Funny stuff, enjoy the lulz.
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | January 18, 2012
Sh*t Bartenders Say
Posted in Cocktail Culture, Video
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | January 12, 2012
Naked Cocktails
Dale DeGroff makes predictions for cocktail trends in 2012 and writes:
One trend I expect to gain traction is the celebration of simple and unadulterated classics, like the Daiquiri, Manhattan and Vieux Carré. (Williams & Graham, which just opened in Denver, features more than three dozen old standbys!) In the name of creativity, many bars now offer an endless number of twists on standards; as a result, it’s hard to find a naked drink. I venture to say that some bartenders relatively new to the profession are so wrapped up in creating variations that they may have neglected to master the originals.
Here’s to hoping DeGroff is right. While I enjoy the rampant creativity of the craft cocktail movement, the cocktails which have become classics maintain over the decades and centuries because of their functional perfection. Yes, I like trying new things and any visit to a cocktail bar will involve sampling drinks which are likely unavailable anywhere else. But after a bit of dabbling, I tend to return to the drinks that I know are great. For me, depending on the bar and what sort of mood I’m in, it will vary. But my standbys remain the Dry Martini, Manhattan, Mai Tai, Daiquiri, Hemingway Daiquiri, Negroni, Americano, Cocktail a la Louisiane, Old Fashioned, Margarita, Dark and Stormy, Sazerac, and perhaps in the summer a Painkiller or Pina Colada. If I’m out for brunch, a Bloody Mary with gin.
The same goes for when I drink at home. If it’s not beer, wine, or straight whisk(e)y, I’m probably drinking one of the cocktails listed above. Sure, I might play around with amari and do lots of Negroni or Americano variations, but nothing too wild. If I’m in a Tiki mood, I may explore Tiki cocktails which I’m unfamiliar with, but I rarely spend time crafting my own originals.
For my home bartending, I practice making a better Martini or a better Daiquiri than I can get elsewhere. If I’m in the mood to really test a bartender’s skills, I don’t look for their craziest creation, I see how well they can execute a classic. Creativity is a great thing, but timeless drinks are timeless for a reason. Across all the cocktail bars, speakeasies, and restaurants and hotels with legitimate bar programs, there might be tens of thousands of original cocktails created by contemporary mixologists. If there are ten original, contemporary cocktails of our era which are still being made in fifty or 100 years, it might be a lot. That’s because creating a timeless, classic cocktail is very hard. It must be unique, but simple. Approachable, yet complex. Popular, but alluring. There are certainly some contemporaries which have a good shot at surviving the tests of time (Audrey Saunders’ Gin-Gin Mule comes to mind).
This is not a knock on the creativity of American craft bartenders. Not in the slightest. Waves of creativity are required if our epoch is to produce a drink that achieves the timelessness of the Old Fashioned or Sazerac or the ubiquity of the Margarita. By all means bartenders should be creating. But I do think establishments can and should take cues from some of Japan’s best bartenders, as Derek Brown of The Columbia Room has done, and practice simplicity and perfection of craft over creativity. In this regard, I really hope DeGroff is right about a resurgence of naked, unmodified classic cocktails. I know that if I were to open my own bar, the menu would be almost entirely made up of classics, with a few modern contenders in the mix too. Partly that’s because that’s what I love and partly because I think that the best pathway to exposing the American public to the true grandeur of well-made cocktails.
Posted in Cocktail Culture, Cocktails
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | December 27, 2011
Glögg!
PRZman
Glögg!
By Matt Hamlin
The holiday season is a time for punch. But not your standard pirate’s fair of Caribbean fruit juices and rum. The cold weather of Christmas and New Years beg for something rich and luxurious. For many, that means Egg Nog. Egg Nog can be a delightful holiday drink (Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Portland, Oregon’s Clyde Common has mastered it). But most Egg Nog comes pasteurized, with no alcohol and a horribly chemical flavor. As with any craft cocktail, fresh ingredients are best.
