Hastings-Black Julia - Remixology : classic cocktails, reconsidered and reinvented

Copyright 2016 by Michael Turback and Julia Hastings-Black

Photographs copyright 2016

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Ken Fletcher: page

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jane Sheppard

Cover photo credit iStock, Robyn Wishna

Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-659-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-660-1

Printed in China

DEDICATION

To David Augustus Embury, whose classic 1948 work, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks , offers this observation:

The well-made cocktail is one of the most gracious of drinks. It pleases the senses. The shared delight of those who partake in common of this refreshing nectar breaks the ice of formal reserve. Taut nerves relax, taut muscles relax, tired eyes brighten, tongues loosen, friendships deepenthe whole world becomes a better place in which to live.

CONTENTS

APRITIF

The framework of a cocktail recipe has a formula

just like a sheet of music. You can take this formula

and play it in one key, but it will also work

if you play it in a higher or lower key.

Mixologist Tony Conigliaro

America is the land of reinvention, and the cocktail has always been a way to reinvent old, established spirits, to make drinking more civilized. Even in the current wave of progressive mixology, bartenders and drinkers are renewing their appreciation for classic cocktailssophisticated intoxicants that have withstood the test of time, as each successive generation has found them as pleasurable as the one before. Yet history tells us that once a cocktail achieved prominence at the bar, the impulse to invent variations was irresistible.

Offered for your consideration are the vanguard of cocktails, drinks of choice which have achieved popular favor over a long period of time: Manhattan, Martini, Whiskey Sour, Alexander, Daiquiri, Old Fashioned, Negroni, Champagne Cocktail, Bloody Mary, and Irish Coffee. Collectively, they provide the foundation upon which most other cocktails are based.

The value of history lies in what is learned from the past, and, in the midst of a worldwide cocktail renaissance, the new generation of freethinking mixologists has been reimagining the classics in wonderful ways, introducing flavors and ingredients in an in-depth exploration of new and deeper, more complex tasting experiences. While you might think that tinkering with their formulas would be somewhat like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa, quite the contrary. It is precisely because of their timeless appeal that so many bartenders find them ideal jumping-off points in the quest for each drinks true potential.

Mixology is an artnurtured by spirit, flavor, aroma, color, and imagination. For the drinkmaker, original recipes serve as the touchstones of cocktailing, and as long as one follows the rules, its hard to make a bad one. Yet its the mark of the great cocktail to be able to spawn not only artisanal makeovers but also variations on the variations.

To illustrate the link between past and present, were about to reexamine these ten classicseach one highlighting the most engaging qualities in a base spiritalong a time- and field-tested path to transformation behind the bar, grounded in history and elevated by fresh ingredients and a sense of fun.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Boston Shaker

Dating all the way back to late nineteenth century Beantown, the Boston shaker has been a fundamental bar tool, and it remains the professional standard, pure and simple. The two-piece shaker consists of a stainless steel cup and mixing glass; the glass is used alone for stirring drinks with ice, and the two pieces are joined together for shaking ingredients with the cup fitting over the glass, creating a seal when gently tapped into place. (When making two drinks at once, use less ice to make room in the shaker.)

TIP: Shaking technique should result in a drink thats cold yet undiluted, simultaneously blended and aerated. In The Thin Man , William Powell instructs his bartender on the art of shaking: The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you always shake to foxtrot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry Martini you always shake to waltz time.

Hawthorne Strainer

The all-purpose strainer is a paddle-like, perforated metal device with a continuous coil of wire around its perimeter, ensuring a spill-proof fit, compatible with the Boston shaker. For drinks that are shaken or stirred with ice and served neat or over new ice, the strainer is used to separate ice from the liquid.

TIP: Place your index finger over the handle to hold it firmly in place and strain the drink into the serving glass. To get the last drop, give the shaker a sharp twist as you return it to an upright position.

Fine-Mesh Strainer

Pouring from a Boston shaker with a Hawthorne strainer through a tea strainer or a fine mesh strainer is known as double straining. This secondary filter removes smaller particles, froth, pulp, seeds, and other unwanted ingredients, ensuring a clean, clear drink.

TIP: This tool is indispensable when straining cocktails with herbs, such as mint or basil.

Jigger and Pony

Ingredients in proper cocktails must be measured to the fraction of an ounce. A stainless steel instrument with two opposing cones in an hourglass shape is recommended for precise, consistent calibration of liquids in the preparation of cocktails. The larger cone (jigger) typically holds 1 ounces while the smaller cone (pony) holds ounce. With no need for the guesswork of free-pouring, cocktails will honor the recipe a skilled bartender labored to create. (In countries that use the metric system, the measures are usually 40 ml and 20 ml.)

TIP: Charles H. Baker Jr. calls cocktail mixing an exacting chemical art. Consider purchasing other jiggers for more specific measurements. Single jiggers come in iterations from a quarter of an ounce to two ounces.

Bar Spoon

Certain cocktails, particularly those made with spirits only, should always be stirred, chilling the drink without the undue aeration of shaking. Essential to stirring, the metal, long-handled bar spoon (for reaching the bottom of tall glasses) has a spiral handle (for easy twisting of the shaft) used to agitate or twirl ice through the ingredients and a spoon used for a teaspoon measure.

TIP: Hold the twisted shaft of the bar spoon between your thumb and first two fingers. Dunk the bar spoon into the glass and twirl the shaft back and forth and up and down in a fluid motion for 10 to 20 seconds to achieve the desired temperature.