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The most important thing I learned at the Roosevelt Room during his Liquor of the World tasting class is that I don’t really like brandy.
I’ve also learned – and I’ll mention it at every opportunity – that Americans drink so much more cognac than the French that we are the largest market for the 90 percent exported liquor. What I’ve learned most useful is that I don’t spend enough time in the Roosevelt Room. Fortunately, I’ll have more opportunities to visit them in January when the swanky, dimly-lit Austin bar resumes its cocktail classes for a more comprehensive curriculum.
Most of the conversations about certain brandies were ear-to-ear (mainly due to my geographic challenges and lack of attention on the slideshow), but I’ve kept everything I said about the atmospheric, stylish pub on Fifth Street from the group of the loyal Heard regulars who took me under their wing.
I snuck in late and was embarrassed about missing the introduction, basically I shot the first two samples (which luckily tasted just like the fruits they were distilled from: raspberry and pear). The man on my left kept me up to date: sniff carefully to catch the flavors or “nose”, followed by a very small first sip to acclimatise, then a second, longer sip to experience the full taste.
The listening-intensive course inundated us for the most part, a surprisingly calming experience for a Sunday afternoon, like a cool college elective that you will never be tested on. Our only active concern, aside from screaming out the flavors we caught, was pacing up and down. I arrived in one place at the bar with a dozen pre-portioned samples on a numbered mat, a quart of water, a pen and a notebook to record interesting tidbits in, and a tray of snacks. (Especially the olives and cheese were of distracting quality – and that’s not the brandy!)
Though lunchtime on a Sunday felt like burning my tongue with pure brandy, the drawn curtains, dimmed lights, glowing bar top, and casual attentive company rocked me into a quieter world. Bar owners Matthew Korzelius and Justin Lavenue took turns improvising unpretentiously from a 39-page slide show. Not every tasting was designed to cram a specific brand.
“I don’t know who drinks it,” said Korzelius dismissively about a sample. “It has to be someone.”
On the street it was said that the schnapps course was only sparsely attended, which adds up to the relative popularity of the spirit compared to whiskey or rum. Still, I’m significantly more challenged by whiskey than geography, and the brandy Old Fashioned, served halfway through the course, was far more approachable than its traditional counterpart. It was a relief not to grapple with my underdeveloped bitter drink taste, but the Old Fashioned was no match for the bright and flirtatious sidecar we all started out with.
Most of the content focused on regions, production methods, and terminology – not so much practical, like making drinks or combining brandies with food and blenders. From what my new friends told me, this is the domain of the Roosevelt’s Home Bartending 101 and 102 classes, which they preferred, although they also enjoyed the more passive, ghost-specific classes. After home bartending, they tried the recipes at home and sent photos around in a group chat. It is certainly a different way of joining a favorite bar that makes their cocktails at home. Although it wasn’t the focus of the course, the summary email included recipes for both the Sidecar and the Old Fashioned, along with all of the slides and notes.
The five men I met during the event invited me for an after-class drink and drew their punch cards. They explained that regulars who try one of each classic drink from the extensive table menu deserve a plaque with their name engraved on it. Those who complete the full range of beverages on the Presidents List – the top-shelf versions of any cocktail – will be honored with a portrait painted in the back hallway. Basking in the glory of the patrons who accomplished this feat, I noticed only two paintings, so it seems to remain an undiluted honor, although three more have since been immortalized.
I ordered a milk punch from Presidents List, a mellow but deceptively alcoholic cocktail that used a brandy that we hadn’t tried. It was served in one of the most charming containers I’ve ever seen: half a glass milk carton with tiny flowers and a striped paper straw. For me that embodies The Roosevelt Room. I lost all sense of what time it was outside, met some friends who couldn’t be happier to be there, and adopted a fancy old world drink that was somehow served with the most curious, sublime presentation. I wouldn’t call it a themed bar, but it is true to its antiquity and warmly invites everyone to come along.
The Roosevelt Room is updating its website and Eventbrite to share information on monthly courses (starting at $ 75) that will be suspended at year-end and return in early 2022. Next up are two stages of home bartending, followed by two stages of cocktail creation & mixology. it seems like a great way to usher in the new year!
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https://austin.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/11-19-21-brandies-of-the-world-roosevelt-room-review/
