Part of the fun of drinking cocktails is tapping into a history and a culture of a particular time. This is a discussion of drinks, spirits, bartending, and history for beginners and professionals alike.
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To kick off Maraschino March we're heading to a city filled with cocktail culture - Seattle. One of the biggest bar names in the city's scene, and actually in North America altogether as it was named by Esquire as one of the "Best Bars in America," is Vessel. According to David Wondrich, world-reknowned cocktail writer/historian, "the cocktails are as modern as the design; a benchmark 21st century mix of tweaked, often molecularized classics and clever new creations - style never tasted so good." 5 years ago when Vessel opened, the bar was definitely raised for cocktail culture in the Pacific Northwest, and it happened at such a time when interest was really beginning to boom.
After a change in some high level personnel (including Jamie Boudreau, who was formerly the bar manager there), and a closure of its location next to the history 5th Avenue Theatre in downtown Seattle in December 2010, Vessel is finally planning to reopen in late April 2012 a few blocks away. The new location was previously a speakeasy of sorts in the 1950's called "El Gaucho," and is twice the size of the previous building. While the decor and design it was so famous for is gone, it's a guarantee to be one of the best places in the city to get a great cocktail.
One of Vessel's specialties is cocktail carbonation, which may sound a little crazy - and it is. Co-owner and bar manager Jim Romdall is one of the first bartenders to make use of the "Perlini Cocktail Carbonation System," (actually invented in Seattle as well by Evan Wallace) which you can see put to use here on the Small Screen Network. It's a CO2 injection system that will carbonate a cocktail without diluting it with club soda. Imagine drinking a Martini that tastes the same, but is bubbling. It's a little unimaginable, so I suggest you just head down to Vessel when they reopen and try it out yourself.
The recipe today is courtesy of Mr. Jim Romdall himself, and uses a spirit you don't often see in mixology - aquavit (or Akvavit). This is a Scandanavian grain or potato spirit that is infused with herbs, spices, or fruit oils, and often aged in oak casks. The main flavour is usually caraway, or dill, and adding that to thyme, mint, and Maraschino will give a complex collection of herbal flavours in the cocktail. If you want to try this at home, you can get some akvavit in the B.C. government liquor stores and bigger independents like Legacy, but I encourage you to put your name on the Vessel mailing list at www.vesselseattle.com so you can get down there as soon as they reopen and have Jim make you one himself!
The Hemingway Solution 1.5oz Krogstad aquavit 0.5oz Luxardo Maraschino 0.75oz fresh lime juice 0.25oz simple syrup 1 sprig thyme 2 mint leaves Combine all ingredients in a shaker, add ice, then shake and fine/double strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of thyme.
[[ see "Oden's Muse" from Tavern Law here ]]
[[ see the Maraschino March introduction 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 Rubicon" from Jamie Boudreau at Canon here ]]
So you're getting more and more interested in mixing drinks, experiencing cocktail history via brains, ears, and tastebuds, or maybe you're reading a cocktail blog like this one and your mouth is watering to the point of no return.
What do you need to get started? Here's a simple overview of what you need to start making drinks at home.
1) A cocktail shaker
I hesitate in saying "shaker" because I'm afraid that you'll feel inclined to shake everything. I say, possibly too often, DON'T shake unless you have to. You only have to shake if you're mixing juice, cream, or eggs.
You'll be either shaking or stirring your drinks, but you can do both in a shaker. In fact, that's how I make all of my drinks because I have yet to find a very nice mixing containing to stir in!
Don't get a plastic shaker because your drinks won't get as cold, which is a big part of why you're shaking or stirring at all. Don't go for a Boston shaker, which is basically a pint glass and a metal tin, because it takes a little more skill and will cost you a little more money. Just get a regular metal cocktail shaker, which you can find in most places, like Ikea or the Bay or probably even Winners.
