Stomping Through the "Savoy" (2006–2007)

[eje]

Robert Hess recently had a nice article on Orgeat over on The Spirit World:

Orgeat and the Fog Cutter

There is a great illustrated step by step guide to making it here:

Homemade Orgeat Syrup

There's also a fascinating discussion of Japanese Barley Tea here on eGullet:

Barley tea (mugicha), The oldest tea in Japan

While these sorts of nutritional steeped grain and/or nut beverages have pretty much devolved into smoothies and evolved into beer, (bread, tortillas, soy milk, rice milk, tofu...) they once formed a much larger portion of humankind's diet.

If you're interested, the new world variants, based on nixtamalized corn meal, are covered in a fascinating manner in Charles C. Mann's "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus".

[eje]

Canadian Cocktail

The Juice of 1/4 Lemon

1/4 Tablespoonful Powdered Sugar (no thanks, sweet enough already)

1 Liqueur Glass Curacao (about 1 1/4 oz Senior Curacao of Curacao)

3 Dashes Jamaica Rum (1/4 oz Inner Circle Green)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

The big question here was what rum to use.

I knew it had to be something with enough oomph that it would be noticed in a very small amount. I've also read that Canadians and Newfundlanders allegedly enjoy that "Screech" sort of thing. I singed my nose hairs on a few of the usual suspects. Pusser's, Lemon Hart 151, and the Inner Circle Green. Kind of wish I had some Wray and Nephew white in the house. But, anyway, ended up with the Inner Circle Green. It seemed to have the most interesting funk of the bunch.

Cocktail is alright. Making as I did, it's really pretty close in sweetness to many of the cocktails served in the mainstream American bars. If I were to make it again, it would be more to my taste as: 1/2 oz Curacao, 3/4 oz Cuban style rum, 1/4 oz overproof rum, juice 1/4 lemon.

[eje]

Canadian Whisky Cocktail

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

2 Teaspoonful Gomme Syrup (2 teaspoons Depaz Cane Syrup)

1 Glass Canadian Club Whisky (2 oz 40 creek Barrel Select)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze lemon peel on top.)

I know, I know, this is the same as any other "name the spirit cocktail".

What can I say, I like them. Pretty much all of them.

The funny thing is, this will taste different every time you make it, even if you use the exact same ingredients.

[thirtyoneknots]

The funny thing is, this will taste different every time you make it, even if you use the exact same ingredients.

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What makes you say that?

[eje]

The funny thing is, this will taste different every time you make it, even if you use the exact same ingredients.

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What makes you say that?

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Maybe it's partly a mood thing, or maybe one day you give it an extra shake of bitters, or a little more whisk(e)y, or a little less sugar.

It's probably different if you're a bartender, and can whip these out exactly the same, cocktail after cocktail; but, at home, sometimes the simplest cocktails can be the most interesting.

[thirtyoneknots]

The funny thing is, this will taste different every time you make it, even if you use the exact same ingredients.

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What makes you say that?

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Maybe it's partly a mood thing, or maybe one day you give it an extra shake of bitters, or a little more whisk(e)y, or a little less sugar.

It's probably different if you're a bartender, and can whip these out exactly the same, cocktail after cocktail; but, at home, sometimes the simplest cocktails can be the most interesting.

←

I gotcha. Different in the way that a sauce is different evey time you make it. The simplest cocktails are absolutely the most interesting, and often the most challenging, in my experience. And mood definitely has a lot to do with it.

-Andy

Edited June 2, 2007 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[eje]

Cape Cocktail

1/3 Dry Gin (1 oz Boodles)

1/3 Caperitif (1 oz Dubonnet Blanc)

1/3 Orange Juice (1 oz Fresh Squeezed)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Pleasant; but, significantly improved by the addition of a few drops of Regan's Orange Bitters.

[David Santucci]

Since eje seems to have skipped this one, I thought I might as well:

Campden Cocktail

1/2 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz. Pymouth)

1/4 Cointreau (3/4 oz. Luxardo)

1/4 Kina Lillet (3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc)

Shake well (stir) and strain into a cocktail glass.

