Archive

August 2013

Browsing
A Well Crafted Pantry

Recipe: Brix Layer Cocktail from Aviary

3 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Disclaimer: I received a complementary happy hour and cocktail instruction from Aviary Restaurant in SE Portland for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated. Check out my review of the Aviary Happy Hour.

at-home-version of the Brix Layer Cocktail
Photo created from a photo taken by Bee of  The Spicy Bee

While enjoying several tasty dishes and cocktails at Aviary’s Happy Hour last week the barman Russ Hunsinger shared how he came up with one of Aviary’s most popular cocktails, the Brix Layer. Not only did he share his inspiration and thoughts behind the tasty concoction, but he pulled together a make shift bar in the dining room and showed us how to make it!

Russ came up with the drink while hanging out with friends, drinking Cabernet. He really wanted to figure out a way to create a cocktail that utilized the wine. He started off using a basic old fashioned recipe and working from there. The layering of the drink happened naturally and changes with the type of whiskey or cab used.

This recipe is only an approximation of the awesomeness we tasted at Aviary. But, I wanted to share with those of you that didn’t live in the Portland area and just have to schedule a trip to Aviary in to a future visit to our lovely city.

BrixLayer Ingredients

orange, cherry, bitters in glass

Muddle Well

sitr it up

fished product

Ingredients for the At-Home-Version of The Brix Layer:

  • 1 slice of orange
  • A few Parisian Brandied Cherries (Affiliate Link)
  • 1 Sugar Cube
  • 8 dashes of angostura aromatic bitters (Affiliate Link)
  • 2 oz House Sour*
  • 2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
  • 3/4 oz Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Tools: ice, mixing tin, muddler, strainer, stirring spoon, large cocktail glass

*You can use any sour really, but the Aviary House Sour is made with lemon, lime, orange juice, and sugar. So, to get a similar taste you should use a homemade fresh sour that has orange juice in it. Try out this sweet-and-sour recipe from Baked Bree.

Directions for the At-Home-Version of The Brix Layer:

  1. In a mixing tin put one slice of orange, a few Parisian brandied cherries, 1 sugar cube and 8 dashes of bitters
  2. Muddle all ingredients in tin VERY WELL, releasing all of the oils and juices in the orange
  3. Add 2 oz of sour to the mixing tin
  4. Add 2 oz of Buffalo Trace Bourbon (or your favorite bourbon) to the tin
  5. Add ice to the tin and STIR with spoon
  6. Double strain the mixture into the cocktail glass
  7. Using the spoon (as in video below) to slow your pour, pour the 3/4 oz of Cabernet into the cocktail glass
  8. DRINK!
[youtube id=”RP_ibSlCRPo” width=”600″ height=”340″ position=”left”]
CHEERS! (My friend Bee with her Brix Layer cocktail!)
CHEERS! (My friend Bee with her Brix Layer cocktail!)
by
Keep Reading
Aviary Happy Hour Drinks
Portland

Portland Restaurants: Aviary Happy Hour

4 Comments Portland

Disclaimer: I was invited by Aviary to try out their Happy Hour drinks and food items with other bloggers free of charge. I was not otherwise compensated.

Aviary Happy Hour Drinks
Opera Sidecar— Clear Creek Pear Brandy, Tuaca, and House Sour

I had heard about Aviary Restaurant from a few of my foodie friends, but hadn’t ventured out to the SE restaurant until this past week. I’m sort of kicking myself for not trying it sooner. It was seriously amazing.

I brought my DSLR to take amazing photos. But, when I got it out to shoot it flashed the dreaded, “No CF Card” message at me. Of course. So, I iPhoned it the entire night. I did manage to catch a couple of beautiful photos…however, if you wanna go check out some really amazing photos of this event then check out my friend Michelle’s Hummingbird High post about the event.

Portland Happy Hour at Aviary Restaurant

OMG Oysters!
I’ve been craving Oysters for so long. I ate three of them by myself at Aviary. I want more.
Pig Feet Done Right
Pig trotters with egg. I didn’t even listen when they told me that it was pig trotters. I just ate… and, I’m glad I did. They were delish!

 

Happy Hour Food from Aviary
These Pork Sliders had a Banh Mi taste too them. SO GOOD.

