One day, we received this very lovely invitation to something called the Plymouth Gin Trade Dinner. It turns out; it's an evening where the highly skilled bartenders and chefs of Amada were given liquor to pair with food (in this case, Plymouth Gin) and told "Go forth."

Go forth they did; the results were fantastically original and though not universally appealing in all cases, they were definitely unique, inspired and plentiful!

We make our way to the evening's soiree and are escorted to the back room of Amada, a beautiful restaurant in Old City, swimming past curious faces all having early dinner dates and meetings. Everything looks and smells delicious and I would have sneakily made my way back to the food area had I not almost immediately been handed a champagne glass filled with the first drink of the evening. French 75, a classic cocktail, served with Plymouth Gin, champagne, and a bit of lemon swirled together for a crisp, fresh bite. Its clean and sharp taste cleansed the palate easily for the four course meal ready to be served. I could go into the food here because it was quite delicious. But the drinking is always my favorite part, so let's continue.

Now, I know a lot of gin and tonic folks. The "G & T" has its merits of being rather refreshing but it's usually difficult to get me on board with the drink, unless it's got a fresh squeeze of lime in it. Lo and behold, the meal's first companion was a "deconstructed" Plymouth Gin & Tonic. Deconstructed you say? Do tell. Our host gin sat at the base of a glass, with lime-infused ice cubes merrily floating about. The tables were all given a small plate of home-made Quinine rock candy for swirling in the glass. After a few stabs at figuring out the best way to appreciate both the candy and the drink, I went with multiple swirls in an effort to melt the candy into the drink. The verdict? Success.

The next drink of the evening had all the markings of a triple-dog dare. It was called "Harker's Aid." There was the gin, Hidalgo Fino sherry, fig, honey...but there was also garlic. It was in my drink, all around the lovely martini glass, very much unavoidable. I don't shy away from a challenge so I took a breath and sipped. It wasn't my favorite of the evening, but I can understand why some people asked for a second sampling. There was substance to the drink, it was hearty. I have a buddy that often jokes that drinking a Guinness is like drinking a steak; well, if we're using this method of comparison, this cocktail was like drinking a piece of well-roasted, buttery, garlic infused chicken. With some gin tossed on top. Satisfying.

Oh, right: we met people, we mingled, collected more business cards and made some jokes. Then we kept drinking.

The next drink of the evening was a medley of liquor, christened the "The Modern #2." It was Plymouth sloe gin, Christian Drouin Calvados, Courvoisier Exclusif, Fernet-Branca and rosemary all accompanied by a small glacier of ice. (These are ritzy names, folks!) I was excited about this one; the color was a deep sunset. Kind of like what I call a cowboy sunset, really dark right at the horizon with a bit of gold shining right at the top. It was a rich flavor and much sweeter than I had anticipated. A bitter aftertaste that didn't last too long was my least favorite part but that was always quelled by just taking another sip.

Last and certainly not least was the big finish of the evening: the Pernod Absinthe. Absinthe just became legal in the states a few years ago and bars everywhere took quick notice. Our consumption of the drink required a small spoon, a lavender suffused sugar cube and an elegant water tap. One takes the sugar cube and places it on the spoon (which has holes at the base of it) and then places the spoon over ones glass of absinthe. One then opens the tap to a delicate drip over the sugar cube. One's drink is ready when it is cloudy. Now, to put it quite plainly if you don't know already, absinthe tastes like licorice. If you don't like licorice, you will more than likely not like absinthe. In fact, it might even pain you to drink absinthe...especially if you were the one to pay for it since absinthe tends to run you a pretty penny.

But I digress; the lavender sugar cube was a great idea and while it added a very slight and subtle hint of sweetness to the drink, it was still absinthe. Hard, heavy, hallucinatory (ok, not really) absinthe. Meant to be sipped slowly and over a long stretch of time, the drink is not for the faint-hearted or for those who have already had quite enough for the evening. I am no sissy, but after a few sips of the powerful drink, I had to tap out. It was a painful decision, as it was free absinthe, but licorice has never been my friend and something told me that the Pernod wasn't looking for any new buddies that night, either.

The evening eventually comes to an end, as all delicious filled evenings have to. The hosts had a very talented cartoonist on hand creating pieces for all the guests, so I politely claimed my Halloween themed picture and then asked for another round of the French 75 as a 2nd dessert. As the opener of the evening, I already missed its delicate flavor. And I tend to like it when things come full circle.