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Camper English Giving Three Talks at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic

The Industry Invitational is a part of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic reserved for bartenders, press, and other trade. (You must apply for it and pay a $15 fee if accepted but then it's all free.)

I am giving three talks as part of the Industry Invitational. They are:

The Barrel Around the World
Saturday, May 18th, 11:30-12:30

In this seminar, we’ll look at barrels from their birth in the forests to their end as barbecue chips. We’ll study the types of trees used for barrels around the world, including American white oak, Oregon pine, Brazilian balsam, French Troncais, Limousin oak and others. We'll also look at how barrels are made and why levels of toast and char matter. We'll focus on Sherry's unique sistema solera aging process, which is the inspiration behind Zacapa Rum's distinguished art of blending, to demonstrate the barrels' effects. The distinctive aging system uses various types of barrels over several years to age the spirits and instill in them rich, distinctive flavors by imparting flavor or tannins, allowing for oxidation and more. Attendees will taste the barrels' effects through cocktail recipes aged in different woods and create their own barrel-aged cocktail recipes using Zacapa Rum during this unique and educational seminar.

Speakers: Elayne Duff, Steve Olson, Camper English

50 Bars in 60 Minutes
Sunday May 19th, 5:15 - 6:15 PM

What makes a bar one of the best on the planet? Frequent fliers Jacob Briars and Camper English will tackle Drinks International’s 50 Best Bars in the World list, pointing out the qualities that make each one of these worldwide watering holes unique, from the over-the-top spectacle of The Artesian in London to the bare-bones charm of La Capilla in Tequila. They’ll also look for patterns and trends in the list, and list a few of their favorite bars in the world that didn’t quite make the cut.  

Speakers: Jacob Briars and Camper English

Palomapalooza!
Monday May 20th, 3:30 - 4:30

Let's take this super-simple cocktail and complicate it, shall we? We'll deconstruct the Paloma into its elements- tequila, grapefruit, soda, and garnish(es)- and put them all through the ringer. We'll look at the different mass-market and craft grapefruit sodas for sale and discuss how to make your own with various varieties of grapefruit from Duncan to Ruby Red. We'll talk about varieties of salt, and whether it should be put on the rim or in the glass for best effect. We'll try a few versions of the drink with different ages of Don Julio tequila to see what works best with what. We'll also discuss altering the Paloma using the trendy tricks of today, including carbonating, bottling and barrel-aging the drink. 

Speakers: Camper English

 

So come on down and hear me blather!

 

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Please Don't Hoard The Malacca

That was the surprising message of a little talk I attended about Tanqueray Malacca. 

As you've likely heard by now, Tanqueray has released a single batch of Malacca, a gin they produced years ago but then took off the market. They replaced it with Tanqueray Ten as they didn't want to have two line extensions to market at the same time. This was long before today's gin boom, of course, when there were only a few new gins hitting store shelves.  

Malacca had many fans, however, and even though the product was no longer sold, there were plenty of bottles gathering dust on store shelves. Some enterprising people made a ton of money by driving around to old liquor stores, buying the gin for very little money, and reselling it on eBay for up to $300 per bottle. 

 

In San Francisco, distiller Tom Nichol, brand ambassador Angus Winchester, and Steve Olsen (who was around for the first launch of Malacca) talked about the history of gin and how it changed over the years. 

Before column distillation, all gins were probably sweetened to cover up for poor-quality distillation. Then in the middle of the 1800s when column stills became common, there was no longer a need to sweeten gin and the London Dry style was born. According to Olsen, after around 1905 only the London dry style gins were found in the US. 

Gin quality suffered during Prohibition, and in the years after it, the spirit had a slow decline as vodka sales picked up. The first signs of the gin renaissance were when Bombay Sapphire was launched with a lighter style of gin in the 1980s. In its wake, many other lighter gins launched, and continue to do so today. 

Tanqueray contains only four botanicals: juniper, coriander, angelica, and licorice root. They're not saying what's in Malacca, but it is lower in alcohol than Tanqueray, softer and rounder, but quite spicy. My tasting notes included 'rhubarb cream' and 'cinnamon'. 

In any case, Malacca is some tasty stuff and they claim that this will be the one and only batch of it made as a special bottling. The distillery where Tanqueray is produced is a huge operation and changing the schedule to produce a small or one-off product apparently messes up everything and creates a headache for Tom Nichol, the distiller. 

As Nichol says, "If you want it again, ask somebody else." 

How this won't lead to hoarding I'm not sure. 