It's pretty easy to see how this one is going to be just from reading the recipe -- sweet. Nonetheless I gave it a whirl with the recommended proportions. It's actually quite a pleasant combination of flavors. I think the light touch of the Plymouth works well here. But it is sweeet -- way too sweet for my taste.

To fix this one, I would recommend something more like 3-4 parts Gin, 3 parts Lillet, 1 part Cointreau. In these proportions the flavors of the Lillet are really allowed to shine. Resist the urge to add bitters -- I tried a little sample with Regan's orange and it was like a rhinoceros in the china shop. This a a summery, apéritif-like cocktail, and quite pleasant at that.

Edited June 6, 2007 by David Santucci (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

Resist the urge to add bitters -- I tried a little sample with Regan's orange and it was like a rhinoceros in the china shop.

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I think bitters would work quite nicely here, as long as you have the right ones. Regans' are quite assertive, and could easily railroad over delicate flavors like Lillet if used carelessly. I reserve them for competing with other powerful flavors, like Chartreuse and the like. In this case, maybe try The Bitter Truth, Hermes, or even Fee's orange if you can't get the others. It does look sweet, though I might try it borrowing preportions from Mr. Wondrich's excellent Weeski, subbing gin for the Irish Whiskey there. It would look something like this:

2 oz gin

1 oz Lillet

1 tsp Cointreau

2 dashes orange bitters

Hell you could even use Peychauds if you were really feeling adventuresome. Of course adding bitters and drastically altering preportions both seem to be grounds for changing the entire name of the drink in Craddock's mind.

I guess I'll have to actually try it out to make sure I'm not just talking out of my six.

-Andy

[eje]

Since eje seems to have skipped this one, I thought I might as well:

[...]

It's pretty easy to see how this one is going to be just from reading the recipe -- sweet. Nonetheless I gave it a whirl with the recommended proportions. It's actually quite a pleasant combination of flavors. I think the light touch of the Plymouth works well here. But it is sweeet -- way too sweet for my taste.

[...]

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Uh, oops!

I got fixated on the Cameron's Kick and Canadian, and completely skipped the Campden. Weird!

Couple things come to mind.

First thing is the Lillet Blanc. I've read from a number of sources that Lillet was re-formulated in the 80s. According to them, it is now less bitter than it was up to that point. So that might tip the balance of this cocktail towards the sweet. In this Esquire article, "James Bond Walks Into a Bar...," David Wondrich went so far as to advise adding a pinch of Cinchona bark to your Vespers, to give them a little extra bitter kick. Might also be worth a try with the Campden Cocktail.

The other thing is the Luxardo triplum, which is a bit sweeter than Cointreau.

So, maybe, 2/3 Gin, 1/6 Lillet, 1/6 Cointreau, with an orange peel squeezed over to make up for the lost orange flavor, an a pinch of Cinchona?

[David Santucci]

I think bitters would work quite nicely here, as long as you have the right ones.

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So, maybe, 2/3 Gin, 1/6 Lillet, 1/6 Cointreau, with an orange peel squeezed over to make up for the lost orange flavor, an a pinch of Cinchona?

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There are surely many good drinks that could be made with these ingredients, in varying proportions, with and without bitters. I am curious to try Lillet in place of Dry Vermouth in the Hong Kong Cocktail, perhaps reducing the sugar a bit.

What I liked about the Campden was how the delicate-fruity-floral flavors played together. Going to 4:1 Gin to Lillet would change the drink a lot. As I said above, I actually liked it with a little more Lillet. In any case, drop the amount of Triple Sec and this is a drink worth experimenting with.

Pointing up Lillet by adding Cinchona bark, now that sounds interesting. I am no fan of the Vesper, at least not the incarnations I have tried so far. My wife described it as a "girly Martini", which sounds about right to me.

[eje]

[...]

