Five More Classic Cocktails for a Fancy Lady

Last post (found here) we went through some of the best classic cocktails for a lady, but the list to me feels incomplete without the following runner-ups.
 
Stinger
This drink is very simple and not particularly interesting in flavour - in fact, it can be way too sweet if made according to classic recipes. However, it is an excellent digestif to end your dinner or evening, and opens the door to some very interesting experimentation. Having a half-sized cocktail of Cognac or brandy with bitters, or amaro, and some representation of the mint flavour (be it Giffard menthe de pastille or Branca Menta or an amaro like Nardini) has become a mainstay of my drinking evenings. The drink also has a long American history, dating in literature back to 1917’s “Ideal Bartender” book, which lists it simply as equal parts of brandy and white crème de menthe. It was popular amongst pilots in WWI because the young men preferred drinks not to taste of alcohol, but also because the mint oil disguised the liquor on their breath (as cocktail historian David Wondrich reasons). The Stinger was a favourite of Billie Holiday, as well as enjoyed by the lovely Grace Kelly [right] in 1956’s “High Society,” Katherine Hepburn in 1940’s “Philadelphia Story,” and Jayne Mansfield and Cary Grant in 1957’s “Kiss Them For Me” (in which Grant says “stingers - and keep them coming.”) Giffard’s menthe de pastille can be substituted for crème de menthe (to better effect in my opinion), but is more potent and should be balanced accordingly. The below recipe is Wondrich’s:

2.25oz brandy
0.75oz white crème de methe

Shake well with cracked ice, then strain into a cocktail coupe.

Pink Lady
The name is a little obvious for a lady cocktail choice, the drink is pretty-looking, tastes fruity, but it still packs a punch. It also carries a foggy history. Originally the recipes only included gin, grenadine, and egg white (Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, 1937), but later incarnations included lemon juice, applejack or apple brandy, and even cream. Esquire’s 1949 “Handbook for Hosts” (mentioned last post) also has this one in the ‘for the girls’ section. In popular culture, 1950’s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield [right] used to drink them before meals, and in the 1937 film “Topper,” Constance Bennett gives one to Cary Grant.
The most accepted recipe comes from David Embury’s “Fine Art of Mixing Drinks” in 1948:

1.5oz gin
0.5oz apple brandy (or applejack)
0.5oz lemon juice
0.25oz grenadine
egg white

Shake ingredients without ice, then add ice and shake again. Strain into a cocktail coupe.

Twentieth Century
This is an excellent introduction to gin, or an excellent trick for anyone who claims they don’t like gin. It originated in 1937’s Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, credited to C.A. Tuck, a British bartender who created the drink in honour of the Twentieth Century Limited. At the time this was a wonder of modern technology: the world’s fastest and most luxurious train that ran from Chicago to New York at 60 miles per hour from 1902 to 1967. So fancy was this train and its many dining and drinking cars, that passengers boarded and exited the train upon a red velvet carpet, which is actually the origin of the phrase “red carpet treatment.” The train was featured in several films, most prominently in Alfred Hitchcock’s very influential “North by Northwest” (1959). The drink itself is like a chocolate meringue dessert, but can still be made dry enough to enjoy. Below is the traditional recipe, but click here to see a variation using egg white and substituting a Giffard white chocolate syrup for the very flat crème de cacao, along with a more detailed history.

1.5oz Plymouth gin
0.75oz Lillet Blanc
0.75oz white crème de cacao   
0.75oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.
 
Jack Rose
This pink and fruity sour has several theories of inception: named after a lying gambler who had a famous run-in with the law in 1912 (and who may have invented the drink himself), named after the Jaquemot rose because of the colour (as claimed in the book “Old Waldorf Bar Days” in 1931), or as recently uncovered in print in 1905, simply invented by a bartender at Gene Sullivan’s Cafe in Jersey City. Sadly the oldest printed account is the most likely one, negating the much more interesting Jack Rose the gambler story, which also lends the parallel of the drink itself being a liar, with its pink colour and fruity flavour masking what is actually a very strong drink. It is nonetheless a clever name, having both applejack and a rose colour. To be traditional, applejack should be used, but calvados is also acceptable and will offer a softer and fruitier drink. The juice is not specified between lemon or lime in the history books, but I find lime much more interesting. There are recipes galore on how to make this, and a major factor is how you make your grenadine. The simplest way is just to make a 1:1 simple syrup with real pomegranate juice in place of water, and this will enable you to balance drinks the usual way. Below is David Wondrich’s recipe:

2oz applejack (or Calvados)
1oz lime juice
0.5oz grenadine

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

Aviation
A favourite among cocktail enthusiasts, the Aviation dates back to the 1910’s but underwent a recipe change in by 1930 when the Savoy Cocktail Book omitted one of its ingredients: crème de violette. Throughout the next seventy-five years violette was for the most lost and forgotten as manufacture ceased, but thankfully in 2007 Rothman & Winter reproduced it and now we have several kinds available to us in North America. An Aviation without violette has none of the blueish colour for which it was likely named, and a much flatter-tasting drink altogether. Maraschino is somewhat of a challenge to the uninitiated, but with the balance of citrus and floral flavours makes this an excellent introduction. Below is Robert Hess’ adapted recipe. Click here to see a more in-depth history of the Aviation.

2oz gin
0.5oz lemon juice
0.5oz maraschino liqueur
0.24oz crème de violette

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. 

