A Toast to the End of Time, Pt. 3: Shenaut-be-wan Speaks

When I asked my friend Dave Shenaut what he'd be drinking should the Mayan apocalypse pooh-poohed by sensible types come to pass (surprise!), he took time out from opening the dual bar program at the brand new and much-anticipated Raven and Rose in the Ladd Carriage House to answer my query.

"I picture the end of the world burning like the first bead of light in the eye through the blinds of an otherwise dark, warm and comfortable bedroom," he said. "For some reason, rolling over and pulling the sheets over your head just won't do the trick.

"When the end of the world comes, you might as well quit hitting snooze, get your ass out of bed, face the day and shake up this bracer from the The Savoy Cocktail Book, twisted within reason, of course."

He suggested sipping it slowly while listening to the tune above.

Sunray
Adapted from The Savoy Cocktail Book

1.5 oz. Four Roses Single Barrel
3/4 oz. orange juice
1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz. Pierre Ferrand Curacao

Shaken hard and served up with the peel of an orange.

Read the other posts in this series:  A Nod to a Classic and Tiki On!

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.

A Toast to the End of Time, Pt. 1: A Nod to a Classic

It suddenly occurred to me that I was running out of time…and not just to get gifts for friends and family, not to get the tree decorated, the mantel hung with garlands or dotted with candles ready to light.

No, I was running out of time itself.

That's because, in case you've been living in a cave without wi-fi the last few months, some Mayan dudes about a million years ago came up with this thing called the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar (left). To make a loooong story short, their calendar is purported to run out on Dec. 21, 2012. Which means, as you might imagine, that some wackos have been running around with their hair on fire proclaiming that the world is going to end on that date.

So, on the very very off-chance they're right, I want to be prepared. And because the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of what I want to be doing when we all go poof is toasting it with the appropriate libation, I've asked a few of Portland's premier bartenders what their personal choices might be for that purpose.

First up is Brandon Wise, current president of the Oregon Bartenders Guild as well as the self-described "presiding barman" at the newly opened (and widely raved) Imperial and Penny Diner. Wise, a classic guy if ever there was one, chose a classic cocktail called the Last Word as his pick to salute our plunge into eternity.

According to Wikipedia, the Last Word is "a gin-based Prohibition-era cocktail originally developed at the Detroit Athletic Club." It goes on to say that the drink has enjoyed a new burst of popularity thanks to another classic barman, Murray Stenson of Seattle's Zig Zag Café.

If that sounds like a drink you'd like to be draining as the universe come to a screeching halt, here's a recipe to take you out in style.

Last Word
From "The Essential Bartenders Guide" by Robert Hess.

1/2 oz. gin

1/2 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz. green Chartreuse

1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur


Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Read the other posts in this series: Tiki On! and Shenaut-be-wan Speaks.

Top illustration: Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau (the best).