Watch! A Negroni

 

Anyone that knows me knows that my favorite cocktail has always been, and will always be a Negroni.  Ahhhh just saying the word Negroni makes me smile.  This isn't a complicated cocktail that needs a ton of ingredients and special equipment to make.  It's simple, and often times I make it directly in the drinking glass.  A simple mix of 3 ingredients and a twist to orange is all it takes to make this beautiful and wonderful drink.  Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth, an ounce of each, mix, and you to can enjoy this lovely sweet, bitter, boozy drink.  

Typically, when I make a Negroni, I keep my ingredients as simple as the drink itself and use a nice dry London Gin like Beefeaters, however from time to time I like to mix it up and try an unusual gin which is what I did here.  I grabbed James Gin, made by petrolhead James May of Top Gear and Grand Tour fame, specifically his London Drizzle expression (although they are all wonderful, pro tip, try the American Ramstud in a dirty martini, pure bliss).  The London Drizzle is an incredibly unique gin made with beetroot, lovage, bay, orange, and ginger.  This is a much earthier gin that a traditional one is, but it comes together with the Campari for a unique take on a Negroni.

As an unabashed lover of all things Campari and Negroni you can imagine my joy at finding a watched that expressed it better than I could.  A couple of years ago Japanese watchmaker released a series of watches under their Presage Line called 'Cocktail' watches.  Each watch had a different colored dial that represented a cocktail, they had a champagne cocktail, and a green mojito dial, and of course a red Negroni inspired dial, which I of course picked up recently from online shop Teddy Baldassare.  It's a gorgeous watch, with a steel case housing the gorgeous dial on a calfskin strap.  It shimmers in the light and has a texture to it that keeps you staring at it to see the different shades of red.  A perfect watch to wear out on a date, or for a cocktail hour.  It also doesn't break the bank as it comes in well under $500.  Its a good size, not to big, nor too small at around 39MM in diameter.  While the crystal isn't sapphire it is Seiko's proprietary Hardlex which feels nice and strong.  Also has an open case back, although the movement isn't anything special to look at.  If you love to switch straps, you can do so easily as the lug to lug on this is 20mm which allows for any number of straps to be used. More stats below along with a more indepth video review of the watch if you are so inclined.

Movement	4R35 Automatic
Case Diameter	38.5 mm
Lug to Lug	45 mm
Lug Width	20mm
Thickness	12.22 mm
Crystal	Hardlex
Water Resistance	50M
Strap	Calfskin with quick release

First Look: Volcano Room

It wasn't but a short two weeks ago, that I wrote about what I would consider the first craft cocktail bar in Clear Lake, and a second one has joined the ranks.  What's really special in my mind is how different this one is.  While Preamble focuses more on traditional craft cocktails, and a little upscale (or they try to be at least), newly opened Volcano Room is an island themed bar, laid back, almost tiki, with lots of bamboo accents, nautical, Caribbean, and Hawaiian features abound.  Volcano Room is located in the old Coffee Oasis spot on NASA Rd 1 and Kirby Ln in a shopping center with Arlen's Market.  At this point, they are early in a soft opening phase, having only opened about a week ago.  Right now, when you drive up to the space its hard to even know that there is something occupying the space.  There is no sign, and the windows are heavily blacked out.  The only thing that gives you a clue that there may be something interesting going on are the tiki torches surrounding the place.  Once you walk in, you are welcomed by a very large open area, with a bar at the back, two more cozier lounge rooms on either side of the main area.

Both times I've been there I've been able to talk to the owner Steven, who is very passionate about bringing a laid back craft cocktail bar to Clear Lake.  He has a lot of experience in the restaurant business, and seems to know the area, and what folks want.  The head bartender is a gentlemen by the name of William who again seems to have a great passion for making good cocktails. Most of his experience is local CLC joins, but what he doesn't have in experience he makes up for in an eagerness to learn, read, and study about cocktails.  I really enjoyed sitting down with him and talking cocktails, and the making of different drinks, and philosophies on different spirits and cocktails.
Speaking of the cocktails, they starting off with a small list of incredibly well priced cocktails, including one of my favorites the Hemmingway Daiquiri ($7) along with some more tiki drinks like Mai Tai, Painkiller, and a Pina Coloada, all under $10.  Eventually they will expand their cocktail menu, offering a group of 7 cocktails for $7, and then a larger section with various prices depending on what it is.  In addition they'll have a food menu.  As of right now they are working out the kinks, but have a couple of Hawaiian Roll sliders, and a tropical mac & Cheese, which is an interesting mix of sweet, salty, and spicey.  They are bringing in a chef from a pretty popular spot in side the loop, which is nice to see talented folks come to Clear Lake from downtown.