Five Classic Cocktails for a Fancy Lady

Taste should not be gender-specific. Good food and drink are enjoyed by any, and there shouldn't be "manly" drinks and "girly" drinks - but there are. There are a few reasons for this:
- Generally, women taste things differently than men - they tend to be more sensitive to flavour, particularly bitter. Because of this sensitivity, women often have more distinguished palates. (Again, this is a generalization, but scientific research does support it).
- In western culture, the woman was seen as the weaker sex and therefore shouldn't be enjoying the same things men do, such as strong drink. This is particularly true for cocktails in the first half of the twentieth century when many a book and magazine told women what they should be drinking in order to be a proper and all-around good lady. These drinks were colourful and sweeter.

In the dark ages of bartending (the 1970's-1990's) the above points were interpreted into drinks involving copious amounts of sugar, artificial colour, drinks with 'feminine' names, and a lot of vodka so as to further disguise the taste of alcohol. Many of the classics had both pretty colours and names but also happened to be great drinks, and strong ones at that. These cocktails were not gender-specific, or often started as a "gentleman's drink" (see the Clover Club) before becoming popular amongst the female folk, likely due to the media and populace deciding that a pink drink should be for a woman.

For this list, I'm taking inspiration from the 1920's to 1940's in particular, when men were gentlemen and women were ladies, and there were excellent drinks on both sides to be enjoyed by all. Should you wish to drink like a fancy lady of the time, below are some classic suggestions.

Clover Club
This light and pink drink predates Prohibition when it was enjoyed by the members of the Philadelphia men's club of the same name. By the 1930's, it had lost popularity, and 1949's "Handbook for Hosts" from Esquire placed it in the "something for the girls" section. If made properly this drink can be drier than expected, using fresh raspberries and not artificial liqueurs or commercial sweeteners. The Okanagan Spirits liqueur is an excellent substitution for real raspberry, tasting both dry and natural. If using a home-made raspberry syrup, bump up the gin and juice or lower the sugar amount. Below is the recipe from Pourhouse in Vancouver, which is fairly close to the recipe of old:

1.5oz London Dry gin
0.5oz fresh lemon juice
0.5oz simple syrup
0.5oz Okanagan Spirits Raspberry Liqueur
1 egg white

Combine ingredients and dry-shake. Then add ice and shake again. Strain into a cocktail coupe.  

French 75
A refreshing start to your evening, particularly a celebratory one due to the addition of sparkling wine. As with any drink, it should be made dry so as to awaken your palate and if so it makes an excellent aperitif. Created in 1915 by Harry MacElhone at the New York Bar in Paris, it was named after the WWI French 75mm field gun - which “packed quite a punch." German officers famously order it at Humphrey Bogart's bar in 1942's "Casablanca." Cocktail historian David Wondrich suggests increasing the gin to 2oz and serving over ice in a Collins glass. While this tastes better, I prefer the drink in more elegant attire. Here is the Savoy Cocktail Book recipe from 1930:

2/3 gin [1oz]
1/3 lemon juice [0.5oz]
1 teaspoon powdered sugar [0.5oz simple syrup]

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a Champagne glass or cocktail coupe, then top with chilled Champagne or a dry sparkling wine (Brut).

Sidecar
This cocktail's origins are of some dispute, as so many are, but while the Ritz Hotel in Paris claims its birthplace, there are earlier and more reputable sources that differ. Harry MacElhone's 1922 cocktail book "Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails" gives credit to Pat MacGarry at Buck's Club in London some time after WWI. It was named after the motorcycle sidecar in which an American army captain was driven to the Paris bistro where the drink was created for him. It is essentially a Brandy Daisy, a style of drink dating to the mid 19th century. There are several recipes, namely the "French school" which has each ingredient at equal parts, and the "London school," which has 2:1:1 brandy to liqueur to lemon. David Embury's very influential "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks" in 1948 recommends 8:2:1. I like my drinks dry, and below is my go-to recipe. Avoid the sugar rim, a practice that popped up in the 1930's and is both sticky and unnecessary. This drink is fruity but boozy and perfect for an elegant lady who has come in from the cold. It also happens to be Cointreau's signature drink, a liqueur represented by the fanciest lady alive today: Dita Von Teese.

2oz Cognac or other brandy
0.5oz Cointreau
0.5oz lemon juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

Champagne Cocktail
In the 19th century this drink was one of the very first variations on the “cock-tail,” a combination of spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. Embellishments were inevitable, and the best of them is likely the addition of brandy (technically making this a “Brandy Champagne Cocktail”). Adding this extra punch to the equation balances the sugar much better. This cocktail has shown up in both literature and film, most famously in 1957’s “An Affair To Remember” with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and again in “Casablanca.” Don’t skimp on the bitters, and be sure to use a very dry sparkling wine lest the drink be cloyingly sweet.

1 raw sugar cube
Several dashes of aromatic bitters (Angostura)
1oz Cognac or other brandy (optional)
Champagne or dry sparkling wine

Drop the sugar into a Champagne coupe or glass and soak it in the bitters. Pour in the brandy, then top with the wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Arsenic and Old Lace

This one is a little more obscure, but perfectly fit for a classic lady in that it’s floral, light purple in colour, and dry. Descending from the pre-Prohibition Attention Cocktail, this one hails from the 1940’s and was considerably more dry. Modern recipes for both are basically the same, with the Attention having the addition of orange bitters, which makes for a more interesting drink with a less interesting name. The name comes from the black comedy play from 1939 which was later adapted by Frank Capra into a film starring Cary Grant. The story revolves around a drama critic who tries to protect his homicidal aunts who like to murder old men with poisoned elderberry wine. The recipe below changes the classic one by reducing 0.5oz of pastis to an absinthe rinse. Absinthe makes the flavour more complex, but is more potent than pastis and can overwhelm the drink so no more than a rinse is necessary. It employs crème de violette, an ingredient lost for decades until a few years ago. The quality of this violet flower liqueur will determine the overall quality of this drink, so be sure to avoid overly perfumey artificial ones and to balance accordingly.