An alternative to Egg Nog that will impress your guests is the Tom and Jerry. It’s a dairy-based hot punch made with dark rum and brandy, with the traditional holiday spices that will make it seem familiar and comforting even to people who have never had the pleasure. Unfortunately, it’s also an involved process to make, more akin to baking than most bartenders care to hazard.
A holiday punch alternative to Egg Nog that I’ve always liked is a very old Scandinavian mulled wine called Glögg. First, the name is great. Second, while the holidays offer a variety of mulled wine and cider drinks, Glögg is unique for it’s heavy does of cardamom and the inclusion of raisins and almonds. Lastly, wine-based holiday punches are accessible without carrying the risk of knocking your guests out with hidden alcohol.
My preferred Glögg recipe comes from punch master Dan Searing and his book, The Punch Bowl. His recipe includes:
Glögg
3 cardamom pods
2 750 mL bottles of red wine (cheap and dry is best)
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
3/4 cup demerara sugar
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup raisinsInstructions:
1. Using the flat side of a knife, smash the cardamom pods, reserving the shells and seeds.
2. In a large pot set over medium heat, mix the wine, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom pieces. Simmer 5 minutes, then turn off heat and let the mixtures steep for at least 2 hours. Strain, if desired.
3. Return pot to a low simmer, then slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and stir in the vodka.
4. To serve, put a scant tablespoon each of almonds and raisins into a mug, then pour 6 ounces of Glögg on top. Serve with a teaspoon so guests can eat the almonds and raisins as they drink.
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | December 12, 2011
Hemingway’s Green Isaacs Special
Phil Greene of Museum of the American Cocktail is working on a new book about Papa Ernest Hemingway and the drinks that helped define his life. I got to talk to him at the DC Craft Bartenders Guild’s fourth annual Repeal Day Ball earlier this month and we spoke about one of my favorite Hemingway drinks: the Green Isaacs Special. Called a Tomini in Hemingway’s Islands in the Stream, it’s a brilliantly refreshing Caribbean take on a Tom Collins.
The following is from a post on Greene’s seminar on Hemingway cocktails:
From “Islands in the Stream,” guests enjoyed the Green Isaacs Special (named for the Isaacs Islands, just north of Bimini), and read from the novel:
“Where Thomas Hudson lay on the mattress his head was in the shade cast by the platform at the forward end of the flying bridge where the controls were and when Eddy came aft with the tall cold drink made of gin, lime juice, green coconut water, and chipped ice with just enough Angostura bitters to give it a rusty, rose color, he held the drink in the shadow so the ice would not melt while he looked out over the sea.”
Green Isaacs Special
2 oz Hendricks Gin
4 oz green coconut water (Vita Coco, available at Whole Foods)
1 oz lime juice
4 drops Angostura Bitters (or “just enough Angostura bitters to give it a rusty, rose color”)Build in Collins glass.
I haven’t had this with Hendricks myself. I prefer my Green Isacs Special with a London dry gin like Beefeater.
Also, if you haven’t read Islands in the Stream, I highly recommend you give it a read. It’s semi-autobiographical, or at least very clearly inspired by Hemingway’s own life. The main character, Thomas Hudson, does some epic drinking of Papa Dobles at port in the book and spends time sport fishing on his beloved boat. It’s a great book, though somewhat heart-breaking. Definitely worth reading for Hemingway fans out there. And if you don’t like reading Hemingway, at least enjoy one of his cocktails.
Posted in Cocktail Culture, Gin
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | November 29, 2011
Poll: FAIL or WIN?
In the last year or so, I’ve started collecting wine. It’s a new dimension in my life as a connoisseur of fine drink, but something I’ve enjoyed. Generally speaking, I don’t spend a lot of money on wine. I look for good values in the $10-20 range primarily. When I’ve visited wineries or encountered things I know I like, I’ll go up to $30-35. This is certainly more than most people will spend on a bottle of wine at a liquor store, but the point is I’m not going out buying wines for collection or icon wines. That said, I have been given a couple bottles of wine which can age for a long time and have sale prices of around $100.
Tonight I accidentally opened one of them. I can’t decide if this is an EPIC FAIL or an EPIC WIN.
