79 replies to this topic

[eje]

Mojito Criollo, I'd say.

Remind me what the difference is between a mojito and mojito criollo.

The recipes are nearly exactly the same in cocktaildb. One calls for lemon, which I would guess is a translation error.

And nearly every mojito recipe I see on the internet is slightly different.

Anyway, in general, I am talking about making them more or less exactly as Eben Freeman does in this video from epicurious.

How to Make a Mojito

[slkinsey]

A mojito criollo has cracked or crushed ice. That's the only real difference afaik.

Eben is making a mojito criollo in his video. IMO his iteration could probably use some swizzling to blend the ingredients.

[Mattmvb]

One calls for lemon, which I would guess is a translation error.

Almost certainly. A lot of older Latin American recipes use lemon as a generic term covering lemons and limes. The excerpt from Jennings Cox's papers that Bacardi are currently showing to anyone that may be vaguely interested defines lemon as the citrus ingredient in a daiquiri. This may well be a language thing, if there's anyone around who knows Spanish from that era they should be able to let us know...

I've never thought about the Mojito in swizzle terms before but it makes a lot of sense.

In my experience it's a drink that takes a lot of practice to master. There are an awful lot of things to consider. Should the mint be muddled at all? If so, under the lime, on top of the lime, just a light muddle after the lime? Heck, should you even muddle the lime at all or use juice instead? Give it a good churn or a light stir? If you are muddling, how much pressure to apply?

There are no answers to these questions, it depends on the quality of ingredient to hand and, to a lesser extent, your read of the customer in front of you.

The most important thing is the garnish - it must be a fresh sprig, gently slapped and positioned right by the straw so the mint aroma is strong whilst the drink is being drunk.

I have no idea how many Mojitos I've made in my time, it must be well into 5 figures. It's been the most popular drink over here for the best part of a decade. If the weather's right, we can easily sell 200 on a busy Saturday night with 3 and a bit staff serving (the 'bit' is the manager who keeps having to leave the bar to attend to other things).

Sorry to drag this off topic...

Cheers,

Matt

[KatieLoeb]

One calls for lemon, which I would guess is a translation error.

In Mexican Spanish, limón translates as LIME, which is quite counterintuitive. I beleive this may be the source of the confusion.

[KD1191]

One calls for lemon, which I would guess is a translation error.

In Mexican Spanish, limón translates as LIME, which is quite counterintuitive. I beleive this may be the source of the confusion.

There's an interesting thread on lime vs. lemon in Spanish here. It seems to differ in Spain vs. Mexico, and maybe even amongst Central/South American countries, perhaps based on what varieties are available in a given region.

[Alchemist]

Indeed, one of the most common swizzling techniques I have seen involves spinning the swizzle stick back and forth while simultaneously plunging it up and down in the glass.

Indeed. Nicely demonstrated under 'Ethos' on Pegu's website. Not a swizzle being swizzled, but the technique's the same.

That is a Ti Punch. And the Swizzle stick is from the same place as the rum being used, Nisson Blanc. So while not being a Swizzle Ti Punches must be swizzled.

Toby

ETA the correct rum, had the wrong one.

Edited by Alchemist, 03 July 2009 - 05:00 PM.

[KatieLoeb]

Just came up with this recipe for a Bombay Sapphire drink competition.

Pink Sapphire Swizzle

.5 oz. Simple syrup
6 large leaves Thai Basil
1/8 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 oz. Bombay Sapphire gin
.75 oz. Taylor's Velvet Falernum
.75 oz. fresh lime juice
1 dash Fee Brothers Orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
.5 oz. Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice

Garnish: 4 dashes Angostura bitters, Sprig Thai Basil, disk Orange peel

Muddle ginger and Thai Basil thoroughly in simple syrup at bottom of tall glass. Coat sides of glass. Fill glass with crushed ice. Add Sapphire, Falernum, lime juice, dash orange bitters, dash Angostura and pomegranate juice. Swizzle with bar spoon or swizzle stick until outside of glass is frozen and frosty and drink is thoroughly combined. Garnish with a float of the Angostura bitters, a spanked sprig of Thai Basil and spray surface of the drink with orange oils from the orange zest. Drink with a straw.

It looks pretty in the glass. A lovely shade of pink. And it smells good from the Thai Basil and float of Angostura. I hope it's a winner. Whichever bartender from Philly has the winning entry gets to go to Vegas to compete against the winners from other states. I've been dying to go to Vegas, so hopefully this'll make it at someone else's expense.

[Vieux Carré]

Any suggestions on obtaining the swizzle stick itself? I have not really found a good substitute but would love to find something.

[Mattmvb]

Katie

That's a fantastic entry - it looks great, smells great and tastes great. It also ticks the boxes the judges should be looking for. The Thai basil plays with the citrus notes of Bombay Sapphire, the angostura bitters really helps to bring through the earthy notes and the ginger and falernum accentuate the spicy part of the gin's flavour profile.

