Intelligent Bartender

MxMo XLVI takes place Monday, February 22. Hosting this round is Sonja at Thinking of Drinking, and Sonja has chosen Absinthe as the theme.   Certainly one of Toronto’s best MxMo’s to date, and a thoroughly enjoyable excuse to get together and have some tasty beverages.  Some of us chose absinthe as a modifier, some as a base… some chose citrus and some cream, then we finished off with some fresh espresso and macadamia syrup to cap the night…  Enjoy from the t-dot

Elan Marks presents

“Two in the Pink”

1.5 oz alize red passion
1.5 oz absinthe
1 oz ameretto
1 oz egg whites
2 oz cranberry juice,
squeeze one fresh lemon wedge …
in a tin with ice add all ingredients, shake the shit out of it, till its nice and frothy

strain and enjoy,

Scott McMaster (aka Evil) presents “The Purp”

Makes 2.

60ml Zoladkowa Gurzka Bitter Vodka
10ml Hills Absinth
2-7 inch rosemary branches (no stems). 3 barspoons of blueberry jam
Muddle vodka, jam and rosemary in boston glass. Add absinth and ice, shake, fine strain in to tall thin glass. Flute would work as well as pictured glass. Top with Absenth foam.

Rob Montgomery

Ghostface Killah Cocktail aka Pretty Toney Tipple

Inspired by San Francisco bartender Camper English’s adaption of the Absinthe Suissesse Cocktail, I added a few changes of my own. Remake of a remake so to speak. I hope you enjoy.

50ml Hills Absinthe
15ml Macadamia Nut Syrup
1 egg white
60ml heavy cream or half-and-half
dash orange blossom water
pinch of 6 spice powder(5 spice plus ginger)

Combine liquid ingredients in boston glass, Fill with ice and hard shake. Strain over crushed ice in oldfashioned glass or straight into a chilled coupe glass. Sprinkle with 6 spice powder.
Serves 1.

Wes Galloway

Not bad for a first run, but needs tinkering:
Pour la Premiere Fois

1.25oz Calvados De Boulard
.75oz Italian Vermouth
.5oz Pernod Absinthe
.25oz Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
2 dashes Peychaud Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters
*Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir well.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Nishan Chandra busts out the Snowbird

15mL Hills Absinthe
30mL Domaine de Canton
Juice of 2 Fresh Limes
20mL Orgeat
3 dashes Fee Bros Lemon Bitters
Shake all ingredients over ice, strain into 3 tall shooter or coupe glasses.
Add one dash of bitters to garnish.

Gavin MacMillan presented the GF Twizzler

45mL Juniper Green Organic Gin
30mL Cointreau
30mL Hills Absinthe
60mL Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
2 dashes Peychauds Bitters
Brulee the outside of the glasses with absinthe for aromatics, then shake and strain into bruleed glassware.

Welcome to this months MxMo, before we start a special thanks to Cocktail Slut for hosting.  Schedules didnt permit as large a gathering in Toronto as we would have liked this month, but Rob Montgomery came through with flying colours with “God Save the King” aka “Royal Gin Fizz”

Adapted from the “Silver King” from Wylie Drufresne’s restaurant WD-50 in NYC. A deceptively simple drink that is truly greater than the some of it’s parts. The “Silver King” contained no tea, so I set about to add some. My first attempt of tea infused sweet vermouth was tasty, but lacked a little punch. Digging around the fridge I found a bottle of Lyles Golden syrup. Perfect (give it a try instead of regular simple syrup in your favorite recipe). Once the ratios were right, I added a few drops of vegetable based red food coloring to give the drink a nice royal glow.

60ml London Dry Gin (I used Brockmans but any top shelf will do)
30ml fresh lemon juice
30ml fresh lime juice
45ml Royal Red Sizzurp**
1 dash MacMonster ODB bitters
1 egg white (approx. 30ml)
30ml sparkling water
Orange slice (to garnish)

Combine first 6 ingredients in boston glass and fill with ice. Shake it like you mean it. Then shake some more. Strain over fresh ice in a collins glass. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with orange slice and a straw. Serves 1. Word.