First, the wine: Santa Carolina Herencia Carmenere 2007 from Peumo, Chile. It’s Santa Carolina’s icon wine and it retails around or above $100. It was given to me by the Wines of Chile after I won their #TweetChile trip and blogged about it extensively. My fiance and I had been saving it for a special occasion.
How did the accidental opening happen? I came home after a truly exhausting day at work and an equally tiring workout at the gym. I was wiped out. I didn’t really feel like wine, but Lori, my fiance wanted a glass with our very casual and completely unremarkable dinner. Now, I’d recently received a big shipment of wine from Garagiste and our little wine fridge is completely full with wine that we can’t drink for at least a few months. Lori looked for a bottle to open, but told me, “I don’t think we have anything we can open.” I said, “Nonsense, why don’t we open this bottle of carmenere?” We’ve consumed a ton of Chilean carmenere over the last year and I honestly had forgotten that this was the one bottle we were saving for a nice occasion. I was tired and ready for a glass of wine. I wasn’t really thinking.
It wasn’t until we opened the bottle, realizing in the process that this was a large, substantial and clearly more expensive than usual glass container, that Lori says, “Hey was this the really expensive carmenere that we were saving?” Eep.
Now here’s the good news. This wine is fantastic – one of the best carmeneres I can ever recall drinking. It’s also in the prime of its drinking life, according to the experts.
Before I get to a review of the wine, here’s a quick poll. Was accidentally opening a very expensive wine a fail or a win?
Tasting Notes
Herencia is a deep, dark purple. On the nose there’s strong spice, dark cherry, and tobacco. The first taste hits of red pepper typical for good carmeneres, as well as bright vegetal and herb notes, with an earthy undertone. It has a tangy-sweet finish with some peppery spice and fairly bright tannins. The finish is long and the balance between sweet and savory notes is truly impressive. I’d initially marked this down as a 90-91 on my scale, but that was before it had really breathed at all (again, when we hadn’t realized what we were drinking). After letting it breath for an hour or so, I’m upping my rating to a 93-94. It’s a picture-perfect representation of what great Chilean carmenere is capable of achieving. This is a fantastic wine and definitely worthy of it’s icon status for Santa Carolina. While I can’t see myself buying another bottle simply because I don’t often spend this much on any spirit, I wouldn’t have been disappointed had I purchased this myself.
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m having Thanksgiving with family and friends in New England and for simplicity’s sake, I’ve made one of my fiance’s and my favorite punches. Credit belongs to Gina Chersevani of PS7s, who created it and introduced us to it.
Bourbon Punch by Gina Chersevani
1 bottle of bourbon (I used Bulleit)
1/2 bottle of St. Germain
32 oz of fresh grapefruit juice
1/3 lb of 10x powdered sugar
16 oz of fresh squeezed lemon juice
10-15 dashes of the Angostura bitters
4 oz of mint
16 grapefruit peels or segments (garnish)
32 oz sparkling waterIn a bowl, whisk grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and powders sugar together until sugar is dissolved, then add bourbon, St Germain, bitters, sparkling water and stir. Then garnish with peels and mint. Let stand with an ice block in it for about 10 minutes or serve over ice.
I actually find this recipe starts off a bit too tart and dry for my tastes, so I gradually increase the sweetness with extra sugar and St. Germain until it gets to where I want it.
Bourbon is a relatively modern American spirit, so it probably isn’t the perfect fit for this century’s old holiday. Thanksgiving cocktails would probably be best served with rum, but this punch is too good to pass up.
What are you drinking on Thanksgiving?
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | November 18, 2011
A cocktail that makes me say “WTF?”
There are times when you see something and, as a cocktail nerd, you think to yourself, “There is some serious WTFery going on here.” Such was the case when I saw on Twitter this morning from Frederic of Cocktail Virgin:
Hmm, a beautiful Pousse Cafe-style drink based around a Negroni with egg white foam and a raw egg yolk. There’s so much to both like and not like about this!
