The Black And Tan

I'd like to do a (hopefully) briefer post today. I was flipping through my notebook full of drink recipes I scribble down when something catches my fancy and was reminded of one of the more refreshing rye drinks I've had - The Black and Tan. I found this on Jamie Boudreau's site from a few years ago when it was served as part of a lecture at the Tales of the Cocktail festival in 2007. The name rang a bell in my head and I suddenly remembered a Duke Ellington piece by the name "Black and Tan Fantasy" from 1927. I figure, while the time periods may not match up, the names do and that's good enough for me.

So this cocktail was introduced by Allen Katz at the Rye Whiskey presentation, who claims it was from the Baltimore Country Club in 1898. Now, I may be wrong here, but the Baltimore Country Club was created in 1898, and due the wording of every mention of this cocktail I can find, it seems that Katz was claiming that the drink comes from the same time. This seems a little unlikely to me, as ginger beer was just gaining popularity as a drink by itself in the late 19th century, and mixing it with anything else wouldn't have come until later. So I took a look for any old ginger beer mixed drinks. The oldest I could find with specifically ginger beer is the Moscow Mule from the 1950's (though there is the Horse's Neck, or Kentucky Gentleman, which dates back to the 1890's, but uses just liquor, ginger ALE, and a lemon twist), but that brought me to finding out about the "mule" or "buck" style of drink. The Buck is ginger beer or ale, mixed with liquor and citrus juice, but I can't find any definitive information on how old it is. If anyone has details, please leave a comment!
As for the style of the drink itself, combining whiskey with citrus and sugar, then topping it with ice and soda and garnishing with fresh fruit was a very common drink in the 19th century, with subtle variations leading to numerous names - the Fizz and the Daisy, for example - and numerous others without the carbonated water, such as the Cobbler, Fix, Smash, and so on. There were also Champagne Cobblers, combining fruit, sugar, citrus, and bubbly, and Cobblers that required the fruit to be muddled and not just decoration, so from different directions a Black and Tan could have been plausible for the time. Having said all of this, I still have seen no proof or direct written account that claims the Black and Tan comes from 1898, only that it comes from the Baltimore Country Club.

Regardless, it's delicious and refreshing and very pretty. I always include this disclaimer for any Canadian readers - "rye" means whiskey made specifically from at least 51% rye grain. It does not just mean "Canadian whisky," and it's very sad and frustrating that the term has this second meaning because it leads to confusion and misinformation. This drink should be made with American straight rye whiskey, such as Rittenhouse 100 or Sazerac, and it just won't taste right if you try to use Canadian or bourbon.

Another disclaimer - this cocktail is NOT to be confused with another of the same name that requires you just to mix a light and dark beer. I'm not a beer drinker, but I think that's kind of weird.

BLACK & TAN

2 oz American rye whiskey
¼ oz simple syrup
¼ oz fresh lime juice
5 blackberries
8 mint leaves
Ginger Beer

In a mixing glass, muddle blackberries with simple syrup, lime and mint.
Add Sazerac rye and shake vigorously over ice.
Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice, then top with ginger beer.
Garnish with two fresh blackberries on a cocktail pick.


Duke Ellington, in case you are unfamiliar, is widely considered one of, if not the greatest American composer of all time. He wrote over 1000 compositions, has been decorated with every kind of award, tribute, and induction that can be bestowed upon him both while he was alive and posthumously. He scored for everything, not just big bands, and was integral to the evolution of jazz, helping to make it considered more of an art than just young-people-or-black-people-party-music, and he was also integral to the paradigm shift of America's view towards "coloured" people. His compositions were dynamic, intricate, and beautiful, and ranged from dance-floor romps to delicate ballads. He also incorporated African culture into his performances and music in the earlier years, in part leading to the misinformed and offensive term "jungle music." In 1927, Ellington wrote a piece called "Black and Tan Fantasy," which was later adapted into a feature film in 1929 by the same name as a showcase for the Harlem Renaissance Movement in art and music. Due to racial issues in the south, a lot of African American/black families moved to the northern cities to build better lives and get better jobs, particularly after World War I, and a mecca for this migration was New York City, namely Harlem. This became a centre for artistic culture through the 1920's and 1930's (at the time named the "New Negro Movement"), and really became a driving force behind the Civil Rights Movement that was to come after the 1940's. Jazz was a huge part of this scene, and it was innovators like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington who, as I have mentioned more than once, shaped the genre into what it would become.

"Black and Tan Fantasy" is a typical blues progression, one that served as a framework for the majority of early jazz, so is still a fitting piece if we want to come back to the year 1898. It is a sad and angry piece of music, filled with aggression but also despair and apathy of sorts, which would be very fitting for the racial situations of the time. It is ironic to pair a cocktail from a white country club in Maryland with a Harlem Renaissance piece of music, and also ironic that they share the same name (again making me wonder exactly when this cocktail showed up), but that's the fun of doing this sort of thing.

