BAR MAT If you’re mixing a lot of drinks, a bar mat is helpful for containing drips. It’s amazing how much liquid it can hold, which is awesome until you try to move a floppy mat full of liquid across the kitchen to the sink. Save yourself some grief by placing the mat over a cutting board so you can safely support it all.
045 COVER YOUR ASSETS WITH COASTERS
When putting your bar together, don’t forget the humble coaster. Simple and commonplace in bars and pubs, coasters are even more important at home, where nice furniture can quickly be ruined by dripping condensation. Even some stone and metal surfaces benefit from the fearless protection of coasters, as citric acid in mixed drinks can react and leave rings on their surfaces. Availability in a huge range of styles and materials means there’s a coaster design for everyone’s home décor, and they’re cheaper than having to get something refinished. The coaster’s clear.
046 CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY INGREDIENTS
You’ll see that many recipes share common ratios, and appear related—they often are. By swapping one ingredient for something similar (such as a different spirit or sweetener) you can have a completely different cocktail. In no other category is this more true than with sours. Every cocktail listed basically has the same three ingredients: two parts spirit, ¾ part citrus, and ¾ part sweet. These ratios are starting points: Citrus acidity, the strength of your simple syrup, and the choice of liquor may require less or more of one thing or another. One powerful recipe can create more than 16 drinks and make you feel like a wizard behind the bar. In Chapter 2, you’ll find our preferred recipes for some of these drinks, in different ratios (we like them less sweet, showcasing more of the spirit’s flavor), but these are just guidelines. Make them suit your taste.
047 KEEP IT SIMPLE
Simple syrup, as the name indicates, is by far one of the easiest and most versatile ways to introduce sweetness to beverages—alcoholic or not. Sweetening iced tea or coffee is much easier when the sugar is already dissolved in water, and this easy ingredient is crucial to good cocktails. There are two basic recipes: Standard simple is equal parts sugar and water, while rich simple doubles the amount of sugar at a ratio of two parts sugar to one part water.
SIMPLE SYRUP
1 part sugar, 1 part water
STOVETOP METHOD
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat and stir until dissolved. Cover and allow to cool, then refrigerate. Will keep for about 3 weeks.
CONTAINER METHOD
Combine sugar and water in a bottle, mason jar, or kitchen container. Shake to combine, let rest for a few minutes, then repeat the shaking-rest cycle until all the crystals dissolve.
RICH SIMPLE SYRUP
2 parts sugar, 1 part water
STOVETOP METHOD
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool, then refrigerate. Will keep for about 6 months.
048 CHOOSE YOUR SWEETENER
The type of sugar you use in your simple syrup will affect your drink, so choose wisely.
GRANULATED Standard granulated sugar is the most versatile, letting you tweak the sweetness of cocktails without changing the flavor.
UNREFINED Brown and unrefined sugars have more of a molasses flavor, increasing in intensity from golden brown sugar to “raw” (turbinado or demerara) and the powerfully flavored muscovado, piloncillo, and jaggery.
NECTAR Honey or agave nectar can also be used to make simple syrups. Honey works especially well with fall flavors and hot drinks, and agave is an alternative for those watching their sugar intake—it’s sweeter than cane sugars, so adjust appropriately!
049 REFINE YOUR SUGAR SYRUPS
The best part of simple syrup is that it can act as a blank canvas for customization—add your own garden herbs or favorite spices to concoct some excellent cocktail combinations. Use the stovetop method of the standard 1:1 recipe for these, and, if desired, strain out the solids before refrigerating.
FLAVOR
Spices (cinnamon, cloves)
HOW MUCH
2 tablespoons fresh spices per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
Add with water and sugar
NOTES
Spices can be powdered (about 1 tablespoon per cup of sugar) although the syrup may be gritty
Vanilla
HOW MUCH
½ bean per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
Add with water and sugar
NOTES
You can also use leftover scraped vanilla pods
Tea
HOW MUCH
1 tablespoon loose tea or 2 teabags per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
Add with water and sugar
NOTES
Strain carefully to remove any sediment
Dried flowers (lavender, hibiscus)
HOW MUCH
1 tablespoon per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
Add with water and sugar
NOTES
Strain carefully to remove any sediment
Citrus
HOW MUCH
Peel from 1 lemon, 1 orange, 2 limes, or half a large grapefruit per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
After the syrup has been removed from heat
NOTES
Strain out peels before storing in the fridge to avoid bitterness
Ginger
HOW MUCH
4 ounces washed and unpeeled sliced ginger per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
After the syrup has been removed from heat
NOTES
You can make an uncooked version by blending the ingredients together, then straining
Herbs (mint, basil, etc.)
HOW MUCH
Varies by herb, but about ½ cup of leafy herbs to ¼ cup woodier herbs, stems and all, per 1 cup sugar
WHEN
After the syrup has been removed from heat
NOTES
Herbs will get vegetal if you cook them, so let the syrup cool slightly before adding mint or basil
AGAVE
IT’S UNKNOWN IF THE DISTILLATION OF AGAVE SPIRITS WAS HAPPENING BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF THE SPANISH IN THE 16TH CENTURY, BUT THE FERMENTATION OF AGAVE BY ROASTING IN THE EARTH CERTAINLY WAS.
