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Twisted Cherry Blossom Cocktail

 

Klaus invented a new cocktail!  This is not just any cocktail, mind you- but one that speaks clearly of the season.  But what season is that?  The dull time, just before the burst of spring.  The ground coming out of its slumber, mud all around, a few crocus flowers straining to move through the soft soil.  It’s going to snow in the next few days though…

A cruel joke perhaps?

The past few days, Klaus has seemed full of wanderlust.  He spent the time wandering through the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show in NYC.  He met the kind folks at Total Food Service Magazine and many others along the way.  Klaus admired the commercial ice machines, the electronic technology laden kitchen equipment and high-speed dishwashers.  He was so impressed!

Then, as if by magic, he tasted raw fish for the first time, cut deftly by a Japanese sashimi master.  This artisan of all things sashimi was flown in directly from Japan with his plethora of hand-made carbon steel knifes glistening in the light. (Just like the knives in Kill Bill)    Just around the corner from the sashimi master, his student sits on an ancient stool and hand-sharpens sushi knives as if his life’s work was to sharpen those knifes.  (And it was!)

Klaus commented that the stones appeared so wet as the sharpening student lay the blades down, nearly perpendicular to the stone, lying in a pool of water, the sharpening surface itself pure, as if in an excited state of altered reality.  Klaus was mesmerized by the motion of the sharpening master, one push against the stone, then the other side and so on and so on and…

But if there is one thing that Klaus knows how to do and that is drink.

Many top end Sake producers appeared in the Japan Pavilion at the show and Klaus started pulling me towards the broad tables, laden with sake from all over Japan.  Klaus didn’t want to extol over the immense pleasures of both jasmine and green tea, what he wanted was to get soused!  He was actually being quite insistent! Klaus was leading me towards a veritable Holy Grail of sake.  Smiling men and women were holding out little plastic cups of liquid history to Klaus.  He threw back his little ceramic head and drained a whole series of sake.  Some were fruity and light, the pinot grigio sake- served ice cold and meant to be enjoyed quickly.  Others were more introspective, like Burgundy, thick with sediment and possibilities.  Still others in the nearly unknown, creamy style of sake pleased Klaus to no end and I actually saw him stashing a few bottles worth in his little flask on his chest for the car-ride home.

Ah Klaus, you work in strange little ways.

The season for drinking sake is year round in Japan and Klaus suddenly realized the meaning of his own desire.  That is the absolutely freshest fish that money can buy, washed down with glass after glass of distinctive and crystalline sake from micro producers around Japan- as pure as the melted snow on Mt. Fuji.

Klaus told me that he wants to do a story on Japan.  Maybe he will be in the right place at the right time to attain a story of this merit?

Klaus?  Klaus?  Ah, he wandered off again.  Looking for another little glass of sake?  He’s so predictable.

 

Twisted Cherry Blossom Cocktail

Ingredients (for two friends or one thirsty gnome)

3 oz. Hiro Sake (well chilled)

1 oz. Bluewater Vodka (also well chilled)

3 oz. Blood Orange Juice (freshly squeezed)

1 oz. Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Tamarind

Crushed filtered water ice (Klaus uses the Mavea “Inspired Water” pitcher)

4 drops in each cocktail- Bitter End Thai Bitters

Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water- Lemon essence

 

Preparation:

Freeze filtered water ice overnight and crush, pack into tall Collins glasses

To a Boston Shaker filled ¾ with filtered water ice, add the liquors and the blood orange juice

Add the simple syrup

Shake for 15 seconds

Taste for sweet/tart quality

Pour over filtered crushed ice and finally add a few drops of the Bitter End Thai Bitters over the top… finish with a splash of the Perrier Sparkling Water and drink!

 

 Kanpai!

 

­

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Recipes

A Cocktail for Baudelaire (by Cocktail Whisperer: Warren Bobrow for DrinkUpNY)

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013

A Cocktail for Baudelaire

By Warren Bobrow, Cocktail WhispererThe Aylesbury Duck is an intriguing vodka from The 86 Company. They also produce a white rum, a gorgeous blanco tequila, and a lush, aromatic and refreshing London gin. From the very first sip poured with ease from the bartender-designed neck, (it has two lines extruding from the glass for added security) to the gradations on the side (for the measurement of a punch, no doubt) I know that this product is carefully made. The size and shape of the bottle is equally important. It’s circular in dimension and is a bartender-pleasing one liter in volume. It would fit easily into a speed rack or grace the shelf of the back bar with its handsome labeling.

The label looks like handmade paper with Victorian-esque fonts with the depiction of the Aylesbury Duck and curious writing about the duck and hunting, as well as what it is made of, in this case wheat and water.  But you don’t drink writing, nor do you drink fancy bottle styles. What you do drink is a carefully made vodka unlike any other on the market. But what does this mean?

This is what I would call an ultra-luxury product. This vodka is of such high quality that there is very little of it to be attained. But you my friends are in luck. Not only do you have the good fortune to read my words of wisdom attesting to the quality of this product, but also you are able to find this ultra-luxury vodka at DrinkUpNY!

This is your lucky day!

It’s also your lucky day that you cooked some sweet, golden beets last night to accompany your roasted chicken. But instead of tossing them into a salad with a tangle of Mache lettuce and goat cheese like you usually do, this time you’ve pureed them with a touch of freshly squeezed lime juice and simple syrup. This gives the pureed beets a bright and citrus driven flavor when mixed with this pristine wheat based vodka.