1.5oz gin
0.5oz dry vermouth
0.25-0.5oz crème de violette
Absinthe rinse

Rinse a cocktail coupe with absinthe by pouring a little into the glass and spinning so it coats the inside before discarding the excess. Stir gin, vermouth, and violette with ice, and strain into the coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist and express the oils over the top of the drink.

Next post (which you can see here) I'll be sharing another five classic cocktails for a lady, then we'll get into those for the gentlemen.
[The science of taste and intoxication and how they relate to gender can be found in the science section of this site.]

New Year's Eve Cocktails

What better night to enjoy some Champagne or sparkling wine than New Year's? Should you be in a cocktail mood, here are some delicious drinks containing sparkling wine perfect for celebrating the arrival of 2013. We'll start with some classics and move on to more contemporary sippers.

The best choice of sparkling wine for mixing is always dry. In fact, the best wine for any use is almost always dry. Also, be aware of the acidity you're adding to the drink when you top with sparkling wine. The carbonic acid will affect the sweetness of your drink, despite the sugar content in the wine itself, which is one of the reasons to choose something dry. When mixing your other ingredients, balance things on the sweeter side, and likewise don't be surprised if you find your drink too sweet before topping with the wine as it will be dried out. French 75's, for example, should be a little sweet before you top them.

A great choice for any use is cava, as these tend to be great quality for how much you pay. Prosecco is great for the same reason, and they also tend to be dry so are excellent choices. Should you choose a North American sparkling wine or a Champagne, look for a "Brut" or "extra Brut", which means the wine is dry (i.e. not sweet). "Sec" refers to high levels of sugar, which is something you want to avoid if mixing (and in my opinion, something you should avoid altogether).

The Champagne Cocktail
1 raw sugar cube
Several dashes of Angostura or other aromatic bitters
Top with Champagne or sparkling wine

Drop the sugar cube into a Champagne flute and soak with the bitters. Top with sparkling wine. 
Garnish with a lemon twist.

This drink dates back to the 1850's and is the first recorded variation on the "cock-tail," a combination of spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. Later variations included the addition of Cognac or brandy, which is in my opinion an excellent choice and I suggest going with 1/2oz. Should you have no sugar cubes on-hand, the original recipes call for 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, or 1 teaspoon of 1:1 simple syrup. Twist as always means just the peel of the lemon with the pith cut off, which you squeeze over the top of the drink to extract the oil.

French 75
1oz gin
1/2oz lemon juice
1 teaspoon of sugar
Sparkling wine

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe or Champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine.

This drink originated at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1915, created by American bar owner Harry MacElhone. The drink was said to "pack a punch like the French 75mm field gun," hence the name. The above recipe is from Harry Craddock's seminal cocktail tome, "The Savoy Cocktail Book," though more modern recipes contain up to 2oz of gin (which I must be honest I prefer). In David Embury's equally as influential cocktail book, "The Art of Mixing Drinks," the recipe claims that Cognac is the true spirit of choice here, lest the drink not be called the "French" 75. However, considering that earlier recipes call for gin and that earlier accounts claim the name comes from the French rifle and not from the spirit, the general consensus is that the drink be made with gin, which in my opinion makes a better drink anyway. Dropping a real cherry into the bottom of the glass adds a nice touch.

Buck and Breck
1.5oz Cognac or brandy
Dash of absinthe
2 dashes Angostura or other aromatic bitters
Sparkling wine

Rinse a small glass or Champagne flute with water. Fill the glass with powdered sugar and throw it out, leaving the glass frosted inside. Pour in the brandy, bitters, and absinthe, then top the glass with cold sparkling wine.

This drink is supposedly created by the grandfather of the cocktail, Jerry Thomas, in the mid 1800's. It is not only a fancy-looking drink, but a more obscure one and very tasty. Should you be without absinthe, absente, pastis, Herbsaint, or pernod will suffice, but be aware of their shortcomings in flavour and complexity in comparison to actual absinthe.

Seelbach Cocktail
1oz bourbon
1/2oz Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Sparkling wine

Stir bourbon, Cointreau, and bitters with ice. Strain into a cocktail coupe or Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

This was a favourite of mine for a time, and one that I brought to Pourhouse in Vancouver where we included it on our fall menu this year. It comes from the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1917. During Prohibition, the cocktail was lost until the mid-1990's when it was found in the basement of the hotel during renovations. The infamous Gary Regan convinced the hotel management to share their recipe for this spicy drink and now it is available for us all to enjoy. Should you be using other bitters, be aware of their bitterness and adjust accordingly. Bitter Truth Creole Bitters, for example, is more complex and interesting than Peychaud's, but are much more bitters and only require 2-3 dashes.

Death In The Afternoon
1.5oz absinthe
Sparkling wine

Pour absinthe into a Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine (at least 4oz). 

This one was invented by Hernest Hemingway, who was by all accounts a heavy and creative drinker. It was named after his novel published in 1932. This was not the only drink he created, another one of note being the Hemingway Daquiri or Papa Doble, with rum, grapefruit, lime, and maraschino liqueur, which is by all means worth making in the summer. 

Moving on to more modern cocktails, here is a French 75 variation by Dale Degroff using bourbon instead of gin.

French 95
1oz fresh orange juice
3/4oz bourbon
3/4oz simple syrup
1/2oz fresh lemon juice
Sparkling wine. 

