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Hey Chris where did you get that Big Ben recipe from? We had a Big Ben on the D and C menu 1 or 2 years ago. A variation on Regans Dubliner, which I turned into the Londoner and in turn into the Big Ben. More so for Big Ben in London but didn't mind the duplicity of name since I do bleed black and gold, anyway my Big Ben was 2 Beefeater .5 Dry (old Noilly or Dolin) .5 Grand Marnier Dash of Orange

There is no substitute for fresh juice. Make him a boozy non-juice cocktail.

Free pour a Tantris Sidecar consistently ten times in a row and I will never touch a jigger again. Free pouring 1 to 2 oz at a time have a chance of being acurate. But the margin of error for .25 oz to .5 oz just is too large. And again I will not admit to free pouring being faster if we take in quaility as factor. I have jiggered in bars 3 or 4 deep. The only thing harder to believe that one can accurately free pour with one bottle is they can free pour with two. I'm not buying it with the exception of equal parts. Any body heard of Ryan M's jumping jack test. You free pour test yourself and then do a 100 jumping jacks (to simulate fatigue of later in a shift) and then free pour test yourself again. This just in: Speed is not the answer. Speed is well rum and coke out of a gun. Efficiancy is most important.

A 2 year old can make a 2 ingrediant hiball, free pour your heart out. One more thing about why jiggering is so important is the education factor. That is recipe sharing and such. I can give my staff formulas and the tools (jiggers) to replicate drinks. More importantly think of people who are not bartenders who want to make recipes at home? Jiggers even make the novices produce on point. Also training a new bartender, whats simpler teaching them to jigger or freepour. Also whats more sure fire and consistent. Jiggering = better drinks. Think of what you were drinking ten years ago.

There is its called fresh strawverrys. Anything you can get fresh there is no need for a liquior.

How about this analogy. I don't go to the cherry tavern and ask for a Sazerac, I'm aware of my suroundings, shouldn't everyone be? Also if you are a vodka drinker and enter a place that doesn't carry vodka and you only find out once your there it is that establishments choice for a reason. They have two easy choices take an interest and find out why or go to any other bar anywhere and order your vodka drink. It must be said that it is a two way street between bartenders being professional and consumers being polite and I must say the rudest customers nominated by spirit of choice are vodka drinkers. To them Bartenders are not well trained proffesionals but just unskilled drink deliverers at there beck and call.

Ignorance isn't bliss, its a vodka tonic. Look I remember being a vodka drinker, thats right laugh it up. In my day in Pittsburgh I put me back some Stoli Tonics, Why? To get drunk, and why Vodka Tonics well because Vodka is what one drank to get drunk. It didn't taste like any thing I got drunk without bothering to think, taste, or enjoy. Now knowing what I know now I can't stand the thought of drinking something as mindless as a vodka tonic. Evangelize indeed. It is my job as a proffesional to help people drink better. If people didn't want to drink better I wouldn't own a bar or have a career behind one. I feel like I discovered some secret IE cocktails and spirits that I want to share with people. Vodka is a crutch. If you have it people will fall back on it. If you don't they will learn to walk and drink something else. An aquired taste is a just reward for an effort put forth. Most people don't just wake up and decide to love Laphroiag one day. It is a pleasure that has to be earned. Campari drinkers think of your first time, it took me forever to learn to like it but boy am I glad my dedication paid off. Vodka is simplicity to the point of mundane. Mindless. The number of times I've walked into a bar or restruant and looked at the booze selection and saw the same 12 bottles of vodka and maybe say 10 other bottles of over marketed over priced liquid habits in a bottle that people drink because no one has ever taken the time to open there eyes to not just taste but value: that is my inspiration. Worst of all liquor companies can't leave well enough alone. Know we have Gins, Rums, and Tequilas made and marketed to vodka drinkers: Tasted any of some of those new fangled gins or how about some flavored Tequila. We are dumbing down the finest spirits in the world to cater to the worst pallets. Bulldog gin costs more than Beefeater how is that possible? If I never hear the word smooth again I'm not going to complain. Funny story. About 2nd night of freinds and family at my new establishment. Friends of friends of friends wind up getting in. I hand them a cocktail menu, a girl who seemed perhaps almost in the bag asks for a double vodka and tonic without even looking at the menu. I tell here I don't carry Vodka or tonic, and also that I don't serve doubles. She is none to happy, she snaps and asks me how someone can't have vodka. No lie I didn't like her very much, so I told her that we specialized in things that taste like something and since vodka didn't tast like something we didn't carry it. She asked me how I could be so presumptious to make a judgement like that. She wound up ordering a mojito(another no brainer) and I only thought of my reply after I was already downstairs and kept it to myself. It was: I had come to that conclusion by tasting hundreds of spirits over the past six years and how was it that she had come to hers? Ignorance isn't bliss its a Vodka tonic. Vodka is perhaps the pioneer of todays Liquir/Marketing scheme. Its in fact brilliant. Seen as how it doesn't taste like anything the only thing poor folks can "rate" it on is price/image. And born was the expensive equals better craze.(can anyone else her Violent Femmes in the background) We could start a whole new thread on this topic so I will move on, just wanted to note that I believe vodka to be the biggest culprit.

