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It depends what you are trying to stabilize. If it's oil and water (cream based drinks like a Pina Colada) then lecithin will help. "Lecithin is a phospholipid, a class of compounds that make up cell membranes throughout the body. It is produced in the liver if the diet contains enough of the raw ingredients. Lecithin is the emulsifier in egg yolks that allows the oil and water to mix to make mayonnaise." Courtesy of Science Toys. If it's just water based drink like a frozen margarita, then there's not much that's going to help without changing the texture of the drink.

Just to let those who are interested in whiskies, I am doing a review of twelve Canadian whiskies. Why? Because I've always wondered whether Canadian whiskies are a uniform spirit, created in one unique style, or whether they have unique characteristics between brands that stand out beyond the normal description like bourbon and scotch. Throughout the month of June I will be reviewing twelve, maybe more, Canadian whiskies. I've decided that for my own information I would taste each of these brands and compare them to each other and some "standards" like Jameson and Jack Daniels. I like Jameson, but hate JD, so this was not an easy task. Hopefully this will give some direction to people interested in this whisky category and clear up a few things about Canadian whisky. If that doesn't interest you, the tasting of JD might amuse you. The whiskies on the docket include: Crown Royal Special Reserve Forty Creek Barrel Select Alberta Premium 100% Rye Danfield’s Private Reserve Tangle Ridge Rye Schenly OFC Gibson Finest 12 Wiser Deluxe Royal Reserve Seagrams VO Canadian Club 12 Walker’s Special Old Reviews can be found on The Art of Drink weblog.

As a bartender I'm happy with a dollar a drink, whether it's a $25 shot of scotch or a $7 cocktail. What I really appreciate is a larger tip when you have special requests and expect me to remember that drink in 20 minutes. If you tip me a quarter, I'm likely to not put any effort into memorizing your drink, nor will I return that quickly. Sadly, if someone is tipping me well, they will get more of my attention. In reality, I wish tips were eliminated and bartenders (and servers) were paid a fair wage. That way I could just serve everyone to the best of my abilities without worrying about making enough tips to pay my mortgage. We may make great money on a Friday night, but it all balances out when you work the Monday afternoon shift and make a whole $4 (yes that's $4). We also don't get breaks, I work 8 hours straight and if I make a mistake on an order the company I work for makes us pay for it. We also tip out our support staff (bussers and barbacks). Many times we make a boat load of drinks for servers, but rarely get a tip out from them. It's hard work, very physical and mentally trying. Even if you are having the worst day of your life, as bartender you need to act like every day is great to make our money. So do we deserve to make as much as a union construction worker? I beleive so.

The idea isn't stupid, but the only way you'll know if the drink will be successful is to try it. Then develop the drink some more and eventually it will be great.

If you are going to do Mai Tai's then stick with a classic formula: 2 oz Jamaican Rum (Appleton Reserve or Extra) 0.5 oz Cointreau or Orange Curacao 0.5 oz Orgeat Syrup Juice of one Lime Dash Grenadine (just for colour if using Cointreau) Combine in shaker, shake and strain into rocks glass with fresh ice. Don't use Grand Marnier, it's too sweet and throws the cocktail off. But this is a great cocktail to offer guests who like their drinks balanced, but strong. Mix up some Sidecars, Corpse Revivers II, and maybe a champagne based cocktail.

You have the right idea but it is actually acids vs. sweetness. There are very few "basic" of alkaline solutions behind the bar. Plus they would just neutralize each other and you'd end up with water. But you are very right, and it is all about balance. There are three key parts to bartending. The first is knowledge. As a bartender you need to know your stuff (drinks, technique, basic sense of taste and interpersonnal skills). The second part is the ability to multi-task. Doing all of the first part at the same time is standard. You'll be pouring two draught, shaking three martini's, making a couple of shots, all the while you'll be maintaining a conversation with your customers and sometimes placing orders for food. Where I work the standard is that from the time the drinks are ordered, you have three minutes to get them to the guest. The third is endurance. You need to do these things non-stop for sometimes 12 hours, usually without a break and you must maintain for interperssonal skills and be happy, even though you are exhausted. On average 6 to 8 hour shift is normal. The recipes and techniques you can teach, but the other stuff can only be experienced. However, if part one is solid then part two will come naturally. Sadly, this is were many bartenders cop out. They trim their menu and cut back on service to make it more convienient for themselves and neglect the customers needs.

