Boozy movies: Sugar

While trying to find the History Channel's Modern Marvels episode on whiskey on Netflix and iTunes (no luck), I stumbled across their sugar episode. I figured it would include some information on rum, which it did. Molasses is a byproduct of sugar production that can be fermented and distilled into rum. The show did not touch on rhum agricole.

I realize that I never posted about my trip to Martinique over a month ago. On Martinique, like many Caribbean islands, European settlers first planted tobacco, then switched to sugarcane when the market collapsed. On Martinique the sugar market also collapsed, so Homere Clement and other sugar producers turned their giant sugar factories into giant rum distilleries. They just skipped the middle step of making granular sugar.

Rum distilled from sugar cane juice instead of molasses on Martinique is called rhum agricole (they refer to other rums as "industrial"). The agricole distilleries take in sugarcane, smash it and shred it to get all the juice out, then ferment the juice and distill it into rhum. The leftover cane fibers are burned to generate steam, which in turn powers the distilleries. The steam engines are enormous machines at the front and center of each agricole distillery, which makes them some of the coolest to visit- they're loud with big spinning parts. Here's a video I took in Martinique:



The Modern Marvels video didn't touch on rhum agricole, but did mention sugar production in other areas. Hawaii produces a large amount of sugar from cane, but as far as I know no brands of American cane sugar rum are on the market. In Brazil, not only do they make cachaca from sugar cane, they fuel their cars with the distillate.

Something like 40% (I could be wrong on the number) of sugar now comes from sugar beets from colder climates instead of sugar cane from the tropics. But according to this discussion on the Ministry of Rum website, sugar beet molasses is high in salt and doesn't produce good spirit.

A lot of the sweetener used in the US since the 1980's is from corn, in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I think that with the corn ethanol poor government planning and HFCS/obesity epidemic bad press, the (mostly corn-based) bourbon industry had better start using organic corn if they're going to come out of this retaining their "traditional American heritage" image.

But corn is a different story. For that, you can watch the documentary King Corn, or the History Channel also has a Modern Marvels on that crop.

Rum race

Next weekend's Bay to Breakers is San Francisco's famous naked race (as opposed to the naked marches, naked street fairs, and a generally high level of overall nakedness), though these days more people seem to be wearing costumes than nothing at all.

Don't like exercise? Don't worry. This year, the Million Pirate March gives you an excuse to drink rum, wear an eyepatch, and be generally more piratey than on other days. Also, wearing an eyepatch doesn't imply you have to wear anything else.

World whiskies, then world travel

Posting will be infrequent if not non-existent over the next week and a half. I'm headed to the Whiskies of the World tasting event tonight in San Francisco, then to Vail early in the morning for the Navan/Grand Marnier Mixology Summit, then to Martinique with Rhum Clement to drink rhum agricole right from the source.

Work, work, work.

Free booze in Cuba

Good timing in Details' March issue with their Cuba Libre feature, with Fidel Castro handing over power and all. Author Rob Willey says the difference between Cuba Libre and a rum and Coke is that a Cuba Libre uses good rum, Mexican Coke (with sugar instead of HFCS), and the lime is muddled in the glass rather than just used as garnish.

Then he cites places to get them- at Eben Freeman's Tailor in NYC, at Vessel from that Boudreau guy, and at Jardiniere in San Francisco from Thad Vogler. (I don't think Thad works there anymore, so not-so-good timing on that one.)

I frequently see this drink called the Cuba Libra online and in some books including Gary Regan's Joy of Mixology. I've always assumed that "Cuba Libra" was an incorrect translation rather than an adaptation, as it seems to use the same ingredients. Or it is a regional thing? Anyone know?

Orson and onward

Last night was the grand opening party for Orson, likely to be the only restaurant opening party this year to feature both a fashion show and a sword fight.

But I was there to joust with the cocktails, so that's what I did. I had three drinks: a celery gimlet that tastes exactly how you think it would, a bourbon-based drink with many other ingredients that I do not remember (it was fantastic), and a drink with cocoa bean-infused something, sherry, Batavia arrak, and a flamed orange peel, which was also layered and delicious.

Why don't I take better notes?

Afterward I hit the very end of Rye's cocktail competition featuring Charbay's green tea vodka, and had a tasty sweet drink with just the vodka and lemonade.

