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Online Cocktail Videos


eje

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Cocktail videos have proliferated on the Internet.

We've had a few topics about specific videos; but, I thought I'd start a topic to post the ones you found particularly useful or embarrassingly bad.

I'll start by pointing out that Alberta Straub, ex of the Orbit Room here in San Francisco, now has a series of instructional and entertaining cocktail videos hosted on "On Networks".

Cocktails on the Fly

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Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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The new Roth Vodka website has hundreds of videos of San Francisco bartenders discussing bartending techniques (and not just with Roth- it's no brand overload). It's great fun for amateurs like me to see that in no way is there one correct way to do almost anything, from muddling to shaking. Plus it's actually quite usefull.

Roth Vodka website

Camper English, Alcademics.com

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Totally! There is a long running thread on the Tiki Central forum making fun of all kinds of drinks on that site. Some of the best ones are these guys that invent their own drinks with 11 different liqueurs, Sprite, OJ, Pineapple, and Grenadine (a lot!). Or a variation on that. Basically, a syrupy, sweet mess.

They make these drinks and think they're really cool. Yech!

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Robert Hess (aka DrinkBoy) has a series of videos over at the Small Screen Network:

The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess

So far, they've been targeted at educating and making suggestions to interested novice home bartenders. Production values are quite high, the videos are informative, and Mr. Hess' home bar is quite impressive.

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Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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  • 1 month later...

New Orleans Best Cocktails

Some audio level problems at the beginning of the Martini video.

Still very cool to see a bartender like Mr. McMillian in action.

Seems to be posted in association with this blog on Nola.com:

NOLA Pulse: New Orleans' best cocktails, the Martini

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Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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  • 4 weeks later...

Chris McMilliam, of the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, is a local legend and treasure. For the past few weeks, he's been taping short videos on how to mix drinks for NOLA.com, the paper's website.

These are fascinating little segments. I've learned a lot watching him work.

The Sazerac

Ramos Gin Fizz

Pimm's Cup

Martini

The website is a mess. Somewhere, buried in its maze of links, are a few more demos. I remember watching his mint julep and magarita videos.

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

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  • 2 months later...

Love watching these videos from Toby Maloney over at The Violet Hour. Let's see if we can't get him to do some more. How bout it Toby?

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer...y&search=Search

"A woman once drove me to drink and I never had the decency to thank her" - W.C. Fields

Thanks, The Hopry

http://thehopry.com/

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Thank you very much. I would love to do more video's. They were so much fun to make. And for the equipment we used, and the "sampling" that ensued I am very happy how they turned out. I have a bunch of ideas on how to improve on what we did.

I just need a producer, camera-person, and...well I'm sure a thousand things I haven't thought of.

Toby

A DUSTY SHAKER LEADS TO A THIRSTY LIFE

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Thank you very much.  I would love to do more video's. They were so much fun to make.  And for the equipment we used, and the "sampling" that ensued I am very happy how they turned out.  I have a bunch of ideas on how to improve on what we did. 

I just need a producer, camera-person, and...well I'm sure a thousand things I haven't thought of. 

Toby

the videos are really cool and the technique is fantastic. i was wondering if you could elaborate about the ice you use. beautiful stuff. but where did you get the machine and how are you getting and sorting the different sized cubes? i'm pretty sure everyone in boston uses pretty standard ice. i wish owners and the guys writing the checks felt beautiful ice enhanced their egos more than lame wine collections...

vertical of screaming eagle magnums versus the 40% colder ice cube...

abstract expressionist beverage compounder

creator of acquired tastes

bostonapothecary.com

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Damn, Toby, those ARE really impressive videos. I agree with everything slkinsey said about the technique. Until now I always kinda thought of 'flair' as a dirty word. With a little more light on your face and better sound, you are ready for the big-time!

Two technique questions:

1. Why gently bruise the mint with the muddler when you are going to go ahead and shake it with ice?

2. Why use big ice cubes for shaking, rather than cracked or crushed?

And one recipe question:

Does the generally-accepted recipe for a smash include citrus? It was always my impression that a smash was a "julep on a small scale".

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David... Not Alchemist; but, I can answer your smash question. No, there is no citrus in the traditional Smash recipe.

Dale DeGroff started adding lemon to it some time in the 80s or 90s.

He covers that in a post over on the DrinkBoy forums.

Dale DeGroff on Whiskey Smash

Always found regular mint juleps boring and too sweet...I combined the julep with lemon in my spin-off  the whiskey smash by muddling lemon wedges with the mint ans sugar and found it a more satisfying drink.

So, it is pretty common to find folks adding lemon to their smashes these days.

edit: Mr. DeGroff's Whiskey Smash recipe can be found on his website: Drinks T-Z (scroll down).

Edited by eje (log)

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Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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2. Why use big ice cubes for shaking, rather than cracked or crushed?

Short answer: Big ice cubes take longer to chill the drink and also melt at a slower rate compared to cracked or crushed ice. This is useful when you are shaking a drink, because it gives you the opportunity to shake the drink longer (thereby getting better aeration, creating better foam, etc.) without watering the drink down.

Long answer: Check out the thread on ice.

I also, despite being a traditionalist, prefer the modern differentiation between a smash and a julep (the former containing muddled citrus and being served on the rocks). I don't see much point in changing the name just because the size of the drink is different. Or should we start calling the gigantic restaurant cocktail a "Martone."

Edited by slkinsey (log)

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Damn, Toby, those ARE really impressive videos. I agree with everything slkinsey said about the technique. Until now I always kinda thought of 'flair' as a dirty word. With a little more light on your face and better sound, you are ready for the big-time!

Two technique questions:

1. Why gently bruise the mint with the muddler when you are going to go ahead and shake it with ice?

2. Why use big ice cubes for shaking, rather than cracked or crushed?

And one recipe question:

Does the generally-accepted recipe for a smash include citrus? It was always my impression that a smash was a "julep on a small scale".

I think that the lemon garbage impedes the ice from bruising the mint enough. And this is a completly unsabstantiated belief but the oil out is easier when the mint is warm.

A DUSTY SHAKER LEADS TO A THIRSTY LIFE

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What a great thread! I just now looked at Alberta Straub's. Good stuff there. I'm going to pass this along to some of my friends.

I'll have to check all of the others, too.

thanks again

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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Nice work Toby. Great fun watching you work. Such clean movements.

One question: in the Iron Cross video you discarded several pieces of ice. What was wrong with them?

Has anyone ever seen a stylized Japanese bartender work? Last time I was at the Library Lounge in New Orleans, Chris McMilllian was telling me about these videos from Japan that were amazing. And leads on those?

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

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Damn, Toby, those ARE really impressive videos. I agree with everything slkinsey said about the technique. Until now I always kinda thought of 'flair' as a dirty word. With a little more light on your face and better sound, you are ready for the big-time!

indeed.

The technique is great. The flair is really more a about precise, sharp motions done with confidence than silly circus tricks..

I now have more ideas on what to do with mint on Derby Day. :)

I think having a regular series, setup on some place that wasn't YouTube, with RSS feeds for Podcast subscription would be great. As far as video goes, you just need a decent camera, better lighting, and probably better sound. A friendly pro could give you lots of tips.

Seriously, I think you have a lot of potential here. I've been on a cocktail kick and have been mostly focusing on "classic" drinks, but watching you makes me want to explore this craft even more.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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