Luscious Labor of Love

While it's no secret how much I love writing about food, from the farmers who grow it to the cooks who put it front of us at our favorite restaurants to how to make it at home, I'm also crazy about beer, wine and cocktails and our local crew of brewers, winemakers and distillers. Here's a write-up I did for a recent issue of MIX magazine on David Shenaut, plus the recipe that didn't make it into the magazine. The perfect cooler for a summer gathering, it's simple, light and refreshing.

Acclaimed bartender David Shenaut has left the Irving Street Kitchen to work for the McMenamin's Zeus Café in the new Crystal Hotel downtown, where he's planning to shake things up with his signature Souracher cocktail. Named after a brilliant kitchen staffer he worked with at Brad Root’s eponymous restaurant in Camas, Washington, who liked to end his shift with a combination of lime juice, Campari and whiskey, Shenaut was intrigued enough to spend five years perfecting it. He describes it as “incredibly balanced and packed with flavor, with both masculine and feminine qualities.” I call it irresistible.

The Souracher

3/4 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. rye whiskey (100-proof)

3/4 oz. Carpano Antica
1/2 tsp. rich Demerara sugar syrup (2:1; no heat)
Spicy ginger beer
Ice cubes

Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: Collins
Garnish: long lime peel

Shake first 5 ingredients with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with an Ice spear or large ice cubes. Top with ginger beer and garnish.

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.