Shake the first four ingredients with ice and strain over rocks into a fizz glass. Top with sparkling wine. 

And here are three great original sparkling wine cocktails contributed to this site for previous series.

Jones' Bitter Aperitif (Evelyn Chick, Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver)
1/2oz Amaro Averna

1/4oz Cynar
1/4oz Taylor 10 Tawny Port
Barspoon All-Spice Syrup
Sparkling wine

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into champagne flute & top with dry cava

All-Spice Syrup:
Boil a tablespoon of crushed allspice berries, one stick of cinnamon, and three cloves in one litre of water. Simmer for 15 minutes on low, then add two litres of sugar. Stir until dissolved, then let cool before bottling. 

The Shibuya Crusta (Shaun Layton, L'Abattoir, Vancouver)

20 ml Hennessy VS Cognac

15 ml Maraschino

30 ml fresh lemon juice

10 ml orgeat syrup

7 dashes Angostura bitters

Cava

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin minus the Cava. Shake, fine strain into sugar decked flute. Top with Cava. Garnish with a long orange peel around the inside of the flute. 

 

And a personal favourite of mine that we still serve by request at Pourhouse, The Bittercup. Two bitter amari along with fresh juices and sparkling wine combine to create a very complex cocktail tasting like bitter strawberry.

 

The Bittercup
1 oz  Campari
1/2oz Fernet Branca
1/2oz real cranberry juice (not cranberry cocktail)
3/4oz fresh grapefruit juice
1/4oz simple syrup
2 oz dry prosecco

Pour all ingredients except prosecco into a shaker. Shake. Taste and balance bitterness with simple syrup (the taste of bitter strawberries is the goal). Double strain into a cocktail glass. Finish with prosecco. 

 

Happy New Year's!

Halloween Cocktails: "The Bay Harbour Butcher" by Shaun Layton

Our drinks are slowly getting more violent as we creep ever close to Halloween. Today's contribution comes from Shaun Layton of L'Abattoir, located in Blood Alley in Vancouver's Gastown. He shares his bloody creation named after the AMC series, "Dexter," about a blood spatter specialist with the Miami Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer. This cocktail is a fruity and herbal twist on the pisco sour, and Shaun incorporates some interesting ingredients, including Liquore Strega. This bright yellow herbal liqueur was supposedly created by an Italian witch coven in the 1800's. "Strega," actually meaning "witch" in Italian, was originally medicinal in nature, but became later known as a kind of love-potion. It is said that if a couple drinks Strega together they will be forever united.
(I will be talking a little more about Strega before Halloween).

The Bay Harbour Butcher

45ml pisco
30ml lemon juice
10ml Liquore Strega
10ml Campari
Dash of raspberry puree
1 egg white

Combine all ingredients and dry shake, then shake again with ice. 
Fine strain into a chilled coup and make blood-splatter-like dashes on top of the froth with Peychaud's bitters.

If you don't have raspberry liqueur handy, a great substitute (and one I use in Clover Clubs as well) is the award-winning Raspberry Liqueur by Okanagan Spirits. It's a surprisingly tart and dry liqueur made with real raspberries.

You can see Shaun's other contributions to this site here:
Maraschino March
Amaro April
Fernet February
The Butchertown

Stay tuned - there's a final Halloween drink still to come!

The Fall Series:

You can see the series introduction here
and more terrible Halloween cocktails here
"Death & Oranges" by Donnie Wheeler
"Jones' Bitter Aperitif" by Evelyn Chick 
"The Satchmo" by Simon Ogden 
"Dark City" by Jay Jones 
Classic Halloween Cocktails 
"The Giant Huntsman" by Lauren Mote 
"A Nightmare On Juniper Street" by Shea Hogan


[[ "Dexter" image belongs to AMC
cocktail photography by Shaun Layton ]]

Fall Cocktails: "The Satchmo" by Simon Ogden

Next we trek across the ocean to Victoria where seasoned veteran and CPBA Vice-President Simon Ogden at the Veneto Tapa Lounge shares his rendition of fall, employing spice, fruit, and smoke.

Simon explains:  "Named in honour of the great Jazzman, this cocktail is what I imagine Louis Armstrong's voice tastes like. Honey and smoke, with autumnal bitters providing the bass notes. A twist on the classic whiskey sour."

The Satchmo

2oz Black Grouse Scotch
1 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz honey syrup
3/4 oz egg white
4-5 dashes Apple and Cinnamon bitters

Shaken thoroughly and strained into a chilled glass. Finished with a spritz of Ardbeg.

Honey Syrup: 
boil equal parts water and liquid honey until dissolved.

Apple & Cinnamon Bitters: 
B.C. Gala apples and broken cinnamon bark with lemon peel, cardamom, cloves, gentian root, and star anise all steeped in whiskey.

Later this month as part of the fall series I will be offering a couple recipes for bitters, including apple, so keep this on your to-make list until then.
Another great option is the "Crabapple and Cardamom" Bittered Sling Extract by Kale & Nori. Click here for a list of current retailers for their products.

Also be sure to check out Simon's previous contributions to this site:
"The Cherry Bob-omb" for Maraschino March
"Barjonesing"

We are creeping closer to Halloween and starting next post the drinks will begin to get ghoulish, bloody, and generally more scary...

