Vacation bar

[Dave the Cook]

Steven, I am all about humoring you. I thought you knew that. I'm also all about lists, so thanks for starting this one. Some of it is mitigated by the stuff I usually pack for off-site cooking projects, and some will be at the rental unit:

- Lemon/lime zester: I use a vegetable peeler. I recently discovered serrated peelers, and they're even better. I always pack two for cooking.

- A blender that can actually crush ice: This one is bugging me. I've been into this cocktail thing for about a month now, and I've yet to use a blender. On the other hand, I'll be in uncharted terrirory, and if we suddenly get a jones for mint juleps, I don't want to embarrass myself. I'm sure there will be a blender where I'm going, but if I owned rental property, I would buy the cheapest one I could find, so it's not going to be worth much. A good blender is expensive, and not something that I want to invest in on the fly. Regardless, I often take one for pureeing soups and sauces, so it's covered.

- Two Boston cocktail shakers: Yes. They will pack, inverted, over the bottles of exotic bitters used in only one cocktail.

- Strainer:Part of my cooking kit.

- Measuring cups (jiggers) in various sizes: I use an OXO angled mini-cup, but one is probably not enough. I just found them in a three-pack.

- Proper 5 oz. martini glasses: I agree that getting them in factory cartons is a good idea. Unfortunately, a factory pack of 4.5-ounce cocktail glasses is three dozen and lists for about $140. I'm sure that these are available at heavy discount, if I can find a friend in the business to help me out, but I'm going to have to research this one a little more.

- Rocks glasses: Yeah, after decent cocktail glasses, this is the tough one. A real rocks glass is smaller than most people think. Volume-wise, the juice glasses that will already be in the rental unit will work, but the presentation is lacking. I'm also a bit worried about flutes. I know I can go with plastic on all of the glassware, but I'm not ready to give in on this yet. I'm with Marlene on this one. Real glass is a big deal to me.

- Ice pick or ice crusher

- Extra ice cube trays: The unit has a GE Profile refrigerator and ice maker, but as Lan4Dawg says, it won't be enough. Marlene is right about having someone else make ice for you. Luckily, there's a convenience store right across the street, so I can buy it seven pounds at a time. This makes a pick pretty important. Are you sure I can't use my Shun santoku for this?

- Muddler: Yup.

- Swizzle sticks: Again, not something I've used before, but I agree. What would be cool is to find some tacky Florida souvenir sticks.

- Straws: Okay.

- Standard kitchen equipment: paring knife, small cutting board, spoons, bowls: I always take these.

Dave, in what part of Atlanta do you live?  I have found that either of the Tower's (Buford Highway/Doraville & Piedmont Rd/Buckhead), most of the Green's (Buford Hwy/near I-85 & Ponce in VA/Highlands), & Pearson's (smack dab in the middle of B'head) all carry an excellent assortment of "off the wall" liqueurs, &c not found in your average liquor store.

The Tower on Buford Highway and the Green's on down the road were disappointing. The former tried to sell me Cherry Heering instead of maraschino. The latter carries it, but they were out, and not in a hurry to restock. (Interestingly, they had velvet falernum.) I'm headed into town today anyway, and I'll swing by the Green's on Ponce. I'm in that no-man's land between Sandy Springs and Marietta -- not my choice, but it's the best that circumstances would allow. Jax on Roswell Road (recommeded to me by Robert Townsend) is decent, but not big enough to stock a lot of variety. I'm also anxious to find a place with a good selection of minis.

I would definitely get Maraschino Liqueur, Lillet, Pisco (although this might not be a problem in Fl), Campari, & Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth before venturing out as you seldomly find in the standard neighbor hood package store.  I am working to get those things carried up in Flowery Branch but it will take a while.

Good luck with that. I'm often in Suwanee, and I'd have no problem heading a few more miles up the road for a good selection.

[Mayhaw Man]

I'm telling you it works.  I've tested this with bags of ice without corks and bags with corks.  Invariably, the bags of ice without corks stick together.  The ones with corks do not. 

Try it.  Seriously.

←

This is the kind of information that I have come to expect from eGullet. I have just filled a 1 gallon ziplock with those little half moons of ice and some corks. If this works I will immediately notify my father, the King of Cocktails (this is not always a good thing, trust me) and let him know. Paranoia about ice usage and supply is an overwhelming worry in his life.

On the other hand, I suppose that Canadians should be experts on this subject. It's going to be 96 here today, so what do I know about ice?

