Winter Cocktails: "The Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria

Last week Veneto shared their "Rockefeller" - a Manhattan with chai-spiced whiskey. Bar manager Simon Ogden has contributed another tasty winter drink, again employing the infused rye. This nog finds its name from the 1964 holiday stop-motion classic, "Rudolph: The Red-Nosed Reindeer." In the film, Rudolph meets the self-proclaimed "greatest prospector in the north," Yukon Cornelius, who eventually finds what he's spent his whole life seeking: the legendary peppermint mine. This drink is brimming with Christmas flavours, and is an excellent reason to make a chestnut syrup, which makes for some festive baking as well as cocktails.

The Yukon Cornelius

2 oz Chai spice-infused rye whiskey

1/2oz chestnut-infused syrup

A whisper of Menthe Pastille mint liqueur

1 whole egg

Dry shake all ingredients together, then shake briskly with ice and strain. 

Finish with a little fresh-grated nutmeg and cinnamon bark.

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: "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago

Now that we've seen some history on eggnog, we can try some modern variations. Today's contribution is from a new bar and a new city to the site: The Violet Hour in Chicago. Touting not only a sophisticated and solid cocktail menu and program, the design of the place itself is designed to showcase a partitioned bar and the bartenders themselves. As they explain on their site, "the early 19th century English club and French salon were the beginning of the modern venue for socializing and drinking" and the space takes inspiration from this era. It uses partitions and high wing back furniture to "create places of intimacy conducive to the art of conversation."

The house rules include not only wearing proper attire, but refraining from cell-phone use and serving Jager-bombs, Grey Goose, and light beer. Drinks for the most part showcase the flavours of the spirits, while using interesting bitters (like Root Beer), amari (like Abano), and the occasional fruit syrup and preserves.

I'm excited to have such a great establishment from such a beautiful city contributing to the site this winter. Bar manager Robert Haynes has passed along The Violet Hour recipe for their "easy and fun alternative to the bad eggnog that permeates the holiday season." Sticking with a more English-style, they adopt Cognac and port but also add Christmas spices, walnut, and apple flavours to the mix.

Cold & Delicious
2oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
3/4oz Dow's Ruby Port
1/2oz Spice Trader Syrup
1/4oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur
9 drops House-made Apple Bitters
1 whole egg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. 
Shake vigorously to incorporate egg. 
Add ice, shake and strain into a rocks glass. 
Top with grated cinnamon. 

Spice Trader syrup: 2:1 demerara syrup. While heating the sugar/water add a small handful of blade mace, cardamom, and vanilla. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then strain and cool. 

As for the apple bitters, there are some available, but making bitters at home is not as complicated as one might think. I'm currently tweaking my own apple bitters recipe, which I plan on sharing here in the near future. The idea behind any bitters recipe is simply to steep herbs and bittering agents in a high-proof alcohol. That makes it sound a lot easier than it is, but experimentation is the fun of the process.

Thanks to Robert and The Violet Hour! Cheers!

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: 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: Mulled Wine & Cider (Glögg, Glühwein, & Wassail)

Opening the door to a discussion of mulled wine would result in hours of debate and anecdote, (made all the more difficult if simultaneously consuming said wine). This can be proved simply by listing even a handful of its names and variations: Glühwein, Glögg/Gløgg, vin chaud, greyano vino, izvar, Glintwein, Caribou, Hippocras, Negus, and Feuerzangenbowle. It can have different bases, such as port (called a "Smoking Bishop"), ginger wine and raisins ("Smoking Beadle"), or Champagne ("Smoking Cardinal"). Then there are the mulled ciders, ales, and meads, and the close relation to punch, bringing with it further wealth of history and variation. The number of cultures with a version of this theme is mind-boggling, but the purpose behind the practice is consistently the same.

