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Essential Oils and Cointreau's Centrifuge

In 2011 I visited the Cointreau distillery in Angers, France. I wrote about that here. After I returned I realized I had a few more questions.

Luckily, Cointreau's Master Distiller Bernadette Langlais was in San Francisco last night so I had a chance to clarify some questions about the centrifuge part of the process.

To recap, Cointreau is made by steeping orange peels in high-proof neutral beet sugar alcohol and distilling it. This 'raw alcoholate' is reduced with water, centrifuged, then reduced with more water, more neutral alcohol, and sugar before filtration and bottling.

The centrifuge step was curious to me, so I asked Langlais for some clarification. She told me that this step removes some essential oils from the alcoholate. 

But then why not just use less oranges in the first place to have less essential oils?

It turns out that they use the centrifuge (which is a continuous centrifuge, by the way, not a batch process) to remove only certain essential oils. Surprisingly, they are not removing heavy ones that would collect at the outside of the centrifuge (a centrifuge separates by weight), but the lightest, zesty oils. 

Langlais said this was so that there is a proper balance between the 'juicy' flavors and zesty ones in Cointreau. If they left everything in, the liqueur would be overwhelmingly zesty.

Local Sugars 

I also brought up the topic of Cointreau in Brazil and Argentina, where it is made with sugar cane alcohol and cane sugar, instead of beet sugar. This is due to local tax regulations that would make Cointreau prohibitively expensive if they used their regular beet sugar. I learned that they make the same 'raw alcoholate' (high-proof orange-infused alcohol) at the distillery in France and ship that to the local countries. There, they add more (cane) alcohol and (cane) sugar before bottling. 

Langlais said that it tastes the same as regular Cointreau. She also said that the sugar from cane or beets tastes exactly the same, and the more important part of the equation is the alcohol, even though it is 96% alcohol and supposedly neutral in flavor.

Drink Like Hemingway With Philip Greene's New Book

Philip Greene's book To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion was released last week. It is full of good stuff.

The book is organized by cocktail, and for each one it tells the story of how the characters in Hemingway's books consumed the drink, or how Hemingway himself consumed the drinks based on information from his letters. It ends up being a Cliffs Notes study of Hemingway's books and life through the lens of the cocktails in them. 

We learn a lot about the man in the process and just how fussy he was when it came to drinks. Though he drank locally when in other countries and spent a huge amount of time in hotel bars, when serving himself he had specific rules like his choice of spirits (Gordon's gin and Noilly Prat vermouth), the coldness of his Martinis (he made ice in tennis ball cans at -15 degrees and froze his glasses), the style of serving drinks (it seems one of his assistants' main responsibilities was preparing drinks at just the right time and in just the right way), and bringing his own cocktail ingredients to parties and making everyone proper cocktails.

We also learn about his consumption habits, like how he didn't drink while working but sucked down huge amounts of cocktails when not behind the typewriter and went on multiple day drinking binges with friends (sounds like me at Tales of the Cocktail). And we learn about the uniqueness of his writing - Greene points out how epicurean Hemingway was to include all of this cocktail information, and we see how the drinks in some ways set the scenes for the action. 

Finally, of course, we have the recipes. Most are classic recipes (like the Martini and Negroni), but there are also many local ways of consuming spirits mentioned (like the Ojen Special or Vermouth & Seltzer), along with some Hemingway originals and variations of cocktails like the Jack Rose and Tom Collins. 

I wrote about Hemingway's Tom Collins recipe over at FineCooking.com. He calls for coconut water in place of soda water, and no added sugar as was his style. The recipe is here.

All said, the book is a fun read with the lovely combination of cocktails and literature that people seem to enjoy. 

 

Balance in Cocktails

This post is sponsored by PAMA pomegranate liqueur. 

Typically when we talk about balance in cocktails, we're talking about the balance between sweet and sour. We'll leave the talk about balance between strong and weak for another time. 

The category of 'sours' in cocktails (which should really be called 'sweet and sours' but whatevs) is enormous and includes pretty much every drink with citrus juice. This includes the Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Pisco Sour, White Lady, Daiquiri, and so on. 

Sour ingredients include lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, and pomegranate juices, but other ingredients are acidic as well. Michael Lazar measured the pH of many cocktail ingredients and put them in order. I was surprised to learn how acidic the vermouths and sherries are, and it seems this is due to the grapes that comprise the base wines for them. Currently-trendy sour substitutes include shrub syrups (with a vinegar base) as well as acid phosphate, which is said to add sour sensation to a drink without the citrus flavor.