050 GET THE HISTORY
As the story goes, the fermentable sweetness in agave was discovered when lighting struck an agave plant, allowing access to the sugars trapped inside. How electrifying.
The core of the agave is filled with fibrous strands, plus polysaccharides like insulin. When heated, the long chains of stored energy break down into sugars, such as fructose, which can be digested by yeasts to create alcohol.
As the Spanish crown forbid the colonists in Mexico from producing wine and brandy (for fear of undercutting the export economy of the homeland), the Spanish instead encouraged distillation, and the first tequila distillery popped up in what is now Jalisco in the early 17th century. Mezcal and other varieties remained mostly regional products, even as tequila began to be exported in the late 19th century.
Call it a Hollywood ending (or, in this case, beginning), but agave spirit exports and familiarity with them outside of Mexico remained modest until Prohibition made it fashionable (and relatively easy) for the Hollywood elite to travel to Mexico to party.
After World War II, tourism and the thirst for agave soared, fueled by the margarita. It took another 60 years for mezcal and more regional spirits to earn acclaim outside of the rural villages where they are made. We’ll drink to that.
051 MEET AGAVE’S RELATIVE
Everyone thinks of agave as a type of cactus, but it is in fact a member of the asparagaceae family—a group of flowering plants that includes asparagus. Thankfully, agave spirits don’t make your pee smell funny.
052 LEARN THE PROCESS
With few exceptions, all agave-based spirits have a similar process for making the ferment and distilling it.
STEP ONE Agave is harvested from farms or out in the h
ills where it grows wild. The sharp outer leaves are removed until it resembles a pineapple (or piña).
STEP TWO The piñas are cooked. For tequila, they are mostly steamed in large ovens or autoclaves. But for mezcal and other spirits, they are often cooked in stone-lined pits that are heated with wood; they cook, buried, for several days.
STEP THREE Once cooked, the agave gets crushed in a modern roller mill or by a large stone wheel called a tahona.
STEP FOUR The crushed agave is mixed with water, and, while it’s common to remove the solids when fermenting tequila, the other varieties usually skip that step, allowing wild yeast to ferment the mix. The ferment is then double-distilled in pot stills.
053 TYPECAST YOUR TEQUILA
When discussing agave, your mind may go to only one place: tequila. And while that’s a fine spirit to focus on, make sure you’ve got your details straight—and don’t forget about its lovely agave cousins.
TEQUILA The most common of the agave spirits, tequila is made exclusively from the blue agave variety called Tequila Webber. All tequila must contain at least 51 percent distilled agave spirit, but the best-quality ones use 100 percent agave and may only be produced in Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, and Guanajuato. Tequila can be blanco (unaged or rested for less than 2 months), reposado (aged at least 2 months but not more than 1 year), añejo (aged at least 1 year but not more than 3), or extra-añejo (aged at least 3 years). In Mexico it is typically drunk neat with a chaser of sangrita, a fruit and chile juice that sometimes contains tomato.
MEZCAL Mezcal can be made from some 50 different known varieties of agave, although a good amount of mezcal is made from the espadín type. While we think of mezcal primarily coming from Oaxaca, it can also be made in Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Puebla, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. Often smoky from the firepit cooking process, this rustic cousin to tequila can have lots of herbal and fruit flavors. It’s traditionally consumed with orange wedges sprinkled with ground chiles and salt.
BACANORA Made with espadín in the northern state of Sonora, bacanora is often cooked in pits like mezcal. The flavor is milder, however, and in more limited quantities. Illegal until 1992, bacanora was traditionally considered a product for locals.
RAICILLA The name raicilla is based on the word raíz, which translates to “roots”—perhaps a nod to the old way of making spirits in Jalisco, before tequila became an industry. Made mostly from the agaves maximiliana and inaequidens, it’s best to treat this spirit like you would moonshine—carefully.
SOTOL In Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, sotol is made from an evergreen bush (within the same family as agave) called “Dessert Spoon”—which takes about 15 years to grow and produces approximately one bottle per plant harvested.
Recipes & Techniques
It’s possible you opened the book in order to get to this chapter—the recipes, which contain a mix of classic cocktails and modern recipes sourced from USBG bartenders across the country. This chapter is the vanilla filling to the chocolate cookies on either side—instructions for instant gratification.
This collection is by no means meant to be exhaustive; it instead offers a foundation for the craft of cocktail making. You’ll learn how to make many drinks using one magic ratio, when to customize your existing knowledge with infusions and substitutions, and proper techniques for making everything taste as good as it gets.
Your taste, preferred spirit brands, and style of mixing will all affect the cocktail you stir up. Fine-tune the measurements to suit your needs; ultimately, everyone likes their drinks a little different. That’s the beauty of bartending at home: Your drink is made exactly the way you like it.
