Curar la resaca: aka Hangover Cure

For those of you who have been following both of my blogs, you may remember that in my post last week I made an aside about Italian amari in a tequila bar, and this cocktail was one I had in mind.  Liqueurs and liquors are absolutely able to cross the regional lines of cuisine (such is one of the truly great aspects of globalization in commerce), but it's important to keep the spirit of your brand at the core of your creations when building a cocktail list.

This cocktail was created for the brunch menu of a tequila bar with Mexican cuisine.  I will be the first to admit that I'm one of those bartenders who love Fernet-Branca, and because of the growing popularity of amari I was determined to find a reason to carry it on this shelf.  Fernet-Branca is one of those post-dinner liqueurs that helps stimulate digestion, and the heavy mint overtones immediately brought it to mind as something to soothe a stomach still reeling from last night's festivities--a real "hair of the dog" concoction.  To anchor it to the concept of the bar, I used a reposado tequila for the base and xocolatl molé bitters for the balance, sweetened it with agave nectar syrup, and rounded it out with ruby grapefruit juice and the nausea-soothing properties of ginger ale.

Curar la Resaca

 

 

Glass:  Collins/Highball
Method:  Shake and Strain

Garnish:  Orange Twist

 

1oz Milagro Reposado tequila

.5oz Fernet-Branca

.5oz Agave syrup

.25oz Fresh ruby grapefruit juice

1 dash Bitter Truth Xocolatl Molé bitters

2 dashes Regan's Orange bitters

2oz Ginger Ale (I use Canada Dry or White Rock)

 

Shake all ingredients (yes...including the ginger ale) with ice and strain into

10-12oz Collins glass filled with ice.  Garnish with an orange twist.

Persephone's Descent

Happy holidays to all!  With the cold weather having set in, I thought it was time to share one of my newer recipes--perfect to curl up with next to a fire.  This is also a perfect use for that spiceberry dram I wrote about in a previous entry.  If you don't have the dram ready to go, any commercially available ones would work well enough--though there are a couple of adjustments I'd recommend.  If you are using The Bitter Truth Pimento Dram, I might recommend using a simple syrup made with dark brown sugar instead of regular sugar, and a few drops of vanilla extract. If you are using St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram you might want to shake in a few whole allspice berries and cloves, and cut the simple syrup to .25oz.

Now...onto the recipe, accompanied by a fantastic photo grid of me making the cocktail...courtesy of our social media coordinator at work.

Persephone's Descent

 

 

Glass: Large coupe

Method: Shake and Strain

Garnish: Flamed orange peel

 

1oz Four Roses Yellow Label bourbon

1oz Ruby Port

.5oz Spiceberry Dram

.5oz Simple syrup (1:1 ratio)

.25oz Fresh Orange juice

1 dash Bitter Truth Xocolatl Mole bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a large coupe.  Flame a freshly peeled piece of orange peel over the cocktail to add aromatics and spectacle.

 

The name for this cocktail is another one of my tributes to the gods and goddesses of classical Greece.  Persephone is the daughter of Demeter (goddess of the grain and harvest), and ultimately the queen of the Underworld. Persephone was kidnapped by Hades (the ruler of the Underworld) after Zeus (the ruler of the gods and goddesses) promised her for his bride. Her mother searched the world for her and fell into such despair searching that she neglected her duties and let the fields die. When Demeter finally found Persephone, Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds in her time with Hades. Zeus ruled that since she had partaken of food in the Underworld that she must return for that many months every year to rule alongside Hades. Every year, upon her return to the Underworld, Demeter mourns and lets the earth die. When Persephone returns, Demeter rejoices and the fields flourish.  This is the story of the changing of the seasons in Greek mythology and the background of the name for this beautiful and lush fall/winter cocktail.

Life in Tune

 If there's one thing I love doing, it's being challenged with new products.  Absolut recently released a new product called Tune, and it's Absolut vodka blended with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that has been carbonated.  It's a little bit higher in alcohol than a wine, but not even as strong as a liqueur or cordial.  We held a release party back in August at Igby's downtown and then wanted to find a way to feature it for a Cocktail of the Month.  We also had bottles of Fruitlab's Jasmine left from a previous cocktail, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to deplete the stock.  What I came up with was the Life in Tune.  

