Recently in Mixology Category

by Caroline O'Neil - I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! First off, I know that many of you are "extremely" disappointed that I have not written an article for Darcy in a long time. I will admit that it has been almost a year since my last post. I still have a few more days before that happens. I do have a valid excuse for my absence though. Unfortunately, I have not been able to indulge for the last 7 months, we are expecting child #2 in the middle of March. Of course we can't forget that chasing the other toddler around is a full time job. Don't let his cute little smile fool you, and I assure you that he is plotting his next move, whenever he flashes that smile. Fionn, not Darcy.

Welcome to the cocktail blog confessional. It's Mixology Monday time and Stevi over at Two At The Most and has picked the theme of "guilty pleasures". We're going to stick to drink related guilty pleasures today, so don't expect anything too insightful. But, there are lots of drink related guilty pleasures that I enjoy, quietly, in secluded spaces.

As we all know, sugar seems to be the motivating factor behind the majority of modern cocktail menu's. If you walk into a standard, college oriented, bar and ask for "something special" you will usually get some sort of dessert like drink, served in a martini glass. Along with that, I'd say that 98% of restaurants treat cocktails as something that needs to be served sweet. Obviously, the main culprit is sucrose and / or high fructose corn syrup. If you are keen to the idea that a cocktail is more than just something to satiate a sweet tooth, then working with alternative sweeteners, like birch and agave syrups, might be something to look into.

This months Mixology Monday topic is rum, which is a spirit I very much enjoy. I have a fairly decent collection of rum and most of it is purchased based on reviews, curiosity or recommendations. To celebrate Mixology Monday I decided to add another bottle of rum to my collection, and this time it falls under the "curiosity" category. Why, you may ask? Well, because the 2008 San Francisco Spirits Competition picked it as a gold medal winner in the dark rum category. "Big deal" you say, "everything wins a medal in San Francisco". But this time it was a rum I've passed by many times, never giving it a second thought, but with that gold medal, they at least increased their sales by one bottle.

Another month, another Mixology Monday. This one is being hosted by Marleigh at Sloshed! As usual I waited until the last minute before writing, an as I write this I haven’t even decided what I’m going to write about! Obviously the topic is brandy, so that helps to narrow it down. The first thing that comes to mind is the Brandy Old Fashioned. Now, like most people I know whisky belongs in an Old Fashioned, except if you are from Wisconsin. I’m not from Wisconsin, but I do have extended family there and ever since my first visit, brandy has become an equal in the Old Fashioned.

As I stare out the window at the blizzard like conditions I’m realizing, as a Canadian, that Repeal Day has a different meaning for me. In the United States of America it is a celebration of freedom and the removal of political babysitters that dictate what a person can and can’t do, based on a minority belief. I do agree that the consumption of alcohol needs to be moderated, since overconsumption was such a huge issue in the 18th and 19th centuries. But the idea of prohibition was just a bad idea. So Repeal Day is something that needs to be remembered, and thanks to Jeffrey Morgenthalers dedication to the topic, I doubt it will soon be forgotten.

Many people have opinions on what makes the best rum and Coke. Some people swear by Bacardi white rum, others pick a true Cuban rum and even others want a well aged, vintage, rum like Mount Gay Extra Old. But what do you do for the people that just ask for a rum and Coke? What type of rum, white or amber, makes the better drink? Does a moderately priced vintage rum make a noticeable difference in taste? And from the stand point of a bar or restaurant, which rum will make people enjoy their stay more, without offending them when the bill comes around.

The term almond syrup is a catch-all term for any syrup made from almonds, water and sugar which includes orgeat, orzata, horchata or orxata. These syrups are often used in cocktails, but they probably originated as coffee syrups or as “Italian soda” type drinks. But these almond syrups seem to work wonderfully well in cocktails and a prime example of this is the Mai Tai cocktail. The original Mai Tai called for the finest ingredients and that included the finest French orgeat, but the brand was never specified (aside from the self promoting Trader Vic brand which came later). So what makes a good almond syrup and is there really a difference between brands? Let us see.

Finding grenadine syrup isn’t very hard, but you won’t likely find a decent one at your local grocery store, nor most restaurant supply companies. You may find good grenadine at specialty shops or online. But that leads to the question; Is there such a thing as good grenadine? I’d have to say yes there is, but for the most part they are all very sweet and bright red in colour. So depending on your application, you may decide which is right for your cocktails, because the flavours vary widely and so does the price. Most are artificially flavoured, some are all natural and some are in between.

In the never ending quest to discover what makes a great cocktail, I've embarked upon a study of grenadine. Sure it may seem like a trivial subject, but I've learned that it’s the small things that are often over looked and lead to the downward trend in quality. When we really understand the simple things, it allows us to create more complex creations. In the world of the chef, the study of salt can takes months, or even a lifetime, to be truly understood. A professional chef can use salt to great effect in creating awe inspiring dishes. Good bartenders should know how to use basic ingredients also. Ya, grenadine doesn't have the importance of salt, but a good bartender should also be able to identify quality ingredients. So lets take a look at what makes a good grenadine.

