Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Old Fashioned and Its Many Facets

I've relocated to Brussels for the summer since my last post, hence the hiatus. In retrospect, starting this blog a couple weeks before I left home (and all of my bar tending tools behind) probably wasn't the brightest idea.  Oh well.

Anyways, today's drink is another classic, the Old Fashioned (don't worry, my loyal two readers, I'll be getting to some newer stuff soon enough).  I'll discuss the traditional method of preparing an Old Fashioned, a handful of preparation techniques that you can follow (or not), and finally my preferred iteration of this classic cocktail.

The classic Old Fashioned recipe is rather simple.  Like almost all things historical in the world of alcohol, there is some disagreement as to the original recipe and creator (for more on the history, I recommend Robert Hess's videos on the small screen network).  For simplicity's sake, this is George Kappeler's recipe I yanked off of Wikipedia.

"Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail
Dissolve a small lump of sugar with a little water in a whiskey-glass;
add two dashes Angostura bitters,
a small piece ice, a piece lemon-peel,
one jigger whiskey.
Mix with small bar-spoon and serve, leaving spoon in glass."


Very simple.  Today, orange and a cherry has replaced the lemon for a garnish.  Also, most people switch to simple syrup for convenience (1:1 or 2:1 sugar:water mixture), though there are your traditionalists *cough.*  What whisk(e)y you use is up to you, but you're mostly going to see Bourbon or Rye whiskey being used.  Also, the trend on ice leans heavier.  There is also a rather sad tendency of bartenders to muddle the orange and cherry at the bottom of the glass, and then make the drink.  This just adds lots of debris and not much flavor, and even that flavor is mostly the wrong part (you want the oils in the skin of the orange, not the juice from the flesh and that bleached maraschino cherry is little more than sugar and food coloring).  Anyways, the somewhat generally agreed upon method of making an old fashioned is the above method but with more ice and an orange peel (twisted to express the oils and rubbed around the rim of the glass, first) and cherry (stemmed/pitted) ON TOP of the ice.  Your fancier bartenders will also torch the orange oil as it is expressed form the orange peel.  This adds a nice smoky taste, which some people prefer.

Now, what's obviously most important is how I prepare the drink.  *ahem*  Here's what I use (at least while I'm traveling, but this is pretty close).


Ingredients from left to right:
-Angostura bitters
-Raspberry/pomegranate green tea syrup*
-Martini Bitters (see two posts back) in a Single Malt bottle
-High West Rendezvous Rye
-Orange (Yeah, that's actually a Clementine.  Pretend for a little bit, okay?)

*(1 cup water, boiled, with 2 tea bags, then heat reduced to medium, add 2 cups turbinado sugar, star until mixed in.  Do NOT let boil).

Equipment from left to right:
-Said bitters in an atomizer/martini/oil mister
-Jigger
-Ice sphere mold (Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds, Set of 2)
-Rocks glass
-Boston shaker
-Hawthorne strainer
-Bar spoon
-Creme Brulee Torch (not pictured but see below)

First, take the ice sphere out and put it in the glass.  Put the glass in the freezer so it is nice and cold when you put your drink in it.  You can use different types of ice for this, but I prefer the sphere because it looks sexy, the lower surface area keeps it form melting as quickly, and thus the drink gets watered down less.
 Next, measure out 2 oz of the rye and tea syrup and bitters to taste.  I prefer more bitters and less sugar, but generally a few dashes of bitters and around a quarter of an ounce of the syrup is fine.  Add these ingredients to the stirring side of the Boston shaker.   Add ice up to a little below halfway.  Stir until the outside of the shaker begins to precipitate at the same level as the ice.
 Strain into your prepared glass.  Cut a slice of the orange, twist it to express the oils, and rub the orange part around the rim of the glass.  Cut another strip to twist and garnish the drink with.  Add a cherry if you like.  But what cherry, you ask?  A real Maraschino cherry (not the sugary ones you put on ice cream sundaes, but the fancy ones you get from specialty stores) or maybe some real pitted cherries you soaked in brandy and spices.  In my state of transience, I was actually without either.  Mea culpa.  You can add these two garnishes to the top of the drink over the ice or add them to a martini pick to create a colorful flag-esque garnish.  You'll see my fancy sword picks later.  They didn't travel with me, sadly.

