Tag Archives: New Deal Distillery

Toast Tuesday: Gin

14 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Toast Tuesday

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I’m going to tell you honestly, I really didn’t read this chapter in the book. I just looked in my liquor closet and followed my tastebuds. I have three gins and a genever in my collection.

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When New Deal began making gin, I was certain I didn’t like gin. What I soon realized was I hadn’t had any good gins. I’d only had old school gins that tasted only of rubbing alcohol and juniper. New gins were a beautiful balance of flavors and different notes that just juniper.

When New Deal was experimenting with the gins, we’d pour them in the tasting room to get people’s feedback. We made two gins; one of the gins is a little more traditional, and the other something very unique and herbaceous, that really took folks by surprise.  I fell in love with Gin No, 1, the weird kid.  Before I moved I stocked up on #1. It has a soft green hue and is quite versatile.  It is great for a martini, in a Bloody Mary, or with savory elements.  I know the thing you are scratching your head about there is the Bloody Mary, but a good bloody has layers of spice, and so does No. 1.

Another gin that is great in a bloody is the barrel aged Abernathy Gin from Tenn South Distillery.  This is made in the New American style where juniper is not the only flavor element.  This has a soft hints of floral and citrus.  I knew at first sip this was going home with me.

The other thing I drank this week was Bols Genever. Genever is the precursor to the gin we know now, first made by the Dutch. It’s very malty, both on the nose and the pallet. You can make an interesting Old Fashioned with it. What I did was the Improved Gin Cocktail and followed cocktail historian David Wondrich’s tasting notes and mixed it with maraschino liqueur and bitters.  The maltiness came through and made a delicious little cocktail.

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I also made a cocktail called the Jasmine, that I found I had saved in my drinks file a couple years ago and again last week.  Clearly if I’ve saved it twice, it was time to make it.  I used Martin Miller’s Gin.  This is my favorite commercial gin a soft juniper flavor and citrus flavor.

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This week I am hosting my ladies group for my Happy Hour at home. I’ve really struggled with what to serve this week. I want to make classic cocktails that are intended to be savored and sipped. Most of these ladies want koolaid that can be sucked down in a flash. So as a compromise for myself, I’m making one classic cocktail, one simple cocktail, and one fluffy, but interesting, cocktail.  oh the decisions…

Be sure to see what Meg drank this week.  I’ll keep you posted on how the ladies fare with the gin.

Here’s to another great Tuesday and drinking adventurously!

Our guide

Our guide

it’s Margarita weather!

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in cocktails, new deal

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The last few summers here in Oregon have been woefully inadequate.  I’m from a sun loving state, so I need a couple good months of sun to replenish my vitamin D.  This summer has been exactly what I needed!  We’ve had a marathon run of cool mornings that turn into gloriously hot afternoons.  I’ve been in heaven.

Oregon is a state controlled liquor state, which means you cannot buy booze at the grocery store.  The tasting room at the distillery is technically a tiny liquor store.  We can only sells the products we make.  Since we are not a bar, we can serve “mini” cocktails that have no more than 1/2 ounce of spirit in up to 2 ounces of mixer.  The OLCC has us on a pretty short, but manageable leash.

What says summer better than a Margarita?!  We don’t make a tequilla, but one thing I love in my margarita is our Hot Monkey hot pepper infused vodka.  We came up with a modified margarita to serve this weekend.  The following recipe is for a real “adult” size beverage for you to enjoy at home.

Salt the rim of your glass.  If you really want to be on fire, mix a pinch of chili powder or cayene in with your salt before rimming.
In your cocktail shaker, add:
1 ounce fresh squeezed lime
2 ounce pomegranate juice*
2 ounce Hot Monkey vodka
1 ounce simple syrup
2-3 dashes Fee Bros orange bitters
Shake and pour into your glass over fresh ice.

*a fun alternative is pomegranate flavored fizzy soda from the supermarket, just shake everything else and pour that on top.

Cheers!

weekend wrap-up

09 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in about town, restaurants

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Eating good on Hawthorne just got a little easier, not there wasn’t already an ample supply of great food.  But, Lardo opened it’s brick and mortar restaurant location on Friday.  This cold has impaired my eating and cognitive skills, so much so, that on Friday afternoon while driving home with Christa, I wondered when Lardo would be opening.  All hail my iPhone and it’s speedy google abilities.  I found it was opening on Friday July 6.  Without another word, Christa takes a hard left and I look at her like she’s mad.   Where are you going?  It IS Friday July 6th. Ooohhh, right!  Good thinking.

