Last night was Share our Strength’s Taste of the Nation NYC 2009 event, a walk-around tasting to fight childhood hunger. It was held in the cavernous Roseland Ballroom and featured over 50 top restaurants as well as plenty of alcohol.
Lots of heavy hitters from the city bar scene were there hawking specialty cocktails. My favorite was the Talbott Leaf, which was personally served to me by Jim Meehan of PDT.
The name comes from the Talbott Tavern, an 18th century public house in Bardstown, KY.
2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
.75 oz. fresh lemon juice
.5 oz. green Chartreuse (French liqueur)
.5 oz. strawberry preserves
.25 oz. Cynar (Italian bitter)
4 mint leaves
Add mint and lemon juice to a mixing glass. Muddle, then add the rest of the ingredients. Add ice, shake, strain into chilled serving vessel and garnish with mint.
Granted, I love bourbon, but this cocktail was really well-balanced; a touch of sweetness from the strawberries, nice smokiness from the bourbon and some herbal undertones from the liqueur and the bitters. I’m also a nerd who reads Jim’s monthly column in the Sommelier Journal, so I was tickled to see him do his thing.
A Thirsty Spirit 
, this tasted ntnhiog like any other rye ales I have tried, and I would credit that to the other BIG flavors in the beer. It’s an absolutely fantastic beer, so I’d actually recommend you send some to Justin.Thanks for taking a minute to comment. Ab fab my gloody man!-Lost