Three Reasons to Drink Local Vodka During the Holidays!

The inherent difficulty in making winter cocktails with Sloop Betty vodka is just that: it is vodka. Traditionally, winter cocktails are created with base spirits richer in flavor like rum, brandy, and whiskey.  Because vodka is defined by having an absence of flavor, this can be a difficult hurdle to overcome; especially when you want to be able to detect what premium vodka brings to the table. However, being both the architect behind the Sloop Betty formula as well as an experienced mixologist, I was determined to find new ways for Betty to enhance your holidays.  Most cocktails start with an inspiration or flavor concept.  That said, here's my story on this year's libations.

Stocking Stuffer
This cocktail is based on one of my favorite things to receive on Christmas Day, the Chocolate Orange (which I seemed to get every year growing up).  After slamming the foil-wrapped present on the table to separate the orange-flavored chocolate pieces from the whole, I always moved them to the freezer to enjoy later. Hence, our delicious, ice cold, chocolate orange cocktail. Enjoy!

Combine 2.0 oz. Sloop Betty, 1.0 oz. Grand Marnier, and 0.75 oz. Godiva Dark Chocolate liqueur in a mixing glass.  Add ice, shake vigorously, and then strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with shaved chocolate.

Poinsettia
This drink was inspired by a constant reminder of the holiday season—the beautiful poinsettia. While they may not be tasty to eat, their rich red color always brightens the atmosphere and warms the heart everywhere you see them. So, why not make a drink that brings about the same effect? I used ruby port to imitate the color, and then drew some holiday spice flavor from the bitters and ginger liqueur.

Combine 1.5 oz. Betty, 1.0 oz. Ruby Port, 0.75 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, and 1 dash Angostura bitters in a mixing glass. Add ice, stir thoroughly, and then strain into a collins glass with fresh ice and top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with an orange wheel on the rim and a long straw.

Naughty & Nice
This might be my favorite one of the batch. It's a new interpretation of a great, cold weather classic—the White Russian. While I do enjoy this beverage just about any time of year, I have always preferred them in the winter months. I wanted to enhance the coffee flavor and support it with more diverse elements in order to bring about that holiday feel. The first time I tried it, I felt like a kid waiting up at night for Santa, having been good all year but naughtily staying up past my bedtime, anxiously awaiting the rewards I was about to receive.

Combine 1.25 oz. Sloop Betty, 1.0 oz. Trader Vic's Kona Coffee liqueur (substitute Kahlua if not available) and 1.0 oz. RumChata in a mixing glass.  Add ice, shake vigorously, then dump into and old fashioned glass with the shaken ice.  Garnish with fresh grated cinnamon.

That's it! I hope you enjoy drinking these as much as I did creating them.  For those of you near the Baltimore area, please join me for The Forgotten Cocktail Club on Friday, January 11th (at Maisy's on Charles from 7pm - 1am), where I will be serving one of these tasty treats along with other creative concoctions and classic cocktails to warm your hearts. Happy Holidays!

Cheers, Jon Blair

Fall Flavor: Betty’s Bee’s Knees by D.C. Mixologist, Marco Maffeo

Not only is he great for updates on D.C.’s hottest nightlife, Marco Maffeo has concocted a delicious cocktail recipe just for you—and Sloop Betty fans everywhere! Sip on it and let us know what you think on Facebook. Thanks, Marco!

What's so good about fall? The weather is getting colder, old man winter is breathing down our necks, and our backs our sore from raking up all those “beautiful” leaves. Sometimes I struggle to find the positives of this transition season, but then I look down at my glass and think, “This isn't so bad!” Now is a time filled with unique flavors that keep us warm and cozy—and fill our cups with some mouth-watering cocktails. Sloop Betty is such a versatile style vodka, and I took her to my cocktail laboratory and created a variation of a classic cocktail (the bee's knees) that keeps her spicy and spunky.

