EMBURY COCKTAILS

A Great Day in Cocktails

For Inside F & B's second annual "Best Drink I Had All Year" article I just wrote up something I had after last years pre-Tales Pig & Punch Volunteer Day, organized by San Francisco's cocktail A Team, the Bon Vivants (Josh Harris & Scott Baird). Above, the assembled cocktail army in front of Ruby H. Lee High School in New Orleans, where we painted an entire floor of the buidling (31 rooms) over the course of a very productive day.

If you want something done, give it to a bartender. The project-driven spirit of the coprs meant efficient teamwork and lots of it.

And lots of painting corners.

The day wasn't all drudgery by any means; Godfather of the Austin cocktail scene Bill Norris chats up a dapper Yorick.

At lunchtime a killer food truck roledl up--above, Milagro's Jaime Salas.

Not everyone was a bartender--Left, Emil Jattne of Brooklyn Gin.

Then it was back to work for another 4 hours, followed by a bus drive back to Bon Vivants Tales' HQ, a sprawling second floor apartment near Frenchmen Street, for debriefing and cocktails. 

Actually, it was more like beer: lots and lots of cold, refreshing beer in cans. But there was plenty of Tequila Ocho in the house..

Host Harris above with a cache of Tequila Ocho minis.

A serious game of dominoes broke out the minute we arrived.

Ample ink on display on that veranda.

Houston Eaves of San Antonio's Esquire Tavern (our prior post on Houston's cocktails here.)

Bon Vivant team member Ruby Wilson made a Mello Ocho for me, the  traditional Volunteer Day cocktail (read more about it at Inside F & B). Tequila Ocho, rocks from an ice tray, Mello Yello, a pinch of sea salt and a lime--stirred by knife, a key part of this traditional volunteer day lo-fi cocktail. Salty, tangy, and so damn refreshing after working hard all day in the intense humidity of New Orleans in late July.

As a photographer sometimes your camera is just drawn to certain people in a group; Ruby's perpetually elegant stance kept drawing my lens to her. It wasn't until I reviewed the photos that I realized that something about her reminded me of Sargent's Madame X.

As the sun finally began to set the cellphones came out and the party slowly broke up as everyone set forth for their evening's adventures. The 85 plus who joined for the day's good work were all on a collective high of doing good. For info on how to pitch in for this year's 4th Annual Pig & Punch Volunteer Day the Tuesday before Tales gets underway (July 16th) contact Josh Harris at [email protected].

Saturday Special: Saxon + Parole's Pimm's Cup

This all-day sipper comes from Naren Young of Saxon + Parole . The pleasures of enjoying this fresh, fruit-laden mellow concoction whilst sitting in the outside dining area as cabs crawl past down the Bowery can't be understated. And it's perfectly simple to make at home--and malleable, as it's construction is by nature eclectic and personal. Whatever fresh fruit is available and looks good belongs in a Pimm's Cup. Here's Naren's recipe, cued towards the personal serving. I recommend going for the pitcher.

SAXON + PAROLE'S PIMM'S CUP

1.5 oz. Pimm's

1/2 oz. Pierre Ferrand Orange Curaçao

1/2 oz. Hendrick's Gin

Dash lemon juice

Top with Fever Tree Bitter Lemon, garnish with reckless abandon.

Looks like Naren's garnishes for this one include cucumber, raspebrry, orange and a slender stalk of lavender, a nicely British touch.

