Daniel’s Favorite Vodka Martini

KETEL ONE Vodka is the choice for our signature martini due to its smooth taste. Compared to other vodkas we've tried, we find it less harsh, and it mixes well. Maybe that's why we empty about 1800 bottles a year. We use so much that we were paid a visit at Daniel’s Lake Union by Carolus Nolet, the son of the chairman of Ketel One, when he was in Seattle Friday, March 11, 2011.

The makers of Ketel One have a long history at the Nolet Distillery in Schiedam, Netherlands. Their business has been in operation since 1691. Eleven generations of the Nolet family have been in charge of this operation. Ketel One is named after the original copper pot still, ”Distilleerketel #1,” which is still in operation today. Ketel One Vodka is handcrafted in small batches and filtered through loose charcoal. It then rests in tile-lined tanks until ready for bottling.

In 1902 the Nolet family opened a distillery in Maryland, but closed and withdrew from the US market during prohibition. 1983 brought Ketel One Vodka to the United States, produced with the recipes and techniques perfected by the Nolet ancestors. Carolus Nolet moved to the United States in 1994 to further market the brand.

While Carolus Nolet was Daniel's Broiler - Lake Union, he took our staff through a short comparison taste test and told us the family history of the Ketel One products. He took the time to autograph some bottles and get his picture taken.

To find out why we go through so many bottles of Kettle One Vodka, stop by Daniel's Broiler in Lake Union, Leschi, or Bellevue, and order a classic Kettle One martini and enjoy the inimitable smoothness. This is vodka.

First Class Golfing For a Good Cause

YOU ARE INVITED to the third annual Play Fore Kids Golf Tournament, Monday, June 13, 2011, at the beautiful and challenging 18-hole championship golf course at the Bear Creek Country Club in Woodinville, Washington. Considered one of the five best golf courses in the Pacific Northwest, the course was designed by Jack Frei.

Four-man Scramble & Shotgun start at 1:30pm. A barbecue dinner, a silent auction, and entertainment will follow the tournament. For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, check out PlayForeKids.com. Print out a full-color PDF Flyer about the event if you'd like to help promote it.

If you register by April 15th, you'll get the Early Bird Special. Register here: Play Fore Kids Registration. The last two events sold out, so get your reservations soon.

The event raises money for Childrens Cancer Careline, a fund that helps local families battling childhood cancer.

This event was organized by Menno Groenhout, one of our most knowledgeable, skilled, and popular servers at Daniel's Broiler - Bellevue. Read about the two previous Play Fore Kids Golf Tournaments here:

Successful Charity Event
Charity Golf Tournament
Making a Difference

Exciting New Cocktails at Daniel's Broiler

Our newest cocktails have arrived at the Daniel's Broiler lounge — somewhat of an in-between-winter-and-spring collection of vintage cocktails and seasonal cocktails made with our signature syrups. Quite a few of the new cocktails are vodka- or gin-based, married with citrus and herbs, and they'll make you wish summer was here.

The Sazerac cocktail — featured as one of our vintage cocktails — dates back to the later part of the 19th century. It's a simple cocktail of Rye whiskey, sugar, water and bitters.

The Sazerac is the first cocktail ever made. The exact description of the word "cocktail" is: spirit, water, bitters and sugar. Our variation is created with Whistle Pig Rye, from Vermont, which recently came on the market. It's a 100 proof 100% rye aged for at least 10 years in American oak. This whiskey is a creation of Dave Pickerell, who was the Master distiller at Maker's Mark for 14 years. We also use our housemade bitters instead of the original recipe's call for Peychauds Bitters.

Along with the Sazerac is the Park Avenue, the Mikado, and Scofflaw. On the seasonal cocktail side of the menu are drinks that include the Applewood Manhattan made with bourbon, apple cider, port and bitters. A Pineapple Cosmo made with a new vodka (Moon Mountain), plus St. Germain, pineapple and lime. It goes down easy.

Now, if ginger is your fancy, you must try the Ginger Smash. It includes tequila, our housemade falernum, Creole Shrubb, ginger syrup and lime juice. What's Creole Shrubb? Created in Martinique from rum, this orange liqueur is soft and smooth and mixes well with any drink that calls for an orange liqueur.

So come on in and titillate your taste buds. Click here to see the hours for the three Daniel's Broiler locations, as well as happy hour times.

