Seminole Hard Rock Council Oak Barrel Aged Cocktail Dinner

My friends at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, Council Oak wowed me again.  My husband Gabe and I attended Council Oak's Barrel Aged Cocktail dinner last week and I am here to say, it was their best curated dinner to date and I have no idea how they will top this one.

The theme of September's dinner was Barrel aged cocktails. They had an assortment of cocktails that have been barrel aged over the past few months and paired them perfectly with 4 courses.

The Hors Dourves included: Prosecco Compressed Watermelon with Goat Cheese, Pickled Red Oinion and 50 Years Aged Balsamic; Royal Ossetra Caviar, over a Quail Egg, Citrus Creme Fraiche and Sea Salt Tuile; Fig Confit, Duck Prosciutto, Seal Salt Pistachio Crusted Fontina.

I truly loved all three of these Hors Dourves. My favorite was the Fig confit with duck proscuitto. Gabe's favorite was the prosecco compressed watermelon.

The drinks were flowing all night. It was such a neat experience to see these barrel aged cocktails paired with delicious courses.

The 1st Course of the night was delicious and incredible - Hudson Valley Foie Gras Au Torchon
Pickled Carrot, Watermelon Radish, Salsify, Sea Salt Pistachios, Kumquat Marmalade and Blackberry Ketchup. This course was served with an Old Fashioned "Root Beer". The Old Fashion was strong and smelled exactly like Root Beer. I kept having to remind myself that this was a "sipping cocktail".

The 2nd Course was Sea Bass, always a crowd favorite. This beautiful piece of fish was topped with a Lobster Ravioli and served over Eggplant Caponata and Smoked Tomato Brodo. The barrel aged cocktail was a Negroni made with Nolet's Silver.

The 3rd Course was the star of the night, Jackman Farm's Wagyu Filet. I cannot even explain how delicious this cut of beef was. But wait, the wagyu was served with Parsnips Puree, Tomato Jam, Shaved Black Truffle and Warm Port-Tarragon Vinaigrette. The shaved black truffle brought me back to Italy. SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. This course was served with a Manhattan made with Crown Royal Rye.

The Crown Rye Manhattan happened to be the barrel each guest got to take home with them. We have two beautiful barrel's of this cocktail waiting a few weeks to age to perfection.

The 4th Course was a delicious dessert of Chocolate Mousse, Coconut Micro Sponge Cake, Morello Cherry Foam. This was served with my favorite cocktail of the night, a Smores Martini made with Ketel One Vodka. They roasted a whole marshmallow and rimmed the glass with graham cracker crust. WOWOWOW. I may have drank 3.

Council Oak's Barrel Aged dinner was a perfect night with great friends. We enjoyed our night with Amanda (wheresamanda.com) and Rick (travelwithrick.com), drinking delicious cocktails and mind blowing food.

October's pairing dinner will feature Samual Adams for Octoberfest! We will miss out on this incredible dinner as we will be enroute to Ireland. Details below!

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