Velvet Tango Room "Spicy Chica"

[jsmeeker]

I was in Cleveland last weekend and as fortunate enough to visit the fabulous Velvet Tango Room for a second time in as many years. I had a drink called the "Spicy Chica" It was a killer sour. Rum based. used egg white, as is typical for sours served at VTR. I believe there was some ameretto in there, too?

Anyone here have the details on this drink?

[marty mccabe]

In another post in the Cleveland section (I think), someone listed the ingredients as: good rum (I assume dark?), house-made ginger syrup, a touch of hot spice, some sweet Amaretto, egg white, and a ground cinnamon garnish.

I leave it to smarter people than me to work backwards from there.

[jneu]

VTR was featured in the May '08 Sante magazine. It took some digging but I found my issue on my bookshelf (Ha, and my wife thinks I have way too many cocktail books and get way too many magazine subscriptions. Here's proof that sometimes they come in handy)

Spicy Chica - from Sante May 2008

1oz Gosling's

1/4 oz Disaronno

3/4 oz ginger syrup

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/8 oz fresh lemon juice

1 egg white

Vietnamese cinnamon garnish

typing that has made me thirsty. Assuming my homemade ginger syrup in the back of the fridge still has some life I will be enjoying one of these shortly.

Cheers

[edsel]

Thanks for posting the recipe, jneu.

I had a Spicy Chica last night in the back room at VTR. I usually lean toward gin-based drinks, but jsmeeker's post reminded me that I hadn't had a Chica in a while. I'd forgotten just how tasty it is.

[jsmeeker]

awesome. I actually have some Gosling''s rum on hand. I have Black Seal, and I think that's what the bartender said she used.

I wonder how they make their ginger syrup? I make it myself fairly regularly and have two different methods for doing so (though these days, I am sticking to the method I learned more recently). All I really need is some Disaronno

[KatieLoeb]

I faked up a Spicy Chica for myself last night after a long shift. A splash of homemade ginger beer, simple syrup and ginger ale stood in for ginger syrup. I also used the Luxardo amaretto which I find to taste far superior to the DiSaronno, which has never seen a real almond in its life. Very tasty drink! Averna makes a sambuca from star anise that might be an interesting substitution or addition in this drink as well. Then it would really have that delicious dessert spice thing going on.

[slkinsey]

Spicy Chica - from Sante May 2008

1oz Gosling's

1/4 oz Disaronno

3/4 oz ginger syrup

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/8 oz fresh lemon juice

1 egg white

Vietnamese cinnamon garnish

Is this a very sweet cocktail? Looking at it, I see an ounce of a not-exactly-dry rum, an ounce of sweet (1/4 amaretto plus 3/4 syrup) balanced with only 5/8 ounce of citrus.

[edsel]

Is this a very sweet cocktail?  Looking at it, I see an ounce of a not-exactly-dry rum, an ounce of sweet (1/4 amaretto plus 3/4 syrup) balanced with only 5/8 ounce of citrus.

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It's slightly (not cloyingly) sweet. I think the ginger syrup has a touch of habanero in it. That, combined with the ginger and cinnamon, moves the flavor profile toward the spicy and aromatic side. Also, I'm not sure that the proportions in the published recipe are an exact match for what they serve at VTR.

Katie, I like the Luxardo amaretto better than the di saronno, but it strikes me as a touch sweeter. Not sure what I'd adjust in the recipe to compenstae. More citrus, maybe?

[jsmeeker]

Spicy Chica - from Sante May 2008

1oz Gosling's

1/4 oz Disaronno

3/4 oz ginger syrup

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/8 oz fresh lemon juice

1 egg white

Vietnamese cinnamon garnish

Is this a very sweet cocktail? Looking at it, I see an ounce of a not-exactly-dry rum, an ounce of sweet (1/4 amaretto plus 3/4 syrup) balanced with only 5/8 ounce of citrus.

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I found the one I had to be fairly sweet. I am thinking there must be some simple in there, too. That is, unless their ginger syrup isn't nearly as potent as what I make these days. If I could have changed anything about what I was served, I would have wanted it less sweet.

Of course, I have been drinking fairly non-sweet cocktails lately, so my palate may be different than what it used to be.

[slkinsey]

Is this a very sweet cocktail?  Looking at it, I see an ounce of a not-exactly-dry rum, an ounce of sweet (1/4 amaretto plus 3/4 syrup) balanced with only 5/8 ounce of citrus.

It's slightly (not cloyingly) sweet. I think the ginger syrup has a touch of habanero in it. That, combined with the ginger and cinnamon, moves the flavor profile toward the spicy and aromatic side.

Anything's possible, I suppose, but I seriously doubt it. Habanero chilis have a very distinctive flavor. Also, fresh ginger is quite spicy all on its own. Bars that know they're going to use the syrup within one service can make spicy ginger syrup by juicing ginger and mixing sugar with the fresh ginger juice. Home cocktailians generally don't want to go to this trouble, but unfortunately ginger syrup of any kind does not keep its spice very well for even 24 hours, never mind several weeks. The work-around solution is to muddle plentiful ginger with simple syrup.

Also, I'm not sure that the proportions in the published recipe are an exact match for what they serve at VTR.

This seems rather more likely, considering that the specification of an eighth of an ounce of lemon juice seems highly unlikely to happen in a working bar. Does the VTR use jiggers, or do they free-pour?

Katie, I like the Luxardo amaretto better than the di saronno, but it strikes me as a touch sweeter. Not sure what I'd adjust in the recipe to compenstae. More citrus, maybe?

Doesn't strike me as any sweeter. But definitely more flavor.

Edited November 3, 2008 by slkinsey (log)

[jsmeeker]

they use liquid measure and scales.

