Winter Cocktails: French 75 in New Orleans

It is with great appreciation and honour that I present a whopping total of four Christmas cocktails from the historic New Orleans bar, the French 75. The bar itself was built in the late 1800's, but was renovated in the 1970's, and reinvented in 2003 with an emphasis on premium spirits and cigars, and of course the new renaissance in cocktails. This award-winning bar is the first in New Orleans to grace this site, and they have graciously contributed a handful of recipes.

"The Winter Waltz," a rye, amaro, and Christmas spice mix, is named after head bartender Chris Hannah's favourite Frank Sinatra Christmas Carol. "The Contessa" is a nod to the character in Tennesse Williams' novel, "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone." Contessa was the swindler in the book who introduced the Negroni to the characters in tho novel.

Winter Waltz
2 oz Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Averna Amaro
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice dram
2 dashes Angostura bitters
 
Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with star anise.

Dicken's Toddy
2 oz Wild Turkey bourbon
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
 
Build like and Old-Fashioned in a rocks glass with ice, garnish with an orange peel and a cherry.

Contessa
3/4 oz London Dry Gin or Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit juice
1/2 oz Cranberry Cordial
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an orange peel.

(We make the Cranberry cordial similar to making Cranberry Sauce)

A fairly simple alternative to making a cordial is making an infused simple syrup. By adding equal parts water to sugar (usually 1 cup) and adding fresh cranberries to the mix once the sugar dissolves over low heat, you can make a cranberry syrup to use in this and other similar Christmas cocktails).  

Charante Hessian
1 1/2 oz Cognac
1 1/2 oz Pumpkin Butter
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice dram
4 oz boiling hot water
 
Build in a tempered glass or mug, stir and garnish with grated cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pumpkin butter is a compound butter with added pumpkin puree.

Cheers to the French 75 team and their amazing bar in such a historically exciting city.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter Cocktails: Eggnog

Eggnog, the most popular of seasonal drinks, has a clouded history likely due to its old age. It is believed to have derived from the English "posset," a mixture of hot milk curdled with wine or ale and usually spiced that dates back to the fourteenth century. It was prescribed as a cold remedy, and over time became more a drink of leisure, adding egg to the mix and often consumed for breakfast. Milk and eggs, however, were not always easy to come by, and the drink was eventually most popular amongst the higher class. When it was brought to the American colonies where most had their own chickens and cows the drink gained a new popularity. However, the sherry, Madeira wine, or brandy that were traditionally added were scarce or highly taxed, so naturally the Americans added rum instead, which was about as easy and cheap to find as water at the time.

The name "eggnog" has several possible origins, one being simply a simplification of "egg and grog," or "egg'n'grog." Grog was a watered-down rum consumed by sailors in the 17th century. The water taken on-board ships at the time spoiled over time in the sea-soaked barrels, and the rum rations (and earlier ale or wine) were used to mask the terrible taste and conversely to reduce the sailors' intoxication levels. Citrus juice was often added to the mix to combat scurvy. Adding egg to a rum and water mixture could be described as "egg and grog," leading eventually to the drink's modern name.

The suffix "nog," at one point also referred to a strong ale, which could have benefited from the addition of an egg at mealtime or wintertime, leading to "egg and nog."

The more accepted origin of the name is from the word "noggin," referring to a small wooden mug that was often used in taverns to serve drinks at tables (while drinks served near the fire used "tankards"). An egg drink served in a noggin could easily be compounded to "eggnog."

Regardless of the origins, eggnog as we know it today became a staple of American drinking culture, particularly in the colder months likely due to the drink's hearty nature. It was often consumed in a punch style, with copious amounts of sugar, cream, and booze, while being left out at room temperature for days. Making such a drink in warmer weather would have made for faster (or more unbearable) spoilage, which is likely another reason it became a winter drink. Everyone had a good recipe, including George Washington (a particularly boozy one), and by the mid 19th century when Jerry Thomas published his fundamental cocktail book, "How To Mix Drinks," eggnog had become optionally a single-glass drink. Below are two of the most classic of nog recipes, Thomas' single serving Egg Nogg, and his recipe for the drink he claims to have created (though it was later proved actually preceded his birth), Tom & Jerry. I have also included the recipe we use at Pourhouse, where we try to approximate as many drinks as possible to the style and mentality of the Golden Age (1850's-1920's). This recipe is essentially the same, but with less milk and slightly less liquor.

In the coming weeks I will be sharing some modern nog recipes as well, so stay tuned.

Egg Nogg (Jerry Thomas, 1862)
1 table-spoonful of fine white sugar, dissolved with
1 table-spoonful cold water
1 egg
1 wine-glass of Cognac brandy [2oz]
1/2 wine-glass of Santa Cruz rum [1oz]
1/2 tumblerfull of milk [3oz]

Fill the tumbler 1/4 full with shaved ice, shake the ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed together, and grate a little nutmeg on top. Every well ordered bar has a tin egg-nogg "shaker" which is a great aid in mixing this beverage. 

Tom & Jerry (Jerry Thomas, 1862)
5lbs sugar  
12 eggs
1/2 small glass of Jamaica rum [1oz]
1&1/2 tea-spoonful of ground cinnamon
1/2 tea-spoonful of ground cloves
1/2 tea-spoonful of ground allspice

Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and the tolks until they are thin as water, then mix together and add the spice and rum; thicken with sugar until the mixture attains the consistence of a light batter. A tea-spoonful of cream of tartar, or about as much carbonate of soa as you can get on a dime, will prevent the sugar from settling to the bottom of the mixture. 

To serve: Take a small bar-glass, and to one table-spoonful of the above mixture, add one wine-glass [2oz] of brandy, and fill the glass with boiling water; grate a little nutmeg on top. 

