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Vintage Eve Circa 12/2017, “Gin Martini: A Round Up of Recipes”

August 18, 2020 by evebushman

Not exactly sure when my taste for a vodka Martini – with Domaine De Canton Ginger liqueur instead of vermouth – switched to a gin Martini…but it did. Only problem was that every bar always made them better than the ones I made at home. My first gin martinis were made with Hendrick’s gin and a bit of vermouth and bitters. Wasn’t working.

Ginny Fowl gins from South Africa

So what did I do? I turned to Facebook and asked my boozy online friends for their go to recipes.

Robin: Stop with the vermouth.

Scott: Take the cap off of the vermouth. Pour 1/2 capful of dry vermouth into the bottle cap. Hold the bottle cap about three inches away from your martini glass filled with Gin. Whisper the word, “vermouth” softly across the cap-full… letting your breath carry the fumes into the glass. That is more than enough vermouth.

Chris: The Hendrick’s martinis may taste odd with a twist because the rose/cucumber of the Hendricks fights with the lemon oil. Garnish botanical gins (like Hendrick’s Gin or Uncle Val’s Handcrafted Gin) with a cucumber or sprig of something green. Citrus-forward gins (like Tanqueray) and dry gins (like Nolet’s or Beefeater) pair very well with a twist.

And Dolin is an exceptional vermouth. Colin Blanc is my favorite dry vermouth substitute, but their dry is wonderful as well.

When it comes to shaking: usually the rule is “if juice or egg is present, shake. If not, stir.” However many people prefer their martinis to be much more diluted than the traditional way and shake it (which ads more water).

Carlos: Less vermouth and everything must be ice cold: glass, vermouth and gin. Teaspoon of vermouth, swirl around cold glass and throw out excess.

Laura: I’m thinking that you need to throw a $20 bill down and then it will taste better.

Steve: 2 parts Nolet’s, 2 parts Hendrick’s, 1 spray from Vermouth sprayer. Shake over ice, strain into Martini glass, add straw and use straw!

Jeannie: We just go Sapphire, olive & onion. No vermouth. Perfecto.

Margaret: I love Hendrick’s, no vermouth with either a rose petal or a cucumber slice.

Matt: Call a friend on another continent and ask them to whisper “vermouth” out the window and you’ll be all set as far as the vermouth is concerned.

Paul: In a drink class I attended on a Disney cruise ship given by the head of their bartending department he said, “shaken, not stirred” is okay with a vodka martini, but not with drinks with herbal bases like gin, ouzo, absinthe, etc. Shaking degrades the flavor. He said a drink made with primarily gin should be stirred gently (not even vigorously).

Robin: Wave the opened bottle of vermouth over the martini, garnish with a twist of lemon!

Semaj: Why are you shaking it? Stir. There’s no fruit juice. Hendrick’s is fine. Dolin dry vermouth. 6:1 ratio. And olives!

William: Bare minimum of dry vermouth and shake the heck out of it. If you prefer several martinis use Gilby’s or Gordon’s (as they are) low octane. One large green olive is just fine.

Doug: Too much vermouth, drop about 3/4 oz. into an empty shaker, swirl it around to coat the inside then pour out whatever doesn’t stick. Then add the ice and gin.

Jonathan: Hey Eve! Several techniques to add the vermouth. The glass rinse, we (Olive Terrace Bar and Grill) use a spray bottle for consistency at work, or another one I like is coating the rocks: pour an ounce into the shaker over the rocks, swirl around and then strain out excess. However the problem you might be having is with the vermouth itself. Vermouth is a fortified wine and should be kept in the fridge, and if it’s been open for a long time it might be time for a new bottle. Other than that I would definitely stir over shaking the gin. Hope that helps!

From a booze book writer that private messaged me: Our go-to recipe is: 2 1/2 oz. Beefeater gin, 1/2 oz. Dolin blanc, 2 dashes Angostura orange bitters (it has a bit of sweetness without losing the bitter notes). Place the gin, vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir vigorously until you can smell the gin aroma – about 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe. Express a lemon peel over the drink – then toss peel; do not put in drink. (If Beefeater is too strong for you, go with Plymouth) Cheers!