Overall the space is nice, and has a genuinely relaxed vibe.  That along with well made cocktails, and good food, I can see this Volcano Room being very popular with Clear Lake area residents.  Even at this early stage its quickly become a place I enjoy immensely.  If they continue to move forward from where they have started I believe Volcano Room can do some incredible things for Clear Lake with respect to helping making craft cocktails popular in the suburbs.
There are some quibbles with the Volcano Room.  They don't seem interested in beer at all.  There bottle selection is full of macro lagers, with a couple of Karbach cans thrown in.  They'll have 6-8 taps probably soon, but beer is definitely not a focal point.  Additionally, as I have mentioned in previous posts, I worry about bench depth, meaning beyond their primary bartender, do they have enough talent to put out consistently good cocktails.  Time will tell.
Look for a follow up in a couple of months, and we'll see how the cocktail menu has evolved and what the food menu looks like.  In the meantime go check it out, and make a pit stop in the restrooms as they are not your typical boring bathrooms.

First Look: Preamble Lounge & Craft House

For a few years now the Clear Lake area has been doing some pretty exciting things with respect to craft beer.  For my money CLC has one of the best craft beer bars in the Houston area with Nobi Pub.  Add stalwart Boondoggles and other new comers like J. Henry's and Skallywags, CLC has done pretty well for itself with craft beer.  Unfortunately that's not the case with cocktails.  CLC is pretty much a cocktail desert. There are hardly any places to get a well made craft cocktail. Sure there are places to get margaritas, and flavored martini, but I'm talking about a place that can serve great classic cocktails.  That just hasn't existed.  Until now.  Preamble is the first of quite a few new cocktail bars that will be opening up over the course of the next few months in the CLC area.  Preamble's location is a little surprising, located across from the Cinemark, in a shopping center that hasn't seen a lot of love.  The slot Preamble has filled actually belonged to a Daiquiri shop.  Walking in, you immediately know that this place is as far away from the previous tenant as it can be.  There is lots of stone and brick walls, steel, glass.  Modern, but comfortable, with a corner filled with couch's.  The back wall is filled with glass shelves full of a really strong selection of various spirits.
The bar itself has enough for a few bartenders to work, and there is a handful of taps on the wall, all Houston area selections.

I spent a couple visits sitting at the bar, talking to the bartenders and even the owner, trying to understand what their vision is for this place.  They are truly passionate about craft cocktails and bringing that to CLC.  They want to cater to the community, will be offering a food menu in the future (from the looks of things, the area for the kitchen looks like a decent size), as well as classes focusing on various different spirits which I think is a really good idea.  Of course I didn't just go to the bar to talk, I came to drink, and I have to say overall I was pleasantly surprised.  They have put together a small menu of cocktails right now, and as they train their staff (more on that in a bit) they'll expand the menu, but they want their bartenders to be proficient in what they have on the menu first.  I had a few different cocktails, including a Boulvardier which is my go to drink at a new bar to see how they make it, i wasn't disappointed in this well made version.  Other drinks like the bees knees were amazingly presented, and tasty as well.  I was impressed by the speed, consistency, taste, and presentation of all the cocktails I had.  While they have a small standard menu, when the head bartender is around you can pretty much ask for anything and he'll make it.  Speaking of which, the owner brought Carlo, the head bartender, down from Dallas where he worked at a top cocktail bar.  Carlo is a great bartender, makes great drinks, has a wealth of information, interacts very well with the customers, and is always willing to make a suggestion on something to drink.

