Nick's Cove

sketched phone icon for Nick's Cove415-663-1033

Stories from the Coast - The Nick's Cove Blog

Cocktails

Reflecting on 2020 While Sipping Nick’s Cove Eggnog

To say that 2020 has been hard is the understatement of the decade. Living through fires, political movements, and a presidential campaign unlike any in my lifetime, all while trying to successfully run a hospitality business in the middle of a global pandemic with mandated stay at home orders and closures and restrictions that require multiple pivots; furloughs, go fund me campaigns and personal tragedies … that is not hard it’s an impossibility.

And yet, we are still here! Trying to make the best, sweetest lemonade we can out of all these lemons thrown at us. And, while looking back is undoubtedly filled with losses … I am also inspired by the wins. The generosity of our community and patrons to help our staff in April after the initial shut down. The support from those who love Nick’s Cove and drove out to get our Curb Side Cocktails and Take-Out as well as those who gracefully accepted our pivot to counter service!  The amazing summer and fall weather provided the most beautiful warm days and evenings for dining al fresco! Watching our guests enjoying this beautiful bayside property in a way they had not before with tables located all around our pier, garden and waterfront decks was most definitely a win!  Another win is this delicious winter cocktail that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home!

eggnog on a table looking out at tomales bay

Nick’s Cove Eggnog

1 ¾ oz Gustoso Aged Rum
1 ½ oz cream
¾ oz winter spiced syrup*
Egg
1 dash vanilla extract

Shake all ingredients and double strain into an Irish coffee mug. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

*For winter spiced syrup combine 900 mL water, 1200 grams demerara, 6 cinnamon sticks, 30 allspice berries, and 16 cloves. Bring everything to a boil and steep for a few minutes. Strain everything and bottle.

Featured Cocktail: Bastani Fizz

Have you tried our amazing hand-crafted cocktails?  This summer we’re especially excited about the Bastani Fizz.

Our Bastani Fizz is a play on a Ramos Fizz and a Bastani ice cream. Bastani is an Iranian ice cream that contains saffron, rose water, and pistachio. Because a Ramos fizz shares many of the same components as ice cream, the combination of the fizz and Bastani seemed too good to pass up.  

We first start by infusing Ginny’s gin with a few saffron threads; a little goes a long way and this step is primarily for aesthetics. Next, we begin to caramelize sugar in a pan and allow it to get a deep amber color. We then introduce more saffron threads to the caramelized sugar and allow it to extract as much aromatic and flavor from the spice. We dilute the mixture with a little bit of hot water to obtain the appropriate viscosity to mix it in our cocktail.

To create the cocktail we combine our saffron-infused Ginny’s gin, saffron caramel syrup, lemon, cream, egg white, and a few dashes of rose water. We give the cocktail a vigorous shake to make it as frothy as possible. Once poured in a 12 oz Collins glass, we top it off with a little bit of soda water and garnish it with our house-made pistachio saffron tuile.

Cheers,
Jojo

 

 

Summer Events at Nick’s

Summer is one of our favorite times of year here at the coast. The weather is cooler here than it is inland complete with beautiful views of the bay, and of course breathtaking sunsets! The weekends are picking up and we now have our waterfront Oyster Bar open from 12-4 on Saturdays and Sundays. Here we serve up fresh oysters, clam chowder, select salads and of course, hand-crafted cocktails.

And new this summer, we invite you to visit our Bayside Market which is held the first Saturday of every month from 1-4pm on the waterfront lounge. We are happy to have some our favorite local vendors join us each month, including Freestone Farms, Folly Cheese Company, Tomales Bakery, Boheme Wines and many more!

Come join the fun with us all summer long!

 

 

 

 

Barrel-Aged Mai Tai

There’s nothing better in the summer than to soak in some rays with music and a cocktail.  I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite summer cocktails is a tasty Mai Tai.  Something about it takes me straight to the beach complete with the sand between my toes and the sound of crashing waves in the background. Basically it’s happiness in a glass.

If you’re like me and Mai Tais are your go-to summer drink, you must try our newest craft cocktail here at Nick’s Cove. Our Beverage Director, Jojo Tucker, has rolled out his version of the classic drink and it is definitely worthy of a special trip to Tomales Bay. The recipe is below, but trust me – make a point to come here soon and try Jojo’s Barrel-Aged Mai Tai for yourself!

1.25 oz of Blackwell Rum
.75 oz of Papas Pilar Blonde Rum
.5 oz orgeat
.5 oz pierre ferrand dry curacao
.25 lime juice

Add all ingredients, except lime juice, into an oak barrel. Add lime juice at the end and garnish with orange crisp and mint sprig.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Santa is Coming!

santanickscoveThanksgiving is a beloved holiday here at Nick’s, but I will let you in on a little secret– I think I actually enjoy Santa’s visit more. Now that Turkey day is behind us, we can forward to Santa’s arrival with joy and anticipation!

This year, Santa will make is annual visit by trusty water sleigh and will be full of treats and holiday wishes! Santa will pull up to the dock at the Boat Shack on Sunday, December 4. We would love it if you could join us for complimentary pictures with Santa, hot chocolate, and other tasty treats. The full menu, including seasonal cocktails, will be available throughout the day in the restaurant. If you are 21 and over, you’re also welcome to order a cocktail inside at the bar and take it out to the Boat Shack.

And in the spirit of the holidays, during the month of December, we will be donating the proceeds of a special winter cocktail, the Good Neighbor, to Toys for Tots. The Good Neighbor is a play on a Brandy Alexander, using fresh buffalo milk from neighboring farm Di Bufala Dairy, Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao from Petaluma, Germain Robin Brandy from Ukiah, and a dusting of nutmeg and truffle for $14. I know what my favorite drink will be this month– won’t you join us?

Cheers,

David

 

 

Seasonal. Local. Cocktails.

valleyford1Growing up in the small town of Tomales, a mere seven-minute drive up Highway 1, I learned the importance of strong communal ties and family values. A big part of this entailed an appreciation and passion for food preparation. My grandfather was a Dutch immigrant who began his American Dream as a butcher in Valley Ford, a town approximately eight miles north of Nick’s Cove. My dad and brother would go hunting, bringing home a deer or wild boar for us from their weekend trips. While their passion was the hunt, mine was finding new and creative ways to cook the meat for family and friends. It wasn’t until I began bartending at Nick’s Cove that I learned the comparable nature of preparing a meal to that of mixology.

8417-mms-1475888174000-attachment1-img_20160914_170737In the summertime, overpowering fruits and artificial syrups too often cover up spirits. Although a lot of classic cocktails follow those guidelines, I find it a little too simple and mundane. The true beauty in mixology is incorporating different liquors that blend in harmonious vibrancy while taming the heat of spirits. Accomplishing this balance during the fall and winter proves even more difficult, as in-season fruits are slim-picking. However, our bartenders at Nick’s love the challenge and are constantly coming up with fun ideas to showcase classic cocktails with a contemporary twist.
The Highway 1 Trip is a fungi boulevardier. The porcini-infused Cyrus Noble bourbon has a crazy flavor profile that doesn’t carry one defining characteristic. The earthiness and salinity that come from the porcini are quickly balanced by the sweetness of the bourbon, while the bitterness of the Cynar (artichoke bitter liqueur) is rounded off by fleur de sel. This well-balanced cocktail is perfect to sip on by the bay as the fog rolls over the point.

Cheers to a new season!

Love,

jojo

 

 

JoJo

photography by Frankie Frankeny, Cindi de Channes, Val Atkinson
custom website by lobstervine web design