Pointing up Lillet by adding Cinchona bark, now that sounds interesting. I am no fan of the Vesper, at least not the incarnations I have tried so far. My wife described it as a "girly Martini", which sounds about right to me.

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Shhh! Don't tell James Bond!

[eje]

Capetown Cocktail

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

3 Dashes Curacao (Senior Curacao of Curacao)

1/2 Caperitif (1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Blanc)

1/2 Canadian Club Whisky (1 1/2 40 Creek Barrel Select)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Lemon peel on top.

Initially the flavor of the Dubonnet seemed a bit strong. Grew on me though, and as I drank it I started to appreciate the interplay of the Dubonnet, bitters, curacao and lemon. By the time I finished, I was ready for another. Hallmark of a fine cocktail, I believe.

[eje]

Carrol Cocktail

2/3 Brandy (2 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre)

1/2 Italian Vermouth (1 oz Carpano Antica)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. Add a pickled walnut or onion.

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

It's not quite as enjoyable as the "Brandy Special" or "Brandy Vermouth" cocktail. Still more enjoyable than you would think, with a two ingredient cocktail.

Oddly, I had some pickled walnuts in the refrigerator. I cut it in half, since it was a bit big, and frankly, expensive. Tasty. Kind of blows the cocktail out of the water, though.

Reminds me a bit of The Bottle Gang's Antipasto Martini.

[eje]

Caruso Cocktail

1/3 Dry Gin (1 oz Boodles gin)

1/3 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry)

1/3 Green Creme de Menthe (1/2 oz Brizard Creme de Menthe)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass.

I did slightly adjust the proportions here.

Still, I expected to really dislike this drink.

Oddly, I didn't, and ended up finishing it.

Living in San Francisco, Enrico Caruso and the 1906 earthquake are intertwined.

I found this interesting piece of history:

Enrico Caruso and the 1906 Earthquake

Enrico Caruso (1873 - 1921) is considered by many music lovers to be the greatest operatic tenor of all time. He was on tour in San Francisco during the Great Earthquake, and appeared in Carmen at the Mission Opera House a few hours before the disaster.

[eje]

Casino Cocktail

2 Dashes Maraschino (Luxardo)

2 Dashes Orange Bitters (generous couple splashes Regan's Orange Bitters)

2 Dashes Lemon Juice (Juice 1/8 lemon)

1 Glass Old Tom Gin (2 oz Junipero Gin and a dash simple)

Stir well and add cherry.

Skipped Cherry and am quite cheery about it.

A very oddly flavored cocktail and one of the better features of orange bitters I've tried.

[eje]

Castle Dip Cocktail

1/2 Apple Brandy (1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy)

1/2 White Creme de Menthe (1 oz Brizard Creme de Menthe)

3 Dashes Absinthe (1/2 barspoon Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe)

Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass.

An interesting combination of flavors. Very much a dessert cocktail, however.

[eje]

Cats-Eye Cocktail (6 people)

1/2 Glass Fresh Lemonade (1/4 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 teaspoon sugar)

1/2 Glass Water

2 Glasses Gin (1 oz Boodles Gin)

1 Dessertspoonful Kirsch (Dash Trimbach Kirsch)

1/2 Glass Cointreau (1/4 oz Cointreau)

Not quite 2 Glasses French Vermouth (Not quite 1 oz Noilly Prat Dry)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glasses. Serve with an olive.

Skipped the olive.

A tasty cocktail. A bit like an Aviation crossed with a Martini.

