This afternoon we attended a special ceremony for an announcement from the CEO of Absolut spirits. They are launching a series of special release vodkas inspired by American cities. Absolut New Orleans has a mango/melony flavor with a hint of black pepper. I didn’t get to try the stuff neat but in a cocktail called the Big Breezy, which I will get to in a minute. The product is cool because Absolut is donating 100% of their profit to five charities based in this area. I know this press conference might not have quite the same news-breaking quality as, say, a Lewis-Libby-gets-out-of-jail-free announcement, and it was certainly not as exciting or as culturally significant as any news about Parasite Hilton. However, it was cool to hear about the product while looking out at a view of the city and the Mississippi River, among a group of cocktail enthusiasts that included a few legends and personal heroes, as well as a bunch of people I can’t wait to get to know.

Absolut Big Breezy
Glass Used: Martini
Ingredients:
2 oz. Absolut New Orleans
1/2 Simple Syrup
1 Squeeze of lemon
4-5 Chunks of watermelon
Pinch black pepper
Directions: Shake and strain ingredients into a martini glass and garnish with a melon ball and lemon slice.
Garnish:
1 melon ball
1 slice lemon
I thought the drink was drinkable (as in I drank it) but I thought it had a kind of fake/jollyrancher-ish melony flavor. A couple days later, however, I tried a fabulous milk punch that was made with Absolut New Orleans, and got no such flavor. I will post that recipe if I can get somebody to send it to me.

After having made it through the first day of Tales of the Cocktail, I can say for sure that this is the ultimate tipsy field trip, without peer, I don’t care how special you think you are. I shouldn’t be surprised by the quantity of cocktails available at a conference devoted to booze, but even for an accomplished imbiber like myself this is truly amazing. Unless you have a galvanized liver, you can’t really drink every cocktail or sample that is handed to you. That said, you really want to drink every one because you are a committed cocktailian and these drinks are coming from some of the best minds in the business.

As we were registering this morning (it’s like signing up for college classes, except with course names like "On the Rocks: The Importance of Ice", and the “handouts” are cocktails and liquor company swag), a rep from Bulleit Bourbon invited us to the Tasting Room for a seminar on that product, led by Tom Bulleit. Considering that so many of the tastings I have experienced recently have been in the form of a booze babe handing out samples at the liquor store, or of over-confident but under-knowledgeable brand reps dishing out shlock at the trade show, this was quite a luxurious experience. First there was the jazz combo that played while the distinguished guests took their seats. And the hors d’ouvres plate of mini crab cakes, sautéed scrimps and mini muffaletta. Then there was the introductory cocktail—a delicious Fig Mint Julep, which startled Joe at first because he did not hear about the fig, which through the translucence of the whisky looked something like a grub taking a bath in the bottom of the glass. I myself was worried that someone dropped a piece of bread in my glass, though not worried enough to exchange it for another. As Mr. Bulleit educated us about his product they passed around samples of neat Bulleit in a sexy shot glass inspired by the bottle, and we learned how to taste bourbon neat and how to cut in half with water, which he says they do when tasting at the distillery, because it takes away the alcoholic “heat” and allows you to taste the development of the bourbon. According to Mr. Bulleit, "water is to whisky what oxygen is to wine."
This was followed by a cocktail of a more fruity nature, which was made by their bartender who was flown in from New York for the event. We were not able to linger to meet the bartender or find out more about his recipes, as we had a lunch date with two nice ladies from San FranDisco, whom we had met the night before at the Carousel Lounge here at the hotel.

