I almost wrote on Facebook "Oh nos!!!!!1 They're takin' our Angostura bitters away, hide the women and children!!!1" in response to a friend linking me to a Gothamist post basically similar to an earlier Eater post on the Angostura bitters shortage that was posted the day before. However, I've realized over the years that sarcasm doesn't really carry all that well on the internet sometimes.
At the end of a long work day the headlines were alarming since this is something threatening the supply a good cocktail. However, I still chuckled at William Tigertt's funny tweet: "Panic! Angostura bitter plant shutdown. NYC distributors rationing 3 bottles per account. Hording begins as cocktail doomsday clock hits 11."
Yes, if Angostura were to disappear off the face of the earth, it would be tragic, but luckily that wasn't really the story. Angostura bitters will not never exist, ever, you're probably just going to have to wait a bit for it. In fact, guys, it's January! The Bitter Truth folks announced that their line bitters will be available in the United States starting this month (and y'all can stop hitting up Stephan Berg).
Of course, I won't poo-poo just how much of a pain this is going to be for bartenders and managers. But at the same time, if you're a regular reader of Nation's Restaurant News (wink wink nudge nudge) when it comes to day-to-day operations, shortages, discontinuations, hiccups, or any number of things are all part of being in the industry and the controlled chaos that is the back of the house.
If anything, from talking with bartenders who work in the bars and establishments that a shortage of this nature would affect, I always got the impression they also juggle with this sort of thing all the time in different scales. Two words for you: seasonal fruit. In fact, if we want to start up some widespread rioting and the looting of fruit stands and produce sections across America in the impending Cocktailopocalypse, let's talk about cold weather in Florida threatening citrus crops. (My next blog entry title, "Yo Angostura, imma let you finish bringing the supply back up, but the lack of citrus due to unseasonably cold weather is what will clearly spell the doom of cocktails for all time. FOR ALL TIME" or "I have no lemons, but I must squeeze").
Though, honestly, with my years of watching horror and disaster movies, I'm going to have to take a quick break here to knock on wood simply because displaying this sort of naysaying is how most of these movies start: "Pffft, a volcano? In Los Angeles? Please, I'm going to go about my daily life despite ominous talking heads on the morning news warning me about...OH GOD I JUST STEPPED IN LAVA. WHY."
Joking aside, on a day-to-day basis, there are many things on cocktail bar's menu that can go wrong. Ever sit at one of the city's fine cocktail establishments and order a drink only to have your bartender tell you, "Oh, we actually didn't get [cocktail ingredient] today, but I can make you a variation using something else" or "We're out of [cocktail ingredient], but if you're interested in this particular spirit/flavor I can also whip something up for you."
Angostura is irreplaceable, of course, however, let's not forget that our greatest weapon in the fight to stave Cocktailopocalypse isn't any one ingredient or an inanimate thing. It's bartenders and their knowledge. You know, sort of like how the proverb goes: "Give a man a fish..." etc., etc.? Except, it's more like, "Well, who's going to fish the fish if there's no one around who knows how to fish anyway?" One of the things I've heard a couple of times is that one of the biggest hits to cocktail culture recovery after Prohibition was the diaspora of the skilled people who worked behind the bar. Not having good aged spirits around didn't help either, but even with great products we need those who know how to use it.
I truly do hope that bartenders will be able to get through the inconveniences and this shortage is only temporary.
At the same time, as we talk of bitters, we should also keep in mind that there are people out there who work hard to try and recreate incarnations of other bitters of the past and others experiment in creating bitters and flavorings all their own. So even in times hardship and shortages we also have people always working towards innovating and creating.
Showing posts with label bitters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bitters. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Friday, February 20, 2009
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.
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.
Even in a formula that might seem more familiar to today's dry martini fans, bitters still played a part:
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.
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.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Fat washing and you: Grand Marnier & Navan Mixology Summit edition
I take a lot of notes. A lot. When I talk to bartenders I sometimes like to glean info on techniques as well as recipes. Many times I tend to file it away in my on repository of cool things to keep in mind or it gets buried in an entry, and that's kind of unfair. So, in the spirit of freedom of information, I decided I'm going to try and do "...and you" blog entries that break out shop talk separately. And if possible, try to illustrate these with photos.
Luckily, the Mixology Summit has a seminar hosted by Steve Olson with his Wine Geek staff holding stations explaining different techniques and styles of bartending.
