Vow of Silence

It seems that certain combination of spirits always results in endless variations of a similar cocktail. Which is not bad, as it allows you to gain an understanding of the small nuances between recipes, as well as helps you refine your palette as you look for those differing qualities.

This cocktail is just that, a play on the timeless pairing of gin, chartreuse and rosemary. Many cocktails have been made using these three ingredients, as they work so well together. Taking these flavors and adding modifiers or playing with ratios, results in cocktails with similar, and at the same time, differing qualities. This particular cocktail is currently on my menu at the Oyster Bar at Bayou on Bay and has been very popular in the last couple of months.

Vow of Silence
1 1/2 oz Rosemary Infused Gin
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

The Park Avenue Manhattan

The Manhattan. Probably one of my favorite cocktails and one that is open to almost endless tweaks and variations, while still remaining distinguishable as a Manhattan. This particular variation is one of our house cocktails at the Oyster Bar, and really shows the versatility of this classic cocktail.

While at first glance chai and bourbon may not seem like a likely pairing, the flavors of chai and vermouth pair extremely well, and a nice high proof bourbon ties the sweetness together perfectly. Cheers!

Park Avenue Manhattan
1 oz Chai-Infused Vermouth
2 oz Bourbon (90 proof or higher preferred)
3 dashes Orange Bitters

Chai-Infused Vermouth
750ml Dolin Blanc Vermouth
3oz (by volume) loose Chai
Steep in covered container for 24 hrs. Strain through coffee filter and bottle. Refridgerate infused vermouth for up to one month.

El Gaucho

One of my most recent experiments, is a twist on the Margarita. Taking the base recipe even further with the addition of cilantro and avocado, this pairs well with some blackened halibut tacos. A couple of these drinks, along with some friends and you are setting yourself up for the perfect summer afternoon. Cheers!

El Gaucho
1 1/2 oz Tequila
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
Fresh Cilantro
Wedge Avocado

Vintage Cocktails #75: The Mint Julep

Perhaps nothing defines a classic as much as the Mint Julep. First appearing in print in 1803, three years prior to the first defintion of a cocktail, the julep is complex and versatile, yet so simple at its core. While juleps rained supreme in the 18th and early 19th centuries, they soon gave way to the family of drinks known as “smashes”. Faster to prepare and consume, smashes meshed well with the increasing pace of American life.

While early juleps were likely mixed with cognac, the accepted spirit nowadays is bourbon. For the preparation of a proper julep, a few things are needed. Firstly, a traditional silver or pewter julep cup is essential, allowing frost to form on the outside of the cup and keeping the drink icy cold. Secondly, crushed ice is a must. I make my crushed ice by placing it into a canvas lewis bag and crushing it with a mallet. Thirdly, lots of nice fresh mint is needed both as an ingredient and as a very functional garnish.

So let’s begin. A traditional julep is made with just four simple ingredients, Spirit, sugar/syrup, ice, and mint. I switch mine up just a bit and use a sweet liqueur in place of the sugar, which adds a little bit of extra flavor to the drink. We start by gently muddling roughly a dozen mint leaves in the bottom of the cup. The goal here is to gently express the mint oils and coat the glass, not to shred the leaves to a pulp. I usually add the liqueur (Apricot in this case) at this time as I like to get the flavors incorporated. Next we will fill our cup with the crushed ice, and pour in our Bourbon. A quick stir is really all that is needed, just enough to get the cup to start frosting on the exterior. Then we will pile more crushed ice on top to give it that adult snow cone look. Then we will garnish with several large sprigs of mint, the more the better in my opinion, and place our straw nice and close, so that in sipping the beverage your nose is treated to the wonderful aromatics of the mint. And there you have it, a perfect summer sipper for those long hot afternoons. Cheers!

The Mint Julep
2 oz Bourbon
1/2 oz Orchard Apricot Liqueur
Mint

April Reboot…and a cocktail

Hey All,

I do apologize for my absence of late. The past two months have been incredibly busy, and coupled with some personal stuff, I just haven’t found the time to post anything. But now I am back, and hopefully will be regaling you with all sorts of fantastic stuff!

For those that don’t know, I am now managing the bar at the Bayou Oyster Bar. Look for a new seasonally rotating menu and some other cool stuff in the coming months. If you want to come and visit me while I’m working, I am there most Friday and Saturday nights.

I also had the pleasure of attending Tales of the Cocktail on Tour Vancouver this past February, and I’ll have a couple posts about some of the sessions I attended up soon.

