elements, the bar blog

Just got in this beautiful tequila from Don Julio.    It’s distilled only once per year, just before the rainy season starts.   10-12 year-old agaves, after distillation it is aged on average 30-36 months in used bourbon barrels.  I’ve heard that when Mexico recently created their newest designation of Extra Anejo (requiring a full 36 months of aging) Don Julio’s people approached him and asked if he wouldn’t mind adding those few extra days to 1942’s aging process so it would qualify and could get on the label.  His answer: Why?  Why should I care about your laws or what goes on the label.  1942 is my baby, and is perfect as it is.

Come in and check it out.

Tequila 75

This weekend brought two new cocktails to the list.  One to our classics page; one to the more seasonal recipes.  I’ll show the seasonal one first.

I visited the very excellent Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. (as they say- a drinking establishment) in Philadelphia last week and enjoyed a number of cocktails.  One that really made me think had many components, including; but not only: tequila, citrus, sparkling wine and cinnamon.  What great friends they all seem to be!  Time to play.

We ended up with the Tequila 75.  Based on the classic French 75 mix of gin, lemon, sugar, and champagne; here we use 2 oz of blanco tequila from Chinaco, 1 oz of fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 oz of a syrup made with cinnamon from Sri Lanka, topped with a couple of ounces of dry Spanish cava.  It’s a beautifully sweet and floral cinnamon, and the syrup doesn’t overpower so the cocktail stays refreshingly drinkable in this summer heat.  The rim is of that same cinnamon, sugar and a touch of salt.  Very simple, very easy to tipple.

Next up is a cocktail using Boker’s bitters.  John Boker founded Boker’s Bitters in 1828 and they were very popular up until Prohibititon forced them out of business in the 1920s.  Recently barman Adam Elmegirab has begun reproducing them, and with a bottle in hand I reached for my 1887 reprint of ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tenders’s Guide or How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks.  I took his Improved Gin Cocktail recipe using Holland gin, played with the ratios a bit and ended up with our:

Improved Holland Gin Cocktail

A healthy dose of Boomsma Oude Genever, Luxardo Maraschino, Boker’s bitters, and gum syrup all get shaken and strained with some Mata Hari absinthe misted over the top.  Garnished with a twist of lemon.

A double entendre defined is essentially a term with two meanings, frequently with one being somewhat risqué.

That said; there’s few things in life less risqué than a good cocktail- or perhaps what one (or two) may lead to.

These days there are a number of serious bar programs across the country that avoid vodka.  Given the number of cosmos, appletinis and the like that the last decade or two have seen made it’s understandable that some bartenders may have gotten a little bored.  Branching out to other spirits is fun and necessary- but to avoid as a restaurant a popular spirit base in general is not only inhospitable (we are the hospitality industry, after all); it’s downright rude.

So with this drink I wanted to reach out to two different groups.  I first wanted to show my vodka drinking friends that there are other options than simply sweet or fruity out there that are very delicious.  At the same time I was hoping to entice my gin-drinkers to a vodka cocktail- to show them that complexity is not only possible but lush and rewarding with vodka.

With it’s beautiful, silky texture Double Cross vodka was a great start.  The company is somewhat locally based so that also makes you feel good.  An ounce and a half of that with three quarters of an ounce of white Lillet, a half ounce of Grand Marnier, a half ounce of Carpano Antica sweet vermouth with a touch of orange bitters (stirred well) and a flamed orange zest results in a classically-styled cocktail that I hope many will enjoy.  I know I do.