Cocktail of the Decade

[Chris Amirault]

Over here, Kent Wang raised a provocative issue:

I did Audrey Saunder's Earl Grey infused gin. Of course, one should get a nice tea for this.

So easy and delicious. I recall hearing one of the barmen at Pegu, a British chap named Alistair, I believe, declare the Earl Grey Marteani the cocktail of the decade. I find it hard to disagree.

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What do you think? What cocktail (or cocktails) would best represent this exciting decade of mixology? What would the criteria be?

[thirtyoneknots]

Over here, Kent Wang raised a provocative issue:

I did Audrey Saunder's Earl Grey infused gin. Of course, one should get a nice tea for this.

So easy and delicious. I recall hearing one of the barmen at Pegu, a British chap named Alistair, I believe, declare the Earl Grey Marteani the cocktail of the decade. I find it hard to disagree.

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What do you think? What cocktail (or cocktails) would best represent this exciting decade of mixology? What would the criteria be?

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My vote would be, I think, for the 50/50 gin martini, with orange bitters. A more genteel drink than the Old Fashioned, and still a symbol of the return to classical form in America's (and other places') best bars. Damn tasty to boot. Good cases can be made for many others, but that, I think, best embodies the ideals that the current renaissance espouses.

-Andy

[avant-garde]

The Benton's Old Fashioned from PDT. Bacon-infused Bourbon, Maple Syrup, and Angostura.

Video here...

[Wild Bill Turkey]

That's the scariest thing I've ever seen. That drink is only missing a Patsy Cline song to have all my favorite things. I could see losing my identity to something like that. I'll have tried it by this next weekend.

[Chris Amirault]

What's your case for the Benton's Old Fashioned, avant-garde?

[eje]

So funny, just two years ago, Andrew Fenton's Weeniecello was a joke. This year, an old-fashioned made from bacon infused bourbon is the drink of the decade.

What is the criteria? Popularity? How many bar menus the drink is on? Press coverage?

[slkinsey]

I think it's difficult to proclaim anything a "drink of the decade" at all, but certainly not one that has only been around for the last year of that decade.

In order for something to be a "drink of the decade" one would like to see that it (1) reflects, in some way, the cocktailian zeitgeist of a ten-year period; (2) attained some level of popularity, both in terms of its presence on menus and in the minds of cocktailians; (3) was influential; (4) was original; and (5) could be considered, perhaps on the basis of the foregoing, a "modern classic."

It's possible, I suppose, that by 2015, fat-washing will be seen as the major cocktailian innovation and trend of the decade from 2005 and 2015. And, in that context, the Benton's Old Fashioned might come to be seen as a popular early adoption of that technique, and emblematic of that particular fork in the cocktailian road. But I'd suggest that it's a bit too early to make any such determination at this point. Regardless, in consideration of the fact that fat-washing is a technique that really is only beginning to be explored in the last years of this decade, I wouldn't think that a fat-wash Old Fashioned would be a particularly good choice to represent the mixological trends of this decade. (Not that it isn't a brilliant and delicious drink, of course.)

In a similar phenomenon, one notices that recent athletes and recent musicians and recent songs and recent writers and recent movies often figure too prominently in any "the best of" lists compiled during any era. For example, if one were to look back at a list of the "25 greatest quarterbacks of all time" voted upon by football fans in 1990, it would likely include a number of names from current players in that era that would seem ridiculous on such a list today.

That said, it perhaps seems that in picking a "cocktail of the decade" one isn't seeking to pick a "best" cocktail of the decade, but rather an outstanding and influential cocktail created during a ten year period that also somehow captures and embodies the cocktailian zeitgeist of the decade. In considering this question, we would need to think not only of what might represent the cocktailian zeitgeist of today, but also of 2002 and 2006.

[eje]

Relevant previous topic:

The March of Booze Through Time, or What Were They Drinking?

For an upcoming project, I've been assembling a list of New York's signature drinks, decade by decade since the end of the American Revolution. This is, of course, highly subjective--if you went strictly by the numbers, it'd be a very dull list indeed, with most of the entries reading "beer" or "whiskey" or "the Martini." I've tried instead to make it a little more impressionistic, avoiding repitition and attaching drinks to the decades when they hit their peak--i.e., when they were still new enough that everybody wasn't sick of them, yet had been around enough that everybody knew how to make them. I've also tried to pick drinks that were representative of what was going on in drinking culture in general.

[avant-garde]

I think I may have misunderstood the thread. I'm not saying this is the best cocktail of the decade. I just thought we were discussing cocktails that represent where we are today from a creative standpoint. This one just stood out simply because of the dynamic of infusing fats into liquids. So I apologize if I missed the point.

[Chris Amirault]

I don't think you missed the point. I was eager to hear why you think it's a good candidate.

et clarify -- ca

Edited September 29, 2008 by chrisamirault (log)

[Wild Bill Turkey]

Would we say, then, that the Cosmo was the drink of the 90s?

