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Riding the Trolley of Death, Fueled by Plymouth Gin

By thirstyinla On February 8, 2011 · 7 Comments · In Events, Reviews
A motley crew of gin-soaked bloggers, bartenders and shanghaied passengers rides the Trolley of Death for a night of drinks at some of L.A.'s best bars.
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Cognac Cocktail Class at The Varnish (UPDATED)

By thirstyinla On January 21, 2011 · 4 Comments · In Events
On February 5, Liquor.com presents an exclusive 2-hour class at The Varnish, where guests will learn how to make four cognac cocktails and taste spirits from Pierre Ferrand.
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Oliver Jones Named Winner of the 2010 Jimmy Barela Award

By thirstyinla On December 8, 2010 · 5 Comments · In Uncategorized
Oliver Jones has been named the winner of the 2010 Jimmy Barela Award, which honors the legendary bartender who held court at Cole’s Red Car Bar for 65 years. Jones, who can be found behind the stick at Las Perlas and Tengu (Westwood), bested eleven other competitors in a cocktail showdown that took place at The Varnish on Repeal Day.
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Dec. 5: Jimmy Barela Award and Cocktail Competition, Seven Grand Repeal Day Celebration

By thirstyinla On November 29, 2010 · 1 Comment · In Events
Recipes are now being accepted for the 2nd Annual Jimmy Barela Award and Cocktail Competition, sponsored by Plymouth Gin. The competition, which takes place on Repeal Day (Sunday, December 5), is open to bartenders working in Los Angeles and Orange County. The award is named after Jimmy Barela, the legendary bartender who held court at [...]
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1886 Opens at The Raymond in Pasadena

By thirstyinla On November 17, 2010 · 5 Comments · In Events, Openings, Reviews
Cocktail enthusiasts in Pasadena have a bar they can call their own, now that 1886 has soft-opened at the historic Raymond Restaurant. 1886 takes its name from the year that Walter Raymond first opened his eponymous hotel, before a devastating fire destroyed the property in 1895. He then opened an even grander Raymond Hotel that [...]
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A Hot Time at Jonathan Gold’s Second Annual Union Station Cocktail Party

By thirstyinla On October 13, 2010 · Add Comment · In Events, Reviews
Jonathan Gold recently hosted his second annual Union Station Speakeasy Cocktail Party, featuring cocktails by the bars of 213 and gourmet bites from some of L.A.’s top restaurants. The event was a fundraiser for Zócalo Public Square, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides a nonpartisan forum to prominent thinkers and doers via lectures, panels, salons, screenings, webzine and annual conferences.
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Tapping into the Inaugural L.A. Craft Beer Crawl

By thirstyinla On September 29, 2010 · Add Comment · In Events, Reviews
Summer finally decided to show up last Saturday, but the triple digit heat didn’t deter 1,200 thirsty Angelenos from heading downtown to attend the inaugural L.A. Craft Beer Crawl, a collaboration between 213 and the Beer Chicks (Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune). The sold out event took place at seven of 213’s bars, where Crawlers [...]
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WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey Launches at Seven Grand

By thirstyinla On August 11, 2010 · 1 Comment · In Events, Reviews, Tastings
A group of spirits cognoscenti gathered at Seven Grand last Thursday for the Los Angeles launch of WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey, a 100 proof, 100 percent rye whiskey, aged for a minimum of ten years in oak barrels. Founded in 2010, WhistlePig is hand-bottled at the WhistlePig Farm Distillery, located on a former dairy farm [...]
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A Knockout of a Punch Contest

By thirstyinla On December 14, 2009 · 2 Comments · In Events
photos by Lena Watanabe Last Thursday, cocktail enthusiasts braved the rain to attend ‘Twas the Punch Before Christmas, a punch contest presented by Matt Robold (RumDood) and sponsored by Kraken Rum. It all took place in the upstairs area at Malo. The contest entries were whittled down to five (initially six) finalists, a formidable lineup [...]
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    • Booze and Vinyl 2022: Electric Boogaloo
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    Still recovering from last night’s Friends & Fam Still recovering from last night’s Friends & Family at @ginrummybar, now open in the former Nueva space! Much more to share, stay tuned…
🔥💨 Corpse Reviver  No. 47: Chamomile Infused Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Lemon, Orange Curaçao, Absinthe, Chamomile Smoke
#thirstyinla #discoverla #dinela
    As part of its #AAPIHeritageMonth programming, on As part of its #AAPIHeritageMonth programming, on May 22 @pbs is premiering “Fanny: The Right to Rock,” the award-winning 2021 documentary about the pioneering rock band co-founded by Filipina American and queer teenagers 💛🏳️‍🌈🎸
Fanny is renowned as the first all-women band to release an album with a major record label (Warner/Reprise, 1970)

For the 2021 edition of Booze and Vinyl, @davemakessensedollarsandcents selected Fanny’s eponymous 1970 debut album - his intro featured this @davidbowie quote from a 1999 @rollingstone interview: 

“One of the most important female bands in American rock has been buried without a trace, and that is Fanny. They were one of the finest fvcking rock bands of their time in about 1973. They were extraordinary; they wrote everything, they played like motherfvckers, they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them. They’re as important as anybody else who’s ever been, ever, it just wasn’t their time. Revivify Fanny and I will feel that my work is done.” 👨🏻‍🎤

