inks&drinks

for those who mistake us for a barrister....

2006-11-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

when i first started as a barista all those years ago i remember having this conversation with my girlfriends mum at the time and when i explained to her that i wasnt a barrister and that i was a barista the look on her face of utter glee to utter disappoinment all in the space of 5 minutes of meeting me,as you know im not dating her anymore,such is life for the barista

lady sovereign....the biggest midget

2006-11-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

just a little something to freshen up the north american style of music to hit canada and america this month is lady sovereign.

if your a fan of dizzee rascal your gonna love lady sovereign,but unfortunately i am unable to see her perform at the commodore this weekend as i have to go to whistler and do a food and wine festival.........bugger

ive been waiting quite sometime to see her perform as i accidentally came across her when i was in dublin when i picked up a copy of her vinyl to listen to and was hooked as soon as started playing it,i hope to see more of the uk grime scene come this way as i havnt found anything musically interesting here yet

ingredients to the devil in molly malone

2006-11-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

The glass...

160 ml glass - we've chosen the Illy Collection Freddo crystal glass for this drink build.

The ingredients...

- 30 ml Redbreast 12 year whiskey- 1 tsp Demerara (unrefined, raw) sugar- 10 ml ultra premium maple syrup- Fresh cold whipping cream- Americano (4 oz / 120 ml)- Small chili pepper

The method...

Whip the cream with the maple syrup until just short of stiff. Set aside in the refridgerator to chill.
Butterfly cut the chili and remove the seeds; then rub the rim of the glass with the inside of the chili and set aside for garnish.
Preheat the glass with hot water until warm, and then empty the water.
Pour in the whiskey and then the freshly brewed americano to about an inch below the top of the glass.
Add the unrefined sugar and stir until fully dissolved.
Carefully fold and float the cream over the back of the spoon into the glass and garnish with the butterfly-cut chili.

the devil in molly malone

2006-11-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

just did a signature irish coffee for coffeegeek to be posted tommorrow
so this is what it looks like and i will give you the recipe when it comes out so stay tuned.....

has bean open day

2006-10-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

description of equipment

2006-09-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

there are two types of shakers shown here,a boston shaker and a cobbler shaker.
the boston shaker comes in two parts a toughened glass half and the tin which has a slightly wider lip than the glass allowing the two parts to come together to form a seal so they can be shaken safely without coming apart.the glass part is also used in strirring cocktails with ice for example when your making a martini.....
the cobbler shaker entirely made of steel,the top of the cobbler has a smaller cap which has its own strainer,quite easy to use,just add all the ingredients shake,take off the cap and pour into the glass.

speed pourers makes it easier to consistently pour providing a thin stream of alcohol and they fit into the necks of the bottles.bar blade makes a speedier way of opening beer bottles.tea strainer alows you to double strain a cocktail to stop chunks of unwanted fruit or ice into drinks.a peeler and a zester for making garnish

a bar spoon is a long handled teaspoon used for stirring in a tall glass,light muddling of mint and layering of shots or floats,a hawthorne strainer for straining out ice it fits neatly into the boston glass.muddling stick for juice extraction from fruit and bashing herbs,and also an ice scoop

tools for the home mixologist

2006-09-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

classic cocktails

2006-09-22T00:37:00.000-07:00

as summer slowly fades for another year i would like to give one last toast before the weather turns.a drink that i like to indulge in from time to time is a well made mint julep or the mighty mojito.both drinks remind me of summer where you lounge around in boardies and thongs(flip flops)and the sound of the surf in the background.although for some,the mint julep is an all american tipple that has its roots deeply imbedded in the south,a placewhere the humidity of summer in the afternoon hangs heavy in the air and after a hard day days work the only thing that would quench your thirst is this drink,while you put your feet up to relax and watch the sunset.
my take on this wonderful beverage would be...........

mint julep

60 mls of woodford reseve bourbon
handful of mint leaves
1 tbls caster sugar
crushed ice

glass :old fashioned

garnish: mint sprigs

method: muddle mint leave in the mixing glass with the sugar to release the oils and aroma from the mint,add a little of the bourbon and crushed ice,now transfer the mix into the old fashioned glass,top up with more ice stir and add the rest of the bourbon stir again and top up with more crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs

mojito is cubas national drink originating in havana,now made by bartenders in all corners of the globe.hemmingway drank mojitos in la bodeguita del medio,a bar im yet to drink at and hopefully will soon.originally a farmers drink in the early 1820's it has elevated from its humble begginings and drunk by all.

mojito

60mls havana anejo rum
handful mint sprigs
half lime quartered
2 tbls caster sugar
soda water
crushed ice

glass: old fashioned

garnish: mint sprigs

method: add mint sugar and limes in the mixing glass and muddle together,pour contents into old fashioned glass add ice and stir.then add the rum,stir add a slpash of soda water,stir and top off with crushed ice.

