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Recap of Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015

May 6, 2015 by Pechluck 12 Comments

Every year for the past four years, Portland Monthly has thrown a wonderful event in the spring called Country Brunch. It features samples of brunch fare from a handful of restaurants, and also a Bloody Mary Smackdown where participants vie for the title of Best Bloody Mary from either the Judge’s Choice Award or People’s Choice Award. 100 percent of net proceeds will benefit Zenger Farm.

This year, the location of the event was Castaway, just as it was last year. This gave attendees the benefit of an indoor area where we could grab our bloody mary samples and dine indoors while listening to country music (this year provided by Hank Sinatra and the Atomic Cowboys), and also an outdoor garden/sculpture area that had additional seats and booths including lounge chairs and couches by Spade and Archer, as well as the photo booth. Emcee Poison Waters was back as emcee to have her cheery voice keep us reminded of the activities available.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Hank Sinatra and the Atomic Cowboys

I love bloody marys (hey, it is a legitimate way to get some vegetables in…) so this was my third year returning. I also attended and recapped the Country Brunch 2014 and Country Brunch 2013.

Here’s the recap of Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015 bites and bloody marys!

Bloody Mary Smackdown

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Raven and Rose of Full Bloody Irish. Blending the spiciness of chile pepper-vodka and a touch of nitro stout topped with a skewer that contains an Irish breakfast including potato and black and white pudding

Raven and Rose

Full Bloody Irish Mary by Dave Shenaut of Raven and Rose. Blending the spiciness of chile pepper-vodka and a touch of nitro stout and topped with a skewer that contains an Irish breakfast including potato and black and white pudding. This was the Judge’s Choice winner for 2015.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Raven and Rose of Full Bloody Irish. Blending the spiciness of chile pepper-vodka and a touch of nitro stout topped with a skewer that contains an Irish breakfast including potato and black and white pudding

Levant

This Levant Bloody Mary by Abel Beazley is a harissa based Bloody served with za’atar spiced salt rim, and topped with house pickled vegetable and a pickled quail egg

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Levant of Levant Bloody Mary, a harissa based Bloody served with za'atar spiced salt rim, and topped with house pickled vegetable and a pickled quail egg

The Original

The Original OG Soup, Sandwich and a Pickle Bloody Mary from Kyle Anderson. Comfort food in a glass, this Bloody Mary features a housemade ‘tomato soup’ and a mini grilled cheese with pimento cheese

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from The Original of The OG Soup, Sandwich and a Pickle Bloody Mary. Comfort food in a glass, this Bloody Mary features a housemade 'tomato soup' and a mini grilled cheese with pimento cheese

Urban Farmer

The Spicy Bell Pepper Bloody Mary by Matt Christianson of Urban Farmer has a hint of smoke and spice from the roasted peppers
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Urban Farmer of a Spicy Bell Pepper Bloody Mary with a hint of smoke and spice from the roasted peppers

Doug Fir

The Antidote, a combination of spicy, smokey, sweet and tart flavors was Joshua Merrion’s entry to defend the Bloody Mary title (Doug Fir was the 2014 People’s and Judges’ Choice Winner). Doug Fir won the People’s Choice for 2015.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Doug Fir with The Antidote, a combination of spicy, smokey, sweet and tart flavors

Interurban

The Sandia Sunrise from Jeff Seymour of Interurban includes two types of hot sauce including hatch green chile and a splash of Tecate
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Interurban with The Sandia Sunrise that includes two types of hot sauce including hatch green chile and a splash of Tecate

Brunch Bonanza

Levant

Levant Chef Scott Snyder offered Za’atar biscuits with merguez gravy, a housemade spicy lamb gravy on a flaky southern style biscuit
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Levant offered Za'atar biscuits with merguez gravy, a housemade spicy lamb gravy on a flaky southern style biscuit

The Sudra

A healthy vegan option by Chef Tori Rubi of The Sudra with Tofu scramble with kale, red onion, and house made green curry paste served over appam (rice and coconut crepe) topped with charred and spiced pasilla and Anaheim peppers, as well as a little dish of Black Rice Porridge with coconut cream and almond oat crumble and fresh apple

