The Violet Hour

[avant-garde]

The Riviera

I made two of these today at home for my first Father's Day - and have to say it's in the top three of all cocktails I've had. AMAZING!

Edited June 15, 2008 by avant-garde (log)

[Glacies]

Toby,

Congrats to you, your partners, and staff on a very successful first year! Here's to many more.

See you in NOLA.

[plattetude]

Nice quote from Toby in today's NYTimes "Special Drinks Issue" --

Toby Maloney, an owner of another such bar, the Violet Hour in Chicago, once worked at a restaurant where the owners’ purchase of a blender touched off a covert rebellion. “All the bartenders decided that was not going to happen,” he recalled. “I remember the blender — can you hear my quotes? — accidentally falling down the stairs.”

Toby's newish NYC joint, Rusty Knot, gets plenty of mention, too.

Kudos!

Christopher

[Alchemist]

Just to set the record straight I AM NOT an owner of the Rusty Knot. Alchemy Consulting consulted on the project, and has an ongoing relationship with them, but we are not partners.

But the Spiced Colada is a pretty rocking summer drink.

On to TVH. The summer Menu will be in full effect on monday. And (the additions) look like this.

Gin

The Fox Hunt,

Tanqueray Gin, Pimms, Cynar, Lemon

The Riviera,

Pineapple infused Gin, Campari, Lemon & Eggwhite

The Briar Patch,

Plymouth, Lemon, Home made Blackberry Cordial

Rum

Tiger Balm,

Brugal Anejo, Lime, Fernet Menta

Whiskey

The Paper Airplane (Sammy J. Ross M&H, NYC)

Buffalo Trace, Campari, Amaro Nonino, lemon

Summer Old Fashioned,

Jim Beam Rye, Hibiscus Simple, Orange & Peychuad’s Bitters

Teqiula

The Marion,

Chinaco, Aperol, Luxardo, Lime

La Paloma,

Sauza Plata, grapefruit, lime

Brandy

Seacaucaus Sling,

Bonded Lairds Applejack, Pineapple, Raspberry, Orange Bitters

Wine & Sparkling

Summer Sangria,

Rose wine, Gin, Maraschino, and Watermelon & Citrus

Cordials

The Broken Shoeshiner,

Aperol, Benedicitne, Kubler Absenth, Pineapple.

Sloe Gin Sour,

Plymouth Gin, Plymouth Sloe Gin, Lemon, Egg White & Angostura Bitters

AND TODAY IS OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!! It seems like just yesterday, and a million years ago, that we opened. I am so Happy that The Violet Hour has Been so well received. I would like to thank the partners, the staff, who every day preform their duties with the utmost of professionalism and passion, all of the cooks, sommeliers, waiters, bartenders, hosts and everyone else in the service industry who embraced us so quickly and with such ferocity. And of course I want to thank The Academy... I mean I want to thank the customers who "get it" and make The Violet Hour such a pleasant place to be.

Cheers,

Toby

Edited June 27, 2008 by Alchemist (log)

[docsconz]

AND TODAY IS OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!!  It seems like just yesterday, and a million years ago, that we opened.  I am so Happy that The Violet Hour has Been so well received.  I would like to thank the partners, the staff, who every day preform their duties with the utmost of professionalism and passion, all of the cooks, sommeliers, waiters, bartenders, hosts and everyone else in the service industry who embraced us so quickly and with such ferocity.  And of course I want to thank The Academy... I mean I want to thank the customers who "get it" and make The Violet Hour such a pleasant place to be.

←

Congratulations! This is such a wonderful place. The cocktails are incredible. many, many more! BTW, the summer menu looks great, too.

[DaleJ]

Congratulations, Toby!

Will visit TVH at the end of August. Already have my tickets to two Cub games and am angling for reservations at Schwa, L.2o and C Chicago. (After a spell at TVH, of course.)

[san]

congratulations toby and TVH staff on a year of excellence.... i was in last weekend and it was as good as the first time i was there. the atmosphere and quality of cocktails are top notch. i will be back in late august when i am in chicago next to check out the summer menu

[KatieLoeb]

Toby:

Congratulations on the anniversary of TVH!! Mad props to you and everyone that works there. You remain one of my heroes.

Looking forward to a trip to Chicago specifically to check it out.

[newbie21]

Woo-Hoo! Thanks to Toby and everyone at The Violet Hour for a most amazing year of new and wonderful experiences! Truly life-affirming; t'anks ; .)

[edsel]

The Juliet & Romeo gets a mention in Salon Magazine's Summer Cocktail Contest.

