Cocktailians

Pre-Prohibition Cocktail Party

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the mountaintop. Not only did I get to touch the Tree of Hope a couple of weeks ago, the other night I had Blue Blazers made by Dale DeGroff and David Wondrich.

The occasion was a "Pre-Prohibition Cocktail Party" at Keens Steakhouse, as part of the Zagat Vintage Dinner Series, which showcases 19th-century menus at various restaurants around town.  Keens was an obvious choice for a venue to make 19th-century cocktails, as it's essentially unchanged since then. As Wondrich, who of course literally wrote the book on 19th-century mixology, told me, "there are only three bars in the city with this level of interior detail": Keens, Bill's Gay Nineties, and McSorley's. Keens started out as the Lambs theatrical club before manager Albert Keen went independent in 1885, and the event was held in the Lambs Room and connecting Lincoln Room there. The Lincoln Room has all kinds of neat Lincoln ephemera, most notably the Ford's Theater program Lincoln was allegedly holding when he was shot.

The Beverage Alcohol Resource guys -- not just DeGroff and Wondrich, but also Andy Seymour, spirits review maven F. Paul Pacult (who has his own series of tasting events at Keens) and Steve Olson -- designed the cocktail menu, and Keens provided their signature mutton, as well as prime rib and house-smoked filet mignon. I also enjoyed the restaurant's recreation of a typical 19th-century saloon's "free lunch" -- black and white bread, with veal tongue, smoked salmon, and venison cold cuts, with plenty of gherkins and onions and mustards for one's sandwich.

The drinks served at stations around the room were varied, but all had pretty intense flavor profiles and were very forward -- I'm not sure if this is a hallmark of pre-Prohibition cocktails, but I kept wanting more and more water as I drank. I started out with a glass of USS Richmond Punch, named for (and served on) the warship that captured New Orleans in 1862. It was much more strongly-flavored than most punches I've had, making it a nicely emphatic start to the evening. I haven't found many recipes for this one, but the one I did find calls for Jamaican rum, brandy, tea, Port, and orange curacao, which certainly makes for an interesting and rich punch. My next taste, equally flavorful, was the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail: two ounces Bols genever, a dash of Lucid absinthe, a dash of Fee's Whisky Barrel Aged bitters, a teaspoon of Luxardo Maraschino, and a quarter-ounce of rich demerara syrup. I followed that up with the Morning Glory Fizz, a small breakfast drink with Scotch (Talisker 10 Year, which I like a lot, but am not sure I could handle first thing in the morning), lemon, lime, simple syrup, and soda. I really liked this one, and am always impressed with good Scotch cocktails, since I tend to find it very hard to mix with. I may try my hand with this one at home, too. I'll also be making the Italian Wine Lemonade, which I think I'll serve in the summertime: a nicely intense lemonade with lemon juice, simple syrup, and water, served with a Port float. (Apparently it was originally served with a sherry float, which sounds intriguing too.) Very refreshing.

And, of course, the evening was capped with Blue Blazers, which were quite eye-catching. After prepping glasses with lemon twists and a small squirt of simple syrup, the ace bartenders took up position and made Blazer after Blazer for the adoring crowd. (That cask-strength Macallan lights up nicely, doesn't it?) As Wondrich has noted, the Blue Blazer is a simple hot Scotch toddy, but it certainly is showy.

For more on Keen's and its history, check out the post I filed for NewYorkology.com on the event. And I have some more pictures here.

Vesper Virgin (not to be confused with Virgin Vesper)

I recently had the very welcome opportunity to visit Virgin Atlantic's Clubhouse at JFK.  I'd expected upscale hotel-ish food and drinks, but they did far better than that.  The drinks menu featured a decent selection of wines, and I started my visit with a glass of Mumm NV Champagne.  But when it was dinnertime, I decided to switch to a cocktail to accompany my (very good) steak with chevre mashed potatoes and haricots verts.

Here's where Virgin's promotional tie-in with the James Bond franchise has paid off: In 2006's Casino Royale, Bond orders his signature variation on the Martini, almost exactly word-for-word from the 1953 novel:

"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

"Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

"Gosh, that's certainly a drink," said Leiter.

