BITTER LEMON SODA AND GIN 1 oz BITTER LEMON SYRUP 2 oz Gin Club Soda Chill gin and syrup together briefly in a mixing glass. Strain into tall iced glass along with club soda. Garnish with lemon peel. Variation: dash of Angostura

After experimenting with many different homemade syrups, I had an idea to make something that I remembered from when I was a kid. My parents made tom Collinses, Sours etc…and soda companies made things like Tom Collins mix (a citrus soda really) and BITTER LEMON by Schweppes. They would let us drink those, minus the gin of course…somehow I remember what gin tasted like though..Go figure. I dont remember anyone drinking Vodka back then.

So I Wanted to try my hand at making bitter lemon syrup and soda. There has been much experimentation in the mixology world with homemade quinine or tonic water. And I will be making a version of tonic soon, but bitter lemon was on pressing on my mind.

My idea really was to not get crazy with too many ingredients, but get the essence of the cinchona (the bitter) and the lemon.

So I went about making my lemon cordial/syrup and went a step further by steeping cinchona bark in that freshly made hot syrup, as you would with tea.

Double strain and you have a sweet, tart and bitter lemon that reminds you of good tonic and lemon.

Just mix with club soda or soda from a siphon and with a good quality gin, like Plymouth, Beefeater, Bombay (regular) or Tanqueray 10….or splurge with some Old Raj…Chill gin and syrup together and strain into a tall iced glass with soda and you have the long drink of the summer!

I ordered 1lb of cut cinchona from FEELGOOD HEALTH (CANADA) for about 35$. It was true cut cinchona bark, not processed.

1 quart of LEMON CORDIAL
1/4 Cup natural cut Cinchona Bark

Steep bark using a large tea strainer to hold the bark. steep for about 1 minute. It doesnt take long to get the essence from the bark into the syrup. Taste and adjust to your taste for bitterness. Everyone is different so do it the way you like it!

The bitter lemon syrup will take a dark tan color to it from the cinchona bark. It is normal and the color actually dissipates when mixed with gin and soda and ice…giving a nice yellowish tint to your cocktail.

Variations will be other bitter citrus fruit syrups, combination citrus fruit syrups, addition of herbs or spices. I have seen Lemon grass used in some tonics. I could see cucumber, rosemary, mint. Coriander and other gin botanicals.

NOTE: I do not use any preservatives, like citric acid, in my homemade syrups . After using it when i started making them I found that it was really unnecessary in homemade versions. I get all my acid flavor from the citrus fruit and it stays fresh in the refrigerator, sealed, for at least a month without preservatives.

There is a little wave of shift shots in the mixology world…Fernet Branca with a ginger chaser…ginger beer, or what I do is ginger syrup, lime and soda. It really is good and the bitter amaro, Fernet, is balanced by the sweetness of the ginger…and a little acid from some lime.

I was in Buenos Aires last year visiting friends, and something jumped out at me that I didnt expect. Argentina drinks more Fernet than anyone in the world.

Once I thought about the Italian heritage of the majority of Argentinians, I totally understood its place in Argentinian culture.

The drink of choice made with Fernet is the FERNANDO…Simply Coca Cola and Fernet. Fernet can be found in virtually every location that sells spirits from the corner bodega to the cafe down the street.

I tried one and was pleasantly surprised at how good it really is. While I wouldnt drink more than two in a sitting, it certainly would be on my list of cocktails I would order.

This cocktail is a perfect midsummer afternoon cooler.  Clean, refreshing, sweet and bitter with a hint of acid.

Serve on the rocks, up or as a long drink with club soda.

2 oz BEEFEATER 24 or BEEFEATER LONDON DRY GIN
.5 oz CAMPARI
.75 oz APPEL’S GRAPEFRUIT CORDIAL
Grapefruit Peel garnish

For ROCKS Add all ingredients to filled rocks glass. Pour contents into shaker tin and hard shake. Pour all contents back into glass. The ice will be crushed a little and almost frozen.
Express Grapefruit peel and add to glass.

For UP: Add all ingredients to a shaker tin filled with ice. Hard shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Express grapefruit peel over glass and discard.

For TALL:  Chill ingredients except soda in a mixing glass filled with ice. Pour over iced Collins or chimney glass. Top with chilled club soda. Use a long spoon to pull up the spirits slowly to the top for a light mix to balance. Dont agitate. Use chilled soda for best results.

Hard shake all ingredients and strain into iced rocks glass.

VARIATION: Serve as a long drink topped with club soda or splash of tonic or served up in a cocktail glass.

