What gin do you get someone who claims to not be a gin person?
You want something that is going to be unique in appearance, unique in flavor, eye catching and approachable for the average drinker. It isn’t so heavily juniper in flavor. We recommend Magellan Gin, the world’s only natural blue gin. Yes, it is actually blue in color and doesn’t need a colored bottle to market its “uniqueness.” While very floral, Magellan provides the exclusivity of color and uniqueness of flavor that can be a real enticement for “non” gin drinkers. It also makes a mellow and beautiful martini when made with proper premium vermouth.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Smuggler's Cove SF (soft opening)
In anticipation of tomorrow's ticketed Smugglers Cove SF Soft Opening, we'd like to wet your appetite a little. Here's what you'll find inside:
Heaven.
The Gindicate was allowed entry to the special super-secret Soft Opening on Wednesday Dec. 2nd! The evening was in celebration of how far Martin Cate's dream has come and in appreciation of those who've made his dream a reality. We were truly honored to be allowed to take part in this event.
We are honoring Martin's request that we not post pictures, now. Come back later and you'll catch a glimpse of the amazing interiors, provided by the brilliant Notch. Here are some of the features you'll find inside:
* low profile exterior (excepting only the port and starboard lights)
* wall to wall high class nautical themed decor
* an 8ft anchor & antique cannon
* an amazing block and tackle system suspending items from the ceiling
* 2 well stocked bars with brilliant tenders (& bar-backs)
* the coolest water jet glass cleaners ever
* 3 different levels each with it's own ambience
* tasty cocktails and a 12 page menu of amazing options (not just rum or tiki)
* delicious house wine (Smug Jug) and beer (Smugglers Brew)
Last night we had an abbreviated cocktail list of 5 unique and classic cocktails. The drinks were exemplary; the bartender's skills are obvious. I am certain that Masterful Mixologist that he is, Martin took the flavor pallets of his guests into mind when he chose the following drinks:
* Cora Middleton Cocktail
* Hotel Nacional Special
* Three Dots and a Dash
* Wray & Nephew and Ting
* The Chadburn
There was a cocktail that suited each person to a tee. Obvious favorites were immediately established but with a list of over 80 cocktails there will be plenty of favorites for all! We also had a chance to try the Smugglers Jug and Smugglers Brew! The wine is delightful, full bodied and had hints of stone fruit. The beer was deceptively dark with an oatmeal fullness to it without any of the bite or sting of dark beers. Smuggler's Cove is so well stocked with specialy crafted custom products that I wouldn't be surprised to see them show up in a store.
Of course there is much, much more! We just don't want to ruin the surprise! Be on the look out as well for the website, which is inspired and innovative. The Gindicate looks forward to rating, ranking, and collecting data on our favorite Smug Co. cocktails! We had a fantastic time and truly appreciate the hospitality and warmth of the staff. We look forward to becoming regulars in what will be a true San Francisco treat!
Heaven.
The Gindicate was allowed entry to the special super-secret Soft Opening on Wednesday Dec. 2nd! The evening was in celebration of how far Martin Cate's dream has come and in appreciation of those who've made his dream a reality. We were truly honored to be allowed to take part in this event.
We are honoring Martin's request that we not post pictures, now. Come back later and you'll catch a glimpse of the amazing interiors, provided by the brilliant Notch. Here are some of the features you'll find inside:
* low profile exterior (excepting only the port and starboard lights)
* wall to wall high class nautical themed decor
* an 8ft anchor & antique cannon
* an amazing block and tackle system suspending items from the ceiling
* 2 well stocked bars with brilliant tenders (& bar-backs)
* the coolest water jet glass cleaners ever
* 3 different levels each with it's own ambience
* tasty cocktails and a 12 page menu of amazing options (not just rum or tiki)
* delicious house wine (Smug Jug) and beer (Smugglers Brew)
Last night we had an abbreviated cocktail list of 5 unique and classic cocktails. The drinks were exemplary; the bartender's skills are obvious. I am certain that Masterful Mixologist that he is, Martin took the flavor pallets of his guests into mind when he chose the following drinks:
* Cora Middleton Cocktail
* Hotel Nacional Special
* Three Dots and a Dash
* Wray & Nephew and Ting
* The Chadburn
There was a cocktail that suited each person to a tee. Obvious favorites were immediately established but with a list of over 80 cocktails there will be plenty of favorites for all! We also had a chance to try the Smugglers Jug and Smugglers Brew! The wine is delightful, full bodied and had hints of stone fruit. The beer was deceptively dark with an oatmeal fullness to it without any of the bite or sting of dark beers. Smuggler's Cove is so well stocked with specialy crafted custom products that I wouldn't be surprised to see them show up in a store.
