Jump to content

ThinkingBartender

participating member
  • Posts

    473
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by ThinkingBartender

  1. I was wondering about the Rosita, because even though I have heard of it (from Drinkboy.com), I have yet to see it on a menu, or met anyone who has tasted it. The Rosita is on my website, purely because it looked interesting, rather than I assumed it was a classic. Cheers! George
  2. The Straits Sling is a drink from Robert Vermiere's 1922 book: "Cocktails and How to Mix Them". Doctor Cocktail called the Straits Sling the first Singapore Sling, or something along those lines, but he was incorrect. The Straits Sling is not a Classic, though it is old, and will soon be revealed to be a red herring, as the original recipe for the Raffles Hotel Gin Sling has been known all along (I will be posting about it, in depth, on the 15th of this month). This is what I mean: Old doesn't mean classic. I question it, hence the initial posting! The Last Word is an old drink, which was only mentioned in a few books, and has only recently been heralded as a Classic drink. The Last Word is an old drink, but it is not a Classic...yet! The Last Word should be seen as a new drink from an old book. Nope, some of these drinks are just nowhere to be seen. I am not the world expert on cocktails, but if I haven't heard of these cocktails, then the chances are that they aren't classic. Cheers! George
  3. Well that depends on what I mean by "Classic Cocktail", I am open to suggestions for what defines a drink as Classic. One of the things that doesn't qualify, IMHO, is a drink that was all but forgotten, but then someone intentionally looking for old recipes in old books, picks it up and holds it up as a classic. Old does not mean classic. I would have to say that any drink from the last 10 years is hardly a classic either, will people remember it in another 10 years. No, I am not looking for concrete citations, though they are always welcome, I mean just recipes, because I have never heard of some of these drinks, and "I ain't no noob!". Cheers! George
  4. Just wondering if anyone recognises the following cocktails as legitimate "Classic Cocktails"? And if anyone knows the recipes for them, please share (except the ones with an asterix). Berlin Station Chief. Caprice. Deshler. De la Louisiane. Dr. Blinker. East India Cocktail* Guinness Punch*. Journalist. Keoke Cocktail. Last Word*. Liberal. Metropole. Obituary Cocktail. Old Pal* Opera Periodista Rose Rosita* Straits Sling*. Vieux Carré*. Widow’s Kiss. And when I say classics, I do not mean a recipe that was found in an old book, and must therefore it has to be a classic due to being old. Cheers! George
  5. Here is my contribution; Click Here Dick Bradsell's Manhattan Recipe.
  6. Are people drinking libations with foams because they like them, or because it is part of molecular mixology?
  7. I love Passionfruit Whiskey Sours, though I didn't realise that it was a molecular mixology drink. 2 shots Makers Mark, 1 shot Boiron Passion-fruit puree, 1/2 shot Monin Vanilla Syrup. Eggwhite (optional). Shake with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled glass. Cheers! George
  8. This is a charming story, but alas it is most unlikely that it has the added advantage of being true. I'll save specifics for my book, but it should be noted that nowhere did Thomas actually claim to have invented the drink, while others did claim it with some degree of plausibility. As for execution: there is no need to preheat the whisky. That's certainly something that would not have been possible in an old time saloon. The best way I've found to make this drink work is to pour the boiling water into the mug, briefly stir in the sugar, and then carefully pour the whiskey in on top, in effect layering it (and yes, a cask-strength single malt is very useful here). The water volatizes the whisky, and then it should light. When pouring, also never pour more than half a mug at a time. This keeps the flames going. I wish I could post film here.... ← youtube? Here is a link to Andreas Masso, famed London Mixologist, making a Blue Blazer: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=78...8536&q=cocktail Anyhow, what sources would Lucius Beebe have drawn upon to make his conclusions? I have tried to make a Blue Blazer a few times, and I have been lucky to emerge untinged, and as hairy as ever. But the drink was not spectacularly made and was just a toddy with a bit of acrobatics, and lots of "fearing for the worst" (from me). Cheers! George
  9. Thanks Jeff, that is a fabulous quote. It basically sums up everything I was saying and more. Cheers! George
  10. You could always stock up on packets of powdered sour-mix! *runs away*
  11. That hurts. The Harmony looks like a good drink, but how can the be considering a twist on a sazerac? Because it has a chartreuse rinse maybe? ← I think that the whole point with these "twists on classics" is that people just want to utilise the name/ fame of a past classic. History sells, so establishing a royal lineage for a drink recipe is something that people just do automatically. Changing an existing recipe is much easier than starting from scratch. A Sazerac with a rinse of chartreuse would be a more honest "spin" than the Harmony.