And last, but not least, I have a cocktail for you. This cocktail comes from the PDT Cocktail Book, but I believe is an original creation from The Raines Law Room. The pairing of gin, aperol, and cucumber is an absolute delight. Perfectly balanced and refreshing, this is one drink that you must try at least once, if not twice. Cheers!

The Archangel
2 oz Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Aperol
2 slices muddled Cucumber

MxMo LXIV: Tiki!

While Mixology Monday has been absent for a couple of months, this month it’s back and is being hosted by Doug over at The Pegu Tiki Blog. His challenge is to essentially write about anything tiki or related.

This poses a slight challenge for me. While Tiki is actually quite cool and not kitsch at all, as some would think, it also requires a lot of work and cool glassware. Despite the challenges, the appeal of Tiki lies in the ability to transport you away to an exotic time and/or place, without ever having moved you at all.

Tiki culture was purportedly created in 1934, by one Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, more affectionately known as Don the Beachcomber. It is from his brilliant mind that our cocktail comes from today. With a mix of tropical fruit juices, and loads of rum, Don’s Zombie is one fantastic drink. And with all things awesome, they are often shrouded in secrecy, apparently Don’s bartenders didn’t even know the makeup of many of his drinks, they just mixed out of bottles coded by numbers or letters. Nonetheless, several variations of the Zombie are out there, and this one comes to us courtesy of Ted Haigh.

Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz 151 Demerara Rum
1 oz White Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1 dash Angostura

Shake with ice, pour into fancy pants glass (traditionally a hurricane glass of course), and let yourself be transported away. As a disclaimer, while the glass in the picture you see below may seem empty, I can attest that there once was not just one, but two Zombies in that glass. Cheers!

The Benjamin Barker Daiquiri

This cocktail is brought to the world by the one and only Brian Miller, esteemed barman of New York’s Death and Co.

This twist on a classic is tasty and adds layer upon layer of complexity to the drink. While it may seem to be an unlikely pairing, the Campari and Goslings actually work wonders together, and while the Absinthe is understated, it serves to pull the ingredients together in harmonious balance. Cheers!

Benjamin Barker Daiquiri
1 1/2 oz Gosling’s Rum
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Absinthe
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup

Tales Of The Cocktail Is Coming To Town

And by town I mean Vancouver, BC. In just over 6 weeks time, bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts from around the US and Canada will once again be gathering together at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.

“Vancouver is such a rich, vibrant cocktail city. We couldn’t help but come back for a second year”, said Ann Tuennerman, Founder of Tales of the Cocktail®. “With all the friends we’ve made north of the border, it’s really become our home away from home.”

This year the festivities have grown, and will include five tasting rooms, Meet the Maker, a specialty coffee bar and the Mott’s Clamato Caesar Bar. In addition there are 6 fantastic seminars that are sure to provide excellent information. In the evenings, guests will attend parties, and take part in a pub crawl that highlights some of Vancouver’s best restaurants and bartenders. In short, this is an event that you will not want to miss.

This year I am extremely happy to be covering this event as media. I will be attending everything I can, taking pictures as well as frantically scribbling notes, making sure that I can soak in as much as I can. If you are a cocktail enthusiast, or bartender in the Pacific Northwest, I would highly encourage you to check out this event. It is a great way to get involved in the fantastic community that surrounds our area! If you do come, drop me a note so I can make sure we meet up. Cheers!

Tea and Crumpets

This last week I made some fresh lemon curd for brunch with some friends. Lemon curd is light, both sweet and tart, and is a fantastic addition to any brunch. Not only that, it is ridiculously easy to make on your own!

Start by mixing together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice (freshly squeezed please) in a double boiler set on medium-low. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. This usually takes about ten minutes. Remove from heat and add in the butter and lemon zest. Stir until the butter is completely melted into the mixture. Now you can either just cover and cool in the fridge, or you can take the extra step of straining the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any chunks of egg that may have formed. I usually skip this last step as any little bits are usually too small to be noticed.

Lemon Curd
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
5 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest

Now that we have our lemon curd, lets make a drink with it!

Breakfast themed cocktails have been on the rise as of late, and a good number of them seem to include such ingredients as black tea, lemon, marmalade, jams, honey, etc. Since I love all of these things, I had to go with the flow and mimic the masses, albeit with my own twists.

I started with an earl grey infused genever, added some homemade lemoncello and lemon curd, included a generous dash of simple syrup, and finished it all off with some lemon bitters. The resulting drink is fantastic; with the biscuity malt, astringent tea, and lemon flavors all coming together in harmony. Give it a try, I am sure you will like it. Cheers!

Tea and Crumpets
1 1/2 oz Tea-infused Genever
1/2 oz Lemoncello
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 barspoons Lemon Curd
Lemon Bitters