Vintage Eve Circa Jan 2018, “Wine 101: The Demise of the Dinner Party”

August 25, 2020 by evebushman

Cruising a foodie group on Facebook one member’s query kind of stuck out in my mind. It was something like, “Does anyone do dinner parties anymore?” About half of the comments, if not more, said no. Due to pets, small dining spaces, children, busy schedules and a lack of ideas.

Bushman Kitchen – overlooking our Napa Valley vineyard (We wish!)

That lack of ideas on what to do for a dinner party got my mind racing. I never run out of ideas. Granted we have a kitchen made for entertaining, and a home that has managed events for up to 75 people, but the size of our kitchen isn’t where our dinner party ideas stem from.

It stems from our interests not only in food preparation and presentation, but also with the wine and/or spirits we want to serve to complement our meals.

If we go back a few decades we began as young married couples often do: experimenting in the kitchen. I happened to share my kitchen with a firefighter that was used to cooking for a dozen or more crew members. Hence, we always had too much. (Truth be told this is still a problem!) We had pals that lived close by that were more than willing to come up for a ready made meal, bring wine, and our Thursday Night Dinners began.

Every other week we walked over to see the Andrews, and they came over to our house on the weeks when it was our turn. Eventually other friends got wind of our dinners and they grew – with more couples and more wine than we really wanted to partake in on a week night.

Fast forward to our third home in Awesometown. Our kitchen prep area is probably four or five times greater than the kitchen was in our starter home was. And now we knew that the kitchen was where the action was. Ed had become an excellent cook, as most fire fighters are, and I was happy to be his sous chef.

Now we plan monthly dinner parties, with a rotating set of pals (as we are all so busy everyone is not always free) and still enjoy the menu planning as well as pulling wines from our cellar to pair. Over the years I have also enjoyed hosting meetings for the different events I’m working on, as well as a monthly Brainstormer’s Group – and these are mostly potluck with some kind of wine or spirit tasting I throw in for fun.

These are the different ideas we’ve tried over the years:

We did a large wine event with five different tasting stations where guests moved from room to room, outside to inside, and returned to the kitchen for the final pairing.

Hosted a jam-making class!

The “Buck Bar” idea borrowed from Lesley and David Solmonson’s book “The Twelve Bottle Bar” where guests are prompted to replace the vodka in a Moscow Mule with rye, bourbon or scotch, and the lime with orange or lemon. Just crafting your own cocktail with all the bartender tools is fun!

Pot lucks with everyone bringing one of their prized homemade dishes – can’t ever go wrong with that.

Gin or vodka tastings – those are not so usual – after dining.

After dinner put on a movie like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that you can talk over.

I’ve done chocolate tastings where I’ve guided guests to go from dark to light, with some wine and port as well, to see how the chocolate flavors develop and change when we study them.

An adult Pinata with tiny plastic booze bottles.

Make friends with restaurant owners – they make you want to up your game!

Play Apples to Apples, or any easy to play game for families, after dinner.

Single malt scotch tastings, with minor pairings like grilled sausage and Snicker bars!

Wine and Junk Food pairing. We like popcorn and sparkling wine and chocolate candy with Zinfandel – with a lot in between. You have to do some experimenting before you plan this one.

After a dinner: blind wine tastings, single varietal tastings, aroma lessons…

So if you were on the fence about planning a fun dinner party I hope this article helped to get your creative juices working. And if you need more assistance, or a really fun guest, you know where to find me!

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Vintage Eve Circa April 2017: The Turf Cocktail from 12 Bottle Bar

February 18, 2020 by evebushman

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of recipes from the 12 Bottle Bar book, and not just because the authors have generously served up how-to-make bitters and how-to-make scrubs at Cocktails on the Roof the last two years. We actually have local cocktail aficionados living here and I, for one, am going for the gusto in learning all I can from them.

From the 12 Bottle Bar website, this is who they are:

David Solmonson
An avid home-bartending enthusiast, David is a screenwriter and media executive by trade. He is married to author Lesley Jacobs Solmonson. David is BarSmarts certified.

Lesley Solmonson
Lesley’s book “Gin: A Global History” (Reaktion) was published in 2012, and she is currently working on “Liqueur: A Global History” (Reaktion). She is the cocktail/wine writer for the LA Weekly and writes for Chilled magazine. Lesley has written for many other publications, including Wine Enthusiast, Gourmet, and Santa Barbara, and she serves on the Advisory Board of the Museum of the American Cocktail.

Now about the main ingredient in this cocktail, genever, it took David and Lesley about three times to get me to say it like Geneva with an r at the end and I’m still not sure that’s right. What is genever? Well…I’m a gin fan and the Solmonsons are gin fans so the logical step in my cocktail education was to try a gin-like spirit. Enter genever.

As 12 Bottle Bar explains: “…Modern genever is essentially a blend of two distinct spirits. The first is triple or quadruple pot-distilled ‘maltwine’, equal amounts of corn, rye, and malted barley. The second is neutral spirit like that used in London Dry. And then, of course, there are the botanicals, which must include juniper. It’s the use of juniper that has caused many to call genever “gin”; the term “genever” translates quite literally as juniper. Indeed, when genever made its way to America in the mid-1800s, it was often referred to as Holland gin…” Read more here: http://12bottlebar.com/2012/06/bottle-reboot-part-4-genever/

And the cocktail I loved made with Genever this week is:

The Turf Cocktail

2 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Add all ingredients to a chilled mixing glass.
Stir with ice and strain into a coupe.
Garnish with a lemon twist.

