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The Shrub; Ancient remedy to modern mixer!!

While the term “shrub” might call to mind a short, green plant in someone’s garden, it means something quite different in the mixology world.

A shrub is essentially an acidulated (read vinegar-based) beverage as old as history itself. In the days before refrigeration, it was pretty evident that without some means for food preservation, keeping items fresh was difficult at best. Food borne illnesses could be prevented or at least minimized by the use of an acid. In this case, the combination of vinegar and sugar when added to either fruit or vegetables contributed to a rudimentary food preservation system that has existed up to modern times. During the colonial era in particular, when daily labor was exhausting and folks needed something to cool off and reinvigorate themselves, shrubs were often drunk on their own. However, when a more festive mood took hold, shrubs were added to spirituous beverages, offering both a tart kick and a dose of healthy vinegar. Was the shrub the original health drink? Certainly it was used for good health, right up to the time when soda pop was invented, spelling the demise of the shrub. In recent years, however, a resurgence of old methods has taken the cocktail world by storm. In search of new and intriguing flavor profiles, bartenders have started making shrubs in house and, in doing so, creating a wealth of unique drinks. Shrubs are simply made with only three ingredients, a fruit (or a vegetable), sugar, and some type of vinegar. It does have to be aged after the mashing of fruit, sugar and vinegar, but that timing is really up to you. It can age quickly or over several weeks.

Below is a selection of shrub recipes and the drinks in which I’ve used them. You could easily customize your own beverage by adding a shrub to your favorite gin, vodka, and rum-based libations.

Colonial-Sour-Cherry-Shrub
Colonial Sour Cherry Shrub
Photo Courtesy of Glenn Scott

Colonial Sour Cherry Shrub

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. Jar of Sour Cherry Preserves
  • 1 cup Demerara Sugar
  • 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Preparation: Place the sour cherry preserves in a nonreactive bowl, and cover with the sugar. Let them steep together for at least overnight (or for a few days) at room temperature. Then strain the cherry mixture through a non-reactive sieve, crushing the tender fruits with a wooden spoon to extract as much flavor and sweet juice as possible. Combine with the vinegar; let the mixture sit for a few hours, and then strain into sterilized bottles.

Benjamin-Gunn-Mystery-Cocktail
The Benjamin Gunn Mystery Cocktail

The Benjamin Gunn Mystery Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp. Colonial Sour Cherry Shrub
  • 2 oz. Dark Rum (a Molasses-Based Rum that’s Been Aged in Ex-Bourbon Oak is Ideal)
  • 1/4 oz. Dark Amber Maple Syrup
  • Splash of Seltzer Water
  • Lemon Twist
  • Dash of Cherry Bitters

Preparation: Place an ice cube in a rocks glass, and add 2 tbsp. of the sour cherry shrub. Add the dark rum and the maple syrup, and then top with a splash of fizzy seltzer water. Garnish with a lemon twist, and dot with cherry bitters.

 

Ginger-Lime-Shrub
Ginger-Lime Shrub

Ginger-Lime Shrub

Ingredients:

  • 4 Limes, Zested and Quartered
  • 1 cup Demerara Sugar
  • 6 tbsp. Freshly Grated Ginger Root
  • 1–2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar (Depending on the Height of the Ingredients when Placed in a Bowl)

Preparation: In a non-reactive bowl, combine the lime peels, lime quarters, sugar, and ginger. Stir to combine and coat all the fruit with sugar. Cover and leave at room temperature at least overnight or for 1 to 2 days. (Slow, cool fermentation gives a shrub its trademark bite.) Now prepare your shrub for aging. Set a strainer over another non-reactive bowl and pour the lime and ginger into the strainer. Use a stout wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible from the limes and the softened ginger. Let the mixture sit for a few more hours.

Stir again, and discard the fruit chunks. Stir in the vinegar, and then use a funnel to transfer the shrub syrup to a sterilized bottle. Seal and then shake well to combine. Store the bottles in the refrigerator or at cellar temperature for 3 to 4weeks before using. Shake each bottle once or twice daily to help the sugar dissolve. When it’s mostly dissolved, your shrub is ready to use. Makes 1 1/2 cups. Keep refrigerated, and use within about 6 months.