A note on glassware:  When I was first working on this cocktail I tried it in a champagne flute.  The flavors were absolutely buried, and I was really unsure if I actually liked the drink.  Others insisted they really enjoyed it, and when we put it in the more open coupe-style glass the aroma and flavor exploded and the cocktail gained so many layers and so much complexity.  This really just goes to show how critical the right glassware can be for the success of a cocktail.

Life in Tune

 Glass:  Large Coupe

Method: Shake and Strain

Garnish:  Long orange spiral

Build:

.5 oz Fruitlab Jasmine liqueur

.25 oz PAMA Pomegranate liqueur

.25 oz Fresh Lime juice
.5 oz Simple syrup (1:1)

1 dash Fee Brothers Orange bitters 

Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a large coupe. 

Top with 3oz Absolut Tune and garnish with a long orange spiral.

Also!: Earlier this summer, I was featured in one of our local publications!  I'm very pleased with the fantastic spread from CityBeat.  If you aren't a friend on Facebook and missed it when it was released back in August, here's the link to check it out: Local Mixologist Makes Waves in Cocktail Culture.

Queen City Paloma

I just realized this week that I never posted my Don Julio entry from March's competition!  The competition was "Local Legends," and asked for a local twist on a classic tequila cocktail.

Shortly before the competition was announced, a local chef on my Facebook had decided he wanted to make a local variation on an allspice dram with locally grown spiceberries.  I loved the idea so much, I jumped on the bandwagon myself.  I bought the spiceberries from Carriage House Farm, here in the greater Cincinnati area, and (majorly) adapted a recipe I found through Google.  I'd never made my own liqueur/cordial/dram/etc. before, so this was a great chance to learn something new and expand my skills.

The Spiceberry Dram

First, I knew from the get-go I wanted something more similar to St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram...which is very sweet, and very very good.  The recipe above called for light rum, but I knew that wouldn't ultimately give me what I was going for, so I used Cruzan's Blackstrap rum for my base, to take advantage of the sweetness and richness of the molasses used.

1 cup Cruzan Blackstrap rum
1/4 cup Local Spiceberries or Allspice berries (ground; a good mortar and pestle is essential for infusions)

1/8 cup Whole Clove (ground) 
1 cinnamon stick
1 whole Nutmeg (ground)
1 Vanilla bean

Infuse the spiceberries in the rum for 5-7 days.  Add remaining ingredients and infuse for another 10-12 days. Strain solids from infusion (I use a large strainer and cheesecloth for an initial strain, and the large strainer and coffee filters for a more fine strain). Dissolve 2/3 cup brown sugar (I've used light previously, but dark would probably complement the blackstrap well) with 1.5 cups water in a sauce pan. Let cool and add to infusion. Let settle for two days before use.  Sediment will settle on the bottom of the bottle over time, so be sure to shake a bit before use to reintegrate.

Queen City Paloma

 Glass:  Highball/Collins glass

Method:  Build and Box

Garnish:  Grapefruit wedge

Build:

1.5 oz Don Julio Blanco

1.25 oz Spiceberry dram

1 oz Fresh grapefruit juice 
.5 oz Fresh lime juice 
Pinch Kosher salt 
1.5 oz Club soda

Build ingredients with ice and box between mixing glass and tin three times
to incorporate all ingredients. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge dipped
in a mix of sea salt, ground clove, and ground ancho chile.

MxMo LXXII: Drink Your Veggies

Hello again!  Long time no see (again).  I'm in the midst of a new bar opening, so I've been quite on the "not around" side of things.  The new bar opening, however, is the perfect excuse to participate in this month's Mixology Monday:  Drink Your Veggies!  As Rowan at Fogged in Lounge described, "Want to get more vegetables but you’re always eating on the run? Maybe you hate vegetables but feel you should get more of them? Well then, how about a vegetable cocktail?" 

