Mixology Monday

Thanks to Mike McSorley over at McSology for hosting April’s Mixology Monday. The theme was “Pain in the Ass” drinks, and as you might expect, participants came up with an array of drinks that are varying levels of nightmare to make. Head over to Mike’s roundup post to see the kinds of things you don’t want to be making when you’re in the mood for a casual cocktail.

Four years ago this month, when everyone in the booze blogosphere could still sit comfortably at the same bar with spaces to spare, we launched this little event called Mixology Monday. Now, almost 50 rounds later, the MxMo bar is a much noisier place, with between 30 and 50 participants turning out every month for our little Internet cocktail party. On the first anniversary, we mixed with champagne to make the event suitably celebratory; now, for the fourth anniversary event, we’re going in a different direction: we’re going to make you suffer.

MxMo XLVIII will take place Monday, April 26; hosting this round is Seattle bartender Mike McSorley, who publishes the blog McSology, and for the theme Mike has chosen Pain in the Ass Drinks. As he puts it in his preview post:

…My charge to you all is to document your (least) favorite drink that is the proverbial thorn in your side. It can be virtually anything stylistically -  The point here is to have fun and share that little ticket item that throws you off your cleaning game 10 minutes before last call!

For both professional bartenders and home enthusiasts, these are the drinks that look really good on paper, but then after you’ve spent days tracking down the proper ingredients and hours making syrups and tinctures, and after you’ve taken the time to crush the ice and prepare the garnish and assemble everything just right you take a sip and, as delicious as the drink might be, you think to yourself, “I’m exhausted … What the hell was I thinking?”

(And if you’re wondering why Mike may have picked this topic, allow me to point out a couple of things: first, Mike’s recipe for his Saffron Julius, his winning entry in the recent 42 Below World Cup regional competition, the preparation of which makes mixing a Ramos Fizz look as easy as popping a beer; and Mike’s co-worker Evan Martin’s recipe and garnish for Death in the South Pacific, the winning entry in the Tales of the Cocktail official drink competition.)

If you’re seeking inspiration for drink recipes that have the capacity to drive you nuts, but which have a flavor, character and history that make the whole process worth it, may I make a suggestion? This month saw the release of Beachbum Berry Remixed, a compilation of Jeff Berry’s first two books, Grog Log and Intoxica, with a hell of a lot of photos, glimpses of exotic-drink paraphernalia, mixing notes, updated recipes and, as if that wasn’t justification for plopping out the cash for the book, another slew of recipes both vintage and contemporary. While the book has some drinks that you can put together rather easily from a well-stocked bar, there are others that are projects with a complexity on par with that of deciphering the human genome. Okay, maybe not that tough, but still, they can be work to make, and what better excuse to commit yourself to a boozy project than that it fits in with this month’s MxMo.

To participate, simply have your pain-in-the-ass drink written up and posted (hopefully with photograph) on your blog or at eGullet by the end of Monday, April 26. Be sure to include the MxMo logo and a link back to the Mixology Monday site, and to Mike’s site as host. Then, be sure to let Mike know you’ve participated by either e-mailing him at mikemcsorley[at]gmail[dot]com, with “MxMo” in the subject line, or simply drop a comment with your post’s URL at the end of Mike’s announcement post.

Considering the extent that some folks will venture to in order to mix a drink nowadays, I can’t wait to see what comes up this round–

Participants really punched it up (sorry) for last month’s Mixology Monday. Hosted at Hobson’s Choice, the March MxMo had people mixing gin, rum, bourbon and other booze with — oh, hell, pretty much everything that can be put into a punch bowl.

Read the March roundup here, and tune in for the next MxMo on April 26.

Hot on the heels of one of the most well-attended Mixology Mondays yet, the March round of MxMo could be even bigger. Hosting the March round (that’s Mixology Monday #47 if you’re counting) is Mike at Hobson’s Choice, and for this round Mike has chosen Punch as the theme. Here’s how Mike suggests participants approach the topic:

There aren’t really any specific limitations on this month’s subject. I emailed David Wondrich to ask if he had any pearls of wisdom for us as we take on the punch challenge. This was his response: “The thing I like to keep in mind while making Punch is that it is, as the London Physician Nicholas Falck defined it in 1779, ‘an extemporary kind of wine.’ It is not, in other words, simply a large cocktail. Like wine, it should be balanced, not too pungent, not too strong, and preferably not decked out in all sorts of gaudy frippery like something participating in the retail sex trade.”

Keep in mind that we are at that time of year when there are some wonderful citrus varieties available at the market. And in the warmer climates, we are already seeing the first of the Spring berries.

Those of you who are friendly with the bartender at your favorite punch-serving watering hole, it would be great if you could get him or her to share the house recipe. If there is something your family has been serving at parties for generations, go with that. Let’s have some fun with this and see how many different recipes we can find.

Once you have settled on a recipe, make the punch and then post the recipe, a photo, and your thoughts about the punch on your blog or on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.

Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to Mixology Monday and this [original announcement] post. (And once the round-up is published, it would be great if you could update your post with a link to that summary post.)

Good lord — “punch” as the theme. With all the ways this can be approached, and with all the crazy delicious fun that can be had with punch, this month’s MxMo could be one for the ages.

To participate, simply have your recipe (and photos, hopefully) posted on your blog or at eGullet by the close of March 22, as described by Mike, above. Be sure to let him know that you’re participating by dropping a note and link in the comment section to the announcement post, or by e-mailing Mike at hobsonschoiceinfo at gmail dot com.

Thirty-nine entries? Somewhere around 50 cocktail recipes?? Damn, the February Mixology Monday saw a lot of absinthe being poured. Many thanks to Sonja for hosting MxMo XLVI: Absinthe over at Thinking of Drinking, and thanks to all who joined in. Want to see the participating entries? Here’s part one, and part two of the roundup.