EMBURY COCKTAILS

The Golden Cocktail Mile or: 12 Drinks Inspired by "The World's End" from Alastair Walker of The Everleigh

[Download full 11x17 GOLDENCOCKTAILMILE]When I met Alastair Walker at The Everleigh in the Fitzroy District of Melbourne this past November, I couldn't have predicted that a week later he'd have come up with 12 cocktails inspired by the 12 pubs in Edgar Wright's "The World's End". As I sat at the bar chatting with him the film came up--he recounted going with a friend who'd gotten tickets for "This Is The End"--somehow the two guys had been talking about the two different, similarly named films, something I'd speculated must have happened at some point. Apparently it wasn't the ideal set-up for enjoying Franco, Rogen & Baruchel when you were primed for Pegg, Frost & Freeman. That led us to talking about the Edgar Wrightini and the stunt shot "The World's End" we'd done with Jacob Briars. I sat at the bar, enjoying my first-ever Woolworth after the longest series of flights I'd ever endured,  I mentioned that  I thought there was still room to create homage drinks for "The World's End", 12 possibilities, in fact--the pubs, and the pub names, all totally sounded like drinks already. Alastair said he'd look over the list and after just a couple emails back and forth he'd come up with 12. All recipes are below and there's a rather nice 11x17 downloadable poster we've made: Download GOLDENCOCKTAILMILE. We were definitely inspired by Wright making available a downloadable poster of the Golden Mile map (2 sided!) for anyone who fancyed being Gary King for Halloween.

The pub names do indeed work remarkably well for cocktails. In some cases these are drinks Alastair was working on and  was kicking about for names already, some started with the pub name, and one or two are pre-existing cocktails that just work too well with the name not to be borrowed. A case in point is "The World's End" (A.K.A. Better Then A.K.A. Jayne Fonder) as its both fiery (to the palate) and blue which just fits the bill too perfectly. There are a number of cocktails utilizing ale, naturally. I think the thematic resonances of all the drinks are clear when you read through them. I'm sure Alastair would be more than happy to make any (or all) of them for you at The Everleigh, but if you're not lucky enough to be in Melbourne in the near future your friendly neighborhood bartender should be able to easily recreate them with these recipes. Properly outfittted of course, one could make them at home. And one hopes one is and one does.

We wanted throw a little spotlight on the artwork of the signs themselves in this project. One thing I hadn't known that came out of a little research was that Wright's brother Oscar was involved in their develoment and is a frequent collaborator. That was neat to discover both because brothers working together is obviously cool; then there's the fact that parents naming their kids "Edgar" and "Oscar" is quite rad.  There are meanings to both the pub names and the details in the artwork; forums on Wright's site go into some elaborate theorizing about the significance of the names and the signs. Like a chinese box the film just seems to have more and more layers as you revisit it and delve deeper. As far as who is responsible for the signs themselves, Marcus Rowland, the inspired production designer for the film explained, "Like all film making it's a collaborative venture, starting with Edgar then me, followed by ideas from Oscar and our graphics person Georgina Millett, & finally scenic painter Barnaby Gorton pulls it all together." 

Many thanks to Alastair Walker for the creativity, and Michael Madrusan of The Everleigh, for participating in this rather extravagant liquid homage. And a huge thank you to Greg Needham who put the poster together  with considerable inspiration and patience  And for anyone who may wonder why the tagline for the poster is " A Liquid Repast for The World's End", please refer to the clip below, which also serves as a neat summary of the 12 stops along the Golden Mile. Jason Rowan

THE FIRST POST

 1 1/2 oz. Gin 

1/2 oz. Suze

1 oz. Lime 

3/4 oz. Simple 

2 dashes of absinthe

Soda top 

Light shake, served tall over ice with a lime wedge garnish

THE OLD FAMILIAR

 1 1/2 oz. Aged Rum 

1/2 oz. Jamaican Rum

Brown sugar cube

Pinch of salt

2 dashes of angostura bitters

Served on the rocks, with a orange twist

(A.K.A The S.C.O.F. (Salted Caramel Old Fashioned))

 

THE FAMOUS COCK

1 oz. Gin 

1/2 oz. lemon

1/2 oz. simple 

Egg white 

Amber ale top 

 Dry shake, wet shake, served in a fizz glass with the beer top

(A.K.A. Andy Shandy)

THE CROSS HANDS

2 oz. Scotch 

1 oz. Cocchi Americano Rosa 

3 dashes of orange bitters

Stirred down and served in a coupe, lemon twist garnish

THE GOOD COMPANION

1 oz. Irish whiskey 

1 oz. Cognac 

Brown sugar cube

2 dashes of orange bitters

Served on the rocks, lemon twist

(A.K.A 4/3rds)

