Mixology Monday XVII: Bring on the Blog Love

I was just trying to buy a car…

I don’t know when bartending transitioned from a means to acquire vehicular freedom to an obsession, but my evolution from Cro-Magnon pre-mixed drink dispenser to somewhat upright professional enthusiast has been a wonderful journey. The magnificent individuals I have worked with over the years and eager customers consistently encouraged me to hone my craft. Bartending started as a way to work through school, but a B.S. and M.A. later, I realize I was always working towards two types of educations. I liked the B.A.R. degree better.

Unfortunately, I ran out of resources for my ongoing pursuit of knowledge. Co-workers actually avoided the subject when talking with me. Unless you are fortunate enough to work for one of the few great bars in the world in one the few cities that host such establishments, bartending knowledge generally peaks at some point if you rely exclusively upon your bar for information. Extending your knowledge requires time outside of the bar and a determined search for others like yourself.

While books are some of the best resources for feeding the bartending monster growing inside, the online cocktail community has become the most accessible and diverse source of information for exploring anything you might pour. Name one book that extensively covers Japanese Whisky, the fine science of ice, and the ongoing creation of homemade Falernum. When did the last book you read clarify its contentions or answer your follow-up questions? Formed by a collection of amateurs and experts, the cocktail community covers subjects from the most basic to the most intricate subtleties. You can never predict what you might find. I think that when I found The Cocktail Chronicles for the first time I stayed up after three straight bartending shifts until I had read all of Paul’s posts.

Around the same time, I started a Cocktail of the Day feature at the bar where I worked and made hundreds of drinks which I learned about from reading the posts of great enthusiasts and bartenders all over the web. It was Darcy’s campaigning for the superiority of the original Mai Tai in one of his posts at The Art of Drink that led to a citywide epidemic after I made them one night as the nightly concoction. I make classic Mai Tais at home all the time, but just reading Darcy’s description of serving Mai Tais to his customers while his ridiculous boss conjured a banana member of “The Cocktail Hall of Shame” made me want to do the same in my bar that evening. We ran out of my newly purchased bottles of Orgeat in under two hours. People actually called others and told them to come to the bar to try one!

Similarly, most of my cocktail blog reading benefits my bar guests, but sometimes, you get a little selfish and keep things at home. This tends to happen when the ingredients required aren’t available at our bar. I have trouble singling out one specific cocktail among so many that I’ve enjoyed, but the other day I made one of Jamie Boudreau’s Apple-Blueberry Collins, which he just posted on his site. Make sure to check out his post on the recipe below:

APPLE-BLUEBERRY COLLINS

2 oz Laird’s Applejack
1 oz lemon juice
¼ oz simple syrup
3 dashes Angostura bitters
10 blueberries
2 oz lemon-lime soda

Place all but lemon-lime soda into an iced shaker
Shake hard (to break up the blueberries) and strain into an iced Collins glass
Top with lemon-lime soda

I love the drink Jamie – great work!

I’m always looking for a new great drink for myself or my partons, but it wasn’t always that easy. After going page by page everyday through my favorites, I learned about this cool concept called an RSS feed. Wow, my addiction became so much easier. With my newly acquired time and knowledge of the blogging, I considered starting my own blog, but I was just too intimidated by the expertise of some of the bloggers I read every night. After about three months, I decided to start my own modest experiment, and it is still up and going.

I try and write informative posts for people like myself, but I must admit that the person who probably gets the most out of the blog is myself and that’s what encourages the blog the most. Don’t get me wrong; I love talking to people, answering questions, and striving to put together reading material for people. But, writing and researching my chosen subjects has really pushed me to learn more and improved my ability to provide a unique experience to my bar guests. I certainly don’t write the best cocktail blog on the internet, but I like to think that I throw something into the pot of cocktail blogging knowledge. If you haven’t started your own cocktail blog exploration and want to know where to find others who do it better than myself, these are some of my favorites in no particular order.

The Cocktail Chronicles – Paul Clarke
Read the whole blog! It will keep you busy for months and represents everything that the best cocktail blog can offer.

The Art of Drink – Darcy O’Neil
Yes, a Canadian chemist creates one of the best blogs you can read. Give the maple leaf a try.

Jeffrey Morgenthaler – Guess Who
The bartender’s bartending blog. This blog is awesome for everyone, but it is great to get some honest commentary on the profession in addition to the excellent info.

