evo-lution

Jerry Thomas clearly views the Crusta as derived from the Cock-tail though, not as a sour. I'm more than aware of the correlation, especially when it comes to Jerry Thomas , but the point I was making is that the only difference between a sour (with bitters - i.e the drink in question) and a cock-tail is the addition of lemon juice. It's really hard for me to believe that it took over 100 years for someone to add lemon juice to a cocktail, even more so when you consider the crusta essentially fills the gap between the two drinks.

You'd have to assume that someone had done it before then if you consider that the Crusta (essentially a Sour with the addition of bitters, Curacao and sugar rim) was around in the mid 1800s. I can't get my head round the fact that if the 'Bittered Sour' was created in the 1900s it would've taken 100+ years for someone to add lemon juice to the cock-tail...

Was kindly forwarded another Boker's recipe by Michael Edmonds, of Blue Diamond and Sligo in Melbourne, which he created for the recent Australian Bartender of the Year awards. Christmas Cake Scaffa 60ml Remy Martin VSOP 20ml Romate Oloroso sherry 1 Barspoon of Agave (uncut) Partida 4 Dashes Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Boker’s Bitters 1 Lemon peel Method: Add all ingredients to a wine decanter and swill until the flavours marry Glass: Stemmed Garnish: Lemon peel (snap and discard) Ice: N/A

It is a really good looking drink! Regarding Jason, he currently works at Blue Diamond however he's leaving to set-up a new bar called The Galley Room. I'll find out for sure, but it may be something like this...

Some original Boker's drinks recipes... Erin’s Delight #2 40ml Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength 10ml White Crème de Cacao 30ml Fresh lime juice 5ml Sugar syrup Pinch fresh coriander 1 Dash Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Boker’s Bitters Method: Lightly press coriander in base of mixing glass, add all other ingredients, fill with cubed ice and shake hard for ten seconds. Glass: Chilled cocktail glass Garnish: Lime wedge Ice: N/A Notes: Created by Hayden Scott Lambert for a Martin Miller’s competition and named after his Northern Irish wife who taught Hayden how to truly appreciate gin. As featured on Hayden's drinks menu for his guest spot at Le Bon Lion in Hamburg. Auld Skool 37.5ml Cognac 12.5ml Combier orange 12.5ml Dry sherry 1 Dash Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Boker’s Bitters Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with cubed ice and stir for 15-20 seconds. Glass: Brandy snifter Garnish: Lemon twist Ice: N/A Notes: Created by Brian Macgregor for the 2009 winter drinks menu at Jardiniere in San Francisco. Delegation Cocktail 50ml Remy Martin VSOP 3 Barspoons chestnut cream 30ml Fresh lemon juice 3 Dashes Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Bokers Bitters Half a fresh egg white Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass and dry shake for 5 seconds. Fill mixing glass with cubed ice and shake hard for a further 10 seconds. Fine strain. Glass: Rocks Garnish: Roughly cracked cassia and cardamom Ice: N/A Notes: Created by Jason Williams of The Galley Room in Melbourne. The drink was influenced by Jerry Thomas' Japanese Cocktail and recently secured Jason third place at the Australian Bartender Awards.

It has to be remembered that cold compounding won't give you the same depth of flavour as is gained from distillation (or specifically rectification which I believe is the production method behind Angostura Aromatic). I am toying with the idea of setting up a still but due to financial restrictions it's just not feasible to be honest, even more-so when you throw in the extra taxation (Angostura is not classed as alcohol in the UK) and it's a logistical nightmare.

Quick update regarding Boker's Bitters... New webpage - http://bokersbitters.co.uk/ My mate (and designer) Christian put this together without me knowing anything about it. It's still a work in progress as there's new content to go up and elements of the site to be tweaked, but you'll get the idea where we're going with it. I'll let you know as and when it's finished. At the moment we're looking to update the Boker's map and add a links page so it would be appreciated if anyone who has gotten their hands on a bottle/s can tell me* where they can be found as we wish to compile a list of bars around the World that stock Boker's. It would also be appreciated if any bars/companies/blogs could forward* their logos for inclusion on the links page that we'll be adding. Any blogs/reviews/etc. should also be forwarded. Any pictures/menus will be included where possible, for example Hayden lambert's menu from his guest bartending spot at Le Lion or Door 74's Autumn/Winter Menu I will also be adding as many recipes as I can to the site so if anyone has any drinks they've created or drinks that they believe should be included please forward the recipe and any/all relevant info (who created it, the date it was created, etc.). Full accreditation will be given on the webpage in every case, where possible. New products (which I'm working on at the moment) will be released through the webpage. I am working on a bitters just now that is traditionally British but entirely unique. The website will also be used as a resource for my own recipes which bars/bartenders can make themselves (this won't just be bitters). You'll notice a bottle of Falernum on the webpage, this may be available to buy in the near future, if not I'll be releasing the recipe (I'll be starting a separate thread about this). Watch this space.... *Forward any details/recipes/etc. to adam.elmegirab@evo-lution.org Sláinte!

Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to be contacted by a descendant of the Boker's family. I had originally contacted him after a little detective work... He believes his grandfather was the last person to manage the company before it went under when Prohibition destroyed the business and has kindly offered to assist me in my quest to get to the bottom of the history of Boker's. What I've uncovered thus far and I'm 99.9% sure of is; Boker's was first manufactured in 1828 by John G. Boker John G. Boker ran the business until January 1853 with his brother E. Boker (not as I'd originally believed his wife Emily). E. Boker died in 1853 and the company was then run by John G. and his son J. Boker. 'Boker's Stomach Bitters' was trademarked in 1853 On the 29th February 1860 John G. Boker sold the business to Louis Funke John G. Boker died on March 3rd 1860... I'm hoping to have my timeline/document completed in the very near future once I'm verified all my findings.

Finally hit a ratio that really works; Nagasaki (click for the Dutch-Japanese link to the name) 50ml Uragasumi Junmai Sake 25ml Bols Genever 2 Dashes Boker's Bitters 2 Dashes Sugar Syrup (2-1) Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with cubed ice and stir for 10-15 seconds Glass: Chilled coupette Garnish: Lemon zest Ice: N/A

I've tried them in a Manhattan, but not using that particular Bourbon as such unfortunately. Can't decide if I prefer the use of Rye (I used Pikesville) over Bourbon (I used Buffalo Trace) in my Boker's Manhattan... Which reminds me, I really need to get my hands on some more Rye...

The Norwegian Wood sounds pretty good, will need to try this out. Mostly been messing around with the Boker's using Sake and Shochu at the moment with some really good results. I'm on to something with a combination of Bols Genever, Uragasumi Junmai, Boker's, a touch of sugar syrup and citrus zest but I've not quite got a perfect ratio as yet... Got a couple more batches of Boker's on the way just now. I intend to keep some aside to conduct a barrel-ageing experiment although I've been getting some great feedback from those who have bottles from the second batch. Martinez and Japanese Cocktails are particular favourites from many it'd appear. Forrest Cokely added a couple of interesting drinks on his brilliant write-up about the Boker's - http://adrinkwithforrest.blogspot.com/2009/09/bokers-bitters.html

Dave Wondrich's been kind enough to basically confirm my suspicion regarding it being named after the painting; And my reply...

I'm doing some research into the September Morn Cocktail printed on page 145 in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) and am trying to ascertain the origins of this drink. I think that this drink was created for the painting of the same name and am looking for any possible references that could debunk this theory. They would have to have been printed before 1912 (when the painting was finished) if so. September Morn by Paul Émile Chabas Also, it also has close ties to the Clover Club (substitute gin for rum) which made me wonder if this drink was influenced by it? A quick search found references to the Clover Club from 1912 so I think it's safe to say that it was around first with the September Morn following (I haven't found a reference earlier than 1914 for the September Morn however I've only had a quick look thus far). Your thoughts are appreciated...

Philip Duff kindly forwarded the following drink that was created by Door 74's head bartender Hocus Boker's 1 shot Appleton VX 1 shot Talisman blended scotch 3 dashes Boker's bitters 3/4 shot lemon juice 1/2 shot mandarin napoleon 1/2 shot apricot liquer Shake and fine strain in a coupe. Garnish with a dried apricot I've not yet had the opportunity to try it so thought I'd share it here...

New drinks to be added in the morning now that I've found some time away from Boker's... 3. Brandy Punch, 5. Hot Brandy and Rum Punch, 11. Gin Punch, 12. Champagne Punch, 14. Claret Punch, 15. Sauterne Punch, 18. Pine-Apple Punch, 20. Curaçao Punch, 21. Roman Punch and 22. Milk Punch You can find them on my blog http://thejerrythomasproject.blogspot.com/ however I will be discussing the drinks on here as well. Cheers!

