angusw

Afternoon all... sorry for my late arrival but am a busy man. I am glad you like the Malacca and thought I would throw out a few thoughts to you... 1. I am not a brand manager but the Brand Ambassador - ex bartender and bar consultant who does not work for Diageo directly. I have been trying to get them to bring Malacca back for the 5 years I have been with them 2. It will be a Limited Time Offer (LTO) however well it sells due to many supply issues.. but if it works then we have been promised the possibility of other LTOs and I am deeply excited by this as Charles Tanqueray has many othr recipes in his original notebook. 3. The brief for the Master Distiller was to make the liquid as close to the original version as possible - no point bringing it back but changing it now is there? He had never made it before as the last bottles were made in 1999 by the previous master distiller. 4. Gin will certainly start to become unbalanced after time - 5 years is what the Diageo Technical Centre say - as the botanical are held in a delicious but fragile balance. cheers and feel free to reach out with any questions aw

Talking to Dave he has actually had to cut the book down so exoect a book solely about Punches sometime in 2009. aw

and oddly while we are thinking about Indian ingredients what are the Indians themselves doing? http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=237861 aw

Quickly but I think you will find two interestign things when looking at Canadian Whisky definition: 1. it can include 9.09% of any liquid you want to give it flavour. 2. It must "have the characteristics of Canadian whisky" 3. It muts be made in Canada. Thats about it. Point 1 is worrying Point 2 is hilarious aw

Of course Plymouth Fruit Cup was intended to be similar and is a mix of Cherry Heering, Plymouth and Punt e Mes as far as I remember. aw

Of course the big thing that they are missing is that the cost of the ingredients is only one small aspect of a drink's price in a bar... you must also factor in regular business expenses such as: labour cost Equipment and Depreciation Insurance for staff and customers water power variance etc etc... Anyone can work out the Gross Profit of a drink but that is very very different from the net profit of the bar business... markups are too high tho in general but that is down to many operators not being good businessmen and guests being sheep. aw

an old article I wrote many moons ago The Pimms cocktail… There are several things that are guaranteed to make me cringe in shame /embarrassment/ annoyance related to my industry. I hate the look of disappointment in the eyes of guests when you tell them you can't throw bottles around because I actually can't (and hate admitting to that!) and secondly because that’s how most people still seem to define as 'a good bartender' and it saddens me. Secondly I have a problem with bartenders in busy bars not working at top speed. It means it takes ages to get a drink and you tend to rush and order easy stuff. Also I like a bit of blood, sweat and tears in my drinks… Finally it is much to my chagrin that most, nay perhaps all, classic cocktails are American Inventions. Take any drink invented at least 50 years ago and still made today and there will be an American connection. Yes they may be a 'mixed culture' so need mixed drinks but why can't the Brits - surely the gate keepers of culture - compete with our American brethren? With a flash of inspiration as fleeting as the rays of sunshine in a English summer it came to me… The Pimms Cocktail! As pukka as Ascot, Henley, Wimbledon and the like it reeks of Anglophilia… think Double Decker buses, village cricket and Panamas, think Oxbridge balls and Sloanes getting out of their sculls, think I'll have a Pimms Cocktail please bartender. Pimms, or Pimms #1 Cup to give it its proper term is classified as both an aperitif and as a Sling. Its history is relatively well documented and the creator of this gin based infusion of herbs and bitter and sweet spices was one James Pimms. Sometime between 1823 and 1841 he set up an Oyster Bar in Lombard Street in the City of London. In those days it was traditional to serve a house 'cup' and soon the reputation of James Pimms' cup spread to force him to bottle and sell it locally in 1859… a pint for 3s - surely the first Ready-To-Drink. However he sold it in 1865 and it began to be commercialised and promoted by various City figures such as Lord Horatio (Lord Mayor) who cemented its Imperialistic, upmarket feel by sending its first export to Ceylon and fortifying Lord Kitchener and Empire at the Battle of Omdurman. (Empire 1 : Turkey 0) It was during this time that the range expanded : new cups based on other spirits became voguish and so #2 was brandy, #3 rum, #4 whisky, #5 rye and #6 vodka.. Although it is common to see both 1 and 6… the others have fallen by the wayside, tho' there is always talk among the bartending community that they'll bring the others back in limited quantities… a sort of Holy Grail of Mixology. The recipe of the classic Pimms cocktail is however far less clear. Reading the back of the bottle (always a good place to start) it plainly says 1 measure of Pimms, 3 measures of lemonade, ginger ale or tonic water (huh?), ice (thanks for that) and slices of lemon, cucumber, apple, orange and a sprig of mint. In my time as a bartender and in the books I have, I've been told that it should have pieces of strawberry in it, cucumber skin not flesh and flesh not skin, that a really authentic one has to have Borage flowers in it. What about the humble lime? Why does it get missed out in this veritable fruit bowl? Was this cocktail falling into the Mai-Tai-Trap of transmogrifying from a dressed up daiquiri into today's multi-juice, multi purees, badly garnished monstrosity? Or is it a Bloody-Mary-Drink whereby every bartender has pride in the way they make their Pimms Cocktail? I ventured forth with a series of trusty companions to find some good Pimms and some good Pimms recipes. aw