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Twelve More New Cocktail Bars Opening in 2013

In my recent story for Details.com, I listed a bunch of new bars opening in 2013. 

But there were a lot more I couldn't include for one reason or another. So here are more bars we're looking forward to this year:

• The Regent Cocktail Club in South Beach, Miami  - With John Lermayer heading up the cocktail program.
• The Alder by Wylie Dufresne in New York - Some info here.
• South on Main in Little Rock, Arkansas - Chef Matt Bell and mixlogist Dave Burnette, in partnership with the Oxford American.
• Handle Bar in Berkeley - from the owner of ACME bar.
• Milk & Honey in New York - relocated, bigger, no reservations required
• Hi Lo in San Francisco - barbecue restaurant with session beers and big, refreshing cocktails by locavore mixologist Scott Beattie and Left Coast Libations co-author Michael Lazar.
• Rogue & Canon in New York - an "approachable bar and kitchen" serving a truncated menu representing the modern American “canon” and the “rogue” stylings of mixologist Johnny Swet.
• Tavern Road in Boston -  Mixologist Ryan McGrale, formerly of No. 9 Park and Boston’s New York's Flatiron Lounge, will team up with Chef Louis DiBiccari to open Tavern Road in the Fort Point neighborhood in early 2013. The bar program will place a heavy emphasis on craft cocktails that utilize small batch spirits and pay homage to the classics.
• Unnamed in Dallas - by Michael Martensen. More info here.
• Planter's House in St. Louis - Ted Kilgore says "Planter's House will also have a more intimate handcrafted cocktail bar within the space called the Bullock Room, where I can geek out on cocktails."
• Hinoki & the Bird in Los Angeles - with cocktails by Sam Ross of Attaboy
• Unnamed in Austin - A forthcoming bar from Chris Bostick, Eric Alperin, Cedd Moses, and Sasha Petraske. Late spring/early summer opening. More info here.

 

Regent Cocktail Club,taken from the website

 

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Fernet Is Hot: Warm Winter Cocktails with Fernet Branca

Fernet is finding its way into hot cocktails this year. Here are three I've noticed in the last couple of months.

Rich Coffee at Rich Table, San Francisco

Fernet, Creme de Cacao, Sightglass Coffee, Brown Sugar, Pistachio Cream, Gold Dust

Strato at Lounge at Atera, New York

Coffee, cream and one and a half ounces of the bitter Italian amaro Fernet Branca.

Robert Simonson of the New York Times says, "It’s insanely delicious. But, also, possibly, just plain insane." 

 

Miziers Demise at The Fifth Floor, San Francisco

Fernet Branca, Strauss Milk, Dark Chocolate, Crème de Menthe, peppermint marshmallow

This is on the just-launched winter cocktail menu. 

Cocktail Menu: Demi Monde in New York

Demi Monde, a new bar project in New York's Financial District from Dave Kaplan and Alex Day, has opened. Eater has some great pictures of the inside.

I see: lots of fizz, lots of brandy, and other French ingredients. Between this, the New York oufit of the Experimental Cocktail Club and Pour Vous in Los Angeles, I guess French cocktail bars are a thing now- at least in America.