Before proper storage techniques were invented, food and drink spoiled fairly quickly. One had to be creative to keep food fresh longer or at least to make stale and spoiling food more tolerable (practices that also masked poor-quality products). In Roman times, spices and sugars or honey were added to wines to delay spoilage or mask flavours, typically a practice done in the early winter once the wines harvested in early fall began to stale. This practice dates back to Greece as well, where a wine, spice, and honey mixture called "Hippocras" or "Hypocrace" (supposedly created by Hippocrates as a health tonic) was used and later became popular England for the next thousand years. Other cultures figured out similar strategies for wines and juices and as years passed practical process became tradition.

In Southern England where apples and cider (fermented fruit juice) were an important part of agriculture, a yearly autumn ritual was created sometime before the 11th century called "Wassailing." This was a ceremony celebrated in early January involving drink and song that blessed the health of the trees, scared away evil spirits, and ensured a good harvest for the following autumn. (Wassailing was also a traditional exchange between lords and peasants in the middle ages that encouraged charity, which is the origin of what we consider Christmas Caroling, but has no direct relation to drinking). The drink for this ceremony was aptly named the "Wassail," a heated ale (and later cider) mulled with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and sometimes fruit, brandy, sherry, and even bread.

By the 18th century, most cultures had a solid tradition and recipe for mulled wine. We will only look at a few of the most popular here: Glühwein and Glögg (pronounced "gloo-vine" and "gluig"). While similar, the differences in alcohol, spice, and garnish are very important to those who carry the tradition. Every town has its own secret recipe, so I am amalgamating the ones I've come across as there are several consistencies. The one thing I don't like in my mulled wine is fruit juice, and this doesn't show up very often save for more modern North American versions. It's not necessary and mutes the spice.

Glühwein (German Mulled Wine, dating to early 15th century)
1 bottle of dry red wine (750ml)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 lemon or orange, sliced
10 whole cloves
3-5 cinnamon sticks

Pour the wine into a large pot and add other ingredients. Simmer at low heat (do not boil) for 30-60 minutes and serve.
There are MANY options here, including adding some allspice berries, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and adding some water should you simmer the wine too long or too hot, which will make it thick and syrupy.
Serve in warmed mugs, and optionally add an ounce of brandy to make things interesting. Do not add the brandy to the heated mixture as the alcohol will boil off.
(Feuerzangenbowle is a Glühwein that leaves a sugarloaf soaked in rum then set aflame sitting atop the wine, slowly dripping sugar into the mix.)

Glögg (Nordic Mulled Wine dating to early 17th century)
1 bottle of dry red wine
1 bottle of port
[2 cups brandy (optionally akvavit or vodka)]
2 cups water
1 peel of orange (the whole orange), cut into strips
10 cardamom pods or about 1/2 tsp of cardamom seeds
10 whole cloves
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1 cup sugar (or less to taste)
2 cinnamon sticks
3-5 slices of peeled ginger (optional)

Processes consistently differ, with some boiling the brandy with sugar to create a syrup with which to sweeten the mulled wine and port mixture. Myself, I prefer the highest alcohol content and flavour possible in my drinks, so I prefer to add the brandy last to each mug before serving, as with the Glühwein. The 2 cups of brandy above is a measurement if combining it to the wine mixture while heating, but if you choose not to do this as I have, just measure 1-2oz of brandy per mug before serving. Having said that, here the best process:
Combine wine, port, water, orange peel, cardamom, cloves, sugar (start with 1/2 cup), cinnamon, and ginger in a pot and simmer at low heat for 10 minutes. Add more sugar to taste. At this point you can optionally let the mixture cool and have it steep in the fridge overnight before reheating to maximize the flavour. For those of you like me who are less patient, keep the mixture at low heat for another 20 minutes or so, being careful not to boil. Prepare 10 mugs by warming them and dishing out about 1tsp of almonds and raisins to each, along with the brandy if not used in the first step. Strain mulled wine into each mug and garnish optionally with a fresh orange zest or whole clove (or better yet, an orange zest with a whole clove stabbed into it).
To be further adventurous, you can soak the almonds and raisins beforehand in a mixture of spice and akvavit. Leave them in a sealed bag or container for at least 24 hours with some cardamom seeds, cloves, and cinnamon, and enough akvavit to ensure they're covered. Even just soaking in the akvavit will extract a surprising amount of flavour from the spirit, which includes caraway, cardamom, cumin, anise, fennel, and citrus. For anyone not accustomed the flavour of this spirit, soaking the raisins and nuts and adding them to the mug when served is a subtle and fancy addition of the flavour.