Then, as if by magic a frosty Martini glass appears in front of you.  And trailing down the sides of the Martini glass is the most elegant of bitters. In this case, I’ve used the historic Jerry Thomas Bitters, comprised of cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and dreams. They smear down the side of your cocktail glass and lend plausible amusement for your taste buds.

The Aylesbury Duck is indeed a real duck. I’d say it is quite a bit larger than a normal duck and is usually hunted for sport, although it’s not really a sport when this large breed of duck is the size of a golden retriever. It’s hard to miss. There’s a phrase that says: “like a sitting duck”…

I do hope drinking this imaginative vodka is more amusing than hunting the Aylesbury Duck!

Tasting notes for the Aylesbury Duck Vodka:

A nose of sweet vanilla and candy sugar melts away into a vaguely floral scent of the grains. Notes of white chocolates melted around freshly cut French herbs and hints of Asian spices caress the palate. This iconic vodka finishes warm and lush with a mouth coating sweetness that goes on and on.

Quite mixable or perfect served over a hand cut ice cube made with water filtered through a Mavea “Inspired Water” Filter pitcher. (ESSENTIAL!!!)

I love to make infused ice cubes for this drink.

A Cocktail for Baudelaire 

(Each recipe makes one drink)

Ingredients:
• 3 oz. Aylesbury Duck vodka
• 2 tablespoons roasted and pureed golden beets
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• ½ oz. fresh lime juice
• A few shakes of The Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Bitters
• One large chunk of hand cut Mavea and Jerry Thomas infused ice

Ice Preparation:
1. In a gallon Tupperware container, add at least twenty shakes of the Jerry Thomas Bitters.
2. Cover with Mavea filtered water and mix together.
3. Freeze overnight.
4. Cut ice to your desired shape and serve with your Aylesbury Duck Vodka in the cocktail of your choice, such as the vividly amusing Cocktail for Baudelaire.

Cocktail Preparation:
1. Fill a Boston Shaker ¾ with bar-ice (Do not use the infused ice here.)
2. Add the vodka and the pureed golden (or red if you wish) beets, lime juice and simple syrup.
3. Shake for 10-15 seconds.
4. Strain into your Martini glass and sip to getting drunk… (While reading Baudelaire’s infamous poem about drinking to inebriation and beyond.)

Of course you should always practice mindful drinking…

Cheers from DrinkUpNY!

Article by Warren Bobrow, a nationally published food and spirits columnist who writes for Williams-Sonoma, Foodista an

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Gartending for the Beekman 1802 Boys! Klaus the Soused Gnome @klausgnome on Twitter

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Gartending: Freshly Minted

By:

 

 

 

 

 

Gin is in for early spring!  Oh, please don’t get me wrong; it’s early spring- even though it doesn’t feel like it outside.  Klaus is most concerned about the tasty mint out in the garden.  Will the cold damage the mint?  Let’s ask the mint!

Klaus:  “Will you get frost burned?”

Mint:  “Yes”

Klaus: “What would you like to do about this?”

Mint: “Pick me and add me to a cocktail with this marvelous ginger ale I just found.”

So there it is.  Klaus is determined to have a drink with the mint BEFORE it gets frost bitten.  And how will he do that?  By picking the mint just as it comes up out of the ground……

Klaus is getting ready for a lovely season of “gar-tending.”  You know, making drinks from the garden.  Mint is one of the first things to come up out of the ground and one of the last things that remain after the other herbs and vegetables have gone for the season.  Freshly picked mint is aromatic and enticing.  The oils from the mint stick to Klaus’s little ceramic fingers and some of the bits of mint get stuck in his ceramic beard.  There is not nearly enough mint for a batch of mint jelly, but more than enough for a few cocktails.

Klaus is extra thirsty this morning for something more than his usual cup of coffee.  He received a few bottles of the Bruce Cost Ginger Ale in the mail yesterday.  This is not your usual ginger ale made with corn syrup (Ew!)or other artificial ingredients.  Bruce Cost makes his aromatic, ginger ale with real flavor!  What makes the Bruce Cost Ginger Ale so amazing is the unfiltered nature of this product.  There is stuff floating all around the inside of the bottle! With handcrafted flavors such as their aromatic Original Ginger, Jasmine Tea, Pomegranate with Hibiscus (my favorite) and Passion Fruit with Yellow Ginger (Turmeric).

Klaus has found the Bruce Cost Ginger Ale as a worthy recipient to his cocktailian exploits!  And with a small producer, Vermont sourced, handmade gin made with raw honey?  It’s practically otherworldly!

Sitting in front of Klaus (and me) is a bottle of the extremely small producer and exotic, Barr Hill Gin from Vermont. It is distilled with raw honey.

Why is this important?  Because of the healing nature and energy of honey!  The flavor profile is sweet, toasty grains in the background, juniper in the foreground and honey swirling all around, binding the front to the middle to the back of your mouth.  For anyone who says they enjoy honey- they probably have never had real honey.  Raw honey is never boiled and it is never cut with water to dilute the powerful healing elements of this truly artisan product.  Raw honey is rich in antioxidants too!

Barr Hill Gin (or their salubrious Vodka), might as well be made with care by gnomes!   Klaus?  Did you make the Barr Hill?  Klaus?

Oh, he’s wondered off again.  Probably looking for a party or a cocktail.  Or a little bit of both.

