Spirited Cocktails

Our friends over at The 50 Plus Male – a blog for men of the baby boomer generation – asked us to write a guest post about cocktails and the role of the cocktail hour in social life. We chose to write about the cocktail we most identify with the baby boomers – the Martini. You can find the full post over at The 50 Plus Male. The boozy part is provided below.

One of the best parts of writing about cocktails and spirits is that the audience is nearly universal. I actually come from a technology background where, with a few exceptions, there wasn’t much diversity in the crowd. But writing about spirits on Spirited Cocktails, I’ve met so many people from so many different backgrounds and walks of life, and it truly enriches my experience.

All of that being said, there are a few mainstay groups of the cocktail world, and one of them includes men of the baby-boomer generation. When I meet these guys at various bars and events around New York City, they’re generally the type that appreciate the classic cocktails – Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Gimlets and so on. And of all the cocktails that the 50 plus male seem to appreciate, none comes up more frequently than the Martini.

There’s a folk lore surrounding martini. It’s probably something we should blame on James Bond, but it seems that everyone has their own recipe for the perfect martini. To be clear, though, in my mind, a martini is not any cocktail served in a martini glass (Appletinis are most certainly not martinis). Again, in my mind, a martini is a cocktail made with gin, not vodka. Many of you may prefer vodka, and that is certainly your choice, but if you’ve never prepared a classic gin martini with a quality gin, I strongly urge you to give it a try.

So for those of you who may not be used to preparing your own martini, I wanted to share two variations that might help you get started.

The first is the classic dry martini. This recipe dates back to around 1895, and is my preferred method when preparing martinis for my guests. The recipe is as follows:

1.5oz gin (I prefer a London Dry gin, such as Beefeater 24)
1.5oz French dry vermouth
1-2 dashes orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with fresh ice, stir well to chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a peel of orange or lemon.

Those that prefer the extra dry variety may prefer this more modern recipe:

3 oz gin
1/8oz French dry vermouth

To make this extra dry, add ice and the vermouth to your mixing glass. Swirl to coat the ice with vermouth, and strain off the excess. Add your gin, stir well to chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. The traditional garnish for this variation is a pitted Spanish olive.

A few notes:

-Yes, I said stirred. The general rule of thumb is that any cocktail made with only spirits (no citrus juice, sugar, etc.) should be stirred. A shaken martini is a cloudy martini, and probably a bit too watered down as well.
-The orange bitters in the classic recipe may be unfamiliar to you, but trust me – it’s a worthy addition. A dash or two of bitters in any cocktail can go a long way towards providing the depth and character that makes a good cocktail great. If you can’t find orange bitters in your local grocery or liquor store, you can order them online from my friend Greg at Cocktail Kingdom.
-As with any cocktail (just as in cooking), the quality of ingredients matters. Use a cheap gin, and you’ll get what you paid for. Gin has seen a wonderful resurgence in the past decade, and there are some wonderful, high quality gins for you to chose from. For a martini, a classic London Dry like Beefeater or Tanqueray probably works best. But some other brands worth trying for your home bar include Plymouth, Hendricks, and my favorite hometown gin, Blue Coat (distilled in Philadelphia!)

Cheers!

-Josh

As Thanksgiving approaches this week, many of us have accepted as a foregone conclusion that we will eat to a point that is well beyond comfortable. We will stuff ourselves full of turkey, potatoes, vegetables of all kinds, and of course, plenty of dessert.

As with so many things in life, the solution to this problem (in this case, feeling overstuffed, but feel free to substitute your problem here) is drinking.

The New York Times has a great article in today’s dining section on Amari – a category of Italian digestives (or digestifs or digestivos) that are unified by their bitterness (the result of the inclusion of quinine). Examples include Averna, Campari, and Fernet-Branca.

Sipping on a nice, bitter amari can go a long way towards helping you digest that far-too-large Thanksgiving meal. Give it a try – let me know how it goes!

Cheers – and Happy Thanksgiving!

-Josh

Big news today!  I’m sure that many of you have heard about the murder that took place at Casillero del Diablo recently.  Well, I had the confidential notes written by the lead detective fall into my possession!  I won’t disclose my source, but I’ve been reading these notes, and judging by the little that I’ve skimmed so far, I think that
this guy has the case figured out.

He has interviewed the wife of the victim, who disappeared mysteriously, and only recently reappeared.  Apparently, her story doesn’t fit. The detective also thinks that Christina killed the housekeeper because she found the devil mask, which she wore when she killed her husband! According to the notes, he is a few days away from arresting her for the murder.

On a side note, this guy also writes a lot about dragons, werewolves, and dreams that he has.  Quite a character.  My Spanish isn’t what it used to be, but maybe I’ll post some of the actual writing as I translate it.

For more info on this case, check out http://www.facebook.com/diablowine or follow them at http://www.twitter.com/diablowine.

