The Complete Cocktail Manual
Page 16
VODKA
IF YOU EVER WANT TO STIR THE NATIONALISM OF A POLE AND RUSSIAN SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM, ASK THEM WHO INVENTED VODKA.
258 GET THE HISTORY
Historical proof is absent when it comes to vodka’s country of origin, and with both Poland and Russia producing it longer than anyone else, it’s just safest to know your audience and declare one, the other, or both as the correct answer.
One thing is for sure: The 18th century saw industrial production in both countries, followed by state-controlled production soon after. By the turn of the 20th century, the average Russian, due to a combination of state production and national encouragement, was drinking a staggering (and stumbling) average of 29 gallons (110 liters) of vodka a year. That’s about a bottle every 2½ days— per person.
The combination of the October Revolution and World War II saw distillers flee to begin production in other parts of the world, such as Paris, Istanbul, and even New York. In the United States, vodka was initially sold as white whiskey, and it wasn’t until 1962—when James Bond ordered a vodka martini in Dr. No—that vodka came into demand.
While it’s polite to withhold judgment on anyone’s drink of choice, I believe you can always do better than Mr. Bond’s shaken vodka martini—even the Vesper (see item 104), which isn’t too far from the formula, is still about 100 times better when it comes to vodka cocktails.
259 REDISCOVER VODKA’S USES
There are plenty of people who think that vodka is a waste of time. “Why bother with vodka when I can drink something with flavor?” is the refrain. That may be true in some cases, but vodka has plenty of promise. One of its best uses is when the flavor of the base spirit is too concentrated, as with an intense gin that can be mellowed with a partial substitution of vodka. Vodka’s neutral flavor also works well when there’s already enough going on in a recipe; sometimes you just want to focus on flavors other than liquor, like the pristine citrus from your backyard tree or the amazing produce you picked up from the farmers’ market. And of course, vodka is also great for infusing (see item 034). Spices, herbs, teas, and fruit can all be used in combination with vodka in order to add a bright punch of unusual flavor.
260 LEARN THE PROCESS
Vodka can be made from many base ingredients, including potatoes, beets, and grains, but the process remains the same for all.
STEP ONE The base goes through the fermentation process. Since vodka can be made from almost any food that will ferment, this step varies according to the ingredient being used and how it is fermented.
STEP TWO Continuous-column stills, which strip out safe and good-tasting alcohols in one pass, are usually used. Often the number of distillations is bragged about on the bottle, but it’s usually meaningless. The number of times distilled is less important than how well the vodka is made.
STEP THREE Dilution of a spirit is important (for taste, and also for legal reasons), but not as critical as it is with vodka, since about half of what’s in the bottle is water added after distillation. Just like water in different places tastes different, good-tasting water makes good-tasting vodka.
STEP FOUR Most spirits are filtered, but filtration methods have become a selling point in a crowded market. Cellulose and freeze- or chill-filtering are necessary, and charcoal is fine for flavorless vodka. Filtering through diamonds, lava, or four-leaf clovers isn’t going to do anything except make it cost more.
261 DEFINE VODKA
Unlike other spirits, vodka is not defined by what it’s made of, but rather by the process by which it is distilled.
This means you can make vodka out of basically anything that can be fermented—such as fruits, vegetables, grains, sugarcane, potatoes, sugar beets, honey, molasses, and even milk or maple syrup. The list goes on.
In order for vodka to become vodka, it must be distilled to at least 190 proof (90 percent ABV), although once it reaches 96 percent ABV it becomes something called an azeotrope, wherein further concentration isn’t possible by distillation.
Does this mean you can taste the base ingredients in the final product? Amazingly, yes, although often in incredibly subtle ways—and usually only if you’re drinking it at room temperature out of a wine glass (and rarely in cocktails).
And yes, all vodka, no matter its base, filtration method, or distillation process, will give you a hangover.
262 SET YOUR DRINK AFLAME
Blame it on the showmanship nature that an audience creates: The bar is a stage for mixing cocktails, and all cocktail roads eventually lead to fire. It always impresses, whether as a final flourish or just simply setting the whole damn drink ablaze.
Safety first, however: Mixing fire with drinking is not, to put it mildly, recommended under any circumstance, especially when there’s no fire extinguisher or designated driver to haul you to the emergency room if your confidence overwhelms your abilities. If you insist on playing with fire, keep the following rules in mind: Never drink alone, make sure you have an extinguisher handy, and do your mixing in the kitchen, far away from anything flammable.
If things get too hot, remember: Stop, drop, and roll.
263 FLOAT A TIKI TORCH GARNISH
Drinks in bowls and fire as a garnish are both common in tiki bars, and one easy way to get the effect is by using the spent half of a lime or lemon on your latest tiki cocktail.
Grab a lime or lemon that’s leftover from hand squeezing and float it in the bowl (a punch with multiple straws is ideal). Make sure it’s steady, and then add a crouton soaked in lemon oil to the floating raft.
Then urge your audience to stand back—and light it up!