Enjoy your delicious and refreshing spring/summer drink, The Black and Tan, perhaps with a little of the Duke - though perhaps put something a little more upbeat on afterwards, like "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," or "Take The 'A' Train."

[[ Photography by sloshed.hyperkinetic.org (cocktail) ]]

Amaro April: "Intro To Aperol" From Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club

"Forty miles up the Rangoon River in the land of the Golden Pagodas, on the hot balmy nights of the late 1800's, one might find themselves at the Pugu Club," as the website for Pegu Club in New York puts it. Pegu itself is a place of rich history - a battleground in both Burmese wars before being taken over by the British in the mid 19th century - and as Kipling puts it in "Sea to Sea," the club was "always filled with lots of people either on their way up or on their way down." The club had a house-cocktail, as most clubs do, but this one became wildly popular everywhere, landing itself in Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, and surviving today because of its perfect balance. Fast forward to 2005, when Audrey Saunders opens a new bar in New York with 27 gins and 3 vodkas (which for the record are kept underneath the bar not on its shelves), at a time when, as she puts it, "99 percent of all the bars in New York had at least 20 vodkas on the back-bar and maybe 3 gins," and names it after this gin classic.

Audrey Saunders, whose original background was in cuisine, famously took one seminar from Dale DeGroff on mixology in the mid 1990's - during the dark ages of the cocktail when such a focus was unheard of - and was smitten. She went on to run several famous and award-winning bar programs in New York before finally opening Pegu Club in 2005, a name that consistently ends up on everyone's top bar lists, and greatly contributed to making some amazing products more accessible and better known, including Chartreuse, Punt e Mes, and yes - amari. Audrey's accomplishments and awards, along with those of Pegu Club are way too vast to mention or even summarize here, and my guess is that if you're reading this blog, you probably already know all this anyway.

Audrey is also one of the most influential and earliest "mixologists" in the sense that she was experimenting with infusions and really modern creative ideas from an experimental and culinary perspective. David Wondrich calls Audrey a "research mixologist, applying scientific method to her cocktails," giving the example of infusing vodka with only pith, the white part of a citrus peel that should be removed to avoid bitterness, just to see how bitter her infusion will be. While most bars were still just learning about how to mix Campari or Chartreuse by going backwards to historical cocktail books, Audrey was already infusing them with fruit to see what she could come up with, something that is fairly common practice now, but even five years ago was fairly outlandish. In fact, for a Canadian perspective, it was actually illegal in B.C. to infuse alcohol with anything until two or three years ago. Now look at where we are with places like The Keefer and The Refinery doing what they do.

Needless to say, it is a great honour to receive a recipe from Audrey for Amaro April, and it's a delicious one at that. Aperol first became available in the U.S. in 2006, and since nobody was familiar with it, she created a cocktail to introduce its flavours through a fairly simple but excellently balanced drink. It's an inverted cocktail, in that the Aperol is 2:1 to the gin, and the gin "acts as a spine for the drink and allows it to stand up, avoiding any potential flabbiness," as she puts it. Beefeater is specifically chosen for its citrus botanicals, namely orange and lemon, which match the lemon juice and strong orange character in the Aperol. Finally, Audrey chooses a flamed orange peel to "deepen the essential oil and mellow it, which works well with the overall brightness of the drink's profile."
Aside from being very tasty, this one is perfect for anyone interested but unfamiliar with Aperol or amari in general as it's very palatable, but still has just a hint of the bitter and herbal character that are the staple of any amaro. It's also very easy to make at home, opposed to the majority of what we've seen this month, so it's a great place to start.

Intro To Aperol

2 oz Aperol
1 oz Beefeater Gin
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Simple Syrup (1:1)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Add all ingredients with ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass.Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

A quick note on flaming a peel: if you haven't done it before, simply cut a thick and fairly large piece of orange peel and hold it over your glass. Let the flame from your lighter or match touch the peel for a few seconds to heat the oil, then squeeze the oils over the drink like you normally would - through the flame. This will create a small spark of fire (don't worry it's not dangerous). Then drop the peel in the drink.

A big thank you to to Audrey and Pegu Club for contributing; I am most honoured and humbled. If you are at all unfamiliar with her contribution, please just google and catch up, and if you're in New York and haven't been there you should be ashamed and rectify this immediately.


[[ 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 "Foolish Games" from Russel Davis here ]]
[[ See "Welcome To The Dark Side" from Cin Cin here ]]

[[ Photography courtesy of Pegu Club, and Tales of the Cocktail ]]

Amaro April: "Debbie Don't" from Dutch Kills

One bar I really wanted to include this time is an iconic name in the cocktail-scene - Milk & Honey in New York. Getting in touch with owner Sasha Petraske sadly revealed the news that M&H can't participate in any kind of press or promotion "that might increase walk-in foot traffic on Eldridge Street, due to the arrangement with the landlord," which is all fine and good and keeps them enigmatic, but on the bright side it gave me a new place to research a little bit. Sasha, who's behind several New York establishments, gave me his favourite Averna cocktail, courtesy of former bartender (and co-owner of the craft ice company, Hundredweight Ice) Zack Gelinaw-Rubin, at another of Sasha's bars, Dutch Kills in Long Island City.