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, The Sudra offered a healthy vegan option with Tofu scramble with kale, red onion, and house made green curry paste served over appam (rice and coconut crepe) topped with charred and spiced pasilla and Anaheim peppers. along with Black Rice Porridge with coconut cream and almond oat crumble and fresh apple Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, The Sudra offered a healthy vegan option with Tofu scramble with kale, red onion, and house made green curry paste served over appam (rice and coconut crepe) topped with charred and spiced pasilla and Anaheim peppers. along with Black Rice Porridge with coconut cream and almond oat crumble and fresh apple

Fried Egg I’m in Love

From Chef Jace Krause of famed food cart Fried Egg I’m in Love a breakfast sandwich called Yolko Ono featuring house pork sausage with pesto served on toasted sourdough with an over medium fried egg and a sprinkle of parmesan

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Fried Egg I'm in Love brought a breakfast sandwich called Yolko Ono featuring house pork sausage with pesto served on toasted sourdough with an over medium fried egg and a sprinkle of parmesan

Tastebud

From Chef Mark Doxtader and Jason Barwikiwski, Tastebud brought their signature Wood Fired Montreal style Bagels. They came in mini size, and were either topped with fish or brisket

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Tastebud Wood Fired Mini Bagels. It is a montrel style bage, and were either topped with fish or brisket. Shown here is brisket

Ya Hala

Breakfast Canape with grilled potato, tomato marmalade, egg relish, and smoked lamb bacon was assembled on the spot by Chef Mirna Attar and team of Ya Hala
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Yahala's Breakfast Canape with grilled potato, tomato marmalade, egg relish, and smoked lamb bacon

Daily in the Pearl

Dessert by Daily in the Pearl owner Andrea Sherman was a Candied Ginger Shortcake with tarragon scented whipped cream
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Daily in the Pearl Candied Ginger Shortcake with tarragon scented whipped cream

At only $30 for both the six samples of bloody marys and the six brunch bites, I think this event is not only for a great cause, but a great value. The music is always wonderful, and during the entire event there is a cart offering glasses of Crispin Cider or Manmosas (beer + orange juice) made with Miller High Life, and Stumptown Coffee (including in spiked form!). It’s also a family friendly fundraiser, as you can choose to only buy the brunch bites ($20) and kids 5 and under are free. As extra bonuses this year, an impromptu pizza party started with many pizza boxes delivered by Sizzle Pie, and Crispin cider built a tower of sparkling cider. Everyone left satiated like a full meal.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, surprise pizza party thanks to Sizzle Pie

Also, last year the Belmont Goats visited… this year, it was a docile miniature horse, <3 Squeakers <3 is so sweet!
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015 benefiting Zenger Farm had a docile miniature horse to say hi to

Zenger Farm is opening their Urban Grange in June this year, a new facility that will help this urban farm double its capacity and services, including summer camps, youth field trips, healthy eating workshops, and farmer trainings, and the new food business incubator program.

Which of the bloody marys or brunch bites sounded most interesting to you? If you are interested in any of the bloody marys, they are available at current and previous Bloody Mary Smackdown contenders, as well as other establishments below, until May 11! This includes:

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, Brunch bite from The Sudra offered a healthy vegan option with Tofu Scramble and black rice porridge along with a Bloody Mary Smackdown entry from Urban Farmer of a Spicy Bell Pepper Bloody Mary with a hint of smoke and spice from the roasted peppers

See the Portland Monthly recap of the brunch here

I also mentioned that the Judge’s Choice winner was the bloody mary by David “Neon” Shenault from Raven and Rose. Well, on Sunday, May 24th, at 3PM Raven and Rose is having a cocktail class focused on brunch cocktails. The description reads

Some of the most delicious cocktails in existence are brunch classics – think Bloody Marys, Ramos gin fizzes, Mimosas, Irish coffees, Singapore Slings…. the list goes on and on. Our resident bartenders extraodinaire, “Neon” Dave Shenaut & Estanislado “The Silver Fox” Orona, will share history, recipes, and methods of a few of their favorites as well as modern twists on the classics.

