A Toast to the End of Time, Pt. 2: Tiki On!

When I needed suggestions for this series, I couldn't have found a better source than the multi-talented Jacob Grier of Metrovino. Among his many occupations, he can claim street magician, writer, contrarian and bartender, but none beat out being employed at a Libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C., for several years. If that isn't a qualifier for surviving the apocalypse, I don't know what would be.

So when I asked him what his idea was for the perfect drink to usher in the end of the world, he didn't hesitate.

"I'd probably go tiki. Maybe a Nui Nui."

A Nui Nui?

"The end of the world could take a long time, and one wouldn't want to greet it with an empty glass," he said. "Thus a big, boozy tiki drink seems appropriate. The Nui Nui also uses one of my favorite cocktail ingredients, allspice dram."

Forthwith, the recipe:

Nui Nui
From the cocktail blog Kaiser Penguin

4 oz. Cruzan Estate dark rum
1/4 oz. pimento liqueur
1/4 oz. vanilla syrup
1/2 oz. cinnamon syrup
1 oz. lime juice
1 oz. orange juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake well with crushed ice and pour into a fun cup.

Read the other posts in this series: A Nod to a Classic and Shenaut-be-wan Speaks.

Top photo by Benjamin Brink from my article for MIX magazine on Portland's Munktiki. Photo of Nui Nui from Kaiser Penguin.

MIXing It Up: Summer's Best Bevs

The request from the editor at MIX magazine was simple enough: a feature on the best summer drinks in Portland, 100 words or less each. Deadline: two weeks. Put a list together, get it approved and go.

No problem.

Jacob Grier's Cleared for Departure at Metrovino.

It's about then, after I accept an assignment and the editor's counting on me to fill the allotted spaces, that my mind goes blank. Drinks? Summer? Huh?

This train of thought is usually followed by a mild panic. Then I start thinking about who I can call for help digging me out of this self-inflicted predicament. Cocktails…let's see…maybe Jacob Grier and Dave Shenaut would be willing to help out. And Smith Teamaker is doing some interesting things with tea infusions. Beer's not a problem, I know who to call for tips on summer releases. Whew!

Departure Sling at Departure Lounge.

A little less than two weeks later the copy's in to the magazine and I've met yet another round of fascinating Portland folks. Read the results in "50 Best Summer Drinks" featuring my contributions:

• Fruit Teas at Smith Tea
• Slora Rustica at Upright Brewing
• Evelyn's Imperial Sunshine Double IPA at Hopworks
• Tea Beer at Rogue Brewing
• Departure Sling at Departure Lounge
• Jacob Grier's Cleared for Departure at Metrovino (recipe here)
• Dave Shenaut's Souracher at Zeus Café

Photo of fruit teas by Brian Feulner for the Oregonian; photo of Departure Sling by Motoya Nakamura for the Oregonian.

Get Your Picnic On

I walked in to Beaker & Flask the other night and who should be sitting at the bar but Jacob Grier, main dude behind the bar at Metrovino.

"Are you here for the picnic?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Um, just meeting some friends," I replied vacuously, not having the slightest idea what he was talking about.

Well, turns out what Mr. Grier was referring to was the fact that this outstanding bar, also known since its inception as home to some stand-out crazy good grub, is featuring a Picnic Feast on Tuesday nights this summer. What that means is that they'll be roasting some whole animal, either a goat, pig or lamb, out in the parking lot during the day, then whacking it up and serving it for dinner that night.

Twenty bucks gets you a heaping helping of juicy, makes-you-weak-in-the-knees animal flesh, plus a choice of 2 of three sides. And for an extra fiver you can get a glass of one of two featured wines. On the night I was there the pig was the animal of choice, and a fine specimen it was, big hunks of piggy goodness with a covering of scattered cracklings. Of the sides offered that night, a half cob of grilled corn with roasted poblano aioli, a deviled egg salad with bacon and saltines or three summer squash fritters with an herb dipping sauce, I chose the corn and fritters knowing one of my companions had ordered the egg salad.

If this sounds like it might just be the ticket for you, the picnic starts up again on June 28th. And you won't be as clueless (but just as lucky) as I was when I wandered in.

Details: Picnic Feast on Tuesday nights starting June 28. Beaker & Flask, 727 SE Washington St. 503-235-8180.

Heresy or Genius? You Decide!

I have to admit, when I heard that beer cocktails were the latest thang on cocktail menus, it got one of those big-time eyerolls usually reserved for bartenders who ask if I want my martini with gin or vodka.

Really? Cocktails made with beer? Spare me!

But, as usually happens when I get all up on my high horse, a comeuppance wasn't far behind, and it came in the guise of nice guy and bartender extraordinaire Jacob Grier (left) of Metrovino. He'd been playing around with beer cocktails, seeing if our local microbrews could be insinuated into some cocktails for the benefit of spirit, brew and drinker.

You might remember him from my post about Kopstootje, the Dutch tradition of drinking genevere with a beer back, when he had the bright idea to introduce the folks from Bols to Upright Brewing's Alex Ganum. So when asked to come up with a couple of unique libations using the Brazilian sugar cane spirit called cachaça, he knew he'd found a good candidate for his experiments with beer.

The first round of the drink was good, but not quite the knockout Grier wanted, so with some juggling of ingredients—he decided to jettison the traditional mint because it added an unpleasant bitterness—he came up with a libation he's calling the Caip-beer-inha, a twist on the national drink of Brazil.

While some might argue that Ninkasi's Total Domination IPA is a fabulous beer on its own and a caipirinha doesn't need any help, thank you very much (neither of which I can deny), the combination does have a certain je ne sais quoi as a summer sipper. Try it at your next lawn party and see if it doesn't get some nods of approval!

Caip-beer-inha

From Jacob Grier

2 oz Novo Fogo silver cachaça
Half a lime, quartered
1 spoon superfine white sugar
Ninkasi Total Domination IPA

Muddle the lime and sugar, add cachaça and ice and shake. Dump contents into a rocks glass, top with more ice, and finish with the beer.