 

 

 

 

Klaus’s 60’s Dream Parade Cocktail

 

 

Ingredients:

2 oz. Barr Hill Gin (Distilled from Raw Honey in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont)

.25 Darjeeling Dark Tea (as a wash) in each glass

6 oz. Bruce Cost Unfiltered Fresh Ginger- Ginger Ale – Pomegranate with Hibiscus Soda

4 drops Bitter End Moroccan bitters

Orange Zest

Fresh mint (Klaus uses Kentucky Colonel variety)

 

 

Preparation:

Wash the tea around the inside of your glass

Rub the inside of an Old Fashioned glass with the orange zest

Rub with the fresh mint

Add one large cube of ice- preferably filtered through a Mavea “Inspired Water” filter. (The final resulting ice turns out nearly crystal clear! It makes a great presentation in your glass)

Add the Barr Hill Gin right over the top of the large cube

I use a silicone 2 x 2 tray for my ice cubes

Top with a measure of the Bruce Cost Ginger/Pomegranate-Hibiscus (ginger ale) soda

Garnish with about four drops of the Bitter End Moroccan bitters and a twirl of orange.

Klaus would want you to have a couple and should you want to be really bad, he’ll join you for another before it’s time to break out the Fernet Branca.

  Cheers!

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Recipes Reviews Tasting Notes

Tequila!!!!

TEQUILA!!!!!

February 20, 2013

Do you want to know what I’m excited about?  Well it’s pretty simple.  Tequila.  It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed the flavor of the earth as exemplified by the Terroir captured by Tequila.  Oh I suppose this is my own fault.  The good stuff is mostly unavailable in the part of New Jersey where I live.  Sure there are all the national brands available.  Plus some pseudo-artisan varieties in fancy hand-blown bottles.  No, what I’m looking for it the real thing.

I want to taste the earth and the agave root.  And I want some now!!!!

Recently I was introduced to a unique and carefully crafted brand of Tequila named Rudo after the dastardly cunning, Lucha Libre wrestler from Mexico.

 

Tasting Notes:

There is almost a balletic quality to the flavor of the Reposado sitting in front of me right now.  I just took a swish into my mouth of the Rudo Reposado.   Pin point drops of Mexican honey swirl around my mouth leaving sweet little explosions of vanilla cream pastilles dipped in fire.  The finish goes on and on, finally ending in a blazing sunset across your throat and down to your stomach.  Rudo is deeply warming and there is magic in every sip.  The specific Terroir of the region is very apparent in each sip.  There is a dreamy, creamy quality of this spirit.  The world becomes soft and the sounds of the day become far away.  Be careful with Rudo.  He may be a bad guy if you drink too much of his name-sake Tequila.  But until you get there- the point of no return so to speak, I recommend this little cocktail that was influenced heavily by my friend Chris Milligan out in Santa Fe, barkeep at Secreto.

He created the Smoked Sage Margarita.  I pay homage to his brilliant drink by adding USDA Certified Organic Sage from Art in the Age.

The Liquor named Sage on the herb by the same name- Sage?  Of course?

But what about the ice?   I’ve long held that Mavea, the German water filtration pitcher is the very best for making the frozen matter that we call ice.  I take this highly filtered and purified water and add it to silicone ice cube trays, THEN I zest with a microplane zester two lemons and limes over the top.  Freeze as normal.

Finally I added the Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters, rife with spices, chocolate and dreams of the coyotes running amok in the desert.

Thank you Bill and Laurel for making sure I was safe behind the walls and not out in the desert when the coyotes came running and screaming throughout the night.  It was an experience I’ll never forget.

I call this drink the Ghost Ranch Shot in honor of the famous Ghost Ranch where Georgia O’Keefe spent much time.  She was a wild woman who would have appreciated this power and fragrance of the desert in every sip.

  Makes two very mysteriously thirst quenching cocktails. 

Ingredients:

3 oz. Rudo Reposado Tequila

6 Drops of the brilliantly potent- Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters

1 oz. Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Lavender and Lemon

2 oz. SAGE (USDA Certified Organic Sage Liquor- 80 Proof!)

1 Sage Leaf (and a match)

.50 Fresh Lemon Juice

.50 Grilled Lime Juice (Char some lime wedges in a cast iron pan until blackened, then juice)

Preparation:

Turn your Boston Shaker upside down resting on two other shakers (Thanks Chris for enlightening me!)

Take the piece of Sage in your fingers and light it on fire under the Boston Shaker

Fill the Shaker with the smoke of the burning Sage leaf

Crumble the charred Sage leaf directly into the Boston Shaker, still filled with smoke

Add the Tequila

Add the Sage Liquor

Add the Lemon juice

Add the Grilled Lime juice

Add the Royal Rose Syrup

Add 6 drops of the Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters

Fill the Boston Shaker 3/4 with ice, cover and shake for 10-15 seconds

Serve in a rocks glass with a salt rim and one HUGE hand cut- infused Mavea Lemon/Lime zest ice cubes

Garnish with a chunk of lime

What’s Klaus doing in the picture?  Trying to capture his moment of fame?  Nah, he’s just thirsty.  

 

Click here for enlightenment.  only in the movies!