Email dshenaut at ravenandrosepdx.com or call Raven and Rose to reserve a place in the class at 503-222-ROSE (7673). The class price is $50 per person and if it is similar to the cocktail class I took previously at Raven and Rose, includes not only cocktail recipes and you tasting all the cocktails but also snacks. You must be 21+.

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink Tagged With: Black Rice Porridge, black rice pudding, bloody mary, Bloody Mary Smackdown, breakfast sandwich, Brunch Bonanza, Country Brunch 2015, Doug Fir, Fried Egg I'm In Love, Full Bloody Irish Mary, InterUrban, Interurban bloody mary, Levant, Levant Bloody Mary, OG Soup, PDX Brunch, Portland brunch, Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015, raven and rose, Raven and Rose bloody mary, Sandwich and a Pickle Bloody Mary, Spicy Bell Pepper Bloody Mary, Tastebud bagels, The Antidote bloody mary, the original, The Sandia Sunrise bloody mary, The Sudra, Tofu Scramble, Urban Farmer, Urban Farmer bloody mary, Yahala, Yahala breakfast canape, Yahala brunch, Yolko Ono, Yolko Ono breakfast, Za'atar biscuits with merguez gravy

Sunday Roast at Raven and Rose

December 19, 2014 by Pechluck Leave a Comment

This time of year always brings the focus on spending quality time with your loved ones. This puts me in a cooking mood, but I understand that sometimes you want to be able to enjoy a family style dinner without having to do all that prep and cleanup, and certainly not for every get together. And besides, shouldn’t quality time not just be during the holidays?

Raven and Rose certainly thinks so, which is why they have been offering their Sunday Roast Supper every Sunday before, during, and after the holidays on Sundays. So you don’t have to necessarily wait for those big holiday buffets to enjoy some amazing roast for dinner at all – you can have it any week!

If you haven’t been before, the restaurant of Raven and Rose, as well as their upstairs bar area called The Rookery upstairs, is literally housed in a 132 year old historic house – well a Carriage House. It’s grand and homey if you possibly are someone who grew up on an estate, or like me we can at least can pretend to be that kind of titled family for the length of dinner.

I recently was able to enjoy a Sunday Roast, although we did not get to order specific sides because my dinner was part of a special Brewers Series dinner with Goose Island. Each dinner is different so you probably won’t have the same dinner I have, but here’s a look at some possibilities…

I started off with a Welcome Beer of Goose Island IPA, which is an English style IPA so is well balanced unlike most west coast IPAs I see on menus here that the IBU is just off the charts and unappealing to me. This was enjoyed with some sweet and spiced nuts and bread and butter service. I suggest you also start your dinner with a welcome beer, wine or cocktail too. Raven and Rose has a great menu of some pretty good beers and ciders, numbering almost 40 something I think including the draft beer and bottles and the ciders and fruit ales. F has had a lot of beers, but always finds something interesting to order here. You might also consider a cocktail, especially if you can call one that uses some of Raven and Rose’s exclusively bottled for them single barrel spirits and they have their own single barrel brandy as well! They also have a large wine list that has a lot of focus on wineries locally here in Oregon and some in Washington state.

I also had an excellent salad, that evening was an Escarole Salad with Cashel Irish blue, pomegranate, prosciutto and shallot vinaigrette.

They usually have three juicy and tasty roasts to choose from for your table to share family style, so you might want to come three times to try them all. The roast options include Wood-fired Carlton Farms pork shoulder, Columbia River king salmon and Painted Hills prime rib of beef*, all served with Yorkshire pudding with gravy.

Of course, just because you get one of these roasts doesn’t mean each one is always prepared exactly the same way. The versions I had included a Cocoa-Dusted Beef Tri-Tip…

and an Irish Whiskey and Apricot Glazed Columbia River King Salmon. The pairing of that salmon with the Class of ’88 beer from Goose Island was incredible.

