Imbibe!

[weinoo]

Hey, thanks all for the kind words and support (and I'm still trying to figure out which book I snagged that jack Frost Sour from ,so I can give the full formula).

Loth as I am to engage in shameless self-promotion, I'll be speaking next Friday (January 17th) at the fabulous new Astor Center in New York about Jerry Thomas and his drink. I'll talk about a bunch of things that didn't make it into the  and demonstrate a few of the more arcane of his drinks and one or two that aren't in the book (generous samples will of course be provided). Here's a link:

Drinking with the Professor

It'll be fun!

←

Loath as you may be, David, to engage in shameless self-promo, it's really going to be interesting to hear you speak on Friday, January 17th - since Friday is January 18th!!

So, truth be told, it will be on Friday, January 18th...Astor Center.

[jazzyjeff]

I have to echo everyone else's comments on Dave's book and say how fantastic a read it is. Well done!

I think the Jack Frost recipe comes from William Schmidt's "The Flowing Bowl" from 1892. It is the first drink in the book and the recipe is as follows:

Jack Frost Whiskey Sour

Into a mixing glass squeeze the juice of half a lemon,

1 barspoonful of sugar,

1 fresh egg,

1 pony of fresh cream,

1 drink of apple whiskey.

Fill your glass with cracked ice and shake thoroughly; strain into a high, thin glass, and fill the balance with inported seltzer.

Enjoy,

Jeff

[Splificator]

I think the Jack Frost recipe comes from William Schmidt's "The Flowing Bowl" from 1892. It is the first drink in the book and the recipe is as follows:

Jack Frost Whiskey Sour

Into a mixing glass squeeze the juice of half a lemon,

1 barspoonful of sugar,

1 fresh egg,

1 pony of fresh cream,

1 drink of apple whiskey.

Fill your glass with cracked ice and shake thoroughly; strain into a high, thin glass, and fill the balance with inported seltzer.

That's the very one (and thanks for the kind words!). William Schmidt invented a lot of drinks--in fact, he was running a new-drink-every-day thing at his bar for a while there in the 1890s. By apple whiskey he of course means applejack; 1 drink = 2 oz, 1 pony = 1 oz.

And thanks, Mitch, for the correction. I'm doing things at Astor Center on the 17th and the 18th and I got them well and truly muddled. I have fixed it. Friday the 18th it is.

Edited January 9, 2008 by Splificator (log)

[JerseyRED]

I think the Jack Frost recipe comes from William Schmidt's "The Flowing Bowl" from 1892. It is the first drink in the book and the recipe is as follows:

Jack Frost Whiskey Sour

Into a mixing glass squeeze the juice of half a lemon,

1 barspoonful of sugar,

1 fresh egg,

1 pony of fresh cream,

1 drink of apple whiskey.

Fill your glass with cracked ice and shake thoroughly; strain into a high, thin glass, and fill the balance with inported seltzer.

That's the very one (and thanks for the kind words!). William Schmidt invented a lot of drinks--in fact, he was running a new-drink-every-day thing at his bar for a while there in the 1890s. By apple whiskey he of course means applejack; 1 drink = 2 oz, 1 pony = 1 oz.

And thanks, Mitch, for the correction. I'm doing things at Astor Center on the 17th and the 18th and I got them well and truly muddled. I have fixed it. Friday the 18th it is.

←

Thank you Mitch for finding the source to the original recipe!

And thank you David for the interpretation of the proportions.

As far as your engagement at the Astor Center, well all I can say is I am SO there.

See you on the 18th.

Rich

[weinoo]

Thank you Mitch for finding the source to the original recipe!

←

Hmmmm, I think it was jazzyjeff who sourced the original recipe . That's the problem with these Spirits and Cocktails posts, isn't it?

[Tim Dolan]

Anyone have any recomendations for an "easy" drink or two in this book? As you'll see in this thread my friends and I are new to the game, so I figured that it would make a ton of sense to buy this book (very interesting, by the way) for my friend's party and start at the beginning, and also since I am in the presence of so many experts on this board.

