Mixology Monday

Since the last round was scheduled late in the month to coincide with the end of Tales of the Cocktail — plus there was a week’s extension so everyone could recover from Tales of the Cocktail — that means we’ve got only a short window until the next round of Mixology Monday.

This round takes place Monday, August 11, and the theme is Local Flavor. Hosting the event is Kevin at Save the Drinkers; in his announcement post, Kevin writes:

The idea is to post one of two types of drinks:

Option 1: Gather ingredients that are representative of the culture/geography/tackiness of your respective cities and make a drink with a truly place-based style. For example, huckleberries are native to the geographical area where I live, as are elderflowers, potatoes, and extremely conservative, closet-case politicians. (I’m just saying!)

Option 2: Dig up an old drink that came from your city and revive it! If you can find the original bar, that would be even more interesting.

Have your post up my the close of Monday, August 11, and — here’s the important part — be sure to place your post’s URL in a comment on Kevin’s announcement post so he knows you’re participating and can include you in the roundup.

Tales of the Cocktail is now but a hazy memory for most of us, but on Monday, July 28, 37 bloggers participated in Mixology Monday XXIX: New Orleans. Many, many Ramos Gin Fizzes, Absinthe Suissesses and other drinks either originating in or inspired by the Crescent City were mixed for this round, and working through them all will take quite an effort.

Hosting this round was The Cocktail Chronicles; the roundup post can be found right here.

(And since Rum Dood raised the question: I’m suggesting that hosts continue to keep the roundups on their own sites; one of the benefits of hosting is having the additional web traffic come your way, so I’m thinking the Mixology Monday site should aid in that, rather than compete with the host for readers’ eyeballs.)

Since virtually all of the 30-someodd cocktail bloggers who made it to Tales of the Cocktail are still in transit on their way home (me, Blair, Craig, et al) or are showing up bleary-eyed at their day jobs after a week of revelry (Jeffrey, Rick, Erik, et al), it doesn’t look like many of us are going to make today’s deadline for posting a New Orleans drink. So, I’m pushing back the deadline one week, to July 28. Details on this month’s theme is here; I’m hosting, so stick the URL of your submission in the comments section of the announcement post, and I’ll get a roundup posted in the following day or so.

We’ve recently marked the second anniversary of Mixology Monday, and this month’s event had almost 40 participants, possibly the most ever. It’s time to bring it up one more level.

For July, Mixology Monday will take place on Monday, July 21, and this round will feature New Orleans. There are two ways to participate:

1. Mix up a cocktail that either originated in or is inspired by New Orleans, and post about it by Monday, July 21. By “originated,” I mean classics such as the Sazerac or the Milk Punch, as well as more recent creations such as the Obituary Cocktail or the Hurricane; really, there are tons of them out there, and with a little web research (my site has its own fair share of them) you’ll come up with a number of choices. And by “inspired,” I mean don’t be limited by what’s already out there; follow the New Orleans style and knock some Peychaud’s bitters or Herbsaint into the glass for a little NO touch. Hell, even tiki drinks qualify — Don the Beachcomber was created by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, who hailed from…that’s right.
2. Or, get your booze-bloggin’ butt down to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail from July 16 to 20, and post one of your favorites out of the flood of drinks you’ll encounter. (And it doesn’t have to be a typical New Orleans cocktail; the fact that you’re drinking it while in town is good enough.)

Top get option #2 started, on Wednesday, July 16, there’s a reception for cocktail bloggers at the Hotel Monteleone from 4:30 to 6:00. This thing is all ours, folks, and it’s even being billed (somewhere down in the fine print) as “Mixology Monday Live.” This reception comes just as the event is kicking off, and we’ll have food and cocktails for every blogger who can make it.

Right now there are more than 30 cocktail bloggers who are coming to New Orleans and participating in Blogging Tales of the Cocktail, and — with a little help from the gods of airline transport — we’ll finally have the opportunity to say “I thought you’d be taller / thinner / drunker” to all these folks we’ve only known online for so long. We’ve got bloggers coming from as far away as New Zealand and the UK for this; if you’re still on the fence about it, better jump in now. (And if you’re a cocktail blogger coming to Tales and you aren’t on the Tales Blog contributors list but want to get in on the game, let me know and we’ll get you lined up. )

Even if you can’t make it to New Orleans to be with the rest of us, you can join in the fun with Mixology Monday. The Cocktail Chronicles will host this round; to participate, just have your post up on or before July 21, and pop a note in the comments section to the announcement post. And if there’s any way you can make it, we’d love to have you join us at Tales of the Cocktail. Hope to see you there.

Wow, 39 participants! Without sorting through the archives to check, I think that might be the largest Mixology Monday ever.

Thanks to Marshall and SeanMike for hosting over at Scofflaw’s Den. Here’s the link to the wrapup:

Mixology Monday Bourbon Recap