[Marlene]

Dave, if that fridge has an ice maker, it likely has an option for crushed ice. Save the refrigerator ice for when you want a drink with crushed ice and use it then. It won't be blender crushed ice, but it will certainly work.

[Fat Guy]

Strainer: I'm not talking about a strainer like you use for sauce. I'm talking about the spring-loaded stainless strainer that you put over the top of a Boston cocktail shaker to pour the drinks.

Martini glasses: You should be able to get a dozen of the cool looking Z stem glasses for about $35. Check BigTray and InstaWares or call the local distributors.

[Dave the Cook]

Refrigerator ice crushers invariably suck.

[Marlene]

I'm telling you it works.  I've tested this with bags of ice without corks and bags with corks.  Invariably, the bags of ice without corks stick together.  The ones with corks do not. 

Try it.  Seriously.

←

This is the kind of information that I have come to expect from eGullet. I have just filled a 1 gallon ziplock with those little half moons of ice and some corks. If this works I will immediately notify my father, the King of Cocktails (this is not always a good thing, trust me) and let him know. Paranoia about ice usage and supply is an overwhelming worry in his life.

On the other hand, I suppose that Canadians should be experts on this subject. It's going to be 96 here today, so what do I know about ice?

←

Just make sure the corks are dry.

Edited to add: Like butter tarts, this must be a Canadian thing. For the hell of it, I just called three canadian friends and told them about this. They all said "well yeah, duh". I then called a girlfriend in Chicago, who said "you're kidding me, right?"

[Fat Guy]

Here you go:

http://www.bigtray.com/productdetails.asp?...&s=martini&rn=1

They have lots of other barware cheap too.

[Marlene]

Refrigerator ice crushers invariably suck.

←

Mine doesn't, and it's only a Frigidare. I gotta believe a GE profile is better. And besides, for the amount of drinks you are likely to make using crushed ice, it saves on buying and toting a blender.

[Fat Guy]

Refrigerator ice crushers invariably suck.

←

I was just shopping for refrigerators with my sister, and we had to special order one without a stupid ice maker/water dispenser. It's like sunroofs on nice cars. You can't get a good option package on most cars anymore without a stupid sunroof. My friend just had to order a Volkswagen specially from the factory without a sunroof but with the good stereo, etc. He waited 12 weeks and when it came it had the sunroof. "But we won't charge you!" they said. That's not the point. He didn't want it.

[Dave the Cook]

Strainer: I'm not talking about a strainer like you use for sauce. I'm talking about the spring-loaded stainless strainer that you put over the top of a Boston cocktail shaker to pour the drinks.

I know. I've been carrying one around for years. FInally I will have a chance to use it.

Martini glasses: You should be able to get a dozen of the cool looking Z stem glasses for about $35. Check BigTray and InstaWares or call the local distributors.

←

Good idea. Even better if I can time it so they can ship straight to the rental unit or the real estate office.

[Dave the Cook]

Refrigerator ice crushers invariably suck.

←

Mine doesn't, and it's only a Frigidare. I gotta believe a GE profile is better. And besides, for the amount of drinks you are likely to make using crushed ice, it saves on buying and toting a blender.

←

Yes, but you're the person who thinks corks keep ice from sticking together.

[Mayhaw Man]

Kegworks-Cocktail gear cheap. Lot's of tacky stuff suitable for Florida usage, as well.

Yeah, yeah, they're my clients-but still, they have good stuff at reasonable prices and shipping is cheap.

[Marlene]

Refrigerator ice crushers invariably suck.

←

Mine doesn't, and it's only a Frigidare. I gotta believe a GE profile is better. And besides, for the amount of drinks you are likely to make using crushed ice, it saves on buying and toting a blender.

←

Yes, but you're the person who thinks corks keep ice from sticking together.

←

You won't be laughing at me after you try it. I'll be gracious about requiring you to grovel though.

[Mayhaw Man]

Yes, but you're the person who thinks corks keep ice from sticking together.

←

I think that it's a brilliant idea and I am SOOO greatful to you for sharing it.

It's great just being able to correspond with you. We are all very lucky. Dave, of course, just has not gratitude for this kind of thing.

Thanks Marlene! You are the greatest!

[Dave the Cook]

You won't be laughing at me after you try it.  I'll be gracious about requiring you to grovel though.

←

I dream of groveling before you.

And I know that you are not swayed in the least by the transparent drawling of an itinerant chicken-fryer.