And this last recipe, dear reader, has been my go-to gin martini recipe ever since! Although when I go out I’ll often order Nolet’s or Hendrick’s Martini and, as you guessed it, those bartenders know what they are doing as it always tastes perfect!

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.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: absinthe, aroma, bitters, botanicals, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, drink, Facebook, gin, Hendricks Gin, Martini, olive terrace bar and grill, vermouth

Roundup: The Best Santa Clarita (Outdoor) Dining

July 24, 2020 by evebushman

Seems to be that everyone in my ‘hood is searching for patio dining. Pretty great that locals want to support local businesses, considering it’s blazing hot outside. There are existing patio spaces that have expanded, new “pop ups” that have added fencing, wood flooring or AstroTurf, potted plants, misters, barricades, umbrellas, lighting and other décor. A pretty amazing feat considering that these restaurants are nowhere near full capacity – pre-covid standards – and are pretty much forced to invest in infrastructure that may only be needed for a few more weeks to quite a few more months. It’s not like any of us have lived through a pandemic before to know exactly how long this will last. (And if to-go or delivery is your preference, that’s great, just keep it up!)

The Social Restaurant: Custom Wood Deck and Arcum Structure, by 24/7 Events.

So, as your yet-to-be-announced unofficial Beverage and Food Ambassador of the Santa Clarita Valley, I’ve been watching over this trend. There are quite a few restaurants I have dined at myself, but I wanted to get as many listed in one place to help locals out. So you know what I did. I asked this on Facebook:

Looking for patio dining options? Please comment on a positive experience you had outdoors at Piccola Trattoria, Salt Creek Grille, Olive Terrace, The Social, Old Town Junction, Newhall Press Room, Marstons, Slaters 50/50, El Trocadero, Dario’s Newhall, Saddle Ranch, Don Cuco, The Local Pub and Grill, Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewery, Casa Canela, Cheesecake Factory, Bricks Newhall, Smokehouse on Main, Nealie’s Skillet, The Way Station and Egg Plantation (the last three for breakfast and lunch only) and any other SCV outdoor dining you have discovered. Hopefully your experience will drive some much needed traffic to our favorite local restaurants!

Renee K: Add the Backyard Grub and Brews! That Nashville Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Donuts are the bomb!

Larry M: Old Town Newhall has the market cornered on outdoor dining. Had a lovely sidewalk dinner at The Old Town Junction. Then, dinner on the back patio at El Trocadero Mesquite Grill & Cantina, though they have a front patio as well, and they have the best hard shell tacos I have ever had.

Candice M: Olive Terrace outdoor seating arrangement is my favorite in town!

Michael G: Don’t forget Wolf Creek, CPK, Sabor, Lucille’s, Lazy Dog, Lucille’s, Catch 21, Wokcano and Tokai Sushi. So many options! Specifically, Wolf Creek Restaurant (on McBean) is always spot on. Plenty of room and safe distancing, staff all wear masks and face shields, busser and serve handle specific tasks. Tokai Sushi (in the same center with Catch 21 and Olive Terrace) has new owners, and take the same precautions. All the soy sauce is single use, there is plenty of open air space outside.

Michele G: The Backyard Grub N Brews had really good food and a great patio. They also have a fabulous brunch on the weekends with bottomless Mimosas.

Dawn A: A wonderful location for a great evening…The Social.

Michael P: Marstons has always been our favorite patio hang out in the SCV. Nothing like relaxing on their patio with a bottle of wine and their delicious food. Great servers too.

Meredith M: We had a magnificent meal last Friday night at the Old Town Junction. Reservations are highly recommended. New menu, exceptional service and a great wine list!

Lorenzo B: Olive Terrace is the bomb!

Laina M: While following all health code guidelines, we have full service available outside! But don’t sweat… We also have shade from a roll down screen and umbrellas, full roof covering, mister fans, and plenty of beer to quench your thirst!  Visit for lunch now or Reserve for dinner until 8pm.

Laura R: The Newhall Press Room has been open all week long for outdoor dining including the new extended patio!

Meredith A: Went to Dario’s in Canyon Country last night. They have a front and back patio. It was great to eat outside and enjoy their food!

Jeanie C: We had a lovely time last night at The Social! The weather was beautiful and the new outdoor dining was just right, as was our dinner and Martinis!