Bond laughed. "When I'm...er...concentrating," he explained, "I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."

Later, of course, Bond christens it "the Vesper", after Vesper Lynd.  It's something of an anachronism in the movie, though of course not the book: Kina Lillet was reformulated in the 1980s and is now sold as Lillet Blanc, with decidedly less quinine.  And, as David Wondrich has pointed out, Gordon's gin was originally sold at 94 proof, but is now sold at 80.  (He offers an update, made with Tanqueray, Stoli 100, and a smidgen of quinine powder.)

In last year's Quantum of Solace, Bond and the Vesper both return, although the drink's name isn't spoken; Bond gives the recipe to a bartender on board a Virgin Atlantic flight.

And, the Vesper leads the cocktail list at Virgin's Clubhouse lounge, and went down quite nicely with my steak.  They serve them in appropriately smallish cocktail glasses, and it was a very well-made, balanced drink.  (Virgin makes theirs with six parts Bombay Sapphire, two parts Grey Goose, and one part Lillet Blanc, stirred and served with a twist.)  Yes, I was a little surprised to see it stirred, but I think Virgin was going for clarity over accuracy with that decision.

The remainder of the cocktail list was all over the place, from a good-looking Margarita to gin or vodka Martinis, and a large selection of sweeter drinks such as the "Sex in the Lounge" (vodka, Midori, Chambord, peach schnapps, pineapple juice, and cranberry juice), a huckleberry Cosmopolitan (made with huckleberry-infused vodka and oddly lacking lime juice), an apple "martini", and the "Virgin's Suite Dream" (Bombay Sapphire, lemon juice, cassis, Chambord, raspberries, and simple syrup, all topped with Champagne.)

I stuck to the Vesper, and after three or so, I wanted to slay bad guys and jet off to exotic locales.  (Alas, it was just the AirTrain and the subway for me. But Queens is plenty exotic.)

I must say I like Virgin Atlantic's cocktail tie-in better than this proposed cocktail for US Airways:

The Sully

• Two shots of Grey Goose
• One splash cold water

Shake hard, but set down gently. Serve up, garnished with an inflatable life vest.

Pipeline Brands' Cocktail Jam - Highlights

Last week, Pipeline Brands invited Vidiot & I to one of their Cocktail Jams, where the distributors, promoters, and other somehow-accidentally-invited aficionados took over the bar downstairs at Pranna on Madison Avenue for a barkeep's version of an open mic night. 

Your two local correspondents were drafted into serving duty early in the evening, when our slowness didn't hamper the needs of the clamoring drunks in the hizzy.  Much.

My video report, such as it is, follows. (This is my first attempt at a field report. I've learned a lot about how to put one of these things together, but all the usual disclaimers about being a novice video editor apply. And yes, I know it's dark. My Flip camera works very well except for the lack-of-light issue.) 

Apothéke

Apothéke looks interesting -- if more than a little pretentious -- and is supposedly opening today.  Will have to get down there sometime soon and check the place out. 

This interview with Albert Trummer, though, makes me wonder a bit -- absinthe is properly distilled, rather than just infusing botanicals and herbs into anisette.  (Reminiscent of those dippy "make-your-own-absinthe" kits you used to see online, where they'd tell you to soak wormwood in Pernod (or worse, grain alcohol) and presto: faux absinthe that was unspeakably vile.)  And I'm not quite sure what he means by "normally you pour the water tower into the absinthe."  Guess I'll just have to find out when I get there.

Cross-Promotion

By the by, I've got a review of the Empire Hotel Rooftop up on NewYorkology.

(Short version for cocktailian readers: very scene-y, the cocktail I had was well-mixed, there are lot of premium brands, and the menu tilts heavily toward vodka drinks and the all-too-common abuse of the "-tini" suffix.)

Death & Co., Revisited

As I mentioned below, a few of us visited Death & Co. recently for a couple rounds, and while the "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" fit nicely into the post on sloe gin, the other drinks we had deserve a little showcasing of their own.  Damon, who coincidentally took care of us on our first visit, was behind the stick again, and proceeded to wow us yet again. 