The Fall Cocktail Series:
You can see the series introduction here
and more terrible Halloween cocktails here
"Death & Oranges" by Donnie Wheeler
"Jones' Bitter Aperitif" by Evelyn Chick
"Dark City" by Jay Jones
Classic Halloween Cocktails 
"The Giant Huntsman" by Lauren Mote
"The Bay Harbour Butcher" by Shaun Layton  
"A Nightmare On Juniper Street" by Shea Hogan 

[[ Photo by Simon Ogden ]]

Brian Grant Shares the Love in Vancouver

Pourhouse is timeless. Step into the century-old building from Vancouver's historic Gastown to find a seat along the saloon-style wood and it feels like it's been there forever, even at the ripe old age of three years. Is it this feeling that makes Pourhouse so unique? Is it the lush, turn-of-the-century decor? The knowledgeable and friendly service? Perhaps the fantastic and revered bar program? The bar top itself, made from 1920's reclaimed Douglas fir and stretching thirty-eight feet, is the centre-piece of the space, with the entire backbar sitting in front of a bronze mirror meeting in the middle at a vintage boiler modified to dispense draught beer. Along with the look, the bar program focuses on the "golden age of cocktails," from Jerry Thomas to Prohibition; the techniques, drink-styles, and roles assumed by the bartenders are intended to recreate how an experience from that time might be. Refusing (politely) from the start to serve anything overly sweet, using only fresh ingredients, and never stocking any flavoured spirits or poor quality products, Pourhouse quickly established itself as both a destination for classic cocktail-lovers and those who want to learn.
Perhaps what makes it truly great is its warm, personal atmosphere that is without the expected air of pretension. The staff are just as excited for you to have a beer or a glass of wine from the mostly local list as they are to craft a new and unique cocktail catered to your desired tastes. They're likewise as excited to serve the suit-ed business-lunch crowd as the short-ed passerbys. It's this welcoming and homey atmosphere overall that brings people back time and again.   
As to be expected with any current trend, people were practicing the craft long before anyone was paying attention. Pourhouse co-owner and bartender Brian Grant is one such man. He graciously took time off mixing drinks, boxing and training for the Aprons for Gloves initiative, and his business plans for creating Vancouver's first distillery for a little chat...

RW: Everyone has a different preferred title for this profession, and I find I often have to ask: what do you call yourself?

BG: I'm just a bartender. I make drinks. I think if you look up the term "bartender" in the dictionary I think it says ‘purveyor of alcoholic beverages.’

RW: Where did you find your interest in classic cocktails?

BG: Eighteen years ago I was bartending at a country club and I bought Gary Regan's "New Classic Cocktails" and that really inspired me. I was making amaretto sours for people there but adding egg white, and people really looked at me like I was a freak at the time. People started to come around and things really picked up and my interest grew as well.

RW: What sets Pourhouse apart from other bars in Vancouver?

BG: Serving cocktails that are well-researched, well-thought-out, and that we like. There are a lot of cocktails that may be "classic," but they're not that great. We really do what we love here, whether its beer, wine, cocktails, or food. Service-wise, we explain things politely to people and we have a passion for what we do. I think people see that at the bar. We really try to make everyone welcome and share our passions rather than ever talking down to people - not to say that other places are doing that. There are a lot of places you can go to get a great cocktail and a great story and great service. A few years back that wasn't the case. The long bar and the style of the space here is nice and personal as well. The bar is really the focus of the entire place no matter where you're sitting. Plus, you can come in jeans and a t-shirt or wearing a suit and you can be pretty comfy here either way.

RW: Did the owners intellectualize the bar program and atmosphere beforehand?

BG: Definitely. We talked about the golden age of cocktails - from the 1850's to the 1910's - and how it affected cocktail culture and what we drink today. Most of the old drinks we have now are from that age and not really afterwards. There is some stuff that Prohibition affected and that influenced us too, but we just love that particular era. As well, this area in Gastown was really booming at that time, so it made sense to put those things together. I think it was [co-owner] Nick Rossi who really came up with that - it was a lot of his ideas. He had the idea to see where things were going and do something with it.

RW: Everything fits together here. There are many amazing bar programs that seem to be an afterthought to the design and intention of the place, but Pourhouse is different.

BG: There was really a vision at the beginning. There was definitely an angle and everyone worked towards it. I think we're successful in a lot of ways because of that. A lot of people want Caesars and Jagerbombs, and right from the beginning we kind of put our foot down on that. We were very clear right from the start - this is what we do, and if you want those types of things there are a lot of other places you can go instead - but we always tried to do it without talking down to people. It's like being a vegetarian restaurant and putting steak on your menu because a lot of people like steak - that doesn't make sense. Do what you do well and hopefully people will come and enjoy it.

RW: When someone walks into Pourhouse, what would you like them to walk away with?

BG: Just a smile on their face. My favorite thing about bartending is making a drink for someone when it's the first time they've had that drink. I've made it a million times, but it's the first for them and they smile - that's a moment of truth and honesty. People can't lie - you'll know right away if someone doesn't like your drink. That moment of truth when they smile - that's what I love about my job. Doesn't matter who they are or where they're from or anything. Maybe it was just that moment or maybe five years from now they're thinking "Man, I had a drink in Vancouver this one time and it's driving me nuts!" You always remember those special experiences. I just try to share some of the love of what I do.

RW: Where do you see Vancouver's cocktail culture going?

BG: Things change and things become trendy, and the more people know about it the more trendy it becomes and there's usually a backlash because of that. It's definitely becoming more widespread now, and people are expecting bars that didn't do what we do to suddenly serve great drinks. Some people are even walking into chain restaurants and ordering an Old-Fashioned and the bartenders there don't know what to do. In a lot of ways, people move from one thing to another. But people were drinking Martinis and Manhattans ten or twenty or a hundred years ago. If you stay in this business for another twenty years and people are drinking out of test tubes again like in the 80's, then that's what happens. But I really think this current interest in quality food and drink will last because people are becoming more educated about what they put into their bodies.