After that, I headed over to NOPA for some food and drinks, because lord knows I hadn't had enough drinks. NOPA has been doing something cool with their menu for a while now that I haven't seen other places. They have a section of the menu devoted to a class of spirits, such as calvados or cachaca, in addition to the regular cocktails. This time its rhum agricole from Rhum Clement (check out the menu here), with five cocktails featuring expressions from the brand. It's a nice way to get acquainted with a category of spirits- and I especially need to get familiar with Clement, because I'm going to Martinique in April to drink it from the tap. Wahoo!

All about rum

Here's a nice history and summary of rum on Slashfood, with an introduction to several styles including rhum agricole.

Shrub

Here's an event that you need to RSVP to attend. I'll be going to the industry version of it early in the day, as I'm starting to get real interested in rhum agricole.

CELEBRATE CARNAVAL WITH MARTINIQUE’S RHUM CLÉMENT CRÉOLE SHRUBB

A BARTENDER FAVORITE—LEARN HOW TO MAKE COCKTAILS FROM SOME OF SF’S FINEST

Who: 4^th generation Clément family rhum connoisseur, Benjamin Mélin Jones, Cantina Bar owner and mixologist extraordinaire, Duggan McDonnell and cocktail and beverage aficionado Jordan Mackay will lead a discussion about Rhum Clément and Créole Shrubb, a superb blend of white rum and aged rum infused with Créole spices and sun-bleached bitter orange peels. Learn about the history of A.O.C. Martinique Rhum Agricole, the tradition behind Créole Shrubb in Martinique and how to incorporate Shrubb into classic and contemporary cocktails and cuisine.

What: Enjoy complimentary Shrubb cocktails and festive nibbles followed by an open Q&A

Where: Cantina Bar

580 Sutter Street (cross Mason)

San Francisco, CA

Limited space--Please RSVP to (removed)

When: Monday, February 4, 2008

6:00-7:30 p.m.

Lost ingredients

Here's my big fat lost ingredients cover story in today's SF Chronicle Wine Section.

Resurrecting spirits
Camper English, Special to The Chronicle
Friday, October 19, 2007

Last year, Erik Ellestad, a cocktail aficionado and systems administrator at UCSF, decided to drink his way through a classic recipe book.

Though he initially considered "The Old Waldorf Astoria Bar Book," he found a cocktail every couple pages that required an obscure or unavailable ingredient, so he chose the easier-seeming "Savoy Cocktail Book" from 1930. On his path to making the book's 750 drinks, he hit his first snag at the second recipe: The namesake spirit in the absinthe cocktail had been banned in the United States since 1912.

"I tried a couple of substitutes (including pastis) that were not very satisfying. Then I received a bonus from work ... so I decided to order some absinthe from London."

Ellestad has plenty of company: Historically accurate cocktails are a growing trend extending from the classic cocktail craze, with an emphasis on finding and tasting the first-known version of a drink. Such cocktails can be a challenge to re-create. Drink recipes from 100 or more years ago require some translation, as they were smaller in size, used measurements such as drachms and gills, and involved processes like clarifying loaf sugar syrup.

But, as Ellestad found, the bigger challenge is that many of the spirits and other ingredients called for in classic recipes are no longer imported, have changed flavor profiles radically, were outlawed or are simply no longer produced.

Hunting down obscure spirits involves time, travel, collaboration and sometimes, reinvention. Nevertheless, dedicated drink historians (and thirsty mixologists) are working together to bring many of these lost cocktail ingredients back onto the market.

(Go read the rest. There's lots of it and I name-checked about half the booze nerds on the planet.)

Wet Wednesday

On Wednesday I stopped into Elixir for a Rhum Clement tasting. I tried five products- the white Premiere Canne rum, VSOP rum, the Cuvee Homere, XO, and Liqueur Creole, a rum-based orange liqueur. All the products were delicious, and I piggily asked for seconds of the XO because it was terrific (and I can't afford to buy any).

As I'd been recently studying cachaca that is also produced from sugar cane juice instead of traditional rum's molasses, I was curious to try the line. (Note: it tastes nothing like cachaca.) I spoke with Ben Jones, General Manager of Clement USA and a Clement family relation, and learned a ton about rhum agricole and their distillery.

Rhum agricole is produced on French-speaking Caribbean islands. Rhum Clement is from Martinique. It is subject to AOC restrictions, just like cognac. This means that only specific varieties of sugar cane may be used, and they have to test one out of every ten sugar cane stalks to ensure it has the appropriate sugar content.

The rum ages in barrels, but the temperature is so hot the barrels sweat rum and have to be sponged off. Thus, the angel's share losses are huge. After 35ish years in barrels the wood starts to overtake the rum, so sometimes it is moved into glass containers for storage after that.

