I have taken to the world of home bartending. Like I said in my previous post: “When times are tight, you must do what’s right.” Another would have to be, “In times of toubly we turn to the bubbly.” That’s really the best I could come up with right now that would rhyme. Essentially what I’m saying is that when times get rough, people turn to what certain cultures may deem vices. The reason why I say, “certain cultures”, is because things like booze and cigarettes are by no means seen as vices in certain countries, but just something you do. Without getting into a trivial and nebulous discussion on that topic, let’s get to what all none of you readers are reading this post for.
By no means am I a bartender or proclaim to even be something like a mixologist. The reason why I treat the two differently is because I believe their definitions to be different.
Mixologist – Someone who understands flavour profiles, subtle nuances in different of liquors, someone who basically understands what works and what doesn’t. “What works and what doesn’t” is always going to be a relative term, but what I mean is that someone who can create drinks according to the the audience’s preferences. What this means is not only catering to someone’s or a group of people’s tastes, but also subtly expanding their tastes to enjoy other types of liquors or drinks. I suppose it’s a delicate balance between being resourceful, attentive, and innovative. I know, I know, what a crock.
Bartender – I believe this to be someone who can do certain things that a mixologist can, but also brings other things to the venn diagram of the two. Bartenders bring in a lot of people skills and can work quickly, has a good memory, a therapist. Ah who knows, it’s all just fluff at this point to increase the length of these posts.
So the two books I’ve been using are:
Cocktail Boothby’s American Bartender – For any of you Bay Area supporters (no I’m not a chip on the shoulder Bay Arean, but I do have some pride about my geographical upbringing) you should definitely check this book out. A lot of outdated material, but outdated is interesting as it gives a good picture of the times. All the drinks in here are American Classics, but also have some modifications to certain ones that show even at that time the ever-evolving state of drinks. For anyone who has ever tried looking up recipes, you’ll know that for even the same drink you’ll find an infinite amount of variations or “this is the real way” of making certain drinks. I’m just going to present them how the book presented them.
Notable drinks I’ve made from here:
- (insert liquor type) fizz – 1 jigger liquor of choice, 2 lumps ice, 1 juice from a lemon, 1 dessertspoon of sugar. Shaken, strained, and pour. Fill rest with club soda.
- (insert liquor type) sour – 1 jigger liquor of choice, dessert spoon of liquor, 1 juice of a lemon, 1 dessert spoon of sugar, splash of club. Shaken, strained, and serve.
- Boothby signature cocktail – 1 jigger rye whiskey, splash of angostura bitters, splash of orange bitters, juice of a lemon. Shaken, poured, float out a teaspoon of champagne, add cherry and serve. * I don’t have the book physically in front of me, so I might be off on this one.
- Breck and Brace – Favourite of the 49ers (the gold rush ones not the football ones). One glass water, dump out water, Fill glass with sugar, dump out sugar. In the now frosted glass, pour champagne and a jigger of cognac. This is a mighty tasty creeper.
The second book I used and need to get my own copy of is:
How’s Your Drink?: Cocktails, Culture, and the Art of Drinking Well – This is a really good book that has a lot of historical information on classic drinks. The recipes are easy to follow and are tasty and give you some interesting stories to go with them. The only downside of this book is that there is not an area in the book that has each and every recipe consolidated. You have to flip through the the book just to get to the recipes. Annoying especially if you have zero short-term memory like myself.
I made quite a few drinks from here. Perhaps I’ll go back and update with the ingredients and directions. I must resist saving this in the drafts as it will never published.
- Mint Julep
- Martini Original Intent
- El Cantarito – 1 jigger of teq, 1/2 oz lemon, 1/2 oz lime, 1/2 oz orange, 6 oz squirt (grapefruit soda), fill with ice, one wedge of lemon, lime, and orange. Stir and serve. The complex cousin of the Paloma cocktail.
- Bronx cocktail – 1 jigger gin, 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz dry vermouth, 1/2 ounce oj. – I don’t remember this one 100%
I should really circle back and clean up these sections. Ah such are the benefits of this adhocratic internet.
Some of my own creations have been:
Orange County Symphony - 1 shot kumquat vodka, .5 oz of hennessy, .5 dessertspoon organic cane sugar, .5 dessertspoon raw turbinado sugar, .5 oz of orange, .5 oz lime, .5 oz lemon, wedge of orange and lime, 5 crescent ice cubes, shaken until frosted, strained, and pour over crushed ice, add 1 jigger of grapefruit perrier, 1 jigger of grapefruit soda, stir thoroughly, fill to brim with ice, serve with a straw
The symphony is essentially a drink I came up with while quite under the influence of classic cocktails. It’s essentially a gumbo of ingredients I had. Very tasty.
Orange County Screw – 2 jiggers of orange juice, 1 jigger of kumquat infused vodka, wedge of navel orange, wedge of lemon, 2 lumps of ice, stir and serve.
A twist on an old classic.
Lime and Punishment – 1 jigger Hangar One Lime Vodka, Juice of half a lime, 1/4 oz of Rose’s sweetened lime juice, shaken over 4 lumps of ice. Strain over rocks and fill with club soda.
I just liked the name. I had to test out Rose’s and it’s pretty good. A little goes a long way. Depending on tastes of course.
Currently stocked in my bar are (in no particular order):
- Mitcher’s US1 Rye Whiskey
- Hennessy privilege
- Hangar 1 straight
- Hangar 1 Lime
- Hangar 1 raspberry
- Junipero Gin
- Genevieve (Anchor)
- Plymouth Gin
- Gran Centenario Anejo
- Gallo Sweet Vermouth
- Gallo Dry Vermouth
- Angostura Bitters
- Orange Bitters
- Rose’s sweetened lime
- Rose’s grenadine
- Hangar 1 with Kumquats soaked for 2-3 months
Current infusions in progress:
- Hennessy VS with boiled kumquats
- Hangar 1 Lime with boiled kumquats
As usual I’ll write more as things develop.
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