Ginger-Lime Shrub with Rhum Agricole and Salty Lemonade

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp. Ginger-Lime Shrub
  • 2 oz. 100-proof Rhum Agricole Blanc
  • 3 oz. Freshly Made Lemonade, Sweetened with Raw Honey or Simple Syrup
  • 1/2 oz. Seltzer Water
  • 1 pinch Fleur De Sel
  • 2–3 drops Lime Bitters

Preparation: Add the Ginger-Lime Shrub to an old fashioned glass. Then add an ice spear. Top with the Rhum Agricole Blanc, the lemonade, and a splash of seltzer water. Sprinkle a pinch of fleur de sel into the drink, and finish with a couple drops of lime bitters.

 

Strawberry-Rhubard-Shrub
Squire’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub

Squire’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Roasted Strawberries and Rhubarb, Equal Parts
  • 1 cup Demerara Sugar
  • 1 cup Light Balsamic Vinegar

Preparation: Add the roasted strawberries and rhubarb to a non-reactive bowl. Cover with the sugar, stir to combine, and cover it with plastic wrap. Leave at cool room temperature for 24 hours. Stir frequently during this time to combine as the berries and rhubarb give off their liquid.

Place a non-reactive strainer above a second non-reactive bowl, pour the fruit-sugar mixture into the strainer, and use a wooden spoon to mash the mixture in order to release as much liquid as possible. (Reserve the mashed fruit to use in cooking or baking, if you like.) Add the balsamic vinegar to the liquid, stir, and let the mixture sit for a few hours. Funnel into sterilized bottles or jars, and age for 3–4 weeks in the refrigerator. This shrub will last nearly indefinitely, but if it begins to quiver, dance, or speak in foreign languages, throw it out.

Squires-Shrub-Cocktail
Squire’s Shrub Cocktail

Squire’s Shrub Cocktail

  • 1 Brown Sugar Cube
  • Several Dashes of Lemon Bitters
  • 1/2 oz. Botanical Gin
  • 2 oz. Squire’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub
  • 1 1/2 oz. Champagne, or Dry Sparkling Wine
  • 1 Long Lemon Twist

Preparation: Add the sugar cube to a Champagne flute (see below), and moisten with the lemon bitters. Then add the gin and the Squire’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub, and top with Champagne. Garnish with a long lemon twist.

Note: To prepare this flute, combine very finely chopped lemon zest and sugar, wet the rim of the glass with lemon, and dip the glass into yellow-colored sugar.

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Niche’s Cocktail of the Week, My Mamontini!

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Mezan Rum & The Common Man Cocktails!

Today we have a guest and brand ambassador for Mezan Rum in the house, for a full week of episodes and then some. We first look at Mezan Rum, of course, where we get a full explanation of the product from the brand ambassador himself: Warren Bobrow.
Not only does he know a lot about Mezan, he’s also a well established and well known cocktail creator in the industry known by all the big names. He’s got four cocktail books with a fifth book on the way this spring. And, we get him for the week to make cocktails with us and shed knowledge.
What can be better than that? He’s a wonderful guy to talk with and friendly on top if it all. Can’t beat that! Now, let’s drink some Mezan, three bottles, three variations with three unique takes on rum.
Also, don’t forget to register to win the Warren Bobrow Treasure Island Refresher Kit from Craft Spirits Exchange!
Warren Bobrow’s Treasure Island Refresher: http://drinkc.sx/cocktailtv
Mezan Rum: http://bit.ly/getmezan

Warren Bobrow’s Books: http://amzn.to/1QLan4v
——
ABOUT Common Man Cocktails (CMC)

Common Man Cocktails, inspired by Derrick Schommer’s intimidation when opening a cocktail book, is designed to show viewers how to create some of the most common cocktails to advanced crazy cocktails and to look back at the classics of yesterday. Derrick has learned as he goes and has been actively creating five recipes a week on the channel for over six years, lots of content to keep you entertained for hours!

