Day 2 of Portland Cocktail Week

I really didn’t eat much the day before and started day 2 of Portland Cocktail Week at Michael’s Italian Beef which was a few blocks from where I was staying at the Jupiter Hotel.

I really wanted a thick, meaty Italian beef like the sort I’ve had in Chicago.  Well, while the beef jus was good, I wished for more meat. I dubbed it a beef jus sandwich. Still, I welcomed the carbs. I needed something in my stomach for what was sure to be a long day of cocktailing.

Michael’s Italian Beef & Sausage Company

1111 SE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR 97214 – (503) 230-1899

I made it back to the hotel where the bulk of the seminars were taking place. I wanted to catch the Bon Vivant’s Indie Tequila Roadshow. Read about how I learned to taste and smell tequila here on my new cocktail blog, LA Cocktails.

I was pretty happy the Bon Vivants hired the local tamale lady to feed us after the tequila tasting.

I attended another seminar, Exploring the Martini with Tony Conigliaro. Read about it here on LA Cocktails. After the seminar, I caught up on twitter and realized Tom from Drink Away Time had been helping out and I would later say hi to him at the DonQ Yacht Rock Party.

I was feeling like I needed veggies ASAP after my heavy carb-y meals so I headed over to Som Tum Thai on nearby Morrison for some noodles and green papaya salad.

Everyone was very friendly at Som Tum. A regular called out to me as I was trying to decide what she had to eat. The family that runs Som Tum were very nice, even offering me a second candy when I asked what flavor the first one was. Apparently I had some type of squash and the second was tamarind. They seem to do a good take-out business with nearby workers.

I enjoyed my som tum (green papaya salad). How could I not order the som tum at a place called Som Tum? Although I asked for mild, it had quite a kick to it.

I felt warmed by my bowl of nooodles and set off for a brisk walk to the hotel because I had to make happy hour.

Som Tum Thai

601 SE Morrison St., Portland, OR 97214 – (503) 234-4102

 

Todd Richman representing Sidney Frank Importing was guest bartending at Beaker & Flask.  I had missed him the night before at Teardrop so I was happy to catch his guest stint at Beaker.

I was handed the regular cocktail menu and when I asked for the Todd menu, I attracted the attention of the lady next to me at the bar. She didn’t realize it was a special menu and immediately wanted to know all about Portland Cocktail Week and cocktails in general.

I went with Big Mike’s Hammer (Michael Collins 10 Year single malt Irish whiskey, Marie Brizard apry, lemon, ginger beer). I was curious about the apry which I had recently in a different cocktail at my “home” bar Drago Centro. It’s apricot brandy and gave this drink a slightly different flavor profile. Someone was convinced it tasted like pecorino cheese. I don’t know about that but it was more savory than I expected.

After that, I jumped in a cab with some newfound friends to Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom for DonQ’s Yach Rock party. I was to learn an important lesson that night- don’t take off any wristbands! They ran out and I had to wait a few non-drinking minutes until they got more. Read about the fabu party here on LA Cocktails.

We tried to go to another party after that but we didn’t have the “right” wristbands. Fail! Ah well, it gave us chance to visit one of Portland’s finest bars, Clyde Common.

Masters of aging cocktails? For those who don’t know the story, Tony Conigliaro of 69 Colebrooke Row in London started aging cocktails in glass in 2004. Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Clyde Common was inspired after a trip there and started barrel-aging cocktails. And that’s how the trend started.

Here’s an in-depth look at some of the cocktails at Clyde Common including the new carbonated cocktails.

Clyde Common

1014 SW Stark St., Portland, OR 97205 – (503) 228-3333