Many people asked me at the Second Annual PDX Cocktail Camp if I was going to put the information from Jennifer Colliau (an amazing mixologist who also owns Small Hand Foods, a small company out of California that makes pre-prohibition syrups) and my presentation on my blog. As I know that I would do Jennifer a disservice as trying to replicate her amazing explanation as to the intricacies of sugar and the science of osmosis, I’ve decided it best to only write about my side of the presentation.

There are two mediums which you can use to extract flavors in cocktail development and they are water and alcohol. Both are a solvent and the way that solvents pull flavor is that they have more positively charged ions than whatever is in them. Positively charged ions are like popular girls, all the flavors just want to hang out with them. In water, you can change the polarity by heating up the water. If you think about making tea, a tea bag doesn’t work very well in tepid water – but it works brilliantly in hot water. That is because when you heat up water, you are positively charging the ions.

To extract flavor into water you have two options. Make a tea so that the botanicals are directly in the water and after boiling and steeping you strain them out. There is nothing wrong with this method as it is easy and not very time consuming. But, it is the case that whatever you make will not have as long of a shelf life because there are still tiny bits of botanicals in the water (which can go bad). To maximize shelf life, I recommend simple distillation where you place a clean brick at the bottom of a stock pan, on this brick you place a collection bowl, in the bottom of the pan you place your botanicals and water (I like to use 1 cup botanical to 2 cups water), then you cover it with a concave lid. Turn the heat up so that you are getting steam without a boil. The steam will hit against the concave lid and condense into your collection cup. This water has no residual botanicals in it and has an extremely long shelf life.

The other solvent used in cocktail extractions is alcohol and concerning polarity the higher the proof the better extraction you will get. I have tested every spirit under the sun and I’ve been the happiest with Monarch 151, as it is very inexpensive and it does not have the metal lid that makes it nearly impossible to pour it from the bottle (like Bacardi 151). Obviously the easiest way to extract flavor is to let the botanicals steep in the 151 and cover tightly so you don’t get any evaporation.  As you are making your own bitters for your own flavor preference, I would recommend tasting the extraction each day and when it gets to a flavor you like – take the botanicals out.

One thing you will find in the basic steeping method is that if you leave citrus peel for too long you will get a bitter flavor from the tannins in the peel. One way of only extracting oils and ensuring that you are only getting a really nice bright flavor is by using this evaporation technique (taught to me by an amazing herbalist Jeanine Pollack who wrote the book Healing Tonics). The diagram below shows the technique with string, but I learned from Jacqueline Patterson (Lillet Ambassador) that you can also use cheesecloth. (She saw this technique in an old Italian cookbook, which she couldn’t read, but she figured it out by looking at the pictures.)

Anyhow, fill the bottom of the container with spirit that is at least 80 proof. If you want to make triple sec, place one cup sugar and two cups vodka in the bottom of your container. If you want to make “Grand Marnier” place one cup sugar and two cups brandy in the bottom of your container. Do not stir the spirit and sugar together. Now, either using string or cheesecloth, allow your citrus to be suspended above the spirit. Cover the container very tightly (I use plastic wrap with a rubber band and another lid). Allow to sit for 10 days. If you are using a glass container, you will see the essential oils leach out of the citrus skin and drip into your spirit. After 10 days, you will have a beautiful extraction.

If you are wondering how to make bitters, make a bunch of different extracts and start mixing them together. Just make sure that one of the extracts is bitter (like citrus peel, wormwood, or quinine) and you have made a bitters. Easy as that!

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Rose Petal Water

1 cup rose petals
2 cups water

Place a clean brick at the bottom of a stock pan, on this brick you place a collection bowl, in the bottom of the pan you place the water and rose petals.  Cover with a concave lid (so that the bottom of the lid is closest to the bottom of the pan).   Turn the heat up so that you are getting steam without a boil. The steam will hit against the concave lid and condense into your collection cup. You can speed up the process by placing ice on the top of the lid.  Depending on how high your heat is and how large your collection bowl is, you’ll have a small bottle of rose petal water within an hour.

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Triple Sec

1 cup white sugar
2 cups vodka
1 organic orange

Place the vodka and sugar in a glass or metal container. Suspend the orange over the spirit (make sure that it doesn’t touch).  You can either place four skewers in the orange and string the orange up using the skewers, string, and duct tape.  Or you can use cheesecloth. Cover the container very tightly (I use plastic wrap with a rubber band and another lid). Allow to sit for 10 days. If you are using a glass container, you will see the essential oils leach out of the citrus skin and drip into your spirit. After 10 days, you will have a beautiful extraction.  Do not mix the sugar together with your infused spirit, strain the liquid from the sugar, bottle, and enjoy!

