evo-lution
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Posts posted by evo-lution
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Undoubtedly the trend sweeping bar-rooms across the globe and thought by many to be a modern creation, this advert from 1910 should be of interest;
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I saw that recipe, and thought it funny that it doesn't actually contain any bittering agent. More of a rhubarb tincture really.
Well said, it really shouldn't annoy me but these recipes for bitters that don't have a bittering agent really frustrate me. They're not bitters!
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Lastly, I've been pretty down on the white dog/moonshine trend, but a friend introduced my to the BT White Dog with a stellar old fashioned: White Dog, Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Bokers Bitters, white sugar syrup, orange twist (unflamed). The Bokers bitters and white sugar were key to keep from overpowering the flavor of the white dog. Delicious.
This is very intriguing! I've tried Boker's Old Fashioneds with practically every spirit but not with White Dog, will have to give it a try. What ratio did you try it in?
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With the news that the French government is lifting the ban on the sale of Absinthe (see the following BBC article for more details) I'll be raising this drink I created just a few days back;
Panacea CocktailCreated by Adam Elmegirab, 22nd April 2011;
50ml BOLS Genever
10ml Tanqueray
12.5ml Sugar syrup
3 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
1 Dash Bitter Truth Creole Bitters
Rinse Jade Nouvelle Orleans Absinthe
Method: Add a few drops off the absinthe to glass and pop in freezer. Add remaining ingredients to mixing glass and stir with hand-cracked block ice for 15-20 seconds. Remove glass from freezer, shake off excess absinthe and single strain
Glass: Frozen Old-Fashioned
Garnish: Strip of white grapefruit peel
Ice: N/A
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Wanted to share a bunch of new recipes (using Boker's, Dandelion & Burdock and Limited Edition Spanish) from all around the globe;
Boker's BittersKennedy Manhattan
Created at the Oak Room in Copenhagen;
50ml El Dorado 15
20ml Dolin Blanc
4 Dashes Boker's Bitters
1 Barspoon maple syrup
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass and stir until maple syrup has dissolved, fill with cubed ice and stir for a further 15-20 seconds
Glass: Vintage cocktail
Garnish: Cherry
Ice: N/A
London's Burning
Created by Craig Toone, March 2011;
40ml London Dry Gin
10ml Noilly Pratt
3 Dashes of Boker's Bitters
Rinse Laphroaig 10 year old
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with cubed ice and stir for 15-20 seconds
Glass: Chilled vintage cocktail
Garnish: Two flamed orange zests
Ice: N/A
Truth Serum
Created by Ian Goodman of Oxo Tower in London, November 2010;
25ml Bitter Truth Elixier
25ml Carpano Antica Formula
20ml Benedictine
3 Dashes Boker's Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with cubed ice and stir for 15-20 seconds.
Glass: Vintage cocktail
Garnish: Fat strip of lemon zest
Ice: N/A
Dandelion & Burdock BittersThe Modern Day Cocktail
Created by Jamie Mac (Raconteur) winning him a trip to Jalisco as well as securing his place in the UK final of World Class UK (March 2011);
45ml Tanqueray Gin
12ml Margaret River Chardonnay
10ml Sugar syrup
2 Dashes Dandelion & Burdock bitters
3 Fresh lime peels
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with cubed ice and stir for 15-20 seconds
Glass: Chilled vintage coupe
Garnish: N/A
Ice: N/A
Best of British
Created by Sam Kershaw for Hyde & Co. in Bristol, March 2011;
50ml Tanqueray 10
20ml Kingston Black Apple Aperitif
5ml juice of Morello Cherries soaked in Apple Eaux de Vie
3 dashes Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with cubed ice and stir for 15-20 seconds
Glass: Chilled vintage coupe
Garnish: Cherry
Ice: N/A
Spruce Goose
Created at Dutch Kills Bar in New York;
60ml London Dry gin
30ml Cocchi Americano
7.5ml Apricot Brandy
2 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass and stir with cubed ice for 15-20 seconds
Glass: Chilled coupette
Garnish: Fat strip of lemon zest
Ice: N/A
Chamomile Old Fashioned
Created at Riva in Freiburg, Germany
60ml Tanqueray Gin
20ml chamomile tea (cold!)
15ml sugar syrup
4 Dashes Dr.Adam Elmegirab's Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with cubed ice and stir for fifteen-twenty seconds.
Glass Type: Old Fashioned
Garnish: Lemon Zest
Ice: Rocks
Limited Edition Spanish BittersMariachi
Created by Adam Elmegirab, 8th March 2011
40ml Tapatio Reposado
12.5ml Campari
10ml Agave Sec
25ml Fresh lime juice
4 Dashes Limited Edition Spanish Bitters
Dash sugar syrup.
