Fall Cocktails in Atlanta

On a spectacular day watching the sun set from my perch at Top of the Mark in San Francisco I talked with my bartender about fall and the autumnal drinks I love so. Gone are the fruity, pastel, light drinks of summer. On the fall inspired cocktail menus are rich, spicy, dark concoctions meant to warm one from within. "What is your favorite?" He asked. I told him about Navarro Carr from The Sound Table and his perfect Toronto. This is where we switched proverbial places and I tended to him, instructing each delicious step along the way to my go-to fall elixir. He stirred, tasted, and declared it simple, yet intriguing.

We arrived at the subject of Atlanta bartending when I flipped through a dog-eared copy of San Francisco Magazine and spotted Jason Rager who recently moved from Atlanta and his post at Holeman and Finch Public House to San Francisco's AQ. Rager's Manhattan was a favorite fall (and all year) cocktail of mine with 110 proof Willett rye, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, both Angostura and Regan's bitters, and a house-made cherry. I can never replicate it at home. Though he and Greg Best are gone, cocktails are still outstanding at this James Beard nominated Bar Program. The Ranier Expedition is a favorite of mine lately- High West Silver Oak, Imbue Petal and Thorn, Punt e Mes, Amargo Vallet (herbal, spicy liquor ), lemon bitters.


Top of the Mark Manhattan

Angela Manhattan at Miso Izakaya

 

My bartender tried his hand at a perfect Manhattan. It was good, but not a Jason Rager Manhattan or The Angela Manhattan Ronnie Le Claire makes at Miso Izakaya. The swizzle sticks were great though. San Francisco bars love their swizzle sticks. More swizzle sticks, more matchbooks, Atlanta! The conversation carried on and I talked about a fun week of trying fall cocktail menus in Atlanta with a friend. Follow along below.

Our cocktail adventure began with mixtress extraordinaire Kellie Thorn at Empire State South. I swooned over a Brief Encounter, all boozy with the strong spices of fall (Lion's Pride dark oat whiskey, Carpano, Antica Formula, barrel aged bitters) yet nostalgic for the summer that has gone  with a strawberry shrub from local strawberries of early summer. It was bewitching how it matched my enthusiasm for the coming cold at the loss of summer's bounty.

We moved to Abattoir for foie gras from chef Hector Santiago's Butcher's menu and a fall sipper. Bartender's choice: The Autumn Crisp from Ryan McLaughlin. It tasted like something you would want to sip from a thermos next to a fire and was gorgeous in the glass with a dried apple slice resting on the edge. Recipe here:

2 oz. American Spirit Whiskey
1 oz Cinnamon spiced iced tea (we use Harney and Sons)
1 oz Fresh squeezed Ellijay Apple Juice
¾ oz Honey Water (1 part honey to 1 part water)
2 bar spoons lemon juice
Dried apple slice - garnish

Combine all ingredients in a glass. Add ice. Add apple slice garnish.

From Abattoir we headed to Miso Izakaya to treat my out of towner to one of Atlanta's best cocktails: The Unsung Hiro. During the summer, it sips like a refreshing cooler but the magic of this concoction is its morphing ability.  The cool, crisp fall evening was equally matched by the rye, spicy ginger, and Lapsang Souchong infused sea salt that dances atop the hand cut cube of ice filling the glass. I declared this my favorite summer cocktail but I need to include it as a favorite fall sipper too.

 

Last stop for this particular evening is a favorite haunt- Proof and Provision. Small, dark, and undergroundish, you never know what kind of crowd will roll in here. Bartenders are solid, endearing, super creative, and most of all able to put up with whatever crowd floats in. See, across the street is the Fox Theater. I have witnessed dressed up for the ballet people ordering shots of Goldschlager (which P and P does not carry) and throngs of vest-wearing, PBR-ordering Mumford and Sons fans using words like "bespoke cocktail." The guys behind the bar don't flinch; they just roll with it. The crowd was weird this particular night but the drinks were solid. Fitting a fall evening as well as the end of a good day of sampling was The Firm Handshake, a menu staple. Redemption Rye, Leopold's Fernet, demerara syrup, bitters, and a smoky lapsang souchong tea-infused ice ball blend in perfect harmony of sweet and bitter.

 



As we walked into the stony cavern that is  Wrecking Bar, my friend from Las Vegas smiled and sat with "There is nothing like this in Vegas." I sipped a High West Campfire while he smiled happily with an  Elijah Craig 18 year. Behind the bar Ian Cox and Brian Ferraro kept the jokes coming while crafting classic cocktails. Ian made his Rye in the Dark, his mixture in the Taste of Atlanta Barcraft Competition. I will be ordering this perfect fall sipper with rye and Fernet for months to come.

sampling from the vast bourbon selection

We stopped at my favorite pre-Chastain spot before our concert, Food 101. The Goldentini was a nectarous barrel-aged mix of Troy and Sons Platinum whiskey, Lillet Blanc, and rhubarb bitters. It was perfect with the beef jerky chef Justin Keith shared with us as we discussed the merits of bevnaps at length.