Spirits Director, Brad Miller on the Upcoming "Styles of Rum" Dinner

JUST CAN'T WAIT for the weather to warm up, the backyard BBQ and the summer libations? Well, let's start a little early with our Styles of Rum dinner on March 29th at Daniel's Broiler - Lake Union.

This event will feature some great food pairing, created by Chef Mike Hillyer and some wonderful rums from around the world. While Chef Mike puts the final touches on the menu, we can discuss the rum.

Our guest speakers for the evening will include Rocky Yeh, an importer of a wide variety of rums, and Dragos Axinte, Proprietario of Novo Fogo Cachaca. He produces two wonderful, 100% organic cachacas from the Southern Brazil Atlantic rainforest. These two cachacas are distilled in small batches from copper pot stills. The entire operation is a zero-waste distillery and recycles everything, including the glass for the bottles. Heck, they even run their cars on the distillate!

Rocky Yeh will discuss a few rums such as Dos Maderas rum, distilled and initially aged in Barbados and Guyana and then shipped to the bodegas of Williams and Humbert's in Spain. It is then aged for 5 years in Sherry casks and then again in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks for an additional 3-5 years.

Also from Martinique will be the venerable Rhum Clement a Rhum Vieux Agricole. This mahogany-hued rhum is soft and has semi-sweet aromas with tastes of chocolate, figs and amaretto. The Creole Shrubb will also be part of our dinner experience, a orange liqueur made from rhum.

If that's not enough, we'll also taste Ron Zacapa 23 from Guatemala, a rum that's fantastic by itself. High in the mountains, Ron Zacapa is aged in a solera process, which is a blend of rums. This process originated with the making of Sherry in Spain. This rum is sweet with a touch of spice, hints of vanilla and a very well-balanced variety of aromas.

There will be a few surprises, plenty of information, wonderful crafted cocktails and other rums that will be available for tasting. Did we say a few surprises? I hope this piques your interest, and look forward to you making reservations at finespirits@schwartzbros.com. Or call 425-990-6310. The event begins at 6:30 PM, March 29th, 2011. We'll see you there!

- Brad Miller

Long Shadows Wine Dinner a Great Success

Wednesday, March 2nd, we had another outstanding wine dinner at Daniel's Broiler-Bellevue. If you didn't hear about it, it's only because the event sold out so quickly, we didn't even get a chance to blog or Facebook about it!

The biggest hit of the night was the 2007 Saggi Red Table wine, paired with a delicious free range Chicken Pancetta with pearl onions and tomatoes in a red wine sauce. So good! Chef Mike Dremman has outdone himself at every wine event, and this was no exception.

We also heard some great insights into the wine business and interesting history behind the different wines we tasted throughout the evening from the legendary Washington State wine industry visionary of Long Shadows Vintners, Allen Shoup. Long Shadows Vintners produces wines from Washington State made by world renowned winemakers from around the world.

Someone just emailed us with this comment: "Thank you so much for last night — it was a wonderful evening. We sat at a great table with some very interesting gentlemen and the wine and food were exceptional — what a treat!!!"

If you haven't experienced one of our wine dinners, you really owe it to yourself. It's an evening to remember. Our next one features Mark Ryan, Stevens and Gorman wineries on April 13th, starting at 6 PM. If you'd like more information or want to make a reservation, email vintagelounge@schwartzbros.com or call 425-990-6310 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 425-990-6310 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

The Long Shadows Wine Dinner menu:

SEATED APPETIZER
PRIME BEEF CARPACCIO
Fried Capers, Shallot Vinaigrette
wine pairing: Pedestal Merlot, 2007

SALAD
ROASTED RED BEETS
Shaved Anise, Sweet Onions, Oven-Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, Mustard Greens, Arugula,
Ten Year Balsamic Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
wine pairing: Sequel Syrah, 2006

POULTRY COURSE
"COQ AU VIN A LA SAGGI"
Free Range Chicken, Pancetta, Pearl Onions, Tomatoes in Red Wine
wine pairing: Saggi Red Table, 2007

MAIN COURSE
PRIME FILET MIGNON BORDELAISE
Fingerling Potatoes, Baby Vegetables
wine pairing: Feather Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

DESSERT
BAKED GREEN APPLE CRÈME BRÛLÉE
Cinnamon Drizzle
wine pairing: Poet’s Leap Botrytis Riesling, 2009