Читать книгу The Architecture of the Cocktail: Constructing The Perfect Cocktail From The Bottom Up - Amy Zavatto - Страница 7
ОглавлениеWhile the raw materials of the Abbey are certainly the good stock of a well-constructed cocktail, it’s this drink’s orange-hued elegance that draws you in immediately. Like an aesthetically pleasing building, statue, or park, you are first taken in by the beauty of the sum of its parts. Ah, but what good parts it has! The Abbey is a genteel tipple, using the whisperingly sweet French-wine-based aperitif Lillet to highlight and support the botanicals in its main spirit, gin, as well as the bright and bitter accent of the orange bitters. The drink made its first appearance in the venerable Savoy Cocktail Book, circa 1930, and while it has not garnered the fame of other, more well-known cocktails, this nearly forgotten, refreshing tipple is more than worth taking a moment to discover and admire.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of gin, coating the ice. Add in ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of Lillet Blonde, ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of fresh orange juice, and 1 dash of orange bitters. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a cocktail glass. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of an orange above the drink and drop the peel into the glass.
To simply send a person out on a mission to get sherry for the classic tipple the Adonis is like asking a carpenter to go out to buy some wood to make a floor. Should it be oak? Teak? Cherry? Which kind? You need to specify or you’ll get something entirely different from what you envisioned. Sherry, as you may well know, can range in flavor from lip-smackingly dry, to nutty and mild, to rich and sweet. In the case of the Adonis, you want to lean toward the drier side of sipping and opt for a light, dry fino sherry, as this cocktail is best when served as a sophisticated, light predinner aperitif.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of fino sherry, coating the ice. Add in ½ fluid ounce (15ml) each of dry and sweet vermouth and 1 dash of orange bitters. Using a long bar spoon, quickly stir the cocktail’s ingredients for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a coupe glass. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of an orange above the drink and drop the peel into the glass.
If you build it, they will come—more or less—that’s the loose history of the Allegheny cocktail in a nutshell. Or, perhaps, in a whiskey still. The name itself comes from the chain of peaks that is part of the Appalachian mountain chain in America, and supposedly the drink was made to honor the hardscrabble pioneers who crossed that range and settled the state of Kentucky—and apparently founded the ironically dry Bourbon County, where corn whiskey moonshine was distilled in the quiet of the thick Appalachian woods. A good story certainly makes for a great creation, but what’s truly lovely about this drink is the way the rich, ripe, fruity flavor of the blackberry brandy teases out the vanilla notes and dark baking-spice flavors in the bourbon whiskey.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of bourbon whiskey, coating the ice. Add ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of blackberry brandy, then 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of dry vermouth and the fresh juice of ½ a lemon. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a cocktail glass. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of a lemon above the drink and drop the peel into a glass.
Sometimes nature is the best, most consistent architect of all. Consider the rose: its perfect multilayered construction is as unique and flawless as the swirl of the Guggenheim Museum on New York’s Fifth Avenue. And as it so happens, Mother Nature is the inspiration behind the creation of this complex sipper, named for the pink-petaled rose. The combination of amber-hued brandy, yellowish dry vermouth, orange juice, vibrant grenadine, and white crème de menthe mix up a perfect blush of a cocktail, with a dribbled float of rich ruby port on top to add extra color saturation to this sippable eye candy.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Combine ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of brandy, ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of dry vermouth, and ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of fresh orange juice in the shaker with 1 teaspoon (5ml) of grenadine and 1 teaspoon (5ml) of white crème de menthe. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass. Using a wide-mouthed spoon or small pitcher, slowly float ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of ruby port on top. Garnish with a rose petal.
Originally called the Milan-Torino at Gaspare Campari’s Turin-based bar, so many post-Prohibition-era American tourists appeared to order it by the bucketful, it became known as the Americano.
THE NOTES
Place 5 or 6 square ice cubes into a highball glass. Pour in 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of Campari and 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of sweet vermouth, allowing the two to mingle with the ice for a moment. Fill with 3 fluid ounces (90ml) of soda water and stir well with a long bar spoon, until all of the ingredients are fully mixed. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of an orange above the drink and drop the peel into the glass.
The beauty of this pre-Prohibition-era drink lies not in its delightfully romantic name, nor the notion that it is a perfect after-dinner indulgence if you have a sweet tooth—it’s in the layering.