CMC will teach you how to make some great cocktail designs, give you ideas for new cocktails and introduce you to the latest spirits, liqueurs, syrups, barware and bitters. If you’re looking to become a cocktail enthusiast or need new ideas for your bartending trade, CMC is a great place to start.

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Recipes Reviews

Carne de Porco e Amêijoas : Estilo Português

Or, Pork and Clams: Portuguese Style!

By Warren Bobrow, Cocktail Whisperer

I have this thing about fresh seafood.  It must be the very freshest for me, as I demand only the very best that money can buy.  Whenever I think about fish, it isn’t the kind that has rested in a freezer case- packaged in colorfully printed shrink wrapped-cryovac portions- sometimes for years before serving.  Nor is it prepared in a boil in bag directly from the microwave like many chain-type restaurants serve, calling this fresh fish.  They certainly have audacity for even calling this product; fish.
Whenever I travel to places that are famous for their seafood, I get hungry and thirsty!  Usually at the same time.  I’ve been doing a lot of book and cocktail events up in New England, so my sense of urgency only gets more profound as the weather (and the water) gets colder.  Oysters and clams just taste more vibrant with ample salinity come the colder weather.
One of the places that I like to go to for the very best quality seafood that is somewhat close by if you live in the northern NJ or NYC/BK area, is named Seabra’s Marisqueira.
I’m a huge fan of this restaurant- with free parking available both next door and across the street. (Hint: bring five bucks with you to tip the attendant)
This attractive restaurant, looking more like the authentic seafood restaurant located in Portugal, was established in the late 1980’s.  It is family owned and operated.  They have been serving brimming plates of absolutely the very best fresh seafood available to the market every day since then.
They travel to the fresh seafood market in Hunt’s Point daily to ensure that the quality of their offerings say that this fish has never, ever been frozen.  You really can taste the difference in quality and texture.   I recommend this place very highly and gave them three stars when I wrote restaurant reviews for NJ Monthly Magazine.

Seabra’s Marisqueira Reviewed


Wine also tastes better with seafood that screams of the cold and unforgiving ocean.  One wine in particular from the island of Australia, the Yalumba “The Y Series” Unwooded Chardonnay is perfectly geared to this kind of food.  Flavors that speak clearly of the frigid depths of the sea.  This wine is not a ‘butter-bomb’, nor is it all fruit-forward that most of all that you taste is cloying gobs of sweet glycerin and stewed fruits…  It speaks a language of citrus zest rubbed on sea-salt slicked slabs of wet slate.  It’s a most profoundly delicious wine at a very reasonable price.
At DrinkupNY a wine for under fifteen bucks is a very good deal indeed.  And you can rest assured that the Yalumba drinks like more rarified wines, some costing three times as much.
It does not have a lick of oak!  Stainless steel all the way!  Screams for seafood. What else do you need to know except open your checkbook and buy a case!  And because it is un-wooded, this wine will be as delicious today as it is a year from today. The Yalumba is both fresh and refreshing because it is not tainted by the curse that seems to plague many Australian wines, some costing much, much more.   And that is the curse of over oaking wines.
Fresh Seafood for this wine should include a dish made famous at Seabra’s named Pork and Clams.
What they do is impossibly simple, yet brilliant with wines that speak a certain crispness across the palate.
I’m pretty sure that you’re not going to find Australian wines at a Portuguese restaurant, so put yourself into the very capable hands in this restaurant.  And if you are preparing this dish at home, by all means chill down a bottle of the Yalumba Y Series wine and relax yourself for a while.  Cheers!

Pork and Clams- Portuguese Style…
Ingredients
First you must marinade the pork butt for at least overnight…this is my marinade which I deciphered from eating at Seabra’s so many times.

