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The Cotogna Cocktail Menu

The new casual sister restaurant to Quince, Cotogna, has a drink menu designed by Lead Bartender "Buffalo"  Jason LoGrasso.

I stopped in for a few drinks. 

I started with the Cydonia Fizz (Apple Brandy, Quince, Almond, Lemon, Meringue) that was both interesting and accessible.

Then I moved on to the Viceroy (Reposado, Gentian, Pineapple, Lemon, Chilli) that was garnished with a slice of radish. It was more acidic and lively than it sounds (was the pineapple gum fermenting? Because if so I like it that way...) and my favorite drink of the night. 

I had a non-alcoholic Negroni as a break between drinks- a great adult soda. 

Then I finished off with a drink not on the menu I was sent with cachaca, condensed milk, and absinthe (pictured). It was earthy and rich/desserty without being too sweet. 

Good stuff from Buffalo. 

 

Here is the whole Cotogna menu:  

Viceroy
Reposado, Gentian, Pineapple, Lemon, Chilli 

Beauregarde’s Spritz
Gin, Lillet, Blueberrry, Lemon, Moscato d’ Asti, Violet Mist 

Rum and Cocchi
Aged Rum, Apricot Preserve, Cocchi Americano, Lime, Seltzer 

Windmills and Cashmere
Genever Gin, Plum Lavender Chutney, Orgeat, Lemon, Meringue 

Beacon Light
Rye, Maraschino, Raspberry, Grapefruit, Lemon 

Cherry Camaro
Scotch, Cherry, Amaro, Honey 

The Hudson
Bourbon, Bitter Orange, Maple 

Cydonia Fizz
Apple Brandy, Quince, Almond, Lemon, Meringue 

Non-Alcoholic Beverages   

Ginger Beer with Organic Gravenstien Cider and Cinnamon  

Negroni-  Bitter Orange, Chinoto, Orange Juice

 

The Orange in Pyrat Rum

A great rum mystery is finally solved! If you've had Pyrat rum, you've probably noticed its very strong orange taste- so strong that many people have wondered if something was added to the rum. Well, now we know why Pyrat tastes so much like orange. 

I was at the Patron tequila distillery last night meeting with their master distiller Francisco Alcaraz. He also developed the formula for Pyrat rum, which is made in Guyana. 

I asked Alcaraz why Pyrat tastes so strongly of orange. He said that like how Patron's Burdeos tequila spends time in an ex-Bordeaux wine barrel, Pyrat rum spends time in a used cask: one that previously held orange liqueur. 

As I've not seen this information previously, I didn't press the issue too much and don't know how much time in the orange liqueur cask or which orange liqueur it is used. I do not think it is Patron's Citronge orange liqueur though. 

Aging or "finishing" a spirit in a cask that previously held another spirit (that imparts flavor to it) is common among tequila, whisky, and rum. However this might be the first time I've heard of a spirit aged in an ex-orange liqueur barrel. 

Anyway, that finally solves that. 

Fifteen of the Best San Francisco Cocktails

I wrote a story for Tasting Table San Francisco on fifteen of the best cocktails the city has to offer- with recipes and bars to match. They represent the old and the new, from Pisco Punch to a hot Genever Punch, from classics like the Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista to the Candace at Prospect.

Read it here.  

Fortune Ice: Like A Fortune Cookie But With Ice

In my latest set of fun experiments with ice, I created fortune ice.  

I'd been meaning to do this for a while, but two things made it actually happen. First, I bought a Tovolo King Cube Ice Cube Tray to make 2-inch cubes. Second, I realized I could use my Label Maker for the fortunes. 

I was thinking that I would have to make fortunes then laminate them, but the label maker spits out labels that are plasticy on both sides. 

This is one case where I didn't want perfectly clear ice (learn how to make clear ice here) because then you could read the fortunes in the cubes before they melted. 

It turns out that the cloudiness in water does well to hide the paper in ice. 

I froze the cubes with the fortunes inside, then let them thaw out. When some of the fortune was sticking out from the cube, I could pull it from the end and they slid out: No need to wait until the whole thing melted. 

I wanted to make sure the paper didn't disintegrate in water, so I left a few fortunes in a glass of water overnight and they showed no signs of deterioration. However I should try this again with alcohol.

So, that was fun!

Possible uses for fortune ice could include: 

• Fortunes, just like fortune cookies.
• Giveaways/prizes. One fortune contains a coupon for a free drink, door prize, etc. 
•  Cocktail recipes for the drink that you're drinking. 
• Advertising. "Next time make this drink with our brand of whisky!"
• The bartender's phone number. "Call me, hot stuff."

 

Book Review: Speakeasy by Jason Kosmas & Dushan Zaric

I received a review copy of Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined by Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric, and I can't wait to try some of the recipes in it. 

