The Restaurant Guys

Friday Evening Cocktail: The Mulatta Daisy

A "Daisy" is a cocktail based in any spirit, with citrus and a sweetener like grenadine. They are bright and refreshing. If rum is your spirit and lime is your citrus, it begins to sound a lot like a ... daiquiri. A daiquiri is a kind of rum daisy. A margarita is a kind of Tequila daisy. Are you beginning to see how important a category this is? The Mulata Daisy takes a flavorful white rum (we're using Old New Orleans) and blends it with lime, creme de cacao, fennel seeds and Galliano. It sounds unlikely, but it's amazing. That's alchemy for you!

Friday evening, we will offer The Mulata Daisy for $9. We will pass hors d'oeuvres until 9:30 and the most tasteful cocktail enthusiasts in NJ will be in attendance, as is their custom. I do hope you will join us.

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The Spirits Project: Caol Ila Selezione Top Class 1996 Samaroli

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $300 per bottle
• We will pour one ounce for $10
  

Born in Bologna seventy years ago, Silvano Samaroli, has been selecting and bottling the world’s greatest whiskies since 1968. At that time he was the only non-British or non-Scottish person doing this type of work. His story is based on the gamble he took, a chance taken rather recklessly but with great determination and almost maniacal perfectionism. While he certainly has a signature style, each of the spirits he selects clearly speak of the distillery from which they hail.

Caol Ila is hidden in a quiet cove near Port Askaig. Situated on Loch Nam Ban, the site is ideal thanks to the abundant supply of good water. Caol Ila (Gaelic for 'the Sound of Islay') was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson - a Glasgow businessman with a keen interest in distilling. In 1857 the distillery was purchased by Bulloch Lade & Co. The Distillers Company Limited took over management in 1927. Production continued until 1972, when the entire structure of the distillery was demolished. A larger distillery was built in the same original architectural style, and production resumed in 1974.

Caol Ila is my FAVORITE Islay distillery. It has a peaty nose, with distinct floral notes. It's smoky, salty and angular and bold, with a dry peppery finish.

We open one bottle beginning at 6:30.

When it's gone, it's gone. I hope you can join us.

Next Week in The Spirits Project:
Bache Gabrielsen Grand Champagne Cognac "Hors d'Age"

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Paul Hobbs Returns to Stage Left

The biggest news for us this week is the return of our old friend Paul Hobbs. We're the only place in the country where Paul himself hosts a dinner every single year. This will be our 22nd annual Paul Hobbs dinner. While we've experienced some success in the last couple decades, Paul's rise has been nothing short of astounding. Back in 1993, Paul was that amazing new wine maker you had never heard of hosting a dinner at Stage Left, that cool new restaurant opened by a couple of bartenders. Now Stage Left is something of an institution and Paul Hobbs is one of the most sought-after winemakers in the world.

This year's dinner will be a special celebration of our long friendship. The menu is spectacular and features some wines that are simply unavailable anywhere else. For instance, back in 1996, Paul bottled a single barrel of his first vintage of Merlot to commemorate the birth of Mark's daughter Laura Catherine, much as Paul's other top cuvee are denoted Cuvee Agustina for Paul's own daughter. Mark, his wife Jen, and Paul selected his finest barrel in 1997. Mark and Jen went back out to bottle it two years later with Laura in tow. Laura and the rest of the group who put the corks in those bottles will be there Thursday night, as we pull one out. We hope you can join us.

Friday Evening Cocktail: The Belfast Cocktail

Our Belfast Cocktail has been getting quite a lot of press these days. Gary Regan (famous cocktail dude) named it among the Top 101 Cocktails of 2013. I've got bartenders in Belfast serving them now - like right now! Time difference - remember. So the least you can do is come to the Catherine Lombardi Bar Friday night, when we'll feature The Belfast Cocktail for just $9. Toast our mission over here. We'll be toasting you over there.

The Belfast Cocktail is inspired by the Brandy and Port that always seems to end the night when I am in that fair city. I was recently appointed an official ambassador of the City of Belfast and I’m putting together a sister-city relationship with New Brunswick. Last month, I had Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir to my restaurant, to meet with New Brunswick’s own Mayor Jim Cahill and about 20 or so of our local business and government leaders over a fine lunch in our wine library. At the invitation of Lord Mayor Ó Muilleoir, in January Mayor Cahill will lead a delegation of a dozen or so business leaders to Belfast. We will set up some lasting exchanges in our arts, theater, music, financial development, university, government sectors, restaurants and bars (my bailiwick). At the luncheon in New Brunswick, we served The Belfast Cocktail. Lord Mayor Ó Muilleoir and all the guests loved it. In Belfast we will have the same. It is my hope to see this drink popularized on both cities. Plus it’s delicious. It is on our cocktail menu. People love it.