 

From the Rudo and Tecnico Website:

Rudo is one of the main heroes of Lucha Libre – combative art form with elements of melodrama, high-flying athletics, comedy, suspense, and intrigue. Appearing in red mask, Rudo is a wrestler who does not respect the rules of Lucha libre or his fellow wrestler. He is considered the “bad” guy or a “heel” and is willing to win by any means necessary even if it means cheating or brown-nosing the referee. Rudo’s wrestling is not as refined as Tecnico’s. Unlike the spectacular aerial maneuvers and complicated techniques, which técnicos are known for, Rudo makes greater use of brute force – hitting, lifting and dropping an opponent. While Rudo’s moves are rougher and less elaborate, he is not to be taken lightly. It is always fun to watch Rudo using his shear strength and trickery to get the better of his opponent.

 

The Inspiration

Rudo can surprise you with his tactics, so never turn you back on Rudo. Rudo will use all means necessary to be victorious, and he will sneak up on you while you are not watching. Rudo is more down to earth than Tecnico and will always give a good show. Boisterous and funny, they engage the crowds of spectators and set up the mood for the game. Rudo will not follow the rules in wrestling, and his adversaries had better not slip up, as they might be surprised.

Although rudos often resort to using underhanded tactics, they are still expected to live up to a Luchador code of honor. For instance, a Luchador who has lost a wager match would prefer to endure the humiliation of being unmasked or having his head shaved rather than live with the shame that would come from not honoring his bet. Rudos have also been known to make the transition into técnicos after a career defining moment, as was the case with Blue Demon, who decided to become a técnico after his wrestling partner, Black Shadow, was unmasked by the legendary Santo.

Tequila Rudo

Rudo is 100% blue agave tequila produced by artisanal methods in Jaliscos Highlands. Carefully elaborated at the family-run distillery, Rudo offers a perfect combination of spectacular presentation and superior taste. To pay homage to Rudo’s character, our tequila boasts bold and unexpected flavors, a real tribute to blue agave spirit. Reposado and Anejo are aged to perfection in bourbon white oak barrels to achieve smooth and luxurious texture and long finish. Selected “Most Likely to Succeed in 2012” by the Tasting Panel Magazine.

 

Warren Bobrow is the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3 non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey.

He is under contract and has just completed his first book named Apothecary Cocktails for Quayside/Rockport Books in Massachusetts.

He was one of 12 journalists world-wide, and the only one from the USA to participate in the Fête de la Gastronomie– the weekend of September 22nd. 2012 in Burgundy.

He attended Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in 2011/2012. Plus the Manhattan Cocktail Classic and the Boston Cocktail Summit.

Warren presented and demo’d freestyle mixology at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon. (2012)

Warren judged the Iron Mixology competition at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival (2012)

Warren has published over three hundred articles on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews to travel articles.

You may also find him on the web at: http://www.cocktailwhisperer.com

Warren is a published food writer and former cook.

He’s written food and cocktail articles and news for Edible Jersey, Chutzpah Magazine, Voda Magazine, Tasting Table, Serious Eats and Total Food Service Magazine.

Warren attended the Kentucky Derby and the Oaks Day Races this year while on assignment for Voda Magazine.

He writes for the “Fabulous Beekman 1802 Boys” as their cocktail writer.  (The Soused Gnome)

He also writes for The Daily Basics, Leaf Magazine and Modenus.

He writes for Williams-Sonoma on their Blender Blog.

He is a Ministry of Rum judge.

Warren began his climb to becoming a cook as a pot scrubber at the York Harbor Inn in York Harbor, Maine in 1985.

He cooked at Alberta’s in Portland, Maine during mid-80’s.

Warren is the former owner and co- founder of Olde Charleston Pasta in Charleston, SC while cooking at the Primerose House and Tavern. (Also in Charleston)

He spent Hurricane Hugo (1989) in his former home in Charleston… Ouch!

Warren was # 30 in Saveur Magazine’s 100 for his writing about the humble Tuna Melt.

 

Headshot photograph taken at the Ministry of Rum in San Francisco- August 2010

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I’ve created the cocktails for the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in NYC!!!



Groups

 

Create an Event Start a Group

 

Marys & Mimosas at the AD Home Design Show 2013

When? Thursday, Mar 21 @ 10:30am – 12pm (EST)
Where? AD Home Design Show Pier 94, 55th Street and 12th Ave – New York City

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR THIRD ANNUAL #MARYSANDMIMOSAS TWEET UP TO CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF THE #ADSHOW2013 ON THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013

SPONSORED BY SUBZERO:


“Sub-Zero Wolf presents their latest and greatest design and cooking innovations as well as a chance to win your very own cocktail reception and gourmet dinner for 10 guests in the luxurious Sub-Zero Wolf showroom in NYC.  Details to follow at the Show.”

CATERING BY :

 


Please join us for all the buzz and excitement that comes with meeting your digital, social and print media peers to kick off the show. This year’s event is held in the show lounge which is designed by Fendi Casa.


HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT AND YOUR PRESS CREDENTIALS: 

Please RSVP on Twtvite AND contact Alexandra Zwicky at Alexandra@NovitaPR.com or 212-528-3160 with your name, media outlet and twitter handle so that we can have your press pass ready for you. 

Let’s kick of the 2013 show in style and get the design dialogue started.

We hope to meet and tweet with you there!

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From Foodista

Rum, Please Forgive Me!

