Tales of the Cocktail is now just a few weeks away, and Jesus, am I busy. I want to point out a few things that I’ll be doing in New Orleans — such as posting updates with more than 30 of my fellow booze-bloggers at Blogging Tales of the Cocktail (coincidentally, where this is cross-posted) — and I’ll start with an event I’m moderating: Making Your Own Cocktail Ingredients.

After I suggested this topic to Tales organizers, I started looking around and realizing that the sheer breadth of the types of home- and bar-made ingredients currently in use — along with those being created by bar professionals and home enthusiasts every week — would dwarf anything this panel would be able to cover in 90 minutes. Rather than aim for comprehensive coverage of the types of bespoke ingredients that are now in use, this session is designed to get the creative juices flowing for amateurs and professionals alike.

Since I can be a complete doofus in person and especially in a public presentation, I invited three remarkably talented panelists to help flesh out the session. Erik Ellestad and I will cover the home enthusiast’s end, with examples ranging from simple but tasty infusions — that’s a boatload of Tequila por Mi Amante in the photo, soaking away in preparation to being poured for whoever shows up — to compound syrups (falernum! orgeat!) and house-made liqueurs such as Swedish punch; we’ll then kick it over to the pros: John Deragon from PDT in New York and Jamie Boudreau from … uh, his apartment in Seattle, I guess … who will cover house bitters, fat-washing and more complex ingredients such as Jamie’s vintage Amer Picon replica.

We’ll be mixing a few cocktails and pouring a few samples, and unless you’ve given a few of our recipes a spin, you’re likely to encounter a whole bunch of flavors you’ve never come across before. Our sponsors for the event are Death’s Door Gin and Partida Tequila — special thanks to Jacques B. for helping me score a shipment of reposado with which to lay some TpMA on the crowd — and, assuming I ever finish my presentation, it should be a great event. If you’re in town, be sure to grab a ticket and come see what we’re pouring.

Making Your Own Cocktail Ingredients takes place Saturday, July 19 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Hotel Monteleone; tickets may be purchased here.

Tags: Events by Paul
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[This notice is cross-posted at the Mixology Monday blog. What MxMo blog, you ask? Well click on through and see — I’m not running nearly as late with this as I thought I’d be.]

We’ve recently marked the second anniversary of Mixology Monday, and this month’s event had almost 40 participants, possibly the most ever. It’s time to bring it up one more level.

For July, Mixology Monday will take place on Monday, July 21, and this round will feature New Orleans. There are two ways to participate:

1. Mix up a cocktail that either originated in or is inspired by New Orleans, and post about it by Monday, July 21. By “originated,” I mean classics such as the Sazerac or the Milk Punch, as well as more recent creations such as the Obituary Cocktail or the Hurricane; really, there are tons of them out there, and with a little web research (my site has its own fair share of them) you’ll come up with a number of choices. And by “inspired,” I mean don’t be limited by what’s already out there; follow the New Orleans style and knock some Peychaud’s bitters or Herbsaint into the glass for a little NO touch. Hell, even tiki drinks qualify — Don the Beachcomber was created by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, who hailed from…that’s right.
2. Or, get your booze-bloggin’ butt down to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail from July 16 to 20, and post one of your favorites out of the flood of drinks you’ll encounter. (And it doesn’t have to be a typical New Orleans cocktail; the fact that you’re drinking it while in town is good enough.)

Top get option #2 started, on Wednesday, July 16, there’s a reception for cocktail bloggers at the Hotel Monteleone from 4:30 to 6:00. This thing is all ours, folks, and it’s even being billed (somewhere down in the fine print) as “Mixology Monday Live.” This reception comes just as the event is kicking off, and we’ll have food and cocktails for every blogger who can make it.

Right now there are more than 30 cocktail bloggers who are coming to New Orleans and participating in Blogging Tales of the Cocktail, and — with a little help from the gods of airline transport — we’ll finally have the opportunity to say “I thought you’d be taller / thinner / drunker” to all these folks we’ve only known online for so long. We’ve got bloggers coming from as far away as New Zealand and the UK for this; if you’re still on the fence about it, better jump in now. (And if you’re a cocktail blogger coming to Tales and you aren’t on the Tales Blog contributors list but want to get in on the game, let me know and we’ll get you lined up. )

Even if you can’t make it to New Orleans to be with the rest of us, you can join in the fun with Mixology Monday. I’ll host this round; to participate, just have your post up on or before July 21, and pop a note in the comments section to this post. And if there’s any way you can make it, we’d love to have you join us at Tales of the Cocktail. Hope to see you there.

Tags: Mixology Monday by Paul
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No, I’m not referring to how long it’s been since my last post.

Instead, I’m talking about an ingredient that — more than a year after its impending appearance on U.S. shores was announced — finally made it to market.

Initially introduced by KegWorks, and now apparently starting to show up in stores, Angostura Orange Bitters took its own sweet time to hit American bars. Sure, there are all kinds of regulatory laws and import procedures that tend to bog down the process, but I’ve been checking store shelves for more than a year now, almost on a weekly basis, only to finally break down and order it online soon after it became available. I spent less time shopping for my house.

And y’know, it ain’t bad. Much stronger flavored than the more available Fee’s orange bitters, or the less available Hermes Orange Bitters and The Bitter Truth orange bitters, and sweeter and more citrusy than the more bitter Regan’s orange bitters, the Angostura orange strikes a delicate balance between complex bitterness and citrusy sweetness.

If you’re looking for a very delicate touch, like using orange bitters in a martini, the Angostura orange may be too assertive; for these, The Bitter Truth remain my orange bitters of choice. But when you need the bitters to step up and assert their undeniable citrus complexity, as in a Martinez (my favorite drink thus far in which I’ve used the Angostura), then these will fit the bill.

