20th Century Italy Part 2 - The Negroni

First came the Americano, but it just wasn't stiff enough for some, so next came the Negroni.

The Cocktail

The Negoni was supposedly invented in Florence, Italy, in 1919 at Caffe Casoni when Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, for a stronger version of his favourite cocktail, The Americano, by adding gin instead of soda water. So, Scarselli made the switch and added an orange garnish rather than the usual lemon to soften the new mixture. The drink became popular and the Negroni family actually started producing a pre-mixed version called "Antico Negroni 1919," which is still made but with a different recipe.

The drink became popular outside of Italy when Orson Welles, while working in Rome on his 1947 film, "Cagliostro," spoke to reporters about his new favourite drink, saying "the bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other."

The Negroni is considered one of the greatest classic cocktails, and like the others on that list, it's extremely simple in its ingredients and perfectly balanced (if made right).

There are many ways to enjoy it, but I don't agree with adding juice so as to hide the flavours. I think this is yet another compensation for people not developing the bitter palate and adding more and more sugar and fruit. Too much sugar ruins cocktails, and one as complex and interesting as the Negroni should have nothing of the sort added! There are also numerous bartenders of great skill and reputation that substitute Aperol for Campari, or use some of each in varying proportions, which leads to a more palatable and less bitter drink. While often delicious, and something I often experiment with at home, this is not a Negroni and should not be named as such.

The two classic ways to enjoy it are:

a) The Italian way, which is to serve the drink in a short glass over ice so the drink stays cold and the flavours develop,

b) The American way, which is to serve the drink straight-up in a cocktail glass. This makes a much more stiff and bitter drink and is still fantastic, but it is an Italian drink and the Italians do swear by their recipe... so I'll stick with them for now.

The Recipe

1 part Gin (each kind will change the drink dramatically - see my Beginner's Guide To Gin for some ideas)

1 part Italian vermouth (Cinzano Rosso would be fitting, Carpano Antica would be very fancy, Punt e Mes works wonderfully but makes a more bitter cocktail, but really any kind will do - experiment! Also see my previous post on the Americano)

1 part Campari (see my previous post on the Americano)

Either,


a) build in an old-fashioned glass over ice and stir, or


b) add all ingredients with ice, and stir for 30-60 seconds to taste, then strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with orange zest, or lemon will do nicely as well, depending on your taste. Orange oil is much sweeter and will soften drinks, while lemon is more aromatic and excellent for balancing stronger flavours and smells.


The History

1940's Italy was a very different time than the early 20th century when the Americano was gaining popularity. The 1940's were really the start of an artistic renaissance for Italy after leaving the clutches of Nazi Germany and Moussolini's fascist regime and allowed to both experience foreign art to a full extent and explore new ideas freely. A renaissance of film-making was occurring in the 1940's with a new generation of directors who started a new movement called Neo-realism, whereas almost no film at all was produced over the previous 20 years. The music scene in Italy was very interesting because during the fascist era throughout the 20's and 30's, there was a lot of censorship of both foreign art, but also of Italian art if it was deemed "insufficiently Italian." Certain composers were even kicked out of music schools or attacked on the street if they didn't include fascist songs into performances and compositions. Opera, which had been Italy's musical identity for almost 200 years, continued to have an influence on new popular music. Folk, classical, and jazz were incorporating operatic ideas and melodies, and big bands were even playing opera pieces. Jazz (from America) had already infiltrated Italy and most of Europe in the 1910's via James Reese Europe (a very important yet often unknown name in the history of jazz), and again in the 1930's when Louis Armstrong was allowed to tour.

A particularly popular swing/pop group named Trio Lescano (sort of the Italian response to the Andrews Sisters) was extremely successful in Italy in the 1930's until the late 1940's. Interestingly, they were actually sisters but were Dutch, not Italian, and changed their names to suit the Italian swing they were singing. They became so popular that even Mussolini recognized them on the street, and in 1941 were offered Italian citizenship. Sad were the times, however, and because of their mother's Jewish origins their radio shows were cancelled, they were stripped of their citizenship, arrested, and imprisoned on the grounds that their songs contained hidden messages for Italy's enemies. After the war, they performed one last time on radio in 1945, then disappeared to South America.

Enjoy your Negroni, perhaps the Italian way, while listening to one of the most popular European pop groups of the 1930's and 40's: Trio Lescano.