Sasha, along with former M&H bartender Richard Boccato, opened Dutch Kills, named after the inlet that extends into the heart of Long Island City, in 2009 with a more accessible and older feel (and slightly cheaper prices) than the speakeasy-style, find-the-right-phone-number-to-get-the-right-password-to-enter-through-the-side-door-type establishments in NYC. Checking out the history page on their website reveals that this area of Dutch settlement in the mid 1600's also served as a British Army garrison during the Revolutionary war, unified into Long Island City in 1870, and was finally incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898, and this latter time period is really where the bar seems to take its inspiration in terms of history. Upon arriving at said website (dutchkillsbar.com), the music takes you right back to the late 19th century, and I'm ecstatic to find out that there are actual live bands playing ragtime and early jazz at the bar on select evenings. The drink menu is laid out like a turn of the century newspaper, complete with full recipes and instructions, and all of the drinks either fit in with the Jerry Thomas era, are simple classics from the 1930's, or new originals in the aforementioned styles. I love a simple, classic drink, and seeing something like a 2011 original, the "Bloody Knuckle," with just American rye, Aperol, sloe gin, and orange bitters, really gets me excited to have a drink (nothing against modern, creative mixology, I just find myself more interested in the simple and well-crafted). The outside is lit simply by a sign reading "bar," and the amount of brick, concrete, and wood inside and outside really transport you to saloon times - before Prohibition and its speakeasies.

As for today's cocktail, Sasha touts this as "the best Averna cocktail he's ever had," and it takes us back to Tequila, but this time in very different proportions with the Averna at a full ounce, and like the last couple we've seen, simple in concept as its just a Tequila sour. Maple syrup is something you'd see occasionally in post-Prohibition drinks, for example Quebec's Larry Denis cocktails in the 1940's, and the key with using it today is that you use actual maple syrup. Don't buy Aunt Jemima and mix it with your nice spirits.
You may notice that the brand of Tequila is not specified. This is because Sasha believes "picking the base spirit is really up to the individual bartender - it is not for the recipe author to dictate."

Debbie Don't

1oz Tequila Reposado
1oz Averna Amaro
0.75oz lemon juice
0.5oz maple syrup

Combine all ingredients with ice and shake. Strain straight up into a cocktail glass.

Please do check out the website, they have a list of some amazing drinks, with pictures, recipes, instructions, and sources listed both on the menu and gallery pages. I'm going to have to make some of these tonight! They also have an explanation of each type of ice they'll be using to concoct your tipple.
Next time I'm in New York, I'm going to make sure I have time to get to Long Island City, if just to see Dutch Kills, because immersing yourself into an era is the most exciting thing about exploring cocktails, and nothing will do that like ragtime and honky-tonk on an old piano, a polished wood bar, and a couple of well-crafted classic drinks. If you're there, do the same.
Thanks to Sasha and Zack for the contribution!

[[ 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 "Welcome to the Dark Side" from Cin Cin here ]]
[[ See "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]]

Amaro April: "Bad Apple" and "Jackson Ward" from Amor y Amargo

Through collecting new cocktails, new information, and engaging in some conversations for Amaro April I found out about a very fitting and very awesome new bar in New York called Amor y Amargo ("love and bitters") from barman Sother Teague. "AyA" is the first bar in New York (and the first I've heard of at all, actually) to "focus solely on exploring the richness of the world's bitters" - from amari, to amer, to Kräuterlikör, and so on. They have their own creations as well, including house-made vermouth on tap (for real), and being in partnership with Bittermens means they have a lot of bottlings that we'll probably never see over here (or up here - take your pick). You can even buy some of these bitters in their store, or take a class on making your own syrups and a tinctures, so it's a must if you're into bitter or trying to get there (and you should, if this month's series is any indication).
They've already racked up awards from numerous magazines and websites, and just looking at the menu and pictures of the bitters collection was inspiring me to do a little post on AyA on its own - then Sother sent me six recipes instead of just one when I asked him to contribute this month, which means I simply must do something on them and share all these delicious drinks. (The truly sad part is that all but one of the recipes include ingredients you can't buy in Canada, but some craft bars will have the good stuff and so will Washington if you take a booze-stop on your next road trip).

I'm going to share two different cocktails today, neither of which are on the menu at AyA yet, featuring two different base spirits and two different amari  from two different bartenders (and it took me a long time to decide which ones to print first). One thing we haven't seen all month is any kind of brandy, so I had to go with Sother's "Bad Apple," which he describes as "floral and slightly fruity, but with a bitter punch." The amaro is familiar territory - Averna - but the bitters are an interesting one from Bittermens - the Hellfire Shrub, with flavours of spice and pepper and being a shrub, vinegar. Thankfully you can get all but one of the ingredients for this one at Legacy, Averna at $48, Antica at $75, and Yellow Chartreuse at $44, and the Bittermens are only $16 at Gourmet Warehouse. As for the apple brandy, I can't seem to find Laird's anywhere, but to substitute, there are several kinds of Calvados available at $40-50. I should also mention that the Antica is only $28, Averna is $33, and the Laird's is only $24, but surprisingly Yellow Chartreuse goes for a whopping $61. Score one for us!