The revolution marches on with generals like Ted Haigh, Robert Hess, Eric Seed, Robert Cooper, Gwydion Stone, Paul Clarke and Chuck Taggert. These gentlemen are not sitting idly by and allowing ingredients of the past to slip into distant memory, but are working to help others be aware of these rare treasures and to find the means to bring them to the U.S. market once again. In the case of Paul Clarke, Chuck Taggert and Gwydion Stone, they’ve taken it upon themselves to produce their own liqueurs and spirits: Clarke (Falernum), Taggert (Pimento Dram), Stone (Absinthe). There are beautiful old spirits being imported or produced again, like Batavia Arrack, Créme de Violette, Créme d’Yvette, St. Germaine. Robert Cooper, of Cooper Spirits International, and his team worked for 2 years to match the flavor profile of the original Créme d’Yvette. At the Tales of the Cocktail conference, he brought along his current production and a bottle of 1944 original to sample – one could scarcely notice a difference. Robert also brings us St. Germain and is working on the forbidden fruit liqueur; by Ted Haigh’s account, Robert has so closely matched the profile of the 1930’s original that you can’t tell any difference. All of these are people with passion for the art, craft and pleasure of the cocktail. They are the voices calling out to a society reared on soda gun margarita mixes and bartenders whose repertoires extend not much further than rum and coke; the ones who stare at you dumfounded if you were to order a Manhattan or a Sidecar. Keep pushing gentlemen, because there are many of us out here that are listening and taking your charge to heart.

On Sunday we attended the inaugural Spirit Awards ceremony (I refuse to say "first annual", even though that is how they billed it. I hate first annual) in the theatre at the Harrah's Casino. I actually thought it was pretty fabulous, considering that you could grab a plate of food from the brunch buffet and of course a cocktail on the way to your table. Needless to say I have never attended a "real" awards show before.

It was also the type of awards show where you want to steal the centerpieces (bottles of liqour provided by the sponsors.) Ted Allen of Queer Eye fame was the host of the ceremony, which as you will see was a rather brief one (Since it was the last day of a five-day cocktail festival, it is probably wise that they kept it brief.)

The Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Award Categories are:

Best Drinks Selection
Winner: Zig Zag Cafe, Seattle

Best Classic Cocktail Bar
Criteria: Classic bars continue to uphold best bartending practices and serve
drinks in relaxed lounge-like environments. The judges are looking for bars which
uphold this tradition (but are not necessarily old) and offer superb service and
consistently well made drinks. (Hotel bars are eligible)
Winner: Zig Zag Cafe, Seattle
Sight unseen, I have to say that my instinct tells me that these guys deserve all the props that they got. The fact that they rolled up on stage in shorts to accept their awards especially endears them to me, who is chronically casual. We had the opportunity to sit with Casey and Murray at the Absinthe House later that evening and they were so down-to-earth it was infectious. First of all they were drinking beer. Second they were the only people I talked to all week who seemed to emphasize service as much as technique. Murray was also up for mixologist of the year, but that award went to the honorable Audrey Saunders.

World’s Best Cocktail Bar
Criteria: This award recognizes the international influence on cocktail trends and
seeks to award the world’s best cocktail bar. (US bars are not excluded.)
Winner: Pegu Club, NY NY

Best New Cocktail Bar
Criteria: Only bars which have opened in the 12 months preceding the awards
may be nominated. This award aims to reward new creativity and ideas as well
as well executed drinks.
Winner: Bourbon & Branch, San Francisco

Mixologist/Bartender of the Year
Criteria: The absolute best drinks mixer. The winner should be proficient at making
all recognized classic drinks and also have created contemporary cocktails
which have been copied by his/her peers.
Winner: Audrery Saunders, Pegu Club, NYC

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
Criteria: The best book published in 2006 regarding cocktails, liquor, bars, bar
design or bartending in general. New editions of existing works published in 2006
may also be nominated.
Winner: "The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the Classics," by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz of Absinthe
This was one of the awards that we missed because we got there late, but I can attest to the book being a great one

Best New Product
Criteria: This is awarded to what the judges consider to be the best new cocktail
ingredient (spirit, liqueur, syrup or juice) or piece of cocktail equipment (muddler,
shaker etc.). To qualify products must be on general retail sale in at least three
US states.
Winner: St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
God this stuff is good. It seemed to be one of the big buzzes of the conference. And of course it is unavailable in Texas, and I depleted the stash of airplane minis that I managed to get from the seminar as soon as we got home. The consensus among many with whom I talked about this product is that it is capable of becoming a classic.