RW: Did you decide to focus on the one age of cocktail culture that survived all trends?

BG: Definitely. It's like blue jeans - people wore them from the turn of the century until now. The style has changed, but they're still here. Martinis were one to one, so they've changed a lot, but they're still here. They still have an iconic status and still have a flavour that people are drawn to. Some things are trends and some things are blue jeans.

RW: Do you pay attention to the trends?

BG: I think I basically got lucky. The era I was interested in happened to come around with the trend - I think that happened to a lot of us. We were bartending away and making tinctures long before people were interested in it and they thought we were nuts. Now they think we're cool because it's becoming more of a part of popular culture, but at some point they'll probably think we're nuts again. The trend will come and go, but there's something great and fun in the middle of it that will never disappear completely. There may not be the number of speakeasy-style bars that have been popping up over the last five years, but there will always be a place for this type of thing and the iconic ideas that are there. As for finding new ideas, I used to scour cocktail menus from all over the world and see what people were up to. I don't really do that anymore, but it's not because I'm uninterested, I just know what we do here and I'm happy with it.

RW: When you're creating an original drink, where do you start?

BG: Sometimes it's an ingredient, but sometimes it's just an idea. For example, the cocktail we have on the menu right now called "The Testarossa": my grandfather was a red-head and they called him "The Red Lieutenant" during World War II - despite only being a corporal - because he escaped four times during the war, including once in Africa, and eventually made it home. That was the inspiration, and I wanted to create something with Aperol because it's an Italian aperitif, and I wanted to use gin because my grandfather was from Newcastle in England, so those elements came together and I built it from there. Everything is built on old ideas. As much as you like to think you're coming up with something new, it's probably been done. You're influenced by everyone you work with and everyone you know - I've been influenced by every book I've read and every bartender I've worked with. It's a compilation of all those experiences that makes a good bartender. And, this stuff wasn't taught to me so I could guard it against the rest of humanity, it was taught to me so I could share it with everyone I know.

On that note, here is an original cocktail from Brian Grant at Pourhouse in Vancouver, "The Testarossa," featuring the house-favourite Martin Miller's gin.


Testarossa

• 1.5oz Martin Miller's Gin
• 1oz Aperol
• 3/4oz lemon juice
• 1/4oz simple syrup
• 1 egg white

Combine all ingredients and dry shake, then add ice and shake again vigorously to emulsify the egg white. Strain once into a rocks glass.


[Originally published on www.shakestir.com]
[Photography by Rhett Williams]

Aperol & St. Germain

Since hitting the North American market in 2006 and 2007 respectively, Aperol and St-Germain liqueurs have become staples on many a cocktail menu. It's no secret that the latter is ridiculously tasty and is considered by some to be almost cheating because of its ability to make just about anything delicious. Made from elderflowers gathered in France by hand during only a handful of weeks, and transported by bicycle before being gently macerated, the liqueur is not overly sweet for a liqueur. It offers aromas of flowers, peach, pear, grapefruit, and lychee, and flavours just as wonderful. Perhaps the reason bartenders get so excited about it, however, is its acidity, which balances extremely well in a cocktail and even in small doses can round out a drink without ever being overpowering. Aperol, the mildest of Italian amari, originated in 1919 with the intention of being a lighter version of Campari and as such offers lower alcohol content, a sweeter profile, and much less bitterness. It is also much less complex, and has strong rhubarb and orange flavours. It will be bitter for some, but most experienced drinkers will find it quite mild. Modern bartenders have furthered its reputation of being "Campari's younger brother" by swapping the liqueurs in classic drinks such as the Negroni and Boulevardier, or at least mixing the two so as to make these drinks more palatable to the uninitiated.
It is usually fair to assume that putting two awesome things together will create further awesome drinks, and in this particular case this logic yields amazing results. However, it doesn't seem to happen as often as one would expect. There are a ton of options, particularly with gin, and it is worth experimenting. With the hot weather finally arriving in the Pacific Northwest, here is a small collection of some summer afternoon refreshers to evening sippers employing the skills of both of these liqueurs and the magic they create together.

Apparent Sour
(Bobby Heugel, Anvil Bar & Refuge, Houston)

• 1.5 oz Aperol
• 0.75 oz St-Germain
• 0.75 oz lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

These taste amazing and are perfect not only for summer, but also for anyone looking for something low-proof. A perfect and simple example of the great flavour you get from mixing the two liqueurs. Try switching the lime for lemon and throwing in a dash of your favourite bitters.

 
 Primrose
(Jay Jones, Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver)

• 1.5 oz London Dry Gin
• 1 oz Aperol
• 0.75 oz St-Germain
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 2 dashes peach bitters

Stir with ice and fine strain into a cocktail glass.
There are a lot of options in sour-territory.

This is a great starting point to play around with the bitters, citrus, or spirit choice. Tone down the Aperol and top with sparkling wine for a lighter drink even better suited for hot weather.



Rye Invention
(Kathy Casey, Small Screen Network)

• 1.5 oz Straight Rye Whiskey
• 0.75 oz St-Germain
• 0.75 oz Aperol

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a flamed orange peel and a cherry.

This one is surprisingly light in flavour and mouth-feel for a whiskey-based cocktail and the rye brings some much welcomed spice to the mix. Using a different spirit with a dry profile might work well here too (such as a slightly high-proof rum, an unaged Tequila, or be very adventurous and use aquavit or a Scotch).

Welcome To The Dark Side
(Colin Turner, Cin Cin, Vancouver)

• 1.5 oz Bourbon
• 1 oz Amaro Averna
• 0.25 oz St-Germain
• 0.25 oz Aperol
• Orange Peel

Lightly muddle the orange peel in the mixing glass, then add ingredients with ice and stir. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a fresh orange peel, squeezing the oils over the top of the glass.