264 FLAME AN ORANGE PEEL
The most common and relatively safe—yet still quite dramatic—way to add a little fire to your cocktails is by flaming an orange peel over a drink. This caramelizes the citrus oils and also creates a sudden flash of fire that keeps things interesting.
STEP ONE Using a paring knife, cut a circle of peel from an unwaxed orange. Hold it between the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand, zest side toward the drink. Light a match and position it about 4 inches (10 cm) from the drink.
STEP TWO Pinch the zest quickly so that the oils in the skin jet toward the match and cocktail.
STEP THREE Moisten the rim of the glass with the orange peel. Note: If you end up with a sooty peel, it means that your orange is waxed. Avoid using waxed fruit as it will contribute a sooty-chemical flavor.
STEP FOUR Garnish your drink with the flamed peel and enjoy!
265 USE A RED-HOT POKER
Using fire in drinks has been a practice since the 19th century, when taverns would offer hot drinks in mugs heated with a red-hot iron kept in the fireplace. Called loggerheads, the iron would be plunged into a mug to make a toddy or flip (consisting of an egg, beer, spirit, and sweetener). You can see a modern version at Booker & Dax in New York’s Lower East Side, where a custom-built poker makes for dramatically heated drinks.
The benefit of this method is the caramelization that occurs when the red-hot metal comes in contact with the drink; the biggest challenge is finding a food-grade piece of iron (or another heating element) to use. Once you’ve got that covered, simply mix up the Hot English Rum Flip (see item 195) in a heatproof pitcher, place the hot metal into the drink, and watch it froth—or “flip,” which is how the drink style got its name.
266 ADD SOME FLAIR, BARTENDER
USBG | LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
DARIO DOIMO
Flair Bartender at Catalyst Bar at the LinQ Casino
Bartending isn’t only about making tasty drinks; it’s also about entertaining your guests with a few well-timed flicks and throws. Some tricks require a lot of practice, especially the bottle throws, and most require at least some time rehearsing to get the timing down. Practice with empty bottles first, then try them with water to get used to the weight (and spillable nature) of open liquor bottles.
267 LEARN THE BOTTLE STALL
USBG | LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
> DARIO DOIMO
Flair Bartender at Catalyst Bar at the LinQ Casino
Here are a few basic flair techniques from Dario Doimo—a winner of more than 50 flair bartending competitions, USBG National Flair Champion two years in a row, and a performer of flair bartending in more than 20 countries. Let’s start with the bottle stall.
STEP ONE Use your dominant hand to pick up the bottle by its neck with three fingers (index, middle, and thumb) and move it straight up into the air, careful not to flip the bottle. You want the bottle to simply travel up and down.
STEP TWO With a loose hand, fingers lightly spread, catch the bottom of the bottle with the back of your hand, so that it lands with knuckles in the center of the bottle. Take care to move your hand with the bottle’s motion and not against it. You don’t want to smash your hand into the bottle!
STEP THREE Come to a rest. Successfully catching the bottle requires timing, and also balance. Practice balancing the bottle on the back of your hand if you have trouble making the bottle stall.
268 POUR BEHIND THE HEAD
USBG | LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
DARIO DOIMO
Flair Bartender at Catalyst Bar at the LinQ Casino
STEP ONE Prepare a shaker or mixing glass on your work surface so it’s ready to be added to (using whatever’s in the bottle you’re throwing).
STEP TWO Hold the bottle with your non-dominant hand so that the bottle is upright (called “forehand” in flair lingo).
STEP THREE Move hand and bottle behind your head and, with your dominant hand, grab it by the neck in a reverse grip, then shift into pouring position (called “backhand” in flair lingo).
STEP FOUR Pour into the shaker or mixing glass. Feeling like this is too easy for you? Try throwing the bottle when transferring it behind your head.
269 POUR BEHIND THE BACK
USBG | LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
DARIO DOIMO
Flair Bartender at Catalyst Bar at the LinQ Casino
STEP ONE Prepare a shaker or mixing glass on your work surface so it’s ready to be added to (using whatever’s in the bottle you’re throwing).
STEP TWO Pop the bottle up with three fingers, as in the Bottle Stall, so it moves toward the shoulder of your dominant hand.
STEP THREE Move hand and bottle behind your head and, with your dominant hand, grab it by the neck in a reverse grip, then shift into pouring position (called “backhand” in flair lingo).
STEP FOUR As soon as you let go of the bottle, turn your body toward your nondominant arm so that your hand moves behind your back to catch the bottle.
270 SAY CHEERS … OR SLÁINTE! SALUD! PROST!
Now that you’ve got a drink in your hand and friends around the table, don’t forget to wish each other well and toast the moment. The tradition of toasting can be traced back across many eras and continents—from the Mughal Empire in India to the Scandinavian Vikings (who, it’s said, drank from the skulls of fallen foes). In ancient Greece, the practice of toasting was meant to guard against poisoning, as the clinking of glasses would ensure sharing each other’s wine as it sloshed across the table. It’s also said that the term for toasting came from the medieval practice of soaking spiced bread in mead. However it began, here are a few ways to mix up your usual refrain.
