Have I Got a Tale For You

As anyone who reads more than one cocktail blog knows, this weekend in Tales of the Cocktail, a mongo convention of bartenders, distillers, cocktail bloggers, mixologists, and other people involved in the industry. If I am really the only blog you read, well, I'm honoured. Anywho, I'm not there. I know, bummer. However, I have been keeping up on the fifty or so bloggers who are there, and there's lots of great stuff happening.

This Monday, which happens to be MxMo, I'll be whipping up a really yummy cocktail. It may or may not contain elements of molecular mixology, or whatever you want to call it. It will definitely include some culinary non-traditional ingredients. Regardless, I'm pretty stoked about this cocktail. You'll see it in two days.

Today, however, I would like to give you a cocktail I culled from the other bloggers around the internet. Since the only people who are probably reading this right now are beer bloggers, I'm going with a beer cocktail:

Maggie's Midnight

• 2 oz - Port Wine (LBV)
• 1/2 oz - Bourbon (Buffalo Trace)
• 7 oz - Stout Beer (Rogue Shakespeare)

Shake stir port and bourbon to cool, pour into a beer goblet, and top with chilled beer. Stir gently to combine.

Enjoy!
The Scribe

Molecular Mixology Woes and Cocktail Goodness

So, as promised, I did, indeed, attempt to create "caviar." One was a pomegranate-soy caviar and the other a ginger infused pomegranate-lime syrup. The former was supposed to be the topping for a really cool sushi-inspired dish I was working on. It was supposed to be a play on a classic caviar presentation of sour cream on a bellini topped with traditional fish roe caviar. Instead I was planning on a nori and sushi rice bellini with a bit of torro, a squirt of wassabi creme fraishe and the pomegranate-soy caviar. The second was supposed to make a cocktail I was making to go with the dish much more complex. The cocktail was supposed to be Cava (a Spanish sparkling wine), Pama (a pomegranate liqueur), and the lime-ginger-pomegranate syrup caviar. In its way it would have been a play on a Cava sour, sort of. I was hoping for the effect Jamie Boudreau mentioned with his cocktail, the Leigh's Lava Lamp with the bouncing of the caviar.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite get the solidification of the caviar that I was hoping for. I may not have added enough gelatin to the mixture. I added about a packet of gelatin to a half cup of ingredients and while it seemed to bead up nicely while sinking through the oil, when I tried to strain it, the caviars went right through the strainer. This was a bit of a problem. I'm hoping to try it again. Unfortunately, it takes about an hour per shot, and I was in the process of getting ready to plate a ten dish, nine course tasting menu, and was running a bit short of time.

Otherwise, the meal went fairly well. To be fair, I did let the grill cool down a bit too much so the tuna, while done just about perfectly, didn't get a good sear on the outside. I also forgot my camera until the last course. The sorbet that I was making ended up as a granita, and I forgot to put out water pitchers. We also didn't end up with port or coffee to end the meal since we didn't quite make our way through the three bottles of wine that went with the dinner.

Big ups go Tiarre and Forrest from the Ministry of Rum forums for their recipes for baked papaya and papaya sorbet, respectively, as well as both their and the other forumers' help in putting together the cocktail. Surprisingly, what I ended up with was exactly what was on the menu I had created beforehand, including the freezing of the sorbet into a granitta, and the simpler Cava cocktail. I present you, however:

The Grenade Royale:

• .5 oz. - Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
• 4.5 oz. - Sparkling wine (a fruitier sparkling wine like Cava or Prosecco works better than Champaign)

Chill both bottles well. Then pour wine over the liqueur, and serve. Use a lemon twist or, better yet, pomegranate seeds for garnish.

Pictures of the baked papaya to follow.

Enjoy!
The Scribe

Swilling in Chicago

Yesterday I went to the Chicago Rum Festival hosted by Ed Hamilton from the Ministry of Rum. This was a great event, and I had a great time. While I only went to the rum tasting, I am sure the distiller's seminar, the dinner with the distillers, and the island music festival were fun as well. I missed the first two because of my travel schedule and the last because of a dinner with the fam.

