Bols Genever hosts seminar about bitters

Feb. 17

The folks at Bols were holding a seminar of sorts on classic cocktails at Julie Reiner's Clover Club. I actually had the day off with a pretty long weekend, so the middle-of-the-day timing wasn't too worrisome for me. However, after a three-day run of sleeping in late and indulging in late night horror movie watching sessions, I was stumbling, bleary-eyed, up to Clover Club. Half-asleep, I almost did not recognizing Dave Wondrich when I got to the door until I was practically walking right into him.

I squinted like a mole creature in the natural light as I started to make out familiar faces like Jim Meehan, Naren Young and Giuseppe Gonzalez. It was nice seeing folks I usually see after dark during daylight hours. I even got to see some people I hadn't seen in a while, such as writer Chantal Martineau and Washington D.C. bartender Gina Chersevani.

After a bit of noshing and hobnobbing, Tal Nadari, vice president of marketing for Lucas Bols Spirits U.S.A., as well as a former member of The Fabulous Shaker Boys, urged everyone to grab a seat.

In a twist on a product event, Bols was hosting a themed seminar not exactly about their genever product, but on topics regarding classic cocktail making. It still worked, since genever, or Holland gin, is called for in old cocktail recipes.

In his introduction, Tal said that reaction the product, since its relaunch last year, has been great.

In a sense, this event seemed like Bols' nod not only to the classic cocktail recipes that effectively use genever, but also to the bartenders of today for their interest in the product. At the same time, helping to keep genever on everyone's mind as an ingredient that can be worked with in future creations. According to Tal, this was the first of four different seminars. Others would also highlight topics such as the difference between American and European classics.

As Tal said, "Do we know everything? No, or at least I hope not."

Stephan Berg, bartender, bar history buff/collector of bar miscellanea and one of the founders of The Bitter Truth, acted as guest speaker on the topic of bitters.

Tal Nadari encouraged those in attendance to ask questions throughout the talk, since it wasn't meant to be a stuffy lecture.

Armed with a slide show presentation, Stephan launched into the topic of bitters.

Bitters first came to the Americas with settlers who depended on the items to provide herbal and homeopathic treatment in a climate that wasn't necessarily rife with the best of medical care. Bitters didn't start out as something associated with alcohol. In fact, for those of you who know bitters or even cocktail history, Siegert's Aromatic Bitters was first created for medicinal use by Simon Bolivar's troops and Peychaud's was created by an apothecary.

Stephan explained that bitters were added to alcoholic beverages to provide depth and improve the taste of alcohol because good-quality spirits were not widely available in the 19th century. People also realized that these bitters added flavor and complexity. At the same time, the so-called medicinal properties assigned to bitters lent cocktails a healthy benefit, especially when you consider that cocktails back in the day were enjoyed more as a morning or daytime beverage.

Berg drew from his collection of old cocktail books and paraphernalia. His slideshow showed a listing of advertisements for numerous imported and domestic bitters bottles that came in a myriad of shapes and designs. Stephan explained that while most people nowadays would think of the shaker as a symbol for the bartender, in the past, it was the bitters bottle, showing the importance of bitters in classic cocktails.

Stephan highlighted nine different cocktails recipes out of the pages of history, and everyone attending got a chance to sample the cocktails. Holland's Pride, a recipe from William Schmidt's 1892 recipe collection, The Flowing Bowl, is a recipe that not only calls for bitters, but for Holland gni as well ("A mixing glass 2/3 full of ice, 3 dashes of gum, 2 dashes of bitters, 1 dash of absinthe, 2/3 of Holland gin, 1/3 of vino vermouth. stir well, strain and serve.").

Stephan said that in the past, he didn't understand the appeal of some of the old recipes because he used the more dry gin of today which is hotter, and juniper-heavy when compared to the sweet and more malty flavors of genever. This Dutch style of gin once ruled the world, but as people's tastes changed, the drier English gni started gaining ground.

And it was true, you could taste the difference in these older cocktails. Even though they were boozy, stirred elixirs, it had a murky, cryptic sweetness to it different from the type of almost bright sweet you see in cocktails that have citrus or fruit. The shift in flavor profile was particularly evident in the series of cocktails we got to try that showed the evolution of the martini.