What should you be stirring your cocktails with? Ideally, a barspoon, which has a very small bowl and a very long handle. This will allow you to stir drinks in a tall mixing glass (or shaker), and also provides estimated measurements. But, you don't really need one yet. Just use a regular spoon or even a butterknife. Not classy, I know, but this is all just to get started.
2) Glassware
You need to drink your cocktails out of something, and I won't let you do it out of your shaker. Part of the fun of having a cocktail is how you look drinking it ;)
You can pick up basic cocktail glasses or Martini glasses at Ikea for 2$ each and upwards. The Bay actually has some nice ones if you feel like spending more, but go cheap to start. In the future you can start looking for some vintage glassware, which will really bring the experience together. Just the other night I made my lady a Southside cocktail - a Prohibition era drink from Chicago with supposed ties to Mob establishments - in a vintage 1940's cocktail glass I got at an antique fair. It really makes it that much more fun. But again, to start, just get something cheap and easy so you can get going.
Wine glasses will do for some drinks, but hold so much liquid that it just doesn't really work when you're pouring in tiny amounts of liquid (most cocktails are 3oz or more, when a wineglass can hold anywhere between 10 and 20oz, so it just doesn't look or feel right).
3) Measuring tools
You need something to measure your ingredients with, and the best thing to get is what's called a jigger. This is a measuring tool that bartenders use for making drinks, and will either be a shot glass with written measurements, or what looks like 2 tiny cups glued together at their bases. One side is one measurement, 1/2oz or 3/4oz, for example, and the other side will be a different measurement, 1oz or 1.5oz for example.
You can find jiggers where you find your glassware, Ikea, the Bay, etc, or you can get cool looking ones for cheap online. Or, you can get just a very small measuring cup from the Bay or where have you, just make sure you can measure as small as 1/2oz.
Or, if you want to be super ghetoo (this is how I made all my drinks at first), you can use measuring spoons. One tablespoon is 1/2oz. This is not classy at all, but as long as you're measuring right, your drinks will be fine!
4) Juice
A lot of classic cocktails call for juice, particularly lemon or lime juice. Do NOT use juice from concentrate or pre-made mixers. They really affect the flavour of your drink, plus they're usually full of gross chemicals. Lemons and limes are very, very cheap. Safeway has limes for 40-50 cents each, and that's nothing. You'll usually use half a lime for one drink.
Getting the juice is a little trickier. A lot of recipes will ask for "the juice of one lime," but of course all limes are different sizes and this doesn't really help you make consistent drinks. I suggest picking up a juicer. I got mine from the Bay for about $10, and it's been incredibly useful. You can juice your fruit, then pour out of the juicer to measure.
5) Simple syrup
A lot of cocktails call for "simple syrup." All this is, is one part sugar dissolved into one part water. Just simmer or boil the water in a pot on your stove and the sugar will dissolve. Throw this in any kind of empty bottle - soda, wine, booze, or you can pick up bottles with pour-spouts at the dollar store or something similar.
Using simple syrup instead of granulated sugar makes a world of difference in your cocktails because you know that you're getting the full amount (where some sugar won't dissolve in your drink, leaving less sweetness than needed), and of course, getting granules of sugar in your mouth while sipping is not fun.
Again, literally all you do is simmer say 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water on the stove and pour into some sort of container. Keep it in the fridge in the meantime.
6) BOOZE
I'm actually going to separate this into a different post, because it's more in depth. Obviously, you need booze to make cocktails. It can be a little daunting to know where to start, but I'll go through the basic few bottles you should pick up, where to get them, and how much they'll cost. Even with a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth or fortified wine, a bottle of bitters, and some sugar and juice, you can make a range of cocktails.
So, not including booze, you've spent let's say $40 on a cocktail shaker, a jigger, 2 cheap glasses, and a jigger. Add in $5 or so for some limes and lemons and sugar.
Your only other expense is the alcohol, and you're ready to start enjoying cocktails!