  12. Quite true. Maybe the NYC Bacardi Cocktail was a variant on the Jack Rose. Swap the main spirit, change the name. Put side by side, the Cuban and US Bacardi Cocktails I mean, the Red one would definitely outsell the other IMHO. I would say that a bright red colour was the main attraction of Grenadine, which might explain why no one really noticed that they removed the actual pomegranate from the syrup. Its a good thing that the internet came along when it did Cheers! George
  13. Well, to my great surprise the word "Bacchanology" was a Google-whack, until a few moments ago. http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Bacchanology Cups and their customs, By Henry Porter, George Edwin Roberts, 1863 "As, in this age of progress, most things are raised to the position of a science, we see no reason why Bacchanology (if the term please our readers) should not hold a respectable place, and be entitled to its due mead of praise..." The New York Times, August 25, 1991 (written by William Grimes). "IF YOU THINK IT'S tough to get a decent dry martini, try tracking down the origin of the word. Or for that matter, getting the real story behind any cocktail -- not only long-forgotten rip-snorters like the fog-cutter, the snap-neck and the leg tangle but also bona fide classics. At every turn, the student of bacchanology faces the bewildering blend of misinformation, lore and legend that constitutes barroom etymology..." Cheers! George
  14. Some cocktails have multiple recipes, whiles some cocktail recipes have multiple names; the Daiquiri belongs to the latter and the former, while the Bacardi Cocktail belongs simply to the latter. However, and this is where it gets complicated, the Bacardi Cocktail may have originally been the same drink as the Daiquiri. By Daiquiri, I mean the cuban rum, fresh lime juice and sugar variety, without fruit or juice. Lets look at what the Bacardi Cocktail and Daiquiri recipes are now, and then I will attempt to reveal what they were, way back when they were first concocted. Daiquiri: 2 shots Cuban Rum (light), 1/2 shot Fresh Lime Juice, 1 bar spoon of Gomme syrup (substitute: thick sugar syrup, 9:1 ratio; the same ratio as Giffards use for their Gomme Syrup) Bacardi Cocktail: 2 shots Bacardi Rum, 1/2 shot Fresh Lime Juice, 1 barspoon of Grenadine Syrup. Now let us look at the history of the Bacardi Cocktail/ Daiquiri recipes, and other items of interest: Oakland Tribune, 13th November 1913. Rum and Grenadine: "There's a new cocktail in town - a fresh importation from New York. Take half a whisky glass of Porto Rican rum, add the juice of half a lime and dash into it a squirt of grenadine; shake with ice. This was introduced by Rhys Thomas..." Now the above cocktail looks like a Bacardi Cocktail, but is called a "Rum and Grenadine". Bear this in mind as I confuse things even further by looking into Tom Bullocks' "Ideal Bartender" (1917) where he lists two Bacardi Cocktails; pay particular attention to the first recipe: "Ideal Bartender", by Tom Bullock (1917) 1) BACARDI COCKTAIL Use a large Mixing glass. Fill with Lump Ice. 1/2 jigger Cusinier Grenadine. 1 jigger Bacardi Rum. Shake well and serve in a Cocktail glass. 2) BACARDI COCKTAIL -- Country Club Style Use a large Mixing glass. Fill with Lump Ice. 1/2 Lime Juice. 2 dashes Imported Grenadine. 1 jigger Bacardi Rum. Shake well; strain into Cocktail glass and serve. The first Bacardi Cocktail recipe that Tom Bullock lists could quite easily be called "Rum and Grenadine", being as that is all it is. The Bullock "Rum and Grenadine only, Bacardi Cocktail" is the first appearance of the Bacardi Cocktail with Grenadine in it. (The 1913 reference wasn't called a Bacardi Cocktail remember?) Moving onto Bullock's second Bacardi Cocktail recipe, you see that it is exactly same as the Bacardi Cocktail recipe which I listed at the beginning of this article, but the problem is that Bullock's recipe is not the first appearance of the specifically named "Bacardi Cocktail", that honour belongs to Hugo Ensslin. Note that Bullock's Recipe states that the second Bacardi Cocktail is, in fact, "Country Club Style"; I will come back to this later in the article. In the 1917 edition of his book, ""Recipes for Mixed Drinks", Hugo Ensslin has a Bacardi Cocktail recipe. Now, instead of showing the recipe for Hugo Ensslin's Bacardi Cocktail, I will instead list the "Cuban Cocktail" which was featured in the previous edition of Ensslin's book (1916): Cuban Cocktail 1 jigger Bacardi Rum 2 dashes Gum Syrup Juice of 1/2 Lime Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve. The only difference between Ensslin's Cuban Cocktail, of 1916, and