Alcademics.com

Writer/Blogger Seminars Announced for Portland Cocktail Week

Drink.Write is a sub-conference of Portland Cocktail Week for writers, bloggers, and other interested parties, with daytime seminars on Tuesday and Wednesday October 23 and 24. 

Drink.Write is open to all writers/bloggers/bartenders, not just those who specialize in cocktails and spirits. Just RSVP in advance, please. 

Please RSVP to camperenglish@gmail.com if you’ll be attending, and let us know if you’ll be attending both days or just Tuesday or Wednesday. We just need your name, email, and affiliation/website. 

If you've already applied to Drink.Write via the Portland Cocktail Week website and received confirmation, you still need to drop me a line so we can have an accurate count. Thanks.

 

Tuesday October 23
10:30 – 11:30 AM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Ask a Master Distiller
Have questions about distillation or Irish whiskey? We’ve got the guy with the answers. Barry Crockett, Master Distiller at Jameson, knows a thing or two about distilling, having grown up in The Distiller’s Cottage at the Old Midleton Distillery in Cork before taking on the role himself. Crockett will explain how Jameson is made, using both pot- and column-distilled spirit before aging, and we’ll open up the floor to questions about the product, Irish whiskey in general, and questions about distillation. Get as nerdy as you want!
Speaker: Barry Crockett, Master Distiller of Jameson Irish Whiskey
Sponsor: Jameson Irish Whiskey


Tuesday October 23
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Tequila Intensive
You know the difference between mixto and 100% agave tequila, and between blanco, reposado, and anejo. In this seminar, Jesus Hernandez, Master Distiller for Olmeca Altos Tequila, will provide deeper information on tequila production: How does the tahona affect the flavor of the spirit and how can you know in a blind tasting? What is the difference in flavor between Highland and Lowland tequilas? How does a professional taste? We’ll start there and learn as much as we can in this action-packed seminar.
Speaker: Jesus Hernandez, Master Distiller of Olmeca Altos Tequila
Sponsor: Olmeca Altos Tequila


Tuesday October 23
1:30 – 2:30 PM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
From Writer to Bartender
Have you ever thought about trying your hand at bartending? This sure-to-be lively panel will be hosted by three bloggers who made the switch either full- or part-time: Blair Reynolds of B.G Reynold’s syrups and the just-opened Hale Pele in Portland; Erik Ellestad of the Savoy Stomp blog and bartender at Heaven’s Dog in San Francisco; and Matt Robold, mild-mannered programmer by day, blogger at RumDood.com, and bartender at 320 Main in Orange County and host of the Rum Society at Cana Rum Bar in Los Angeles at night. We’ll hear stories of their greatest successes and failures and get advice on convincing bar managers to give you a chance on the other side of the bar.
Speakers: Blair Reynolds, Erik Ellestad, Matt Robold
Sponsor: Four Roses Bourbon

Tuesday October 23
2:45 – 3:45 PM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Make Money Blogging
This seminar will focus on the many ways to earn money by blogging and using a blog as a business hub, including advertising, affiliate links, live-tweeting, running contests, self-publishing, recipe development, sending out email newsletters, teaching classes, judging contests, sponsored coverage, and much, much more! Our speaker is Camper English of Alcademics.com, who has managed to wrangle over ten thousand bucks out of his blog this year.
Speaker: Camper English
Sponsor: Perrier


Wednesday October 24
10:30 – 11:30 AM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Drink Porn 101: Know Your ISO from Your Aperture
Create beverage photography that sings, “Drink Me.” Learn how to boost your basic photo skills so your photos grab people, build buzz and drive traffic. We'll cover photo basics & terminology, learn to build a light box in a studio setting and take pictures in low-light locations (like a dark bar). We'll discuss a few tricks for creating engaging cocktail photos such as working your environment and capturing fast-moving bartenders. We’ll talk about post-production shortcuts and solutions as well as some quick guidelines on uploading and resizing imagery. The seminar, lead by professional drink photographer Jenn Farrington (Gourmet, GQ, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Wine & Spirits) is catered toward people who want introductory photo tips to quickly advance the quality of imagery they’re using to represent themselves, their brands, their bars, etc. The seminar will be lead with bloggers, bartenders & brand ambassadors in mind, however it will interest all types of photo hobbyists.
Speaker: Jennifer Farrington, Photographer at Straub Collaborative
Sponsor: Montelobos Mezcal