Of course there is much, much more! We just don't want to ruin the surprise! Be on the look out as well for the website, which is inspired and innovative. The Gindicate looks forward to rating, ranking, and collecting data on our favorite Smug Co. cocktails! We had a fantastic time and truly appreciate the hospitality and warmth of the staff. We look forward to becoming regulars in what will be a true San Francisco treat!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Smug. Co. Endgame.1
Again, sadly we were too wrapped up in this high speed game to capture the images of the directions for the Endgame. We had a fantastic time and used this as an excuse to run into the City on “dates.” No one suspects that you don’t belong somewhere when you’re gazing into your partner’s eyes or taking a picture of them at a historic landmark or bar.
First Puzzle: A picture of an historical landmark placard that was mostly smeared out. The image had some pretty clear rope fencing and wooden pillars like those found around docks. Under the image was the clue “Terry A. Francois & Mission Bay.” There was a box in the image that was blank but obviously outlined a word. There was a corresponding box under the clue for you to put the answer.
Answer: Bosel
Logic: It was easy to pull out an iPhone and use Google maps to find what stood on the corner of Terry A. Francois & Mission Bay S. It was clear that it was a yacht club or boat house. The hard part was figuring out the street number for that location. We searched for a list of yacht clubs in that area of San Francisco and figured out that it wasn’t the Mariposa Hunters Point club since it didn’t match up. Therefore it was the Bay View Yacht Club. Next we searched the website of the club and flickr to see if they had the placard available. An hour later we were preparing to drive into the City and find the placard ourselves. Just as we were going to leave, one last search brought up a picture on the yacht clubs website of the placard. From the image it was easy to see the answer was the name of the original Bosel Boat house.
First Puzzle: A picture of an historical landmark placard that was mostly smeared out. The image had some pretty clear rope fencing and wooden pillars like those found around docks. Under the image was the clue “Terry A. Francois & Mission Bay.” There was a box in the image that was blank but obviously outlined a word. There was a corresponding box under the clue for you to put the answer.
Answer: Bosel
Logic: It was easy to pull out an iPhone and use Google maps to find what stood on the corner of Terry A. Francois & Mission Bay S. It was clear that it was a yacht club or boat house. The hard part was figuring out the street number for that location. We searched for a list of yacht clubs in that area of San Francisco and figured out that it wasn’t the Mariposa Hunters Point club since it didn’t match up. Therefore it was the Bay View Yacht Club. Next we searched the website of the club and flickr to see if they had the placard available. An hour later we were preparing to drive into the City and find the placard ourselves. Just as we were going to leave, one last search brought up a picture on the yacht clubs website of the placard. From the image it was easy to see the answer was the name of the original Bosel Boat house.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Smuggler’s Cove SF Clues part 2
“Solve the trials above after all four are revealed and you’ll be added to the archive of initiates: a document which will be listed here on the site, as well as locked in a time capsule and buried in smuggler’s cove. Solving the four trials will grant access to the endgame: the final set of clues that will reveal the secret location of smuggler’s cove. But be warned: the endgame puzzles are fiendishly conniving, difficult if not impossible for some people to solve, and designed to make sure the first person to crack it is dedicated and worthy of the prize.
The winner (if any) will be the first person to give correct answers to all the following: the 4 trials, all endgame puzzles (final count TBD), and the correct location of smuggler’s cove, all before July 1st.”
First Trial: Set up as a series of post cards with numbers (i.e. 2:20) below them followed by a box for the answer. Some cards had names or song titles on them, while others did not.
a) Cab Calloway - Minnie The Moocher
b) Louis Armstrong - Mack the Knife
c) Peggy Lee - Why Don't You Do Right (1943)
d) Billy Murray - I'll See You in C-U-B-A (1920)
Answer:
a) gold
b) someone
c) twenty
d) drinking
Logic: Many people tried to find the songs in their own collections, on iPods or Pandora. However, you had to find the video with the exact image so that you would not miss the word on at that exact time indicated. Of course the answer was easily found on YouTube. You play the video and at the designated time, write down the word you heard and enter it in the box provided. The only video that we didn’t know and consequently took the longest to find was Billy Murray’s “I’ll see You in CUBA!”
