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 things off for this fall series we are heading to Vancouver for a delicious pumpkin cocktail from Mr. Donnie Wheeler. He brings over fifteen years of experience in hospitality, bartending, and consulting for the likes of Cin Cin, Legacy Liquor, Corner Suite Bistro, and Donnelly Group bars Killjoy and Clough Club. Known to many in Vancouver as Donnie Bahama or Mr. Tiki, he runs Tiki Tuesdays at Clough Club (where each week they feature new drinks from Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's books), as well as giving seminars on Tiki history and culture at Legacy and festivals like The Art of the Cocktail.
Donnie is sharing a perfect example of a seasonal and themed cocktail that is both tasteful and tasty. (Apologies for the lateness on the Thanksgiving theme). I will let him introduce it himself:
"As it is Thanksgiving, [the drink] should be about family... in this case the Corleone family from the Godfather films. In the films every major death is preceded by an appearance of an orange in one way or another. [SPOILER ALERT]
Don Corleone buys oranges right before he is shot and falls into an orange cart. Sonny drives past an advertisement for Florida Oranges before he is assassinated. At the Mafioso summit, bowls of oranges are placed on the tables - specifically in front of those Dons who will be assassinated. Michael eats an orange while discussing his plans with Tom. Before Don Corleone dies he puts an orange peel in his mouth to playfully scare his grandson. The list goes on. So, the cocktail is a little morbid, a little seasonal, and about family."
Death & Oranges
1oz Carpano Antica Formula Italian Vermouth 1oz Campari 1.5oz fresh squeezed blood orange juice (seasonal) 1-2 tablespoons pumpkin puree-infused honey syrup 2 dashes Fernet Branca Combine ingredients with ice and shake. Strain over crushed ice. Top with soda water (optional).
Pumpkin/Honey Syrup: Add 2 parts honey and 2 parts water and bring to a boil. Add 1 part of pumpkin puree and stir until mixed.
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
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 ]]
We've seen Fernet with a range of spirits, juice, fruit, fortified wines, bitters, amari, and liqueurs, in a wide array of styles. We've even seen Fernet coming in at over an ounce but not being totally overpowering. What we haven't seen yet are some crazy infusions, and that's where The Keefer comes in.
The Keefer is a fairly new establishment (as a lot of our great bars in Vancouver seem to be) located in Chinatown in the midst of the night markets. The decor is amazing, with a long, dark, black and red space sprinkled with backlit pictures of anatomy between jars of bitters and infusions containing ingredients that look like failed Area 51 experiments preserved in fermaldehyde. (Check out these great photos)
Like The Refinery, they make a range of house-bitters, syrups, and infusions, but what makes The Keefer unique is what ingredients they use. There are syrups infused with traditional Chinese medicinal herbs and roots like Yunzhi and astragalus, tea and ginger make numerous appearances, and fruit flavours like pear, apricot, and muroise show up as well. There's even a section at the end of the menu to add herbal health shots to your cocktails like you would at a juice bar.
I must admit that this creative and outlandish use of ingredients turned me off my first visit, but my second visit showed me that not only are the people running the bar skilled, but most of the drinks are variations on classics with creative embellishments, which is how mixology and bartending evolved in the first place, so what am I worried about? If it tastes good, that's what matters, right?
I strategically showed up early in the evening and was lucky to have not only Danielle Tatarin, the bar manager, but also the assistant bar manager, Keenan Hood make me the Chinatown Sour listed below, a new and impromptu Fernet cocktail using ginger and cassis, and a more traditional style original libation using tequila called the Diablo Blanco. I even got to see how they serve their group shots, which is using an old hospital IV drip. I'll get more into The Keefer soon when I post my review. In the meantime, check out these originals:
The Chinatown Sour is a variation on the Trinidad Sour (which uses a whole ounce of Angostura bitters with orgeat syrup to balance) but uses Fernet as the bitters and infuses the orgeat with astragalus root, which has a very earthy, nutty flavour that gives the drink a fuller taste. The Storm Chaser is a spicy, bitter-sweet storm of flavours, which I must repeat was an improvised cocktail by Danielle for my Fernet adventure. I was shocked to hear how much Fernet was actually in there; the lime really cuts through, the ginger spice takes a lot of focus away from the Fernet, and the cassis really calms things down. It's not my usual style, but I was impressed and it was very interesting and refreshing.