[thirtyoneknots]

I was going to put this in the 'what did you drink today' thread, but I decided it was more relevant here:

Had a bottle of Cristlino Brut Cava open this evening making French 75's and decided to do a bit of messing around with the Alfonso Special. Last October, whilst eating my birthday dinner at a wonderful seafood restaraunt in Houston, I saw the following poster:

Bitter Secrestat

Obviously a reproduction, but fun anyway. What I came to realise, after further research, was that Secrestat was probably not a cocktail bitter as we think of it, but more like a bitter absinthe-a-like, to borrow Mr. Ellestad's phrase. The first time I tried an Alphonso, using the recipe from some book or the other, more or less similar to what was used her, I don't recall being terribly impressed by it. Pleasant, but somewhat pedestrian, was my sentiment at the time. I now attribute this in large part to my domestic Dubonnet (is there any being imported currently?), but I figured I'd mess with the bitters a bit. Tonight I tried the following variations:

sugar cube

3 dashes bitter (one had 2 of Jade Edouard and 1 of Angostura, the other was swapped)

scant jigger domestic Dubonnet

top with Cristalino Brut

lemon twist

built in a flute.

The Girlfriend and I agreed that the difference in a dash of Angostura vs Absinthe made a significant difference in the drink, what could not agree on was which one was better. To my taste, however, each was much more interesting than using Angostura alone. (In the interest of science I probably should have mad one with just that to compare side by side, but by then the Cava and Dubonnet were both running low).

If using pastis, I would probably do 2 dashes Angostura to 1 dash pastis, to offset the sweetness.

In this guise, a fantastic drink, well worth featuring to guests (or maybe I have a better appreciation for it now).

-Andy

[drcocktail]

Hi all, at Erik's request I'm poking my head in here; something I don't do nearly often enough!

I have a full Secrestat Bitters.

It WAS an aperitif bitters. I have not sampled it, but it likely conforms to the general characteristics of French Amers. In fact it was a special subcategory of aperitif bitters known (as thirtyoneknots' poster link clearly shows) as Gentiane(s).

This means the bitter constituent in it was gentian, while the bittering agent in absinthe was wormwood and the bitter component in all quinquinas (Dubonnet, Byrrh, Cap Corse, St. Raphael) was quinine.

Of course, Secrestat, like Angostura (but not like Peychaud) was the name of a company, not just a product, and Secrestat made an absinthe (and later an absinthe substitute - pictured here.) as well as the once-famous Tonicola, but neither were the iconic bitters. They also made a whole range of liqueurs not unlike Bardinet or Cointreau back in the day.

It bears noting that absinthe itself was an aperitif bitters, but Secrestat was more akin to Amer Picon and even to Suze than to absinthe. That the Secrestat COMPANY once made an absinthe and later an absinthe substitute explains the absinthe spoon neatly, but the fact that the Robys poster is unquestionably showing Secrestat Bitters being poured over the slotted spoon crowned with a sugar cube suggests that they were making a contention that the old absinthe technique suited gentianes as well.

This was not a commonly held belief.

Gentianes are rather uncommon outside of France, but here is one brand and here is another.

Hugs and toasts to all,

--Doc.

[eje]

Thanks for stopping by, Doc!

The funny thing about thirtyoneknots post, was that I came to the exact same conclusion about a year ago after seeing this image in the banner on the Cocktaildb site:

Secrestat Absinthe Spoon

Though, if yer still around, on a related note, when cocktail recipes call for "Absinthe Bitters" do you (or anyone else) know if they mean plain old Absinthe, or was there a class of bitters flavored similarly to Absinthe?

[thirtyoneknots]

Hi all, at Erik's request I'm poking my head in here; something I don't do nearly often enough!

I have a full Secrestat Bitters.

It WAS an aperitif bitters. I have not sampled it, but it likely conforms to the general characteristics of French Amers. In fact it was a special subcategory of aperitif bitters known (as thirtyoneknots' poster link clearly shows) as Gentiane(s).

This means the bitter constituent in it was gentian, while the bittering agent in absinthe was wormwood and the bitter component in all quinquinas (Dubonnet, Byrrh, Cap Corse, St. Raphael) was quinine.

Of course, Secrestat, like Angostura (but not like Peychaud) was the name of a company, not just a product, and Secrestat made an absinthe (and later an absinthe substitute - pictured here.) as well as the once-famous Tonicola, but neither were the iconic bitters. They also made a whole range of liqueurs not unlike Bardinet or Cointreau back in the day.

