Martini Mix-off ~ Day 2

Saturday was great fun. Although we didn't have the anecdotes and quips that Kevin provided on day one, we were still tantalized by great humor and plenty of eye candy.

Eric and I started at Bardenay and convinced Christi H. to join in on the fun. Who will be our next recruit??? (We thought we had a chance with Tom F. when he entered the restaurant but no luck this time!)

Bardenay's entries this year are the Chaitini and the Bardenay Bond. We are allowed to order any martini on the menu but we have decided we want to stick with the entries. All three of us decided to go with the Bond. Christi was quite brave to begin with this selection since she has never had a martini before!

The BB is made with Bardenay Gin, Bardenay Vodka, and Lillet Blanc. Our bartenders Sean and Andrew shook these up for us while we made jokes with them. We had a choice of garnish- Eric went with the Basque Olives, Christi chose the basic olive, and I went with the blue cheese stuffed olive. All were quite tasty and we all decided better than the martini itself. I personally am not a huge fan of Bardenay’s vodka. It has a weird taste to it when vodka shouldn’t really have any flavor. This martini had several overwhelming flavors and scents to it that were just not very enjoyable.

Off we went to stop number 2 of the night- Pair. Pair was serving up The Sally Tomato and The Tiffany. Eric and I, sticking with tradition, went for the Sally and Christi opted for the Tiffany. We sat at one of their swanky tables and Eric thought our server was "hot" (Christi and I didn't think so as much).

At first glance of the name, we thought the Sally Tomato would be more like a bloody mary but instead it gets its name from the garnish- roma tomato stuffed olives. It was very basic consisting of Plymouth Gin and vermouth- shaken. Now don't forget that I don't like gin but I have decided that if all gin was like Plymouth Gin, I would be a huge fan. This gin is so smooth and easy to drink (way too easy to drink), that I think I have become a convert. Eric preferred this tasty number over the 10-minute martini from Milky Way- I am not yet convinced. I believe I will need to resample that one before making any conclusions!

The Tiffany was a beautiful concoction of Pear Nutmeg, Vanilla-bean Absolut Vodka, and Pear nectar, served with a pear slice. Served with a sugared rim, this lovely concoction was fun, appealing, and looks pretty. It has a pleasant nutmeg hint to it and a slushy feel against your lips. Christi would order this beauty again.

Other thoughts of our service- the server wasn't as friendly as our other experiences and she had a bit of attitude. We ordered water at one point and she brought us a wine bottle with 3 empty glasses. She made no attempt to pour the water for us, and when I asked if that was water she responded with "uh, yeah" as though water is always served in a wine bottle.

We all headed over to Red Feather for our 3rd martini of the evening. We decided to grab a slice from Pie Hole first to cleanse the palate and provide a little sustenance before completely dousing our livers. Conveniently, there were 3 available seats at the bar by the time we made it to RF and there we remained for the next couple of hours.

Our options at RF were the Slacktrist and The Apricot Sour. (Please keep in mind that my notes at this point are becoming very difficult to read but I will do my best to interpret what I wrote). Kevin and Mark were our bartenders for this round.

Christi ordered the Apricot Sour. This frothy 'tini was tart and "dangerous". It combined Brandy, Calvados, lime juice, bitters, egg white, and a couple of things I can no longer read.

Eric and I went with the Slacktrist- Plymouth Gin, vermouth, stirred, and served naked. This martini was not as smooth as some previous martinis. I prefer my martini shaken- unless it is the 10-minute version.

I nursed this martini for the entire stop, while Eric and Christi put me to shame. They ended the RF visit with Cucumber-Ginger Mojito vs. the regular mojito- I sampled their treats. Eric and I thought the Cucumber-Ginger was quite tasty but Christi preferred the regular version.

After finishing up there, we decided our night was not over. We wandered over to Grape Escape just as Josh was closing up. Josh set us up with some tastes of 3 different wines (these tastes were basically full glasses). We downed those while he finished up then the 4 of us meandered over to Gernika for beers and pretzels. After several hours of drinking we decided at 1 that we were probably finished for the night.

Amazingly, I awakened around 7 the next morning feeling very fabulous! No hangover at all.

Hope you can make it out with the next go round- probably next Saturday. We still have the following stops to make- Piper Pub, Koi, Happy Fish, Mai Thai, Melting Pot, Ha Penny, Reef

Here are some quotes I compiled through the evening.

Christi "Eric is our token male"
Kevin "playin with my juicer"
Eric "This reminds me of Pretty in Pink"
Josh "I fuck things up and I get confused"
Eric "I do that anyway"
Christi "Lets do it while we’re drunk"
Eric "I'm fast and easy"
Eric "there is an adaptor for everything"