A Table at The Edison.

*****CONTEST CLOSED*****

Next week’s Radio Room at the Edison Downtown will bring a little bit of Gotham to Los Angeles as Manhattan bar Ward III — an upscale drinking hole known for quality, experimental cocktails — will be featured. The owner and bartenders of Ward III — Michael Neff, Kenneth McCoy and Abdul Tabini — will strut their stuff on the shakers during the popular monthly bar night on Tuesday, July 13.

Here’s their list of cocktails ($14 each) for the evening:

• Baby Eveline (by Michael Neff): Muddled strawberries, lemon juice, Peychaud bitters, Martini & Rossi Prosecco and vodka of your choice
• Four Stars (by Michael Neff): Herradura silver tequila, lime juice, muddled rosemary and cilantro, and a dab of Sriracha hot sauce
• Hell Bent for Leather (by Kenneth McCoy): The Edison’s private bottling of Woodford Reserve bourbon, Irish whiskey, orange & lemon peel and muddled cardamom seed
• The Collective (by Kenneth McCoy): Dewar’s 12, Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth, clover honey, lemon juice, orange bitters and egg whites
• Angel Zakir (by Abdul Tabini): Martin Miller’s gin, muddled cucumber, basil and lime juice and Aperol
• Tortuga (by Abdul Tabini): Bacardi 8 rum, muddled lime, orange & lemon with a dusting of shaved cinnamon

OK, now for the part you’ve been waiting for. I’m giving away a VIP night at this Radio Room. This prize package (valued at $250) includes:

• Free entrance for 4 guests (cover is normally $10)
• A reserved table for the evening
• 8 complimentary cocktails tickets so you can sample the entire menu, plus some from Joseph Brooke, the Edison’s director of spirits
• A selection of complimentary hors d’oeuvres

Pretty suh-weet, right? I love it all: free entrance, guaranteed seating, freebie cocktails and food! And all you have to do to enter the contest for a chance at this fab prize is the following, oh and be on Twitter AND Facebook. Sorry, non social media types:

1. Leave a comment below with your email address (so I can contact you if you win) and your Twitter handle as well as what’s your favorite classic cocktail.
2. Tweet this: “I need a drink @carolineoncrack! Gimme tix to @TheEdisonLA’s Radio Room! http://bit.ly/aU4kAq”
3. And lastly become a fan of (aka “Like”) my Facebook page.

**You have to do all of the above for your contest submission to be valid.**

Contest ends Sunday at 7pm PST. And at 1pm PST on Monday the 12th, I’ll plug your entries into the randomizer, pick out a winner and notify you.

Good luck, all! Oh, and if you win, remember to tip your bartenders and servers! Just because it’s free doesn’t mean you still shouldn’t show your appreciation for their service!

EVENT: TUESDAY, JULY 13 at 8pm

The Edison
108 W. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, California 90012 (map)
(213) 613-0000
Twitter: @TheEdisonLA

Roger Room's new Stranger Than Paradise cocktail

Last night I celebrated my birthday with a few of my buddies at Roger Room in West Hollywood with my fave mixologist, Damian Windsor. While there he gave us sneaky sips of the new cocktails that will debut tomorrow on the updated “Also” cocktail menu, a supplement to the regular 21-drink menu. Roger Room prints a new “Also” menu with five drinks about every three months for the new season to showcase “the new things they’re into” as well as seasonal fruit.

Here are the new drinks for your consideration. Damian created all of them except the Star Strega Swizzle which came from Jason Bran:

• Algonquin ($13): Pikesville Rye, pineapple juice, pineapple syrup, Dry Vermouth, served up
• Let’s Get Lost ($14): Tres Reyes Blanco Tequila, lime juice, agave nectar, cucumber, mint, on the rocks
• Pisco Punch ($14): Gran Sierpe Pisco, Mata Hari Absinthe, lime juice, pineapple syrup, pineapple juice, crushed grapes, served over crushed ice
• Star Strega Swizzle ($14): Starr Rum, Liquore Strega, Velvet Falernum, passion fruit, lemon juice, cracked clove, served over crushed ice
• Stranger Than Paradise ($14): Plymouth Gin, lemon juice, egg white, absinthe mist, crushed strawberry, served up

I’ve only had the Algonquin and a few sips of the Stranger Than Paradise. The Algonquin, a classic cocktail created at the Algonquin Hotel in New York back during the Vicious Circle days, is surprisingly not sweet despite the use of both pineapple juice and pineapple syrup. (The syrup is the only difference from the original recipe.) The rye and the Dry Vermouth smooth out the sweetness nicely making this a very delightful, drinkable concoction for a warm evening.

The Stranger Than Paradise was a popular drink among my friends who ordered it, loving it for its combination of the summery strawberries with that hint of absinthe and mmm, Plymouth Gin. So very light and yet potent.

And since we were on a gin kick, we went back to the regular menu. Now usually I stick to my fave cocktail, Thug, which is a spicy whiskey drink, and really haven’t explored the other cocktails made with other spirits even though there is a nice spread. So I was delighted to find a new fave on the menu: Cad, which is made with gin, coffee liqueur and lemon juice. Frickin’ awesome. Like no other coffee cocktail I’ve had before where the coffee flavor is usually overpowering and the sweetness is darn near syrupy. The gin and lemon juice softened the sweet coffee flavor here. Problem is that it’s too drinkable, as I put it away right quick. Before I knew it, aww, all gone. I believe this was the big hit of the evening as we each ordered one.

In any case, if you go to Roger Room to check out the menu for yourself and see Damian behind the bar, blow him a kiss for me, will ya?

The Roger Room
370 N La Cienega Boulevard
West Hollywood, California 90048 (map)
(310) 854-1300
Hours: 6pm-2am daily