In this edition of "...and you" I grabbed a visual of fat washing, demonstrated by Mr. Don Lee himself, who with Phil Ward, was also explaining how to make bitters. I've mentioned fat washing plenty of times before, and not that it's hard to understand the process, but I really wanted to show a visual of how it looks. Also, I wanted an excuse to talk about the Buttered Popcorn Rum cocktail.
When I previously talked with Don, he had mentioned the bacon-infused bourbon and brought some to the seminar. And yes, it definitely has smoky bacon flavor. He also showcased his buttered popcorn rum.
The buttered popcorn rum starts with 10 Cane Rum. Air popped popcorn is added to the rum, then processed through mesh bags to get all the popcorn flavor, but none of the kernels. Then clarified butter is infused in the rum for four hours before being fat washed.
Don did a quick ice bath demonstration of fat washing to illustrate how easily the fat solidifies for extraction.
When Don makes his fat washed spirits, he makes five gallons at a time and uses a blast chiller, but for those of you who want to make smaller batches and fast, Don said he's previously used liquid nitrogen as well for quick demonstrations. As long as you can chill the spirit enough to solidify the fat, that's what matters.
Don also mentioned that another thing to keep in mind when fat washing is to not use a bottle or any container that tapers to a small opening. Try to use wide-mouthed containers that allow as much surface area contact between the spirit and the fat for maximum flavor transfer.
Don said that adding coke to the rum created a flavor experience that's like "going to the movies." Cocktails using the buttered popcorn rum and bacon bourbon are both currently on the menu at PDT.
Mixology Summit, seminar bonus!!
Making bitters, and you: (Don Lee, PDT)
"Patience...it really takes a long time. When you're making new drinks you can mix one up, taste it, and if you don't like it dump it out in 30 seconds. With bitters it takes months."
So instead of making large batches of bitters, Don suggested that if you want to play around with different flavored bitters, make small batches of tinctures, alcoholic extracts made by leaving herbs and herbal ingredients in alcohol. Don prefers neutral grain spirits, but you can experiment with other spirits, just remember the infusion time may differ depending on the spirit used. They don't require as much time as bitters and they provide single note flavors you can test before moving on to more complex bitters.
Luckily, the Mixology Summit has a seminar hosted by Steve Olson with his Wine Geek staff holding stations explaining different techniques and styles of bartending.
In this edition of "...and you" I grabbed a visual of fat washing, demonstrated by Mr. Don Lee himself, who with Phil Ward, was also explaining how to make bitters. I've mentioned fat washing plenty of times before, and not that it's hard to understand the process, but I really wanted to show a visual of how it looks. Also, I wanted an excuse to talk about the Buttered Popcorn Rum cocktail.
When I previously talked with Don, he had mentioned the bacon-infused bourbon and brought some to the seminar. And yes, it definitely has smoky bacon flavor. He also showcased his buttered popcorn rum.
The buttered popcorn rum starts with 10 Cane Rum. Air popped popcorn is added to the rum, then processed through mesh bags to get all the popcorn flavor, but none of the kernels. Then clarified butter is infused in the rum for four hours before being fat washed.
Don did a quick ice bath demonstration of fat washing to illustrate how easily the fat solidifies for extraction.
When Don makes his fat washed spirits, he makes five gallons at a time and uses a blast chiller, but for those of you who want to make smaller batches and fast, Don said he's previously used liquid nitrogen as well for quick demonstrations. As long as you can chill the spirit enough to solidify the fat, that's what matters.
Don also mentioned that another thing to keep in mind when fat washing is to not use a bottle or any container that tapers to a small opening. Try to use wide-mouthed containers that allow as much surface area contact between the spirit and the fat for maximum flavor transfer.
Don said that adding coke to the rum created a flavor experience that's like "going to the movies." Cocktails using the buttered popcorn rum and bacon bourbon are both currently on the menu at PDT.
Mixology Summit, seminar bonus!!
Making bitters, and you: (Don Lee, PDT)
"Patience...it really takes a long time. When you're making new drinks you can mix one up, taste it, and if you don't like it dump it out in 30 seconds. With bitters it takes months."
So instead of making large batches of bitters, Don suggested that if you want to play around with different flavored bitters, make small batches of tinctures, alcoholic extracts made by leaving herbs and herbal ingredients in alcohol. Don prefers neutral grain spirits, but you can experiment with other spirits, just remember the infusion time may differ depending on the spirit used. They don't require as much time as bitters and they provide single note flavors you can test before moving on to more complex bitters.
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