cocktails

Five for Drinking: Champagne

December 30, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Champagne has its own inner glow.

New Year’s Day is fast approaching. That means a huge celebration of the year we just finished and a leaping off point for the year we are about to tackle. Major celebrations are equated with bringing out the bubbly. The corks are going to pop and champagne is going to flow. It is a lovely, crisp and effervescent drink on its own. It is also a great base for some delicious cocktails.

Champagne in a cocktail has been around for as long as champagne has been around. Here are five cocktails you can make for your guests to add a little more flavor to the mix.

Punch It Up

Punches are classics when it comes to cocktails; people would mix up huge batches for self-service at parties, meetings, and creating Constitutions. It is a simple, delicious way to get a cocktail into your guests’ hands as they walk in the door. Here is a concoction from Allrecipes that is typical of a punch recipe:

Champagne Punch (makes 35 4 oz. servings)

1 12 oz. can of cranberry juice concentrate
1 12 oz. can of pink lemonade concentrate
1 6 oz. can of limeade concentrate
1 bottle of chilled white wine
1 liter of soda water
2 bottles of chilled champagne

In a large punch bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Add a large block of ice to keep it all cold. Garnish with sliced lemons and limes.

Simple to make and delightful to drink. You can change the flavors to the taste of your guests, just mind the proportions.

Keep It Simple

People hear the word “cocktail” and think of something complex, yet elegant. Good cocktails can be just two or three ingredients mixed in the proper proportions. A Black Velvet can be made with ingredients you already have at the party!

Black Velvet, if you please…

Black Velvet

Stout (Guinness is the traditional choice, but select your favorite)
Champagne

In a glass, mix equal parts stout and champagne. It is just that simple. Just pour SLOWLY. Champagne fizzes a great deal when you add things to it.

Gotta Go Back In Time

Casablanca is one of my favorite movies of all time. Captain Renault spends a good deal of the movie ordering and consuming champagne cocktails. It is not a generic cocktail name, but something specific (and simple) to make.

Champagne Cocktail

1 sugar cube
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Champagne

Put the sugar cube and bitters into a champagne flute or coupe. Pour the champagne over the other ingredients and garnish with a twist of lemon. Enjoy!

Before processed foods, sodas and easily accessible juices, sugar and bitters were very popular ingredients used to flavor drinks.

Show Off Your Skills

Here is a rare gem of a cocktail. It was created in Louisville in 1917, named after the hotel it was invented in, then lost until 1997 when it was printed in New Classic Cocktails. It is a vintage cocktail that has not caught on, and I have no idea why. It is delightful.

Seelbach Cocktail

1 oz. bourbon
.5 oz. orange liqueur
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
5 oz. champagne

Pour all the ingredients except for the champagne into a flute and stir. Add the champagne and give it a few more gentle stirs. You can use an orange twist as a garnish.

It takes a few more ingredients, but it is well worth it. Bitters last for a long time, so you can play with different cocktail and cooking combinations through the year.

The ball that is going to drop to end 2013. What will you be drinking?

Something New

I have been known to play with an ingredient or two. One of my favorite things to do as a bartender is make things up on the spot, using past recipes as a base to launch off of. This recipe is a result of that.

Ginger Spiced Champagne

1 oz. ginger liqueur
.5 oz. raspberry liqueur
1 oz. cranberry juice
Champagne

Mix all of the ingredients except for the champagne in a champagne flute. Add the champagne and give it a gentle stir or two.

The ginger and cranberry add a little bite to the sweet champagne. It may take a few ingredients that you do not have around the house, but the end result is well worth it.

One thing to remember about using champagne with a cocktail is that the champagne should be the star. It is more than just a mixer; it adds sweetness and sparkle to whatever it is being mixed with. Of course, if there is any champagne on January 1^st you can make mimosas. Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve (Or Any Big Gathering) Check List

December 27, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

If only it was this easy to get a party ready.

Are you ready for the last big party night of 2013? New Year’s Eve is fast approaching, and you get a chance to do a little more last minute shopping. This list is going to be different; before it was fighting your way through the mall at the last minute for some good deals and to get that one last present. This time you are hitting the liquor and grocery stores to make sure no one runs out of their favorite beverage at the big soiree. How much is enough? What are you going to need to keep the cocktails flowing and the champagne bubbling until 2014? Have no worries, we spent some time doing some leg work to provide you some useful tools. Some things to consider:

1. Set up some expectations for the party. Is it BYOB? Will you be providing beer and wine? If people come in knowing a little bit about what to expect, they can be prepared for the evening. They’ll be enjoying what you are providing, or bringing the special beers, wines, or liquors they enjoy.

2. How many guests? This is the biggest thing you need to consider. This will help set up all of the other items you need to get ready rather nicely. A head count, even an approximate one, will help you buy the proper quantities of liquor, beer, wine, and mixers you are going to need for the party. When you go out any buy supplies, you always want to buy for a few more guests than you think you will have. You never know when someone is going to bring a friend, maybe three.

3. What type of guests? If this is a family affair, you need to make sure you have a wide range of beverages, and not all of them should be alcoholic. Having soda, juices, and water is a good idea for any party, but you should make sure you increase the amount you buy when the kids are over. You may even consider making a few special mocktails for them, so they are not limited to just sodas. That may also involve buying a few special syrups, which are easiest to find in any place they sell coffee or coffee supplies. Da Vinci has an excellent collection of syrups.

4. What do they like to drink? There are plenty of charts out there that will tell you how much liquor to buy when you are throwing a party. And they all give an excellent idea of how much is a good amount. What many do not tell you is that you also need cater it to the people that are coming over. If my family comes down to visit me from Cleveland, I make sure I have a bottle of Jim Beam and a bottle of Buckeye Vodka handy. I also make sure there is a six pack of quality beer in the house. Having a great deal of any particular type of beverage that no one likes, or that is not part of another cocktail, is a bad idea. You are not going to need nearly as much gin and tequila as you will need rum, vodka and wines.

5. Plan your bar. There are plenty of ways you could get your bar ready. You could go for the basics, and only provide beer and wine for your guests, and invite them to bring any special liquor that they may want to enjoy. You could create a theme, and have drinks that all relate to that specific theme. You can also be very ambitious, and shoot for a full bar (see the link to the chart above). No matter what sort of bar you have planned, don’t forget the proper mixers and garnishes, and make sure you have plenty of them. The one thing you do not want to run out of is the main attraction. Even if you are expecting people to bring their own, you want a good selection of juices and sodas for them to mix their drinks with, as well as plenty of ice to keep it all cool. Juices and sodas are also perfect for designated drivers, non-drinkers, and children.

So. Much. Liquor.

6. Have a cocktail ready to go. Making something simple and pre-mixed to offer guests as they come in is a great idea to make them feel welcomed. You can do a punch, so people can serve themselves while you are still welcoming guests. You can also have a simple bar set up that people can help themselves at; liquors, mixers, ice, and a few recipes. If you plan on bar tending for the night (or have someone to bar tend for you), have a simple drink menu available for people to choose from.

7. Keep an eye on your guests. People will hit the bar pretty hard when they first get there. Most guests will have a couple drinks in the first hour or so, then one drink per hour after that during the party. You are going to want to spend the first couple hours making sure that the bar stays well stocked with beer, wine, liquor, mixers, and ice. Towards the end of the night, you are going to want to make sure that your guests are not drunk. Talk with them before they go, to make sure their words are not slurring and they have the ability to focus. Hand them something to see how they reach for it. Is it a strong, direct grab or is it wavering, like the person is trying to find it? If they start getting loud or out of control during the party, make sure you cut them off. It is not comfortable, and it is best that you enlist the help of other guests to make sure their drinking is reduced. And if they are drunk, make sure they are not driving home, or you can get them a ride. Having guest bedrooms is ideal, but you can also call a taxi service.

It is very possible that you are going to one of the multitude of events on December 31^st in the area. Have a lovely time, but make sure you have a designated driver or the number for a cab company handy. If the party is at your house, make your check list and head out to get your party supplies ready. After all, we don’t want a repeat of Christmas Eve, do we? Cheers!

Bringing Sour Back

August 23, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

This is the bottle that sank a thousand cocktails…

I was eating lunch with a couple other bartenders this week, and I told them that I was working on an article about sour mix. Both of them cringed, no doubt with bottles of sickly yellow, highly processed liquid floating through their head. This has been what most of our parents, and many of us, were used to getting when we asked for a drink that required sour mix at a bar. Long Island Ice Teas, margaritas, Lynchburg Lemonades, so many cocktails that were drenched in this stuff. August 25^th is National Whiskey Sour Day, and the story of sour mix plays into the story of the cocktail quite nicely. It was not always something people would raise their nose at.

“Sours” are a class of cocktails that was been revived with the craft cocktail movement. The first sours were introduced in a book that is on every serious bartender’s bookshelf, How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon Vivant’s Companion, by Jerry Thomas. These cocktails started simply, using only a base spirit (like whiskey), lemon, and simple or “gumme” syrup. This basic recipe was so popular it spawned a wide variety of other cocktails, switching ingredients in and out but maintaining the same basic formula. It became the work horse of the late 19^th century, spawning classics like the sidecar, margarita and daiquiri are all examples of cocktails that are part of this group. Cocktail historian David Wondrich notes it was one of the most popular cocktail types for over a century, especially the whiskey version, from the 1860’s to the Mad Men era of the 1960’s.