Bad Apple

2oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
0.75oz Averna
0.75oz Carpano Antica
1 dash Hellfire Shrub (Bittermens)


Stir with ice and strain into a Yellow Chartreuse-rinsed glass.

The next is one that really fits my tastes as a variation on the Manhattan, but, as Sother puts it, "with some lovely dark tobacco flavours and a funky bitterness." This drink comes from another AyA barman by the name of Chris Elford, who is also a distiller at King's County, a certified cicerone (beer extraordinaire), and is currently opening another two bars in Manhattan. He named his drink after a neighbourhood in Richmond, Virginia, that was named "the Harlem of the South" for its African-American arts scene. Rittenhouse and Nardini is a combination I've actually tried before at Cin Cin to great success, but unfortunately the Nardini is unavailable in Canada. It's only $28 in Washington though! Gosh I'm getting tired of writing that sort of thing. I may give up on offering buying advice soon because it's really depressing me...
As for the wormwood bitters, you can get them from Cocktail Kindgom.

Jackson Ward

2oz Rittenhouse Rye
0.75oz Amaro Nardini
0.25oz Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes Wormwood Bitters 
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice. Serve up in a chilled coupe. Garnish with expressed lemon peel.

Thank you kindly to Sother and Chris for these originals, and thanks to AyA for doing something so cool and exciting!
Check out their new site here, and follow them @BRAINSNYC
Sother Teague is @CreativeDrunk
Chris Elford is @ChrisElford
and AyA can be found at @amoryamargo
Cheers!

[[ 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 "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 "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]] 

Amaro April: "The Black Prince" from Phil Ward

Today's cocktail took a little tracking down. I first heard about it from my brother in San Francisco, and got to taste it when I visited there. It's currently on the menu at Smuggler's Cove - possibly the coolest bar I've ever been to - so I naturally contacted them and asked to use it in this series. The bar manager there informed me that it was actually created at Death & Co. in New York, but the man who came up with it now works at Mayahuel - Phil Ward. Well, the good news is that I already had Phil Ward kindly clarify his recipe for The Division Bell during Maraschino March, so I contacted him again and asked for this one, and he once again was kind enough to contribute.
First, I have to take a moment to talk a bit about Smuggler's Cove since that's where I tried this drink. Finding the place is almost impossible unless someone who's been there takes you, as the entrance has basically no label or sign or anything, and the entire side of the building is black (from across the street, I didn't even notice that there was a door). Stepping inside, you walk into a dimly-lit three-level bar with twisting stairs, covered in Tiki-decor. Downstairs is the main bar, which has just a ridiculous collection of rum (I would not be surprised if it was the biggest in the country), and is backed by a whirling dervish of mixological speed, pouring about 8 drinks at once faster than I can pinpoint what ingredients are being used. The menu is separated by historical era, and of course, all rum-centric. One of the modern selections is "The Black Prince," a drink my brother loves so much he bought a bottle of Averna and Zacapa rum specifically to make it at home.

Phil Ward from Mayahuel, which you can read more about in The Division Bell post, created the drink while at Death & Co. in New York, which is definitely one of the biggest bar names in the cocktail scene. The name is quite fitting as it's a very dark, dense drink. It looks black, and it tastes black, and it's awesome - especially if you enjoy the New York family of drinks (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Red Hook, etc, and the one even closer in ingredients, the Boulevardier).

There are 2 bottlings of Zacapa rum (somewhat) readily available, the 23-Year-Old, and the XO. In B.C., I've only found the 23., where you can find it at Legacy for $100, or some government stores for $80. However, it is available in Washington State liquor stores for $49. If you choose to use a different dark rum (I assume for price reasons), I wouldn't suggest using something like Gosling's, which has a lot of fruit flavours, but rather something darker and more molasses-y,  maybe like the Flor De Cana 7-Year-Old (for $30), or if you're in the states I bet Cruzan Black Strap would work well. Punt E Mes is available at Legacy and Viti and probably other independent stores, and runs $38 here, and $16 in Washington, and Averna is sometimes in the B.C. government stores, but otherwise is again available at Legacy for $48, or $34 in Washington. While Phil doesn't name the orange bitters he uses by name, I would imagine that Fee's would actually work well here, whereas Regan's may be too bitter and throw the balance a little bit, but Bitter Truth might make a perfect middle ground. Try them all!
[[ edit: I updated some prices above, and I've now tried this at home with Fee's and can say that they work nicely but easily overpowered the drink, so be very careful. I plan to try again tonight with Regan's and I'll update if it works better ]]

The Black Prince

2oz Zacapa Rum
3/4oz Punt e Mes
1/2oz Averna Amaro
Dash orange bitters
Stir with ice, strain and serve up in a cocktail coupe.


