Shane's Winter Drinks

The Crazy Alpine

• 4oz hot chocolate
• 1/2oz Goldshlager
• 1 1/2oz peppermint schnapps
• splash of Frangelico
• top with whipped cream and caramel drizzle
  
  

Tuacca Cider

• 4oz hot apple cider
• 1 1/2 oz of Tuacca
• 1/2 oz Hot Damn
• 1/2 oz Absolute Pear
• garnish with a Cinnamon stick
  
  

Irish Coffee

• 4oz Black Coffee
• 11/2 oz Jameson's Irish whiskey
• splash of simple syrup
• 1 sugar cube
• top with whipped cream

Spiced Wine For the Holidays

Ingredients

1. 2 bottles light-bodied red wine
   
2. 1 1/4 cups sugar
   
3. Zest of 1 orange
   
4. Zest of 1 lemon
   
5. 3 black peppercorns, crushed
   
6. 2 cardamom pods, crushed
   
7. One 3-inch cinnamon stick, crushed
   
8. 1 clove, crushed
   
9. 1/2 cup kirsch

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the red wine with the sugar and the orange and lemon zests.
2. Put the spices in a tea ball and add to the saucepan.
3. Bring the wine to a very slow simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4. Remove from the heat, discard the tea ball and stir in the kirsch.
5. Ladle the spiced wine into heatproof glasses and serve at once.

Make Ahead

The spiced wine can be kept overnight at room temperature. Reheat before serving.

Recipe by Josh Bell

Local Faire: Belltown Pizza

Belltown Pizza is a great spot for late night pizza by the slice. It is very affordable and damn good. With a fun and vibrant atmosphere I suggest to stop in after a night out or if your just starting on your adventures for the evening...... Enjoy......

http://www.belltownpizza.net

Fun Places to hang out in Belltown

Bandits Bar is a great place to grab a drink with friends. There happy hour is awsome and has a great bar staff. Steven is an owner/ tender and is always glad to see you. He knows what you like and usually has you drink ready before you sit down. With a friendly atmosphere and good service I would recommend this bar to anyone in the area.

Great Bar Signs

Places I've Worked: Bones Brewing

Bones Brewing Co.

Bones was an awesome place to work. It was a complex that included three bars. In the complex was a sports bar , live music venue and karaoke bar. Bones has everything under one roof and is easily one of Billings hot spots for entertainment. While I was there I was very involved in events held there such as Comedy shows, Live Music and Sporting events . It has a fast paced atmosphere which I enjoy and has great energy. I was able to meet and work with many great people.

http://www.bonesbrewing.com

Places I've Worked: City Vineyard

City Vineyard

City Vineyard is where I started in the vast world of wine. While there I was engulfed in wine knowledge. Every day was a new adventure in the field of vino. Some days it was hard to comprehend how much there is to know about wine, wine making and picking apart the wine. It was always a great enjoyment of mine to be able to pick that perfect bottle of wine for someone, whether it be a special occasion, collecting or just for a good sipping wine. This was a great experience, and the training I received there was an incredible growth of knowledge.

http://www.cityvineyardwine.com/

Global Toasts

GLOBAL TOASTS

Here is a list of toasts to help you say the linguistically correct thing when you are traveling :
French - "A votre sante!"( To your health )
Italian - " Salute!" ( To health ) / "Cin Cin"
British - "Cheers!"
Hungarian - "Ege'sze'ge're!" ( To good health )
Japanese - "Kanpai!" ( pronounced Kampai )
Polish - "Na Zdrowie!" ( To health )
Russian - "Za vashe zdorovye!" ( To your health )
Greek - "Yasas!" / "Eis Igian!" / "Stin ijiasas!"
Chinese - "Wen Lie!" / "Gan bie!"
Irish - "Slainte!"
Swedish - "Skal!"
Brazilian - "Saude!" ( Health )
Spanish - "Salud!" ( Health )
German - "Prost!" ( from Latin 'prosit' - may it be good )
Zulu (Africa) - "Ooogy Wawa!"
India - "Tulleeho!"

