Cheerwine’s Last Stand

Photo: James Mann

If you haven’t already voted in Garden & Gun‘s Southern soda poll, this is your chance to ensure soft drink supremacy for your favorite regional pop once and for all. Though I admit to being partial to Cheerwine (so boringly mainstream, I know), I learned enough about Kentucky’s Ale-8 One (pronounce “A Late One”) while researching the article to carve out a little corner of my drinking heart for this under-the-radar soft drink. Ordinarily, we Southerners call everything “Coke” and then get more specific from there, as in: “What kind of Coke do you want?” “Mountain Dew. Thanks.” But given the recent fascination with our made-in-the-South sodas, it’s only right we start showing some respect and calling these beverages by their given names.

Weekend Fun for Texpats

From TastingTable today:

Sunday, 2/20 3 to 7 p.m. Lone Star Showdown Grab your boots and head to the Bell House for some Texas State Fair fun. The party (free entry) features a cook-off of the Tex-Mex classic, Velveeta-based queso, plus Texan draft beers, Ping-Pong tables, a giant Connect Four game, a belt-buckle contest and music by Texas expats Shoot the Jukebox. The Bell House, 149 Seventh St. (at Second Ave.), Brooklyn; 718-643-6510 or thebellhouseny.com

Sales, Tastings, and Tours (oh my!)

For the next three weekends—December 4+5, 10+11, and 18+19—Kings County Distillery will be open from 12:00pm to 7:00pm for sales, tastings, and tours. On offer: moonshine ($20 for 200ml bottles and $35 for 375ml bottles), as well as a limited amount of newly matured bourbon for sale. Tastings of both the moonshine and bourbon will be available for $5 per person. Informal distillery tours start at 1pm and run hourly until 5pm.

Cocktails, Party Pics, and More

Garden & Gun recently posted pictures from their NYC Southern-Inspired Social here. The party, held at The New Traditionalists’ design studio above Balthazar, featured four signature cocktails from mixologist Jason Rowan of Embury Cocktails. Since they were delicious and potent and festive occasion–worthy enough for upcoming holiday parties, I thought I’d share them here, along with a handy guide to serving glasses.

New Term Alert: Fat Washing!

fat wash·ing

fat wash·ing (verb): A technique for flavoring spirits with ingredients that have a high fat content (e.g., bacon): the fat is rendered, mixed with the alcohol, and then removed after a period of freezing.

Actually, this isn’t all that “new” but I’d never heard the term before today when I stumbled upon it in a backlog of emails from Tasting Table. Fat washing is apparently how science-savvy bartenders–excuse me, mixologists–create bacon-infused bourbon without the greasy residue. Genius.

12 Reasons to Love NOLA Right Now

Check out my post on some of the places feeling the NOLA love in NYC right now here, on my Garden & Gun blog.

Moonshine Over Manhattan

Uncle Jessie’s ole’ cough syrup is taking New York City by storm. Read more here.

Big Apple BBQ Block Party Pictures

Below are some of my favorite shots from last weekend’s pig out in Madison Square Park (plus more pictures after the jump). But first, a couple of soundbites overheard at the festivities:

“He’s class and I’m the ass.” –John Currence on following Floyd Cardoz during their cooking seminar on Sunday afternoon

“Everytime he comes to New York, he loses something–his cell phone, his wallet, something. He’s about to lose his damn mind.”–Seasoned member of Ed Mitchell‘s BBQ team about a fellow pit crew member’s foibles during present and past festivals

Colorful character working the smoker at Martin's. All Photos: Will Mischner

I've been known to cozy up to a pitmaster (or 15).

Bourbon Boss, Julian Van Winkle, snapped a few photos, too.

The elusive Danny Meyer and friend at Blue Smoke's station.

Guess What’s Southern…BrosIcingBros.com

Witnessed at Penn Station on the way back from the Derby.

Though I would never participate in an actual “icing” (ladies seem to be exempt from the practice), I have to admit, I love seeing it happen. I love witnessing it first-hand–especially if an Ice Block is involved–but I derive just as much pleasure seeing it in pictures or imagining it from stories I hear from friends or read online. Which brings me to brosicingbros.com. Not since dadsinshortshorts.blogspot.com have I laughed at a web site so much. That it was started by a southern guy–shocker–only makes me appreciate the genius of its lowbrow appeal all the more. (The as-yet-unnamed mastermind is currently trying to remain anonymous (job prospects and all) but I’m betting he won’t be able to stay in the shadows for long.)

From what I’ve gathered from friends and co-workers, the icing phenomenon hit critical mass sometime around Memorial Day. The press surrounding did, too. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen it covered in the Village Voice, New York Times, New York magazine (who deemed it Lowbrow Brilliant), and on CNN.com.

Also, hilarious: the spinoff Ice Ashton campaign, created by a social marketer in New York. A proper punking tribute to the ultimate bro.

Summer Is Officially Here

Photo: dadsinshortshorts.blogspot.com

Despite what the calendar police say, the passing of Memorial Day marks the start of summer–if not officially, then at least mentally. And you know what that means: steamy sidewalks, egregious toe exposure and, most importantly, lots of southern-made excuses to get out and about. Here are a few events to look forward to this month.

THIS WEEKEND

Saturday: Mississippi Picnic, East Meadow, Central Park (5th Avenue at 97th Street). On the menu: catfish, sun and sweet tea.

Saturday: The Belmont Stakes, Belmont Park, Elmont, NY. Gates open at 8:30am.

Saturday: Rusty Knot Fishing Expedition with chef Sue Torres. Trip begins and ends at 425 West Street (nr. 11th). $100 includes snacks on board and at the restaurant, dishes made from the day’s catch, and an open bar. Click here to reserve tickets.

Saturday: David Allan Coe Concert, Williamsburg Music Hall. Doors open at 8PM. Show starts at 9PM. $25 advance/$25 door.

Sunday: Crawfish Festival, the Redhead (349 E. 13th St.). 1PM-10PM, $30.

Sunday: MTV Movie Awards 9pm. Hosted by Florence, South Carolina native Aziz Ansari.

BEYOND

June 12-13: 8th Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party, Madison Square Park.

June 23: Punch Brothers Concert, Williamsburg Music Hall. Doors open at 7:30PM. Show starts at 8:30PM. $30 advance/$30 door.

June 27: Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, Governors Island. Tickets start at $250 (steep, yes, but you get to spend the afternoon with Prince Harry).

TBD (but happening sometime in June) Palmetto Society Summer Kick-off Party.

If you know of any southern happenings in the city or surrounding area, please let us know by emailing southernontheinside@gmail.com.