Festive Drinking around Seattle

Tis the season for drinking holiday cocktails. They remind you of warmth, comfort and cheer. Hot toddies, egg nog, Tom and Jerry's and hot buttered rum. Now where oh where can one drink these festive beverages? Here is a short list. If you know of more please leave them in the comments and I'll add it to the list. 

Zig Zag Cafe - Hot Buttered rum.
Vito's - Tom and Jerry.
Rob Roy -  a different holiday cocktail will be served through the month of December.
Sun Liqour & the distillery will be serving eggnog Christmas eve and day.

To make cocktails of the festive nature at home keep the following on hand:

• Eggs
• Sugar
• Nutmeg
• Allspice
• Cinnamon

 For a Tom and Jerry separate your eggs and whip them individually until the whites are frothy and the yolks are thin. Then add your sugar to taste. I like to use a rich simple syrup so that it incorporates better. A demerera or moscovado wouldn't hurt either. Do the same with your spices. There is your batter. Now pick your favorite rich booze (I like a cognac and/or rum) and add it to the batter. This is where you have some options. Jerry Thomas used boiling water. However, as David Wondrich mentions in Imbibe, milk can also be used and will add body to your Tom and Jerry cocktails. It is certainly the option that I prefer.

Play around with the spices and alcohol. Maybe even throw in some chartruese or amaro's. It's a pretty versatile set up. Happy Holidays!

Batching and Bottling Cocktails

Imagine coming home from a long day of work and reaching into your fridge and instead of reaching for a beer reaching for a bottle that contains your favorite cocktail. Sounds nice right? Sure it does. 

Basically batching a cockail is like baking. You simply multiply the recipe to get the desired quantity. However, there are some steps and guidelines I should cover before beginning:

1. Choosing a cocktail. I would recommend that you do not make a prebatch with juice unless you are absolutely sure you will be going though all of it before it expires. Using spirits (vermouth should be fine for up to a month or so in the fridge) cocktails allows for longer storage life.

2. The math. Make sure you are accurate in your conversions in whatever measurement you are using either in parts or some other volume unit.

3. To dilute or not to dilute? 

a. Diluting the cocktail before bottling can be achieved by exposing the whole batch to ice and treating it like one big cocktail or, my preferrence, adding chilled water is small doses until it tastes right. This option is nice if you have refrigeration space to keep them cold. 

b. Dilute afterwards if you do not have refrigerator space to store your batch cold. You can dilute as much as you need as you want to drink it.

Your choice will depend on the presentation that you desire as well as your access to ice and refrigeration. Either way these options make great gifts if you bottle them individually. Keep that in mind for the upcoming holidays.

As a side note the application behind the bar is pretty obvious. It keeps the drink consistent everytime no matter who makes it or how busy it is.

The Cocktail Matrix of Deliciousness

Click on Matrix for a larger image.

For more tips on how to drink check out the "Drinking Like a Man" series of posts by Andrew Bohrer.

Ti Punch

I had my first Ti Punch last night after my shift at Vito's. I love it when I come across a classic that I haven't had that is still widely popular today.

As you can see from the picture this drink is served neat. However, it is not even mixed with ice. This variation of Ti Punch was room temperature. Apparently this is the Martinique way. Do not let this pull you away! It was refreshing and invigorating. Impressive without the ice that it could accomplish both those tasks. The drink is very grassy and has that high proof rum funk which is hard to describe. You just have to try a Rhum Agricole. Smooth but without loosing the bite. The small dash of sugar added a richness and kept the drink balanced. It's simplicity is wonderful. A short drink with a long finish. 

To make this drink you need a quality Martinique rhum preferably an amber. Pour two ounces. Then cut the bottom end off a lime which should hold about a quarter ounce of lime juice.

This drink is less about the specific measurements and more about your tastes. The sugar is the important part. While simple syrup will work traditionally fresh cane syrup is used which contributes greatly to the overall complexity of the drink. Raw sugar syrup is also an option (and probably the simpler of the two to procure).

Another variation is the addition of ice which is more popular in Guadalupe.

Foundations

I always want to impress people with something new and delicious because that is what people desire. Something special off the menu just for them. While all this is fine it is, I ve found, good to inquire weather or not a person has enjoyed a Manhattan before making them a variation with an Amaro for example. New drinks are fantastic but it is important not to forget that many people still have yet to try an Old Fashioned, a Sazerac, a Negroni or even a Martini with any vermouth let alone different vermouths in various proportions. Sometimes I need to reign myself in a bit and remember to cover the basics. These are the foundations of cocktail culture.

Also, keep in mind that many an individual's idea of a margarita, daiquiri, etc. is flawed. I have thought that I did not enjoy some foods until I had someone prepare them correctly. The same is for drinks. Sweet and Sour mix cocktails do not hold a flame to fresh squeezed juice. It is even worth the risk to buy them a drink if they do not appreciate it. You never know. Remember the first time that you had your mind blown by a well crafted Mint Julep. You may be able to recreate that moment for someone else. So get these under your belts. Then we can get on to the more esoteric ingredients.