Tag: Livermore

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Mai Tai Event at Tikeasy in Livermore

Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting coffee roastery is going full tiki for their evening cocktail persona and adopting Tikeasy as the branding for their summer program. We’ve been big fans of the Nightcaps at Rosetta evening cocktail offering, but have certainly noticed a gradual shift to more tiki decor taking over the back half of the venue. The dimly lit booths work great with exotic music and superbly executed tropical cocktails, and nobody would peg this as a tiki bar from the outside. It’s a speakeasy, tiki style.

The official launch of Tikeasy will be Sunday, May 24 from 5-11 pm. The team will have Mai Tai Flights available with some great Mai Tai variants, plus a full tiki cocktail menu featuring classic and acclaimed originals. Plus I’ll be there to mix and mingle to talk Mai Tais with those in attendance.

This is a low-key event of casual conversation over cocktails, not a seminar, so there’s plenty of time in the evening to swing by. This being the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, if you’re not working on the Monday you have no excuse not to come and we expect to see you in attendance.

The team behind Rosetta Roasting are true believers in tiki, and they’re taking a chance by trying something a little different in downtown Livermore. So, even if you can’t make the event on May 24, I hope you’ll check out Nightcaps at Rosetta and the Tikeasy this summer.

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Tiki Takeover Thursday in Livermore

We visited Livermore’s Nightcaps at Rosetta a few times over the past year, but so far hadn’t made it out for their tiki themed Thursday cocktail menu. That was rectified when we met up with Bob and Julie who are locals and helped us through the menu. Nightcaps is the evening version of the Rosetta Roasting cafe, where coffee and cakes are met with small bites and cocktails.

The back half of Rosetta’s venue is dimly lit at night with lanterns and features several large tiki totems and artifacts, plus jade tiles and comfy booths to enjoy the exotica and mellow lounge music playing. It’s actually “more tiki” than a lot of places that people think of as a tiki bars, and the back room is quite isolated from the rest of the venue.

Mai Tai

The cocktails were great, starting with the Mai Tai that features rich, bold flavors. In a nice touch, the branded glass available for purchase features a word mark logo that appears suddenly depending on the light. I also tried the Jungle Bird that leans a little light on Campari and a bit heavier on the rum, which is precisely how I like it. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai indulged with a couple creamy Grasshoppers, her newest obsession.

Several of the cocktails were elaborately garnished and we even got into the shared cocktail experience. The wait staff and bar team were super helpful in answering some questions, and while our party knows the team already, we saw the friendly vibe being share with other guests as well. Note that tiki drinks can usually be ordered any day of the week, so ask them if you come in on the weekends.

Jungle Bird
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Nightcaps at Rosetta Brings Mardi Gras Menu to Downtown Livermore

Our favorite Livermore cocktail spot has a New Orleans inspired menu to celebrate Mardi Gras, available now through February 13. Nightcaps at Rosetta is the evening persona of Rosetta Roasting and trades coffee for a cocktail focus.

The NOLA menu is pretty vast with numerous favorites such as the Sazerac, Bourbon Street Julep, and Voodoo Grog. There are also some food options including king cake that compliments Rosetta’s always stellar cake lineup. We skipped the alligator flatbread and went with the beignets that are served either with chocolate or a raspberry cream dipping sauce and these were really great.

Hurricane

On the cocktail side I went with the Hurricane which leans a little more juicy and orange-forward than on the passionfruit side, with a good amount of rum but not so much that it’ll kill you. I found it to be delightfully balanced with plenty of flavor, with a lighter and less syrupy body. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Marie Laveau which is somewhat like an Espresso Martini but with bolder coffee flavors that’ll really appeal to those who love a bold, dark roast.

Marie Laveau

Be sure to check out the Mardi Gras menu while you can, and be prepared for a Valentine’s Day menu at Nightcaps for the 14th.

Beignets and Masks
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Shelley Bowers Pearl Diver Class

Livermore’s Nightcaps at Rosetta hosted a special class with Shelley Bowers who discussed the Pearl Diver cocktail and how to make its seminal ingredient, Gardenia Mix. Bowers has been getting buzz for the Pearl Diver after well received appearances on Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour and at this year’s Tiki Oasis. The event at Rosetta was held just before their Saturday opening and included some rum tasting, Pearl Diver and Mystery Gardenia cocktails, plus a delightful charcuterie glass.