Wednesday October 24
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Publishing Your Book
This seminar will give you the information needed to get your book idea into print, in one of three ways. Our speakers are Dave Stolte, author of the Kickstarter-funded Home Bar Basics; Frederic Yarm, author of the self-published Drink & Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book; and Natalie Bovis, who scored a two-book deal with a traditional publisher and since published a third. We’ll hear and how and why they published the way they did and open the floor to questions.
Speakers: Dave Stolte, Frederic Yarm, Natalie Bovis
Sponsor: Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Wednesday October 24
1:30 – 2:30 PM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Blogger to Writer: Making a Career Out of It

The luxury of blogging is that you can write what you want when you want. The advantage of getting paid for writing is, well, money. Our panelists will spill their tips and tricks on how to approach editors, what type of stories sell best, and how to use your blog to get paid gigs. Speakers are Greg Harned, who writes for Serious Eats and The Hooch Life; Lou Bustamonte, writer for Wine & Spirits, Tasting Table, and the SF Weekly; and Paul Clarke, a contributing editor to Imbibe magazine and writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Speakers: Paul Clarke; Lou Bustamonte, Greg Harned
Sponsor: Sake One

Wednesday October 24
2:45 – 3:45 PM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium
Writers and PR: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
This seminar will be a conversation between writers/bloggers and public relations professionals, with an emphasis on how we can improve our relationships and get the most out of each other. We’ll address pet peeves and what we’re doing wrong (in each others’ opinions), find out what we most want from each other, and brainstorm ways to achieve those goals. This one is gonna be goooood. Panelists are Laura Baddish of The Baddish Group, Camper English of Alcademics, Daniel Djang from ThirstyInLA.com, and another PR professional TBA.
Speakers: Laura Baddish, Camper English, Daniel Djang, TBA
Sponsor: Four Roses Bourbon

 

Bartenders attending Portland Cocktail Week are welcome to attend Drink.Write seminars - I'm sure a few of you want to publish a cocktail book or learn about photography.

The Kennedy School is a great place to get work done. You’re busy and might need to sneak out of sessions to do work for part of the day – that’s totally cool with us! The Kennedy School has free wifi, and several bars and restaurants in which to work and eat.

Do you have friends who you think might be interested in Drink.Write? We’re open to all interested parties aged 21 and older. (This is to attend seminars only, not the parties at night.) We think these sessions will be of interest not only to cocktail writers, but to food, wine, beer, and entertainment writers, all bloggers, and some to bartenders as well.

Please just let us know if you’re attending and which day(s)- we need to make sure to have enough drinks! RSVP to camperenglish@gmail.com We just need your name, email, and affiliation/website.

We hope to see you soon in Portland.

Cocktail Menu: Riffle NW in Portland, OR Updates

San Francisco bartender Brandon Josie relocated to Portland, Oregon to take the job of bar manager at Riffle NW, a seafood restaurant.

I posted the original cocktail menu here. This is a menu update with Brandon Josie in charge. These new drinks go live on September 6th. 

 

HOUSE COCKTAILS:

Riffle Collins

gin, lemon, lime, celery, absinthe, salt, soda

Heights of Diamond

scotch, amaro, grapefruit, dry vermouth

Hovercraft

pepper vodka, peach, lemon, honey, egg white

Beach House

rum, fino sherry, carmelized banana, coconut, lime

Jerez Cooler

muscatel sherry, sweet vermouth, lemon, quinine, white pepper, soda

RNW Pimm's

pimm's, watermelon, lemon, soda

Luini's Gift

mezcal, amaretto, grapefruit, lime, cardamom

Ol' Kill-Devil

dark rum, mole bitters, pineapple-masala

RNW Martini

potato vodka, aquavit, dry vermouth, dockside bitters

Panache

st germain, dubonnet, IPA, lemon

TWISTS ON TAP (variations on classics, working title "Under Pressure"):

El Diablo

kaffir lime tequila, cassis, lime, ginger, soda

Americano

aperol, bonal, soda

Roman Punch

clove cognac, rum, maraschino, lemon, orange, bitters

Remember the Maine

bourbon, hibiscus-rose byrrh, cherry, absinthe, bitters

 

Cocktail Menu: Riffle NW in Portland, OR

Seafood restaurant Riffle NW has opened in Portland, Oregon, with Dave Shenaut as the venue's Beverage Director.

