On drink recipes

Here are a few things that bother me when I see them in cocktail recipes, with my solutions on how to deal with them.

1. "Juice of one something-or-other" ("juice of one lime", "juice of one lemon", etc.) This is just asking for inaccuracy and inconsistency. The problem is that lemons and limes vary in size. No recipe should be written this way, in my opinion. If you come across a recipe written like this, here's my solution: an average lime contains about 1 ounce of juice; an average lemon about 1 1/2 ounces. Then be sure to taste the resulting cocktail to check for balance.

2. Sour mix. This artificially sweetened lemon-like concoction is the friend of the lazy bartender, and store-bought brands are usually chock full of artificial flavorings and colorings. Ugh! And many bars have taken to using sour mix in a Margarita, a drink that requires lime, not lemon. In recipes (other than those for Margaritas) that call for sour mix, for every ounce of sour mix, use 1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice and 1/2 ounce of sugar syrup.

3. Jigger or shot. A jigger or shot can be anywhere between 1 ounce (at many cheapskate bars) to 2 ounces (standard shot at a bar I worked at several years ago). My opinion? One shot or jigger should be 1 1/2 ounces, and nothing else. This is how I learned it back in the 80s and early 90s. The 1 oz shot seems to be an innovation of the late 90s and 2000s. But without exception, unless your boss says otherwise, default to 1 shot = 1 1/2 oz (45 ml). If a recipe calls for a 1 oz. shot, it should just say "1 oz".

4. Wild deviations from norms. Nothing wrong with variations: bars and bartenders come up with their own special touches to drinks, just like restaurants and chefs do with dishes; also, many recipes evolve well over time. Recipes vary from book to book, and that gives the bartender room to experiment with. But some recipes change so drastically over time and from region to region that they bear little resemblance to the original. If so, its time to give the drink a new name. A prime example is the Mai Tai. Originally, the only fruit juice was lime, but many versions nowadays call for pineapple juice, orange juice and grenadine (not in the original recipe), and omit the almond syrup and lime. It may be a tasty drink, but it's not a Mai Tai. I'll give the Mai Tai a treatment in a future post. The only solution to this problem is to do research. Look at different books, check the Internet.

Irish Coffee

In the 1950s, a sweetened coffee drink, spiked with Irish whiskey and topped with cream, was served in a lounge at Shannon Airport, Ireland. Impressed by this drink during a visit to Ireland, San Francisco Chronicle writer Stanton Delaplane worked with the owners of the Buena Vista Cafe in SF to reproduce and perfect the technique of making this drink. This was accomplished in 1952. The fame of this beverage spread, and the cafe is now renowned for it. It's called the Irish Coffee.

We visited the Buena Vista Cafe yesterday, and I ordered one. Absolutely wonderful! You don't stir it; you just drink it through the cream, and there's a great feeling of contrast between the heat of the coffee and the cold of the cream.



Recipe:

Fill hot Irish Coffee mug 3/4 full with coffee.
Add 2 sugar cubes and stir until they are dissolved.
Add 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey (Buena Vista Cafe uses Tullamore Dew).
Top with lightly whipped whipping cream, poured gently over a spoon.

A cable car passes in front of the Buena Vista Cafe

Sazerac

I'm in the US right now, so instead of writing about my experiences in Asia, I've decided to do a series on cocktails. Here's my third installment.

The Sazerac. This classic cocktail is 160 years old this year. It was invented in New Orleans in 1850. At first, brandy was the chief ingredient, but when France's grape crops were wiped out by phylloxera, American whiskey became the spirit of choice. The cocktail has endured as a whiskey drink ever since, with few changes.

One change is that until the early 20th century, absinthe was one of the ingredients. After absinthe was banned in the US in 1912, the de rigueur substitute for a proper Sazerac was a pastis called Herbsaint. Now that absinthe has been re-legalized in the US (as of 2007), it's no longer necessary to use Herbsaint.

Another defining feature of the Sazerac is the use of Peychaud's bitters. Along with the Seelbach Cocktail, it's one of a handful of drinks to use this ingredient.

Another feature is that, along with the Old Fashioned, it's one of a handful of drinks that fit the original definition of "cocktail": spirit, bitters, sugar, and a splash of water to dissolve the sugar.

Here's how to make it:

2 oz. American whiskey (rye or bourbon)
1 cube sugar
A few dashes of Peychaud's bitters
A splash of bottled water
Absinthe or Herbsaint
A twist of lemon peel

First, place a sugar cube in a rocks glass, and add enough Peychaud's bitters to saturate it. Then add a splash of bottled water. Muddle these ingredients until it forms a rich syrup. Then fill the glass with ice and add the whiskey (I prefer rye whiskey), and stir. Next, coat the sides of a second rocks glass with absinthe, and discard the excess. Strain the mixture from the first glass into the second glass. Then twist a piece of lemon peel over the drink to release the oils onto the surface, and hang the twist over the rim. Voila!

Martinez

The Martinez, which, according to one legend, was invented in Martinez, California, in 1876, is reputed to be the forerunner of the Martini. The original recipe, published by Jerry Thomas in the 19th century, is as follows:

4 oz. Italian sweet vermouth
1 oz. Old Tom gin
2 dashes maraschino liqueur
1 dash Boker's bitters

Shake with two lumps of ice and strain into cocktail glass. Put a quarter slice of lemon in the glass.

Two of the ingredients--Old Tom gin and Boker's bitters--were until recently impossible to find. With the recent resurgence of interest in classic cocktails, they have been revived. Old Tom can be found at the better liquor stores; a recreation of Boker's bitters, unavailable since 1906, can be ordered online.

Baby Kitty

Baby Kitty: a simple yet exotic cocktail; a pousse-cafe.

1 part anisette
1 part creme de violette
1 part whipping cream

layered in a liqueur glass.



It's a very gentle drink, going down smooth. And quite tasty.