Potent Postings

Last Friday our rep Elise Venditti - and HoS friend Kylene Verde - hosted the first Ohio Scorpion Mezcal Tasting at Zocalo Mexican Grill & Tequileria in downtown Cleveland.

They showcased three recipes and gave away prizes, including hats and temporary tattoos with the Scorpion mezcal logo. Elise was excited to interact with everyone and educate them on mezcal, how it is different from - and similar to! - tequila, and what makes handcrafted Scorpion mezcal special.

Two lovely ladies took on the challenge of eating the scorpion from the bottle and won themselves tshirts to prove it! Check out more photos on Facebook.

Stop by Zocalo on E. 4th Street this summer to try our featured cocktails with Scorpion mezcal.

To keep in touch with the House of Spirits and find out where we’ll be doing promos next, check out out Facebook page.

Well, good cocktails and good times, of course!

We have more exciting news to report here at the House of Spirits….

As we work to build our new relationship with Buffalo Wild Wings, three locations in northwest Ohio have notified us that they will be carrying Scorpion Mezcal.

You should see it hitting the back bar in the following locations sometime in May.

Be sure to ask about it the next time you drop in for some wings and refreshments!

So I promised you some exciting news this week, and this is it.

Scorpion Mezcal Silver has been added to Marriott’s Gold Standard list for all their properties. As a Tier 4 product, Scorpion Mezcal Silver is in the very top rated list of optional products.

Everyone here at the House of Spirits - and, indeed, Scorpion corporate - is thrilled with this news. It is a loud and clear confirmation of what we have felt all along: Scorpion is an incredible product, artisan made, and worthy of all the praise and awards it has received.

If you have not yet sought it out, this should be the inspiration you were waiting for.

But what is it and how do I drink it, you ask?? Well, I thought you’d never ask!! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Sip it straight.
How will you know what else to experiment with, if you don’t know how it tastes straight? Sip it, nice and easy, linger over it, enjoy it. Tasty, huh?

Now let’s move on to the next idea.

Accompany it with Sangrita
This is the traditional way to enjoy Mezcal in Oaxaca. If you have not yet tried this, you simply must, dahling! Here’s a great recipe from the Scorpion producers themselves:

Sangrita

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
4 tsp. grenadine syrup
1/4 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp. salsa picante or bottled hot sauce to taste
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all the ingredients in a pitcher or glass. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, allowing the flavors to meld. Serve in a separate glass alongside a straight shot of Mezcal.

Getting warmed up now, are you? Ready for more?

Float it on your favorite Margarita
Take your favorite margarita, and float a half ounce of Scorpion mezcal right on top. Why, you ask? Ah…. just try it… You will be amazed at the complexity it brings to the flavor and how much it mellows out the acidity of the lime juice. G’head, try it, we double dog dare ya!

Winding down for the evening? Had about enough mezcal mixing for the night?

Well WAIT…! We have one more idea for you.

Scorpion Stinger
This one is lovely. Mix Scorpion with your favorite brand of coffee liqueur (Kahlua, Tia Maria, etc.) and enjoy straight up. Terrific as an after dinner drink. And for those cigar aficionados out there (after my own heart), a perfect accompaniment to your best cigars.

Speaking of which, after you get your toesies wet with these ideas…. try one of the Anejos straight up with your smoke. You’ll never go back to cognac again!

Now go forth and experiment! Stingers up!

Dale DeGroff has written about his recent trip to Oaxaca in Beverage Media magazine. Very interesting tales and some awesome cocktail recipes to finish it off.

Curious about mezcal? Check it out.

I can’t believe it’s been this long since I posted. I got off to a really good start and then went silent. Being new to the habit of blogging, I certainly have some good habits to develop.

It’s been two weeks now since I was in the Big Apple for some very exciting client meetings. Being an NYC virgin, my three days in the city were quite the whirlwind and I must say I had a blast. It certainly helped to have my best friend to hang with, since she was there on business also.

On a bright and sunny morning, I walked over to Rue 57 (6th & 57th) to meet Dave Schmier from Orange V for breakfast. We hit it off immediately and ended up chatting for three hours. Over breakfast (banana pancakes for me and an herb omelet for him), he had me taste his product – an incredible orange flavored vodka.

I gotta tell you, I was blown away. It’s true I love citrus smells and tastes but to be honest I have (had!) not yet found a citrus vodka that tasted like much more than Pledge furniture polish in a bottle. Ugh. Therefore I’ve made a point to stay away from them and stick to just good, plain vodka. If I want flavor, I’ll add it myself.

Mr. Schmier has opened my eyes to what a flavored vodka should be – which IMHO is clean fresh citrus taste and a good clean vodka that does not compete with the flavoring. Orange V has pulled it off and I couldn’t help but grin after I tried it. At last, orange vodka that tastes like oranges and vodka…. What a novel concept!

I will most definitely be working to bring this wonderful spirit to Ohio. I am excited about working with Dave on this project and look forward to watching the reactions on people’s faces when they try it.

After meeting with Dave, I dashed off to my lunch meeting with Barbara Sweetman from Caballeros. They are the fine people who import Scorpion Mezcal. We met at Toloache (8th & 50th). The food was absolutely phenomenal. We tried several of their ceviches, the spicy guacamole and the fish tacos. Incredible!!

Diego, the bartender on duty that day, made us each a Tunatini which was very very tasty (recipe follows). Scorpion is just such a phenomenal product, can’t say enough good things about it.

While we dined and enjoyed cocktails, we had the opportunity to chat with Julian Medina, chef/owner and Victor Medina, restaurant manager. They were both very warm and welcoming to me and it’s quite obvious they think the world of Barb - and Scorpion!

Tunatini
Julian Medina - Toloache Restaurant, NYC
2 oz. Scorpion Mezcal Silver
1 oz. Cointreau
1.5 oz. Prickly Pear puree
Splash lime juice
Splash orange juice
Shake w/ ice. Serve in Martini glass, rimmed half
kosher salt and half chili salt. Lime garnish.

While in town, I also had occasion to chat with Dan Lasner from Admiral Imports, importer of Voodoo Tiki tequila. The House of Spirits is very anxious to bring Voodoo Tiki to Ohio. Unfortunately, the state doesn’t seem to agree on what a great opportunity this is - a story for another time – so we will need to be persistent and prove to them that the demand is already there. Stay tuned for the next chapter in this saga. And keep your tikis polished because this incredible product will be available to Ohio very soon.

Getting out of NYC proved to be quite the battle for J and I. Our flight was cancelled and we almost couldn’t even get a car to get out of the city and to the airport. Between the two of us, however, we managed to book another flight and arrange for a car. We finished packing and off we went to wait – and wait, and wait, and wait – at LaGuardia for our evening flight. We arrived at 11am and did not get out until 8:30pm. Thank heavens for the Admirals Club where we hung out watching the snow come down until it was time to catch our re-booked flight.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip – great fun and very productive from a business standpoint. I look forward to future trips and meeting with more wonderful people who are as passionate about the spirits industry as I am.