12 Bottle Bar

If there’s one reason to do a blog like this, it’s the people we get to meet.  As I mentioned in Part 1, it’s the egalitarian nature of the cocktail that lured us in and keeps us coming back for more.  No matter who you are – even if you’re some Johnny-come-lately blogger – as long as you can appreciate the simple art of combining this with that via a flick of the wrist, well, you’ve got all the credentials you need to join the club.  At least, that’s how other people seem to treat us. Read More…

Last week, Lesley and I packed up the toddler and winged our way north, cashing in the trip we had won as grand finalists in the POM Wonderful Dinner Party contest back in November.   We had our selection of spots all around the country – anywhere POM had a partner in its chef series. Napa was not only the shortest distance for the lad’s first plane flight (being parents, we are prone to choose the path of least resistance), but it was also ‘home’ in some ways as both Lesley and I grew up in Northern California.  Within hours of leaving our front door, we had loaded up our rental RAV4 and were off on a drinking tour which, despite our being in viticulture central, involved very little wine.  As you may have guessed, we were there for the booze. Read More…

Yup, we did it — your own 12 Bottle Bar was one of three grand prize winners (out of 100 Contestants nationwide) in the POM Wonderful Dinner Party Contest.  Many thanks to POM for throwing a great event, all of our guests, Grandma for babysitting all evening, and the lad for being a very good boy.

What do we win?  A 3-day/2-night trip to any city where one of the POM Chef Series restaurants is located, dinner at the restaurant, and some booze money.  All in all, well worth the effort, especially as it was loads of fun.

Big congratulations to Joylicious.net and BellaLimento.com for being the other two grand prize winners — they did some amazing stuff.  Also to the seven other winners, who can be viewed on the POM web site.

a 12 Bottle Bar original (kind of)

1.5 oz Leopold’s Gin
1.0 oz Grenadine
0.5 oz Lime Juice
0.5 oz POM Pomegranate Juice
2 Drops Orange Flower Water
2 Drops Vanilla Extract
2 oz Heavy Cream
White of 1 Egg

Shake all ingredients vigorously WITHOUT ice to emulsify them.
Fill shaker with large ice. Shake the drink until your arm tires.
Strain into a collins glass.
Top with a splash of Club Soda, chopping a bar spoon up and down in the glass as you fill to create a thick head.

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“Decorating and entertaining are halves of the same apple.  They are important parts of the art of living.” – Dorothy Draper

Dorothy knew what she was talking about — although she could have just as easily said, “halves of the same pomegranate.”  Whether it’s a kid’s birthday, New Year’s bash, or – in our case – a POM Wonderful Dinner Party, décor is the icing on the cake.

Yes, stalwart cocktail lovers, today we show the “softer” side of 12 Bottle Bar.  Why talk decorating?   The answer is two-fold.  First, the décor element – how we incorporate pomegranates into our home and decorating scheme – is one third of our POM Party grade, so we wanted to give the seductive fruit a chance to shine outside of the kitchen.  Second, as much as you might like to just throw back a drink, sipping your favorite tipple in the right setting (and the right glass, for that matter) only adds to the experience.  Just think of the appeal of a rustic library nook, a crackling fire, an overstuffed leather armchair, and a glass of… you get the idea.

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