slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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So, a bunch of us sampled Perla Dry at Pegu Club last night.
We all tasted Perla Dry side-by-side with regular Luxardo, and Kenta was kind enough to mix us a flight of Aviations including one with regular Luxardo, one with half/half, and one with Perla Dry. It was easy to distinguish between the samples in a blind tasting. Everyone immediately identified Perla Dry just from the nose, and this was as true for the Aviations as it was from the straight liqueur tastings. It's not easy to say exactly what makes Perla Dry different from Luxardo's Maraschino, as Perla Dry still has all the hallmarks that say "Luxardo Maraschino." But the flavor is deeper, there is more complexity and some distinctive elements to the nose. I think there is also some benefit to the higher proof.
Considering the slight difference in price (Perla Dry was priced less than a dollar more than regular Luxardo Maraschino at Spec's in Houston), I would think that Perla Dry is an obvious way to increase quality and interest in Maraschino cocktails.
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I have friends who live in the city who are afraid of C-town and never go that far downtown.
Back in Mitch's day, he got around Chinatown with nothing more than a scrap of old vellum with entire sections designated "there be dragons here", a sextant and dead reckoning!
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Both of the first two pronunciations you suggest would be within various German accents. The most "correct" pronunciation of the "e" in "tek" would be "ay", but some German-speakers would pronounce it with a hard "ee" while others would do it with more of a soft "eh". Not sure why they're leaving off the last syllable, which would normally be pronounced.
On the other hand, The people at Così persist in calling it "CO-zee" instead of "co-SEE", so it's not like there aren't places that go with the mispronunciation flow.
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That's a point with some merit, if inelegantly put.
I would like to point out, however, that there are plenty of people out there designing amazing cocktails who are not making their day-to-day living "behind a real bar, serving real people." Indeed, some of the most reknown creators of cocktails working today no longer put in a regular shift behind the bar. For example, here in NYC Julie Reiner and Audrey Saunders aren't doing 4 nights a week behind their bars, and it's not clear to me that Dave Wondrich has ever made his living behind the bar shaking out cocktails.
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I use neither cream nor onion when making spaghetti alla carbonara, and on the occasions I incorporate garlic in this dish I follow the practice of warming a few crushed whole cloves in the oil and then discarding them.
One problem that I think many Americans have when making this dish is the desire for the guanciale (or pancetta or other cured fatty pork) to be crispy like American-style bacon. This leads to overcooking and overproduction of brown reaction products, which in turn makes the dish seem too "colored." Rather, the fatty pork should be slowly rendered just until it begins to think about getting a few crisp spots on the outside, and no further. I prefer to use thin slices of guanciale for this rather than the cubes that others use (I also think this shape is easier to twirl up with the spaghetti).
I also like Batali's trick of reserving the egg yolks and placing an unbroken yolk in a "nest" of spaghetti on each plate to be mixed together with the pasta by each diner (warmed dishes are essential for this).
Using cream in spaghetti alla carbonara is a "cheating" workaround, similar to the use of cream in risotto, for those who are not confident of their ability to create a properly creamy texture using just eggs and pork fat.
Lots of extra-coarse cracked pepper is absolutely essential.
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Since there seems to be some confusion... The pronunciation is "ah-po-TEK-eh"
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The whole "master" part of it is folderol.
As for "mixologist," I suppose it has two possible meanings...
The first would simply be "cocktailian bartender." This is not too terribly useful, in my opinion, and probably a good reason why these guys prefer to be called simply "bartenders."
The second would be to denote someone who designs and creates cocktails, and differentiate that person from someone who prepares cocktails and tends a cocktail bar. These are two different skill sets that are often, but not always combined. There are some "mixologists" who don't tend bar and/or may not be particularly skilled at bartending (which involves a lot more than just making the cocktails properly... there is the element of speed, consistency under pressure, keeping track of multiple tabs, paying sufficient attention to different groups of customers, etc.). And there are some cocktailian "bartenders" who may not be the best at creating new cocktails. To me, this is the only useful and meaningful application of "mixologist."
