Cockatils?
Rob1110
Posts: 1,577 ✭✭✭
Any cocktail nerds here? Anyone have any desire to become a cocktail nerd?
I'm a booze and food nerd (science nerd too), first and foremost. When I took over a 2 person mortgage on my own several years ago, I went to the liquor store that I haunted the most and asked them for a job. They agreed to keep me on until the holidays but needed me to really sell. Well, after the holidays, they wouldn't let me go. I spent 6 years, in what eventually became my "fun job," where I would talk to people about what they were looking for and be a consultant to guide them (I jokingly called myself a "spirit guide") to some unique and fun products that would fit their wants/needs.
A few years into it, I had already spoken with a few managers about doing a cocktail education class and finally had one do more than listen. He put things into motion and off we went. I would host a class every month or so, often picking different themes and educating people on cocktails, ingredients, methods, etc. People would get to try 8 different cocktails (all small samples) and would go home with a menu and recipe sheet. We eventually charged $20 per person to get people to commit and would give them a $20 gift card back to the store. It all worked out and we actually filled more seats once we started charging.
Well, Covid changed all of that and while I still play around with different things, there's no output. I have nowhere to pass any of my recipes. Maybe we'll start the class up again someday but we'll see.
In the meantime, my girlfriend and I have kept ourselves busy in the last several months with "TikiFriday." Back in January, we had a decent collection of Tiki mugs (30 or so) and decided to start posting them every Friday night. Most nights would be 2 mugs but we have some massive mugs that hold 32+oz, so those are "share" mugs and we'll only post 1 mug on those nights. It's caught on and we've continued purchasing mugs to keep up. Without repeating any mugs, we've sustained since January, posting every single Friday. Never missing one. We're now up to 68 or 69 mugs and have 1 more on pre-order. Yeah, it's a problem.
My question is: Do we have any one on the board that would be interested in recipes? I have a back-log of cocktail recipes (some classic, some new, many aren't mine but there are lots of originals in there) and would love to share if there's any interest here. People can pick a theme, vote, request, whatever. I could post 1 or more per week and see how far it takes us. I could even break them down into a simple or intermediate recipe vs a more advanced or even obscure recipe. I'd also be happy to provide advice on technique, where appropriate.
Thoughts?
Comments
Sounds like fun. Some advance planning would have to go into it to give people time to acquire ingredients. It might be fun to incorporate some video interplay too, like a Zoom meeting.
My daughter in law has a podcast, with a resident bartender that mixes cocktails for each show. Haven't had a cocktail myself in years, on the rocks is my drink of choice, when I indulge which isn't often.
Don't let the wife know what you spend on guns, ammo or cigars.
It'd be interesting. We've had cocktail vherfs before.
I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
Let's eat, GrandMa. / Let's eat GrandMa. -- Punctuation saves lives
It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.
In my opinion the art of making cocktails has gone by the wayside. Too many “bartenders” butcher classic cocktails and have a habit of throwing things together to make what they consider new drinks. For instance...what passes for an Old Fashioned these days is a far cry from what the drink actually is. Or you see people making a Singapore Sling with vodka instead of gin. If you’re making something different then call it something different.
I’d enjoy seeing something on classic cocktails made the way they were originally intended to be.
I could use a good scorpion recipe. Most places it'**** or miss on whether it's even drinkable.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
I was thinking I'd post a recipe, say once a week and people can make it at their leisure and discuss on here. A zoom might be fun to do from time to time. If people have suggestions/requests, I'm open to them.
@d_blades - a booze forward cocktail like a Manhattan or Old Fashioned might give you the familiarity of a straight, on-the-rocks experience. Try a Cuban Manhattan or Rum Old Fashioned with a cigar to see how well Rum and cigars pair.