Mulled cider is another very common and fitting winter drink (and is synonymous with Wassail today). I feel it would be redundant to list a recipe here. Following either of the above mulled wine recipes or variations thereof would work just fine if cider is substituted for the wine and the sugar is omitted. For all three drinks, other spices that would make great additions include a little nutmeg, whole star anise, allspice berries, and a few slices of citrus. Broken cinnamon bark can be used in place of cinnamon sticks, though use it more sparingly as it has higher surface area. I again stress that adding the spirit while serving and not while steeping is a better option to ensure full flavour and alcohol.

[["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 ]]

Bittered Sling Extracts: David Wolowidnyk at West

Our final Bittered Sling contribution takes us to South Granville where we visit both a restaurant of great renown and a bar program run by one of Canada's most recognized bartenders, and thanks to the cocktail being shared today, he's now recognized world-wide. West, or Ouest as it was originally known, has been consistently viewed as one of Vancouver's best food options since it opened in 2000, with its delicious West Coast style cuisine, and delicate and regional-inspired desserts. With an award-winning staff from the kitchen to the bar and sommellier to management and service, West has it covered from every angle. The bar sports a huge array of spirits, and a full wall of temperature-controlled wine selections, including thirty offered by the glass. It is definitely one of my favourite places to both eat and drink in the city.
Bar manager David Wolowidnyk has resided at West for eight years now, racking up awards from magazines like Urban Diner and GQ, festivals like Art of the Cocktail, and world-wide spirit competitions from national brands. Most recently, David represented Canada in Morocco for the "World's Most Imaginative Bartender" competition presented by Bombay Sapphire, where his original cocktail, "Beldi," won him the competition. Thousands of competitors contributed from all over the world, but it was David's combination of flavours inspired by his experience in Marrakech that proved to be the best.
Combining botanical flavours from the Bombay gin with others from the region, "Beldi" brings strong and complex spice elements to a very basic cocktail structure (essentially a Martini), creating a light and refreshing drink that piques curiosity with each sip. An ingredient list will give an idea of this drink's depth: saffron, ginseng, mint and mint tea, cinnamon, cassia, coriander, almond, lemon, liquorice, juniper, orris root, angelica, cubeb, grains of paradise, plus the wealth of herbs and spices in the Bittered Sling Lem-Marrakech bitters.

Beldi

45ml Bombay Sapphire Gin infused with Moroccan Saffron and Ginseng
20ml Martini Bianco infused with Moroccan Mint Tea and mint leaves
15ml Cinnamon & Cassia Syrup
2 dashes Bittered Sling Lem-Marrakech Extract
Toasted Moroccan coriander tincture

Combine gin, vermouth, syrup, and extract with ice and stir in a mixing glass.
Mist a chilled cocktail glass with the toasted coriander tincture.
Strain the mixture into the glass and garnish with a lemon zest.
Mist the tincture again over the surface of the drink.

(Instructions for making the infusions, syrup, and tincture are at the bottom of this page)

West's cocktail menu is equally filled with well-chosen classics and some fantastic originals. The mix of both classic bartending and modern "mixology" hits a perfect balance here. A dealer's choice is always an exciting choice as well, so make your way down soon and supplement your "Beldi" with another of David's creations. Stay for dinner too.

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 Evelyn Chick from Uva Wine Bar make some fresh-fruit seasonal cocktails here 
See Jay Jones from Market by JG in the Shangri-La Hotel mix a spirit-forward classic-stye drink here
See Grant Sceney use his barrel-aged Cointreau here


Infused Gin

1.75L bottle of Bombay Sapphire

8 x pieces of dried ginseng

1/8 tsp saffron

Combine & let sit for 24 hours then strain off solids

Infused Vermouth
Cold-steep 1tsp of Moroccan Mint Tea with
6-8 mint leaves
in one bottle of Martini Bianco vermouth
strain off solids and keep refrigerated.