We looked at and tried an early Manhattan Cocktail, as well as the Martinez Cocktail. It was the total exact opposite of dry. It was totally wet. Like splash into your mouth wet. It was sweet and spicy in an almost tactile way.

Manhattan Cocktail, No. 1
1 pony French vermouth
1/2 pony whisky
3 or 4 dashes Angostura bitters
3 dashes gum syrup

Manhattan Cocktail, No. 2
2 dashes Curacoa
2 " Angostura bitters
1/2 wine-glass whisky
1/2 " Italian vermouth
Fine ice,; stir well and strain into a cocktail
from "Modern Bartenders' Guide", OH Byron, 1884

The Martinez Cocktail is made the same way as the Manhattan, but with gin substituting whisky.

While some folks look at the Martini as that sort of quintessential dry cocktail, looking at an early Martini recipe from Harry Johnson's 1900 "Bartenders' Manual," the recipe isn't so cut and, ahem, dry.

Fill the glass up with ice;
2 or 3 dashes of gum syrup (be careful in not using too much);
2 or 3 dashes of bitters (Boker's genuine only);
1 dash of curacao or absinthe, if required;
1/2 wine glass of old Tom gin;
1/2 wine glass of vermouth
Stir up well with a spoon; strain it into a fancy cocktail glass; put in a cherry or a medium-sized olive, if required; and squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top, and serve.

Even in a formula that might seem more familiar to today's dry martini fans, bitters still played a part:

Marguerite Cocktail
1 dash of orange bitter
2/3 Plymouth gin
1/2 French vermouth
"Stuart's Fancy Drinks and how to mix them", 1896

Interestingly enough, Stephan pointed out that the Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906 served a heavy blow to the bitters market. Before 1906, any sort of remedies were sold under the generic term of "patent medicine", regardless of how dubious or questionable the product's medicinal properties were. However, post Pure Food and Drug Act, companies could no longer falsely advertise. Unfortunately, bitter had also been marketed as medicinal products, causing trouble for a lot of brands. And of course, Prohibition also played a part in dampening the bitters market.

Then simply changes in tastes and trends also pushed bitters further away from cocktails. Though with classic cocktails coming back, people are once again going back to bitters as well as recreating those long lost in the mists of time. That's how Stephan got into the bitters business. As a bartender in Germany, there was a lack of bitters, as well as other cocktail ingredients such as orange flower water, necessary to recreate recipes.

Stephan said that now, Ramos Gin Fizzes were very popular in Germany. As soon as those words left his mouth, a groan went up from the bartenders in the room. Though the Ramos Gin Fizz is quite delicious, to create perfectly takes some amount of energy, nevermind having to make several.

"Remind me never to go to Germany," I heard Joaquin Simo quip next to me.

"You mean, never to go work in Germany," Alex Day added.

But Stephan assured everyone that it's not as bad as it sounds. With the volume of orders made for the Ramos Gin Fizz, shakers of the stuff could be made and handed off to different bartenders for additional shaking, making the process not too painful.

Afterwards, I officially met Erik Ellestad. I only kinda e-knew him up until that point, so it was cool to say hi. I also asked Thomas Waugh about brunch service at Clover Club, since he's the lone barman during those hours. Thomas mentioned his sort of Asian twist on the Bloody Mary that calls for ingredients like fish sauce, soy sauce and wasabi. I've decided to make March Brunch Month, so I think I should stop by there for some of that.

Getting back on the horse and into the game

February 9

Walking into a bar and having the folks working there greet you with an enthusiastic, "Hey, long time no see!" probably would set the gears turning in anyone's head as they question their drinking habits. Then again you could also give it a charitable spin that the place has a staff that provides great customer service and remembers its guest.

If you're me, however, the first thing to cross your mind is that you have not been keeping up with the game. I have to admit, I seemed to have fallen into this inexplicable morass of not going to as many events or bars. It was mostly timing I guess. Deadlines, the end of the year, the holidays, they all sort of crept up on me and put me into a sleep hold while I wasn't looking. Things needed to change. I needed to untangle myself from all this and put a German suplex on it. I needed to get myself back into season shape to bring the stories that this crazy town has to offer when it comes to alcohol consuming and making. That's why I'd finally gotten off of my rear to respond to some event invites and that evening I was set to check out Marc Forgione's place, which was having a (re)christening party of sorts.