Thanks again to Phil Ward at Mayahuel, as well as Smuggler's Cove, which should always be mentioned in the same breath as the word "rum."


[[ 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 "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 "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]] 

The Aviation

Today we will be discussing a classic that is very close to my heart. It's one of my favourite gin cocktails, and my first introduction to Creme de Violette, a liqueur made from macerating violet flowers in usually a grape spirit base, and that ingredient itself brings about an age-old debate about exactly how to make this one properly. It takes us back before the 1920's, and is, as David Wondrich puts it, "one of the last truly great cocktails to be invented before Prohibition." The earliest mention of The Aviation is 1911, but the most obvious first mention is by Hugo Ensslin in his book "Recipes for Mixed Drinks" in 1916, which the German-born bartender wrote while presiding over the bar at the Wallick House hotel in Times Square, New York. This book was an inspiration and great source of information for one of the biggest names in cocktail history, Harry Craddock, who wrote one of the greatest cocktail books, "The Savoy Cocktail Book" in 1930. This is where the controversy begins, though, as Craddock omits the Creme de Violette as an ingredient, partially due to availability, and this omission for the most part continued until 2007 until Rothman & Winter's product showed up on the U.S. market. This coincided with our current cocktail revolution during which many connoisseurs and interested parties began to learn histories and recreate classic cocktails. It is unclear exactly who created the cocktail, but it did begin to achieve popularity in the 1910's and was likely named after the then new American industry and interest of aviation, i.e. the design, development, and use of aircraft, as the first airplanes began to be used for military purposes around the time of World War I. The drink was named as such because the addition of the Creme de Violette turned the drink a slight blue colour.

The Recipe

The original recipe as per Ensslin's book was printed "2/3 parts El Bart gin, 1/3 part lemon, 2 dashes Maraschino, and 2 dashes Creme de Violette" (equating to essentially 2oz gin, 1oz lemon, and a barspoon-full of each Maraschino and Violette). El Bart gin has since disappeared, but was a sponsor of the book itself and therefore should not really be considered a gin that best serves the cocktail. After being reprinted in Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book without the Violette, a range of recipes has shown up, and I guarantee that each bar you go to will make it slightly differently. Should you want to experiment, here are the reputable recipes I've found:
A newer version of Creme de Violette from Tempus Fugit (which is way more interesting, less sweet, and less floral than Rothman's) suggests a 6:3:2 ratio for gin : lemon : Maraschino/Violette (1.5oz : 3/4oz : 1/2oz), which I find lets the liqueurs really overpower the gin.
David Wondrich suggests 2oz of gin, 3/4oz of lemon, and 1/2oz of Maraschino, which not only omits the Violette, but is also arguably too sour.
Dale Degroff uses 2oz of gin, 1 full ounce of Maraschino, and 3/4oz of lemon, which lets the Maraschino overpower the rest of the flavours.
Gary Regan writes 2oz of gin, 1/2oz of lemon, and 1/2oz of Maraschino, which I find is the best ratio, but still omits the Violette.
Robert Hess from www.drinkboy.com, Small Screen Network, and founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and The Chanticleer Society, suggests a 8:2:1 ratio for gin : lemon/Marashino: Violette, which I find is the best tasting recipe and is thereby the one I will print in this post. As for the garnish, I've seen no garnish at all, a brandied cherry, and also a flamed lemon peel. The original recipes list no garnish, but I love the taste of the latter so will suggest that.

The Aviation

2oz gin
1/2oz lemon juice
1/2oz Maraschino
1/4oz Creme de Violette (or even 1/8oz depending on what kind you use. This amounts to a barspoon-full or two - see what you like)
Combine all ingredients in a shaker, add ice and shake, strain into a cocktail glass. To garnish, flame a lemon peel by burning a large piece of peel for a couple seconds, then squeeze the peel towards the glass so the oils ignite over the cocktail.
If you use Tempus Fugit, use 1/4oz, if you use something much more sweet and floral like Rothman's, use 1/8oz which is just about a barspoon-full.

This is a great drink for trying different gins. Anytime I get a new kind of gin that I want to play around with, I usually try it straight, cold and diluted, in a Martini, and in an Aviation. They all play with the fruit and floral in their own ways, and you'll probably find your favourites, but this is always a great cocktail. Hendrick's and Martin Miller's gins are two of my favourite gins and make fantastic and interesting Aviations in really different ways (I'm actually sipping a Martin Miller's one while I'm writing this, and damn, it is good). A good London Dry is the typical way to go (Tanqueray or Junipero work great, for example), or perhaps you may find it fitting to try the "Western Dry" style of Aviation Gin.