2 pounds’ Berkshire (richer flavored) pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 bulbs garlic, peeled and smashed
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup Yalumba Y-Series Chardonnay– go ahead, have a glass or two while you prepare this dish!
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
½ cup white wine vinegar
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, unstrained
1 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil (essential)
1 tablespoon Hot Spanish Paprika
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 bay leaf

To Sautee the pork…
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons bacon fat or duck fat
2 cups chopped Spanish onions
4 tablespoon freshly minced garlic (NEVER used pre-peeled garlic cloves, it’s obscene and just lazy to use that awful stuff)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock (roast bones, add water, boil with aromatics and simmer)
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup tomato concasse’  boiled, peeled and de-seeded
5 pounds clams, in the shell, well purged and scrubbed (chill in the fridge overnight with cornmeal just covered with salted water, they’ll purge all the sand very nicely, leaving a non-gritty clam for your tasty cooking!)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Place the pork butt cubes into a large non-reactive container with a lid. In a food processor, combine the all the marinade ingredients except for the Bay leaf. Blend until smooth and pour over the pork. Close the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Add the Bay Leaf separately to the marinade container and remove before cooking.

Place a large Le Creuset type Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and bacon or duck fat to the pan. Drain the pork from the marinade and set aside the marinade. Sear the pork pieces in the hot fat in batches, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn and do the same again so all sides are nice and crusty. Keep warm in a 200-degree oven while you finish all the pieces.
Add the onions to the hot fat in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 4-8 minutes. Add the crushed garlic to the pan and cook for 50 seconds. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Do not let the flour burn!

Add the chicken stock and the tomato paste- with the salt and reserved marinade to the pan and stir to combine. Stir constantly until simmering uniformly. Return the pork to the pan, simmer and then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to quite low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.  I cook mine at least 2 hours if not more. Add the tomato concasse’ and clams in their (well-scrubbed) shells to the pan, stir to combine and cover. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the clams open, stirring occasionally, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce the temperature to low, and sprinkle with the Italian parsley and serve with your Yalumba Y-Series Chardonnay in chilled glasses.

Cheers from DrinkUpNY!

http://blog.drinkupny.com/2016/02/pork-and-clams-portuguese-style.html?m=1

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Cigar Divan on Rupert Street w/ Warren Bobrow!!

Wow!

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These Are The Drinks You’ve Been Looking For!

bobrow_2016Certainly by the end of the year I’ve become a bit jaded on what I consider to be trends for the following year.  Everyone wants to know what the “next best thing” is… Or what it’s going to be tomorrow, next week or in the coming months.

It is here that I want to start my list of what I think, as a taste-maker- will be hot in the coming months. I’ll give a list with some explanation- just in case.

Last September I was fortunate to attend the Moscow (Russia) Bar Show.  It was enlightening, amazing and educational.  I gave a master class on rum and traveled to the other side of the globe to find a country that for all intents and purposes is just like ours- except they speak Russian.  They love us- we’d never know that from our press though. The Russians are passionate about American Whiskey.

Want to know where all the Bourbon Whiskey is?  Russia.  So, I’ll start my list in Moscow.

• Authenticity, Nostalgia, Simplicity.  I was sent to the Moscow Bar Show by Mezan Rum.  You would think that Russians would be preoccupied with vodka.  Not so, they demand authenticity and that “Jerry Thomas” approach to history.  Fine aged rum plays directly into this chess game.  Rum that hasn’t been colorized, chill-filtered nor any added sugar, or saccharine allowed.  Mezan fulfills this purpose and takes you further into the plethora of flavors that speak clearly to the métier of the rum distiller.  Get some!  I prefer the Jamaican version. There is a certain funk in each sip.  Powerful stuff in a Planter’s Punch or even in a Rum-Manhattan.  Make sure you use a Vermouth like Atsby, or Uncouth- even Carpano… But use the white one.  The red is too sweet for these perfumed rums.

• Whiskey from actual distilleries!  What a concept- is it me, or are there more made-up names than usual on the store shelves?  I actually had a friend ask me about a Bourbon the other day from a distillery that has never existed outside of a Madison Avenue advertising agency desk.  The label appeared to be hand attached and the closure had the look of a cork stuck in the top of a bottle of Moonshine.  There may have been leather involved.  All it said to me was, stay far away.
Authenticity in Bourbon takes guts these days.  But should you find a true craft distillery- then by all means buy their stuff.  They deserve your support.  The big guys are ok, but cut out the fake-craft labeling.  It’s confusing to the consumer!  My favorites going forward, Barrell Bourbon, Few Spirits, Catoctin Creek, Hudson…  They are my favorites for a reason.  They speak the language of history.