November 13, 2012
Rum: Please forgive me.  I didn’t forget you to bourbon, nor gin.  Certainly you haven’t seen me review or even discuss candy flavored vodka- why is that so popular?  I didn’t forget you to Scotch, nor did I give you up for Cognac or dare I say some Biodynamic wine.  No rum, I didn’t forget you.  You were and are my first love.  The first time that I tasted you down in the British Virgin Islands at  Soggy Dollar Bar stirred in a “Painkiller” (for I was filled with pain down in the islands) or woven into a Bushwacker- oh don’t ask what was in it.  I know it was rum and crushed ice, cream de cacao and more rum.  Well, that’s for another day.I don’t make a habit of drinking to excess.  My friend Ed Hamilton of the Ministry of Rum taught me drink better/drink less.  This is true- yet there is a fine line between mere inebriation and the puncheon.  I know to beware that.  You should too.  It only comes in a Listerine container.  A very small one at that. Poteen comes to mind.  Hell in a bottle is next.

Down in St. Barth they make punch in the traditional French, island style restaurants that line the harbor of Gustavia. That means tropical fruits and rum.

Yachts moor stern in like in St. Tropez.  French is spoken.  Rum is the language as well as Champagne.  Sometimes they collide with horrid results to the inexperienced and jaded alike.   The roads are too steep and not well marked.  I suggest not testing the flimsy guard rails and 1000 foot, nearly sheer drops.

It was on St. Barth that I first tried the Bacardi Ron Solera.  I’d just spent the better part of two weeks on a yacht and was in a state of constant thirst for new flavors, new textures.  If I knew then what I know today (next to nothing) about rum, I’d have brought more of the exotics back home.  There is an incredible diversity of flavor in rum.

The Bacardi is not anything like any rum I had ever tasted from Bacardi.  For a bar in St. Barth to stock Bacardi- it had to be something incredible- with all the rums of the world available to be purchased.  I feel that the Ron Solera is one of the finest little (I say little next to the big brother in Puerto Rico, they don’t even exist on the radar) rum around anywhere.  This is a labor of love for the distiller.  Made in Mexico, not Puerto Rico, the Solera is like a secret still, unknown to most.

I think this would make a most honorable Christmas gift.

Ron Solera is produced in the Solera method. Like making Sherry.  This is, quite simply removing a portion of the rum from a cask and adding a bit younger (or older) samples of rum directly to the barrel.  There is a marriage of sorts in the barrel, an alchemy.  Some old rum, some quite old and some new- all aging harmoniously.  Lovely thought.

How does Bacardi, a company that makes millions of cases of rum per year, switch gears and create a passionate, limited production item like the Solera?  I’m really not sure.  But the proof is in the bottle.  Open the top.  The scent of charred vanilla greets the nose.  It’s creamy and full bodied.  I detect immediately dark, bittersweet chocolate maybe 75% bitter.  It’s suddenly deeply warming on my mouth and the depth becomes profound.  I want to put some in a snifter and sit, quite still in front of the wood burning stove.  It’s truly gorgeous stuff.

Get a bottle and serenade your emotions deeply with the Ron Solera.  If you add anything to your glass of the Ron Solera make it a perfect ice cube from your Williams-Sonoma 2” silicone ice cube tray.  Filter your water first using the Mavea “Inspired Water” pitcher first… (essential!)

Tasting Notes:

Sweet oranges give way to creamy chocolate and pain grille notes.  A buzz of alcohol straightens out your mind, you can feel the spark and warmth adding a nice fuzzy feeling to my throat.  I love this rum!

++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Serralles DonQ Gran Anejo

The sturdy box that holds this important rum is padded in gold satin.  I say important because everything about this rum is impressive.  Not just the packaging, but the flavor.  Glistening Wheat in hue and tinged with a shimmer from the oily oak- this rum is meant to be savored.  It’s a very soft slurp in mouth-feel.  It doesn’t have the richness of the Ron Solera from Barcardi, yet it reminds me much more of real Cuban Rum.  Restrained, enrobed in threads of salted caramel, this rum is important to behold.  The bottle is a decanter, handsome and masculine.  It’s reminiscent of Bourbon.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the casks were used Bourbon oak.  I can taste the char and smoke deeply.  If you add anything to this rum, make it a single cube of coconut water ice.

White flowers give way to charred stone fruits and the taste of wet stones.  Lick a stone and see what I mean.  The finish is dry, salty from the sea and jagged from the cask.  I want to drink this in a snifter with a slice of grilled orange on the side for tasting.

The Serralles DonQ Gran Anejo is world class, just as the Bacardi Ron Solera is as well.  They are both historic brands with passion in the driver’s seat.  I tasted them side by side with wheat crackers for balance.  These are powerful reminders that gigantic companies can also produce passionate liquors that truly speak volumes of the craft of making spirits.  Someone need to have their hand shaken for their vision!

This is rum for the boardroom!

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From Prevention Magazine

I was asked to provide some “healthy” cocktails for Prevention Magazine… Here they are:

Recipes for the healthy tippler

By Mandy Oaklander

Photo credit: Mandy Oaklander

Surprised We’re Not In Reno

Warren Bobrow’s smoky twist on the vodka cola uses natural ingredients. No high fructose corn syrup in sight! “It’s healing and potent,” Bobrow says. “Root dates back to country medicinal curatives.”

Serves 1-2

2 shots vodka (we used Ketel One)
1 shot Root (an organic elixir with birch bark, black tea, spices—similar to sarsaparilla)
1/2 shot sweet Vermouth
Natural cola (we used all-natural Q Drinks cola)
Orange twist

ADD the liquors to your cocktail shaker
SHAKE and top with a splash of cola. Garnish with orange twist.