054 CHOOSE YOUR LIGHT & SPARKLING DRINK
055 APPRECIATE APERITIVOS
Aperitivos, or aperitif cocktails, can take some getting used to, especially for the uninitiated. They’re dosed with bitter herbs like wormwood, roots such as gentian, or other botanicals like cinchona bark or citrus peels, which have the purported effect of stimulating the appetite.
056 THE AMERICANO
Vermouths, which are wines infused with botanicals, and bitter liqueurs, such as Campari, are common ingredients in predinner drinks in Europe, so it makes sense that someone would combine the two. Like much in the bar world, there are conflicting stories about the name of the Americano: some say it comes from the Italian word amer (Italian for bitter) and others say it was named after Americans enjoying the drink. One thing we can agree on: it's delicious.
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Campari
1½ oz seltzer water
Lemon or orange slice to garnish
In a highball glass with ice, add the vermouth, Campari, and seltzer. Stir to combine and garnish with a citrus slice.
057 CLASSIC NEGRONI
The most widely told legend of the birth of this cocktail is that Count Camillo Negroni, of Florence, Italy, asked his bartender to use gin in place of the seltzer water in his Americano. The equal parts of each ingredient make it a simple but effective masterpiece.
1½ oz gin
1½ oz sweet vermouth
1½ oz Campari
Orange slice to garnish
Combine all ingredients except garnish in a rocks glass with ice. Stir to combine and garnish with an orange slice.
058 SERVE IT UP
Sometimes you want a more potent and refined version of the Negroni, and the drink works equally well served up in a coupe or cocktail glass. Use the same recipe, but substitute an orange twist for the orange slice. Combine in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir 20–30 seconds, until well chilled. Strain the cocktail into a chilled glass; garnish with the orange twist.
059 MAKE IT WRONG
The Negroni Sbagliato (which translates from Italian to “Wrong Negroni”) is a lighter variation that substitutes sparkling wine for the gin. It makes a great predinner drink if you’re planning on serving or drinking a lot of wine with dinner, or on those days when you would rather take it easy.
USBG | SAN FRANCISCO CHAPTER
JOHN CODD
General Manager | Tradition
060 MAKE IT REALLY WRONG
Bartender John Codd wasn’t looking to innovate on the classic Negroni cocktail when he decided to see what would happen if you blended it, but the results are wonderfully light, less bitter, and more citrusy.
Fix the classic recipe (see item 057) and throw the whole thing, ice and all, into a blender. Blend until it’s a light pink slushie treat.
061 EMBRACE AN OLD PAL
Harry MacElhone was a Scotsman who worked as a bartender in New York. He then moved to Paris and opened “Harry’s New York Bar” during Prohibition. He’s credited with creating two interesting Negroni variations that are worth trying out. From his 1922 book, ABC of Mixing Cocktails, the Old Pal dials down the sweetness of a Negroni and kicks up the flavor by using an aged spirit. The Old Pal is a great example of how different a cocktail can become with a couple of modifications.
1½ oz rye whiskey or a high-rye Canadian whisky
1½ oz dry vermouth
1½ oz Campari
Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir 20–30 seconds, until well chilled. Strain the cocktail into a chilled glass.
062 VARY YOUR VERMOUTH
DRY/FRENCH
For classic martinis, this vermouth is a must—with light, bright herbal flavors that also make it great for cooking.
SWEET/ITALIAN
Spices dominate this style of vermouth with a reddish-amber color that often comes from caramel.
BIANCO/BLANC
A sweeter take on the herbal dry vermouth, bianco or blanc vermouth boasts a touch more botanical intensity.
063 THE BOULEVARDIER
Another Negroni variation from MacElhone, this one from his 1927 book Barflies and Cocktails, the Boulevardier sticks closer to the original. Although, given that Prohibition was firmly in place in the United States, it’s hard to
say if MacElhone was showing off his good fortune in bourbon whiskey or if it was wishful thinking.
1½ oz bourbon whiskey
1½ oz sweet vermouth
1½ oz Campari
Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir 20–30 seconds, until well chilled. Strain the cocktail into a chilled glass.
Note: Some folks like to dial back both the vermouth and Campari in this drink to let the whiskey shine as the primary flavor, but it works great in MacElhone’s equal-parts ratio.
064 THE BELLINI
This simple mix of puréed white peaches and sparkling wine comes from 1940s Venice, Italy. Bartender Giuseppe Cipriani named the drink after the 15th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini for the similarity of the drink’s color to the artist’s work.
2 oz peach pureé (yellow peach pureé can be used if white peaches aren’t available)
4 oz sparkling wine
Add the purée to a flute, then add the sparkling wine. Give it a gentle, quick stir with a barspoon, and serve.
Note: If making your own pureé from fresh peaches, adjust the sweetness with simple syrup and tartness with lemon juice.
The Complete Cocktail Manual Page 5