Betty's Bee's Knees

2oz Sloop Betty Vodka

1/2oz Honey

3/4oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4oz Pear Williams (or 1/2oz Fresh Pear Juice)

1 Raw Egg White (don't be scared!)

Directions

In a mixing tin, combine ingredients. Dry shake (without ice) to create a nice foam from the egg white. Add ice, shake, and strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with 1 pinch of nutmeg and 2 pinches of cinnamon.

Cheers,

Marco Maffeo

A bit more about Maffeo:

In 2005, I began my career in the hospitality industry working at the finest restaurant in Vermont while finishing up an Engineering Degree. A couple years later on a whim, I moved to Washington, D.C., managing to squeak my way into a coveted position at the city's premiere "member's only" club. I was trained by well known mixologist, Stefan Trummer, in the classic fashion. Through him, I got my foundation of true mixology, and what it means to be a complex mixologist.

With this extensive training and experience, I was offered a position at W Hotel DC's P.O.V. Lounge. The move gave me the opportunity to study under the world's leading cocktail mind, Sasha Petraske. His training is based on the pre-prohibition style, a skill that few have the privilege of boasting. The past few years I've been honing my skills and experimenting in the new frontier of "molecular mixology," a field pioneered by Ferran Adria from El Bulli in Spain.

Contact:

www.marcomaffeo.com

https://www.facebook.com/mixologistmarcomaffeo

The D.C. Halloween Scene with Marco Maffeo

As soon as we met Marco Maffeo (who was voted D.C.’s top mixologist and bartends at the W Hotel’s P.O.V. Roof Terrace and Lounge as well as Capitale), we knew we’d have no trouble at all getting the inside scoop about D.C.’s Halloween scene. Just in time for this year’s big Halloween weekend, Marco spoke with Betty about all things spooky and fun. 

Boo! It's Halloween, my favorite time of year. Witches and ghosts roaming the streets, free candy, haunted hay rides, and of course, the libations to go along with all of it. Yes, we are too old to hit the streets and head door-to-door asking strangers for candy, but we are too young to sit at home and watch horror movie marathons only to be in bed by midnight. We have a social obligation to dress-up, cram ourselves into the nearest watering hole, and drink until that zombie across the room starts to look hot. Our nation's capital might not be the Halloween capital, but I've assembled a list (a “gravest” hits if you will) of my favorite haunted cocktail bars that will cast a spell on you in the district—only for my favorite pin-up gal, Betty. Who knows, you might even run into a dead president or two!

Check back next week for my signature Sloop Betty cocktail—perfect for any fall day.

Cheers,

Marco Maffeo

P.O.V. AT THE W HOTEL DC (http://www.pointofviewdc.com)

Pull those leopard leggings and neon sweat suits out of storage and head over to P.O.V.'s Neon Nights 80's Halloween party. DJ OZ will be spinning your 80's favorites while you sip on some spooky crafted cocktails on the roof of the W Hotel. Put some effort into your retro gear because the winner of their costume contest wins a W sleepover package with a champagne breakfast in bed! You may even see me behind the bar!

WHEN: Friday, October 26, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

WHERE: W Hotel Washington D.C., 515 15th Street Northwest

CAPITALE (http://www.capitaleofdc.com)

K Street's newest ultra lounge is opening up their doors for two nights for the true blood themed party, Blue Blood. Drink potions on special include the Misty Mummy and the Bruja Brew.

WHEN:  Friday and Saturday, October 26-27, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

WHERE: Capitale, 1301 K Street Northwest

THE PASSENGER (http://passengerdc.com)

Get ready to see your very first (hopefully) human sacrifice at Passenger's The Trail of the Mahiki party. Stay up till midnight to see the main event, but in the mean time sip down some Zombies and fill your belly with whole roasted pork.

WHEN: Saturday, October 27, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.

WHERE: The Passenger, 1021 7th Street Northwest

L2 LOUNGE (http://www.l2lounge.com)

DC's premiere “members preferred” club is letting us take a peek at their Angels and Demons party. L2's ghoulish cocktails will keep you spooked all night!

WHEN: Saturday, October 27, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.