Through the 20^th century, two major events happened that sullied the reputation of these fine cocktails. The first was Prohibition, which drove out all of the professional bartenders in the country, and with it all of their knowledge. The second is the development of prepackaged and premade food and drink. We developed into a society that was not going to wait, as well as one that was thrilled with anything new that science could invent. During the 50’s and 60’s, fresh squeezed juices were falling by the wayside in favor of premade juices that would last longer on the shelf. This included cocktail mixers that were easy to pour over a single liquor to make a drink. Who needs all of that tedious squeezing and mixing when you can just pour it out of a bottle? It was faster for bartenders, but it did not taste as good or as fresh. Combine that with a distilling industry that was just getting back into the swing of things, and you had a rough time for cocktails.

THAT…is a lovely whiskey cocktail.

At the beginning of the craft cocktail boom, a seed of hatred was planted into cocktails that used premade mixers. This seed grew, with sour mix and all cocktails made with sour mix: the focus of mixologist’s ire. Their simplicity was disregarded for more complex and exotic flavors. But that simplicity is what originally made this cocktail category, and the whiskey sour itself, so popular. You did not need many ingredients to make it, and the ingredients you did need were easy to get. Because many bars and restaurants are not making cocktails with fresh juices, it is far easier to enjoy these cocktail as they were envisioned about 140 years ago: liquor, some lemon juice, and some simple syrup.

When you are making a sour cocktail, you should keep in mind that the lemon and the simple syrup are going to overpower the liquor you choose. I would never recommend using something like Old Dan Tucker or Kentucky Gentleman, but there is no need to break out the Pappy Van Winkle. A nice Jim Beam or Maker’s Mark would do nicely. If you want a little more spice, you can use a rye whiskey as well.

Whiskey Sour

2 oz. bourbon
.75 oz. lemon juice
1 tsp. simple syrup

Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake it well. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry. You can make it look fancier by adding a lemon wedge. You can also enjoy it, as many people do, over ice in a non-chilled glass.

For any bartenders reading, or other cocktail enthusiasts, you may ask “Where is the egg white?” Many people will argue that a tablespoon or two of egg white should go into it, which would give the cocktail a smoother, thicker mouthfeel and add some foam when you shook it with the other ingredients. It is also a potential health hazard. It is disputed whether or not that ingredient should be added, but you may if you wish. Jerry Thomas did not add it, so neither will I.

Whiskey sours, and sours in general, are light and refreshing drinks that are about due for a major comeback. Simpler cocktails are making a comeback, and this is one of the simplest there is. Combine that with the bourbon boom that is happening, and soon the whiskey sour could be back among the most popular cocktails in the country. Ready to start the trend?

Keep the Rum Coming

July 19, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Yes, I would love to have a glass of rum. Thank you for asking!

George Washington is remembered as being one of the most respected individuals in American history. He was the General of the Army that defeated the British, he was the first President, and he was one of the great provocateurs before the American Revolution. He was a distiller, making his own beer and whiskey. He also knew quite well what spirits the people of colonial America liked to drink. He ordered 28 gallons of a particular spirit to distribute while he was running for the House of Burgess in Virginia. He also demanded it as a ration for his troops during the brutal winter they spent at Valley Forge and made sure that the fighting men got it before the officers did. When the war was over and Washington attended his inauguration, he (illegally) had a barrel of the finest imported. Whiskey was not a major American drink until after the war. The spirit that Washington, and all colonists were so fond of, was rum.

Rum was rough when it was first made. It was called kill-devil by most, but also referred to by several British slang words like rumbustion or rumbullion, both of which were terms referring to an upheaval. As it started to rise through the gentry, it became more refined with very basic distilling technology. It also became more popular as a drink to take on long voyages. Most ships of the era were outfitted with large supplies of beer and water. Rum did not go bad like the beer eventually did, nor did it suffer the same contamination that water was suspect to. Moreover, it was discovered that the long trips to Britain and America in oak barrels mellowed the rum and made it a much better quality liquor. It became a staple not only in the British navy, but on the pirate ships that were attracted to the Caribbean area for its developing wealth. The British were not prepared for the strength of the new spirit over beer. Rum started to be mixed with water, brown sugar, and lime. This had two effects: it stopped the sailors from being dead drunk and it gave them enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy. This gave the British a distinct advantage in sea combat. It remained a staple until 1970, when having buzzed sailors and modern weapons seemed to be a bad idea.

Barrels of rum aging.

America loved it as well. Rhode Island created rum that was as good, if not better, than rums coming from the tropics. The colonies were awash with it. Rum was in punches and any other drink you could ask for while traveling. It was also part of the slave trade, with people selling molasses to the colonies to get money to buy slaves. On average, colonists were drinking about four gallons per person per year. England took note of that, and imposed the Molasses Act in 1733 and Sugar Act in 1764, taxing the ingredients that helped to make rum. In 1775, the American Revolution began, and the rum started to flow out of America. Molasses became harder to come by. Not long after the revolution, as Americans moved west, whiskey started to be made in larger quantities in Ohio and Kentucky. Rum fell out of favor for a very long time, making a brief reappearance during Prohibition, then again after World War Two during the Tiki drink craze that swept the fifties and sixties.

Rum is distilled from one of two sources, either of which must come from sugar: molasses or sugar cane juice. Sugar cane juice is a little rarer (and known as rhum), so the bulk of the rum we all drink is made from molasses. It makes sense; the original rums were distilled from molasses, which was no more than a sticky, hard to dispose of byproduct when people were making sugar. There was just enough sugar left in it, with the help of some yeast, to turn it into something that was drinkable. Since rum was originally distilled among the many islands of the Caribbean, there is no one way for any particular rum to be created. Different yeast strains, stills, and methods are all employed by the various companies, making no two rums alike. It is hard to categorize all of the rum that is available in the market, but these are some common distinctions:

Light (silver) rum – They are milder and sweeter in general than most rums. The bulk of silver rum comes from Puerto Rico or Brazil (called cachaca). These are the ones you will find in most cocktails.
Gold rum – They usually have been aged in charred oak barrels, which gives them a little more color than the younger silvers. These barrels usually come from bourbon, which adds richness to the flavor.
Dark rum – Deep brown or red in color, these are more often used in cooking. They are aged longer, adding richer molasses and caramel tones to them. Dark rums usually come from Jamaica, Haiti, or Martinique.
Overproof rum – Gold colored rum with a very high ABV (Alcohol by Volume), usually around 151 proof.
Spiced rum – Spices are added, usually to gold rums, to enhance the natural flavor of the rum. They can also be darkened with caramel color.
Flavored rum – Usually silver in color and lower in ABV, they make up for it with added flavors. The flavors selected, usually tropical in nature, blend well with the natural sweetness of the rum. They are usually added to a mixer as an enhancement.

Fish House Punch, a staple of the Founding Fathers. This may explain some of the government.

Some places still offer gunpowder rum (exactly as it sound: run mixed with gunpowder), and there are many fine sipping rums as well that are made in pot stills and very small batches.

Rum is starting to make a comeback from a very long hiatus. The craft cocktail movement, with its love of the classics, has brought this spirit back. The first cocktails were made of rum, littering the early years of America with recipes. Fish House Punch, flips, shrubs, and daiquiris (who have their own day on July 19^th) all are cocktails that have a strong rum base. Mojitos are a wonderful summer cocktail, and the mai tai is considered a classic of the tiki era. Everything about rum invites fresh and tropical, perfect summer sipping. The complexity of rum offers an excellent base for cocktails.

From pirates to presidents, rum has been a spirit that has stayed close to the hands of people who enjoy a cocktail or two. Bourbon is considered the “spirit of America”, but the people who built America were fonder of their rum than whiskey of any sort. In recognition of the spirit and the day, find a restaurant with a patio that will make you a classic daiquiri. Summer is only going to last for so long, so enjoy!

To Your Health, Happiness, and Prosperity – National Anisette Day

July 2, 2013 By Brian Petro 1 Comment

Such a lovely bunch of flowers…

Anise has a long and flavorful history. It is mentioned in the Bible as a lesson not to be stingy to the Lord. It marched with Caesar as a treat for his troops, possibly one of the first candies developed. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians all used it to help digestive ailments, from upset stomachs to bad breath to indigestion. The Romans went so far as to bake it into mustaceum cake, where it was used with other herbs to aid in digestion. It was used for medicinal purposes as well as in cooking to add stronger flavors, or balance out sweetness. As time continued, more and more uses were found for this aromatic and powerfully flavored herb, from cosmetics to liquor. On July 2, we look to its use in liquors as we celebrate National Anisette Day.