This recipe comes straight from the new place: Barrio Tequileria in the Northside area of Cincinnati.  Come in and let me and my (really incredibly awesome) bartenders feed you tequila and tacos and sangrita!  Okay...end advertising *grins*

Sangrita is a traditional sipper alongside tequila.  I think the best ones are a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, and a little bit spicy.  I've found some sources that say "traditional" sangrita doesn't use tomato juice, but I've also read about bars in Mexico that do use tomato juice in theirs, so...I just followed my own instincts for this recipe.  I know that tomatoes and peppers are really officially fruits, but we do typically consider them vegetables, so...details details, right?

Sampling sangritas before our opening; el Arco Blanco tequila featured

Barrio Tequileria's Housemade Sangrita

1/4 cup Cilantro

1 cup Tomato juice

1/4 cup Orange juice

1/4 cup Lime juice

2 T Pomegranate grenadine

2 T Goya Chipotle Salsita

1/4 tsp Powdered ancho

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1 Serrano pepper, sliced (including seeds)

Personally, I put the cilantro in first, then add the tomato juice and muddle the cilantro a little bit.  I add the pepper last, and let it infuse for about five minutes (just for a little extra heat--I like my sangrita a touch on the spicy side) before I strain everything out.  Pour a shot of the sangrita and a shot of blanco tequila, and enjoy!

I use fresh juices and a standard recipe for my grenadine (1:1 POM juice and sugar).  I like to think I did a pretty decent job with it, and just the other day a lady from Mexico complimented me on how authentic my sangrita was, and asked where I got the recipe, so...hooray :-D      

La boda perfecta

I've always liked the idea of dessert drinks, but I've always felt that the typical vodka "chocolate martini" was too easy.  This isn't the first time I've tried to expand on the formula (see: Lady Godiva's Stand).  I've also always liked the idea of showpieces and talking points.  For ages I've wanted to do a cocktail with really high-end ingredients, and I was thrilled to finally have the chance with the new bar I'm managing for.  The new bar is tequila-centric, so I'm learning quite a lot of new things, and loving the chance to expand my knowledge base.  

The inspirations behind this cocktail were multiple.  First, the 70th anniversary expression from Don Julio has some really nice notes of chocolate in it; second, Anejo tequilas are often compared to aged brandies and Cognacs:  all are wonderful for after-dinner sipping and tend to have some similar flavor profiles.  The price tag on this cocktail is more than double my other listings on our menu, but with about $200 worth of bottles of liquor used in the cocktail it's quite a wonderful opportunity to try something new.  I hear so many people talk about what a crime it is to use really fine ingredients to mix with others in cocktails, but I feel just the opposite:  truly wonderful ingredients can create an absolutely transcendental cocktail experience...and that's something I tried to convey with this one.

 

La boda perfecta

 
 Glass:  Brandy snifter

Method: Shake and Strain

Garnish:  Mexican chocolate and cinnamon

Build:

1.25 oz Don Julio 70 Anejo Claro

.75 oz Grand Marnier Cuvee du Centenaire

.5 oz Godiva dark chocolate liqueur
1 generous dash Bitter Truth's Xocolatl Mole bitters
.25 oz Rich simple syrup
2 oz Heavy cream 

Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a brandy snifter. 

Garnish with a light grating of Mexican chocolate and cinnamon.

Endless Summer (a.k.a) MxMo LXVI: Bein' Green

Oh...hey there, everyone!  It's been a little while, hasn't it?  I've been off having all sorts of incredible adventures this summer.  We had dinner at Alinea in Chicago for my 30th birthday, I went to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, I went on a trip with the S. Ohio USBG to some stops along the Bourbon Trail, we went to a family wedding that ended up in (started out with?) a little trip onto Wrigley Field:

...well...you get the idea.  Basically, I spent all my spare income this summer drinking cocktails rather than concocting them, so I've been a little off the radar.  I'd say I'm sorry, but...just look at that photo!   I figured the October Mixology Monday, hosted by Ed over at Wordsmithing Pantagruel would be a perfect time to jump back in the game.  In his own words: 

With the warm days of summer now fading off into the distance in our rear view mirrors, let's pay one last tribute to the greens of summer before the frosts come and our outdoor herb gardens give up the ghost for the winter. [...] Limes are green. So is green tea. Don't forget the herb garden: mint, basil, cilantro, you name it - all fair game. There's also the veritable cornucopia from the farmers market: green apples, grapes, peppers, olives, celery, cucumbers...you get the idea. Like I said, wide berth. Base, mixer, and or garnish; if it's green it's good. Surprise me. Use at least one, but the more the merrier. 