Paul Calvert of Paper Plane has a Smith's inspired menu that blew me away. In a glass he managed to capture the essence of a song, the angst of youth, and autumnal flavors in one fell swoop. Big Mouth Strikes Again is a big mouthful of fall: bourbon, vermouth, cappalletti aperitif, bigallett china-china (made from sweet and bitter orange peels and spices), and bitters. Calvert arranges his cocktail menus from light to dark. This one lies appropriately on the bottom of the list. I have also had a few "There's a Light That Never Goes Out" this season. It never fails to delight my senses. The walnut paneled walls and comfy barstools never fail at soothing comfort either. Stepping into the space at Paper Plane feels at the same time habitual and enchanting, a perfect place to beguile time. We ended this evening with a walk through the tiny-light strewn courtyard to our cab.


The third evening was cool and we settled in for rabbit rillettes and cocktails at One Eared Stag which is a really cozy spot on a Sunday evening. I had a great autumn inspired drink but it was a bartender's choice so I don't have many details to spare other than Rye and cherry bitters, I think.

Final stop on our three day cocktail crawl is my new favorite in Atlanta, Kimball House. I am thoroughly  and profoundly enchanted with everything about Kimball House. I have frequented the many establishments that have held court in this building but none have filled the space with the grandeur it deserves. It is transportive stepping into Kimball House. On this particular rainy evening, the space was dazzling. I wanted to order caviar service and sip gin from the many vintage glasses as towers of oysters were presented. The outstanding oyster program is something that Atlanta has been missing. I look forward to seeing the menu filled with twenty or so fresh choices from around the US on Instagram each day. We didn't have any this evening but I did wax poetically about a night when I helped with a tower of fresh shells, each one shucked to perfection with no shell and ample sea water. This evening it was all about Miles McQuarrie's bar program and the nighttime ambiance that is the inside of an old train depot.

 

Mexican Razor Blade

We had a couple of Mexican Razor Blades-- tequila, sherry, lime, coconut, cinnamon, cayenne--spicy, smoky, and delicately layered with exotic flavors. The Bellman is another favorite with rye, Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, and many bitters.

 



The Bellman
 

So we ended a weekend worthy of the word epic filled with the joys of life and sweater weather concoctions. Our three days of conversations were lifted with those who delightfully entertain behind the bar. I have a list of places and barkeeps we missed. I will leave that to our next adventure.

 

The Blood Dinner

When I first saw the question posed on twitter- Is Atlanta ready for blood?- I was a first responder with "yes." My thoughts not only flooded with the organoleptic properties of blood but of the cultural significance and religious implications the consumption of blood carries. I was intrigued, to say the least. Besides being an experiment with an underutilized/taboo ingredient, the dinner would be crafted by a collection of some of Atlanta's best chefs, including Zeb Stevenson of The Livingston and Proof & Provision, Tyler Williams of Abattoir, Ryan Smith of Empire State South, and Josh Hopkins of STG Trattoria.

Blood is an ingredient infused in the eating habits and cultures around the world yet held as an aversion by Americans. It's confounding, especially with the American obsession with all things vampire. As pop culture overflows with the vampire genre, we neglect and abhor a ready made, nutrient rich, liquid meal. Do we put it in disfavor because it makes us squeamish or because of its supposed sanctity?

Blood sausage is probably the form blood takes on most plates around the world- black pudding in Ireland and the UK, blutwurst in Germany, moronga in Mexico,  morcilla in Spain, and boudin noir in France are all very similar preparations. Soup is also a great way to utilize blood. Besides being a great thickener, it can also be the main component of the dish, like in swartsoppa (duck blood soup) in Sweden and czernina (duck blood and poultry broth) in Poland. In Taiwan there is a special soup with "dark tofu," which is actually cubes of congealed duck blood. Sangre frita in Spain is a dish of cubes of coagulated blood boiled then pan fried with onions.

Some cultures even drink blood,  not a practice of hematophagy (subsisting on blood) , but more for rituals and medicinal benefits. Mesoamericans drank human blood to appease the gods. The Masai of Kenya and Tanzania drink blood on special occasions like circumcisions, birth, or to help the sick. The Mursi of Ethiopia mix blood with milk as a drink. In Nepal there is even a blood drinking festival where the Nepalese trek up a mountain for a yak. The yak is not killed, but its throat is cut. After a drink of hot yak blood, thought to have medicinal qualities, they set the yak free. In Mongolia, shaman drink a mixture of sheep blood and vodka in hopes of connecting them with the souls of their ancestors. Eskimos drink seal blood for nourishment and also in an effort to honor the seal and waste nothing.

Nose to tail eating hearkens back to early times, but apparently not as early as biblical times. Inside the bible can be found many passages strictly prohibiting the eating of blood.  "Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. " (Deut. 12:23) "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." (Gen. 9:4) Not only are we no supposed to consume it, we should "take heed not to eat their blood, but pour it out on the earth as water." (Deut. 15:23) Commingled with the prohibition of all things blood are rituals that mimic hematophagy. “…eat my flesh and drink my blood….” (John 6:53-56) Transubstantiation of wine as the blood of Jesus during the Christian Eucharist quickly comes to mind. And yet we sat anxious for our first course of blood.