Regardless, the rum tasting was a ton of fun. The pours were generous, and they were as willing to serve you a mixed drink (generally a caipirinha or a mojito) as they were a dram of rum, and there was no hording of the good stuff. You wanted the 18 year Flor de Cana, they were perfectly happy to pour it for you, which, as least to me, is always a good sign. As far as what I drank:

• Santa Theresa Gran Reserva
• Santa Theresa 1796 Solera
• Pritchard's Fine Cranberry Rum (I think, this was the last rum I had)
• Old English Harbor 5 Year
• Flor de Cana Gold 4 Year
• Flor de Cana Gran Reserva 7 Year
• Flor de Cana Centenario 18 Year
• El Dorado 12 Year
• El Dorado 15 Year
• Gosling's Black Seal
• Gosling's Old Rum
• Cruzan Estate Diamond 5 Year
• Cruzan Gold (Either 14 Month or 2 Year)
• Cruzan Single Barrel
• Cruzan Blackstrap
  
• Rhum Neisson White
• Rhum Neisson Eleve Sous Bois
• Rhum Neisson Vieux
• La Favorite White
• La Favorite Vieux
• Leblon Cachaca
• Cubana Cachaca
• Tommy Bahama Golden Sun
• Sagatiba Cachaca
• Rubi Rey Single Barrel Reserve
  
• Kilo Kai Spiced Rum
  
• St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• Alpenz Batavia Arrack von Oosten
• Scarlet Ibis
• Red Stripe Jamaican Lager
• Rio D Cachaca
  
• And so many more...

I also had several cocktails, including Mount Gay's Rum Punch which was outstanding, as well as Sagatiba's mojito, which was probably the best mojito, and, of course, Gosling's serving up Dark 'N' Stormy's. The lowlight was probably Rubi Rey, as well as the Batavia Arrack which would probably do well in a cocktail, but, by itself, wasn't very good. Also I was disappointed with myself that I forgot my camera, and also the Mount Gay Extra Old. Another disappointment was the Rio D Cachaca. The woman there asked if I wanted it as a cocktail, and when I asked for a caipirina, she didn't know what I was asking for, and just handed me the neat cachaca. On the other hand, I did get a muddler out of the bargain, so I can't complain too much.

Lastly, Bacardi and the United States Bartender's Guild sponsored a rum seminar run by Debbi Peek, of Bacardi, Bridget Albert of Southern Wine and Spirits, Charles Joly of the Drawing Room, and Peter Vestinos of Sepia. The seminar covered the Bacardi cocktail, the mojito, the daiquiri and the mai tai. They presented first a traditional cocktail recipe, then a modern interpretation. Debbi did the Bacardi cocktail, then did a strawberry-balsamic "Bacardi" cocktail, which, to my mind was more of a sophisticated take on the strawberry daiquiri than anything else. Then Peter presented the mai tai and his peach mai tai. Next up was Peter Vestinos with a daiquiri and a more sophisticated daiquiri using egg whie, St. Germain, and orange water, which I thought was the best cocktail served. Finally, Bridget presented the mojito and:

The Blueberry Mojito by Bridget Albert

• 1 oz. - Dried Lavender Syrup (1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup dried lavender)
• 10-12 - Mint Leaves
  
• 10-12 - Blueberries
• .5 oz. - Fresh Lime Juice
• 1.5 oz. - Bacardi Superior
• Soda Water to top
  

Muddle mint leaves, syrup, blueberries, and lime juice eight times with a large muddler in a double old fashioned glass. Add rum. Fill glass with crushed ice, and top with soda water. Garnish with a straw and mint leaf, stir to combine.

All in all, a wonderful event. Hopefully I can continue to go to more festivals. If you have the chance to go to any Ministry of Rum events, I encourage you to go. Hopefully I'll get pictures from Ed to post here.

Cheers!
The Scribe

It's A Peach!

For me, two fruit have always signified the height of summer: The peach and the cherry. Today, I am tackling peaches, and cherries will have to wait for another day. The peach, along with it's half sister, the nectarine, were always around in our house during the summer. I picked up a half dozen peaches the other day at the grocery, and, naturally, I felt a need to make stewed peaches. The recipe is very simple. Take a syrup of two parts water to one part sugar, and add one other flavour element that plays well with peaches, in this case a healthy splash of vanilla extract (yes, yes, the bean is better, but being a poor college student, I have extract). Bring the syrup to a simmer and toss in halved or quartered peaches, and let them cook in the syrup until somewhat softened. Pull out the peaches, and reduce the syrup by half to a quarter (giving you 1-1 or 2-1 syrup). Serve the peaches with vanilla ice cream and a splash of syrup. Store the remaining peaches in syrup.

But what to do with the syrup? Well, peaches are a southern thing. What else is a s'uth'n thing? Bourbon. What takes syrup and bourbon? An old fashioned! Sooo....