However, there are some things that can be worrisome.  Primarily, lack of bartending depth.  If Carlo is there, you are assured of getting a good drink.  If he isn't?  It can be a crapshoot.  They are having some difficulty getting good bartenders, that can make good drinks consistently.  Being a bartender at a craft cocktail spot isn't necessarily like working at Chili's.  Not that someone can't go from that to Preamble, but it's not an easy transition, and I think Preamble is struggling with that.  Additionally, I think the cost of some of their cocktails can be a little high outside of happy hour.  Some of the prices for their cocktails can be 1 or even 2 dollars higher than cocktail bars downtown.  I think there will need to be an adjustment on the price over time.
Overall, though, I'm extremely excited for a place like Preamble in Clear Lake.  I think this is a place that is much needed in the area and they are already doing some great business.  I'm excited to see where they go, what the food menu looks like, what the expanded cocktail menu develops into, and all the other plans they have.  I'm always rooting for folks that have a deep passion for food and or drink, doing good things in the right way, and the folks behind Preamble are one of those people.

Bar Review: Julep

One of the most talked about and anticipated cocktail bars of recent memory has got to be newly opened Julep on Washington Avenue.  Julep is the brainchild of the Clumsy Butcher group, the folks behind Anvil, Pastry War, Blacksmith, Hay Merchant, among others.  However, this is really the baby of bartender extradonaire Alba Huerta who has been around the Houston cocktail scene for a few years now.  She helped Bobby Heugel with Pastry War, but as you can tell when you walk into Julep, this is definitely hers.  People have been eagerly anticipating the opening of Julep since it's announcement last year.  However, as with most things, getting the bar ready to open didn't go as planned.  But, they didn't just sit around waiting for things to happen.  Once the bar was built out, and they were just waiting on the city inspections to get finalized, Alba and company were able to use the time to train the staff.  The time and effort that they have taken in training and educating the staff is seen in every aspect of the service.
When you walk inside you notice a few things off the bat: lots of white walls, lace over the windows, lots, and lots of copper.  My first impression, was one of walking into an old Southern kitchen.  A kitchen that is with a lot of booze.
I must say, that in the short time it's been open, I've really fallen in love with this place from a cocktail perspective.  Well a cocktail and food perspective really. As one would expect, the cocktails are all top notch, many with liquor infusions, interesting herbs and spices, or fun takes on classics.  My personal favorite in the latter category is the spiced Julep.  This drink is made by dropping a tea strainer that has been filled with spices, and soaking in bourbon, lighting it on fire, and dropping it into a Julep cup full of the traditional julep ingredients, and then topping it off with a mound of ice.  A showy drink to be sure, but one that tastes amazing with the spices really playing off the bourbon, mint and sugar of the traditional mint julep.  My favorite on the former is probably the Cherry Bounce Sour, made with cherry bounce (a cherry infused liquor), Old Grand Dad, lemon, turbinado, angostura bitters, and egg white.   Truly an exquisite drink.

Make no mistake, while, the cocktails reign supreme, the food is a must try as well.  Unlike other cocktail bars, Julep has a focus on seafood, especially cold servings, so you will see oysters from around the country being served (hopefully some good gulf oysters in a couple of months will show up on the menu), along with smoked trout, smoked salmon and very uniquely, full caviar service.  These are all reasonably priced options, well with the exception of the caviar which runs about $120.00.  However, as good as some of these are, none of them are my favorite on the menu.  That falls to the simple, but wonderful, hush puppies.  For $4 you get a small plate of crispy on the outside, still moist, on the inside, hushpuppies served with a serrano aoli.  The aoli is OK, and maybe the one inconsistency I've noticed. One visit it had no apparent kick, the next, there was just enough heat to keep me interested.  But honestly?  The hushpuppies were perfect by themselves.

Behind the bar is plenty of small batch liquors, a great line up of bourbons, whiskeys and ryes including more of the cult bourbon Pappy Van Winkle than I think I have ever seen in one place.  There is also gins, rums, etc to balance things out.  One of the things that I've appreciated is that I've been able to get some really good old fashions, by just asking a bartender to surprise me with something at the mid level price point (they've hit the price point perfectly both times I've done this, which hasn't necessarily been the case at other places).
Lastly, Julep has a small but interesting wine menu, and promises a draft beer menu soon, but honestly, you aren't going for beer or wine, your going there for the cocktails.

So, sit at the bar, watch the bartenders meticulously make each drink, don't be afraid to ask what a strange ingredient may be, you may get a taste, at the very least, they will be more than happy to talk to you about what they are making, and what's in each cocktail.  That really may be why I enjoy this place so much, so that everyone I have met so far at Julep, is passionate about making good drinks, does it well, and also takes the time to talk to customers, educating them as well.