LUPEC

January 28, 2013

Seattle Hosts Speed Rack

An epic event is coming to Seattle.  You should be there when it lands.

This is Speed Rack; a regional charity bartending competition that features women bartenders of the Pacific Northwest.  When the round robin competition ends, the best bartender in the PNW will be crowned,  earning a spot in the national finals for a chance to become Miss Speed Rack USA.

February 10th is going to be a wild and crazy day with a blur of shakers and cocktails.  As if that wasn’t compelling enough, proceeds from the event are directed towards breast cancer research.  Want a sneak peak at what’s in store?  Check out this video from Season 1 in Portland.  And then buy a ticket and come to the Century Ballroom on February 10th.

speed_rack_sea

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February 5, 2012

Pisco Party

I am fortunate to be a member of the Seattle LUPEC chapter.  Being a member of this organization affords me certain opportunities, such as attending LUPEC 301: Introduction to Pisco taught by Professor Kuehner.  Up until this event, I had not tried Pisco; I just hadn’t yet added it to the bar.  So it was with great anticipation that I attended the pisco tutorial.  My fellow LUPEC comrade, C. Randall of Cocktail Quest fame takes better notes than I and is a serious student of booze and cocktail history.  I will not go into detail here on the history of pisco or the details of producing this beverage; instead, I want you to go here for the deets.

For the purposes of what I want to discuss, I will provide that pisco is a grape brandy and can be of Chilean or Peruvian origin and dates back to a really long time ago; 1500ish. The LUPEC event was sponsored by Piscologia, a Peruvian Pisco and all of the Piscologia pisco cocktails crafted by Prof. Kuehner were brilliant.  Again, take a detour here to read about more about pisco and pisco cocktails.

As you can imagine, I promptly visited my local liquor store for my very own bottle of Piscologia and have enjoyed several Piso cocktails since that LUPEC event.  To commemorate National Pisco Sour Day, I will offer up my version of the classic Pisco Sour, which is really B.T. Parson’s version from his wonderful book, Bitters (in which I continue to be completely infatuated).

Happy Pisco Sour Day!

Pisco Sour

  • 60 ml pisco (Piscologia)
  • 30 ml lime juice
  • 15 ml simple syrup
  • 1 egg white
  • Angostura and Amargo Chuncho Bitters for garnish

Dry shake all ingredients except bitters.
Add ice and shake again.
Double strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with both Angostura and Amargo bitters by dropping onto egg white foam and using a toothpick to swirl.

Pisco Sour photo courtesy of Sugar Sand Photography!

February 23, 2011

>Cocktails for a Cause! LUPEC Throws a Party!

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The inaugural Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC) group was founded in 2001 in Pittsburgh.   The group was established with the goal of “dismantling the patriarchy – one drink at a time.”  Their Mission Statement:

“In a post-millenium world of beer and prepackaged Chex Mix™, LUPEC works tirelessly to breed, raise, and release cocktails that are endangered or even believed to be extinct.  The collecting of anachronistic recipes by women, and the resulting creation of endangered cocktails in an all woman setting is intended to achieve the following goals:
    • To create a secular “coven-like” atmosphere in which Classy Broads of today can invoke and honor the spirits of their Forebroads
    • To continue the 150 year American tradition of dangerous women calling themselves Ladies and getting together in groups, clubs, and societies to work undercover while they chipped away at the patriarchy.
    • To protect the collective Joie de Vivre of LUPEC members by assuring them at least one good party a month
    • To encourage the accumulation and use of vintage serving and barware.”

Since the formation of the original Pittsburgh group, active LUPEC chapters now exist in a number of other cities such as New York, Boston, Denver, Portland, and Seattle. 

Saturday Night, the Seattle Ladies of LUPEC opened the door (of the Rob Roy Penthouse) to the masses.  What an opportunity was bestowed upon the Seattle cocktail community.  Lucky guests (yes, guys too) could join the Ladies for a night of tasty, original cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.  The cocktail menu included drinks by Anu Apte and Jenn Hegstrom and were made with the new Makers Mark 46 (loved the Hestia!), Voyager Gin, Sound Spirits Ebb and Flow Vodka, and Corrido Tequila.  Proceeds from the evening benefited the Jubilee Women’s Center. 

Ted Munat was there mixing cocktails and signing his book Left Coast Libations.  (Buy. This. Book.) Please read his wildly entertaining blog post about his coming-of-age exploits with a young pre-LUPEC group. 

The integrated LUPEC party was a great success.  Stay tuned for more LUPEC fun.  I’m sure there will be future opportunities for the boys to join again.

LUPEC Ladies with Token Boy