Life Until Done

Last night was the 2013 edition of  Good Spirits which though sponsored by Edible Manhattan could have just as easily been sponsored by Edible Brooklyn as the mix of restaurants/distillers/bars did seem to skew to Kings County. No matter, it rocked.

I really do love Good Spirits because unlike other food/cocktail events in NYC they seem to have a better handle on crowd control and so you get to actually eat and drink well without having to elbow people out-of-the-way and the chefs/bartenders are able to chat a little.

Oh, and it’s a fun research night too as inevitably I discover new brands of liquor or new restaurants to try while also making mental notes on  ideas for small bite plating and building cocktails.

Here are a few of my favorites from the night:

Food:

1. Whitehall: Island Creek oyster with seaweed and grape salad and chardonnay vinaigrette
2. L&W Oyster Co.: Soy cured sturgeon with a black tea smoke, spicy citrus broth and thai basil oil
   (turns out these guys are near my office… oh the possibilities!)
3. Dinner on Ludlow: Chicken meatball in a chili sauce with cucumber slaw
4. USQ Events: Smoked Potato and leek pierogi with trout rose and caraway nage
5. BOBO: Housemade gin & smoked salt arctic char gravlax with a celery and Jicama remoulade and horseradish aioli
6. Northern Spy Food Co.: Gin cured brook trout with green apples and almonds

Spirits:

1. Whitehall’s No.12: Barr Hill Gin, Vermont honey syrup, fresh lemon juice, thyme
   These guys have a gin list like others have wine lists and their cocktail list includes a my dear friend Jill’s favorite: The Vesper
2. Northern Spy Food Co.’s The Cavalry Cocktail: curious gin, cocchi americano, fresh orgeat, lemon juice dusted with cinanmon
   They had me at cocchi americano.
3. The Noble Experiment: Owney’s NYC Rum, black peppercorn, pear liqueur, lime
   Though not a huge rum fan, I had met the owner of Owney’s back in the fall at a Sandy fundraiser. Her rum, changed my opinion of daiquiris. Owney’s is gonna be big.
4. Cacao Prieto’s Ole’ Jane Moro: Widow Jane Bourbon with a blood orange and cardamom syrup and a touch of cacao prieto cacao rum
   Most unusual. I did not drink much of it mostly because mixing bourbon after several vodka and gin cocktails seemed like a really bad idea.
5. I forget the details but the Basil & Bootlegger 21 Vodka cocktail was fun and great to hear about how they started out sharing space with Tuthilltown.
6. Honorable mention: Bruce Cost’s Ginger Ale & Prairie Vodka’s Moscow Mule. This  varied depending on which flavor of ginger ale you asked for, though I have a thing for their original recipe. They scored extra points for best handout – I now have a pamphlet of cocktails to make using their ginger ale (score!)

Whitehall’s Island Creek Oyster

L&W Oyster Co – Soy Cured Sturgeon

Dinner on Ludlow – Chicken Meatball with Cucumber Slaw

Bobo – Gin and Smoked Salt Cured Arctic Char Gravlax

Northern Spy Food Co – Gin Cured Brook Trout and The Cavalry Cocktail

USQ Events – Smoked Potato and Leek Pierogi

LiV Vodka Olive Bread Martini

Whitehall’s No.12 Cocktail