The food and drinks at Aviary were filled with complex flavors, prepared in a simple and delicious fashion. I even ate pig feet and loved it (still happy I didn’t know what it was before I tried it!) We enjoyed several of the Aviary Happy Hour menu items including: kusshi oysters, tempura green beans, pulled pork sliders, brussels sprout nachos (OMG—why have I never made this at home!?), trotter n eggs, and bread and bagna cauda. So good. You could totally see the references to Japanese and Korean food in the menu. But, it was completely its own style of food. The Happy Hour food prices range from $2 to $6. I didn’t try one thing that I didn’t like (though, admittedly, I don’t meet many foods I don’t enjoy.) My favorites were the oysters (a little bit of spice!) and the brussels sprout nachos.

Cocktail from Aviary Happy Hour
milkplus vellocet
cantaloupe, nigori sake, lemon hart 151 rum, lime, mint
Happy Hour Cocktail from Aviary PDX
This tasty cocktail, Pinkerton, was made with cazadores reposado tequila, grapefruit, chardonnay, and white soda.

The only bad thing about going to a cocktail party is that I want to try as many different cocktails as possible, but I also want to remain a responsible person and not get sloshed at the dinner table. Thankfully for me, many of the food bloggers weren’t too worried about germs and were very generous in allowing sample sips. I was able to really taste several different cocktails! Coming from a bar background I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with the quality ingredients and beautiful preparation of each of the drinks that I tried. The drinks that I tried include: pinkerton, one night in bangkok, high and low, milkplus vellocet, brix layer, and the opera sidecar. All of them were delicious. Drink prices range from $9 to $10— which is common for the quality ingredients and large pours.

While at Aviary barman Russ Hunsinger shared with us how he came up with and makes the Brix Layer cocktail. I’ll be back tomorrow to share with you some of his tips and how he made this brilliant drink.

Happy Hour at Aviary Cocktails
The one night in bangkok cocktail is made with monopolowa vodka, kafir leaves, lemongrass, lime. It tasted like an incredibly complicated (and delicious) lemon drop. Great for people who like sweeter cocktails.

My favorite moment of the night was when Natalie (of Twelfth Avenue) asked Russ (the bartender) the name of her drink? The conversation went something like this:

Natalie: “What was this one again? One night in Bangkok? Or nights in bangkok? 

Russ: “For you, it can be as many nights as you want.”

Laughter ensued.

Give me more…

Check out the Aviary Restaurant for more information about their business hours, location, and menu. A big thank you to Aviary for inviting me out to try Happy Hour and teaching me to make the Brix Layer!

Check out these awesome blogs whose bloggers joined me in Happy Hour at Aviary: 

What is the BEST cocktail you’ve ever tried?

 

by
Keep Reading
Portland

Things to Do in Portland: GoodnessKnows Wellness Lounge

2 Comments Portland

goodnessknows

This is part of my series featuring things to do in Portland , Or. I have several PNW readers and like to share some of the fun items that residents and visitors can do in the area!

Anyone who is in the Portland area this week and want to get out for an afternoon of fun and learning is invited to the GoodnessKnows Wellness Lounge. I think this would be a fun activity for stay-at-home moms and dads looking to get out of the house for the afternoon, homeschooling parents looking for a little educational field trip, or for a fun lunch break experience to those people (like my husband) who work downtown.

The Deets:

When: Wednesday, August 7 from 11 AM to 3 PM

Where: Pioneer Square, Morrison Corner, 701 SW 6th Avenue, Portland, Ore. 97204

Cost: Free admission!

What is going on!? 

  • Local registered dietitian Megan Roosevelt joins GoodnessKnows to bring the Goodnessknows Wellness Lounge, nutrition tips, and samples.
  • Portland’s “Wall of goodness” photo mural. For each photo taken on-site, goodnessknows will donate a snack square to St. Vincent de Paul, Portland.
  • Family friendly activities like hopscotch and tic tac toe drawn by a local Portland chalk artist
  • Fun exercise sessions hosted throughout the day
  • Giveaways and prizes provided by local radio station, Z 100
  • High quality, affordable nourishment by local food truck – Thrive. (The first 75 guests are getting a $10 voucher for Thrive!)

** This is NOT a sponsored post. I thought this information might be useful for some of my PNW followers. **

by
Keep Reading
Load More