This week’s installment of The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess brought to you by the Small Screen Network brings you the Chas Cocktail. According to Robert Hess, “A good bartender inspires patrons with their creativity, skill and service behind the bar. Watching a master at work can do that. It is rare, however, when a patron inspires a bartender. Thus was the case with the Chas Cocktail created by Murray Stenson at Zig Zag Café in Seattle and named after Chuck Talbot, a regular at the bar with a love for Bourbon.”

We chose to highlight this cocktail to honor Murray Stenson, known by many to be one of the best bartenders in America and who was voted “Best Bartender in America” by his peers at the 2010 Tales of the Cocktail festival. We find this cocktail to be most fitting for today’s post as Murray worked his last shit at Zig Zag on May 27th and he is moving to Michael Mina’s RN74, set to open June 13th where he will tend bar. On the move, Murray said “I’d been at Zig Zag for 10 years. I’m looking to simplify. I’m really old, and Zig Zag is a young man’s bar.” He’ll do this at RN74, where the bar is smaller and the focus is a bit more on the food than the cocktails. No worries though as Zig Zag Café is still in very capable hands with bartender Erik Hakkinen who has been working at Zig Zag with Murray for the last three years.

Cheers Murray!

The Chas Cocktail

• 2 1/2 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
• 1/4 oz Amaretto
• 1/4 oz Benedictine
• d1/4 oz Cointreau
• 1/4 oz Orange Curaçao

Thanks to our friends over at Small Screen Network, we discovered that the month of September is also National Bourbon Heritage Month.

National Bourbon Heritage Month is an observance in the United States that calls for celebration of bourbon as America’s “Native Spirit”. On August 2, 2007, the US Senate declared September as “National Bourbon Heritage Month.” The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, passed by unanimous consent. (Source: Wikipedia)

In observance of National Bourbon Heritage Month, Mutineer is celebrating the history and art of distilling bourbon whisky by featuring a list of pretty rad blog posts about this amazing spirit. Continue Reading »

This story is a few weeks old, but it’s still pretty epic news.

As reported from the AP, “A federal judge on Friday issued an injunction preventing a rival liquor company from using a dripping wax seal on its tequilas sold in the United States, ending a seven year legal battle over the bottle topper.”

Maker’s Mark protected their trademark wax sealed bottle against London based liquor monolith Diageo. Diageo wanted to use a wax seal on a limited production (3,000-4,000 cases) of Cuervo Reserva tequila.

The judge in the case said Maker’s bottle topper “is a unique mark used in an unusual way to draw in the consumer.”

Read more at New York Times, “Maker’s Mark Trademark Wax Seal Is Affirmed“.

Age verification pages on websites are insane to me. They are the equivalent to a blind, deaf, paralyzed old woman working the door of a nightclub. They baffle me. It’s the ultimate example of going through the motions…Obviously the alcohol companies don’t have much of a choice in the matter, so you can’t fault them. Here are ten age verification screens for your viewing pleasure. Continue Reading »

The Mutineer Magazine Launch Party hosted by Paso Creek saw a host of distilled spirits. Everything from Maker’s Mark, Vicious Vodka, Obsello Absinthe, Chivas Regal and Tequila Comisario, graced the tables as guests made their way around the venue.

Vicious Vodka
Premium caffeine infused Vicious Vodka kept everyone on his or her toes while providing the perfect spirit to mix with Red Bull and really take it up a notch. Continue Reading »

Mutineer Magazine Issue 6 has hit the presses and will be available to purchase at a major bookstore near you the first week of June.

Cover Story – Absinthe Spectacular Spectacular

This massive story on absinthe is spectacular indeed. We got the Wormwood Society involved to get the gospel on all things absinthe, including enjoyment, culture, history, and which absinthes you absolutely need to try.

Fine Beverage Profile: Mutineer Meets It’s Maker

Things got crazy when the Mutiny spread to Kentucky for the Thoroughbreds and Redheads Weekend. Mutineer contributor Hunter Lea tells his tale of international rivalries, karmic judgment, and legendary Maker’s Mark Bourbon. This is a new feature for us, and we plan on featuring a different iconic fine beverage company in each issue.

The Mutineer Interview: Maximilian Riedel

We went big time yet again with the Mutineer Interview, with Riedel’s Maximilian Riedel talking to us about everything from how living in America has changed his approach to glass design to his favorite mountain in the world to ski. We are pumped about this.

A Blueprint For Wine: Napa Valley Architecture

Regular Mutineer Contributor Shelley Flanders takes you on a journey to some of Napa Valley’s most beautiful wines. With stops at the “inverted jewel box” Opus One to the pillars and columns of Darioush and a special preview of the hospitality center at Hall St. Helena that is being designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry.

Thirsty Children

Fine beverage is a relative term, and for the children served by water relief organization “A Child’s Right”, fine beverage is simply clean drinking water as a means of survival. With behind the scenes photos and an interview with ACR Executive Director Eric Stowe, this article changes the way you think about water.

Beer Wars: A Cinematic Dialogue on Beer

Mutineer Contributor Amy T. Granite explores Anat Baron’s controversial new film, Beer Wars, which contrasts the craft beer industry from the big beer industry. Craft Beer’s biggest stars came out in support of this film, which brings a lot of ideas out in the open to be considered.

Craft Distilleries of the Pacific Northwest

Regular Mutineer Contributor Erin Jimcosky has become a consistent voice at Mutineer Magazine, with this being her second article and her showing no signs of slowing down. In this issue, Jimcosky explores the exploding craft distillery scene of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho and provides some killer cocktail recipes to make with these inspired spirits. For more from Jimcosky, check out her blog, The Endive Chronicles.

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Only two more days until fine beverage nirvana will be reached at the Mutineer Magazine National Launch Party…I’m considering avoiding alcohol all-together to prepare myself for this epic event like a boxer prepares for a championship fight, but I’m sure I’ll find a glass of something in my hand and therefore into my belly within the hour…

Maker’s Mark will be pouring their legendary bourbon at the party, and there is a rumor going around that they are teaming up with Jones Soda to create some truly inspired cocktails.

Mutineer readers will become very familiar with Maker’s Mark in the upcoming issue in our new “Fine Beverage Profile” feature, in which Mutineer contributor Hunter Lea ventured out to the Kentucky distillery to get a first hand account of what bourbon is all about. Continue Reading »