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Tag Archive: Villains Tavern

October 14, 2011

Villains Tavern’s New Fall Cocktail Menu: Strange Spirits Warm Your Soul

Ah, autumn. I'll drink to that!

Last night Villains Tavern mixmaster Dave Whitton invited me to the downtown bar for a private unveiling of his new fall cocktail menu. “The majority of the list is herbal and smoky. I went with stuff that was gonna be more off the grains and less of the normal kinds of creams,” he said. So less creamy liqueurs, less heaviness. I can dig that. Think butternut squash at the Thanksgiving table and the smell of wood fires, NOT a bag of Halloween candy, especially not that Mellocreme pumpkin candies.

We started off the tasting with the lightest in the lineup: the Lady of the Lake, which is made with a spirit Dave found at Barkeeper in Silver Lake. “We were running through bottles we hadn’t tried so me and Joe [Keeper, BK's owner] were just going back and forth,” he says. And he seemed really excited about his find which hasn’t been used in any cocktails, at least that we know of.

Lady of the Lake: Pur-Geist, fresh lime, bitters

Pur-Geist, Dave says, is actually a beer, which I couldn’t believe after sipping the spirit. Having just had some very strong beers at Firestone Walker’s Deconstructed event the night before, this one possessed more of the kick of hard liquor and none of the thickness of the most potent bocks out there. “They make it the same way they make beer with the malted barley,” said Dave.

The Lady of the Lake cocktail was very straightforward and simple. Its strong flavor was smoothed out by the lime and bitters. The finely grinded smoked sea salt over the rim (not rimmed like a margarita, mind you) accented the oceanic flavor of the spirit. If you’re looking for something different and spirit focused, this is a good one to sip on. Although, it’s so light, I could easily drink a pint glass of the stuff. But then would need some help off my bar stool.

Lady Percy: Tullamore Dew, stewed pear cider, honey, lime, chocolate chili bitters, cinnamon stick

Lady Percy, a hot cocktail of pear cider goodness, was my absolute favorite off the list. Turns out it’s Dave’s favorite, too. Apparently, he went through six different pears to find the right flavor for this drink. Finally he settled on a combination of six Barlett pears with one Korean pear to get all that sweetness. And for spice, it relies on just a lone cinnamon stick. “I wasn’t going for spices,” says Dave. “Most ciders you’re going to find lots of big body spices in there. This one doesn’t really have a lot of spice. I really just wanted to bring out the pear itself.” And the result is a nicely balanced hot cider cocktail, not too much booze or too much sweet apple/pear-ness. It was the one cocktail that I really had a hard time putting down during the tasting. Would be perfect to warm your hands (and your soul) during a rainy day.

Dastardly Whiplash: Metl Mezcal, chamomile syrup, Yellow Chartreuse, citrus, egg whites and grapefruit bitters.

Although its dangerous-sounding name may cause you to shy away from the Dastardly Whiplash, it’s actually a very drinkable, frothy mezcal cocktail. And that’s due to the Metl mezcal, according to Dave. “It’s so light but still had so much flavor in the middle without being super smoky like so many mezcals,” he said. Marry that to his chamomile syrup, Yellow Chartreuse and citrus and it’s an entry-level mezcal drink for those who shied away from the smokey spirit in the past. “This is acceptable for those people who really like tequila but want a little bit more body and a little bit more to bite on. But it was subtle enough for me to mix with it and accent it and blend it well without you going, ‘I KNOW mezcal’s in here.’”

What I really enjoyed about Dave’s cocktails is that they’re all simple but with great, unique flavors. The Cacophony cocktail (top picture) is like no spicy Manhattan you’ve tasted what with its Russell’s Rye, Cardamaro, honey, Swedish herb bitters and basil leaf. That Cardamaro’s liqueurness lingers, leaving a mintyness at the tip of your tongue. Weird and neat!

Zodiac: Zaya Rum, butternut squash-organic brown sugar syrup, ginger, lime, sparkling water and nutmeg

While the Zodiac is a spin on a Mule and tastes like pie without that ubersweetness. “I didn’t have to throw in bitters because the Zaya already has those herbal elements running through it. The butternut squash combined with the ginger and a little hint of nutmeg gave it that herbal flavor that we were looking for that runs through the entire menu,” Dave said.