Sometimes I torch the orange peel if I have guests; often I'm just lazy.  Instead what I'll do is pump my trusty mister, light my creme brulee torch (you can use a lighter), and spray the mist through the flame over the drink, creating a flamethrower effect and adding beautiful (in sight and scent) aromatics to the top of the drink.  Adds some complexity and it's always fun to burn stuff (Jamie Boudreau does this with all sorts of stuff with marvelous results).
 And there you have it, the Old Fashioned.  And yes, I did somewhere along the way switch glasses and I couldn't tell you why for the life of me.  It was light and I was sleepy.  Anyway, enjoy your drink.
Final Recipe:
2 oz Rendezvous Rye
.25 oz Raspberry Pomegranate Green Tea Syrup
3-5 dashes Martini Bitters
Orange Peel
Torched Angostura  


Prost!
  

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The Sazerac and Cocktail Basics

Last exam of 1L tomorrow, which means a new blog post today.  Before I start throwing out a bunch of different recipes for drinks, I figure I should probably explain the basic components of a drink and techniques involved just so we're all on the same page.  But this is about cocktails, so first a classic drink, and then the other stuff.


The Sazerac.  It's my favorite cocktail.  It's (arguably) the original.  It's the official drink of New Orleans.  Everyone should try this drink.

The Sazerac has evolved a bit over the years.  It used to consist of brandy, Peychauds bitters, and sugar.  Then grapes became rare because of blight and people started using rye whiskey.  Somewhere along the way, absinthe was added.  Then absinthe was banned so people started using Herbsaint or other substitutes.  But now absinthe is legal again, so it's reclaimed its place as component of the drink in some bars.  Brandy, however, has not.  A number of bars will serve both, though, including the birthplace of the drink, the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans.  I was fortunate enough to visit said bar over Spring Break this year with some good friends.  It was a pilgrimage and it was glorious.



Now, for making the drink:

2 oz Rye Whiskey (I'm using High West Rendezvous Rye, which is utterly incredible in a Sazerac)
3 dashes Peychauds bitters
1 dash absinthe (Vieux Carre seemed an appropriate brand with the Sazerac's NOLA origins)
1 sugar cube
1 dash water
Lemon twist


The Sazerac is traditionally made in two cocktail glasses.  Fill one with ice and make the drink in the other.  Start by putting the sugar cube, bitters, and water into the un-iced glass.  Muddle until all the sugar is involved.  You can also use simply syrup instead of the sugar cube and water; it's much faster.  I prefer the traditional sugar cube, though.  Next, take some of the ice from the iced glass and add it to the bitters glass.  4 or 5 pieces.  Add the rye.  Stir.  Different traditions on this.  Doesn't matter as much as a lot of people say as long as it's thorough but not overdone.  Regardless, I go with Charlotte Voisey and stir 20 to the right, 20 to the left.



Then, remove the ice from the iced glass.  Spray/rinse it was a dash of absinthe (check the definitions below).  Basically, you want a thin layer of the absinthe all over the inside of the glass.  Make sure there is no excess absinthe in the glass.  Strain the bitter glass into this glass.


Finally, cut a long slice of lemon peel.  Bend it in half over the glass to express the oils.  Wipe the bright yellow side on the inside and outside of the rim of the glass, all the way around.  Twist strongly and add to the drink (some people like it on the side, but I'm an all-in kind of person).  Some use a channel knife for a smaller garnish, which is perfectly acceptable, as well.  If you use that method, cut the lemon over the glass so the oils are expressed in a similar way (though they likely won't cover the glass as thoroughly.



The Sazerac is served.





Now for the informational stuff.


Components:

The Cocktail: Traditionally Spirit, sugar, water, bitters.  Now used as a term for basically anything that isn't a single glass of straight alcohol.  A good rule of thumb for a cocktail is that it is only as good as the worst ingredient.  Using cheap vermouth will bring a martini down, even if you're using Bombay Sapphire gin.  Maraschino and St. Germaine can only do so much to help out Jim Beam.

Spirits:  The meat of a cocktail.  Whisk(e)y, Gin, Vodka, Tequila/Mezcal, etc... Fun fact/pedantry, you generally use the extra "e"in whiskey when it's from a country that has an "e" in it (United States, Ireland) and you leave it out when the whisky is from a country without any "e" in it (Scotland, Canada, Japan).  Also, the difference between Tequila and Mezcal is stricter regulation on the former than the latter.  I think of it like Single Malt v. Blended Scotch.  At lower prices, Mezcal like blended Scotch, can be scary.  But at higher prices, the distiller has more room to play around and can create some really unique stuff.  Neither good Mezcal and good blended Scotch should be overlooked.