WHERE: L2 Lounge, 3315 Cady's Alley Northwest

BRIXTON (http://brixtondc.com)

This English style gastro-pub is haunting their house for the night. Enjoy bloodcurdling cocktails on the roof deck and then bring your A-game for the drunken pumpkin carving contest.

WHEN: Sunday, October 28, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

WHERE: The Brixton, 901 U Street Northwest

Making Sloop Betty Vodka

Most people feel nervous making a cake out of a box, so can you imagine crafting a vodka in your kitchen? That’s exactly what Chris Cook and Jon Cook did when they created Sloop Betty vodka, the first product from Blackwater Distilling™, Inc. Blackwater is the first distillery in the state of Maryland in more than 35 years.

We’ve tasted Sloop Betty and the vodka is absolutely fantastic, with a crisp taste and subtle undertone. Sloop Betty blends beautifully into mixed drinks, although a Baltimore bartender said he prefers to serve the vodka as a stand-alone because it tastes so good.

We wanted to know how Chris and Jon make Sloop Betty, so we asked them a few questions about how they distill the vodka in their distillery in Stevensville, Md.

Q. How does the process of making Sloop Betty begin?

A. During our extensive recipe development process, we searched for the finest raw ingredients and chose a proprietary combination of wheat and sugar cane to craft Sloop Betty because that blend yielded a clean, balanced spirit of the highest quality. Our process (which we discuss later) weeds out undesirable elements, such as burn from the wheat and excess sweetness from the cane.

We experimented with several different combinations of conventional grain available locally, but ultimately, we found that the premium product we wanted to create would include ingredients found at organic farms outside the Mid-Atlantic Region. Our Italian wheat and sugar cane from Belize are delivered from organic farms to create the distillate that is the basis for Sloop Betty. The final ingredient is water, as two-thirds of what goes into most vodkas is water.

Q. Where is the water from?

We source ours from Maryland’s ShoreGood Water Company. The water that is the basis for Sloop Betty has been nationally recognized for its purity and excellence in taste.

Q. How do you actually make the vodka?

At our distillery on the Eastern Shore, we craft the spirit using the secret filtering and blending process we’ve processed over the years. Taste is the most important factor we considered as we honed the recipe for the vodka.

The distillate begins at 190 proof, and we filter it down to 120 and then again to 80 using our proprietary processes. This filitration is critical to Sloop Betty’s taste that many have described as “clean” and “crisp.” This is because our specialized carbon filitration removes elements of the raw material that are less desirable.

Q. Did you ever think of making a spirit other than vodka?

Yes, we experimented for some time. We made recipes in our own pot still. Once we decided that starting with vodka was our passion, we played with the recipe many times, experimenting with rye and different ratios of wheat and sugar cane. It was amazing to us that everything affected the taste and changed the flavor of the vodka. We’re proud of the amazing reviews Sloop Betty has received and look forward to bringing a different craft spirit to market in the near future.

As the first distillery licensed by the federal government and State of Maryland in 35 years, Blackwater is proud to lead the revival of Maryland’s fine heritage of custom, handcrafted spirits. Sloop Betty is the only Mid-Atlantic vodka crafted from a unique wheat-and-cane blend, so she’s truly in a class all her own.

Sloop Betty on Fox 45 Baltimore

Joel Smith and Fox 45 Baltimore stopped by to visit Sloop Betty at Blackwater Distilling last Friday, April 1st. If you missed the live segment, you can check out Sloop Betty and Joel's April fools joke here at the Fox 45 website. 

 All photography by Stacey Viera

Where does the name Sloop Betty come from?

Sloop Betty is Maryland’s new hit vodka. This runaway sensation could’ve had a billion other names. Find out how she got her name from the creative team behind her.

Sloop Betty’s got the goods…in more ways than one.

The rumors are true, Sloop Betty is finally here! 

Blackwater Distilling™, Inc. today announced the launch of its flagship spirit, Sloop Betty vodka, a wheat- and sugar cane-based craft product. Part of an elite group of just 200 craft distilleries in the entire country, Blackwater Distilling is Maryland’s first federally and state-licensed beverage alcohol distillery in more than three decades. The initial distribution area for its spirits covers Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Read more here.