Golden Ratios: The Red Hook

The second cocktail to examine is the Red Hook, created only ten years ago by Vincenzo Errico at Milk & Honey. This is the most popular of Brooklyn variations (something we discussed last post), with Punt e Mes playing the role of both vermouth and bittering agent for Amer Picon. To bartenders, the beauty of this drink is more its balance than its flavour. Given almost any three ingredients (within reason), applying a Red Hook structure will surprisingly often make a dry, balanced flavour. Some bartenders like to push the maraschino to half an ounce, but I implore you to add no more than a quarter lest the drink become sweet, cloying, and the liqueur dominate the flavour. Here is the ratio:

2 part spirit

½ part fortified wine

¼ part liqueur

Like the Negroni, there are numerous options just with the above ingredients, but swapping similar ingredient-types gives a mind-boggling number of options. A fun experiment is to randomly choose a spirit and any two ingredients off the backbar and add them together in Red Hook ratios (using your judgement) and you’ll be surprised at how well these drinks tend to turn out. Keep in mind that the spirit is your drying element, the ½oz ingredient will add flavour but also soften edges and strong flavours, and the ¼oz ingredient is potent and therefore requires only a small amount. Reserve strong flavours, like Chartreuse or Fernet, for the ¼oz.

Below again are just a few variations, the first two from Pourhouse in Vancouver, and the last again from yours truly.

Name           Spirit                      Fortified Wine      Liqueur          Additions

Red Hook       rye                                Punt e Mes              maraschino       

Crit Milano    Booker’s bourbon         Averna                    Strega

Wilhemsen’s   Linie Akvavit (1.75)        Bitter Truth EXR     Campari

Gun For Hire    Elijah Craig bourbon    Averna                    Y. Chartreuse     Bitter Truth 

Aromatic bitters, 

Ardbeg rinse

The Red Hook ratios also lend themselves extremely well to classic cocktails, some of which may seem unbalanced to our modern palates. Try some of the below and you’ll be inspired to scour old cocktail books looking for old ideas to update.

La Louisiane  rye                             sweet vermouth        Benedictine          Angostura,                                                                                                                                                                   Peychaud’s,

absinthe rinse

Martinez        gin                             sweet vermouth        maraschino       Boker’s bitters

Toronto            rye                             Fernet Branca          simple syrup      Angostura

The next time you find a drink you think might be unbalanced or you come up with a combination of ingredients you want to try, look to classic structures. They’re classic for a reason.