Ensslin's Bacardi Cocktail of 1917 is that the Bacardi Cocktail is listed as requiring a "drink of Bacardi Rum". A jigger, as specified in 1916, is 50ml, and a "drink" is basically the same. So what do contemporary sources from the U.S. and Cuba say about the Bacardi Cocktail/ Daiquiri conundrum? THE OLD WALDORF-ASTORIA BAR BOOK, By Albert Stevens Crockett, 1935 "Out of compliment to Mr. Taylor, who was last resident manager of the Old Waldorf-Astoria, is placed at the head of this list the distinctive cocktail which at his hotel is also called a Daiquiri, or a Bacardi." PORTS OF THE SUN: A GUIDE TO THE CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA, NASSAU, HAVANA AND PANAMA, by Eleanor Early, 1937 by Eleanor Early (HAVANA): "Hardly anyone knows how to mix a proper Bacardi cocktail, so I asked Senor Rafael Valiente, who is host at the famous bar, and he told me that you should take the juice of half a lime, half a teaspoon of granulated sugar, one and a half ounces of white Bacardi, mix thoroughly, and shake well with ice." There are many other references to the Bacardi Cocktail being the same as a Daiquiri. The biggest obstacle to the resolution of the Bacardi Cocktail/ Daiquiri Conundrum is that the Bacardi Rum Company now lists the Bacardi Cocktail as containing Grenadine Syrup; however, this was not always the case. In 1930, the Bacardi Company was producing a cocktail recipe booklet entitled "BACARDI Algunos De Sus Muchos Usos" ("Bacardi and Its Many Uses"), which was still being produced in 1937, at least. BACARDI Algunos De Sus Muchos Usos, 1930 Bacardi Coctel (Daiquiri Bacardi) El jugo de medio limon. Media cucharada de azucar blanca Una copita de Bacardi Carta Blanca. Agitese con hielo picado y sirvase en vasos de coctel. Puede ser servido colado o sin colar. IMPORTANTE: No altere el orden de los ingredientes. If you do not speak Spanish, then the 1937 English Language edition contains a almost-verbatim translation of the 1930 recipe, the words that are missing are "(Daiquiri Bacardi)": Bacardi and Its Many Uses, 1937 Bacardi Cocktail Correct recipe: The juice of half a lime. Half teaspoonful granulated sugar. 1 1/2 oz. of BACARDI White. Mix thoroughly, then shake well in cracked ice. May be served strained or unstrained. Important: Do not alter order ingredients [sic]. In the Bacardi Cocktail legal dispute of 1936, where the Bacardi Company brought before the courts unscrupulous bar owners who dared to use rums other than Bacardi in their Bacardi Cocktails, there is much mention of Grenadine Syrup in the drinks recipe. The point of the Bacardi court action was not to deduce the exact recipe to be used by all, but to make specific the rum to be used in the Bacardi Cocktail recipe; the inclusion of Grenadine Syrup was not an issue the Bacardi company were interested in. To highlight this point, I will show you an advert which the Bacardi Company ran in 1941: CATERER AND LIQUOR RETAILER, September 1941 YES...BACARDI COCKTAILS MUST BE MADE WITH BACARDI Ruling of the N. Y. Supreme Court, April 28, 1936 The Recipe in Rhyme! A LITTLE SOUR, (Juice of half a lime) A LITTLE SWEET, (1/2 teaspoonful of sugar) THE TROPIC SUN, (A jigger of BACARDI, White or Silver Label) WITHOUT THE HEAT! (Ice and shake well) It is the opinion of this author that the Bacardi Cocktail was a Bacardi Daiquiri, to begin with at least. The addition of Grenadine Syrup to the Bacardi Cocktail seems to be an entirely American peculiarity, and may have started with the confusion over the "Rum and Grenadine" recipe of 1913 and the Bacardi Cocktails of Tom Bullock (1917). There are two reasons for a drink being called a "Bacardi Cocktail 1) It is a Cocktail made with Bacardi, and 2) It is a branded Cocktail of the Bacardi company. Tom Bullock's "Country Club Style" Bacardi Cocktail is admittedly an improvement over the "Rum and Grenadine only, Bacardi Cocktail" he lists, but it was not a cocktail of the Bacardi Company, just a cocktail made with Bacardi. I wonder what would have happened if Rhys Thomas (the inventor of the "Rum and Grenadine" in 1913) had chosen a more original name for his rum cocktail, would we still be having this Bacardi Cocktail/ Daiquiri conundrum, or would they still be the same drink? Either way, the Bacardi Cocktail of today contains Grenadine Syrup, and the Daiquiri does not. Cheers! George
  15. I wouldn't judge a cocktail magazine by its website
  16. Nope. Not in any bar I have worked in, nor in anyones house. You need to hang around in a better class of bar, or make better friends. :smile:' ← My friends and the bars I go to are just dandy enough, thanks anyway