Check out The Keefer if you feel like something very different, or just check them out in general. They even have burlesque on thursday nights. I should really finish that review. Or maybe I should just drop by for another drink...
Chinatown Sour
By Keenan Hood
1 oz Overproof Whiskey
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Astragalus & Orgeat Syrup
1 oz Lemon Juice
Shake all ingredients for 10 seconds then fine strain into a cocktail glass.
Storm Chaser
By Danielle Tatarin
1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup
Top Soda
1/2 oz Cassis
Build first three ingredients on ice in Collins glass. Top with soda & crushed ice.
Drizzle Cassis over crushed ice to finish.
Garnish with grated lime zest.
Photo from www.thekeeferbar.com
[[ see the Fernet February introduction here ]]
[[ see the "Gastown Swizzle" from L'Abattoir here ]]
[[ see the "Dark and Fernet-y" from Rob Roy here ]]
[[ see "Pandemonium" from Veneto Tapa Lounge here ]]
[[ see "The Bittercup" from Pourhouse here ]]
[[ see "The Vested Bartender" from Boneta here ]]
[[ see "The Parliament" from The Diamond here ]]
[[ see "Parliament Hill" from The Hideout here ]]
[[ see "The Lucky Lady" from The Refinery here ]]
[[ see "The Denny Triangle" from Jamie Boudreau / Canon here ]]
So here's a fun one. This is a great drink to get you into gin if you have had a negative experience, and it has a very possibly interesting history.
Why "possibly"?
Because there are three completely different stories on where this drink came from, and one of them is very plausible but boring, one is also plausible but still not super interesting, and one is exciting but basically disproved. I'm going to tell you all three, but I'm sticking with the fun history for the general theme today: 1920's Chicago.
The History of the Cocktail
So first, here is the semi-interesting story:
The drink was created in New York City at the 21 Club, which was originally a speakeasy during Prohibition named "Jack and Charlie's" after its two Austrian owners. The location moved around a fair bit before settling on 21 West 52nd Street, leading to the eventual name-change. Jack and Charlie rigged up a system of hiding the then-illegal alcohol with a series of levers that would drop all of the bottles down a chute into the sewers in the alley, and stored all the wine in a cellar that was only accessible through the adjacent building. Such was the alcohol culture of the time.
The second story, which is basically confirmed as the origin of the drink, is that it was invented at the Southside Sportsmen's Club on Long Island, New York. For years rich men from NYC came to Long Island to fish and hunt, and they would stay at an inn/tavern known for its Mint Juleps. This reputation, unfortunately for the rich folks, meant it started to get crowded so in 1866 they bought the place and turned it into the aforementioned club. The famous Mint Juleps eventually evolved into other mint drinks and the Southside was born. Over time, country clubs started making "Southside" mixes, letting mint steep for days in a sugar and lemon juice, then using this mix with a spirit and soda. Further evolutions have changed the original gin to vodka or even rum (which makes the drink basically a Mojito). Sadly, the Southside Sportsmen's Club doesn't exist anymore, but its legacy lives on in country clubs everywhere in the form of the Southside cocktail.
The last story takes place in Chicago. During Prohibition times, the city was very much a gangland split between the north and the south. The gangs of the north cornered the market of high quality spirits by smuggling liquor across the border from Canada. This left the south side gang, the Saltis-McErlane gang, with no choice but to sell locally made spirits - literally bathtub liquor. This booze tasted awful and made people sick, and the bartenders on the south side started using sugar, citrus, and even mint to mask the terrible flavour and imperfections. The gang's leader, Frankie McErlane, one of the two main mobsters on the south side, killed at least fifteen people during the bootlegging wars in Prohibition Chicago, and was the first man to use the Tommy gun.
This exciting story is unfortunately disproven from what I've read, with stories of the south side gangsters forcing bars by gunpoint to sell their beer and nothing else. And of course, then there's the question of how a Chicago speakeasy cockail found its way into lush country clubs of upstate New York. But it's way more fun to sip a Southside and think about Capone, McErlane, and all the bad boys of Chicago fighting on the streets while you watch some of music's greatest icons play on stage at the city's famous jazz clubs than it is to envision rich, old, white folks sipping mint-fizzes in between tennis sets.
