Been awhile...

Hey guys!  Kaleb here, stopping in to apologize for the lack of bloggery over the last little while.  I, along with everyone else from Farm, have been easing into the summer mode after a busy graduation weekend.  Now, the bar is prepping like soldiers going to battle for Athfest at the end of June.  This is when the "A" game comes out and the staff really kicks it into gear.  Also, I wanted to let everyone who has been a part of the Farm family for some time that Dan, the previous bar manager before me, will be back during the Athfest weekend to make a cameo appearance slinging the booze.  I for one am stoked to see my bud, and I know you folks that have been visiting our bar for years will be happy to see Dan's beardy face smiling from behind the bar. 

The new summer cocktail menu will be up soon, probably early June.  Keep your eye out for the awesome drinks we are prepping for your pallate.  I can tell you that two cocktails have already been chosen for the menu, and both are more interesting than anything I have tasted in some time.  And, for the adventurous, if you want to try some of the new ideas coming out right now, just ask your bartender for a one.  I'd totally love some guinea pigs (there is only so much I can force on our managers, after all).

Speaking of cocktails, a concoction that is currently on our menu, Deville after Dark, is featured in Food & Wine magazine!  Check it out (even though it says Farm 225, not 255) and pass it along!  Support your local watering hole and come see us soon! 

it's a hit!

Today, I gave an interview for the next edition of Athens Food and Culture magazine regarding our new cocktail menu and some of the ideas we promote at Farm Bar.  Keep an eye out next month for the article!

The new menu is offically off and running.  I don't think any of us expected it to take off as quickly as it did, but everyone seems really stoked on what we are doing right now.  Cocktails have been so well received that Matt and I have started more batches of bitters, shrubs, tinctures, and infusions to handle the demand.  You, our guests, seem just as excited to try them as we are to make them.  So, thank you! 
Here is a picture of one of the new drinks, The Saint, rolling out on a recent dinner service.

some pictures

a new drink.

a kir royale, and the newest bartender to Farm late nights, Michael Clancy.

Spring Cocktail Menu debut

Though we may have been shorted on winter here in Athens, I doubt anyone will complain with the beautiful days we have had over the last few weeks.  Perfect patio weather has beckoned our creative juices here at Farm Bar, and it is time to reveal four new drinks as the last of the cool breeze yields to baseball weather.  This menu will run as long as the sun stays hot, so come on out and try these new gems. 

A personal note...I want to thank all the bartenders of Farm for making this menu happen.  Everyone worked on their respective projects with precision and passion, and I can't tell you how happy I am to be working with such fine people.  So to Matt, Laura, Jake, Jeremy, and Clancy, cheers to you guys!  Viva la Home Team!  Good on ya for grabbing the bull by the horns and making it happen.

I hope our craft is evident in every sip of every drop of every cocktail made in the next few months, as I am proud to present you with the Spring cocktail menu, 2012.
*Deville after Dark-- Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, Pommeau de Normandie, Benedictine, Cointreau, Kaleb's Homemade Lime Bitters, Kaleb's Homemade Clove Tincture. 
This drink began with my stage at Leon's Full Service with Miles MacQuarrie, where I first tried Pommeau de Normandie, a blend of Calvados and Apple Juice.  This is an homage to that experience and the knowledge gained from him, and it marries techniques and ideas acquired while training.  Thanks again, Miles.  I finally learned how to stir with just the fingers!  The name comes from one of the more popular activities in the summer here in Athens (nightswimming) at one of the more well known spots.  Watch out for cops!
*7th Ward-- Sailor Jerry Rum, Fernet Branca, turbinado syrup, grapefruit juice, Buster's Caribbean Bitters, Angostura Bitters.
This creation comes from Matt McFerron, the resident salty dog.  We started out considering alterations to a Dark and Stormy and this was his finished product, which features his homemade bitters named for his sweet dog, Buster.  The name is a New Orleans reference to the area that stretches from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain where many of the Creole Style mansions reside.
* The Saint-- St. George Terroir Gin, fresh lemon juice, St. Germain, Matt's Homemade Raspberry Shrub, Kaleb's Homemade Grenadine, soda. 
Laura Myers first had the idea for this drink with the two Saints together, and through some tweaks, we have collectively created this amazingly refreshing cocktail.  In beverage history, the word shrub has carried several meanings. For our purposes, it's enough to say that a shrub is an acidulated beverage made of fruit juice or vinegar, sugar, and other ingredients.  Matt's is an infusion of raspberry and apple cider vinegar, and with my heavy acid pallette, I could drink it by itself (though I don't recommend it if you don't like vinegar).
* Ol' Buddy, O'l Pal-- Old Overholt Rye Whiskey, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Aperol, Orange Bitters.
This complex flavor is a variation on a semi-classic known as the Ol' Pal.  The clean and well defined flavors work best as an apertif, or pre-meal cocktail, to liven up the pallette for Chef Whitney's ever-changing menu. 