Scrivenal Peach Old Fashioned

• 2 oz. - Bourbon (A smooth bourbon with nice vanilla notes would work great, but all I had was Boulleit.)
• .5 oz - Vanilla Peach Syrup (described above)
• 2-3 dashes - Bitters (I used Angustura Aromatic, but Fee's Peach might be nice.)

Build in a tumbler as you would a normal old fashioned. If you can think of an appropriate garnish, let me know, but maybe a peach wedge.

Unfortunately, I didn't get an opportunity to photograph the drink, but it was darn tasty. And yes, I don't really garnish drinks for my own personal consumption. I make them how I like them, so I don't need the ability to customize the drink.

Pleasant drinking,
The Scribe

Through a Crystal, Darkly

Go into a bar today and order a mixed drink, and, unless you happen to be in a tiki bar, odds are very good your drink with come in either a short tumbler (rocks or old fashioned glass), a long glass (collins or tall glass), or a cocktail glass. If you happen to get a Champaign cocktail, you might end up with a champaign flute, or you might get a glass mug (Irish coffee glass) if you are getting a hot drink. What amazes me is the fact that had you gone into a bar in an earlier time, you would see drinks served not only in those five glasses, but a coupe, especially before the advent of the flute, a wine glass, a sherry glass, a cordial glass, a snifter, or any of dozens of other glasses.

Why do I raise this point? I had a very interesting experience a while back which I was thinking of recently. We went to a local restaurant, and my mother asked for a glass of wine. We heard a crash from the kitchen, and the waiter brought out a cocktail glass full of red wine. He apologized, saying that while getting down the case of wine glasses, we had dropped it, and the restaurant was out of wine glasses. My mother tasted the wine, and it was awful, and offered a sip to the rest of us. It was atrocious. Another waiter came out, having found a wine glass in the dishwasher. I saw the waiter pour the wine from the cocktail glass to the wine glass. When the wine was passed around again it was completely drinkable.

This example goes to show that glassware can have a huge effect on the drinking experience. I feel that in creating drinks, we often overlook that effect. If it has ice, it goes in either tumbler or a long glass depending on quantity, while if it doesn't have ice, it goes into a cocktail glass. People who drink spirits neat or on with water, or simply wine, sometimes spend an inordinate amount of effort picking the precise perfect glass. I think that goes a little far, but if the nose of the cocktail is enjoyable, should we simply be letting it float away out of the glass? I have been noticing that a lot of people recommend that when making a mint julep, you use a straw short enough that the drinker is forced to put his or her nose right in the mint garnish. Why not simply trap those aromas?

Happy drinking,
The Scribe

Mixing It Up With Infussions

Hello boozahol lovers of all stripes. Today, I bring you my vision of the future, or at least one possible vision. I'm really of two minds about what I am about to post. On the one hand, it's pretty cool, and really interesting in how it opens up the possibilities of future mixing. On the other, it takes much of the art out of mixing and especially distilling, which is something I'm against. (As you will find, I'm pretty old fashioned in my views, especially regarding art.)

Before I begin, I'd like to just take a moment to say I am back from Israel and New York, and am writing this from my new apartment. I should be unpacked in the fairly near (read: within a week), but the kitchen and spirits are already unpacked. I also got an interesting rum in Israel at Duty Free. It may not be too good, but we'll see. But I digress.

My thought is this: Chefs can look in their pantry and take out any ingredient they like. Barkeeps, however, are restricted to a relatively meager stock of ingredients. The fact that we can do as much with our ingredients as we do is staggering. Our ingredients are also incredibly complex compared to, say, a piece of chicken, or even something like an onion or garlic. With the exception of vodka, even simple spirits, beers, wines, and cordials have immense complexity.

What if we could strip away some of that complexity, and, at the same time, open up what we can do with mixology? What I propose is increasing the use of tinctures. In effect, we would take an approach similar to that of exotic (tiki) drinks: Combine say, vanilla rum tincture with orange rum tincture, mango rum tincture, and toffee rum tincture, and you have the perfect rum for whatever application.

I don't know. Especially as I put it out in this kind of detail, I feel really ambivalent about this idea. Perhaps you could use a little bit of one or two tinctures to bring out an element in one specific spirit? I don't know. Let me know what you think!

Mixology Monday: Rum

This is my first Mixology Monday, and I'm quite excited to be joining this little tradition. As it's my first time, you will have to forgive me if this post isn't quite up to the standard of what a MxMo post should be.