And then, the sides! You can order all the sides you wish to your heart’s content from a list of various Farmers’ Market Sides. The sides can change up every week depending on what is fresh and best in the market – there are multiple times I have seen the staff at Raven and Rose at the Portland Farmers Market at PSU on Saturday with their wagons, loading up on the produce from the farmers. As much as I love the delicious meats, I also am sooo in love with having a whole bunch of sides as well, and bringing a group to share in it all family style means a reason to order more sides right?

The sides I tried included the Oyster Mushrooms with frisee and pickled shallot, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with pancetta and orange, and Colcannon with potato, caramelized onions and kale.

All of these were paired with a beer flight of four beers that included Class of ’88 (a Belgian-style ale brewed in collaboration with Deschutes Brewery with whole flower Mt Hood hops. The beer was transferred to Muscat casks and aged with Michigan riesling grape juice and Oregon pinot noir grape must), Matilda (flavors of dried fruit and clove aromas with a spicy yeast flavor and dry finish), Madame Ros (a brown ale aged in French oak cabernet sauvignon barrels with Michigan cherries and heavily inoculated with brettanomyces) and the famous Bourbon County Stout (aged in bourbon barrels of cousre)

Having a plate that looks like this on a Sunday night and it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving or Christmas makes me happy.

Wait, then there was my dessert, a Bourbon County Barleywine paired with Black Sticky Gingerbread with quince sorbet, ginger tuile, poached quince, and warm sweet cream poured atop tableside…

The Sunday Roast menu starts at 4pm every Sunday and is family style, priced at $35 a person.

Also keep an eye out for their Brewers’ Series… this dinner with Goose Island was just one of the series. For instance, they have done a Roast dinner before with Breakside, and also The Commons!

Have you ever been to a family style roast dinner at Raven and Rose?

Filed Under: Beer Review, Food and Drink, Restaurant Review, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #foodiefriday, Brewer's Dinner with Sunday Roast, Brewers' Dinner Series, Family style dinner menu, Goose Island Bourbon Release Dinner, Goose Island Brewery, Goose Island IPA, Raven & Roast, raven and rose, Sunday Roast, Sunday Supper

Classic Cocktails with the Rookery

November 15, 2013 by Pechluck 6 Comments

The Rookery at Raven & Rose recently has launched a monthly cocktail classes with the men of the Rookery bar, bar director David Shenaut and barman Alan Akwai. This past September, October, November, and for one more class in December, the title of the class is “Essential Classic Cocktails You Can Serve at Home”. I recently attended the November class, which apparently had the largest attendance yet of the series, and David says that next year they plan to change up the theme so that even if you took the classic cocktail class you will want to follow up with another class for further continuing education!

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai at Raven and Rose's the Rookery

The Essential Classic Cocktails class I attended covered the history, construction and recipes for four vintage cocktails, included samples of the four cocktails, as well as some “fancy snacks” for the $50 class price. Afterward, by showing the recipe notebook after class, you can enjoy a complimentary dessert with an entree purchase at the Raven and Rose restaurant downstairs.

I’m a big fan of the Rookery and David and Alan- I’ve been to the Rookery a couple times for beverages, and also events like Beer with the Bird or one of their several whiskey events (the one I attended was Raven and Rye). I’m not going to repeat my crush on their ability to articulate details of flavors in ingredients and craft combinations that are unique and perfect just for you. Instead, I’m going to recap the Classic Cocktails with the Rookery class for you!

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - Dave

Upon checking in, we were led to our seats which were marked by placecards and there was a punchbowl of an autumnal punch they had whipped up (and as we found out later, just “winged it” with Jameson, apple cider, and spices) to welcome us. We were soon double-fisting it however as the samples of the first drink we would be learning, the Margarita were passed out. I’ve made margaritas before, but Dave and Alan immediately educated everyone on their philosophy of building cocktails Dry – that is, with no ice. By waiting on the ice the drink does not diluted and you can still make changes when you take a stirring straw taste, or wait so you can prep for all your dinner party guests.