Nonjatta – Chris Bunting & Scottes’ Rum Pages - Scott
I wish there were more down-to-earth blog’s like this that covered specific topics and gave a deeper source of content on certain spirit types.

EVERYTHING TO YOUR RIGHT!
I can’t comment on everybody specifically, but I think that the above blogs represent a good spectrum of the cocktail blogging community. Specifically, the first three have been at it for quite some time and have tons of archived posts. Personally, I defer to others and strive for one of the largest link lists on the net for cocktail bloggers. Many people like to link to others who link to them and what-not, but I put you up there if I read your stuff – no politics here. I read every blog linked on here whenever they write something new, and if you have the time, you should too. If you aren’t listed on this site, tell me where you’re at, and I’ll make sure to add you on here and read any thoughts you have.

Well, that about sums up my enormous love for cocktails blogs everywhere. To all the bloggers out there: keep writing! I don’t know how influential cocktail blogging is on the mainstream public, but my customers and I really appreciate it all! Now head on over to the Cocktail Chronicles to check out everyone elses Mixology Monday posts and find out about other great blogs.

The Cocktail Cherry: The Neon Nemesis

The plague of artificial flavors continues to contaminate modern cocktails and gain strength. While powdered juices, chemical syrups, and candy liqueurs are among the most ominous of cocktail enemies, few perpetrators infiltrate such a wide range of cocktails as the modern maraschino cherry. Resting inconspicuously as an iconic garnish in cocktails ranging from the trendy “apple martini” to classics such as the manhattan, the cocktail cherry infects sloppy and fine drinks alike with a mass of artificial flavors, dyes, and chemicals that are unsurpassed by other ingredients. The art of creating fine cocktails demands individual consideration of each element. Continuing to ignore the cocktail cherry impedes a perfection cocktail unity. Fortunately, creating homemade cocktail cherries is simple and extremely rewarding.

I recently decided to make my first batch of brandied cherries a few days ago, and I feel ridiculous for not doing it sooner. I had intended to make a batch forever, but I accepted the ideology that allows the neon cherry to dominate. The artificial maraschino cherry was accessible and easy to remove from the jar. Why spend the time making your own? I didn’t care about the cherry anyway; it’s there for looks and tradition, awaiting my consistent decision to discard it at the end of each drink. However, an improved homemade version adds a pleasant component to any drink, assuming you can resist eating them whenever you get a craving. Hey, they are right there in my fridge next to my silverware drawer. I can be in the jar in less than ten seconds enjoying the deep red orbs of wonderfulness. If the effort to create make your own cherries still seems like too much work, consider this – outside of time allotted for cooling, the batch I made took me only 10 minutes to create. Still unwilling to invest the time? Let’s consider both options, and you’ll see why making your own cherries is a far better choice.

The Neon Nemesis

Despite its radiating colors and chemical composition, the maraschino cherry was not always a disgrace to elegant drinks. Originally, maraschino cherries were made from marasca cherries which were married with maraschino liqueur. Despite using various cherries as garnishes for decades, the “maraschino cherry” became a popular choice for countless cocktails, eventually inspiring the artificial cocktail cherry. Initially, the imposter cherry was not well-received. The New York Times had this to say on August 26, 1911:

“It is a tasteless, indigestible thing, originally, to be sure, a fruit of the cherry tree, but toughened and reduced to the semblance of a formless, gummy lump by long imprisonment in a bottle filled with so-called maraschino. The liquor known as maraschino, when authentic, has its merits, and though we may shun it we are not disposed to condemn it, for it is derived from the most luscious cherries.

But the so-called maraschino of commerce has been found, on analysis, to contain besaldhyde, glucose, and other objectionable ingredients, and this is the liquid in which the cocktail cherry of commerce is preserved.

The information comes none too soon. The cocktail cherry should be suppressed…the cocktail cherry is an abomination of comparatively recent origin, and now that its utter unfitness has been manifested, we trust that it will disappear.”

Oops! Instead of disappearing, the artificial cocktail cherry surged under the temperance movement. Robert Hess details the timeline of the maraschino cherry’s growth to dominance extremely well in his post over at The Spirit World. Most notably, he identifies prohibition as the accelerator of the modern maraschino cherry’s popularity. Adhering to a ban on all alcoholic products, real maraschino cherries were no longer an option, and the artificial cherry became the solitary choice for consumers. Following prohibition, the hegemonic rule of the maraschino cherry thwarted any alternatives as it continued to find increasing real estate in the form of banana splits, cocktails (which were more willing than ever to accept artificial ingredients), and annoying sayings like “pretty please, with a cherry on top”. I love my cherry pleases with formaldehyde; how about you?