Kerri E: For patio dining, Wolf Creek and Olive Terrace so far. Looking forward to trying as many others as we can…

From me: The first night that the restaurants pushed into Main Street in Newhall, five minutes from home, I enjoyed patio dining at both Newhall Press Room (cute wine barrels as fencing and cooling AstroTurf) and The Old Town Junction (a bit bigger space but just as nice). We love El Trocadero’s two patios, front and rear, too. Since then I’ve made a GIANT mental note to visit The Social as their space – see photo – is very welcoming and also to return to Olive Terrace where the sidewalk seating now stretches around a huge fountain. We’ve been to the existing patios at Slaters 50/50 three times and Salt Creek Grille’s new HUGE three-patio area. Will be hitting up Nealie’s Skillet, Wolf Creek Restaurant, The Local, Bricks, Dario’s, Way Station and Egg Plantation too!

On more thing from me: alfresco dining is the one change I hope we keep post-Covid. We love our trips to Europe and spending hours in outdoor cafes, with our wicker seats lined up, side by side, facing the street for people watching. I want that. Somebody make that happen!

Please note that what may be listed here now could be open for dine-in or completely shuttered when you visit – so call first. Looks like reservations are the way to go as all only have the outdoor socially-distanced spaces available.

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 (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: beverage, coronavirus, covid, dining, dinner, food, food service, foodie, foodies, newhall press room, olive terrace bar and grill, restaurant, restaurants, Salt Creek Grille, Santa Clarita, wolf creek brewery

Vintage Eve Circa Jan 2018: Call it What Happy Hour Really Is…A Precursor For Dining in Our Old Age (With new photo of courtyard at Salt Creek Grille!)

July 14, 2020 by evebushman

I was at one of my regular Happy Hour haunts, The Social in Newhall, when I noticed that the bar was completely packed at 5pm, much like it is at Olive Terrace Bar and Grill and Salt Creek Grille when we venture over to the other side of the valley and Le Chene when we want to go even further.

And then I noticed that the people that were packing these bars weren’t 20 somethings…not even 30 somethings…they were people that have “cultivated” their palates for a couple of decades longer than that.

There are lots of great Happy Hours all over Awesometown and we used to do a round-up of their menus annually just to share what they offer. (The last one is our 2016 version you can read here.) The four that I mentioned just happen to be the ones we have been going to of late…at least the past 10 years or so.

So why do we prefer these bars over others? They aren’t particularly loud or noisy, have comfortable seating and, as drinking at 5pm is a precursor to dining at 6 or 7, it seems to work for our seasoned age group.

Of the Happy Hours we go to – the ones that specifically were full very early in the evening – they also offer small bites for free or nominal prices, and some larger plates culled from the main menu. The libations extend from beer and wine to excellently crafted cocktails; one even doesn’t offer any kind of price deal on the drinks at all, just a Happy Hour menu of food. (And that one just happens to be our favorite. Why? Well we can walk there – we’ve said this many times, and yet we never actually have walked there! It’s the neighborhood bar and we often run into people we know. The owner gives us a welcome hug, maybe a peck on the cheek, and we know some of the servers and bartenders. Maybe at a certain age we just like to feel welcome…)

So, as we dined on dishes from appetizers to pastas we noticed how nice it is to dine early, have a well-made cocktail, linger a bit, then go home and…be asleep by 9pm. (And well on our way before the young’uns took over the bars.) However many younger people do go out to Happy Hour – when we were younger these were places with deep discounts, we could get a little rowdy with pals and we would end up staying for dinner as well. (Many were/are family friendly – we weren’t really hip on the idea of bringing our daughter to a bar or winery, but to each his own.) Back in the day that meant the party was to be found at places like TGI Fridays and El Torito. (The latter, if you stayed long enough even offered dancing in the bar. Anyone else remember the Discos of SCV? LOL.)

I feel like the next step for us will be the early bird dinners at iHop, and no cocktail at all…? I hope not. I do know that older friends of mine have pulled back from wine club memberships – at least from wines that are meant to sit in our cellars for 10 years or more – because my pals in their 70s are buying more splits (half bottles), trying to drink through what they already do have and/or are looking for wine brokers to sell their wines to. They do go out…or at least join us for wine on the porch sometimes!

Life is an every changing highway.