I liked the cocktail for the most part save for the lime which I found too astringent. But then again I’m always superaware of when lime is used in a cocktail. Otherwise it’s a great drink that I can see enjoyed apres Thanksgiving.

The only cocktails I wasn’t too crazy about, and I told Dave this, were the Sweeney Todd — a hot vodka cocktail that tasted more of tea than anything — and the Headless Horseman — a dessert cocktail that’s heavy on the cream. But if you’re seeking a drink that doesn’t taste of booze go for the Todd; or if you want to follow up your dinner with something sweet, you have the Horseman.

It’s still warm out but Dave said that Villains is better prepared for the cold weather than it was last year, what with its new roof on the patio. Plus it has heaters out there so if it’s a cold and rainy day, you shouldn’t let that stop you from enjoying a cocktail. Especially when we’re talking about the Lady Percy. Mmm!

The fall cocktail drinks are available now.

Halloween Happening: For Halloween weekend, Villains’ party is spreading out into its parking lot, showcasing 14 bands! Keep an eye on the bar’s site for more details.

Villains Tavern
1356 Palmetto Street
Los Angeles, California 91003 (map)
(213) 613-0766
Facebook: Villains Tavern
Twitter: @Villains_Tavern

Categories: Cocktails, Featured, Los Angeles

1 Comment

August 9, 2011

And the Los Angeles Magazine Winner for Best Cocktail Punch 2011 Is…

The trick is to get triple-word score while drunk off punch.

Los Angeles Magazine‘s Best of LA 2011 issue is currently out on the newsstands and it’s one that’s not to be missed. Not because I was fortunate enough to be asked to contribute a couple of blurbs to it, hee!, but just because it’s usually the issue you’ll end up referring to for years to come as it becomes your reference guide for finding crucial info like who has the best Scotch selection (Daily Pint) and what’s the best wine bar (Barbrix). Plus every Angeleno should have it on their coffee table, nay, they should have issues spanning back many years in their library. Just sayin’.

I wrote up the blurb for Best Punch in Los Angeles (as well as Best Happy Hour — Drago Centro). This of course required that I choose a number of cocktail punches around town and narrow it down to the best. A very difficult task which resulted in many restless nights. Seriously. How could I pick just one? Oh the humanity! I was able to cull my choices down to the following:

In Pasadena, 1886′s fun Champagne Punch with strawberry shrub and champagne and served up in tea pots.

Downtown Cana’s Jitterbug Perfume, a heady mix of jasmine-infused Bulleit 95 rye, Meyer’s Legend 10 year, Luxardo Abano, grapefruit, lime and strawberry.

Also downtown, Villains Tavern’s Osiris Punch with champagne, rye whiskey, hibiscus, mint, citrus, spices and bitters.

In Hollywood, there’s Library Bar’s off-menu Jamaican Waiting Punch with Smith and Cross rum, Batavia Arrack, Meyer lemon peel, sugar, fresh blood orange juice and nutmeg.

Yes, it became very Sophie’s Choice. Each was made by some of the best mixologists in our fine town and all were so tasty but so different from one another. However in the end I chose The Spare Room‘s Late Checkout, a cocktail punch by bartender Naomi Schimek. Not only is it a delicious supersize version of a popular L.A. cocktail, the Medicina Latina, but it came with a very unique experience — board games and/or bowling at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s bar/bowling alley. The venue is really what helped nudged it ahead of its competitors. Where else in Los Angeles can you enjoy a punch bowl with friends in a historic landmark while ruminating over how to get a triple-word score in Scrabble? Love it! Here punch is $60 for a bowl, board games are free and an hour of bowling for up to six friends is $100.

Congrats, Spare Room on winning Best Punch in Los Angeles Magazine’s 2011 Best of issue (and my heart)!

Cheap Punch: On a not-so-random note, if you’re looking for something a little cheaper than $60 punch, The Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills has Punchbowl Happy Hour Mondays through Fridays 4-7pm where you can score a six-person bowl of market-fresh cocktail punch for $30!

Categories: Cocktails, Los Angeles

Best Birthday Gift: A Namesake Cocktail by Villains Tavern’s Dave Whitton

Dave setting about to work by Caroline on Crack

Dave Whitton creating Caroline cocktail #3.