When I read that, I was a little disappointed I had already posted my Bombay Sapphire cocktail, The Garden Path (cilantro, red bell pepper, pineapple...perfect!), but then I realized I hadn't yet posted my finalized recipe for another, previously unnamed, summer cocktail...so...here we go!

 Endless Summer

Glass:  Large Cocktail

Method: Muddle, Shake and Strain

Garnish:  Cucumber and Watermelon pick

Muddle:

6 cubes Fresh Watermelon

3 leaves Fresh Basil

1 tsp Balsamic syrup

Add:

2 oz Effen Cucumber vodka

.5 oz Fresh Lime juice

.5 oz Rich Simple syrup 

Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass. 
Garnish with a light sprinkling of freshly cracked sea salt.

P.S.  My husband has also decided this summer that Effen Cucumber and Pimm's is a tasty combination.  Maybe something to play with later...

Bombay Sapphire Most Inspired Bartender Entry

Every year, GQ and Bombay Sapphire team up for the annual Most Inspired Bartender competition.  This year, there were two events in Ohio--one in Cleveland and one in Columbus.  I competed in Columbus, at the Franklin Botanical Center, and had a fantastic time!  I didn't win, but had an amazing amount of positive feedback from the attendees ("I've had at least three people tell me I had to come outside and try the one with red pepper!" and "Yours was definitely the best one in there!" and "One of the bartenders over there told me I needed to come try this one," and even an "I'm so glad that yours is the last one I've tried and that I have in my mouth right now."), so I consider the night a tremendous success. Even more-so of a success for those that were unsure that they actually wanted to try it ("Cilantro?  Really?"), had a friend convince them to, and then went back for a second sample.

I really wanted to play off the rich, peppery notes from the Grains of Paradise (one of the botanicals present in Sapphire), and the citrus notes from the lemon peel (also a botanical).  Bombay Sapphire is a very intense gin, and I wanted intense flavor profiles to match and balance.  I'm very pleased with the final result.  

As for the name, I chose to reference "garden path" sentences.  The mind processes and develops visuals one word at a time.  In garden path sentences, the structure leads you start constructing one meaning of the sentence, and then a word comes along that forces you to reconfigure the meaning.  This cocktail, prior to being named, had many people say just those sorts of things about it.  We eat and drink with our eyes first, our nose second, and our mouths third.  On first glance, you see a pink drink in a "martini" glass.  Next, you see pineapple and red pepper in the garnish.  As you go to drink you smell the aromatic cilantro.  Once you drink, all of those elements come together into something unexpected and lovely.

The Garden Path

Glass: Medium Cocktail

Method: Muddle, Shake and Fine Strain

Garnish: Pineapple, Red pepper, Cilantro

Muddle:

1 large cube Fresh Pineapple
5 large pieces Red Bell Pepper
.5 oz Madhava Light Agave Nectar

Add:
10 leaves Fresh Cilantro
.25 oz Fresh Lime juice
1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire 

Make sure to muddle the red pepper very well to get maximum flavor (we're not worried about bruising or breaking mint here, guys!).  Shake ingredients well with ice. Double-strain into a medium-sized cocktail glass (around 6oz) and garnish.

Cincinnati Area Bartenders' Guild Meetup/Informational

Just wanted to take a minute to post about the informal meetup/informational the Cincinnati area of the United States Bartenders' Guild is going to be hosting on June 4th at Milton's, from 4p-6p.  