I feel compelled to write about this drink for a couple reasons. First of all, it's definitely in a family of cocktails that was butchered in the Depression-era of cocktails (Jamie Boudreau's term, not mine) - the 70's and 80's - and continues to be ruined today by many a bar and many a sour mix. The Daiquiri is a very old drink and a very simple and delicious one, yet most places you go will serve a blended (a no-no for anything that's not Tiki) mess of cheap rum and a ridiculous amount of sugar - usually in the form of some cheap, flavoured fruit-mix. Cocktails don't need to be overly sweet, and anytime they are it either comes from trying to mask cheap or bad-tasting ingredients, or trying to mask the flavour of the alcohol, which begs the question why you're having a drink in the first place. A well-made cocktail tastes delicious without heaps of sugar! If you don't agree, you haven't had a well-made cocktail. I digress...
Secondly, rum is a spirit I didn't know much about until more recently, so I started buying different kinds, trying new drinks, and looking more into its history and that of its cocktails.
The History
The origin of the Daiquiri is not confirmed. It's a very, very old drink using a very, very old spirit, and as such there are several origin stories. One story is that it was invented by an American engineer around 1900 in Santiago, Cuba, near an iron mine named Daiquiri. While entertaining other American guests, he ran out of gin, so tried a simple sour using rum, which was nearby and plentiful in the area. About 10 years later, US Navy officers tried the drink and brought it back to the Army and Navy Club in D.C. where it gained American popularity. Other stories include its invention for keeping the Daiquiri mine workers happy and complacent by feeding them rum, softening it with sugar and water, and getting them the vitamin C they need to avoid scurvy via lime juice.
However, the latter story is also essentially the same as the grog that British sailors drank aboard ship from the mid 18th century forward. This too included rum, lime or lemon juice for vitamin C, and sugar to make things more palatable. Like most early cocktails, its origins are rooted in health remedies and primitive medicine. The sailors travelled around the world, but particularly the Caribbean, and could have easily spread the drink into Cuba.
The Daiquiri has evolved into many variations, the most famous of which were known from the El Floridita bar in Havana. It was published by David Embury in 1948 in his very famous and influential book, "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks," where he lists it as one of the 6 basic cocktails. His ratios stated a basic 8:2:1 of spirit:sour:sweetener, but over the years as people lost interest in cocktails and the culture changed, particularly in North America, the sweet portion has increased and increased until we were left with the sticky, gross, pink and blue messes that restaurants continue to serve and abuse the name of a classic drink. A Daquiri is simply a rum sour.
The Culture
One reason this drink definitely became more popular in the United States in the 1930's and onwards is because of the Good Neighbor policy put in place by Roosevelt in 1933. This policy stated that there would be no armed intervention with another country (namely a Latin American one), and that the US would "engage in reciprocal exchanges with Latin American countries." It was meant to create new economic opportunities, trade agreements, and of course, assert influence over Latin America. This policy stood until the Cold War "began" and US foreign policy in general took a dramatic turn.
During the 30's and 40's though, there was an influx of Latin culture, food, drink, and of course, music. This was reciprocated to places like Cuba, and the birth of Latin jazz was a big artistic evolution of the time. American jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie started incorporating Latin rhythms, chord structures, and melodies into bebop, and in Cuba bands started incorporating bebop improvisation and big band instrumentation into their music. Even today, Latin jazz is basically divided into 3 subgenres - Brazillian (bossa nova), Purto Rican, and Afro-Cuban. Cuba was already a melting pot of African and European music (breeding both the term Afro-Cuban and also famous Baroque composers such as Esteban Salas y Castro), and the sound of Cuban music became even more unique.
The Recipe
The drink itself is very simple and easy to make. First of all, make sure you're using FRESH lime juice from a real lime! Then, make some simple syrup. It takes 10 minutes and you'll use it in a lot of recipes. Using sugar doesn't always end well as not all of it mixes, and crunching on granules while trying to enjoy a drink is no fun. NEVER use sour mix - they're full of chemicals, fake flavours, fake colours, and don't taste very good or balance well.
