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Mixology 101

Super Bowl Cocktails

A great game calls for great drinks.

Posted by: John Chandler on Jan 30, 2012 at 10:00AM Speech Bubble2 Comments

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Shenault

Bartender David Shenaut in action!

Just in case you’ve been living on Newt’s moon colony for the past six months, the Super Bowl is this Sunday. So it’s definitely time to get your shopping list together for that big party you’re throwing. Beer, nuts, chips—these are things your grateful friends will pick up at Plaid Pantry on the way over as their meager “contribution” to the pigskin party. As the host, it’s up to you make the cocktail decisions. Yes, you could try to make it through the endless coverage of this sacred broadcast with beer only, but it’s not worth it. Not if you want a positive Twitter reaction, and I know that you do.

I queried some of the city’s top bartenders for can’t-miss cocktail recipes for Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, I got enough to parse them throughout the week. Lucky you! Needless to say, if you have a cocktail that’s a real wowser, please send it along. Don’t leave all the fun to the professionals!

The first recipe comes from the incomparable David Shenaut, who’s worked behind the stick at Zeus Cafe, Beaker and Flask, Teardrop Lounge, and Rum Club, just to name a few stops. He’s also a past president of the Oregon Bartenders Guild, so this man knows his way around a jigger.

The Souracher

3/4 Rye (100 proof)
3/4 Campari
3/4 Cocchi di Torino
3/4 fresh Lime juice
shake
spicy ginger beer top it off
Lime wheel

“The Souracher is an equal parts drink so you could batch this up ahead of time,” Shenault says. “Put the rye, vermouth, lime, and campari all in one bottle and let your guests shake 2 oz of the mix then top it with ginger beer. This drink is super refreshing and acts as a nice clean dry and bitter balance to those spicy wings and meatballs served on game day. Pink enough for the ladies and whisky enough for the men. Great cocktail to have between beers.”

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Tags: Bartenders, David Shenaut, Super Bowl party, Super Bowl cocktails

Behind Bars

Shenaut Will Shine at the Crystal

Mixologist David Shenaut joins the McMenamins empire

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 18, 2011 at 04:25PM Speech Bubble2 Comments

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It’s looking like the brothers McMenamin are upping their game on several fronts with the opening of the new Crystal Hotel and Ballroom. They’ve made a major move toward cocktail respectability with the hiring of Beaker and Flask bartender David Shenaut, who will be mixing drinks at the new Zeus Cafe in the downtown hotel. I chatted with Shenaut about his new position working with bar manager Mike Lorberbaum to bring real consistency to the making of classic cocktails like the mai tai, margarita, mint julep, negroni, and Ramos gin fizz (my go-to breakfast drink). “I can’t speak for the company,” he says, “but it seems to me from the people they’re bringing in that the level of cocktails, wine, and food will be several notches above what we’ve come to expect from the pubs.”

In particular, Shenaut is keen to work with the state-of-the-art Kold-Draft ice machine being installed at the Zeus Cafe. “All of the top bars in New York and San Francisco have Kold-Draft systems,” he explains. In the simplest of terms, Kold-Draft makes bigger, harder ice cubes that melt slowly which results in a crisp cocktail that doesn’t dilute as quickly. “Ice cubes are a very important cocktail ingredient,” Shenaut says, adding that only three Portland bars currently use Kold-Draft technology.

Shenaut believes that the addition of a true upscale venue to the McMenamins empire will be good for business across the board. “I think we’re going to get to a point where you can go into a McMenamins, ask for a negroni, and you’ll see the bartender go to the fridge for the vermouth,” he says. And that’s a good thing.

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Tags: McMenamins, New Bar, David Shenaut, Beaker & Flask

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Jchandlerbar

In his twenty-plus years as a roving journalist and his forty-plus years as a native Oregonian, Portland Monthly web editor John Chandler has developed an appreciation for a properly stirred cocktail, all manner of beer, smoky single malt scotch, and the odd moment of clarity. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy,” is his pet quote, and he’ll break it out whether the occasion calls for it or not. Rock ‘n’ roll snob, film geek, and cultural kibitzer, Chandler can usually be found perched on a local bar stool muttering to himself about “the good old days” when he was always on the @#$%&!* guest list. Approach with caution.

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Bar Pilot navigates from dingy dive bars to ritzy schmooze-and-booze affairs to brain-melting rock shows, and points of interest in between. Chandler will do his utmost to jot down keen observations, hopefully inspire a few barroom arguments, and guide his readers through another night on the rocks.

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