We walked in to the refreshed space with all of its beautiful new wood and mostly well stocked bar.  There was the slight air of chaos, but this being opening day, that was to be understood.  We placed our order and got it shortly.  Me: the pork meatball banh mi.  Christa: double burger with pork belly and cheddar.  We cut each in half and shared along with an order of dirty fries.  I’ve had the regular fries before, which are quite good topped with parmesan and fried herbs.  When we asked what made the fries dirty, the gal told us there was bacon on top.  Sounds great.  But, oh no, there wasn’t bacon on top, it was fried bit of pork belly and pork rind.  glutenous yumminess that was out of this world!

My biggest (and most vocal) complaint was now that they are in the heart of distillery row, they had none of the row’s spirits on their bar.  I talked to the bar manager and we will be remedying this shortly.  Other than them not stocking local spirits on the bar, my only other beef was there were folks smoking on the patio.  Hopefully they’ll curb that once they get things better under control.  We did hear that later in the evening, that service was incredibly slow (and they were packed), but all the food was still outstanding.  When it was a food cart and one guy was cooking, it took about the same amount of time to get your food.  I’m sure they’ll get their rhythm in no time.  Being where they are located, I’ll be going there often.

Saturday night was Coava Coffee’s second anniversary party.  Lydia of Tender Bar was serving up New Deal cocktails that were quite tasty.  I had both the Ginger Fizzle and Bumble Berry.  With it being 85ish degrees out (and 110 inside), I skipped trying the milk pUnch.  The Ginger Fizzle was good, but the Bumble Berry was great.  We all decided it tasted like lifesavers made with fresh berries.  It went down easily.  As a non-alcoholic option, she had made a fresh ginger beer which was just the right amount of big ginger flavor.  The Koi Fusion truck was parked outside to provide food.  Bar was free and flowing, so I didn’t mind paying for good food.  It was screaming hot in the space and since I get up so freaking early, I tucked out about 9:30.  I heard the event went well into the night with a dance party in another part of the space.

Since, I still have not shopped for groceries since I got this cold, I’m driving to work today so I can shop on my way home.  I’ll be stopping at Coava on my way in for my morning coffee and thanking them for a great event.  Off to work I go.  Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the glorious summer that finally decided to show up in Oregon.

lady lavender’s lovely libation

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in cocktails, recipes

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I raise a glass in honor of the bounty of summer my garden keeps bestowing on me and my 100th follower.

I can’t recall which blogger I was reading lately who said we write these blogs for our readers and our followers.  I’ll agree somewhat.  I am delighted that 100 people out there follow me in their reader and in their in-boxes.  I am honored that people I don’t know take the time to think about what I’ve written and some even then actually make a recipe I’ve talked about.  That’s high praise.  And I thank you.

On the weekends at the distillery we serve mini cocktails.  We make 2 very different, but incredible gins.  Gin #3 is bright and crisp.  Gin #1 is big and round.   This weekend (and next, in case you want stop by) we served a Lavender, Gin #3 & tonic. This drink is quite tasty and perfect for summer since my lavender is in bloom.

There was time, not too long ago that I did not like gin.  A few years ago, I was visiting my mutha and step-father.  He asked who wanted a martini before dinner.  I gleefully chimed in.  I took one sip and was immediately horrified.  Not only was I expecting vodka, but I certainly wasn’t expecting the mass produced gin in a jug they served me.  I just know it was undrinkable.  Really, I poured it down the drain.

When we began our gin experiments, I wasn’t the first to rush and try it out. But our distillers sort of sneak stuff in.  Taste this.  What is it?  Just taste it.  Oooooh that’s tasty.  That’s gin.  The gins that are being produced by the microdistilleries are delicate and balanced unlike the commercial gins, which I find harsh or overly perfumed.