Grapefruit syrup is made in the manner of the lemon and lime syrup (LEMON CORDIAL). The difference being I add lemon juice to the grapefruit juice to bring up the acidity.

The ratio is 1 to 1 Grapefruit juice to lemon juice and 1 part dry cane sugar

Solleone means midday sun, or dog days of summer in Italian.

CHEERS ON COGNAC

An interview on cognac in cocktails and at the bar.

I was recently invited by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) to visit Cognac for the COGNAC SUMMIT 2010 and many of the Cognac houses, including, Pierre Ferrand, Hine, Hennessy, Remy-Martin, and Courvosier.
We did daily tastings of many cognacs from bland mixtures of regional grapes to perfectly aged and crafted cognacs showing off the essence and heart of what cognac really is.

We were also invited to reinvent some classic cognac cocktails with a new or creative touch. The Sidecar, Sazerac, Alexander, Mojito, Stinger, and julep were improvised by some of the best in the business from the US and Europe. The recipe for the Mojito No. 3 follows.

I am from Wisconsin where the folks drink brandy in all their Manhattans and Old  Fashioneds. While they are generally not what one would call haute cocktails crafted by creative mixologists for the most part, it does point out the wonderful array of choices for using brandy, specifically cognac, in great cocktails.

Good cognacs contain flavors and aromas of vanilla, almond, caramel, wood, fruits, stone, to name just a few. Those flavors along with a touch of sweetness make cognac amazing to mix with aromatics like vermouths, bitters, and fruits of all kinds. Particularly great with fruit, cognac has long been used as a base for liqueurs like pear and orange (Grand Marnier) and in early cocktails like the Crusta.

A more recent classic, the Side Car, uses lemon and orange. Amazing variations on that theme could incorporate pear, ginger, peach, apricot, passion fruit…the list is nearly endless.

 Another great fruit use in cocktails/coolers is in sangria. A white sangria variation that I use includes a lot of cognac to steep the fresh cut fruit that we will put in the sangria. This allows the cognac and fruit to share flavors and essences with each other and create something unique in the process. Fresh juices, a good solid dry white wine, like an albariño, and an orange liqueur and you have a special summer cooler!

As a basis for preserving fruit like cherries,  cognac is perfect. Again you end up with the fruit and cognac sharing with each other their flavors and essences creating something amazing in the process. A cherry cognac that you can use in cocktails and cooking, and cherries that you can use in the same things.

A general rule is that you don’t use a very fine cognac for infusions and cocktails. Generally speaking that is true. For soaking fruit for a sangria, you would not want to use anything more than a VS. The VS is perfect for such fun and inexpensive summer drinks and doesnt overpower the fruit and white wine. They are supposed to be accessible, young, vibrant and unpretentious. VS is the perfect choice for many drinks; generally fruit based.

Cocktails:  Side Car variations, Crusta variations, Juleps

When making a cognac Manhattan, though, you will usually want to use a quality VSOP.  More depth of flavors and aromas can stand up to the bitters and vermouth and create a masterful cocktail.

Cocktails: Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Stinger, Alexander, Hot Toddy

Just a note about infused syrups.

I just posted a detailed recipe for lemon syrup/cordial on April 13…along with variations.

I read an article today in one of my favorite magazines, IMBIBE, (http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Ginger-Syrup-Recipe),  about making Ginger syrup and I had an important issue with a part of the process.

First, I will explain my method of making infused syrups. It generally begins with making a rich simple syrup. That means more sugar and less water. We are making a syrup, not sugar water. The reason for this is that we are trying to just make the sugar dissolved. and the reason for that is granulated sugar does not dissolve well in cold or even room  temperature spirits or drinks. The idea is to make liquid sugar compact and ready to mix.

So the less water, the more it is like liquid sugar…like pure sugar. What you really want in any drink that would originally call for granulated sugar.

That said, we can now proceed to play with that base of liquid sugar by using things like ginger to flavor the liquid sugar, or using something like lemon juice or rice vinegar instead of water thus creating an acidic sugar….or cordial type syrup or sour.

When making an infusion such as lemon syrup or ginger syrup, you have to cook the syrup to help dissolve the sugar and to cook off some of the water. This forces the sugar and water to melt and become one.

The problem here is that when we cook things we can lose some of the fresh qualities and flavors that we are trying to capture.