Simple syrup is just equal parts of sugar and water. To make it, just add equal parts of sugar and water into a pot (I usually use a cup of each), simmer on medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then pour it into an empty bottle of some sort. Keep it in the fridge. That's it. It's that easy. Because it's that easy, I don't ever want to see you using sour mix or crappy sweeteners anymore.
As mentioned above, Embury's published recipe has a 8:2:1 ratio. The current International Bartender's Association has it at 9:4:1 rum:lime:syrup. The ratios are all over the place depending on who you talk to. I always prefer things on the more tart side, which is traditionally how cocktails were made, so as such I often make it like this:
2 oz rum 3/4 oz fresh lime juice 1/2 oz simple syrup Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.
Though more and more I've started knocking the lime down to 1/2oz as well, really letting the rum take over.
You can also serve it just on ice in a rocks glass, which is how they would have served it in Cuba mid-century.
Experiment and see what you like!
The Rum
I'll chat about rum in general another time, for now I'll just talk about choosing a good one for home mixing.
White rum has a very subdued flavour and mixes very well, but is not as interesting. Gold rum has a little spice to it and more fruit and vanilla flavour and I find it makes fantastic fruit drinks, such as Daiquiris. Aged or Dark rum will have a much heavier taste and has more molasses character. Certain dark rums can overpower a cocktail, but can also be great in drinks like the Old Cuban, or a rum Manhattan. When I say spice, by the way, I don't mean these rums have actually been spiced. When they are aged in barrels that contained spices or whiskeys, they pick up those flavour profiles. You can also use spiced rum, which will really change the cocktail. It will be much sweeter, so you won't need as much syrup to balance.
What rums should you buy? Well, Appleton Estate Extra Old (from Jamaica), and Mount Gay Extra Old (from Barbados) are smooth, interesting, and really great for the price point - and they're available in most BC Liquor Stores. They are, however, somewhat pricey in B.C. at $40 and $45 respectively. More affordable but still awesome rums are Havana Club 7 Year Old at $35 (which is the most fitting, being a Cuban rum! - also check out their 3 and 4 year old white rums) and Mount Gay White Rum or Eclipse (gold rum) at $26. If you want to try a spiced rum, Sailor Jerry's (from the Virgin Islands), which goes for $29, is a typical choice but I find it much too sweet. Kraken is a more exciting choice, but overall I suggest staying away from spiced rum. There are so many rums that are amazing on their own from all the natural and normal processes that spiced isn't really worth your time.
[[ Edit: since writing this post I've tried MANY more rums, and the range of flavour and quality is mind-boggling. Zacapa to El Dorado to Banks there are just so many great rums out there that will dramatically change your cocktails. Affordability-wise, I stick to the above: Mount Gay, Havana Club, and Appleton Estate, but will add Flor de Cana to the mix. Their white rum is very usable, and the 5 and 7 are very dark and great for mixing]]
For a Daiquiri, my favourite of the above for light rum is probably Mount Gay Eclipse gold rum. It pairs really well with fruit, but has enough interesting flavours and subtle spice to draw your attention through any cocktail, and I even drink it straight it's so smooth and yummy. I also definitely suggest trying out the Mount Gay silver rum, which is the same price and a little less interesting, and obviously a little sharper due to the lack of aging, but still very delicious. The more expensive rums are arguably wasted on a fruit cocktail, so I wouldn't go for those unless you're rich or just want to drink rum straight or old-fashioned.
A final note: don't buy Lamb's or Bacardi. They suck. If you pay a few dollars extra - literally - you can get way more interesting and delicious rum.
In the future I'll be doing a rum post, similar to those I've done on tequila, bourbon, and gin, so as to have a comprehensive list of the rums available to us here in B.C. and which ones are worth the price tag.
So, sip your delicious Daiquiri with some delicious rum and enjoy this song by Tito Gomez with Orquesta Riverside, a popular Cuban jazz group during the 1940's and 50's who blended Afro-Cuban music with big band instrumentation.