I’m hoping by the time we start dining at 4pm we’ll be in a place like Atria assisted living, where my mother has happily camped for nearly a year now, and be having cocktails by 2pm and up to two glasses of wine with dinner…now that doesn’t sound too bad does it?

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.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: appetizers, bar, bartender, beer, cocktails, dinner, food, Happy Hour, le chene, menu, newhall, olive terrace bar and grill, palate, Salt Creek Grille, Santa Clarita, wine, wine club

Support Local Restaurants and Wineries – That Have Supported the Local Community

May 8, 2020 by evebushman

People that know me for the events I’ve worked on know that I have a couple of pet peeves that I make pretty clear to organizers before I’ll consider getting involved. The first is the pay-to-play event where the restaurant or winery is not only asked to donate food/wine and their personnel, they are also asked to pay for the privilege. Really? I don’t work on those.

Shannon Mee, Eve, Simon Mee. The Mees own Egg Plantation and Newhall Refinery.

The second pet peeve are the non-profit events where the organizers (and/or volunteers working for them) recruit wineries and restaurants and yet don’t “return the favor” by buying wine from the wineries, or dining in said restaurants.

I think both practices are pretty shameful. Today I’ll tackle how to rectify the latter issue, and how we can support our local community by dining out and buying wine now.

In this time of the Coronavirus I’ve made lists of all of the restaurants that have remained open that have donated to any of the events I’ve worked on or promoted. It was always appropriate to pay them back before, and to me, even more so now. So below you will find several lists of Santa Clarita businesses that have given their food or wine away to our non-profits for free.

At press time, this is a list of the restaurants on the FeedSCV website offering Drive-Thru/take Out. From this list I’ve selected the ones (and some I’ve added) that have supported the SCV by way of an event or other means (food for students) and if my memory serves me correctly they include:

Double Trouble Wine Room, Egg Plantation, Newhall Refinery, Gyu-Kaku, Honu Coffee, Jill’s Cake Creations, Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar, Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Marston’s Restaurant, Nealie’s Skillet, Newhall Press Room, Old Town Junction, Olive Terrace Bar and Grill, Route 66 Classic Grill, Salt Creek Grille, The Local Pub and Grill, The Social, Wolf Creek Brewery, Wolf Creek Restaurant, Alchemy, Solita Tacos and Margaritas.

Other restaurants that I’m not sure (again at press time) if they are open, but we may be able to buy gift cards from to support them now, and/or dine in them once the re-open. These include Greater Pacific in the Hyatt, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Smokehouse on Main, Claim Jumper, Red Lobster, Brewery Draconum, DeRobertis Family Artisan Cheeses (offers classes), Clarice’s Cake and Candy Supplies and Jersey Mike’s.

Local wineries (again some may be open for curbside service so check with them first) that have participated in non-profit events include Pulchella Winery, Parhelion Cellars, Entourage by Two Papas, Due Nasi, Pagter Brothers, Hoi Polloi Winery (Pagter and Hoi Polloi share the Double Trouble Wine Room on Main Street in downtown Newhall), Golden Star Vineyards, Alonso Family Vineyards (at Le Chene), Stephen Hemmert Wines, Reyes Winery and Agua Dulce Winery.

For me, to date, I’ve purchased from Newhall Press Room (dinner and groceries), Salt Creek Grille (dinner and wine), Egg Plantation (lunch and groceries), Route 66 Classic Grill (dinner and cocktails to go), The Social (dinner and cocktails to go), Olive Terrace Bar and Grill (dinner and wine to go), Wolf Creek Restaurant (dinner and wine to go), Parhelion Cellars (free no-touch delivery and discounted wine) and Pulchella Winery (club wine delivered). I have many more to go. (Note: When I’ve shared photos on social media there is usually one or more comments regarding other restaurants people want me to visit. Nothing against those, we all have our reasons to support different local businesses, but I have my way and you may have yours. Doesn’t make either wrong! Support local is good any way that you do it, just do it.)

The events that come to mind when I made these lists are food and wine centric. These include my own Cocktails on the Roof and Wine on the Roof as well as other big non-profit events like our Taste of the Town, Vine 2 Wine, The Wine Affair, Sunset in the Vineyard and the SCV Charity Chili Cook Off – and I’m sure there are others I haven’t thought of.