Peeled Fresh Ginger

Minced Ginger

That brings me to a basic tenet I have when making these syrups and that is I heat the syrup without the ginger or lemon zest and heat it to just below simmer…I dont want to boil or simmer it, but rather just help the sugar dissolve. Those things do not need to be in the syrup while cooking and will ruin that flavor you are trying to capture.

REMOVE THE SYRUP FROM THE HEAT before you add the grated ginger or lemon zest and allow to steep like tea and cool. Then strain.

This makes your ginger syrup taste like real fresh ginger and your lemon syrup like lemons.

That brings me back to the article on ginger syrup.  It calls for adding the ginger during the cooking process and making it one step, when it should be a two step process. Another article I read just squeezes ginger juice which is actually wasteful, difficult and does not impart the solid ginger flavor and nose that you are looking for.

That one step makes a huge difference in your ginger syrup tasting and smelling like fresh ginger, and not candied ginger…But of course if you want a candied ginger flavor, which is a delicious, but totally different, flavor then you would want to cook the ginger with the syrup.

Steeping Grated Ginger in Cooled Syrup

Also, this 2 step process only applies to fresh ingredients, not dry spices like cinnamon or allspice which actually benefit from heating during the process.

GINGER SYRUP

2 Cups Minced Fresh Ginger

4 Cups Rich Simple Syrup (2-1)

Make rich syrup. Peel and mince ginger…I use a food processor to chop it finely to release all the ginger flavor and juice. Add this to cooled syrup and steep for one hour. Stir it a few times. Fine strain this after steeping. Store in refrigerator indefinitely.

This is a rough estimate of ingredients. a little more or less ginger will be just fine. Some ginger may be less powerful and you may wish to use more. It wont hurt it.

GINGER-LEMONADE

1 Part Rich Ginger Syrup

1 Part Fresh Lemon Juice

2 Parts Ice Water

Add to shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain over fresh iced highball/tall glass.

Garnish with slice of lemon.

LEMON CORDIAL

This is the lemon version of the same recipe. It is really like a lemon or lime curd without the eggs. That is another article to come. I generally list my recipes in parts so you can make as much or as little as you desire. As long as the proportions are correct the recipe will be perfect.

Strain Lemon Juice

1 part lemon Juice

STEP ONE:

Peel Lemon Zest from lemons. Leave white pith on the lemons. You want just the yellow part containing the essential oils. Chop zest peels with knife or in food processor. This give the lemon more surface area to extract as much of the essential lemon oil. The zest is where all the lemon flavor is. It is important to the syrup to have the juice and the lemon oils.

Add sugar to juice and simmer

STEP TWO:

Cut and juice peeled lemons. Strain pulp from juice.

STEP THREE:

Add juice and 1.25 parts sugar. Very slowly bring to a rolling boil. Stir often. When bigger bubbles appear it is close to boiling and is a syrup. Generally 15 minutes. Do not overcook.

Remove from heat and add zest

STEP FOUR:

Allow to rest for about 5 minutes, add chopped zest and steep for 15-20 minutes to remove lemon oils. Strain zest and Voila! Lemon Syrup. This is very concentrated flavor. A little in any recipe goes a long way

Variations: Lime, Grapefruit, Orange, Spiced Orange, Lime-Ginger, Lemon-Tea (great for making iced tea on the run!) Bitter Lemon, Lemon-Ginger, Sour Cherry and many more

Strain Zest

Ways To Use Your Syrup:

Cocktails- Lemon gimlet, Lemon Drops, hot toddies, sours
Drinks- Lemonades, Teas, hot and iced, Sangrias, spritzers,

.5 oz LEMON SYRUP

 Hard shake. Strain into chilled cocktail glass or on the rocks. Lemon peel garnish

VOILA! Lemon Syrup

RYE WHISKEY SOUR

2 oz Bulleit Rye Whiskey
.5 oz Lemon Cordial

I came up for this recipe after experimenting with making orgeat and horchata…all deriving from the same word and basic idea. Making a “milk” from a grain or nut and sweetening it. By itself it is a refreshing cool summer drink when mixed with water and ice…But it is also a great ingredient in cocktails.

The classic Mai Tai is the best example of a cocktail based on almond orgeat.

Most commercial orgeats are not made with almonds though and are artificially flavored. I wanted to make my own and use real almonds. I then wanted to try other grains and nuts and did one made with cashew, oatmeal, and barley. Barley was one of the original ways of making orgeat in France.

CITLALI

2 oz of Tres Generaciones or Partida Blanco Tequila
1 oz of Homemade Almond Horchata(cinnamon spiced orgeat)
.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

The Lime is for extra acidity to balance the sweet orgeat. The Orange juice is too sweet to do this on its own.