I wasn’t familiar with a Knickebein cocktail, but fortunately Frederic has a great post on the Knickebein from a past MxMo. Dating back to the late 1870s, the Knickebein is
His concoction was equal parts Curaçoa, Noyeau, and Maraschino (mixed) filling a port-wine glass two thirds of the way up. On top of that, he layered an unbroken egg yolk, and topped it with whipped egg whites sprinkled with drops of Angostura bitters.
Frederic also pulled out the detailed instructions for how it should be consumed:
1. Pass the glass under the Nostrils and Inhale the Flavour –- Pause.
2. Hold the glass perpendicularly, close under your mouth, open it wide, and suck the froth by drawing a Deep Breath. — Pause again.
3. Point the lips and take one-third of the liquid contents remaining in the glass without touching the yolk. — Pause once more.
4. Straighten the body, throw the head backward, swallow the contents remaining in the glass all at once, at the same time breaking the yolk in your mouth.
Well it certainly sounds like a pretty crazy drink.
When I encounter a cocktail like this, I immediately both want to try it and am completely and utterly repulsed by it. A raw egg yolk is no thing to underestimate, especially when you’re instructed to break the yolk in your mouth before swallowing. That said, I love the Negroni and am usually open to trying any Negroni variation. So while I haven’t tried this yet, I may in the future, but make no promises…
Update:
Frederic popped by the comments and pointed out the recipe for the Knickroni:
Knickroni
.5oz Campari
.5oz Sweet Vermouth
.5 oz gin
Egg yolk
Meringue
1 dash Regan’s Orange BittersMix Campari and Sweet Vermouth in a 2oz sherry glass. Layer egg yolk. Layer .5oz gin. Top with meringue and 1 dash of Regan’s orange bitters.
Thanks Frederic!
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | November 10, 2011
Bittermens Commonwealth Tonic Cordial
The rise of craft cocktails has been accompanied by micro-distilled spirits, handmade bitters, and flavorful tonic water bottlings, and craft syrups. The goal of these higher-end products is to make better cocktails. Undoubtedly Fever Tree or Fentimen’s tonic waters are superior than Canada Dry-style sugar water. But is tonic all that it can be?
Bittermens founder, Avery Glasser, pretty clearly thinks the answer to that is a resounding no. At a recent visit to Amor y Amargo, Avery and I spoke about tonic. Avery’s theory is that because both bottled tonic water and tonic syrups don’t have alcohol in them, they are limited in bitter (or how “tonic-y”) they can be. Bittermens’ solution is the Commonwealth Tonic Cordial. By having a cordial with 21% alcohol, they can use more bitter and less sweet in the tonic. Boy did they succeed. This carries with it a hearty dose of quinine, making it bitingly bitter. That’s only a problem if you want to drink it on its own (and I’m sure there are some members of the Cocktail and Spirits Writers Online Group who will anyway).
The recommended recipe for a Gin and Tonic with the Commonwealth Tonic Cordial is:
1.5 oz London Dry Gin
0.75 oz Bittermens Commonwealth Tonic Cordial
5 oz soda water
This is a remarkably light and refreshing Gin and Tonic. Because there is more bitterness, there is less sugar needed and thus less sugar present. That makes the drink light, but bitter. I think it’s a great improvement, especially over anything involving a conventional tonic water.
But what I really like to use the Commonwealth Tonic Cordial for is a recipe from Bittermens’ site that plays on a Vesper.
Eva Green – Mayur Subbarao’s interpretation of a Vesper
2 1/4 oz Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Bittermens Commonwealth Tonic CordialStir and serve up in a coupe glass with a lemon twist
The Eva Green has already put a significant dent in my stock of Commonwealth Tonic Cordial and just about cost me all of my Cocchi Americano. Seriously, this is a cocktail that is for you if you like gin, bitter, spirits-only drinks.
As for the Commonwealth Tonic Cordial, I definitely recommend it. There are lots of good choices for tonic water or tonic syrups these days. But if you want a crisp, light tonic without the extra sweetness, the Bittermens bottling is for you.
