Cocktail Camp 2011 was last weekend and was a huge success. We gathered together over 120 people, from enthusiasts to professionals, to share their knowledge and learn about drinking and creating well crafted cocktails.

The day was based around five discussion panels, on such topics as proper tasting of spirits, beer cocktails, new American whiskeys, home entertaining, and making your own ingredients. These panels included an astounding range of talent, from distillers to bartenders.

And lots of samples, of course.

Balancing out the educational sessions were three social hours with cocktail bars by Lillet, Northwest Distillery, and House Spirits Distillery. Each bar served two original cocktails and a punch showcasing their products.

Where Cocktail Camp 2010 was a great first start, we really found our groove in this year’s event. We’re already talking about Cocktail Camp 2012 and beyond, so keep an eye on the Cocktail Camp web site. See you next April!

Continue reading for more photos

Gammal Krogstad, the latest release from the House Spirits Distillery Apothecary line. This is an aged version of their Krogstad Aquavit, aged ten months and blended in an interesting fashion:

[...] a barrel aged version of our Krogstad Aquavit, our Swedish-style clear spirit that is flavored with caraway and star anise. [...] This round of Krogstad Aquavit rested for 10 month in 3 barrels: a used 53 gallon House Spirits whiskey barrel and two 30 gallon used House Spirits rum barrels. We then blended all 3 barrels together to get a beautiful amber honey-sweet and savory floral aged spirit.

This bottle is part of a limited release batch of only 815 bottles. If you’re local to Portland, you should pick one up while you can. I’m sure they’ll go fast.

White Dog Old Fashioned

• 1 teaspoon simple syrup
• 3 dashes Angostura orange bitters
• 2 ounces unaged whiskey
• Brandied cherry for garnish

Combine the simple syrup and bitters in an empty mixing glass. Add a handful of ice, then the whiskey, and stir until cold. Strain into an old fashioned glass over a single large ice cube. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

I made an effort to preserve the crystal-clear appearance of this drink by using orange bitters instead of the aromatic bitters usually found in an Old Fashioned. While not perfectly clear, Angostura orange bitters impart less color than Regan’s orange. I also used simple syrup instead of the more common sugar cube in order to prevent undissolved grains in the drink. Finally, let your cherry drip-dry for a few seconds before dropping it in (although you can see a bit of color beginning to seep out of mine in this photo).

Key to this drink is unaged whiskey, aka “white dog”. Here I’m using unaged barley whiskey from House Spirits, but lots of other white whiskeys have come on the market in recent years so this is a great way to explore them.

A friend once referred to this as a “post-modern Old Fashioned”. I like that.

Central Park

• 1 1/2 ounce Bulleit bourbon
• 1 ounce Ramazzotti
• 1/2 ounce boysenberry liqueur
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir until cold. Strain over ice.

The Central Park cocktail comes to us courtesy of Portobello, an amazing vegan trattoria in southeast Portland. It’s not on the menu anymore but an enterprising friend finagled the recipe from one of the bartenders. I don’t have any boysenberry liqueur on hand but made the one pictured with Clear Creek blackberry liqueur and it didn’t lose anything in the translation. I’d actually be interested in trying some of their other fruit liqueurs in here as well (raspberry or cassis, maybe?).

I also can’t recommend Portobello highly enough, even for those who aren’t vegetarian (like myself) or vegan. Definitely try them if you’re in Portland, but make a reservation first, especially on weekends. This place is in high demand.

Cable Car

• 1 1/2 ounces spiced rum
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1/2 fresh lemon juice
• cinnamon sugar for glass rim (optional)

Combine ingredients in an ice-filled shaker and shake until cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, with an optional cinnamon-sugared rim.

The Cable Car, created by Tony Abou-Ganim at San Francisco’s Starlight Room, is a variation on the classic Sidecar, using spiced rum rather than Cognac, and cinnamon sugar instead of the regular sugar often used on Sidecars. It has quite a different flavor and is a nice addition to the ranks of spirit-orange-citrus cocktails.

I’m not normally a fan of sugar-rimmed cocktails but a little cinnamon compliments the spiced rum nicely. Go easy though — rather than dredging the entire glass rim through your sugar, try doing just a quarter or so of it. You can see just a touch of sugar on the left side of the glass in this photo. This allows you to dip into the sugar now and then, while not overly-sweetening your cocktail.

To make cinnamon sugar, just add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to a cup of superfine baker’s sugar (not confectioner’s sugar — baker’s sugar is regular granulated sugar, but finer). Optionally, spice it up a bit more by adding 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground clove, and 1/4 tsp allspice after the cinnamon. This spiced sugar is what I used here and it worked very well. But again, moderation is key; don’t go overboard with it.

Blackbeard Spiced Rum

The rum I used in this cocktail is a new(ish) product that was sent to me by the fine folks over at Don Q. Blackbeard is a spiced rum in the vein of products like Sailor Jerry or Captain Morgan. While vanilla is a strong element in the the aroma and flavor, it doesn’t come across as strongly as it does with these others. While the vanilla is definitely there, the scent is more like a typical aged rum than a bottle of vanilla extract. Upon tasting, it hits a nice middle ground — a bit smoother than Sailor Jerry and not nearly as sweet at Captain Morgan.

While Blackbeard works well in the Cable Car, I got a better feel for it when I tried it in a hot toddy, which is also more appropriate for these cold winter months. Add a cinnamon stick and a couple whole cloves to a couple ounces of Blackbeard and top with hot water and a touch of honey, and you’re set.