Brian, Nate, and Ali (L to R)

Okay coffee lovers…if you were in the know and read our blog post last Tuesday, then you would know that we extended out invitations for guest bloggers. The post “Contribute to Our Blog – Rooster and Moon is Listening”, raised the call for you to be a guest blogger. You can expand this opportunity to share about your local business, the Denver-based company you work for, or just plain out to try your hand at writing and sharing with us about why you love us and Denver. Heck…if you don’t write, just sit down with us and let us know what to write for you. We promise to get your story straight.

With that in mind, we’d like to introduce one of our first guest bloggers. She’s actually been the author behind our Rooster and Moon blog posts over the past couple of months and is here to chat us up about one of her favorite Rooster and Moon related topics…

Welcome to the blog, Amalia Maloney!

Bird, Amalia, & Bode (L to R)

When I think of Rooster and Moon Coffee Pub, the first thing to come to my mind is the staff. I could relate it to having roommates or maybe very close neighbors…you see, I work remotely for myself, so I tend to work from Rooster and Moon on a pretty frequent basis. Okay, I confess…it’s probably on a daily basis. This means I get to interact with them a lot and in a different kind of way than say roommates. Imagine this…arriving at the coffee pub round 6:30am and after a series of business meetings with potential clients, meetings with clients, and in between that writing and creating social media strategies, not leaving the place till 7pm. And I’ll admit that there were nights when I left even later.

Whether it’s been for work or personal, short or long hours, I’ve always felt at home there because of the people behind the scenes. Or in this case, behind the counter. As I depart this week to live and work from Europe and Israel for six months, it has impressed upon my mind that those who make up Rooster and Moon Coffee Pub will be in my thoughts as I travel. Who else would have befriended me while also providing me so kindly and consistently with coffee and food as I made myself at home in their space? Sort of like the old show “Cheers”…you know, that place in your life where everybody knows your name. If you’re not getting this, catch up by reading an earlier personal blog post I wrote about them this past fall: “Community Coffee Pub – My Second Living Room”.

Jonathan & Jessica

It comes down to having a local place of community that stays open later (thus being a coffee pub) and at the same time serves amazingly delicious fresh food and fantastic delicious drinks, including a full bar. And most importantly, coffee that is the best in town for its quality and taste. And how does this circle back around to the staff? Easy. None of them have an attitude of entitlement. Big word, I know…it means they don’t make you feel like you being there is a bother or inconvenience to them. Instead, you feel at home. They introduce themselves and genuinely ask how your day is going. Then on top of that, they remember your favorite drink and how you like to order it, once you become a regular. Which, by the way, is not a formula they bother with because whether you’re a regular or not doesn’t matter. It just comes down to everyone being treated great by them.

So with that in mind, I want to thank each of them. I know everyone hypes up Italian coffee to be such an experience and French cuisine to be so extraordinary…yet, it ultimately comes down to the people and the experience you have with them as well as with the food and drink. At least that’s what I’ve come to believe. In the midst of sipping on cafesitos and espressos, I’ll be sending my thanks and well wishes to Jamie for her kind conversation and the way she dances with the espresso machine in the early mornings – fly on that classic blue, vintage Hercules cruiser for me while I’m gone! Having my coffee brought to me and hearing of taking one’s precious little girl to school will cause me to miss Emily sweetly asking me how I am and discussing with me about the health benefits of honey and how much we both love the stuff (and yes, honey is good in your coffee…better than sugar, that’s for sure!). I’ll dearly miss chatting it up with Nicole and Jessica as they check in on me to see that I’m being kept properly caffeinated and fed. And what other coffee pub employee is going to be as stylish as Megan with her fantastic outfits and jewelry she got for a great deal? Not to mention her witty disposition and big teddy-bear-of-a-dog Samantha. This would be the gorgeous, cuddly white furry beast that makes the front patio her home on most days, also known as Sam. Ali won’t be there to snap me out of my work-comatose with her sweet conversation and a glass of water to hydrate me.

Guest Manny, Megan, Jessica, & Jonathan (L to R)

Dwight!

I don’t think I’ll laugh quite as much without Brian bopping out from the kitchen to say hello in the midst of creating amazing dishes in the back. When I can’t decide on what I want, the Italian baristas won’t be as patient with me as Dwight and Nate are (although I imagine they will be freaking handsome and sexy! Not that you aren’t, boys, but you’re already taken by amazing women). Then leave it to me to be leaving just as Rooster and Moon gets a great new awesome addition…Jonathan makes me think of a rasta-version of my younger brother, with one of the sweetest dispositions and a personality and approach to life that is wonderfully chill. Big sigh…and in the early afternoons, who will saddle up to the bar with a bandana round his head and ask me “What time is it?” – to which he’s trained me to reply, “It’s whiskey time!” followed by Bird taking a shot of Jameson and me sipping it down neat. Oh Bird! I’m going to start a whole new movement on our behalf to get the baristas in Europe hooked on this tradition. Just wait and see! Whenever I get to sit next to a beautiful young woman tranquilly reading a classic book, I’ll think of Bird’s wife, Stephanie, and how it would be wonderful to be catching up with her at the bar.