20th Century Italy Part 1 - The Americano

Today's cocktail is coming to you from Italy. It's an old one that gained popularity later on with American tourists and was renamed to honour this. It contains only three ingredients, one being soda water, and the other two being classic Italian drinks - sweet vermouth and an amaro. Further evolution of this drink led to the addition of gin, a variation named The Negroni, which is the next cocktail we will be visiting.

But for now, here is a very old Italian cocktail enjoyed in its peak of popularity around 1910 - The Americano.

The Cocktail

In 1860, Italian Gaspare Campari invented a recipe for an amaro (aptly named Campari) that quickly became very popular all over Italy. Soon after, he married, settled down, and opened a cafe called... well... Caffe Campari. There he invented the signature cocktail of his aperitivo, and called it the "Milano-Torino." Milano because that's where Campari was made at the time, and Torino because that's where Cinzano sweet vermouth was made at the time. In the early 1900's, there was an influx of American tourists into Italy, and many of them fell in love with this drink (of course increasing the sales of both the Milano-Torino and Campari), and in honour of this the cocktail was later renamed the "Americano."

(Interesting sidenote: the first drink ordered by James Bond in the very first 007 novel - "Casino Royale" - is an Americano).


The recipe is simple, and the ingredients are easy to find.

Combine:
1 part Campari
1 part sweet vermouth (Cinzano Rosso to be traditional)
in an old-fashioned glass over ice,
top with soda, or simply add a dash - depending on your taste -
and garnish with an orange slice, orange peel, or lemon peel, or all of the above.

The flavour of campari is unique, but very bitter. If you really hate bitter flavours or herbal flavours, you won't like this drink, however, the bitterness is muted by the sweetness of the vermouth, as well as by the acidity of the soda, and the dilution of both the soda and ice. It's a great drink with which to develop your bitter palate so you can better enjoy amari and their respective cocktails. The Americano is a refreshing afternoon-sipper, or pre-dinner aperitivo, whereas the Negroni is stronger, and typically served up (which I will discuss in its own post).

The Ingredients
Sweet, rosso, red, or Italian vermouth (all the same thing, just different names) is a fortified wine (meaning that an alcohol of some kind is added to the wine during or after fermentation, resulting in a higher alcohol content and usually a higher sugar content) that has been flavoured or infused with various herbs, roots, barks, and spices. There are two general kinds of vermouth - French (or dry or white/blanc) and Italian. The former is lighter in taste, colour, and is less sweet (or more "dry"), and the latter has a darker colour and taste, and is much sweeter. Vermouths have a slightly spicy, very herbal and wine-like taste, and require a particular palate to enjoy alone. It is key to always have fresh vermouth, as it is a wine and must be refrigerated and only kept for a month at the most, and it also key to choose a decent brand (I personally despise Martini & Rossi, but love Dolin, Vya, and Carpano Antica). Most people who say "I don't like vermouth" (and I was one of them for a long time) are either drinking vermouth that has gone bad, or just drinking a bad vermouth. Have a sip from a fresh bottle of Antica and you'll see what I mean.

One or both dry and sweet are essential in your home bar, as they're key ingredients in hundreds of cocktails, and the nice thing is that they're easy to find and they're cheap. There are some great ones that are very hard to find, if you can find them at all in Canada, like the aforementioned Dolin or Vya or Carpano Antica, but Cinzano Rosso gets the job done, and will cost you just $13 for a 1L bottle. I don't recommend Martini & Rossi, but you can get small bottles for $8, and there are some reputable bartenders and cocktail bloggers who often use it.

Again - ALWAYS refrigerate your vermouth, and you'll need to get rid of it after a month or two because it will go bad. (You can see my little rant on vermouth here).

Campari is an amaro, or an Italian bitter liqueur, though it's often not listed as one. It's made from a secret recipe of at least 60 different herbs, spices, and wood barks that are added to alcohol, water, and sugar. The distinctive red colour comes from carmine dye, which originally came from crushed cochineal insects. It became wildly popular shortly after its invention in the 1860's, and continues on today as a popular aperitivo, cocktail ingredient, and has been named one of the top twenty liqueurs in the world. As mentioned, the flavour is very unique and very bitter, with hints of spice, strong herbal character, with a definite bitter orange taste. It's fun to mix in cocktails, but it's also delicious just with a bit of soda water or orange juice. You can find it in the government liquor store for $27 for a 750mL bottle, which is actually cheaper than in Washington (yay!).