Best Cocktail Menu
Criteria: The judges seek to reward innovative and thirst inducing cocktail
menus. Both the design and content will be considered. Four copies of
nominated menu must be mailed with completed entry form.
Winner: Papparazzi, Bratislava, Slovakia
This rocked-out Euro guy Stanislav gave the shortest sweetest acceptance speech ever: "Thank you...thank you."

Best Drinks Brand Representative/Brand Ambassador
Criteria: An award which recognizes the importance of personality in the
promotion of drinks brands.
Winner: Simon Ford, Plymouth Gin

Well it seems we have survived Tales of the Cocktail 2007, livers slightly intact, though the same cannot be said for budget.
After seven days, 1200 miles, three rolls of Tums, way too much $$ and more cocktails than we can possibly count, we are finally back home. Our first trip to Tales of the Cocktail far exceeded our expectations. We met so many cool people, even though I have forgotten most of them by now.

For those of you who did not have the pleasure of attending we decided to summarize some of the main themes of the conference. According to our alcohol-soaked recollections, here is what the giants (geeks) of the industry have said we can loook forward to:
1) Fresh ingredients in general, and local/organic ingredients specifically, will begin to (about damn time!) displace mixes and powders behind bars. This is part of an:
2) Increased overall emphasis on quality. From the wholesomeness of the mixers, to the purity of the ice, to top shelf and artisanal spirits, creativity of the bar chefsand their menus, and even measuring ingredients. Ryan Magarian said he hasn’t poured a drink without measuring spirits in several years; Dale DeGroff said in his tequila seminar that it had been 20 years since he’d used sour mix.
3) Latin American spirits like Pisco and Cachaca will become more popular and widespread, and there will be a continued expansion in higher-end Tequilas and Rums.
4) Emphasis on the Classic cocktail canon. Bringing about another “golden age of the cocktail” by allowing the classic cocktails to inform our creation of modern classics. Reclaiming lost ingredients, recipes, passion about cocktails.
5) “Bringing the kitchen behind the bar.” With mixologists taking a more culinary approach to their craft, cocktails will take on a more imaginative range of flavors, including savory herbs and spices, and an increasingly global influence. In the restaurant context, chefs should not be viewed as professionally more important, since a proper cocktail is a culinary experience, not just an alcohol delivery vehicle.
6) For cocktails to really get their due will take a lot of evangelizing by believers. Stop settling for shitty drinks. Just as you would send back a shitty dish, send back a shitty drink. Tell the managers of the establishments you frequent how shitty their drinks are, though obviously not by saying "Hey you! Shitty drink pusher! Your cocktails SUCK!." Bring them on board, let them into your world by showing them the magic of fresh lemon juice. As enthusiasts we have to find people who will get enthusiastic too. Can I get a WITNESS?
7) Finally...Don’t get too excited—the cocktail revolution will not be an everybody, everywhere thing. Americans will still demand their Rum & Diet and their Vodka Red Bull. Gin will not be the next vodka, no matter how much the cocktailians wish it would be so.

I forgot to mention the other New Orleans, the part that may be most familiar to those who have traveled there, but the part that was NOT represented at Tales of the Cocktail...

Neon Icicles! Half Gallon Miller Lite bottles with straws!

Truth in Advertising: Size Matters

A family outing, Bourbon style: Mom, Dad, the baby, and four Hand Grenades between them.