**Royal Red Sizzurp

360ml Strong Brewed Earl Grey Tea
120ml Lyles Golden Syrup
30ml Sweet Vermouth (I used Martini)
6 drops veg based red food color
Combine in a small pot and warm slightly to speed dilution
Will keep in the fridge for 3 weeks before losing freshness.

You can reach Rob at www.themiller.ca where he presides over the bar, or also at kidcampari@gmail.com

If you twit, you can keep up to speed by following @kidcampari, @mcmasterlive, ar @bartenderone

Great topic this month, Money Drinks!

Present at this months drink tank… Nishan Chandra of Blowfish, Renata Clingen ex. Teatro, Gavin MacMillan of B1, Rob Montgomery of the Miller Tavern, Scott McMaster, consultant. Cheerleader…Caitlin Mason

Click here to see this months host - http://beersintheshower.blogspot.com/

First to the bar for Money Drinks…
Rob Montgomery - KFC Sazerac
Kentucky bourbon, Fig jam and Caramel liquer

I had seen a version of this cocktail on the menu @ Lab in London, England circa 2000. Having never tried it I continued to experiment with variations over the years. This is now my go to recipe when people say they don’t like whiskey or whiskey cocktails. 60% of the time it works all the time. Scratch that. It always works. The fig jam and Caramel liquer take the place of the sugar in a traditional Sazerec, while adding complexity and depth with their respective flavours.

Splash of water
1 Barspoon of fig jam
50ml Bulleit Bourbon
15ml Caramel liquer
1 drop Peychaud bitters
10ml Absinthe
orange twist (to garnish)

Take 2 double old fashioned glasses and fill 1 with ice. In the other combine the fig jam with the water and stir well to combine. To the jam slurry add the bourbon, caramel liqueur and Peychaud’s bitters. Add 2-3 lumps of ice and stir well. Jettison the ice from the second glass and add the Absinthe. Coat the inside of the glass and throw the rest out. Fine strain first mixture into the prepared glass and garnish with an orange twist.

Serves 1

Up next was Gavin MacMillan - Million Dollar Manhattan

Frankie from Bar Chef does a version of this one with a cold smoker, I like it just as is…

75mL Crown Royal XR
25mL Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes JT Decanter Bitters
3 Amarena Cherries for Garnish

Stir over cold fresh ice, strain and enjoy

Renata Clingen - Winter Mojito

45mL Angostura 1919
15mL Maple Syrup
6 Cranberries Muddled (plus 2 for Garnish)
12 mint leaves
120mL Ginger Beer
30mL Soda Water

Scott McMaster - Rising Star

60mL Soju or Nigori Sake
30mL Umeshu “Choya 23″
2 spoons Kiwi Mango Preserve
1 dash Grapefruit bitters

Nishan Chandra - Flying Grouse

60mL Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whiskey
3 dashes Lemon Bitters
30mL Roses Lime
60mL Lime Juice
30mL Agave Nectar
Top with Sparkling water

As our first attempt at joining in with Mixology Mondays globally we had a good time, and look forward to hosting one in the future!  Thanks to all who participated!  Until next month…

MxMo (short for Mixology Mondays) is a global online meeting among bartenders who work towards making great cocktails around a specific theme (Hard Drinks, Punches, Vermouth Based Cocktails etc.)

Rob Montgomery and I have been keeping an eye on MxMo for the past 18 months, and have had many conversations about starting up one of our own to boost cocktail culture in Toronto.  We finally thought that it was time we stopped paying lipservice to making better cocktails and actually did something about it.

On Movember 30th, (yes Movember, check it here www.movember.com) a small group of bartenders from around our city gathered to work on some interpretations of “Holiday Cocktails.”  The timing seems relevant as we move into the busy holiday event season, who wouldnt want an excuse to have a great holiday cocktail?