Posted in Bitters, Fruit, & Syrups, Potable Bitters, Reviews
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | October 24, 2011
Spirits in Black: Halloween Edition
Well, this is pretty awesome and much higher production value than we usually see from events connected to cocktails. This is all to promote Spirits in Black, the October 30th Halloween party at American Ice Company, featuring cocktails by Patrick Owens, Gina Cherservani, and Owen Thomson. More details here, but as you see in the video, it’s a costume party.
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | October 21, 2011
PRZMan.com: A Guide to Bitters
My latest post at PRZman.com, “A Guide to Bitters”
Bitters are fundamental to cocktails and bartending. In fact, they were integral to the first definition of a cocktail–any combination of spirit, water, sugar and bitters. But during Prohibition, production stopped on most bitters brands and as a result, their variety plummeted. As America moved from drinking complex cocktails to beer and vodka on the rocks, the craft of bartending suffered and bitters fell even further out of use, to the point where a common bartenders joke went, “What lasts longer, a bottle of Angostura bitters or your marriage?”
But what are bitters? Essentially they are a high-proof spirit that is macerated with a variety of herbs and spices. Usually bitters run around 35-40% alcohol, though they are so concentrated and powerful, you will rarely see more than 2-3 dashes in a cocktail. They add complexity and basically make a cocktail more interesting than it would be otherwise.
The most common types of bitters are aromatic bitters, such as Angostura Bitters. You’ve probably seen this brown bottle and oversized white paper label collecting dust on the back bar of your favorite dive. Aromatic bitters add a bitter depth to any drink they’re used in and are a critical ingredient to many cocktails.
The next most common and important type of bitters is orange bitters. Used in a host of old school cocktails, orange bitters are great in a Dry Gin Martini or even a Manhattan. There are a number of brands making orange bitters these days, but I prefer Regan’s No. 6 Orange Bitters.
The last famous type of bitters is Peychaud’s bitters. A required ingredient in the Sazerac, Peychaud’s is a New Orleans staple that has a distinctive bright red color and lighter, sweet, anise flavor.
Angostura bitters are widely available and most good liquor stores will now carry an orange bitters and Peychaud’s. But there are also an ever-growing number of bitters brands making more unusual flavors, from grapefruit and lemon to rhubarb and chocolate. A number of makers are even rediscovering recipes for bitters that were common in the 19th century and bringing them back to life. If you’re interested in a wider selection of bitters, look at the products from Bittermens, The Bitter Truth and Fee Brothers, though there seem to be more bitters makers coming out with interesting products every month.
Here’s a great, classic New Orleans cocktail that includes both Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters:
Vieux Carré
1 ounce rye whiskey
1 ounce Cognac
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 teaspoon Bénédictine
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
2 dashes Angostura BittersMix all ingredients in a double Old Fashioned glass over ice; stir.
Posted in Bitters, Fruit, & Syrups
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | October 19, 2011
Chilean Carmenere Tasting
Last week I got to participate in another blogger wine tasting with Wines of Chile. The tasting included eight Chilean Carmeneres, with a live video chat with winemakers from each of the vineyards. Half the wines came from the Colchagua Valley, one of my favorite regions for Carmeneres. Carmenere almost entirely unique to Chile, as the grapes went extinct in Europe due to the phylloxera plague. Chile’s natural barriers of mountains and ocean kept phylloxera out and preserved these grapes, though through the course of time, Carmenere was believed to be lost. The story I’ve heard is that in the early 1990s, a group of French oenologists were visiting Chile and asked some winemakers what a particular grape was. The Chileans said they were Merlot, to which the French responded, “Um, no, that is not Merlot.” A more fact-based account of the rediscovery of Carmenere is on <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmenere#Rediscovery”>”>Wikipedia.
Carmenere is actually one of my favorite varietals. It has ranges of red fruit, berries, and spice, with some good vegetal notes. It should have a decent amount of tannins, but at its best remains very drinkable. It’s great with flavorful food, but is also mild enough to drink on a warm summer night. Seriously, if you haven’t tried Carmenere, seek it out, it’s a great grape to bring into your wine rotation.