I feel you may being a bit harsh on the poor Pimms drinkers George... and the product itself. Pimms is a lovely product with a simple history and, for many people including myself, has fond memories. When well (or at least lovingly) made it is refreshing, easy to drink lots of without getting blotto and quite timeless... to me it tastes of the English summer as much as freshly cut grass and lineseed oil. I would say the traditional serving would be with slices of seasonal fruit and herbs (orange, lemon, mint, strawberry, borage, cucumber) with lemonade (7up to our American brethren) but have seen and enjoyed it with ginger ale, ginger beer, champagne or soda. Also one can boost its potency with a shot of gin to make it a Turbo Pimms. One could associate it with the braying English Upper Class (if it still exists) b ut then again the same sling could be aimed at the Dry Martini in America. One could say its adherents and devotees are oddly strident about the best way to drink it but again the Dry Martini must plead guilty too as must the Mint (Bourbon) Julep. And one could say it only appears for a short period each year (the all too brief English summer) but again the Julep in USA has an even shorter lifespan. And as for bartenders muddling it... pah! Typical bartenders trying to over complicate things as simplicity bothers them. I like Pimms... it is unique and its drinkers are passionate about its taste and preparation and I like that. aw

Folks, just so you know myself and Bastian Heuser have just finished a 5 city German Bar Coaching tour of Germany sponsored by Bols and they wanted to continue with their 'ownership' of MM... Quite a fun time and some good ideas but our crowning moment was creating Campari Candy Floss... We created some fabled Campari Dust and put it into a Candy Floss machine and voila! We then played about with atomising gin/vermouth directly into our mouths and eating some... Was huge fun. aw

Gotta love the Collins... every time I go to Oz I have to take him ice molds and now he is bringing them back... aw

I have to assert again that Japanese style bartending, tho fascinating for anyone who has an interest in the 'mixological arts', really wonly works in Japan... or places that I would call Japanese influenced. As to it all being part of the show... I asked for them to carve me a ball and thats how they did it... so its obviosuly not that important... it was a junior bartender who did it not a Master. I loved it and I know that even just serving people ice balls or 'chunk ice' via the double freezing method makes them go wow... re Double Freezing... my thought the water does not get re-saturated for the same reason that you need a pump in a fishtank that breaks the surface tension to oxygenate the water... aw

Dear All, here is the video of the first ice ball I ever saw hand carved. re the questions re double freezing... best done slowly but when meting as lognas it goes above freezing til all melted then thats fine. aw