Lavender, Gin #3, and Tonic… dedicated to Sybarite Sauvage for being my 100th.  (kinda makes me sound like a slut 😉 )
3/4 – 1 oz lavender simple syrup
1 1/2- 2 oz Gin #3
Pour over ice in a rocks glass topped with your favorite tonic.

lavender simple syrup
1 cup lavender (leaves, stems & buds rough cut with scissors)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Bring to a boil and let simmer 5ish minutes, remove from heat and let sit another 5 minutes and strain.

enjoy a cocktail on your porch!  and in case you’ve missed some of my other garden cocktails, check here and here.

the Rhubarbarian

20 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in cocktails

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my new summer drink…

The RHUBARBARIAN…

1 1/2z rhubarb simple syrup*
1z fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2z New Deal Gin Recipe 3
over ice in a rocks glass
topped with 1 1/2-2z club soda

Rhubarb Simple Syrup
4 generous stalks of rhubarb, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Strain syrup from rhubarb. At this point you should have a nice rhubarb compote or something like applesauce. eat and enjoy the compote and refrigerate the syrup

these work responsibilities are getting in the way of fun

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in dining, new deal

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Oh the rough job I have.  Last minute email pleading we need you to go out to dinner.  Well, you know me.  There is nothing I hate MORE than going out to dinner.  Fine.  I’m a team player.  I’ll help out just this once.  Don’t even think of making a habit of this kind of thing.

The Morrison Child & Family Services has a fundraising dinner series called Cooking for Kids.  “This is a series of 15+ fine dining events showcasing the region’s most spectacular restaurants and chefs paired with the finest wineries, breweries and distilleries.”  New Deal Distillery was paired with Nuestra Cocina and Chef Benjamin Gonzales whose specialties feature flavors from Central Mexico.

Dinner started with ceviche that had a sprinkling of Hot Monkey Hot Pepper infused vodka.  This was paired with a Hot Monkey Drop.  Think pink grapefruit margarita meets martini.  It was glorious.  I’m such a fan of Hot Monkey that I could have added a touch more heat and taken the sweetness down a hair.

The second course was a traditional snack of tostada topped with shredded chicken.  This was paired with a cava sangria made with New Deal Ginger Liqueur.  A beautiful pairing that made you feel like it was summer.

The main course was a soufflé with shrimp in a mole sauce.  Served alongside were the cutest, tiniest, tastiest homemade tortillas.  The drink pairing was the gold medal winner of the night.  A cocktail they called the Numero Uno and that it was!  Muddled cilantro and lime paired with New Deal Gin 1 served up as a martini.  It was glorious!  (good thing we bottled Gin 1 today- I’ll give you one guess what I’ll be drinking this weekend)

Dessert was horchata with cinnamon ice cream that was served with tiny cocktail of New Deal Mud Puddle (bitter chocolate vodka) and Coffee Liqueur for you to pour over.  It was decadent and comforting, like a good hug.

Once again, I have to make such sacrifices in the name of work.  This is one sacrifice I’ll gladly make again and again.  Thanks for that emergency meeting!  A huge thanks to Chef Gonzales and bartender Danny for the beautiful dinner and perfect pairings!

Eating Good AND Doing Good

16 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in community, Uncategorized

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Sorry but this is one of those posts that starts off with look at the fun thing I did and you didn’t 😉

This past Saturday was New Deal Distillery’s 3rd annual Season’s Eating event. We had 10 different local artisan food vendors and it was a food raiser for the Oregon Food Bank. This year topped the last in so many ways… Not only did we have more people (over 600!) but we filled 3 BINS (last year we only filled 2).

I came home with beautiful porchetta from Tails and Trotters, goat cheese from Briar Rose Creamery, yummies from Olympic Provisions, a cream cheese and candied (?!) tomato hand pie from Random Order, pickles from Unbound Pickling, Thai vinaigrette from River Wave Foods and some awesome coffee Water Ave.

But how often do you get to have so much fun doing good?! I love being such a good do-gooder. I try to do something good each month. I took a huge bag of groceries in for our food bin, but this time of year I also make sure I ALWAYS have change in my pocket so I can drop coins into the Salvation Army tins.

