars ect. Do they imply hoe that works? That list is some very busy men. If it is them that is very, very cool. Just being in the same room as them and being able to ask questions is worth it. And if that is the case, will there be cocktails? And then who's shaking. Toby

I have not seen the program. Is there any way you can tell us of the teaching style with out infringing on copyrighted material? Is it video? Are there tests? I guess I am asking is how they deal with cocktail theory, spirit knowledge, technique, ect. Thanks, Toby

It's actually a new Old Tom Gin called Ransom. They don't have that here in Nashville, Damnit. Toby

My guess is Kensington. A gin from Scotland that is aged in oak for a wee bit. Toby

My name is Toby Maloney. I am an owner of a cocktail bar in Wicker Park Chicago. Last night I read some of the reviews on Yelp of the bar. I usually don’t, as it is my business partners responsibility to sift through them, looking for reverent information. And in almost 2 years he has found one nugget. The reviews very widely. Seems people love it or hate it with equal vemenence. That I understand. Actually for that I am proud. I would not want a place that the vast majority of people, when asked, would say “Meh, I could take it or leave it.” But it is interesting to see why people love and hate it. I felt like I could tell something about the people themselves by their comments. I guess this is just the basically “considering the source”. The other thing that blew my mind was how incorrect they were about facts. The color of the room, what the door was like, things that just are. If they cant report the most basic things how does one expect them to know about the intangibles? Are restaurant and bar reviews extremely different, as the amount of alcohol drank at bars is considered different. Do you read the Yelp/metro mix reviews? How do you read Yelp/metro mix reviews? Are they more or less valid than professional reviews? Do they have more, or less agenda? Is it more like word of mouth that is now shouted from the top of a mountain? Or is it people venting frustrations that before the internet would have gone unheard? Do you think that it helps or hurts the industry? And lastly How do they affect you personally? Do the make you Mad? Do they mean nothing? Do they bring you down? Bring you up? Cheers, Toby

Oh yeah, they are "ceramic flasks" the nubs on the top are the corks. When you pull them out there is a recipe for a drink on the side. Cheers, Toby ETA:PIC