Liqueurs/Cordials/Vermouths:  The sauce of the drink.  Liqueurs are made with spices, herbs, etc... and sugar.  Think Amaretto.  Cordials are made with fruit and sugar, think Midori (though they call it a liqueur.  Vermouths are wine spiced or flavored with various things.  Sometimes aperitifs that act like vermouth in a drink are used instead, such as Lillet Blanc or Lillet Rouge, like in the Corpse Reviver #2.  All three of theses can do wonderful things to a drink, but can also be very overpowering if used in excess.  Moderation is key.  Jamie Boudreau uses what he calls "The Golden Ratio" for cocktails as a benchmark.  1.5 oz spirit, .75 oz vermouth, .25 liqueur/cordial.  It's fantastic when you're just messing around with various ingredients.

Bitters:  The spice of the cocktail.  Often overlooked as an ingredient, cocktail bitters were once a vital part of the mixology game.  Only two survived the Prohibition/Dark Ages (Angostura and Peychauds) and have made it to modernity.  However, in the last decade there has been a huge resurgence of popularity for bitters.  Gary Regan catalyzed that by the release of his famous orange bitters.  Soon after, a slew of bitter brands sprung up with flavors ranging from celery to chocolate mole.  Then people realized how easy they were to make and started home brewing.  Damn hipsters.  *cough*  Use a few dashes of bitters to accent a flavor inherent to your drink.  Swapping bitter flavors and types of syrups (see below) can do marvelous things to cocktails, like The Old Fashioned and the Manhattan. A big chunk of modern drinks are a twist on one of these two classics by doing just that.

Syrups:  The sugar you add to a drink.  Usually simple syrup (sugar and water), but there is a growing trend of flavored syrups.  Personally, I'm a big fan of tea syrups and cinnamon syrup.  I'll take about these more in detail when I get to them. 

Ice:  Frozen water.  Revolutionary, I know.  That being said, the use of ice is vital to making a drink.  Too much or the wrong kind can make for a watered down mess.  When you make a mojito or a mint julep, you should used crushed ice, not something from your ice cube tray.  Adding an ice sphere to your drink instead of a few dinky cubes from the freezer adds a lot of class and strength (less dilution) to your drink.  This will be a continual topic of conversation.

Garnish:  The thing that makes your drink pretty.  BUT IT'S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.  The scent of the garnish can do so much for a drink.  The essential oils released from stuff like lemon rind makes a Sazerac a Sazerac.  Do not underestimate the importance of this.  Also, having a little sword to poke your neighbor with after you finish your drink is half the fun of drinking, after all.

Glassware:  People get really snooty about a lot of things in the world of cocktails.  Some of it is very much deserved.  Some of it... not so much.  Glassware straddles that line, in my opinion.  Presentation is a big deal in anything, be it food, drink, or business.  A Tom Collins served in a solo cup just doesn't quite looks as nice as in a Collins Glass.  Additionally, a lot of drinks are served in a specific glass for a reason.  Champagne based cocktails are served in a narrow flute because you want less oxidization in white wine (as opposed to red, where you want more oxidization and thus a wider glass) and with a long stem to hold so your hand doesn't heat up the drink.  The trick is figuring out which glasses are made the way are with a purpose in mind and which glasses are just made that way to get you to buy another type of glass and spend more money.  I'll talk about different types of glasses as we get to them.


Techniques:

Stir: This is for those of you that haven't seen the "Stirred" episode of The West Wing.  You should always stir a martini.  In fact, you should always stir any drink that is without egg white or fruit juice.  Using the bartender spoon doesn't chip the ice and water down the drink.  You can also "bruise" the spirit by shaking it.  Fill a mixing glass about half way with ice, typically.

Shake: Do this when you have fruit juice or an egg white.  The fruit juice needs to be mixed in more than other ingredients and the egg white needs to do some crazy science stuff that requires shaking.  Or something.  Generally speaking, fill a Boston shaker all the way with ice before shaking.  If you're shaking with an egg white, dry shake (no ice) first, then add ice (how much depends on the drink.

Strain: You only need your basic strainer (Hawthorne) when you're doing stirred drinks (for the most part).  However, when you start messing with fruit juice and herbs, you should use a mesh strainer (in addition to the Hawthorne) and a julep strainer, respectively.  This keeps the little bits of whatever from getting in your drink and making it look like there's wee beasties swimming around in there.

Muddle: Mashing stuff.  Sugar cubes and bitters to make a simple syrup, herbs for a mojito, fruit for a rum old fashioned, etc... Do it strong, don't do it in an easily breakable glass, and don't use a cheap muddler that will leave residue in your drink.  Don't muddle the fruit in the final glass of an old fashioned or you will surely die.

