Christmas Cocktails!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Here are the Christmas and winter cocktails and drinks we've seen this month:

French 75 in New Orleans
Winter Waltz: rye whiskey, Averna, allspice dram, Angostura bitters, star anise garnish

Dickens Toddy: bourbon, maple syrup, Angostura bitters, orange peel & cherry garnish

Contessa: gin, Aperol, grapefruit, cranberry, orange bitters

Charante Hessian: Cognac brandy, pumpkin butter, allspice dram, hot water, nutmeg & cinnamon garnish

L'Abattoir in Vancouver
Strathcona: candy cap mushroom-infused rye whiskey, Punt e Mes, Becherovka, chocolate bitters, cherry garnish

Teardrop Lounge in Portland
Boogie Street: bourbon, cachaca, orange juice, creme de cacao, pear butter, pear garnish

Moon on the Rain: calvados, quince-pecan gastrique, Dubonnet, whiskey barrel-aged bitters

Long Time Coming: pisco, cherry digestif, port reduction, truffle bitters

Humble Pie: applejack, blended Scotch, ginger syrup, pimento dram, Angostura bitters, peppercorn, candied ginger

Veneto Tapa Lounge in Victoria

Yukon Cornelius: chai spice-infused rye whiskey, chestnut syrup, menthe pastille, egg, nutmeg & cinnamon garnish

Rockefeller: chai spice-infused rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, aromatic bitters, cherry & orange oil garnish

Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco

Spiced Manhattan: spiced rum, dark rum, sweet vermouth, Tiki bitters

Wilford Brimley: hot buttered rum batter, coconut cream, high-proof rum

The Refinery in Vancouver

Bear Skin: aged rum, chocolate vermouth, Punt e mes, orange-cinnamon syrup, coffee bitters

The Violet Hour in Chicago

Cold & Delicious: Cognac brandy, port, Spice Trader syrup, walnut liqueur, apple bitters, egg, cinnamon garnish

Historical Drinks (History & Recipes)
Eggnog

Mulled Wine & Cider

The Flip

Hot Buttered Rum

The Hot Toddy

Trevor Kallies in Vancouver
Gold: Irish whiskey, Benedictine, peach-jalapeno preserves, plum & rootbeer bitters

Frankencense: gin, grapefruit juice, yellow Chartreuse, orange & juniper bitters

Myrrh: Scotch whisky, sherry, Lillet, Moondog bitters

Shea Hogan in Vancouver

Old Saint Juan: mezcal, Angostura bitters, lime juice, mint garnish

Slanted Door in San Francisco

Hot Buttered Rhum Cider: dark rum, compound butter, mulled cider, orange peel, star anise, cinnamon

Winter Cocktails: Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco

Today we get to try some Christmas rum drinks courtesy of one of the greatest rum bars there is: Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco. This is one of the coolest bars I've ever seen, and has the biggest rum selection I've ever seen. The bartenders here, headed by Martin Cate, are Tiki masters, and the menu boasts some ancient, classic, and contemporary drinks with complicated and secret recipes. You can see a little more information on Smuggler's Cove here in a post during Amaro April.

Martin has kindly donated recipes for two of their delicious winter cocktails - the Spiced Manhattan and the Wilford Brimley. The former is familiar but uses both a Jamaican rum and a spiced one from St. Lucia that brings Christmas flavours like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla, and citrus. The latter cocktail employs a hot buttered rum batter, the recipe for which Smuggler's Cove keeps secret, but there are plenty of variations online that you can try. (Here is Zig Zag's recipe on the Small Screen Network, for example.) The finished product, as Martin puts it, "should look like a cappuccino. It gives you a white milk mustache when you drink it, hence the name. It's the ultimate caloric death bomb."

Cheers to Smuggler's Cove for the holiday recipes and for being an amazing bar! If you're anywhere near San Francisco, this has to be your next bar visit.


Spiced Manhattan – by Justin Oliver
1 oz Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum
1 oz Smith & Cross rum
1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Bittermens Tiki Bitters

Stirred over ice and served with an orange twist.


Wilford Brimley - by Dane Barca
1 heaping barspoon of hot buttered rum batter
1 oz Coco Lopez coconut cream
1 oz  Lemon Hart 151 rum

Cream ingredients together in 6 oz irish coffee glass. 
Fill with hot water.
Float 1 oz lightly beaten and sweetened cream on top.
Top with grated cinnamon.