It bears noting that absinthe itself was an aperitif bitters, but Secrestat was more akin to Amer Picon and even to Suze than to absinthe. That the Secrestat COMPANY once made an absinthe and later an absinthe substitute explains the absinthe spoon neatly, but the fact that the Robys poster is unquestionably showing Secrestat Bitters being poured over the slotted spoon crowned with a sugar cube suggests that they were making a contention that the old absinthe technique suited gentianes as well.

This was not a commonly held belief.

Gentianes are rather uncommon outside of France, but here is one brand and here is another.

Hugs and toasts to all,

--Doc.

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[drcocktail]

Well, I am not inclined to necessarily suppose Secrestat Bitters had any predominant anis component. No other gentianes do. Which is not to say that Peychaud (and yes, Angostura too) mightn't use gentian as theiir primary bitter agent, it is just to say that, as with quinquinas, the gentiane style has great similarities between brands. I say "as with quinquinas" so let me illustrate that parallel: Dubonnet, Byrrh, St. Raphael...see? All their own products and formulae, but all within a rather tight spectrum. So it is with gentianes, which, like Suze, tend to be more typified with a definite detectable gentian FLAVOR as well as bitterness.

On the other hand, lots of products use gentian that are NOT gentianes, and you mentioned some. Angostura and Regan's #6 immediately spring to MY mind.

Now as to whether simply diluting aromatic bitters would turn them into aperitif bitters, well....kudos, man. That is a bonafide SUPERB question - and I'd say the answer is...yes. Not necessarily a good aperitif bitters, and certainly not one that would fit well into established categories (quniquina, gentiane, absinthe/pastis/aperitif anis). But THAT fact does not pishposh your idea either. Amer Picon, Campari, Fernet Branca, Unicum, Boker's, Hostetters all fell outside of strict categories. The jury is still out on Khoosh. Someday I may extract some of my Secrestat just to put the flavor question to rest, and when I do, I'll be sure to let the results be known here on eGullet!

And eje, "absinthe bitters" were just absinthe just as "Campari Bitters" or "Bitter Campari" were just Campari. Just another way they were expressed among bartenders and devotees that found its way, occasionally and piecemeal, into barguides of previous eras.

--Doc.

[eje]

Now as to whether simply diluting aromatic bitters would turn them into aperitif bitters

One way of looking at the Cock-tail, is as a bittered sling.

Another way to look at the Cock-tail, is, as a dose of bitters whose flavors have been diluted with more alcohol, and whose bitterness have been tempered with sugar.

Remember, Antoine Peychaud was a Pharmacist and most bitters sold in American at that time were tonic bitters (or supposedly medicinal.)

I doubt Peychaud was the only Pharmacist who realized he could sell more of his patented bitters by sweetening and diluting them a la minute, for the customers in his store.

[bostonapothecary]

Now as to whether simply diluting aromatic bitters would turn them into aperitif bitters

One way of looking at the Cock-tail, is as a bittered sling.

Another way to look at the Cock-tail, is, as a dose of bitters whose flavors have been diluted with more alcohol, and whose bitterness have been tempered with sugar.

Remember, Antoine Peychaud was a Pharmacist and most bitters sold in American at that time were tonic bitters (or supposedly medicinal.)

I doubt Peychaud was the only Pharmacist who realized he could sell more of his patented bitters by sweetening and diluting them a la minute, for the customers in his store.

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i always thought that appreciation of bitters is in the evolution of man.... people that seek out sugar are like animals. animals look for sugar because it goes hand in hand with nutritional content. animals avoid bitter because it can sometimes be associated with poison. sometimes if your body has a deficiency as observed in animals with salt deficiencies repulsion to a taste changes so you can fill your deficiency.

cocktails can be seen as nonessential. an evolved man's animal side does not govern his tastes and he can enjoy anything....

the cocktail apparently is civilization and is therefore the only thing seperating us from the animals....

since people drank more proper cocktails back in the days of the savoy that was obviously our peak.... i'm holding it down, but it looks like its downhill from here....