Sweet ingredients are used to balance against sour ones. These include many liqueurs (but as we can see on Lazar's chart, not all of them), plus sweetening agents including sugar, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, and so on. 

The gold standard cocktail ratio for a sour is 2:1:1, which is two parts liquor to one part each of the sweet and sour ingredients. Of course, when we use ingredients other than lime juice and 1:1 simple syrup we have to adjust those ratios. 

Also, each bar has (or should have) a house ratio that they use. A few years ago in San Francisco, bartenders were making drinks so citric that you'd feel the enamel coming off your teeth when you drunk them. On the other side of the coin, bars that cater to younger drinkers tend to be heavy on the sugar. There seems to be an agreed-upon balance of cocktails for competitions (ever-so-slightly sour) but those drinks don't necessarily reflect how those same cocktails would be made at bars. 

For all sours, it is important to taste the drinks and adjust the sweet and sour ratio to order.  

But why would PAMA want me to write about sweet-and-sour balance in cocktails? Because their product is meant to include both in one bottle. 

PAMA’s proprietary blend of all-natural pomegranate juice combined with vodka and a touch of tequila results in a delicately balanced sweet-tart flavor that holds its own when combined with any base spirit. An extremely versatile cocktail ingredient, PAMA mixes with whiskey, rum and brandy equally well as it mixes with vodka, gin and tequila.

Here is a cocktail they recommend to demonstrate the sweet and sour balance. 

Hades' Temptation

 Dash of Simple Syrup
Dash of Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz. Citrus Vodka
1/2 oz. PAMA Pomegranate

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar.

 

Leave Negroni Alone! (A Story on Details.com)

In my latest post for Details.com, I talk about the Negroni. That poor cocktail is less famous than the Martini and Manhattan, yet suffers more at the hand of bartenders.

"Everywhere you look, the Negroni is being deconstructed, smoked, solidified, gelatinized, flamed, dehydrated, foamed, carbonated, frozen, clarified, and subjected to other forms of mixological torture."

The story then goes on to describe some bars in which the Negroni is currently being tortured. 

Check it out on Details.com! 

 

Smoky Negroni at Hakkasan

 

Which Distilleries Have Floor Maltings?

As I mentioned in a post about my visit to Laphraoig, only a few scotch whisky distilleries do their own malting. 

Floor malting is the historic technique of preparing barley for fermentation; turning it into malted barley. Most of the 100 distilleries in Scotland purchase malted barley from commercial malting plants, and most (all?) of the distilleries that do floor malting also purchase additional malt from commercial malters.

Read more about floor maltings here.

Today I just read about another scotch whisky distillery re-starting their floor malting, so I thought it would be good to create a list. 

Distilleries that do floor malting are: 

• Laphroaig, Islay
• Bowmore, Islay
• Kilchoman, Islay
• Highland Park, Orkney Islands
• Springbank, Campbelltown
• The Balvenie, Speyside
• Benriach, Elgin, Speyside

As for American and other countries that do floor maltings (for beer or whiskey), that will be a list for another day. 

Making Clear Ice Using a Blast Freezer

A few weeks back I was talking to Charles Joly, beverage director of The Aviary in Chicago, about ice. (This happens a lot.) We were talking about the cooler method I use to make clear ice. 

The Aviary has a Clinebell machine that makes 300 pound blocks of sexy, clear ice that they then cut up into various shapes for drinks, so they don't need to use the slow-ass cooler method, BUT they also have a blast freezer.

I'd always wondered if you could make clear ice fast using the cooler method in a blast freezer, and luckily Joly was curious as well, so he gave it a try.

He said:

The cooler was a 10qt Rubbermaid with the lid off. Time was about 13 hours at a low of -40F and on average a bit warmer than that (-30-40F), as the blast freezer was opened and closed during service.

I was surprised it didn't freeze the entire block in that time. As you can see from the side view, it was about 60% frozen with side walls and a thin top layer beginning to form.

I cracked off the soft shell from the bottom, drained off the water and knocked of the thin side walls that were holding the pool of water. The remaining block had good clarity. 

I would say the clarity is relatively close- say 85% that of the clinebell. 