Here's some random info I've uncovered about the history of Bokers's that I can't really include in the document I'm putting together so thought I'd share it here anyway... From the info I've come across, Boker's Bitters were first produced in 1828 by John G. and Emily Boker. John G. Boker died on March 3rd 1860, the same year that ownership passed to Louis Funke. It appears that production ceased round about the time that Funke passed away... Regarding the will of John G Boker, the following was published in the NY Times on 13th March 1860 - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html...FB566838B679FDE The following piece was an extract from an obituary for Col. Charles S. Spencer, printed in the New York Times on August 12th 1887, and follows on to describe the reasons why John G. Boker disowned his daughter. The following describes the day John G. Boker's country seat was sold shortly after his death. It was printed in the New York Times on June 2nd, 1860 The house mentioned in this piece was called 'The Moorings', and Commodore Perry's full name was Matthew Calbraith Perry. The neighbours to this home included Washington Irving (Sleepy Hollow author) who died in 1859... Another random piece that I came across in the New York Times (printed on July 29th 1889), regards a play called 'Boker's Bitters'. I've not seen this mentioned anywhere before so am intrigued to know if anyone knows anything about it? Slowly but surely I'm piecing together a bit more about the history of Boker's...

Tax is pretty much always to blame.

Playing with those ratios would be the obvious choice for me. Start with 2oz gin, 1/2oz fresh lime and 1/2oz Rose's lime in your tin then increase each component, dependent on what you think is needed, by a 1/4oz until you find the drink that's balanced to your taste. This gives you a 4-1-1 ratio to start with which can be easily altered. As I think someone alluded to, I would be inclined to look at the Rose's lime as a sweetener and the fresh lime as the citrus, and not look at them both in the same light. Or find a cocktail it works in!

The flavour of gin changes dramatically dependent on its strength, with the various botanicals coming through differently, so I'm sure that is a major reason why the master distillers will have chosen the various bottling strengths and not just stuck to a uniformed figure. Next to me I have; The London Gin - 47% Bombay Sapphire - 47% Bombay Sapphire - 40% Bombay Dry - 43% Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength - 45.2% Martin Miller's - 40% Beefeater - 40% Whitley Neill - 42% Seagram's Extra Dry - 40% Seagram's Distiller's Reserve - 51% Hendrick's - 44% Bols Genever - 42% Ketel 1 Genever - 35% Bokma 5 - 38% Both's Old Tom - 47% The Secret Treasure's Limited Edition Old Tom - 40% The difference between the two Bombay Sapphires is noticable due to that extra 7%. Personally speaking, I'm glad I have this range of strengths to factor in when making drinks.

Not sure if everyone's read the following post that was made anonymously on the Chanticleer forum, so thought I'd share it here. I've been doing a fair bit of research into the history of Boker's and a lot of what was posted has backed up what I've found thus far (I'm sure most of it is from the same sources) although some of it isn't entirely accurate I think. For my own curiousity, I wanted to fill in the gaps and have a better understanding about the history of Boker's bitters and the people behind them. I'll be sharing the info I've uncovered once I've put it all together into a readable doc, until then I think the info below makes for pretty interesting, so thanks to whoever it was that posted it!

You're not the first to have mentioned the notes of 'tea', I can't be sure if it's from the mallow or something else?

Gentian? The base bittering agent is definitely quassia bark... Quassia alone provides more than enough bitterness! The only herb/flower present is mallow, and there's definitely no gentian root either unless one of the ingredients used falls under the gentian family which I'm pretty sure they don't.

Very, very cool!

Went down a different route tonight as I wanted to try a drink with the Falernum I'd made as I've had a few people mention that they get notes of clove from the Boker's, and I also wanted to make a drink using more Boker's. I put together a variation on the... Apologies for the lack of photo, I drank it up pretty quickly. I really, really enjoyed this drink! Up-front were sweet notes of almond which carried on to bring through nutmeg and a hint of banana . The clove in the Falernum worked really well with the Boker's, ending with a long, bitter, lightly spiced finish with the warm cocoa carrying through from beginning to end. Highly recommend this if you like Falernum and/or rum!

It's what's on hand at the moment, will definitely re-visit with Absinthe however I was more than happy with Pernod. I need to get myself a bottle of Punt e Mes to try it out. I think it may be the extra bitterness of Punt e Mes plus the bitterness of the Boker's which is causing the problem? I've had no problems with Dubonnet, Noilly Rouge or Martini Rosso (the three I've used in drinks thus far). I've no plans for this evening so I think I'll mess around with a few recipes...