For my latest feature in the LA Times Magazine, I asked bartenders from warm-weather cities to share their recipes for cool cocktails.
The bartenders are Larry Rice from Louisville, Bobby Heugel from Houston, Erik Simpkins from Atlanta, Todd Thrasher from Alexandria, Anthony Schmidt from San Diego, Rhiannon Enlil from New Orleans, and Michael Shearin from Los Angeles.
(Photography by Bartholomew Cooke for LA Times Magazine)
Cool Factor The Dog Days Just Howl for Long, Tall, Cold Libations By Camper English
Different times of the day, changing atmospheric conditions and succeeding meal courses all call for a specific type of cocktail. But it’s the sweltering days and lasting sunlight of August that compel us to seek coolers replete with ice. We asked some of the America’s best bartenders based in warmer climes for a drink to chill us out, and their picks make use of a variety of methods and flavors to accomplish this task, from shaved ice and coconut milk to cucumbers and mint—even a splash of light beer. Cheers!
*Update* California State Senate Bill SB 32 has been passed and signed into law, taking effect immediately. Thanks to the people who worked hard to make it happen.
This bill was introduced in response to a sudden crackdown by the ABC (Alcholic Beverage Control) on infusions, homemade bitters and tinctures, sangria, and other 'rectified' drinks at cocktail bars in San Francisco.
Most bar owners did not know that these common practices were illegal and the crackdown set off a bit of a panic. My take on the issue from February 2010 is here. (I can't believe it's been that long already!)
The bill was, in short:
SB 32 (Small Business Regulation Reform) – SB 32 modernizes the state’s outdated alcoholic beverage law to permit the innovative, artisanal practice by bars and restaurants of creating “infusions.” Infused cocktails, which are made by flavoring alcohol with fruits, vegetables, herbs or spices, have become increasingly popular throughout the state.
Legally, the bill redifines the term 'rectifier' to exclude on-premise rectification for on-premise consumption- meaning bars can rectify spirits for drinking at the bar. The bill's text is below.
BILL NUMBER: SB 32 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 26, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
(Coauthor: Senator Berryhill ) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Jeffries, Ma, and Portantino)
DECEMBER 6, 2010
An act to amend Section 23016 of the Business and Professions
Code, relating to alcoholic beverages , and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 32, as amended, Leno. Alcoholic beverages: definitions:
rectifiers.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act contains various provisions
regulating the application for, the issuance of, the suspension of,
and the conditions imposed upon, alcoholic beverage licenses by the
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Existing law defines a "rectifier" to include every person who
colors, flavors, or otherwise processes distilled spirits by
distillation, blending, percolating, or other processes.
This bill would refine exclude from
the definition of "rectifier" to exclude any
on-sale licensee that colors, flavors, or blends distilled spirits or
wine products on the licensed premises for consumption on those
premises.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 23016 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
23016. "Rectifier" means every person who colors, flavors, or
otherwise processes distilled spirits by distillation, blending,
percolating, or other processes. "Rectifier" does not include an
on-sale licensee that colors, flavors, or blends distilled spirits or
wine products on the on-sale licensed premises to be consumed on the
licensed premises.
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In 2008, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued
an advisory informing on-sale licensees that engaging in
rectification of distilled spirits exceeded their licensing
privileges. The ABC has recently started to forcefully notify on-sale
licensees of this advisory. As a result, many bars and restaurants
have stopped serving infused drinks and have experienced a drop in
business. Therefore, to allow businesses to resume this economically
stimulating business practice as soon as possible in order to bolster
California's economy and to aid struggling bars and restaurants in
this economically stagnant time, it is necessary for this act to take
effect immediately.
Below are the tweets sent out as I was recording every drink I had at Tales of the Cocktail for the second year in a row.
The totals are:
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 41
Friday: 28
Saturnday: 19
Compared to last year, this looks like a ton more drinks. But really I kept it to small sips and tastes for the most part. I came home feeling less poluted than usual, so don't let the numbers terrify you. Tales is for amateurs too!
Thursday was the big day again, due to the Diageo happy hour event. I had the same number as last year, 25, but it looks like more drinks before and afterward.
Below are the individual drinks from my Twitter feed, many with pictures. Note they're in reverse order.
The next step in the Solid Liquids project is to look at the various methods people are using to dehydrate liqueurs down to sugars. After searching the interwebz, here are some techniques I found.
I don't think the original DrinkBoy forums are online anymore- at least I can't find them- but that's where this technique first came to my attention several years ago. Bartenders in Australia were dehydrating Campari and other liqueurs and making powders out of them.
Oven Baking
Pour the liqueur on a baking pan, perhaps with a silicone matt on it (for easier removal of solids) and bake at a low temperature overnight. Damon Dyer wrote that his initial method (copied from the Australians) was:
"The process as I learned it was to pour the Campari into a shallow baking sheet, then slowly bake in the oven at low, low, low heat. The Campari eventually loses its water and alcohol, and solidifies. Then it's simply a matter of scraping the solid Campari "brick" off the baking sheet, crushing it into a powder, and enjoying a cocktail.
"However, the revised process that Donbert came up with [see below] is much more efficient."