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - the starter sample of an autumn punch

Dave and Alan have a great friendly rapport as they answered questions varying from how long to shake or how they explain how to know whether to shake or stir a drink (answer: citrus, egg, and creme are shaken, drinks that are more boozy are stirred.) Furthermore, they illuminated that the shaking is about aeration, not just a way to mix ingredients. Also, how does Alan make it look so fun to shake? There was also a difference in opinion as Dave would never make more than one serving in a shaker, while Alan realistically says he would.

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - Alan shakes it

The next classic vintage cocktail was the Old Fashioned. After Alan showed us the right glassware, Dave tagged in to talk about making simple syrup and how to not heat the mixture as it loses flavor. Then Alan was back showing us techniques in dashing bitters in different amounts with various flicks, and Dave went on to wax poetic about bitters as well as where he sources his ice (he sources from PDX Ice – I also recognize that ice from Imperial!). Alan brought us back to how stirring is about binding, and how important it is to stir on the edge of the glass and create a whirlpool with no lifting of the spoon to add air. After a good stir the drink should look viscous and feel round.

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - the glass for the Old Fashioned

We tasted the Old Fashioned 3 ways. After we each had a chance to practice trying to pour a perfect jigger of the cocktail for ourselves, we took a sip of it plain. Next, we broke a lemon peel over it in order to infuse lemon oils. Finally, we added the lemon peel into the drink (our tables’ favorite).

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - the next cocktail sample and second recipe we learn is the Old Fashioned

Next up was Punch. After being schooled on Oleo Saccharum (“oily sugar”), we were then taught the magic ratio. Although it sounds like a lot of work in making Oleo Saccharum which includes peeling 4 lemons and making hot tea concentrate, it opened up my eyes to how much layering and complexity of flavor you can add just with your selection of the type of tea. Since the base spirit and dilution (juice, wine, soda, water, or sparkling cider or champagne as we sampled in class- the second punch we would soon be sampling used champagne) can also vary, the possibilities are endless, and Dave sagely promised that the Magic Ratio has never failed him.

Also, making punch seems fun since in order to get the right amount of liquid, you will end up having a glass of base spirit and glass of dilution (champagne below!) leftover that Dave encouraged us to have ourselves to loosen us up for our dinner party!

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - Dave takes a glass of bubbly out before pouring the rest in for punch

After the punch lesson, it was time punch, and for the Fancy Snacks.
Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai at Raven and Rose's the Rookery, the fancy snacks portion of class

The final cocktail was the famous Rookery Irish Coffee, which was a warm, wonderful end to the class before going back out into the night and the rain. If you haven’t had the Irish Coffee here (which uses Spella coffee), you must try it- it’s the best I think in Portland.

Essential Classic Cocktails, a cocktail class with David Shenault and Alan Akwai - the next final cocktail and my favorite, the Irish Coffee

If you want to find out more about or sign up for upcoming classes, be sure to contact event manager Natalia Toral, at natalia at ravenandrosepdx.com.

Filed Under: Cocktails, Festival Event, Food and Drink Tagged With: Alan Akwai, Champagne Punch, Classic Cocktails, Cocktail Class, David Shenault, Irish Coffee, margarita, Old Fashioned, Punch Autumn Punch, raven & rose, raven and rose, rookery, The Rookery, Vintage Cocktails

Schwenking. No really.

July 14, 2013 by Pechluck 1 Comment

Shwenking is going on tour in Portland this summer. No, really.

The schwenker (or schwenk for short) is a special kind of portable grill and technique originating from the Mosel Velly and Saarland region in Germany that cooks meat over an open flame on a swinging grill platform over the fire. This grill platform can be pulled up and down and swiveled or of course, put into a swinging motion over the fire by the “schwenk meister”. No, really.

During the grilling, or schwenking process, you can watch the meat slowly cooking as it moves, like watching a hypnotist swing a watch but this is much more appealing to watch as it is glistening meat that has already been marinated for three days versus some ticking stopwatch, and it spins not just swings. Yes! Really!