Bartender Dave Whitton of Villains Tavern and the Bar at Cliff’s Edge gave me what is perhaps one of the greatest birthday presents I’ve ever gotten. Ever. He created a cocktail to be served at my upcoming birthday party at Cliff’s Edge. But not only that, he came up with three different cocktails for me to choose from to be that special “Caroline’s Cliffhanger.”

Now, I trusted Dave with creating a namesake cocktail because I’ve liked what he’s done at Villains, the downtown bar he co-owns and designed the cocktails for, and his naughty twist on the classics at Cliff’s Edge. His drinks are fun for cocktail geeks and yet approachable for newbies. Also, he’s well aware of my bourbon fetish and that Manhattans are my go-to cocktails.

His concern, though, was that since we would be serving this cocktail to a group of people that maybe half of them would be put off by something as potent as a Manhattan. So he presented me with a mainstream cocktail, a cross between mainstream and cocktail geek, and a cocktail geeky classic.

Here are the contestants.

Cocktail #1: Maker’s Mark, Lillet Rouge, muddled lemons, peach syrup and couple dashes of lavender bitters.

Caroline cocktail #1 by Caroline on Crack

This cocktail was served on the rocks in a mason jar and Dave described it as a summer cocktail.

Dave: “It’s got orange oils on top which are bouncing off the peach syrup and the Lillet, the dark Lillet which gives a port wine body to it. So the Makers you get that soft bourbon flavor that’s going to blend with anything that’s dark and fruity. The peach syrup which combines with the Lillet and lavender. That’s definitely more mainstream. More along the lines of where most people are going to go, ‘OK, I can have another one.’ The other one [cocktail #3] is more of a classic style and going to be more for the cocktail drinker. ”

Cocktail #2: A 46 Sour, a take on a New York Sour with Maker’s 46, fresh lemon, egg whites, topped off with an herbal Cabernet.

Caroline cocktail #2 by Caroline on Crack

A twist on a New York Sour with Maker's 46.

Dave suggested this cocktail since Cliff’s Edge is known for its wine and the recipe includes Cabernet. The Maker’s 46 gave the concoction a nice spiciness.

Cocktail #3: Maker’s, St. Germain, honey syrup, grapefruit and lemon oils

Caroline cocktail #3 by Caroline on Crack

Dave: "This is a cocktail that I think you would like but not necessarily the direction for an entire group of people."

Dave created this one for the person who wouldn’t normally go for something straight. “I was still trying to go for something mainstream enough where even with straight liquor you can handle it and be like ‘I don’t know I can’t do it’ and then you taste it and go ‘Oh, it’s not that bad.’ Now of course if you didn’t like bourbon at all you’d be like ‘Ohh my gawwd!’”

So guess which one I picked? Hit the jump for the answer and recipe.

Caroline cocktails, which is the tastiest of them all?

Categories: Cocktails, Los Angeles

4 Comments

April 29, 2011

Villains Tavern’s 3 Fun Ways To Get Drunk in the Daytime

The La Barbie on the new spring menu was named after a drug dealer with long blonde hair.

Because drinking isn’t fun enough, Villains Tavern presents three fun ways to get drunk at its new weekly party — Day Drinking BBQ — which kicks off tomorrow at 1pm!

Sno Cone Fix ($9-$12) is made with your choice of fruit, fruit syrup and liquor on a bed of shaved ice.
The new spring cocktail menu which features my new favorites the Geryon with Makers 46, kumquats, grapefruit, lemon with bitters and the La Barbie with Hacienda Tequila, Aperol, citrus, red pepper, lemon, cranberry and Tapatio.
And mellow things off with a beer in a bag, naturally. Your choice of Tecate, Bud Light and Schlitz for $3 each.

And to prepare your stomach for the onslaught of booze, there’s the fresh-off-the-grill Demon Burger with bacon cherry marmalade. Afterward, stare bleary-eyed at artworks featured in the pop-up Pretty/Tough art show or drunken dance to hillbilly jazz troupe, The Evangenitals. Great name. Heh. Sounds like it’s gonna be a good time on that patio.