Here's what Gary Regan had to say about it when he chose it to be among his 101 Best Cocktails of 2013:

Port and Brandy has been a favorite of mine for decades, and this new look at the drink is pretty spectacular. The Poire Williams give it a fabulous kiss on the lips and bring the whole thing to life. Nicely done, Francis.

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Valentine's Day at Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi

Many restaurants channel people into a Special Tasting Menu for Lovers. What we have found is that people really like choices on Valentine's Day.

In Stage Left we will offer our regular Dinner A la Carte, as well as our Steakhouse Selections and a Four-Course Tasting Menu. We will offer an enhanced selection of Champagnes-By-The-Glass and a signature Chocolate Tasting for Dessert.

Catherine Lombardi will also feature our Great-As-Usual Menu AND an optional Tasting Menu for the evening. We'll feature Prosecco and a Champagne and also a raft of Champagne-Based Cocktails (even some manly ones!)

The Spirits Project: Macallan "21 Year Old" 1991 Single Malt Scotch, Samaroli Selection

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $349 per bottle
• We will pour one ounce for $11
  

Born in Bologna seventy years ago, Silvano Samaroli, has been selecting and bottling the world’s greatest whiskies since 1968. At that time he was the only non-British or non-Scottish person doing this type of work. His story is based on the gamble he took, a chance taken rather recklessly but with great determination and almost maniacal perfectionism.

Selecting great malts means drinking sample after sample, a thing that is anything but easy to do. Many whiskies are cask strength, so can easily exceed 50° abv. A great palate and in-depth knowledge of the very complicated world of Scottish malt distilleries is indispensable. When Silvio once was asked "was it difficult to have yourself taken seriously by those people?" He replied, "Yes, I didn’t have much experience at the beginning. … I’d like to tell you an anecdote. On one of my first visits to Scotland – it must have been in 1969 or 1970, I was received by the manager of a famous distillery. He immediately asked my opinion of three anonymous samples … I said that the first seemed to me to be a malt that was at least fifteen years old, the second ten, the third six or seven and that I was unable to classify the fourth, as it was really terrible. Extremely surprised, he told me that I was right on them all, and that he’d added a little sherry to the fourth to see if I’d notice it." Silvio is now one of the most respected palates in Scotland.

Macallan is one of our favorite Speyside distilleries. It's full, rich and round by nature. Silvio's palate runs to the round and rich as well and I really like his selections of whisky from this house.

We open one bottle beginning at 6:30.

When it's gone, it's gone. I hope you can join us.

Next Week in The Spirits Project:
Jean Grosperrin Cognac Fins Bois 1975

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Beannachtaí ó Bhéal Feirste (Greetings from Belfast)

Dia Duit a Chairde (Hello My Friends),

Mark and the gang are holding down the fort nicely in New Brunswick, while I send you beannachtaí ó Bhéal Feirste (greetings from Belfast). Many of you are aware that I often travel between these two cities, but I am currently embarked upon a very specific and exciting mission here. At the invitation of Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, I'm here with our own New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill and a delegation of our city leaders in government, industry, theater, the arts, university, music, restaurants and bars. We're staying at The Merchant Hotel, in the heart of The Cathedral District and home to great music and cocktails. Tomorrow, we embark on several days of meetings with our counterparts here.

Our goal is to establish long-term exchanges in all of these fields. If I can make it work, you can look forward to some chef and bartender exchanges, musical exchanges and much more. The people of Belfast are so great and have so much in common with us. There is a life energy to these two cities, a common sense of renewal that they both share. Our peoples are smart and scrappy and witty and fun. We value our theaters and our public houses. We know the importance of sticking together in tough times and finding the craic in the good. Stay tuned everybody. There are great things to come!

And if any of you are coming to Ireland in the near future, ask me for recommendation in Belfast. There's a direct flight from Newark!

Click
Kirsty Maccoll - The Belle of Belfast City

and because I can't type Kirsty Maccoll without linking to her best song
Kirsty Maccoll - In These Shoes

The Spirits Project: Perrier-Jouët "Belle Epoque" 2004 Champagne

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $145 per bottle
• We will pour three ounces for $17
  

Tonight, we will depart once again from the norms of our Spirits Project.

We will laugh in the face of the cold; in fact, we will sparkle! Tonight we will offer 3 ounces of a great Champagne at cost.