Wait a second! The most commonplace criticism of modern maraschino cherries is that they are preserved in formaldehyde. Yes, that is the same stuff used to prevent tissue decomposition and is found buoying body parts and small animals in weird science labs everywhere. Frogs justifiably should fear the chemical, but small children and sweet-toothed adults can indulge in artificial maraschino cherries if they wish without the concern of becoming some type of weird cherry mummy. There is no formaldehyde in these maraschino cherries. The “-hyde” and enduring life of the maraschino cherry may have led to a myth that confused benzaldehyde, which is found in the artificial cherries, for formaldehyde. Benzaldehyde is a flavor from cherry pits that is used in countless products, including Dr. Pepper (read more from Inara Verzemnieks in the Daily Oregonian).

Today, other alternatives continue to appear, coinciding with growing support for quality cocktail products. Brandy cherries and bourbon cherries can be found in small gourmet food stores everywhere. Makers Mark even began producing its own bourbon flavored cherries. Some of these brands have gained respect, especially Luxardo Marasche al frutto cherries. Unfortunately, some premium jarred cherries can reach prices as high as twenty dollars for an eight ounce jar. That’s just ridiculous – especially when you can make your own with whatever style cherry and spirit you desire.

The Homemade Cherry

Countless preferences exist concerning the creation of an ideal cocktail cherry (check the eGullet forum discussion on this issue for different views), but for my first batch I followed a brandied cherry recipe from Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz’s The Art of the Bar:

 

“6 pounds dark, sweet cherries
¾ cup sugar
1 cup water
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 ¼ cups brandy

 

…Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the cherries and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, remove the cinnamon sticks, and stir in the brandy.”

Jeff and Rob recommend pitting the cherries, but following some of the advice from eGullet members, I chose to keep the pits hoping to achieve a more complex flavor. I didn’t go all out with the cherry selection either. As a first experiment, I chose some basic cherries available in my local grocery store. I don’t even know what kind they are because it was kind of an impulse buy, and there was only one option. I used a bottle of cognac, Kelt Tour du Monde VSOP, that I really didn’t enjoy and have wanted to get rid of. Unless you just want an excuse to crack a new bottle and replace one you didn’t enjoy, a cheaper brandy will suffice. I also made sure that I allowed the cherries about two hours to cool before transferring them to two mason jars and placing them in the refrigerator, making sure to fill the jars to the brim with the new brandy-based cherry liqueur that was created in the process.

Despite and odd combination of cheap cherries and unnecessarily expensive cognac, the cherries were amazing! I tried them warm right after I took them off the stove, and they were wonderful. I would definitely advise having some vanilla ice cream nearby when making your own cherries and throwing some of these cherries on top. The warm cherry liqueur was also great and might really hit the spot on a cold winter day, but it would need more brandy to have any individual potential. It might, however, excel as a cocktail ingredient. After a few days in the fridge, the cherries continue to soak up the brandied mixture and get increasingly better. Eventually, the cherries will spoil (after 2 weeks), but I try some everyday to track their progress and enjoy their wonderful taste. I also managed to fill three mason jars for less than the price that I would have on average spent buying one jar from a store or online. If you want a cherry with more backbone, use bourbon instead; if you want to make an authentic maraschino cherry, utilize a maraschino liqueur.

Like any cocktail ingredient, taking the time to make your own and use fresh ingredients is always rewarding and worth the effort. Making your own cherries demonstrates this concept tremendously. Take the ten minutes to make your own cherries, and you will always keep a jar stocked. Just make sure that if you have any children like I was around, you hide or tell them not to eat the cherries; they can be potent. Yes, I admit it; I was a fake maraschino cherry eater and used to sneak some out of my grandmother fridge whenever she wasn’t looking. That was years ago, and after trying some of these chemical cherries at the bar the other day, I don’t know what I was thinking.

Pimm’s No. 1

This week’s spirit of the week revolves around a cocktail that is perfect for the summer heat. The Pimm’s Cup is one of my favorite drinks; it combines my love for gin (which is the base spirit for Pimm’s No. 1) with a refreshing cocktail. Other drinks such as the classic gin and tonic and the Gin Gin Mule accomplish a perfect for a sweltering day, but the choosing a Pimm’s cocktail instead is a welcome change from my standard gin cocktail repertoire.