A much darker, heavier drink than the rest so far. The liqueurs offer a lot of complexity and bitterness, but the sugar from each balance everything very nicely. Despite having a whiskey base and using a full ounce of Averna, the flavour offers a lot of fruit along with chocolate and vanilla. Using a dry bourbon is your best bet here to really round things out (Colin prefers Maker's 46).

Article by Rhett Williams; originally published on www.shakestir.com

[[ Photography:
Wall Street Journal (Apparent Sour)
Taste Magazine (Primrose)
Small Screen Network (Rye Invention)
Rhett Williams (Welcome to the Dark Side) ]]

The Twentieth Century Cocktail

Classic cocktails have really been getting explored and revived over the last few years. Manhattans and Martinis and Sazeracs never really left, but Fourth Regiments and proper Aviations have slowly become commonplace in good bars all over the world. With innovators like David Wondrich, Dr. Cocktail, Gary Regan, Robert Hess, and their ilk writing books and collecting really old recipes, and even more current releases like the PDT Cocktail Book collecting tons as well, it's easy to suddenly feel a little saturated with drink ideas - lot of which are fairly similar, particularly if you want to rifle through pages upon pages of gin and vermouth variations in just about any 1930's cocktail book. Let's be clear here: this is not to put down in any way what these men and women have done, that is essentially the birth of an entirely new cocktail culture that for the previous thirty-plus years was arguably dead. It is also a little mind-boggling to think that they have themselves narrowed down the sea of cocktail ideas to what they deemed best, and yet I still feel a little daunted when trying to decide what to make next at home.
The key is really to narrow down the handful of truly important drinks that stand the test of time, or find those that stand out in their ingredients or purpose. A Last Word in a collection of pre-Prohibition cocktails, for example. So this brings me to my momentary obsession in a cocktail sense: The Twentieth Century. When thinking of chocolate in drinks, chocolate syrup and flavoured vodka at chain restaurants comes to mind, and not anything "classic," yet here is one hailing from the 1930's that can be balanced and refreshing, and thankfully has a gin base. Creme de Cacao is not a typical ingredient the cocktail nerds see nor many craft bartenders use, perhaps because of its modern associations or perhaps because it tends to be a fairly flat-tasting product. Yet, again, here is a simple, classic drink in which it works.

The Drink
The challenge of making a very old cocktail is finding the "proper" ratios with which to mix the ingredients, so the answer is always to just make it how you like it but to be mindful of how it was intended. Using too much chocolate liqueur would bring us back to that overly-sweet grossness that in part gave mixed drinks such a bad name, so be mindful that this is a gin drink and should be mixed as such. The PDT book lists 2:1 for gin to everything else, whereas Ted Haigh adapted his to 1.5 gin to 3/4 Lillet and lemon, to 1/2 creme de cacao, and I've seen ratios of lemon drop even to 1/4. I prefer my drinks drier in general so I lean towards the Haigh's recipe, but we also get into tricky territory without specifying the exact chocolate liqueur. Here's where my suggestion comes in - don't use creme de cacao. Vancouver's Pourhouse bar, one focusing almost strictly on classic cocktails or at least the mentality of such, makes their 20th Century quite differently to delicious results by using Giffard White Chocolate syrup and changing the proportions a fair bit. This makes for a surprisingly balanced drink that is not too sweet at all, albeit much less dry than some palates may be accustomed. This is an excellent drink to introduce or coax misinformed or close-minded souls to gin, and one that anyone - even those who sat at your bar looking for Appletini's - can enjoy. To play with the idea even further and treat this as a dessert cocktail, which in my opinion it is, an egg white can be added, with the suggestion to back off the syrup a little further as egg will increase the perceived sweetness.
A final note is the Lillet - the original would have used the original Kina Lillet, so substituting Cocchi Americano here would be more true to form.

20th Century (C.A. Tuck, 1937)

• 2 parts gin
• 1 part Lillet
• 1 part lemon juice
• 1 part creme de cacao

Combine all ingredients with ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass.

20th Century (Pourhouse)

• 1 oz Tanqueray gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 3/4 oz Giffard White Chocolate Syrup
• Egg white (optional)

Combine all ingredients and dry shake if using egg, then add ice and shake again and double-strain into a cocktail glass. If not using egg, garnish with a lemon cheek.