@Rdp77 - agreed that you have to start at the beginning to learn the classics before you can just start throwing anything in a shaker or glass and call it an instant modern classic. However, as you start to read about early cocktail history, you tend to find the history is a bit "fuzzy." I'll get into that when covering certain classics. Your examples are kind of perfect. The Old Fashioned can be served several different ways but I tend to like my way. Some bartenders like to put a splash of soda or serve it on the rocks or even over one, large cube. I don't. Just my preference. The Singapore Sling (and almost all Tiki drinks for that matter) is absolutely NOT what it once was. The sour mixes and pre-made mixers of the 70s and 80s ruined cocktail culture.
@ShawnOL - I covered the Scorpion in our Classic Tiki class and it's surprisingly simple.
Since we already have some "suggestions," I'll get started with those.
Old Fashioned
2 oz Bourbon
1 Orange Slice
1 Maraschino or Amarena Cherry
2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters
In a mixing glass, add 2 oz Bourbon, the fruit of 1 orange slice or segment (be sure not to include any pith or peel), 1 Maraschino or Amarena Cherry (go for high quality cherries - if you prefer the cherry in the cocktail, simply use a barspoon of the cherry liquid from the jar) and 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters and muddle. Add cubed ice, stir and double strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
This is a basic Old Fashioned recipe. Served straight-up, rather than on the rocks or over a large cube. If you prefer a large cube to allow the drink to slowly dilute, go for it. If you prefer a drier, spicier and more punchy drink, try going with straight Rye or even splitting the base between Bourbon and Rye. If you prefer something a little softer or just aren't a Whiskey fan, try a Rum Old Fashioned or Brandy Old Fashioned, simply substituting the base spirit for a Rum (Barbados Rum would work well here, as it tends to be even keeled and full bodied) or Brandy (look for a full bodied Brandy to support the drink - Cognac will work but Armagnac may be a better choice, as it tends to have more weight and spice).
The Old Fashioned is a pre-prohibition cocktail with roots that go back to the early 1800s. A drink ("made the old-fashioned way") that, like many others at the time was seen as a cure-all or restorative. Often, bitters (thought to be medicinal due to the maceration of herbs in alcohol) were served to patrons in a mixture of spirit, sugar and water. This is actually the definition of a cocktail at its most basic form (a mixture of Spirit, Sugar, Bitters and Water).
Cheers!
Singapore Sling
1.5 oz Gin
0.5 oz Cherry Heering
0.25 oz Orange Liqueur
0.25 oz Benedictine
4 oz Pineapple Juice
0.5 oz Lime Juice
0.25 oz Grenadine
1-2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Invented at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore during the height of the Tiki craze by bartender Tgiam Tong Boon, who is credited for inventing this spin on the Gin Sling. This is very much in line with a classic Punch (Spirit, Sugar, Citrus Water and Tea or Spice). To make the cocktail, add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, add cubed ice and shake for 15-20 seconds. Pour all ingredients (including ice) into a sling glass or Tiki Mug and top with crushed ice.
On the Ingredients:
Gin - look for a Navy Strength or higher proof Rum and one that has more fruit or citrus driven notes than an old style British Rum. We have a local distillery that makes a Gin that is specifically formulated for Tiki drinks.
Orange Liqueur - Most will do but I recommend Pierre Ferrand's Dry Curacao or Clement's Creole Shrub - both have a true orange flavor without over-doing it on the sugar.
Benedictine is an old, herbal liqueur that really has no substitute (at least that I'm aware of)
Lime - always use fresh squeezed citrus (it's ok to use canned Pineapple Juice)
Grenadine - Store bought is ok but the most common (Rosie's) is terrible. Making your own isn't bad and I've made it VERY simple. Other recipes will call for Pomegranate Molasses and Orange Flower Water but I omit these ingredients for simplicity.
Grenadine made simple: Buy a small bottle of POM - pomegranate juice - Pour out half (down to the first bubble on the bottle) and fill it back up with Demerara Sugar or other raw sugar. Shake for 30 seconds, put the bottle down for a bit and shake it every time you walk by it until all sugar dissolves (not gonna lie, this is the worst part - it will sometimes take an entire day for all the sugar to dissolve but it's worth it.