EVENT: SATURDAYS from 1 to 5pm

Villains Tavern
1356 Palmetto Street
Los Angeles, California 91003 (map)
(213) 613-0766
Facebook: Villains Tavern
Twitter: @VillainsTavern

Categories: Beer, Cocktails, Los Angeles

2 Comments

October 28, 2010

Villains Tavern’s Fall Drink Menu: He Said, She Said Cocktail Review

Dave Whitton making a cocktail by Caroline on Crack

Villains Tavern's Dave Whitton making a cocktail.

Last week, Downtown’s Villains Tavern debuted its new fall cocktail menu to some media types. And since I couldn’t go I asked my friend John of Social Domain if he could check it out for me. As I told the PR peeps for Villains, I trust John’s tastebuds. But turned out they said I could still swing by the next day to try the cocktails. A good thing since John didn’t really take any good pictures as “they are jar drinks and they didn’t show well.”

So below are mine and John’s “He Said, She Said” tasting notes on the cocktails which were created by general manager/mixmaster Dave Whitton and will be available at Villains Tavern’s Dark Carnival Halloween event tomorrow and Saturday nights!

Blackheart ($11): Goslings dark rum, Blackheart spiced rum, rum batter, hot water, heavy whipping cream

Blackheart cocktail

John: This didn’t strike me well at first. Tasted like dishwater. Then I figured out I was drinking it wrong. It was the hot water that was throwing me off. The idea is to let it sit for a bit and settle. Then drink it like an Irish coffee, carefully getting some cream off the top with the boozy bottom such that it blends in your mouth. And I mean boozy.
Me: Blackheart is basically hot buttered rum, which I lurve. So potent, buttery, sinful and rich. When I had this, it was really cold outside so this worked well to warm up my bones.

Day of the Dead ($11): Mulled spice cider, vodka, Apple Jack, bitters

Day of the Dead cocktail

John: Didn’t take to this one, thought it was flat, no depth of flavor that holiday drinks should have. Why the vodka? That seemed to be the problem. Dave explains that it is for people who normally like the narrow flavor profile of vodka soda. Ok.�So he reworks it with bourbon and is what it is supposed to be. Now the spiced cider, apple jack and bitters have a leg to stand on.
Me: Apparently this is the only drink Dave created that he didn’t add sugar to and yet he didn’t have to. I liked that subtle tartness and sweetness of the apple. This spiked cider would be so comforting on a cold, rainy night. I’m usually not a fan of vodka but you really don’t taste its jagged edge in this drink, a good thing. For the recipe of this autumn drink, hit the jump.

Edgar Allan Poe ($12): Fighting Cock Bourbon, green apple juice, organic egg, sugar, grated nutmeg

Edgar Allan Poe cocktail

John: Green apple is the magic here. Balancing out what might appear at first to be a heavy cocktail. Usually heavy and sticky at the family Christmas party, this has nothing in common with that except the heavy spiking that is obviously present.
Me: Tastes like artificial sweetener on the finish even though it’s made with real sugar. It was OK. Strong whiff of nutmeg. Not sure if I’d pay $12 for it. Not my fave.

Sleepy Hollow ($9): Gin, pumpkin, citrus, organic egg whites, sugar, heavy whipping cream, chocolate chili bitters

Sleepy Hollow cocktail

John: Here’s something that doesn’t seem right. Gin and pumpkin. I admit to not getting that much of the pumpkin, but did get a nose of sewing machine oil. This is promising. Into the drink again with great balance of citrus with the cream. The chocolate chili bitters are more apparent toward the end as you work through the cream.
Me: This Halloween take on the Ramos Gin Fizz wasn’t listed on the menu (they say it’s a Bartender’s Choice) but they’re serving it through November. Unlike John, I liked it just fine. It’s creamy but surprisingly light. And I like the fact that here’s this pumpkin cocktail that’s not disgustingly sweet, thick or milky.

By the way, I was skeptical about the food at this bar but was pleasantly surprised. I can’t speak to the burger or the grilled cheese sandwich but the Pharoah salad with farro is fricken tasty and so fresh, as well as satisfying. Of course we had to supplement these with the Indian peas, which are so addictively salty and crisp but not crunchy. I wish they sold these in bags so that I could enjoy them at home with a beer.