Stop by for a few drinks and to learn more about how you can be a part of the great things we want to do!  More information below on our blog:

http://cincinnatiusbg.blogspot.com/2012/05/cincinnati-area-meetup-and.html

The Glass Project: The Burning Heart

The recent Drambuie contest got me working with Drambuie for my first time, and as this drink has some heat to it I started thinking of names that invoked that.  Dante's Inferno came to mind, which led to thoughts of La Vita Nuova, and thus Il Cuore Ardente (The Burning Heart) was born.

Il Cuore Ardente (aka The Burning Heart)

Glass: Small Cocktail

Method: Stir and Fine Strain

Garnish:  Flamed orange twist

Ingredients:

1 oz Appleton Estate Reserve rum

.75 oz Drambuie

3 heavy dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut bitters

1/8 tsp Ground Red Cayenne Pepper

Build ingredients in glass with ice and stir well to incorporate the cayenne pepper.  Strain depending on heat preference (normal strain for higher heat, fine/double strain for lower heat).  Garnish with a flamed orange twist and enjoy!

 

The Glass Project: Myrrah's Passion

So on Tuesday I drove the 4+ hours up to Cleveland to volunteer at/attend the first annual Ohio Tequila Festival.  I had a lovely time pouring Don Julio samples and sampling various other tequilas that were sponsoring.  I thought this was an excellent first-year event, and I look forward to seeing it grow in the future!  One other thing I finally saw for the first time while there were the Tequilador booklets with our recipes (although on the image they wrote lemon instead of lime...oops...lol)!  The QR codes were in the beginning of the booklet:

That night I stayed with my friend Emily (also in the booklet!) in Columbus.  I wanted to purchase a specific gin I hadn't been able to find around here, but I knew they had up there, so I went to Weiland's Gourmet Grocery in the morning to pick it up.  While waiting for the store to open I grudgingly stopped into the neighboring thrift store that Emily had told me about and picked up these ten little treasures for less than $6 (this is why I don't allow myself to go to thrift stores.  I would overwhelm my apt with bar tools and glassware that I don't actually have room for):

 When I got home I decided that I needed to come up with a recipe specifically for each glass, and decided to make that my goal this summer.  This will also force me to work with some different proportions (more classic ones) than I've been used to at the places I've been working.  First up was the pretty little one second from the left in the back.  That glass insisted on Creme de Violette and the fantastic new Aphrodite Bitters (from the makers of Bokers Bitters, and crafted from aphrodisiac spices and herbs) that I had also just scored at Weiland's (phenominal little bitters selection, and you can even sample most of them!)...and out came Myrrah's Passion (name story after the recipe):

Myrrah's Passion

Glassware:  Small cocktail glass

Method:  Shake and Strain

Garnish:  Egg white foam* and dash of Aphrodite Bitters

Ingredients:

1.25 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon

.5 oz  Creme de violette

.75 oz Fresh lemon juice

.25 oz Rich simple syrup (or just a dash, if you prefer more sour cocktails)
2 dashes Aphrodite Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into small cocktail glass.  Top with foam and a few drops of Aphrodite Bitters for aromatics.

* Egg White Foam:

Separate the egg white from yolk, and discard yolk.  In a clean shaker, dry shake egg white (i.e. without ice) until a bit frothy.  Add 1/2 tsp granulated or superfine sugar to shaker and continue to dry shake until desired density.

On the Name:

Greek mythology tends to color a lot of what I do, and likes to find its way into some of my cocktails--call it the spiritual aspect of the "Alcohol Alchemy" title, if you will.  Myrrah's story is a prime example of the wrath the gods could inflict when provoked.  The story varies depending on the source, but I have to say I'm rather enamoured with Mary Zimmerman's retelling of Ovid's Metamorphoses.  Ovid gives no reason as to why Aphrodite inflicted a passion for her father on Myrrah--just that she had lines of suitors and no apparent interest in any of them, and Powell later says it was to punish her mother for hubris (ego and arrogance) against the goddess in saying that her daughter was more beautiful than Aphrodite Herself.  Mary Zimmerman expounded on the original as that it went further than no interest--that she wouldn't fall in love and was insistent against marriage and love, etc.  Aphrodite took offense to this (of course, since She's the goddess of sexual love and passion) and cursed her with a passion for her father:

You can shut yourself in a room, bolt the door,

but love will come through the window.

