Classic Cocktails Too Bitter?

[fatdeko]

I've had a myriad of thoughts while I've been following this thread, none of them, however, worthy of penning a full blown reply. Till now, that is.

One thought that has clogged the holes of the sieve that is my mind is the apparent interchangeability of the terms 'sour' and 'bitter'. Fresh citurs juices are 'sour' by nature but not 'bitter'. Bitterness may be my natural state, and Campari's too, but it's not really what citrus is all about. Unless, that is, it's crudely extracted, or gets oxidized. Which is what my initial diagnosis was regarding the 5 ninth cocktails; they were described as 'bitter' in the original post, rather than sour.

"Fresh" or frozen juice purchased from a local produce purveyor may seem like the logical thing to do, if your doing the purchasing for a bar--it's cost effective and there's no labor--but the two cardinal sins of citrus lurk just behind the invoice. Namely, the juice is "ground" out of the fruit, unleashing all the bitter compounds hiding in the zest and the vesicle membranes, and it's old. Lemon and lime juices have a fairly regular life cycle, going from delightfully sour to uncompromisingly bitter. Lime juice is useful almost 24 hours later, but lemon juice tastes like crap nearly 12 hours sooner and takes on an entirely different flavor to boot. Add to that paradigm the fact that you have to buy a case at a time, and you're aging your already feeble juice in your walk-in.

What to do? Juice judiciously to juice deliciously.

First, you'll need the right equipment. There's lots of contraptions out there, and they cost pretty much up and down the scale. What you want is something that 'presses' rather than grinds. Rule of thumb: if it spins, it's bad. If you've got $150 bucks to spend, your best bet is the Hamilton Beach 932, otherwise, there's a few knock offs that can be had for half that. Limes, lemons, grapefruits and even pomegranates will be your bitch when you wield one of these 'muthas. At home, I've got something I found on an eBay store for $20. (Parts of it are plastic and wouldn't stand up to commercial abuse, but I've been drinking a lot more healthfully at breakfast.)

Strain your juices too. Primarily, it'll make your drinks look better, your glasses will clean up easier, and I have a sneaky suspicion that it retards the onset of bitterness.

Second, you have to refrain from getting ahead of yourself. Juice what you will use each shift. If you have to juice again towards the end of the night, so be it. Sure it's a pain in the ass, but most of life's luxuries require a little effort. If you have leftovers, give 'em to the kitchen: they use citrus primarily for its acidity, flavor is usually secondary. Another hint: warm fruit yields its juice more readily. After I set-up my bar for the day, I fill a sink with hot water and dump my 'from-the-fridge' fruit into it for 10 minutes or so. Then I get to pressin'. Increases my juice yield 50-75%.

Thirdly and finally, storage: I keep my juices in empty Orangina bottles. They accept a speed pour and fit right in the well. They don't hold much, but that's the point. Backups are kept chilled in the beer cooler, ready and healthy when I need 'em.

I'm interested in Dave's (the Cook) daiquiri inquiry. My initial take on it is that we've got an apple v. oranges situation. Simple syrup and granulated sugar don't measure the same (don't even get me started on fine, superfine and 20x) so for sweetness sake, the competing recipes are maybe marginally different. But the differences in the citrus component is overwhelming! Hmmm.... I wonder what I'll be doing during a slow, quiet, Sunday shift, now that GMU is gone.

myers

[Dave the Cook]

What a good bunch of practical advice. Thank you.

A couple of comments:

. . . . .

One thought that has clogged the holes of the sieve that is my mind is the apparent interchangeability of the terms 'sour' and 'bitter'.  Fresh citurs juices are 'sour' by nature but not 'bitter'.  Bitterness may be my natural state, and Campari's too, but it's not really what citrus is all about.  Unless, that is, it's crudely extracted, or gets oxidized.  Which is what my initial diagnosis was regarding the 5 ninth cocktails; they were  described as 'bitter' in the original post, rather than sour.

I'm not disagreeing that "bitter" and "sour" are often confused; we'll have to let Sneakeater tell us. But both lime and grapefruit do have bitter components, at least to my palate. That's part of their appeal. I'd also amplify what you've said about sourness by adding that it's not only sour and (I insist!) bitter, it's also about sugar -- look at oranges and (again) grapefruits. If sour was all we were after, we could make up varying solutions of citric acid and be done.

. . . . .