Hard shake all ingredients. Strain over fresh iced collins glass. Try over crushed ice. or serve up and a dusting of cinnamon. garnish with an orange triangle or a roasted almond soaked in tequila

Use the recipe for Cashew orgeat from the january posts…substitute raw crushed almonds for the cashews…add cinnamon sticks to syrup, steep and strain…

this recipe is great with the cashew orgeat as well…

I named this after a very good friend…Citlalli Martinez…

Had a blast at the recent launch of ABSOLUT BERRI-AÇAÍ at the W Hotel in Chicago.

Here is what I created and offered that evening.

The Berri Pixie

ABSOLUT BERRI-AÇAÍ
Unsweetened Açaí Puree (Sambazon sells one, frozen)
Vanilla Kefir
Cinnamon Syrup

Easy shake. Strain over ice or serve up.

I wanted something delicious, fun, creamy and actually healthy. Something that you could have anytime…but would really work for brunch.

Acai has some berry and chocolate tones and the cinnamon really goes well with it. The Kefir could be plain or vanilla. I actually blended both. The Acai needs to be sweetened and the Kefir is acidic so the syrup really works without over sweetening.

This was very well received and I was very happy with this drink and it has the taste of real acai that you dont usually get.

Essentially the rum version of a lime sour ala the caipirinha or margarita…

In the tropics, limes and sugar cost almost nothing. It is clear that the drinks of the populace would make use of local spirits and limes and sugar…Anyone could make this drink or cocktail..

The Caipirinha was clearly a drink of the lower classes that has only now been gaining status to national pride in Brazil and haute cocktail in Europe and America.

Rum and tequila were both staples of local populace in the Carribbean and Mexico. You didnt import or use imported spirits unless you were rich.

The Daiquiri has been a cocktail I have been championing for many years now. Mostly as an alternative to the painfully over extended Mojito, and as a personal cocktail crusade to have people enjoy a true classic that had morphed into the sweet colored frozen mess we all know today. (another of my crusades being the Brandy Alexander)

Stories abound as to who invented the Daiquiri and the Margarita. But logic really should put the creation to exactly what I have mentioned above…to the people who drank the local spirits and used the most abundant mixer available, limes and sugar, and didnt drink in hotel bars…. To all of them, not one person or place, should credit be due. Like a debate over who “discovered” America, these drinks were already known to those who lived there.

Lime sours like the Daiquiri lend themselves to easy adaptation from the simple lime, sugar and rum version. Adding other fruit would be the next step (pineapple, berries, and other tropical fruits). Adding a modifying spirit or flavor like mint (mojito) or Maraschino Liqueur (Hemmingway Daiquiri with grapefruit). It is also the base for Planters Punch.

The look of astonishment on a customers face when I offer to make a Daiquiri makes me smile. The look on their face when they actually taste a well balanced Daiquiri (usually after telling them they can change their mind of they dont like it) is a feeling of accomplishment and pleasure. And I have never had one turned back in.

Here’s a variation using the very popular Elderflower Liqueur, St. Germain. Something I usually eschew for the over use, but really is good. And that’s all that matters.

ST. MORITZ DAIQUIRI

2 oz oz Bacardi White Rum
.75 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
.5 oz Fresh Lime juice

All ingredients into Boston Shaker. Hard shake. Strain into chilled coupe.
Lime wheel garnish

or

All ingredients into boston shaker, regular shake, strain into collins glass filled with crushed ice. Lime wheel or half moon.

A few years back I was sipping on a cognac in a snifter. I wanted some fruit, so I mixed some creme de Apricot with it…IT was delicious!

Grand Marnier and B&B are cognac based super liqueurs based exactly on that idea, so why not others? and why not at home or at the bar or while dining?

I had the idea of snifter cocktails. They would be served neat. Unchilled.

There are a myriad of combinations.

Simple ones range from a quality cognac mixed with a quality liqueur.

For example:

Pierre Ferrand Reserve and Mathilde Pear Liqueur

or

Hennessy VSOP and Creme de Cassis de Dijon

But you could also use a good bourbon or a mezcal..

Basil Hayden’s and Peach Liqueur

or

Chichicapa Single Village Mezcal, honey and benedictine

Really the combinations are endless.

The idea of a simple sipping cocktail that is served neat to bring out full flavors and to allow for a slowed enjoyment of the drink is not new…

But should be rediscovered by a new generation of drinker and open up a whole new variety and manner of enjoying your spirits.