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 seconds
Glass: Frozen cocktail
Garnish: Grapefruit zest
Ice: N/A
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Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but "Wine and War" is a book about what the French did with their wine during German occupation. Interesting stuff.
Funnily enough I've already ordered that book, thanks for recommending anyway.
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Started reading Doxat again last night. In the first chapter he briefly touches upon the subject of drinks culture during the World Wars (specifically in Europe) and it's got me thinking of a couple of things, the impact it had at the time and in the years after the event/s, and whether I can drink Martinis all day today.
It seems to be something that's rarely spoken about when discussing the history of mixed drinks and I'm now curious to know if there are any writings/musings/resources that cover the subject which I'm currently unaware of?
Prohibition is rightly mentioned as having had a negative impact on culture in the US but War in Europe, around the same few decades, seems to never be mentioned for whatever reason. I suspect this may be due to the US-centric attitude toward cocktail history in respect of the fact that we have a clear understanding of drinks during the 1800s up to Prohibition, which is where cocktail history typically ends other than the brief sojourn with tiki drinks, and now the renaissance over the last two-three decades. Anyway, I digress...
Considering the countries involved (UK, Germany, France, Italy, et al), the products they produce/d, the many lauded bartenders plying their trade at the time, and the adverse effect on the general public, it seems to me that it's something that would've impacted hugely, before, during and after the Wars.
For example, I remember reading somewhere about the effect the bombing of London Docks had on a number of rum producers, which goes to show how wide the affect would have been.
So, are there any society members who have any knowledge of what is undoubtedly going to be a wide subject? Any that are aware of literature I should check out?
Looking forward to your thoughts...
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I do believe that my two favorite bitters these days are the Bittermens xocolatl and Adam's Bokers.
You have good taste Chris.
Been working on a recipe the last couple of days and finally nailed it;
Aristotle40ml Geranium gin
10ml Bols Apricot Brandy
5ml Martini Extra Dry
3 Dashes Limited Edition Spanish Bitters
25ml Fresh lime juice
Barspoon caster sugar
Method: Add sugar and lime juice to mixing glass and stir until dissolved, add remaining ingredients fill with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 seconds
Glass: Frozen coupette
Garnish: Long thin strip of lime zest twisted and dropped in drink
Ice: N/A
Notes: Based around the subtle floral notes in Geranium Premium London Dry Gin, Apricot Brandy, dry vermouth and Spanish Bitters
Highly recommended!
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Why the obsession with infusing tobacco into spirit? I've yet to taste any tobacco bitters, liqueur or infusion that is/was any good, and that's before you take into account that it's really, really not good for you...
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they are what they are and I don't see any reason they need to conform to anyone's pre-conceived idea of how they area supposed to taste
Any pre-conception is based on the reality of what should be expected from a bitters. I've mentioned it on this forum before but there is a real double-standard and hypocrisy when it comes to this specific category, however it runs throughout the drinks industry as a whole to be honest.
You have it all wrong. These are simply "New Eastern Bitters." It's an emergent conception in the evolution of what we call "bitters" that de-emphasizes the bitter part and focuses on the other elements.
Sounds ridiculous...
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Okay, so I'm now the proud owner of a little bottle of Fee's rhubarb bitters. What to do with it?
Adding some form of bittering agent to to classify them being branded as bitters would be a good start...
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Been enjoying this drink the last couple of days;
MariachiCreated by Adam Elmegirab, 8th March 2011
40ml Tapatio Reposado
12.5ml Campari
10ml Agave Sec
25ml Fresh lime juice
4 Dashes Limited Edition Spanish Bitters
Dash sugar syrup.
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 seconds
Glass: Frozen cocktail
Garnish: Grapefruit zest
Ice: N/A
Suppose you could reference it as a variant on Paul Harrington's Jasmine cocktail...
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My Limited Edition Spanish Bitters are now released and are popping up around the globe;
You can pick them up at Cocktail Kingdom, The Meadow in Portland and New York, Dranken Unie (Netherlands), DeLaurenti's (Seattle), Haromex (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), LMDW (France), S&B Gastro Team (Czech Republic), Speciality Drinks (London), Rossi & Rossi (Italy), Sprit & Co. (Denmark) and more TBC in the coming days.
Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Spanish Bitters evoke memories of a style of bitters dating back to the early years of the cock-tail. Based on Spanish Bitters recipes from the 1800s, these bitters have been reformulated to work in harmony with modern spirits and libations and are now in demand across the globe.Tasting Notes: Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Spanish Bitters have layers of complex flavour including coriander, violet, raspberry, honey, citrus, pomegranate, toasted orange and predominant chamomile all leading to a long bittersweet finish.
Union Flip
1 Barspoon Caraway Seeds
4 Crunches Black Peppercorn
1 Whole egg
37.5ml Appleton 8 Year Old
37.5ml Licor 43
4 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Spanish Bitters
5ml Sugar Syrup
Method – Muddle caraway seeds in base of mixing glass add remaining ingredients and dry shake for five seconds. Fill with cubed ice and shake hard for a further ten seconds. Fine strain
Glass – Small frozen wine glass
Garnish – Grated nutmeg
Ice – N/A
Turza
50ml Don Julio Reposado
25ml Fresh lemon juice
3 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Spanish Bitters
12.5ml Orgeat syrup
5ml Sugar syrup
Method - Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with cubed ice and shake hard for ten seconds. Fine strain
Glass - Chilled coupette
Garnish - Orange zest
Ice - N/A
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Dr Adam Elmegirab's Roasted Almond Orgeat
Makes approximately 700-750ml bottle of orgeat syrup;
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250g Sliced almonds (no skin)
400ml Water
350g Caster sugar (unrefined preferably)
25ml Brandy/Cognac
25ml Grand Marnier
15ml Orange or rose flower water (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5. Add almonds to roasting tin, place in middle of oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Do not grease the tin or add any oil.
Remove almonds, and allow too cool. Once cooled, place the almonds in a bowl and cover with cold water. Allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the water then use a blender or food processor to chop the almonds to a fine grind. If you need to assist the chopping process, add a little water to the food processor.
Transfer the crushed almonds to a large bowl and mix them with 400ml fresh mineral water and let stand for two hours. Place a damp cloth, cheese cloth or muslin cloth over another bowl, and strain the almond and water mixture. Squeeze the cloth to extract all the liquid. Put the chopped almonds back into the almond water, let stand for another hour and then strain again. Repeat a third time if you wish. This will get all the oils/milk/flavour out of the almonds.
Discard the almond pulp, then pour the strained liquid into a saucepan, add the sugar and simmer over a gentle heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat when the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for fifteen minutes and then add the brandy and the orange flower or rose water. Once cooled, shake well then transfer the orgeat into a clean glass bottle and refrigerate.
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Tips;
- Use sliced almonds in the first soak, then crush in a food processor.
- As an alternative to roasting, you can dry fry ensuring you do not burn almonds.
- Before straining ensure you moisten the muslin cloth. I recommend moistening with the liquid you are about to filter.
- Do not allow orgeat syrup to boil, dissolve sugar over a low to medium heat.
- Adding a small piece of vanilla pod to the saucepan adds to the complexity.
- The addition of orange or rose flower water is optional but recommended.
- Shake well before use as the syrup may separate.
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What we need is a scale or a wheel to show the relative flavor relationships of London dry gin, American/Modern gin, Old Tom Gins, Plymouth Gin, various genevers, and stand-out products such as Genevieve, Smalls Gin, Martin Miller's, Damrak Amsterdam Gin, etc.
http://www.fineexpressions.co.uk/news/2007-Nov/single_malt_flavour_map1.html
I have something like this for each spirit category however it's not something I'd want to share at the moment as it wouldn't make sense to anyone but me, a bit rough around the edges to say the least. If I was to spend a bit of time I could knock something up to cover the gin/genever category.
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For me, pretty much the perfect drink;
60ml Both's Old Tom30ml Noilly Rouge
2 Dashes Luxardo Maraschino
2-3 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Boker's Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass, fill with hand-cracked block ice and stir 15 20 seconds
Glass: Frozen vintage cocktail
Garnish: Fat strip of lemon peel, snap over drink and stem, wipe rim and drop into drink
Ice: N/A
Every so often I'll aromatise the glass with a spray of absinthe, and I have been known to add a teardrop of Grand Marnier or sugar syrup if I want something a little sweeter.
