A Journey to Cocktail Enlightenment: Two Thirsty Guys Discover Atlanta's Best Drinks

By John W. Raibikis and Mike Ferron

A Journey to Cocktail Enlightenment

Two Thirsty Guys Discover Atlanta's Best Drinks

"What were we seeking? Was it an incredible cocktail or an incredible experience? Was one possible without the other?

"We're evolving from our primitive beginnings of making and enjoying flavored martinis. Our search for unusual cocktails thus far has broadened our knowledge and expanded our appreciation of finely crafted cocktails. Right here, we seem to have hit the true mother lode

"A long sequence of unique samplings and events had us thinking in innovative ways and discovering something that never would have entered our minds before

"We not only held our own against professional bartenders, but beat out over half of our competitors. Our ability to accurately judge a cocktail has been substantiated.

Two friends and bon vivants who enjoy liquid refreshments take a journey in search of the best cocktails they can find in and around the Atlanta area. Their travels take them from neighborhood bars to well-known establishments. In the process, they encounter colorful characters, discover delicious recipes, and develop an appreciation for what makes a great cocktail. Their journey also leads them to something greater.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452083681

John W. Raibikis

John W. Raibikis was born and raised in Connecticut. He will continually remind you of that. He currently lives at Lake Lanier with his wife of 37 years. Interests include drinking (of course), living the good life while retired (naps and reading), traveling the world, and eating desserts. He is affectionately known as "Dr. Death" by his close friends, due to his STRONG drinks. Mike Ferron was born in Appleton, Wisconsin and moved to Atlanta in 1973 after graduating from college. He currently lives in Cumming, Georgia with his wife of 23 years. Interests include mixology, cooking, collecting and programming music, and gardening (tomatoes and hot peppers are his specialty). He appreciates a bartender who pours an "honest drink," and he is working on improving his own bartending skills and creations. Two aficionados of fine food, quality-crafted cocktails, and leisurely lifestyles, Mike and John often spend their weekends testing and developing drink recipes for family and friends.

Book preview

A JOURNEY TO

Cocktail

ENLIGHTENMENT

JOHN W. RAIBIKIS & MIKE FERRON

TWO THIRSTY GUYS

DISCOVER ATLANTA’S BEST DRINKS

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2010 John W. Raibikis & Mike Ferron. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 9/27/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4520-8366-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-8368-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010914423

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Yin and Twang

Manhattans, Red Wine,and Impressionism

A Hard Mike’s Is Good to Find

Las Chicas Cazadores

Fit for a Playboy Bunny

Allegorical Connections & Symbolism

Trolling for Action

Unique Manhattans & Church Bay Mules

A Visionary Quest

An Evening Road Trip

Agave Nectar

A Warmed Hogg in a Snifter

These Drinks Are on Fire!

The Mother Lodeor Just a Good Looking Vein?

I Think This Needs More Salt

Into the Mystic

Eat – Drink – Rock Out

Femme Fatale

An Assistant Researcher

An Unforgettable Show of Body Art

Novice Bartenders

Liquid Nitrogen

Yes, I Am a Broken Butterfly

Getting Drawn into Vortexes

Dem Bones

Bluepointe and Blood Orange

Indistinct Boundaries

Are We Poisoning Our Minds?

A Sweet Taste of Bitters

Baseball and Moonshine

Local Culture and Amontillado

Do Blondes Have More Fun?

Revising Our Ratings

Spherical Ice and Other Cool Tricks

In the Gaze of Buddha

Kumquats

Cabbage Soup and Bellinis

The New Books Are Here!

Another Cocktail-centric Trip

Attack of the Killer Bees

Calm Waters

No ‘R’ in the Month – No Oysters

At the Pool with Iron Man

Comic Relief

Metered Parking

Calamari Tapas and Vodka

Academia

Kilts and Arses

Free Pours

Tandoori Wings

Drinkers in Disguise

Don’t Pu-Pu the Platters or the Drinks

Grand Ma Competition with Sea Urchins

Full Service, with a Touch of Rye

Monkeys in the Asylum

Pecan Orgeat

Voting Goes Better with Alcohol

A Perfect Storm

Plenty of Aplomb

Bon Vivants

Guest Bartending Honors

Phoenix Rising

Last Call

We’ll Drink to That!

Cocktail Ratings

About the Authors

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We give special acknowledgement to our lovely wives, Karen and Dolores, for their unwavering support, constant encouragement, helpful suggestions, thoughtful insights and steady income while we took this journey. We also thank them for providing sufficient kitchen cabinet space for our ever-growing collection of fine liquors.

