the king's mistress

1 1/4 oz Tequila (Espolón Blanco)
1 1/4 oz Pineau des Charentes (Chateau de Beaulon)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Saturdays ago, I was inspired by my work-bar getting in both Pineau des Charentes and Floc de Gascogne which are unfermented grape must fortified with Cognac and Armagnac, respectively. The sweet grape juice and the spirit's ABV puts both of these contenders in the same ABV as other Lillet Blanc (16-22%) but somewhere between Lillet and triple sec in sweetness. One of the first Pineau des Charentes cocktails that I made at home was the Pompadour from Frank Meier's 1934 The Artistry Of Mixing Drinks which pairs the Pineau with rhum agricole and balances its sweetness with lemon juice. The Pompadour in question was an old brand of Pineau des Charentes called for in the classic recipe. As a starting point for a riff, I decided to switch the rhum to tequila since I have not tinkered much with it since I crafted the Chutes & Ladders. While the Pineau des Charentes did a great job bridging the gap between rhum agricole and lemon juice, I figured that I could relieve it of some of its chores by switching to a more complementary lime juice here. And the whole mix seemed like a good candidate for some orange bitters as well.
For a name, I honed in on the Pompadour. While I could not make a great drink name connection to the hairstyle itself or the defunct liquor brand, there was a famous Madame de Pompadour who was a member of the French court. She was trained from childhood to be a mistress and later rose to being the official chief mistress of Louis XV. Therefore, the King's Mistress seemed like a good homage to all her hard work advising the king, organizing his schedules, and making nice with the queen! Once mixed, the cocktail offered tequila and floral notes. Next, white grape and lime on the sip gave way to tequila with a clean, mineral grape finish.

:: mixology monday announcement ::

MxMo XCVII: I'll Take Manhattan!

With no volunteers for May, I'll step in again to host Mixology Monday to keep this feline wrangling party going. The month of May usually makes me think of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic which had been running strong since 2009. Unfortunately, the event was sold off after the 2014 event and the new buyer dropped the ball on things this season. Also on my mind is that I will be finding myself in Manhattan next week on either side of attending Gaz Regan's Cocktails in the Country a bit more upstate. With previous Mixology Monday themes of Martinis and Old Fashioneds, why not Manhattans?

Turning to David Wondrich's Imbibe! for some historical reference, he bandied back and forth about possible creators and locales for this classic's creation. Perhaps it was created many places and many times, for sweet vermouth was the new hot ingredient of the 1870s and 1880s as St. Germain was in 2007 and 2008 (and arguably even to today). Wondrich quoted from the anonymously penned 1898 Cocktails: How To Make Them, "The addition of Vermouth was the first move toward the blending of cocktails." In my mind, the Manhattan takes the Old Fashioned one step further. Not only does it replace the sugar with sweet vermouth, but this sweetener ties its herbal notes to those of the bitters and its spice notes to the barrel-aged whiskey (especially rye whiskey) as well as the bitters again. Furthermore, the addition of a hint of fruit and caramel flavoring is a welcome addition to the mix (I will not directly draw any link to the vermouth's fruit and the cherry garnish though). While there have been a variety of Manhattan variations through the years such as the Preakness and the Brooklyn, most of the twentieth century saw this drink unchanged, in theory that is. I know that I have gotten a cocktail glass full of frothy Bourbon and ice shards at a place that I should have stuck to beer; indeed, both the vermouth and the bitters have fallen out of fashion to some degree at average bars. Other Manhattan experiences used only a splash of vermouth; when I complained, one bartender declared that he did not put too much in. I countered that it was not enough and repeated that I wanted a 2:1 Manhattan. That bartender would not let himself add more and handed me the vermouth bottle so he could be relieved of responsibility in the matter. However, the last decade or so has seen a renewal in the drink begin made correctly. Moreover, I would point to New York City cerca 2005 as the re-birth of the Manhattan variation with drinks like the Red Hook being born.

For this theme, actuate it any way you'd like as long as the drink resembles a Manhattan. Want to take 19th century Manhattan recipes or variations to the test? Want to figure out what the best whiskey to vermouth pairings and ratios are? Or perhaps subbing out the whiskey or vermouth for another ingredient or adding in a liqueur or other modifier or so to the mix? Awesome, you're right on track! There are plenty of Manhattan and Manhattan variations out there in the literature, and there's plenty of room to explore and tinker if that's your thing, too.

Here's how to play:

• Find or concoct a recipe that looks and feels like a Manhattan Cocktail.
• Make the drink and then post the recipe, a photo, and your thoughts about the libation on your blog, tumblr, or website or on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.
• Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both the Mixology Monday and Cocktail Virgin sites. And once the round-up is posted, a link to that summary post would be appreciated.
• Provide a link to your submission in the comment section here, tweet at @cocktailvirgin, or send an email to yarm-at-verizon.net with the word "MxMo" somewhere in the subject line.