Have you ever wondered about the viability of time travel? Did Doc Brown's "flux capacitor" turn you on in a way that movie props generally don't? If you, like I, answered yes to these two questions, then you will be really excited about this post. While I will not take you back to 1985 Hill Valley, I will take you back to 2007 Tales of the Cocktail, the annual culinary & cocktail festival in New Orleans. From deep in the Tipsy Texan archives I found this un-posted post from last summer, which I am posting now because it involves the work of a world-renowned cocktail expert, and because the subject matter is still as pertinent as ever, for reasons that I will now explain:

At a bar downtown on a recent evening, I ordered a classic gin martini from the girl behind the bar, with whom I have had numerous discussions about the merits of the classic gin martini. She knew how I liked the drink, and proceeded to pour it. The manager of the bar, who was sitting right next to me and who is, incidentally, and good customer of mine, proceeded to instruct her, and me, that "That's not the way you make a martini! Your supposed to rinse the glass with vermouth and then dump it out!" Since the man is a business acquaintance and friend, and I am prone towards nonviolence, I decided to settle the matter academically and not physically. I spent the next fifteen minutes giving him an abbreviated version of the history of the martini, explaining how I in fact had ordered a proper one. I made sure to periodically sip my cocktail, so as not to let the potion become warm. When I got home I remembered that I had taken extensive notes from Mr. Hess's lecture, and that perhaps it was an appropriate time to make them available to the public, in the hope that at least one more soul, like this unfortunate restaurant manager, would be converted. Let the time travel begin:

Today we attended a seminar called "The Art of the Martini," given by cocktail historian Robert Hess of drinkboy.com.
The event was sponsored by Plymouth Gin and Fee Brothers which meant that we got one of our first great pieces of swag, a free shaker! It is in Robert’s favorite style, the “Parisian Shaker”—works like a boston shaker but both parts are metal. (The rest of these notes are more or less Mr. Hess's words, except for my notes in parentheses.)

The Martini has become extremely popular since the 1980s, though it began regaining popularity in the early Bond days.

Where did it come from?
Origins of the Martini: ca 1895
Prevailing theories:
The drink got its name from the Martinez Cocktail—the Manhattan (F) and the Martinez (M) are the parents of the martini. The Martinez is not really a martini. The Manhattan, like a black widow, mated with the Martinez, and the Martini is the offspring. Originally made with gin and sweet vermouth. Italian/Sweeet/Red vermouth was the original vermouth. In old cocktail books, if vermouth is not specified, it means sweet. Occasionally the Martinez had orange curacao or marashchino, but originally had equal parts sweet vermouth, old tom gin, and orange bitters.

There are also stories/myths that the drink got its name from the Martini rifle which, like the cocktail of the same name, had quite a "kick." The foundational myth that Hess believes holds the most water is that the drink was named after the eponymous vermouth of the The Martini & Rossi company. He warns that all of these stories are to be taken with a grain of salt. (The veracity of much of early cocktail history is at best difficult, and in many cases impossible, to determine.)

The Sweet Martini Cocktail needs to be rediscovered, as a wonderful example of a gin cocktail. It addresses all angles—the "Bond" image for men, sweetness for women, though it is not cloying.

Bars as a culinary institution: bars are the original chef’s table, where customers are watching not just their own drinks being made, but also everybody else’s drinks.

Regarding Martinis on the rocks: Originally all drinks were served up; in the latter half of 19th century ice drinks come into being. Ice makes martinis taste less boozy, as the water brings about balance. (In an article on his own website, Hess gives an excellent explanation of the importance of ice in cocktails in that they release needed water into the drink; and why storing booze in the freezer is stupid.) Why do Americans love ice, as opposed to Europeans? Perhaps because water was perceived as dangerous in Europe, as the continent became overpopulated. The American perception of ice is that it is pure and clean.

