Alchemist

I am not sure there is a set rule where salt belongs in cocktails. I do not think that olives belong in martinis. And the nasty olive brine...gag me with a 66cm, Japanese, gold, bar spoon. I think that a pinch of salt in flips and golden fizzes might be a good idea, hell every type of egg drink might get ramped up a smidge with a pinch of salt. I could see drinks with Cynar benefiting from a pinch. But maybe it should be a saline solution, so it will spread throughout the drink completely. We know simple is the preferred method of using sugar. Also drinks with infused chilies, sage, cilantro, basil, lemon grass. Well any of those drinks that share ingredients with Thai soups, Pico de Gallo, and marinara could probably absorb a pinch. I know that drinks with cucumber need a few grains. I love mixing salt and sugar for the rims of both Margaritas and side cars. But just a whisper of salt in the sugar for the sidecar, and just a hint of sugar in the salt for the Margarita. I am all for salt. Hell bring on the MSG, lets really pump up the flavor. Cheers, Toby

1.5 oz Coffee liqueur 1.5 oz Aged Rum (I like something with a heavy vanilla note) 1 dash Orange Bitters 2.0 oz heavy cream 3 sugar cubes Stir Rum and Liqueur togather. Shake cream with sugar cubes until soft peak, no longer. toss sugar cubes. Strain booze into a cocktail glass and float cream on top. I love coffee and orange together so I might express an orange peel on top. It could just guild the lilly. Cheers, Toby

So I have decided to drown this cold. In booze. Hot Booze. Kinda Like Last Night 1.5 oz. Lairds BIB .50 oz. Green Charteuse .50 oz. Benedictine 1 ea Apple Spice Tea 1/2 ea Lemon Juice 3 Dsh Angostura ? ? Brown sugar (to taste) This was waaay to busy. So then I dug into the pantry, and found a box of Celstial seasoning Mixed Teas. Bring the noise. Kiss My Grits (a Southern Toddy) 1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Gold .25 oz Laphroaig .75 oz Bulleit Bourbon 1 ea Country Peach Passion From Celestial Seasonings 3 Dash Regan's Orange #6 Orange Blossom Honey to taste 3 peels of a blood orange expressed and donated How You Like 1.5 oz Lairds BIB .50 oz Cherry Heering 1 ea Black Cherry Celestial Seasonings Tea 1 splsh Gilka Kummel 7 dsh Peychaud's Um Buckwheat Honey to taste 3 ea Grapefruit peels expressed and donated I am totally forgetting some stuff. But feeling better. Being sick ROCKS! Toby

The key is not being stingy with the sweetener. There is a lot more water added to my toddies than to regular cocktails, and so I have learned to basicly double the amount of sweet that I think I am going to need. To get the richness I want the drinks border on the sweet. Then it's all about the citrus juice and essential oil, and the bitters, to add not only tartness but an edge of sharp/bitter. As we know cold retards smell and flavor, so hot drinks can be bombastic in their flavor profiles, so the tea in that drink was clutch as it gave me something to smell through my head cold. If I could make this drink again, at a bar & when not sick, I would use some Rothman & Winter Apricot and either demerara or ginger syrup. Cheers, Toby

I have a ferocious head cold. So I took a mug and donated a bag of Celestial Seasonings Apple Spice tea into it. I then Put in about 1.5 oz Lairds BIB, and .50 oz Drambui. I let that sit while I waited for the water to boil. The 100 proof really extracting the flavor out of the tea. Then added 1/2 a lemon, 3 dashes Regans Orange bitters#6 and a tablespoon of orange blossom honey. Top with hot water. Being sick isn't so bad. Toby

So The Violet Hour is looking for a bartender. I have put up an ad on the Classifieds thread, but I thought I would put it up here as well. Like the ad says we are looking to fill a Bartender Position, but not with a fully formed bartender. I look forward to hearing from y'all. Cheers, Toby

