(no subject)
One of my favorite bars in Philadelphia is the Standard Tap. I was introduced to the Tap through Martin, and I love its excellent food, good bar, dim-light & relaxed-nooks atmosphere of a pub, and especially the rooftop deck. Last night at the Tap, there was a tasting of the new, locally-brewed Bluecoat Gin, courtesy of the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign week.
I left work a little early, caught the eastbound el, and arrived at the Tap shortly after 5. The plan was to volunteer and be useful at the event in some way, but there turned out to be not a whole lot to do. I used a big blue marker to write two posters directing people to the upstairs, and I procured some change and a paper bag to store extra flyers from the downstairs bar -- that's about it. In return, I got a comp for the event and got to chat with the BFBL people, the gin sales rep, and the DJ (appropriately named, Tantrum Tonic) before it all became a happenin' place. I was slightly surprised that I noticed, but Bluecoat definitely has a different taste. Partly because of the organic juniper berry they chose to use, I believe, the gin taste is extremely mild; according to the resident gin connoisseur, Bluecoat is similar to Bombay Sapphire.
grumpy_sysadmin joined me there, about 6.30 when the party started hoppin'. I'd already had a drink and begun to wind down from work and he has a few days off, so we began the evening relaxed, and things only got better. We stood around drinking gin and eating bruschetta, and I heard all about the saga of procuring lost luggage from the Rome airport. The happy hour theoretically ended around 7.30, and around then we wandered downstairs to one of the high bar tables for dinner. I had the beet salad and the cucumber dill soup -- both were vivid, the flavor of olive oil and pepper with beets and the crunch of cucumber purée. I tried the Legacy Wit (fine, no particular thoughts on it) and later a Sapphire g&t for comparison. tanglethis and a friend joined us there after we ate, and we all sat around drinking and talking. Life, after work, is good.
I left work a little early, caught the eastbound el, and arrived at the Tap shortly after 5. The plan was to volunteer and be useful at the event in some way, but there turned out to be not a whole lot to do. I used a big blue marker to write two posters directing people to the upstairs, and I procured some change and a paper bag to store extra flyers from the downstairs bar -- that's about it. In return, I got a comp for the event and got to chat with the BFBL people, the gin sales rep, and the DJ (appropriately named, Tantrum Tonic) before it all became a happenin' place. I was slightly surprised that I noticed, but Bluecoat definitely has a different taste. Partly because of the organic juniper berry they chose to use, I believe, the gin taste is extremely mild; according to the resident gin connoisseur, Bluecoat is similar to Bombay Sapphire.
grumpy_sysadmin joined me there, about 6.30 when the party started hoppin'. I'd already had a drink and begun to wind down from work and he has a few days off, so we began the evening relaxed, and things only got better. We stood around drinking gin and eating bruschetta, and I heard all about the saga of procuring lost luggage from the Rome airport. The happy hour theoretically ended around 7.30, and around then we wandered downstairs to one of the high bar tables for dinner. I had the beet salad and the cucumber dill soup -- both were vivid, the flavor of olive oil and pepper with beets and the crunch of cucumber purée. I tried the Legacy Wit (fine, no particular thoughts on it) and later a Sapphire g&t for comparison. tanglethis and a friend joined us there after we ate, and we all sat around drinking and talking. Life, after work, is good.