HEADS UP
WATERMELON BLANC, APEROL, FIZZ 14

MISTER SPARKLE
GIN, SHERRY, LEMON, BITTERS, ORANGE CREAM FIZZ 14

BILLY GOAT
GRAPPA , C A LVADOS, CINNAMON, LIME, GRAPEFRUIT, FIZZ 14

EL CID
TEQUILA, AMONTILL A D O , G I N G E R , L I M E , F I Z Z 14

MAXX & LUCY
GIN, APEROL, RASPBERRY, LEMON, SPARKLING WINE 16

JEWEL BOX
LILLET, RUM, GENTIAN APERITIF, PEAR CIDER 16

WHISPER CAMPAIGN
CALVADOS, CHAMOMILE, CHARTREUSE, LEMON, SPARKLING WINE 16

FIELD MARSHAL
ARMAGNAC , R OYAL COMBIER, BITTERS, SPARKLING WINE 16

CHECK YOUR HEAD
BOURBON, CURAÇAO, LEMON, PEAC H , M I N T 14

PROSPERITIVO
AQUAVIT, GIN, COCONIB CAMPARI , GRAPEFRUIT, LEMON 14

SECOND WIND
COGNAC , P I N E AU DES CHARENTES, VERJUS BLA N C , B I T T E R S 14

BENJAMIN THOMAS
SCOTCH, LEMON, CHERRIES, BITTERS 14

GUN METAL
GIN, WATERMELON BLANC, BITTERS, ABSINTHE MIST 14

WOLF TONE
PISCO, GRAPPA, ELDERFLOWER, EUCALY P T U S , B I T T E R S 14

CUT & PASTE
EAU DE VIE DE POMME, IRISH WHISKEY, HONEY, BITTERS, ABSINTHE MIST 14

LADY JAMES
RYE WHISKEY, VERMOUTH, FRAMBOISE, BITTERS 14

HOUSE SODAS
CELERY SODA 6
WITH GIN OR VODKA 14
STRAWBERRY TARRAGON SODA 6
WITH GIN, VODKA, RUM OR TEQUILA 14
GRAPEFRUIT SODA 6
WITH GIN, VODKA, BOURBON OR TEQUILA 14
PINEAPPLE COCONUT EGG CREAM 6
WITH GIN, VODKA, RUM OR TEQUILA 14

Come Hear Me Speak at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic May 14th!

I am giving three talks at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic in New York on May 14th. I hope if you're in town you'll come hear them.

First sign up for the Industry Invitational (all bar industry and media are welcome). These seminars require an rsvp and you can do that on the schedule page. It's all free. 

Filtration In Spirits

Monday May 14, 2012 11:30am - 12:30pm @ Beverage Media Room: Studio 3 - Second Floor (485 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 USA)

 

We don’t often speak about filtration in spirits, yet it is the defining factor in Tennessee whisky, makes vodka vodka, turns aged rum clear, and has allowed for the creation of a new category of tequila. In this seminar we'll talk about various forms of filtration used in spirits: charcoal/paper/screens/membranes and other filters, chill-filtration, and more. We’ll also discuss the purpose of filtration: to remove particulates, color, cloudiness, or flavor. We'll demonstrate some tabletop science experiments, find out if you can improve vodka with a Britta filter, and learn what spirits taste like before and after filtration.

 

The Ice Capades: Exotic Ice Beyond Big Cubes 

Monday May 14, 2012 2:30pm - 3:30pm @ Beverage Media Room: Studio 3 - Second Floor (485 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 USA)

"Ice Capades" looks at new frontiers in cocktail ice. The hour will consist of a brief overview of the history of cocktail ice, from its first appearance to the invention of the ice machine in 1850 to the development of fast-freezing technology and ice delivery- and what this has meant for cocktail development. Then the presentation will turn to exotic ices that have appeared of late. These will include a) flavored ice (coconut water, bitters, fruit, etc) that allow the cocktail to deepen and morph as it’s sipped; b) shaped ice and ice vessels like the hollow, liquor-filled spheres that have been brought to wider attention by Aviary in Chicago.; and c) other exotic ice including smoked ice created by Evan Zimmerman in Portland, Oregon, machine-carved ice spheres, 10,000 year-old glacial ice imported from Greenland filled with microscopic bubbles of ancient air that snap like Rice Krispies as it melts, and a few cool uses for dry ice.

This seminar will be lead by Wayne Curtis and I. 

Tequila is the New Vodka, Tequila is the New Scotch

Monday May 14, 2012 5:30pm - 6:30pm @ Beverage Media Room: Studio 3 - Second Floor (485 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 USA)

Tequila is one of the fastest-growing spirits categories in America, with nearly two hundred new brands hitting store shelves each year. But is tequila becoming the new vodka: over-saturated with expensive designer bottles, celebrity sponsorships, and flavorless imitation brands that are all made at the same few distilleries? Or is the 100-percent agave category more like scotch whisky, showcasing innovation in ingredient sourcing and processing, barrel finishing, and distillation technology while working within the rigid framework of government regulations? In this lively and likely controversial talk by journalist Camper English we’ll discuss the rapidly-changing tequila category and all the hope and hype that comes with growth.

I hope to see you there! 

Cocktail Menu: Jbird Cocktails in New York

 

The bar Jbird is opening a new location in the Upper East Side. The cocktail program, as at the original location, is done by Jason Littrell and Marshall Altier of Genuine Leather Hospitality.

