Skip to main content

Hot Drinks from Sasha’s

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

I have been really fortunate in my time working with the liquor world, that I have ended up employed in some really classic venues.

I especially like working in places that have a real history.

Currently being in charge of the bar at the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow, a bar that is definitely historical in Wyoming, if not the West, definitely fits the bill.

Leftover Turkey Corn Chowder

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

I make really good soups. 

I know I can cook well enough where people paid for the food in my restaurants, but I am not even close to cooking what a good chef can. However I cannot deny I make good soups. 

This talent definitely came late.

Honestly before I moved over to Taiwan, I had never ever, ever attempted to make a soup from scratch.

Pumpkin Spice Cocktails

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

Thanksgiving is the time of the pumpkin.

Many Thanksgiving dinners will be served with pumpkin pie for dessert.

I can eat pumpkin pie, but give me a pecan or blueberry pie and I will be much happier. In truth, my family always had two pies for Thanksgiving growing up, one pumpkin, and another of some type my sister and I liked better. 

Cranberry Relish

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

The first time I ate cranberry relish, I was in Noosa, Australia, at a friend’s house for Boxing Day.

This is the day after Christmas when friends get together and exchange presents and have parties.

Boxing Day is a British tradition and practiced in many of the Commonwealth Nations such as Australia and Canada.

Depth Charge Drinks

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

The first sort of depth charge drink I came across was in the marina bar in Washington D.C. 

A depth charge drink is the type of cocktail where a shot glass of some liquor is dropped in a glass of beer or an energy drink like Red Bull.

Have You Ever Tasted Puke Casserole?

By Dana Davis

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

Last week, my co-worker at the Saratoga Museum, Cindy Kessler, brought me a nice treat for lunch. She made some very tasty tater-tot casserole and shared it with me. It reminded me that I haven’t had tater-tot casserole in over 20 years due to an incident when my daughters were still very young.

The Valuable Spirit

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

Triple Sec is valuable in the world of bartending. 

I know this because I learned tons about this spirit because I worked with a Spanish company that had one of the best triple secs I had ever tasted. It was so good, that I got the company to change the name from Rives Triple Sec to Rives Seville Orange liqueur.

Laksa to Warm Up on this Cold Season

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

I really enjoy soups with coconut milk. When I first went to Asia, I tried a lot of curries from all over. Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian have their own take on curries.

They are great, but usually a little thick, which is fine by me, but not quite a soup.

America’s First Spirit

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

When I was learning to bartend and was making myself familiar with all sorts of liquors and liqueurs, I heard of Applejack, but most bars I worked in didn’t carry it. The few that did, usually it was in a hot apple cider drink.

Once I left the East Coast, Applejack was nowhere to be found.

Potatoes Shine as a World-Class Superfood with Elegant Fondant Recipe to Elevate Any Meal

By K.J. Schricker   

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

Drambuie and the Rusty Nail

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

There are not a lot of Scotch cocktails that are famous.

And only a few that are really worth drinking in my opinion.

But there is one.

The Rusty Nail.

Although it is not ordered anywhere near as much as it was from the 1940s to 1970s, a good bartender who has a decent grasp of cocktails, is going to know the drink.

Meatballs with Parmesan

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

While looking through my papers from my restaurant in Laramie the other day, I came across one of my appetizers that I had forgotten was a huge hit when we put it out.

I don’t eat a lot of beef, and when I do, it is usually steak.

I do make meatballs for pasta, but this recipe, I admit, I had forgotten.

Maraschino is Worth Trying

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

Every once in a while a spirit comes into my orbit that I am not all that familiar with and then I wonder how I ignored it for years.

Maraschino is one of those liqueurs.

Part of the problem was, when I came across it many years ago, I was under the impression it would have a cherry taste.

I expected it to be sweet.

Simple Sesame Seed Shrimp

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

This is one of the easiest appetizers I have learned to make. It is another dish I encountered while I was over in Taiwan from one of my friends when I ran my restaurant “fM” in Taichung.

My kid brother (actually ex-brother-in-law) had decided he wanted to do another type of restaurant with our chef and left the business we started.

Ancient Remedy and Modern Superfood

By Dana Davis    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

A Bartender’s Journey Into the World of Cognac

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

 

When I first started bartending in Washington D.C., like all new bartenders, I learned about spirits from what people drank. When I went to work at an upscale marina bar, a lot of the customers drank Hennesy and Coke.

Hennessy is a cognac.

Subscribe to Sip & Savor