Contact: drinks@12bottlebar.com

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Vintage Eve Circa 1/2017: The Wild Rose by 12 Bottle Bar

December 10, 2019 by evebushman

My husband is NOT a gin fan. He’d rather have tasteless vodka over the botanicals that can sometimes overpower, in his opinion, a gin. I’m the opposite, I love the nuanced aromas and flavors from a good gin, as well as from both sweet and dry vermouths, and all kinds of bitters (which are all incorporated in the recipe I’m highlighting this week below).

And if the concoction comes out in a pretty color, I’m that much more plussed. Now don’t assume I like the sweet stuff like the bright iridescent red Cosmopolitans, neon yellow colored Lemon Drops, or drinks with sugar or rainbow-colored Pop Rocks candy stuck to the rim, those drinks were fine when my palate was younger.

These days I’m more interested in a drink that offers a juxtaposition of flavors like a salted caramel, where the cocktail has both smoke and mirrors, and you can sit there all you want to sip and contemplate them all.

So, on a night the man was not around I made this lovely drink, in all its botanical splendor. My own changes are in italics:

The Wild Rose

By Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

2 oz. Leopold’s Gin (I used what I had: St. George’s “Botanivore” Gin with “19 herbs, spices, roots and citrus.” And note: the recipe online reads 0.5oz but the book read 2 ounces…so you know, I went with the bigger dose and it was freaking perfect.)
0.5 oz. Dry Vermouth (La Quintinye Extra Dry)
0.5 oz. Sweet Vermouth (La Quintinye Rouge – here is my review on both the Extra Dry and the Rouge)
Dash Angostura Bitters
Dash Orange Bitters (Hella Bitters Citrus, this was like a Citrus++ so check it out online.)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass (I used a martini shaker.) Stir with ice and strain into a coupe

“Is it better to have loved and lost than never loved at all? The poets seem to think so. In literature and art, the more human beings are denied love, the more they crave it and obsess about it. Which is why, over the centuries, so many have risked so much the name of love. Would Anthony and Cleopatra – who fell in love at first sight – have married if they had known Rome would quake as a consequence? Politics be damned, yes. Would lovelorn Paris have kidnapped Helen if he thought it would jump-start the Trojan War? Again, yes – foolish boy. And would so many rom-com heroes and heroines have chucked it all to make that eleventh hour dash to the departure terminal had the promise of true love not been a reward which far outweighed any and all risks?” Read more here.

The 12 Bottle Bar book is available on Amazon.

The 12 Bottle Bar website has a lot of cool info and more recipes too, it’s kind of my go-to for cool cocktail ideas.

Eve’s Holiday Picks for Wine and Spirit Themed Gifts 2016 Edition

November 25, 2016 by evebushman

Every year I put out a sort of “Eve Picks” for your holiday shopping – well, every year that I remember to do it – as in my own quest for the unique, year after year, I come across a few winners. This is what made my 2016 list:

Look for Trixie and Milo booze-themed gifts at Ma Maison.

CapaBunga Service and Storage for Wine and Cheese: Winemaker Michel Ayer, of Workman Ayer (one of my fave wineries in the Central Coast) said to try anything made by husband and wife Maire Murphy and Walt Averill. I looked into their site based on his recommendation and saw these neat protective and pretty “cheese vaults” for your artisan delicacies, the full line-up of their CapaBunga wine bottle sealers and a new way to identify wine glasses.

Lee’s Wine Bistro: Has the largest local selection of cellared vintage wine for sale.

Ma Maison: Home furnishings for your bar and table take a unique turn at Ma Maison with items I haven’t seen over and over again elsewhere. I’ve bought bar towels, trinkets and the absolutely grandest portable vintage inspired bar: The Madison Table Top Bar that my husband loves showing off. Even better: You can get shopping done here for those dreaded people on your list that don’t imbibe. I also contacted store owner Denise Meyers to find out what was new and she said they have a “great new line called Trixie and Milo. Very cool vintage art look flasks, beer sleeves, wooden trays, cocktail shakers and portable shot glasses. This is a great gift item for Hipsters and the Well seasoned.”

Kym’s Kreations: I’m all in for my friend Kym Cappi’s “Uncorked Kreations”. I’ve got the cork necklace with earrings to match, a framed “Press for wine” wooden plaque and my eye on her personalized barrel staves.

12 Bottle Bar Book: So many reasons to buy this book, for me it was that I knew the local authors, David and Lesley Solmonson, the recipes were pretty easy but extremely unique, and after trying out The Buck Bar for guests its become an oft-requested party pleaser. Here is my review.

Wine 661: Shop owner Tanya Green has always offered a whopping 25% discount for all bottles purchased to take home. She also has plenty of wine themed items to go along with said bottles. I end up getting at least one thing for me and one for a pal.

Valencia Wine Company: Besides ready-to-go chilled still and sparkling wines, and vintage wines, this time of year you can also find the perfect decorative cases to hold them. Check it out.

Cocktail Kingdom: Turned onto this website by Bar Toscana mixologist William Perbellini during a cocktail class, I have purchased my share of killer bar tools from this site. Currently getting my attention are their 3 ounce to 6 ounce coupe glasses for my favorite Manhattan, as well as other vintage-inspired glassware and the “detailed craftsmanship” in their reserve collection.

Wine of the Month Club: Baskets galore in every possible theme, my favorite is for the chocolate lovers as well as some very cool accessories, wines, and, of course, wine club memberships you can buy as a gift.

And my biggest new find this year is a website called Chris’s Stuff that wine friend Kathie Weitzman turned me on to. She had this cute little black purse that had a rhinestone covered wine glass closure. I ordered mine (it’s now sold out!) then couldn’t resist dangling white wine earrings, cocktail napkins and a wine-themed blank card set. Lots more items like nostalgic aprons, coasters, towels, clothing, wine bags, kitchen gadgets all more reasonably priced than I’ve seen before.