Don't heat this, as excessive heat will change the flavor of the pomegranate to a burnt note, giving your grenadine a very savory note). Demerara is a large crystal cane sugar that falls somewhere between brown and white sugar in flavor. It's perfect for this application because it brings in some slight molasses notes.
Cheers!
Scorpion
2 oz Orange Juice
1.5 oz Lemon Juice
0.5 oz Orgeat
1 oz Brandy
2 oz Unaged or lightly aged Rum
Invented in the 1930s at The Hut in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Scorpion Cocktail or Scorpion Bowl uses the unlikely combination of Lemon and Rum. As with most Tiki, build the cocktail in a shaker, add cubed ice, shake and pour, topping with crushed ice and garnish. I'm not going to lie, this drink in the original form comes across a bit sharp and unbalanced. Sure, a drink named after a scorpion should have a sting but should also be enjoyable. You may want to play with the level of Orgeat and bump it up to 0.75 oz to balance out the sharpness of the lemon and the booze of the Brandy and Rum.
On the Ingredients:
Orange Juice and Lemon Juice - as always, fresh squeezed. You just won't get the same cocktail using bottled versions of either. Fresh OJ has a sweetness and lacks the bitterness that commercial OJ has, due to the amount of pith included in the extraction/pressing process.
Brandy - Again, Cognac will work but look for a Brandy with some weight to it. Something medium bodied, at the very least. Between 80 and 90 proof will do.
Unaged Rum - This is where things can get very interesting. An Unaged Jamiacan Rum will add funky, almost over-ripe pineapple and rotten banana notes. An Unaged Rhum Agricole will add under-ripe, green banana and fresh cut sugar-cane notes. A blend of the two Rums might work nicely. Shoot for Rums between 80 and 100 proof.
Orgeat - again, you can buy this but making your own isn't too bad (I've simplified it) and there's just no comparison.
Orgeat - my way
350 grams Unsweetened Almond Milk (store bought is fine - I use Califia because it's a good product, has no weird ingredients and never separates)
370 grams Demerara Sugar (white sugar will work but demerara gives more body and brings a slight brown sugar note that works nicely)
1 tsp Orange Flower Water (can be found online or in specialty grocery stores)
1/2 tsp Rose Water (optional - I tend to like a very floral Orgeat - don't worry, it won't make your cocktails taste like perfume)
1 Tbs overproof spirit - (optional but highly recommended - I tend to use an overproof Rum, such as Rum Bar [63%], Rum Fire [63%] or Plantation OFTD [69%] to fortify my Orgeat - this ensures it will last for some time in the fridge - if it ever looks or smells off, toss it - with the addition of some high-proof spirit, it should last 1-2 months at the least)
Shake or stir all ingredients until sugar completely dissolves. This, like Grenadine, should not be heated.
Note: I would highly recommend a kitchen scale for measurements on certain ingredients - for instance - 1 cup of granulated sugar will weigh significantly more than 1 cup of Demerara Sugar because of the size difference of the crystals. The only way to really get an accurate measurement is by weight.
Thought it might be time for an update. Since the idea of learning the classics came up, most cocktails can be divided into 1 of 2 broad categories of style: Classic or Sour. Classics fall into the fairly booze forward cocktails, where no citrus is involved (Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Highball, etc). Sours involve a sour/acidic element, often in the form of citrus and are balanced by sugar, whether it be syrup or liqueur.
In exploring sours, start with the basics. Learn about how each citrus behaves and how it pairs with other ingredients. How much acid does it add? How much sugar does it add? Lemons and limes add the most acidity, while adding the least sugar, so I tend to picture both as 1 part "sour." Generally, to achieve balance, you will want to add 1 part sweet for each part sour - just a 1:1 ratio for a home-made "sour mix." Grapefruit generally needs less sugar, as it contains less acid and a bit more sugar than lemon or lime but also has the bitter element to contend with. Grapefruit almost works more like 1/2 part sour. Orange tends to be slightly more sweet than sour and Pineapple, while it adds a lot of sugar, also has substantial acidity to balance itself out, so it can often be used as a lengthener in "sour" style cocktails - hence it's popularity in Tiki.