I might put forward the Aviation for consideration as the drink of the current revival, since so many cite it as the drink that brought them around to classic cocktails. But it doesn't, as avant-garde mentions, point to the new ground being broken by creators working in the craft.

[Chris Amirault]

That's what Wondrich said in the topic Erik mentioned.

[Wild Bill Turkey]

So it is, and I see that the Aviation gets votes there, as well. Guess that'll teach me to read the links before putting my two cents in.

[slkinsey]

Would we say, then, that the Cosmo was the drink of the 90s?

I certainly would.

I might put forward the Aviation for consideration as the drink of the current revival, since so many cite it as the drink that brought them around to classic cocktails. But it doesn't, as avant-garde mentions, point to the new ground being broken by creators working in the craft.

Exactly. While I think there are good reasons to suggest the Aviation for the "cocktail of the 2000s," I think it ultimately fails for just this reason. I would propose that such a cocktail would likely be one that is in the classic style, reflecting the emphatic return of the classic approach to mixology during this decade, but a new drink. Something like Audrey's Tantris Sidecar comes to mind as a possibility, because it is famous and influential, inspired by an iconic classic cocktail, and pushes the envelope a bit.

That's what Wondrich said in the topic Erik mentioned.

Not sure what this refers to. I don't think anyone in the linked thread wrote that the Aviation fails as the "drink of the 2000s" because it was a revived historical cocktail rather than a contemporary cocktail.

[Fat Guy]

Trying to play the game, and backing into it from the general to the specific, I imagine it sort of has to be an Audrey Saunders signature cocktail because she's the mixologist of the decade. If it's an Audrey Saunders cocktail, probably the two it comes down to are the Earl Grey MarTEAni and the Gin-Gin Mule. I'd go for the latter, in part because I like it and in part because it has been so widely acknowledged.

[thirtyoneknots]

Trying to play the game, and backing into it from the general to the specific, I imagine it sort of has to be an Audrey Saunders signature cocktail because she's the mixologist of the decade. If it's an Audrey Saunders cocktail, probably the two it comes down to are the Earl Grey MarTEAni and the Gin-Gin Mule. I'd go for the latter, in part because I like it and in part because it has been so widely acknowledged.

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If the drink must be a new creation, then I agree that Audrey Saunders would probably have to be the creator. I would, however, maybe suggest the alternative of the Red Hook and its variations (Little Italy, Slope, etc) for perhaps their better espousement of the zietgeist, being variations on old-school drinks, all containing Rye, and all having bitter flavors as primary components.

[KatieLoeb]

Trying to play the game, and backing into it from the general to the specific, I imagine it sort of has to be an Audrey Saunders signature cocktail because she's the mixologist of the decade. If it's an Audrey Saunders cocktail, probably the two it comes down to are the Earl Grey MarTEAni and the Gin-Gin Mule. I'd go for the latter, in part because I like it and in part because it has been so widely acknowledged.

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I'd agree with this characterization. I've certainly made my share of gin-gin mules (along with giving due credit to Audrey) and brought a lot of nongin drinkers into the fold. It's a great "gateway drug" for the juniper haters as well as being damned refreshing and delicious, as well as being easy to replicate. Perhaps not as universal/ubiquitous as a Cosmopolitan, but most higher end bars would have the ingredients and be able to reproduce the drink.

[slkinsey]

Trying to play the game, and backing into it from the general to the specific, I imagine it sort of has to be an Audrey Saunders signature cocktail because she's the mixologist of the decade. If it's an Audrey Saunders cocktail, probably the two it comes down to are the Earl Grey MarTEAni and the Gin-Gin Mule. I'd go for the latter, in part because I like it and in part because it has been so widely acknowledged.

If the drink must be a new creation, then I agree that Audrey Saunders would probably have to be the creator. I would, however, maybe suggest the alternative of the Red Hook and its variations (Little Italy, Slope, etc) for perhaps their better espousement of the zietgeist, being variations on old-school drinks, all containing Rye, and all having bitter flavors as primary components.

I think that the difference between some of Audrey's better-known cocktails, such as the Tantris Sidecar, Gin Gin Mule and Earl Gray MarTEAni, and something like the Red Hook and its variants, is that these drinks of Audrey's are clearly evoked from a paradigm of classic mixology, but are also modern in a way that makes them wholly of our time. The same cannot be said of the Red Hook, et al. One would not be served the MarTEAni or Tantris Sidecar at the Old Waldorf=Astoria . The Red Hook, on the other hand, would fit right in.

Edited September 29, 2008 by slkinsey (log)

[stovin]

The Vesper

In honor of the new James Bond thriller arriving this fall, Quantum of Solace, , I think it appropriate to honor James Bond's drink creation in Casino Royale. Who spans not only a decade, but several decades better than Bond?

From the book, Bond orders from the waiter during a high stakes poker match:

"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel. Got it?"

He calls this a Vesper, after the beautiful double agent, Vesper.

The Vesper Martini

3 oz Gin

1 oz Vodka

0.5 oz Lillet Blanc (from the book: Kina Lillet is a brand of vermouth).

Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Cheers, Mr. Bond.

[freshherbs]

i would also offer the Martinez. in many ways the last decade or so was defined by the martini and its many variations, degradations, etc. the Martinez is in some ways the thinking-mans martini for the new cocktail era (not that there is anything wrong with a well-made martini)

[thirtyoneknots]

Trying to play the game, and backing into it from the general to the specific, I imagine it sort of has to be an Audrey Saunders signature cocktail because she's the mixologist of the decade. If it's an Audrey Saunders cocktail, probably the two it comes down to are the Earl Grey MarTEAni and the Gin-Gin Mule. I'd go for the latter, in part because I like it and in part because it has been so widely acknowledged.

If the drink must be a new creation, then I agree that Audrey Saunders would probably have to be the creator. I would, however, maybe suggest the alternative of the Red Hook and its variations (Little Italy, Slope, etc) for perhaps their better espousement of the zietgeist, being variations on old-school drinks, all containing Rye, and all having bitter flavors as primary components.

I think that the difference between some of Audrey's better-known cocktails, such as the Tantris Sidecar, Gin Gin Mule and Earl Gray MarTEAni, and something like the Red Hook and its variants, is that these drinks of Audrey's are clearly evoked from a paradigm of classic mixology, but are also modern in a way that makes them wholly of our time. The same cannot be said of the Red Hook, et al. One would not be served the MarTEAni or Tantris Sidecar at the Old Waldorf=Astoria . The Red Hook, on the other hand, would fit right in.

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I agree completely but I don't think that necessarily is a mark against those drinks as candidates. Maybe I'm an iconoclast, but I would put the Waldorf observation as a mark in the plus column for their qualifications. The decade has been all about the return to classical principles, and I think that part of the trick should be to be a drink that can be made anywhere with stuff bought from the store as is. Fancy infusions and house-made ginger beer are wonderful things, I have made and enjoyed all of the recipes you mention, but I think that to be reasonable one should focus on recipes that can be made if someone has a respectably-stocked bar and the recipe. Infusions and homemade mixers to me are more about the cleverness of the recipe creator and perhaps less about the instrinsic greatness of the recipe itself. Although I have unfortunately never (yet) been to Pegu, I would in a heartbeat vote aye for Audrey Saunders as bartender of the decade, however to be fair about a drink I think it should be something that would fit in at the Waldorf, or at least at the Savoy, at least in principle. I'd be willing to bet Harry Craddock made very few infusions in his career.

Just my rambling $.02

[bostonapothecary]

i try to drink with the zeitgeist so i don't really stick with anything non classic long enough to nominate a cocktail of the decade but i will say that the only modern drink people consistently ask me for is the "old cuban"... around here in the summer the drink is probably responsible for the majority of sales of 8 year bacardi...

aged spirit, bitters, nice acidity... bubbly sophistication. i never got bored drinking them...

[eje]

If the drink must be a new creation, then I agree that Audrey Saunders would probably have to be the creator. I would, however, maybe suggest the alternative of the Red Hook and its variations (Little Italy, Slope, etc) for perhaps their better espousement of the zietgeist, being variations on old-school drinks, all containing Rye, and all having bitter flavors as primary components.

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Just as a point of order, I think the Little Italy is Audrey's, but believe the Slope came from Julie Reiner at Flatiron Lounge, the Red Hook from Enzo Errico at Milk and Honey, and the Greenpoint from Michael Mcilroy.

Edited September 30, 2008 by eje (log)

[phlip]

Cocktail of the decade? Well hell the decade isn't over yet. So I think(prematurely) that it has to be a drink made often and in lots and lots of places. IE something you can get in alot of places. At least stateside/London worldwide is opening perhaps too big a can of worms for this decade. It only amounts to about half a decade but I would like to put in a vote for the Last Word. It has gone from an obscure classic to a staple in most good cocktail bars. Representing one classics and modernity at the same time. Other canidates: this might ruffle some feathers but I really might say the Sazerac. Really we are talking about the "second coming" of the cocktail age(does that sound stupid) and if there is one drink I get made consistently well and that is Jesus H Christ delecious it is the Sazerac, and yes it is an old drink but it is just again this decade that folks have started using rye for it again. I think something can be said for the Gin Gin Mule, it is on alot of menus and for good reason.

[thirtyoneknots]

If the drink must be a new creation, then I agree that Audrey Saunders would probably have to be the creator. I would, however, maybe suggest the alternative of the Red Hook and its variations (Little Italy, Slope, etc) for perhaps their better espousement of the zietgeist, being variations on old-school drinks, all containing Rye, and all having bitter flavors as primary components.

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Just as a point of order, I think the Little Italy is Audrey's, but believe the Slope came from Julie Reiner at Flatiron Lounge, the Red Hook from Enzo Errico at Milk and Honey, and the Greenpoint from Michael Mcilroy.

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I stand corrected, my apologies to the creators of these drinks.