Oldfield's Liquor Room

Being part of an association of craft cocktail bartenders in Los Angeles called the Sporting Life, I have the opportunity to attend openings of new bars and tastings of spirits sponsored by various liquor companies.  

Recently I went to the opening of Oldfields Liquor Room in West Los Angeles next to Culver City and they know what they are doing when it comes to cocktails and appetizers.  Me and two other friends tried several of their cocktails they had on the menu and such as the Duantless and my favorite the Oakshade.  

I had a chance to sit down and speak with the manager Jared Mort who hand picked the bartenders that have excellent skill in crafting cocktails to your liking as and are not afraid to try new recipes out on their audience of thirsty pallets. Jared mentioned that they have their own herb garden and use only fresh ingredients and most of the staff arrive a few hours early to prepare for the evening by squeezing fresh fruit juices and infusing some of the spirits for the nights drinks.  

When you arrive you will see how the staff overhauled the former sinner and saints by installing a beautiful wood bar along with the pedestal style stools around it and the vintage style hexagon flooring and retro light fixtures that catch my eye. Other things I appreciate about it is there's no big screen TVs so one can actually socialize with friends or the friendly cocktail artisans.  If you're starting to plan for you weekend, take a drive and visit Oldfields Liquor Room at 10899 Venice Blvd Los Angeles, CA, tell them I recommended it.  

Cheers & God bless,

John Apodaca

john@daddosmartinis.com 

Using Eggs in Cocktails

Being involved in the craft cocktail movement and knowing a few things about mixology there's been some question about the use of eggs or egg whites in cocktails from the last few centuries as well as present day drinks.

Eggs have been an integral ingredient in cocktails for at least the last two hundred years.  They add a silky frothiness, and body that a cocktail wouldn’t have otherwise.  The reason the egg was removed from many cocktails in the last few decades was from some bad publicity.  At some point in time it was stated that “eating raw eggs could lead to serious illness from salmonella.”

The FDA states that only 1 in 20,000 eggs has the salmonella bacteria. Nowhere does the National Safety Council's data state that raw eggs are a common risk; however, death from choking on food is rated at 1 in 5000 odds.  The odds of getting salmonella from an egg are extremely remote and you have a better chance of dying from accidental drowning (1 in 1,000), a storm related accident (1 in 3,000) or slipping (1 in 6,500).

Some drinks that include egg or egg whites are the following:  The Los Angeles cocktail, Tom and Jerry, whiskey sour, pisco sour and my own Angels Flight.  Try a few of these and you'll be a hit at your upcoming parties for the holidays.

Cheers & God bless,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com