The History
Italy in the early 1900's was somewhat of a mess. It was only in 1861 that the separate states were unified, and only in 1871 that Rome was made the capital. There was minimal support for any kind of government, as the Pope told the populace not to vote due to all the land the church lost during unification. There were few natural resources, large debt, and almost no transportation or industries. Poverty, illiteracy, and taxes were high. The country was fairly split between north and south in terms of most everything; the north was becoming industrialized and wealthy, while the south remained poor and underdeveloped, which lead to a lot of crime and brutal government retaliation. It was definitely a terrible time. Leading up to World War I, some progress was made, but then unfortunately military and political affairs were mishandled, in part leading to the death of about 600,000 Italians during the war.

There were a lot of American tourists visiting northern Italy during these tumultuous times, coming to calmer, developing northern cities like Turin, Milan, and Rome. In art, futurism was blossoming, and the popularity of opera continued its reign from the 19th century. Verdi and Puccini were icons, with pieces such as "Madama Butterfly" and "Tosca" by the latter composer premiering in the early 1900's. Throughout the 1910's, foreign music (particularly early American jazz) was making its way into Italy and influencing new generations of musicians, but in the 1920's the fascist government put a ban on all foreign art, prompting many an artist to leave the country.

For the music today, I'm going with Puccini. Verdi is arguably the more interesting composer and more important name in Italian and classical music history, but he died in 1901, so Puccini is better suited to the time-frame of the Americano's hey-day.
Sip your Americano, imagine yourself sitting at a cafe on the streets of Milan in the early 1900's, and enjoy this excerpt from "La Boheme" by a great Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini, as sung in 1906 by one of the most famous Italian opera singers of all time, Enrico Caruso.

Enrico Caruso - La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

See you soon for The Negroni (click here)...

The Red Hook

I'm going to mix it up (like my pun?) today and go with a very modern drink.
I'm doing this in honour of one person in particular - Darcy James Argue. He is an acquaintance of mine who is the composer behind the fantastic 'steam-punk' modern big band, Secret Society.
They are currently doing a performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tied in with animation and live painting by graphic novelist, Danijel Zezelj. It looks amazing, and I'm very sad I won't get to see it (unless there's some sort of video release?? *crosses fingers*)
Here is the NY Times online article.
I had the pleasure of seeing Darcy James Argue's Secret Society when they played the Vogue Theater in Vancouver, and it was quite a mind-blowing show. Darcy's compositions are so dynamic and fluid and the musicians he has in the band are fantastic. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the album, which is on ITunes or at HMV.
You can also check out some of the music online here.

So in honour of what he's doing in New York right now, I'm going to share one of my favourite whiskey cocktails - The Red Hook, named after the NYC neighbourhood, as many cocktails are (the Manhattan, The Brooklyn, The Bronx, The Bensonhurst, etc).

The Drink
The Red Hook is a variation on the Manhattan, or moreso, a variation on the Brooklyn cocktail, which is whiskey with maraschino, dry vermouth, and Amer Picon (unfortunately impossible to find - the only place I've seen it in Vancouver is at Boneta, where one of the bartenders had his dad send it over from France). The Brooklyn is a real treat and a real classic, dating back to before the 1920's. There are some very delicious and interesting modern variations in which bartenders are experimenting with the bitter component and the vermouth component (a Manhattan being whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters), using an amaro or even Chartreuse to mix things up.
The Red Hook was invented at the New York bar "Milk and Honey" in 2004 as a modern answer to the Brooklyn. While it's only three ingredients, each one balances the other so well that it's actually fairly complex on the palate. As with any simple drink like this, it's easy to make a mediocre one and really hard to make a perfect one, so I definitely suggest having one made by a good bartender for your first try if you can.
The drink has a whiskey base - and it's best to use American rye if you can, but that's no easy feat for us up here - with Punt e Mes sweet vermouth to balance, and Maraschino liqueur to modify.
As for the name, Red Hook is a neighbourhood in Brooklyn, NY, that was built in the 1600's and named after the shape of the land projecting into the bay, and after the red clay soil in the area. In the 1990's it was named the "crack capital of North America," but has taken a turn for the better.
It has some very cool associations, with such dudes as Al Capone, and is the setting for an H.P Lovecraft story, the movie "On The Waterfront," and the birthplace of Captain America.