Before I headed that way, I still had some time, so I dropped by Death and Co. to give Mr. Alex Day an issue of our publication. He'd been kind enough to act as a source for an article I'd written for our NRN 50 special issue.

I felt like Rip Van Winkle as I walked into the place. It seemed like ages since I last sat down for a drink.

"I feel like it's been a while since I last saw you," Alex said as I handed him the issue.

I ordered a Faithful Scotsman. It's sort of become my go to drink at Death and Co. I think it's because it's refreshing without being too sweet so it's nice and easy to start off with. And it has two of my favorite things, tartness and whiskey. High-five, everyone.

John Deragon and Don Lee were there as well. John wanted to know what happened to the rest of "Tuesdays with Eben." I winced a little. I admit, my fault entirely. It basically came down to scheduling. I'd gotten the OK to leave work early the first couple of times, but now I had to figure out another way that didn't have me leaving work early. I need to get on that so I can at least do one more session and tie that series up neatly. Also, a little relieved to get confirmation that people are really interested in that particular series.

Don told me he felt I was slacking off in a tsk-tsk-ing tone. Man, this wasn't good. With renewed fire and vigor I stomped off down to Marc Forgione's restaurant, which was changing its name from Forge to, well, Marc Forgione.

I remember at the Tales of the Cocktail and Saveur event, our food editor Bret Thorn's friend Blain Howard asked me about what I did. When I told him about this blog he asked, "Wait, so why's Bret here?"

Because the two intersect. This Marc Forgione event is more Bret's bailiwick, but when I do get invites for restaurant events that state "cocktails will be served," I can't help but go and take a peek at what they're serving.

The restaurant's old "Forge" nameplate sat near the host stand surrounded by flowers, candles and sympathy cards. A smorgasbord of cheeses and cured meats. Servers also walked around with tasty hors d'oeuvres.

It looked like there were several drinks available that evening, but there wasn't really a menu to look at, or at least I didn't see one. Nonetheless, I was able to grab two before I had to leave.

I tried a kumquat mojito made by muddling kumquat, mint and simple syrup. I watched the bartender add rum then shake the drink. He topped it off with a sparkling juice or fruit drink of sorts, but I couldn't quite catch what he said it was as he passed the drink to me over the heads of the masses that huddled around the bar. Earlier I had bumped into Jordana Rothman from Time Out New York and we'd talked about how kumquats seemed like such a confusing rip off as a kid with its inside-out sweet and tart.

Out of the two I had that evening, the favorite was the first drink I had, made with lime, cucumber gin and a bit of ginger.

Tales is still months away, but I celebrated it with Saveur

Jan. 2

Interesting facts gleaned from the evening.

1) Punch is delicious. (more of a restatement rather than a discovery)
2) Eben Freeman listens to T.I.

I usually sneak into Tailor right when it opens and run out way before the night really begins for people with real lives, so I'd never really been in the place when there's lots of people in it.

The event was in anticipation of Tales of the Cocktail (coming to a New Orleans near you, June 2009), and to say, "Hey, we're partnered with Saveur now." So it wasn't all bartenders, but a mix of bar folks, brand folks and media types. Don Lee and John Deragon were there, but bailed out early to my indignant cries of "Weeeeeeeeeeak saaaaaaaauuuce." As I squeezed my way to and fro in the crowd I spotted other familiar faces. I was pleased to see that Allen Katz was still sporting his a la souvarov and there was also Tony Conigliaro, whom I hadn't seen since Tales. Even Camper English from the West Coast was in attendance.



I'd brought my friend Marc Almendarez along to take photos for me. Longtime readers may recognize his work from our previous collaboration at a Rhum Clement contest a little while back. The lighting in Tailor is very tricky and I've always had terrible luck taking photographs there and on a more personal level Eben Freeman has been poking fun at my not so stellar photo work. So I decided to prove him wrong...by having a friend take photos for me. Hey, it's a solution of sorts. That place is like expert level, and I am not an expert, so why not borrow the expertise of a friend. And for the record, I am totally capable of taking decent photos. Sometimes.