• Scotch from Scotland and other places – Ok, so they call them smoked whiskies when they are from other places.  I don’t want to raise the ire of Scotch drinkers.  Pardon me. Amongst my favorites going forward- Virginia Highland Malt Whisky- yes Virginia, they distill absolutely gorgeous whisky in Virginia. I’ve been making Bee’s Knees with Old St. Andrews Scotch Whisky- lightly aromatic of cut grass and toasted peat. Not overpowering with smoke, but to my palate, just enough.  And that bottle!  Looks like a golf ball.  Brenne from France continues to please and going forward I would say that any releases from this marvelous producer will challenge even the most snobbish of the Whisky drinkers.   I had some beautiful Scotch Whisky in Russia that dated back to the mid 1960’s… If you can find any of these, save your pennies… They are worth every cent.

• Rhum Agricole.  Certainly you should be drinking Rhum Agricole…  Don’t just put a bottle on your bar and forget about it.  I continue to wax poetic about the mysterious flavors that appear and disappear in each sip of Rhum Agricole.  One of my favorite ways to drink this perfumed slice of Rhum history (yes they use an extra h in Rhum in the French West Indies) is with a chunk of lime (with the skin on) and a couple splashes of Cane Sugar Syrup… This is so simple!  Anyone can choose their own demise by making this drink as strong or as weak as they desire.  Thank you to Ed Hamilton for teaching me what I needed to know in the first place.

• Flavored Syrups and Shrubs.  What is a shrub?  My third book, Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails defines a Shrub as an acidulated beverage, historically used as a method of aiding digestion and for refreshment- as an energy drink.  In the days prior to soda, a touch of vinegar, sugar and fruit along with cool water would satisfy most thirsts.  Flavored syrups make our jobs as bartenders and mixologists much easier.  Amongst the very best that you can buy are: Royal Rose… Fruitations (I’m just blown away by their Cranberry), Pickett’s from Brooklyn (yes, that’s a place and their hot ginger syrup is world class) Shrub and Company, Shrub Drinks, Liber and Company.  All delicious and lip-smacking.  Powell & Mahoney is my go/to for Pomegranate Mixer- yes- even I use a pre-mix for some events.

• Craft Soda… With too many names to mention, but I’ll mention a couple.  Q-Drinks- they’re magnificent.  The Club Soda has a pinch of sea salt- keeps you thirsty!  I’m thrilled by some of the Root Beers that come down from Bar Harbor in Maine… I love to drink Boylan’s and Bruce Cost sodas when I want something even more authentic.  Dry Soda is just amazing stuff- the cucumber variety is crisp and refreshing.

• Hard Cider.  Possmann’s from Germany is my go/to.  This lightly sparkling cider is all apple and just the right amount of fizz and alcohol rolling in at 5% abv.  I’ve had it on tap in the New York/Metro area and if you see it, get some… immediately!  Farnum Hill from up in New England continues to charm my palate as well.  There are some Spanish Ciders that are just so assertive- Burgundy wine comes to mind.  Barnyard notes and crushed stones come into view, sip by sip, if you dare! They are just different styles from Spain.  I much prefer the German ciders, at least for my palate.

• Tequila.  I don’t know what happened to Tequila, but I’m tired of Tequila that tastes like Bourbon.  Maybe it’s because they age the distillate in used Bourbon casks?  Absolutely, this is why your Tequila tastes sweet.  It’s in the cask!  I much prefer the rare and usually a bit more expensive versions like Casa Noble- aged in French White Oak.  This is a much more expensive method, but worthwhile in my opinion.

• Mezcal… It’s mysterious like a high fever in the middle of Summer.  There’s smoke in there- lots of stuff going on in your imagination.  If you want to really challenge your palate, in a good way… Taste Mezcal.  Of course if it has a worm in the bottle, throw it out immediately.  This is not the real thing.  It was invented, yes again… by one of those ad agencies.  No one eats the darned thing!

