Just a little bit tipsy
By: Warren Bobrow
Published: February 16, 2012

Oh my friends, I was practicing today with spirits. Some familiar and some unfamiliar.  I had hoped to have this piece up much sooner, but the "just a little bit tipsy" cocktail is just that, case in point...Personified. 
I didn't mean to enjoy it so much- but due to the provenance and the quality of ALL the parts- I enjoyed my portion a little too much!
You are on warning that my practice is never to enjoy my own creations---too much, least I become swayed to a certain mindset.
  I think my friends at Catoctin Creek Distilling said it best 

Warren Bobrow is a funny dude.  His near stream-of-consciousness writing is a zany romp with a mixologist who doesn't play by the rules.  But you know what?  His cocktails work BEAUTIFULLY!  Why be the same? Different is more fun!
Warren wrote a very flattering review of our Roundstone Rye on Foodista.  We were tickled he enjoyed the spirit so much:
The Catoctin Creek product is lush and gorgeous in the mouth.  I think what I like most about it is the nose.  It has a sugarcane nose and a Maple Syrup finish.
So when I opened the cork finished bottle (nice touch!) of the Roundstone Rye I was immediately struck by how delicious the first taste was!  Creamy on the finish, a slight burn from the brooding 80 proof heat.
Read the full review here.

So you, my readers and those who make the spirits that have become a part of my memories- I say thank you.  This has been a very challenging period of time for me.  At the end of this month I will find myself in Charleston, South Carolina.  I was, for a time the only manufacturer of fresh, never frozen pasta in South Carolina.  I originally traveled to Charleston to attend Johnson/Wales for Culinary School. 
I cooked for my mentor and friend Joann Yaeger at the Primerose House.  This Yankee actually Cultured a taste for Bourbon Whiskey.  I cooked a couple of lunches at Martha Lou's Kitchen. 
And then met my soon to be partner.  We opened Olde Charleston Pasta when Woolworth's still was located on King Street. 
I'm traveling to Charleston to participate in the Wine and Food Festival as a Cocktail Judge.  I will say that this is an honor.  I'm driving down and will be sure to stop here and pay homage.  It's a drive filled with memories for me some bitter and some sweet.  I moved to Charleston to start a new life as a cook after moving from Maine. 
 
I left defeated by Hurricane Hugo and the aftermath and wreckage, both emotional and physical.  I come back to Charleston with a renewed spirit and an open mind. 
Sure the Goody House is no longer and I'm sure that the faces have grown more graceful with time.
  But one thing is for certain.  That is the smell of pluff mud over the marshes.
 It is infectious, it will never leave me. 
I will always remember those times living in Charleston before Hurricane Hugo set my life asunder. 
This cocktail mimics the feeling I have in my heart right now- a couple of weeks before venturing back to Charleston.  It's been since 1991. 
 
 
The Little Bit Tipsy Cocktail
Ingredients:
Tenneyson Absinthe Royal
Alchemia Ginger Vodka
Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth
Bitter End Bitters (Moroccan)
Perrier 
Grilled Blood Oranges
Preparation:
Char oranges in a cast iron or a saute' pan until crispy, try to cut away as much bitter white pith as you can before charring.  Set to cool
Muddle a couple of chunks of the blood oranges in a cocktail shaker until they release their secrets- you'll know by the aroma when they're ready
Add 1 Shot Carpano Antica Formula
Add 2 Shots Alchemia Ginger Vodka
Add 1 Shot Tenneyson Absinthe
Ice to the shaker with the liquors
Shake well into some comfortable glassware
Finish with two drops of Bitter End Moroccan Bitters and a splash of Perrier
 
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