First up was a welcome cocktail called the Honey Julep, a recipe of mine featured in the recent Drambuie re-launch recipe book.  The sweet and sour pink grapefruit juice complements the Drambuie really well and allows the freshness of the elderflower and mint to shine through.  This drink is perfect for summer, or a winter holiday getaway to a place that reminds you of summer.

Honey Julep

50ml Drambuie

15ml St Germaine Elderflower Liqueur

15ml Lemon Juice

30ml Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice

2 dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters

8-10 Mint leaves

Directions: Muddle mint leaves and bitters in a Boston Glass, add remaining ingredients and shake over cold fresh ice.  Double strain over crushed ice in a highball glass, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Next up was Ryan Powell with another Scotch based drink, his Maple Movember Manhattan.

Cocktail #2: Maple Movember Manhattan
2 oz Chivas Regal 12 Year Old
¼ oz ice wine maple syrup
¼ oz egg white
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Dry shake ingredients vigorously to properly froth the egg white then add ice and shake again.  Double strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice and sprinkle nutmeg on top to garnish.
Optional: Brule a misted Aberlour 12 Year Old on top.

This cocktail was inspired from a Manhattan.  For me, winter holidays and scotch go hand in hand.  I replaced the sweet vermouth with the ice wine maple syrup because that’s I wanted something a little sweeter and the maple syrup pairs well with the apple notes in the Chivas.  The egg white was added to bring a creamy texture to the cocktail, which again is popular amongst holiday cocktails.  The Angostura bitters adds a fantastic holiday spice to the cocktail as well as the nutmeg sprinkle on top.  For a little more showmanship and to add a little more strength to the cocktail, you can mist Aberlour over the cocktail and gently brule it.  The sherry notes from the Aberlour adds a nice touch to the nutmeg, maple, apple and spice.

Next up was Alejandro Giraldo with a Spanish inspired Cazadores Saludable.

50ml Cazadores Tequila
20ml Pama Pomegranate liquor
60ml Pink grapefruit juice
20ml Lemon juice
15ml Agave nectar

Shake ingredients vigorously with ice then double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a fresh mint leaf.

Rob Montgomery stepped up with his “Ho Ho Ho…. It’s Brown Butta YO!”

30ml fresh lemon fresh lemon juice
15ml Gomme Syrup
50ml Brown Butter “washed” Jack Daniels
Lemon twist(to garnish)
Combine liquid ingredients in Boston glass and fill with ice.
Stir well for 60 seconds.
Strain into chilled coupe glass. Spritz twist over the top, wipe around the rim and float skin side up.

Scott McMaster (aka Dr. Evil) took to the bar with Cocktail #4 An Evil Christmas

30ml Skinos
15ml jager
5ml lime juice
30ml White cran

Combine in boston over ice and shake
Garnish with frozen cranberry

The boys from Skinos were kind enough to drop off a couple of bottles of their product back in the summer, and Evil thought it would be a good opportunity to try using the pine flavour of the Mastica in a holiday cocktail.  It is the best cocktail we’ve had with Skinos which has an admittedly unusual flavour profile.  If anyone else has had success with Skinos, we’d sure like to hear about it, as I’m sure the boys from Skinos would as they make their foray into the cocktail world.

Finally. in the spirit of getting away for the holidays, we thought it would be nice to end with an Aviation Cocktail.  I really like the flavour of Creme de Violette, and Maraschino Liqueur is hard to hate at the best of times.  Although they can sometimes be hard to find, I’m sure if enough people ask for it, they’ll become more readily available… they’re certainly worth the effort.

Present at the innaugural Toronto MxMo were: Alejandro Giraldo, Ryan Powell, Rob Montgomery, Caitlin Mason, Gavin MacMillan, Jessica Klug, Scott McMaster.

Absent: Elan Marks, Nick Nemeth, Renata Clingen, Nishan Chandra

For more tips on setting up a great holiday bar Click here

and if you’re really serious about getting into bartending and want to train with some of the best bartenders in the business, click here to see the next training dates with BartenderOne

The next global Mixology Monday will be taking place on December 14th… same bat time, same bat channel.