SAXON + PAROLE, 316 Bowery at Bleecker, 212.254.0530

The Naming Of The Drink

In an era of unparalled experimentation and invention in cocktails the need for new, fresh names can add a thrilling additional layer to the creative act. Coming up with that perfect title can bring the whole project together, capping it off with a pretty verbal bow, le mot juste--or it can induce mindlock and inertia. Most bartenders probably experience both side of the naming coin, with it coming easily in one instance and then not coming at all in another. I recently tasted something really lovely and uncommon, a marriage of El Buho mezcal, tangerine, chamomile grappa, citrus and thyme. Jonathan DeLeon of the Lower East Side's Piedmont-style Italian spot Sorella had come up with a few winners in the short time I've known him, often involving unexpected, seeminlgy improbable combinations. He seems to have his own palate and picks some odd flavors on the color wheel of herbs and spirits that you'd never noticed before, but are pleased to have found in his cocktails. Naming the things, however, is not his strong suit. Perhaps that's in keeping with his off-the-beaten-path cocktails--it can be hard to put a name to a new construct.  But this cocktail wound up involving 5 people in a periptatic sequence of half-hearted brainstorming sessions, reluctant emails, listless conversations, most of which ended in a semi-satisfied detente of sorts, a "good enough" name. I'm not sure every cocktail needs its own name. But this one really defied any resolution.

When Jonathan first made it for me a couple weeks ago they were just calling it a "Mexcal, tangerine and thyme cocktail", which may still be the best name. It turned out that the mezcal was actually the very, very new one that my friend Redford was involved in making and importing, and given that less than 50 preview bottles were circulating around New York City it felt like a pretty big and very cool coincidence . (El Buho will be available April 2nd through Faropian, more on the subtle, 89 proof mezcal shortly.) 

Various iterations of the name include, but are not limited to: Mezcal T Thyme (from Sorella partner Sarah Krathen), El Buho Nido (The Owl's Nest) from Embury cohort Jason Schell, but that somehow didn't land, either. As fitting as it was a bird's nest isn't necessarily something you want to drink.

Then I had a cinematic brainwave and decided to insert myself into the equation, which doubtless only added to the confusion. The tangerine juice made me think of Kate Winslet's compulsive hair-dyer in "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind", and  the scene where she runs in to the bedroom and jumps on Jim Carrey with freshly tangerine-d hair. The unmoored quality of the film seemed apropos to this drink without a clear antecedent, but Winslet's character's name, Klementine Krucynski, seemed unwieldy to Jonathan, and he was probably correct. Still, fun idea. 

 

The Tango Thyme was in play for a minute, followed by a brief flirtation with Tango Mezzo Forte. Then, moments before press time a note from Jonathtan showed up in my inbox. "Disregard all previous emails. "A Tango And A Smoke" is my pick." So, without further ado: 

A TANGO AND A SMOKE

1 oz El Buho Mezcal
1oz Montanaro chamomile grappa
2.5 thyme twigs, leaves pulled off into drink mixture
1.5 oz tangerine juice
1/4 oz ginger syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice

Shake well, strain over fresh ice, top with club soda and a few thyme leaves. 

And depsite being quiten taken with the cocktail, somehow I'm still not completely sold on the name. Once you open that Pandora's Box, it can be hard to close. J.R.

 Sorella

El Buho Mezcal 

Jonathan behind the wheel. You might not know that the quietly luxurious small-bites & wine bar Sorella even rocks cocktails, but don't overlook them.

El Buho arrives....

2012 Key West Literary Seminar Cocktails: The Neurogibson

I've spent the first couple weeks of this year working on cocktails for the many parties of the 30th annual Key West Literary Seminar. Team Embury and I made drinks in honor of several of the attending speakers including Margaret Atwood, Billy Collins, China Miéville and William Gibson. The pickled scallions in the above photo were used as an onion sub in the Neurogibson, inspired by both Gibson's book "Neuromancer" and Jonathan DeLeon of Sorella's Flying V, where the idea for this recipe oringinated. We departed quite a bit from his original formulation but the principles remain similar--gin, picked green onions, an herbal liqueur and Sriracha Bitters. Jonathan went lean and mean for his Gibson riff, tapping Death's Door Gin & Cocchi Americano.

THE FLYING V

2.5 oz Death's Door gin
1/4 Cocchi Americano
Splash scallion pickling liquid
3 dashes Sriracha bitters
Pickled scallion (pickled with rice vinegar and aromatics, mostly ginger).

