Coffee Class

The Joule's Weekend coffee maven provides pointers for the perfect pourover

Dallas has seen a proliferation of independent coffeehouses in the last couple of years, places dedicated to procuring the best beans and machines to create that perfect cup.

Weekend at The Joule hotel, a sibling establishment of its lobby-mate TenOverSix, is one such place. In addition to creating an atmosphere that invites settling in and staying awhile — courtesy of a superiorly styled lounge outside its door — Weekend holds monthly classes to help its patrons brew better coffee at home.

In the video above, manager Nicole Thornbrough walks us through the pourover method that has become so popular among coffee enthusiasts, one they use at Weekend. Despite the rise of fancy machines — and weekend has those too — Thornbrough explains how this technique, in which hot water is poured slowly over just-ground coffee through a special V60 ceramic cone, produces a quality cup of java.

Even though Weekend has a fancy pourover setup so you can watch the coffee drip as the baristas do their thing, Thornbrough promises this is just as easy to do on your own. Simply place the cone (available for less than $25 at Weekend and elsewhere) over your mug of choice, which is how she does it at her own house.

For more coffee tips like these, join Thornbrough on the third Sunday of the month for Weekend’s home-brew class. The next one is January 18, 3-5 pm.

Cocktail Class

Henry's Majestic barman concocts cocktail recipes for New Year's Eve parties

Photo by Shana Anderson

Veteran Dallas barman Alex Fletcher is the beverage director for Henry's Majestic.

New Year's Eve is one of the better excuses to dine out and celebrate. But for those planning to host their own parties at home, we tasked Henry's Majestic beverage director Alex Fletcher with creating a couple of cocktail recipes sure to impress your guests.

He was given no instruction other than "easy" and "less easy," and what he gave us was the Riviera 77, a tropical twist on a French 75, and a Plum Lavender Flip, his updated spin on a Whiskey Flip. You can watch him explain each concoction in the video above. The recipes are as follows:

Riviera 77

Yields: 1 cocktail

Ingredients:

Half a kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 oz. Ford's gin
1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano fortified wine
Cava
Sliced kiwi for garnish

Muddle the kiwi. Combine that with the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and fortified wine in a shaker. Add some ice and shake. Pour through strainer into champagne flute. Top with cava (or your sparkling wine of choice) and garnish with a kiwi slice.

Plum Lavender Flip

Yields: 1 cocktail

Ingredients:

Half a fresh plum, sliced
2 oz. Four Roses bourbon
1/4 oz. Creme Yvette violet liqueur
3/4 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon)
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1 egg yolk
Sliced plum and dried lavender for garnish

Muddle the plum. Combine that with all other ingredients in a shaker; give it a dry shake to emulsify the yolk. Then add ice and shake again. Pour through strainer into champagne coupe and garnish with a plum slice and a sprinkle of dried lavender.

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