Ok all you foodies have started our food program as well so please bring your egullets and feedback. Rest assured no standing. We thought about it but it just doesn't function smoothly and atmosphere just goes to poop. Thanks for all the props.

First and formost you get what you pay for. Don't buy the stupid little glass bottled 750 of heradura find the cheaper liter bottle. heradura silver in the liter is probably the best value for quality to price comparison. Siete Leguas and El Tesoro are a bit more expensive but perhaps the two tastiest tequilas back to front and damn cheap compared to some of the overpriced posers in their henious packaging. If its not 100 percent blue agave don't buy it.

Oxo measuring cups equal larger margin for error. That whole looking down at a line inside of something no bueno. The top of a jigger lets you know by overflowing if you put too much in or shows the top of its level if pour is short. Agree with John on the jigger set. Also throw in an adjustable Teaspoon measure for the critical 1 and a half teaspoon which equals the tricky .25 ounce. Oxo blahh, jigger please

One last thing I should of said in the first place. Will jiggers kill the bar star? My question would there be bar stars without jiggers. Anyone recall any bar stars 5 or 6 years ago before every jiggering establishment that currently has bar stars were open? Keep thinking

I said Beefeater Sam.

Most disabused principle is Philosophy. Thought article was just another exercise in the long history of "philosophizing" for the sake of it. Labels don't explain much they are just convienant. Blah Blah Blah.

First off how dare Don Lee accuse people of thinking too much. I can hear him laughing to himself as he writes these things. (and too think he got in the times, good dig Don) About time to make a drink. Whats the difference between a hamburger at Mcdonalds and a hamburger at Landmarc? Price, time, and quality. I can walk into Mcdonalds most likely walk up to the counter and get a hamburger on the spot for whatever those baby brain washing pigs charge for a burger these days. Where as at Landmarc one must wait for his or her burger which I find totally unexceptable. I mean like sometimes it could be like 15 minutes dude. I'm always like "why didn't I go to Mcdonalds man?" Then on top of everything else it costs about 12 bucks! I mean I know they actually use meat and all but 12 bucks, I could probably get 3 of Mickey D's burgers for twelve bucks. There are Mcdonalds polluting the entire earth. There are even more bars where one can go into and get there instant vodka tonic. Please be aware of your surroundings. Don't go to Per Se and try to order a grilled cheese. Instant coffee versus fresh ground brewed coffee????? True love versus a one night stand??????? Some things take time. Patience really is a virtue. Quality isn't instant, Red bull is, drink it often its good for the heart rate.

Thats what I don't understand Sam. They probably didn't even realize it was a staple. we are just the stupid US market I suppose.

Have we all gotten to enjoy the new formula Noilly Pratt Dry? We had a release party at my establishment months ago with the NP Master Mixologist who was a very nice fellow and a bunch of press people to celebrate the launch of the new packaging and formula. During the course of the event the NP Mixologist asked me which version I prefered the old formula or the new. I replied, "which do you prefer?" I was in the process of making two gin martintis, one old formula one new. He tasted them blind and preferred the old. When made aware he stated his preference fof a 2 to 1 build rather than the 3 to 1 of yours truly. I ablidged him a second try to his proportional preference and.... You guessed it he chose the old agian. Now don't get me wrong I think the new formula is a nice product and will serve fine as a cocktail ingrediant. The problem? The what 20 or 30 cocktial recipes I specified Noilly Pratt dry for. These drinks no longer taste the same. Can someone say thank heavens Dolin is now available in NYC to grace the well. This is not Europe. This is the US where Noilly Pratt is lucky if most places even wave the bottle of vermouth at their martini. Creating a more complex flavor forward product for the US market was pure genius on the part of the NP team. I think they are likely to alienate those who relied on it( who also help get people who don't know they like vermouth to drink vermouth) and further alienate those who already would prefer olive brine over vermouth to make there 4 ounces of grey goose palatable. But the new packaging is nice at least.

