The Cocktailian's Philosophy of Ingredients

[fatdeko]

Alright, so Down the Rabbit (rabid) hole I go: Towit:

I was in a shop the other day and they was selling Lime Oil and Lemon Oil (as well as a bunch of other stuff too.....) And I thought they'd be really handy behind the bar.

It got me to thinking: In the Cocktail, or the "Cuisine de Cocktail", or "Cocktailian" or whatever you call what we do, what's out of bounds?

Is there bounds?

Is there an out of bounds?

If everything goes, than DeKuyper/Jim Beam has won.

Or what were we fighting about in the first place?

How much of the kitchen do we employ behind the bar before the differences are merely distinctions?

If I can use herbs, why not extracts?

If I can use extracts, why not Monino flalvors?

If Monino, why not.........

and on and on.

Chew, swallow, discuss........

[the queneau]

Ah, the age old question: "Does the means justify the end, or does the end justify the means?".

To deconstruct:

Having a drink is more than just about having a drink. Having a drink is not just about what is contained in whatever glass is put in front of me. Having a drink is about everything which takes place beforehand, and during, the preparation of that drink, and the organic processes involved. If I want a scent of lemon oil in my Martini, I want this imparted by a twist of lemon. Why? Because it's part of the organic process which adds to (in fact comprises) the very essence (pardon the pun) of having a Martini that whey (yes, my hyperbole here is deliberate).

The attempt to make everything "easier" (bottles of Margarita pre-mix / Bloody Mary pre-mix / Rose's Lime - delete/add ad frickin' nauseum) is one of the contributory steps towards the dilution of quality cocktail preparation in America (in my empirical experience, natch - and no, I'm not tarring all with the same broad brush). Ewe want a pistache syrup? Sugar, water, handful of crushed pistachios, vanilla pod + 5 minutes on a stove. Difficult? I see no need for Monin. The final result is astonishingly different, the cost a lot cheaper, and the labour is pretty much zero. Not sure I see what is easier.

Going back to my original point: If I'm paying £5 for a drink, I don't want shortcuts. If I'm making someone pay £5 for a drink, I won't use shortcuts. Why? Not just because of the final product, but because of (here we go again) the organic processes involved. Ewe pay ewer £5 because ewe want to watch someone skilled at their craft be able to create something which is emblematic of this skill. Vodka plus Pre-mix does not a creative, organic process make. I see no difficulty in extending this argument to use of extract over fresh, to the use of pre-made over home-made.

I suppose it's about principle. I suppose it's about the means justifying the end.

The Queneau

*Apologies for the multiple parentheses. It's just the non-linear processes.

[beans]

q,

Have I told you lately that you are my hero?!

[fatdeko]

I can't help but agree with you, Q, and in fact, I do.

BUT...

Hands-on, Home-made, crafty, artisanal etc is the goal and has its place (I can't help but allude to Mothra Stewart's jail cell) But I was slouching towards another point.

Yes, I agree that pre-packaged crap is crap and we're all better off making our own crap.

But the horns upon which I struggled to get off of are these: When I walked through this one particular spice shop, I wasn't thinking about cooking, but rather, bartending, and how I could maybe use some of these thangs in dranks.

Call it a moment of weakness--it was, by the way, a FISCAL weakness--but I didn't buy the ingredients and i reconciled that by creating pangs of cheating-ness.

Lemon oil and Lime oil may have been the wrong items to express my dilemma-ness because they're so readily had "craft-style" behind the bar, but I really had my eye on various nut oils and chile oils. My mind was thinking that a drop or two, judicously, of course, would lend that certain je ne cest merde that bitters adds. Lemon oil, I thought, would punch up those lemon drops a bit.

That's when the whole "What's use-able?" taxonomic crisis occured.

So...........Still...........

What's off limits? Anything, Nothing, something.......

I hadn't intended this as it's own thread but, here we are.

[beans]

And a fantastic thread this is.

I shamelessly think of a novel ingredient of 'how will that work in a cocktail' first.

Skimming through my mother's Martha Stewart Living mag I saw a use for those tomatoes that are put up and canned, which we are again nearing. After blanching to remove their skins, take those and oven dry them to create a tomato powder. Immediately I thought of how would this add to a cocktail for a delightful garnish....

Going through Crate and Barrel I spotted a Meyer Lemon Rosemary syrup intended for sorbet, but though about the cocktail implications.

I love what I do and do what I love, eh?

[ThinkingBartender]

there was an article in a copy of Class Magazine (UK) Class Magazine 1

one person was quoted as saying that muddling fresh fruit in cocktails will replace the use of purees. This I this is bullshit. I prefer using frozen purees (when they have thawed ) as the fruit will have been fresher when it was prepared and frozen, rather than some fruit that is close to rotting that most bars in london seem to receive from their fruit suppliers.

I also love syrups in my cocktails and see no great benefit from muddling ginger into a cocktail instead of using a good ginger syrup.

Cheers!

George