Second Trial: This puzzle was a maze of letters in circles linked by arrows leading to and from each circle. You needed to find a path from the start point to the end point through the various circles going only in the directions the arrows point. There were two puzzles in this trial.
Answer:
1) LDCXI
2) NMEWCAHXLZ
Logic: There were no instructions. Once you figured out what you were supposed to do, the first puzzle in this trial was relatively simple. However, the second puzzle was very difficult. The difficulty was compounded by the fact that by accident of design there was more than one way to go through the puzzle. At the end I heard that there were at least 3 different possible answers even though only one was initially accepted by the site.
Third Trial: This four part puzzle showed pictures of cocktail recipes with the drink name missing. Answering one correctly brought you to a page where there was another picture/missing name. The final picture had words in place of the ingredient names like “curt.”
Answer: a) Mai Tai, b) French 75, c) Sazerac, d) El Presidente
Logic: It was easy enough to identify the Mai Tai, since our tiki friends always ask us to make them one. I think several of the Gindicate can make a Mai Tai in their sleep! The second trial puzzle in this series was equally easy to identify since one of the Gindicate likes Champagne drinks, and again Google is your friend. The Third drink is actually a classic cocktail that includes Absinthe. Since we have become great fans of Absinthe Vert from St. George Spirits and they give a list of cocktails to try, again this was an easy find. The last puzzle in this series was extremely hard! It switched gears and forced the player to think outside the box since this was not a Google and go. At first we tried coming up with words that could be synonyms for the ingredients (i.e. curt could be bitters or lime). We resorted to the Twitterverse and saw that some friends had said it was an anagram. It was short work after that to complete the puzzle with the correct list of words. Primarily the clue was that there were too many o’s and u’s and a v so we knew there had to be vermouth in the recipe. El Presidente it was!
On a side note we had a friend who worked diligently on this puzzle with the word substitution. He eventually finished the puzzle with word association and probably a lot of trial and error. Congrats, Mai Tai, here’s to your gray matter getting it done! We stand amazed!
Fourth Trial: Matrix! This puzzle was awesomely difficult and complex. The outside bars have light and dark images around the jumbled letters within the matrix. There was a coded series of words under the matrix that you had to decipher. There was no box in which to put an answer, unlike all the previous puzzles.
Answer: Call 415-XXX-XXXX and ask for directions. When you spoke to the gentleman on the other end of the line, he asked your name and then told you to, “change veil to reveal” on the URL for that page. About an hour later the coded message changed to say, “change veil to reveal.” I guess they got tired of answering the phone!
Logic: We got the answer by figuring out the coded message images were the result of two images on top of each other. For example a white pause symbol (double bar) placed on a dark square would create a single dark bar in the middle. However you needed to make the assumption that the images in the bars around the matrix had either a dark or light background. That changed the direction of the image and its letter. Once you changed the URL to reveal you were taken to the Endgame page!
The winner (if any) will be the first person to give correct answers to all the following: the 4 trials, all endgame puzzles (final count TBD), and the correct location of smuggler’s cove, all before July 1st.”
First Trial: Set up as a series of post cards with numbers (i.e. 2:20) below them followed by a box for the answer. Some cards had names or song titles on them, while others did not.
a) Cab Calloway - Minnie The Moocher
b) Louis Armstrong - Mack the Knife
c) Peggy Lee - Why Don't You Do Right (1943)
d) Billy Murray - I'll See You in C-U-B-A (1920)
Answer:
a) gold
b) someone
c) twenty
d) drinking
Logic: Many people tried to find the songs in their own collections, on iPods or Pandora. However, you had to find the video with the exact image so that you would not miss the word on at that exact time indicated. Of course the answer was easily found on YouTube. You play the video and at the designated time, write down the word you heard and enter it in the box provided. The only video that we didn’t know and consequently took the longest to find was Billy Murray’s “I’ll see You in CUBA!”
Second Trial: This puzzle was a maze of letters in circles linked by arrows leading to and from each circle. You needed to find a path from the start point to the end point through the various circles going only in the directions the arrows point. There were two puzzles in this trial.