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So... I'm tasting Luxardo's Maraschino and Perla Dry side-by-side. The Perla has a deeper flavor, seems less sweet, and perhaps has a bit more of a grappa-like nose. I'm going to take a bottle down to play with some friends tomorrow and we'll see what we think. More to come...
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With all due respect (and plenty is due), Florence Fabricant hardly strikes me as much of a cocktailian. Or even someone who particularly knows about spirits. Although perhaps I'm missing this aspect of her work and writing.
I don't think that Dave is incorrect in suggesting that genever is not as felicitous for mixed drinks as most other common mixing spirits. The flavor is subtle enough that I can see many modifiers obscuring genever's "specialness" -- and the combination of malty plus junipery can make it somewhat cranky to pair up. On the other hand, as Chris points out, "harder" doesn't equal "impossible." Genevieve has turned out to work very well in some improbable contexts, such as Phil Ward's Last Word variation. That said, Bols isn't as emphatically flavored as Genevieve.
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Nice article in the NY Times about genever and the reintroduction of Bols Genever:
Malty and Complex, the Original Gin Is Making a Comeback:
Next week Lucas Bols, a Dutch company that was founded in 1575, will start to sell its genever in the United States again. It was last imported in quantity about 50 years ago, but small amounts have seeped into the United States since then. Grain shortages in Holland during the world wars and Prohibition in the United States combined to do in the export of genever.The Lucas Bols genever joins a few other brands of genever already on the market. Zuidam and Boomsma are imported from Holland. And earlier this year, Anchor Brewing and Distilling, the San Francisco company that makes Junipero, a dry gin, started selling Genevieve, a genever that it had developed about 10 years ago.
Lucas Bols decided to reintroduce its genever because of demand from bartenders, said Sandie van Doorne, the company’s creative director. “There’s a strong trend to going back to original authentic tastes,” she said. She also said that over the years the genever that was sold in Holland had become more neutral in response to popular tastes. But that trend is reversing. “We felt we now had a mandate to create a new future for genever,” Ms. van Doorne said.
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Is it liquor or a lamp?
Well, this is a subject for another thread, but I just want to know why grappa always comes in such cool bottles.
Two reasons:
1. (Relatively new) tradition.
2. They can charge more money for it.
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I tried it in a Gilroy. 1 oz Junipero; 1 oz Sangue Morlacco; 1/2 oz Noilly Pratt dry; 1/2 fresh lemon; 1 dash orange bitters.
Good drink, but not revelatory. And it doesn't allow the liqueur a chance to shine. I find that the winey-ness of the vermouth interferes with the full expression of the cherry flavor. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the Gilroy a less than satisfactory drink for showing off Sangue Morlacco.
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Right. The Blood and Sand strikes me as having too many strong-flavored ingredients to be a good choice. Something simple is better. Perhaps the Elephants Sometimes Forget or Kiss in the Dark.
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I thought this could use its own thread. Luxardo describes Sangue Morlacco as:
Luxardo's second historical speciality after Maraschino Originale. It is a liqueur of marasca cherries (a sour cherry variety exclusively cultivated by Luxardo) - a variant of cherry brandy. It is obtained by the infusion of fermented marasca juice, matured for two years in oak vats. Luxardo cherry liqueur was renamed with the curious name of Sangue Morlacco (Morlacco blood) by the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio in 1919, at the time of the Fiume military expedition, due to its dark red colour (furthermore, the name "Morlacco" is derived from the name of a proud people of the Dalmatian hinterland).Also picked up a bottle of Sangue Morlacco which, besides having a really cool name, seems promising.Have you had a chance to try the Sangue Morlacco yet, and how do you think it compares to Cherry Heering?
I ask because this weekend is the maiden Singapore Grand Prix, and as a rabid food/cocktails/Formula 1 fan I always try to match a meal and/or beverage to the race venue. A Singapore Sling seems appropriate, especially given that one section of the street course runs right down Raffles Blvd.
I've only tasted about a half-ounce of Sangue Morlacco, late last night after a long flight. My initial impression is that it tastes like the liqueur version of Luxardo Cherries. If you've ever had Luxardo Cherries, they're awesome.