THE NOTES
Pour ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of heavy cream into a bowl and whip until frothy (but not until the cream becomes stiff). With the stem in your hand, flip over a teaspoon so that the rounded bottom is now pointing up. Hold the spoon just below the rim against the inside of a port glass and slowly pour ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of dark crème de cacao (or your favorite chocolate liqueur) into the glass. Repeat this same technique with ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of brandy and then the cream, making sure you just drizzle the last layer in order to achieve the trilayering needed for the final appearance. Pierce a brandied cherry with a long toothpick and place it so that each end is on one side of the glass, balanced over the cocktail.
Can a cocktail take flight? The resurgence in wild popularity of this pre-Prohibition-era tipple certainly makes a good case for it. Find any cool cocktail bar that doesn’t have this sipper on its list, and I can only surmise that they ran out of gin. Why did it fall from grace for so many dark decades? Blame the difficulty of bartenders in getting their hands on once-available ingredients like crème de violette and maraschino liqueur, the keys to its pretty hue and subtle undertones of sweetness. Bright, refreshing, and a little bit complex, this classic cocktail makes a great impression on houseguests who were expecting no more titillation than mere tonic.
THE NOTES
Drop a brandied cherry into the bottom of a cocktail glass. Set aside. Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 2 fluid ounces (60ml) of gin, coating the ice. Add ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of maraschino liqueur, ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of crème de violette, and ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of fresh lemon juice. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain into the cocktail glass.
This drink was appropriately invented in the floating city of Venice at Harry’s Bar by Giuseppe Cipriani, and while finding a vacant stool at Harry’s to enjoy this Italian original may prove far more difficult than sipping such an easygoing classic, as long as you can open a bottle of sparkling wine, it is perhaps the simplest of cocktails to prepare at home.
THE NOTES
Pour 2 fluid ounces (60ml) of peach purée into a champagne flute. Slowly pour in 3 fluid ounces (90ml) of prosecco, allowing the two ingredients to mix. Use a long bar spoon to carefully stir any purée that appears trapped at the bottom of the glass.
Bijou means “jewel” in French, and the interesting addition of green Chartreuse in this drink—combined with sweet red vermouth—creates a gem of an amber-hued sipper.
THE NOTES
Drop a brandied cherry into the bottom of a coupe glass. Set aside. Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of gin, coating the ice. Add 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of green Chartreuse and 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of sweet vermouth. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain into the coupe glass.
Often good structure requires being open-minded—the ability to mingle myriad ideas, taking the best parts of them and bringing them into one glorious result. That’s the Blackthorn. With the absinthe wash of a Sazerac, the inarguably perfect ingredients of a Manhattan (with sweet vermouth swapped for dry), plus the switch of soft and pleasing Irish whiskey for rye, this tipple makes for the sophisticated love child of all three. You may see some Blackthorn recipes that are entirely different from this, using sloe gin as the main ingredient, but I love the genius construction of this one.
THE NOTES
Pour 2 dashes of absinthe into a cocktail glass. Gently tip the glass and rotate, allowing the absinthe to coat the inside. Set aside. Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of Irish whiskey, coating the ice. Add 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of dry vermouth and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters. Using a long bar spoon, quickly stir the cocktail’s ingredients for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into the cocktail glass. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of a lemon above the drink and drop the peel into the glass.
Some materials have a hard time breaking out of their workhorse status. Like, say, concrete—known as the source of sturdy foundations but never used for beauty until a few genius craftsmen figured out that it makes a sturdy, eco-friendly material for counters, floors, and other aesthetic visuals of value. Scotch is a little like this, too. Long sequestered to fireside drams with, perhaps, a touch of water or an ice cube, its merits have been long extolled, but it’s not often elevated beyond its neat-in-the-glass functionality to high-cocktail status. That’s why cocktails like the Blood and Sand are entirely necessary. Blended scotch (yes, even certain single malts) makes for a gorgeous cocktail base, and this is a great example of how it plays well with others. One caveat: although Islay malts can make for some really interesting cocktails (thank the popularity of smoky mezcal and creative modern bartenders for that!), a robust but honeylike Highland malt makes for a better complement here.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of Scotch, coating the ice. Add in ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of sweet vermouth, ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of Cherry Heering, and ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of fresh orange juice. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a coupe glass. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of an orange above the drink and drop the peel into the glass.