Click here to see the next event on Facebook

There is no other spirit shrouded in as much controversy as Absinthe. Affectionately called “The Green Fairy,” Absinthe is credited (or discredited) as the reason Vincent Van Gogh cut of his ear, and later shot himself in the stomach. It was the favourite libation of artists and bohemians, however it was banned in the Netherlands, France and the United States by the beginning of the first world war and many more countries followed suit before US Prohibition in 1919. Although little research was available, most countries banned the substance for its inexplicable intoxicating, sometimes hallucinogenic properties, until, after much scientific research the last major legal ban was lifted by Brazil in 2007.
So what, exactly, is it about Absinthe that drives people mad; does it really make you hallucinate, and if the rumours are true, why is it on the shelves of our liquor stores today? The answer is a substance called Thujone, which reportedly had hallucinogenic properties. Early researchers suggested an association between Thujone and THC, the active ingredient in Marijuana, however this theory was later discredited through scientific research. The alleged hallucinogens were said to come from sometimes poisionous chemicals being added to cheaper versions of the drink in the 19th century to give it a more vivid colour. Each province has it’s own set of laws determining the amount of Thujone that can be present in a beverage, ranging from:

(NFLD, NB, PEI) 0% Absente is for sale – No Thujone Content
(ON) 0.001%
(AL, MA, QC, NS) 0.005% - 0.010%
(BC) No Thujone Regulation

British Columbia’s Okanagan Spirits recently released the appropriately named “Taboo” Absinthe, currently Canada’s only commercially produced Absinthe, but several other microdistillers are making attempts in anticipation of a growing market for “the Green Fairy,” in the not too distant future.
Absinthe is often mistaken as a liqueur, but it is produced without the addition of sugar, and it is bottled over proof, which distinguishes it as a spirit. It is one of the only spirits that is not blended with water pre- bottling to bring the ABV down; the water is added by the consumer via a slow drip over a sugar cube when preparing the absinthe for consumption, so from an environmental perspective Absinthe has been green in more ways than one since it’s creation.
Absinthe consumption is widespread in Europe and Asia, our challenge as Canadians is that our palate isn’t as receptive to the Eurocentric flavour of Anise (black licorice.) If you’ve never dissected the name licorice, and always thought of it simply as a name, break it down into its root word and things will start to make sense.
The most common experience is that of “Clear Headed Inebriation,” resulting from the fact that some of the herbal compounds in Absinthe are stimulants, while others are depressants resulting in “Lucid Drunkenness” if consumed in high enough doses. Drinking large amounts of Absinthe, is not recommended in the same way as you should avoid drinking copious quantities of any spirit. Such a dominant flavour will often overpower other ingredients if you use too much Absinthe in a cocktail, I suggest using it as a flavouring agent rather than a base ingredient. If you’re new to the world of Absinthe, try this cocktail on for size, it will ease you into the flavour. From here your “Lucid” creativity can run wild.

½ oz Hills Absinthe
1 oz Cointreau
2 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
2 dashes of Fee Brothers Rhubarb bitters
Shake ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.

The summer is in full swing and cocktails of all compositions are flowing freely.
Most cocktails are built on the foundation of a base spirit, namely vodka, rum, gin, whisky, tequila or brandy. As consumers move away from sweet, fruity vodka-based martinis toward more elegant and complex cocktails, gin is emerging as a leading base spirit.
In recent trips to San Francisco and Chicago, I visited a handful of bars renowned for their cocktails. Much to my surprise and delight most did not serve vodka. In fact, one had a sign on the wall that read, “If you ask for a Cosmo, we’ll ask you to leave!”
But why would an establishment choose not to serve vodka, the base spirit for a third of drinks served nationally?
Unfortunately the answer lies with the bar itself and I can only surmise. But what I do know is gin is making a comeback. Take the Tom Collins, a cocktail originally made with carbonated water, sugar, lemon juice and gin. Popularized in the 1874, bartenders are again serving it up albeit with a twist.
Flavoured with juniper berries, gin has a flavourful aroma that tempts the taste buds and is a worthy replacement in many cocktails that previously called for vodka as a base.
Yet why don’t more people drink it? The Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874 made ‘Tom Collins’ a household name across the USA. The hoax began in New York when unsuspecting individuals were fooled into a chase across the city from bar to bar looking for a ‘Tom Collins’ who was said to be spreading vicious rumours about them. This imaginary ‘Tom Collins’ became such a legend that it may have been what prompted celebrated bartender Jerry Thomas to include the recipe for the Tom Collins in ‘The Bartenders Guide’ published in 1876.
Many admit they experimented with gin in their younger years but consumed the spirit in excess and, subsequently, turned off it. For those who fall into this category, now is the time to get reacquainted because gin will be one of the most dominant spirits in cocktail culture in the coming months and years.
I’m not suggesting you go to the extreme of remove vodka from your inventory. Rather, consider adding a few gin-based cocktails to the menu or, at the very least, your bartender’s repertoire.