• Gin.  Stick to what you like and I love Barr Hill from Vermont.  The Tom Cat, aged in American Oak is my preference in a snifter- for a perfectly marvelous gin and juice – use nothing more than the raw honey and grain distilled Barr Hill Gin with freshly squeezed- broiled grapefruit in a muddle.  A splash of Q-Tonic water and a couple dashes of Angostura to finish…  All good. Happy New Year!

My fourth book, Cannabis Cocktails (the first book on the topic!) is in pre-sell now: www.quartoknows.com/books/9781592337347/Cannabis-Cocktails-Mocktails-and-Tonics.html

 

- See more at: http://totalfood.com/articles/these-are-the-drinks-youve-been-looking-for#sthash.PKUMRV7J.dpuf
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Articles Recipes

The Squire’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub

It’s true, the Squire’s Shrub does require a couple of extra steps, but I promise it’s worth your while: Your patience will be rewarded with a lush, crimson colored syrup that’s straight out of the eighteenth century, when America was in its infancy and early pharmacists would have relied on their gardens to supply the basis for their healing tonics. (Rhubarb has been used as a digestive aid for thousands of years.) There’s nothing difficult to it, though, beyond a little extra mixing, and roasting your fruit before making the shrub. The vinegar’s high acidity cuts through the sumptuous, charred, caramelized flavor of the roasted strawberries and rhubarb, making it a seductive addition to gin, vodka, and rum-based libations.

2 cups (340 g)
Roasted Strawberries and Rhubarb
1 cup (200 g) Demerara sugar
1 cup (235 ml) light balsamic vinegar

Time: 3–4 weeks. Add the roasted strawberries and rhubarb to a nonreactive bowl. Cover with the sugar, stir to combine, and cover it with plastic wrap. Leave at cool room temperature for 24 hours. Stir frequently during this time to combine as the berries and rhubarb give off their liquid. Place a nonreactive strainer above a second nonreactive bowl, pour the fruit-sugar mixture into the strainer, and use a wooden spoon to mash the mixture in order to release as much liquid as possible.

(Reserve the mashed fruit to use in cooking or baking, if you like.) Add the balsamic vinegar to the liquid, stir, and let the mixture sit for a few hours. Funnel into sterilized bottles or jars, and age for 3–4 weeks in the refrigerator. This shrub will last nearly indefinitely, but if it begins to quiver, dance, or speak in foreign languages, throw it out.

Excerpted from Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails Restorative Vintage Cocktails, Mocktails, and Elixirs by Warren Bobrow (Fair Winds Press, 2015).

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Recipes

The Squire’s Shrub Cocktail

SquiresShrubCocktail
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Get ready to try my Cocktail Whisperer’s twisted take on the French 75, that classic combination of gin, champagne, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This version is actually a hybrid of the French 75 and the traditional champagne cocktail, which calls for a bitters-moistened sugar cube, brandy, and a heady top of champagne. Fuse the two together, add a healthy whack of tart, fruity Squire’s Shrub, and you’ve got a cocktail that’ll make your knees tremble. In the same way that alchemists of old strove to turn base metals into gold, champagne can turn a plain old Tuesday into a full-on, hat-waving celebration. Be sure to keep a bottle on hand so you can whip these up the next time you find yourself hosting an impromptu shindig. Make a few batches of the Squire’s, if you dare—just keep that bottle of Fernet Branca on hand for the morning after.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 brown sugar cube
  • several dashes of lemon bitters
  • 1⁄2 ounce (15 ml) botanical gin
  • 2 ounces (60 ml) squire’s strawberry-rhubarb shrub (recipe follows)
  • 1 1⁄2 ounces (45 ml) champagne or dry sparkling wine
  • l long lemon zest twist

 INSTRUCTIONS

Add the sugar cube to a champagne flute, and moisten with the lemon bitters. Then add the gin and the Squire’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub, and top with champagne. Garnish with a long lemon zest twist. Note: To prepare this flute, combine very finely chopped lemon zest and sugar, wet the rim of the glass with lemon, and dip the glass into yellow-colored sugar. Voila!