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“Grand Marnier”

1 cup white sugar
2 cups brandy (I like Paul Masson – great for the price)
1 organic orange

Place the vodka and sugar in a glass or metal container. Suspend the orange over the spirit (make sure that it doesn’t touch).  You can either place four skewers in the orange and string the orange up using the skewers, string, and duct tape.  Or you can use cheesecloth. Cover the container very tightly (I use plastic wrap with a rubber band and another lid). Allow to sit for 10 days. If you are using a glass container, you will see the essential oils leach out of the citrus skin and drip into your spirit. After 10 days, you will have a beautiful extraction.  Do not mix the sugar together with your infused spirit, strain the liquid from the sugar, bottle, and enjoy!

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Need bottles for your extracts and bitters? Check out Specialty Bottle out of Seattle, they have an amazing selection of small glass bottles.

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Links to blog posts that you might like if you liked this one

What are bitters?

How to make Baker’s Bitters

How to make Boker’s Bitters

Video and Recipe for Malheur Forest Bitters

Ah, I was very very excited for the new Whippersnapper Whiskey made by Ransom Spirits who are the geniuses behind Ransom Old Tom Gin, which I use a lot of in the Jerry Thomas Project as there aren’t very many Old Tom Gins (a pre-prohibition style of gin) being produced in the entire world.

The gin is a historically accurate edition of gin that was popular during the mid 18th to 19th century.  The recipe was developed in collaboration with cocktail and spirit historian, David Wondrich (who pretty much knows more about Jerry Thomas than anyone in the world).  Wondrich is also the author of the books Imbibe and Punch.

Anyhow, about the Whippersnapper.  Just like the Ransom, it is packaged beautifully (although I’m not a fan of the wax they started using recently, as it is very difficult to remove from the bottles.)  It’s label has a bit of radiant gold in the lettering and it says “Hi-Falutin’” and really how can you not fall in love with that?  But my love wasn’t as deep once I dove into the bottle.  It has the sweet smell of homemade spirit – there’s something distinct about the smell of moonshine – a sickly sweet breath followed by fire.  The color is weak, as it looks like strong tea or very weak coffee.  It doesn’t have the deep walnut color of most of my favorite whiskeys.  And once you toss a little back, it doesn’t have the depth of my favorite whiskeys either.  It’s fun to try and if you like trying small batch spirits – then I would certainly recommend that you pick up a bottle as they are one of the only craft distillers who has a whiskey finished at this date.

Jason Evers (real name Doitchin Krasev) was regional manager of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission until he recently applied for a passport and was found to be an illegal immigrant who’s true identity was known by no one in the community. On top of this terrible lie, he used his power at the OLCC to make most of the restaurant and bar owners and managers’ lives a living hell while he wielded an uncanny power over them. Unfortunately, the OLCC is still in existence in the same form and Evers is still living in the State of Oregon.

For those of you who followed my tale of Jason Evers – well you might be excited to know that it has a happy ending. That’s right – he’s getting married! The Source Weekly is even offering you the chance to be his bride – just click on the link and tell them why you should get to share in marital bliss with a compulsive, egotistical, monster and you could be that lucky gal.

Unfortunately for your tax dollars, Mr. Evers was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria but now he is still in jail as the state of Ohio is considering pressing charges of identity theft against him for stealing an Ohio citizen’s information. And his fiancé has decided to speed up the wedding process, forget about the dress and party, and marry a man who’s name she probably can’t even pronounce. This is a man who has never told anyone who he is and is a chess master not only on a chessboard, but also in his actual life; maneuvering those around him like pawns and rooks he secures his safety at their loss. I don’t know much about his actual bride, but I know that she is considerably younger than Evers and quite honestly I believe brain washed. Might we remember the tale of Charles Manson and his alluring charm. Although I don’t think Evers plans on turning her into a killing machine he is obviously capable of a psychological wit that is alarming. I thought at first he should be extradited to Ohio for trial, but now I just wish he would go back to Eastern Europe and stop duping us Oregonians, especially at our own expense. Nonetheless, congratulations Doitchin Krasev it looks like you beat the system again, this time with the bonus of conjugal visits.

Don’t know the whole story? It’s pretty fascinating – just click on these links.

Jason Evers – Who is he? A Tale of Murder and Disguise.

Jason Evers – Man of Mystery

Who are you Jason Evers? We’re dying to know.

