The Gypsy Bartender

Giuseppe Capolupo has a name straight out of the 19th century. Instead of being an immigrant bartender who learned his trade in Florence before coming to Pittsburgh in 1898, Giuseppe took the route of first being an internationally touring drummer before starting as a bar back at Bar Marco. He learned his trade there and worked his way up to heading up the program in the strip. He's so dedicated to the life that Bar Marco has let him achieve that he has their logo tattooed on his arm. Stop in and tell him what you like and let him mix you up something.

Rum in the Strip

It's no surprise that I am a rum guy, whether that rum is in a Tiki drink, a classic cocktail, or even straight; I always enjoy rum. Which is why I am so happy that Pittsburgh has a new distillery in the strip that makes rum. Tim Russell made the news locally, nationally, and even internationally after his label approval was delayed by the government shutdown. After being brought up in Congress as part of the efforts to refund the government Maggie's Farm Rum received label approval and is ready to be sold. The first batches will be appearing behind local bars first but Tim hopes to have the rum available for sales to the public at the distillery by Black Friday.

I've also had a chance to sample this rum, and it's a very nice white rum. There aren't many white rums that i would sip straight but this might be one of them. It's made from turbinado sugar and distilled to a lower proof leaving it a lot of body and a little residual sweetness. I haven't had a chance to mix with it yet, but it should do very nicely with recipes where a white rum really shines, such as a daiquiri.

Pittsburgh Cocktail Week

This September 16-22 marked the first annual Pittsburgh Cocktail Week. The week's events were geared towards the industry professionals during the day and to the general drinking public at night. As one of the co-founders of the week I somehow managed to make it to almost every event. I'll give you a brief visual rundown of the week. As always, click the pics to see them larger.

Jeff Catalina provided a seminar on Agave spirits, providing a rundown of the spirits beyond tequila and mezcal. 

Later, Verde bartenders taught customers how to make their own margarita. They provided the ingredients and instruction on how to mix the perfect margarita. 

Tuesday, Giuseppe from Bar Marco showed us all how to cut ice, and in a remarkably brave turn of events he passed off the chainsaw to let participants try it. 

Wednesday was Wigle Wednesday, and Eric taught a class on the aging process. Which included a chance to taste each of the aged whiskeys Wigle has produced to date. 

Thursday we took a group out to Glenshaw to tour local Vodka producer Boyd and Blair. 

We invited Johnny Foster from Smooth Ambler Whiskey up to talk about the difference between a craft distiller and a craft blender. 

The Butterjoint and Will Groves hosted a sold out class on shrubs and preserving for cocktails. Each participant came home with the makings of a pineapple-ground cherry shrub. 

On Sunday night during our wrap party we announced the winner of the week long cocktail contest. Erika Jiggerfingers Joyner won the event for Salt of the Earth. She was presented with a certificate and a prize pack by Andrea from Steelite and Chip from Rhomania.

There are many more photos from Cocktail week over at my 500px site.

Like Butter

Will Groves had a decision to make. He could continue to be the General Manager for  successful Pittsburgh restaurant and worry about things like being short on hours for the week; or he could be a bar manager and have to figure out what to do with large amounts of locally grown strawberries fresh from the farm. So now when you go to the Butterjoint and you have the strawberry infused tequila, be glad that Will chose wisely.