Jamie dear…

And finally, to wrap it all up from beginning to end, I will sincerely miss Bode – from seeing him hug and kiss on Jamie, his amazing wife, to befriending all who come in the door, to asking how we’re each doing and creating delicious party-in-your-mouth cocktails that he indulges me with by naming after me (well, at least in the moment that I’m savoring them).

Thank you to each of you and know that I’ll be thinking of you and missing you while experiencing other parts of the world. Ultimately, I look forward to seeing you when I return.

*To follow Amalia on her travels and read about her life experiences, visit her blogs: www.EthnosTravel.wordpress.com and www.AmaliaVida.wordpress.com

Welcome to a brand new feature on our blog that we are calling “Meet the Family”.  It’s a chance to get to know the cast and crew of Rooster & Moon, especially the people that spend their time working or playing at the shop.  To kick it off, we picked one of the shining stars of the graphic design world.

Friends, meet Morgan.  (This is where I would normally upload the almost professional-quality photo I took, but my computer seems to be in a “mood”.  Suffice to say, he is a looker, and the quality of the photo?  Top notch.)

Specializing in Graphics and Web Services, Morgan struck out on his own 13 years ago because “I was smarter than all my bosses”.  It was a great decision.  Handling work for small, one-man operations all the way up to multinationals, Morgan knows just how to put together an eye-catching graphic to represent a product.  He can build a custom web page for any sized business, build a game, and create a social media campaign.

He is easy to work with, an excellent communicator, and a strong worker.  His company is called Heavy Metal Land, and you should check out his work.  If you or a friend is looking to get a business started or just take it to the next level, contact Morgan at mfebrey@comcast.net.  Morgan can help.

One day, Morgan was out “walking by with the pups” and found our little shop.  What keeps him coming back?  “The food, the people, the coffee.”  Most days you can find Morgan hard at work on his many projects at Rooster & Moon, which he compliments as the “Biggest little kitchen in Denver,” eating an Ashland Sandwich – Morgan style (with a side of our Sriracha Aioli).

But why work at Rooster & Moon?  What’s the reason he comes here?

“I feel like I’m hanging out with friends at the office.”

This week’s Drink of the Week I am calling Angel’s Fling.  Because it’s tastes very Spring.  Here’s what we use.  First, find some nice green tasty basil.  I use two leaves, and for this drink we are not muddling the basil, we are bruising it.  Here’s what I mean by “bruising”.  Take the leaves and stick them in the glass.  Take the back of a bar spoon and press the basil against the side of the glass.  We are not trying to really crush it, just release some of the oils.

Check out those mad pouring skills

Next step is adding some rhubarb syrup.  I don’t know where you can buy rhubarb syrup, and even if I did I wouldn’t buy it.  That’s bush league.  Instead, we made it ourselves.

The first step in making rhubarb syrup is getting your hands on some tasty rhubarb.  I haven’t been able to find it yet at any of the local grocery stores.  I had to drive to the middle of Nebraska, where it’s already out of the ground.  I also got to hang out with my family, so all around, great trip.

Wash and dice up the rhubarb and dump it n a large and heavy sauce pan.  Toss in a 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and a cup and half of hot water and bring it to a boil.

Stir and let it simmer at or just under a boil for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the rhubarb is good and soft.  After that, just strain it out, bottle it up, and toss it into the fridge.  As a side note, I took the left over rhubarb and added some more sugar and cooked it down until I had made a great compote.  Over some ice cream…damn tasty.  Also great on our locally made Noosa yoghurt.

So we’re only adding a 1/2 ounce of Rhubarb to the basil, which leaves plenty left over to add to lemonade or iced tea or whatever.

Fill the glass with ice and add an ounce and a quarter of Angel’s Envy Bourbon.  It’s a whiskey with a lot of delicate flavors that compliment the Angel’s Envy nicely.  Angel’s Envy, unlike other Bourbons, finishes its aging process in old port barrels.

Toss a splash of soda water on top, and stick a straw in it.  And enjoy.

But to name it, you must know it…

It's pretty, but what should we call it?

It starts with a home-made Horchata.  If you have never tried Horchata, get your ass to Rooster & Moon right away.  Or your corner Mexican Restaurant but only in the event we are closed.  It is a rice-based drink with notes of almond, vanilla, and cinnamon, and it is GOLD, BABY!