In the bigger picture (and I'll probably start a new topic on this) is that to be a bartender doesn't require any special training. Most people just walk off the street and start pouring beer, learning as they go. This included some good habits, but mostly bad habits. If a person takes a bartending course, they are looked down upon and the general recommendation is to remove that info from your resume prior to applying for the job. At my place of employment, bartenders are hired based on appearance, not skill. The company is a chain with 40 restaurants, a couple of hotels and a dozen lounges. The money is pretty good, especially for no education. And when money is immediately good, there is no motivation to improve. The majority of the bartenders I work with couldn't care less about making a good drink. They'll make an average drink. I also can tell you that most of them couldn't make a Manhattan or real Margarita, no joke. They also throw lime in single malt scotches, which usually ends up as a disaster. Also, if they make a mistake with a draught beer, they'll set it aside and top up other pints. Problem is that they two beers are never the same. So you could get an ale and pilsner in the same glass. And yes we are an fine dining establishment. Like I said, people pick up bad habits that are never corrected. Here's the worst part. For all my knowledge and great customer service, I'm the black sheep of the team. It is perceived that I take to much time with my customers. Also I get heat for making quality drinks. The general concensous is that more drinks equals more tips so wasting time helping a customrs is frowed upon. Sad eh. Here is what I know though, my tips are much higher when I take care of my customers, so I continue to do so.

As a bartender, I'll make whatever you want and I'll never complain. But, I do work with some bartenders who have other reasons for being at work and providing good customer service isn't one of them. Most of them just want to pour beer and bang out rum and cokes, but they expect a good tip for these simple tasks. Basically, most bartenders equate # of drinks served with the amount they are going to make. i.e. more drinks, more tips. Anything that eats up their time is regarded as cutting into their income. I'm a different kind of bartender though, I would rather spend the time talking to you, introduce you to new and classic drinks and make sure you have a great night. On that basis my tips can usually be greater than someone who served five drinks per minute but doesn't provide any customer service. The Manhattan doesn't take anymore time to make than any other drink. Pouring a single pint can take 20 seconds or more so. A decent Manhattan can be made in about 30 seconds.

There is product out there, it is some times called "heading powder" made from an algea. Not that you would want to use it, but it can be found at your local homebrew company and it's called "Kreamyx", and I'm sure there are others. It shouldn't be confused with egg white powder though.

Here's my two cents on the topic of whisky. Of the four major whisk(e)y producing countries Canada and Ireland are similar in that they produce smooth drinking whisky, that is almost always blended. Scotland and the US (Bourbon) are similar because they have the most flavourful whisky. Scotch being smokey with peat and Bourbon being sweet and vanilla with strong wood flavours. Of course these are generalizations. If you have never tried whisky, start with a Canadian or Irish blend. Crown Royal is an excellent choice and available just about everywhere. Jameson is a good smooth Irish whiskey. Blended whisky tends to be easier drinking and are very reasonable price wise. Scotch and Bourbon have lots of flavour, and can be harsh to a new palette. But once acquired, everything else seems bland, hence the loyalty and sometimes fanaticism. Here's some facts about Canadian whisky: The Canadian government regulates whisky production and requires that all whisky produced in Canada be three years or older. Most Canadian whisky is 6 to 8 years old. It is generally a blended spirit, meaning it is made from different types and ages. Canadian whisky can be made from rye, wheat, corn, barly and malted barly. It is aged in new or used oak barrels and many times former bourbon or port barrels are used. The final product is consistent from year to year. Canadian whisky is refered to as "rye", but the majority of brands are not 100% rye. There are a number of Canadian rye whiskies available. Canadian blends do not ocntain unaged neutral grain spirits.

There are many cocktails that use egg whites and some even use egg yolks. The two drinks that come to mind, where egg whites are involved, are the Whisky Sour and Ramos Gin Fizz. With out the egg, these drinks are pretty plain, but after you shake in the egg white, the drink is completely different. For the Ramos Gin Fizz, shake the drink for at least one minute, or use a stick blender to foam it up after shaking with ice. If you shake, it will start to feel "ropey" when it is ready. You'll know what ropey is once you shake long enough. I've written an article, on eggs in bars, for Gary Regan's new website, www.Proof101.com and the accompanying newsletter called the Bar Rag. This website should be up in a month or so. This article deals with getting bars to bring back the egg white in cocktails. Anyway, you could probably add an egg to any drink you want, that's the fun of cocktails!