Read more: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/healthy-drink-recipes-cocktails/surprised-were-not-reno#ixzz2GXcddM3J

Photo credit: Mandy Oaklander

Hot Cranberry, Blueberry, and Gin Thoreau

“I prefer the tiny, intensely flavored Maine wild blueberries for this cocktail; they come either frozen or canned during the off-season,” Bobrow says. We skipped the cranberry sauce and maple syrup to save on calories and sugar—and we still wanted a second mug.

Serves 2, strongly

1/4 cup each of crushed cranberries and blueberries
1/3 cup cranberry sauce
4 shots gin (we used Bulldog London Dry Gin)
1/3 cup water
1 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Grade B dark amber maple syrup, optional
Several orange slices
2 fresh lemon thyme sprigs

MUDDLE the crushed cranberries with the blueberries to make a slurry, then add the cranberry sauce to the mix

ADD the gin and let sit for a few minutes to combine the flavors

BRING the water to a boil in a small saucepan and add the cranberry and lime juices

ADD the heated cranberry juice mixture to the muddled cranberry mixture and stir together. Pour into 2 preheated mugs (we strained it)

SWEETEN with maple syrup if desired, and garnish with orange slices and a sprig of lemon thyme.

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Cooler Weather=Four Roses+Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer (for Foodista)

Cooler Weather=Four Roses+Cock n’Bull Ginger Beer

October 8, 2012

Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer is one of those flavors that just won’t leave my mind.  There are many ginger beers on the market today. Some of them good, some great and some truly amazing.  I’ve found that the Cock ‘n Bull is a spicier ginger beer than most and it has a core of real ginger root.

There has been a resurgence for classic cocktails made with ginger beer, a nostalgic experience.  Perhaps this is because drinkers enjoy the more robust flavors of ginger beer in combination with diverse liquors.  I like mine not only with Rum in the classic ‘Dark ‘n Stormy’ but also the smoky and spicy notes of Bourbon Whiskey mixed with ginger beer.

The Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer has a venerable history that dates back long before many of the current day products were even thought of.

Jack Morgan was the owner of the restaurant in Los Angeles in the 1940’s by the name of the Cock ‘n Bull.  He was the inventor of the historic drink named the Moscow Mule- which is no more than vodka and his namesake extra spicy, ginger beer.

Fast forward to current day.  The Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer is now available in multiple markets around the country.  Cocktailians from all over are discovering the extreme ease when mixing Cockt ‘n Bull with liquors as diverse as dark Rum, Scotch, Cognac, Irish Whiskey, and of course Bourbon!

I love Bourbon Whiskey mixed with Ginger Beer.  Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is one of my favorite go/to’s for Bourbon that is heading for the cocktail shaker.   The first thing I taste when sipping Four Roses straight is the sweet vanilla enrobed in cayenne pepper, tempered by lightly smoked peaches.  There is definitely stone fruit in every sip of the Small Batch version.

Mixed with the Cock n’ Bull Ginger Beer, the Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon adds dimension and character to every cocktail.  I prefer my Roses and Ginger in a tall glass.  And in keeping with my cocktailian persuits, I like to twist it up a bit.  Keep it fresh and different.

Bitter End Bitters makes one such cocktail augmentation that I feel would just rock in this Bourbon/Ginger Beer cocktail.  It is called the Mexican Mole Bitters.  Laced with hot chilies, bittersweet chocolate and Southwestern herbs, each scant drop adds a hidden element that will fully reveal itself when combined with the other ingredients in the cocktail.

And in keeping with my cocktailian intellect, I’ve frozen these Bitter End Mexican Mole’ Bitters into ice cubes made with water from my Mavea “Inspired Water” Pitcher.  The water is inspired because of a proprietary formula to strip out the harmful elements of ordinary tap water and turn it (inspire) into a crisp, luscious glass of water.

The same holds true for ice.  Ice made with water from my Mavea freezes almost crystal clear!

I’ve been adding different cocktail bitters into my ice.  When the ice melts, the cocktail bitters become melded into the cocktail, augmenting the flavor and deepening it during the melting process.

While some cocktail chefs are experimenting with liquid nitrogen, I’m using a much less expensive method of freezing.  Ice is my method, frozen for a couple of hours in the freezer.

Laced with the Bitter End Bitters- the drink becomes something otherworldly.

And that’s why I make cocktails.  To deepen my customer’s sense of taste.  Each taste is a living laboratory in each sip.

Four Roses Small Batch and Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer

(Tall Drink)

Make ice using Bitter End Mexican Mole’ Bitters (4 drops per cube) with water from a Mavea “Inspired Water” pitcher.

Freeze overnight or until absolutely firm

Add three “inspired water” ice cubes to a tall glass

Add 2 Oz. Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon

Add Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer to top

Add a bit of fresh lime juice and a hunk of lime

Scrape some fresh nutmeg over the top (essential!)

Serve to an appreciative customer!

Danger level 3 out of 5..

If you want a stronger drink, then just add more Bourbon!

 

About me:

Warren Bobrow is the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3 non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey.

He is one of 12 journalists world-wide, and the only one from the USA to participate in the Fête de la Gastronomie– the weekend of September 22nd. 2012 in Burgundy.

He attended Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in 2011/2012.