The Tuttles of Teutonic Wine Company are ambassadors of Schwenking and brought this back from their trip. They are taking their coal fired tripod schwenker grills on a Schwenk Portland 2013 tour this summer to 13 Portland restaurants, where each restaurant will create their own schwenk dish, and then pair it with Mosel Riesling imported or produced by Teutonic.

I tried out my first schwenking dish at Raven & Rose yesterday (I missed other tour stops during June).

Schwenking at Raven & Rose The Schwenk Meisters, Schwenking at Raven & Rose

For their schwenking stop, Raven & Rose were offering 3 schwenk dish options, and also 3 Kabinett style Rieslings or you can get a flight of all three rieslings:

Menu Raven & Rose Schwenking Stop

Trout on fennel fronds, gooseberry conserva, cucumber radish salad
Pork tenderloin, German potato salad, kolrabi slaw
Spatchcocked Quail with peaches, green beans, walnut sauce
2012 Teutonic Wine Co Crow Valley Vineyard
2011 Ackermann Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Kabinett Feinherb
2010 Philips Eckstein Graacher Himmelreich, Kabinett

Ok, first I confess I got temporarily distracted from the schwenking. I love the Rookery, and while I was waiting for a friend to join me I had a flight of single barrel bourbons. But then, it was time! I tried the riesling flight, as well as the pork and quail dishes. The Ackermann Kabinett Feinherb was the most dry of the 3 rieslings, which paired well with the sweetness of the spatchcocked quail. Meanwhile, the pork tenderloin was perfect in its hint of smoke and the oh so tender texture like ahi which I accompanied mostly with sips of the Philips Kabinett which was in the middle between dry and sweet. The Teutonic riesling which was the sweetest of the three I matched up with the kolrabi slaw and the bacon flecked bites of the German potato salad.

single barrel bourbon flight at the Rookery in Raven & Rose Schwenking and Riesling at Raven and Rose, Flight of Kabinett style Rieslings: 2011 Ackermann Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Kabinett Feinherb/ 2010 Philips Eckstein Graacher Himmelreich, Kabinett / 2012 Teutonic Wine Co Crow Valley Vineyard From the schwenker during Schwenking Portland 2013, Raven & Rose stop: Spatchcocked Quail with peaches, green beans, walnut sauce

Here are more upcoming stops on that tour (you can find more pictures also at the Schwenk Portland Facebook page) or you can also look at the NPR coverage of Tuttle and his schwenker here, including a simple pork recipe!

Accanto – July 14
Ned Ludd – July 21
Olympic Provisions NW – 7/28
Wildwood – August 1
Old Salt Marketplace – August 10
Sauvage – August 11
Grüner – August 17
Cheese Bar – August 18

And if you have not visited the Rookery before, get your butt over there! The atmosphere is relaxing and warm in their big open loft with 2 TVs and a pool table, several couches. And, a nice long bar to sidle up to and get an education on whiskeys or whatever you are thirsty for while listening to, if you are lucky, the deep husky voice of Dave Shenaut, bar director / president of the Oregon Bartender’s Guild, or Alan Akwai’s incredibly efficient way of mixing while simultaneously eloquently rolling a whole vocabulary of descriptors of flavors and knowing exactly what bottles or eye droppers or misters to reach for to concoct the perfect drink for your palate, all belying his fresh face. Well, I’m sure Dave is eloquent too but I was lulled by that voice. It doesn’t even matter what he’s saying.

I’ve written previously about how they have special beer events (Beer with the Bird, such as one I attended with Double Mountain and Logsdon and with cheese!!) and whiskey Wednesdays (including special event Raven & Rye Wild Turkey I attended and blogged about) so you can see more wonderfulness of my crush on the Rookery there. Please note the Rookery does not serve the full menu of the restaurant downstairs, though it seems they are experimenting with offering some more than just the bar snacks they have been doing so far (a ploughman’s platter was the most substantial item). There is another bar downstairs though, tended by Angel and she is also great at taking are of you, including one evening providing F an ice cube to put in his too hot soup so we didn’t have to wait so long to enjoy it.
A flight of single barrel bourbon at the Rookery, upstairs of the Raven & Rose Flight of Kabinett style Rieslings: 2011 Ackermann Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Kabinett Feinherb/ 2010 Philips Eckstein Graacher Himmelreich, Kabinett / 2012 Teutonic Wine Co Crow Valley Vineyard