From the press release:

The cocktail program celebrates un-aged spirits such as vodkas, agaves, and rums, but offers the full range of premium spirits. The bar will always offer both a wine and a cocktail on tap, along with select craft beer and hard cider. Shenaut's cocktail menu was created with dining in mind, organized by sections that correspond to the progression of a dinner, from light and refreshing to fuller and richer.

A world-class ice program is a centerpiece at Riffle NW - Norris bought a Clinebell ice machine - the first of its kind in a Portland restaurant - which produces two 300-pound blocks of pristine crystal clear ice per harvest. Every day, Shenaut and Norris custom-cut perfect ice for each type of cocktail, using hand and power tools (chainsaw and all). The kitchen also benefits from the serious ice program, with freshly chipped ice for the raw bar and hand-fashioned ice serving plates for certain appetizers and cocktails.

The bar's first cocktail on tap is the Chrysanthemum. The rest of the menu is below.

 

Cocktails

Queen’s Consent
Cava, Rhubarb, Rosemary
10

Chrysanthemum
Dry Vermouth, Benedictine, Absinthe
8

Hovercraft
Pepper Vodka, Peach, Lemon, Honey, Egg White
9

Riffle Collins
Gin, Lemon, Lime, Celery, Absinthe, Salt
11

Souracher
Rye Whiskey, Lime, Campari, Sweet Vermouth, Ginger Beer
10

Leya
Cachaça, Lime, Pineapple, Basil, Allspice
12

Room D
Rye Whiskey, Becherovka, Quinine, Citrus
9

Panaché
IPA, Elderflower, Fortified Wine, Lemon
10

Manzanito
Tequila, Lime, Cinnamon, Pomegranate Cider
9

Hierarchy of Needs
Gin, Plum, Cognac, Bitters
12

Mayor Rock
Mezcal, Applejack, Bitters
12

Drive Backwards
Pineau Des Charentes, Rum, Zucca
11

The Ethical Blogger

Yes, I am giving three talks in 28 hours next week at Portland Cocktail Week and Drink.Write 2010. Fun! 

Drink.Write: Cocktail Blogging: Ethics, the Law, and You

Friday, October 22 @ 10:30am

Disclosure laws, brand relationships and interacting with public relations firms can create a minefield of ethical challenges and legal risks for cocktail writers and bloggers. Recent changes to sample disclosure laws, identifying and managing potential ethical conflicts and minimizing risk will be discussed in this session.

Paul Clarke and I will be leading this talk. We will discuss the topics above that are your ethical responsibilities as a cocktail blogger, but also the outside world's responsibilities to you: copyright of content and recipes, plagiarism, and content licensing. 

It's a lot to cover, so I've got to get back to researching the topic. Hope to see you there. 

Ice: Live!

Next week during Portland Cocktail Week, I'll be speaking about my favorite thing: ice! 

Rocks Off! Ice Seminar    

Sunday, October 24 @ 1:00pm

Join some of the most creative minds in ice including Anu Apte, Evan Zimmerman and Camper English as they talk about their favorite cocktail ingredient: ice. They will discuss their innovative applications of ice including: Camper’s clear ice technique, Evan’s flavored ice, and Anu’s ice carving technique in this hour long session.

With three of us there that means I only get to talk about ice for 20 minutes! 

Luckily for you, you've probably read most of my research on making clear ice here on Alcademics already, though I'll have a few surprises I'm saving just for the session. SURPRISES.

I'm also excited to learn ice carving techniques from Anu. Soon I will master the ice ball. 

