Alcademics.com

Liquid Breakfast

My latest post on FineCooking.com is about the Breakfast Martini, the modern classic created by Salvatore Calabrese. 

Marmalade, jams, jellies, syrups, shrubs, sherbets, etc.: It always comes back to preserves. One of these days I'll start learning how to make my own. 

Calabrese will soon be opening a new bar, Salvatore's at the Playboy Club in London. I'll be in London twice in the next three weeks so I'm hoping it opens, like nowish.

 Anyway, that story on the Breakfast Martini is here.

Breakfast Martini
Adapted from Salvatore Calabrese

2 fl. oz. Gin
.75 fl. oz. Cointreau
.75 fl. oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Orange Marmalade

Add all ingredients to an ice-filled shaker. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a strip of orange peel.

Sponsor Shout-Out: Tales of the Cocktail

Thanks to Tales of the Cocktail for sponsoring Alcademics! 

I'll be at the event, July 20-24 in New Orleans, for my fifth year in a row. Tickets are on sale now. 

This year I'll be one of five official Tales bloggers doing deep coverage of the event, and between now and then I'll be posting a few preview blog posts about seminars I'm looking forward to seeing. 

Will I tweet every drink every drink I have at Tales of the Cocktail again this year? Yeah, maybe. 

If you've never been to Tales before, I highly encourage you to come. It's a great time. 

Perhaps the Best Bar Customer Loyalty Program Ever

The first three customers who sampled 200 rums at Smuggler's Cove were treated to a trip, not to a tropical isle, but to Portland, Oregon where they distilled their own rum.

It was aged and bottled and labelled with pictures of the three guys, and the launch party is in early May. 

Amazing. The full press release is below. 

Here at Smuggler’s Cove, we’re proud of our carefully selected collection of 300 rare and premium rums. But we’re particularly excited to announce our latest addition: Triumvirate Rum. Made to celebrate the first three customers at Smuggler’s Cove to drink 200 rums, Triumvirate Rum is a very limited edition hand-crafted artisan rum from House Spirits in Portland, Oregon. From a barstool in San Francisco to a microdistillery in Oregon and back again, here’s how the journey took place:

At Smuggler’s Cove, enjoying rum is not just a great way to spend an evening, it’s also an educational adventure. The Smuggler’s Cove Rumbustion Society guides our guests through an enlightening tour of the many varied styles of rum. New members begin with twenty unique rums, and upon completion become Disciples of The Cove. Traveling through another eighty rums earns you the title Guardian of The Cove. One hundred rums is no easy feat, but beyond that level, two hundred rums earns you the rare distinction of the title Master of The Cove. The reward for reaching Master status is a distillery tour to see rum being made in person. Last fall, we embarked on our first Master Trip – to the exotic shores of Portland, Oregon. While not quite the sun-drenched sandy isle you might expect, the choice was a very special one, indeed.

The Masters (Ron Roumas, Mark Holt, and John Boatwright) and myself were welcomed to House Spirits Distillery by Christian Krogstad and Matt Mount. For the seven days prior to arriving in Portland, House Spirits had been fermenting a batch of 100% organic molasses from Barbados. Masters tasted the molasses, the fermented molasses wine, and then the still was fired up to begin distillation. The Masters received a hands-on understanding of how the still works and how heads and tails cuts are chosen- the art and science of distillation. After a day spent with House Spirits, it was time to hit the town for a night of great food and drinks in the City of Roses.

We returned to House Spirits the next day for a second run through the still, followed by a little science lesson in how to measure and adjust proof. That evening, samples of the new rum were taken to local favorite Beaker & Flask, where the freshly made rum was expertly used in four superb cocktails & paired perfectly with a wonderful four course meal. The rest of the evening is hazy, but apparently ended with some very large donuts after a few farewell cocktails at Daniel Shoemaker’s Teardrop Lounge.

Over the next five months, the rum was allowed to rest in a used whiskey cask while samples were sent periodically to us for review. After tasting it at a higher proof in a traditional daiquiri, the decision was made to bottle it at 105 proof so that its bold & vibrant flavor would shine through in cocktails. Triumvirate Rum has now arrived!! Featuring an image of the first three Masters of The Cove on the label, a wax sealed cork, and a beautiful pale honey color, this exceedingly rare and limited rum will be available at the following events:

TUESDAY, MAY 3: Launch Party at Smuggler’s Cove at 6pm

Triumvirate makes its debut at Smuggler’s Cove with a featured cocktail menu, and some very special prizes. Meet the Masters and taste it for the very first time!

SATURDAY, MAY 14: Retail Launch Party at Cask at 2pm 

Join the Masters for a chance to buy a bottle of Triumvirate at San Francisco’s own Cask (17 Third St.). One of the best liquor stores in the United States, Cask features a wide array of rare and premium spirits. Because of its very limited quantity, this will be the only retail opportunity to get your hands on a bottle of Triumvirate. There will be no other distribution. Limited to one bottle per person.

LOOK! SEE!
Photos of the trip on our Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.181926528521701.35491.116511321729889

Erik Lorincz: The Career Bartender

Last week I had the pleasure of hanging out with Erik Lorincz, Head Bartender of the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London. Lorincz was in town to give a short bartending presentation at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. (The Savoy is Fairmont Hotel.)

We also ended up doing a bar tour of many of SF's top bars two nights in a row. (Somehow, I always end up giving bar tours of SF's top bars. I should get my official tour guide certification.)