I'm interested in Dave's (the Cook) daiquiri inquiry.  My initial take on it is that we've got an apple v. oranges situation.  Simple syrup and granulated sugar don't measure the same (don't even get me started on fine, superfine and 20x) so for sweetness sake, the competing recipes are maybe marginally different.  But the differences in the citrus component is overwhelming!  Hmmm.... I wonder what I'll be doing during a slow, quiet, Sunday shift, now that GMU is gone.

myers

←

I knew I'd get in trouble for using shorthand. Assuming simple syrup is 1:1 by volume (that's how most people make it, isn't it?):

1/2 ounce of simple syrup = 1/4 ounce sugar (by volume)

1/4 ounce = 1/2 tablespoon

1/2 T : 1/2 t = 3:1

Setting aside powdered versions, sugar by volume weighs the almost exactly the same, regardless of granule size. For further information, I immodestly refer you to my own research.

[Sneakeater]

I'm not confusing "bitter" and "sour" in this case. I meant "bitter."

[Rob Simmon]

I knew I'd get in trouble for using shorthand. Assuming simple syrup is 1:1 by volume (that's how most people make it, isn't it?):

1/2 ounce of simple syrup = 1/4 ounce sugar (by volume)

1/4 ounce = 1/2 tablespoon

1/2 T : 1/2 t = 3:1

Setting aside powdered versions, sugar by volume weighs the almost exactly the same, regardless of granule size. For further information, I immodestly refer you to my own research.

←

1/2 oz. 1:1 simple syrup is not equal to 1/4 oz. sugar. In simple syrup, the sugar is dissolved in the water, so some of the sugar molecules are squeezed in between the water molecules. (or vice-versa). The Journal of the American Cocktail (fabulous book, by the way) has a long and detailed discussion of the equivalent measurements for various simple syrup concentrations, but I'm too lazy to pull it out and transcribe the relevant bits.

[fatdeko]

I'm not confusing "bitter" and "sour" in this case.  I meant "bitter."

←

I know.

Which is why I took note of it, and zeroed in on bad citrus management as the culprit. The use of the term bitterness was what set off the alarms.

I ignored the thesis that the overuse of bitters may have been to blame, based on the Lady Godiva theory.

The flavor of bitters makes itself apparent faster than the bitterness of bitters, the same way that a naked babe on a stallion has us gawking at her breasts more than the tax policy she protests.

I'll concede a little on the sugar front, and I knew I probably would when I mentioned it. Darcy's piece in "Mixologist" isn't very helpful as he compares ml's to grams and then thrills us with this sentence fragment:

"About 50 percent more sugar than an average teaspoon".

I'm still trying to figure out what that might mean.

Or average.

myers

[slkinsey]

Re the simple syrup information... When we mix one cup of sugar with one cup of water, we do not end up with two cups of simple syrup. We actually end up with quite a bit less.

According to the Mixologist article, 1:1 simple syrup has around 17.7 grams of sugar per fluid ounce. Since a teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4 grams, this comes to 4.4 teaspoons per fluid ounce.

Working from that, Gary's Daiquiri recipe has 2 ounces rum, one ounce lime juice and 2.2 teaspoons of sugar. Dave's Daiquiri recipe has 2 ounces of rum, a half ounce of fresh line juice and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Gary's recipe has double the lime juice and, as a result, it has approximately double the sugar to balance the sourness. In either case, the sugar will be tweaked depending on the sweetness of the lime. Whether one prefers one version or the other will largely be a matter of preference, and beyond that may depend on the character of the rum one is using.

[Splificator]

Dave's Daiquiri recipe has 2 ounces of rum, a half ounce of fresh line juice and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Actually, my recipe has 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. And I should call it "my" recipe, since it's merely the official recipe Bacardi used to put out in the '30s, with a shade more rum in it (I like rum). Here's a direct quote from a pamphlet called "Bacardi and Its Many Uses" (circa 1937):

"Bacardi Cocktail

Correct recipe:

The juice of half a lime.

Half teaspoonful granulated sugar.

1 1/2 oz. of BACARDI White.

Mix thoroughly, then shake well in cracked ice.

May be served strained or unstrained.

Important: Do not alter order ingredients [sic]."

The order of the ingredients is important because you want to dissolve the sugar in the lime before adding the rum and ice and shaking.

Both the Floridita and Sloppy Joe's called for a full teaspoon of sugar in their Daiquiris, but I find that for my palate, like Dave the Cook says, this version is perfectly, if precariously, balanced. It's particularly good in hot weather--I always feel my body temperature dropping precipitously the minute I insert one into my head. I do always taste before adding the ice--if your limes are particularly sour, or particularly large, that's the time to add another quarter teaspoon or so of sugar. The rum is a factor, too (I like, in order, Havana Club 3 year old, 10 Cane, a good, white agricole or Matusalem white; there are others that escape me at the moment).