Prohibition: did a lot of really bad things for cocktails. It was a period of time where the general public, bartenders, and restaurants had a cocktail lobotomy. The drinks of prohibition were vile drinks. Bartending became illegal, as Prohibition was meant to be a forever thing. Some of the best left the country, and the rest went out of business.
After Prohibition, bars became coed. Prior to Prohibition the only women in bars were working, in one way or another. Many municipalities had laws on the books prohibiting women from going into bars. During Prohibition, bars became coed as speakeasy owners sought revenue from whoever would come--the idea was to make money as fast as possible. Because women were present, bars upscaled regarding atmosphere and décor.

Before Prohibition, most bars were not cocktail bars. They were like setup bars. Cocktails were primarily available only at the hotel bars.

The Dry Martini
The challenge is to find a ratio of gin to vermouth that suits your pallet. Originally the designation "Dry" was meant to denote Dry as opposed to Sweet vermouth. Now "Dry" is misunderstood to mean "less vermouth." The last 50 years has witnessed a significant decrease in the amount of vermouth in martinis, to the point that many bartenders either "swish and dump" or put no vermouth at all into their martinis.
A ration of 3:1 gives it great balance. 50/50, properly chilled, is also an excellent dry martini. It has bounce, does not slap you in the face with Christmas tree flavor. He says the chamomile-like quality of good vermouth balances out the juniper and pepper aspects of gin; water from ice tones down the heat from the alcohol.
Drinkers experiment to find their “tipping point”--the place where you can't tell the difference between where vermouth stops and gin begins.

Bitters are the most over-looked aspect of the martini. Bitters, by definition, are an essential ingredient in any cocktail.

Garnish
Originally was a cherry for the sweet martini; w/ dry the lemon twist and later the olive. (ca late 1800’s)
Modern maraschino cherries are product of prohibition; prior to prohibition, marasca cherries were soaked in maraschino liqueur.
(Later on Hess suggests that contemporary bartenders can update the martini without denigrating it. For example, use a piece of raw salmon as a garnish in a classic martini, incorporating leftover trimmings from the kitchen in this function.)

Dry vermouth comes out around time that (dry) London Gin comes out. Old Tom gin was previously dominant style. Disappeared 80-90 years ago. Sweetener was a masker of poor distillation from early days. With Plymouth Gin, a new style emerged without sweeteners. Advent of Dry Martini cocktail. Like Sweet Martini cocktail, sub dry gin, dry vermouth. Sometimes more vermouth than gin, lending validity to the M&R theory—ca 1906 M&R ran ads featuring the martini cocktail, though there were earlier mentions in print.

Vermouth poses a problem to martinis, because it is wine-based and it will spoil on counter. However it is aromatized and fortified, which menas it is shelf-stable. Though the need to refrigerate vermouth is not imperative, it is there. It will not spoil as fast as wine, but will lose freshness. Should be stored in Fridge. One of the reasons why there is public resistance to vermouth is likely that people have had experiences with "spoiled" vermouth that sat, opened, at the back the liquor cabinet for years on end.
The atomizer bottle is always a bad idea, because it is a tool of the "less vermouth is better" crowd.

The big change in martini happened after Prohibition...

The first installment in my ice series will coincidentally be the second installment in my Tales of the Cocktail 2007 Time Travel Series. I present my notes from the seminar entitled "Ice On The Rocks," given by Christie Pope, Chad Solomon, and Sasha Petraske. The goal of the seminar was to shed new light on the importance of ice, an often overlooked ingredient in the cocktail.

According to Harry Craddock, author of the Savoy Cocktail Book (a gem of 1930's mixological wisdom, reprinted in recent years and available here), the best way to drink a cocktail is "quickly, while it’s laughing at you"

History of commercial ice:
Mountain ice and ice from frozen lakes & ponds would be used by ancient civilizations, stored in the ground.
Ice trades are known to have existed as early as the 16th century
Ice was exclusively for the wealthy.
The American ice trade started in the early 19th century and expanded the world of ice as ice becomes the American way of life by the 1830’s, with street vendors selling blocks of ice for residential uses.
In the States, ice was harvested from ponds. Frederick Tudor, a wealthy Bostonian, was the first to realize the salability of ice, especially in warmer climates (he was assumed to be crazy for this idea, until he developed a way to line the holds of ships with sawdust, enabling the ability to expand the ice trade beyond local economies. After the ice harvest in January-February, icehouses in Boston would store ice throughout the year. Tudor revolutionized methods of chipping, storing, transporting, and delivering ice.
The Frozen Water Trade is a biography of Tudor.