Anisette is a generic name used for a liqueur that is primarily flavored with the herb anise, giving the drink a black licorice flavor. Sugary syrup is added to tone down the flavor ever so slightly. Anise grows mainly in the Middle East, Turkey, and Greece, but has spread through the world. Many of those countries also have created their own distinct anisette variations: in Greece it is known as ouzo, in Turkey it is called raki, in Syria, Egypt, and Israel it is known as arak. It is believed that Marie Brizzard, the popular French liqueur company, started to make anisette in 1755 with their other flavored options, helping to spread the popularity of the flavor through Europe. The Spanish fell in love with what they call Anis del Mono (“the monkey’s anisette”), the French created pastis and another infamous liqueur, absinthe. The Italians developed both white and black sambuca. All of them have their own variations of sweetness from the sugar added to the base spirit.

You can find this example of louched anisette at Pasha Grill in The Greene.

The flavor of licorice is a strong one, and anisette is rarely found without something mixed in it. The popular mix of choice for anisette in its many forms is water, whether you are looking at an elegant absinthe fountain or just pouring equal amounts of water and reki in a glass to create Lion’s Milk. One reason is the water dilutes the flavor, making it less intense and easier to drink. The other is to create and effect call louching, where the latent oils that are in the anise refuse to bond with the water mixture, giving the beverage a cloudy look. This is rarely done with sambuca (thought it would work), but the Italians came up with a unique solution to help cut the flavor of the anisette. They serve it with three coffee beans floating on top of it, calling it sambuca con la mosca, sambuca with a fly. The three beans represent health, happiness, and prosperity. You can do it with more or less, but it is considered bad luck to do it with an even number. After you drink the sambuca, you can chew on the beans to enhance the rich anise flavor.

Looking for it in this area can be difficult. Some of the more craft cocktail oriented places like Salar and Rue Dumaine may have absinthe or sambuca as aperitifs or digestifs to have during your meal, or for use in cocktails like a sazerac, Café de Paris, or typhoon. If you are looking to try an excellent louched drink, look to Pasha Grill for Yeni Raki, one of my favorites. Absinthe, sambuca, and ouzo are also common to find in liquor stores like Arrow Wine if you are feeling adventurous and want to bring some home for your own personal trials in cocktails.

From candy to medicine to cocktails, anise has proven to be a versatile and coveted plant. Its flavor profile, similar to a sweeter black licorice, is something people either love or hate. It blends well with other flavors in cooking as well as in adult beverages, helping to tone down bitter flavors and enhance sweeter ones. Over the Fourth of July weekend, with all of the family and friends you are going to be seeing, you have an opportunity to gather around a glass of something unique after a good meal and toast to each other’s heath, happiness, and prosperity.

Summer Sipping

June 21, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Summer is here…and look what it brought with it!

The unofficial beginning of summer has become Memorial Day weekend. It is a long weekend, the weather has turned warm for the season, and pool and festival season kicks off during the extended break from work. The official first day of the season is June 21, during the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. When summer hits, everything changes. Fresh fruit is much more available, and you can get VERY fresh fruit at local farmers markets and Second Street Market downtown. This is also a perfect excuse to change up what you are drinking.

The craft beer distilleries have been summer beers for a month or two now, adding berries, peaches, melons, and citrusy flavors to provide some light flavors more in tune with the season. People are turning to lighter cocktails, looking to all flavors of mojitos, margaritas, or any other light drink. And of course, you need to hit the patio wherever you are at. The season to relax on a patio with friends does not last forever, so get while the getting is good. But what to drink while you are out there? That is the real question. Here are some answers.

BEER

Shandies

Beer of your choice, typically a lager
Lemonade or lemon lime soda

Fill half a pint or other tall glass half way with your beer of choice. Fill the rest of it with the lemonade or lemon lime soda. Enjoy!

Shandies have been around for about a century, starting in Europe and spreading across the pond. Different places around the world use different regional mixers, but the general idea is the same. It is a drink with a little bit of an alcoholic punch, but mild enough to sip it all day long. Any beer can be used, but a good witbier can make a really tasty pairing.

COCKTAILS

Lynchburg Lemonade

1.5 oz. Jack Daniels (it can be any whiskey, but seriously…)
.5 oz. peach liqueur
1 oz. lemon juice (about lemon)
.5 oz. simple syrup
Club Soda

Pour the whiskey, peach liqueur, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker. Shake well (10-15 shakes), and pour into a glass filled with ice. Top off with about an ounce of club soda.

The Lynchburg Lemonade has fallen on hard times. It has a bad reputation of being overly sweet, fizzy, and generally frowned on in this world of craft cocktails and more available ingredients. Jeff Lucas, a contributor to Serious Eats, worked out this upgraded version. It allows the whiskey to come forward, with the rest of the flavors there for support. This is one you can make in the comfort of your own house.

Paloma

1.5 oz. tequila (I have been enjoying Avion lately)
4.5 oz. grapefruit soda
A splash of lime juice

Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the tequila in first, then the grapefruit soda and lime juice. Stir and enjoy!

While we like to drink margaritas to celebrate Mexican culture, Mexicans like to drink this very refreshing tequila cocktail. It is simple to make and perfect for a hot day out with friends.

Floridita (Or Hemingway Daiquiri)

2 oz. rum
.5 oz. lime juice
.25 oz. simple syrup
.25 oz. maraschino liqueur
.5 oz. grapefruit juice

Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until cold, and pour into a cocktail glass. Enjoy!

Hemingway needed to take a bathroom break. A charming little bar in Havana, the El Floridita, was on his way, so he pulled in there to use their facilities. He saw the bartender mixing up a batch of daiquiris. The bartender noticed the famous writer and offered him a glass. Hemingway liked it, but he wanted his a little stronger, and without the sugar. A little maraschino liqueur and a lot of rum later, this delicious summer cocktail was born.

Strawberry Sorbet

.75 oz. vodka
.75 oz. strawberry schnapps
4 oz. milk

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until cold, and pour in a tall glass filled with ice.

What is summer fun without a little ice cream? This is a richer drink you may want to consider as a dessert or a sweet treat. You can switch out any flavored schnapps you would like to make the ice cream your preferred flavor. You can even reduce the amount of milk to 2 oz., add 4 oz. of ice cream, and turn it into an actual shake. Add two or three fresh strawberries while you are at it!

WINE

White Wine Berry Sangria

1 750 ml bottle of white wine that matches your taste
.75 cup white rum
.5 cup sugar, less if you choose
.5 cup blueberries
.5 cup blackberries
.5 cup raspberries
.5 liter of ginger ale

Pour the wine, rum, sugar, and all of the fruit into a large pitcher and mix well. Put into the refrigerator for two hours, or until you are ready to serve. Just before you serve it, add the ginger ale to the mix.

Summer is a great time for berries. It is also a great time for white wine. It seems only natural to mix the two together for a light wine cocktail. You can up the tartness of the sangria by getting rid of the rum and switching it to .5 cup of limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur).

This is the season where families spend more time together and people go out and relax more. It is time to add some fresh flavors to the typical drinks you are enjoying. Where is your favorite patio to hang out on in Dayton during the summer? We would love to hear about it in the comments! There is a little extra daylight to burn today. Get out there and start enjoying it.

Live From New York: Brian Van Flandern Trains at Salar

May 7, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Fresh new cocktails coming to the Oregon District!

It was in New York that an actor was working his way through school. The year was 2003; he had one more semester to go, and the bar he was working in was failing. He was no ordinary bartender. While working in theater and other pursuits, he had nearly two decades of bartending under his belt. Knowing he had one more semester to go, he agreed to take one more restaurant job in New York and work there until he was able to get “a real job”. The new restaurant was the brainchild of Chef Thomas Keller, who had already created the very successful French Laundry in California, and now wanted to expand it to New York. While working with the chef of Per Se to create the menu, and learning to pair wines with dishes, this bartender asked “Why can’t we use fresh ingredients and make great cocktails that pair with food?” This simple question lead to a rethinking of how food and cocktails can interact. He had to prove to the chef that, despite their higher alcohol content, you can create cocktails that went well with food.

After the initial terror and question of “What did I do?” subsided, experienced bartender Brian Van Flandern set out to prove his point. The quest included three distinct elements. The first was to make cocktails from fresh and local ingredients, something that had been spreading like a virus through the New York cocktail scene. The second was pairing great cocktails with great food, something he was sure could be done. The third, and this was the hardest sell for the consumer, was to lower the alcohol content so that the palate was not damaged by the liquor. He was looking through a list of the basic cocktails when he picked his battle: the gin and tonic. Gin was an element that he was familiar with, and how much more simple of a cocktail can you make than one with just two elements? As he dissected it, he started to learn about the history of the drink, really questioning how it was made. That led to Van Flandern making his own tonic water, importing powdered quinine from Brazil, well before craft and artisan tonics were in vogue. Combining his home made tonic water with a special gin from San Francisco, he created the Tonic and Gin Per Se. When renown New York Times Critic Frank Brunei gave his four star review of Per Se, he mentioned that cocktail by name. “And all of a sudden my bartending job became a career”, Van Flandern said with a smile and a laugh.

Three star Michelein Mixologist Brian Van Flandern educating the staff.

