Leon Stamatis : Adventure, Design, Photography, and Happenings from Santa Barbara, CA » Milestones

Drink of the week!

Leon Stamatis — Tue, 24 May 2011 01:25:32 +0000

DRINK OF THE WEEK

Blue Agave’s Coconut Ginger Mojito

Ted MillsMay 13, 2011 11:49 AM

Santa Barbara News Press

Leon Stamatis greets us when we make a late-night, early-in-the-week visit to Blue Agave. To come here at this time is unlike our usual visits, which find the two story bar and restaurant packed with all manner of (single) people, shoulder-to-shoulder, glass-to-glass. Instead we get the full lebensraum treatment at the empty bar, where Stamatis has already got three drinks in mind for us to try.

The first was their duly popular Pasión del Diablo, which comes with a chili pepper garnish. The drink is made from their chili-infused vodka, although Stamatis is cagey about what vodka they use. (Him: “It’s our house vodka.” Me: “Which is…?” Him: “…a good vodka.” Me: “Yeah, but…which one?” Him: “I…can’t tell you.” Me: “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM???”) (Note: That last line didn’t happen.)

The vodka By itself is a kick in the throat with capsaicin boots. The drink tempers it with mango puree and complicates it with lime juice and lemongrass syrup. Good stuff. (And duly noted By at least one other patron at the bar, who orders one to sate her curiosity.)

Continuing on, we try the very popular Coconut Ginger Mojito. It’s a tall drink. Stamatis makes hundreds of these a night and, he says, it’s the most complicated to make. Most mojitos try to keep a clear head and stay refreshing through its mix of rum and other flavors. This cocktail goes right ahead and uses coconut puree. Without its mint and ice, it would look like a glass of milk. Into this Stamatis goes two rums (Malibu, of course, and Captain Morgan), a ginger mixer called Elixir G and brown sugar. The drink delivers on its title; its only fault is that it’s hard to see how close you are to finished. There’s so much foam, mint and ice left over you might think there’s something left to drink.

And By the time we had finished ours, five women at the bar had ordered the drink for themselves. Are we tastemakers? No, they chastised us, it was their favorite cocktail already. Take note, however — this isn’t on the menu. They haven’t had to add it.

The weekly special is the Ginger Mint Margarita, made with Hornitos, triple sec, lime juice and that Elixir G again. This time, the ginger is hidden, and the cocktail is a serviceable margarita.

Instead, we preferred the Pineapple Adrift, which Stamatis says he brought back from holiday. It’s a simple mix of the pineapple-flavored Skyy Infusions vodka and DeKuyper’s Tropical Pineapple, topped with a float of that chili vodka. It’s clear and refreshing and flavorful. But because of its unique taste and our wannabe tastemaker status, we’re going to go with the mojito. It’s our Drink of the Week.

COCONUT GINGER MOJITO

1 ¾ ounces Malibu

1 ¾ ounces Captain Morgan

1 ounce coconut puree

¼ ounce Ginger Elixir G

½ ounce lime juice

Tablespoon Brown sugar

Soda water to fill

Mint

Muddle mint, lime juice and sugar in a shaker. Add ice, rum, puree, Elixir and shake. Before pouring, top with soda water. Pour into tall glass.

BLUE AGAVE

20 E Cota St.

899-4694

blueagavesb.com

My First Organic Garden

Leon Stamatis — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:12:49 +0000

Well, after 28 years I finally got my first organic garden in with the help of my roomate. We tilled the ground by hand, built a 12′x5′ raised garden out of 2×10 boards, and filled it with some nice soil and organic compost from our local organic garden store in Santa Barbara. I’m by no means a professional at this but I’m having fun learning and hope to eat the rewards sooner than later. I’ll post an update when things get growing pretty nicely. I’ve got a variety of different lettuces, peppers, cucumbers, carrots and squash. Here’s a few preliminary pics, sorry they’re just off my iphone. My next set of pics will be better, I promise.