The History

The drink is credited to C.A. Tuck in the first publication of the "Cafe Royal Cocktail Book," written in 1937 by William J. Tarling, who was at the time the president of the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild and main barman at the Cafe Royal. This restaurant and bar, which had one of the finest wine cellars in the world, ran from 1865 until 2008, hosting many a good time for the likes of Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Virginia Wolf, Winston Churchill, up to Brigitte Bardot. Details on Tuck's station and career are elusive to say the least. The cocktail was named in honour of the Twentieth Centry Limited train that ran between New York and Chicago from 1902 until 1967. It was often called the "most famous train in the world," making the trip in twenty hours (which in the 30's was cut to sixteen) - four hours faster than any previous attempt. The train was also famous for its Art-Deco design and on-board luxuries, even including a barbershop, and boarding and exiting was a sophisticated affair with crimson carpets adorning the loading area, creating the phrase "red carpet treatment."
The 1930's in London marked a continued shift towards electricity and the use of motor vehicles from the old gas and carriage. While many industries felt depression all over Europe, London actually managed to avoid much of the damage, even seeing small booms in new industries like electrical equipment and food production. By the mid 30's, there was an influx of fearful Jewish immigrants to the city, and by the end of the decade many of them were of course escaping to the countryside. The beginning of a new decade was marked by the Blitz, the German bombing of the U.K. - most notably London - from 1940-1941, killing about 40,000 people.
Among the many lives lost was influential and iconic singer, Al Bowlly, who sang in Fred Elizalde's Savoy Hotel Band in the 1920's at the famous Savoy Hotel where Harry Craddock was mixing drinks and writing his seminal cocktail tome.  The jazz age brought artists to Europe, spreading a sound of music never heard before, and there were some British artists of note who became superstars during the swing era even across the Atlantic, namely Bowlly along with bandleaders Elizalde and Ray Noble. Bowlly made over 1000 recordings in his career, and was the first singer to headline live and radio performances instead of the bandleader, essentially being modern music's first "pop-star." He was also one of the first singers to perform with a microphone, allowing a softer and more versatile singing style that coined the term "crooner." While the 30's marked his solo career, including some trips to New York, he could still be seen performing at big venues in London. It’s possible you would sip a Twentieth Century cocktail, perhaps even made by C.A. Tuck, wherever he was, while listening to one of the great singers in modern music. Here is a very rare filmed performance in 1934 of a classic, "The Very Thought Of You," composed by Ray Noble and performed by heart-throb crooner, Al Bowlly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr4ncMR5EVQ

Originally published on www.shakestir.com by Rhett Williams

Photography:
Twentieth Century Limited train circa 1930's (public domain)
Twentieth Century Cocktail 2012 from Pourhouse Restaurant, Vancouver (Rhett Williams)
Cafe Royal 1901 (public domain)

Bittered Sling Extracts: Evelyn Chick at Uva Wine Bar

Next up is another newcomer to the site - the very talented Evelyn Chick from Uva Wine Bar in Vancouver. Just a block away from busy, noisy, neon-lit, and club-laden Granville Street, the Moda Hotel, restored from its 1908 glory, houses both award-winning Cibo Trattoria and Uva. Warmer, calmer, and more stylish than anything a block away, Uva offers a great alternative to a lot of the downtown hustle-bustle both during the day as an espresso bar, and at night with delicious Italian-style snacks, great wines and beers, cocktails, and even live music on choice evenings.

While Uva is, yes, known for their wine program, they're also known for their cocktails, a very modern collection of classic variations and culinary-inspired experiments. Some new creations may pique the interests of the spirit-forward types, like the "Cuban Monk," featuring Havana Blanco rum, maraschino, yellow Chartreuse, Hennessey V.S. cognac, and Angostura bitters, while classic variations like the "Highline" have my mouth watering just writing this out: vanilla and orange-peel infused Maker's Mark bourbon, Amaro Averna, Fernet Branca, and Benedictine. From there things start to get more "mixological" in nature, as Evelyn tries to create cocktails to pair well with chef Neil Taylor's belief in always using fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients. You'll find lots of infusions, such as the current bourbon sour with candied rhubarb-infused Bulleit, as well as spiced syrups, and even simply prosecco draped in local fruit.

Evelyn has kindly offered to share two original cocktails using both the Bittered Sling Moondog and the Peach & Pepper. Like Justin at Yew, Evelyn's culinary and modern approach to mixing drinks makes great use of the like-minded Kale & Nori products.
First up is a Dark & Stormy variation using tea and all-spice syrup that Evelyn describes as "soft, smokey, and smooth."

Bermuda Summers

2oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum
2oz House-made ginger red tea
3/4oz lemon juice
1/2oz all-spice syrup
Dash of Bittered Sling Moondog Extract

Shake all ingredients with ice and serve in a tall glass over crushed ice.

All-Spice Syrup
1/2L water
2 teaspoons ground all-spice (nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, anise)
1L sugar
Add all-spice to the water and bring to a boil. Add sugar and lower heat to medium-low and stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.


Next is another of her classic twists, this time on the iconic James Bond drink, The Vesper, where she uses lemon perserve-infused vodka with (one of my favourites) Martin Miller's gin, and swaps Kina Lillet with the marvelously fruity Pineau de Charentes fortified wine. Infusing the vodka with preserves gives a much fuller, stronger, and sweeter flavour than just infusing with peel, and at Uva they use 3-month-old preserves infused for a week in jars with the vodka. If trying a similar infusion at home, Evelyn offered her suggestion of doing 5 lemons per 750mL of vodka, simply using thin peels and letting them sit together in an air-tight jar for a week.
Evelyn explains that this drink "is shaken, not sitrred, as this is the very phrase that conjures up images of Sean Connery, natty in his tuxedo about to break the bank at baccarat."

Vesper Lynd

1.5oz Lemon-Infused Sobieski Vodka
1oz Martin Miller's Gin
1/2oz Pineau de Charentes
Dash of Bittered Sling Peach & Pepper

Combine ingredients with ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Next time you're downtown, make a stop at Uva and give the drinks a try - particularly the Vesper Lynd as the Peach & Pepper extract is of limited supply, or even just the ever-changing Uva Bourbon Sour made with seasonal fruit (currently it's strawberry). Maybe even have a little dinner at Cibo first, or plan a trip the next time they have some live music (check the website here).
Thanks to Evelyn for her contribution to the Bittered Sling series!



See the Bittered Sling introduction here
See Dani Tatarin from The Keefer mix something up in her Chinese apothecary-style here
See Justin Taylor from Yew mix up some infused and barrel-aged spirits here
See Jay Jones from Market create a spirit-forward classic here 
See Grant Sceney use his barrel-aged Cointreau here
See David Wolodidnyk's world-wide competition-winning cocktail here