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I recently stayed very close to Pulteney but sadly didn't make it to the distillery although intend heading that way again in the summer as it's very far north and can get bloody cold, I know the two whiskies very well though
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Yesterday I visited Glen Garioch (which was a really good trip - selection of pics below);
Mash tun at Glen Garioch - http://yfrog.com/h4eczhgj
The South African Yeast used by Glen Garioch - http://yfrog.com/h78csnij
Wash Back Room - http://yfrog.com/h4qcnxknj
Where the magic happens - http://yfrog.com/hs9i0zyj
Wash still with Spirit stills 1 & 2 in the background - http://yfrog.com/h483xbvj
Spirit stills 1 & 2 - http://yfrog.com/gz4l6clj
Glen Garioch Distillery, Distillery Road, Oldmeldrum - http://yfrog.com/h8pp0izj
and Strathisla (which was closed, the lazy so and so's). Picked myself up a bottle of Glen Garioch 1991 whish is quite sensational. I'd write more about it but at the moment I'm too busy drinking it so you'll have to wait I'm afraid...
Got a number of trips planned over the next couple of months, Aberlour and Glendronach to name two.
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The Mulata Daisy
- The winning drink created by Ago Perrone of The Connaught from the Bacardi Legacy Competition 2008-
40ml Bacardi Superior rum
25ml creme de cacao dark
20ml lime juice
2 barspoons caster sugar
1 1/2 barspoons fennel seeds
10ml Galiano L'Autentico
Method: In a shaker muddle fennel seeds and add remaining ingredients. Shake hard with cubed or cracked ice and fine-strain into the glass.
Glass: Vintage coupe
Garnish: Chocolate powder dusted on rim
Ice: N/A
As Ago is the brand ambassador for Galliano he's come up with a number of cracking recipes, some of which were featured in an article in CLASS magazine. When I get the chance I'll try and post some up.
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Thought I should share a drink I recently came across calling for my Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
Spruce GooseCreated at Dutch Kills Bar in New York;
60ml London Dry gin
30ml Cocchi Americano
7.5ml Apricot Brandy
2 Dashes Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass and stir with cubed ice for 15-20 seconds
Glass: Chilled coupette
Garnish: Fat strip of lemon zest
Ice: N/A
I'm working on a blog posting for Bruichladdich's Botanist gin that'll be up tonight and it works wonderfully in this cocktail.
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I've just linked to a couple of documents in my Boker's Bitters thread and thought it may be worth sharing another document with you, even if just one of you find a use for it it makes it worthwhile.
After ten years of working in the beverage industry I’ve encountered a great variety of products covering all the individual drinks categories. Coming into contact with so many products makes it near impossible to remember the differences between them, so to help with this I devised a product portfolio for my own records, filling out one of these tables every time I try a new product. I then save it to a file on my computer dependent on its drinks category. This has become a valuable tool for my trainings and consultancies.The table is made of eight sections, they are as follows;
Brand Name: The name of the product
Category/ABV: The family the product belongs to (e.g. rum, gin, tequila) and its alcoholic
strength
Country of Origin: Where the product originated
Raw Material/s: The various elements that give the product its flavour
Production Process: The various processes used in the manufacture of the product
Tasting Notes 1: Notes provided by an industry expert or by the brand themselves
Tasting Notes 2: Your own tasting notes
Recommended Serve: A serve that best showcases the subtle nuances of the product
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35195869/Evo-lution-Product-Portfolio
The portfolio I originally uploaded is geared toward spirits however it can easily be adapted to wine, beer, and so on. I highly recommend saving the file and printing them off should you ever attend a product tasting session. It does become a great resource and reference point.
Cheers
Adam
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Yea, you have to go short with it -- especially compared to the BT celery bitters, which I find a bit lacking in celery flavor and overall oomph (although still a quality product). As a general rule of thumb for Scrappy's, I use 1 drop = 1 dash.
When you say 'celery flavour' what exactly do you mean as I've seen you post this before? The TBT celery bitters tastes very much like Celery seed to me, and Celery seed is very different to Celery stalks.
I have been working on a blogpost for quite some time which is going to cover the expectations of flavoured bitters, what they originally were and what you should expect. From what I've found with regards vintage bitters, the name of the bitters doesn't necessarily correlate to the actual taste of the end product but instead to its medicinal value. So for example Peach Bitters shouldn't and didn't necessarily taste of 'Peach'.
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Very generous and interesting, Adam. I was surprised to see that all three involve only maceration, particularly given the depth of them. Why only that?
The main reason is that I want to stay true to techniques that were employed in the original hey-day of bitters production, using only natural botanicals and high-strength spirit. On top of that I want my bitters to be truly hand-crafted and for me to be involved in every element of production where possible.
I will explore other production techniques (such as distillation) and intend to experiment later this year but Boker's, Dandelion & Burdock and Spanish will always be made by way of cold-compounding/maceration. If I ever release a product that has been distilled then I will make sure that everyone knows.
Barrel-aged cocktails
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
This ad from 1940 talks about bottle-aged cocktails;