We appreciate the hard-working bartenders, mixologists, and drink crafters who made our journey enjoyable and contributed to our education. Special thanks go to Steven Kowalczuk for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm, and providing the Mixology 300 Series.

Like the Buddha, we took a journey toward enlightenment; his spiritual, ours spirits-filled. Perfect symbolism for our story presented itself with the ten-foot golden Buddha in the restaurant, Aja, and the folks there were kind in allowing us to use this image as the background for the cover of our book. Many thanks to them.

PREFACE

Cocktails have the potential to electrify taste buds and elevate our spirits. We invite you to join us on our road to discovering fine drinks and magical elixirs in and around the Atlanta area. While reading our book, you may want to further enhance the experience by enjoying your favorite beer, wine or cocktail.

INTRODUCTION

We forget exactly when it happened, but a chance meeting at a party north of Atlanta had the two of us clinking glasses and toasting. A friendship had begun, and almost immediately we recognized in each other a thirst for knowledge, as well as a desire to quench the thirst in our parched throats.

There’s a saying that goes something like a journey begins with a single step. No doubt true, but the trick is to know when you are taking that first step. Sometimes it is a conscious moment when it occurs – you decide, I’m going here, and knowingly take that first step to get you there. At other times, it may be that you’re already traveling somewhere and don’t know it until later. You’re moving along and suddenly realize Hey, look where I’ve been heading. Trying to recall your first step in this instance can be difficult, but, given proper inspection, you will likely find it.

This book is about a journey shared by two friends in search of the best cocktails and libations we could find in and around the Atlanta area. Like many journeys, it led us down many paths, and our ultimate goal or destination changed as unforeseen vistas unfolded before us.

Sporadic partying with friends initially involved consuming mundane wines and beers, with an occasional margarita thrown in for good measure. This eventually evolved into partying with friends nearly every weekend and moving on into martinis and Manhattans. Vodka martinis made with a variety of flavored liqueurs had us developing an early rating system of our favorites, which initially included Cranberry, Macadamia Nut, Blackberry, and Pumpkin Pie martinis. We soon had to expand our favorites list to include John’s favorite drink at the time, a Crown Royal Manhattan, as well as the Mojito, a Midori Margarita, and a Root Beer Martini. Friends bought us a martini book filled with hundreds of recipes – some delicious, some just plain awful. We began recording our get-togethers and our drink comments in journals. Soon, the question was asked of us, What are you drinking tonight? We began to anticipate the Thursday food section of the Atlanta Journal, as it contained reviews of drinks at bars around town, and often included recipes for trendy drinks we knew we just had to try.

As we progressed, we bought infusers and infused vodka or rum with different fruits. Rum infused with peaches, blackberries, or blueberries was particularly delicious and was used for flavoring our special margaritas. Vodka infused with cranberries became a hit around the holidays.

The local liquor store would have periodic promotions that we felt compelled to attend. Typically that meant meeting several scantily dressed, beautiful women promoting a new liquor. It didn’t take much arm-twisting on their part to get us to purchase their product, and we’d eagerly take it home to try that evening. We found that for a small amount of money, we could discover new liquors and admire tastefully attired young girls who were hired for their classy looks, exceptional bodies, and friendly demeanors. What an unbeatable combination!!

When the economy turned bad, a couple of pink slips had us thinking about what to do next; and after years of simply chasing a paycheck, doing something fun seemed like the way to go. We decided to expand our search for fine drinks and seek to discover what waited for us out there in the Atlanta area (and parts nearby). Our trip schedules were on an indeterminate timetable and were generally initiated on a whim. Times just simply came up when it seemed right to temporarily abandon the comforts of home and forsake TV and written literature, those sanitized methods of experiencing the lives of others. We’d resort back to our feral natures, following the path of Hesse’s Steppenwolf, becoming our own wolves of the steppes, or the wolf of Markus Pearson’s paintings, which represents man resorting to his primitive urges. On these occasional forays we became hedonistic, chasing our lascivious, voyeuristic tendencies in art and drink. Our higher standards kept us away from nudie bars and grungy holes in the wall, where a knife-wielding misfit might be lurking only a bar stool away.

Our earliest research trips involved attempting to find what we considered to be the perfect cocktail. When our results were related to our friends, there seemed to be genuine interest in hearing our adventures and stories, and it seemed that they were living vicariously through our explorations. Our desire to share this information with a larger audience gave us the impetus to write this book.

