The Rating Scale

As I face the daunting task of writing reviews for all of the excellent places, food, and cocktails I experienced during my trip to Chicago, I realize I must first back up and explain the rating scale used to assign value. Way back in the dark recesses of 2001 or so, a good friend of mine and I began to pool our individual reviews of beer, wine, and spirits each of us had been keeping track of as we wandered the saloons and beer halls of the drinking world. We called our collection The Big Book of Booze. Kevin, intrepid traveler, monk, and scholar was the one who ultimately wrote out the numbering system and coined the phrase “the House of Excellence” which comprises the top three spots on the rating scale. Since that time our quest to discover the inhabitants of this fabled house have been unrelenting if not downright obsessive. The scale itself looks like this:

1. Fundamentally Flawed
2. Awful
3. Bad, but not quite entering the realm of awfulness
4. Below Mediocre
5. Mediocre
6. Above Mediocre
7. Good, but not quite entering the realm of excellence
8. Entering the realm of Excellence
9. Excellent
10. Outstanding in its field

It should be known beforehand that I am essentially a beer man. My quest into the cocktail nation began with an exploration into the different types of beer found worldwide. I began my exploration with reviews of traditional Abbey ales as they are called, ales brewed according to traditional methods as founded and refined by Trappist monks centuries ago. One of the best known abbeys is the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont, located in Chimay Belgium. It is here that beer and cheese is still made following the specific recipes and procedures of the Trappist order. As they write at Chimay.com, “Here, in this heaven of peace and silence where since 1850 Trappist monks have dedicated their life to God, products are made which, in themselves, gladden the heart of man.”

To demonstrate this scale in action I shall provide the example of the first beer reviewed on my beer list

Chimay Ale Grande Reserve: 8
A smooth full bodied ale crafted with obvious care. Very dark and robust with a nut brown character and color. This Chimay, as there are three varietals offered, is highly effervescent like all the abbeys seem to be, and exhibits a perfect balance between sweet and bitter with essence of raisins and semisweet chocolate in the finish. Personally I found this beer gets much better the longer you cellar it. This dark lady demands special care however and is still highly temperamental even after great care is taken. While the name and reputation inspires excitement and anticipation, the experience leaves one with the all too familiar “I-have-had-better” feeling as you fumble for your clothes in the dark. Clearly approaching the House of Excellence exhibiting master craftsmanship, the Grande Reserve exudes perfection without actually getting there.
*Note as all Chimays are bottom fermented which means they continue slowing brewing over time. As such, each bottle will be slightly different with differing characteristics. Don’t let one bad brown produce an avoidance of all brunettes.

The stories of the Cocktail Tour shall follow shortly. Until then…

Enjoy!
The Gman

The Cocktail Tour of 09

Hey there fellow devotees of the cocktail nation, this is the Gman with exciting news. Tomorrow my wife and I leave for Chicago on what we are calling the cocktail tour. There are several clubs we are targeting and I will give a rundown now.

The Violet Hour. This is a nationally known club famous for the Juliet & Romeo voted third best cocktail in the country by GQ magazine. The Violet Hour is "Ground zero for cocktail culture” according to Details Magazine. Esquire considers it “one of the best bars in America,” and Conde Nast states its “one of the best bars in the world.” According to their website the architect Thomas Schlesser designed the club thusly:

“The visual inspiration for the design of the Violet Hour was drawn from the pared down styles of the early 19th century English Georgian and French Directory. The English club and the French salon were the beginning of the modern venue for socializing and drinking. The project not only uses stylistic cues from these precedents but more importantly uses spatial references such as the partitioning of space into several smaller rooms, the use of extra high wing back furniture groupings, and the breaking down of the bar into several separate lengths; all designed to create places of intimacy conducive to the art of conversation. The cocktail takes center stage in each room with the curtained partitions acting to frame the bartenders and with the high mirrored back bar cabinets acting to highlight the numerous specialty liquors and ingredients.”

Trader Vic’s. My first actually tiki bar. According to their website Trader Vic was the inventor of the Mai Tai in 1944 and introduced Americanized Polynesian food to the west coast. According to their website,

"By 1946, the world had beaten a path to Vic’s door, prompting Lucius Beebe to write in an introduction to Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink published by Doubleday that year: “Trader Vic’s is … more than an Oakland institution. Its influence is as wide as the Pacific and as deep as a Myrtle Bank punch. Vic’s trading post is long on atmosphere, and it is possible for the ambitious patron with a talent for chaos to get into more trouble with obsolete anchors, coiled hausers of boa-constrictor dimensions, fish nets, stuffed sharks… Hawaiian ceremonial costumes, tribal drums, boathooks and small bore cannon than the waiters can drag him out of in a week.”

The Chicago establishment opened in 1957. More historical information on this cultural phenomenon can be found at www.tradervics.com.

Nationale 27. This modern Latin restaurant garnered a spot on GQ’s top 20 with their strawberry rhubarb mojito. However,

"Nacionale 27's signature libation, the El Corazon, has racked in awards for its palate-pleasing blend of Corzo Silver, passionfruit, and pomegranate. The drink's peppercorn-dusted rim adds to the medley of unexpected flavors. Adam Seger put a spin on the much-loved recipe with his 'Luxury El Corazon,' which lends a touch of seasonal fruit to the El Corazon."-Chicago Sun Time

The culinary exploration of the evening will center on the Nueva Paella Fiesta as part of their weekly flavor tours consisting of a three course meal replete with specialty cocktails. Tango and salsa lessons are provided on Tuesdays and Fridays. After the food and liquid fuel we are hoping for quite a bit of dancing.

I will have reviews of each famous cocktail as well as tales of our adventures upon our return.

Enjoy!
Gman