If you’re still not convinced, try this delicious refresher on for size.

Juniper Ruby

1 oz Bombay Sapphire
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
2 dashes grapefruit bitters (optional)

As the temperature continues to warm Canadians are increasingly thinking about what they’ll be sipping on this summer. While most bars have a lengthy martini list, many consumers are looking for new drinks served in something other than a long stemmed V-shaped glass – so much so that the apple-tini was officially laid to rest at last year’s Tales of the Cocktail, an internationally acclaimed festival attended by mixologists worldwide.
Last summer the mojito took hold of restaurant patios and is now a mainstay on most cocktail menus. Today, many bartenders are using it as a jump-off point, adding fresh ingredients to create refreshing culinary-style cocktails. Freshly squeezed citrus juice is taking the place of bar mix. And raw cane sugar and simple syrup (sugar syrup) are gaining in popularity as they blend best with heavier, richer spirits. Speaking of which, rum, gin, tequila and whiskey are becoming the base spirits of choice as they’re not only versatile but have complex flavour profiles.
Enter Cachaça (pronounced ka-sha-sa), a less refined version of rum. Though a recent addition to Canadian store shelves, this sugar cane-based spirit is actually the world’s third most popular. Ever-present in South America’s most populous nation, Brazil produces 1.3 billion litres of Cachaça each year although only one per cent of that volume is exported. Canadian bartenders have recently become acquainted with the spirit, which is most commonly used in Caipirinha (pronounced kie-pee-reen-yah). Caipirinha is a balanced cocktail that employs the four main flavour elements – strong (rum), weak (crushed ice), sweet (sugar) and sour (lime).
There’s no denying tequila’s affiliation with Mexican vacations or rum’s association with sweet Caribbean cocktails topped with miniature umbrellas. What’s unfortunate is some people, bartenders included, have pigeonholed these versatile spirits. However, as consumers demand more sophisticated hand-crafted cocktails tequila and rum are fast becoming the base for a myriad of distinguished drinks, including Fresh muddled fruit Margaritas, Agave Sours, and Jalisco 75 with Tequila, agave nectar, lime and champagne to top it all off.
This isn’t to say all “classic” cocktails are on their way out; in fact, many are making a comeback. Drinks like the daiquiri (rum, fresh lime and sugar), the Papa Doble (rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur) and the Dark and Stormy (dark rum and ginger beer) are not only easy to make but simply delicious.
If planning to rebuild a cocktail menu this summer, try to avoid making it too much of a collaborative effort. The task should be delegated to the most inspired bartender who creates a set of recipes that are followed by all other staff members. The trick is to keep the drinks simple – no more than four ingredients per cocktail – so everyone can execute them consistently. Avoid creating a long list of vodka-based martini cocktails. One or two is fine but remember it should be a new cocktail list, not another martini menu. Then, when the list is complete, invite all staff to participate in a tasting as this helps them sell the drinks.

It`s not every day that a bartender gets to work with the likes of Dale DeGroff, much less get to share some drinks and listen to his stories. This past weekend I had the pleasure of both at the Canadian Restaurant and FoodService Association (CRFA) show in Toronto.