Brian Van Flandern, three star Michelin rated mixologist and world class cocktail educator and creator, met with me at Rue Dumaine to discuss all things cocktail. Two things strike you as you are talking with him: he is naturally very friendly and easy to chat with, and he is passionate about cocktails and how they fit into our current culture. He has a very impressive resume to stand on. He has cocktails in over forty countries, as well as a very thick book of places where he has shared his experience and passion. He is the author of two books, Vintage Cocktails, which is currently available and Craft Cocktails, which will be released by Assoline later this month. Like anyone who is passionate about what he does and where he is going, he is well versed in where his craft has been. “Prior to Prohibition in the United States, being a bartender was a respected craft, like a pharmacist or a cobbler. It was a trade that was passed down from father to son. These famous barmen were making their own tonics, their own tinctures, their own syrups.” He goes on, describing the flight of these great bartenders to Europe so they could keep making good cocktails. Europe became no better for cocktails than America, getting caught first in the worldwide Great Depression and then World War II. “By the time World War II was over, we had lost an entire generation of mixology and had lost the art of the cocktail.” He talks about the evolution of the cocktail, not only in terms of how it went from strong in the 50’s and 60’s to sweet in the 70’s and 80’s, but how people perceived it and how consumer demand influenced it.

It was not until the late 90’s that the cocktail started to edge back to where it had been before prohibition. “Dale DeGroff started to do critical thinking like a chef. He took a recipe from a woman who had won a cocktail competition in Florida, and made a cocktail called a Cosmopolitan. He used fresh ingredients and quality spirits, balanced it out, and he made an amazing Cosmopolitan that became so famous in New York that Sarah Jessica Parker mentioned it in her show ‘Sex and the City’. That cocktail became a global phenomenon. That was only the beginning. Now we are seeing the great mixologists are emulating the great chefs, working with global, fresh ingredients, their balancing the acids and sugars, and they are creating original flavor profiles that are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and the palate.”

Class is in session for the future Salar mixologists.

Understanding where the cocktail has been helps Van Flanern see where it is going. Asking him about the next big cocktail trend, he feels that “we will never see a global trend like the Cosmopolitan again.” He sees bartending going in the same direction that the culinary world has been going; becoming more and more innovative, looking more to local and fresh ingredients to create their signature libations. He compared the growth of a bartender into a mixologist in the same way a cook evolves into a chef. Mixologists “innovate, they create, the do anything a bartender does, and more. They take it to the next level,” according to Van Flandern. Cocktails are no longer the big trend to look for, spirits are. People are embracing white whiskey, mescal, and pisco right now on the East coast, and it has been moving inwards through the country. The bigger spirits companies, like Diaego and Beam Global, are also helping to move trends, polling to see what people want to drink and encouraging the distilleries they own to develop spirits in that direction. This has allowed smaller, boutique, small batch distilleries to grow, fuelling a revolution in smaller craft spirits. “There is a lot of boutique, small batch, pot distilled distillations. We have seen a lot of boutique spirits are coming out where these guys are doing unique and innovative, cutting edge products in every major and minor spirit categories.”

Thanks to pioneers like Dale DeGroff, bartending has returned to the respectable trade it was before Prohibition chased bartenders to Europe, and their knowledge out of restaurants and bars. “It is an exciting time to be a bartender, globally”, offers Van Flandern, and he is right. Society’s palates have changed over the last two decades, and the explosion and expansion of craft liquors and spirits have given bartenders more options as far as ways to create cocktails. With the rising tide of skill and respect, the bar is no longer just a place for people to wait in a restaurant while their table is getting ready. It is an integrated part of the dining experience, with cocktails being paired with meals like wine traditionally has been and craft beers were a few years ago. “In my professional opinion, the long term trend in the next five years, great Chefs are going to supplant themselves in communities throughout the nation,” Van Flandern notes. He has seen this trend spreading, starting in places like London and New York, and in recent years moving to smaller cities like Cleveland and Columbus. And once the trend hits a city, it starts to spread to other lounges and restaurants.

Chef Margot Blondet, Executive Chef at Salar.

Mr. Van Flandern was recruited by Chef Margot Blondet to help give Salar, the restaurant she is creating, a globally inspired, signature cocktail menu. “We see great chefs like Chef Margot moving in to Dayton and settling down roots here, and then making commitments to great cuisine in Dayton, and making a similar commitment to her cocktail program.” That commitment extended to training the bar staff to make cocktails that had the same elements she was passionate about: fresh, innovative, exciting, locally sourced and the best in Dayton. Making great cocktails like that will also include training on the history of the spirits and the cocktails they would be making, so they understand them on a deeper level and can create new ones using the same philosophy. He assured me that all of their cocktails, while well crafted, will be delivered in a timely manner. If it is not exactly what you were looking for, the staff there will have no problems making it to your tastes. His customer first philosophy is one other thing that will be instilled into the bartenders he is training.

Salar is looking to open up in the next few weeks with not only fanfare, but with great ambition. Bringing a mixologist like Brian Van Flandern, with his years of experience and training, shows just how serious of an impact Chef/Owner Margot and General Manager Harry Trubounis are looking to make in the culinary landscape of Dayton. The stage is set in the Oregon District for a new star to rise.

Seven Years in Mexico – The Kahlua Story

February 27, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Ready and waiting for National Kahlua Day.

What were you doing in 2006? It was not an incredibly memorable year overall, but some major events happened. It started off with the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Italy had a big year that year, also beating France in the World Cup 5-3. The St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Heat, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Carolina Hurricanes all took the championships in their respective sports. The Oscar that year went to Crash and the Grammy for Album of the Year was U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The population of the United States hit 300 million in population that year as well. It was not all fun and games that year, though. Poor Pluto lost its planetary status that year, and Western Union sent its last telegram. YouTube played its last video independently that year, as it was bought by Google. James Brown, Steve Irwin, Don Knotts, Lou Rawls, and Coretta Scott King all passed away that year as well. But to end it on a good note, gas prices were only $2.59 on average for the whole year.

Why do events that happened seven years ago matter in a column that is about cocktails and liquor? Seven years ago some coffee beans and sugar cane, growing side by side, began a journey that would lead them to become a bottle of coffee liqueur better known of Kahlua. The coffee plant is what takes the longest time to grow, taking up to seven years for the Arabica coffee plant to reach maturity and produce coffee cherries. After the coffee is harvested, the beans are removed from the cherry and dried for at least six months before roasting, to get the proper flavor. While the coffee is being prepared, the neighboring sugar cane (which matures much faster) is being crushed so the juice can be collected and fermented; similar to how rum is created. When coffee is roasted and the sugar cane juice is fermented, the two are blended together with some caramel and vanilla flavors to create the second most distinct liquor to come out of Mexico.

The company celebrated its Mexican heritage all through its growth. The flirting began in Veracruz, in the south of Mexico on the Gulf. In 1930 the Alvarez brothers offered their premium coffee to a local man experimenting with making spirits. Things became serious in 1936, when the spirit was created and started to be sold. Its popularity blossomed over the next few decades, the final marriage of all the ingredients coming to fruition in 1962 before taking off in the United States through the mid 1960’s.The explosive growth in North America spawned multiple pretenders to the throne including lower quality versions like Kapali, Kamora, Copa De Oro, and deKuyper’s Crème de Café. Some well known coffee brands, like Starbucks and illy, also tried to get into the coffee liqueur game. Patron makes their XO Café, which is a blend of tequila and coffee. It is made in the same manner as Kahlua, but the tequila changes the flavor profile a bit. As many imitators as there are, there ain’t nothing like the real thing.

Rich and delicious, espresso martinis are a nice after dinner cocktail.

Kahlua (meaning “House of the Acolhua people” in Nahuatl) has maintained its 20% ABV and slight caffeine content (about 1/10^th of what a cup of coffee has) throughout its history. It has branched out into new flavors as the years have passed. They offer the original coffee flavor, as well as a more intense (and higher proof) Especial. On top of the Especial, they also have a 35% ABV Midnight, the strongest liqueur they have in their line. Staying close to the coffee flavor theme, they also offer Mocha, adding a hint of chocolate to the coffee, and a special holiday Peppermint Mocha. To round out their flavor offerings they have Hazelnut, French Vanilla, and Cinnamon Spice. Kahlua, and all of its many flavors, are sipped nicely on the rocks. So nicely, in fact, that one of the first mainstream cocktails made with Kahlua was the Black Russian, using two parts of vodka with the Kahlua over ice. A simple addition of cream or milk will make a White Russian, made famous in The Big Lebowski. It is also a key ingredient in any version of the Espresso Martini. It is prominently featured in shots like the Baby Guinness and B-52. Of course, it also goes very well in a nice cup of coffee.

February 27^th is National Kahlua Day, and the coffee that was planted in 2006 is now sitting in bottles, waiting to be enjoyed. There are plenty of cocktails you can try with this sweet coffee liqueur, or just enjoy it on the rocks. As an Ohioan you get an added benefit: Kahlua can be sold on our great state at 21.5%, slightly higher than the rest of the world. Just another thing to celebrate today! Cheers!