 

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Articles Recipes

How to make a martini!

http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/life/2015/12/01/martini/76574266/

“Shaken, not stirred.” So goes James Bond’s drink order. But according to experts, the famous, fictional secret agent is ordering his martini all wrong.

“A martini is never shaken, it is always stirred,” said Warren Bobrow, a mixologist and author known as the “cocktail whisperer.”

“If I’m drinking a really great gin,” he said, “why do I want to water it down with ice chips?” It could be, Bobrow hypothesized, filmmakers were trying to set a trend, or to make Bond a responsible drinker by having his drink diluted by ice. “Maybe they thought he would be better able to point a gun and shoot it if he isn’t blitzed,” Bobrow said. Today, the palate is conditioned to more watery drinks, explained Caffe Aldo Lamberti bartender Sara Madden. But purists want to be able to taste the alcohol. “True aficionados of martinis will want their martini stirred,” Madden said, “because shaking it waters it down significantly.”

As classic cocktails experience a resurgence, martinis are a common order, though not everyone’s definition of a martini is the same.

“In today’s generation, when they think of martinis, they have no idea what dry vermouth is,” said Mark Hershberger, another bartender at Caffe Aldo Lamberti. The classic martini recipe is a mixture of gin and dry vermouth.  But many just don’t have a taste for it, said Treno bartender Jessica Acetty. “It’s very rare anyone wants vermouth in any of their martinis.” The history of the martini goes back to California in the early 1800s, said Bobrow. It became a popular drink during the gold rush, because the ingredients were accessible. Vermouth traveled well, and gin could be made locally. Ice was only for the wealthy, and didn’t factor into the cocktail at first. At a 1:1 ratio of gin to vermouth, the early martini also was a powerful drink. “It was a really great way of taking the edge off,” Bobrow said. Vermouth takes a backseat these days. Increasingly, Madden said, when people order a martini, they are looking for cold vodka served in a cocktail glass. “These days, vodka is way more popular than gin.” While gin has a distinctive flavor, derived from juniper berries, vodka serves as a blank canvas, so it can be used in a variety of drinks, a variety of ways. To the younger generation, said Madden, anything served in a cocktail, or martini, glass could be called a martini. For Bobrow, the definition is much more stringent. “There’s only one martini, and a martini is only made from gin,” Bobrow said. “Anything else is an imitation.”  One of Madden’s regulars likes his glass washed with the vermouth, then emptied of the excess. Bobrow does the same before adding gin to the chilled glass, though he prefers to pour the extra vermouth into his mouth rather than down the drain. If shaken with ice, the “dirty rocks” can be served alongside the drink, to keep it cold and add flavor.  “All of our martinis are always shaken,” said Treno bartender Nathan Colgate. He then serves the rocks on the side, “so they can get that last bit of alcohol.” Treno also makes vodka martinis, unless asked otherwise. “When someone comes in and asks for a martini, almost always they want a vodka martini instead of gin,” Colgate said. They shake the cocktails until they are ice cold — something customers expect — but only if it’s a vodka drink. Shaking a gin martini “bruises the gin, it ruins it,” Acetty said. Just as the method for making a martini varies, so does the presentation. As the author of “Apothecary Cocktails,” Bobrow has studied the use of cocktail ingredients as medicine, as alcohol is an effective preservative for herbs and spices. He said the lemon peel may have been a popular garnish for its health benefits, while olives, with a salty flavor, would stimulate thirst. Colgate said at Treno, they garnish the martinis with three blue-cheese-stuffed olives, while Madden drops a twist of lemon peel into the classic martini at Caffe Aldo Lamberti.  Bobrow doesn’t garnish his martini. “It would just change the flavor,” he said. Hershberger’s preferred martini would be made with Hendrick’s gin and muddled cucumber, for a fresh flavor. “Everybody has their own way they prefer it, especially martini drinkers,” Madden said. So while Bond’s version may not be technically correct, when it comes to a martini, it is all a matter of preference. But one thing is certain: “There is nothing more sophisticated than the martini,” Bobrow said.

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