The event was relaxed and started with understanding the rums in the Pearl Diver via some samples, then a deeper dive into Gardenia Mix. Shelley demonstrated some techniques for successfully making Gardenia Mix and then made Pearl Divers and Mystery Gardenia cocktails for those in attendance. Along the way, she answered questions from the audience including bartending techniques honed at Hale Pele in Portland and at various SoCal venues.

As our event was winding down, the lights in the back room of Rosetta Roasting dimmed, transforming the space into Nightcaps at Rosetta and running their usual Tiki Thursday menu rather than Sinatra Saturdays. We applaud the Rosetta team for trying something different with this event, and adeptly dealing with an unruly patron trying to crash the party. The team members worked well together with the transition to a very busy Saturday evening service.

Pearl Diver cocktail

The Nightcaps space includes several large tiki statues, bamboo touches, and some hanging jade tiles. Don’t call it a tiki bar, I guess, but the space was pretty dark and intimate with an exotica soundtrack playing to set the mood. Rosetta also now has Mai Tai glasses for sale, offered at a discount if you order their excellent Mai Tai.

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Halloween Pop-Up at Livermore’s Fat Pigeon

The Fat Pigeon seems to be the Tri-Valley’s go-to venue for cocktail pop-ups, previously hosting Miracle at Christmas, Golden Girls, and Alice in Wonderland themes previously. Since spooky season is upon us, there’re now running a Halloween theme.

The setup includes a special cocktail menu including low ABV and mocktail options, plus fun and fairly elaborate decor. There are no special costumes or wildly immersive soundscapes, though, just fun drinks in a welcoming venue.

I enjoyed the 13 Stabs Later, a refreshing drink with soda and blood orange apéritif that leans fruity. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Offering which is a clarified drink including bourbon and pumpkin spices. It’s served with a Biscoff cookie which you’re supposed to take a bite of before taking a sip.

13 Stabs Later

The highlight for us was the Spooky Tini Flight, with an okay Espresso Martini but amazing Bad Apple and Pumpkin Spice variants. The little tiny martini glasses are a fun delivery method and we enjoyed rotating the display to get to our favorite item.

Spooky Tini Flight

As pop-ups go, Fat Pigeon seems to have the format and execution locked in. The atmosphere is fun and the quality cocktails offer something for nearly everyone.

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Classic Cocktails at Nightcaps at Rosetta

Nightcaps at Rosetta is the cocktail-focused evening storefront for Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting cafe that includes a different theme each day. We visited on Sinatra Saturday with menu items including a Manhattan, Gimlet, Negroni, Martini, Whiskey Sour, and Dark Daiquiri.

Revolver and Sepia Spice Martini

My choice was the Revolver, an early 2000s cocktail by Jon Santer at Bruno’s in San Francisco, which has bourbon, coffee liqueur, and orange bitters. This was really great and had a fragrance that reminded me of vintage bars I’d visited in the past. Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Sepia Spice Martini and the Autumn Orchard Sidecar – both leaned a little lighter with mild spice flavors. I’m a sucker for a sidecar and this version tasted pretty good to me.

Autumn Orchard Sidecar

Nightcaps serves savory bites and desert, so we tried a bit of both. The artichoke beignets were really good and the brie and pear fillo rolls were even better. We indulged with two deserts including a Manhattan cheesecake that was amazing. But the star of the show on the food side was the pistachio ricotta cake that was so light in body, yet still also had an amazing flavor. I would come back just for that Ricotta cake.

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Livermore’s Best Mai Tai at Nightcaps at Rosetta

Mrs. Mai Tai and I spent Saturday in Livermore, sandwiching a showing of the Hamilton movie with a couple bar experiences that we’ll write about in the coming days.

But there’s one highlight I don’t want to delay discussing which is the excellent Mai Tai that I had at Nightcaps at Rosetta. This is the cocktail-focused evening storefront for the Rosetta Roasting cafe that includes a different theme each day.

We missed Tiki Thursday but the staff was kind enough to make a Mai Tai and it was most definitely a treat on par with the cakes and savory bites on the venue’s menu. The Mai Tai contains Hamilton Pot Still Black and West Indies Blend, two bold rums that work great in this format. Very well balanced and pleasant throughout – it’s great.

If you look closely in the photo you can see the large tiki and some jade tiles that appear in a dark corner of the venue.