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink, Wine Tagged With: grill, kabinett riesling, pork tenderloin, quail, raven & rose, raven and rose, riesling, Schenker, Schwenk, Schwenk Portland 2013, Shwenk meister, Shwenking, spatchcocked quail, Teutonic Wine, Tuttles

Raven and Rose: Raven & Rye

March 15, 2013 by Pechluck 3 Comments

This past Tuesday, Raven & Rose did it again by holding an event dubbed Raven & Rye with James C. Russell, master distiller at the Wild Turkey Distillery where he served more than 50 years. Jimmy is carrying on the tradition from his grandfather, father, and which he passed to his son (who has also worked there more than 20 years now). Jimmy is so beloved at Wild Turkey, they named one of their finest products after him in 2000–the 10-year-old Russell’s Reserve – and it was going to be available at this event. The Raven and Rye event was an opportunity to meet Jimmy and besides the Russell’s Reserve, also provided a chance explore other Wild Turkey cocktails. Sounds dangerous right?

I was there… and here is the proof!

Spring has arrived in Portland and Raven & Rose, as well as new signs for Raven & Rose now hanging outside the beautiful historic building (which I had wrote a little about during my first visit for Beer with the Bird) which were new from my last visit:

I got to the Rookery around 4:15 and the barstools at the bar were already all full! I quickly snagged a table for my friends and I right by the entrance, and also because I saw that the table where the complimentary snacks courtesy of of Young’s Market Company of Oregon would only be a few steps away in their library area.

This time I budgeted myself only two beverages. I started with the Continental Sour drink with Wild Turkey 101, lemon juice, sugar, egg white, red wine.

They were just bringing out some of the platters of Young’s Market Company of Oregon complimentary appetizers, so I was able to grab some photos before all the nibbling started. It was an impressive spread fit for the sophistication of the event. My favorites were the Rabbit Liverwurst on toast with grain mustard and the Roasted Beets and mint on Belgian endive with kumquats.

I was also able to take a sip of my friend’s beautiful cocktail, the Tyrone Road Punch with Wild Turkey rye, meyer lemon peel, chamomile, lemon myrtle, peppermint, lemon juice, and bitter lemon soda. I also took a sip from her Cocktail a la Louisiane with Wild Turkey rye, Benedictine, Dolin Rouge, Pacifique absinthe, and Peychaud’s bitters. From how many of these I saw in hand around the room, the Tyrone Road Punch was incredibly well received.

Jimmy and his son charmed us by telling us a little about themselves and the tasting process, as well as answering some questions from the audience.

After trying all three (the other 2 were the Wild Turkey Rare Breed and the Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel, not my glasses but I got a little taste), my favorite was the Russell Reserve 10 year bourbon, for its caramel vanilla smoothness and tamer spice level at the finish.

Another great event at the Rookery! I already have plans for St Patrick’s, but Raven & Rose is also putting together quite the shindig including Irish cheese plate and Irish nettle soup and live Irish music and Jameson Irish whiskey flights if you have the opportunity!

Filed Under: Cocktails, Festival Event, Food and Drink Tagged With: james russell, master distiller, raven & rose, raven & rye, raven and rose, rookery, russell's reserve, wild turkey cocktails, wild turkey distillery, Young's Market Company of Oregon

Recap of Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2015

Bloody Mary Smackdown

Raven and Rose

Levant

The Original

Urban Farmer

Doug Fir

Interurban

Brunch Bonanza

Levant

The Sudra

Fried Egg I’m in Love

Tastebud

Ya Hala

Daily in the Pearl

Sunday Roast at Raven and Rose

Classic Cocktails with the Rookery

Schwenking. No really.

Raven and Rose: Raven & Rye

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