Name the time and place. I will smoke any free pouring moron with my jiggers and my drinks will taste consistently better. The only reason jiggers slow down a bartender is because they haven't gotten comfortable using them. If one does not take the time to get comfortable using them then they have no place to say in this conversation. The only advantage of free pouring is a disadvantage to the end result. One could pour two bottles at the same time or even four it making such a delicacy as a Long Island Ice tea.But considering that most people can't pour consistently with only one bottle what are the chances one can do so with two. Its not jiggers that slow down bartenders. Its bartenders. Bartenders and the Establishments are to blame for long ticket times. I would be willing to bet a jiggering bar has better ticket times. I'd be curious to know what bars were on Dale's mind when he said that.

Indeed newer machine do seem to be running better. We have had ours at bar for 2 years and few problems. One machine I may steer away from though is the split machine doing half pellet half cube=two ways to putz out. And yes it does seem Leasing equals better servicing. Also no one has an excuse not to have one installed for only about 600 dollars which will make your drinks 1000 times better.

I have some ideas that could be helpful but I cannot oblidge until you take back your statement that "tequila isn't versatile" until then.....

Daisy17 will one day like arrack......Daisy17 will one day like arrack........Daisy17 will one day like arrack......Daisy17 is starting to like arrack..................................................

Its quite tricky as a base. I prefer it as a modifyer. One drink which it adds a beautiful accent to is: D.W.B. 2 La Favorite Blanc .75 lime .5 cane syrup .25 Batavia Shake serve up But I find half an ounce does wonders in drinks. For example use .5 of it and 1.5 of say Appleton V/x as the base of an old fashion. Such also works with Tequila. I actually find it has quite an affinity with the agave spirits including the smoky Mezcals. I'm going to give another recipe here but please don't laugh until after you made it and tasted it. If you still want to laugh then go ahead, even try and find my phone number and laugh at me. We have a saying about driving drinks off the cliff, well as I came up with this one I was thinking this was one hell of a car crash if I'd ever seen one. It was all Avery Glassers fault. He was in from Boston and requested something using the things he liked that he hadn't had for awhile or some such and needless to say I got Carried away. I call it the Airbag Cocktail because it seemed a car crash in which no one died and (don't laugh until you try it) is actually really tasty. 1 El Tosoro Reposado .5 Batavia Arrack .5 Los Amantes Joven Mezcal .75 Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth .25 All Spice Dram .25 Benedictine Dash or so of Avery's Choclate Bitters Stir serve up While drinking remember less is more but even an idiot is right every once in a while. We should probably start a thank you Eric Seed thread for all the things he has done for the cocktail world the last few years.

A Master Mixologist is a jackass who is full of itself who makes drinks. I have never once heard anyone who could be considered a master mixologist( if there ever could be such a thing) refer to themselves as a master mixologists. Considering the people I have seen refer to themselves as master mixologists I wouldn't want to see the good humble BARTENDERS I know blackened in name such.

Cocktail of the decade? Well hell the decade isn't over yet. So I think(prematurely) that it has to be a drink made often and in lots and lots of places. IE something you can get in alot of places. At least stateside/London worldwide is opening perhaps too big a can of worms for this decade. It only amounts to about half a decade but I would like to put in a vote for the Last Word. It has gone from an obscure classic to a staple in most good cocktail bars. Representing one classics and modernity at the same time. Other canidates: this might ruffle some feathers but I really might say the Sazerac. Really we are talking about the "second coming" of the cocktail age(does that sound stupid) and if there is one drink I get made consistently well and that is Jesus H Christ delecious it is the Sazerac, and yes it is an old drink but it is just again this decade that folks have started using rye for it again. I think something can be said for the Gin Gin Mule, it is on alot of menus and for good reason.

Snowyisdead, your talking about a two sided sword(most are). If those folks down the road cant make the gin fizz on there own list in a way they make your job easier if you actually can. All you have to do is make the drink correctly.

Actually its quite cost effective and a brilliant idea to use super premium spirits in cocktails and to good results. Rittenhouse bonded: 13 a bottle. Lairds Apple Brandy: About 16. Plymouth Gin 22ish. Barbancourt white: Practically free. Rule of thumb though: avoid adjetives. FreshHerbs I thought that Bittman guy was a total moron. I'm trying to block the episode out of memory, but for you: My favorite part he says there is no where in the city to get a good margarita then goes on how to demo a good margarita on film with Patron(Were we mentioning something about superpremiun overpriced rott-gutt somewhere in this thread), simple syrup and Lime AKA a tequila gimlet with a bad tequila. There would be nothing wrong with demoing such at home to his friends, but this was for the NY Times which contrary to this article actually has a history of writers and readers who know what they are talking about. It'd almost be comprable to me going on the food network tommorrow to demo kraft macaroni and cheese to the viewers.