The Fee's OFA bitters are a great sub for Grandma's tinksure. We put Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice and blade mace in neutral grain spirit. I am really glad you like that one . It was one of the first drinks that I came up with at Milk & Honey back in 2000. I can't believe it was almost a decade ago. This is The Winter Sidecar at TVH. I am sure that there will be a purist out there shaking their fist at me for this... Winter Sidecar 2.0 oz Maison Surrenne Cognac .75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice .50 oz Carpano Antica .25 oz Demerara Syrup (Skinny) 13 Drops Regans Orange Bitters Glass: Coupe Ice: None Garnish: 5 Spice Shake. Strain. I know that there is no orange liqueur in this drink, but the Carpano and the orange bitters really work together and make it seem like there is. Then you have the richness of the Demerara which really makes it lush and comforting. We are mixing and grinding our own 5 spice (we are going heavy on the ginger) to a very fine grind so there is no grit on top of the drink. Cheers, Toby

It is always very cool to have something that you created taken and riffed on by someone else. This is such an honor as well. The J&R is near the end. http://alineamosaic....p?showtopic=838 Cheers, Toby

This is such an honor. http://alineamosaic.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=838 I don't even know what to say.

I hope that it is not hubris that I think that you are talking to me. Seriously, I just saw this, but I will guess that the debate is still raging. As far as I know it is a-Shudder- equal parts drink. That shudder is purely subjective. I don't make anything equal parts except a 50-50. My negronis are boozy, my 20th centuarys lead lean and stiff. So for a Last Word, and I serve it in the spirit not to the letter of the law. 2.0 oz Tanq .75 oz Lime .75 oz Luxardo Maraschino .75 oz Green It looks way out of wack but it works. Sorry it took so long to get back. Cheers, Toby

How about "high end?" I think that conoctates an attention to detail, the use of good booze, fresh juice, and proper technique. But I hate how pretentionious it sounds. But it separates the scholck that is out there. I guess that that is the crux of the matter. Cocktails are meant to enjoyed and fussed over only if it is the proper time and place. i am waiting for the day when a bartender asks if I would like a "Chandler Gimlet' because they had just smuggles in a bottle of roses from England. Toby

I think they should be called "good cocktails." Lets call the drinks made with sour off the gun and roses c*&p. Lets call our selves bartenders, and people who don't give a shit about what they are doing hacks. It doesn't matter what kind of bar a bartender works in its what level of integrity they bring to it. I feel I have a lot in common with someone who pours a perfect pint of beer, and a healthy shot of whiskey while telling a good joke and watching out for the nice tipsy lady at the end of the bar. I feel I have very little in common with the bartender, who first calls them him/her self an actor, writer, drummer/bartender, and does not care about what they are doing. Same thing for cocktails. A cocktail made with juice squeezed a la minute, with home grown basil flowers and thia chilis has a lot more in common with TVH cocktails than a "Lemon Drop" sloshed togather at the THUMP+THUMP+THUMP club. "good cocktails" have been made for hundreds of years, it's only the black hole of the 60's-90's when they were crappy. Why should 30 recent years overshadow all of the beautiful tradition. Lets take back the regular words. We're here, don't sneer, it's a cocktail. We should just take back the normal names as everything else can drift into pretension. It is a shame that a "hamburger" from Mac's and a burger from In-n-out are called the same thing, They are not. There will be some confusion. Can't be helped. Cheers, Toby

The use of the Flor is because I like Caipirissimas better than I like Caipirinas. It is a more accessible, and I wanted to give that as an option, since it’s a no brainier to go from there to cachaça. But some people dont know that there is the option of rum. A non-alcoholic section? Does Kumas have a vegan menu? Yes kind sir I do believe that we pour more Nonino than most of the rest of Chicago, if not Illinois, combined. We are just trying to make vodka drinks with some flavor. Cheers, Toby