The due date is Monday, May 18th which I will interpret as whatever gets posted before my next day off which could be the 19th or 20th (and yes, I will tack on late entries since it is part of the act of cat herding).

Cheers,
Frederic

oahu gin sling

2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis (G.E. Massenez)
1/2 oz Benedictine
1 tsp Sugar (omitted)

Shake with ice and strain into a Pilsner glass containing 3 oz soda water, a long wide lime spiral, and ice.

After making the Ginger-Lime Rum Daiquiri, I was still in a rum mood so I reached for Beachbum Berry's Remixed. Instead of getting lured in by another sugar-cane spirit-driven recipe, it was a gin one. The Oahu Gin Sling struck me as a cross between a Mississippi Mule (gin, cassis, lemon -- a combination that Misty Kalkofen used in her Temporary Fix) and a Straits Sling (gin, Benedictine, Cherry Heering, lemon, soda). Berry attributed the recipe to Thomas Mario, the food and drink editor of Playboy Magazine circa 1970.
The long horse's neck lime garnish added a bounty of lime oil notes to the dark fruity aroma from the cassis. Next, the sip was a carbonated lime and dark berry flavor that led into a gin and Benedictine herbal swallow with black currant to round off the drink with tart bass notes. Overall, the Oahu Gin Sling was rather gin forward with the Beefeater, and the cassis in place of cherry took the Singapore Sling-style drink in a novel direction.

ginger-lime rum daiquiri

A few weeks ago, author Warren Bobrow asked if I would accept an advance copy of his new book, Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails, and try out a recipe for the blog. As I read through all the recipes, one of the shrubs that grabbed me the most was the ginger-lime shrub. Besides the flavor profile sounding delightful, I had everything needed to start the project in my refrigerator. While some of the recipes in the book are rather quick shrubs, Warren recommended that this one and several others take its time to develop. So my post about the drink from the advance copy of the book is ready today, May 1st, when the book actually launches (see Amazon link above).

Ginger-Lime Shrub
• Peeled zest of 1 lime (discard pith)
• 1 lime (same one as above), quartered
• 2 oz sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 oz) grated ginger
• 2 oz apple cider vinegar
Combine lime zest, lime flesh, sugar, and ginger; stir and leave 1-2 days. Muddle the lime and ginger; strain into a jar and add the vinegar. Store in a bottle for 3-4 weeks before using; mix every day or so until sugar is fully dissolved. Note: this recipe was scaled back 4x from the book.

I ended up scaling back the recipe a bit from the book's batch as well as reducing the 4 week incubation to 2 weeks. Resources and deadlines, you know. With this one shrub recipe, Warren provided 5 different drink recipes that can act on their own or serve as catalysts for future experimentation. From that handful, I was tempted by the egg white and Green Chartreuse-laden Twisted Cachaça Sour, but I ended up feeling the need for a Daiquiri.
The recipe for the Daiquiri pictured above is:

Ginger-Lime Rum Daiquiri
• 2 oz Rhum Agricole
• 1 oz Ginger-Lime Shrub
• 3/4 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Once prepared, the Daiquiri offered grassy and funky rum aromas with a hint of fresh lime and savory vinegar. The sip was rather delightful with lime notes and a fruitiness very similar to peach. Finally, the swallow came through as expected with grassy rum and ginger flavors with a vinegar zing. Overall, Bitters & Shrub Syrup Cocktails is less history-driven compared to Michael Dietsch's Shrubs book but is loaded with culinary ideas and flavor combinations.

zucca hour

1 1/2 oz Dewar's Scotch
3/4 oz Rabarbaro Zucca Amaro
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Lime Syrup (*)
1/4 oz Branca Menta
3 drop Salt Water Tincture
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with a mint leaf and a few drops of Peychaud's Bitters.
(*) A 1:1 lime juice:sugar syrup will work here. Or perhaps just pure lime juice.
Part way through drinking my Derby Scaffa at Backbar, the crowd at the bar began to thin and I was able to find a seat in front of guest bartender Will Isaza from Fairsted Kitchen. For a second libation, I asked Will for the Zucca Hour off of the Modern Section of Backbar's menu. The Zucca Hour began with mint, anise, and smoke aromas. On the palate, a creamy sip offered grapefruit and orange flavors and led into a Scotch and herbal-minty swallow.

:: anchor's educational drinking tour's advice for bartenders ::

Yesterday, Anchor Distilling held its Boston date for the Educational Drinking Tour, and the first half of the day was directed at providing bartenders with advice on life. This ranged on how to best present oneself to media to the value of cocktail competitions with the overall take home theme of professionalism. Bartending is no longer a job that one does as a temporary or purely monetary option, and it is quickly returning to the pre-Prohibition days when bartending was a well-respected profession.

