Good Morning or Afternoon, whenever you are reading this. A little while back I wrote announcing that we were doing a Private tequila dinner with our Friends at El Tesoro, I wrote a little about it down below, we also got some Holiday Gift Ideas for you for that cocktail lover or bartender in your life, and quite possibly my favorite video ever, of someone describing how it should feel when you’re in an amazing restaurant.

I know a lot of you became subscribed to this newsletter for my list of tequila recommendations, and boy do I have the video for you! I posted this one on YouTube last week (if you don’t subscribe over there, you’re missing out!) of the ONLY 5 Tequilas bottles you need!

Anyway, on to this weeks newsletter!

We Hosted our First Private Tequila Dinner at Ember & Alma!

This past week I hosted my first real private dinner at Ember and Alma and we did it with our friends from El Tesoro, it was such an incredible evening! The way the evening went was a guests arrived they were greeted with an original welcome cocktail only available that night, and then appetizers were served Hors d'oeuvres style by our waitstaff before our guests found their seats and we began the tasting, but not before a brand introduction.

We then tasted through 3 expressions of El Tesoro but because apparently no one in the state had any Reposados left, we had to break out the special bottles of El Tesoro Mundial Basil Hayden edition to use for tastings! No one was complaining tho, because that expression is one of the best tequilas I've ever tasted.

Dinner was served, followed by dessert. My chef and sous chef both killed it on the night, they made a delicious chicken roulade with spinach and tomato, served with our house made Bravas sauce and roasted fingerling potatoes. And desert was a flan crumble with Añejo Tequila soaked strawberries and an agave caramel sauce.

I was so involved all evening I barely took any photos or videos but here is a screen shot of a video of all of the bottles we killed that night!

If you were there and took some photos or videos and wouldn't mind sharing, send me an email!

Overall, it was incredible. I wanted it to feel like an incredible intimate dinner party and I think people really seemed to dig it! Hospitality sometimes can start to feel routine if you don't shake it up and doing a private dinner like this, is a sure fire way to feel that hospitality love. I cannot wait to do it again in a month or so, so make sure you stay tuned for when the next event is!

Luckily you guys are already subscribed so whenever we do another event, you’ll be the first to know!

Holiday Gift Guide: Actually Useful Tools and Gifts for Cocktail Lovers and Bartenders!

Every week from now till Christmas, I will be putting together a small list of recommended items I think would make good gifts for the cocktail / spirits lovers and each week will be themed!

Also, these are not affiliate links. I am too lazy to set those up. If in the future there are some affiliate links, I will let you know. These are just things I think would be insanely useful.

Insanely practical (but not cheap) bottles that unscrew from the bottom. Super easy to clean, stylish and very versatile. Perfect for a home bartender or mixologist. I have used Crew Bottles for many years,

Clear ice cube tray: clear ice actually makes a huge difference in the presentation but also in the dilution of cocktails. Clear cubes freeze intact and don't melt as quickly is crappy ice cubes. Keeping your drink at the right dilution and temperature. It's not just for sure. These ones I have been using, it s a flimsy system but cost effective and works great. I use like 4 molds similar to this one for my bar and just stick up extras

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries: My friends got me calling these Slutty cherries, and that's all I refer to them as. So get your friends some slutty cherries. These have no replacement. So many brands have tried to make their own version and every single one sucks compared to the tried and true (okay maybe I have had one good alternative but still) these are the real deal and will elevate your cocktail garnish game.

A smoking gun: I have had expensive ass smoking guns and cheap smoking guns. And this cheap smoking gun has lasted just as long if not longer than botj of the $100+ smoking guns I've had in the past. A perfect gift for someone wanting to up their game

Pocket notebooks. And I don't mean small notebooks, I mean small, like actually-fit-in-my-back-pocket kind of notebook. Get some accompanying Tiny pens. This changed my life a year and a half ago. I now always carry one, great for note taking, writing down recipes, people's names, details for an event you name it. Not a sexy gift but by far the most useful. Sure you can use your phone but then you'll get distracted and it's just not the same.

I use a bougie brand like Field Notes or Moleskine bit there are great cheap brands on Amazon that you can buy in bulk.

Best Video I've seen this week, and any other week.

I love this video so much. You may recognize Matty Matheson from his role on the show the Bear, or from his own insanely popular social media accounts but this video in particular. Every single time I watch it, it really resonates with me.

The way he puts those feelings into words is just absolute poetry. It encapsulates the feeling of what it should be like when a restaurant really nails it. This video is kind of what got me thinking about that piece I wrote last week, about what restaurants actually sell. But he describes the feeling of being in a restaurant that does it so eloquently.

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It's weird to say it but this video gives me goosebumps. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. And it's the kind of feeling I strive to bring to my tiny little cocktail bar and restaurant every day.

But you tell me, what place has made you feel this way?