It is named for the thirteen botanicals that make up Cynar. Toby

After a very long frustrating time of tryingto make spaces between bold names of cocktails, and the ingrediants, I give up. Very sorry that it is so hard to read. I will try again when I have another spare hour. If one of the moderators would like to shoot me a pm with some tips on how to do it That would be great. So, there are some greatest hit on this menu, going back to the first menu, summer 2007. It was a reminder for bartenders and loyal patrons where we started. The Violet Hour Autumn ’09 Cocktail List Gin Indian Summer Plymouth, Lime, Lavender Syrup, House-made Tonic 20th Century Death’s Door, Lemon, Crème de Cacao White, Lillet Juliet & Romeo Beefeater, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water The Riviera Bombay Macerated Pineapple, Lemon, Egg White, Campari Oldest Living Confederate Widow Bombay Dry, Lemon, House Made Honey Syrup, Pernod Absinthe, House Orange Bitters Improved Holland Cocktail Genevieve, Luxardo Maraschino, Angostura Bitters Negroni Tredici Tanqueray, Carpano Antica, Campari, Cynar, Regans’ Orange Bitters Rum Honeysuckle Brugal Anejo, Lime, Honey Syrup Hush & Wonder Matusalem, Lime, Créme de Violette, Grapefruit Bitters Blackberry Caipirissima Flor de Caña 4 yr, Lime, Demerara Syrup, Blackberries Dark & Stormy Brugal Anejo, Lime, Cruzan Black Strap, House Ginger Syrup Tattooed Seaman Sailor Jerry, Demerara Syrup, Root Beer Bitters Whiskey Tongue in Cheek Weller Special Reserve Bourbon, Lemon, Carpano Antica, Strawberry, Mint Zarzamora Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon, Lemon, Fernet Branca, Blackberries, House Orange Bitters Daisy 17 Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Lemon, House Grenadine, House Orange Bitters Sarsaparilla Sling Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Lemon, Amaro Ciociaro, Sarsaparilla Syrup, Root Beer Bitters Seasonal Sazerac Jim Beam Rye, Berentzen Apfle Korn, Herbsaint, Peychaud’s Bitters Nickel Manhattan Rittenhouse 100 Rye, Punt e Mes, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Gilka Kummel, Peychaud’s Bitters A Little Bed Johnnie Walker Red, Lemon, Apry, Laphroig, Hellfire Bitters Tequila Tequila Mockingbird Herradura Silver, Lemon, Yellow Chartreuse, Peppermint Water Spanish Margarita El Jimador, Lime, Licor 43, Hell-fire Bitters El Diablo El Jimador, Lime, Ginger Syrup, Briottet Crème de Cassis Tequila Old Fashioned Herradura Silver, Fees Old Fashioned Bitters, Grapefruit Oil Brandy Apples & Oranges Laird’s Bonded Applejack, Lemon, St. Germain, Blackberries, Angostura Orange Bitters Summer and Tremont Clear Creek Pear Brandy, Grapefruit, Raspberry Syrup, Fernet Branca In Bloom Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Apricot Eau De Vie, Angostura Bitters St. Marks Reviver Pisco Acholado, Lime, Egg White, Luxardo Maraschino, Cherry Bitters Potable Bitters Easy Out Aperol, Grapefruit, Tanqueray, Raspberry Syrup, Campari Pimms Cup Variation #2 Pimms #1, Lemon, St. Germain, Cucumber, Angostura Orange Bitters Giralamo Sour Luxardo Amaro, Lemon, Egg White, Luxardo Bitter Bakers, Beggars & Brides Cynar, Whole Egg, St. Elizabeth All Spice Dram, Nutmeg Vodka Part & Parcel Tito's, Grapefruit, St. Germain, Grapefruit Bitters Lock & Load Tito’s, Lemon, Amaro Nonino Wry Dane Aalborg Aquavit, Lemon, Egg White, Peychaud’s Bitters Wine and Sparkling The White Sparrow Gruet Sparkling, Lemon, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Velvet Falernum Seasonal Sangria Pinot Noir, Apricot, Pear, Grapes, Orange, Allspice The Etiquette Gruet Sparkling, Tabernero Pisco Acholado, House Made Raspberry Syrup Lazarus Reviver Gruet, Lemon, Bombay Gin, Lillet, Pernod Autumn Punches Pisco Punch Montesierpe Pisco Acholado, Lime, Pineapple Syrup, Miramar Bitters Jonestown Punch Jim Beam Rye Whiskey, Lemon, Apry, Bergamont Syrup, Regans’ Orange Bitters And we are adding a page to the menu with some of the classics. This will be an ever expanding section. But the idea behind this is for people to rember that these cocktails have been around for a very long time for a reason, they are really good. Classic Cocktails Aviation Plymouth Gin, Lemon, Luxardo Maraschino, Rothman & Winter Violette Liqueur Corpse Reviver #2 Bombay Dry Gin, Lemon, Lillet, Marie Brizard Orange Curacao, Pernod Absinthe Champagne Cocktail Gruet Sparkling, Sugar Cube, Angostura Bitters Daiquiri Flor de Caña 4 yr Rum, Simple Syrup, Lime Gimlet Plymouth Gin, Simple Syrup, Lime Hotel Nacional Brugal Anejo Rum, Lime, Apry, Pineapple Jack Rose Laird’s Bonded Applejack, Lemon, House Made Grenadine Mai Tai El Dorado 5 yr Rum, Lime, House Made Orgeat, House Orange Bitters Manhattan Rittenhouse 100 Rye, Carpano Antica, Sweet Vermouth, Angostura Bitters Margarita El Jimador Tequila, Lime, Marie Brizard Orange Curacao Martini Plymouth Gin, Dolin Dry Vermouth, House Orange Bitters Mint Julep Weller 107 Bourbon, Demerara Syrup, Mint, Angostura Bitters Mojito Flor de Caña 4yr Rum, Lime, Mint, Angostura Bitters Moscow Mule Tito's Vodka, Lime, House Made Ginger Syrup Negroni Tanqueray Gin, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Campari, Regans’ Orange Bitters Old Fashioned Rittenhouse 100 Rye, Demerara Syrup, Peychaud’s Bitters Pegu Club Tanqueray, Lime, Marie Brizard Orange Curacao, Angostura Bitters Pimms Cup Pimms #1, Lime, Strawberry, Cucumber, Mint Perfect Martinez Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, Dolin Sweet & Dry Vemouth, Luxardo Maraschino, Fees Orange Bitters Presbyterian Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Lemon, Home Made Ginger Syrup Ramos Gin Fizz Beefeater Gin, Lemon, Lime, Egg White, Cream, Orange Flower Water Sazerac Jim Beam Rye, Maison Surrenne Cognac, Herbsaint, Peychaud’s Bitters Sidecar Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Marie Brizard Orange Curacao, Fees Orange Bitters Silver Sour Booze, Lemon, Simple Syrup, Egg White Southside Tanqueray Gin, Lime, Mint, Peychaud’s Bitters Tom Collins Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, Lemon, Soda Water Vieux Carre Maison Surrenne Cognac, Jim Beam Rye, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Benedictine, Peychaud’s Bitters Cheeers, Toby