The History

The 1910's was a big decade for the U.S. This was the first time that the country was considered a world-leader in terms of industry and power, as it became the most industrialized country in the world. Huge American industries began to boom, including automobiles, popular culture (such as film and music), and tobacco. World War I obviously had a big impact, affecting industry, economy, and culture. The population sat at 92 million, life expectancy was barely 50 years, and divorce was almost non-existent. The film industry was just starting to grow into its "Golden Age," with about 30 million people going to the movies each week. Overall, this was a period of unrest of reform, as labour unions grew, and unsafe working conditions and child labour were slowly abolished. Prohibition was brewing, and by 1919 became law, and the consumption of alcohol became both illegal and secretive, dramatically reinventing cocktail culture, but also being the biggest catalyst in creating organized crime in the U.S. (see my post on Chicago in the 1920's via The Southside Cocktail). In art, realism, cubism, futurism, Fauvism, industrialization, Dadaism, and primitism all became popular forms, and most notably, photography became both possible and recognized as an art form. D.H. Lawrence and H.G. Wells were popular writers at the time, the latter being one of the more important names in early science fiction. For style, comfort began to take priority in what people wore. Fabrics got lighter and looser, necklines got lower, and styles like the sack, sheath, harem trousers, hobble skirts, Hellenic tunic, Asian oriental costumes, and brighter colours became popular. For men, the top hat, frock coat, striped trousers and blazers, lounge suits, and tweed jackets were all prominent. All in all this seems a period of growth ultimately leading to the 1920's, which had a much stronger and more unique identity.

Musically, the U.S.'s greatest product - jazz - was only just beginning in the slums of New Orleans. This was the age of Tin Pan Alley, the age of sheet music, early show tunes and early pop songs. All major works were published on West 28th between 5th and 6th Avenue in New York City, and the area, and music period, was named supposedly for the sound of the cheap pianos constantly playing in each and every publisher's office (a cacophony of banging tin pans). Cole Porter, Fats Waller, George Gershwin, Scott Joplin, and Irving Berlin were all big names in Tin Pan Alley, all of whom had their music reinvented at some point during the jazz age to come. Ragtime had evolved, stride piano playing brought about the swing arrangements to come, band leaders like James Reese Europe were creating early jazz, and Louis Armstrong was honing it into the art form and influence on popular music it was going to become.
One of the more famous songs of this period, written by one of the more famous songwriters of the subsequent music industry, was "Alexander's Ragtime Band" by Irving Berlin. This piece shows great influence of stride and ragtime by writers like Scott Joplin, but is also a great showcase of the swing that was just starting to happen at the time, and while it was Berlin's first successful song, it became a classic covered by many artists well into the 1950's.

I encourage you to drink your Aviation the traditional way, with a dash or two of Violette (head to a reputable bar for this, and don't accept it if any bar omits the Maraschino - they are not serving you an Aviation!), and enjoy it while listening to some very early American popular music by Irving Berlin. Here is "Alexander's Ragtime Band."

[[ cocktail photography by Jimmy Nichol ]]

Maraschino March: "The Division Bell" from Mayahuel

I just have to include this cocktail because it's one of my favourites right now (I seem to have somewhat of an addiction to smoke). It is a variation on The Last Word (you can see my full historical post on this cocktail here), but switches up gin for the very hard-to-find Mezcal, and Green Chartreuse for Aperol, giving a totally new complexion adding more fruit, bitter, and tons of smoke, and removing a lot of herbal flavours. It also makes for a very pretty, deep orange cocktail in darkened bar-light. Creator Phil Ward at Mayahuel in the East Village, New York, named it "The Division Bell," after the Pink Floyd album.

Mayahuel is entirely devoted to 'paying homage to the wonderful history of Mexico and honouring her spirit with the finest Mezcals and Tequilas, and the honest labours of their kitchen.' The very serious and obviously passionate mission statement on their website reminds us to "bear in mind some simple truths: Tequila should be sipped not shot, most certainly salt and lime; Mezcal need not encase a worm, or any larvae for that matter; and mixtos are missing the point altogether." The same sentiments I tried to instill through all of my Tequila posts so far. While they lay it on a little thick, I'm actually glad they do, as I appreciate the passion and dedication the team there so obviously has for Mexican culture, cuisine, and the "Agave Goddess." I think a warning like that might still be necessary too, because at some point "drinking Tequila" translated to "doing shots of Jose Cuervo," and I've known so many people who "don't drink Tequila anymore" because they've gotten sick from the aforementioned mixto crap. The more I learned about the Mexican spirits, the more I enjoyed them, and the more I realized what an exciting treat places like Mayahuel or Tommy's in San Francisco are because whiskey knowledge and appreciation, for example, is so much more commonplace, and so much easier to accomplish than that of Tequila or Mezcal. I especially get excited having a very interesting and creative cocktail like the Division Bell, considering how incredibly difficult it is to get Mezcal in Canada, and how limited and over-priced the selection of Tequila is.
Alright, I'm digressing big-time, so let's move on.