The idea for our book was hatched at a Christmas party in the home of our friends, Beth and Wade, at their bar downstairs. Over a martini and a modified Long Island Iced Tea, the tentative title and basic framework for our book unfolded as the other partiers encouraged us. The objective of writing a book escaped us in the beginning; we had already made our earliest road trips just for fun, with no formal journaling in mind. But if we were to continue and expand our efforts, why not share our discoveries?

This book is not intended to be a definitive guide to Atlanta’s finest drinks, although you will find many fine drinks rated here. The bar scene in Atlanta, much like anywhere else, is constantly changing. Bartenders and mixologists move from place to place like gypsies, it seems, and many establishments open, become popular, and then frequently die a quick death. Some open with great fanfare, sustain constant crowds for awhile, and then lose favor with a fickle crowd as they slowly become less relevant. A definitive guide would be hard to maintain. Besides, there is only so much research someone can do on this subject without becoming alcoholic, poor, or both.

This book is meant to be a journal of our drink discoveries, and includes our ratings of the libations we encountered. If you’re looking for something to do and feel up to the challenge, match your ratings against ours. Although our ratings are rather unscientific, we have reviewed them carefully and feel they are an accurate representation of the quality of what we had to drink.

We hope the book inspires you to start your own journey and discover the wonderful liquors, flavor combinations, and drinks that are being served daily. In doing so, you’re likely to encounter some colorful personalities among those who serve and perhaps make some new friends. If you have a favorite drink or liquor, and rarely stray from that, we encourage you to spread your wings and try something new. The fun lies in the journey you make and the treasures you uncover. Happy traveling!

YIN AND TWANG

November 18, 2004

Since July of 2004, we have been journaling our parties and get-togethers with family and friends. Our diary-like journaling over the years proved to be invaluable in remembering the details of our earliest wanderings – the precursors to our road trips. We were groping for direction, willing to consider anything that caught our fancy.

A large container of banana rum and tonic was consumed over our 40-mile trip to the Jasper Public Library in Jasper, GA for a book signing and lecture. The author of the book, Redneck Liberation: Country Music as Theology, a professor of religion and philosophy, played dulcimer, acoustic guitar, sang, and treated us to four songs which exemplified the ideas presented in both his lecture and book. We became nervous when the capacity crowd began singing along on the first gospel song, but soon he began to cover his topic in a serious way and we found him to be informative and entertaining. When John purchased a copy of his book, he succinctly explained his Eastern spiritual leanings and chuckled when he read the author’s autographed entry, A taste of yin and twang.

This turned out to be more of a mini-party than what could be called a road trip. John’s wife, Karen, accompanied us, which was actually a wise move, since she proved to be a conscientious designated driver. Fortunately for the reader, our interests didn’t lead us further toward dulcimer music or theological ideas as expressed in country music. Our enjoyment of this road trip, however, had us considering other trips that combined alcohol and art.

MANHATTANS, RED WINE, AND IMPRESSIONISM

May 13, 2005

Another precursor event had us traveling 20 miles south to the opening of the artist and painter Ford Smith’s new art gallery in Roswell. A unique cocktail was not yet our focus, nor was suggestive artwork.

An article in Bon Apetit mentioned using Amaro Montenegro as a replacement for sweet vermouth in making the ultimate Manhattan, which was unavailable in Atlanta liquor stores. Mike had returned from a trip to Arizona, bringing back a $26 bottle of Carpano Sweet Vermouth, which we also had been unable to find in Georgia or in any of the neighboring states. This imported Italian wine’s claim to fame is that it was used in one of the original Manhattans. It comes from the Giuseppe B. Carpano winery that dates back to 1786, and purportedly makes an incredible Manhattan. That claim seemed to be verified in our experience, and we couldn’t imagine that a Manhattan would be any better using Amaro Montenegro. After several of these, we piled into the back seat of a neighbor’s convertible, and with the top down and our hair flying in the breeze, we headed to the gallery.

Ford’s artwork is beautiful. Red wine flowed at his grand opening, and Italian nibbles were plentiful. Our alcoholic interests were continuing to become more refined. Although landscape paintings with red trees, ochre water, and mustard skies were appealing, we’d later discover that the curviness of the female body complemented our finer cocktails even better. Having designated drivers for going and coming back home were once again a smart choice on our part.