How to Present Yourself to Media:
• Have a bio and a photo online if not on hand. (LB)
• Buying your name as an URL for your own website. (AK) Make sure your LinkedIn is updated. (LB)
• Consider paying a photographer for photos and give them time to do their craft. A high res headshot, pics of of the bar space, and photos of you in your bar space are all important. (AK)
• Be prompt with dealing with media requests such as in a few hours -- often their deadline is short and 24 hours later can completely miss the opportunity to use your quote or recipe. (LB/NL)
• Be as thorough as possible in communications. Do not assume that recipe directions are obvious without explanation. The writers and editors are not bartenders. (LB)
• The more professional you are and easier you are to work with, the more likely that you will be asked back. (LB)

General Advice to Bartenders:
• Patience. It takes time to get good at your craft. And it will take 6 months to a year to figure out if you will be good at the job and will enjoy it. Even the wrong job will open up opportunities and provide learning experiences. (KP)
• Work hard and say 'yes' especially if that pushes you into things outside your comfort zone. These moments may open up opportunities. Keeping your head down and working hard focused will not allow you to progress. (NL)
• Competitions are a fast track to the media but not the only way. (NL)
• Use social media to build your personal brand. Video or audio podcasts, magazine, website, or blog writing, and the like all help. (AK)
• Get to know your bar/restaurant's PR. Let them help you develop your bio, and get to know them for they are connected with the writers and their pitches. Consider taking them out to lunch. (NL/AK)

Also, go see AK's conversion of Abraham Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs from the 1943 classic to what pertains to bartenders today via my Twitter post's pic: https://twitter.com/cocktailvirgin/status/593083584220700672

Name Codes:
• AK: Alan Kropf -- Director of Education at Anchor Distilling
• LB: Liz Brusca -- Director of PR & Events at Anchor Distilling
• KP: Kate Palmer -- Sales Director of Origin Beverage (part of Horizon)
• NL: Naomi Levy -- Bar Manager of Eastern Standard

derby scaffa

1 1/2 oz Four Roses Bourbon
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz Water
2 drop Lavender Bitters

Build in a rocks glass, stir to mix without ice, and garnish with orange oil. Note: This is a room temperature cocktail.
Two Wednesdays ago, I stopped into Backbar for one of their guest bartender series for Will Isaza of Fairsted Kitchen was behind the stick. Earlier in the evening, the bar was full, so I stood against one of the counters; there, I placed an order for the Derby Scaffa off of the Tradesman section of the menu that bartender James Lamont made for me at the service bar. Like their Improper Scaffa, this room temperature cocktail veers away from pure Scaffa convention by adding a bit of water to soften the ingredients. Once prepared, the Derby Scaffa offered an orange and floral aroma overlaying the caramel notes, and the caramel continued on into the sip where it soothed the malty heat. Finally, the swallow presented whiskey, candied citrus peel, and herbal flavors that finished with the St. Germain coming across like grapefruit on the swallow. I was not sure if the St. Germain was more effected by the Amaro Montenegro or by the sharpness of the lavender bitters to produce that note.

17th century

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Montelobos)
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
3/4 oz White Crème de Cacao (Marie Brizard)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe. I added a lemon twist.

After the 1930s era Hotel Madison Cocktail, I turned to Food & Wine: Cocktails 2011 for a more modern gem by Phil Ward that I do no believe made it into the Death & Co. Cocktail Book. Perhaps this absence was due to Phil being more involved with Mayahuel at the time. Phil describes this Twentieth Century riff as, "People have been consuming mezcal and chocolate together for hundreds of years—and for good reason. So it seemed like a no-brainer to combine them in a cocktail." Moreover, the named stemmed from mezcal having been produced in Oaxaca since the 17th century if not earlier (as well as there being 18th and 19th Century cocktail recipes already around.
The 17th Century started off with a lemon and smoky agave bouquet. Next, the sweet lemon sip had a decent mouthfeel, and the swallow gave forth mezcal and chocolate flavors with a citrus-tinged finish. Overall, this variation was more earthy and less herbal than I recall the original.

hotel madison cocktail

2/3 Swedish Punsch (1 1/2 oz Kronan)
1/3 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat)
Juice 1 Lime (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Two Tuesdays ago, I began the cocktail hour with a drink I spotted in Jayne's Bartender's Guide from 1934 that is being hosted on Mixellany's eLibrary, namely the Hotel Madison Cocktail. The book provided the intriguing subtitle of "'Darcy' (It's very good for you)," and overall the recipe reminded me of a stripped down Palliative Potion for Pomona. Once prepared, the Hotel Madison Cocktail offered funky caramel and rum notes. The caramel continued on into the sweet sip where it balanced the tart lime flavors. Finally, the swallow was a bit more crisp with Batavia Arrack, tea, and herbal notes with a lime finish.