Cinnamon / Cassia Syrup

1 stick of Cinnamon

1 stick of Cassia

1.5L water

Boil Cinnamon & Cassia in 1.5L of water until reduced to 1 litre

Strain solids

Measure 2 parts sugar to 1 part liquid

Simmer until disolved 

Cool before bottling in a sealed container and refrigerate

Toasted Coriander Tincture

500ml Coriander Seed, toasted in a dry pan on medium heat

Crush/Grind toasted seed

500ml Bombay Sapphire Gin

Infuse for 24 hours

Strain out solids through a fine filter

Note: Normally David would use a higher proof alcohol to make a tincture, yet during the competition he had to work only with products on hand or that he was able to acquire in Morocco.

Amaro April: "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis

So I'm really excited about this one. We're heading back to the left coast to visit the very friendly and extremely creative Russell Davis from Rickhouse and The Ice Cream Bar. To catch up if you weren't around last month, take a look at "The Unforgiven" cocktail from Maraschino March..
When I asked Russell for an Averna cocktail his response was "I'm gonna do a Averna soda fountain style drink for you," which seriously had me itching to see what he was going to do. He didn't disappoint as this is an actual, traditional soda-fountain drink... with Averna. Unfortunately, this does mean that the majority of us won't be able to make it at home, but if you're in San Francisco, head to The Ice Cream Bar and try some actual house-made sodas, and perhaps if Russell is there, the possibility of getting this drink might exist. (I'll be looking into this and updating the post when I get more information).
For more information on soda fountain history, you can see a little bit on my aforementioned post, but you should definitely head to Darcy O'Neil's "Art of Drink" website and furthermore get his book, "Fix The Pumps."

Looking at instructions on how to make the drink, there are a few things that are quite foreign to me, so here's a little information up front (which I am borrowing from a couple sources, but mainly Art of Drink):

Extinct Acid Phosphate - a partially neutralized solution made with calcium, magnesium, and potassium salts. "Phosphated Soda" was a very popular drink in soda bars until it disappeared in the 1950's, but now that acid phosphate has become available again, it will make tasting a lot of old, forgotten sodas possible. I have actually tasted it (at Darcy's "Science of Taste" presentation at the Art of the Cocktail festival) and it has a faint, sour flavour, and being acid makes your tongue tingle. According to O'Neil, "the tongue-tingling sensation and dry tart flavour are what make it distinct from other soda acids, like citric acid."
If you have the means to make soda, you can buy the phospate here.

Soda Fountain Syrup - a potent sugar syrup that is used to flavour soda (potent because of how much dilution occurs when using it). I am still looking into where to find the Turbinado one, or if Russell makes it himself, and will again update the post when I find out.

Fine and Coarse Stream Soda - Having a soda machine allows you to dispense soda water at a cooled temperature at two different settings - coarse, for the body or fizz of the actual drink, and fine stream, for the foam or head added at the end.

For Russell's drink, the preparation is more intensive than you may be used to, since it's not just a cocktail, and this should hopefully give you more respect for the process of making traditional soda. Averna does have some chocolate and caramel flavour to it, so mixing it with a cocoa flavour will really bring that out. Making extracts for lemon and vanilla is not difficult, but if you choose to buy one, make sure you get actual extracts and not the artificial ones at Safeway that only taste faintly like the real thing. A final note to any who don't know, star anise is an herb with a similar flavour and aroma to licorice, and you can easily pick up at most grocery stores and markets. As a garnish it adds a nice final touch to a lot of drinks, particularly hot ones during the winter.

Ready? Ok here we go...