I haven't tasted it alongside Cherry Heering, so I can't make much of a comparison as yet. Perhaps I'll try that this evening. Any ideas as to a good cocktail to evaluate differences among cherry brandies?
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I've found that pistacheat works well in any context that might call for orgeat.
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Seriously, y'all... try making it with pistachio nuts instead of almonds.
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For thermodynamic reasons, water is much better at cooling your drink than rock.
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Get the mini-bagels at Absolute on Broadway and 107th Street.
Do you still like the place ( Lenny's?) you mentioned upthread?
I compare all bagels to my favorite bagel place in S. Florida. I'm pretty picky when it comes to bagels. I like a chewy crust and not too doughy( I most often scoop them anyway)
Absolute is definitely better. But you have to get the mini-bagels, which are the pinnacle of NYC bagelry. The large bagels at Absolute aren't as good as the ones at Lenny's.
ETA: Mitch's point about the whitefish salad at R&D is well taken.
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Get the mini-bagels at Absolute on Broadway and 107th Street.
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Just picked up a bottle of Perla Dry. Haven't tried it, but wanted to clear up one thing: It does not appear to be extra high proof, or at least that is not the case of the bottling that is available in the States. Mine is 40% alcohol.
When I get home I'll crack it open and give it a try. Also picked up a bottle of Sangue Morlacco which, besides having a really cool name, seems promising.
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I don't know. Having seen some busy nights at PDT, I can say that Don is pretty fast.That said, whether or not this particular kind of experience would prepare a PDT bartender for something like Friday night at Flatiron Lounge with four times the volume and still only two or three bartenders is another story.I know he is. I'm just saying that Friday night at a place like Flatiron Lounge is PDT times about 10, starting at 6:00 and staying that way until the wee hours. I don't know how they do it. It's not just banging out all those drinks, but also servicing that many checks, keeping track of that many customers, making time for those who want a more cocktailian experience, etc. This isn't taking anything away from the guys at PDT, it's giving the proper credit to the guys at FL.
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Toby's on to something. I think the intensity of the grenadine makes a huge difference in this drink. In general, I think that 1:1 POM:sugar just doesn't make a good substitute for grenadine. Rather, it's a weak "pomegranate syrup." IMO, what you want in a grenadine is a backbone of the intense "cooked" pomegranate flavor, with a little acidic kick from the fresh side. To make mine, I do a four-fold reduction of POM, then make a hot supersaturated syrup (put in as much sugar as it can possibly hold -- at least 4:1). Then, after that cools down, I dilute it to approximately 2:1 strength with fresh POM. I have found this to have a sweetening power and intensity of flavor that works just about perfectly in the amounts normally called for in classic recipes.
Anyway, I find that the Monkey Gland works and balances perfectly with 1 1/2 ounces each of gin and fresh squeezed orange juice, with a half-teaspoon of absinthe and a half-teaspoon to a teaspoon of grenadine, depending on the sourness of the orange juice.
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Absolutely! Which is why Ted Breaux's Nouvelle-Orléans is a great choice. But this has a lot more in common with Pernod than it does Herbsaint, IMO.
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In most recipes (much as is the case with "apricot brandy") they are asking for a cherry-flavored, sweetened brandy such as Cherry Heering. This is especially true of cherry brandy, in consideration of the fact that "kirschwasser" has been a commonly-used term one would use to describe cherry eau de vie for a long time.
"Master Mixologist"?
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted · Edited by slkinsey (log)
I usually say "cocktailian bartender" to describe a working bartender with knowledge and skills at making cocktails.
I should point out that I am neither "for" nor "against" the word "mixologist." That said, I do think there is a useful distinction to be made between the skill of creating cocktails and the skill of preparing cocktails. I would propose to call the former "mixology" and the latter "bartending" -- but perhaps there are other words that suffice. I have the sense, however, that it's not quite appropriate to call someone who makes a living as a consultant who designs cocktails and cocktail lists for bars and restaurants, or as a writer who creates cockails for columns and books a "bartender."