The Recipe
2oz whiskey
1/2oz Punt e Mes
1/4oz Maraschino liqueur

Stir in a mixing glass or container with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry (or a lemon twist will bring out a nice flavour as well).
I stress diluting simple and strong drinks like this because it really helps to balance the flavours. If it isn't tasting right, add whiskey to balance, not the other ingredients. 

The Ingredients
So, what is Punt e Mes? It's an Italian (sweet/red) vermouth made originally by the Carpano family, who were behind the first real Italian vermouth recipe, Carpano Antica (which is incredibly good and complex, but runs about $90 per bottle in Canada - if you can find it at all).
Punt e Mes tastes quite different from other sweet vermouths in that it is, first of all, more bitter, and I would say more interesting. Because of this bitter character, though, cocktails won't balance the same with it as they will with a regular rosso, but it makes for some fun variations and experiments. There is bitter orange in there along with the very herbal vermouth flavours.
You can find it in Canada, but not in the government liquor stores. I got mine at Viti on Seymour downtown for $30 or so. If you're looking for something new and interesting, I definitely suggest getting it - even if just for making Red Hooks because they're so good.

Maraschino liqueur is integral to a lot of classic cocktails, and you need to get yourself a bottle if you're really getting into making drinks. Unfortunately, once again, you can't get it at a government liquor store, but I see it often in independent stores, such as Brewery Creek on Main Street, or the one in the Park Royal Village. It's also about $30, but will last you a long time because it's so potent so you'll only be using small amounts.
Maraschino is NOT a cherry-flavoured sugar syrup, nor does it even really taste like cherries at all. It was first made by monks in Croatia in the 16th century, namely from marasca cherries and their sprigs. It has a very unique aroma and flavour, is somewhat bitter, but being a liqueur, it's also fairly sweet.

Ok now here's the difficult part. The whiskey. This is an American drink meant to be made with American rye, and in fact, you should make most whiskey cocktails with American rye because they're delicious and interesting. The problem, possibly the most painful of our liquor problems in Canada, is how hard it is to get American rye. Finally, we're getting more brands in (just over the last year or so even), but they're really expensive. A good example is the bottle of Russell's Reserve 6 Year-Old I have on my shelf. It was a gift from my brother, and I believe he said it costs about $28 in the States. I have seen a couple bottles only very recently in our liquor stores, and it's going for $60.
Don't use Canadian whiskey. As I've said before, it's boring. Ok, there are a couple brands or batches that are good (such as Alberta Springs 10 Year Old), but they still won't offer the spice or complexity you'll get from American, and ultimately you're wasting a cocktail like this by using Canadian. I have seen good bartenders mix a bit of nice bourbon with a smooth (but boring) Canadian whiskey like Alberta Premium to give it more character while making a drink such as the Red Hook, which brings me to my solution. We can get bourbon here - affordably. So, while the drink is meant to be made with rye, if you can't get any or can't afford any, use bourbon. You can get some nice ones (Bulleit has a high rye content, but Buffalo Trace is very nice... if you're going for the cheap solution, get Wild Turkey because it also has a high rye content) from the government liquor stores.
Or take a trip down the States. You can get Old Overholdt for like $19, and it's way better than most Canadian whiskeys up here!

So, if you're interested in trying a modern cocktail with a traditional taste, I really suggest you try this one at a good bar. Go to the Pourhouse or Boneta or the Refinery and ask for a Red Hook with American rye.
This is the drink that made my lady realize that not only does she not hate whiskey, but she kind of loves it.

And lastly, a thank you to Darcy and his partner in crime, Lindsay, for putting me up in Brooklyn during my one visit to New York. Without that generosity I never would have been able to see that beautiful city. Cheers!

6 things you need to start mixing drinks at home

So you're getting more and more interested in mixing drinks, experiencing cocktail history via brains, ears, and tastebuds, or maybe you're reading a cocktail blog like this one and your mouth is watering to the point of no return.
What do you need to get started? Here's a simple overview of what you need to start making drinks at home.