Warren presented freestyle mixology at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon. (2012)

Warren judged the Iron Mixology competition at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival (2012)

Warren has published over four hundred articles on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews to travel articles- globally.

You may also find him on the web at: http://www.cocktailwhisperer.com

Categories
Articles Recipes Reviews

Are you a Carnivore? I am.

October 9, 2012
I’ll admit it.  I’m a carnivore.  There is nothing I like more than tucking into a slab of dry-aged PRIME Beef.  My favorite way of cooking dry aged beef is very simple. Let the steak come to room temperature to relax the muscle.  Rub the steak with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.Grill over hard-wood charcoal, preferably homemade.  Homemade charcoal you say?  Yes.  I make my own from wood that I age and cut by hand.  It’s easy.  If you don’t have access to a few dozen fallen trees you can always buy a bag of “natural” charcoal at your local Whole Foods market.

It’s very important, in fact essential NEVER to buy that charcoal that has lighter fluid cooked into it.  Why?  Because no matter how long you burn the infused charcoal, it will always taste like gasoline.

When I’m paying top dollar from my local German butcher (Hoeffner’s in Morristown, NJ) I want to make sure that my dry-aged beef tastes like beef!

Not like lighter fluid.

Starting a charcoal grill is simple.  I’ve never owned a gas grill and wouldn’t know what to do with one if I did.

A fine choice is the medium sized Weber Kettle Grill.

I can control the heat for cooking by burning the coals on one side of the grill and using the natural convection from the curved lid to “circular” cook whatever I desire.  The heat works wonders and infuses your food is a bath of luscious wood smoke.

You can even add grapevines, cherry or apple wood to the fire to add flavor.

Plus the natural flavor of hard-wood charcoal is far more pleasurable in my opinion than the flavor of gas.  Just my opinion after years of cooking over wood.

Bourbon Distilleries often sell the charcoal that lines the insides of their barrels.  I recently received a bag of Rye Whiskey infused charcoal from a distillery in Pennsylvania named Dad’s Hat.  I placed the Rye Whiskey charcoal just off the heat so that the aromatics of the Whiskey combined with the burning wood, throwing off a Rye laced smoke.  On a rack of beef ribs, the aromatics were most beguiling.  You can duplicate this at home.  There are no secrets here!  Ok, maybe one secret.  When the charred meat comes off the grill, let it rest on a wooden cutting board for about three to five minutes.  Why?  If you cut into it hot off the grill, all the succulent juices will drain out, leaving you with a tough piece of meat.

This is my secret and one that I’m sure Chef Symon will concur with as well.

Imagine my delight when I learned that Michael Symon, the 2009 James Beard Award winning chef was coming to the Short Hills Williams-Sonoma store!

Finally, someone who gets it when teaching the careful preparation of meat!

Yes, he is a carnivore– like myself.  I’m sure we’ll have much in common.  As a former grill-dog in the restaurant business, I can talk charred meat all day long!

Michael Symon, the author of the upcoming book named Carnivore is coming to sign his newest cookbook in our local Williams-Sonoma store.

Anyone who exemplifies the art of cooking meat will be charmed by his eloquent style and abundant passion.

Although Michael will not be doing a cooking demo during this book signing, he will fill the room with his infectious wit.

From what I hear, he disarms even his toughest critics!

I cannot wait to meet him in person and you will too.

 

See you in Short Hills!

Here’s the event information:

Williams-Sonoma Short Hills (Upper Level)

Mall At Short Hills
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at 5:00pm
1200 Morris Turnpike, Short Hills, NJ, 07078
(973) 467-3641

Here’s more information about Michael:
Co-host on The Chew, an Iron Chef and host of Cooking Channel’s Symon Suppers, chef Michael Symon wows even the toughest food critics, while making audiences smile with his contagious laugh.

Carnivore, Symon’s second cookbook, will be out this October and feature recipes crafted for meat-lovers.

http://bit.ly/SO4sdO

I’m hoping if you are in the New York/New Jersey- Metro area, you’ll come out for this introduction to a true Star Chef, Michael Symon.

Here is a simple cocktail that I invented to go with grilled beef.

 

The Brick Pollitt Cocktail  Makes one really tangy/spicy cocktail perfect for aged PRIME Beef

Ingredients:

Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey

Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Three Chilies

Bitter End Memphis Barbecue Bitters

Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water

Ice made from your Mavea “Inspired Water” Pitcher infused with the Bitter End Memphis BBQ Bitters

Preparation:

One day prior to making your cocktails, freeze a tray of ice using your Mavea Pitcher “Inspired Water” and drop four drops of the Bitter End Memphis BBQ Bitters into each opening of the ice cube tray, freeze overnight

To a Boston Shaker (cocktail shaker) add some regular ice

Add 2 oz. Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey (or your choice of Rye)

Add 2 Tablespoons Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Three Chilies

Stir well to chill, do not shake this cocktail!

Add a couple of the Bitter End Bitters infused Mavea Water- ice cubes to a short rocks glass

Pour the Rye and Royal Rose Simple Syrup mixture over the top of your infused ice and then add a splash of the Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water for a bit of fizz

Sip to a perfectly cooked steak and your hungry demeanor!

 

Best Chef: Great Lakes, presented by James Beard Foundation 2009  Winner: Michael Symon

James Beard Foundation

About me:

Warren Bobrow is the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3 non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey.

He is one of 12 journalists world-wide, and the only one from the USA to participate in the Fête de la Gastronomie– the weekend of September 22nd. 2012 in Paris and Burgundy.