This is my favorite Canadian whisky. I live only a little more than an hour from the distillery. This whisky is very smooth, but has some good flavour. It is a minimum of three year old, with most of the whisky six years old. It is made from three grains, including rye, and aged in different types of oak barrels (light, medium, dark toast). It looks like they are going to be releasing some new products in 2006 which may, according to rumour, a straight 100% rye whisky. Hopefully 40 Creek releases some other new products, I'm always interested in new whiskies.

Here's what works best for me: 1. Go out for Taco Bell or some food after drinking (if possible) 2. Two large glasses of water 3. High dose Vitamin B Complex 4. Sleep 5. One more large glasses of water 6. Food & Good Coffee 7. Rest The one thing I avoid is using Tylenol, Aspirin and Advil before I go to bed, after drinking. This is especially important because mixing these with alcohol can cause severe liver damage and stomach bleeding. Obviously this will take time, but when I was in college, it was normal to drink two or three times per week. The Vitamin B is a much better "hangover helper." It won't fix the problem, but it will take the edge off.

On New Years Eve we all know what to drink, but what does everyone else drink on the following day. Since it is the first day of the year, I've always taken the left over champagne and made Mimosa's for brunch. I'm thinking a Bellini would be good, but I need to prepare that for next year since fresh peaches are little rare right now. If I can't have either of those, a Ramos Gin Fiz would be another great brunch drink. What drink do you bring in New Years day with?

As a bartender, the trends I'm see seem to agree with everyone's observations: brown spirits are then new thing. I think rum is becoming more popular than straight rye whisky. Canadian whisky (aka brown vodka) and bourbons are growing in popularity. I think bourbon is the new Scotch. As for egg whites, they want to make a come back, but managers of the bar will forever be afraid of the salmonella bug. Even though commercial eggs are rarely a source of this bug, it had been beaten into peoples heads that "raw eggs can give you salmonella". I work with a cook who tells everyone that their eggs should be cooked to at least medium. The solution to the egg problem is powdered egg whites. These are simply dehydrated egg whites. Add a little water and they get their slimy, frothy goodness back, without the fear of getting the evil bug. The only other problem is that egg allergies are becoming more common. Vodka is still a force to be dealt with. In my home bar I don't even stock vodka (when in need I use Irish Poteen). But, people still like it. I still don't understand a vodka and soda as a drink? Why not a mojito or something. The last issue is the premade/pre-mixed cocktail. These things drive me nuts. As a bartender nothing bugs me more than when someone asks me if I have the Schweppes Infusion (Gin & Tonic) or a TGIF Mudslide. I can make those as fast as I can open the bottle, well maybe not the mudslide, but I can make it taste better. The prepackaged drinks are making cocktails, and bartending, trivial. Those are my opinions and observations. Good topic.

Now that the Rumfest winners have been announced, someone should post the recipe(s) for the second place cocktails. I'd like to try the Lytton Fizz and compare it to the winner.

Well, my entry for Rumfest failed to make the top 2 cocktails. So instead of filing the recipe in the "into oblivion" catagory, I decided share it with everyone here. I personally enjoy this cocktail very much as vanilla and cinnamon are two of my favorite flavours. Name: Rum Kick 1.25 oz Amber Rum (Cockspur) 0.5 oz Bols Vanilla Liqueur 1 tsp Goldschlager 1 oz Cold Coffee (Medium Roast) 1 dash Simple Syrup Combine all ingredients into shaker with ice and stir. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with a cherry and cinnamon stick. Notes: Too much Goldschlager can overpower the drink. A dash of bitters is optional as the coffee and cinnamon provide enough of a bitter quality. But if you do use bitters use Angostura Bitters. If anyone else has a cocktail that didn't make it into Rumfest, and would like to share, please do so.

For mixing I usually use Havana Club Anejo Reserva, but I didn't have any. But I also use Macallan 10 year old Scotch in my Rusty Nails. Better ingedients, better drink! I suppose Rumona could be used where Drambuie is used. Simply switch out the Whisky for Rum and we have a whole new list of cocktails. At least it gives me options.