Exhaustive descriptions and more pictures after the jump:

(Mai) Tai One On

Mai Tai, originally uploaded by Vidiot.

I've got a review of hotel rooftop bar mad46 up on NewYorkology.    (The above photo is of the "very fine Mai Tai" referenced in that story.)

And, to my great good fortune, Rhum Clément was sponsoring "Tiki Tuesday" there, as they will every Tuesday in August, and showcasing its very good agricole rums and the excellent Creole Shrubb orange liqueur.  I also got to meet 4th-generation Clément scion (and Managing Director of Clément USA) Ben Jones.  (He was easy to spot, as he was the only person there with an "I ♥ SHRUBB" button on his shirt.) 

I only fairly recently picked up a bottle of the Creole Shrubb, and I enjoy it very much -- it's lusher than most triple secs, with a warm rich vanilla-spice note undergirding the orange.  I like to sip it neat or on the rocks, but I've also been enjoying it in Sidecars and other cocktails where I'd normally use Cointreau.  I think my next purchase is going to have to be a bottle of their aged VSOP rum; I don't know much about rum, but it'll be fun to learn.

Just Sayin'

Corpse Reviver #2, originally uploaded by Vidiot.

Just a quick note to say that I heard from a little birdie that the Pegu Club has revised and expanded its menu.

I also hear from the little birdie that Pegu's Corpse Revivers are as delectable as ever.

Salon de Ning

I recently visited Salon de Ning, the rooftop cocktail bar atop Manhattan's Peninsula Hotel, and reviewed it for NewYorkology.  My review is up, and I have some pictures, too.

Below:  the Ninglet, one of their signature cocktails.  Hendrick's Gin, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and St. Germain elderflower liqueur.

California Clipper

I'm finding myself in Chicago this week, and didn't think I'd have much time for serious cocktail research...but a friend took me to the California Clipper, and I think I'm in love.

This gorgeous speakeasy-ish place has been open since 1937.  Low lighting, Deco accents, red neon, and they're named after a Pan Am Boeing 314 flying boat.  They feature board games, bingo, live music on the weekends, (not to mention a resident ghost) and proudly proclaim that they don't have a single TV in the joint.  And you've gotta love a place that has so much of a sense of history that it posts its phone number on its website as "EVerglade 4-2547."

So:  how were the drinks?  The cocktail menu was promising, featuring classics like Sidecars and a Perfect Rob Roy.  And when was the last time you saw a Grasshopper or Brandy Alexander on a bar menu?  My companion started with a Champagne Cocktail for her first round, and switched to straight Champagne for subsequent drinks.  And I had Stingers.  It felt marvelously decadent to sit on a chromed barstool in a dim bar, with old Pan Am posters and Naugahyde booths in view, drinking a Stinger, listening to Neko Case, and catching up with an old friend.

Couple things about Stingers -- whenever I describe the ingredients to someone, they typically recoil in horror at the perceived sweetness.  But a properly made Stinger (as these were) isn't overly sweet; it's a brandy-based cocktail, and you should definitely taste the brandy without any of the tooth-coating stickiness of one of those sorority-girl drinks with the outré names.  (Upon tasting it, my friend's eyes opened wide, and she exclaimed "TV's Moesha!")  And a well-constructed Stinger feels unbelievably elegant...while managing to sneak up to you without your realizing it.  It may have been the other drinks in the evening (such as a "bull" -- an unholy-yet-refreshing amalgamation of rum, beer, and lime juice at the Mexican restaurant across the street) or the general giddiness of finding a new gem, but after a few I'd reached the stage in which I am acutely aware of the exact angle of my head at all times. 

Or was that the Purple Martin?  I also sampled this house drink, which consists of grape soda (on the gun, even), Malibu coconut rum, and a smidgen of lemon juice.  I must admit the flavors went together better than I'd feared, but it wasn't quite my cup of tea. (Another thing about starting out with Stingers is that you pretty much have to stick with Stingers, I've found.)  But this was a rare misstep, and the place had enough good-humored elegance to keep me more than happy.  As I text-messaged to a friend while I was in my cups, "I've just found that I would buy if I won the lottery."  And, in a way, finding the California Clipper felt like winning a mini-lottery all on its own.