The only place I've ever had this cocktail is Pourhouse in Vancouver, but more and more places are getting bottles of Mezcal, so I'm sure you could hit up L'Abattoir or Clough Club (where'd they get all those bottles from?!) and have this made as well. The guys at Pourhouse tell me they make this drink with a 3:1 Mezcal:everything else, but I've also seen a recipe online for 3:2:1 for Mezcal:lime and Aperol:Maraschino. That doesn't sound like it would balance as well, but supposedly that one came FROM Pourhouse, and it tasted pretty awesome to me. I'm going to post the recipe from Mr. Ward himself.

The Division Bell

1.5 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey San Luis Del Rio or Chichicapa preferred)
0.75 oz Aperol
0.75 oz lime juice
0.75 oz Maraska Maraschino (OR 0.5oz Luxardo Maraschino)

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with grapefruit zest (be sure to get the oils on the drink and around the rim).

For the Maraschino, I've seen both Maraska and Luxardo listed. Yes, there is more than one type. Luxardo is the most common, and the only one I've seen in real life. Maraska, which is made in Zara in the original Maraschino factory, is reviewed as having a more pronounced cherry flavour with a hint of almond. It's much less dense overall and has a shorter finish, stopping it from overpowering other flavours so easily. Changing the type will change the cocktail, which can easily explain why other recipes for this cocktail have popped up. Try all the recipes and see what you like, but again, the one I've listed in bold above is the one actually from Mayahuel.  
 
Thanks to Mayahuel and Phil Ward for an awesome cocktail, and for being so passionate about Mexican food and drink.

If you're reading this and you're in New York, Mayahuel looks amazing from the menu to the decor to the spirit list, and I envy you getting to go there before the next time I'm in New York. So go do it.
Also check out some more fun recipes from their "Magic of Mezcal" event.


[[ see "Oden's Muse" from Tavern Law here ]]
[[ see "The Hemingway Solution" from Vessel here ]]
[[ see the Maraschino March introduction 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 Rubicon" from Jamie Boudreau at Canon here ]]

[[ photography by Adrian Salonga, Loungerati, and Justin Goodman ]] 

The Toronto Cocktail

So, here we are at the end of Fernet February. Some of you might be saying "thank god," but I learned a lot about balancing powerful flavours, and it's been a ton of fun touring around Vancouver tasting new originals. It's also been fun seeing how excited so many skilled barmen, barwomen, and mixologists (whatever they prefer) are about Fernet as an ingredient. Out of the 10 bars in this series, 5 of them wanted to contribute because they "love Fernet."
I really hope to do another one of these series in an upcoming month, so please if you're reading, look to the top right of this blog page and vote on what ingredient you'd like to see in the next series!!

We'll cap things off with a classic cocktail, this time hailing from New York in the late 1940' - The Toronto.

[[ I am editing this a few month's later now to make some historical clarifications. At Tales of the Cocktail this year (2012), four B.C. bartenders will be presenting on four Canadian cocktails - The Caesar, The Vancouver, The Hotel Georgia, and The Toronto. This prompted me to track down who was working on it and engage in a little discussion being of the mind that it is not a Canadian drink. The man presenting it, the man behind the bar at Clive's Classic Lounge in Victoria, Shawn Soole, gave me some great info:
 - David Embury's publication does call for "Canadian Whisky," when I was under the impression that it called for simply "rye whiskey," which in 1940's New York would have meant straight American rye. 
 - Shawn informed me that the Italian population boomed in Toronto in the 1920's, and of course they would have brought things like amaro with them - to which I argued that the same happened in New York quite a while before that, and that there was also an influx of Canadian whisky to New York in the 1920's (Prohibition), so nothing can be pinpointed here. This could just as easily explain Embury's recipe being from New York as him finding it via Toronto. 

Here's what ultimately finishes the debate:
 - Shawn and Solomon Siegel tracked down the 1922 publication of "Cocktails and How To Mix Them," finding mention of a "Fernet Cocktail," with Cognac or rye whiskey, Fernet, gum syrup or sugar, and Angostura bitters, with a lemon peel garnish. Underneath the recipe is written "this cocktail is much appreciated by the Canadians of Toronto." Being a good twenty years earlier than Embury's book, this is definitely the winning argument in naming the Toronto as a Canadian cocktail. Interesting, though, that Cognac is listed first, with the suggestion of just "rye whiskey," which brings me right back to my original thought that the intention was not to use Canadian whisky. Robert Vermeire, the book's author, is from London and published his book there, so the use of the word "rye" would likely be the American one (i.e., actual rye grain whiskey, and not just Canadian whisky). Regardless, the earliest mention says it's from Toronto, so I'm proud to say that we Canadians can claim a great cocktail.

In terms of how to make it, if it was made in 1920's downtown Toronto, Gooderham and Wort would have most likely been the Canadian whisky used, which Shawn calls a "big, ballsy, old-school whisky." Today, he recommends Forty Creek. I always lean to American whiskey, and the best one I've had is with Rittenhouse Bonded straight rye, so that is my recommendation.