[ A note to Canadian drinkers: unfortunately we can't get Dolin vermouth nor Smith & Cross rum up here, so you'll have to substitute as you see fit. Of the sweet vermouths available, Cinzano Rosso and Carpano Antica are the only ones worth using. As lovely as Carpano is, it has a tendency to overpower certain drinks, so keep that in mind. For the rum, Chairman's is available though likely only through independent stores, and the Smith & Cross can be substituted by another Jamaican rum like Appleton Estate (the 12 year is my favourite for the price). ]


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

Winter Cocktails: "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco

Today we see the first of our many modern holiday drinks, beginning first with a simple mix of classics from Slanted Door in San Francisco. While a renowned restaurant in the city for its Vietnamese cuisine, it also has a sophisticated bar program, using plenty of fresh fruit ingredients for a bright and refreshing cocktail list full of exciting flavours. You'll find well-crafted punch and Tiki-style classics here, like true Singapore Slings and Mai Tais, as well as more spirit-forward ones like Remember the Maine and the Hotel Nacional (which they make with house-made apricot brandy). In the winter, they also make a wonderful hot drink made to order combining Hot Buttered Rum with Mulled Cider that they (not surprisingly) call "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider." They again use fresh and high quality ingredients, a practice all should adopt and is usually the first indication of a great bar program.

Pick up some rum, cider, and butter if you haven't already and try this recipe, or if you want to do it true justice, juice your own Fuji apples like they do at Slanted Door. Bar Director Erik Adkins explains that they use a hydrolic press to make their own apple juice, and compound their own butter as well (recipe included below). The cider is kept hot in a crock pot and the butter and rum are added to order. Here is his recipe: 

Hot Buttered Rhum Cider
1.5oz Barbancourt 8 Year Rum
1 heaping rounded tablespoon of compound butter
Mulled cider
Garnish with a clove-studded orange peel,
Star anise, 
And a cinnamon stick

Compound Butter: 3/4 part unsalted butter to 1/4 part brown sugar. Dashes of cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger, and a pinch of salt to taste. Combine ingredients at room temperature, using the back of a fork to soften the butter and mix. 

Mulled Cider: steep apple juice with whole cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and orange peel.
 

[[ Photo from www.slanteddoor.com ]]

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

Amaro April: "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ready? Ok here we go...


Foolish Games

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

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


Homemade Intense Chocolate Syrup 

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

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


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

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

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

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 ]] 

Amaro April: "Sevilla" from Beretta in San Francisco

For the next cocktail, I'm going to head south to San Francisco's Mission District for a first-time contributor. You might not have heard of it if you're more of a cocktail nerd, like me, and less of a food nerd, (and you don't live in San Francisco) but the more reading I did on the SF scene the more a name started to pop up as a 'surprisingly' good, and fairly new cocktail bar: Beretta. Known seemingly first and foremost for their food, being named consistently one of the best Italian restaurants in the city, if not one of the best overall, and getting impressive reviews in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Gourmet and Details magazines, and the list goes on. It was even recently named by Food & Wine to be one of the top 50 bars in America. So why 'surprising' when it comes to drinks? I think mostly it's just that the food reputation was so high that people came to eat and then were surprised at how great the cocktails were. Either way, Beretta is being recognized for both, and that's great news.

The barstaff has all the good kinds of experience, coming from other big names like Bourbon & Branch and Slanted Door, the service is consistently reviewed as impeccable, and despite the buzz that's been heard around this place since it opened in 2008, the consensus is again and again that it lives up to the hype. Southern Italian cuisine is really what they do, in particular pizza, so make sure you go for a drink and a snack.

The menu is short and simple, which I always appreciate. Rifling through pages and pages of complicated concoctions, as creative or delicious as they may be, makes me want to ignore the menu altogether. It's supposed to be a good starting point, a few suggestions, and more importantly, a show of what the bar staff enjoy to make right now. That's how I feel anyway. Yes, yes, digression...
The majority of the drinks on the menu are very refreshing, like "Nuestra Paloma," using Tequila, elderflower, Cointreau, grapefruit, and bitters, or the "Lonsdale," using gin, apple, basil, and honey. Others are simple, like their "Anejo Sour," and they have a classic or two as well, including one of my go-to drinks at home, the "Monte Carlo," with American rye, Benedictine, and bitters.