I stopped by my local liquor store (LCBO) and noticed a bottle of Rumona Rum Liqueur from Jamaica. I've never heard of it before, but I figured it would be good in something. After looking it up, it seems it is rarely exported, and there is not a lot of information about it. It is very sweet and has 31% alcohol, so it actually reminds me of Drambuie. The first thought was to make a Rum "Rusty Nail". So I took 2 parts Havana Club 7 Year Old Rum and mixed it with 1 part Rumona over ice. It turned out amazingly good, very smooth and not to sweet. This might actually replace the Rusty Nail on my favorite cocktails list! Does anyone else have any experience with this rum liqueur?

Thanks. It took a while to get the text right, but a scanner and OCR helped! The idea for the book came from the Project Gutenberg which for those who don't know is a central resource for books whose copyright has expired. There are number of other books on my list, but I need to get copies of them and some spare time. This type of information just begs to be free. This book though has a lot of good recipes and I find it very interesting on how things were done so many years ago. Cheers!

One of the earliest guides to bartending was published in 1862 by Jerry Thomas. This book contains some of the first references to today’s classic cocktails, such as the Manhattan, Pousse Café’s, Juleps and Collins. This book is an invaluable reference to any aspiring mixologist.<br><br> I am happy to announce that all 130 pages of the 1887 version of the book has been published online and is freely accessible at The Art of Drink: Jerry Thomas Book. Because of copyright laws, this books copyright have long since expired and the material has become part of the public domain. Eventually, I intend to submit to the Gutenberg Free eBook Library.<br><br> Anyone who has an interest in the history of bartending and cocktails should peruse this book. The tools and techniques are interesting and shine some light on how things were done over 120 years ago. Some of those techniques are still applicable today. By far, the most interesting part of the book is the Introduction to Bartending. <br><br> There are also a number of interesting stories such as the The Real Georgia Mint Julep and the White Plush.<br><br> Currently, the websites navigation only lists specific classes of cocktails but every page has a number of cocktails. The paper book was 130 pages, but I have condensed that into 83 pages, trying to group the classes of cokctails on one page. If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve the online version of the book, please let me know. An Index is currently being worked on. <br><br> I hope everyone enjoys this unique piece of history.

I suppose you could use the powdered acids as ingredient. I use a small amount of citric and malic acid in "sweet and sour mix", gives it a little more bite with a crisp, clean finish. However, I only do that when I need to make a large amount for a party or such. Saves a little on juicing too (i.e. you don't need as many lemons or limes). If you use powdered acids, I highly recommend adding the zest from the fruit to get the essential oils, creates a better flavour. For most drinks though, I just use simple syrup and fresh fruit juice for sour's.

In the next issue of Mixology: The Journal of the American Cocktail, I have written an indepth article about sweet and sour. One area I discuss is how wine is a perfect example of a balanced sweet and sour drink. Using wine as the template for a cocktail, I mixed up new cocktail to better explain how sweet and sour balance each other out. This drink tastes like wine, cheap wine, but it's an interesting lesson in cocktail making. Plonk Cocktail 2 oz (60 ml) White Grape Juice 1.25 oz (35 ml) Pisco / Grappa / Vodka 0.25 oz (7.5 ml) Vermouth (White) 0.5 oz (15 ml) Acid Blend Solution* Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lime wheel. Your local wine making store can supply you with the powdered wine acids needed to make this drink. You can make acid blend by dissolving 1 tablespoon (roughly 12 grams) of acid blend powder or tartaric acid into 1/2 cup (120 ml) of warm water. This will give your cocktail the proper amount of acidity to balance out the sweetness. The future article goes into more scientific detail about using lemon and limes and how the acids balance out with sugar to make great cocktails. Also, the alcohol strength of the drink plays a part in how sweet and sour are precieved. Drinks in general, tolerate acidity better when the alcohol content is higher.

Actaully, the product from the water soaked barrels was/is called "Swish". The products called Screech is imported rum from Jamaica, which is aged for three years in the Newfoundland climate. It's actually not as bad as the name implies. Swish on the other hand...

What better way to introduce myself than to list my favorite spirits. Whisky Crown Royal Special Reserve Forty Creek Barrel Select Jameson 12 Year Old Scotch Macallans 12 Year Johnnie Walker Gold Rum Havana Club 7 Year Screech Gin Plymouth Tequila Patron Vodka No Preference Current Infatuation: Navan