As long as you talk about the logic behind the drink in your spiel you should be onto a winner!

Best of luck,

Matt

[KatieLoeb]

Thank, Matt. I appreciate the vote of confidence. And I like your logic better than mine. This was more of a "stream of consciousness" drink recipe. I was thinking about Pink Sapphires, the rare and beautiful gems. That made me think of the beloved Empress Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was built and the sorts of jewels she would wear. So now I was thinking about Indian/Asian flavors. Pomegranate for pink-ness, lime, ginger and I needed something herbal to muddle. Since the gin, ginger and mint thing had already been done far better in Audrey's Gin-Gin Mule, I wanted something less derivative. I thought of Thai Basil, just to be different, and because it's one of my favorite cocktail ingredients. It all came full circle deciding to make a swizzle as my entry, just because I thought that would also be unique. I figured the judges would likely see a million different martini variations, and since the judging is in the heat and humidity of a Philadelphia August, a swizzle seemed like it would be favorably received and refreshing in more than one way.

I'll report back on how I did after the local judging...

[Mattmvb]

Blimey, great minds think alike...

My first comp winner at a serious level was for Bombay Sapphire way back in early '03, I was also thinking about pink sapphires. I ended up with this very simple concoction, I called it "Ruby Sapphire"

50ml Bombay Sapphire
10ml Fraise
8 mint leaves
2 hulled strawberries

Muddle strawberries, add mint and lightly muddle again, add liqour, shake and fine strain into martini glass. Add extravagent garnish; take a young mint sprig with a long and thin stem, tie it around a cocktail stick, cut a strawberry in half lengthwise and add each half to the cocktail stick pointing in opposite directions. Balance cocktail stick accross rim of glass

Looking back I wouldn't have entered that drink as it must have been done before - shows that experience isn't always right!

You're quite right about using a different style of drink; I've judged a few comps in my time and it can get a bit wearing when 4 out of 5 drinks are martini style. It tends to be a bit detrimental to the originality column.

I like your back story, it should score well for presentation - assuming you work to similar rules we do, presentation is at least as much about how the bartender presents the drink as how the drink looks.

Another thing that's always important in judging over here is product knowledge - it never ceases to amaze me how many entrants will go through their whole presentation without mentioning a single fact about the base spirit!

Good luck again,

Matt

[FrogPrincesse]

I made a Queen's Park Swizzle for my husband last night (he is not a fan of my homemade fermented ginger beer), the version from the Bartender's Choice app. I believe that it called for white rum though, but I wanted to use the Appleton.




I like the layered look, although it's partially obscured by the frost and the pattern on the glass I used. That version uses a couple of dashes each of Angostura and Peychaud's bitters.

It never occured to me to buy a swizzle stick when I went to Martinique a couple of years ago, and I spent a lot of time looking for one since then. I found mine at Cocktail Kingdom.

[Hassouni]

So, what's everyone using as their substitute tree-branch swizzle stick?

[EvergreenDan]

So, what's everyone using as their substitute tree-branch swizzle stick?

If you are patient, you could get a synthetic swizzle stick from Boston Shaker when the become available.

[tanstaafl2]

So, what's everyone using as their substitute tree-branch swizzle stick?

If you are patient, you could get a synthetic swizzle stick from Boston Shaker when the become available.

Seems like they have quite a way to go to make their funding goal and not much time to get there.

[Hassouni]

So, what's everyone using as their substitute tree-branch swizzle stick?

If you are patient, you could get a synthetic swizzle stick from Boston Shaker when the become available.

Seems like they have quite a way to go to make their funding goal and not much time to get there.

Yeah, 58% of funding left with a week to go? hmmm

[FrogPrincesse]

Death in the Gulf Stream (via Bartender's Choice). It's a swizzle with genever, lime juice, simple syrup and Angostura bitters. It is said to have been a favorite of Hemingway.






It is intensely sour at first as expected with only 1/2 part simple syrup for 1 part lime juice. It grew on me as the ice melted. It is really refreshing.

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is last night's Queen's Park Swizzle with white rum (Flor de Cana), lime juice, simple syrup, Angostura and Peychaud bitters, and mint.

[FrogPrincesse]

Another refreshing swizzle, the Barbadian Gin Punch Swizzle from Imbibe magazine, a recipe from David Wondrich which calls for genever, coconut water, lime juice, demerara syrup and Angostura bitters. There was something interesting about the sweet coconut water and the malt/smoke of the genever. It was somewhat of an unexpected pairing which really grew on me. Plus I am also on the lookout for good genever-based recipes.

Edited by FrogPrincesse, 04 September 2012 - 10:23 AM.

[FrogPrincesse]

Rum Swizzle (from the Bartender's Choice app) made this weekend with Plantation 5 years rum, lime juice, Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao, and Angostura bitters. A little dry with the dry curaçao as the sweetener (I had to add a touch of simple syrup); next time I will try it with the Clément Créole shrubb.