Wine Art by Ralph Steadman

I have had these prints for many years and have always enjoyed them. I hope you will as well.

Fun Places to hang out in Belltown

The Cyclops

The Cyclops was one of the first places that I visited when I moved to Seattle. It has an awesome atmosphere and a great bar staff. My favorite bartender is Alex she is always on top of her game and is very prompt in getting your drinks. If your down to hang out and relax that is definitely a fun place to go.

Places I've worked: Q Cuisine

Q Cuisine

The Q was a very fun place to work. It also had a night club attached which made it great after you were off work. The Q is a restaurant that is very fusion orientated and eclectic. The restaurant definitely has unique feel to is ambiance its décor is very up and coming and definitely ahead of its time for Billings. I had fun helping in creating the wine list and learning about different style of food.

Strawberry Spinach Salad
Sliced strawberries, caramelized almonds,
Stilton bleu cheese, sesame dressing

Grilled Tenderloin & Foie Gras
Seared Foie Gras, potato soufflé, and
seasonal vegetables,

http://www.qcuiusine.com/

Places I've worked: The Granary

The Granary is where I gained a multitude of experience in management. While there I worked with staff on wine knowledge and service techniques. At The Granary I was able to help create an award winning wine list, which also was one of the best in the state. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the cocktail menus. The executive chef and owner always told me to be as creative as possible, so I was. I invented many styles of mojitos and crazy cocktails as well as martinis. My famous Strawberry and Basil Martini is still on their cocktail menu to this day. The Granary’s food was exceptional with a mix of traditional steak house meets fusion cuisine.


Built in 1935, The Granary served as the milling department for Billings Polytechnic Institute
Until World War ll. The building was not used again until The Granary restaurant opened in 1976. In Spring 2004, this Billings landmark changed hands and underwent a major transformation. The Granary was reopened in October 2004.


Baked Brie
Puff Pastry wrapped brie, stuffed with caramelized onions and roasted walnuts accompanied by apricot preservers.

Wagyu Medallions
Grilled medallions of wagyu shoulder tender with cheddar cheese risotto ,roasted butternut squash and a port wine reduction


http://www.billings-granary.com/

Places I've worked: Walkers Bar and Grill

Walkers American Grill and Tapas Bar was a great experience. I worked there for a little over a year and a half. While there I enjoyed the great wine , food and fellow staff. Walkers is a fantastic restaurant with an incredible atmosphere, unique to traditional food and a stellar cocktail menu.


Grilled Beef Tenderloin
Sweet & spicy fig sauce, prosciutto wrapped asparagus
bundle & creamy Manchego potatoes

Fall Vegetable Bruschetta
Grilled tomato, red onion, bell peppers, scallion, basil
& anchovy atop toasted garlic-rubbed baguette with
extra-virgin olive oil & sherry vinegar

http://www.walkersgrill.com

Quote of the week

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

-Benjamin Franklin-

Local Faire: Feierabend

Great German and Austrian beers, atmosphere and of course, the Schweinshax’n mit Rotkohl und Kartoffel Salat (Smoked roasted ham hock rubbed with brown sugar and sweet hot mustard served with rotkohl and German potato salad.) This little gem located near South Lake Union impressed me from the start with a truly vibrant setting, incredible food and a great beer menu. Better show up early because it fills up fast.

http://www.feierabendseattle.com

Ten reasons why beer is better then a woman.

1. Frigid beer is good beer.
2. Beer never gets a headache.
3. A beer label comes off without a fight.
4. You can share a beer with your friends.
5. You don't have to wine and dine beer.
6. You can enjoy a beer every day of the month.
7. You always know your a beer's first.
8. A beer is never late.
9. Beer doesn't get jealous when you grab another beer.
10. Beer tastes good.

New home, new city... new work?

I am a bartender in the truest sense of the word. I pour drinks. Mix laughs with good company. I generally entertain until the wee hours of the morning. I do it because I love it. I recently left my hometown of Billings, Montana to pursue my educational interest in the Culinary Arts. Along the way, I hope to meet new people, connect with a few old ones, and tend bar. I do it because its fun, and it beats saying "did you read the TPS report?".