1) A cocktail shaker

I hesitate in saying "shaker" because I'm afraid that you'll feel inclined to shake everything. I say, possibly too often, DON'T shake unless you have to. You only have to shake if you're mixing juice, cream, or eggs.
You'll be either shaking or stirring your drinks, but you can do both in a shaker. In fact, that's how I make all of my drinks because I have yet to find a very nice mixing containing to stir in!
Don't get a plastic shaker because your drinks won't get as cold, which is a big part of why you're shaking or stirring at all. Don't go for a Boston shaker, which is basically a pint glass and a metal tin, because it takes a little more skill and will cost you a little more money. Just get a regular metal cocktail shaker, which you can find in most places, like Ikea or the Bay or probably even Winners.
What should you be stirring your cocktails with? Ideally, a barspoon, which has a very small bowl and a very long handle. This will allow you to stir drinks in a tall mixing glass (or shaker), and also provides estimated measurements. But, you don't really need one yet. Just use a regular spoon or even a butterknife. Not classy, I know, but this is all just to get started. 

2) Glassware

You need to drink your cocktails out of something, and I won't let you do it out of your shaker. Part of the fun of having a cocktail is how you look drinking it ;)
You can pick up basic cocktail glasses or Martini glasses at Ikea for 2$ each and upwards. The Bay actually has some nice ones if you feel like spending more, but go cheap to start. In the future you can start looking for some vintage glassware, which will really bring the experience together. Just the other night I made my lady a Southside cocktail - a Prohibition era drink from Chicago with supposed ties to Mob establishments - in a vintage 1940's cocktail glass I got at an antique fair. It really makes it that much more fun. But again, to start, just get something cheap and easy so you can get going.
Wine glasses will do for some drinks, but hold so much liquid that it just doesn't really work when you're pouring in tiny amounts of liquid (most cocktails are 3oz or more, when a wineglass can hold anywhere between 10 and 20oz, so it just doesn't look or feel right). 


3) Measuring tools

You need something to measure your ingredients with, and the best thing to get is what's called a jigger. This is a measuring tool that bartenders use for making drinks, and will either be a shot glass with written measurements, or what looks like 2 tiny cups glued together at their bases. One side is one measurement, 1/2oz or 3/4oz, for example, and the other side will be a different measurement, 1oz or 1.5oz for example.
You can find jiggers where you find your glassware, Ikea, the Bay, etc, or you can get cool looking ones for cheap online. Or, you can get just a very small measuring cup from the Bay or where have you, just make sure you can measure as small as 1/2oz.
Or, if you want to be super ghetoo (this is how I made all my drinks at first), you can use measuring spoons. One tablespoon is 1/2oz. This is not classy at all, but as long as you're measuring right, your drinks will be fine!


4) Juice

A lot of classic cocktails call for juice, particularly lemon or lime juice. Do NOT use juice from concentrate or pre-made mixers. They really affect the flavour of  your drink, plus they're usually full of gross chemicals. Lemons and limes are very, very cheap. Safeway has limes for 40-50 cents each, and that's nothing. You'll usually use half a lime for one drink.
Getting the juice is a little trickier. A lot of recipes will ask for "the juice of one lime," but of course all limes are different sizes and this doesn't really help you make consistent drinks. I suggest picking up a juicer. I got mine from the Bay for about $10, and it's been incredibly useful. You can juice your fruit, then pour out of the juicer to measure.

5) Simple syrup
A lot of cocktails call for "simple syrup." All this is, is one part sugar dissolved into one part water. Just simmer or boil the water in a pot on your stove and the sugar will dissolve. Throw this in any kind of empty bottle - soda, wine, booze, or you can pick up bottles with pour-spouts at the dollar store or something similar.
Using simple syrup instead of granulated sugar makes a world of difference in your cocktails because you know that you're getting the full amount (where some sugar won't dissolve in your drink, leaving less sweetness than needed), and of course, getting granules of sugar in your mouth while sipping is not fun.
Again, literally all you do is simmer say 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water on the stove and pour into some sort of container. Keep it in the fridge in the meantime.

6) BOOZE
I'm actually going to separate this into a different post, because it's more in depth. Obviously, you need booze to make cocktails. It can be a little daunting to know where to start, but I'll go through the basic few bottles you should pick up, where to get them, and how much they'll cost. Even with a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth or fortified wine, a bottle of bitters, and some sugar and juice, you can make a range of cocktails.

So, not including booze, you've spent let's say $40 on a cocktail shaker, a jigger, 2 cheap glasses, and a jigger. Add in $5 or so for some limes and lemons and sugar.
Your only other expense is the alcohol, and you're ready to start enjoying cocktails!

