As I mixed up my usual dry vodka martini with olives this evening I wondered how many of my fellow DA'ers are also classic cocktail lovers. The heyday of our fav designs was also the heyday of the cocktail, so it stands to reason that a good number of us are cocktail lovers. Think Rat Pack Las Vegas...So what's your poison?
Are there drinkers of Sidecars, Manhattans, Highballs and Grasshoppers out there? Share your favorite libation with us!
Vodka Wilson...
Basically a vodka martini shaken, not stirred,with a thin slice of leek on a toothpick.
Stumps even the most experienced bar tenders, when ordered.
The onion is a cheap, uncouth substitute for leeks in most everything in cooking. When you dig back into the history of cooking, you will find leeks were what was used instead of onions some centuries back in Europe and America. If you want to know what a supposedly old dish made with onions was really supposed to taste like, substitute leeks. It will taste better...if you like leeks, which I do. Imagine making onions and cream, instead of leeks and cream! The very thought of it makes one want to puke. But this is what has been done to western cooking by even the greatest of chefs the last couple centuries.
Leeks are very tough to grow in comparison with onions, so they cost more. Hence, when cooking became a highly monetized activity, onions were quickly substituted.
Next, I detest olives for anything but olive oil.
Gin is equally detestable, unless you are a stumble drunk on skid row, or manufacturer of the vile stuff charging way too much for it.
I began to drink Vodka Gibsons, as a protest against olive-riddled Martinis, which are themselves a coarse drink fit only for a mongrel American like myself--one capable of finding Bogart virtue in tails bastardized into tuxedos, and speak-easy hootch dressed up a wee bit with rot gut vermouth (truly one of the worst forms of alcoholic fluid ever conceived) instead of grape juice.
But Vodka Gibsons began to annoy me when I came to understand the unjust siege of the onion laid on European and North American cuisines.
Ugh!
So: it was a short step to remove the onion in a Vodka Gibson, and add a thin slice of leek, and you have a drink that a mongrel of any society can drink in a tuxedo, or white dinner jacket (always my preference), and feel authentic in one's dressed-up coarseness.
Truly fine drinks are too numerous to mention, but they are costly to make with the appropriately fine ingredients required.
Entrusting most bartenders to making mixed drinks is like entrusting most mechanics with tuning a Ferrari. Foolish.
Keep it simple with bartenders, who are not rocket scientists, or have your tastebuds instantly destroyed for the rest of the evening.
Never flame a drink. It just burns the alcohol, ruins the taste of any worthy substance put in the drink, and lessens the potential buzz.
If you want a great drink, make it yourself, or find someone who knows what they are doing.
Expecting a great drink out of a bartender, is like expecting a great meal from 99% of restaurant chefs. Truly great cooking is only possible at home, with the best inputs, and the greatest deliberation and care.
Daiquiris and Whiskey Sours
are "Eames Era" (--as they say on Ebay) drinks that I enjoy.
As a kid, I remember seeing recipes for Harvey Wallbangers in my parents bar guides. Several years ago, at a painfully-hip bar, I was at a loss as to what to order, so I blurted out, "Harvey Wallbanger, please!" to the bartender.
The 20-something actor/ bartender looked at me as if I had ringworms in my eyelashes, and told me he didn't know how to make it. Chastised, I ordered a Cosmopolitan and skulked away.
Another childhood dream, brutally crushed--
Interesting!
First of all any bartender who doesn't know how to make a Harvey Wallbanger is not much of a bartender, thereby supporting DCWilson's premise. I tended bar in college and have gone on to make a thorough study of the science of the mixed drink. I've even got some very old recipe books that tell me how to make things like 'Flips' which are rum or whiskey and egg white whipped into a foam. Nowadays, I make excellent cocktails. The reason is simple. It's not that I can flip the bottles in the air or pour cascading fountains, that stuff's just silly showmanship, it's because I use the best ingredients and I pay atention to the details.
A good vermouth does indeed enhance a Martini, but it's got to be the good stuff. I recommend Via by Quaddy Vineyards. It's superb. I make my own pickled green beans to garnish with. The sweet/salty/tangy flavor of them works wonders with the vermouth. I love olives, but I won't use anything from the grocery store. I get Divina's which are sweet plump and delicious! I've been know to garnish Bloody Mary's with slivers of leek. (I agree DCW they are far superior to onion in many applications. Spanish Tortilla Batata comes to mind)
Good tools make all the difference too. A shaker needs to be big enough to let the ice do it's thing and aerate/hydrate the booze. There's no substitute for the proper glass. A chilled cocktail glass (commonly mislabeled as a 'martini' glass) is the only civilized way to pour. A cloth bar napkin and a stainless steel skewer (so as not to flavor the drink with wood, plus they're reusable) to complete the ritual.
And it should be a ritual, something that was understood by the 'Eames Era' folks. That cocktail hour is special, a time to reconnect after your day and to stop and smell the alcohol to savor it slowy. Like with coffee, I am far more satisfied with one drink if I take the time to make it memorable!
DCW, if you ever find yourself travelling to Santa Fe, let me know...we'll have you over for cocktails!
I despise Bourbon, actually...
Too sweet for me. And the malty finish triggers my gag reflex. Irish and Scotch whiskey are much more harsh. But they're whiskey drinker's whiskeys. Some people prefer the finer single malts such as Glenfiddich or Jameson. But I find it pointless as Irish/Scotch whiskey is supposed to kick you in the teeth. So I stick with Bushmills.
Bourbon and Rye
The first time I had a Sazerac it was at Upperline's restaurant in the Garden District in NOLA. It was made with Bourbon and I loved it. The second one I ever had was at the actual Sazerac's Bar in the Fairmont downtown NOLA. It was made with Rye and I didn't like it as well. I found the Rye rather astringent and chatted with the bartender about the recipe and he told me that either Bourbon or Rye is fine to use. The classic cocktails book I have actually suggests Bourbon over Rye, so I'm happy with the MM. The original version made by Mr. Peychaud used cognac!
LB, a fine highland single malt is a thing of rare joy. My dad is a peat-heavy Laphroig guy, which to me tastes like the smell of fresh asphalt. I prefer the softer but not wimpy, Dalwhinnie. Try it sometime you might like it!
Well, I'm American...
So I'm only one part Irish and twelve parts God knows what else. Jameson is obviously a better whiskey. My point was simply that I don't really care about the intricacies of rye whiskey. Therefore, I'm quite satisfied drinking my non-PC Bushmills.
I'm not a very PC person anyway.
Wink.
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