  17. So rather it is about the cold gin, than the actual cocktail (read: dilution). Also, I am not finding any literature that says that the Martini was the first gin and vermouth cocktail, and that all other gin and vermouth cocktails are but variants of this primigenes cocktail. Cheers! George "I never have more than one drink before dinner. I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad"
  18. Nope. Not in any bar I have worked in, nor in anyones house. Quite frankly I have never had any trouble using a "room temperature" mixing glass. The only time in my experience that cocktails start being made badly, due to heat, is when the AC packs in and the ambient temperature of the bar melts everything. It just seems like another layer of pomposity, and unfortunately some people are attracted to such things. Cheers! George
  19. J & B Sour (Scotch Sour). 2 shots J & B 1 shot Fresh Lemon Juice 1/2 shot Sugar Syrup (9:1) Eggwhite Shake with ice, and then stain into an ice-filled whisky glass; Garnish with a lemon slice. Royal Regalia. Created by George Sinclair (2005). 1 1/2 shots Chivas Regal, 1/2 shot Mandarine Napoleon, 1 shot Fresh Lemon Juice, 3/4 shot Strawberry Puree, 2 shots Cranberry Juice. Shake with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled tall glass; Garnish with a lemon slice, and half a strawberry.
  20. Is it just me, or are there more references to Willard than there are to Jerry Thomas, in old books? Jerry Thomas hardly musters up any historical references of note, yet Willard, without publishing a single book, and being referred to as the first master of the Mint Julep is all but forgotten. This is tragic, I look forward to David's newest book (I may even buy it!-) I have a theory on Willard's phenomenal memory, is it possible that Willard made use of a detailed book entry system of hotel guests, and when repeat clients arrived, a quick look through the records would allow Willard to see what room they stayed in, topics of interest etc. A hotel and a restaurant, where I worked, both used to keep records of clients, so they would feel like they were more than just another guest, fooling them into believing that the hotel actually remembered them 5 years ago (even if most of the staff had moved on). Cheers! George
  21. Bad idea or not - gin, vermouth and rasberry is a better one ! That's how they make Bloodhounds in Hawksmoor and they are delicious. I'd assumed, possibly wrongly, that the rasberry version was the original, partly because its the better one and partly because Hawksmoor generally take care about authenticity. They claim the cocktail (or at least the rasberry one) was "introduced to thunderstruck London tipplers by the Duke of Manchester in 1922". Gethin ← For those who are interested about what and where Hawksmoor is, here is their website. "It seems obvious to us that the ever popular Mojito has its origins in the Mint Julep." This theory has never been proven, and is based purely on the commonality of ingredients (i.e. mint). The common ancester of the Kentucky Mint Julep or Mojito is the Mint Sling in my opinion. They seem to have ladled on every fact that they could get their hands on, the Mint Julep is a more complicated beast than most people imagine (madiera, claret, etc, etc). Anyway, I am just nit-picking, it looks like a nice modern-styled place. Cheers! George
  22. Michael, Thanks for the City Hotel excerpt, that is a good story about Willard. Cheers! George
  23. Re: Dreamy Dorini Smokin' Martini Quite frankly I am suprised at the members of Egullet, usually so stalwart in their disappreciation of Vodka, passing up the opportunity to champion the original gin version of this drink. The Smoky Martini. Gin, Laphroaig, and lemon twist. Prepared in the same why as the Audrey Saunders version. Cheers! George
  24. B-52. ................ I may be in the minority, but I'd suggest ignoring Martinis. ← Wow--this is like the English Lit survey that dumps Shakespeare (who can read all those hard words?) and includes Jacqueline Susann. Fun, anyway. ← I think that Mbanu was using the B-52 as a way to learn the skills required to layer a pousse cafe. If you can layer a B-52, then you can easily handle a 10 layered beastie. The more I research, the more I come to see the Martini as the great nonsense drink of Mixology. If you can construct an Old-Fashioned or a Manhattan then you can make a Martini. A Martini, you say? As arid as the Sahara, you say? Poured straight from a frozen bottle, you say? two drops of vermouth, you say? There were plenty of gin and vermouth mixtures with equally good names from the last 1890s; Perhaps it is time to revive one of them. Cheers! George
×
×
  • Create New...