How to tell if a bar is crappy (before you even order a drink): Part 2

So let's continue with this short series on judging a bar by everything but the taste of its drinks... so you can prevent having your taste buds, dignity, and wallet suffer.
Some of these are general rules and don't apply everywhere, which I will note. Most of them, however, are really good guidelines to follow all the time.
Use both to get a good idea of how good a bar will be before you even sit down to order.
And yes, this is obviously my personal opinion, but I drink a LOT, and I try out a lot of bars and a lot of drinks and a lot of bartenders, and that's a great way to get a sense of not only what you want, but of general quality. Let's get continue...

2) Shaking
If the bartenders are shaking everything, they don't know how to make cocktails. I've been to so many restaurants and bars where bartenders will mix every single drink in a shaker, and ruin most of the drinks they're serving. Of course, in a lot of these places you're not missing out on a good cocktail, but the real damage comes when they offer (or you're taking a risk and ordering) a classic. I've made the mistake more than once of looking at a terrible cocktail list, and trying to order a Manhattan or something easy, only to have it served to me with shards of ice, way too much bitters, and one of those gross, fake maraschino cherries. Cocktails should only be shaken when they contain juice, egg, or cream. Robert Hess from the Cocktail Spirit on the Small Screen Network has a good mantra for this: If the ingredients are clear, stir the cocktail. If the ingredients are cloudy or opaque, shake the cocktail. The only exception to this rule, which is still often debated, is the Martini (a real one), but that's another discussion.

I've often also seen bartenders shaking 2 cocktails in 2 shakers in either hand. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing... but I view it as such. A great bartender will be able to multitask, and will be making drinks quickly, but will give each one the attention it deserves. Watching a bartender shake my drink with someone else's makes me feel like he's not really paying attention or taking the respectful time to make it for me. Whether he's perfectly measured, tasted, and mixed everything properly, I still feel like he's cutting corners, which is the last thing I want to feel sitting at a bar, leaving my trust, palate, and enjoyment in his hands. So much of enjoying cocktails is the experience, and so much of that lies in the hands of the bartender.

So, when you are trying to decide on a bar or a bartender, watch him make the drinks. If you see him shake something without adding juice, cream, or egg, that's always bad news.

How to tell if a bar is crappy (before you even order a drink): Part 1

So I'm going to do a short series on judging a bar by everything but the taste of its drinks... so you can prevent having your taste buds, dignity, and wallet suffer.
Some of these are general rules and don't apply everywhere, which I will note. Most of them, however, are really good guidelines to follow all the time.
Use both to get a good idea of how good a bar will be before you even sit down to order.
And yes, this is obviously my personal opinion, but I drink a LOT, and I try out a lot of bars and a lot of drinks and a lot of bartenders, and that's a great way to get a sense of not only what you want, but of general quality. Let's get started...

1) The Cocktail Menu
This is the quickest and easiest way to get a good idea about the quality of a bar.
If there is a list of "Martinis," nobody at the establishment knows fairly basic knowledge about cocktails. The Martini is one particular cocktail, not a a general type of cocktail, and moreso, it's not a type of cocktail that includes tons of sweeteners, liqueurs, and worse - vodka (yeah I said it).

Any place that has a "Martini List" has staff or bar managers who don't know one of the most famous cocktails ever, and that's a bad sign.

Secondly, the length of the cocktail menu can also give some clues as to its quality. This is not always the case, but I definitely feel safer at a restaurant ordering from a small menu, because this means they have decided that these are the best dishes and cocktails they can make for you. They have designed and honed this menu for the guests. Bad bars often having pages and pages of overly sweet and terribly named drinks. I have also seen seemingly good bars give themselves away like this as well. I recently had a bad experience at the Keefer Bar in Chinatown, which had good reviews, and was even featured in the Georgia Strait as leading the way in the new "cocktail revolution." However, the Keefer has a HUGE cocktail menu filled with original concotions and modern variations including housemade bitters, teas, syrups, etc, that in the end are only there as buzz words. Ecchinacea and absinthe and passionfruit infused gin and blah blah blah probably sounds really cool to people who are used to seeing "The Cookie Dough Martini" or some other crap. Upon tasting a good selection of these, however, we found that all these flashy ingredients weren't balanced very well, and all the drinks we tried were just a blur of non-distinct flavours. Meanwhile, if you go somewhere fantastic like the Pourhouse or the Refinery, they have a very short cocktail list that alternates every couple months and features top to bottom fantastic drinks that have been chosen for good reason. Food is almost always the same way. You never, or rarely see large menus at very good restaurants.
This one is more of a general rule.




