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: the whaling club
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
maple leaf
the whaling club XII
The November Whaling Club really felt like the official beginning of the holiday season! Dan’s drinks were seasonal and put everyone in the cozy, festive spirit. Starting the night off was the Maple Leaf, a rye cocktail topped with grated cinnamon and garnished with a fragrant cinnamon stick. Next up was the Cider Cup, a bourbon, apple, lemon, ginger cocktail served over a hand cut cube — definitely a highlight of the night; spicy and seasonal. And finally, the Thistle, sometimes referred to as The Thistle Cocktail, with equal parts Scotch and sweet vermouth for both Scotch lovers and Scotch newbies to enjoy. We loved hosting our new guests as well as welcoming back friends. Enjoying cocktails feels like such a holiday activity…so I guess we celebrate the holidays year ’round over here at The Whaling Club! 
Thank you to all who joined us this month. If you’d like to attend a future event, email reservations@thewhalingclub.com to join our invite list.
Menu & Logo Illustration by the lovely Sarah Mullin.
the whaling club, one year!
This month we celebrated our one year anniversary of The Whaling Club! I really can’t believe it’s been a full year since we started brainstorming this idea. Dan and I had been slowly piecing it together, and then our friends Sarah and Noah came over and we really hashed out the details–like the three drink progression, how we would invite people, and designing our logo and menu. Then several months in, Frank joined us with oysters and took the night to a whole new level. 
This month we went back to The Whaling Club in its most original form: three knockout cocktails. The menu has been different every month so far, but for our anniversary we brought back highlights from the year. The Mint Daiquiri is one of my favorite cocktails, and I love when people have it at The Whaling Club and it totally shatters their idea of what a daiquiri is. Dan loves ginger cocktails, the spicier the better, and the Presbyterian has that yummy kick. The Bowline is one of Dan’s original recipes. Like a good stirred drink, it’s one you slowly sip on to finish the night. 
A very special thank you to Sarah Mullin for her perfect illustrations, Frank for sharing his talent and passion with us, everyone who is has written us up and featured The Whaling Club online and in publications, and most importantly, all our guests who have made The Whaling Club what it is so far. We promise to keep the party going and always deliver simple cocktails executed with care! 
If you’d like to attend The Whaling Club, email reservations@thewhalingclub.com to be added to our mailing and invite list.
the whaling club X
September may technically be the end of summer in other parts of the country, but it kinda feels like we’re still right in the middle of it here in Los Angeles! Dan’s cocktail menu featured seasonal ingredients, starting off with a simple and refreshing gin cocktail called the Pipe Dream with watermelon and mint. Next was the Sinker, which always tends to convert people who think they don’t like Scotch into loving Scotch. And lastly, the Grand Canal, a stirred drink with rye, cardamaro, cucumber, and an absinthe rinse. Cardamaro is an amaro flavored with cardoon, a thistle like plant in the same family as an artichoke. Chef Frank Anderson (and Rebecca Ambrosi!) joined us again and really pulled out all the stops. The beef tartare with quail egg was my favorite. Hello. Also, how pretty are those little quail egg shells? 
Next month will be our one year anniversary of The Whaling Club! We love hosting and sharing cocktails–it always feels celebratory! Dan and I were just talking about when we sent out the first invite–we were so worried no one would come! Thank you to all who have supported this adventure over the last year and attended TWC.
Logo and artwork by Sarah Mullin.
the whaling club, havana club
When Dan and I were in Mexico last month we picked up a few bottles of Havana Club rum for a very special Whaling Club. Havana Club is an awesome Cuban rum that you can’t buy in the United States. Chef Frank Anderson joined us again with adorable and delicious Cuban sandwiches (I had three, no big deal) and Dan’s cocktails were the perfect way to celebrate the last month of summer. He started everyone off with a classic shaken Pineapple Daiquiri followed by a gorgeous Queen’s Park Swizzle over crushed iced. He finished with an Old Havana, which I think was many guest’s first stirred rum cocktail. We had all new-to-whaling-club guests, and it was such a pleasure meeting everyone and enjoying cocktails together! I have a feeling they won’t be first timers for long.
the whaling club VII
Thank you to all who joined us in May for The Whaling Club! Dan’s tequila cocktails were, once again, a total hit. The Cherry Caipirita was refreshing and beautiful. I loved photographing it on our porch as much as I loved drinking it. A classic La Paloma followed, and Dan revealed that rather than salt the rim, he took the advice of a well known bartender and threw a pinch of salt right in the drink. The final drink was the Rio Bravo which, as one of our guests wrote to us, was “a real eye-opener in terms of the range of such a spirit in more ‘classic’ cocktails that are typically associated with different liquors.” Special thanks to Free Range for helping us celebrate the beginning of summer at The Whaling Club!
Follow us on instagram @thewhalingclub, and check out some recent features on InsideHook, Details Style Network, and Rundown LA!
Logo and artwork by Sarah Mullin for The Whaling Club.
decadent dinner
As someone who often reminisces about being a kid and the ease of childhood, there are a few great things (besides discovering wine and coffee) about being an adult. One of those things is dinner parties. Especially when it’s a Decadent Dinner hosted by our friends Jay and Hannah in their gorgeous new home, and Hannah is killing it with dishes like scallop and foie gras carpaccio, bone marrow risotto, and crack pie. Yup, CRACK PIE. Did I mention one my favorite desserts of all time is Momofuku’s Crack Pie? Okay, now you know. I always accept payment in the form of crack pie. K, thanks, bye. Also, there are no pictures of the crack pie because I ate mine before I remembered to take a photo. The Whaling Club joined in the fun, and Dan put together a delicious bourbon and rum punch with a hand cut ice block to get the party started as guests arrived and sat down to dinner. 
It’s always a delight to be surrounded by new and old friends who appreciate cooking, food, and cocktails. You know you’ve really hit the jackpot when someone pulls out a bottle of Fernet Branca at the end. Props to Will for that one!
Thank you so much to Jay and Hannah for having us! And now that summer has hit LA, I’m looking forward to BBQs, beach lounging, and shaken mint daquiris. What are you most looking forward to this summer?
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.)
a cozy boat 