aspiring bartenders

2006-09-17T01:48:00.000-07:00

its been a while now since ive been behind a bar making drinks and i do miss it quite a bit,although one thing i dont miss is the odd hours i used to work and being sleep deprived,but i do miss being able to make up a beautiful drink with seasonal produce for a new menu or a beverage to accompany a meal.
what really got me thinking about cocktails again was what i experienced last night at a bar in vancouver,so my night started out harmlessly enough when my girlfriend kylie and our friend olivia perched ourselves at the bar oggling the cocktail list and at that stage im in shock with the list,and our ever so helpful bartender took my list off my hands and said "dont worry about the list i will make you a drink thatll blow your mind......"and he smiles at usand takes our order.ill have something sweet...(olivia)ill have something fruity....(kylie)and ill have a very dry martini stirred with gin,so my drink was made first ,shaker full of ice...so far so good,bombay sapphire ok so far,but there was no glass ready being chilled with a wash of noilly prat,ok not to worry hes just off tempo and will do it last,maybe the glas has been in the fridge chilling all this time and was just chilling the gin before giving the glass a wash with the noilly,by this time im feverishly looking in his fridge for a martini glass chilling away but i couldnt see it.so i look over his next step as he puts the boston shaker together and before i could stop him he was shaking my martini which i asked to be stirred,and then he proceeds to strain my gin into a glass which the bar back just pulled out of the glass washer steaming hot,what was the use of chilling my spirit when your just going to put it in a steaming hot glass,you wouldve been better to just have poured me a double shot of gin in a rocks glass neat.i wouldnt even dare describe what concoction he made the girls but they wouldve been better off drinking sugar syrup with food colouring.what im trying to say is if your a bartender willing to impress know how some of the classics are made,ask how they like it eg.martini i would ask the patron,how would you like your martini?sweet,dry,perfect or dirty then i would proceed by asking gin or vodka,and wait for a reply,then i would ask shaken or stirred,but preferrably i would stir it as i would have my spirits in the freezer whether it be gin or vodka,and i would also have them on my shelf so as you can see it then i would proceed to put it together with all the theatrics,making the drink deliberately slow in front of the customer so as to get them going like its the main event they were waiting for and to have some pride when putting this classic drink together,its simple but it is perfect,not too hard to make but it seems that everyone who is in the industry seem to wreck and i was one of those many years ago as a newbie behind the bar all gung ho and thinking i knew how to make it and totally demolish this simple drink.then after all that when everything is in place i would serve the drink with an olive cocktail napkin in front of the customer put the drink on the napkin and look the customer in the eye and smile and wait for the reaction,if everything goes well they should end up with a smile on their face and coming back for more.james bond may like his martini shaken but i like it stirred,knowing the classics will help you develop new drinks by giving old ones a re vamp with your own interpretation as long as the drink is well balanced in flavour

something buggin you?speak your mind

2006-08-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

the kid from brooklyn

2006-08-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Horiyoshi

2006-08-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

art fusion with Paul Booth and Filip Leu

2006-08-16T00:43:00.000-07:00

starschmucks...1

2006-08-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

starschmucks.....2

2006-08-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

funny thing happened on the way to starschmucks.......

2006-08-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

wicked cafe

2006-07-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

666.......machine of the beast

on to my third day at working the bar and working with stephen and im still getting used to the slower pace im used to when working in avoca cafe in dublin but it is getting busier.i was asked by a barista that used to work there if i can pour him a dragon,i have only seen it once in a magazine and going from memory i gave him my own interpretation of it

latte art at western regionals

2006-07-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

some random latte art before western regionals.sammy piccolo poured the one on the left and i poured the one in the take away cup but i wasnt quick enough to take this picture before some stuck a spoon in sammy's coffee but you get the idea,also a little rusty with the rosettas

a weekend at vancouver island

2006-07-25T23:19:00.000-07:00

these set of photos dont have anything to do with coffee but the weekend away on the lake was fantastic and it was great to be out in the great outdoors we also went white water rafting on inner tubes but didnt have pictures,would love to have had a waterproof camera to take along on the ride

espresso around town

2006-07-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

went into granville island for lunch with kylie and came across jj bean the espresso looked nice but was quite high in acidity.i would like to have a play with the coffee to see how it developes.everyone seems to use triple baskets and puling short shots and baristas use shot clocks as guides to pulling espresso,totally different style to what im used to and would like to see how the shots would taste pulled a little longer

had a couple of nice espressos at the elysian room pulled on a synesso quite an interesting machine quite touchy when brewing but you can get used to it nice bright looking cafe with big windows and view of the mountain

judging@western canadian regionals

2006-07-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

i didnt get many pictures on the regionals as i was on the job judging but i did manage to get a couple taken for me

inked

2006-07-06T01:20:00.000-07:00

on a tattoo subject......i would like to say how much the crew at zulu tattoo in dublin are being missed,firstly for the great company and laughs,it was great to have met them and also being inked by them,justin,sean,gavin,paul and tara.i have been stopped quite a few times by heavily tattooed people and non tattooed walking around vancouver being asked who inked me and i would tell them that my recent work was all done in zulu tattoo in dublin and was dissapointed to know that the artists arent local and was out of reach for them,and the most common comment was its a pity as there wasnt enough tattooist around.......so guys at zulu come on down to canada

flying over greenland

2006-07-06T01:13:00.000-07:00

well as you can see there is a hell of a lot of snow down there and being so high up and looking at the wonerful white stuff below makes me wish i could quickly drop in and have a few runs on the snow and then go back up into the plane.....but i can only dream until the season starts again in canada

hi

2006-07-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, just arrived in vancouver after several misshaps starting off in dublin where kylie and i waited at dublin airport for 12 hours to board our plane heading for toronto which was held up due to technical difficulties,so when we did board our plane we were so excited to get to our next port of call,we were also bumped up to business class to ease our pain of being kept there for so long.the flight was great as i have never flown over green land before and the amount of snow i could see below me was like heaven and wished i was able to drop down on to it for a quick run before getting back on the plane but unfortunately all i could do was dream and drool about the endless snow. so there we were at toronto airport getting our visas at immigration and i was slowly noticing how hot it had gotten in there and how much i wanted to get out a pair of shorts but couldnt as i was still dressed for irish weather.so we then proceeded into customs where i was geared up to be hassled but without even blinking an eye i was waved through the gates. what the.........! my usual barrage of questions didnt happen so i was left standing there deflated that i didnt get my usual grilling....bugger,so off i went.