Lastly, if there are pictures on the menu, and you see blended drinks, or any kind of crazy colour, don't order anything. Cocktails should never be neon coloured, and generally aren't bright green or blue (yes, I know about blue curacao, but I haven't seen a decent use for it yet). And don't argue with me via absinthe - real absinthe is not bright green, its artificial colouring is.Oh, and avoid ice cream. Booze and ice cream is only good when you're 13.
I'm including a picture below of a cocktail menu that immediately lets you know that you should not order ANYTHING. I apologize to the franchise in question... I still enjoy your Clucks and Fries occasionally...

So, look out for "Martinis" plural, look out for very long cocktail lists, be wary of exciting buzz words, and avoid neon colours. Part 2 coming soon...

The Daiquiri

I feel compelled to write about this drink for a couple reasons. First of all, it's definitely in a family of cocktails that was butchered in the Depression-era of cocktails (Jamie Boudreau's term, not mine) - the 70's and 80's - and continues to be ruined today by many a bar and many a sour mix. The Daiquiri is a very old drink and a very simple and delicious one, yet most places you go will serve a blended (a no-no for anything that's not Tiki) mess of cheap rum and a ridiculous amount of sugar - usually in the form of some cheap, flavoured fruit-mix. Cocktails don't need to be overly sweet, and anytime they are it either comes from trying to mask cheap or bad-tasting ingredients, or trying to mask the flavour of the alcohol, which begs the question why you're having a drink in the first place. A well-made cocktail tastes delicious without heaps of sugar! If you don't agree, you haven't had a well-made cocktail. I digress...
Secondly, rum is a spirit I didn't know much about until more recently, so I started buying different kinds, trying new drinks, and looking more into its history and that of its cocktails.

The History
The origin of the Daiquiri is not confirmed. It's a very, very old drink using a very, very old spirit, and as such there are several origin stories. One story is that it was invented by an American engineer around 1900 in Santiago, Cuba, near an iron mine named Daiquiri. While entertaining other American guests, he ran out of gin, so tried a simple sour using rum, which was nearby and plentiful in the area. About 10 years later, US Navy officers tried the drink and brought it back to the Army and Navy Club in D.C. where it gained American popularity. Other stories include its invention for keeping the Daiquiri mine workers happy and complacent by feeding them rum, softening it with sugar and water, and getting them the vitamin C they need to avoid scurvy via lime juice.
However, the latter story is also essentially the same as the grog that British sailors drank aboard ship from the mid 18th century forward. This too included rum, lime or lemon juice for vitamin C, and sugar to make things more palatable. Like most early cocktails, its origins are rooted in health remedies and primitive medicine. The sailors travelled around the world, but particularly the Caribbean, and could have easily spread the drink into Cuba.
The Daiquiri has evolved into many variations, the most famous of which were known from the El Floridita bar in Havana. It was published by David Embury in 1948 in his very famous and influential book, "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks," where he lists it as one of the 6 basic cocktails. His ratios stated a basic 8:2:1 of spirit:sour:sweetener, but over the years as people lost interest in cocktails and the culture changed, particularly in North America, the sweet portion has increased and increased until we were left with the sticky, gross, pink and blue messes that restaurants continue to serve and abuse the name of a classic drink. A Daquiri is simply a rum sour.

The Culture
One reason this drink definitely became more popular in the United States in the 1930's and onwards is because of the Good Neighbor policy put in place by Roosevelt in 1933. This policy stated that there would be no armed intervention with another country (namely a Latin American one), and that the US would "engage in reciprocal exchanges with Latin American countries." It was meant to create new economic opportunities, trade agreements, and of course, assert influence over Latin America. This policy stood until the Cold War "began" and US foreign policy in general took a dramatic turn.
During the 30's and 40's though, there was an influx of Latin culture, food, drink, and of course, music. This was reciprocated to places like Cuba, and the birth of Latin jazz was a big artistic evolution of the time. American jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie started incorporating Latin rhythms, chord structures, and melodies into bebop, and in Cuba bands started incorporating bebop improvisation and big band instrumentation into their music. Even today, Latin jazz is basically divided into 3 subgenres - Brazillian (bossa nova), Purto Rican, and Afro-Cuban. Cuba was already a melting pot of African and European music (breeding both the term Afro-Cuban and also famous Baroque composers such as Esteban Salas y Castro), and the sound of Cuban music became even more unique.