The rums are kept as distinct vintages, so that in the X.O. product, for example, they can say it contains rum from vintages 1952, 1970, and 1976. They don't really sell individual vintages of rum, except through auction houses like Christies.

That was just some of the cool stuff I picked up. So when I'm done with the next 76 projects, I look forward to tackling rhum agricoles.

Old Rum

Time has a good article on the increased popularity of aged rum, along with quotes from Ed Hamilton and some of his recommendations.

Morty and the Mojito

I'm starting an internet campaign to start calling bartender/blogger sensation Jeffrey Morgenthaler "Morty," because that's just a hell of a lot easier to spell.

In any case, he has another great blog entry on The Dos and Don'ts of Mojitos. In particular, I think everyone needs to be aware that you should not over-muddle the mint. Crush; don't muddle. I got sick of mojitos tasting like a mouthful of grass years ago, so I only make them at home.

Recipe by Request

By Cior's request in the Bacardi post comments, here is a recipe that I think allows the flavors in the rum to shine through.

Generally, the lime juice + sugar+ booze recipe should do this also, whether that's in a gimlet (gin) or daiquiri (rum) or margarita (tequila), but I don't actually like gimlets or daiquiris. These recipes all add a touch of sweetness, fruit, and volume to dilute the spirit but shouldn't overwhelm it. Basically, they're filler. So is the Rucopi, a drink which must exist somewhere under another name but here's what I came up with:

Rucopi (RUm COconut PIneapple)
1 1/2 ounces rum (especially dark rum)
1 ounce coconut water (not coconut milk; available in Latino groceries and health food stores)
1/2 ounce pineapple juice
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

In defense of Bacardi

Much like Smirnoff, the well vodka so maligned that even after the NY Times blind tasted it as superior to expensive brands it still doesn't get much respect socially, Bacardi rum gets no props.

I was at a barbecue yesterday at which I served my Summer Strawberry Wave cocktail of strawberry-infused rum, lemon iced tea, and ginger ale. It was well-received all around, as usual. (Honestly, it's a fricking fantastic daytime drink). Someone new came in as I was offering up another round and I described the drink.

"What kind of rum is in it?" asked the person pondering it.

Bacardi, I said, though this should have been obvious due to the Bacardi bottle I was holding.

"Oh, well, then no thanks. Bacardi is gross."

I resisted the urge to smack her. Clearly she wasn't a rum expert dissing Bacardi in comparison to better brands; she was dissing it because she had gotten too drunk on Bacardi and Whatevers in college and thinks of it as overly sweet, syrupy rum when that's the mixer she's actually remembering.

"Take a sip of it then tell me it sucks," I said, but she wouldn't. Typical.

A few weeks ago, a couple of friends were over for a mojito-making training session (by the way, I'm available to do mojito-making training sessions for groups and business networking events- email me). After we went through the basics of preparation, I suggested we then try different rums and make mojitos with them.

My friends were hesitant when it came to sampling the Bacardi we had already been mixing with, but then they tried it. "Wow! Who knew?" they said. ("It's probably best to suggest trying it after a few drinks," one added, acknowledging her prejudices.)

I think more than commonly consumed average-quality whiskies or vodkas or certainly tequilas, Bacardi is the most underrated yet popular spirit brand out there. For something that so many people buy and consume, most people think of it as a crap product.

If that's you, I want you to take a sip from the bottle in your cabinet right now. It won't taste how you think it does- unless you think it tastes like more like chocolate and coffee than syrup and candy. These flavors aren't overwhelmingly intense- that's why you've never noticed them before in a soup of pineapple juice and Coke- but they're there and worth knowing about.

Though I primarily use Bacardi as a mixing rum at home, like Julia Child with the cooking sherry, I'll have a little sip before I add it to the mixing glass, because it's fine and tasty on its own.

Like Falcon Crest, but with rum

Coming to ABC this fall- Cane: The nighttime soap opera about two rival Cuban families in the sugar and rum business. It stars practically every big name Latino actor you've heard of. I would probably Tivo it, if I had a Tivo or a functioning television.


Link via: Dowd's Spirits Journal

Cocktailing with Cameron Bogue, Part Two

So anyway, Cameron Bogue, Smirnoff Cocktail Consultant and I went out drinking in San Francisco. He had a map of all the places he wanted to visit but we didn't get all that far because we stayed too long at every place we did visit.

