Award-winning absinthe cocktail at Hoffman’s, plus Enfold Wines and a conserve from Frog Hollow Farms
I was obviously the last to know that Hoffman’s Downtown, which I had always associated with memorable pastries and exceptional breakfasts, now showcases a full bar, plus live jazz six nights a week. Well, an email from owner Adam Hoffman set me straight. Since the Santa Cruz landmark opened 13 years ago, it has been busy making people happy for their pastries, legendary eggs Benedict and now—drum roll—award-winning cocktails. Yes. Cocktails. Serious ones, such as the Lucid Dreams, a honey of a creation featuring Lucid Absinthe. As it turns out, Adam Hoffman has been busy fine-tuning new and memorable cocktails, including one so outrageous that it has been named a national winner in the 2015 National Lucid Absinthe competition. Hoffman reveals proudly that he’s “featured as a national winner in the spring issue of Bartender magazine.” To which I can only add my personal congratulations. Hoffman confesses that he is an absinthe aficionado, passionate about mixology, and all of the exciting possible twists on cocktail classics. “I’m proud that my recipe was recognized by leading absinthe experts,” Hoffman says. “It’s a way to showcase the artistry we’re working to bring back to the bar scene in Santa Cruz.”
So what’s in the award-winning Lucid Dreams? Without revealing his exact technique or proportions that make this a Hoffman signature, the mixologist says that the cocktail features “Lucid Absinthe, lemon, ginger liqueur, honey and warm chamomile tea.” The warm chamomile tea probably helps to intensify the mysterious synergy of all of the ingredients. But I’ll get back to you after I’ve sampled it for myself. Adventurous imbibers can try their own Lucid Dreams at Hoffman’s Downtown, located at 1102 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.
Enfold Wines
We embarked on what would turn out to be a sensational meal at Artisan in Paso Robles: Wild boar tenderloin surrounded by a fennel risotto and topped with fresh mustard sauce—a dish so utterly perfect in every way that I can barely breathe as I recall it. Well, that entree was romanced by a supple orchestration of red varietals called John’s Blend, from Enfold Wines. So small—350 cases a year—that only wine club members and a few choice restaurants receive their wines, Enfold is a family-owned, sustainably farmed vineyard just east of Paso. Here we were, enjoying this sensitive blend of Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Grenache, and Cabernet, when the waitress revealed that the owner Joseph D’Alessio was in the restaurant that night. One thing led to another and D’Alessio himself graciously came to our table, explaining that he and his wife Anita Speciale had fallen in love with the area a decade ago and built their winery on acres they planted with the grapes used in the estate’s custom blends. John’s Blend just won a gold medal at the Pacific Rim Wine Competition. This lovely handcrafted creation offers peaches and currants, leather and white pepper in the center and a charismatic lemongrass finish. It is one of those compelling blends that goes on and on. And it went exactly with the earthy wild boar. Now I have yet another destination when spending time in Paso Robles, where the Spanish-California landscape unfolds at its most classic. enfoldwines.com
Product of the Week
The organic nectarine and plum conserve from Frog Hollow Farm, currently on sale at New Leaf on the Westside, is everything a bite of freshly harvested fruit should be. Dreamy on toasted Holy Moly from Companion Bakeshop.
PHOTO: Hoffman’s has been named a national winner in the National Lucid Absinthe competition for this creation, the Lucid Dreams. CHIP SCHEUER