There were two punches being served for the first part of the evening. The first was Captain Radcliffe's Punch. The recipe comes from a 17th century poem written by and English army captain and as Dave Wondrich called him, a "rake," Alexander Radcliffe. It's made with Ansac VSOP Cognac, Sauternes, freshly grated nutmeg and lemon. The second was the Regent's Punch. Dave explained the punch's origin to the crowd. It was named for George the IV, the 19th century prince regent. While George III was busy being mad, George IV was busy running the country, and this particular punch was his favorite tipple. I don't blame the guy. First, because ruling a country instead of your nutty dad is a tough job that could drive anyone to drink and second, this stuff was delicious.



The plan for the latter half of the evening was a time for folks to talk to Ann Tuennerman about Tales and what to look forward to. Since this portion of the event was to be sponsored by Hendrick's Gin, a gin drink would be necessary. As people were still dipping into the punchbowls I watched Eben at the other end of the bar vigorously shake a small container. I was curious but went back to busily filling my glass with what punch was left before they swapped out drinks. I chatted a bit with Jordana Rothman from Time Out New York who was telling me how she read my blog. I know, I was surprised too. Apparently, people actually read this thing.

I turned around to the bar again after talking with Jordana to see if there was any more of that punch. Troy, who was working behind the bar with Ashley that evening, pushed a small beaker-type vessel in front of me with liquid that looked kind of like beer.

"What's this?" I asked.

Troy said it was the Pimm's Pony. A drink of Eben's from back in the WD-50 days. It was Pimm's, gin, Sprite and a bit of cucumber foam made by shaking some cucumber juice. Cucumber juice? Well, I don't know if extract is the word. That makes it sound like it's from concentrate or something. Juice works, right? I mean, it's just liquid from cucumber. Cucumber water? Anyhow, I then figured out that that's what I saw Eben shaking a couple of minutes before. I also realized that this was supposed to be the gin drink for the "after" party and I'd unofficially started the after party 10 minutes before everyone else. Not that I'm complaining.

I offered Simon Ford a sip from my scientific chalice as I talked to him about his vacation in South America. He couldn't be at the Beard Off because of the trip, but his beard was able to make an appearance sans him, thanks to modern container technology. Just then Eben passed by and overheard Simon ask what was in the Pimm's Pony and Eben gave the list of ingredients and said that the cucumber foam was there to fool you into think it'd be a smooth, soothing drink, only to have it punch you in the gut.

I joked to our food editor Mr. Bret Thorn and his friend Blain Howard that at some point in my life getting handed strange drinks that a lot of times just sort of magically appear at the ready became part of my job. As if to drive this point home, as soon as I finished what was left in the beaker-glass I was nursing, Ashley set down a full-on wine goblet of more Pimm's Pony in front of me.

"Oh, dear," I thought. I was hoping to make an early escape, but as Tony Abou-Ganim once told me, wasting alcohol is a terrible thing. I tried to soldier on through a couple of sips. I ultimately gave up the fight and walked away. If I continued, I would've risked stumbling into work in a disreputable state the next day because the Pimm's Pony definitely had a healthy kick to it not unlike an irate, er, pony.

Terence Miller at the Stone Rose Lounge

January 23

As I sat in front of my computer earlier in the week, I thought to myself, "You know who I haven't seen in a while?"

So I emailed Yuri Kato of Cocktail Times in hopes of grabbing a drink and catching up. I was in luck. She'd just returned from Japan. She also said that Terence Miller, formerly the sommelier and beverages person over at Megu, was now working as general manager at the Stone Rose Lounge. So we set the time and day, and on Friday, I left the office and made my way westward to Columbus Circle.

The Stone Rose Lounge is housed in the Time Warner Center, surrounded by other restaurants such as Masa, Per Se and Landmarc. The place, which is celebrating its fifth year this year, is definitely more of a lounge, but boasted sprawling space with a ridiculous view of Columbus Circle below.

When Yuri and I met Terence (whom I first saw at the Marie Brizard East Cost competition) at the Stone Rose Lounge, he was just hitting on week two in his new position. The place had a mix of wines, cocktails, and a large selection of spirits.