He attended Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, the Boston Cocktail Summit and the Manhattan Cocktail Classic.

Warren presented freestyle mixology at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon. (2012)

Warren judged the Iron Mixology competition at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival (2012)

Warren has published over four hundred articles on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews to travel articles- globally.

You may also find him on the web at: http://www.cocktailwhisperer.com

 

Categories
Articles Recipes

Lil Cowboy Cocktail. Reprinted from The Beekman 1802 Boys Website

http://beekman1802.com/food-and-wine/gartending-lil-cowboy.html

Gartending: Lil’ Cowboy

By 

Photo: Warren Bobrow, Leica M8

For the Spring and Summer growing season, we bring you a new feature at Beekman 1802, the Soused Gnome.  He’ll teach  you how to “gartend”–create perfect seasonal cocktails using fresh ingredients from the garden.

Klaus has been visiting farmers markets all over the country for the past month or so. His first adventure was to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, next was to the bread-basket of our nation in Columbus, Ohio. Last weekend he journeyed all the way out to Portland, Oregon to watch me do a presentation on freestyle mixology for the International Food Bloggers Conference held by Foodista.
It certainly stimulated my taste and olfactory senses!
Portland, Oregon is a city of farmers markets. There is a plethora of cocktail friendly ingredients that defy the imagination.
Cherries are in season again out on the left coast. This time the bounty of the garden is in the form of rare white cherries.
White cherries exemplify the gartender’s dream cocktail. When crushed into a cocktail, white cherries are otherworldly on the flavor profile.
Be sure to pit out your cherries before they go into your mixing cup.
We almost never see white cherries on the east coast. Klaus (the Soused Gnome) explains that the cherries flesh is sometimes too tender to travel. He told me that in his home country (Germany) his kinfolk put up sumptuous white cherries in fiery brandy! He goes on to tell me that brandied white cherries are marvelous in a cocktail that includes Denizen Rum, cucumber ice (really!) House Spirits White Dog and freshly squeezed grilled grapefruit juice. The lift for this cocktail is provided by Klaus’s favorite pinpoint seltzer water, the Perrier Sparkling Natural Spring Water. He says that this water reminds him of his youth on the German/French border. I’ve told him that he needs to concentrate on locally sourced ingredients, but he disagrees.
Funny how a drinking gnome can have such an opinion on mixers!
Klaus grew cucumbers this year in the garden. These cucumbers are the European variety (no surprise here) they are seedless. Frozen into the Williams-Sonoma KING ice cube tray (2 inch x 2 inch) the European variety makes for a flavorful augmentation of Klaus’s soon to be infamous cocktail.
I reproduced this drink back in New Jersey with my own home cured cherries. Unfortunately these cherries are red instead of white, but they are delicious all the same. You can reproduce the cherries yourself by pitting out a few pounds of WEST COAST cherries, then covering in the spirit of your choice. Klaus suggests using a light spiced rum or even Apple Jack.
They take a couple of weeks to cure, but Klaus and I both say that the wait is worth it!
I know that after the trip to Oregon, cowboy music plays very well into the re-birth of the West Coast sensibilities that Klaus possesses. His GIANT thirst is only superseded by his ability to drink dozens of (tiny) drinks while roaming the myriad of mixology bars that dot this most interesting of cities.

I created this cocktail “on the fly, free-style” at the IFBC/Freestyle Mixology presentation ‘Lil Cowboy Swing Cocktail (named for Portland, Oregon’s lost cowboy culture)

 

‘Lil Cowboy Swing Cocktail
Ingredients:
(A couple weeks before you make this cocktail “put-up” some home-cured cherries)
Denizen Rum White Rum
House Spirits White Dog (Moonshine) (Oregon Distilled)
Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Roses
Bitter End Thai Bitters
Freshly Squeezed Grilled Grapefruit juice (Slice grapefruit into rounds and sear or grill until charred over charcoal or in a sauté pan) then juice as normal
Home cured Cherries (white if you can find them, red if you cannot)
European cucumber (peeled and sliced into coins for both the ice cubes and the cocktail)
Perrier Sparkling Natural Spring Water
Cucumber water ice- freeze rounds of a European seedless cucumber into an ice cube tray. I recommend the Williams-Sonoma silicone KING CUBE tray- I do a 50/50 blend of freshly juiced cucumber water with filtered water from my Mavea water filtration pitcher (The Mavea pitcher is from Germany- are you surprised?)
Instructions

for two strikingly powerful cocktails
Muddle several rounds of cucumber with some (pitted) home cured cherries in a mixing cup
Add some regular ice (about a handful)
Add 2 oz White Dog from House Spirits
Add 1 oz Denizen Rum (White Rum)
Add 4 tablespoons of Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Roses
Add 4 oz of your grilled grapefruit juice (essential)
Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake
Add a couple cubes of the homemade cucumber ice to your hand-blown cocktail glass
Double Strain into a tall hand-blown glass filled with cucumber ice

Don’t have a hand-blown glass?? Time is now to connect with your cocktail glass!
What does it mean to double-strain? Pour through 2 strainers to remove all bits of cherry and cucumber and grilled grapefruit juice
Add four drops per cocktail glass of the Bitter End Thai Bitters
Top with the Perrier Natural Sparkling Mineral Water (Essential)
Garnish with either a red or white cherry (your choice)