In David Wondrich's "Imbibe," where he lists so many of these classic Jerry Thomas recipes, 2lbs of sugar is suggested instead of 5, because that's a "crazy amount of sugar." Also, he suggests substituting the hot water for hot milk, "as they often did at the turn of the century." My lady is lactose-intolerant, so I make a fair share of this just with water and enjoy it all the same. If you suffer a similar affliction, I also suggest using almond milk, which has a thicker consistency so will give you that nog texture you want. Also, Thomas himself suggests using a mixture of 1/2 brandy, 1/4 Jamaica rum, and 1/4 Santa Cruz rum instead of just straight brandy. I love making my egg nog with a mix of brandy and rum, anywhere from 3:1 to 1:1.
A final note is that this mixture is easily scaled down. I have made some for small parties of 4 by dividing by 6, for example. Experiment and taste as you go along.

Traditional Eggnog (Pourhouse, Vancouver)
2oz rum
1oz 1:1 simple syrup
1oz whipping cream
1 whole egg

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake hard to thoroughly mix. Strain into an old-fashioned glass and grate some fresh nutmeg over top.  


More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Hot Buttered Rum

Another staple of the winter-drinking season has to be Hot Buttered Rum. If you've never had one, you simply must try the simplest version as soon as you can - especially if it's cold out. Nowadays recipes have gotten very complicated (some of which I'll be sharing throughout the month), but the original really was just rum, butter and hot water, with a little sugar and spice for good measure.

For those unfamiliar you might have exclaimed "butter, you say?," which is understandable, but do remember what your reaction might have been to hearing of cocktails with raw egg for the first time. (I hope by now that's commonplace for you. If not then you are missing many a delicious traditional and modern drink and should get started right away by heading to your favourite bar or at least clicking the "egg" tab on the ingredients list to the right). Butter as a hot-drink ingredient dates back to at least the 16th century when it was used with ale along with the aforementioned sugar and spice as a remedy for a sore throat or lost voice. Like every other medicinal tonic, its use became for pleasure, and spirits replaced the ale as they grew in popularity. Rum is listed specifically for the drink, which was the spirit of choice amongst both the English Navy and the (soon to be) Americans in the late 17th and 18th centuries (see also: Grog).

Like the Toddy, this is a drink that becomes easily over-complicated. That is not to say that the 'updated' versions aren't tasty and well-made, and I'll even be sharing a few this month (including one from Zig Zag in Seattle, and a Hot Buttered Rum Cider from Slanted Door in San Francisco). However, there is something wonderful about the simplicity and honesty of these very old drinks, one of the many reasons why they survive today. Do avoid any addition of juices, cheap liqueurs, or whipped creams though!

For ingredients, use butter and not margarine. The amount is quite small (I go with no more than a teaspoon), and feel free to reduce it, but without it you're making a Hot Spiced Rum, or a Hot Rum Toddy with added spice. Any sugar will do, but Demerara or cane sugar is always best, and don't overdo it. For the spices, you'll get the most flavour and aroma by grinding your own if possible (nutmeg should be grated fresh always, but allspice and cloves are much too small for grating so nobody will judge you if you just use the pre-ground kind). Sometimes I will add a little nutmeg on the top before serving, and if I'm feeling wild and crazy I'll even add a cinnamon stick as a garnish.

As for the rum, the darker the better. Jerry Thomas asks specifically for Jamaica rum in his 1862 recipe (below), which does include Appleton Estate (one of the rums easily found in Canada). I suggest other darker and affordable kinds as well, such as Flor De Cana or Havana Club 7 Year Old, but if you want something much nicer I highly recommend Mount Gay Extra Old or El Dorado. Try anything you have, but light rum doesn't suit the drink. 
If you don't have sugar handy, use the same amount of 2:1 simple syrup, or twice the amount of 1:1.

Hot Buttered Rum (Jerry Thomas, 1862)
2oz rum
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp spices (allspice and cloves)
1 piece of butter as large as half of a chestnut

Fill tumbler with 3-4oz hot water. 

Add the ingredients to a mug first, then top with the water.

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Fall Cocktails: "Jones' Bitter Aperitif" by Evelyn Chick

Next up is the always creative and lovely Evelyn Chick, who previously contributed to the Bittered Sling series in the summer (which you can see here). Now you can catch her at the Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown of Vancouver.

Evelyn is sharing a unique cocktail combining some unsuspected elements, namely amaro and sparkling wine. Both port and allspice make appearances, lending some harvest flavour to the mix and further complexifying (yes, I just used that word) the herbal depth of the amaro combination. Caramel and coffee play with artichoke and bitter herbs and are balanced nicely by the dried fruit flavours from the port and the mulling spices of the syrup. Evelyn introduces it herself:

"This is the best way to make bubbles winter-appropriate. There was once the infamous Mr. Jay Jones sitting at my bar asking for something "bitter and bright," and immediately the challenge comes with how I can make two conflicting concepts work - bringing in 3 different types of herbaceous ingredients to balance out a light, bone-dry cava. It's the perfect aperitif, and the perfect after-dinner drink. Bon apetite!"

Jones' Bitter Aperitif

1/2oz Amaro Averna

1/4oz Cynar
1/4oz Taylor 10 Tawny Port
Barspoon All-Spice Syrup
Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into champagne flute & top with dry cava 
(Segura Veudas Brut Reserva used in photo)

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.

[[ Photography by Evelyn Chick ]]

The Fall Cocktail Series
You can see the series introduction here
and more terrible Halloween cocktails here
"Death & Oranges" by Donnie Wheeler
"The Satchmo" by Simon Ogden 
"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 

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