Run screaming to this website to buy your tickets!

How to Get Rich Blogging About Cocktails

Next week I'm giving a talk at Drink.Write 2010, the cocktail bloggers' convention held during Portland Cocktail Week.

Cocktail Blogging: Where Do We Go From Here? 

Friday, October 22 @ 3:30pm: Explore the evolution and future of cocktail blogs with panelists who have successfully adapted their blogs and writing to leverage social media, support their own special projects, connect with new readership and maintain existing readership.

In speaking with my seminar co-leader Darcy O'Neil, it seems that we think similarly about cocktail blogging: It's not going to make us rich on its own. Advertisers want to see zillions of hits and don't seem to care about content quality. Neither of us is interested in running that kind of site. 

Thus, we're beginning to think of the blog and writing on it not as an end in itself, but as a hub, or home base, for all our various outlets and projects. 

At our talk on Friday, we'll discuss ways to generate income around content including ad networks and affiliate marketing, plus other ways to expand your empire. These include self-publishing, services like guest bartending, and speaking on your area of expertise. 

I think any blogger, not just cocktail bloggers, who wants to expand their reach (financially or just influentially) will find the session useful, and it should inspire some spin-off projects that you can track back at home base- your cocktail blog.  

I hope you can join for the seminar. Tickets are available here. 

The Cocktail Bloggers' Convention

Come join me in Portland, Oregon October 20-24. I'm speaking at and attending Drink.Write 2010, the cocktail bloggers' convention. 

The convention is put on by the Cocktails and Spirits Online Writers Group, a collective of some of the top cocktail bloggers internationally. 

More information is available here, and tickets are for sale here.   

The topic I'm speaking on is this one:

Cocktail Blogging: Where do we go from here?

Explore the evolution and future of cocktail blogs with panelists who have successfully adapted their blogs and writing to leverage social media, support their own special projects, connect with new readership and maintain existing readership.

Panelists: Darcy O’Neil and Camper English

The conference is really just two days, October 21 and 22, with three sessions per day.

However, we've planned it to coincide with Portland Cocktail Week that has a range of events happening at the same time. That way you can learn by day, and find something to blog about at night. 

The end of PDX Cocktail Week is the Great American Distillers Festival, even more events celebrating small-batch distillers from around the nation. 

If you've been considering a visit to Portland to check out the fantastic local cocktail and distilling scene, you couldn't pick a better week to do it than October 20-24. I hope to see you there. 

Glossy Booze: Big October Edition

Glossy Booze is a regular Alcademics feature in which I cover the liquor coverage in glossy magazines.

Bon Appetit (October)lists a recipe for the Highland's Fall from Peter Vestinos, available here. Also, a story on dry cider and one on dessert wines. In November St. John Frizell has a recipe for the coffee/rum drink Koffie Van Brunt.

Everyday With Rachael Ray (October) has a story on "gum cocktails"- not something you get at Tailor, but combining flavors of gum to make new flavors.

GQ (September) had a big feature on the six best drinking cities in the US. They were San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, Portland (OR), Nashville, and New York.

Conde Nast Traveler has a list of three tropical island bars in the Bahamas, plus a recipe for the Goombay Smash.

7X7 (September) has a story on Rickhouse. In the October issue, Jordan Mackay writes about relocated NYC sommelier David Lynch. 

Men's Journal (October) list America's best beers here, and the top five beer towns here.

Sunset (October) has beer and food pairings for Octoberfest, and a story on green wine packaging.

Esquire has a recipe for the Grasshopper. Really!

Details lists some "really excellent canned beer,"and a few places in which to drink it.

And the winner for best drink coverage goes to Food & Wine- and they didn't even have any cocktail recipes. Their stories are:

• What sommeliers know best.
•  Understanding Oregon Pinot Noir country
• Wineries by the sea all over the world- France and Spain, US, Australia, Portugal, and South Africa.
• Wines for drinking, not overthinking
• American Wine Awards
• A preview of the F&W Wine Guide 2010
• How to be a smarter wine shopper
• Gruner Veltliner
• 50 classic wines to try
• 15 rules for wine and food pairings