[JAZ]

What's the cork to ice cube ratio necessary to keep the ice from sticking?

[Fat Guy]

This is easily explained by science: Corks absorb moisture. Ice cubes are made of moisture. Therefore, corks absorb ice cubes. Once the ice cubes are absorbed by the corks, they will not stick together. The necessary ratio is 103 corks to 1 ice cube.

[Marlene]

For one ziplock bag of ice, three or 4 dry corks should do it. Don't just put the corks on top of the ice. Make sure the corks are dispersed throughout the bag.

[Marlene]

This is easily explained by science: Corks absorb moisture. Ice cubes are made of moisture. Therefore, corks absorb ice cubes. Once the ice cubes are absorbed by the corks, they will not stick together. The necessary ratio is 103 corks to 1 ice cube.

←

You sir, are a non-believer. You'll see.

[Dave the Cook]

What is one to make of an ice bucket made of cork?

How did they get the ice to stay in it?

[Lan4Dawg]

   extra ice cube trays: now this one I will give you as I have yet to find a rental property w/ enough ice.  I start making ice as soon as I get there & will freeze water in zip locks, soda bottles, or any other container and break it up when needed if necessary.

←

Or, just buy a bag or two of ice when you hit the local liquor store.

←

I am w/ Stephen on this one. It chaps my cheeks to pay $1.49 for a gallon of frozen water that Athens only knows how long has been sitting in the bottom of that unlocked freezer.

One of the other things we do is keep ice bagged seperately in the coolers instead of just dumping it on top of every thing so we can use it if necessary. There is usually enough left over to at least get us started on cocktails when we get to where we are going.

As for glass ware check w/ Garden Ridge and Old Time Pottery. They usually have pretty decent Libby brand (or even better) martini, rocks, wine, &c glass ware at prices around $1.50/stem. At $1.50/stem they are cheap enough that if they get broken/lost/left behind you really do not worry too much.

[slkinsey]

- A blender that can actually crush ice: This one is bugging me. I've been into this cocktail thing for about a month now, and I've yet to use a blender. On the other hand, I'll be in uncharted terrirory, and if we suddenly get a jones for mint juleps, I don't want to embarrass myself.

Forget this unless you want to make "blender drinks." Even most of those can be done very well by shaking the liquor with crushed ice and pouring the works into a glass.

How do you get the crushed ice, you ask? Simple: Bar towel. Hammer. Place ice in bar towel (or get a small canvas bag). Whack with hammer until desired degree of crushification is desired. Use ice. Surely you have a meat mallet around the house.

It's worth it to invest in a canvas bag for this, because cocktails really are better if stirred/shaken with roughly cracked ice rather than big pieces of refrigerator ice. You can get around 15 degrees F colder using the cracked stuff.

BTW, if you are going to use a Boston-style shaker (a reasonable choice), I recommend going all-metal rather than using a glass mixing glass. The metal is more durable for traveling and, more importantly, the drinks will turn out colder with all metal (there is a sound thermodynamic reason for this, but it's probably beyond the scope of this discussion to get into it). I'd suggest using one each of the 15 ounce and 26 ounce stainless steel containers you can buy here to make your Boston shaker.

[slkinsey]

Here's another thought: How are you fixed for recipes? Another way of figuring out the bottles to bring would be to look through a good book (and for relative newcomers to mixology, you won't find one better than this book), find 5 cocktails that sound tasty and use more or less similar ingredients and buy those.

[maggiethecat]

Have you given consideration to the Collins family, the Fizz clan and their sugar-free cousins, the Rickeys? All long and summery -- a lime rickey is amazingly refreshing.

No family party is complete without a soda siphon, with which the kiddies can squirt each other while the grownups admire your mixology. (My brother and I passed many the cocktail hour getting soda water all over the kitchen walls.)

Muddling technique is one of my measures of a man -- it's no matter for indifference.

[Mayhaw Man]

Have you given consideration to the Collins family, the Fizz clan and their sugar-free cousins, the Rickeys? All long and summery -- a lime rickey is amazingly refreshing.

No family party is complete without a soda siphon, with which the kiddies can squirt each other while the grownups admire your mixology. (My brother and I passed many the cocktail hour getting soda water all over the kitchen walls.)

Muddling technique is one of my measures of a man -- it's no matter for indifference.

←

I am often accused of muddling things beyond repair. Good to know that I measure up on the Maggieometer. I will sleep soundly tonight.