Maloney confounded our expectations by offering a savory, rather than sweet, drink with a refreshing cucumber taste. "Salty, but I like it!" one judge commented, while another added, "I hate gin, but I love this."

[avant-garde]

The Art of Choke

←

Just now made one of these verbatim to the recipe. Oh my! *** swoon ***

[Alchemist]

The Juliet & Romeo  gets a mention in Salon Magazine's Summer Cocktail Contest.

Maloney confounded our expectations by offering a savory, rather than sweet, drink with a refreshing cucumber taste. "Salty, but I like it!" one judge commented, while another added, "I hate gin, but I love this."

←

Obviously from anyone who has one of these at TVH it is NOT a play on the dirty F*&King martini, the salt is there to bring forward the cucumber, not be an aspect of the drink. I should have given the amount of grains, (about 15-20 of kosher salt) and then it's possible that it would have come out more like it is at The Violet Hour.

This is the problem, and the joy of recipes. There is always room for some interpretation, and sometimes it works out well and sometimes it misses the mark.

I am not sure who has seen the thread over at the LTHfourm about making TVH drinks at home. This is the link. http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=20283

It is better to give specifics and hope and prey it gets made correctly.

Toby

Edited to remove venom, bile and spite from post.

Edited August 24, 2008 by Alchemist (log)

[Alex]

The Juliet & Romeo  gets a mention in Salon Magazine's Summer Cocktail Contest.

Maloney confounded our expectations by offering a savory, rather than sweet, drink with a refreshing cucumber taste. "Salty, but I like it!" one judge commented, while another added, "I hate gin, but I love this."

←

Obviously from anyone who has one of these at TVH it is NOT a play on the dirty F*&King martini, the salt is there to bring forward the cucumber, not be an aspect of the drink. I should have given the amount of grains, (about 15-20 of kosher salt) and then it's possible that it would have come out more like it is at The Violet Hour.

This is the problem, and the joy of recipes. There is always room for some interpretation, and sometimes it works out well and sometimes it misses the mark.

I am not sure who has seen the thread over at the LTHfourm about making TVH drinks at home. This is the link. http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=20283

It is better to give specifics and hope and prey it gets made correctly.

Toby

Edited to remove venom, bile and spite from post.

←

On LTH you specified Beefeater's gin, but IIRC, at TVH you used Hendrick's. How would you alter the LTH recipe, if at all, if we used Hendrick's at home?

[avant-garde]

The Art of Choke

←

Just now made one of these verbatim to the recipe. Oh my! *** swoon ***

←

Adding the below photo of the drink I made...

[Alchemist]

The Juliet & Romeo  gets a mention in Salon Magazine's Summer Cocktail Contest.

Maloney confounded our expectations by offering a savory, rather than sweet, drink with a refreshing cucumber taste. "Salty, but I like it!" one judge commented, while another added, "I hate gin, but I love this."

←

Obviously from anyone who has one of these at TVH it is NOT a play on the dirty F*&King martini, the salt is there to bring forward the cucumber, not be an aspect of the drink. I should have given the amount of grains, (about 15-20 of kosher salt) and then it's possible that it would have come out more like it is at The Violet Hour.

This is the problem, and the joy of recipes. There is always room for some interpretation, and sometimes it works out well and sometimes it misses the mark.

I am not sure who has seen the thread over at the LTHfourm about making TVH drinks at home. This is the link. http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=20283

It is better to give specifics and hope and prey it gets made correctly.

Toby

Edited to remove venom, bile and spite from post.

←

On LTH you specified Beefeater's gin, but IIRC, at TVH you used Hendrick's. How would you alter the LTH recipe, if at all, if we used Hendrick's at home?

←

Yes go 2.50 Hendrick's as the first time I made it I was trying to get a beautiful woman drunk and...

Seriously as Hendricks is softer it totally works with the extra booze, but be careful of the rose water.

The original cocktail was with Hendrick's. And you can still go in and order it that way. It might be a wee bit more pricey than $11, there are worse cocktails out there made with sh*tter booze for more money. It was cost prohibitive to make a couple hundred a month at TVH. I tried it with all the options, Tanq, Bombay, Plymouth, Gordons ect. and I found that Beefeater had the taste profile that I perfered.

I wish, in a perfect world, that I could use every spirit that I loved on my cocktail menu. But there are times one makes a drink, a single drink that is designed to WOW and impress. Then when it comes time to produce it thousands of times over you find that the liquor cost is way out of wack. So the decision is to be made. Do you not make the cocktail or do you make it slightly different to the original? I felt that the J&R was solid enough to take a tweak and survive. Some don't.