Sipping your Chocolate

February 8, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is a day of hearts, flowers, wines, romance, and boxes and boxes of chocolates. Chocolates are among the most popular gifts to give on Valentine’s Day, making local favorites like Esther Price, Winans and Signature Confections very happy. We like our chocolates as truffles, bars, bons bons, dips, and any number of creative ways. The people that discovered chocolate, the early Mayans and Aztecs, would be completely baffled by how we use chocolate. Xocolatl, or “bitter water” in Nahuatl (Aztec), was fermented and drank, usually by the upper classes. They would also thicken up the drink on occasion with corn and chilies, turning it into porridge. The Spanish were the first to add milk and sugar to it to sweeten it and turn it into the chocolate that we know and love. They were still drinking it until the 17^th century, when the chocolate candy craze hit Paris. For a thousand years, chocolate was a beverage. And in this modern era of craft beers, flavored spirits, and experimentation, you can make it a drink for your Valentine’s Day celebration.

WINE

Pairing wine and chocolate is something that people have built whole festivals around. Godiva has even wisely added a page to their website to help you start off, and give you tips on what to look for when you pair it yourself. Putting the two together into one drink is something that is fairly new to the drinking scene. ChocoVine came out of the gate strong in 2009 with high ratings, and it has maintained them since. The people I know that have tried it have had nothing but good things to say about this blend of red wine (they use Cabernet grapes) and Dutch chocolate. In the same category is ChocolatRouge, another blend of chocolate and red wine, this time using California red wines. These are fairly inexpensive bottles, and their richness great to use as a dessert or treat. Their websites also suggest you can use them in cocktails.

BEER

The craft beer movement has encouraged experimentation with a full range of flavors, from savory to sweet, fruity to earthy. The chocolate end of the spectrum is full with delicious porters and stouts, using the already deep flavor of a well-roasted malt to enhance the chocolate added to the brew. The first one, and still one of the better ones, is Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. Southern Tier makes and utterly delightful stout, Choklat, that is a must taste for the chocolate lover. Stouts are a great winter warmer, which has the Brooklyn Brewing company bringing out their Black Chocolate Stout at this time of year. One of the richer chocolate beers is Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout, which has a very strong and smooth chocolate taste. In 2001 Rouge Ales released their Chocolate Stout around Valentine’s Day and have not looked back. They followed up this award winning beer with a Double Chocolate Stout, which ramped up the chocolate flavor to satisfy the sweetest tooth. This is a very small sampling of some amazing chocolate beers in the area.

LIQUOR

For a very long time, if you wanted to add chocolate to a cocktail, you were reaching for the crème de cacao. It comes in two varieties, white and dark, and is base liquor infused with chocolate, sometimes a hint of vanilla. It is not something that is the star of the show in a cocktail, more of a supporting actor to the other flavor that is going on. It was not until the explosion of the craft cocktail movement that the options for how to add that chocolate flavor grew.

Godiva Chocolate Liqueur is the most popular of the new wave of chocolate liqueurs. Creamy and thick, it is more reminiscent of Irish cream and holds a great deal of flavor. It comes in White Chocolate and Original Chocolate, depending on what you are in the mood for. One (very appropriate) cocktail you can make with the liqueur:

Aphrodisiac

2 oz. vodka (chocolate, if you prefer)
1 oz. espresso
1 oz. Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz. coffee liqueur

Chill a martini glass. Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, and shake it until it is foamy. Strain the ingredients into the chilled cocktail glass. You can add chocolate syrup inside of the glass as a decorative element, or rim the glass with cocoa powder.

While you are looking for good chocolate liquor to use, you may want to take a look in the vodka aisle. Since Absolut kicked off the flavored vodka party in 1986, there has been an explosion of flavored vodka. That explosion had not fully made it to chocolate, as there are very few pure chocolate vodkas on the market. Pinnacle has a Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Whip Cream flavors, but they are not true chocolate. For true chocolate, you have three options. If you are someone who is very particular about your vodka and the environment it comes from, 360 offers a Double Chocolate flavor. Three Olives makes some innovative flavors, but kept it simple and sweet for their chocolate vodka. Three Olives will also be the one that is easiest to find. It is a great brand. Van Gogh, while their Rich Dark Chocolate vodka has some great flavors and a darker color, it is harder to find in the stores. It is also the most expensive of the three. That chocolate martini you are making will benefit from any of these fine vodka selections, and either kick off or end the night in fine fashion.

Boxes of sweets are not the only way to being chocolate into the holiday. Beer, wine and cocktail lovers can also drink in some chocolaty goodness to celebrate being with a loved one. Belmont Party Supply can help you select a few beers to enjoy the evening with, and Arrow Wine has the full selection of chocolate infused liquors mentioned. They also have Piece of Cake’s Chocolate Cake liqueur, and chocolate infused whip cream for a garnish to your drinks. If you are looking to try chocolate in the way the ancient Mayans and Aztecs enjoyed it, Dogfish Head has it taken care of. Using flavors taken from samples discovered in 1200 year old pottery, Theobroma has a unique chocolate and chili flavor to it. It is very difficult to find, but if you can, it is a treat. There are plenty of great Valentine’s Day festivities for you to enjoy in the Dayton area, and a wide variety of ways to get your chocolate fix at any of them. Enjoy the day…and your chocolate!

A Spot of Tea to Warm the Soul

January 11, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

There is something absolutely thrilling to people about looking at fossils in a museum. Staring up at the skeletons of huge, ancient lizards allows your imagination to wander. What did they really look like? What sort of coloration did they have? You can stand there and look at the artists renderings of them, what the scientists tell you they should look like based on what they know about modern lizards and how they might have changed over the years. However, you can also look at them and imagine what you think they might have looked like. Add some spines, or smoother skin, or different colors, absolutely anything to suit your fancy. A simple structure to allow your imagination to play and an ancient history are also part of cocktail culture. January 11^th is a day where we celebrate one of those cocktail dinosaurs; something that is more of a skeletal idea than a fully evolved, finished recipe. It is the hot toddy, and January 11^th is National Hot Toddy Day.

The toddy palm is common in India, and that is where the first bones of the cocktail can be found. The locals would tap the trees to get the sap and they allow the sap to ferment in the warm sun, creating a palm wine. If you take the wine and distill it, you get brandy; if you take palm wine and distill it, it becomes arrack. India is a very hot country, and the British were not used to that sort of heat. The colonists would drink anything to cool off and get away from the heat. Fortunately the natives already had something ready for the overheated British; a drink called “panch”, which is Indian for “five”, supposedly the number of ingredients contained in the beverage. It had water, some spices, lemon, sugar, and the arrack. It watered everything down, was refreshing, and made the days a little more bearable. It was so good they brought this panch back to Britain with them, but used the name of the tree that it originally came from. The drink became known as a toddy. A cold toddy.

The toddy continued to evolve once it made it north. Britain is a chilly, damp place. Cool and refreshing drinks do not go over as well there, since the environment is chilly more often than not. They are trying to figure out ways to warm up, not cool down. Water, spices, sugar…sounds like a good hot cup of tea to me. They were now roughly five thousand miles away from the arrack that was used in the original recipe. Being British, they kept calm and carried on, substituting the arrack for whiskey and gin. Some stories say that this mixture of sugar, water, and lemon was used to soften the overly peaty and strong Scotch whiskeys in the 18^th century, making them more favorable to women. England loves their gin, and the juniper in the gin went well with some spices that are found in tea. Yes, tea had also become an element to add to this loose recipe, mixed more to the taste of the drinker and a general idea than any specific recipe. The bones of the recipe were still there, but the flavors and the details adapted themselves to the environment.

When the British travelled to America, the evolution continued. Scotch was not as easily available, but there was no shortage of liquors ready to take its place. Traditional liquors like gin and brandy were still very popular in the colonies, but newcomers like rum, bourbon, and rye whiskey were growing in popularity. There was also more access to sweeteners like honey and molasses, not just the sugar that was more traditional in Great Britain. In colonial times, sugar was not granular; it was brought in blocks and you had chip off and crush what you needed for the drink. The stick that was used (in some of the tales) was called a toddy stick, another possibility for where the name came from. Tea was still readily available to mix all of the ingredients in. The one major thing the colonies added was a standardization of the size. It went from something that could be made in a mug, a quart, a punch bowl, or any large container for multiple servings. By the end of the 19^th century, famous bartender Jerry Thomas had compressed the cocktail into a cup. Everything had also start to become a little more codified. The revolving carousel of liquors finally stopped at whiskey (though rum and gin was still found to be more popular in New England), the sweetener became sugar, and the tea went away for a while in favor of hot water (though now tea or spice is considered part of the drink).

What kept such a simple, erratic cocktail so popular over such a long period of time? While the flexibility of the drink helped keep it popular for a wide range of palates and environments, the biggest reason was the supposed medicinal purposes. People would drink it when they were under the weather, which made them feel a little better for a while. It was hot, which helps loosens up mucous and helps you breathe a little easier; if you use tea, you also get the benefits tea brings. The acid in the lemon adds some vitamin C, and using honey helps to coat your throat as well as the other medical benefits honey has. Alcohol has been used for years either as a medicine (as vodka was in Poland and Russia) or as a big part of medicine (like it was at the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century). The problem of using alcohol as medicine too often is that the cure can be worse than the disease. Yes, the alcohol makes you feel a little better for a short time, but it is dehydrating. It may leave you feeling a little worse than before you drank it. Drinking too many will give you a hangover. A small dose before bed, however, can help you sleep a little better while the rest of the ingredients go to work. A hot toddy will help to relieve some of the symptoms of a cold or flu, but it is not a cure. You should still use medicine for that.

