elements, the bar blog

At the Manhattan Cocktail Classic last week I think that my favorite seminar I attended was one featuring all things agave.  It was hosted by Steve Olsen, of the company AKA Winegeek.  According to their website, they are a company “dedicated to the education and consultation of degustation for appreciation and celebration.”  That’s quite the situation.

From what I’ve learned Steve and his friends make a living by spreading knowledge and understanding of all things beverage.  When he speaks he has a passion and enthusiasm that are contagious, and are backed up by the wealth of information he retains.  And the guy loves his mezcal.

I was very proud of myself for thinking ahead and buying a voice recorder to make a copy of each seminar I took so that it could be easily recalled and revisited later on.  Unfortunately, it’s batteries are dead at the moment; so my memory will have to suffice.

Mezcal refers to pretty much any spirit made in Mexico from the roasted heart of the agave plant.  Tequila is a form of mezcal originally produced in the town Tequila in the state of Jalisco, and is now legally made in a DO (Denominacion de Origen) of five Mexican states.  It is made from a specific variety of agave (blue agave).  Other mezcals come from a different DO comprised of seven states and many types of agave.

Good tequila is a wonderful thing, but what has really been causing an uproar across the country is the emergence of high-end mezcals (especially Del Maguey).  Many people may remember mezcal in past decades as inexpensive hangover-inducing party shots.  Ron Cooper,  lead voice of Del Maguey, is trying to re-introduce the USA to what mezcal should be: a complex craft spirit that just begs to show off its terroir.

Ron Cooper talks mezcal.

Del Maguey produces a number of mezcals, each one named for the individual village in Oaxaca it represents; and each one delicious.  I just received their most recent product in for the restaurant- a blanco called Mezcal Vida.  As with all Del Maguey products it is 100% organic and 100%  agave, this one being from the agave Espadin.  I couldn’t wait to get it into a cocktail.

So here’s what I put together for the moment.  This one’s right up my alley.  It’s a strong drink for sure, and the smoke notes of the mezcal do fun things with the sherry and Chartreuse.

Oaxacan Monk

1 1/2 oz Mezcal Vida, 3/4 oz Hidalgo Gobernador Oloroso sherry, 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse, 1/2 oz Cointreau.  Stirred and strained onto a big chunk of ice, garnished with a flamed lemon zest.

The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is coming up this friday.  I’m very excited.

bad photo, tasty drink

Even though I won’t be getting there until Sunday I figure it’s still appropriate to enjoy something delicious and historical as I anxiously anticipate the fun.  To me, this means a Martinez.  The 1887 Jerry Thomas ’s Bar-Tender’s Guide has this using Boker’s Bitters, which I don’t have (although Scotland’s Adam Elmegarib has resurrected the name and I can’t wait to try them); as well as different ratios of gin to vermouth (pretty much opposite).   Still, after experimenting with all sorts of different ratios and combinations; this is how I present my Martinez:

1 1/2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom, 1/2 oz Boomsma Oude Genever, 3/4 oz Dolin Rouge Vermouth, 1 tsp Luxardo Maraschino, 4 dasher’s house orange bitters and 1 dash Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters.

Rumor has it that the Hayman’s Old Tom (which I do love) is slightly different than the Old Toms the Martinez was first made with.  Apparently the earlier versions found in America had a little bit of oak aging to them, giving them some almost whiskey-like notes.  I like to add in a touch of the Boomsma to make the gin a bit more accurate (at time of photo a friend was looking at the bottle elsewhere, but it’s certainly in the mixing glass.)  Believe that or not, it still makes for a fantastic cocktail.  It’s one that encourages slow-sipping, and thought about the flavors opening in the mouth (that is until you realize you’ve drained the thing in moments).

This ought to get me through the next few nights.  Come sunday I’ll be learning new tricks at New York’s largest cocktail celebration, and I can almost taste it.  Or is that the Martinez again?

What an exciting night!  The beer dinner was a great success.  Thanks very much to everyone at Yards Brewing Co. and also to Eric Stoffa for the pictures.