The tasting by Wines of Chile included a good range of Caremenere. What I love about horizontal tastings like this is you really get to see how much terroir and the choices of the wine makers influence taste. Eight bottles from of the same grape, many from the same part of Chile, tasted unique. We tasted the following wines:
- Emiliana Natura Carmenere 2010
- Casa Silva Los Lingues Gran Reserva Carmenere 2008
- Santa Rita Medalla Real Gran Reserva Carmenere 2008
- Montes Alpha Carmenere 2008
- Carmen Gran Reserva Carmenere, 2009
- Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Carmenere 2009
- Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere 2009
- Haras de Pirque Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere 2007
I was familiar with half of these wineries going in, both from my trip to Chile earlier this year and from the wide availability of some of these wines on the US market. All of the wines tasted were under $25 and most represented a good buy.
My two favorites of the night were the Santa Carolina Reserve de Familia and Concha y Toro’s Marques de Casa Concha. The offering from Santa Carolina had a strong vegetal nose, layered with blueberry and alcohol. The first impression on the tongue is strong dark plum and red pepper. The finish was spicy blackberry and strong alcohol. It was the strongest wine we tasted, but it had a really big fruit flavor to balance it out.
The Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere was also very fruit forward, with purple fruit and blueberries on the nose. There was a strong plum flavor up front, followed by rich, oaky tannins and a thick mouthfeel. While not as multidimensional as the Santa Carolina, it was still really enjoyable.
We had a large group over to taste the wines and opinions variety widely as to which were the favorites. One thing was clear, though, even with a room full of people who had largely never had Carmenere before, the wines were a hit.
Posted in Wine
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | October 4, 2011
Vote Rum Dood, Again!
Matt Robold, aka Rum Dood, has made it the final 5 candidates in Tommy Bahama’s Rumologist contest. You can vote for him once per day on Facebook and I highly encourage you to do so.
As a reward for making it this far, Matt has created a delicious Daiquiri variation. Enjoy!
TBD Sour
2 oz Rhum Agricole Vieux
1 oz Lime Juice
.75 oz Chai Tea Syrup (2:1)
.5 tsp MaraschinoShake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Dust with fresh allspice and garnish with a mint leaf.
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | September 16, 2011
The Distiller
Awesome video about Brad Estabrooke’s process of starting the Breuckelen Distilling Company.
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | September 1, 2011
Amor y Amargo
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | August 31, 2011
Vote RumDood!
Via Doug at The Pegu Blog, I see that Matt Robold aka RumDood is one of 20 finalists in Tommy Bahama’s First Rumologist contest. You can vote for Matt after liking Tommy Bahama’s Facebook page. Oh and you can vote once per day, so vote early and often!
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | August 29, 2011
The Rum Diary
The Rum Diary is one of Hunter S. Thompson’s best books – a novel based in part on his own time as a journalist in Puerto Rico. It’s a great story and this movie should be pretty good too. Also, there will be lots of rum.
Posted in Video
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | August 24, 2011
Wine Tasting & Curry Contest
I normally don’t run these sorts of reader contests, because, well, I guess I’m a bit selfish and like to keep the good contests to myself. But the fine folks at Wines of Chile have been very good to me over the last year and their blogger events are really a lot of fun.
Here’s the deal. Wines of Chile is hosting a blogger tasting of 8 Chilean Carmeneres. They’re pairing the wine tasting with curry recipes. The contest is this: blog readers can submit their best curry recipe. From there, “Culinary Expert Nissa Pierson will choose the best recipe and that recipe will be featured in the tasting kit and in the live tasting. The winner of this contest will receive a kit and an invite to participate alongside the bloggers and winemakers in the live event on Thursday, October 13.”
To submit a curry recipe and enter this contest, email the recipe to curry@thethomascollective.com by Thursday, September 15. Note the name of this blog when you send in your recipe so Wines of Chile can notify me if one of my readers wins win and give this blog credit for finding the winning recipe.
Pretty straightforward, no?
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | August 21, 2011
Adams Mill Cocktail
Hey, look! A new cocktail recipe original (I think) to me! It’s like 2009 up in here!