Slanted Door- We were lucky enough to visit SD on a night when bar manager Erik Adkins was working, as he loves to talk shop and mix up a lot of drinks. (Both times when I spent more than 20 minutes talking with Erik I had more than six drinks in front of me, which seems normal to me but customers started making comments...) We tried a rhum agricole punch topped with grated nutmeg that was just great. I had a Casino, which is an Aviation with added orange bitters. These bitters were the homemade ones that I wrote about in the Chronicle, finally put to good use. They were also experimenting with homemade ginger beer, as Erik went off the menu and whipped us up so many more drinks. Eventually we had to flee as we had dinner reservations.

Absinthe- Absinthe also has a Casino cocktail on their menu, so it turns out that I'm right about the Aviation being the new Negroni. We had a few other drinks with dinner there that were tasty, and I don't remember what they were but they were all terrific.

Bourbon & Branch- It turns out that Cameron knows Todd Smith, and had considered working at B&B when it was going to open. That would have been stupendous. Anyway, we had several drinks and all were tasty. They've been brining their own olives for a while now, but recently made a brine with smoked salt and I think scotch. The smoky olives were fantastic, though I think they could find a better vehicle for them than a gin martini. In other news, Todd says that they're bringing back the Rouge No. 10 when strawberries are in season. Hooray!

Rye- Normally Rye never dissapoints, but the execution of the cocktails we had there this time was off so we went back to B&B for a nightcap that I really didn't need but thought was a good idea at the time.

The next day I was horribly, miserably, shamefully hungover. But I had a text message from Cameron before I'd crawled out of bed as they were headed to LA around 8AM. Yep, the guy is a pro.

Drinking for Two

(In Today's San Francisco Chronicle)

Love Potions For Two

Dipping straws into a shared cocktail isn't the most romantic way to celebrate Valentine's Day, especially given the kitschy reputation of extra-large drinks. Yet some bartenders are trying to show that extra-big doesn't have to mean extra-bad.

The best known cocktail for two or (for the polyamorous) more is the scorpion bowl. The tropical drink, simply a fruit and rum punch in an oversized bowl with straws, is a popular leftover from the tiki food and drink fad that first swept America beginning in the 1930s. It's sometimes presented in a ceramic scorpion bowl with a volcano in the middle that's filled with a high-proof spirit and ignited -- a volatile combination that no doubt contributes to its enduring appeal.

The story goes on to discuss to origin of the scorpion bowl (Trader Vic's), what different people do with it, and why Forbidden Island does them right. We include the recipe for the popular Fugu for Two, shown in the picture.

Read the rest of the story here.

I wrote the story with Valentines Day in mind, and we made sure to include where else you can get shared cocktails. That way, you can skip the whole dinner aspect of the holiday, get drunk on jumbo cocktails, and go screw.

Double the pleasure

A few bars offering drinks for two or more:

Betelnut. Scorpion bowl. 2030 Union St. (at Buchanan), S.F.; (415) 929-8855.

Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge. Multiple tropical drinks. 1304 Lincoln Ave. (at Sherman), Alameda; (510) 749-0332.

Lingba Lounge. Bowl of Monkeys. 1469 18th St. (at Connecticut), S.F.; (415) 355-0001.

Luna Park, Volcanic scorpion bowl, Make Your Own Passion (Valentine's Day only). 694 Valencia St. (near 18th Street), S.F; (415) 553-8584.

Poleng Lounge. Emperor's Cup. 751 Fulton St. (at Masonic), S.F.; (415) 441-1710.

Ponzu. Godzilla. 401 Taylor St. (at O'Farrell), S.F.; (415) 775-7979.

Tonga Room. Multiple tropical drinks. 950 Mason St. (inside the Fairmont Hotel), S.F. (415) 772-5278.

Trad'r Sam's. Multiple tropical drinks. 6150 Geary Blvd. (at 26th Avenue), S.F.; (415) 221-0773.

Trader Vic's. Multiple tropical drinks. 9 Anchor Drive (at Powell), Emeryville; (510) 653-3400. 555 Golden Gate Ave. (near Van Ness), S.F.; (415) 775- 6300. 4269 El Camino Real (at Dinah's Garden Court), Palo Alto; (650) 849-9800.

Yo Ho Ho

I just got back from vacation (where I drank nothing of quality worth mentioning, though a lot in quantity), so I've got some catching up to do. Here's an event that looks awesome- anyone want to carpool (in your car) to Alameda on Feb 7th?

Forbidden Island is pleased to welcome you to… 

RUMFEST 2007!