THE TRUSTY SERVANT

 2 oz. oz. Aged Rum 

1/2 oz. oz. Dry vermouth

1/2 oz. oz. Cynar 

Stirred down and served in a coupe, orange twist

(A.K.A The Right Hand Man)

THE TWO HEADED DOG

1 1/2 oz. Aged Rum

3/4 oz. White Cacao 

3/4 oz. Kola tonic 

3/4 oz. Cream 

Egg yolk

Dry shake, wet shake, served in a flip glass and garnished with nutmeg

 THE MERMAID 

 2 oz. Genever

3/4 oz. Lime

3/4 oz. Pomegranate molasses (cut with simple)

Cucumber 

Shaken, and served in a coupe, garnished with black pepper on top

(A.K.A The Intrepid Fox-We threw in this teaser poster to the mix because A. "Intrepid Fox" is just great and B. Can't ever hurt to have some Rosamund Pike in the mix.))

 

THE BEE HIVE

1 oz. Bourbon

3/4 oz. lemon

3/4 oz. Honey

Pale ale top

Light shake, served tall over ice, topped with the pale ale

(A.K.A The Beerhive)

 THE KING'S HEAD

 2 oz. Irish whiskey

3/4 oz. Lime

3/8 oz. Pomegranate molasses (cut with simple)

3/8 oz. Campari

Shaken, served in a coupe, garnished with a lime wedge 

(A.K.A Crazy Eyes)

THE HOLE IN THE WALL

2 oz. Scotch 

3/4 oz. Suze

1/4 oz. Grand Marnier 

Stirred down, served in a coupe, orange twist garnish. 

THE WORLD'S END

2 oz. Tequila 

1 oz. Lime 

3/8 oz. Curaçao

3/8 oz. Agave

3 Dashes of hot sauce (Cholula)

Light shake, served on the rocks, garnished with a lime wedge

(A.K.A Better than (Jayne Fonder))

THE WORLD'S END PUB SIGNS & THE GOLDEN COCKTAIL  MILE

Director: Edgar Wright Written by: Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg Production Designer: Marcus Rowland Concept Art: Oscar Wright Graphic Designer: Georgina Millett Scenic Painter: Barnaby Gorton    Cocktails: Alastair Walker, The Everleigh Golden Cocktail Mile Poster Design: Greg Needham Project Coordination: Embury Cocktails

 

Saxon + Parole's "Point Blank"; Cocktail Cabinet Program

Finally got to make good use of the photos I shot of the bottled cocktails at Saxon + Parole for my Men's Journal piece on the killer "Point Blank" cocktail at Saxon + Parole. Shot these back in May or June and they languished a bit until finding their rightful home. The rich visuas of these cocktails in the tall glass and wood cabinet behind the bar made it easy to photograph, and those photographs hard to edt.

POINT BLANK


1.5 oz. Chivas 12 Year



1 oz. Dolin Blanc Vermouth

1/4 oz. St. Germain



5 dashes Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters



 Stir to well chilled, strain into coupe, top with lemon twist.


Named after the ultra-stylish 1967 John Boorman gangster movie, I can personally attest to its wicked potency of this cocktail in addition to its irrestible flavor harmonics. Just don't have more than two, or it may trat you the way Lee Marvin treats Angie Dickinson in the film: brutally.

On the ligher side of the bottle cocktail news a S + P, the El Presidente was on offer when I was shooting. Below, the mini bottles that are sent to the recipient of a gift subscription to announce their prize. These little bottles are almost cooler than the big bottles with your name amblazoned on them.

You get the drink's backstory and recipe on your little mini bottle of happiness that arrives in the mail to tell you the good news. Brilliant stuff.

The cabinet is a rogues gallery of cocktail world figures.

..although all are welcome. This has got to be one of the sweetest holiday gifts you could give a New York City drinker this year. 

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.

Friday Night Cocktails: Casita Edition

On a recent trip to London I spent quite a bit of time in Will Foster's Casita Bar (all previous Will posts here), and was pleased to find it as convivial and chill as when I first discovered it in 2007.

An extensive collection of minis.

A Mexican wrestling mask atop the Jagermeister machine that keeps the stuff icy cold and makes it hard to say no to, particularly when Will dispenses rounds. The origins of many bad decisions may be traced to this machine. 

"Gazebo'd" is my new favorite term for serious drinking. And speaking of drinks, here are a couple corkers from Will.