Hot Toddy

1.5 oz. whiskey
.5 oz. lemon juice
.75 oz. simple syrup
4-6 oz. of hot water
Tea bag or other spices (cinnamon or nutmeg are traditional)(optional)

Brew the cup of tea to your taste. In a cup, stir together the whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Add the tea, and then stir the mixture a few more times. You can garnish it with a lemon wedge or cinnamon stick. You can also substitute hot water or cider for the tea, and rum or brandy for the whiskey.

As this mysterious cocktail passed from continent to continent, it changed and adapted to the needs of the environment it was in. With all of the changes it made, from a cooling drink in India to a warming drink in America, the basics never changed. The skeleton of a drink was created that maintained a certain simplicity while emphasizing a world of possibilities. You can usually order one at a bar (can you imagine the whiskeys you can choose from at The Century Bar for this one?), but why? Wrap yourself in your warmest blanket, find a great book, and settle in with this steaming cup of goodness next time you feel a little under the weather. What you put in it is all in your imagination, as long as you stick to the basic structure. Happy National Hot Toddy Day!

Bloody Delicious

January 1, 2013 By Brian Petro 1 Comment

There are so many Bloody Marys to discuss, who knows where to begin? Queen Mary I of England first picked up the name during her reign from 1553 to 1558. Her prosecution of the Protestants was brutal, ranging from exile to execution. The rate at which she executed them was extreme, earning her the nickname of Bloody Mary. There is also a game you can play during Halloween (or any sufficiently dark sleepover) where you go into the bathroom and stare into the mirror, chanting the name “Bloody Mary” over and over again to either summon the ghost of the murderous Queen Mary, or a witch of the same name. Summoning the ghost in the mirror will not make her happy, and you have to turn the light on in the room you are playing before she breaks through the mirror and rips your soul to pieces. Or does something considerably worse. January 1, National Bloody Mary Day, on the dawn of a brand new year, does not seem to be the best time to celebrate either of the two previous ladies. The spicy, vodka based cocktail you sip at brunches is a better thing to focus on. It might be your first cocktail of 2013, working hard to cure your hangover.

The history of the Bloody Mary cocktail is as interesting and complex as the drink itself. It was invented in the early 1920’s by a man named Ferdinand “Pete” Petoit at Harry’s American Bar in Paris. He claims to have named it after a woman named Mary, who would spend hours at the bar sadly waiting for a less than stellar, or punctual, boyfriend. Initially, the drink was made with equal parts of vodka and tomato juice, making it a thick and rather bland drink. When Petoit moved the drink with him to America, he began to improve it, adding Worcestershire sauce, Tobasco, celery salt, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and anything else to spice up the tomato juice. The other thing that was changed in America was the liquor. We may think of vodka as a spirit that has always been around, but the United States did not get on the vodka bandwagon until the 1950’s with Smirnoff’s big, “Breathless” push. The base spirit in the 30’s and 40’s became the much easier to find gin, and the name of the cocktail switched over to a Red Snapper. Some theories abound that we delicate Americans could not handle the original name and it was switched for that reason. When the Smirnoff promotion fully hit the United States, the company used the Bloody Mary as one of the cocktails to promote the spirit, it was launched into the American bar scene.

The Bloody Mary is considered by most cocktail historians and scholars as a staple drink, and is included within the pages of every cocktail book published since it was invented. They are so iconic that in 1986 Absolut vodka introduced Absolut Peppar, the first commercially made flavored vodka, specifically for the Bloody Mary craze that was going on at the time. The Bloody Mary may be a cornerstone of many bars, but it is not universally liked. Many cocktails scholars, including David Embury and Gary Regan, are not fans of the drink. Embury went as far as to call it “strictly vile”. The thickness of the drink or the savory flavors tend to turn off as many people to the drink as it attracts. It is also not something popular to drink in the evening; it is too thick to drink many of them at one sitting. But having one at breakfast is very acceptable. In fact, the vitamins and minerals in the tomato juice, along with your eggs, toast, and bacon make a pretty handy hangover cure for everything you DID drink last night. A Virgin Mary, all of the nutrients, none of the alcohol, makes an even better cure.

The recipe…yeah, about that. There is an art to making a Bloody Mary. The main ingredients of vodka and tomato juice are not in question. The spices that go into the cocktail is where the lines get drawn. The inventor himself laid out the spicy ingredients as salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon. Over the years other spices have been introduced or experimented with, like horseradish, sriracha, dill, rice vinegar, mustard, and many others. Ultimately, the goal is to make sure you are balancing out the sweet tomato juice with the spices as not to make either overpowering. Garnishes for the Bloody Mary fall into the same category. Many people associate a celery stick as the garnish, but you can also use a lime wedge or olives to finish off the drink as well.

Bloody Mary (Classic version)

2 oz. vodka (pepper or bacon works well)
5 oz tomato juice
.5 oz lemon juice
4 dashes of hot sauce
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
A dash of salt
A dash of pepper
Celery salt (optional)

Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Roll the ingredients back and forth between two separate glasses. Rolling a cocktail mixes all the ingredients gently, so the tomato juice does not get very thin and bubbly, as it would if it was shaken. You can add a dash of celery salt to the top of the cocktail, or rim the glass with the salt.

Tyrannical queens and creepy children’s games aside, the Blood Mary is rich in flavor and history. It is evolving as tastes change as other bartenders get their hands on it. You can get it very well made at most brunch places in the area, or you can make it at home with spices you have there. With the biggest party of the year being on December 31^st, having a classic brunch cocktail/hangover cure celebrated on the first day of the year only makes sense.

Let us know where you are having your Bloody Mary today, and who makes the best ones in Dayton. Happy New Year everyone!

Waiter, There is Champagne in my Cocktail…

December 28, 2012 By Brian Petro 1 Comment

Champagne is a beverage that we bring out only at special celebrations. It was the French royalty at the beginning of the 18^th century that popularized the trend of drinking this sparkling beverage. It became perceived (with marketing help from the grape growers in the Champagne region of France) as a drink of the affluent, so the people of the middle and working classes only would drink it for special occasions. Even though champagne and other sparkling wines have become fairly easy to find and purchase at a modest price, it is still something we associate with infrequent celebrations and special events. We see it when sports teams win championships, when couples get married, maybe when someone smashes a bottle of it to christen a boat, and of course, New Year’s Eve. People sip it straight out of a flute or a coupe if they are feeling a little more vintage vibe. What you do not see much of is people mixing it into a cocktail.

A mimosa at breakfast is typically the extent of people’s experience with a champagne based cocktail. Possibly a bellini for brunch or a light lunch drink. There are so many more cocktails you can make with champagne as the base, playing off the general sweetness and effervescence of it. The one thing you always want to keep in mind: champagne is very carbonated. Take care when you are mixing the ingredients together. Also, champagne is a sparkling wine specific to the Champagne region of France. It belongs to the larger category of sparkling white wines where you will find cava (Spain), prosecco (Italy), and sekt (Germany). For the purposes of the recipes, I am going to use what the original source calls for. You can use other sparkling wines, but the taste will vary accordingly.

Champagne Cocktails 101

Here are a few cocktails you can make with champagne and common liquors, or other mixers you may have at your party.

Bellini

1.5 oz. peach schnapps
4-6 oz. prosecco

Pour the peach schnapps into a flute, and then add champagne. Stir gently, and garnish with a peach slice.

Before all of you bartenders and other cocktail experts leap upon me, a traditional bellini is made with white peach puree, not peach schnapps. If you can find the ripe peaches in the store, or premade peach puree, substitute that for the peach schnapps. I have even
seen this recipe called a Dirty Bellini.

Mimosa

2 oz. orange juice
.25 oz orange liqueur (triple sec, Grand Marnier, etc.)
4-6 oz. champagne

Pour the orange juice into the flute, and then add champagne. The orange liqueur is added last, as a float, and is optional if you do not have it available. It will also not be bad to have on New Year’s Day.

Black Velvet

Stout (Guinness is the traditional choice)
Champagne

Add equal parts stout and champagne into a pilsner glass. It is a bigger trick that you might think. I will usually put the champagne in first, and then add the stout VERY slowly, keeping a close eye on the bubbling of the champagne. When Prince Albert passed away, the whole country went into mourning with Queen Victoria. Even the champagne, with the help from Guinness, was black with sorrow.

Champagne Cocktails 201

Very popular, you may need to purchase a few specialty ingredients, or make a few extra preparations for these cocktails.

Kir Royale

.5 oz Crème de cassis
6 oz. champagne

Pour a standard pour of champagne in a flute and add the crème de cassis. Crème de cassis is a black currant flavored liqueur. A kir can also be made in a similar fashion, substituting a dry white wine for the champagne.