Microwaving
Way back in 2007, Don Lee took up the issue (in this thread on eGullet), and remembering a tip from the French Laundry Cookbook, he dried out liqueurs in the microwave. He was able to boil Campari down to a sludge in about 4 minutes, then further pulverize this into a poweer.
On refining the technique, his observations were:
In the initial cooking stage, the alcohol is boiling off so the boiling is quite violent. Use short heating bursts during this stage.
Also use short bursts of heat at the end, because then the thick sugary liquid can caramelize if you're not careful.
"For Maraschino (Luxardo) I had to use 20 sec intervals for the first 1.5 minutes, then could let it go for 3 mins straight before going back to 20 sec intervals until 303.5F was reached. The result when cooled is an easily removable "puck" of Maraschino."
Using this method, Damon Dyer said he had success dehydrating Torani Amer, Yellow Chartreuse, Peychaud's, Herbsaint, Maraschino, and Canton Ginger.
Liquid Nitrogen
Douglas Williams of Liquid Alchemy consulting used liquid nitrogen to make solid Campari. This is really frozen Campari, and thus will melt again. So it's not a useful technique for my purposes.
But in any case, check out this video of it happening:
Williams told me about some other ways to get alcohol into solid form - sometimes without burning off the booze. I am not completely clear on how it works, but apparently you can use tapioca malodextrin and that will bond with anything fatty. This technique can apparently be used to trap booze into a solid form.
I doubt I'll have time to get into the molecular mixology stuff during the duration of this project, but it would be fun to try.
The Solid Liquids Project is sponsored by Skyy Spirits. Content created and owned by Camper English for Alcademics. For the project index, click on the logo above or follow this link.
I've spent some time researching powdered/dehydrated liqueurs online to see where and how they've been used. Turns out: all around the world. Below are the few I found.
It seems that for the most part these dehydrated liqueurs are used as a powdered rims on cocktail glasses, as garnishes sprinkled on top of egg white drinks, and in one case as a popcorn flavoring.
The bar Mea Culpa in Ponsonby, New Zealand, had the following drink on their menu: ANGEL DUST - Cherry & orange macerated Rittenhouse Rye, Liquore Strega, White creme de cacao, Benedictine foam, Campari powder
This drink from Josh Pape of Chambar Belgian Restaurant in Vancouver, BC contains toasted cashews, gin, pink grapefruit cordial, sherry, apple juice, egg white, and has Campari powder on the rim.
Eau de Vie in Sydney offered, according to this post, "The Countessa, a reimagined Negroni with Aperol, served up in an exquisite coupe, on the side a half time slice of orange, dusted with Campari powder and caramelized with a blowtorch behind the bar. "
At Elements in Princeton, New Jersey, they make The Skål! Cocktail with akvavit, Pedro Ximénez sherry, dry vermouth, lemon juice, and lingonberry preserves. Garnished with a rim of dehydrated Chartreuse.
What other drinks have you seen? Any other liqueurs besides Chartreuse and Campari?
The Solid Liquids Project is sponsored by Skyy Spirits. Content created and owned by Camper English for Alcademics. For the project index, click on the logo above or follow this link.
Beam Global Spirits & Wine would like to extend an exclusive, professional invitation to you. In partnership with Communispace, we have a private online community of 300 bartenders who act as direct advisors to key decision-makers for the company, and we would like you to consider becoming a part of this group.
As a member of this exclusive advisory community, you'll agree to log in and contribute your thoughts (via surveys, discussions, chats with industry leaders, etc.) an average of 5-15 minutes per week at whatever time is convenient for you. In addition to advising and building relationships with other members, you will receive tangible gestures of appreciation for your time and energy, such as Amazon e-gift certificates in exchange for your participation.
How do you join? Complete this questionnaire. If selected, you will be notified shortly thereafter. Your responses to the questionnaire will help in the selection process and will be used ONLY for that purpose. All of your responses will be kept confidential and will NOT be used or distributed for any other purpose.Thanks for your time, and we hope you can join us!
After many months of work, I'm happy to announce the launch of Sponsored Projects on Alcademics.com.
My home experiments and longer research projects here, such as figuring out how to make clear ice, have been some of the most popular content on Alcademics, and also the most satisfying to do. Thus, I found a way to do more of them- by finding sponsors for specific projects.
Sponsored Projects may last just a few months or indefinitely, and relate at least tangentially to the sponsoring brand or portfolio.
This month I am launching the first two Sponsored Projects:
The Sugar Project, Sponsored by Bacardi Rum. Rum is distilled molasses, which is the byproduct of sugar production. In this project I'll be studying the history, production, and varieties of sugar and its derivatives around the world. The project index is here.
The Solid Liquids Project, Sponsored by Skyy Spirits. Bartenders have been dehydrating liqueurs for years now and using the residue as rimming sugar or garnish on cocktails. I'll be looking at this technique and trying to find some fun new uses for these flavored sugars. The project index is here.
I'll be posting at least once a week (probably more than that) on each of these projects and link them all together with an index page to make it easy to follow along.
Hopefully, future sponsored projects will follow. I've got a lot of ideas.
Camper English is a cocktails and spirits writer for publications including the SF Chronicle, Details.com, Fine Cooking, CLASS Magazine, and many more. Learn about Camper and Alcademics, or read clips of his published work.
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