Widely credited with bringing the modern Cosmopolitan recipe to market, Dale has been a true shaper of the beverage industry and was making handcrafted cocktails long before it was in “vogue” to make them.

It reminds me of an interesting story that Dale told, about the “re-birth” of the Cosmopolitan, when we were sitting in Canoe’s Bar 54 floors above Toronto. The story started in the early 90’s, the first time that the Grammys had been held in New York instead of in Los Angeles. The after party was at the Rainbow room where Dale was tending bar. For those who never made it, the Rainbow room was one large room with plenty of table seating, 3 large VIP areas, and a large central revolving dance floor. In VIP 2, sat Frank Sinatra and a few dozen friends sat drinking magnums of Dom Perignon. Over in VIP 3, Bob Dylan and his boys (and girls) drank Jack Daniels. But all eyes were on VIP 1 where Madonna and her entourage drank Dale’s Cosmopolitans.

The New Yorker magazine snapped a picture of the Material girl that night with the caption, “Madonna drinks Cosmopolitans at the Grammy afterparty, Rainbow Room, New York.)

The next day when the picture was circulated to magazines around the world, Dale DeGroff’s phone started to ring. I don’t think it ever stopped. Dale used this as one of many platforms to build the DeGroff Brand, a cocktail empire, and a following that continues to shape cocktail culture almost 20 years later.

As Dale tells it, the Cosmopolitan was originally Vodka, lime cordial and cranberry juice, and while he thought the name was great, Dale modified the recipe to the one we know today, made with citrus vodka, cointreau, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice topped with a flamed orange zest.

It was a pleasure working with both Dale and his son Leo, and we look forward to seeing them again.

Creating unusual cocktail combinations from scratch is the hot new trend for 2009!

The National Restaurant Association has identified the culinary cocktail as the number 1 trend for 2009. BartenderOne partnered with Bacardi Canada to show a short list of invitation only media VIP’s exactly how powerful the culinary cocktail could be at a recent event held at the Local on the Danforth Avenue in Toronto. The room was filled with the who’s who of Canadian Hospitality and journalists from almost every major lifestyle magazine in Canada. We even had television crews from CBC’s Living in Toronto and Global News.

Among the hit cocktails of the day were the Oscar themed was the Mumbai Millionaire, made with Bacardi Superior, saffron infused Lemonade, and topped with Ginger Beer, The Pineapple Express, a pineapple and Black Pepper Mojito, and the Benjamin Button Backwards Mojito a molecular mojito that reverts back to it’s original form over time. All Oscar themed cocktails were created exclusively for Bacardi by the bar chefs at BartenderOne.

Mumbai Millionaire

1 1/4 oz Bacardi Superior
2oz Saffron infused Lemonade
1oz Ginger Beer

Shake Bacardi Superior and Saffron infused lemonade over ice.
Serve over crushed ice in a lowball glass and top with Ginger Beer.

To make Saffron Lemonade, add 1/2tsp of saffron to 1 litre of Lemonade.

Benjamin Button Backwards Mojito

1 1/4 oz Bacardi Superior
4 Mojito Ice Cubes
Serve in a chilled Martini glass.
Garnish with a disciplined mint sprig.

To make Mojito ice cubes, add the juice from 12 room temperature limes, 4oz of spring water, to a saucepan on low.
Add 12 tbsp granulated sugar, and 30 mint leaves, stir for 5-6 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved.
Remove from heat and strain liquid into ice cube trays and set in freezer.

Makes 2 ice cube trays, enough for 8 Benjamin Button Backwards Mojitos.

Pineapple Express

1 1/4 oz Bacardi Superior
6 small pineapple chunks
12 whole black peppercorns
8-10 mint leaves
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp of granulated sugar
1oz soda

Muddle 6 small chunks of pineapple and 12 whole black peppercorns in the bottom of a highball glass.
Add mint, lime juice, sugar and Bacardi Superior.
Muddle lightly a second time.
Add ice to fill, top with soda and churn with a spoon to distribute muddled ingredients.
Garnish with Pineapple fonds and a mint sprig.