Rinse a large chilled glass with the Cocchi Americano. Over ice,
combine gin and pickling liquid. Stir well and strain into the chilled
glass. Finish with Sriracha bitters, garnish with the pickled
scallion, and serve!

Once I had the William Gibson/Gisbon name connection light bulb moment I instantly wanted to start with Jonathan's elegant creation and take it someplace a little more far flung, unexpected and audacious-- hopefully something like Gibson's bold work. Briney, piney Tanqueray, herby, swampy Yellow Chartreuese, a little lime juice, even less simple, the nub of a pickled scallion stalk and a dash of the pickling juice. The heavy ginger in the pickles is a nod to the Asian element in Gibson works and indeed in cyberpunk as a whole--I was thinking of Beat Takeshi in the Gibson film adaptation "Jonny Mnemonic", as well as the strong Chinese and Korean elements in the not-too-distant-future of other KWLS guest Gary Shteyngart's "Super Sad True Love Story." 

NEUROGIBSON

1 1/4 oz Tanqueray Gin

1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

1/2 oz lime juice

1/4 oz demarara simple syrup

1 bar spoon pickled scallion pickling juice

In a pint glass take 2 leaves of lemon balm (I pulled mine from my host and KWLS Board Member Nancy Klingener's garden, check out her blog here) and lightly tap, adding all elements and topping with plenty of ice, shaking vigorously and strain into a rocks glass ( we used stemless wine glasses), topping with a couple drops of Brooklyn Hemispherical Sriracha Bitters to add a little apocalyptic heat.

The resulting cocktail was pretty damn cool, but not one you'd drink all night unlike many that we made for other parties.These considerably more approachable ecipes to come this week. 

Friday Night Cocktails: Spiced Orange Daiquiri

 

Sampled this one the other night when Santa Teresa's man in New York Jim Wrigley pulled a guest spot at Mother's Ruin, the bar that's a new contender for NY's off-duty bartender hangout. It was the night after Repeal Day with its many events and there was some heavy post-holiday energy afoot. Team members from Brooklyn Gin, Bols Genever, Sailor Jerry made appearances as well as bartenders from Lonsdale, Kenmare & Highlands, Greg Seider from The Summit Bar and a host of consulting gigs, plus cocktail lenswoman Jenny Adams whose presence always signals serious good times.

 The first drink Wrigley poured was the most memorable, a simple daiquiri splitting the rum between the Orange Clement and Blanco STs, set off by a balanced medley of holiday spices from his Spice Syrup. There's always potential to overdue the cloves/allspice/nutmeg part of the flavor spectrum in cocktails this time of year and go over the edge into cloying, thick and  almost offensive to the tongue, but this one gets it just right and keeps it subtle.

SPICED ORANGE DAIQUIRI

1 oz Santa Tersa Claro

1 oz Santa Teresa Rhum Orange

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz Spicy Syrup (equal parts runny honey, simple and water--infused with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise and allspice.)

Shake and strain into a chilled coupe, orange twist garnish.

Hot Toddy Quartet From Houston Eaves (In Austin)

 

While visiting Austin I was lucky enough to be invited to the local branch of the USBG's holiday party where I met a whole slew of local bartending talent. The evening was held at Franklin's BBQ, recently rated best BBQ in the country by Bon Apetit, and thus I was able to neatly bypass the daunting lines that one must brave to get in to sample the justly lauded food. There was also some pretty balls-out karaoke (Neil Diamond sounds somehow better when sung by a woman, I learned), a Makers punch with beet juice served in a water cooler (hot or cold option) and plenty of laconic Texas charm. Coupled with the herculean partying stamina of bartenders, this all made for a great night and a treat for this visitor. 