The Recipe
The drink itself is very simple and easy to make. First of all, make sure you're using FRESH lime juice from a real lime! Then, make some simple syrup. It takes 10 minutes and you'll use it in a lot of recipes. Using sugar doesn't always end well as not all of it mixes, and crunching on granules while trying to enjoy a drink is no fun. NEVER use sour mix - they're full of chemicals, fake flavours, fake colours, and don't taste very good or balance well.

Simple syrup is just equal parts of sugar and water. To make it, just add equal parts of sugar and water into a pot (I usually use a cup of each), simmer on medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then pour it into an empty bottle of some sort. Keep it in the fridge. That's it. It's that easy. Because it's that easy, I don't ever want to see you using sour mix or crappy sweeteners anymore.

As mentioned above, Embury's published recipe has a 8:2:1 ratio. The current International Bartender's Association has it at 9:4:1 rum:lime:syrup. The ratios are all over the place depending on who you talk to. I always prefer things on the more tart side, which is traditionally how cocktails were made, so as such I often make it like this:

2 oz rum
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. 

Though more and more I've started knocking the lime down to 1/2oz as well, really letting the rum take over.

You can also serve it just on ice in a rocks glass, which is how they would have served it in Cuba mid-century.

Experiment and see what you like!

The Rum
I'll chat about rum in general another time, for now I'll just talk about choosing a good one for home mixing.
White rum has a very subdued flavour and mixes very well, but is not as interesting. Gold rum has a little spice to it and more fruit and vanilla flavour and I find it makes fantastic fruit drinks, such as Daiquiris. Aged or Dark rum will have a much heavier taste and has more molasses character. Certain dark rums can overpower a cocktail, but can also be great in drinks like the Old Cuban, or a rum Manhattan. When I say spice, by the way, I don't mean these rums have actually been spiced. When they are aged in barrels that contained spices or whiskeys, they pick up those flavour profiles. You can also use spiced rum, which will really change the cocktail. It will be much sweeter, so you won't need as much syrup to balance.

What rums should you buy? Well, Appleton Estate Extra Old (from Jamaica), and Mount Gay Extra Old (from Barbados) are smooth, interesting, and really great for the price point - and they're available in most BC Liquor Stores. They are, however, somewhat pricey in B.C. at $40 and $45 respectively. More affordable but still awesome rums are Havana Club 7 Year Old at $35 (which is the most fitting, being a Cuban rum! - also check out their 3 and 4 year old white rums) and Mount Gay White Rum or Eclipse (gold rum) at $26. If you want to try a spiced rum, Sailor Jerry's (from the Virgin Islands), which goes for $29, is a typical choice but I find it much too sweet. Kraken is a more exciting choice, but overall I suggest staying away from spiced rum. There are so many rums that are amazing on their own from all the natural and normal processes that spiced isn't really worth your time.
[[ Edit: since writing this post I've tried MANY more rums, and the range of flavour and quality is mind-boggling. Zacapa to El Dorado to Banks there are just so many great rums out there that will dramatically change your cocktails. Affordability-wise, I stick to the above: Mount Gay, Havana Club, and Appleton Estate, but will add Flor de Cana to the mix. Their white rum is very usable, and the 5 and 7 are very dark and great for mixing]]

For a Daiquiri, my favourite of the above for light rum is probably Mount Gay Eclipse gold rum. It pairs really well with fruit, but has enough interesting flavours and subtle spice to draw your attention through any cocktail, and I even drink it straight it's so smooth and yummy. I also definitely suggest trying out the Mount Gay silver rum, which is the same price and a little less interesting, and obviously a little sharper due to the lack of aging, but still very delicious. The more expensive rums are arguably wasted on a fruit cocktail, so I wouldn't go for those unless you're rich or just want to drink rum straight or old-fashioned.
A final note: don't buy Lamb's or Bacardi. They suck. If you pay a few dollars extra - literally - you can get way more interesting and delicious rum.

In the future I'll be doing a rum post, similar to those I've done on tequila, bourbon, and gin, so as to have a comprehensive list of the rums available to us here in B.C. and which ones are worth the price tag.

So, sip your delicious Daiquiri with some delicious rum and enjoy this song by Tito Gomez with Orquesta Riverside, a popular Cuban jazz group during the 1940's and 50's who blended Afro-Cuban music with big band instrumentation.