So we were in the New York Times on Sunday. Which is always nice. http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2009/09/13/style/t/index.html#pagewanted=3&pageName=13style& Cheers, Toby

Arnolds, Arnolds, and Arnolds. The chicken and dumplings, the Tailipia, and everything else. Toby

So the Autumn list is about three weeks out. So it is a little early to post this, but I have time, and it's on my mind. So here it is. We will be serving these cocktails on Oct 6th. Gin Cooper’s Bright Plymouth, Lemon, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, House Made Grapefruit Liqueur, Sparkling Wine Juliet & Romeo Plymouth, Lime, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water The Ellie Mae Luzianne Infused Gordon’s, Grapefruit, Raspberry Syrup, Mint Empire Falls Death’s Door, Lemon, Egg White, Rothman & Winter Pear Liqueur, Angostura Bitters Negroni Tredici Tanqueray, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Campari, Cynar, Regans’ Orange Bitters Rum Kelso Daiquiri Pritchards’ Crystal, Lime, Simple Syrup Daisy de Santiago Flor de Caña 4 yr, Lime, Yellow Chartreuse, Autumn Bitters Hemingway Daiquiri Flor de Caña 4 yr, Grapefruit, Maraschino Liqueur Dark & Stormy Matusalem, Lime, Cruzan Black Strap, Ginger Syrup Tattooed Seaman Sailor Jerry, Demerara Syrup, Root Beer Bitters Whiskey The Jennings Jack Daniels #7, Apple Wood Smoked Cola Whiskey Smash Rebel Yell Bourbon, Lemon, Mint, Peychaud’s Bitters The Carpetbagger Bulleit Bourbon, Lemon, Lairds Bonded Applejack, Rothman & Winter Pear Liqueur, Autumn Bitters Vincent’s Ruin Bulleit Bourbon, Lemon, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, La Muse Verte Absinthe, Lemon Bitters Autumn Sazerac Old Forrester Signature Bourbon, Herbsaint, Berentzen Apfel Korn, Peychaud’s Bitters The Duck Hunter Pritchards’ Sweet Lucy Bourbon, Lemon, Egg Yolk, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, Regans’ Orange Bitters Bacon Old Fashioned Benton Bacon Infused 4 Roses Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Coffee Pecan Bitters Reelfoot Manhattan Weller 107 Bourbon, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Laphroig Scotch, Regans’ Orange Bitters Tequila Spanish Margarita Lunazul Blanco, Lime, Licor 43, Hell Fire Bitters El Diablo Lunazul Reposado, Lemon, House Made Ginger Syrup, Briottet Cassis Tequila Old Fashioned Lunazul Reposado, Demerara Syrup, Fees Old Fashioned Bitters Brandy Autumn Sidecar Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Senior Orange Curacao, Pineapple, Nutmeg Terra Rica Inca Gold Pisco, Pineapple, Egg White, Aperol, Strawberry Rhubarb Bitters Kiss Water Kirshwasser, Lemon, Egg White, Cherry Heering, Peychaud’s Bitters Poor Liza Clear Creek Poire Williams, Lemon, Green Chartreuse, Peychaud’s Bitters Cordials Pimms Cup Pimms #1, Tanqueray Gin, Lime, Mint, Cucumber, Strawberry Amaretto Sour Lazaroni Amaretto, Lemon, Egg White, Autumn Bitters Stingy Brim Luxardo Coffee Liqueur, Barbancourt 3 Star 4yr Rhum, Sweetened Heavy Cream, Fees Old Fashioned Bitters Asta Collins Campari, Lime, Corsair Gin, Grapefruit, Soda Water Vodka Vodka Cobbler Prairie, Lemon, Lillet Blonde, Seasonal Fruit, Regans’ Orange Bitters Moscow Mule Prairie, Lime, Ginger Syrup The Wry Dane Aalborg Aquavit, Lemon, Egg White, Regans’ Orange Bitters