Met Houston Eaves of Contigo at the party amd found myself perched at his bar the next night, along with Bill Norris of The Alamo Drafthouse (and the unofficial ringleader of the Austin cocktail scene.) We sampled most of Eaves' toddy menu--toddies were on offer at lots of bars around town, as the weather was cool and damp, but these were on different level. Complex like a proper cocktail, and created with an ingenious heating method using a short weighted tin (only $7.95 from Cocktail Kingdom) propped on top of hot water in a pint glass to warm the elements gradually. 

MEXICAN MONK

Fill your mug and half-fill a pint glass with hot water. Place a short metal tin in the pint glass. In the metal tin, add:

1 oz añejo tequila

.5 oz chartreuse

.5 oz honey syrup

.5 oz lemon juice

1 dash housemade ginger/citrus bitters*

Stir to blend ingredients, dump hot water from mug, add contents from tin, and top with 4 oz hot water. Express oil from wide lemon swath, and drop in the drink. 

(*From H.E.: It's just a blend of dried ginger,  lemon, tangerine, bitter orange, & gentian. It's pretty good without the bitters as well, but they add a little extra depth.)

ESPADIN TEA

Fill your mug and half-fill a pint glass with hot water. Place a short metal tin in the pint glass. In the metal tin, add:

1.25oz Wahaka Espadín Mezcal

.75oz Licor 43

.5oz lemon juice

Stir to blend ingredients, dump hot water from mug, add contents from tin, and top with 4 oz strong-brewed black tea. Garnish with lemon wheel on mug. 

WINTER AT WIMBLEDON

Fill your mug and half-fill a pint glass with hot water. Place a short metal tin in the pint glass. In the metal tin, add

1.5oz Pimm's No. 1

.5oz London dry gin

.5oz Domaine de Canton

.5oz lemon juice

.25oz mint simple syrup

Stir to blend ingredients, dump hot water from mug, add contents from tin, and top with 4 oz hot water. Express oil from wide lemon swath, and discard. Garnish with mint sprig. 

BRANCA-MENTA HOT CHOCOLATE

Warm a mug with hot water. Discard the water. Build in mug

1.5oz Branca-Menta

5oz Salted Almond hot chocolate

Top with a couple of barspoons Fernet-Branca whipped cream. Garnish with 1 mint leaf. Enjoy!

Houston behind the stick.  

More Bars, More Places: The Tippler, Meatpacking (Adjacent) District.

   
The massive Chelsea Market building has, as it turns out, a massive basement. Newly opened in one corner of the buildings' lower depths is The Tippler (425 W. 15th St), a space and an endeavor on a fairly massive scale for a bar focussed on proper cocktails. But the design team has managed to turn out a rather comfortable room with lots of nooks and crannies, making it the most intimate tennis court-sized room in town. A clever cocktail menu overseen by the Tippling Brothers navigates between 

Wrought iron fixtures, oriental rugs, acres of exposed brick and customized retro-styled fridges forge a pleasingly but not cloyingly turn-of-the-century atmosphere, with an array of classic cocktails to complete the scenario.

The cocktail list overseen by the Tippling Bros. swings between classsics and inventive, even ballsy creations like the "Gin & Chronic": Plymouth, hopps, spcied lime and tonic, garnished with a sprig of hopps that looks nothing so much as a bud of weed. Mad drinkable.

But the simple-but-smashing innovation that stands out may be the "lushies"--(primarily) classic cocktails served in frozen slushy form (or, in Simpson's parlance, "Squishee") . The bar had been slated to open mid summer but of course scheduled opening dates rarely go as planned, and in late September a frozen drink might not seem to make sense. But it does. The "Snow Growni" was a perfect way to hold onto something of summer, and as one who abused his Negroni privileges over the warmer months this seemed to reinvent and extend a halcyon season  by reimaging the drink. And one even forgives the punny titles such as "Spazerac" (also surprisingly succesful). And one must applaud the ribald spirit it took to name a drink the "Pearl Harbor Necklace" (Finlandia, house melon syrup, pineapple & tapioca pearls).