I belive in the integrety of what goes in the glass. Look at my back bar, for the love of god look in my speed rail, it's all there.

I have a bunch of drinks with VEP, Johnny Walker Gold, and truffles that will never see a menu. If you want a $50 dollar cocktail I can hook you up. If I want to keep TVH open. Ask any chef if they have substituted one thing for another.

When it comes down to it it is a personal preference. She likes it with Hendricks, I like it with Juniperio. Tomatoe, Tomatoe, will not call the whole thing off.

Toby

[Alchemist]

The Art of Choke

←

Just now made one of these verbatim to the recipe. Oh my! *** swoon ***

←

Adding the below photo of the drink I made...

←

That is so amazing. The Art of Choke has never had such a loyal subject.

Toby

[Alchemist]

Fall is almost here, so here is a preview of what we are doing.

The Violet Hour

Autumn 2008 Cocktail List

GIN

Tom Collins Plymouth, Lemon, Simple Syrup

Juliet & Romeo Beefeater, Lime, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water

The Riviera Pineapple Infused Beefeater, Lemon, Egg White, Campari

Slim Tanqueray, Lime, Aperol, St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, Fruta Bomba Bitters

The Fox Hunt Tanqueray, Pimms #1, Lemon, Cynar, Peychaud’s Bitters

The Berliner Tanqueray, Lemon, Gilka Kummel, Apricot, Egg Yolk, Tangerine Bitters

RUM

Daiquiri Flor de Caña 4 Year, Lime, Simple Syrup

Bula Mai Tai El Dorado 5 Year, Lime, House Made Roasted Orgeat

Hush & Wonder Matusalem, Lime, Crème de Violette, Grapefruit Bitters

Hemingway Daiquiri Ron Botran, Lime, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Grapefruit

Dark & Stormy Brugal Anejo, Cruzan Black Strap, Lime, House Made Ginger Syrup

WHISKEY

Manhattan Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Sweet Vermouth, Angostura Bitters

Eyes Wide Bulleit Bourbon, Grapefruit, House Made Raspberry Syrup, House Made Hibiscus Syrup

The Everleigh Rebel Yell Bourbon, Lemon, Egg White, Pecan Syrup, Coffee Bitters

Autumn Old Fashioned Powers Irish, House Made Falernum, Luxardo Bitter

Woolworth’s Manhattan Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Root Beer Bitters

Six Corner Sling Old Overholdt Rye, Lemon, Punte Mes, Grapefruit Bitters

TEQUILA

Margarita Chinaco Blanco, Lime, Cointreau

Spanish Margarita Zapopan Plata, Lime, Licor 43, Hell-fire Bitters

La Hora El Tesoro Platina, Lemon, Plymouth Sloe Gin, Egg White, Angostura Bitters

BRANDY & COGNAC

Sidecar Hennessey VS Cognac, Lemon, Cointreau

Iron Cross Pisco Tabernero Italia, Lemon, Egg White, Orange Flower Water

The Orchard Laird’s Bonded Applejack, Lemon, Maple Syrup, Pimento Dram

Chicago Flip Hennessey VS Cognac, Fresh Cream, Tawny Port, Whole Egg, Nutmeg

WINE & SPARKLING

Champagne Cocktail Gruet Sparkling, Sugar Cube, Angostura Bitters

The Etiquette Gruet Sparkling, Lime, Pisco Acholado, House Made Raspberry Syrup

Autumn Sangria Pinot Noir, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Apricot, Apple, Blackberry

The Empire Builder Gruet Sparkling, Lemon, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, White Crème de Cacao

CORDIALS

Pimms Cup Pimms #1, Orange, Cucumber, Strawberry, Mint

Maloney’s Irish Cream Powers Irish, Fresh Cream, Ardbeg Scotch, Orange Flower Water

Broken Shoe Shiner Kubler Absinthe, Lemon, Aperol, Egg White, Benedictine, Rose Water

The Art of Choke Variation Cynar, Beefeater Gin, House Falernum, Mint

VODKA

Moscow Mule Tito’s, Lime, House Made Ginger Syrup, Soda Water

Vodka Cobbler Tito’s Vodka, Lemon, Lillet Blonde, Fresh Fruit

Part & Parcel Tito’s, Grapefruit, St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, Grapefruit Bitters

There a couple of changes on this menu. First you will notice that there are classsics leading off each category. We are going to feature the cocktails that started this whole cocktail craze a little over 200 years ago. I think that this will be interesting for patrons, first timers and regulars, and the bartenders alike.