Answer:
1) LDCXI
2) NMEWCAHXLZ
Logic: There were no instructions. Once you figured out what you were supposed to do, the first puzzle in this trial was relatively simple. However, the second puzzle was very difficult. The difficulty was compounded by the fact that by accident of design there was more than one way to go through the puzzle. At the end I heard that there were at least 3 different possible answers even though only one was initially accepted by the site.
Third Trial: This four part puzzle showed pictures of cocktail recipes with the drink name missing. Answering one correctly brought you to a page where there was another picture/missing name. The final picture had words in place of the ingredient names like “curt.”
Answer: a) Mai Tai, b) French 75, c) Sazerac, d) El Presidente
Logic: It was easy enough to identify the Mai Tai, since our tiki friends always ask us to make them one. I think several of the Gindicate can make a Mai Tai in their sleep! The second trial puzzle in this series was equally easy to identify since one of the Gindicate likes Champagne drinks, and again Google is your friend. The Third drink is actually a classic cocktail that includes Absinthe. Since we have become great fans of Absinthe Vert from St. George Spirits and they give a list of cocktails to try, again this was an easy find. The last puzzle in this series was extremely hard! It switched gears and forced the player to think outside the box since this was not a Google and go. At first we tried coming up with words that could be synonyms for the ingredients (i.e. curt could be bitters or lime). We resorted to the Twitterverse and saw that some friends had said it was an anagram. It was short work after that to complete the puzzle with the correct list of words. Primarily the clue was that there were too many o’s and u’s and a v so we knew there had to be vermouth in the recipe. El Presidente it was!
On a side note we had a friend who worked diligently on this puzzle with the word substitution. He eventually finished the puzzle with word association and probably a lot of trial and error. Congrats, Mai Tai, here’s to your gray matter getting it done! We stand amazed!
Fourth Trial: Matrix! This puzzle was awesomely difficult and complex. The outside bars have light and dark images around the jumbled letters within the matrix. There was a coded series of words under the matrix that you had to decipher. There was no box in which to put an answer, unlike all the previous puzzles.
Answer: Call 415-XXX-XXXX and ask for directions. When you spoke to the gentleman on the other end of the line, he asked your name and then told you to, “change veil to reveal” on the URL for that page. About an hour later the coded message changed to say, “change veil to reveal.” I guess they got tired of answering the phone!
Logic: We got the answer by figuring out the coded message images were the result of two images on top of each other. For example a white pause symbol (double bar) placed on a dark square would create a single dark bar in the middle. However you needed to make the assumption that the images in the bars around the matrix had either a dark or light background. That changed the direction of the image and its letter. Once you changed the URL to reveal you were taken to the Endgame page!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Smuggler’s Cove SF Clues part 1
We were very impressed with the marketing and online puzzle play of Smuggler’s Cove SF. It brought about a lot of online buzz and fast ‘n furious tweets for an opening that was still several months off. Luckily we all live in the SF Bay Area and could make a quick dash into the City to find the answers to the Smuggler’s Cove puzzles. Below is our version of how we got through all the puzzles, to the Endgame and ultimately the WIN!
So it begins:
First Clue: Sadly we did not save the image of the first clue. It was relatively easy in that the title page’s logo was a link to a paragraph (which we can’t remember the topic). At the end of said paragraph was another logo link to a page of smeared out words and a red box halfway down and a little to the right.
Answer: Legendary.
Logic: We assumed that the previous page’s paragraph was the smeared mess we were currently looking at. It appeared to have the right length and spacing to be the short essay we had just read. Flipping back to the previous screen it was easy to find the right word. Typing it into the box brought you to another page telling you to come back at a later time for another clue.
Second Clue: After retyping Legendary in the first clue location (on the appointed day) you are brought to a scrambled image with a series of blue dashes drawn on it. There is a box to put in the correct answer at the bottom of the page.
Answer: Handmade
Logic: Print out the image and cut out the scrambled pieces. Past them together again in a logical fashion and you will notice it is a photograph of a bunch of post cards, pictures, and hand written notes. The blue dashes appeared to line up and when drawing lines through them a short paragraph at the bottom of one to the post cards has a box drawn around one word. That is the correct answer. Unlocking that brings you to your next set of directions and we will post the next part later.
So it begins:
First Clue: Sadly we did not save the image of the first clue. It was relatively easy in that the title page’s logo was a link to a paragraph (which we can’t remember the topic). At the end of said paragraph was another logo link to a page of smeared out words and a red box halfway down and a little to the right.