 

 

Old-Fashioned Cocktails
The Original; as defined in 1806; Spirit, sweet and a dash of bitter, stirred and served over hand-cut ice

Coco Viejo Coco & Coffee Bean Aged Rum, Cane Syrup, Grapefruit Bitters $14
KSBW Bourbon, Lemongrass Acacia Honey, Aromatic Bitters $12
Thornybush Cocktail London Dry Gin, Elderflower Liquor, Kaffir Lime, Celery Bitters $14
North Garden Apple Brandy, Bourbon, Islay Scotch $12
Honey-Nut Old-Fashioned Roasted Peanut-Infused Bourbon, Honey Syrup, Aromatic Bitters $12
(Courtesy of Marcos Tello, The Varnish, Los Angeles)
Brush of the Bush Anejo Tequila, Reposado Mezcal, Sage Agave Nectar, Cherry Bark, Vanilla Bitters $14

Sours
A shaken measure of strong, sour and sweet, carefully built for balance

Lavender Lining Bianco Tequila, Lavender Petal Bianco Vermouth, Lime, Lavender Froth*, Market Herbs $14
Everyman After All Oak-Aged Caribbean Rum, Apple Brandy, Crème de Pecha, Citrus, House Peach Bitters, Green Cardamom $12
Chief’s Hunt Amber and Aged White Rums, Passion Fruit, Lime, Orange, Apricot Brandy, Coconut Liqueur $12
20th Century London Dry Gin, House-Made Crème de Cacao, Cocchi Americano Wine, Lemon $12
(From Café Royal Bar Book 1937)
Sadie Hawkin’s Sling Bourbon, Falernum, Pear Brandy, Apricot Liqueur, Lemon, Pineapple, Tiki Bitters
(Served for two) $24

Collinses, Fizzes and Effervescent
The original ‘coolers’, served tall and topped with bubbles

Manu Chao Bay Leaf Infused Cachaca, Lemon, Demerara, Green Chartreuse, Soda Water $12
Hudson Breeze Fizz London Dry Gin, Apple Brandy, Pomegranate Syrup, Lemon, Baked Apple Foam*
(Contains Egg-whites) $12
Palomito Reposado Tequila, Grapefruit Juice, Salt, Lime, Negra Modelo, Tamarind Soda $14
The Imperial March Chinese Black Tea Cognac 1st Cru, Raspberry Syrup, Lime Juice, Champagne $14
Afternoon Delight Old Tom Gin, Pear Brandy, Orange & Lemon, Cane Sugar, Soda Water $14

Aromatized Cocktails
Spirit-on-spirit cocktails served in the manner of their famous predecessors; The Martini, The Manhattan, et al.

Camomila Cocktail Rye Whiskey, Chamomile Grappa, Bianco Vermouth, Elderflower, Orange Bitters $14
Maddow Old Tom Gin, Dry Vermouth, Elderflower Liquor, Antica Vermouth, Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters14
La Rosita Anejo Tequila, Antica Vermouth, Campari $14
ICBM Vodka, French Vermouth, Celery Bitters Mist, Vermouth-Cured Onions $12
Moon on the Rain Calvados VSOP, Dubbonet Rouge, Quince-Pecan Gastrique, Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters $12
(Courtesy of Daniel Shoemaker, Teardrop Lounge, Portland, OR)

Swizzles, Juleps, and Fixes
Frosty cold mixes as old as any in the America’s…Served on crushed ice

JBird Swizzle Jasmine Flower Rum, Don’s Spices, Lime, Pineapple, Blueberry Syrup, Orgeat, Bitters $12
Satchmo Swizzle London Dry Gin, Agave Nectar, Lime Juice, Crème Yvette, Mezcal, Ginger Beer, Aromatic Bitters, Blackberry Garnish $12
(Courtesy of Chris Hannah, Arnaud’s French 75 Bar, New Orleans, LA)
Daisy de Obeah Oak-Aged Caribbean Rum, Lime, Falernum, Cane Sugar, Strega Float $12
Behind God’s Back Aged Rum, Pineapple and Lime Juice, Cane Sugar, Cinnamon Syrup, Orgeat, Aromatic Bitters $12
Prescription Julep from Harper’s Monthly 1857 Rye Whiskey, Cognac 1st Cru, Demerara, Market Mint, Jamaican Rum Float $12

Jbird Cocktails
339 East 75th Street
212-288-8033
http://jbirdny.com

Cocktail Menu: Jimmy at The James in New York City

Here is the menu from Jimmy, a bar on the 18th story of the James hotel in SOHO, NYC.

I see: pumpernickel salt, cinnamon ice block, and one drink with beer, moonshine, orgeat, and Coke. What?

It's hard to guess how these drinks taste from the menu as there are a lot of sweet flavors involved but a delicate hand can work wonders. Let me know if you've been there.