Jason Evers – mystery solved Doitchin Krasev

Jason Evers – The Saga Continues

Well it just so turns out that Jerry Thomas might not have written the first cocktail book published in the U.S. Harry Thomas, self-titled publisher and professional bartender, writes on the very first page of his book, “There was published, by me, in San Francisco, the first Bartender’s Manual ever issued in the United States.”

Unfortunately, Johnson failed to mention Thomas’ book, which was published in 1862 (Johnson’s was published twenty years later in 1882). Nonetheless, Johnson’s book peaks an interest to anyone who has spent time reading about Jerry Thomas, especially since they were friends and contemporaries while still maintaining a healthy dose of competitiveness in the relationship. Johnson’s life isn’t as well documented as Thomas’ but we do have his masterpiece, Harry Johnson’s New and Improved Bartender’s Manual and a Guide for Hotels and Restaurants. (Which is currently being reprinted and is available through Mud Puddle Books on amazon.com.)

If you like old cocktail books, by all means pick this thing up. It is filled with 146 pages about how one should properly behave while working in a restaurant, the intricacies of tending bar, how one should approach getting a job in a bar, and much more. I would consider this mandatory reading for any bartender or restaurant manager who gives a rat’s ass as it is filled with invaluable information that hasn’t changed in the last 150 years – yet seems to still be a mystery to those involved in this business. His bluntness and common sense cuts through the bullshit and solves many of the world’s restaurants problems – so I recommend taking an hour and reading it.

Jerry Thomas vs. Harry Johnson

1. Seriously, lucky Jerry Thomas as Harry Johnson has to be one of the hardest names in the world to have.

When you think of delicious cocktails, Harry Johnson comes first

Women love Harry Johnson

When things get sticky, Harry Johnson will not pull out

Men need Harry Johnson

2. On the other hand, Harry Johnson has a way better mustache – that is Beard and Mustache Competition quality. I’m thinking that maybe Thomas lost some of his mustache in a preparation of the Blue Blazer.

3. Thomas gets points for flair – he tossed fire between two silver cups and he’s still better known today.

4. But Johnson gets the last point for just telling it how it is.  You cannot read his book without getting a little smile on your face for his gumption.

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

Just going through the book thinking about what I should make today and I’m not going to make anything. Thomas’ book is filled with drinks that need not be in a recipe book – it’s almost like he was under gun point to have 275 recipes in his book. Here’s some of the recipes that Thomas is trying to lay claim to.

Brandy Straight and the Pony Brandy are under two separate headings, although they are exactly the same thing except the Pony Brandy gets a ice water back. Not quite sure how to make a Whiskey Straight or a Gin Straight – don’t worry, Thomas made sure to notate that it is just the same as the Brandy Straight except you use the according spirit.

Like your brandy with soda, well Thomas had you on his mind.
Brandy and Soda, just take two ounces of brandy, three lumps of ice, and top with plain soda. You Brandy and Soda drinkers (if there are any left alive in this country) might be surprised to know your cocktail of choice has another name, Stone Wall.

I’d be more concerned with this recipe if there was even one sherry drinker in the entire U.S. but I find it worth mention as Thomas felt it necessary to put it in his book.
Sherry and Ice – you think you guessed it? 2 ounces of sherry and three lumps ice. Well, you guessed wrong as no measurement is offered and you pour it into a decanter with two or three small lumps of ice to be handed over to the customer.

The Arf and Arf – Thoma’s rendition of a Black and Tan (mix a half glass of Porter or Stout with a half glass of Ale). Thomas even mentions which to pour first, “draw it mild, Mary, the ale first.”

The Half and Half is half old-world ale and half new-world ale which is what he calls, “the American Method.”

To check out other Jerry Thomas Project recipes – click here.

ANTI OXIDENT

2 ounces of green tea sake*
2 ounces of green tea vodka
1 ounce of green tea syrup
1 ounce of fresh squeezed lime

If you don’t have time or can’t get Sake2me’s green tea sake. Use regular sake or infuse some sake with some green tea bags (1 tea bag for 6 oz sake) for 30 minutes.

How to make green tea vodka
Place five green tea bags in a fifth of vodka overnight – it’s that easy!

How to make green tea syrup
1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 2 green tea bags. Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Allow to cool and remove tea bags.