A HARD MIKE’S IS GOOD TO FIND

July 2, 2005

An email from our closest liquor store in Cumming (along with a posted sign that appeared in front of the establishment) announced that between 2:00 and 5:00, Mike’s Girls would be present at the store for a promotion of Mike’s Hard Lemonade in flavors of lemonade, lime, berry, and cranberry. At 2:30 we were walking through the door.

Only one Mike’s Girl was present – Mindy from New Orleans, a 22-year-old very personable and pretty girl that captivated our attention for half an hour. We laughed and joked, and all three of us had a great time. She became our friend, and not only did we each buy two twelve-bottle party-packs of mixed flavors, we got tee shirts, glasses, hugs, and pictures. When she heard Mike’s name, she went out to her vehicle and brought back for him a shirt that only a Mike could wear, imprinted with the logo: A hard Mike’s is good to find.

At the liquor store we also picked up a bottle of Limoncello, which mixed with vodka became lemon martinis, the first cocktails of the evening for both of us. We enjoyed these, but in Mindy’s remembrance, we switched to her drinks. Our notes for this evening also reflect John’s finishing of Jimmy Buffett’s book, A Salty Piece of Land, where Quiet Time is described as that slack time when fish know that they need to break the cycle of the food chain where fish are either eating or avoiding being eaten. Buffett suggests that man should learn from fish and use the slack tides in life to sit and reflect on the good moments.

With only two of us on this pre-road-trip, we appreciated our pre-party Quiet Time, and delayed until later the serious partying that always occurred when more of us were present. A just-released beverage made this libation unique, and a pretty girl added to the experience. On our later actual road trips, we endeavored to escape from chores and responsibilities at home, going off to enjoy our Quiet Time. Our quests would have us zeroing in on unique beverages and beautiful artwork, and what could set the tone better than looking at a pretty girl?

LAS CHICAS CAZADORES

November 4, 2005

Las Chicas Cazadores – Tour 2005 is coming. So read the local liquor store’s email a couple weeks ago, so read their sign in front of the store for the last two weeks, and so read their reminder email, which included a picture of six skimpily clad Mexican beauties. We can only assume that the translation of this phrase is something like The ‘chickadees’ of Cazadores. The 2005 tour would hit the 50 liquor stores that had sold the most Cazadores tequila, and the local liquor store in Cumming was one of the 50. For weeks we knew that we’d be there.

The posted time for this event was 5:00-7:00, and by 5:30 we were traveling the couple miles down the road to the liquor store. We arrived and were greeted outside the door by two Cazadores girls, with whom we visited before proceeding inside to meet another four. Just pulling up to the store was exciting as there was a huge, intricate graphic display of foxy girls on the side of their large red tour bus. Even more exciting was the automobile accident that happened right in front of us. A policeman was in a close-by parking lot, appearing to have witnessed the event, and as we watched the flashing blue lights head the short distance to the accident, we knew that things were being attended to. We went on with our business, meeting and visiting with the tequila girls.

We learned about double distilling tequila, storing in casks, comparisons with other tequilas on the market, the agave plant, and the significance to NOM #1487. We also discovered that girls from Mexico can be very foxy. The girl who left the greatest impression on us was Giovanna, a statuesque, well-endowed, olive-skinned beauty, whose skimpy outfit accentuated her assets. Her Guadalajara-accented voice informed us of her preferences in tequila.

With Cazadores tee shirts, calendars, posters, pictures, and recipe cards in hand, we also purchased a bottle of Tequila Cazadores Reposado, their gold tequila. It was more expensive than Jose Cuervo Gold, but we found that we were in for a treat when we got home and began making drinks. Other than calling for their premium tequila, their recipe was not that much different than a regular margarita, calling for: 1 ½ oz Tequila Cazadores Reposado, 1 oz Triple Sec, 1 oz lemon juice, and 1 oz lime juice. Even with our wives not drinking margaritas this evening, we came close to finishing the bottle of tequila tonight.

Georgia liquor stores by law cannot serve alcoholic drinks, so we tasted nothing at the store. We recognized the bias of salesgirls, but they convinced us that their tequila and recipes were worth trying. There we only enjoyed margaritas vicariously through their descriptions. The ambiance of sexy, skimpily clad, personable and engaging girls had us appreciating the setting and realizing how greatly this influenced what we would be drinking. Postponing the serious partying until we were safe at home was drilled into us by the accident we witnessed, and we’d keep it in mind to drink sensibly during our later drinking road trips.

FIT FOR A PLAYBOY BUNNY

April 14, 2006

Earlier in the week, the local liquor