Today's topic is rum. Rum is a wonderful ingredient and a miserable ingredient. We can't simply say "rum" as an ingredient because you can have five similarly aged rums, and five distinct tastes. One rum might taste like fine French brandy, another like a wonderful Scotch, a third might remind you of a good spicy rye, a fourth could be it's own distinctively rum-y sipper, while a fifth might almost substitute for Curacao! And that's assuming these are all aged gold rums. I have used Bacardi's white rum in place of vodka in a screwdriver, and it worked perfectly. While I couldn't compare at the time, I would suggest that it was fairly similar, with barely a hint of rum to it. I could even see using rum in place of whiskey in a whiskey sour...Hmm...Maybe I should try that... And these are all "rum." We haven't even moved into cachaca, rhum agricole, and Batavia arrack, which are all usually lumped into the same category.

On the other hand, that very versatility and variety in flavor can work to our advantage in cocktails. People like Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber used the distinct qualities of a variety of rums in their drinks to create effects that could never be achieved with one rum alone. It is this idea, as well as the traditional whiskey sour, which inspire the drink I am about to present. (Did you like the foreshadowing there?) In this case, we take a simple whiskey sour, and replace the whiskey with a nice smoky rum. Looking at the margarita, we add Curacao into the mix, to accentuate the orange taste. However, instead of Curacao, I elected to use a very orange rum: Pyrat XO. This gives us:

The Rough Rider Cocktail

• 1.5 oz - Smoky aged rum (Ron Pampero Aniversario)
• 1 oz - Orange Juice
• 1 oz - Lemon Juice
  
• .5 oz - Aged rum with a strong orange flavor (Pyrat XO, if possible. You could use an orange spiced rum like Santa Teresa Rhum Orange, or even Grand Marnier or Curacao, but you would have to modify the recipe.)
• .5 oz - Simple Syrup
• 1 dash - Orange bitters (optional)
  

Shake with ice until chilled, then serve either as a sour over ice in a tumbler, or as a cocktail, neat, in a cocktail glass.

I hope you all enjoy. The name is inspired by the Teddy Roosevelt's unit in the Spanish-American War of the same name. I imagine when they invaded Cuba, they had to replace their Bourbon based drinks with the local tipple, just as we did.

Before I sign off, I just want to handle one bit of administratia. As of Wednesday, this blog will begin a set schedule of posting. Every Wednesday, I will be posting reviews of something or other. The second Wednesday of the month I will be posting a spirit or fortified wine review. The third Wednesday I will be posting a beer review. The first and last Wednesdays will be open reviews for whatever I have around. Ciders, unfortified wines, meads, bitters, and cordials are all fair game, as well as beer and spirits. On Sundays I will be posting other stuff: travels, tours, my experiments, and so on. Throughout the week, I will try and post for special events, like MxMo. This MxMo, I guess, will stand in as my Sunday post.

Okay, I lied. I have a lot more to say about rum. Most of it relates to sailing, though there is another drink in here somewhere, so you may want to pay attention. In almost exactly a month, Newport, RI throws its largest party of the year (actually, of two years): The sendoff for the Newport-Bermuda Race. This race will be full of hard sailing, bookended by weekends of inebriation off of that most sailing-like of spirits: rum. Specifically, Gosling's Black Seal. Rum has always had a close tie to sailing. According to Mount Gay, navigating to Barbados was a challenge, and some sailors took barrels of Barbados rum home as a trophy and proof that they made it to the island. While I think that story is likely a crock, Mount Gay, and Gosling as well, sponsors all sorts of sailing regattas to this day. In fact, one sure way to spot a sailor is to look for the red "Mount Gay hats" that we all wear.

This marketing strategy pays off, and both Mount Gay Eclipse and Gosling's Black Seal are staples in every sailor's rum locker. In fact, sailors love Gosling's so much that Newport is the only place in the world outside of Bermuda that Dark 'N' Stormies are sold premixed in cans. I'll put up a post on the dark and stormy, Dark 'N' Stormy, and rum and ginger in a month for the start of the Bermuda race, but I thought I would share a drink I learned of today: The Light and Breezy. The light and breezy is a combination of rum and Fresca, possibly with a bit of orange or lemon, mixed to taste. I have two thoughts about the origins of this drink. The first is a similar drink which is drunk quite often on Jamaica: rum and Ting. Ting, like Fresca, is a grapefruit soda. Thus, sailors could have replaced Ting with a more commonly available grapefruit soda, and a Jamaican rum with what was in their rum lockers, thus mating Fresca and Gosling's or Mount Gay. Another possibility is that we simply had a hard time finding good ginger beer, so we replaced it with Fresca. Pick whichever story you prefer.

This time I'm really done. Happy MxMo,
The Scribe