INDIAN SUMMER

 

50 ml Santa Teresa Gran Reserva 

15 ml lime juice 

15 ml agave 

40 ml mango juice 

Pinch ground cumin 

Technique: Shaken, served on the rocks with a coriander sprig garnish.

 BASIL GRANDE

4 large strawberries 

6 basil leaves 

40ml vodka 

15 ml creme de fraise 

15ml lemon juice

25ml cranberry juice

Technique: Muddle, shake, strain on the rocks. Garnish with black pepper and a basil leaf. 

There are two speeds at Casita, quiet and lively. There's Will's on the right, casually hosting.

Both speeds are great. Invariably one winds up chatting with a stranger at Casita. It's just got that comfortable feeling that's sort of impossible to create, it just has to happen. A lot of it of course comes from Will and the tone he's set, but there's some Factor X that's hard to put your finger on that gives the place such an intimate feeling. Its tiny size certainly helps. And lots of the crowd are either off-duty bartenders or people in the booze game so that creates its own latticework of connection. On my last night in town I was chatting with someone who turned out to be Dan Priseman of Bitters & Twisted, which was a pleasant surprise. And I got to sample him on the last of my stash of Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters,

In the English Summer the skylights let light pour in to the bar well past 10.00 p.m, and one drink flows into the next without any sense of time passing, a pleasant sort of twilight zone cocktail hour that just goes on and on.

5 Ravey Street isn't easy to find, but that's part of what makes Casita special--one has to seek it out.

And if you stick it out til it's very late you might get treated to Will and Lee singing along to some Erasure.

Friday Night Cocktails: Lindsay Nader's "Evening Delight"

In the latest in a series of cocktail vids I've coordinated for Out.com, the lovely and mad-skilled Lindsay Nader of PDT demonstrates her Banks 5 Island Rum-based creation "The Evening Delight". Lindsay was inspired by a concoction from East Village juice bar Liquiteria, a tremendous resource for fatigued and possibly hungover bartenders and fans of their work (like me). We've written about Liquiteria and the benefits of raw juice to the person with the "active lifestyle" (a term I pulled from the packaging for Kiehl's Facial Fuel Ey Ed-Puffer) here. It's great to see the Nader bring one of their hangover cures full circle and take it back to the bar. J.R.

Other cocktails created at PDT here.

Cynar Cocktail Contest & The Search for Delicious

I attended the first ever Cynar cocktail competition the other night at the Trump Soho (which is nowhere  as tacky as you'd expect!) I took a friend who'd never experienced the Italian aperitivo that's made from a blend of artichoke leaves and herbs infused in an alcohol base. He declared all five entries to be delicious, and I'm not sure how much of his response came from how good the cocktails were (all very good) and how much from the uncommonly harmonious combination of  savory and sweet the spirit acheives. Both, probably. The big surprise to me was how well the spirit mixes--5 cocktails, 5 varied approaches, and I daresay 5 complete successes. And, for the most part, quite easy to make at home with some simple prep. I was also reminded of Kirk Estopinal of Cure in New Orlean's and his sumptuous "The Search for Delicious".  That's below, and below that is the complete list of entrants in the Cynar contest, with recipes.

The Search for Delicious

2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
15-21 drops of lemon juice
6 dashes Regan's bitters
2 pinches sea salt
5 swaths of lemon peel

Start with one "baker's" pinch of salt in a rocks glass. Add the Cyanr and briefly stir. Add the Punt e Mes, bitters, lemon juice and ice. Stir briefly to incorporate. Taste, looking for only the faintest hint of salt. If the drink tastes salty, throw out your first attempt and adjust your salt levels. When the salt level is correct, express the oil from five swatch of lemon peel onto teh sruface of teh cocktail, dropping one in along the side of teh galss, skin side facing in. An 1/8 rim of salt will allow your guest to experiment with a few salty sips. Making the following sips pleasantly sweet, which will not make your brain hurt.

IL MIO RAGAZZO (MY ITALIAN BOYFRIEND) Pictured above, and winner of First Place, created by Tina Michelle Braunstein, Empire Rooftop, NYC. Winner selected by party guests.)

1 1/2 oz  Cynar.
1  oz  Martin Miler's Gin.
1  oz Trader Joe's orange, mango, peach juice.
2  dashes Regan's Orange bitters.
Splash Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice.
Sicilian sea salted cucumber (for garnish)

Stir over ice everything but the garnish  =  the Cynar,  the gin,  the 2 juices and the bitters.  Then serve straight up in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cucumber wheel salted with sicilian sea salt, floating on top.

 
TEAM CYNAR: (Clockwise, starting lower left) Raphael Reyes, Tina Michelle Braunstein, Jessica Butt of Heaven Hill, Jonathan Pogash of USBG, James Menite, Justin James Noel & Nic Hirsch.