Answer: Legendary.
Logic: We assumed that the previous page’s paragraph was the smeared mess we were currently looking at. It appeared to have the right length and spacing to be the short essay we had just read. Flipping back to the previous screen it was easy to find the right word. Typing it into the box brought you to another page telling you to come back at a later time for another clue.
Second Clue: After retyping Legendary in the first clue location (on the appointed day) you are brought to a scrambled image with a series of blue dashes drawn on it. There is a box to put in the correct answer at the bottom of the page.
Answer: Handmade
Logic: Print out the image and cut out the scrambled pieces. Past them together again in a logical fashion and you will notice it is a photograph of a bunch of post cards, pictures, and hand written notes. The blue dashes appeared to line up and when drawing lines through them a short paragraph at the bottom of one to the post cards has a box drawn around one word. That is the correct answer. Unlocking that brings you to your next set of directions and we will post the next part later.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Rebirth of Gin
Christmas came early this year! Coming home from a slogging long day I found a treat in the mail. Imbibe’s recent magazine is always an enjoyable and motivating read. However, the upper right hand corner’s calm statement struck like a thunder clap, “the Rebirth of Gin.”
It’s no secret, the Gindicate loves Gin. We could talk about it, drink it, read about it, and even stare at it for hours on end. We endorse musicians who sing about it and shun those who lyricize about disliking it. So in our current estimation, Imbibe is better than sliced bread!
Paul Clarke’s “Ginning Things Up” article was interesting, informative and (dare I say it) inspiring. It gives a synopsis of the botanicals, distilling process, and history with the ups and downs of what was once the most beloved “ruin of mankind.” It even taught the Gindicate a thing or two, offering us Gins and cocktails we’d not yet tried.
So inspired are we that this weekend we aren’t going to the Blues & Brews festival, instead we’ll be hitting the Buddha’s Palm (our home bar/lounge) for a festival honoring Gin! Cocktails mentioned in Clarke’s article will be on the menu (if we can find the recipes and ingredients):
Don Bruno
Skid Row
Southside
Clover Club
Bramble
Gin-Gin Mule
Eastside
Turf Cocktail
Angle Face
Martinez
Alaska
And of course the classic and dry, Martini!
We look forward to informing you on the antics of the weekend and rating these cocktails! Until soon!
Skål!
Clarke, Paul. “Ginning Things Up.” _Imbibe_ Sep/Oct. 2009: 21.
It’s no secret, the Gindicate loves Gin. We could talk about it, drink it, read about it, and even stare at it for hours on end. We endorse musicians who sing about it and shun those who lyricize about disliking it. So in our current estimation, Imbibe is better than sliced bread!
Paul Clarke’s “Ginning Things Up” article was interesting, informative and (dare I say it) inspiring. It gives a synopsis of the botanicals, distilling process, and history with the ups and downs of what was once the most beloved “ruin of mankind.” It even taught the Gindicate a thing or two, offering us Gins and cocktails we’d not yet tried.
So inspired are we that this weekend we aren’t going to the Blues & Brews festival, instead we’ll be hitting the Buddha’s Palm (our home bar/lounge) for a festival honoring Gin! Cocktails mentioned in Clarke’s article will be on the menu (if we can find the recipes and ingredients):
Don Bruno
Skid Row
Southside
Clover Club
Bramble
Gin-Gin Mule
Eastside
Turf Cocktail
Angle Face
Martinez
Alaska
And of course the classic and dry, Martini!
We look forward to informing you on the antics of the weekend and rating these cocktails! Until soon!
Skål!
Clarke, Paul. “Ginning Things Up.” _Imbibe_ Sep/Oct. 2009: 21.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Oh, lordy! Where have we been?!
Greetings people of booze-ville!
Thanks to a hectic work schedule, family health issues, and a rockin’ vacation we have been much absent from this blog. Needless to say we will try our best to post things we have done in the last 2+ months. Lord knows we haven’t slowed on the living!
Bear with us as we post past events!
Na zdrave!
Thanks to a hectic work schedule, family health issues, and a rockin’ vacation we have been much absent from this blog. Needless to say we will try our best to post things we have done in the last 2+ months. Lord knows we haven’t slowed on the living!
Bear with us as we post past events!
Na zdrave!
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