At the end of April, The Whaling Club hosted a gin cocktail and oyster shucking workshop at The Jefferson in Culver City. Gin and oysters are one of our favorite pairings, and we loved sharing some knowledge on both from the professionals: Chef Noah Rosen and House Spirits Distillery’s Director of On Premise Outreach and Education, Brooke Arthur. 
Noah kicked it off with the oyster shucking lesson. He brought three kinds of oysters to shuck and taste: Kumiai, Beausoleil, and Shigoku. I was so proud of everyone! Bunch of pros right off the bat (and no one cut themselves!). 
Once everyone had shucked and enjoyed a few oysters, Dan taught everyone how to make their first cocktail: The Blind Date. The Blind date is a refreshing and delicious shaken gin cocktail with lemon, Lillet rose, and St. Germain. 
Dan then discussed the history and evolution of the classic martini, and lead everyone in stirring their own. 
Brooke taught us all about Aviation Gin; the flavor profile and how it’s distilled in Portland. At the end, she offered tastings of the other House Spirits products, and I think I caught a few people tasting out of their oyster shells! Love it!
Thank you to all who attended! We had a wonderful time meeting each of you!
Tag Archives: oysters
the whaling club XIII with house spirits
We were thrilled to host The Whaling Club in February with House Spirits Distillery! Dan has been a longtime fan of their Aviation Gin, and we were excited when our friend, Brooke, approached us with the possibility of partnering for a very special Whaling Club event. 
We were also honoring the departure of our dear friends, Chef Frank Anderson and Chef Rebecca Ambrosi, who are moving to Maine. Frank has been a part of The Whaling Club almost since the beginning, serving up oysters, mussels, Cuban sandwiches, crostinis, and last month he and Rebecca pulled out all the stops with an epic raw bar. Oysters, mussels, Peruvian scallops, shrimp, uni shooters, and lobster tacos! Dan started the night off with a refreshing cocktail named the Prop Plane, featuring Aviation Gin, and pomelo (a pink citrus that is a sweeter grapefruit varietal). 
Dan followed that with a Pineapple Daiquiri #2 featuring House Spirits Rum. And we finished the night with the Hart of Portland, featuring Westward Whiskey, super bright blood oranges, and spicy ginger. Brooke was also tasting guests on a variety of House Spirits, including their coffee liqueur which seems to me like the perfect night cap. 
A very special thank you to Brooke and House Spirits Distillery, Chef Frank, Chef Rebecca, and all our guests who joined us! It was an unforgettable night!
See more pictures on instagram: @thewhalingclub | @acozyboat| @b_arthur
the whaling club VI
Since April is the beginning of Spring, Dan chose cocktails that highlighted floral and fresh notes for The Whaling Club this month. The Croquet Cup was the perfect easy drinking cocktail to start the night with mint, cucumber, and Pimm’s No. 1. Plus, it’s gorgeous to look at. The Royal Daiquiri featured creme de violette, which is floral in taste and color. And the grapefruit and Peychaud’s bitters in an otherwise classic gin rickey added just the right about of bitterness and rounded out the drink. It was my favorite blush color and looked beautiful over Dan’s hand cut ice spears.
Chef Frank Anderson killed it again by shucking oysters, and brought it to the next level with chilled mussels, aioli, and breadcrumbs. Addictive! I love how Frank prepped three mussels (and oysters) for us to cheers to before everyone arrived (he also saved me a few oysters for the end–what a guy). 
Such a fun a night! We loved having a bunch of new guests, and celebrating the simple but perfect things we love about The Whaling Club. How awesome is that whale? We found it at New Stone Age and knew we had it to have it for the bar! It lives on our mantel in between. And did you catch us on Eater LA? So cool! Special thanks to Kat Odell for that! 
To join our mailing list and receive invites for future events, email reservations@thewhalingclub.com.
The Whaling Club on Instagram.
(Menu logo and artwork by Sarah Mullin.)
the whaling club V
Gin! Oysters! Yum! Chef Frank Anderson joined us at The Whaling Club this month, shucking Buckley Bay oysters alongside Dan’s gin cocktails. We set Frank up in the kitchen with Dan, and guests could pass by and kick back an oyster while watching the two in action. They work together at Son of a Gun restaurant, Dan in the front of house and Frank running the back of house, so it was fun seeing them side by side doing their thing. It’s so interesting to observe how everyone eats their oysters! I love just mignonette on mine, Frank recommends lemon and little horseradish, and our friend Noah likes a little bit of everything. Our friend, Mesch, tried his very first oyster and loved it! How do you like yours?
Dan’s drinks were spot on. The Southside Royale served in a coupe felt like a celebratory way to kick off the evening. The Nagami Swizzle was such a gorgeous looking drink with layers of color and the pop of kumquat on the top. But the White Negroni was definitely a (surprise) favorite of the night. If you’re not familiar with Suze, it’s a French, bitter apertif that’s a little bit sweet and herbal. Dan hand cut all the ice used for serving and shaking.
As always, guests were given their own copy of the menu to take home, with Sarah Mullin’s perfect drawings and logo design. I wanted to reach through my computer and squeeze that oyster drawing it was so adorably accurate. Thank you to all our stylish and festive guests who joined us! If you’d like to be added to our mailing and invite list, comment below or shoot us an email at reservations@thewhalingclub.com.
Special thanks to Pour Vous for the crushed ice!
santa barbara
Dan and I spent a day hiking in Montecito followed by dinner at Brophy Bros. in Santa Barbara. It was a gorgeous and cool day, and I brought along my new camera and Lensbaby to play around with the light and scenery on the hike. I’m still learning how to control my Lensbaby, but part of what I love is the unpredictable and creative effects it has on the images. We tried to take a self-timed photo of the two of us, but as you can see it was hard to focus the “sweet spot” without being behind the camera.
Brophy Bros. is a casual seafood spot right on the harbor with awesome views of the water, mountains, and boats. We scored a table outside before the sun starting going down, and we watched the sky change colors as fishermen pulled in some serious sea urchin loot from the water. Dan insisted on closing the night with an oyster shooter before we headed back to LA.
Days off really are the best! We’re hoping to go camping when the weather warms up a little bit. Any suggestions of favorite spots welcome from you SoCal folks!
university club
Attending a Christmas dinner at The University Club of Chicago has become a favored family tradition. The building is a classic; collegiate and festive. The main dining hall always has an impressively huge, decked out tree–almost as impressive as the number of oysters I consume in one evening. Seriously, the guy serving said “back again?” on what was only my second out of three trips to the raw bar. What am I? An amateur?!
Hope you’re all having a lovely day, celebrating Christmas or enjoying a “day off”. I’m still in my pajamas and plan on wearing them to the dinner table if I can get away with it. (And yes, The University Club is totally Hogwarts! Or so I’m told.)
a cozy boat 