Any chance you'd be willing to share the proportions, Toby? ← Here you go, enjoy! Devil’s Playground 2.0 oz Genevieve Gin .75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice .25 oz Simple Syrup .25 oz Ginger Syrup 7 drops Angostura Bitters 9 drops House Orange Bitters Top: Soda Float .125 oz Cassis Glass: Collins Ice: Shard Garnish: Lemon Flag Cheers, Toby

I agree with Sam, mostly. I think that a drink that is stirred with attention to detail will be better than a cocktail stirred with no attention to detail. A good amount of the difference is that someone who is concentrating on stirring probably took pains with the construction of said cocktail. There are guys out there like Mr. Ward, and Mr Day (to name a couple) who nonchalantly stir two cocktails with one hand, shake another, add up a bill in their head, while pontificating on the history of a Fish House Punch. They are paying as much attention to all of the above as other people who are doing just one thing. That is a beautiful thing to behold. Toby

I have been remiss in posting recently. But I want to show y'all a couple of the summer dishes. The wings are cooked in bacon fat, deboned, stuffed with blue cheese, and then put on a hot sauce with celery leaves. Wicked. The basil is from our garden, buffalo moz, heirloom tomato's, on grilled bread. Cheers, Toby ETA: Second pic.

Concave against the ice always. And the only reason I can think of is "It works better that way". Toby

I belive that there should be a drink in the students hands asap. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, there are a lot of people out there that have never had a well balanced cocktail made with fresh juice and care. You can talk until you are blue in the face about a gimlet, but one sip is worth a million words. But they should see you make the cocktail, see the jigger, see the care. I usually make a single cocktail, put it in the proper glass, garnish it, while my assistant is pouring out and passing out a big batch of them. Second, it seems to put people at ease, and even make them chatty, once they have a cocktail in their hand. Up until then it's a class, once the merest drop of alcohol is consumed it's a cocktail party. People become more relaxed and be more engaged. It's after the third cocktail, even though there is less than an ounce and a half has been consumed, that people will start loosing focus. I find a stern warning about time constraints, done in my deepest paternal voice, will bring them back into the fold. Cheers, Toby

Sorry if this sounds pedestrian, but WTF 3 dash A.B. Smeby "Black & White" Bitters 2.0 oz 1942 1 ice cube Oh, the depth, not sure if it would be better with a whisper of sweetner. Really good as is. Cheers, Toby

I think that a margarita with vanilla taking the place of the O. Curacao is wonderful. I have never had the MB vanilla, but Licor 43 is one of my favorite's and has been for a long, long time. Toby