In conclusion, he says: 

For home use or a one-off event, this ice is great. For venue use, we would need a lot of coolers. The Clinebell provides our hand chipped ice spheres (large, one rock per glass) and our ice shards that go into every glass of water served.

I think the technique is awesome for the home bartender, if you're doing punch service or simply as an alternative, although much more labor intensive and lower yielding, than the Clinebell.

So yes, it works. And maybe if you don't need too much block ice and have a blast freezer with space in it this could actually be useful. Just not at The Aviary. 

Thanks for the effort, Charles!

A Bevy of Bottles with Oversized Labels

I keep seeing bottles with oversized labels. The most common is Angostura Bitters, which was created that way by accident. (The full explanation is here.)

The other bitters with an oversized label (typically consumed as a digestif rather than in cocktails) in Underberg. 

Then there is Basil Hayden's bourbon, which has only a partially oversized label.

More recently, this line of wines was produced for Safeway grocery stores. The details on it are in the press release here.

And even more recently, I saw this aquavit, which may or may not come from the bar Aqua Vitae in Oslo, Norway.

Anyway, they're popping up everywhere these days. 

Cocktail Menu: Workshop in Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs has a new restaurant and cocktail bar. The website is here and the cocktails are below. 

CLASSICS 9.

AVIATION, gin, fresh lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette. around here when the phrase “classic cocktail” is uttered most of us think about this hugo ensslin original created at the hotel wallick in times square and published is his 1916 recipes for mixed drinks.

PAINKILLER, silver rum, fresh orange & pineapple juices, house made coconut cream. a traditional favorite coming from tortola in the british virgin islands. “it’ll cure what ails ya, and ail what cures ya”.

FOGCUTTER, silver rum, acholado pisco, gin, olorosso sherry, fresh lemon & orange juices, house made orgeat. be sure to handle with care: one will definitely clear things up, two will begin to cut through coherence, but the fog may roll back in with the third.

GEORGIA BUCK, local peach infused bourbon, fresh lemon juice, house made ginger beer, angostura bitters. a perfect concoction to give the dull and ordinary the slip... not to mention the hot palm springs sun.

WARD 8, rye, house made grenadine, fresh lemon & orange juices. originating in boston around the turn of the 20th century and named after a notoriously corrupt voting district; fortunately for us the political corruption of yesteryear is virtually extinct (insert big wink here). however, this drink is as delicious and morally in debt as it ever was.

PUNCH

BOMBAY GOVERNMENT PUNCH, jamaican rum, vsop cognac, demerara sugar, fresh lime juice, grapefruit oils, cinnamon, green tea. a recipe borrowed from sir john gayer, the 1694 english governor of bombay. it is as delicate as it is delicious and as intoxicating as it is charming. be forewarned though, too much of this elixir could lead to any number of shameful, delightful acts of scandal... but, please, no dueling in the restaurant.

4 people 44. | 8 people 83. | 12 people 119.

ORIGINALS 10.

PISQU, acholado pisco, yellow chartreuse, locally grown raspberries, serrano chili, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup. a delightful union of peruvian grape brandy, french herbal liqueur and seasonal berries will croon the sweet sounds of summer and depart quickly with a spicy little kiss of serrano pepper.

BOXERS AND BOBBYSOCKS, gin, cherries, house made rosemary gomme syrup, fresh lime juice, angostura bitters and seltzer water. a cocktail trifecta of sweet, tart and bitter, sublimely tempered with just the right amount of rosemary. please drink responsibly or you might just find yourself waking up in boxers and bobbysocks...

LAUTNER PROJECT, rhum agricole, house made agave cordial, fresh lime juice, mint and sparkling wine. inspired by the prolific architect whose work brought together unlikely design combinations. we offer a cocktail with thoughtful scheme, texture and a little flair. a seamless amalgamation of unlikely ingredients hopefully worthy of its namesake.

THE HIGGINS, amber rum, white whiskey, cinnamon infused sweet vermouth, local honey, fresh orange juice. a cocktail that sets about with good intentions, sensibly heading to work but takes a wayward glance towards the beach and suddenly enjoyable errors are being committed.

SLOE BURN, blanco tequila, dry vermouth, sloe gin, 3 peppercorn syrup, habanero chili tincture. a light, savory and seductive cocktail that dances in your mouth. do not deny yourself the pleasure, decide to be adventurous and then let the balmy palm springs evening breeze decide the rest.