Pimm’s was invented by James Pimm, who was the owner of an oyster bar in London where he created Pimm’s No. 1. Pimm’s takes a gin base and expands on it with spiced, citrus, and herbal tones. These qualities are present in most gins so the difference may seem initially nonexistent; however, Pimm’s almost has a sweet vermouth and tea component to it which is absent from traditional gins. James Pimm also created several other Pimm’s using different base spirits:

Pimm’s No. 2 (Whisky)
Pimm’s No. 3 (Brandy)
Pimm’s No. 4 (Rum)
Pimm’s No. 5 (Rye)
Pimm’s No. 6 (Vodka)

Of these original products, the only Pimm’s still produced is the No. 6, though it is only produced in smaller batches and usually only distributed in England and some parts of Europe. Man, I would really have liked to try the Rye Pimm’s; unfortunately, since Pimm’s has been purchases by Diageo I don’t see many adventurous recreations in the future. Fortunately, Pimm’s No. 1 will do just fine!

The Pimm’s Cup has been getting some coverage recently; specifically, you should check out Camper English’s article which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle (Camper also has a great blog which you should look into). Camper’s coverage of the Pimm’s Cup publishes a recipe from Town Hall restaurant in San Francisco:

2oz. Pimm’s No. 1
1oz. Gin
Ginger Ale
Soda Water
Cucumber Slice for Garnsih

Camper’s Instructions: Add the gin and Pimm’s to a highball glass full of ice. Fill remainder of glass with a 2-to-1 ratio of ginger ale to soda water. Stir and place cucumber slice in the drink (rather than as garnish).

The Pimm’s Cup seems to take shape in different ways everywhere; another blog I really love, The Bottle Gang, also wrote about the Pimm’s Cup recently and described the recipe as 1 parts Pimm’s and 3 parts lemonade. The lemonade conceptualized in this Pimm’s Cup is generally described as more of lemon soda. The major addition pointed out by the Bottle Gang however is the use of fresh fruit and mint. Different types of fruit may be muddled, but they specifically note the effectiveness of using green apple slices. Their post on the Pimm’s Cup is really awesome and you should check it out.

Personally, I really like to use ginger ale in my Pimm’s Cup (yes, I have a bias towards ginger), but I also like to muddle different fruits in my Pimm’s Cup to change the flavors occasionally. I know that this may seem unordinary for someone who really likes to stress using original recipes, but I haven’t seen a definitive original Pimm’s Cup recipe, so I am taking some degree of license here. My experimenting with Pimm’s recently led me to fall in love with this recipe recently which just twists other’s interpretations of the Pimm’s Cup; I even found one that threw out my obsession with ginger ale. I find this recipe to be particularly refreshing (even if it isn’t really a Pimm’s Cup):

My Cup

1 ¼ oz. Pimm’s No. 1
½ oz. Plymouth Gin
½ oz. Simple Syrup
2 Lime Wedges
1 Orange Slice
1 Lemon Wedge
10 Mint Leaves
1 Cucumber Spear
Tonic Water

Muddle the lime and lemon wedges, orange slice, mint and simple syrup in the base of a tall glass. Fill the glass with ice and add the Pimm’s and gin; shake and strain into a tall glass. Fill the glass with tonic and garnish with a cucumber spear.

Explore the mixing properties of Pimm’s over the next few months. It is an awesome spirit that can add some diversity to your summer cocktail arsenal. Specifically, if you are a gin fan and don’t switch to Pimm’s from time to time, you are doing a great yourself disservice.

Tito’s Vodka

It is ironic that the spirit that varies the least in quality has become the focus of the most debate about superiority. Vodka remains the dominating elixir of choice because of versatility and mixing potential; however, this widespread appeal is attributable to its fundamental definition as an odorless and tasteless spirit. While no vodka obtains a complete blank tasting and aromatic profile, the difference between vodkas is usually indiscernible. Over the past years, some brands such as Ciroc and Napa Valley’s Roth have pushed the boundaries of the vodka definition creating spirits with a more distinct flavor profile derived from the distillation of grapes. Not only do the lines between vodka and eau de vie seem to be blurring, other vodkas are being produced from beets, rice, and just about anything that can be used to create alcohol. Recently, the European Union debated the definition of vodka and decided that vodkas made from alternative sources, or those outside of the more traditional grain and potatoes, should clearly state their composition on their labels. In short, after days of debating, the EU settled on a resolution that will change nothing about the vodka industry.