Champagne Cocktail

Sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters (2 dashes of bitters should do)
6 oz. champagne
Splash of cognac (optional)

Place the sugar cube in the bottom of the flute. Pour the champagne over the cube, allowing the sugar and bitters to dissolve. The cognac float at the end is more popular in England than it is here. This is another notable vintage cocktail, something you will see mentioned in more than a few black and white movies. Talkies, as the kids call them.

Poinsettia

3 oz. cranberry juice
1 oz. orange liqueur
3 oz. champagne

Pour the cranberry juice and orange liqueur into a flute and stir together. Add the champagne and enjoy. It is seasonal, festive, and delicious.

Champagne Cocktails 301

These are going to take liqueurs that are a little more obscure or expensive, and much more preparation.
They may be a little less known generally, but have a place in cocktail history.

Death in the Afternoon

1 oz. absinthe or Pernod
5 oz. champagne

Pour the absinthe into a flute, and then add champagne. Absinthe balances out the sweet champagne with a hint of wormwood and licorice flavors. Ernest Hemmingway, who is credited with the creation of the drink, also suggests in the recipe to enjoy three to five in the afternoon. This probably explains quite a bit about his work.

French 75

1 oz. gin
.5 oz. lemon juice
1.5 tsp. simple syrup
4 oz. champagne

In a mixing glass, combine the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake it, and strain the contents into a Collins glass over ice. Top it off with the champagne and gently stir it. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice. If you are not a fan of gin, you can substitute it with cognac. This cocktail got its name because it was said it felt like you were hit with a French 75mm field gun, a staple of the French army during World War I and the first piece of modern artillery. Boom.

Seelbach Cocktail

1.5 oz. bourbon
.5 oz. orange liqueur
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud bitters
4 oz. champagne

Mix the bourbon, bitters, and orange liqueur briefly over ice, and strain into a flute. Top off the mixture with champagne. It was created at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville just before Prohibition hit, and the original recipe for this cocktail was lost. It was found recently and brought back to life, with a shocking amount of bitters that offer some balance to the sweetness of the champagne, bourbon, and orange.

You know champagne is going to be in the mix on December 31^st. With a little more planning and a few more purchases, you can have a wide range of cocktails available that can be made with that single ingredient. Of course, there is nothing wrong with just enjoying it as it comes out of the bottle. If you enjoy a little too much of it (since you will not be driving, right?), we have a few remedies for the hangover on January 1^st.

Have a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve, and a prosperous 2013.

Cheers!

So You Want to Bar Tend…

December 2, 2012 By Brian Petro 1 Comment

Perhaps you will be making many of these…

Bartending has a fog of grandeur around it. We lean against the bar polishing glasses, we are in touch with deeper wisdom than many mortals, and we know the ins and outs of every drink known to man. In the middle of the chaotic bar scene you are used to, we are the men and women who navigate through it all with ease and confidence, remembering drink orders of most of the patrons. That is why we always get one or two numbers a night from the people in the bar. I hear more than once or twice a week how nice it must be to be a bartender, and how they would love to do what I do.

Bartending is a tough gig. The hours are long, there is quite a bit of very physical work involved (kegs and cases of beer are incredibly heavy), and the pay is always uncertain. Being on top of your game means doing what people in other professions do: reading the trades and books, searching the internet for the edges of the trends, and trying to stay one step ahead of what your customers might be demanding. You get to deal with very drunk people, sometimes demanding people, and of course cleaning up after a great party every night.

There are good and bad things about every job. The first time I went behind the bar, I knew it was something I was going to love doing. It was comfortable, like a well worn t-shirt. It is not something for everyone. If you are looking to eventually work your way into becoming a bartender, here are a few things you want to consider:

Pick your spot. It is interesting to note that not all places offer the same sort of bartending. Jokers and the Funny Bone work on the premise of speed. We had a limited amount of time, and we wanted to make the best cocktails at the fastest pace. That leaves many cocktails with muddling out. Or making cocktails with fresh squeezed ingredients. However, there are places around town where they can take their time to squeeze oranges for each drink, and delicately muddle the mint in a mojito. They may even make their own liquor infusions. On the other end, some bartending jobs are little more than pulling draughts, pouring shots, and opening cans. Look for the type of bartending you want to do, and try to get in a place that offers it.
Prepare for a long apprenticeship. I started bartending at Jokers Comedy Café in 2005. I started working at Jokers in 2002. I do not know of any bartenders that walked in and right away got the job unless they had some experience. And not classroom experience; real world behind-the-bar experience. To become a bartender, you are going to have to take some time lurking in the shadows at the place you want to bartend at. Maybe as a bar back. Maybe as a server. Just get in somehow, and let the manager know you want to be a bartender. It may be a long time, but you might actually get back there. Then there will be a period of working the Tuesday dinner shifts, the Sunday brunch shifts, or other less than desirable bartending periods. Once make it through all of this, it makes it easier to get bartending jobs at other places.
Everyday you’re hustling. There is a hierarchy in the serving industry, and bartenders are on the top of it. There are usually very few of them compared to other positions in the restaurant, and they are picked from the best servers and workers. They are given the most autonomy out of any position, and it is not by shirking shifts and needing to be prodded to do their job at every turn. Why? They are in charge of one of the most precious commodities a bar has: the liquor. The management has to trust you with such a vital and expensive part of their business. You have to show them that you are that person they can trust.
Study the menu. See the type of drinks they offer, and the types of drinks people are ordering. I have made hundreds, possibly thousands, of Mai Tais and Blue Kazoos (.75 oz. blue curacao, .75 oz. Bacardi 151 rum, and lemon lime soda, served in a highball glass). I could count the number of Rob Roys or Rusty Nails I have made on my fingers. This gives you a chance to start learning the popular drinks and how to make them.
…or opening quite a few of these.
Learn your trade. What is the difference between cognac and brandy? What craft beers are starting to become popular? Who is Jerry Thomas? Or Gary Regan? These are things you want to start learning as you are waiting to become a bartender. Go to tastings like the Century has for whiskey, the Trolley Stop has for beer, and various places around the area have for wine. Read books. Check out magazines. Surf the web. Absorb everything you can, and use it. Your customers will thank you for it. Hopefully with money.
Weekends? Holidays? Most people see weekends and holidays as a time to relax and spend time with family and friends. While they are winding down, you have to be winding up. Weekends are when you make your money. Friday and Saturday night are the prime shifts, when all the real money making occurs. Though, you have probably learned all this through the apprenticeship phase. Or just by looking around when you are out on Friday and Saturday while waiting for a table. It could cause some friction with family and friends when you tell them you really cannot make it for the big Saturday graduation party because you have to, you know, pay rent. It becomes a trade off you have to be willing to accept.
Love thy customer. The other side of your bar has people on it. They are not the enemy, they are not walking ATMs, they are not trying to make you have a bad night. They just want a drink, even if that drink is something that makes your bartender soul cringe (chocolate martini with Tanquery, anyone?). They want to celebrate their birthday, have fun on their date, or commiserate a bad day with friends. Your rough night behind the bar, broken glass in the ice, or bartender that did not show up is not their concern. Always smile. Chat with them, ask them about their day, and enjoy their company. Being a great bartender is more than just knowing how to make a good cocktail; it is knowing how to help a few hundred people a night a really good time.

I am a huge fan of working behind the bar, making cocktails for people, and seeing all of them enjoying their night. When I do complain about the bad tipper or the overly needy customer, I remember that they are in the minority, and ninety five percent of the people I deal with are incredible, fun, and are looking to enjoy their night. If after reading all of this, you still are looking to bet back there and make the best damn drinks in Dayton, good luck. I hope you make it. If anyone else has some tips, or wants to share their story about getting into bartending, we would love to hear it. Cheers!

Punching It Up

September 20, 2012 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Hello fancy!

Our cocktail history is a long and rich one. Starting with the Pilgrims stopping at Plymouth Rock because they were out of beer, up to the current rise of the craft cocktails, we have seen a little bit of everything. One of the longest runs in our cocktail history is one that for the most part has been forgotten, other than remnants of them in some of the cocktails we enjoy today. It was present up right to the end of the 19^th century, encouraging people to gather around and spend a few hours with each other, ladling out glasses of potent liquid to cool off in the hot summer months, and to warm up in the cold winter months. The punch was a staple of the growing United States, being present at every bar and gathering in the country, and for some very good reasons.

Punches originated in India, where the British were stationed with little access to the good alcohols they enjoyed at home. And the British sailors did not like to be separated from their ration of one gallon of beer a day. Or a half pint of rum, whichever they preferred. One of the origin stories for why they called it “punch” was a slant on the Indian word panch (five), the number of ingredients the punch was supposed to have. The drink was created with alcohol, lemon, sugar, water, and tea or other native spices. The alcohol became whatever was handy at the time. It began with wine, but rum, brandy, and whiskey punches were also popular in the various areas of the British Empire. It was so popular that a special bowl was even created for it, called a Monteith Bowl. It had a scalloped edge, which eventually became removable, where a ladle could be kept or the stems of wine glasses could be held.