[slkinsey]

Scales?

[jsmeeker]

Scales?

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yeah.. Little digital scales. They place the measuring glass or tin on it, zero it out. then they can measure out by weight.

[thirtyoneknots]

I also used the Luxardo amaretto which I find to taste far superior to the DiSaronno, which has never seen a real almond in its life.

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I have for a long time been under the impression that Amaretto is supposed to be an apricot pit liqueur, not an almond one (although they are related, no?) Wouldn't not having almonds be a bonus in that case? I've never had the Luxardo Amaretto (not something I normally stock) but I was just curious.

yeah.. Little digital scales. They place the measuring glass or tin on it, zero it out. then they can measure out by weight.

That's very odd.

[KatieLoeb]

I'm not sure what the actual providence on the DiSaronno Amaretto is. I'd always been told DiSaronno was "almond" liqueur, so I just assumed that to be so. No reason to think that anyone wasn't telling me the truth. Perhaps my sources were misinformed. Once I tasted the Luxardo and learned it was made with real almonds and not apricot pits I could totally tell the difference and can't go back. The Luxardo has more of that Marcona almond flavor with just a tiny hint of bitterness. Like Sam, I don't find it any sweeter, just far more flavorful. I find that just a little goes a long way in a cocktail. Makes for a delicious Godfather with the Famous Grouse or any other blended scotch. I've been drinking a few of those lately as the weather has turned cooler. Such a tasty autumnal beverage...

I really do love spicy drinks! I think it's something unexpected and surprising. I've been tweaking a chile infused scotch for a Godfather variant but haven't quite worked out the kinks yet. Dried chile flakes were too hot (coworkers were coughing and gagging!), and a fresh chile (seeded and deveined) was fruitier (which I really liked) but not nearly hot enough. Once I figure out the proper heat delivery system to proper volume of scotch I'll report back.

[slkinsey]

Technically I suppose an amaretto could be anything slightly bitter and mostly sweet. The "-etto" ending is diminutive of amaro, meaning "bitter." So, amaretto means "a little bitter" or perhaps "bittersweet."

Traditionally, this means the flavor of the bitter almond. Almonds, almond flavored desserts, almond flavored drinks, etc. probably came to Sicily from contact with Arab cultures, and all made their way north. My understanding is that amaretto the liqueur probably came after amaretti the cookies, which are most certainly made with almonds, and indeed Lazzaroni Amaretto is made by infusing actual amaretti into alcohol.

There is no doubt that amaretto is supposed to be bitter almond flavored. But there is also no doubt that apricot kernels have an almond flavor, and Disaronno's recipe claims to have been around since 1525. I doubt it's been that long, but it seems certain that they've been using apricot kernels for at least a few hundred years.

[thirtyoneknots]

Interesting about the amaretto, I had really always heard that 'genuine' amaretto was apricot kernels, and that almond was something they used because of their being cheaper or something. I suppose what you say makes sense.

Katie, how long are you infusing the dried chiles? When I do black pepper infusions 12 hours is really too long, it has to be cut with uninfused spirit. Makes for a multilayered bloody mary though.

[slkinsey]

The Disaronno family claims to have invented amaretto. If one believes this, then the "genuine" article would indeed be made with apricot kernels. That said, it seems fairly clear to me that it's supposed to be bitter almond flavored.

[KatieLoeb]

Interesting about the amaretto, I had really always heard that 'genuine' amaretto was apricot kernels, and that almond was something they used because of their being cheaper or something. I suppose what you say makes sense.

Katie, how long are you infusing the dried chiles? When I do black pepper infusions 12 hours is really too long, it has to be cut with uninfused spirit. Makes for a multilayered bloody mary though.

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Well that's all very interesting stuff about the amaretto origins. I think the use of almonds was definitely brought over to Europe by the Arabs. Certainly that influence is clear in Spanish cuisine. Makes sense that Sicily would be a point of contact from North Africa as well.

I infused the dried chile flakes overnight, but I think it was the quantity relative to a small volume of scotch that was the problem that time, not the infusion time. With the fresh chile I also left it overnight, but that wasn't hot enough. Meh. I'll figure it out eventually. I currently have a hibiscus infused rum drink on the menu and I infuse that over the course of one shift. I put the dried hibiscus in the bottle of Appleton V/X at the start of the shift and leave the bottle out where it's visible. Every time I go near it, I shake it. After about 6 hours I strain it and rinse the bottle out with a little Appleton white rum to get the last out of it. Rinse the bottle and funnel the now gloriously ruby red and floral scented rum back into the bottle. Perhaps I should try that with the scotch one evening.

[tikibars]

yeah.. Little digital scales. They place the measuring glass or tin on it, zero it out. then they can measure out by weight.

That's very odd.

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It IS very odd - completely unique, in fact, in my experience as a global barhopper.

But, what is means is that the drinks are precisely consistent every time.

It is a fascinating concept, and it is interesting to watch the bartenders at VTR drizzle a tiny amount of a liqueur into the shaker, eyes fixed on the digital readout on the scale, to get the exact right quantity, to the drop.

If you favor a jigger over a free-pour (and don't we all), then this scale idea is an even more exacting method of nailing things consistently.

[jsmeeker]

I FINALLY got around to making this, using the recipe posted by jneu.

I can't recall if it's an exact match, but it's really great. It's got some spice to it, but nice sweetness, too.

A great way for me to use my Gosling's Black Seal and a perfect way to use the ginger syrup I always used to make a ginger gimlet.. This is certainly going in my regular rotation when I whip up some ginger syrup.

[bolognium]

Thanks Jeff! The Chica is our little tribute to the tiki era. Glad you are enjoying it, and visit soon!