Foolish Games

• 1 teaspoon extinct acid phosphate
• 1 oz Averna
• 1 oz Homemade Intense chocolate syrup
• Fill Soda
• Star Anise

Build in a 10-12 oz parfait or Collins glass that has been chilled in a deep freezer:
1. Fill glass 2/3 with soda (coarse stream)
2. Add acid phosphate
3. Add chocolate syrup and Averna, stir
4. Top with soda (fine stream)
5. Garnish Star Anise


Homemade Intense Chocolate Syrup 

• 750 ml Turbinado Fountain Syrup 
• 70g cocoa powder (Scharffenberger) 
• 1tsp house-made vanilla extract 
• 5 drops lemon extract 
• 1 cinnamon stick (Vietnamese)

1. Thoroughly blend Turbinado Fountain syrup and Coco powder until smooth consistency is achieved
2. Heat on stove until edges begin to boil
3. Add cinnamon
4. Continue to heat until syrup reaches a rolling boil
5. Immediately cut heat and add vanilla and lemon extracts
6. Allow to cool to room temp uncovered before placing in fridge


Once again Russell has contributed one of the most interesting concoctions of the month, and hopefully something that will inspire either preexisting soda-makers, or people to start making soda!
A big thank you to Russell for this, and to Darcy for his book and wealth of information.

[[ See my post on amaro digestivos here ]]
[[ See my post on amaro aperivos here ]]
[[ See a buying guide for amaro here ]]

[[ See "The One Hit Wonder" from L'abattoir in Vancouver here ]]
[[ See "The Penny Farthing" from Pourhouse here ]]
[[ See an introduction to amaro  here ]]
[[ See "The Imperial Eagle" from Bourbon & Branch here ]]
[[ See "Sevilla" from Beretta here ]]
[[ See "Fallow Grave" from the Toronto Temperance Society here ]]
[[ See "The Black Prince" from Phil Ward here ]]
[[ See "Bad Apple" and "Jackson Ward" from Amor y Amargo here ]]
[[ See "The Four Horsemen" from Jay Jones at Shangri-La here ]]
[[ See Colin MacDougall from Blue Water Cafe here ]]
[[ See "Debbie Don't" from Dutch Kills here ]]
[[ See "Welcome to the Dark Side" from Cin Cin here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]] 

Maraschino March: "The Blood Lust" from Bourbon & Branch

In the current growing and exciting boom of cocktail culture there are many bars trying to jump on the band wagon and not really taking the time to either find knowledgeable and skilled staff, or at least taking the time to learn and train to at least grasp the concept of classic bartending or modern mixology. Some try to appeal to cocktail aficionados and sports pubbers alike by covering the bar in TV's broadcasting sports highlights and orange-tanned servers in tiny dresses, yet cover the menu in classic and respectable cocktails like the Vieux Carre, Last Word, Aviation, the rare Old Pal, and even some more current concoctions from big names like Pegu Club and Death & Co. The problem with bars such as these is the drinks are often dummed down to appeal to the typical audience (I have particular places in mind); eg. drop the Maraschino to 1/4oz instead of a 1/2 because not everyone likes the taste, add soda to The Last Word to blunt the flavours, shake the Manhattan's because you don't know what you're doing, etc.
Some establishments use a more modern mindset to creating a cocktail, using carbonation, creative infusions, self-made bitters and vermouths, all manners of fire, and even barrel-aging mixtures to come up with new and exciting ways to push "mixology."
Amidst everything that's happening now, and as more and more cities are building up their cocktail-destination repetoirs, there are still names that come up again and again as inspirations, trend-setters, the meccas of mixology, and the ultimate hangouts for connoisseurs of cocktaildom. There are two major cities in the history of the American cocktail: New York, with its PDT, Pegu Club, Death & Co., Milk & Honey (and the list goes on), and San Francisco with its Rickhouse and Bourbon & Branch (this list goes on as well). I am honoured to have Jayson Wilde, the general manager of Bourbon & Branch, contribute a Maraschino cocktail this month (and he will be returning next month with an Averna cocktail as well).
B&B is a cocktail destination (they actually don't serve food) with a focus on Prohibition and the speakeasy culture. The location was a bar since 1867 and an actual speakeasy from 1921 to 1933, and was operated for a time as "JJ Russell's Cigar Shop," during which time John J. Russell the owner brought in booze from none other than Vancouver. The current incarnation of the bar takes its name from the term "branch water," used in the 1800s for pure, clean water (called a "branch"), and of course its brother-in-drink-arms at the time, bourbon (bourbon and water being a typical drink). B&B, like several bars in New York and Tavern Law in Seattle, attempts to retain its speakeasy atmosphere by using passwords to gain entry, and by having a second, secret bar called Wilson & Wilson (Private Detective Agency), where you need a further password to enter, and when you do you taste flights of three cocktails that change every night. B&B also has "house rules" that state, amongst some expected requests (such as that to "please speak-easy"), "no standing at the bar," "please exit quietly," and "don't even think of asking for a 'Cosmo.'" Pretentious? Definitely, but tons of fun, and something I'm sure that the true cocktail-hunters out there will appreciate now that more and more crappy bars are catching on and trying to fake it, or that we'll appreciate just to weed out the appreciative bunch out of the typical Saturday night crowds.
The crew here is skilled, and the cocktail list has had some seriously interesting stuff, like the "Autoroute Alpine," with a Dolin Blanc Vermouth base, Campari, lemon, honey, pepper, basil, and soda, or the "Winny De Puh," with reposado Tequila, lemon, honey, Mezcal, peach bitters, and cardamom, which you can enjoy while sitting in their very classic, warm, and red "library room," or in their maintained/recreated "Russell's Cigar Shop." This skilled crew will even teach you some of their craft in their "Beverage Academy." All in all, B&B is a must for any cocktail aficionado or anyone who cares about the craft.