There you have it.  The drinks will be slowly integrated over the next week resulting in the complete change by Tuesday, April 3rd.  An additional cocktail may be added to the mix in the near future, but I think you are looking at the best cocktail menu in Athens as it is, and there are enough here to keep diners stoked for multiple visits.  Hope to see you soon. 
Cheers!
Kaleb

bar madness, elite eight

hoooooly cow...we beat the globe in the round of 16, and now we are up against the royal peasant in the elite eight.  wow.  thanks for all your support thus far, and the we appreciate your continued votes.  this round ends on the 21st, so plenty of time to vote!

new cocktail menu is in is final stages...Mattie kicked in a killer rum drink, i got a pierre ferrand cognac cocktail with one of my tinctures ready, and laura has been flirting with the st. george terroir gin.  big things, y'all. 

And, I wanted to make it known how rad the folks I work with really are.  All good people with good minds that I'd happily call friends who work hard, enjoy the creativity of the job, and all carry themselves confidently with what it is we do at Farm 255!  Thank you for being awesome, Matt, Jake, Laura, Jeremy, and Clancy.  Mercer, too!

Cheers!

Bar Madness, Sweet Sixteen, & bands you need to see...

Farm Bar made it to the round of 8 remaining competitors, but now we are up against the number one seed in the Globe.  We sure would appreciate your vote!  Thanks y'all!

The Humms played a hauntingly perfect set on Thursday night to a crowd that braved the rain to see them.  We set them up outside to play before the rain and, during their set, the sky opened up and gave us a piece of her mind.  As if it was planned all along, Zeke and the boys just turned it up, and kept on rocking.  Do yourself the favor, go see this down and dirty blues rock explosion.

The Rodney Kings also played on Thursday, hopping on the bill last minute for the injured Muuy Biien.  Surf rock fun and an aggro passion drives this young upstart band.  They just released an EP you can probably find by asking around, but I got my copy last night, and it is exactly what I was hoping for-- their energetic live show translated fluidly onto record.  The band is relatively new to the scene, but I have a feeling you'll be hearing their name in the coming months.

Bar Madness

Everyone loves to fill out the March Madness brackets.  And who wouldn't love to fill out one about Athens bars?! The Athens Banner-Herald is doing their annual Bar Madness, so go vote!  The first round ends March 7th, followed by the start of the second round starting the 8th.  We are currently beating the Winery in the first round and would love your support through the duration of March. 

Cheers and Thanks!
Kaleb.

New Brunch Cocktail Menu

The new brunch cocktail menu is now live and rolling.  Come on in and celebrate after church with a libation.  Water into wine, amIright?  Besides, cocktails were originally intended to be a morning time beverage in order to cure the too many drinks had the night before.  We got remedies, doggie...

The Marvel    $9
Aalborg Akvavit, Aperol, Carpano Antica, Fee Bros. Orange Bitters
*This drink is based on the Norwegian Sunset by Jesse Held of the Northstar Bartenders' Guild, who works at the Marvel Bar in Minneapolis.  The Bartenders' Guild is a midwest collective of bartenders in which Jesse is the president.  They are the closest thing to rock stars in bar tending.

Louisville Milkshake    $8.50
Wathan's Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon, 43 Licor, Demerara Syrup, cream, club soda
*The inspiration for this drink came from several places, but the bourbon and 43 licor combination was found in a recipe by Joy Perrine, the bar manager of Jack's in Louisville.  The rich syrup is 2:1, sugar to hot water.  Rich syrup is different than simple syrup because the sugar used is Demerara (Sugar-in-the-raw), as opposed to fine white sugar for simple.

Ruby Fizz     $8
Charmeroy Brut Champagne, Cocchi Americano, Angostura Bitters, fresh lemon juice
*This one was inspired from a drink Olivia had, that had cocchi and cava together.  Light, fizzy, and red, and delicate.

French 75      $8.50
Bombay Dry Gin, Casteller Cava, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice
Super traditional cocktail, created in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris, France by Harry MacElhone.  The recipe was first recorded in 1930 in the Savory Cocktail Book, and is named as such because the combination was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with a French 75mm field gun.

Farm Bloody Mary     $8
Gin/ Vodka/ Tequila, house made bloody mary mix, seasonal pickles
*You know the story...