The "proper" way to serve this drink in Long Island is with soda, but I much prefer the more sophisticated straight-up version. There are versions of this drink listing either lemon or lime as well, and everywhere I've looked I've seen a different recipe. I will go with Gary Regan's recipes (never a bad idea) from his book "The Joy of Mixology," one being straight up and the other being a fizz: Southside Cocktail
4 lemon wedges
2-3 teaspoons sugar
4-5 fresh mint leaves
2.5oz gin
Muddle the lemon, sugar, and mint in a shaker, add gin and ice, shake, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a sprig of mint.
Southside Fizz
4 lemon wedges
2-3 teaspoons sugar
6-8 fresh mint leaves
2.5oz gin
Dash of aromatic bitters - optional
Muddle lemon, sugar, and mint in a shaker. Add gin and ice, shake, strain into a collins glass over ice, top with soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint.
(You can substitute the lemon wedges for just fresh juice. I'd go for a 2:1 or 3:1 gin:lemon juice. You can also substitute the solid sugar for about 3/4oz of simple syrup, depending on your taste. Or mix it up even more and try making it with lime, which just makes it a Mojito with gin. So many options!)
The History of the Time and Place Prohibition was implemented in 1919, so it was illegal in the 1920's to distribute or manufacture alcohol in the U.S.. Racism was rampant, there was a general fear of foreigners (partially because Prohibition played on fears by linking immigrants - particularly Europeans - to the consumption of alcohol), but women were able to vote and join the workforce as of 1920. Of course, they got paid less, didn't have many opportunities, and were under constant pressure to maintan outdated ideals. This lead to a female rebellion culture called "Flappers." These girls cut their hair short, hiked up their skirts, and partied like crazy in speakeasy's around the country.
Art deco, modernism, surrealism, abstract expressionism, dadaism, and surrealism were popular art forms at the time, and authors like R.S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway were publishing. American baseball was popular, Harry Houdini was performing his great escapes, and the Miss America padgent had just begun. 1920's America was the Golden Age of organized crime, which was previously limited to extortion, prostitution, rackets, and the like, but now the mob was able to use Prohibition to control one of the most lucrative businesses ever. Bootlegging really funded the mob and made them into the wealthy and powerful force they came known to be. Gang wars raged throughout Chicago in particular, and spread across the country and into the streets. Al Capone was the biggest name in crime, running his gang on the south side of Chicago until his eventual incarceration in the early 30's.
Musically, Chicago was one of the most important jazz scenes, with a great number of New Orleans early jazz bands and musicians moving north for a better quality of life. King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong, some of the most influential artists in modern music, all moved to Chicago in the late 1910's. Armstrong and his Hot Five (and later Hot Seven) recorded throughout the mid 20's and developed jazz from its raw beginnings to the intellectual, improvised style focusing on soloists that became the framework for all jazz to come. The music got faster, more complicated, more arranged, got rid of tuba and replaced it with upright bass, and really kickstarted the genre, leading it into the swing era of the 30's and 40's. Armstrong's influence on American music, and popular music in general can not be understated, and neither can his influence on racial culture, as he was essentially the first widely popular American personality who wasn't white.
Enjoy your delicious and refreshing Southside Cocktail, and imagine yourself at its fictitious birthplace in 1920's Chicago with gang wars raging outside while you listen to one of the greatest and most influential musical artists of all time, Mr. Louis Armstrong with his Hot Five. Here is one of his most famous performances, "West End Blues" recorded in 1926.
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To kick things off for this fall series we are heading to Vancouver for a delicious pumpkin cocktail from Mr. Donnie Wheeler. He brings over fifteen years of experience in hospitality, bartending, and consulting for the likes of Cin Cin, Legacy Liquor, Corner Suite Bistro, and Donnelly Group bars Killjoy and Clough Club. Known to many in Vancouver as Donnie Bahama or Mr. Tiki, he runs Tiki Tuesdays at Clough Club (where each week they feature new drinks from Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's books), as well as giving seminars on Tiki history and culture at Legacy and festivals like The Art of the Cocktail.