👀 Check out Dave’s cocktail pairings for “Fanny” in Ye Olde Profile, along with contributions from @allofthedrinks @chernobes @colinxmiller @davestolte @eugeneshoots @rev_robertsinewave @robin_nance_ @sazeracla
#thirstyinla #boozeandvinyl
    Happy AAPI Heritage Month y’all! Check the link Happy AAPI Heritage Month y’all!
Check the link in my profile for our @discoverla guide to cultural exhibits, film screenings and live performances taking place throughout the city 💛

📸 @lalouver - @gajinfujita.la “Mere Mortal” (2022)
📸 @kaijukrys as Fusion Godzilla
📸 @lapubliclibrary - @neaarts Big Read: “Interior Chinatown”
📸 @academymuseumscreenings - Sammo Hung in “Millionaires Express”

#aapiheritagemonth #discoverla
    It’s National Prime Rib Day and the eve of the 1 It’s National Prime Rib Day and the eve of the 15th anniversary @dinela Restaurant Week! 🤩
@lawrystheprimerib is an OG RW participant, and to celebrate Prime Rib Day and the anniversary they’re launching their Surf & Turf Dine LA menu a day early 🦞 🥩

Lawry’s has been a family favorite for decades - my late father had been going there since the 1950s 🙏
📸 dad’s birthday at Lawry’s in August 2022 - the last time we all had dinner there together 🥺
 
Check my profile for links to the @discoverla history of Lawry’s and menus for hundreds of restaurants participating in Dine LA, taking place April 28 - May 12 🍽 
#lawrys #nationalprimeribday #dinela #discoverla
    Spring has sprung at @bigbaralcove! 💐 🥂 Th Spring has sprung at @bigbaralcove! 💐 

🥂 This month’s Featured Cocktail is the delightful, dangerously good Escape from LA by @cocktailsbyhawk:
Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, Giffard Abricot du Roussillon, Demerara Syrup, Lemon Juice, Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters, Saline Solution; topped with Prosecco and garnished with Dark Chocolate Dust 🦅
🎞 Check out Saeed’s IG Reel for the recipe 🙌

Slowly working my way through the newly launched Spring/Summer menu:
🍸 We Go Deep - a Chicago deep dish 🍕 inspired Martini by @where_aremypants, made with Future Gin, Wheatley Vodka, Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth, pizza sauce, GF baguette, anchovy oil (optional) 
🔥 The Jerk by lead bartender @abigaillsmith - Diplomatico Reserva Rum, Havana Club Blanco Rum, Smith & Cross, jicama, tomatillo, mango, jerk 
🥃 Oregano Trail by @szenitram - Maker's Mark 46 Bourbon, barley, oregano, Old Fashioned + Angostura Bitters

Hope to see y’all at the Big Bar Spring Party on April 27! 🎉
#thirstyinla #discoverla
    Throwing it back to April 14, 2012: Lamb & Libatio Throwing it back to April 14, 2012: Lamb & Libations with this Murderers’ Row 🤩
🔥 oak-rotisserie lamb with garlic, rosemary, lemon 
🍹 Jason making a Sprezzatura
👂🏻 “Did someone just challenge me to a Margarita Throwdown?”
🥊 Stolte’s Classic vs Bostick’s Good Ol’ Texas Margarita

UPDATE: Margarita specs from Ye Olde Blog
👀

@davestolte
1.5 oz reposado tequila
.75 oz triple sec
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz lime juice
“Chill a cocktail glass in the freezer at least ten minutes. Add ingredients in a shaker about a third-full with ice cubes. Shake well to blend and chill, then strain into the chilled glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.”

@mrbostick
2 oz Siete Leguas Reposado
1 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz orange curaçao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao works great)
.25 oz simple
“Shake all ingredients together and pour into double Old Fashioned glass filled with hand cracked ice. Garnish with lime wedge. Eat 2 cheese enchiladas with chili gravy, rice and beans. Repeat.”

#thirstyinla #fbf
    Last week, @discoverla hosted a wonderful pasta-ma Last week, @discoverla hosted a wonderful pasta-making demo and four-course dinner at @rossoblula 🍝
After dinner, @baotruong21 and I stopped by @damafashiondistrict for a nightcap and OMG @pablo_moix was there! 🤩

Named to this year’s @imbibe 75, Pablo and his @rarecharacterwhiskey partners @peteofdiscovery and Andy Shapira recently revived the historic @fortunabourbon, which was available from the 1880s to the 1960s. 

Guided by samples of original stocks from his personal collection, Pablo hand-blended six barrels aged a minimum of six years for a modern Fortuna that clocks in at 102 proof 🥃

Pablo graciously poured us a dram of Fortuna and a comparative taste of @blantons_bourbon. Bao enthused that the Fortuna was the best bourbon he’d ever had, and it is indeed superb. @klwines Spirits Buyer David Othenin-Girard wrote, “I have to say [Pablo] hit an absolute home run. … I can't believe anyone else is taking so much time and energy to put together such a delicious product.” 👏

#thirstyinla #fortunabourbon #rarecharacterwhiskey #imbibe75 #discoverla #dtla
    Love you and miss you @falcofernet 😘 📸 @saze Love you and miss you @falcofernet 😘
📸 @sazeracla
#thirstyinla #barbiethemovie
    Follow @thirstyinla