Pistola      $7
Negra Modelo, Hot Sauce, fresh lime juice, house made bloody mary mix, seasonal pickles
*Michelada's are beer bloody mary.  woot.

tobacco tincture, clove tincture, homemade grenadine...a ramble

So, the tobacco tincture came out awesome.  Big on the nose, light but obvious flavor on the taste.  The clove tincture I tried came out like a clove tincture should: strong enough to blow out your pallate for an hour with two drops.  Needless to say, this will need alot of booze to match up to the flavor.
I dropped out a bottle of both to Highwire Lounge and a bottle of the clove tincture to the National, to see if they wanted to try any experiments with it.  Hopefully, they can figure out awesome cocktails with them. 
For Farm Bar's sake, I'm leaning to having one or the other on the new cocktail menu, that will be debuting in early to mid march.
I found a pretty vintage, old school homemade grenadine recipe and made a bottle for the house, so any drinks you ask for with grenadine is now that house made, not the abomination that is Rose's grenadine.  Woot. 
Made traditional whiskey sours with grenandine last night for the feaure cocktail to go a long with our chicken dinner tuesdays.  Keep it on your radar that new features come out almost weekly on that night.
New wine menu is almost fully on now, with a few exceptions that should be fixed by next week.
Now serving: Saison Dupont!  This farmhouse saison is, in the words of my buddy Neal, "the gold standard of saisons."  it's pricy, but dang...no wonder it has been named the best beer in the world before.

tobacco tincture, shawty...

I wanted to mentioned that I purchased some sweet, full flavor cigars today and cracked them open and put them in a mason jar with some 80 proof bourbon.  why would i waste good cigars, you ask?  well, i am making a tobacco tincture for cocktails, of course.  7 days or so, and we will be having smoky cocktails...

*note: recovering smokers should not consume anything with this mixture in it.  it is basically a pure cigar tobacco bitters.

a whirlwind of stuff

Quick update on new things:

New Draft: New Belgium Dig features pale malts that give a generous dusting of caramel and sweet cream butteryness. A little lemon zest and spice from the hops produce a medium-light bitterness.  This spring seasonal from the employee owned New Belgium Brewery speaks to the upcoming spring time, and honestly, I brought it on because I think we are all ready t oforget about the winter that never was in Athens and start looking forward to warmer days.

New Bottles: Avery Ellie's Brown Ale tastes like what I think a brown ale should taste like.  A nice malty body with no cream notes, but more of a stiff sweetness that disappears into a nutty subtle hop.  This is my new favorite brown ale.
Thomas Creek River Falls Red Ale hails from Greenville, South Cackalacka (Carolina) and has most recently won a silver medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival.  This flagship brew is vegan-friendly, as is all of the beers in the Thomas Creek portfolio.  You got to love the small market breweries that kick out very respectable beers, and this is no different.  The red ale features a full body of malts and yeasts which carries through the entire sip, with a smooth and delicious flavor featuring subtle grapefruit and banana notes.  Be not mistaken, though.  This is a beautifully consistent beer, from first taste of light grapefruit and yeast to mild hops on the back end to dry the pallate, I could see finishing this six pack in a night and being satisfied (i.e. a very sessionable beer).

New Wines: The wine list is going through its early year make over, so I will write more about this when the transitions have completed, but one of note that I can mention to you is "Ideale" from La Nunsio.  This barbera replaces our "Baby" and is a tender wine, needing a minute to open up before the full bouquet is shown.  Ripe cantalope, green strawberry, and green apple skin stick out to me for the flavors with a very subtle tannic back end.

New Spirits: Pierre Ferrand 1st Cru Ambre is a ten year old cognac from one of the most recognized cognac producers in the world.  Hot, savory caramel with that smoky vanilla flavor makes this just delicious.  Seriously, I feel this is a great above average cognac and certainly pallatable by even the most novice of cognac pallates.  The flavors are so well defined that, even after one sip, you will know why cognac is so enjoyable.

Cheers! 

PS, New brunch cocktail menu will start up next week.  Just to let you in to a few ideas: The Marvel (based on the Norwegian Sunset by Jesse Held of the North Star Bartenders' Guild), The Kentucky Milkshake, Ruby Fizz, and Pistola are all names you should love.  Come in for a little after church nipper and let me know what you think. 

Introducing Tuesday Chicken Dinners and Featured Cocktails

Tuesdays at Farm will now feature local chicken dishes on a three course pre-fixe menu a long with a featured Kentucky bourbon cocktail.

