Celebrate Fall: Pumpkin Pinkberry (FREE mini today 4-7 PM)

Today Pinkberry launches their new Fall flavor: Pumpkin Pinkberry!

They delivered small sized cups of the new flavor to my office this morning so I can sample it with my coworker. The new yogurt, made with real pumpkin puree, was topped with their featured toppings: crunchy honey graham crackers, Pinkberry Swirly Whip and a dusting of cinnamon.

It reminded me of pumpkin pie for obvious reasons, but was much lighter and more refreshing since it still had the sour flavor characteristic of Pinkberry. Bottom line: we all really enjoyed it.

The Pumpkin Pinkberry, as well as graham crackers, cinnamon and pomegranate seeds will be available through the end of the year.
But just for today (Friday, Oct 22), if you go to a Pinkberry between 4-7 PM, you can get a FREE mini pumpkin pinkberry so you can sample the new flavor firsthand!

Table20 Celebrates LA's Best Bartenders

My personal opinions aside, Table20's contest on LA's Best Bartenders certainly brought some of the city's best together at downtown's Elevate Lounge with some mighty rum punches.

The night had started slow and since I overestimated traffic, I arrived 30 minutes early (in LA? Impossible!). I ended up waiting at Takami and had one of their $4 bar snacks, calamari with rice krispies crust. Not a bad portion for $4.

Since the bartenders were still preparing their punch, we first had to wait outside the lounge, but the management graciously provided a drink ticket for the bar at Takami.

Sure, some of my other favorites were missing from the contest, like Julian Cox and Pablo Moix, but 5-6 glasses of punch are enough for a night. I say 5-6 because there were supposed to be 6, but The Edison's Joe Brooke went MIA that night.

A special shoutout to the only female finalist, Dee Ann Quinones from STREET, The Parlour Room, and Philippe Chow.

My favorite drink of the night ended up being Cole's bartender Max Diaz's Red Sparrow Punch.

I might have been biased towards this cider-like hot drink as it was raining outside, but it was definitely a great drink regardless!
For this punch Max Diaz combined the Don Q Anejo rum (one of the sponsors) with apple cider, cabernet sauvignon, green chartreuse, and a "secret syrup" that, alas, shall remain a mystery.

At the end of the night, Matt Biancanello was crowned Best Bartender in LA. The skills of Matt Biancanello are already well known in the city from his creative concoctions at the Library Bar such as the Shiitake Manhattan and Arugula Gimlet. Congratulations to Matt, all the other finalists, and the other great bartenders of Los Angeles!

Kōloa: The Rum of Kaua'i

Kōloa Rum is the first rum to be distilled in the island of Kaua'i, combining the best resources in Hawaii (sugar and pure water) in copper pot stills. Founded in 2001, Kōloa started producing unaged rum last year and is currently aging some in bourbon barrels.

They produce four types of rum: white, gold, dark, and spiced. During a recent tasting event, I got to try the first three along with some great cocktails made from them.

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