Bardog Tavern, Memphis, TN
- At January 6, 2011
- By megan
- In Alcoholic Beverages, bars, Restaurant Review
0
We had just finished a great dinner at S.O.B. and were checking out some menus at various places on our walk back to the hotel. I have apparently lost what used to be a good sense of direction because I turned down the street one way and Kevin had apparently turned the other when I heard a man ask something about food or drink. I paid no attention and started walking when he asked, “Are you guys European?” I guess we looked like we were lost and didn’t understand English. Turns out it was Aldo Dean, founder and owner of Bardog Tavern. He immediately offered to buy us some drinks and brought us to the most bustling, laid-back, neighborhood bar… or tavern: Bardog.
I didn’t have my camera, and my phone took really dark photos, so it looks like my hipstamatic app came to the rescue again. Bardog was absolutely packed. People were eating, drinking, and being merry. We were lucky to score a couple seats at the bar when two people left, and we sat there for a few drinks, soaking in the local Memphis bar scene. This was not Beale St. Not.Even.Close.
Bardog is a bar with an attitude. Not a snotty, stuck-up attitude- but a no bullshit attitude. They proudly let you know there is no Redbull served there. There’s no live music either. This is a bar created by a man who had a clear vision of what a neighborhood bar should be, and I would say he had a great idea.
We didn’t get to try their food, but when that many people are eating, it has got to be good. They have a full menu starting with breakfast at 8 am, as well as snacks, sandwiches, soups, salads, steaks, and desserts that they’ll serve most nights until 2 am.
We thought the bar was packed that night. We returned the next night and it was wall-to-wall people, upstairs and downstairs. This is definitely where the locals go. This is where people gather until early into the morning hours when they don’t want to listen to the bands on Beale and don’t want to deal with a bar full of tourists. It’s a place to check the pulse of the Memphis scene and I assure you, it is alive and thriving.
I’d like to personally thank Aldo for bringing us to his bar. We were just going to go back to our hotel when he convinced us to stay out a little later. Bardog contributed so much to our overall experience of Memphis, and gave us good topics of conversation as we drove on to New Orleans.
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey
- At January 3, 2011
- By megan
- In Alcoholic Beverages, whiskey
- 1
We arrived in Nashville at dusk after taking a 4.5 hour off-the-beaten-path drive from Birmingham, Alabama, which we had driven after walking all around Birmingham for a couple hours exploring the city that looks like it still exists in 1967. Anyway, we were tired, hungry, and ready to start exploring another city. After relaxing in our hip, modern, worth-your-visit boutique Hotel Indigo in downtown Nashville for an hour or so, drinking some wine we had purchased in New Orleans just in case everything was closed in Birmingham when we arrived there the night before (always thinking ahead…).
Dinner was an absolute success that evening at Merchant’s, and we were so full and tired afterwards that we really just wanted to have a glass of wine in our room (since it was so nice and spacious) and go to bed early. We decided to walk a little hoping to stumble upon a liquor store. We walked and walked and walked for at least an hour and found absolutely nothing. We definitely weren’t in New Orleans any longer! What a lesson learned that evening. There is nowhere to buy alcohol in downtown Nashville.
The next day, during a 6 hour walk-a-thon of the city, we finally stumbled upon Midtown Wine and Spirits (1610 Church Street). It felt like a celebratory moment! We just like to have a bottle of wine in the room with us. Is that crazy?
We walked in and there was a Jack Daniel’s display of single barrel whiskey. We had just learned all about single barrel whiskey from Chris McMillian at Bar UnCommon in New Orleans and I suggested we buy a bottle. Kevin was somewhat interested, but then, you have to pack it, so it is definitely a commitment with airline luggage weight restrictions.
And then… Kevin saw the date this whiskey was bottled: 10.11.2010. That’s his birthday. We had to get it.
This whiskey is especially cool because the distinguished palates of Midtown Wine and Spirits actually go to Jack Daniel’s every year and taste some of the single barrels that have not been mixed with other barrels (hence the name “Single Barrel”). They decide which one they like most and Jack Daniel’s bottles the entire barrel for them to sell at their store.
The box informs us that “the barrels chosen for single barrel come from the uppermost floors of the barrelhouses that dot the the hills surrounding the distillery. The extremes in temperature these floors experience during the year result in barrels which yield whiskey of uncommon smoothness, aroma, and flavor with notes of vanilla, toasted oak, and caramel. Once chosen, the whiskey is bottled a single barrel at a time, never mixing it with whiskey from other barrels.”
We still haven’t opened it. This one is for special occasions.
Bar UnCommon
- At December 28, 2010
- By megan
- In Alcoholic Beverages, cocktails
- 1
On our quest for original cocktails in New Orleans, we were pleased to discover Bar UnCommon with the illustrious mixologist Chris McMillian (one of the founders of The Museum of the American Cocktail) and his friendly (and foodie) wife Laura. We walked up to the incredibly modern illuminated glass bar and were greeted by Chris. He asked what types of spirits we like and went to work making the best Old Fashioned I’d ever had the pleasure of tasting.
I am currently interested in Rye whisky and it was an interesting coincidence that while sitting there sipping an Old Fashioned, a small group at the other side of the bar had inquired about the differences between bourbon, scotch, and rye. It became clear that Chris McMillian has tomes worth of knowledge on spirits and cocktails and we it felt as if we were attending one of his Tales of the Cocktail classes.
We also got our first taste of a Pimm’s Cup. We have a new summer time party drink here and I’m going to watch Chris on You Tube give his mixology lessons for these drinks.
So, if you’re not in New Orleans for the frozen carnival-like smoothies on Bourbon Street, but prefer to discover some history behind the cocktail and the intricate flavor combinations and sensations that a master mixologist can create, head over to Bar UnCommon, say hi to Chris and Lauren, sit back, relax, and enjoy their creations.
Chocolate en Fuego
I asked my friend Evan Faber, the illustrious Beverage Director at Boulder’s now-famous SALT the Bistro (and master-mind behind The Cocktail Element), for a must-try holiday cocktail recipe. Evan gave me a recipe for one of his favorites, and, I must say- he has good taste. This is definitely a seasonal beverage that I’ll be enjoying throughout the winter, not just over the holidays.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Reposado Tequila
- .5 oz Peppermint Schnapps or Rumple Minze
- a cup of rich hot chocolate
- dash of cayenne
When I first read this recipe I was a little unsure of the tequila-peppermint combination. It didn’t sound like it intuitively went together, and, though I didn’t doubt Evan per se, I didn’t exactly rush out to buy Rumple Minze right away. But, I should have! I could have been enjoying this now for a couple weeks!
I used some Savory Spice Shop hot chocolate, which is a rich, smooth, and chocolately hot chocolate. I’ll need to stock up on cocoa because “Chocolate en Fuego” is officially my new favorite winter-time drink… after Maple Scotch, of course!
Cheers!
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