A new strategy to promote cold drinks created a taste of cold that got customers hooked: A pusher gave free ice to bartenders, with the intention of illustrating that people would drink beverages that were the same price cold as warm, and that people would not want to go back to warm drinks once they tried them cold. As a type of insurance policy, he would pay for returned drinks. Previously, water was not consumed as a beverage because it was viewed as dangerous. Cooler jars would be set out with several gallons of water and a block of ice—and so the advent of ice water.

1833- Tudor opened a route to India to supply British colonists there. Blocks suffered 7% melt rate on trip from the States to icehouses in Calcutta. Tudor's techniques were mimicked around the States. By the 1840s home refrigeration was widespread.

1830’s tudor focuses on new Orleans market. Sherry cobbler. Education process of getting bartenders to use ice, as well as customers getting used to the tatse of cold drinks.

Integration of ice into cocktails by 1840s:
Crushed ice became a distinguishing feature of such cocktails as mint juleps and cobblers.

Early Commercial ice machines
Coldraft—1 ¼’’ cubes, involves a coldplate—“directional freeze”—as pure water hits cold plate, it freezes, what doesn’t freeze runs off
The "brining" system is one of the oldest
Now, some progressive bartenders use silicon molds—ambient temperature of refrigeration environment—but since the ice freezes from the outside, it leaves cloudy ice or ice with large bubbles trapped in it.

Sasha Petroske (of Milk & Honey, Littlebranch)
The common lenticular cube is designed to melt as fast as possible. As alcohol pours over ice, it melts the ice, making a little alcohol look like more. It used to be easy to find a cold-draft, or “honest” ice cube. Colddraft went out of business because the commercial ice machine makers were in a race to the bottom.

By the 1920’s artificial refrigeration began overtaking ice harvesting, which had completely disappeared by 1950’s
Gallatoirs (in New Orleans) was the last place to use block ice.

Ice Manufacturing at Littlebranch: at the beginning of the shift ice pans are removed and cut into pieces. By taking out dividers of silicon ice trays, we are able to make ice “spears”, for collins drinks. Littlebranch has 4 chest freezers, which cost about $800 each. By comparison, ice machines cost $4,000 plus maintenance. Chest freezers almost never break, and use less electricity. It just takes space and time. The technique is to build up a stash throughout the week. 90% of drinks are shaken and stirred.

Rocks drinks—with a big rock, water content stays the same for most of the drink. The first couple of sips and last couple of sips are similar. So-called “journey drinks” make more sense with big rocks. With standard bar ice the drink is not a journey but a rush.The ideal rock should sit on the bottom of the glass, and will last half an hour.

Where big ice comes into its own is with shaken and stirred drinks. First, break big ice into two large chunks (Petroske uses a specially designed ice cracker which I have not been able to find.) Put ice into mixing glass, pour alcohol, and stir. Before straining, crack another big ice over and into glass, allowing smaller pieces into glass. Stir again and strain.

With shaken drinks, make sure everything is built before handling the ice. Recall again Harry Craddock, who said that we "shake a drink to wake it up, not to rock it to sleep.”
1) Make sure your big ice will touch the bottom end of the shaker.
2) Shake athletically. Use your ear, not a shake count or feel of ice in hand.
3) Strain cold-ass drink into glass

The Daiquiri, properly made, has a blanket of ice on top, which helps to insulate the drink, With chilling drinks, the goal is to go overboard, as it is never possible to get a drink too cold. A cold drink is the most memorable one.