So if you have attended a food or wine event in this town, please take a moment to think of the wines and dishes you’ve enjoyed, and make your own list. Those in the service industry need our support now more than ever. And if you happen to be reading this in another community, I challenge you to seek out and patronize the restaurants and wineries that have supported your town as well. And then keep up the habit!

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 (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: cheese, cocktails on the roof, coffee, food event, foodie, local wine events, newhall press room, newhall refinery, olive terrace bar and grill, pulchella winery, restaurant, restaurants, Reyes Winery, Salt Creek Grille, Santa Clarita, santa clarita valley, sunset in the vineyard, taste, tasting room, Vine 2 Wine Classic, vineyard, wine event, wine events, wine on the roof, wineries, winery, wolf creek brewery

Wine 101: Rebirth of the Cocktail

October 7, 2016 by evebushman

I had noticed that other cities were doing cocktail events: our very own Santa Clarita Valley restaurants had bar programs that were vamping up with seasonal craft cocktails along with favorites our parents enjoyed like the rye-based Manhattan, blended whiskey-based Rob Roy, the Luxardo cherry and orange wheel in a whiskey-based Old Fashioned and the bright red Negroni that utilizes Compari and sweet vermouth and the vodka-based Moscow Mule with its bite of ginger beer.

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Even the winners of our bartender contest at Cocktails on the Roof all had made at least one with brown spirits. And I’m betting that though they offered more than one cocktail at their tables, these were the winners. Look for their trophies next time you visit:

First Place, Newhall Refinery; Bourbon Bramble by Peter Nguyen: Evan Williams whiskey, St Germain liqueur, Cassis Noir De Bourgogne and lemon wedge.

Second Place, Olive Terrace Bar and Grill; Manhattan by Jonathan Cross: Bulleit rye, Carpano Antica, Angostura bitters and Luxardo cherry.

Third Place, Salt Creek Grille Valencia; Trader Vic’s Inspired Mai Tai by Diego Lara: Premium rum, Cointreau, lime juice, orgeat syrup, pineapple juice.

Why Cocktails

People have asked me how I came up with the idea for Cocktails on the Roof, now having completed its second successful year as Santa Clarita Valley’s only cocktail event. First came pal Marlee Lauffer, then on the board of the WiSH Education Foundation, who asked me to come up with something. Marlee had supported numerous non-profit events I had hosted with the help of many others in the past, including our first, Pour Into Sandy, which was followed by Pour Into Haiti.

Fast forward to A Toast and a WiSH – a wine event I pitched to the powers that be from the then brand-spanking-new Newhall Library and the WiSH board, where I excitedly explained what I wanted to do, including turning the private study rooms into tasting rooms for the night, etc.

After co-hosting and/or covering nearly every wine event in Santa Clarita, I soon realized: we have a lot of these, seemed like every week there was another wine tasting. At the same time I was probably sipping on a Manhattan, fresh from a cocktail class, and reading a book on spirits.

And that’s when it dawned on me: a real out of the box idea would be to orchestrate a cocktail event. I added the roof idea to make it that much more new. I didn’t want it to be a footprint of any other food or wine event so our vendors could either do a cocktail, mocktail, or a food using spirits. And I also wanted single spirit vendors.

Amy Daniels, the Executive Director if WiSH did all of the legwork, including rallying up a committee of like-minded people to help.
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Everything fell perfectly into place, so much so that we are already planning next September’s #COTR17.

So what are you waiting for? Get out that cocktail recipe book and start experimenting. Note: if you are a wine drinker I would suggest not imbibing more than two in an evening as you aren’t yet used to the difference in alcohol percentage. And call Uber.

Eve Bushman has been reading, writing, taking coursework and tasting wine for over 20 years.  She has obtained a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, has been the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and recently served as a guest judge for the L.A. International Wine Competition.  You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits that may be answered in a future column. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: alcohol, bar, bartender, charity, clarita, cocktail event, cocktails on the roof, Compari, craft cocktail, ginger beer, luxardo cherry, manhattan, moscow mule, negroni, newhall refinery, non profit, old fashioned, olive terrace bar and grill, restaurant, rob roy, rye, Salt Creek Grille, spirits, uber, vermouth, vodka, whiskey, wine 101

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