It is also a song by Vampire Weekend, but that’s not important.

To make it, we take some long whole grain rice and crush it until it is in very tiny pieces.  Add some cinnamon sticks and crushed almonds, and a couple of cups of warm (but not hot water), and steep it over night.  Next we strain out all the big pieces and combine the remaining liquid with some rice milk and vanilla extract, and put it in the refrigerator.

Next up is some home-made coffee liqueur.  How I make this changes on the season, so if you want to know more, come find Bode and ask.  Or wait until I blog about it.

The last ingredient is D’Agave .  A 100% blue agave distillate, hand made in Colorado from the finest organic ingredients.  It clocks in at 70 proof and spends some time in an oak barrel before it makes it into a bottle.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1.25 ounces of D’Agave.

Add .75 ounces of home made coffee liqueur.

Add 2 ounces of the home made Horchata.

Shake it.  Shake it  like a Polaroid picture.

Strain it into a Collins Glass filled with ice.

Top it with some powdered cinnamon.

So that’s how we make it, and you know what’s in it, but what do we call it?!?!

Joe and Rachel like it. Whatever it is.

Best drink name wins drinks.

Ginger, Mint, Gosling's Ginger Beer, and Jim Beam Rye

First we need to make sure that we have all of our ingredients ready:  A nice piece of ginger root, some fresh mint, simple syrup, Gosling’s Ginger Beer, and Jim Beam Rye.  And ice.  Don’t forget the ice.  We need to make sure that we have all the tools that we need:  A good and clean surface, a Collins Glass, a muddler, a bar spoon, and a peeler.

So we have all of our ingredients assembled like the Avengers and have our tools at hand.  Groovy.  Time to get to work.

Step one is to shave the ginger.  We shave off about three decent pieces of ginger.  What constitutes a “decent piece”?  We are looking for a piece about as long as my pinkie.  How long is my pinkie?  I don’t know, man.  Get off my back.  Anyway, we shave the ginger directly into a clean Collins Glass.

On top of the ginger, we add about a half an ounce of simple syrup.  Simple syrup is a fancy way of saying sugar water.  To make it yourself, dissolve a cup of sugar into a cup of hot water.  Once it is completely dissolved, it will be good to go and is a great addition to any home bar.  It’s also nice to keep on hand if you want to sweeten ice tea or iced coffee.

We only need about five to eight mint leaves into the glass. The leaves can be picked off of a sprig of mint one by one.  But because we don’t feel like working that hard, we grab a sprig of mint, pinch the top and just strip the sprig from top to bottom.  The leaves will just pop off, and we can grab what is needed.  There will be more leaves than the drink needs, but since the drink is so tasty, maybe you’ll let us make you a few more cocktails.

Okay, so we have a Collins Glass with mint, ginger, and simple syrup in it.  We take a muddler (or muddle-cock, which is what I like to call it.  Because I think it is funny.) and muddle everything together.  Don’t break your back doing this, you are trying to release the flavor of the ginger and the mint, not destroy the stuff.

Now for the booze.

On top of the muddled mint and ginger, add an ounce and a half of Jim Beam Rye.

The choice of rye in the drink is important.  Since the drink we’re making has so much flavor to it, we decided to use something that had enough complexity and was robust enough to shine through.  Something that would assert itself and contribute to the flavor. Jim Beam Rye is an 80 proof whiskey made from 51% rye mash.  It is aged 4 years in oak barrels, and is drier and has more spice to it than regular Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon.

So the Collins Glass has our muddle-mix and the Jim Beam Rye in it.  Now it’s time to add some ice.  I told you we can’t forget the ice.  Give it all a quick stir with the bar spoon.

Ginger BEER, not Ginger Ale

Fill the glass with Gosling’s Ginger Beer.

Ginger Beer was originally produced in the 1700s, brought to North America by the British colonists where it was brewed locally in homes and taverns.  Gosling’s is a classic ginger beer, nicely sweet on first sip then bracing with a hefty dose of fresh ginger flavor. The bite is moderate to strong but fades quickly. It really is just right: Several steps above a regular ginger ale.

Then we stab a couple of cocktail straws in the glass and there you go.

There only thing left to do is to serve the drink.

Thanks to Elizabeth for giving our drink a loving home.

Si vous lisez ceci, vous devriez descendre la nuit de mardi pour notre tableau français. Il commence à 8 heures, et est gratuit. Il est un excellent moyen de rencontrer d’autres francophones.

Is it Thursday Night?  Is it Seven PM?  Yes?!  That means it is time again for Geeks Who Drink.

We’ve got some fun stuff planned for food specials this week.  I’m talking about Cucumber Salads, Salmon Burgers, and more.