The other thing is that we have an unprecedented amount of vodka drinks on the menu. it grew by 50%. Which is huge.

This menu will be in effect very, very soon.

Happy autumn to all.

Toby

[Chris Amirault]

So fantastic, and so many questions.

I assume that the almonds are roasted for the orgeat, yes?

What vermouth for the Manhattan?

Is the hibiscus syrup hibiscus tea simple with sugar? Or some other method?

Care to share the proportions for the Art of Choke variation (specifically the falernum)?

[Alchemist]

Yes the almonds are roasted. There is also bitter orange macerated into the mixture. Steven also adds both orange and rose water. It is f@#king amazing.

Martini and Rossi, sweet. 2x1 booze to vermouth. Angostura bitters, three dashes. The only change from a classic is a twist instead of a cherry.

It is straight hibiscus flowers from Tera Spice. It is amazing. It turns the simple the most beautiful color before your eyes.

The falernum is house made so you will have to play with it with the Velvet.

Toby

[avant-garde]

Toby -

I know it should never be the intention to go to a bar to get completely blitzed out of your mind, but I have a feeling that if (and when) I ever get to enjoy your establishment, I may not know when to stop. I see about 15 drinks I'd love to order.

Every time you post these menus it just drives me insane with inspiration.

Another amazing looking menu, Toby.

Thanks for sharing...

[Alchemist]

Toby -

I know it should never be the intention to go to a bar to get completely blitzed out of your mind, but I have a feeling that if (and when) I ever get to enjoy your establishment, I may not know when to stop.  I see about 15 drinks I'd love to order.

Every time you post these menus it just drives me insane with inspiration. 

Another amazing looking menu, Toby.

Thanks for sharing...

←

Intention sheshmention. Sometimes inebriation happens in a bar. I would just say to make sure you stay 3 nights so you can go twice with a hungover day between. Then get on the plane on the forth day and head to Betty Ford, or some awful lemon juice/maple syrup/cayenne cleanse. Between the food and drink you will need it.

Toby

[Alex]

Toby -

I know it should never be the intention to go to a bar to get completely blitzed out of your mind, but I have a feeling that if (and when) I ever get to enjoy your establishment, I may not know when to stop.  I see about 15 drinks I'd love to order.

Every time you post these menus it just drives me insane with inspiration. 

Another amazing looking menu, Toby.

Thanks for sharing...

←

Intention sheshmention. Sometimes inebriation happens in a bar. I would just say to make sure you stay 3 nights so you can go twice with a hungover day between. Then get on the plane on the forth day and head to Betty Ford, or some awful lemon juice/maple syrup/cayenne cleanse. Between the food and drink you will need it.

Toby

←

Mmm, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne. I wonder how that would go with bourbon. Blitzing and cleansing, all in one convenient package.

On a side, but related, note, have you ever had BLiS Bourbon Barrel Matured Maple Syrup? Amazing stuff.

[tammylc]

Toby -

I know it should never be the intention to go to a bar to get completely blitzed out of your mind, but I have a feeling that if (and when) I ever get to enjoy your establishment, I may not know when to stop.  I see about 15 drinks I'd love to order.

Every time you post these menus it just drives me insane with inspiration. 

Another amazing looking menu, Toby.

Thanks for sharing...

←

Intention sheshmention. Sometimes inebriation happens in a bar. I would just say to make sure you stay 3 nights so you can go twice with a hungover day between. Then get on the plane on the forth day and head to Betty Ford, or some awful lemon juice/maple syrup/cayenne cleanse. Between the food and drink you will need it.

Toby

←

Inebriation at the Violet Hour? I would know absolutely nothing about such a thing as that. (Thanks Toby!)

[DutchMuse]

I haven't read all the pages of this thread, but anyone know if the Violet Hour has Old Raj gin?

Also....if I go around 6:30 (shortly after they open) on Sunday night, I presume there won't be a wait, correct?

[Alchemist]

I haven't read all the pages of this thread, but anyone know if the Violet Hour has Old Raj gin?

Also....if I go around 6:30 (shortly after they open) on Sunday night, I presume there won't be a wait, correct?

←

Yes The Violet Hour does have Old Raj. I love the pictures on the side of the bottle. There are Victorian looking hunters, in pith helmets, staring down a charging tiger with the caption. Drink Old Raj straight. Then on the other side they same brave hunters sit on a verandah, laughing over their brave conquest, and it says Or Drink Old Raj With Tonic. Good thinking I say not to fuss about with ice, lime and tonic when the lion is baring down on you. Best to leave that for later, on the verandah.

There should be no line on a sunday at 6:30.

Toby