After just under six weeks my orange bitters tasted ready for the next step.  Time for the straining, sweetening and diluting process.  Fine strain several ways; really work the dry parts to extract the most of their flavor.  Then make a caramel syrup.

Now the syrup is combined with the bitters, and more water is added to bring it down to a proper proof.  Orange bitters now ready for use behind the bar.

Last week we hosted a private party for a large group of people celebrating the conclusion of a five year business venture.  They asked me to come up with a couple of cocktails for the party- one fruit forward, white spirit-based and easy drinking; the other a bit more stiff and made from brown spirits.  In the end both came out quite refreshing and I’d be happy to sit out in the sun and welcome  spring with either of them.

Rhubarb Cooler

The Rhubarb Cooler uses Steinhager Gin.  This is German gin- legally it’s only flavoring agent can be juniper.  So in essence it’s more similar to a flavored vodka than what most people think of as gin.  Emilia hates gin; she likes this drink.  For the rhubarb component I made a syrup by cooking down several stalks of local rhubarb with sugar, water, a little vanilla and a dash of fresh squeezed pomegranite.  After straining I added some St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram and a few pinches of salt for a bit more depth and flavor.

The Rhubarb Cooler:

1 1/2 oz Steinhager, 1 oz spiced rhubarb syrup, 1/2 oz lime, 1/2 oz Chinaco blanco tequila, 1/4 elderflower syrup.  Shaken and strained into a collins glass with fresh ice and topped with 2 oz of seltzer.

Buzzed Bee Cocktail

The Buzzed Bee.  For this one I made a honey syrup with local wildflower honey and ginger.    60-40% water to honey as this wildflower stuff was pretty intense, and added a healthy dose of ginger and a green chile to steep.  It also uses Dolin Blanc Vermouth- a sweet, white vermouth in a style Dolin actually created known to some as a Bianco Vermouth.  To those who haven’t tried it yet: check it out, you’ll be glad you did.

Buzzed Bee:

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse BIB rye, 3/4 oz ginger-honey syrup, 3/4 oz lemon, 1/2 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth, and a big fat dash of Fee’s Old Fashion Bitters.  Shake it like you’re mad at it, then strain it into a collins glass with fresh ice.  I like mine garnished with some candied ginger.

With the Yards beer dinner now just weeks away, it was time to get over to the brewery for some serious research today.  Tastings had to be done so that courses may be planned, and we wanted to meet the people behind the brews.

After trying several of their offerings we went for a tour of the brewery with brewer Frank Winslow as our guide.

As he took us around the building explaining the various equipment he was also good enough to pour for us more samples.  Nearly finished saison, some Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale that was only halfway through its fermentation as well as a bottle of Tavern Spruce only seconds after it was bottled.

Modern breweries have all sorts of equipment available to them to help brew- and Yards definitely has a great set up.  They’re also entirely wind-powered, work with local farms and use recycled glass and cardboard.  All of that combined with very knowledgeable people clearly interested in quality, responsibly-produced product and that’s a brewery we’re pleased to work with.

A fun and exciting trip.  Beers to be used for pairings are being selected, courses are being discussed.  Friday, April 30th beginning with hors d’oeuvres at 6:30.  Join us.

Since getting in some very tasty Sazerac 6 yr rye I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with its flavors in different cocktails.  As expected it makes a pretty mean Sazerac.  Last week’s post showed the Maple Milk Punch.  This past weekend I decided to add a Vieux Carré cocktail to the classics list.

Just like the cocktail the whiskey takes its name from, this drink also comes from New Orleans.  It came about close to a century later (1938); but it drinks like something from the same period.  It was created by Walter Bergeron, head bartender at the Quarter’s great old Monteleone Hotel.  Fans of a Manhattan should enjoy this twist with an herbal finish; it’s a combination of Sazerac rye whiskey, Germain-Robin brandy, Antica formula sweet vermouth, and Bénédictine-  rounded out with Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters.