I asked Terence about the crowd, and he answered that it was a mix from what he's seen. There are people who work and live in the area, then on the weekends the place gets traffic from tourists. He also said that people in the performing arts also stop by since Columbus Circle is in close proximity to venues such as Lincoln Center. Terence explained that alcohol sales reflect the different types of people who stop by. Some might have a pre-show or pre-dinner glass of wine. Tourists might want to try out cocktails in a New York bar. Business types may want to unwind with a glass of their favorite spirit.

Terence suggested that start off with a Peartini (pear vodka, elderflower syrup and champagne), which he pointed out used elderflower syrup rather than liqueur. And thinking I should trying something in the spirit of the season, I tried out the Clementine Crush next (clementine vodka, fresh orange juice, tonic, fresh ginger root and sugar).

The lounge is part of the Gerber Group, some of the drinks onhe cocktail menu might seem familiar since you can also find them at other Gerber bars. Terence said that he was looking forward to working with the menu, possibly bringing in more wines. But for now as he settles into his new position, he said, "I'm here to observe and absorb."

Wines of Navarra 2009

Jan. 22

I found myself back at the W Hotel Union Square for the 2009 Wines of Navarra seminar. I'd been to this seminar before last year, but returned since I'm more than willing to learn some more about different wines.

I recognized Ana Laguna from last year's seminar as she got ready to present about Navarra wines for 2009, but she had a co-host this year. Seasoned winemaker Pilar Garcia-Granero also has the distinction of being the first woman president of the Consejo Regulador Denominacion de Origen Navarra, the governing body for the Navarra D.O..



The winemaking business in Navarra has a strong female presents, though Pilar said that when she first got started 20 years ago this wasn't necessarily the case. One compliment she received during those days was, "Although you are a woman, you make good wine." But nowadays Navarra boasts a large number of women that are involved in winemaking.

Robin Kelly O'Connor, the new director of sales for Sherry-Lehmann who also helps to host the Navarra wine seminars each year, jumped in to say that more women in winemaking is something he's observed around the world as well. He mentioned in particular Chile where close to 40% of winemakers are women.



Like last year, those attending got to hear a bit of background about the Navarra wine region and what was going on the Navarra D.O. around 17-18 wines were sipped during the seminar. While located in Spain, Navarra is also close to France and in particular the Bordeaux region. Also, it possesses varying climates and soils, so though the region boasts its own native grape varieties such as Garnacha and Tempranillo, other wine types such as Cabernet or Merlot are also produced with personalities that can differ quite a bit from those that people traditionally attribute the varieties with. The panel included whites, such as the Cstillo de Monhardin, a Chardonnay; an Enanzo rosé made with 100% Garnacha from Bodegas Campos de Enanzo; Ochoa Red Crianza 2005, a 100% Tempranillo red; and Ars Mácula, a 2004 Red from TANDEM, that is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Earth 2.0, an organic wine from Romero & Miller was scheduled for the tasting line up, but wasn't available during the seminar. Better late than never, the reps from Romero & Miller showed up at the showroom with their bottles of Earth 2.0 as well as the nonorganic Casita Mami line and created a bit of a hubbub. I watched on person who seemed especially excited by the Casita Mami line. I was curious as to who this was so I decided to introduce myself. The gentleman introduced himself as Erik Strait, the sommelier over at Apiary. Neat! I told Erik I couldn't help but notice he seemed particularly excited about these wines. Erik said that the price and quality was right and he was also looking to include more Spanish wines into Apiary's wine list.

However, it wasn't all drinks at this event. there was a plate of Spanish cheese for people to nosh off of as you'd expect at a wine event, but there were also some dishes created by chef Enrique Martinez. While chorizo is always delicious and the other foods I tried were all quite tasty (including an interesting concoction with a bit of asparagus oil it seemed like), the winner of the day for me was the duck liver covered with dark chocolate. Now, I wouldn't eat a whole Snickers' bar sized piece of it, but I was still all about that.

Lu Brow of Cafe Adelaide and The Swizzle Stick Bar

Jan. 14

I was contacted earlier this week with information that Lu Brow was in New York and available to meet with me. I jumped at the chance. Being here in New York almost all of the time, I always like to talk with people working in different cocktail markets.

Lu works as bar chef for Cafe Adelaide and The Swizzle Stick Bar in New Orleans.