The head of the cocktail program, Ryan Fitzgerald, sticks with this mentality for his Amaro April cocktail, keeping things very simple. We again see Tequila (those SF'ers sure love their agave, but they have copious amounts of good quality stuff, so it makes sense), pairing it with Averna, then using Cointreau and orange bitters to really pull the citrus out. Ryan prefers to use Pueblo Viejo Tequila, and Angostura Orange bitters (which you better grab fast because I hear they're being pulled off the market - in Canada, anyway), which is much more dense and spicy than any other orange bitters I've tried. Using these will really lengthen the taste of any cocktail, opposed to using one like Regan's, which - while excellent - is much drier and dies quicker on the palate. Averna has some subtle citrus character that will play well with the orange in the cocktail, and being quite thick and fairly sweet, will change the texture of the drink and balance everything out.

Without further adieu, here is "Sevilla," named after the bitter variety of orange, from Ryan Fitzgerald at Beretta in San Francisco.

Sevilla

2 oz Pueblo Viejo Añejo Tequila
0.5 oz Averna Amaro
0.5 oz Cointreau
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir over ice, then strain into a small old fashioned glass over ice. Squeeze an orange twist over top and add it to the drink.

[[ Photography by "Cooking With The Single Guy," and Beretta ]]


[[ 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 "Fallow Grave" from the Toronto Temperance Society here ]]
[[ See "The Black Prince" from Phil Ward here ]]
[[ See "Bad Apple" and "Jackson Ward" from Amor y Amargo here ]]
[[ See "The Four Horsemen" from Jay Jones at Shangri-La here ]]
[[ See Colin MacDougall from Blue Water Cafe here ]]
[[ See "Debbie Don't" from Dutch Kills here ]]
[[ See "Welcome to the Dark Side" from Cin Cin here ]]
[[ See "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]] 

Amaro April: "The Imperial Eagle" From Bourbon & Branch

Last month we saw a creative cocktail from Jayson Wilde, the general manager at Bourbon & Branch, in which he infused Maraschino liqueur with Meyer lemons, as well as using blood orange syrup, cinnamon, and a black pepper tincture. This month, Jayson is simplifying things a bit, but still uses spice and fruit to play with both the base spirit - this time bourbon - and the modifier, amaro Averna. There are again a lot of elements here - the basic idea is a bourbon sour in which he's using ginger syrup and Averna to sweeten instead of just sugar. He's also using a traditional silver or Ramos Fizz framework, with the sour, spirit, sugar, egg, and bubbles combination, this time using ginger beer instead of just plain soda. Add the two elements together, with a little extra aroma and presentation using peach bitters, and you have a tasty and complex drink.

You can check out Jayson's "Blood Lust" cocktail along with a small review of Bourbon & Branch on this Maraschino March post.

A note on ingredients...
You can get the Eagle Rare 10 Year at the BC Liquor Stores, and it will run you $60. It's $30 or so in the states, and it's an excellent choice for the money. It's made by the Buffalo Trace distillery, so their regular BT bourbon would be a suitable substitution if you have to; I would not use too sweet or soft of a bourbon here (like Maker's Mark). As for the ginger beer, be sure to get a beer and not a ginger ale, which is much sweeter and less ginger-y. Bundaberg is Australian and I've never seen it here, but many markets, liquor stores, Whole Foods, and Gourmet Warehouse all sell good substitutes. Fee's peach bitters can be picked up at Gourmet Warehouse for $8.

The Imperial Eagle

2 oz. Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel Bourbon

1 oz. Lemon Juice

0.5 oz. Ginger Syrup

0.5 oz. Averna

0.5 oz. Egg White

0.75oz Bundaberg Ginger Beer 

1 dash of Fee's Peach Bitters

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into a Collins glass.

Add the ginger beer over top as a float, then add an extra dash of the peach bitters on top of the foam.

[[ 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 "Sevilla" from Beretta here ]]
[[ See "Fallow Grave" from the Toronto Temperance Society here ]]
[[ See "The Black Prince" from Phil Ward here ]]
[[ See "Bad Apple" and "Jackson Ward" from Amor y Amargo here ]]
[[ See "The Four Horsemen" from Jay Jones at Shangri-La here ]]
[[ See Colin MacDougall from Blue Water Cafe here ]]
[[ See "Debbie Don't" from Dutch Kills here ]]
[[ See "Welcome to the Dark Side" from Cin Cin here ]]
[[ See "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]] 