Looking at 2 very basic sour recipes, I've given my personal "golden ratio" to achieve balance in playing with sours. Many bartenders agree with this ratio, so it's not my own but it's what I tend to follow:
2 oz Strong (alcohol/spirit)
3/4 oz Sour (Lemon/Lime)
3/4 oz Sweet (sugar syrup)
That's it. Simple. Now let's apply that to some cocktails.
Daiquiri:
2 oz Rum (white rum works well but experiment with rums)
3/4 oz Lime (fresh)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 - Sugar : Water)
Add all ingredients to shaker, add ice and shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds and double strain into a coupe style glass.
While most people tend to picture a Daiquiri as a frozen, sugar-laden, sloppy, hangover of a drink, a classic Daiquiri is quite the opposite. It's boozy, yet restrained, sweet and sour are in perfect harmony, it's beautiful. If you ever want to test a bartender's skill, order a Daiquiri. If they reach for the blender, cancel and ask for a beer. If they smile and ask about preference of Rum, have the conversation and see how they do.
On Ingredients:
Rum - this will be your most important ingredient. Shoot for something flavorful but pleasant. 80-90 proof will be ideal in this type of drink because there's not much to hide behind. Anything over 100 proof will throw the balance of the drink off. White or unaged rums will give you a young, grassy/vegetal or sometimes neutral rum note. While they're not often used, Aged/Amber rums can give a wonderful vanilla note from the barrel that will round out the sharp edges of the lime. The same can be applied to a Margarita (another basic sour).
Lime - always fresh
Simple Syrup - keep it simple for this cocktail to see what can be created with simple ingredients. This will also help you refine the techniques of measuring and shaking. Whether it's white sugar, brown sugar, demerara sugar, etc, it will all work but I encourage you to try just a simple 1:1 white sugar to water mixture for this one.
Whiskey Sour:
2 oz Whiskey (Bourbon is classic)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 Sugar : water)
3/4 oz Lemon (fresh)
1 Egg White (fresh)
2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters (garnish)
This one is a little more advanced but there are a few things to keep in mind here. Add your egg white first. This way, if you get any shells in the shaker, you can scoop them out easily. Add your simple syrup next, followed by lemon and give it a quick swirl before adding your booze. Once you add your Whiskey, you're going to want to either dry shake or wet shake quickly. If you use an overproof Whiskey or don't shake quick enough, you'll be left with scrambled egg whites, as the Whiskey and even the acid in the lemon will begin to "cook" them by changing the structure of the proteins.
A dry shake is when you simply shake the ingredients to emulsify, prior to adding ice. You'll do a secondary shake with ice. IMPORTANT: Egg white will expand, so hold that shaker tightly. The first time you end up with egg cocktail everywhere will be the last time you'll have to learn that lesson. It's happened to me....once. You've been warned.
A standard or wet shake would be to quickly add ice and shake vigorously for 20-25 seconds before double straining into a coupe glass.
A reverse dry shake includes a wet shake first, then the cocktail is strained into a separate vessel, discarding the ice and doing a secondary shake without ice to further aerate the drink. This is a bit unnecessary but will add a more frothy texture to the drink. Alternately, if you have a hand held, electric milk frother/whisker, you can simply strain the cocktail into a pint glass and aerate away - just don't over-do it and allow the cocktail to become warm.
The Angostura Bitters can either be added to the tin when making the cocktail to incorporate spice and bitterness or you can add a dash or 2 to the surface of the drink and use a toothpick to create some fun designs.
On Ingredients:
Whiskey - 80-100 proof whiskey is ideal here. Realistically, something between 90 and 100 proof is perfect, as it will add a little extra dimension to account for the extra dilution from the egg white. Bourbon is traditional but Rye will work as well, lending a drier, punchier feel.