Just a quick postscript to my post about BarSmarts last week: the official word came this weekend that I passed. I’ve got to admit, I was a little nervous, particularly about the blind tasting component of the written exam (I’m good at tasting; just not necessarily good at identifying *what* I’m tasting.) In any case, I’m quite pleased that I passed, though I fully intent to keep practicing for the practical anyway :-)

Cheers,

Josh

I’ve been slow to get behind the whole “molecular mixology” movement. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that a big part of my mission is to help make the creation of quality, classic cocktails accessible to the home bartender. But anyone who knows me also knows that I’m a hardcore geek. I like gadgets, tools and technology. And that’s why I’ll be going to the Holiday Cocktail class at the International Culinary Center, taught by Nils Norén and Dave Arnold, both of the French Culinary Institute. (I’ve mentioned Dave before – he co-presented the Science of Shaking class at Tales of the Cocktail.)

From the class description:

See innovative techniques, such as carbonation, rotary evaporation, and vacuum infusion, in action. And pick up handy low-tech bartender tricks to help you maximize cocktail taste and texture at home. On the agenda for the night: Nils’ take on traditional Swedish Glögg, a cutting-edge hot buttered rum, and cocktails flamed with the Red Hot Poker (a turbocharged electric rod Dave built for beverage ignition), along with festive snacks for the cocktail hour and a few other surprises.

Dave’s going to ignite cocktails with something called the Red Hot Poker. What other excuse could you possibly need?

Holiday Cocktails with Nils & Dave
December 2, 2009 6:30-8:30pm
462 Broadway at the corner of Grand Street in New York City

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

-Josh

I had the privilege this week to complete the BarSmarts Live course – a training program geared toward the new generation of bartenders. The course was put together by spirits giant Pernod Ricard, but I found that, while many of the examples obviously cited Pernod Ricard brands, the course was very comprehensive and conveyed a wide range of industry information.

The course is broken up into five parts: four self-paced modules completed at home with a book, DVDs, and online quizzes, and a one-day live session which includes seminars, a written exam, and a practical exam.

The four self-paced modules included:

1. Spirits Basics
How fermented liquids become the “spirits” that we love How to taste and evaluate spirits like a professional

2. Spirits Categories
Using your tasting skills to understand how fine brandies, whiskeys, liqueurs and white spirits should best be enjoyed in all service applications

3. Cocktails and Mixology
History of mixology and of the seminal cocktails that influence mixology today
Knowing the mandatory bar tools and their uses
Knowing the fundamental ingredients, glassware, garnishes and their usages

4. Practical Application and Service
The 25 classic drinks every bartender should know
Creating new cocktails, creating cocktail menus
Preparation, service basics, ordering, inventory, customer relations, cash handling
Advancing your career by applying all these skill refinements

The content delivered through the book, DVDs, and the live session was exemplary, particularly due to the fact that it was presented by the folks behind BAR (Beverage Alcohol Resource). If you have cocktail books in your collection at home, chances are they were written by the BAR crew: Dale DeGroff, Steve Olson, Doug Frost, F. Paul Pacult, Andy Seymour and David Wondrich. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the practical exam (in which each student is asked to prepare 3 drinks from a list of “25 essential cocktails”) was judged by the countries leading mixologists: the members of the BAR crew, as well as folks like Jim Meehan and Don Lee of PDT (my favorite NYC bar) and bartenders from famous institutions around the country.

The exams, I’ll admit, were not easy. The written exam was comprised of 100 questions, 85 of which focused on details from the BarSmarts text and DVDs. The remaining 15 were based on a blind tasting of three different spirits. For my practical exam, I was asked to prepare a Manhattan (using bourbon – I asked), a Margarita, and a Caprioska (a Caipirinha made with vodka instead of cachaca). I received some wonderful input and feedback from my judge – a very talented bartender name Alex, who traveled all the way from Cure in New Orleans.

My understanding is that an online version of the program (called BarSmarts Wired) will open to the public early next year. From my experience, I would strongly encourage anyone with an interest in learning more about the preparation of classic cocktails (as well as the foundations of how spirits are made, etc.) to keep an eye out for that opportunity.

In the meantime (while I anxiously await the results of my exams!) here’s the complete list of the “25 essential cocktails every bartender should know.” I’d suggest you get to work on learning the recipes now :-)

Cheers,

Josh

25 Cocktails Every Bartender Should Know

Aviation Cocktail
Bellini
Blood & Sand
Bloody Mary
Caipirinha
Cosmopolitan
Collins (Tom, John or Vodka)
Daiquiri
Gimlet
Gin Fizz
Irish Coffee
Mai Thai
Manhattan
Margarita
Martini (Dry or Extra Dry)
Mint Julep
Mojito
Negroni
Old Fashioned (Classic or Muddled)
Pisco Sour
Rob Roy
Sazerac
Stinger
Whiskey Sour