It spread with the empire. Rum houses sprang up all over the United States and Caribbean islands. The earliest recorded punch in the New World is the Bajan (Barbadian) Rum Punch. It was so popular it even had its own rhyme for a recipe: One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak. One part lime juice, two parts sweetener (usually sugar), three parts rum, and four parts water. Local spices were also added to the mix, recreating the five part panch. As the drink spread through the country, regional variances changed the flavors, and in some case the potency, of the tipple. The Schyulkill Fishing Company created the most famous variation, known as the Fish House Punch. Possibly for the gentlemen there to enjoy, possibly something lighter for the ladies to enjoy at a Christmas Party in 1848. Punches of all varieties became a staple of dinners, of meetings, of daily life in the young country. At one dinner in 1785, the host reported that sixty-eight people went through forty-four bowls of punch, as well as eighteen bottles of wine and a large quantity of other rums and brandy. Rum was the staple liquor in the colonies, and in many punches, since it was readily available and cheap. The cheapness of the rum was another reason punches were so popular; in the 18^th century, rum was still in its infancy. It was awful. The additional flavors and water added to the punch helped to hide the awfulness of the cheap and nearly raw spirit.

Monteith bowls never go out of style.

Punches started to fall out of favor just before the Civil War. Punches were something to be consumed by a group of people over several hours, and we were starting to roll out across the country. Railroads were being built, gold was being discovered, and acres of land were out there for the taking. This was a growing country, and this was no time to sit and drink. There were more options for drinks as well, and people were looking for something more individualized. They did not want to all have to drink the same thing. They lasted until the beginning of the 20^th century as a curiosity, something of a cocktail throwback. They were pushed to the back of recipe books in favor of collins, cobblers, and sours, many of which owe their existence to the recipe of punch. Some of the first tiki style drinks from the 1950’s were also based off of punch recipes. Since then, punch’s non-alcoholic form (which was always around, just not as popular) became a staple at kids’ parties for the same reason it was a staple at dinners; it brings people together around a communal place to drink something refreshing in a social setting.

Punches are still a great way to present something to your guests at a party so they can serve themselves. They can be prepared in advance, and you can make them to taste, taking into consideration the time of year you are serving them. Right now, a nice apple cider punch or something with fall spices like cinnamon and nutmeg would be delightful. September 20^th is National Punch and Rum Punch Day. Gather some friends together, stir together one part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong and four parts weak, add a few spices to taste, and enjoy an evening around a fire. Cheers!

Barbadian Punch

1 cup lime juice
2 cups simple syrup (Heat one cup of water, then add a cup of sugar. Mix until dissolved, allow to cool)
3 cups of rum
4 cups of water
A few dashes of Angostura bitters
Nutmeg to taste

Stir all of the ingredients into a pitcher or bowl. Ladle into individual cups over ice, add nutmeg to taste.

Philadelphia Fish House Punch

1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 (750-ml) bottle Jamaican amber rum
12 oz Cognac (1 1/2 cups)
2 oz peach brandy (1/4 cup)

In a large bowl, stir the sugar into the water until the sugar is dissolved. Then mix in the lemon juice, rum, cognac, and brandy. Put the mixture into the refrigerator for three to four hours until chilled. Serve over a large block of ice for the sake of tradition, or in cups with ice in them. Garnish with wheels of lemon. If you deem this as too strong when tasting it, add more water or black tea.

(Recipe via Epicurious)

The Wrath of Grapes

November 25, 2011 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

It all begins here…

You went to the family meal at about noon, and popped a beer because the game was just starting. Then another, because dinner was not going to be done for another hour or two (and the Matt Stafford was killing your fantasy team). You had another one during dinner, and then left to go hang out with your friends at the local watering hole, where all of the serious drinking was going to take place. That is when the shots came out, the whiskey flowed, and great times were had by all. And of course, the designated driver was able to get everyone home safe. You have the day off today…why not have a good time on Thanksgiving? Well, because Black Friday may be named for all of the shopping that is going to be done today, but it would best describe how you are feeling. It may be better for your head to explode, because it would at least stop the pounding that is going on right now. You are not entirely sure what is causing your stomach to squirm all over like it is doing, but you would love for it to stop. And your tongue feels like someone dried it out, and then wiped their feet on it. Your Black Friday is the hangover you earned from the night before.

Hangovers, as we all well know, are caused by drinking too much alcohol, flooding your well balanced system with impurities. “Too much” in a moderate drinker is four to seven cocktails over an evening out. So we are all on the same page, a drink is considered as 1.5 ounces of liquor, 6 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer. That is not saying you get drunk after that many drinks. That is saying your body chemistry starts to do bad things after that many drinks. Some people are so sensitive to alcohol that one drink could trigger hangover-like symptoms. Those symptoms include nausea, headaches, dehydration, fatigue, diarrhea, sensitivity to light and sound, aversions to smells and tastes, trouble sleeping, and difficulty concentrating. All of these things you may (unfortunately) be familiar with.

This. This is what you need right now.

Ethanol is the chemical impurity that is a major culprit in you feeling like this. The most damaging thing it does is dehydrate you by causing you to produce more urine. It also makes you a little more lightheaded and thirsty, which makes you want another drink. While you are going to the bathroom, not only are you depleting the water in you, you are getting rid of vital salts, potassium, and other nutrients you body needs to function. This vicious circle keeps going all night long, draining your body of things it really needs. Where does all of this water you have to expel come from? Your organs have to start pulling out sources of water from anywhere they can get it, and that includes the brain. Cue the headache that is going to hit you the next morning. To make room for the alcohol it has to break down later, the liver tosses out stores of sugar (through potty breaks) making you hungry and a little weak. Meanwhile, the stomach is also having some issues with all the alcohol you have consumed. It is irritated, and to get rid of the irritant, it makes more stomach acid. If it gets irritated enough, it decides that breaking down the alcohol is not the best way to clean up this mess; vomiting is.

Other chemistry is also going on in a glass of alcohol. Congeners are byproducts in the creation of alcohol, which give most alcohols their distinct flavors. Vodka is distilled so many times to try and get rid of all the congeners, while rum and whiskey are distilled in such a way to keep the appropriate congeners in. Red wines and whiskeys tend to have the most, while gin and vodka have the least. It is also an impurity, another one the body had to break down and deal with. The cheaper the liquor you are drinking, the more impurities you are going to have to eventually break down. That does not mean if you drink better liquor you can drink more of it. But, it may mollify the level of hangover you have the next day. Studies have also been done that the severity of the hangover may be linked to the purity of the alcohol (fewer congeners) in your drink. There is also a quite complicated dance that your enzymes do to break down and clean up the alcohol in your system, which may be the worst part. The “Beer before liquor, never sicker” wives tale? It turns out it may not be that much of a tale. Carbonation in beer helps the body absorb alcohol faster, which makes it harder for the body to process it. That hard work to keep up may give you a worse hangover.

Good morning! Here is something you should be considering.

However, all this may be cold comfort. There are plenty of ways to make sure you can avoid the serious effects of a hangover, either through preparation or damage control. If you want to do some prep work, make sure you eat a good meal before you go out drinking. You may not want to go all out Thanksgiving each time, but put something in your stomach. Greasy food may mix poorly with alcohol, so don’t go too crazy on it. You want a buffer for the lining of the stomach, not another sparring partner. Drink lots of water, since dehydration is going to be your biggest enemy. This is also a good strategy to stick with while you drink, mixing in a glass of water for every drink or two you have. This may also have the added side bonus of filling your stomach a little and causing you to drink less, or at least slower. You also want to take some vitamins or load up with sports drinks. Again, adding a few more vitamins and minerals than you usually have in you will help when your chemistry goes haywire. While you are drinking, try to limit yourself to one drink an hour. If you do this, your liver can keep up with your alcohol consumption, possibly avoiding the hangover all together.

If you are in damage control mode, drinking water is still going to help. Your body is craving water, and the best thing you can do is provide as much of it as you can. Make yourself a nice plate of eggs, have a glass of orange juice, and peel a few bananas. The bananas will replenish the potassium your body has been stripped of, and the eggs have chemicals that can help break down the toxins that are making you feel so awful. Orange juice has vitamin C in it, which will give you a boost of energy. You can wash a multivitamin down with that juice or water, to replenish the B vitamins you may have lost as well. Do not drink coffee! Coffee will make you a more awake drunk, but it will not make you feel better. Coffee, like alcohol, is a diuretic. It will also have to make you go to the bathroom more, pulling more water from the body. If you are going to take something for the headache in the morning, stick to aspirin or ibuprofen. Do not take acetaminophen, which is found in Tylenol, because it may mix poorly with the alcohol in your system. Hair of the dog also does not help; while it may push off some of the symptoms, it is just delaying the pain. And possibly making it worse. If you are not feeling too delicate, take a walk. Increasing your metabolism will help the body process the toxins faster, and some studies show that an increased oxygen flow can also help.

Any hangover remedies you may encounter are just ways to reduce the symptoms. The only real way the hangover goes away is through time. Giving the body time to recover and taking care of it is the best way to get over all the shots, beers, and wines you consumed the night before. Remember, if you take some preventative measures before, watch what and how much you drink, and know your limits, you may be able to avoid a hangover completely! Unfortunately, the drunken texts and pictures on Facebook will take a little longer to go away. Cheers!