"I want my bar to be a love letter to this city," Lu said about her work at Cafe Adelaide, and in the hometown of classics such as the Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz, classic cocktails play a large part on the menu. Lu said she likes to feature "vintage cocktails that say you're in New Orleans."

She also likes playing with the classics and is even working on creating her own adult version of the New Orleans Snowball. Though there are some cocktails where she thinks the original way is good enough.

One summer Lu was able to feature an entire Tiki menu recreating drinks from the famed, but now defunct, Pontchartrain Beach tiki bar Bali Hai. She was able to do this thanks to recipes supplied to her by the grandchildren (one of whom just happens to be Bryan Batt of AMC's "Mad Men") of Bali Hai's proprietor.

The tiki drinks appealed to the locals' nostalgia, and it was a great opportunity to serve some good drinks. Lu said Ted "Doc Cocktail" Haigh gave his approval for a Fog Cutter she made using a Bali Hai recipe, calling it the best Fog Cutter he'd ever had.

Even though the city is the birthplace of some hallowed classics, promoting handcrafted drinks isn't always easy in a city like New Orleans where some people might more readily recognize the quantity of drinking that takes place. Lu talked about one instance where she polled some of the younger employees to name a New Orleans cocktail, and she got a lot of answers that named the Hand Grenade. Not that a Hand Grenade doesn't have a time and a place. In fact, Lu doesn't believe in cocktail snobbery, but she does believe in cocktail education. It's more about expanding rather than restricting, so education shouldn't be about shutting down guests.

Good education is part of good service since you're required to listen to a customer and work with what they like. It doesn't matter who well a cocktail is made if the elements don't reflect what a customer likes. They just won't drink it.

And Lu says she'll often nudge guests towards trying something new, taking into account things from their drink of choice, by offering, "Try this cocktail and if you don't like it, it's on me and I'll make you anything you like."

So far, she said, she has yet to make someone a make-up cocktail.

Naming the Sazerac as the official cocktail of New Orleans was definitely something else that helped with increasing awareness of New Orleans cocktails.

"New Orleans is known as a city for great food, but I want it to be known also as a city for great cocktails. Every city's got great restaurants with amazing wine lists...What other city has an official cocktail?" Lu said with a smile.

She said that she's definitely seeing more customers who come in and ask to try a Sazerac thanks to the drink's now sanctioned status in the city. They might not know how to even pronounce it, but they're willing to try it because they've heard about it.

The menu at The Swizzle Stick Bar changes seasonally and uses a lot of fresh and local ingredients. Lu said that with the economy affecting things like transportation costs "local is more important than ever."

According to Lu a lot of people don't realize that there's a lot of local citrus in Louisiana, like satsumas. Other fruits such as strawberries and blueberries are also cultivated in the state.

Lu also talked about other efforts in spreading the good news about good cocktails from Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan. In the Land of Cocktails, a new site which shares its name with the 2007 book by Ti and Lally.

Lu explained that there were some friends in the film industry in L.A. who were out of work due to the writer's strike.

"They didn't have a whole lot going on and weren't doing anything but standing in picket lines," Lu said, so after discussing what sort of message they wanted to send out, it was decided that the site would provide a little glimpse of New Orleans while providing information about cocktails.

The site launched late last year and features recipes as well as a blog and video episodes. Lu said there were many more webisodes to come and the site was a natural extension of what she, Ti and Lally try to do.

The site is meant to appeal to both consumers as well as bartenders. While both bartenders and bar enthusiasts will enjoy the recipes and videos with industry big names like Dale DeGroff, Ti and Lally's declaration of the "No More Bad Cocktails" revolution urges those in front of the bar to not be afraid to send back their cocktails if they don't enjoy them, with concrete reasons why. Thus making the call for better cocktails a two-way street.

As Lu put it, "We want to preach cocktails...so you will value a good cocktail."

And that's for everybody out there in Cocktail Land.

Absinthe gummy bears and Negroni caviar

Taken at Tailor, Jan. 3


Absinthe gummy bears, cousin to the Sambuca gummy bears, gather to pay homage at the foot of the Great Negroni Caviar Bowl

I will say though, the absinthe variety of the gummy bear is sweeter than the sambuca version, and and tastes more like candy than the latter.