Draw the curtains, lock the casement,

but love will seep through the walls.

Never think, never think that you can be safe from love.

--Aphrodite in Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses: a play

The story goes from there, and essentially ends in Myrrah fleeing and the gods taking pity on her when she asks to neither live nor die, and she transforms into a Myrrh tree.  After the transformation she also gave birth to Adonis, and eventually the sap from the tree was offered at the altars of Aphrodite.

P.S.  If you're on Facebook and want to keep up with my blog updates, 

please like my blog page! http://facebook.com/AlcoholAlchemy

ETA, 1/28/2013:  I submitted this recipe for consideration to the 101 Best New Cocktails 2013 about a week ago, and I got notification today that it's made it to Round Two for taste testing. 

ETA, 8/4/2013:  And Myrrah's Passion has officially made Gaz Regan's 2013 list of 101 Best New Cocktails!  Hooray!  I'm so honored to be featured with such a fantastic collection of bartenders and cocktails!

Playing with the Classics: Aperol 75

One key thing those of us who create cocktails like to tell new bartenders who are just starting to learn how to mix is to start with the classics and modify.  Classics are classic for a reason, of course, and it's a great way to get a feel for ratios and balance.  One of my personal favorite classics is the French 75.  In preparation for Mother's Day brunch at work, I thought I'd work out some potential cocktails to feature, and anything with sparkling wine is a natural choice.

Since I work at an Italian restaurant I've been using that as an excuse to familiarize myself with Italian liqueurs/amaros/etc. that I've never had much reason to learn before.  Aperol, though an amaro, is pretty tame and I thought it might have great potential to introduce to people who might otherwise be frightened of something new.  The best way to introduce people to something new?  Blend it with something old and familiar...in my case, the lovely French 75.

  

 Pretty, no?  The cocktail glass was actually a lovely gift from 

one of my sisters-in-law and her husband for Christmas :-)

Aperol 75

Glassware:  Large cocktail glass or large champagne flute

Garnish:  Lemon twist

Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients:

1 oz Plymouth gin

.5 oz Aperol

1.5 oz Fresh lemon juice

.75 oz Rich simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into glass.  Top with prosecco (about three ounces) and garnish.

Stagger Lee

This cocktail came from a restaurant guest who had heard from her daughter about a black cherry cocktail with bourbon.  I was lost for a second, as we'd never had anything like that before, but then I realized that she was probably talking about Jim Beam's Red Stag, which is a black cherry bourbon.  She asked how people usually enjoyed it, and I asked her a few questions, and bounced off to create a cocktail for her.  I enjoyed the outcome so much that I tweaked it just a touch and eventually added it as a staple to the menu.

Stagger Lee

Glass:  Large cocktail

Garnish:   Long lemon twist

Method:   Shake and Strain

Ingredients:

2 oz Jim Beam Red Stag bourbon

.5 oz Cointreau

.5 oz Rich simple syrup (this can honestly range anywhere from .25oz-.75oz depending on your personal taste and how sweet you like things)

1 oz Fresh lemon juice

2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass.  Garnish with a long twist of lemon.

Note on the Name:  I struggled hard to name this one, as I wanted something very appropriate to a restaurant that focused on southern cuisine and assorted styles of barbecue.  Ultimately, think I had listened to Nick Cave's "Henry Lee" recently before naming the cocktail, and that put me in mind of his version of "Stagger Lee" (my brain works in bizarre ways).  For those who are unfamiliar with the song (or the story behind any of the variations of the song), here is the Wikipedia entry for the song.  At its core, it is a folk song written about the murder of a specific person by a man from St. Louis.  Red Stag, St. Louis...I realized I'd found my name.  While St. Louis isn't really known for a style of barbecue, they do have a cut style of ribs named after them (pork spare ribs cut into a more uniform rack-style), and they were named "America's Top Grilling City" in an annual list by Kingston charcoal last year.