Villains Tavern
1356 Palmetto Street
Los Angeles, California 91003 (map)
(213) 613-0766
Facebook: Villains Tavern
Twitter: @VillainsTavern

Categories: Cocktails, Featured, Los Angeles, Recipes

6 Comments

October 28, 2010

This Weekend: $3 Brown Bag Beer, Mixology Costume Party, Spooky Pub Crawl

Who doesn’t love Halloween? Whether it’s for the chills, costumes or parties, I look forward to it every year. And I’m happy to say there seems to be a decrease in douchy “1st Annual” parties this year and an increase in events I actually want to go to! By the way, catch me on Carson Daly’s radio show “AMP Mornings” this morning for the audio version of this roundup.

Thursday, October 28

The Beer Chicks Toast Halloween Brews

Taste some scary-scrumptious brews with The Beer Chicks at West LA’s TLofts. They’ll be pouring Evil Dead Red, Unibroue Maudite, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale and more!

6-8pm. TLofts, 11500 Tennessee Avenue, West LA (map).

Friday, October 29

Villains Tavern Dark Carnival
This Halloween party downtown goes off for two days with tarot card readings, carnival food, a costume contest and even a freak show. There will also be Oktoberfest beers and handcrafted cocktails. But I’m lovin the beer in a bag option, which is $3 brown bags of Schlitz, Tecate and Bud Light.

Friday-Saturday, 7pm-2am. Free. Villains Tavern, 1356 Palmetto Street, Downtown (map). (213) 613-0766.

Saturday, October 30

Night of Rising Spirits at Les Deux in Hollywood
The party for cocktail aficionados. All-star mixologists from all over — including Simon Ford, Damian Windsor (Roger Room), Naomi Schimek (First & Hope), Erick Castro (SF) and more — will be hand crafting cocktails. And during the VIP hour from 8-9 they’ll have free appetizers and cocktail punch. But costumes and RSVP are required.

8pm. $10. Les Deux, 1638 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood (map).

Halloween Weekend at Outdoor Cinema
If you like watching scary movies, this outdoor cinema will screen Zombieland in the Cornfields near Chinatown. There will also be bands, food trucks and a full bar. And on Halloween night, they’ll screen The Shining at Exposition Park near USC where you can bring a cooler and outside drinks.

Halloween Pub Crawl in Hollywood
A 2-day pub crawl around Hollywood where you hit up 20 bars and score drink deals like 2-for-1 drinks and $2 draft beers. The crawl starts off at the Pig and Whistle where you check in and get your map and pub crawl paraphernalia. Target bars include The Well, Big Wangs and Citizen Smith.

Saturday-Sunday, Noon-11pm. $15-$20. Starts at: Pig N Whistle, 6714 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

Sunday, October 31

The Edison’s All Hallow’s Eve
For a really classy good time on the big night itself, this party in the swankiest basement bar ever will feature contortionists, dancers, live music and hand-crafted cocktails.

8pm. $25 with costume, $35 without. The Edison, 108 W. 2nd Street, Downtown (map).

Categories: Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Music, Nightlife

Blog Bite: Mix & Match Beer and Shot at Villains Tavern

Villains Tavern's Mix & Match Beer and Shot

At the new downtown LA Villains Tavern, which opened just last month, it’s not about the cocktails for me, rather it’s all about that groovy outdoor bar where they only serve beer and mix-and-match beer and shots! Yes, if you don’t feel like waiting in line at the indoor bar for a cocktail, just step outside to the bar on the side patio.

You can flashback to those college years of pounding shots or create your own premium version of a Boilmaker.

For $8 you have your choice of 20 beers and 20 shots. Hmm, PBR with Wild Turkey Rye? Racer 5 IPA with Fernet Branca? Tecate with Camarena Reposado? The possibilities are deliciously endless, unless, of course, you misjudge a match like I did with the Fernet and Woodchuck Apple Cider. Blech! What was I thinking? That herbaliness did not go well with the apple as I had thought it would. Oh well, you live, you learn.

Big spenders may want to opt for the “premium” beer like Maredsous 10, Chimay and Affligem. That’ll set you back $14.

I feel compelled to go back and see if I can come up with. What do you think would be a good mix?