While December is the month that we all seem to be reminded to help others, I want you to remember to do good all year. A few of the things that I do, that are not a stretch for you to add to your daily routine, are:
Buy school supplies for your local schools (just drop them at your local school- they’ll be thrilled)
Donate pet food, cat litter or collars to your local animal shelter
Pick up trash in your neighborhood park
Prune bushes or pull ivy at a park (this would of course be in conjunction with your local park service)
Help an elderly neighbor with some simple home repairs or organization
Clean out your closet and donate professional clothes to a local charity
Buy a few $5 gift cards and hand them out to needy individuals
Take books or magazines to the local hospital
I also will buy a gift card at Starbucks and give it to the cashier with the instructions to buy drinks for the cops that come in that store

What other creative ways do you help contribute to your community? I love Cooking Spree’s idea for donating to her local food bank.

Since it is December, go get some new unwrapped toys and drop them off for Toys for Tots before it’s too late. Happy Do-Gooding!

(this, by the way, is my 50th post- yea me!)

another freaking pizza?!

15 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by in cocktails, dinner, pizza, recipes

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I think by now you know I have a special affinity for my pizza.  I’m always looking for new toppings and trying out various flour mixes.

Today’s was a bit of a kitchen sink experiment.  With my baking bender of late, I’ve accumulated a few flours that needed to be finished off.

Today’s recipe was, as with recipes past, a twist on the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
wait 5 minutes…
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup dark rye flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour

I started this in the morning before I left for work, then when I got home I rolled it into a ball and let it rest for about 30- 45 minutes while I prepped my toppings.  As I’ve mentioned before, the resting period can be shorter if you have less time or it can be longer.  This recipe is quite flexible and forgiving.

I squished it out into a roundish shape and tossed it on my preheated 450* degree grill.  At the 3 minute(ish) mark poke the dough and give it another minute or two.  Flip and top with whatever’s yummy.

Tonight’s toppings were Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper Spread, roasted chicken, sauteed onions, cambozola and mozzarella. this was quite tasty.

And to accompany this cheesy goodness I threw together a nice little cocktail I’m calling An Autumn Walk. Kristin and I went on a quick 3 mile walk around the reservoir this afternoon and I thought this drink was a liquid representation.  Brisk and spicy.

An Autumn Walk
1 1/2 ounces New Deal Ginger Liqueur
1 ounce Portland 88 Vodka
3.5-4 ounces Pellegrino Aranciata
squeeze of fresh lemon

Cheers!

STD’s

31 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Portland, STD

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When you live somewhere for a long time, you forget to look up and see what’s right in front of you.  It’s nice when you run into someone you haven’t seen in awhile or meet someone new to remind you there really is a whole wide world of stuff going on outside your narrow little swath of P-town.  With fall and the holidays, there’s almost too many things going on right now, but I’ll highlight a few.  Then I’ll give you the tools to find some cool stuff on your own.

 

Trainer, Crafter, Kristen of Take it Outside Fitness is encouraging every one to get crafty this month with open crafting time (FREE) on Thursdays November 3 and 17th. 4:30- 7:30, bring whatever your working on and chat.  4179 SE Division St, 97202

Nov. 11: Andrew Rich Wines is features a tasting of his latest releases at Foster & Dobbs, 2518 NE 15th Ave. 4:30-6:30 pm; free

ALSO November 11, The Japanese Garden is open to the public for FREE.

November 12 a benefit for P:ear at Rejuvenation 1100 SE Grand, 97214.  Holiday Art Fair with food and drink, always a good time.  10am-5pm

November 19, Fix-it Fairs are put on for free by the City of Portland.  Great ideas to make your home more efficient. This one is at Ron Russell Middle School, 3955 SE 112th Ave, Portland

SUPER STD: December 10th 12-5 New Deal Distillery 3rd Annual Season’s Eating.  Bring a couple cans of food or a few bucks to donate to the Oregon Food Bank.  Taste spirits and shop and taste from local artisan food vendors.  1311 SE 9th, Portland

Portland Culinary Workshop has sooo many things going on.  Too many to list.  So check them out.

Portland Art Museum has a few rotating exhibits in addition to their permanent exhibit. Adam Sorensen’s art has a lot of color- just right to get my attention.

Caprial & John have tons of classes to chose from and their community dinners are outstanding!  Just bring your favorite bottle of wine.

Get your green thumb on at Portland Nursery with loads of classes from floral wreaths to compost.

If you haven’t gotten on the email list for The Meadow– do it! Always great stuff going on! and ditto for Foster and Dobbs.