Emulsification: There are multiple ways to do this, but the main one is using an egg white.  Yes, a raw egg white.  Use fresh eggs, then shake the bejeezus out of it.  Bartenders have been doing this since long before you were born (see the Ramos Gin Fizz).  You can also use a milk frother if you're lazy, like Jamie Boudreau and myself.  This makes a drink thicker and can really do wonders.  Don't bash it until you've tried it. 

Foam: Fancy pants stuff.  Using something like an isi Whipper to inject NOS into a mixture of egg whites, lemon juice, gelatin (sometimes), water (sometimes) and a liqueur.  Makes a cocktail foam to top or accent your drink.  It's really cool.  

Mist: Using an atomizer or oliver oil mister to evenly spray a spirit/bitters/whatever over your drink or to coat the inside of your glass.  Great for vermouth in a martini, absinthe in a Sazerac, or surprising your mom with an alcoholic salad when she visits.

Rinse:  Same purpose as misting a glass.  You want to get a thin coating of something on your glass before you add your drink to it.  Does a lot for scent and accent.  If you don't have a mister, you just add a dash of whatever, say absinthe, to the glass and twirl it around, making sure to coat the entire inside, and then pouring out the excess.  You can also be all fancy and spin the glass up in the air to rinse the inside.  While it looks cool and is impressive, it's not as effective as carefully coating the inside or misting the inside.

Torch: Another use for misting is to gratify the inner pyromaniac in you.  If you're using a high proof alcohol, like Chartreuse or Angostura bitters, you can set it on fire as you mist it, creating a fantastic scent and taste to cover your drink.  Also does wonder for creme brulee, but that's another topic.  You can also torch essential oils from fruit.  You traditionally see this done with the oil from an orange rind when making an Old Fashioned.  The addition of a little smoke can be fantastic so long as you don't overdo it. 


Sunday, May 5, 2013

Cocktail Bitters: A Culinary Adventure


I've wanted to try my hand at bitters for awhile after reading about the whole process on Jamie Bourdreau's blog (http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/how-to-make-bitters/).  My first attempt didn't necessarily follow his advice (individually bottling different flavors and ultimately combining them for final product) due to limited resources/being a poor law student and not wanting to invest in multiple bottles of over-proofed spirits.  However, now that I kind of know what I'm doing, I'll invest a bit more and do individual flavors macerations next time.  Stay tuned for that towards the end of Summer.



The Ingredients

The Mixtures

Bittering Agent
-5 oz 151
-1/4 TBSP Wormwood

TALL = Pear Dram
-7 oz 151
-7 3” long cinnamon sticks
- 4 oz diced, candied ginger
-Skin of 2 large Bartlett pears
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg
FINAL = 5.5 oz pear dram, 0.5 oz amaretto, 0.5 oz simple syrup, 2 oz bitter mixture.

MEDIUM = Martini
-5 oz 151
-4 oz juniper berries
-Diced peel of 2 large lemons
FINAL = 3 oz martini blend 1 oz simple syrup (1:1), 2.25 oz bitter mixture.

SHORT = Falernum
-5 oz 151
-1 oz amaretto
-Diced peel of 10 key limes
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ginger
FINAL = 7 oz falernum blend, 0.5 oz simple syrup (1:1), 2.5 bitter mixture.




The final product turned out quite well, but I haven't gotten fancy bitter bottles, yet, so no picture.  

Pear Dram Bitters are pretty fantastic.  Fairly complex.  Sweet, but strong.  Possibly a little too sweet.  Not really an issue, though, if you just reduce the simple syrup you put into whatever cocktail you're making by about half.  Ginger didn't come out too much, sadly.  Probably needs to macerate separately and not be candied, next time.  Went well with Rendezvous Rye and Sailer Jerry spiced rum.  I think it has more potential elsewhere, though, or at least with a couple more ingredients.

Martini Bitters are more lemon than juniper, but I kind of expected that.  I definitely think this blend will benefit from separate maceration process for the ingredients.  That being said, I do like them.  Ironically, I've yet to use them in a martini.  They do pair very well with a nice rye whiskey, though.  Made a fantastic Old Fashioned with these, Rendezvous Rye, a raspberry/pomegranate tea syrup, and a twist of lemon instead of the orange.

Falernum Bitters are fantastic.  Probably the most proud of these.  I will definitely tweak the recipe some more to increase the individual spice profiles.  Again, individual maceration will help.  Paired very well with a nice mezcal reposado (Scorpion) and the aforementioned tea syrup.  Also went pretty well with some Sailer Jerry spiced rum, though I liked the mezcal combo more.

I'll post a follow up with some more combinations I deem worthy of mentioning.  For the two people that read this, questions are welcome.

Prosit!