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crabbjay

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Everything posted by crabbjay

  1. How does Pegu Club do the garnishes? How is their set-up different?
  2. I totally agree. I was quite dissapointed when we purchased a rather expensive electric juicer for a bar I used to work at. Quite bitter lime and lemon juices, but in particular the lime juice. Up until that point, we had used the little hand-held juciers, squeezing juice on the spot per cocktail. The juice extracted from these little hand-helds was great, but it was often hard to extract just the right amount. Sometimes, based on the size of the fruit, half a lemon would yield almost an ounce of juice, when all that was needed for that particular cocktail in the making was 1/2 an ounce. In addition, when the bar got busy, it became a logistical problem using the hand-helds. The solution was to get an electric juicer, and squeeze lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit before each shift, store them in glass bottles with a speedpourer, and then keep them in the frig right next to the well/workstation. This method sped things up considerably, and it was quick and accurate to pour juices out of a bottle with a speedpourer on it. You could measure 1/4 oz, 1/2, oz, 3/4 oz, etc, quite easily, accurately, and rather quickly. Measurements were more consistent and the ease-of-use issue proved useful on those busy nights. But, after taste-testing the lemon and lime juices off an on over the course of a couple of months, and comparing the taste with juices extracted from our hand-helds, it became quite apparent that the juice extracted from our electric juicer produced a more "bitter" juice...it just tasted "off". Not horrible, just off, and not as crisp as the juice from the hand-helds. I'd be curious to know of all your experiences with juices as well. I've asked before, but never received a response in regards to some of the better cocktail establishements around, and how they extract their juices for use in cocktails (like Pegu Club, Dylan Prime, etc, etc). -J.C.-
  3. UPTOWN - 1.25 oz. Makers Mark Bourbon - 1 oz. Hangar 1 Raspberry Vodka or your own house-infused Raspberry Vodka - 1/2 oz. Licor 43 - 1/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth - Optional: 2 drops of Angostura Bitters - Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass - Garnish with 2 Raspberries or Brandied Cherries * I love Manhattans, raspberries, and licor 43, so I decided to see if they could "play well together." They do! I love bitters in my Manhattans, but I prefer the UPTOWN without. Cheers - Jay -
  4. Cortez, Frisson, Enricos, East Side West Raw Bar, Absinthe, The Starlight Room, Rye, Aziza, Tres Agaves, Bix, The Orbit Room...I'll post some more tomorrow, including a few gems in the Bay Area that are not in San Fran but close by. Cheers!! - Jay -
  5. "A good bartender has to be all things to all people all of the time." Sound silly? Perhaps, but some folks want to be entertained. Some folks want to be left alone; they want their drink quickly and then they just want to sit alone and drink while writing or thinking without being bothered. Some folks want to be entertained, feeding off of a bartender with quick wit, charm, and a high-energy personality. Some folks simply need someone to listen (which is more difficult than it sounds. Listening is a lost art in my humble opinion). Some folks are the cocktail equivalent of a "foodie" and want a true mixologist, a cocktalian bartender who has complete command over the myriad ingredients behind the stick. These folks are drawn to bars that make their own house-infused syrups and bitters and pride themselves on new, creative cocktails. Some folks would never step inside a bar unless it was a "beer & shot" type of place with a good jukebox in the corner and sported a bartender behind the stick that always had a joke to tell. Some folks want and appreciate all of the above depending on the day, the occassion, their pocketbook, their goal, or their current desires. To each his own. To a large extent the theme and atmosphere of the bar dictates the role of the bartender, but no matter WHAT you are looking for, we ALL enjoy prompt, friendly service with a warm smile whether we are being served beer and a shot or a Lemongrass Infused, Thai Chile Pineapple Mojito with a grazing of Mint Foam on top. So yes, the bartender has to be all things to all people all of the time! CHEERS!!!!!!!! - Jay -
  6. Just wondering the logistics of a fresh juice program (in regards to cocktails), and specifically, how some of the best in the biz currently do it. You see, our little bar used to use the small hand-held juicers to extract fresh juice for our cocktails. They work great, but sometimes, since many of our recipes have EXACT measurements, like 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz, 1.25 oz, etc, and also because after we had been open for about a year, business started to get busier and busier (which was a good thing), we found that squeezing juice per cocktail, using the hand-helds, was too time-consuming, and didn't always yield the exact measurement we needed. So...we purchased a Sunkist juicer. Works great, but we noticed the taste of the juice was different. Not bad by any means, but it just wasn't as crisp and as smooth tasting as juice extracted from the small hand-held juicers, or even the larger manual juice extractors that sit atop the bar. So...how do some of the best in the biz do it? Pegu Club, Dylan Prime, Flatiron Lounge, etc? Do they (A) squeeze the juice before each shift using either those large manual juicers that sit atop the bar, the small hand-helds, or an electric juicer? Or do they (B) squeeze the juice per order using the hand helds? Also...What type of container do they store the juice in? Plastic store n' pours, glass bottles with a speed pourer on them? Do they store them in a dedicated refrigerator until they need to use them, or in the "jockey" boxes that are on either side of the ice bin in most bar set-ups (but that usually don't stay cold enough to keep juice freshest)? I am really curious as to the logistics involved in regards to extracting, storing, and using fresh juices in a "top-notch" cocktail program. I have been dissapointed with the taste of juice extracted from our Sunkist machine. At first I thought we were pressing down to hard on the fruit, pushing too deep into the pith, but after monitoring the bar staff, everyone uses as delicate a touch as possible when juicing. The electric juicer certainly IS fast, and it IS still technically fresh juice, but it just doesn't taste the same as juice extracted from a manual juicer, whether they be the larger bar-top models, or the small hand-helds. Also, we have been storing/pouring the juice using those plastic store n' pours, but it is hard to pour from these containers. The pour spout is so large, that when trying to only pour a small amount, say 1/2 oz, the juice comes flying out! I am thinking that using emptied glass bottles, fitted with a speed-pourer, would be eaasier and certainly more accurate. On a side note, we use jiggers at the bar. But it is still much easier to measure into a jigger using a bottle with a speedporer attached, then it is measuring into a jigger with a store and pour container spout. As far as storing the juice is concerned, we store the juice in a frig behind the well/workstation, to keep the juice as cold as possible. Dale DeGroff once told me that storing them in the "jockey" boxes located to the left and right of most ice-bins just doesn't keep them cold enough, which makes the juice turn bad in a short amount of time. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!!!! CHEERS
  7. Casis de Bordeaux Liqueur from Marie Brizard....mmmmmmm
  8. Are you saying that making a cocktal does not take skill? Your post makes it sound like making a martini does not require any skill. I totally disagree. And yes, cocktails are a huge profit center for restaurants. I certainly don't mind paying for well-made cocktails that are prepared with skill and with premium spirits.
  9. QUESTION: do you make the simple syrup first, and then boil the spices in the already made simple syrup, or do you make it all at the same time (water, sugar, spices all together at the same time)? Hope that makes sense. Thanks so much for posting the recipe!!
  10. Sounds absolutely delicious!! Would you be so kind as to share the recipe?
  11. Does anyone have a nice recipe for ginger-infused simple syrup?
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