Edited January 9, 2008 by Tim Dolan (log)

[Scotttos]

Anyone have any recomendations for an "easy" drink or two in this book?  As you'll see in this thread my friends and I are new to the game, so I figured that it would make a ton of sense to buy this book (very interesting, by the way) for my friend's party and start at the beginning, and also since I am in the presence of so many experts on this board.

←

Since it's a party I'd take the opportunity to make one of the many delicious punch drinks. They are pretty straight forward and besides requiring some fresh fruit and syrups you can whip up a big bowl right away. The pisco punch is one of my favorites, and the brandy punch...boy, it's almost ridiculous how good it is.

Edited January 9, 2008 by Scotttos (log)

[lostmyshape]

i haven't found any of the recipes in this book "difficult." however, a few require some tricky ingredients. go with one of the simpler recipes -- something with just a base spirit, fruit, and simple syrup (and maybe bitters or a easily procured liqueur). and don't be afraid to make some syrup the day before. it takes 10 minutes to make syrup and, with the addition of raspberries or pineapple, you can make a fruit syrup really easily.

i'm totally with Scottos on the punch section. the glass punches were my revelation from this book (admittedly, i'm still ony halfway through). i can't stop making that brandy punch. the notes say it's a slow-sipper, but i finish mine faster than is good for any one person. it's just too tasty. oh, an fishing out that booze-saturated garnish fruit at the end... too good.

[JerseyRED]

Thank you Mitch for finding the source to the original recipe!

←

Hmmmm, I think it was jazzyjeff who sourced the original recipe . That's the problem with these Spirits and Cocktails posts, isn't it?

←

Well a hearty thank you for pointing that out to me!

And belated kudos to 'Return of the Magnificent' JazzyJeff for sourcing the recipe.

[JerseyRED]

Thanks to Gary and Mardee Regan's special announcement email via their e-letter 'Ardent Spirits' (and due to the fact that Mr. David Wondrich is "Loth... to engage in shameless self-promotion") I have become aware that Mr. Wondrich will be appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien this Friday, January 11.

Ardent Spirits

Conan O'Brien

Set those VCR, Tivo, DVR things to record!

Rich

[Bricktop]

Tivo set. Yay!

[JerseyRED]

What happened?

You get bumped for the Tampa Bay cheerleader/probation officer?

Rich

[johnnyd]

Mr. Wondrich was here in Portland last Friday, 1-4-08 as a guest of Rebelais Books and local cocktail phenom, Mr. John Meyers (eg member, fatdeko). Click here for a brief entry in the Rebelais blog about the evening.

The highlight for many was the demonstration of Jerry Thomas' fiery Blue Blazer, made with cask strength bourbon and boiling water, and poured back and forth between two silver or pewter mugs while alight.

I was sadly occupied elsewhere and couldn't attend. Hope you liked Portland, David. Love to see you back this way soon!

[JerseyRED]

What happened?

You get bumped for the Tampa Bay cheerleader/probation officer?

Rich

←

Ok, looking at Conan's site that was Thursday's show. My DVR says it taped Friday's show.

Also this from "Conan's Blog":

Also on tonight's show, we've got a "demo" on!! It's always funny when we have "demos" on. A demo is anything that's "demonstrated" - it's always in the performance area (aka where COB does his Conologue from), and more often than not, involves some kind of food or drink or something you can put in your mouth (watch it, dude). Well, today we have on David Wondrich; a "mixologist" who talks about different kinds of historical alcoholic beverages. And he, of course does "a demo" for his segment - he mixes up a bunch of drinks, and Conan drinks them! Awesome, right? Awesome.

But you know what's REALLY awesome about demos, kids? All of the stuff that's left over from the demos are FAIR GAME. That's right - it being a demo, and it being a FRIDAY SHOW, it was a sweet sweet boozefest backstage!!! OH MAMA!!! What a great way to kick off the weekend!!! You know what's NOT such a great demo to consume the leftovers of? Martha Stewart! Drinking paint can be reeeeaaaal tricky. OH JOKES.

Anybody happen to see last night's show? Did my DVR screw up or was last night a repeat? Or was there a Blue Blazer demo that caused the set to catch on fire and force the show to be canceled?