Some Ice stuff from the Alconomics manual via Pete Kendall (ex Milk and Honey) The double freezing of ice is a useful technique in creating super dense, super clear ice. Why double freeze? From a single freezing, ice will go to the temperature of the freezer. The gas (oxygen, nitrogen, etc…) that has been absorbed into an aqueous form will collect into small ‘bubblets’ that will further join with other ‘bubblets’ to form bubbles into the semi-frozen ice mass. If this is left to melt, the bubbles of (now un-dissolved) gas will escape from the water so on re-freezing the ice will be denser and clearer without the ‘mist’ of fine bubbles within the ice. A third and fourth re-freezing of the ice will only clarify the ice further and make even harder, clearer ice. The freezing of the slabs of ice is best done if plastic containers due to their flexibility (helpful while trying to take the slab of ice out of the container) and cost. Ice will also stick to metal easier than to plastic due to its thermo-elastic properties. Depending on the mineral qualities of the water you are using to freeze into slabs, the containers will need regular cleaning to remove any limescale/mineral deposits that, if left uncleaned, can contaminate the ice with flakes of white mineral deposits. From a service point of view, the in-bar freezing of ice can allow for several different types of ice to be made (e.g. Ice from Evian, from Ty Nant and from Highland Spring) to cater for even the most discerning customers. The water used can be chosen for its softness, its ‘bite’ or any other characteristics required by the bar/customers. Home freezing of waters can also allow for fruit infusions or flavoured waters to be used. Orange blossom water and rose flower water are commonly available – a 7-10 drop addition to a litre of water will give a hint of fruit and slowly express itself more and more as the ice melts. The ice melting will also open more flavours from the sprit and dilute it more. Garnishing can be done inside the ice sphere using suspension techniques. If using a reservoir of multi-frozen ice, you can fill a sphere mould one third up, freeze, place the garnish (orange blossom, fruit, herb, etc…) in the middle and fill. On the completion of the freezing the fruit or herb will be ‘suspended’ in the centre of the ice. If the fruit/herb/flower suspension floats, add it at the first stage of the freezing (the first 1/3) where it will settle at the top (e.g. A rose petal). You can then add the second 2/3 of the water go gain the same effect. Fruit spirals can be used to a good visual effect. A 15cm channel cut length of lemon peel will spiral through the whole sphere as it will relax after its initial insertion into the sphere mould. aw

Sorry for the recent silence re posts here... I have had a few computer issues and also subsequent password issues. I am surprised by the debate about the elaborate rituals in Mr Hoshi's Martini... it has always been my understanding that ritual and ceremony is half the fun of a Dry Martini. By rinsing the ice cubes Mr Hoshi with vermouth he adds more vermouth than most modern mixers at that time (now thank the lord we seem to be moving back towards wetter cf Audrey's Fiddy Fiddy at Pegu) and by serving the side shot he allows a wetter option a la Sangrita/Chaser. Much of serious Japanese bartending is about Ritual and Process. From hand carving ice globes to highly stylised stirring they seem to have tried to create a theatrical element as well as considering the actual physical effects of standard bartending actions rather than just 'going through the motions' as I see so many bartenders today do. This is no more than old time bartenders a la Thomas, Solon and others did... we just seemingly forgot how or why and became obsessed by speed of service or the drink itself. I recently saw Dale and Tony AG give a Finlandia seminar on Culinary Cocktails: their take was that bartenders used to use fresh ingredients and scratch ingredients as standard but first the Great War, then Prohibition then the Great Depression and finally WWII gave rise to less chance to use the old skills plus food manufacturers becoming obsessed and happier with canning and preserving... had never heard such a clear explanation of why the Golden Age of bartending came to a close... and by the by anyone is always welcome to drop me a line on drink related shenanigans at angus@alconomics.com or via the websites www.alconomics.com or www.therumclub.com aw

I was given a bottle of it recently in Finland by an old campari bartender... As you say its a raspberry 'cordial' 35% alcohol by volume and not even the great Italian bartender Salvatore Calabrese could remember a drink that it goes it... they stopped making it in the 1960s so I have been told. Never opened it... gave it to Salvatore for his awesome Vintage Cabinet at Fifty London. Will be watching this thread with great interest. aw

And is the Hemingway with grapefruit and lime and maraschino and sugar (ie addition of) or is it grapefruit instead of lime and maraschino instead of sugar? And isn't a Papa Doble merely a blended Daiquiri sans sugar? aw

Actually I say that it was "made most popular by" and not invented... there I was cringeing at the bad English... And I know he did not toss the lime in but he in fact squeezed the limes with his fingers but in today's nanny-state world such hygeiene would be severely admonished... Did not know about pronunciation aspect... is that how the Cubans/Spanish pronounce it? I am fighting a losing battle already to get people to pronounce BAC-ar-DI rather than ba-CAR-di... aw

Folks... while I was recently (briefly) back in London I saw that Vintage House on Old Compton st has stepped up their Rum and Rhum selection immeasurably. Well worth a visit. Glad you all liked Trailer.. its not a full on Tiki bar but a 50's 60's Americana bar... Look out for Mahiki on Dover street tho... it should be fun... cheers aw