On to the recipe...
Jayson is combining Maraschino with Tequila, as we have seen a couple times in this series, but aside from the very special pepper and blood orange touches, he's also doing something kind of crazy - infusing the Maraschino with Meyer lemons. If you've gotten into the cocktail world, you've probably seen a lot of infusions, particularly those of gin and maybe bourbon (there are a lot of infused vodkas too, but those are really just tinctures since vodka is flavourless), and maybe you've seen an infused Cointreau or something of that sort, but I for one have never seen an infused Maraschino. The Meyer lemon is a really interesting idea, as they're a little more sweet and soft than regular lemons.
As for the choice of Tequila, Jayson had this to say:
"I chose the Espolon Reposado for a couple of reasons. One is that I wanted something with a little bit of oak flavor to compliment the Cinnamon and Black Pepper. Also, I wanted to use something that wouldn't break the bank. I tried this recipe with a few other Reposado's (Siete Leguas, Partida, etc) and the Espolon actually worked the best with the flavor combinations."
This is all in all a big collection of fruits and spices and just looks delicious. Thank you Jayson and B&B for the contribution!
Cheers!

The Blood Lust

1.5 oz. Espolon Reposado Tequila
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
0.5 oz. Blood Orange Syrup
0.25 oz. Meyer Lemon Infused Maraschino
1 dash of Black Pepper Tincture

Shake ingredients and strain into a large cocktail glass. Grate cinnamon over top to garnish.

To make the Blood Orange Syrup combine 3 parts Turbinado sugar to 2 parts fresh squeezed blood orange juice.
To make the Meyer Lemon Infused Maraschino infuse 3 thinly sliced Meyer Lemons and 2 full peels per one bottle of Luxardo Maraschino.
To make the Black Pepper Tincture infuse 2 oz. of whole black peppercorns with 6 oz. of Everclear 


[[ see "Oden's Muse" from Tavern Law here ]]
[[ see "The Hemingway Solution" from Vessel here ]]
[[ see "The Division Bell" from Mayahuel here ]]
[[ see "The Shibuya Crusta" from L'Abattoir here ]]
[[ see "The Unforgiven" from Russell Davis of Rickhouse here ]]
[[ see "Cherry Bob-omb" from Veneto here ]]
[[ see "Primer Beso" from The Refinery here ]]
[[ see the Maraschino March introduction here ]]
[[ see the "Rubicon" from Jamie Boudreau at Canon here ]]