Sorry, I didn’t get any pics of the organic compost I used.

Birthday bash on the slopes

Leon Stamatis — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:45:05 +0000

Well, I’m quickly approaching my 28th and my folks came out to Cali for a visit last week. Me, my parents, my aunt from NY and my girlfriend rented a cabin down at Big Bear Mountain for the week. Big Bear’s about an hour east of LA. I went skiing for my first time and had a blast. The weather and conditions were great. It had been snowing up until the day we got there and it warmed up in to the fifties. So, on the smaller slopes I didn’t even need a jacket and just wore a hoody.

The first morning I took a beginner lesson and by mid-day I was going down intermediate hills. Day 2 we went to Snow Summit for half a day, and on day 3 I was going down Black Diamond trails with my father and aunt. He was literally shocked that I was going down that steep of terrain my first time out there. Anyhow, the experience was like no other and I’m hooked for life! Here’s some pictures:

I highly recommend skiing at big bear: www.bearmountain.com

Bartending. My new networking portal?

Leon Stamatis — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:13:10 +0000

So, a couple weeks ago I was sitting at the home office feeling a little out-of-touch with society and feeling the crunch on my bank account. I’ve been attending as many networking events as possible but I still felt like I wasn’t “getting out there.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I’m a hermit and don’t ever get out of the house. But when I do get out, it’s usually for pleasure. Grab a drink/dinner, play ultimate frisbee, shoot some hoops, snap some photos, go hiking with my dogs. You know, all the fun stuff in life.

As I sat there and thought about how I could improve my lifestyle, and bring more business to the table I got a call from my mother. She’s up in New York and had a conversation with someone about the economy. One of the statements the guy made was that “The only people in the great depression that were making any money were bartenders.” When I heard that, I remembered hearing it before from my great grandfather, and it made sense to me. I mean, the harder times are, the more people will drink, right? Sure. So, I know that I can make more money in 1 hour behind my computer than I can in a 12 hour shift bartending. So, I had this crazy idea, what if I weren’t bartending for tips, but bartending for business leads instead? How would that work? Could it work? What would I need to do to make it work? Would this be my way of getting out of the house, making business contacts, and having fun at the same time? Yup!

The next morning, I woke up and immediately called John, the owner of Pacific Coast Bartending School in Goleta, CA and asked if he had any openings. He said he had an opening in his night class in 3 weeks that I could participate in and that I should come in tonight and check it out to see if it were for me. So, I did. Turns out John and I were very compatible, but there was one problem. Patience is my biggest downfall. When I have an idea and get excited about something, it has to happen now. Whatever it takes, now. So, I had a couple hundred bucks in my pocket and put it down on John’s desk and told him I needed something sooner. Long story short, John agreed to coach me one-on-one for one week in the mornings starting in just a few days. After i got this news, I ran down to Blue Agave, an elegant restaurant and tequila bar that my cousin Rachel waitresses at in downtown Santa Barbara. I knew the owner and everyone that worked there, so I figured that was my best shot at getting a “job”. Turns out I was right. I went in and talked to the owner Gabi, about wanting to get in to bartending and about some ideas I had for helping her with the Blue Agave Brand. Turns out, she loves my ideas and is a big fan of my work. So, now I’m working as a bartender on Monday nights at Blue Agave. That’s 20 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara, CA if you find yourself in the area.

My first official night on my own was this past Monday, August 24, 2009, and everything went great. I made a bunch of drinks, made some cash, made some friends, and best of all like I had planned from the beginning, I lined up some graphic design and branding leads from a couple of customers. Overall, I’d say things are off to a great start, and it goes to show that when the economy takes a turn in an un-opportune direction, you have to get creative with your networking. I hope this story inspires you to walk the path less traveled. You’ll be surprised with what you find.

A beautiful sunny California day

Leon Stamatis — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:10:21 +0000

Just got the site finished and ready for use today. Thanks to Bryant (www.bryantswanstrom.com) for the photography. The site would be lame without it.

all of me, all at once