After a good stir this gets strained and served on the rocks (or rock in our case), and is served with a twist of lemon.  Come in and try one.

So with the weather still bringing us a mix of cold and warm days I thought it was appropriate to put a milk punch on the cocktail list for a while.  Dave Wondrich  states in his must-have book Imbibe! that milk punch has been around in one form or another possibly since as early as the late 1600’s.  They are very popular in New Orleans, especially as a brunch cocktail.  This spring I’m making mine with Sazerac 6 yr rye whiskey, Blis bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, Nux Alpina walnut liqueur, and whole milk.  Float a little Germain-Robin brandy and shave some nutmeg over the top.  Enjoy.

Milk punches can taste and feel very similar to a nog, but the fact that this doesn’t use any egg and has milk rather than cream keeps it from being too heavy.  Very nice for spring; and an excellent addition to our sunday brunch as well.

So it’s already been announced on our main blog and events site that we’ll be hosting a beer dinner with Yards Brewing Company, so I’m not going to write as though this is new.  I will say how excited I am about this dinner.

Sitting at home on my day off I’m currently enjoying their India Pale Ale.  This is a style of beer that evolved when the British realised their beers survived the voyage to colonial India much better if they had a stronger hop and alcohol content.  It’s a style that now really dominates much of the American craft brewing movement, and has hop-heads scouring store shelves for new ones to try.  With its initial malt burst on the tongue the Yards IPA is almost a cross between the English and American styles, and is  definitely worth checking out- very clean, well balanced, lots of hoppy citrus and pine; and at 7% alc it’s the perfect way to ensure a quiet, relaxing evening is ahead of me.

I’m heading to the brewery in a couple of weeks with some of the kitchen to taste through the whole Yards lineup so that they can really start planning out the courses for the dinner.  It will be 4- 5 courses, with hors d’oeuvres starting at 6:30, and 6 beers to try throughout the night.  Including alcohol the dinner will be just $75 per person (not counting tax or gratuity).  The date of the dinner is perfect so that the good people at Yards will be able to bring along a pin (4.5 gallon cask) of their seasonal Saison to set up on the bar and pair with one of the courses.

At Yards they’re making some really solid, delicious beers.  Combine that with our kitchen, and I think we’ve got a pretty fantastic dinner in the making.  Hope to see you there.

Cheers!

Bitters.  There are two different varieties: potable (think Campari, Fernet Branca, Averna) and non-potable (Angostura, Peychaud’s, etc).  The potable are meant to be consumed as a beverage, and make excellent digestifs- particularly helpful after a large meal (although they can mix into excellent cocktails as well).  Non-potable bitters are ones that are not meant to be consumed straight.  They have much in common with liquours, in that they really began as medicinal cure-alls.  After a while people noticed that not only did they seem to work, but they tasted good as well.  What would make that better?  Booze!  In fact the term cocktail originally was only one of many groups of alcholic drinks (like shrubs, crustas, etc) and really just means a base spirit, sugar, a little water, and bitters.  Bitters are generally mixtures of herbs, bark, seeds, roots, various fruits and more with a base of alcohol.

There are many excellent brands available on the market to try; each will lend complexity and unique characteristics to a cocktail.  Lots of (safe) experimentation is encouraged.

That said, if something can be made in house we’re certainly going to give it a shot.  With my supplies of orange bitters starting to run low, friday was time to make a new batch.

First, assemble my mise en place.

Dehydrated orange peels.

Various aromatics/spices, gentian and cinchona bark.

The orange peels get chopped, the spices lightly toasted.  We then drop it all into grain alcohol to macerate.  This will happen for several weeks, and finally at the appropriate time we’ll strain it all and cut it with a caramelised sugar syrup.

For those wanting to try this at home great starter recipes are available all over the web, including here; or you can find recipes in Charles H Baker Jr’s classic The Gentleman’s Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book or Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask.

Housemade bitters currently at use behind the bar at elements: Cascade hops, chocolate and ancho chile, orange, Cardoon/Veg, grapefruit and bourbon.