Manhattan Cocktail Classic, LUPEC Boston Mother's Day Event, Matriarchs of Modern Distilleries, @NY Distilling Company, Brooklyn, NY

Inspiration at its best!

A few of the ladies:  
Me, Allison Evanow (Founder/CEO of Square One Organic Vodka), Danette St Onge (My friend & Editor for Cooks Illustrated), Cathy Erenzo (Tuthilltown Spirits), and Samantha Katz (Founder of LOAD: Ladies of American Distilleries)

LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails), LUPEC Boston Chapter is known to host fabulous events around Boston.  On Mother's Day 2012, as part of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic festivities, LUPEC Boston, LUPEC NYC, and Ladies of American Distilleries collaborated to host a fabulous event!

The event was held at the NY Distilling Company, Brooklyn (Mrs. Samantha Katz is the proud wife of Mr. Alen Katz, Owner).  The event was labeled "A Mother's Day Salute to the Matriarchs of Modern Distilleries".  The ladies sitting on the panel were phenomenal in that they founded or are Xth generation leaders in the spirits industry.

Several delicious amuse bouche were provided by Rachel Graville of Iris Cafe...the spicy deviled eggs were MAJOR!!!

....as were the Russian tea cakes afterwards...

Me & Abigail Gullo, Bar Chef @ Sobou New Orleans

The Beautiful NY Distilling Company

The Panel Featured Ladies from American Fruits Liqueur, Bulleit Bourbon, George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, Laird's Applejack, New York Distilling Company, SquareOne Organic Vodka, Tuthilltown, Macchu Pisco, Zacapa Rum, and Perfect Puree.

Each cocktail tasting featured one or more of the companies' products listed above.  All cocktails featured tea by In Pursuit of Tea and Perfect Puree.

Abigail Gullo, Bar Chef at Sobou-New Orleans

The Q&A reception MC'd by Kitty of LUPEC Boston, allowed attendees to gain insight into the world of ladies thriving in a male-dominated industry.

Allison Evanow, Founder & CEO of Square One Organic Vodka stated, in reference to how she began, "I saw a need for more organic spirit companies as the options were limited."  Allison expressed this to her husband who countered, "Well, if you don't do it, somebody else will do it and you'll be really mad at yourself for not doing it."  Allison goes on to say, "There's a second level to it.  I really wanted to go after this new niche, if you will, of not really what you'd expect from a flavored vodka."  Square One Organic Vodka was some of the best I've had the pleasure of tasting!  It's amazing in content and flavor with floral and herbal notes that are unique and really stand out! 
I can't wait to host a tasting for friends in Boston!

 


Hollis Bulleit says (in regards to working in the family business), "You have a lot more at stake when your name is on the bottle."  Hollis and a few of the other ladies also expressed how frustrating and commonplace it is to be challenged at events by men who insist on attempts to "Stump the Master".
Something tells me these fiery women can stand their ground!

Lisa Laird Dunn (Laird & Company-Applejack), Allison Evanow (Square One Organic Vodka), Samantha Katz (NY Distilling Company & LOAD), Lorena Vasquez (Ron Zacapa Rum), Allisa Henley (George Dickel Tennesee Whisky), Hollis Bulleit (Bulleit Bourbon), Cathy Erenzo (Tuthilltown Spirits), and Erika Grizzanti (American Fruits Liquers)

Lisa Laird Dunn (9th generation with Laird & Company) says, "It's always been a male-dominated (industry).  (Entering the business) was not expected of me, it was my decision, which was nice!"  She says with pride, "My daughter says she'll be the next Big Boss!"

Lisa was described as the woman who "paved the way".  She shares how in the past, she would visit various accounts and was told "I don't buy my whisky from a woman".  Lisa goes on the say that the biggest challenge for woman in this industry is, "That I'm here to stay!"

Me & Misty Kalkofen of LUPEC Boston

Another challenge the women face is balancing motherhood with an industry centered around evenings and weekends.

There's nothing like spending time with successful, confident, truly happy women who also recognize the value of beautiful shoes...

All-in-All, these women are phenomenal, entrepreneurs, mothers, wives, mentors, trailblazers, fashionistas, and beyond!!!

Please click on the links above and try these amazing products!  A visit to the NY Distilling Company/The Shanty Bar is a must-do as well.  It's a beautiful space with a wonderful back story!

And if you get a bit warm after trying NY Distilling's amazing product, head next door to the firehouse, they are more than willing to help a girl out...

The Great GoogaMooga Food + Music + Drink Festival, May 19-20, 2012 Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY

The hike leading up to the media entrance was significant, but the festival itself made it ALL worth it; plus we can't complain about a little extra cardio before the feast we were about to encounter!

The enormity of this festival was mind-boggling!  
73 Vendors in total, with 40% of them based in Brooklyn!
27 Breweries
Over 150 wines from Importer, Winemakers, Sommeliers were available by the taste or glass.
2 Stages, 18 live shows including Led Zepplin, The Roots, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band playing New Orleans-style jazz! 

Sweet Ride!