Please enjoy the rest of this unedited post, but take it with a grain of salt given this new information. Cheers! ]]

So, the drink itself seems to have no particular history that I can find. No exciting story, no explanation behind the name. The first record of the Toronto is in the first publication of David Embury's cocktail book in 1948. Embury was an American attourney, but also a humble and very skilled and knowledgeable barman. His book "The Fine Art Of Mixing Drinks" is very influential even today for its basic categorization of drink types, ratios, and "rules." Cocktails are either aromatic or sour, and ingredients are either the base, the modifying agent, or the flavouring/colouring agent. He stated the general sour ratio of 1:2:8 for sweet:sour:base, which I discussed previously in the Sidecar post. His basic principles, and list of basic drinks set a solid framework for any future bartender to experiment, and his book is one of the quintessential bartending tomes, along with those of Harry Craddock and Jerry Thomas.


The Toronto Cocktail

2oz American Straight Rye Whiskey
1/4oz simple syrup
1/2oz Fernet Branca
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients, add ice, stir, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon or orange zest. The orange might make the drink a little too sweet, especially if you added anything more than 1/4 of the syrup or Fernet. This is a difficult one to balance, so make sure you stir for a long time and taste until you find the right amount of dilution. Don't overdo the Fernet or you'll ruin the drink.

The Toronto is yet another variation on a classic - The Manhattan - in which the sweetening agent, vermouth, is replaced with a touch of simple syrup and a touch of the amaro Fernet, which in turn acts as a bittering agent with the Angostura. It's a very densely flavoured drink, and works extremely well with American rye (I wouldn't suggest making it without American whiskey, Canadian is just too subdued to keep pace with the Fernet). Jamie Boudreau claims to have discovered this drink in recent times, and you can see it popping up at craft cocktail bars all over the place. Sadly, you never would have found the "Toronto" in Canada, and you still may be challenged to find a place that makes it properly with real rye. Nonetheless, without a specific history, late 1940's New York is definitely an exciting time.

The 40's were obviously shadowed by the events of WWII, and the United States saw a small exodus of European artists and intellectuals who fled to the new world. Wartime brought rationing, scrap drives for raw materials, and homeland internment camps for Japanese suspected of being loyal to their country. The war did have its positives economically, however, and afterwards the effects of the Great Depression lessened. The number of women in the workforce increased dramatically to replace the number of men who left to serve overseas, "African Americans" began to fight for proper status, eductation increased, and social paradigms began to shift.
Medicine, science, and politics all began to change for the better, as penicillin (the first antibiotic) was invented, "coloured" people were approved to vote by the Supreme Court, unemployment dropped from 25% in the 1930's to 6%, and life expectancy increased. To put this era in an interesting perspective for us in the modern age, though, the U.S. population hit 132 million, the average salary was $1300 per year, only 55% of homes had indoor plumbing, and the average life expectancy - while rising - was still in the 60's. Commercial television hit the public in 1947, and the first computers were developed.

I'm going to talk a little extra about music this time because it's a period with which I am particularly enamoured...
American music went through huge leaps in evolution in the first half of the 20th century, particularly in what is arguably its greatest export - jazz. We briefly visited Chicago in the 1920's and discussed Louis Armstrong's influence on popular music and jazz, and in the time since swing boomed in the 1930's and jazz became a musical mainstay on radio and in American homes. The late 1930's saw ridiculously talented and young musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Golespie, and Thelonius Monk were pushing the boundaries of improvisation and creating bebop, which was a fast, furious, and highly improvisational form of jazz that, like early swing, shaped music to come. Once the U.S. became involved in WWII, the American Federation of Musicians had a strike against major recording companies for royalties, which was a big factor in not only the death of swing, but also jazz and bebop becoming a more underground and mysterious city movement. By the mid 40's, Miles Davis made his way to New York to play with Parker, but the latter's debilitating drug problems forced Miles to form his own band with Gerry Mulligan and Max Roach with Gil Evans in an advisory position, and started experimenting - as he always did - on the very outskirts of what was to come in music. Miles took all the elements from bebop jazz, which was by no means waning, and put his own spin on things by incorporating polyphony and even more free and loose improvisation that used more empty space and longer notes. The recordings from his nonet from 1948-1950 are considered the first and most influential of the subsequent period of jazz known as "cool." So far ahead of his time was Miles that these recordings weren't even fully released together until almost 10 years later, at which point cool jazz had become popular and made its way to the west coast with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker.
So, this piece is more complicated and not pop as have been all my previous musical accompaniments, but it just wouldn't seem right to post a cocktail from 1948 New York without tipping my hat to Miles.
(If you notice the "1957" in the title, just remember that's when "The Birth Of The Cool" was released, but it was recorded in 1949).

[[ Photography from the New York Times (street), Life Magazine (women), Jamie Boudreau (cocktail) and - no joke - Stanley Kubrick (single woman) from his early days as a photographer ]]

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!