If I were to compare these to another orange bitters on the market, the closest in terms of complexity and assertiveness would be the Regan’s. But the flavors are still quite different, with the Regan’s having a crisper bitterness, while the Angostura puts the “orange” part of its character right up front. It’ll still take some experimentation to sort out the right cocktail for each bitters, but that’s the kind of work I like.

For everyone else who’s been working with these bitters — and those of you in the UK who’ve had them available for months and months and now yawn about this product can just keep that to yourselves for now — let’s hear how you like ‘em. What drinks are you using to mix them in? Any tips or drawbacks you’ve found?

Need some? Buy ‘em here.

Tags: General by Paul
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“Let me tell you, suh, there’s only one likker that’s properly qualified to caress a gentleman’s palate in the way a gentleman’s palate deserves to be caressed; and that’s red likker — honest rye, if there’s nothing else available, or straight Tennessee whisky, which has a greater admixture of small grains in with the corn and usually is lower in proof than our Kentucky goods — […] but best of all, the real uncorrupted essence, the true and uncontaminated fruitage of the perfect corn, and that, suh, is Bourbon.

[…]

“But for your own sake, Mr. Gilmartin, for the sake of your palate as well, let me beg of you never to drench red likker with seltzer water nor spoil it with fruit juices

“Take it straight, or in a toddy or in a julep, but never otherwise under any circumstances. For Bourbon stands on its own merits — the king, suh, and the queen and the whole royal family of likkers.”

– from Red Likker, by Irvin S. Cobb, 1929

Cobb sure could lay on the cornpone Kentucky colonel schtick; there’s almost 350 pages of hokum like that in Red Likker, and the breezy first half of Irvin S. Cobb’s Own Recipe Book is nothing but a long meandering monologue about the glory of that great Kentucky spirit, propelled by mawkishly sentimental Southern stations of the cross such as cursing the name of General Sherman; references to Spanish moss, the “Ozark sulphur-rumped jujupecker,” and comments along the lines of “whip any damn-Yankee in the house;” — not to mention several awkwardly overt sales pitches for Four Roses Bourbon and other whiskies produced by Frankfort Distilleries, which, despite the book’s title, commissioned and published the work.

But Cobb does have a point: bourbon is a regal spirit, best enjoyed on its own or in a simple preparation. This is partially a backhanded compliment — the drier, spicier rye lends itself much better as a mixing whiskey — but also a statement of respect. I love good bourbon, and consider it one of America’s great culinary and cultural accomplishments.

When it comes to mixing, though, I’m typically at a loss. Probably 80 percent of my mixing bourbon goes into Old Fashioneds, and much of the rest wanders into the occasional Mint Julep, Battle of New Orleans or Police Gazette Cocktail – simple presentations all around (the month of December is a notable exception, thanks to a seasonal taste for bourbon stingers and, last year, the Good Night Irene). Other than that, when presented with a whiskey cocktail, I almost always reach for the rye.

But hey, it’s Mixology Monday, and our good hosts over at Scofflaw’s Den have chosen Bourbon as the theme. After browsing through the books I considered mixing the Preakness, then decided to stop screwing up Michael’s posts, so in its place, I decided on a long-shot, could-be-okay or could-really-suck drink I dug out of The Stork Club Bar Book: the FBI Fizz.

The name? Who knows — Lucius Beebe launches the chapter by stating:

As the devising of new and more fascinating ways of insinuating alcohol and the pleasant humors that accompany its proper absorption into the human system is by no means confined to guests, it was thought by the author a shrewd notion to solicit some recipes by members of the staff. The gustatory ruffles and flourishes in this appendix are the brain children of various members of Mr. Billingsley’s staff, and they are included as evidence of its versatility in the practice of the useful arts and sciences.

(Cobb had no monopoly on longwindedness, as you can see.)

But, I’ve taken one or two for the MxMo team before, and in the spirit of popping out a bourbon drink that I haven’t previously seen referenced, I grabbed a few bottles and joined the party.

FBI Fizz (from the Stork Club Bar Book)

• 1/2 ounce Cherry Heering
• 1/2 ounce bourbon
• 1/2 ounce Jamaica rum

Shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with soda water, employ the orange twist.

The verdict? Meh; not bad, just boring.

I tried to save it — increased everything to 3/4 ounce to start with, and when that was still dull I upped the bourbon and rum to 1 ounce each, then added 3/4 ounce of juice from the orange, in hopes of a Blood and Sand-style alchemy…but nada. It wasn’t until I added 1/2 ounce of lemon juice that the drink started to show some liveliness, but by that point it was a mess, and rather than going in for one more save, I took a final sip and sinked it. I even took photos through the process in hopes of documenting my MxMo exploits, but the drink is so uninspired that I’m not even gonna bother to upload them. I guess there’s a reason why the FBI Fizz doesn’t show up anywhere of note.

Anyway, plenty of folks had much better drinks than I did tonight as part of Mixology Monday, and who proved Colonel Bird wrong — that it is fine to mix bourbon with all manner of other ingredients; head over to Scofflaw’s Den to see what else is out there.

Tags: Bourbon, Drinks, Mixology Monday by Paul
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I’m just barely keeping my head above water right now, but wanted to get out a reminder that the next Mixology Monday is this Monday, June 16. The theme this round is Bourbon, and our excellent hosts for the evening will be the gentlemen over at Scofflaw’s Den. Swing round to their place for further details, and have your bourbon-laced posts up and ready by the end of Monday.

Tags: General by Paul
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