Lorincz is only 31 and has one of the most enviable positions in the industry, working at the bar that produced the The Savoy Cocktail Book and carrying on the legacy of Ada Coleman, Harry Craddock, and Peter Dorelli. But from his bio and what he told me, he worked hard to get there, starting right out of high school.

While studying hospitality at home in Slovakia, he got interested in bartending, attended a bartending competition in Prague as a guest, and then signed on for a month-long bartending program there one year out of high school. While in the program he started bartending thanks to a connection his teacher made, and continued to bartend in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. He was a bar manager there as the cocktail scene there was just beginning.

Looking to move forward in his career, he moved to London to learn English. He took a job as a barback cleaning ashtrays and such at the Attica club. Then he found a job bartending in a Japanese restaurant and was intrigued by the Japanese style of bartending, so he went to Japan to meet and study under the famous Kazuo Uyeda.

After his stint working in Japanese bars in London, Lorincz was able to apply his skills at the hotel bar at The Sanderson and then The Connaught. In 2010, he won the Diageo World Class international bartending competition (beating 9000 entrants), and started his position at the American Bar at the Savoy when it reopened on 10/10/2010. 

The point of all of this is: That's some damn impressive focus.

I don't know about you, but I'm on my third career. Though I don't regret the other two in the least, I do think about what would have happened if I'd gone into cocktails and writing right out of college. Heck, I may have even taken an undergraduate English course.

For myself and for many of the bartenders I know, we just wandered into this whole cocktail thing and became fascinated by it. It would have been cool to find that fascination earlier on.

Simpler Syrup

In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I look again at simple syrup.

You may recall a few years ago I compared the spoilage time of simple syrup with different ratios (1:1, 2:1) and with a shot of vodka added as a  preservative.

Since then I've learned a couple of things. First off, you don't need to heat simple syrup to get it into a solution. 1:1 and 2:1 syrup will go into solution just by shaking the bottle of sugar and water. 3:1 syrup apparently will not go into solution without heat. The picture on this post is my attempts to try, repeatedly shaking the jar for three or four days. Some of the sugar always settles to the bottom.

Also, I learned that unheated simple syrup is more viscous than syrup made by heating.

Professional syrup maker Jennifer Colliau explains, “Sucrose is comprised of a fructose molecule and a glucose molecule bonded together. When you heat it with water, you begin the inversion process whereby the bonds are broken, and you end up with glucose-fructose syrup, also known as invert syrup. It takes a while to fully invert it, but heating it at all makes it partially invert. Sucrose is more viscous than either glucose or fructose. So cold-dissolved simple is more viscous.”

As with everything, simple syrup seems just that, until you start messing with it.

Cocktail Menu: Revival in Berkeley, California

Here is the cocktail menu from Revival Bar and Kitchen in Berkeley, which has a new full-bar program.

The the PR contact: "Their cocktail program has been created in consultation with Corey Harrison, known for his current work at Quince in San Francisco. Prior to that, Corey worked at Farallon and Scott Howard."

Cocktails
Revival crafts modern cocktails developed from classic recipes and techniques,while using artisan spirits and ingredients.

Farmer jane #6: Belvedere Vodka, rhubarb, Aperol, orange flower honey, meyer lemon bitters, sparkling wine $10

The Starlet - Brokers gin, Encanto pisco, apple-chamomile syrup, lemon, orange flower water, lemon tonic $10

Revival Cocktail #3 - Cabrito silver tequila, Cocchi Americano, lime, housemade grenadine, bitters $9

Negroni Originale - Broker’s gin, Carpano Antica, Gran Classico bitters $10

Moscow Mule - Russian Standard vodka, lime, ginger beer $9

The Diplomat - El Dorado 5 Year dark rum, Osocalis Brandy, lime, fresh ginger, Angostura bitters $10

The Evans - Buffalo Trace bourbon, apricot liqueur, Cointreau, Angostura Orange bitters $9

The Pin Up - bourbon, Barolo Chinato, Leopold’s Cherry liqueur, creole bitters, absinthe foam $10

The Honey Badger Shot

I've been thinking for a while now that the hilarious Honey Badger video, and the honey badger itself, should be honored with a cocktail or a shot.

So I created one.

The Honey Badger
by Camper English 

1 part Laphraoig single-malt scotch whisky
1 part Wild Turkey American Honey

Add scotch then honey liqueur to a shot glass. Say "Honey badger don't care," then down the shot.

The drink is sweet coming in, but nice and smoky on the finish. It's kind of delicious.

If you haven't had the pleasure of viewing "The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger" video, then by all means do. You'll understand why the honey badger deserves a toast. The audio is NSFW, not safe for work.

 

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd also like to see the Double Rainbow Cocktail?

Slow Bars Getting Faster, Fast Bars Getting Better

In my story in this Sunday's SF Chronicle, I discuss some ways that cocktail bars are trying to build drinks faster, and how nightclub-type spaces are trying to make better quality cocktails without slowing down.

In theory, we appreciate the extra time and effort bartenders spend on their cocktails - using exact measures of ingredients, thorough shaking or long stirring, and general attention to detail.

But alas, reality.

"People are becoming more accepting of waiting for quality cocktails, but I don't think anybody really wants to wait for anything at all, ever," says Justin Lew.

The story includes mention of how they do it at The Wilson, the Hideout at Dalva, Azul, Rye, and Rickhouse.

Michael Callahan kills it with the end quote. Put it in your brain here. 

 (Photo: Alex Washburn / The Chronicle)