28 Cocktail Lounge- Going Out of Business

This past Saturday, 28 – the cocktail lounge I managed for many years, shut its doors.  Even though it’s been almost two years since I slung a shaker over my shoulder there, anyone who has worked at a bar for any length of time knows the kinship that is developed between you and the space.  It is literally a place that you have laughed your heart out and cried your guts out.  It’s where you’ve found out some of the finer things in life – one of your closest friends is getting married to some of the harder things in life – one of your favorite regulars is dying.  For a long time, I lived and breathed 28.  Its staff were my family and all the people I worked with there are still my closest friends here in Bend.  So it felt uncanny to walk in there last Saturday with the old staff and have one last shot before the 28 doors closed forever as 28.  But soon it will open under a new guise, a French bistro called Tart.  A lovely couple, Corey Donovan and his fiancée Amy Christiansen, have bought the space and are opening in June.  They promised they were not removing the bar – a beautiful glowing reddish-orange sexy curving piece of glowing glass.  All the best to them as I truly believe they got one of the best spots in town.

A little photo montage from 28.

I just got this month’s Imbibe Magazine which contains what they consider are the 25 most influential cocktails of the past century.

Here’s their list – what do you think?

With Honorable Mention to these drinks that are more than a century old:

I think that one of my favorite lines in the article is “Last Word – Ten years ago, a request for a Last Word at even the most with-it cocktail bar would have elicited a blank stare.” This would still elicit a blank stare from me – never heard of it until today, so I certainly don’t consider it one of the world’s most influential cocktails.  If you can’t wait to try one – it’s gin, maraschino liqueur, Chartreuse, and fresh lime.  Doesn’t sound too bad – I’ll make myself one tomorrow.

Or from the Kangaroo, “Chances are you’ve never heard of it, chances are too, you’ve tossed back at least one in your lifetime.”  I call the Kangaroo a wet vodka martini – or Kangaroo is also a good name for it.

And last but not least, it is always nice to honor someone – and I’ll give it to Audrey Saunders Gin-Gin Mule as Imbibe claims this is the drink that allowed the bar and the kitchen to marry – and God only knows that now it would be impossible for them to divorce.  But who would get the rosemary?  But the Red Hook, even they admit that the drink’s too young to be on the list and it’s a spin off from the Manhattan.  They claim that it’s the reason for the big Rye whiskey phenomenon happening today (which I quite honestly don’t see much of) – and I honestly would give the Sazerac credit for selling more rye whiskey than the Red Hook.

Anyhow, food for thought.

Joel Stein’s New York Times article couldn’t help but strike my interest with the title Cocktail for Carnivores: Drinks Infused with Meat.  Unfortunately, most of the cocktails were ghastly – although the meat-stuffed olives looked rather tempting.  Anyhow, it is easy to make bacon-infused vodka and it tastes damn good in a Bloody Mary.

Bacon Vodka

1 pound of bacon

750 ml of vodka

Cook off 1 pound of bacon and place in a fifth of vodka (use a vodka that you would enjoy on it’s own).  Cover and place somewhere that you won’t bother it for a month at room temperature.  Don’t bother looking at it for the next 30 days because what you will see WILL disgust you.  After 30 days strain the vodka from the bacon and residual fat.  Now place it in the freezer overnight.  Strain it through a cheesecloth and wa-la – you have bacon vodka.  Not hard to make – just a bit time-consuming.

On my current cocktail list is a Manhattan Flight which is three baby Manhattans, each one with a different handcrafted bitters.  I hate to admit it, but I didn’t really think that the drink needed a cherry – the point was to introduce the Manhattan drinker to notion that only a few drips of highly-flavorful liquid could completely revolutionalize their drink.  The maraschino cherry in a Manhattan always seemed a bit cliché and nasty to me – the amount of preservatives in one cherry alone is enough to embalm a small adult male.  But people kept wanted cherries and it killed me to put one of those noxious fictitious crimson cancer bombs in my beloved cocktail – so the birth of my own maraschino cherries.  I’ve tested out making maraschino cherries before, but the biggest problem was removing the pit from fresh cherries.  This recipe calls for dehydrated cherries, so the pits are already removed – making the whole process a million times less time-consuming and messy.

Maraschino Cherries Recipe

1 cup dried cherries

You can use any type of dried cherries but I like Montmorency cherries as they are a bit tart and have a nice deep plum color.

1 cup cherry juice (make sure that it is 100% cherry juice with no added sugar)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup triple sec

1 rind from a medium size orange

Place all the ingredients together in a metal or glass container.  Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved.  Let the cherries soak in the brine for at least seven days at room temperature so that they plump up and take on the flavor of the solution.  The end result will be a delicious perfectly balanced cherry with a hint of orange.  If you like the almond flavor from store-bought cherries, just add a drop or two of almond extract to the brine and you’ll love the results.