It’s not such a huge leap when you are thinking about creating culinary cocktails especially with a spirit as versatile as Bacardi. Dont be afraid to try unusual combinations… you may be surprised with the results!

Next we’re off to Montreal on April 23rd to Suite 701 to treat the french media to a little Bespoke Experience of their own.

Until next time!

Cheers!

I’ve been bartending for more years than I’ll mention in this article, and to be honest, it was years before I ever even opened a bottle of Angostura Bitters. While working in Australia, I was introduced to Bitters as one of the ingredients in the hangover cure trifecta, the lemonade-lime and bitters. Lemonade (or 7-up to those of us who live in the western hemisphere) lime cordial, and the magic elixer - Angostura bitters, to settle the stomach.

It wasn’t until years later that I started using bitters in cocktail applications, and only upon reflection on the original LLB that I realized the phenomenal difference that adding bitters to a cocktail would make.

When you consider a traditional balanced cocktail like the Cuba Libre (rum and coke) there are four main elements which lead to the balance, and make the cocktail a bestseller.

The Cuba Libre has

1. A strong element (Rum)

2. A weak element (Ice/water) balances the strength of the rum

3. A sweet element (cola)

4. A sour element (lime) balances the sweetness of the cola.

When you balance a cocktail based on these two axes, (strong vs weak and sweet vs sour) you end up with a drink that hits on both the sweet and sour taste receptors on the human tongue. Because this drink hits a total of two taste receptors we’ll rank this drink a 2.

Take another classic, the Whisky Sour, which also has the makings of a great balanced cocktail. Even though it’s name sake is Sour, the addition of sugar or simple syrup is essential to balance this drink and make it palatable. Most bartenders would make this cocktail with a measure of Rye or Bourbon, simple syrup and fresh lime juice. However if you look at the classic and sometimes forgotten recipe it calls for two dashes of Angostura (Aromatic) Bitters. Why the bitters was removed from the recipe is a mystery, I’m willing to bet it had more to do with laziness and lack of education than anything else.

Angostura aromatic bitters are the best selling bitters worldwide, and the product is excellent. They also make a great Orange Bitters which works well in Cosmopolitans, Negronis, Margaritas, or pretty much any other recipe containing Campari, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, or Blue Curacao. The bottom line is when you add bitters to a beverage it takes the drink to a completely different level, simply because you’re accessing a completely new group of taste receptors on the tongue.

Drinks like the Margarita work on a similar level, because they take the balance of sweet and sour and add the salty rim, which hits a third group of receptors; sweet, sour and salty. Add to that a few dashes of the Angostura Bitters and all of a sudden you have a cocktail that hits all four of the major taste receptors on the tongue, and provides the drinker with an unparalleled taste experience.

There are a ton of other options in terms of bitters, and if you’re really interested in taking it to the next level, you can always go ahead and make your own with your choice of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. When I was at Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco last fall the bartender had a great homemade Pineapple and Black Pepper Bitters.

Angostura isn’t the only Orange Bitters manufacturer. One of my favourite mixologists, Gary Regan, created Regans Orange Bitters #6 (which means that the 5 previous attempts weren’t up to Gary’s standards.) Stirrings also has a good Blood Orange Bitters, and La Fee produces, among a smorgasbord of other flavoured bitters, a West Indian Orange Bitters. Other flavours include Grapefruit, Peach, Lemon, and Mint bitters, and of course, no collection of bitters would be complete without Peychaud’s Aromatic Bitters, which has the some similarities to Angostura with a big red fruit flavour.

Bitters are a great addition to any bar program, and in terms of adding taste to a cocktail, they are the best value for money investment a bar can make. A few drops makes a HUGE difference.

For a great selection of proprietary bitters point your browser to www.kegworks.com

For some inspiration creating your own homemade bitters, there are a great selection of bitters recipes at Darcy O’neil’s blog at www.artofddrink.com