The indisputable king of classic brunch drinks, the Bloody Mary is a case study in the importance of getting your measurements just right. Some drinks—like a gin and tonic, for instance—certainly owe their echelons of excellence to the use of good ingredients, but if the measurements are off a little? The drink isn’t bad—it’s, perhaps, a little boozier or sweeter than you’d like, but as long as you’re using quality gin and quality tonic, it still tastes pretty darned good. But adding too much or too little of an ingredient to a Bloody Mary? Disaster. If you’ve ever had a bad Bloody Mary (and I know you have), then you are nodding in agreement. A bad one can put you off the drink forever, amen. A good one, though? It will have you smacking your lips in anticipation of one of the most delicious savory cocktails there is to be sipped.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 2 fluid ounces (60ml) of vodka, coating the ice. Add 3 fluid ounces (90ml) of tomato juice, ½ teaspoon of grated horseradish, 2 dashes each of hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of fresh lemon juice. Finish with ¼ teaspoon of coarse salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon of celery salt. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into an ice-filled Collins glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge and a celery stalk.
One of the many wonderful results of the renaissance of classic cocktail culture the free world ‘round is the long-lost discovery of cocktails that use egg as an ingredient. Eggs are a miraculous game changer in any recipe, be it fresh mayonnaise or a drink like this one, as the textural changes they add are nothing short of a little miracle. Whip or shake one hard enough and poof, you have something frothy, creamy, or velvety. And in the case of the Bosom Caresser, the egg is the solidifying, hold-it-together girder that makes the drink. As with any recipe that contains raw egg, remember to refrigerate your eggs as you normally would, removing them for use just prior to making the cocktail. And, of course, once it’s made, don’t walk away and leave it sitting out for an hour. Drink it!
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Drop in the egg yolk, and then pour in 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of brandy, ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of Cointreau, and 1 teaspoon (5ml) of grenadine. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a wineglass.
Praised in song (who wouldn’t want to be the subject of Canadian songstress Feist’s boozy eponymous ballad?) and sipped with relish, the Brandy Alexander falls into that lovely, oft-forgotten category of dessert drinks. But dessert in a glass is a pleasure worth pursuing and doing correctly, especially when it comes to the use of heavy-lifter materials like cream. Adding the cream as one of the first ingredients to your shaker allows it to stay near icy cold, allowing maximum froth potential as the cream’s molecules hold together like two securely nailed beams. What you get: a creamy, cold, gently sweet treat that, at first sip, is a little like taking your first step into new snow.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in ¾ fluid ounce (22ml) of Scotch, coating the ice. Pour in 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of heavy cream, allowing it to coat the ice cubes. Add in 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of brandy and 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of white crème de cacao. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a cocktail glass. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top.
Using the right amount of materials can be just as important as using the right materials when it comes to creating something. Take the Bronx cocktail, for instance. An argument could be made that this drink needs to be adjusted for the taste of the individual sipper, as—without the orange juice—it is basically a perfect martini, a drink whose proportions of vermouth, whether “dry” (very little vermouth) or “wet” (more vermouth), are continuously argued about. But the Bronx is meant to be a refreshing drink, and the addition of both sweet and dry vermouth in equal amounts is part of its fresh, flavorful charm.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1½ fluid ounces (45ml) of gin, coating the ice. Add 1 fluid ounce (30ml) of fresh orange juice and 1 teaspoon (5ml) each of sweet and dry vermouth. Using a long bar spoon, stir for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a coupe glass. Using a channel knife or standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of an orange above the drink and drop the peel into the glass.
You might argue that the rise in popularity of the County of Kings and the rise in popularity of the New York City borough’s namesake tipple had a not entirely unparallel upward zoom in favor. Those who already loved them both knew their charms; but there were those who were uninitiated and needed convincing (“Why would anyone schlep out to Bushwick or for that matter mix rye and dry vermouth?!” could have easily once been the fictional decry). But just as Brooklyn has become the new black in popular NYC culture, so has its cocktail taken a sturdy spot on the lists of many a de rigueur bar. Why? The combination of spicy, snappy rye; dry, herby vermouth; and a gently bittersweet one-two punch of the once impossible to find Amer Picon (an Italian amaro) and maraschino liqueur adds a thought-provoking, entirely satisfying complexity to this king of a drink.
THE NOTES
Place 6 or 7 square ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1 ½ fluid ounces (45ml) of rye, coating the ice. Add in ½ fluid ounce (15ml) of dry vermouth, ¼ fluid ounce (8ml) of Amer Picon, and ¼ fluid ounce (8ml) maraschino liqueur. Shake in a vertical motion for 30 seconds. Strain slowly into a coupe glass. Using a standard vegetable peeler, gently slice only the skin (avoiding the bitter pith) of an orange above the drink and drop the peel in the glass.
