Cato Alexander - Founding father of Mixology! Happy Black History Month!

"Who has not heard of Cato Alexander!? Not to know Cato's is not to know the world." This is a quote from 'A scene at Cato's' by playwright, author, and actor William Dunlap (1766-1839). Cato Alexander (being his slave name of course) was a pioneer Bartender/Mixologist. He was the first African-American celebrity bartender, and he was AMAZING at what he did! Cato was a slave in South Carolina that mastered cooking and was able to earn enough money from being a chef to buy his freedom. He moved to New York where he ran a tavern and inn suitably known as simply "Cato's".

Aside from his cooking Cato was famous for his drinks, especially his punches (New York brandy-punch, his Virginia egg-nogg, and South Carolina milk-punch), his world famous Mint Juleps, his Gin-toddy, and many say he is the originator of the term (and drink)Cocktail - the first non-American record of the word was from Cato in 1833. To spend time at Cato's was always a great time. People traveling from all over the world would make their way through his warm and inviting doors to partake in his amazingly crafted libations and fare as well as enjoy the company, to dance and listen to tunes. One of his famous regulars was famed Irish comedian Tyrone Power (1795-1841). "For Cato is a great man, foremost  amongst  cullers of  mint ,  

whether julep  or   hail-storm, second to no man as a compounder of cock-tail, and such a hand at gin-sling" Power states. 

Cato's Tavern was located about 4-5 miles from city hall in New York City. Cato had a very elite clientele and circle. Though he was a freed slave he still experienced the ugliness of racism and prejudice. Many whites were bitter towards the idea of blacks being "equal", and many whites violently fought against blacks that had social and economic mobility. Two such men were brothers George and Andrew Luke. One cold night in January of 1831 they, along with chains, whores and an angry mob set out to attack Cato and his establishment. They used a woman pretending to be sick and faint at the tavern's door as a ruse. Cato brought this women inside the tavern to help her and as he was closing down for the night she unlocked the door and they came in and brutally attacked him and his pregnant wife, Eliza, and destroyed much of the property. It was difficult, but he was able to bounce back and Cato Alexander ran Cato's for almost 48 years. 

Happy Black History Month and thank you Cato Alexander! You were a spirited and  culinary genius and a true founding father of the craft that I (we) work so hard to maintain and advance! Cheers to you!

Common vs. Drake: The libation edition battle!

VS.

                   
     So I'm going to do have a little fun with this one! So rappers Common and Drake are in a rap battle as of recent. From my understanding it started with Drake seeing Common's ex Serena Williams, and having some slick things to say about the conscious Chicago rapper. Well, Common went IN on Drake calling him "Canada Dry" on his "Stay Schemin" (remix). “My motto is, Chicago b--ch/ Everybody knows you sweet, what the problem is?/ Don’t play dumb, I’m the one that acknowledged it,” and “I’m talking to long with this amateur guy/ You ain’t wettin’ nobody n---a, you Canada Dry.” Whoa!

Well Miss Libation is gonna settle this the only way I know how. You can tell a lot about a man (or a woman) by what they drink.  I have personally never like Drake's choice of adult beverages. "I sit and drink wine and watch Californication....of life..." was a line from his song "Say Something". See Drake likes wine...ALOT. And that's cool. Wine is a beautiful thing, but Moscato.......Not so much a  man's wine in my opinion. Its alright if a wine is "fruit forward" as I like to refer to wines with less dryness and less tannin, but no real wine drinker would go for 5-6oz. of a syrupy, sweet, fake White Zinfandel knockoff. Doesn't appeal to my adult taste buds. "Its a celebration clap, clap bravo lobster and shrimp and a glass of moscato..." from "I invented sex" w/ Trey Songz.

Now Common on the other hand doesn't seem like much of a rapper status inspired drinker but the reference I did find had him referring to a classic tiki drink that only a real man could handle. The Zombie from the 1940's was one of the BEST post-prohibition cocktails invented by the one and only Don the Beachcomber in Los Angeles. This classic libation consists of Jamaican rum, 151 proof (Demerara) rum, Falernum, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh squeezed lime juice, pomegranate syrup, Angostura bitters, Absinthe and mint for garnish. Whew! Only a pro could handle this potent mixture with style and class. "My plan was to meet at this bar called the Tiki (when?) 'round four, when she was comin she would beep me I sat deep in the corner, drinkin zombies, becomin one by now..." from Common f/Jill Scott "8 minutes til sunrise."

So I pretty much think Common has this in the bag. He is a lyrical killer, has substance, style, and consciousness and can obviously handle a REAL potent well balanced cocktail and still hold it down! What do you think?

VS.

Compass Box: The Peat Monster Scotch Whisky

First off let me say to all those that don't know, Compass Box is a line of Scotch Whiskies with a variation to suit every taste.  Compass Box was founded in 2000 by Whiskymaker John Glaser. John is pretty much a creative/marketing/Scotch genius. He used to do marketing for Johnnie Walker blended Scotch Whisky. He left them to start his own line of Artisan Small Batch Scotch Whiskies. And he did an amazing job. Compass Box is cutting edge, revolutionary, unique and (in my opinion) the best boutique Scotch Whisky on the market today.

I could go on and on about his signature range which includes Spice Tree, Hedonism, Asyla, Oak Cross and even a line of limited edition rare small batches,-" Each is made from casks chosen individually, cask-by-cask, to ensure perfect maturity. The casks are combined according to recipe and returned to wood for “marrying” up to 12 months before bottling.", but for now I want to familiarize you with my favorite, The Peat Monster. This is a complex, unique, peaty, smoky masterpiece. The Peat Monster is multi-dimensional giving off different layers of richness and a slight sweetness with an AMAZING full, coating, velvety texture. "And, as of late 2007, we’re introducing even more complexity by adding some south shore Islay malt to enhance the peatiness and earthiness." For those that enjoy a rich, smoky, peaty  whisky with beautiful subtleties of chocolate, oak and fruit than this is a MUST HAVE addition to any discerning bar.