[Bricktop]

Outstanding segment. Dave made a Blue Blazer, Clover Club, and an Improved Brandy Cocktail. There was a great rapport between them. Civil War General had me hooting! (Sorry, Dave)

Conan was Conan, and the best part was his drinking the Blue Blazer. Burned his innards, but he just kept on it. The pink frothy thing was not my bag, but it was fun to watch Dave shaking the heck out of it.

I didn't catch what Dave spooned into the last one first, but did see the Luxardo Maraschino and cognac. Was it bitters? I thought I saw some Fee's Orange Bitters on the table. Pity the segment was not longer.

Edited January 12, 2008 by Bricktop (log)

[JerseyRED]

Damn Cablevision DVR!

[KatieLoeb]

Yup. First thing I noticed was the big 'ol bottle of Maraschino and the Plymouth gin as well. I couldn't really see the flames in the blue blazer (guess you had to be there to really see it) but I thought Conan's reaction was pretty funny. It's a shame the segment seemed so rushed and I think it would've been more interesting had Conan actually asked Dave a few (intelligent) questions instead of just goofing around. The drinks looked really good though.

Dave - any chance of posting the Improved Brandy Cocktail recipe here for us? The Blue Blazer seems more like a "don't try this at home" type concoction.

[slkinsey]

Katie, iirc, there is an Improved [spirit] Cocktail "master recipe" in Imbibe!

[eje]

Bitters, Gum Syrup, Maraschino, Absinthe, Spirits, and lemon twist, as in the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail.

Looked like he served it, perhaps because they were out of time, with cracked ice, instead of shaking and straining it.

[KatieLoeb]

Katie, iirc, there is an Improved [spirit] Cocktail "master recipe" in Imbibe!

←

Of course it is my full intention to purchase the book. I was just waiting for Dave to have his book signing in Philly so I could attend, get the requisite signature on the inside cover and take Dave out for some cocktails around town.

[JerseyRED]

Damn Cablevision DVR!

←

Ok, if like me you had a DVR "malfunction" you can view last Friday's episode here.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Select the Jan 11 Episode, Chapter 4

Whine Whine Twang Twang

[Scotttos]

You were great at the Astor Center tonight Dave. So much fun. I was the guy who asked you about Genevieve : )

All the drinks were knockouts.

[Splificator]

Thanks again all for the kind words--very much appreciated indeed!

Portland was great (I remember it in the 1970s, when it was pretty grim; what a transformation!). And nice to meet you, Scottos--next time, let's chat.

And yes, I meant to strain the Improved Brandy Cocktail I made for Mr. O'Brien, but ran out of time. Funny, the 8-plus minutes my bit lasted seemed to me as I was doing it like about a minute and a half. There's your Theory of Relativity, right there.

And Katie--I hope to get to Philly soon, but have nothing on the books yet. Too bad they moved the Book & the Cook to the Fall!

Edited January 26, 2008 by Splificator (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

Not to gush or anything, but I finally recieved a copy of this last week, and if he wasn't already, Mr. Wondrich is now my personal hero. Some of the most entertaining and informative writing on any subject I have ever read, and it doesn't hurt that the back half is interactive. The only bad part is how a book can cost hundred of dollars in new liquor purchases -- cask strength Scotch, Australian rum, and a better stand-in for Hollands is just the beginning of what I now require.

I was wondering, sir, if you wouldn't mind clarifying one item for me though; I was looking over the Weeper's Joy today and I assume that "Vino Vermouth" would be sweet? It certainly looks like the drink wouldn't suffer from additional sugars with a whole ounce of absinthe there, but I did want to get some feedback before committing the high-octane (and high-dollar) stuff to the mixing glass.

If you are reading the eGullet Cocktail Forums, and do not yet posess a copy of this book, you are wrong.

-Andy

[Splificator]

I was looking over the Weeper's Joy today and I assume that "Vino Vermouth" would be sweet?

First of all, thanks for the kind words and support! It means a lot to the poor struggling author. Even if he's just struggling with deadlines.

And yes, "Vino Vermouth" is red/sweet/Italian vermouth. It used to say that on the label, under the brand. I've got a picture somewhere; I'll post it if I can find it, which is by no means a sure bet.