This week:

{one}
Arugula & Carrot Salad with roasted scallions and black pepper "ranch"

{two}
springer mountain chicken with mustard greens, cheddar cheese biscuit, and saw mill gravy

{three}
bread puddding with bourbon caramel and vanilla whipped cream

And now, for the feature cocktail:

-Joy's Manhattan-
House Infused Six- Spice Apple Pear Kentucky Bourbon
Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth
Homemade Lemon Bitters
Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters


My homemade bitters is ready to go and this is the first showcasing of it, as well as a new bourbon infusion.  Come on to the Farm tonight and get country with us.

HOOOOOOOOOOLY COW

It's my privilege to announce that Big Freedia will be settin' off a DJ party on Friday night, February 3rd, at Farm 255.  Follow the link to see Big Freedia on the Jimmy Kimmel show this past Thursday...oh lord....

Big Freedia

Come get low.  And das wassup.

the first two bottles of home made bitters.

Athens Favorites 2012

Go to the questionnaire at Flagpole to vote for your favorite local Athens business.  We at Farm 255 would love your support for these awards, and, as a personal note, I would love your support for bartender as well as your support for the Farm bar.  I need to make my mom proud, you guys!

now serving: Bell's Lager, Bell's Best Brown on draft, and two new spirits

This whole "no really cold weather" thing is really starting to cramp my style...I want more time to sit with these amazing stouts, but alas, the taste buds want something else since the temperature refuses to force me into a down jacket.  So, as we wave goodbye to Bell's Kalamazoo Stout with the final pints pouring now, I decided to switch from the Best Brown from the bottle to draft and bring in the lighter and maltier Bell's Lager as a bottle replacement.  Yea, I do like the Bell's brewery.  You should, too.

Blackwell Rum may be my favorite rum on the market, currently.  Loaded with vanilla, cocunut, and fired marshmallow flavors, this dark golden rum is balanced with an unparalleled smoothness.  This will be in a cocktail in the weeks to come, but i encourage to try a sip or five of this by itself.

Lion's Pride Organic Dark Rye Whiskey is a creation from the upstart craft distillery Koval, based in Chicago.  This rye is a highly refined fruity rye on a bed of taut wood. The spirit itself is super soft, (a core of silk) but around that center orbits fresh notes of carmel apple, earl grey, and light cinnimon.  A true sipper, this spirit is less concerned with the cocktail that is created around it, and more with creating its own atmosphere of flavor.  I had this in a Old Fashioned a few nights ago (read: three), and I would challenge you to put this next to your favorite rye for it.

now serving: new beer and new spirits

Alma de Agave Tequila Reposado is, like all reposado, aged six months.  This particular tequila is aged in naturally treated oak casks, exposing the true agave flavor and smoky notes.  This artisan tequila will now be featured in a new cocktail, penned by our very own Matt McFerron, named the Novena Calle.  I'll update this post with the story behind the drink when Matt and I speak about it again because I do not want to butcher the story that Matt took a painstaking effort to research.  Good on ya, Mattie.

Pearl Pomegranate Vodka- I am not a flavored vodka fan.  I typically don't drink vodka at all.  But, the flavor profile of this vodka is a little different.  It isn't bad, for one.  Moreover, the pomegranate flavor is subtle and smooth, and the sweetness of the infusion balances the vodka burn nicely.  This is perfect for cosmos, so if you fancy yourself a cosmo connoisseur, you may be changing brands soon.

Cheers!

Travels of a Bar Man

Decatur/ Atlanta/ Athens friends, I will be working at Leon's Full Service Bar & Restaurant in Decatur, GA on Tuesday the 24th and Wednesday the 25th as part of training to increase my skills as a bar man.  I will be working with Leon's bar manager, Miles MacQuarrie, who, in 2009, beat out many other local bartenders to win a custom cocktail competition hosted by Taste of Atlanta.  Not only has Miles built a solid reputation as a bar man in Atlanta, but he also seems to possess a great passion for cocktails.  I am looking forward to learning from him, but most of all, looking forward to nerding out about cocktails with one of Atlanta's finest.

It would mean a lot if you came and had some drinks and said hello while I'm in the area.

 Cheers!

now serving: House Infusions

These two are now ready to serve, Mint Vanilla Vodka and Orange Clove Bourbon.

The vodka will now be featured in the '57 Mule along with the Balsamic Gastrique
The bourbon has not found its home in a cocktail quite yet, but honestly, I don't know that it needs one.  It sips so pleasantly that I may just decide to have a special on it by itself.  Come in and try them!

Also in the works, a coffee vanilla infused vodka and a honey crisp apple infused rum. 

New Year, New Spirits

New to the Farm 255 bar shelves this week.  Click the links to check out some reviews.

Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

Sazerac 6 year Rye Whiskey

Death's Door Gin