Lemon - always fresh
Simple Syrup - this is where you can get a little inventive. Simple syrup with white sugar will work but Brown Sugar Simple will compliment the Brown Sugar notes in the Bourbon nicely. Maple Simple (2:1 - maple:water) is great as well and also tends to complement the Bourbon well. Honey Syrup (1:1 - Honey:water) will also work but honey syrup tends to work better with Gin.
So, if we take the basic recipe above and insert any spirit, any sweetener and either lemon or lime for our acid, we have the makings of a balanced cocktail. No matter what you play with, whether it works or not, it should, at the very least be balanced. Become familiar enough with different ingredients and get to know ratios and how they should work and you'll have a deeper understanding of how to balance out a cocktail.
Cheers!
Cockatils... tsk, tsk... and you want to be my latex salesman.
Since last night was TikiFriday, I decided to play around with the Scorpion. My observation: The drink is WAY to acidic and unbalanced in the original recipe.
Scorpion (doubled, as Thanos is a big boy, coming in at 32oz)
2oz Orange Juice (Fresh)
1.5oz Lemon Juice (Fresh)
1oz Cognac (Meukow 90 proof)
1oz Unaged Jamaican Rum (The Funk - 100 proof)
1oz Unaged Agricole Rhum (JM - 110 proof???)
1oz Banana Orgeat* (recipe below)
With 1/2oz Orgeat, the drink was all acid. Between the acidity of the lemon and the acidity of the alcohol, it was just too much. As sweet as the orange was (Navel Orange), it just wasn't enough to counteract the acid from 1.5oz lemon with only 1/2oz of Orgeat. I carefully bumped it by 1/4oz increments until I found balance because I thought 3/4oz might do it.
Banana Orgeat:
350g Banana Almond Milk (Blue Diamond)
325g Demerara Sugar (adjusted because the almond milk has sugar)
1tsp Hibiscus Water
1tsp Banana Extract (optional but I really wanted to bump the banana flavor)
1Tbs Overproof Rum (optional but this fortifies the syrup to preserve it)
This was exactly what i was talking about previously. YOU think it was too acidic for YOUR taste. So you changed the original recipe and made a different drink. This is what bartenders do everyday to make drinks more appealing to them. But it’s not the same drink. Eventually they become so altered that they barely resemble what the original drink was.
I'll have to try it both ways the next time I get on a cocktail kick.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
I enjoyed a Gin and Tonic tonight….. I just had him hold the Gin.
@Rdp77 - I get where you're coming from and that's why I offered the original recipe, as well as my modified version. For the record, I tend to go for a drier or balanced cocktail. Example: I won't order a Mai Tai when I'm out because too many places use pineapple juice, cheap rum, fake lime (or cheap sour mix) and make it WAY too sweet. I encourage people to try the original and I have a feeling if you do, you'll find it needs a little more sugar to balance out the acidity and also to give the cocktail more body. Without it, it just drinks uncomfortably acidic, boozy and thin.
Sometimes this is because of changes to ingredients over time. In the example above, it could be the Orgeat. While Orgeat is now commonly an Almond based syrup, it used to be a Barley based syrup. If that was the case for the original recipe, take Barley water, which is already sweet and add sugar to make it a syrup, it may have been more like Rich Simple Syrup, adding more sugar than modern Orgeat, which would lead to a sweeter palate and also more body.
Another example is the Sidecar. It's a classic cocktail that looks amazing on paper but in practice is always too thin and really just bland and unbalanced. A cocktail writer did an entire piece on it - went to multiple bars and ordered the same drink. While each version resembled the others in some way, all were different and none were really great. Jeff Morgenthaler suggests adding a barspoon to a 1/4 oz of Rich Simple Syrup (2:1 sugar:water) to add body and just a little extra sweetness. I go with a pipe tobacco infused rich simple and it works wonderfully. The reason for this is simply that Triple Sec, Orange Curacao and other orange liqueurs are not quite as sweet as they once were. Hence, less sugar is being added to the cocktail, so it needs a supplement.