Vodkas that are produced from obscure sources want nothing more than for you to know that they are “the world’s first vodka distilled from bananas harvested by trained spider monkeys and distilled 44.14159 times before being hand bottled”. The vodka company needs to stress that its vodka is made from a different product so that it can distinguish itself in an already overcrowded market. Basically, the EU laws enforce a practice that is already vital to each brands success. So, why the EU’s debate about vodka?

Two reasons. First, much like American politicians (but to a slightly lesser degree), avoiding important issues is a vital political tactic that prevents discussing real global problems and the consequences of unpopular decisions. Vodka shouldn’t anger that many people; addressing the situation in Iraq is usually going to inspire some emotional discussion - too bad vodka can’t be made from oil. Second, the vodka industry carries a lot of financial weight. Requiring that all vodkas be made from grains potentially eliminates a vast group of competitors from the market. While the new regulations seemingly distinguish traditional vodkas, the reality is that the presence of the term vodka is all that matters to a brand because it grants access to the vodka consumer.

With such a large selection, choosing a vodka seems like a daunting task. Facing an endless collection of impressive bottles and fancy graphics, how can one not feel like Indiana Jones standing in front of a hundred cups trying to choose a holy grail which will help to heal his father and defeat the Nazis? If you feel this way, just do what our hero does, make a wise choice and select the vodka that looks the least attractive. It would be hard not to choose Tito’s. A plain brown label and relatively unattractive design represents the micro-distillery’s Texas charm. Tito’s is made from grain and distilled six times, meaning the vodka used additional distillations to improve the smoothness of the vodka while minimizing any taste or odor. In short, it is a well-made vodka that should satisfy any need for the white spirit.

While some vodka brand loyalists would argue that other brands are more premium, even debating this issue is more trouble than it is worth. I don’t care that Jean Marco XO is distilled 9 times. I would bet money that you could hardly distinguish between a Jean Marco bottle bought at the store and one that had not been put through the final 3 distillations. While additional distillations help to improve the quality of the vodka, at a certain point the process becomes pointless and indiscernible. Again, the only reason for the high number of distillations is because of marketability. Now, I am not saying that there aren’t differences between vodkas or even that the spirit cannot and should not be appreciated independently. However, the fact that mainstream consumers of spirits spend more time debating the quality and tastes of vodkas more than any other spirit is sad.

It is true that some vodkas taste differently than others, but in most cocktails, the difference is impossible to detect. Some would argue that they enjoy drinking vodka neat or on the rocks. Why? If you are going to sit down with a spirit and drink it independently, why would you choose one that has very little to offer? Few people realize that the most influential element affecting the taste of vodka is the water added to cut the proof of the spirit. Better water results in a better vodka, but again, most producers use high quality water which eliminates any major differences between brands. Nevertheless, brands like Skyy base their argument for superiority on the quality of their water. Maybe people enjoy appreciating different waters, but I will stick to spirits that are much more enjoyable. You drink your “Russian” vodka which is actually made outside of the steel curtain, and I’ll stick to my Laphroaig 15.

However, despite my position, I do feel that selecting a vodka brand is important and should be carefully considered. Few people realize the ongoing problems caused by the purchasing of Russian vodka companies such as Stoli following the collapse of the Soviet Union (please read my post on the Russian vodka epidemic for more information). Additionally, the enormous demand of vodka creates an massive demand for grain and other crops, often resulting in the use of harmful, non-natural substances in farming. Most vodkas are also owned by large spirits corporations which continue to negate the diversity and creativity of the industry. Considering each of these issues should influence the vodka that you do choose to purchase. I like Tito’s because I am from Texas, know people who are friends with Tito, and feel that supporting local micro-distilleries is important.

You should select a vodka for reasons that you feel are important. If you would like to support the micro-distillery movement, a couple of my favorites are Tito’s and North Shore. If you want to go organic, more and more options are popping up everyday it seems; one such brand is Liquid Ice. If you enjoy the mystique of a traditional Russian vodka, make sure that you are aware of the thousands of Russians that die every year because of the market appeal of brands like Stoli. Considering these issues reveals that the difference between brands results from what is outside of the bottle, not within. It can be easy to forget about the consequences of our purchases. Avoiding low-end brands will help to improve your cocktails, but relying on Grey Goose to make a great drink for you is an ineffective approach. Vodka is generally odorless and tasteless and falling into the super-premium marketing trap will continue to separate groups of people more than your cocktails.