Adams Mill Cocktail
2 oz Old Overholt Rye
0.5 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
0.5 oz The Bitter Truth EXR Krauter Liqueur
2 dashes Boker’s BittersCombine all ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
I made this Manhattan-type variation for my friend Dave, a native of Covington, KY. I was going to call this a Covington Cocktail, but found out with a quick Google search that this is a term which has an entry in the Urban Dictionary and really doesn’t lend itself to use for a fine drink. Instead I went with a neighborhood name – one for a street near where I live.
I tried this with both 100-proof Rittenhouse Rye and 80-proof Old Overholt. I liked it a bit softer and that’s what I printed above, but Dave liked the hotter version with the 100 proof rye. If you want to try it that way, by all means go for it.
Posted in MBH Creations, Potable Bitters, Rye
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | August 19, 2011
On the $13 Cocktail
This video is in a post by Liquor.com on Huffington Post. The video shows the time, energy, craft, and care that cocktail bars like San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch put into making their drinks and providing their service. It is this time and energy which causes some craft cocktail bars, in some cities, to have drinks that cost $13 or more.
My experience with craft cocktails started in New York City. While I was mostly a dive bar guy, I would occasionally go out with friends to trendier bars and clubs. At these loud, packed meat markets I would regularly pay $10-15 for simple Ketel & Sodas (as I said, this was prior to getting into craft cocktails). To be in New York and to be social involves a certain amount of dramatically overpaying for drinks.
When I discovered craft cocktails through a visit to Death & Company, I wasn’t struck by paying $15 for a cocktail. I was instead struck by the fact that I’d paid $15 for a cocktail and it was worth every penny. There was value and care in the drink. I was willing to pay it again and, ideally, as soon as possible.
The reality is that while a $13 cocktail is expensive for most people, a bad $6 cocktail is also expensive for most people. Wasting a dollar costs the same amount everywhere. While I’ve certainly had some overpriced craft cocktails (I’m looking at you, hotel bars with good cocktail programs!), for the most part the prices for drinks at high-end craft cocktail bars are reasonable for what you get in return.
Of course what that means is that most of us don’t get to have a bar like Bourbon & Branch or The Columbia Room as our nightly, neighborhood bar due to the cost associated with it. But as a matter of fact, that’s what made me build a bar at home. If you like those $13 cocktails, but don’t want to pay that much every time you want a killer Manhattan variation, find out the recipes, buy the ingredients and make them for yourself at home! It’s cheaper in the long run to learn how to mix these high-end cocktails yourself. The sole caveat I’d add is that home bartending doesn’t lend itself to having lots of different tinctures, custom bitters, and bizarre infusions. You can still do these things, but the time incentive is less on your side than, say, going to the store and picking up some Rittenhouse 100, Carpano Antica and Angostura bitters.
The moral of the story is this: embrace the $13 cocktail until the point where it hurts to regularly spend that $13 on a single drink, then start building your home bar and try to emulate the practices and methods which made that drink at the craft cocktail bar taste so great.
Posted in Cocktail Culture
Posted by: Matt Hamlin | August 5, 2011
Michael Neff on Vodka Sodas
Bartender Michael Neff of Ward III and The Rum House in NYC has a post at Serious Eats, titled “On Vodka Sodas and First Dates.” While the relevance to working at bars and witnessing first dates is somewhat minimal to people who aren’t professionals behind the stick, his description of the Vodka Soda and why people drink it is pretty spot-on.
That said, vodka-soda drinkers are like jilted lovers; they’ve often had brief relationships with other spirits in the past, and walked away feeling scarred and skittish. Reluctant to open old wounds, they have trained their palates to crave neutrality. The phrase I hear most often is, “I don’t want to taste the alcohol.” In effect, they want the punch but not the flavor.
I don’t especially blame them. Many of us learn about alcohol in college, at bars where quantity trumps quality, and the goal is to drink as much as possible on limited resources. When people say, “I don’t like gin,” they usually mean, “I don’t like cheap gin.” Blended scotch is a beautiful thing, but 100 Pipers blended scotch tastes like cough medicine.
The rest is worth reading, as is the context that Neff uses to comment on the Vodka Soda: a blind date at a cocktail lounge.
Posted in Cocktail Culture, Vodka