The festival was organized into 9 different curated "Experiences":

1.  The Sweet Circus

Big Gay Ice Cream, Baked, James, Katzie Guy-Hamilton of NY Central, Wooly's Ice, Momofuku   Milk Bar, La New Yorkina, Melt Bakery  

Big Gay Ice Cream created a Ginger Curry milk shake that was to die for!  A rich, creamy, spiced, hand-churned milk shake!

 

Interview with Eric & Alex (Festival Attendees)

 

Interview with Pam & Chris (Festival Attendees)

2. The Hamburger Experience

  

The Burger Joint, Brindle Room, DuMont Burger, & Spotted Pig

DuMont's sliders were made to order on an open grill!  Delicious!

 3. Tony's Corner 
(Restaurants Selected by Anthony Bourdain)

Num Pang Sandwich Shop, Souvlaki GR, Crif Dogs, M. Wells, & Calexico

Num Pang's Pulled Pork Sandwich & Grilled Corn  The pork was tender and seasoned well and a bit of sriracha just added to the flavors.  The grilled corn was sweet!  I washed this down with a blood orange lemonade!  Yum!

4. Haus League (Restaurants selected by Eddie Huang of BaoHaus)

Maharlika, Kasadela, Red Hook's El Olomega Pupusas, Kutsher's Tribeca, & Baohaus

Red Hook's Pupusas were fantastic!  The pupusa itself was super moist and sweet!




 

Kasadela's Tebasaki wings were PHENOMENAL!  Crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, tossed in wonderful seasonings and prepped on an open grill!

 5. The Pizza Experience

Co., Joe's Pizza, Roberta's, & South Brooklyn Pizza 

6. UrBARN with Just Food

Dickson's Farmstand Meats Sloppy Joe Slider.

Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Seersucker, & Craft.

*Seminars with Just Food's Exec. Director Jacquie Berger, Chef Adam Kaye of Blue Hill Stone Farm & Chef Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen

The Dirty Duck Dog was good.  It was topped with lemon zest-laced sauerkraut and black garlic drizzle.

This tart was pretty, but severely bland.  The lemonade was a bit tart, but refreshing considering the heat!  I still posed pretty with the pair ;0)

7. Hamageddon (Devoted to all things Ham)
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Landhaus, Georgia's Eastside BBQ, & Porchetta


Surprisingly, I didn't make my way to the BBQ section :0(


8. The Coffee Experience
Coffee Expert Humberto Ricardo of Third Rail Coffee Shop
Counter Culture, Stumptown and Intelligentsia


9. The Marketplace
Russ & Daughters, Sullivan Street Bakery, Millefeuille Bakery Cafe, Gatherer's Granola, The Big Banana, Free Bread, Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Liddabit Sweets Juice Press, People's Pops, Komucha Brooklyn, Monther-in-Law's Kimchi, Saxelby Cheesmongers, Sugarbuilt Cookies, & Eat Me Sweetly

The Other Experiences:

Colicchio & Sons' pork belly taco was so rich and absolutely delicious! The spicy watermelon juice really hit the spot.

Colicchio & Sons' spicy watermelon juice went well with the Pork Belly tacos!

Do or Dine's Foie gras and jelly filled doughnuts!  Great concept but poorly executed.  The foie gras was super salty vs. being rich & succulent as one would expect.

Coolio's Soul Roll!

The Soul Roll was awesome!  My lucky friends ran into Coolio at The Marketplace and he says he insisted on the filling (spicy beef and cheese) being more spicy, but to no avail.  I agree Coolio, but this dish was pretty fantastic without the extra kick.  It was served with your choice of peach or pineapple BBQ sauce!  They offered a raw Ginger iced tea which really helped with digestion at that point in the day!

As if a Foie gras grilled cheese sandwich wasn't interesting enough, M. Wells slapped on some horsemeat bologna!  This sandwich was one of the top three highlights of the festival for me!  M. Wells staff said they wanted to do a basashi (horsemeat tartare), but the NY Health Department shut that idea down quickly!  :0(

MAJOR!!!!!!  The Foie gras was perfectly seared!

Me and Ellen (NYC-based Make-up Artist extraordinaire: www.ellenbmakeup.com ) taking a much needed BREAK!

Crawfish Monica...rich, creamy, Cajun sauce over rotini pasta with generous bits of crawfish (which are in season and sweet!). They offered Sweet Tea with this dish of course!  This dish also made my top 3 list!

Frankie's Sweet Italian sausage with roasted peppers and onions over a creamy polenta!

Ellen, enjoying Frankie's dish!

The Not-So-Undercover NYPD! LOL

Me & my bestie since we were 12 & 13!

This was handsdown THE Greatest food festival in the Northeastern United States (Sorry Phantom Gourmet) and it was the first annual!  Superfly really knows how to throw an event! I am definitely keeping this on my list of must-do EVERY year!

The look of contentment! 6 hours later!

www.googamooga.com/

Other restaurant participants' pics:

Dirty mouth???  Orbit's gum handed out moist towels for attendees and free gum!