271 BECOME A NEAT FREAK
Just as you can’t be a great cook without tasting your ingredients, you can’t improve at mixing drinks if you don’t taste your spirits straight. When distillers make their products, they create them to taste great all by themselves. Yet most people have never tasted their favorite call liquor brand alone (moments of desperation aside).
Learning to taste and understand the flavors will allow you to develop your own recipes by finding complementary flavors. What’s more, you may discover that some spirits are like peak-season tomatoes—they need little to nothing added.
272 THROW NO STONES
If you enjoy drinking spirits neat, particularly whiskies, you’ll eventually come across a gimmicky accessory in the form of cube-shaped rocks or hunks of metal designed to chill your spirit without diluting it. Well, save your money (spend the difference on a better bottle) since this is a solution without a problem. While a good number of brandies and whiskies are sold at 80 proof, many, in particular the special ones you would enjoy neat, are often sold at much higher proofs. You need and want the dilution that ice gives you. Even at standard strength—40 percent ABV, a potency that won’t singe your palate—ice and dilution help aromatize many of the volatile essences in the spirit. Use one cube at a time, and when the contents of your glass get diluted and cold enough, simply remove the remaining ice with a spoon and enjoy.
273 TASTE LIKE A PRO
Once you’ve started tasting your spirits and getting used to trying them straight, you can experiment with the kind of set-up I use to taste spirits for reviews. At first, the hardest part will be identifying the specific aromas and flavors—your brain will tell you that it reminds you of something specific, but it won’t say exactly what. It’s a baffling feeling, much like seeing someone familiar but who you just can’t place. Eventually, as you learn to pay attention, you’ll start teasing out the specifics beyond the obvious like wood or alcohol—like particular fruits, spices, or even places. Here’s how to begin.
FIND YOUR SPACE Possibly the most important—yet least obvious—factor in a fair tasting is finding a good place to do it—a place where you can conduct all your tastings. You’ll need some space to spread out the bottles and glassware, and it’s good to be aware of the kinds of smells in the room. One time I was perplexed by a bizarre floral smell everything had, until I finally realized it was the scent of fabric softener in the washing machine overwhelming my nose.
CHOOSE YOUR LIQUOR Try not to choose too many bottles at once, since the alcohol will dull your nose and palate quickly; 4 or 5 is a good target. Choosing a theme such as style or ingredients makes for a fun comparison.
VARY YOUR GLASSWARE The shape of the glasses you taste out of will affect the smells and often the taste of the spirit—the way prisms affect light, revealing different aspects. Get a collection of different shapes and pour the same spirit to see how different they seem. Choose at least two different shapes to taste out of.
DRINK IN ORDER Go from lightest and driest to sweetest and highest in alcohol.
HYDRATE LIBERALLY Needless to say, drink water in between tastes to cleanse your palate as much as possible.
SLOW DOWN TO SMELL Don’t smell the spirit by jamming your nose in the glass like you would with wine—the higher proof may burn—and don’t swirl the glass around, either. Give the glass a 45-degree tilt and move the glass slowly toward you to find the sweet spot where you can start to smell the different aromas. Then slowly move the glass around to see how they morph and change.
SIP TO TASTE Take a small sip and let it coat your tongue, then take a second sip and note the flavors, texture, strength, and sweetness. After you swallow, breathe in through your nose and then out through your mouth and you will get additional flavors that may have been overshadowed by the proof. Feel free to water things down if necessary, as hot tastings (both in proof and temperature) can be unpleasant.
274 GIVE A GOODY BAG
If you’re hosting the kind of event you want your friends to talk about for years to come, you might consider a party favor for your guests to grab on their way home (provided they can still see straight). We’re not talking engraved wedding favors or kiddie bags of candy, here, but something theme-appropriate or, ideally, drinkable.
Individual champagne splits (some even come in cans) tied with ribbon can do the trick, as can pre-bottled cocktails or fun-size nips from the liquor store. Tie a few together or push out the boat for the ones with the best (read: skull-shaped) packaging.
Maybe you served a signature cocktail or two at your shindig—print out the recipe and let your guests try their hand at home. Grab a handful of thematic accessories to toss in—like paper umbrellas or novelty
cocktail swords.
Whip up a batch of rum balls if it’s the holidays and pop a few into baggies, or serve individually packaged Jell-O shots (see item 239).
And if you’d rather send your guests home with aims at a better morning, get a megapack of water bottles and make them look extra festive for the taxi ride home.
275 GET INVITED BACK
If you’re the guest—whether for a party or a weekend stay—remember to heed mom’s advice and never arrive empty-handed. Sure, you can buy your host dinner or tote a bottle of wine, but if you want to ensure your place on the sleeper sofa, consider putting some thought into your offering. By this point, they’ve likely heard all about your cocktail-making talents, so here are a few host gifts that might prevent you from overstaying your welcome.
HOMEMADE ADDITIONS Whip up a tincture, infusion, or flavored syrup using your host’s favorite flavors, or try something new and let your hosts join in on the cocktail experiments.
BARTENDING SERVICES Arrive bearing homemade ginger beer (see item 170), a bottle of vodka, and a bag of limes, and offer to set up shop for Moscow Mules (see item 169) all around.