@ShawnOL - let me know what you think. I'm curious as to what people think of slight modifications, for the reasons above.
@Vision - Have you tried any of the Seedlip products? They're really interesting. Made in the UK and it took some time for them to hit shelves here. I believe Kappy's may still carry them. Not cheap but worth it to have something to make non-alcoholic cocktails really fun. It's basically water that's been distilled with aromatics, much like Gin but one focuses more on spice, so it tends to replace whiskey, another is more herbaceous, so it replaces gin and the third is more floral and fruit driven, if I remember correctly. I got to try one (the spice one) a few years ago in Portland at Vena's Fizz House and it was pretty neat.
Unfortunately I tried NA beers after three years dry then I wasn’t so dry. I absolutely value your advice and thank you for the years of guidance
I thought this was going to be about birds
@CharlieHeis - who said it's not?
And for the perfect cocktail to go with the above mug:
The Jungle Bird
1.5 oz Jamaican Rum (Blackstrap or aged Jamaican Rum will work best)
0.75 oz Campari
0.5 oz Lime
0.5 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 Sugar:Water)
1.5 oz Pineapple Juice
Shake and pour (do not strain) into tiki mug or pint glass, top with cubed ice and finally crushed or shaved ice, garnish w/ wedge of pineapple and pineapple fronds.
This is one of those recipes that works perfectly in its original form. The bitterness of the Campari is balanced by the Pineapple, while the Simple Syrup balances the Lime. The only thing I have changed in recent iterations was trying Honey Syrup (1:1 Honey:Water) in place of Simple Syrup and it works very nicely, if you use a mild honey. The Honey notes work very well with Pineapple and Campari and are common to find in Tiki Cocktails. Whether with Simple or Pineapple, this is a great, classic Tiki Cocktail that stands the test of time (though it's relatively young, being created in the late 70s).
Cheers!
Sazerac:
2 oz Cognac
3/4 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 Sugar:Water)
2-3 Dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1 Barspoon Absinthe (Herbsaint or Pastis will work as well)
Lemon Peel (Garnish)
Add Cognac, Simple Syrup and Peychaud's Bitters to mixing glass and Absinthe to serving glass. Swirl the Absinthe around the serving glass to coat and discard the rest of the Absinthe. Add ice to your mixing glass and stir cocktail for 20-30 seconds, strain into serving glass and garnish with a Lemon Peel, expressing the oils over the surface of the cocktail and rim of the glass.
Alternatively, you may start with 1 Sugar Cube, add Peychaud's Bitters, muddle until all sugar has dissolved, add Cognac and stir, following the remaining steps above. The Absinthe may also be sprayed into the glass to coat the sides (this is much less wasteful, as Absinthe can be expensive).
A NOLA original and the official cocktail of New Orleans, the Sazerac is often credited as one of the first "cocktails" to have been created. Antoine Peychaud invented Peychaud's Bitters in his Apothecary and served them to patrons by blending the "curative" bitters in a mixture of Cognac (Sazerac Brand, now defunct), Sugar and Lemon Peel.
A common misconception is that the Sazerac is and always has been made with Rye Whiskey. The original cocktail utilized Cognac, which makes sense considering New Orleans has such a strong French influence in its culture. When a Phylloxera epidemic wiped out nearly all of the grape crop in France, Cognac and French Brandy were no longer available in the US. The Cognac in the recipe was later replaced with Rye, as it is an American spirit and was in abundance at the time (late 1800s). When Absinthe was banned in the US in the early 1900s, the people of NOLA came up with their own version and called it Herbsaint. A play on the word Absinthe, Herbsaint does not contain Grande Wormwood (the ingredient in Absinthe thought to be responsible for hallucinations - which is another misnomer).
Cheers.