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Small Hand Foods Syrups Launches Web Store

Delicious Small Hand Foods syrups have been hard to get in most parts of the country/world, but as of now it will be a little bit easier as the new web store has launched.

Small Hand Foods is the brand by Jennifer Colliau, a Bay Area bartender who began making authentic orgeat and pineapple gum arabic (for Pisco Punch) when none was available on the market. She expanded the line to include grenadine, unflavored gum syrup, and raspberry gum syrup (plus the occaisional surprise).

The small (8.5 ounce) bottles run for $12, which is less expensive than you'll find on Amazon, and they have the full line unlike at Cask.

Check out the store here.

Japan in Oakland: UmamiMart, Whisky, and Ice

In the December issue of Oakland Magazine, I have a short piece about Japanese drinking culture in Oakland. 

The story is centered on UmamiMart, the online and brick-and-mortar shop selling Japanese bar (and kitchen) tools. 

I also mention big ice (of course) at places like Prizefighter, and Japanese whisky like Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu at the traditional Ippuku and at Acme bar. 

The magazine is available for reading in one of those online reader formats. The link is here and the story is on page 21-22. 

 

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If you like Japanese whisky and bars, here are some other blog posts I wrote about my trip to Japan last year. 

• Yamazaki distillery visit
• Hakushu distillery visit
• Highball bars in Japan
• Whisky Bars in Japan
• Cocktail Bars in Japan
• Miscellaneous other bars in Japan
• Some observations about drinking in Japan
• Japanese Whisky Primer 

A Protector for your Yarai Pitcher

Japanese mixing glasses are beautiful but they don't travel so well. Brand ambassadors and other traveling bartenders have come up with various creative solutions to this problem, but finally a commercial version goes on sale this week. 

Phillip Mauro, Vince Toscano, and Jon Gasparini, who work at Rye in San Francisco, created an insulated mixing glass case that fits not only the popular Yarai pitchers, but also the plain Japanese mixing glasses and even chemistry beakers that some bartenders use. It's made in the San Francisco Tenderloin. They call it the Pitcher Protector.

There are two colors for now: a bright blue one fashioned from material that covered the booths at the bar 15 Romolo, and a grey denim material. They're insulated with foam and have a recessed zipper that shouldn't bang against the pitcher.

Outside there is a strip of fabric that can be used to hang a Hawthorne strainer. 

Unlike in this one shown, the Rye on the Road tag lays flush to the side of the case in the real version. 

The cases will be for sale at UmamiMart in Oakland (starting Monday) and Cask in San Francisco (Tuesday or Wednesday), I believe for $35. There are only 100 of them in the first batch, so if you want to gift one to your favorite bartender this Xmas, you should probably order asap. 

You can also to order them directly from the guys who make them. The Facebook page for that is here.

 

Online Barware Pr0n

The people at Cask, who are the people at Bourbon & Branch, have made their inventory available online. So now you can get all your hard-to-find booze (Octomore, anyone?), your $47 Alessi bottle opener, and your vintage copy of the Gentleman's Companion all in one spot. Hot.

Check it.

Yr Doin It Right

It is frustrating when I find a product I want to write about only to learn it is only available in New York or one other metro area. I feel guilty writing about it because it's not practical for most consumers to try the product.

On the other hand, when I clearly state where something is available, people won't go into their local liquor mart looking for something that is nowhere in the state, and if they really want to try it they can seek it out online. Disclosure is key.

But often, the availability or lack thereof is not clearly written in a product's press materials, or not clearly stated on the product's website. Or worse, they just announce plans to roll it out it several states this season, then never update the website to say if that actually happened.

The point of this is to say I hope that brands get a little better at this, and that one spirits company is doing it right. Proximo Spirits, which sells 1800 Tequila, Gran Centenario Tequila, Maestro Dobel Tequila, Three Olives Vodka, and Ron Matusalem, now has a store locator with interactive Google maps. It returns the name, address, and phone number of each store and bar where you can find the products.

You can find all of the products on the Proximo locator site, or individual ones on the 1800 Tequila and Three Olives websites.

There will be an iPhone application and locators rolled out on the rest of the brands' websites, but for now those things are just plans. Here's to hoping for follow-through.