Quote: I’m not drinking bad coffee. Ever.

“I’m not drinking bad coffee. Ever.” This from Jason Burton, owner of The Lab, a specialty beverage marketing company. Happily, he recently opened to the public, so we don’t have to either.

You won’t find a coffee shop inside The Lab, just off 31st and Southwest Boulevard. What you will find is half a dozen intriguing coffees from around the country that Burton says you can’t buy anywhere else in Kansas City.

Jason Burton making a cup of Carrboro's Saul Melara coffee for me at The Lab.

This week, the selection included a Honduran Saul Melara coffee from Carrboro Coffee Company in North Carolina and the El Salvadoran Santa Rita Peaberry from Austin’s Cuvee Coffee Roasting Co. Burton also features Kansas and Missouri coffees like Broadway Roasting Company’s Ethiopia Yirgacheffe—the same one that just earned a Good Food Award.

Of Cognac and Sidecars

I’ve always preferred Cognac in my Sidecars. It’s what my husband used the first time he made one for me, and it’s now hard to settle for plain old brandy. So I was happy when Ryan Maybee showcased the drink during a Cognac tasting hosted by Alexis Ganter of Glazer’s at The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange.

The occasion? To introduce Landy Cognac to Kansas City bartenders. The take-away? It’s delicious stuff, in cocktails and on its own.

Ryan Maybee of The Rieger & Manifesto, Jean-François Bonneté of W.J. Deutsch, and Alexis Ganter of Glazer's

Landy’s a small Cognac house (at least compared to giants like Hennessy) owned by Cognac Ferrand, a boutique spirits producer that also makes Pierre Ferrand Cognac and Citadelle gin. And small is good, said Jean-François Bonneté, vice president of W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd.’s spirits division, the brand’s importer. That allows Landy to do things like use copper pot stills and distill on the lees, meaning some sediment is left in during the first distillation.

“All those organic components give it aromatic potential,” Bonneté said.

Guessing at 2012

What will 2012 bring for the drink-minded? It’s a bit of a guessing game, but I’m looking forward to writing more about shrubs, drinking vinegars and all things sour. Local spirits like those Lenexa’s Dark Horse Distillery is laying down. Drinks entrepreneurs such as Travis Stewart and Jason Burton. The inaugural Paris of the Plains Cocktail Festival in August. And let’s not forget the city’s burgeoning coffee and beer scenes.

There’s sure to be a lot going on. Some of it keeps us movin’ in the same direction—interesting, well-made spirits and cocktail ingredients, along with skilled and creative mixing. Some not—more flavored spirits and pre-packaged “cocktails.” Here’s a round-up of the predictions:

• Beverage marketing maestro Jason Burton of The Lab expects more of all this: garden-grown bar ingredients, guest bartenders, good cocktail books, bar-to-bar collaborations and bartender-branded products.

• Serious Eats says we’ll see more savory and sour cocktails, while The Daily Meal predicts cocktails on tap, more local spirits and house-made ingredients (is that even possible?) and better hospitality.

Texas Treasure Hunt

Finding a drink on the road is like a treasure hunt. Start with at least one solid clue, and tracking cocktails becomes a happy game.

It certainly was for us last weekend down in Fort Worth, where we went to cheer on K-State in the Cotton Bowl. One message on Facebook yielded several clues from Ceci Norman (a cocktail muse and communications manager for the Tequila Interchange Project). She put us onto the Windmill Lounge, Marquee Grill and Veritas Wine Room in Dallas and Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar in Plano. Leigh Elmore, one of KC’s best writers and editors, suggested the Rattlesnake Bar in Fearings Restaurant, also in the Big D.

But here’s the thing. We were staying in Fort Worth, and it’s a long way from there to Dallas when you’re on a tight schedule. So, we picked the place with the shortest drive time from our hotel—The Cedars Social, a self-described cocktail den. Freelance media producer Brandon Cummins recommended the place; that boy knows a good drink, so I figured it was worth the gas. It was.

Since I didn't take many decent photos of my own, I snagged this one of The Cedars Social's Mike Martensen off The Dallas Morning News site.

More Manifesto favorites

Deciding which recipes to run with articles is painful at times, and my recent piece in Imbibe! was no different. The magazine’s editors picked the Girl From Cadiz, a Hendrick’s cocktail created by Ryan Maybee to represent Manifesto and The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange. It is indeed a delicious drink, good enough to be a finalist in the 2007 Vinos de Jerez Sherry cocktail competition.

Still, I can’t help but publish a few others here. First is the Smokin’ Choke, Maybee’s signature cocktail since Manifesto opened.

This modernized version of the Old Fashioned should not be rushed—it needs plenty of stirring time to fully incorporate and chill the maple syrup with the other ingredients.