So, I have this thing about mixing drinks. I think it's way fun. I do not for a second think I'd enjoy it nearly as much if I had to do it for a living. But I do get the occasional opportunity to make drinks for friends, including doing guest bartending stints at the Argus Lounge, owned by my friends Spence and Amy.

Quick Plug: Spence is also in a great band called Kofy Brown. If you get a chance to see them live, go.

Anyway, to continue my story about the Argus, for my 30th birthday I was behind the bar, with about 30 friends or so buying lots of drinks from me and tipping heavily. The last drink of the night, I had a pint glass break in my hand, leaving a gash about an inch long and almost down to the bone, severing the digital nerve of my left index finger in the process. I eventually had to have surgery to repair the nerve damage, though my finger is still numb on one side from the knuckle to the tip, and the scar tissue is super sensitive. Pictures will be posted soon.

Despite all this, I'd really like to get back behind the bar, but I'm afraid to ask Spence and Amy considering all the blood I got all over the place that they had to clean up. Oh well.

 

 

More generally speaking, I've put together a list of my most requested concoctions and sippers for your imbibing pleasure:

Tequilas

Agavero is my all time favorite sipper. It's a tequila liquor and has made many person moan on their first taste. It's ridiculously hard to come by in the US, but is available fairly reasonably in Mexico. If you find a place that carries it somewhere in California, mail me.

For a more traditional tequila (rather than a liquor) Don Eduardo is really good--extremely smooth and with a nice aftertaste. Don Julio Anejo is a close second, and both of them are also really good in margaritas, which is my favorite drink.

Other tequilas currently in collection are:

My personal recipe for the perfect margarita goes as follows: 
	2 parts tequila
	1 part Cointreau (much better than Triple Sec but alas about 5 times the cost)
	1 part Rose's Lime Juice
	1 Lime wedge (squeezed)
	
Mix in crushed ice, and pour into chilled martini glass with salted edges.

Best places to get tequila: In San Francisco, go to Tommy's at 25th and Geary. Their Tequila Master, Julio, is The Man(TM). If you're down in Silicon Valley, stop by La Fiesta on Villa St. in Mountain View. Stephen rules the bar and knows more about tequila than most people know about their underwear drawer. The food, additionally, is to die for...

Cocktails:

Cosmopolitan aka Cranberry Kamikaze 
	In a shaker full of crushed ice, put: 
	
	2 parts vodka
	1 part cointreau
	1 Splash of Cranberry juice
	1 Splash of Rose's Lime Juice
	1 Lime wedge (squeezed)
	
	Shake vigorously, and strain into a 
	chilled martini glass.  Alternately 
	pour out as is into tumbler, "on the rocks".
Blue Moon 
	In a shaker full of crushed ice, put: 
	
	1 part peach vodka
	1 part filtered sake
	1 Splash of sweet and sour
	1 wave over the top of the shaker of 
		blue curacao (a little curacao goes 
		a *long* way)
	1 Lime wedge (squeezed)
	
	Shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled 
	martini glass.  Garnish with lemon twist.
Chocolate Martini 
	Coat martini glass with glaze of Godiva 
			chocolate liquor	
	Add 3 oz. of chilled vanilla vodka

	Garnish with rasberry or strawberry.

	For extra fun, add a couple of drops of 
	Creme de Cassis for a "truffle" sort of flavor.
Blue Martini 
	Coat martini glass with glaze of blue curacao
	Add 3 oz. of chilled vodka or gin

	Garnish with lemon twist.
Mudslide 
	1 part Kahlua
	1 part Bailey's Irish Creme
	1 part peppermint schnapps

	Pour layered into tall shot glass.  

	Variation: dump with crushed ice along with a 
	handful of maltballs into the blender.  
	Instant "chocolate" shake.

You wanna have some fun, hit Infusion in SOMA. They do strange things to their vodka that makes for some interesting taste experiences.

Wines and Ports:

It took a trip to Paris to teach me to appreciate a good glass of wine, and I have to say my close proximity to the Napa Valley has done damage to my checkbook but wonders to my wine cellar. Currently I'm very much into good reds, though I've been known to dabble in the white side of the world given the proper encouragement.

Bottles to grace the table:

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