Throughout February, Forbidden Island is celebrating the glory of rum
with a series of events, tastings, new products, and more.

To kick off the celebration, Forbidden Island is adding SEVENTEEN new
premium rums to our already world-class collection.  Explore the diverse
world of rum, and take advantage of the opportunity to sample rare &
exclusive spirits available nowhere else.  Sip them neat, on the rocks,
or prepared simply with fresh squeezed lime juice and our housemade pure
cane syrup.  Or take a trip around the world with a tasting flight.

Mark your calendar for these upcoming exciting rum-fueled events:

February 7th at 6:00pm: RUM 101 with Edward Hamilton.
Forbidden Island is pleased to welcome Edward Hamilton, internationally
known rum expert and the author of four books on rum.  Edward will be
giving an overview of the history, manufacture, and tasting of rum. 
Learn the difference between rums of different countries, how aging
affects the flavor and appearance of rum, and much more.  Admission to the
event is free, but we encourage you to buy tasting tickets in order to
have the great opportunity of sampling the rums Edward will be speaking
about.   Tasting tickets are available in advance or at the door for
$25, but supplies are limited, so hurry in.  Don’t miss this very
special event!

February 22nd, starting at 5:00pm: Don the Beachcomber 100th Birthday 
Party
Donn Beach: Man.  Myth.  Legend.  The inventor of the tiki bar.  Early
proponent of premium rum.  Creator of the Zombie.  And so much more. 
He would have been 100 years old on this day.  Come celebrate his legacy
with rare, classic Don the Beachcomber recipes and general merriment. 
Forbidden Island simply wouldn’t be here today without him.

February 25th at 2:00pm: Rum & Cigars
Spend a (hopefully) sunny afternoon on our patio with the two great
tastes that go great together: Rum and Cigars.  We’ll enjoy cigars
paired with premium sipping rums from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and
more.  Meet other rum and cigar lovers; see if you can taste the
similarities in cane and tobacco grown on the same soil.  Tickets ($35) will
be very limited for this event and will be available in advance only at
Forbidden Island.

Drinks to have and not have

Lately I've been having a lot of drinks out on the town with grapefruit in them. I think it's because grapefruit is a bitter flavor, and bitter drinks are all the rage these days. Bring on the Campari, amaros, and homemade bitters. I actually have three articles in different publications coming up that focus on cocktail bitters.

I've been playing with some grapefruit drinks lately with mixed success. Here is one that's just gross (found on DrinksMixer.com):

Petite Fleur
1 part grapefruit juice
1 part white rum
1 part Cointreau

Don't try this at home, kids! It's the essence of wrongness.

But then I tried this one:

Nevada Cocktail
1 1/2 ounce light rum
1 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice
1 dash bitters
1 ounce lime juice
2 tsp superfine sugar

I like the drink because it tastes simple and still. The bitters are so necessary and subtle they make a huge difference. The drink tastes to me well-balanced (surprisingly not too sweet) and also not too acidic.

My experimentation will continue, but tonight, I'll just have another.

*update* I had another and it wasn't anywhere near as good. I am the worst bartender in the world.

Tasty Dranks Out on the Town

While I was out "researching" a couple of weeks ago, I had some tasty cocktails I thought I'd tell y'all about.

First up was the Americano served at Americano. Rumor has it this bar is super yuppified at happy hour, but I was there on a day when they were covering the patio for winter so it was nice and empty. The drink menu looks pretty good altogether, but I had this rocks drink at the start of a long night out. The Americano is Campari with chai-infused sweet vermouth with soda water and a slice of orange. It was dry and refreshing, and the Campari gave it that depth I'm always looking for in cocktails.

Then I had the Earl Gray Boxcar at the restaurant Bong Su. The cocktail menu there features only six drinks, but I'd been wanting to try this one for a while. It has tea-infused rum, apricot liqueur, pineapple juice, and bitters; served up. It's a pretty amazing drink. The fruits in the drink are too fruity-sweet on their own and the tea and bitters are too sharp-dry on their own, so they go to war in your mouth. It's fun to taste the drink go from sweet to tart to a bone dry finish that makes you want to chase it with a soda after every sip. But then you go back for more. By the end of the drink though, the battlefield that was my mouth felt like it was ripped embedded with shrapnel and I was so ready to move on to something less... challenging. Recommended!

Booze Clues

Here is one of my first Booze Clues recipe columns in Frontiers Magazine. I guess it's not online. Looks good, right?