The evening began with drinks in the bar area of The Livingston with a Blood and Sand cocktail- one of few classic cocktails made with scotch. Blood and Sand, named/created for the bullfight movie of the same name with Rudolph Valentino, is a delicious concoction of scotch, blood orange, vermouth, and Cherry Heering. Chef Zeb Stevenson welcomed us, ushered us into the dining room, and assured us that we would be enchanted with the dishes and the chef ensemble. His hope was that dinners like this could enlighten us and remind us of our connection to food. I was enchanted from the start with the introduction of currant bread mixed with bacon and pork blood and served with bone marrow butter. Hot damn.

Hamachi Bloodline



The blood line (chiai)  is a streak of dark meat running the length of the fish near the spine. It is very dark red when fresh, has a stronger taste, and even a different consistency. Sushi tsu have a penchant for it. I have always thought it was a piece to avoid because of the strong flavor it produces. Enter the first dish of the night (also my favorite) with a brief cure on the hamachi, satsuma, crisp lardo, radishes, white soy, and cured blood frozen with liquid nitrogen that was dusted onto the plate. Bright, unctious, and memorable.

Pairing: Piper Heidsieck cuvee 1785 Brut, France. Fresh, with citrus notes.  



Coddle Egg

The coddled egg course, prettiest dish of the evening, included beets, puffed farro, foie gras & pork blood torchon, and bits of white chocolate. Individually, the ingredients were pretty spectacular and became more so when combining the elements. The table was pretty quiet while we tasted and though about these flavors.

Pairing: Loimer 'Lois" Gruner Veltliner, Austria 2010. Pale yellow in color, crisp, lemony. Great food wine.

Eel blood on rim before dashi was poured

 

Eel Dashi


 Inside this bowl rimmed with eel blood was a delicate broth, smoked eel, mushrooms, a quail egg, and pickled lotus root. It was perfect- savory, umami, tangy, light yet rich. It had depth, complexity, and balance. I would love this to be on a menu somewhere in Atlanta, sans the blood rim.
Pairing: Glen Carlou Chardonney, South Africa 2009. Fruity, oaky, rich.


Ox Blood Strozzapretti



Pastas and the way they are named for the objects they resemble make me happily don my etymology hat. This shape is a favorite; "Strozzapretti" means "priest strangler" in Italian. Not only did we have priest stranglers on our dishes, but they were made from ox blood and accompanied by rabbit sugo. Not strangling on my end, just smiling as they slipped down my throat.
Pairing: Solena Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2010. Spicy notes.

Blood Sausage

Our table was very chatty and giggly at this point. All preconceived notions of a blood dinner were put to ease with the dishes we had tasted so far. I loved the simplicity of this one- blood sausage, glazed radishes, and barrel cured apples. My favorite moment of the night happened while eating this dish when a table mate wondered aloud "these are so apple-y; I wonder what they are." Apples.
Pairing: Felino Malbec, Argentina 2010. Deep red, peppery, berries, spice aromas.

Pressed Squab
 

 This dish was also a performance in that diners watched as the squab was pressed in a meat press. The blood gravy was stirred next to it and eventually poured onto our plates. Roasted carrots and stewed prunes were served family style. 
Pairing: Charles & Charles Cabernet-Syrah blend, Walla Walla Valley 2010. Inky with dark cherry flavors.


Bloody Pebbles

A special pre-dessert interlude of bloody pebbles-pork blood creme anglaise drizzled into liquid nitrogen then mixed with pomegranate seeds was paired with a piece of blood styrofoam. Yep. Blood styrofoam. The pebbles were interesting in a super cold, iron-like, slippery mouth-feel, afraid to bite into them kind of way. I liked the inclusion of pomegranate seeds. It was kind of tasty. Weird, but tasty. The styrofoam tasted like, well, blood.

Flaming Crepes

 

Resplendent blood orange crepes arrived with beef blood ganache. Before I read the menu, I predicted a chocolate dessert with blood as a thickener. I had read about the tradition of making sanguinaccio, a chocolate pudding made with pigs blood, during the time of pig slaughter in Italy. Descriptions of it were just as the ganache tasted, just like dark chocolate only richer.  The pairing with this last dish was my favorite of the evening, L'Arco Pario Veneto 2004. It was succulent, rich, and velvety with a lingering finish. I enjoyed my glass (or two) with fellow diners and the chefs as we discussed our favorite bites of the evening. Enchantment, check. By the way, enchantment is also prohibited in the bible (Lev. 19:26).

Both my palate and my mind were heightened by this experience. It wasn't merely the food or the inventiveness of the chefs, but also the conversation a meal like this evoked. Dialogue stemming from a taboo topic and listening to different worldviews created an evening of intellectual growth. And that brings me back to blood. Said Rilke: "...if you set this brain of mine on fire, then on my blood I yet will carry you." The night set me afire and I will carry it with me.

Blood Dinner Menu