Another month, another Mixology Monday. This round is all about Fizz, and is being hosted by Gabriel over at Cocktailnerd, so go check it out and see what other fizzy drinks you can can imbibe. This topic can be about anything that is fizzy which includes sparkling wine based cocktails or plain old vodka soda’s. For this edition I’m going to look at the Silver Fizz because it is one of the classic fizz drinks, but unlike a simple gin fizz, it incorporates an egg white.

Making classic Tiki drinks isn’t the easiest endeavor. When you start browsing through the drink recipes, trying to decide what to try next, you may often find yourself in short supply of a number of key ingredients. One of them is Falernum, sometimes called Velvet Falernum, which is fairly easy to make, if you can’t find a supplier. The other one is Pimento Dram, which is extremely hard to find and more difficult to make. There are a couple of good Internet resources for Pimento Dram recipes, namely Chuck Taggart’s Pimento Dram recipe. But today, I’m going to take a stab at making my own.

While I’ve been exploring the world of Tiki, a few of the drinks I’ve made have incorporated dairy products. Some of the cocktails called for milk, others called for cream, and they all called for some form of citrus juice. The combination of dairy (water, oil emulsions) and acids from citrus fruit can be problematic. Most bartenders know about the hazards of these combination's, but I know every once in a while some rookie bartender (or cheap owner) will substitute milk when a recipe calls for cream. I’m sure the customer appreciated their Chunky Colada or Ramos Grit Fizz. So here are some simple rules on using dairy products in cocktails.

Raw eggs are not all the rage these days, unless of course you are a chicken farmer, or an avid fan of cocktails. In many classic cocktails, eggs were an important part of the recipe, providing unmatched texture and mouth feel. Some of the best know cocktails that use eggs are flips, sours and egg nogg. Without the egg, these drinks are a mere shell of the original recipe. But bringing back the raw egg, by convincing a bar or restaurant owner that the risk of illness is very small, can be a daunting task. Management will always state that the risk of someone getting food poisoning, or salmonella, is too high and it is not worth it, simply to make a better cocktail.

Carbonated beverages play a significant role in the word of mixology. Coke, Pepsi, 7–Up, Sprite and the list goes on and on have all helped make a better cocktail. The Cuba Libra wouldn’t exist without it, nor would the Pimms Cup or the 7&7. They all require some sort of sugar laden, carbonated beverage to make them shine. But people are changing their drinking habits, they are starting to look at how many calories are in a drink. Say good bye Colorado Bulldog with your Coke and cream combination. People want good drinks with health benefits. Is that even possible? Air Force Nutrisoda thinks so.

The Internet is awash with videos of how to make cocktails, but as we have seen, many of them are very, very bad. But thankfully the Small Screen Network has taken production values, and mixology, seriously and created The Cocktail Spirit, which is hosted by Robert “Drinkboy” Hess. Each week Robert talks about something mixology related, be it a classic cocktail, how to setup a bar or interviews with industry people. As many of you know Robert is a dedicated advocate for the classic cocktail. He also takes his drinking seriously, so when you’re watching each episode take note of the excruciating detail of every drink being made. I’m waiting for the episode where Robert shows us his modern cocktail creating skills and creates something brand new. Check it out.

The post Good Ice Makes Great Cocktails seems to have resonated with readers. It also raised a number of additional questions regarding this ever so important, but often overlooked, cocktail ingredient. I’ll be answering a few questions and doing some technical talk about the properties of ice. So put your thinking caps on because we are going to learn a little bit about thermochemistry. We’ll also take a look at making clear ice.

Ice can be a pretty boring topic, unless you are talking to a cocktail enthusiast, then you just need to sit back, listen, and enjoy the cocktail they served you demonstrating the potential of ice. Besides filling the glass and chilling the drink, what’s so important about ice? Well, there are a couple of things, including how the ice chills a drink and what it contributes in the way of flavour. Yes, certain ice cubes contribute flavours, and not good ones, usually malevolent ones. Other factors, such as the size of the ice cube, can also affect your drink. Isn’t this splitting hairs? Not really and I shall explain in greater detail why using good ice is a good thing.

When I seek inspiration for new cocktails I’ll browse through books, website, marketing material and any other source of material to get an idea. When I found Trader Vic’s Rum Fizz I thought it was a very interesting drink, partially because it contained an ingredient you’d be hard pressed to find at any modern bar. That ingredient was Cream Soda, which you can find at most grocery stores. So, when I went looking for a bottle of cream soda, I ended up with a mixed pack of Jones Soda. Since Jones Soda makes a unique range of products, I thought I should take a look at them and see if they are valuable to the mixology world.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the classic Gin & Tonic and looked at one of its key ingredients, gin. At the time my choices for tonic water were limited to Schwepps and Canada Dry. Now both of those are pretty standard tonic water but, with the cocktail revolution in full swing, it would make sense that a number of boutique makers of tonic water would join the market. Luckily, I am happy to announce that Q Tonic has just released a batch of their Q Tonic tonic water. Currently it will only be available at select location in New York until the end of the summer, at which point it should be more widely available.