When I tell you that Twitter brings people together?? I came across some tweets with Few Spirits out of Chicago (ChiTown Baby!!) and found out that they would be in town. I promptly joined the convo and I said I was crashing whatever event they were going to. That’s the correct approach, no? So, many tweets later I meet Paul at Graffiato.

We’re chatting, and drinking Few Spirits of course, and I ask ‘How long have you been with the company?” Paul: “I own it.” *crickets*

That’s pretty much the last thing I said for the evening. So here are a few pics from the night. After Graffiato, we had gin drinks made with Few Gin and Few barrel aged gin, we went to The Passenger, Paul had a Few whiskey neat, I had a whiskey sour with Few whiskey. Paul saw a friend of his at the bar who proceeded to take a bottle out of his back pocket and suggest we all taste it….

Ok fine #YOLO. Yes, it was good.

I drank my way through my first Manhattan Cocktail Classic 2013’s Industry Invitational for two days, just for you my dear readers. I try all these things so you don’t have to. Because, that is just the kind of person that I am…I’m here for you! Since I clearly can’t write about 40+ things (and I know you don’t want to even read that much) Here are a few things from MCC that I want to find in my market and drink again.

Greenhook Ginsmith’s Beach Plum Gin Liqueur

I’m so into gin right now, it’s not even funny. But then Greenhook Ginsmiths give me this?? Listen… They infuse the gin with locally harvested beach plums from Long Island. Put that in with their signature gin and some turbinado sugar, you have amazingness. Unfortunately, it’s not available in my market. But I will be ordering it online, believe that.

Sorel

The website says this: “The brightness of Brazilian clove. The warmth of Indonesian cassia. The heat of Nigerian ginger. The woody bottom of Indonesian nutmeg. The full, aromatic body of Moroccan hibiscus. Pure cane sugar.  The finest 100% organic grain alcohol.”  I couldn’t have said it better at all. I had this liqueur in a modified Negroni: Campari, gin, Sorel.

Pavan Liqueur

The French liqueur is made from muscat grapes from the famed AOC Frontignan. A hint of orange blossom is added to the finished liqueur for that extra something. This liqueur is so versatile! They had it mixed with gin, tequila, vodka, champagne… Not all at once, 4 diff drinks LOL!

Celtic Honey Liqueur

This recipe is a secret, kinda like the Coke recipe is a secret. But the recipe was inspired by a recipe that has been passed down from generations from the Celtic tribes in Ireland. The recipe uses 100% Irish ingredients.

A good twitter friend asked me if I had any sangria recipes that would be great for the super bowl. Of course I do!! This got me to thinking that others may be interested in the recipes so I’m sharing a couple of them here. Enjoy!

Sangria

• 2  bottles fruit-forward red wine (such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais)
• 1  liter Cherry Coke
• 1  cup  pomegranate juice
• 3/4  cup  brandy
• 1/4  cup  Triple Sec
• 4  pears, cored and thinly sliced
• 2  oranges, thinly sliced

It’s been a tradition for the past several years that in order for me to remember home, my Mother buys me a new Chicago calendar for Christmas. So, as I’m looking at January 25th on the calendar, it says Burns Night (SCT). I have no idea what that is…so to google I go!

Burns Night is a celebration in honor of the life of Robert Burns a famous poet from Scotland. Born in 1759 in Scotland he wrote about love, universal brotherhood and the human condition. Fans felt that he always wrote from the heart and his works are considered timeless. As a tribute to his memory, in 1796 a few years after his death, a few of his close friends got together and created a supper ritual which includes haggis, bagpipes, a reading of Burns’ poetry, singing Auld Lang Syne and scotch.

Scotch you say?? I’m celebrating too!! Minus the bagpipes though…

“To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church”

a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns

And would some Power the small gift give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion!

As for the scotch…get a single malt and sip it neat or pour in a little club soda over ice. Either way, enjoy! Slainte!!

To pair with your Christmas brunch this morning…or after Christmas brunch tomorrow…or whenever you eat waffles, because this is amazing with them!!

The King George

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. Crown Royal Maple Finished
• 0.5 oz. Lemon Juice
• 1.5 oz. Pineapple Juice
• 0.5 oz. Simple Syrup

Directions:

1. Shake, top with 1 oz. Club Soda & strain into a highball glass
2. Garnish with a half orange wheel skewered with a cherry

** Recipe via Thrillist.com

What a day this was! Of course I, Girl Meets Glass, had to exercise my right to drink and celebrate this historic day. I didn’t attend any official Repeal Day celebrations, but I did my part by imbibing all the same.

I started my night at my fave liquor store, Chat’s Liquors in Eastern Market. They were having a wine tasting featuring Flo Wines produced by jazz musician, Marcus Johnson. Funny thing, Mr. Johnson wasn’t at the tasting when the guests started to arrive, so Burnie Williams II, owner of Chat’s, asked me to pour wine. Of course that is never I problem for me! So, I cracked open a bottle of the Chardonnay, a crisp yet creamy white wine, with a hint of oak on the palate. This wine was actually fermented with oak staves inside of a stainless steel tank. An interesting way to gain balance and complexity to the wine. The the red which I now remember I’ve had before, actually for my birthday at Carolina Kitchen. It’s a blend of Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and probably another grape that I’m missing. Very similar in style and flavor to a Bordeaux. Flo Wines biz partner, Rob arrived and took over the pouring and was able to discuss winemaking techniques with us. My job here was done, and so was my tasting portion, so I headed to my next stop.

My good friend and fellow wineaux, Bill Sanders was hosting a tasting of his new line of olive oils at i Ricchi in Dupont. Happy hour was in full effect with 1/2 off all drinks. I ordered a vodka/limoncello martini.

It tasted like the juice in the bottom of a slushie…this is a good thing, I was a fan. Dipped some bread in the olive oil, and headed to the next location.

It was a Wednesday, so #winechat night. Topic, Beaujolais. A region I know tons about, and tweet on often. Fellow blogger, Frank Morgan of Drink What You Like, was hosting a tasting at Ripple in Cleveland Park. I was super cised to try their grilled cheese, but there to find out they’re served from 5-6:30 and 10:30-12.

It was 9pm. We had 5 Beaujolais Cru to taste…so I set my watch for 10:30! I sipped some amazing Crus and sent a few tweets before my phone died. My fave of the night, Fleurie. Best in Show - the bottle we ordered after the official tasting to go with our grilled cheese! So we’re eating and drinking and talking, then we realize it’s midnight on a school night. I use my Uber app (love it btw) to call a ride and make moves toward my place.

Great night with great friends and great drinks. Happy Repeal Day!