Changing the way you imbibe

As if you needed one more excuse to indulge yourself over the holiday season, feast your ears on this: chicken quarters slow cooked in the style of coq au vin with citrus-honey barbecue glaze, accompanied by smoked Gouda and sour cream mashed potatoes and topped off with buttered sweet corn with red pepper flakes. Now, try to stop salivating all over your keyboard.

This is the second course for the upcoming Beggar’s Banquet — a monthly dinner party, whose inaugural supper will be held at the Hi-Hat Lounge tonight.

Sorry to burst your drooling bubble, but the first event is already sold out.  With a menu like that I should think it should be.  The first in a monthly series at the Hi Hat,  Beggar’s Banquet is a three-course cocktail dinner which features craft cocktails paired with seriously decadent and delicious food.

The theme for tonight’s dinner is “Americana”– which will have all you whiskey lovers out there rejoicing.  Every cocktail, of the three they have on the menu so far, is made from some type of whiskey.  Even one of the desserts is a whiskey drink called “Christmas Card from a Hooker.”  It’s made with almond-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, homemade coffee, Tahitian vanilla syrup and topped with house-made celery and smoked salt infused whipped cream.

The brains behind Hi Hat’s foray into craft cocktail deliciousness are head chef Rebecca Berkshire and resident mixologists Chad Doll and Daniel Dufek.  Doll said that they got the idea to hold the dinner because they rarely see cocktail dinners in Milwaukee, and it’s an opportunity for seasoned mixologists like himself and Dufek to have some fun and experiment with different flavors and tastes.

These different flavors and tastes, however, are largely contingent on the time of year and what’s available locally.

“Local ingredients are very important,” Doll stresses.  “Hi Hat is a small local business, so it’s important that we support other local businesses in Milwaukee.”

The push for locally sourced food has been popular for years now, but for some reason cocktails are the Johnny-come-latelys to the “local is awesome” party.  Doll says it’s a natural progression – when people realize how delicious and affordable locally-produced food can be, it’s only a matter of time before those principles are applied to the cocktails they sip.

“It’s hard to go back after trying a craft cocktail” Doll says — a statement I can personally attest to.

Still, it seems like Milwaukee just hasn’t caught on to the trend that is sweeping America’s cities.  Craft cocktails are not only delicious, they’re trendy.  But, as Doll points out, there’s no point in trying to convert Milwaukee’s deeply-devoted drinking culture.

“We want to give customers exactly what they want.  If someone’s open to a new experience, we’ll give it to them.  Trying to conform Milwaukee’s drinking culture is counter-intuitive – this event is more about awareness, experimentation.  Customers are curious.”

The fact that Beggar’s Banquet #1 has sold out — and is taking over half of Hi Hat for next month’s event (the theme is “Agave”) — shows that Milwaukee is definitely warming up to the idea.

The reasoning behind craft cocktails – a slower, richer experience — runs counter to the predominant “shut up and chug” attitude that simultaneously makes Milwaukee awesome and ridiculous.  Doll says that it all comes back to value.

“People in Milwaukee like value – they want great food and large portions.  If you give them that they’ll be receptive to a change.”