One of the things I hated most about being relatively attractive in my 20s was that it was impossible to sit and get lost in my thoughts in public. It always really, really bothered random men — became a veritable challenge — to see how fast they could interrupt my reverie. Does this kind of thing still happen to young women? I wouldn’t know. But I’m guessing yes.
So that famous quote by Luis Bunuel about English gin and reverie in bars (I’ll refrain) was always well out of my reach, by virtue of accident of birth. There was no way I’d be left unmolested to stimulate a reverie in a bar, English gin or no English gin. Feminism, young ladies, is being able to drink unmolested like a crotchety old surrealist filmmaker in a dark bar.
Nowadays, thankfully, I am only interrupted in my reveries in the aisles at Safeway (HELLO, MA’AM, ARE YOU FINDING EVERYTHING YOU NEED!?). Conclusion: less shopping at Safeway, more time alone in dark bars. Make up for lost time.
And that’s my Christmas message to you, dear amateur mixologist.
If you’re looking to be lost in reverie or revel with young women, provocative men, Safeway clerks, or old surrealist filmmakers on a bender — or someone you love may appreciate the opportunity — two Oregon craft spirits should be at the top of your list.
Krogstad Aquavit is absolutely the perfect gift for a holiday party. Drink it cold and neat. It’s distinguished from its fellow aquavits, always tinged with caraway, by the addition of star anise. It’s a marvelous combination that evokes baking, Scandanavian snow, and tall young blond men in reindeer sweaters. Delicious. Made in Portland by House Spirits, so you know it’s good, and under 30 bucks a bottle.
But if you really want to impress, Calisaya, a relatively new girl on the scene, should be seized immediately. Local distiller and bon vivant Andrea Loreto has perfected his formula, and now produces it in Eugene. Like the bigger, gingerbreadier, jammier, and more complex Italian Antica Formula, Calisaya is a digestif in the tradition of Italian sipping bitters. The difference is the base of cinchona bark, the same stuff that gives us quinine. Calisaya has a cleaner, woodier profile, but is just as smooth and balanced as Antica. It doesn’t hit you upside the head like Fernet Branca or remind you of 19th century health spas like Becherovka. It’s worth every penny of the $45ish you’ll spend on it.
Both can be had at Big Y liquors on 6th. They only have a couple bottles left of each.
Krogstad aquavit has found its way into some wonderful cocktails, my favorite of which is Jeffrey Morganthaler’s Norwegian Wood, which he served me long long ago while it was still in the development phase at our late lamented Bel Ami. (Bel Ami, I might add, was the first bar I felt truly comfortable sitting in by myself. Thanks, Jeff.) There’s also the Viking Quest, also served by Jeff at Clyde Common, but a creation of Beaker and Flask’s Tim Davey. It also adds a brilliant note to homemade gravlax.
Calisaya can be used as any Italian herbal bitter — with tonic, soda, on the rocks, etc. If you’d like to try it, Marché’s Le Bar serves a Calisaya cocktail with (I think) just a few drops of bitters and maybe an orange peel (ugh, failure of memory clearly means I need to go again for research purposes.). But it’s worth experimenting with cocktails. Loreto provides a few on his website, the best of which is the Calisaya Negroni, which has both Antica and Calisaya, and the added bonus of being created by local bartender Justin Wafer, formerly of Eugene’s Belly and now of Tasty ‘n’ Sons in PDX (congratulations, Justin!). Another Negroni interpretation, an all-local “Oregroni” most generously provided by the folks at Boozenik.com, will be perfect for locavore drinkers on your Christmas list.
You will be directed to the original sources for these recipes by clicking the titles, if you want to make sure I haven’t changed anything.
Recipe by Tim Davey.
- 1 oz. Krogstad Aquavit
- 1 oz. Campari
- 1 oz. Barolo Chinato
In a pint mixing glass add all ingredients then ice. Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange disc after expressing the orange oil over drink.
Recipe by Jeffrey Morgenthaler.
- 1 oz. (Krogstad) Aquavit
- 1 oz. (Laird & Co.) Applejack
- 3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth (Cinzano Rosso)
- 1/4 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a large twist of lemon peel and serve.
Recipe by Justin Wafer.
- 1 oz. Calisaya Liqueur
- 1 oz. Antica Formula sweet vermouth
- 1 oz. gin
Stir, strain into cocktail glass and flame orange zest over the drink.
Recipe by the Boozeniks.
- 1 oz. Ransom Old Tom Gin
- 1 oz. Calisaya Liqueur
- 1 oz. Imbue Bittersweet Vermouth
Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir for 30 seconds; pour into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange or lemon peel that has been rubbed around glass rim and squeezed over the cocktail. Do not neglect this, or the cocktail will seem a bit too one-note without the oil from the citrus.
While component-wise the Oregroni is similar to a Negroni, it is far drier and lighter. Plan any accompanying snacks to be lighter and saltier and with a bias toward seafood, rather than what you might serve with a Negroni.
Culinaria Eugenius 