The Tippler is a welcome addtion to an area crowded with flashy and crowded and short on the tucked away and properly adult. After fighting through the midday mob scene that is the Chelsea Market's indoor promenade of meandering tourists, helicopter parents and New Jersey cougars on shopping sprees one wonders how long it can retain its chillness. But as a neighbor I'm crossing my fingers.

Wellington, Baby, Wellington.

Photo: Melissa Cowan, NYT

My piece on Wellington's bars, restaurants, shops and the oft-bearded astisans who run them for the T Fall Travel issue is out now. Above, a clean-shaven bartender at retro-tastic Motel.

The Feminine Sabrage Mystique

We've noted the current female affection for sabrage amongst the bartending world before.  And we're quite fond of  the micro trend. There's something about a woman wielding a long knife, sabre or sword to open a bottle of champagne  that's rather cinematic, and a little mesmerizing. Witnesses tend to fall mute when it's happening, charmed by the sight. 

Below, 3 videos that break down how and why this startling bottle opening technique works, and how to do it, and with verve. First up is definitely Sven Almenning from Eau de Vie, who, while cleary not female, does refer to the viewer as "kittens." Next are 2 videos of Lauren Kincheloe of Bar Marmont, and a frequent Embury collaborator. In the first clip she explains to a slightly dumbstruck young friend how the science works, and in the second she demonstrates. In a hot tub, in a bikini. Just in case you weren't paying attention already. [Second 2 videos seem to not be showing up on some browsers due to some glitch, try reloading a couple times but if that doesn't work check them out on YouTube. Kincheloe 1, Kincheloe 2.]

Happy Birthday Eau de Vie, & Some Experimentations from Philip Gandevia

Here at Embury our affection for Sydney's Eau de Vie is well documented, both here and in The New York Times. (The really smashing Sydney-centric cocktail blog Everyday Drinking confirms our high opinion of the team's  mad skills in a series of posts here.) On the eve of the stellar bar's one-year anniversary soon-to-be lead barman Philip Gandevia sent along "several experimentations" that employ our Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters. We were inpired to finally bottle the bitters to share with Team Eau de Vie, and their very name alludes to a trans-hempispherical bitters exchange with this bar on the other side of the world. So we're incredly pleased to see them put to such high level use by Gandevia.


SMOKEY 'Ol SEOUL LOVE

50ml Reposado (Ocho works well, DJ just fine)
12.5 Grenadine (the good stuff... Pomegranate juice and all 15 kills it in sweetness, but 10ml is not quite enough)
3 dashes Peychauds (the drink's gotta be pink)
Liberal with Brooklyn Hemispherical Sriracha Bitters
10ml (or so - barspoons a bit shy, but dont let it dominate) smokey single malt goodness (or something illegal...)

Stir with love. Garnish with a lemon twist - but discard and donate to some lacklusture gin drink. Add a cherry if you feel it needs it, but the drinks pretty enough as is.

THE CONTENDER

50ml Tanqueray (or solid London Dry)
3 Fresh strawberries
20ml Lemon
20ml Apple juice (go cloudy if possible)
2 Chunks mandarin
Srig of rosemarry (no stem just leaves)
Dash egg white
15ml honey water (organic)
Tspn corriander seed

Crush then shakey shakey (Can infuse strawberrys in gin ala tequila por mi amante) and Brooklyn Hempispherical Strawberry Bitters to top.

THAI LADY BOY MEETS THE SCOTTISH GENT

45ml Reposado
30ml Aperol
20ml Cinzano Rosso
2 Thai Basil leaves
Brooklyn Hemispherical Rhubarb Bitters (go nuts)
Smokey rinse.

Stir, orange twist

WAITING ON THE WORLD

50ml Finlandia Grapefruit
25ml Lemon juice
20ml Honey
Egg white
Brooklyn Hemispherical Meyer Lemon Bitters on top....


Eau de Vie

Everyday Drinking

Brooklyn Hemipsherical Bitters