It was in 1811 that Pierre-Nicolas Perrier married Adèle Jouët, thus creating the House of Perrier-Jouët. The house was immediately known for quality and was a pioneer in the field of traceability and the fight against counterfeiting. Perrier-Jouët was the first to display the year of the vintage on its bottles.

In the early 1900s, the Art Nouveau movement burst into life, drawing its inspiration from the lines and movements of nature. The artist and master glass maker Emile Gallé was one of the movement's pioneers. In 1902 he designed the iconic anemone, wreathed in gold. It was placed on the debut bottle of the "Belle Epoque" cuvee in 1964. So began the partnership between Art Nouveau and the House of Perrier-Jouët, a history which continues to this day.

The Perrier-Jouët family has owned vines in Champagne since the early 18th century. Today they hold 65 hectares, ranked at 99.2% on the 100-point scale of cru vineyards. Hervé Deschamps became the 7th Perrier-Jouët Cellar Master in 1993 after ten years at his predecessor's side. The Belle Epoque 2004 is an exceptional expression of this long tradition.

We will open three bottles beginning at 6:30. When it's gone, it's gone.

Next Week in The Spirits Project:
Macallan 1991

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It Was A Dark and Stormy Night. We Ordered a Hot Whiskey And Sat By The Fire. It Kept The Cold at Bay.

Happy New Year! It was quite the New Year's Eve here in New Brunswick. The night was clear and the fireworks were spectacular! We were on News12 a lot in the days preceding launch and so attendance was even higher than anticipated. We kept appearing next to Morristown and various other "First Night" celebrations, which are of course, alcohol-free. I kept stressing that we were alcohol-optional AND sponsored by a Double Cross Vodka and Moet-Hennessy Champagne! I'm sure the sparkling apple cider at midnight in Morristown was delicious, but I'm equally sure the Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon and Krug in New Brunswick was better. Was that snarky? Remember where to be next year!

So the snow and cold is coming and we're making storm preparations. The wine cellar is just fine and the refrigerators are stocked with great food. White truffles are on the wane but black ones are just about to hit their stride. We had promised you Champagne in tonight's Spirits Project but we're going to put that off a week, as we're afraid the inclement weather will dampen enthusiasm and Champagne (unlike Scotch) is highly perishable.

As the temperature threatens to drop below zero Friday, we will combat this exigency with the annual re-introduction of our Hot Drinks Menu. So come out and enjoy your favorite restaurant in New Brunswick in the calm of The New Year. Friday all hot drinks will be just $10. In a super crazy, typical Mark and Francis promotion, if the temperature drops below 20 degrees, they will be just $5...and yes I mean Fahrenheit all you word-players. If it drops below 20 degrees Kelvin...well...none of us will have to worry about it.

Hot Whiskey (Whiskey Skin) Whiskey, Hot Water, Lemon, Cloves
Hot Buttered Rum Hot Rum, Spices, Butter
Hot Cider-Jack Hot Apple Cider, Pumpkinseed Oil, Spices, Butter
Tom and Jerry Rum, Brandy, Hot Water, Tom and Jerry Batter
Irish Coffee Whiskey, Brown Sugar, Coffee, Softly Whipped Cream

What butter and whiskey won’t cure, there’s no cure for
--An Irish Proverb

The Spirits Project: Duncan Taylor Bruichladdich 19 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $189 per bottle
• We will pour three ounces for $5.50
  

Duncan Taylor & Company has ownership of one of the largest privately-held collections of rare scotch whisky casks. The company has been “laying down” casks from premium Scottish distilleries for decades and has, in recent years, made its stores available to whisky connoisseurs throughout the World. Duncan Taylor has its origins in Glasgow where the company was initially a merchant and broker of Scotch Whisky casks within the Industry. Duncan Taylor provides top quality casks to be filled at Scotland’s leading distilleries. This is how this independent merchant builds up its stock of whisky. When the company moved its headquarters close to Speyside, it also decided to release whisky direct to consumers under it's own name.

Bruichladdich was built in 1881, by the brothers Robert William and John Gourlay Harvey, in an idyllic spot on the shore of Loch Indaal. At the time, the distillery was state-of-the-art. The equipment continues to be used unchanged. The distillery closed in 1994, but was purchased by Murray McDavid on December 19, 2000. Bruichladdich was recently sold to Rémy Cointreau. While we wait to see if they have the good sense to leave production at Bruichladdich alone, we should cherish all the more, the bottles that have been produced by the extraordinary Master Distiller Jim McEwan.

We will open one bottle at 6:30 precisely and serve it Thursday and Friday.

When it's gone, it's gone.

Next Week in The Spirits Project
Champagne - Perrier Jouet Flower Bottle

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