I was just going to review the book here, but the folks at Fine Cooking asked me to review it for them in this week's blog post. Better yet, they got permission to include three recipes from the book:

• Fall Ginger Smash
• Hemmingway Daiquiri
•  West Side

Things that make a great cocktail book (for me):

• Not stuffed full of classics and basics that you can find everywhere.
• Not a million pages describing base spirits and techniques.
• Original recipes, but not so weird that you won't bother to try them.
• Recipes read like the authors have an understanding of cocktail format- not obviously unbalanced drinks that make you distrust the book.
• Enticing list of ingredients. Watermelon and Campari? Yes, I will try that. 
• Not a billion cocktails. Give us your best, not everything in the world. 
• Not so many homemade ingredients that you'll never make them.

Speakeasy meets most of these requirements and has plenty of pretty pictures to boot.

Most of the recipes in the book are, as the title says, variations on classic cocktails, but with really interesting variations. They list recipes for a blackberry-elderflower version of the Cosmopolitan, a French 75 with strawberry cordial, a Gin On Gin Julep, a Calvados Sidecar, and many other oh-that-sounds-good variations that you can picture in your mind's tongue. 

Unique Features

One unique feature of Speakeasy is that instead of infusing base spirits (though they have a couple), they infuse vermouth. There is one infused with herbes de Provence, on with chai, and a third with rooibos tea. The infusions are generally simple, and infusing a bottle of vermouth is a lot less financially risky than infusing a bottle of bourbon or tequila. 

They also list recipes for their lime cordial and grenadine, which they now sell as bottled products. 

So yeah, can't wait to get cracking on making these drinks. Yums. 

The book is available on Amazon.com.

Kindly leave any comments over at FineCooking.com. I've closed them here to encourage you to do so :) 

Beer in the Penthouse

Finally, I'm appearing in the pages of Penthouse magazine. Oddly, they didn't ask me to model. That's not me on the cover. 

In the December issue of Penthouse magazine,  I have a two-page spread on "Advanced Level Beer Gear," including some gift items like a homebrew kit, kegerator, and a dog collar that holds a bottle opener. 

So now you bartenders have an excuse to buy Penthouse and write it off as a work expense.

You're welcome.

The New Cocktail List at Gitane in San Francisco

Under direction of Bar Manager Alex Smith (Smuggler's Cove, Thirsty Bear, etc.), nearly all the cocktails at Gitane are changing over this month. Don't go rushing into the bar expecting to try them all tonight though: Smith says they're rolling them out five a week so that the menu will look like the below by the end of November.

Gitane is a gypsy-themed restaurant with a tiny, gorgeous bar that specializes in sherry and sherry cocktails.  I'm looking forward to drinking my way through the menu in a couple of weeks.  

List of New Cocktails - Gitane - Fall 2010

ON THE STEM

La Convivencia :: bourbon, east india sherry, sweet vermouth, nocino, chorizo bitters, orange zest

Martyr of Córdoba :: white rye, dry sack, dimmi, sweet vermouth, apricot, absinthe, peychaud’s, flamed lemon zest

Romancero Gitano :: brandy, oloroso sherry, punt e mes, persimmon-piquillo shrub, lemon, egg white, hibiscus tincture

Autumn Flip :: apple brandy, bitter cinnamon cordial, salted maple syrup, whole egg, nutmeg

Ganamos :: bourbon, bonal aperitif, canton, angostura, orange bitters, orange zest

Vasco da Gama :: vanilla-white pepper-infused gin, port, cherry heering, lime, honey, egg white, cinnamon

Los Muertos :: blanco tequila, sweet vermouth, grapefruit marmalade, lime, grapefruit zest

Flor Delice :: reposado tequila, manzanilla sherry, st. germain, maraschino, orange bitters, cherry

ON THE ROCKS

Cala Carbón :: aged rum, bourbon, maraschino, mermelada gitana, lemon, angsotura, peychaud’s, mint sprig

El Médano :: blanco tequila, mezcal, anise, mermelada gitana, lime, peychaud’s, angostura, mint sprig

Media Luna :: gin, pisco, ginger, mermelada gitana, lemon, angostura, peychaud’s, mint sprig

Legacy of Ziryab :: gin, quince-paprika marmalade, lemon, apple sidra, campari, angostura, a flower

Cóctel Ibérico :: dos maderas rum, amantillado sherry, fair cafe, licor 43, ramazzotti amaro, chocolate mole bitters, flamed orange zest

VINTAGE

Knickerbocker a la Gitane :: cruzan single barrel rum, orange curacao, hibiscus nectar, lemon, rainwater madeira, orange slice

Boulevardier :: bourbon, sweet vermouth, campari, cherry

Hanky Panky :: gin, sweet vermouth, fernet branca, orange zest

Vodka Old Fashioned :: vodka, sugar, angostura, orange zest

On FineCooking.com: Homemade Grenadine and the Jack Rose Cocktail

Please check out my latest blog entry on FineCooking.com. It's about making your own grenadine and the Jack Rose cocktail. 

Read it here, and feel free to comment (over there) on your own grenadine or Jack Rose recipe improvements.