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

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

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

The Blood Lust

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

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

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


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

Maraschino March: "The Unforgiven" from Russell Davis of Rickhouse

We are heading back down south for a very different and interesting cocktail from Mr. Russell Davis at Rickhouse in San Francisco. Who is Russell? Ok deep breath...
Russell is a southern gentleman who ran Peche in Austin, Texas, before heading up north to San Francisco to work both Bourbon & Branch and Rickhouse, where he collected numerous competition wins and awards from San Francisco Magazine, Germain-Robin Craft Distiller's Cocktail Competition, and others, was just named Nightclub & Bar's 2012 Bartender of the Year, represented Rickhouse when it was awarded "High Volume Cocktail Bar of the Year" at Tales of the Cocktail, has been written up in lots of magazines and newspapers like Details, Imbibe, and the San Francisco Chronicle, and works with brands like Anchor Distilling (Junipero, Luxardo, etc), Dulce Vida Organic Tequila, No.3 Gin, St. George Spirits, and Michael Collins Irish Whisky. The list really does go on (here's a decent list from last year).

Russell has several non-bar ventures as well, doing online videos for infusing Tito's Handmade Vodka (for example), and currently is a consultant for San Francisco's Ice Cream Bar, literally a soda fountain bar. Something most people don't realize (including me until very recently) is that bartending and soda actually have a connected history. Once Prohibition began, many bartenders fled to Europe where they could practice their craft in peace, many continued to work with cocktails in secret at speakeasies, and some actually became "soda jerks." Creating soda flavours involves mixing tinctures and extracts to create a balanced flavour, and thereby has a lot in common with cocktail mixology. Russell says "there was a beautiful way of mixing that was refined during this period" that he believes will have have an influence on crafting cocktails. If you're interested in soda bars, jerks, and pumps, and their history, The Ice Cream Bar in San Francisco is definitely the place to go (where their floats are "built to the same specifications as they would have made them in 1894 Chicago"), and I also suggest checking out Darcy O'Neil's site and his book on the subject, "Fix the Pumps."

Back to cocktails.
Something Russell has been experimenting with is using room-temperature water instead of ice to dilute and mix a cocktail to be more true to the accurate history of 19th century bartending. He wrote a great description for me himself, so I'll just let him talk:

"After doing a bit of research on ice, I began to discover that during the 1800's, before refrigeration, the production of ice was a gigantic industry that died as soon as it became obsolete. These factories were as big as some of the giant factories you see now in industrial areas. They would cut giant hunks of ice out of frozen rivers and lakes and transfer them by waterway where they were stacked and stored stories high (which was very dangerous - it wasn't uncommon for workers to lose limbs or die) and then loaded onto train or ships or some other form of transportation and then distributed. This wasn't cheap or easy at all. So, keeping that in mind, I started to reconsider how some of these drinks that were developed in that era may have really been done. Along the Barbary Coast here in California, it was filled with some of the most down and out, dangerous wild west saloons you could think of. I bet it was pretty tough to get ice in your Martinez (or any drink unless you were in a "fancy" hotel or other "fancy" venue) in Martinez California during the 1880's. As a result, I don't add ice to this drink, but instead, add 1/2 oz of water just for dilution purposes and to bring the flavors together. Try it on your next Manhattan, Old Fashioned, or Sazerac. Instead of adding ice to stir, just add 1/2 oz - 3/4 oz of water to your taste. On this cocktail I also was inspired by the Martinez, yet wanted to create something that I would make for Clint Eastwood if he was ever sitting at my bar. I also like to joke around that this is going to be the official drink of the Apocalypse. Aged Old Tom Gin and Mezcal (I think Mezcal is the wild man's scotch). Here we go!"

The Unforgiven

1 oz Mezcal Vida
1 oz Ransom Gin
3/4 oz Carpano Antica
1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino
1/2 oz Spring Water
2-3 drops Tobacco Tincture (pipe tobacco infused in moonshine; use a good chocolatey tobacco)
Dukes Orange (1"x3" piece of orange zest cut off the orange using a vegetable peeler)

Combine mezcal, gin, vermouth, maraschino, and water into a mixing glass. Zest dukes orange over the mixing glass, pinch over the mixture to release the essential oils, and take the zest and rub around the inner and outer lip of a small rocks glass and then drop into the mixing glass. Now stir the mixture 3 times WITHOUT ICE. This is a room temperature drink. Pour the contents of the mixing glass into your rocks glass. Drop 2-3 drops of tobacco tincture on top.

This one isn't on the menu at Rickhouse, but as Russell puts it, it was somewhat of an underground favourite that people still ask about, but he would only serve to "the most serious of cocktail drinkers." So if that's you, see if you can catch him at Rickhouse and have him make one for you.
Thanks to Russell and Rickhouse for the exciting contribution!

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