Guys. We’ve finally found the magic formula for fail-proof awesomeness. It’s called: good people in limited numbers. Toss in some highly unusual cocktails, freely flowing artisanal grappa, and just enough hot-off-the-press paninis to temper all that alcohol and you’ve got our best. event. yet!
I’m going to be honest. I didn’t really enjoy myself during past events. I was simply too stressed and always on the run, pushing out clean glasses and platters of food and busing used glasses and worrying if everyone was having a good time. It was an effort just to slow down for a moment to greet people — and isn’t that the whole dang point?
This one shouldn’t have been as delightful as it was — I ran straight from jury duty to the event space with a raring head cold and a frazzled mind. But it was. So thank you, friends and new friends!
Especially new friends: two beautiful, chic women I didn’t recognize arrived. The tall brunette introduced herself and said (a tad embarrassed) that she’s a fan of my blog! And we have the same favorite cocktail! And so she came to our event! And brought her friend! Maybe that kind of stuff gets old for the Big Bloggas but it is such a treat — a gift! a big fat gift! — for this one. Thank you.
E & M, we’ve got a Clover Club date for a breakfast Ramos. And we’ll have to do Dutch Kills and Peels, too — y’know, to compare. :) And of course you must try M.’s at some point ‘cause it’s the one that started it all for me….
Was that a dream? It felt like one. A candle-lit dream reverberating with the strings of a harp. Our fourth event, Night Falls in the Eternal City, was precisely what we began Evoe to do: bring people from many different streams together to learn and taste and hear and speak and meet and above all, to enjoy the playful side of the modern cocktail….
(Click through for pics and a recipe.)
The ladies love Ramos.
Favorite Cocktails: 1941 - 2009
Gourmet digs into its archives to prove what we already knew: the ’50s were the heyday of cocktails (Ramos Fizz! Pimm’s Cup! Singapore Sling! And the dazzling, Technicolor Madras!).
Lovely that I’ve got a man (plus well-stocked bar) who can make every drink on the list.
We ran out of seltzer water last night, so M. made my favorite cocktail — a Ramos Gin Fizz — with Champagne instead. He reduced the sugar, as I like it, and made a few more refinements to the classic New Orleans recipe, trading out orange flower water for rose.
The result? An incredibly delicious, fresh, frothy concoction we’ve named for one of my many nicknames…
The Norichka
1.5 oz. Beefeater
0.5 oz simple syrup or 1 tsp superfine sugar
1 oz heavy cream
1 egg white
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz lime juice
Champagne
rose flower water
Place all ingredients except Champagne and rose water into a cocktail shaker. Shake briefly without ice to emulsify. Add ice (preferably a large chunk of block ice) and shake VIGOROUSLY for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 oz Champagne to fizz glass. Strain shaker contents through chinois into fizz glass. Set aside ice block. Rinse sides of shaker with Champagne and pour resulting mixture into fizz glass. Add 2 drops rose flower water.
The Great American Cooking Project