COMPLETE LISTING OF RECIPES AFTER THE JUMP

Letter From Embury U.K.: A Rant From Will Foster On Pre-Made Mojitos

There are many abominations to the wonderful world of drinks. Sambuca Cream Liqueur, Apple Sourz (or anything with the word Sourz for that matter), Cuervo Gold, Cuervo Silver and Smirnoff Red Label vodka, to name but a few.

However, our friends at Bacardi Brown Forman have managed to top the bill. Having been bombarded by the usual Christmas ad campaign for their questionably-named flagship “superior” product for several weeks now, I was relaxing on my sofa, enjoying a particularly risable episode of Frasier, when I saw something that made me jump to my feet in astonishment and disbelief....

It seems our distinguished friends have, in their wisdom, decided to release a Mojito premix (Bacardi Mojito) with the tag-line “for the perfect Bacardi mojito”.... I don’t know quite where to begin. I mean... really?

Premix anything is just a bad idea. I can’t think of anything that doesn’t taste better when made from scratch. Lime juice is better than a sweet n sour mix, fresh mashed potato is better than instant, and packet sauces are not as good as a sauce made from fresh ingredients. So why do Bacardi think that a Mojito-flavoured rum will make the perfect Bacardi mojito? Especially as their tag-line for their Ron Superior very recently claimed that it would make the best mojito.

I presume, that the product is meant for the home bartenders out there, but surely half, or possibly all, the fun in home bartending is making a huge mess in your kitchen trying to recreate the drinks you had last week in your favourite bar?

Depressingly, I have no doubt in my mind that this product will fly off the shelves faster than Santa on his sleigh (had to get a festive note in somewhere) and should you want to find it, it will be on the same shelf as the Mint-Chocolate Baileys and the previously-mentioned flavoured Sambucas and Sourz.
But on a more positive tip for all you bartenders beginning to worry that our days are numbered due to this startling new innovation, I don’t think we need start scouring the Wanteds just yet!

Merry Christmas from old Blighty!

Will Foster is the propretor of Casita Bar in Shoreditch and Embury's U.K. Envoy.

Fantasy Fest, Smuggler's Paradise, And Several Thoughts On Tailgate Punching Technique

 
Dateline: Key West, Fantasy Fest '09. For several years creative juggernaut Cayman Smith-Martin has been dominating the giant annual parade in terms of pure balls-out creativity, assembling large groups of local kids of all ages to help create high concept ensemble performance art krewes for the event that marks the climax of the week-long, all-the-way-over-the-top  party. Most floats are simply sloppily-themed slutty chicks or dudes dancing around to pop hip hop--Cayman's projects tell a story, from his Indian-themed "Lotus Eaters" to the dazzling "Dia De Los Muertos" to this year's theme, his most ambitious yet. "Smuggler's  Paradise" was an epic recreation of a golden, dirty era in Key West's past-the early 70s, when the string of islands were one of the biggest in points for drugs coming from the Caribbean and Central and South America. By all accounts it was an incredibly lawless era, a wild, wild west on the water, with massive amounts of drugs and money changing hands between various players from drug cartels, hippy importers and corrupt cops. Cayman set out to recreate this legendary time with some 60 players.

Since I was going to be in town I thought I might pitch in with some kind of punch. The theme of Smuggler's Paradise made me think of Sailor Jerry Rum, with its surfer, slightly punk image and serious punchability. I was particularly keen to use an off-message rum, as that lousy Captain Morgan Rum was a main sponsor of Fantasy Fest. Sailor Jerry's is affordable and mixable and after I stocked up I started sourcing punch fixins' the morning of the parade. One unusual detail was that I planned to make it from scratch at the staging grounds for the parade--on site, and hopefully enlivening, stimulating, euphoria-enhancing, something that would contribute in some way to this endeavor and this vibe.

Sticking with the sweaty, Caribbean theme I went with tropical fruits--I was tempted to go with fresh-squeezed juices, but given the rough, in-the-field nature of the event and the as-yet unknown facilities, I opted for the highest grade store bought juices I could find, and garnished the punch liberally with slices and chunks of fresh fruit. 100% fresh is of course always best, but in this case expediency trumped purity. I picked up some fresh (in the not-pasteurized but not-fresh squeezed sense) OJ. In Key West the best available--and it's quite good-- is Orchid Island. Mango juice from Looza Juices was my secret weapon, bringing the serious island flavor. Fresh lemon and lime juice, and slices of pineapple and banana rounded it all out, and lots and lots of Sailor Jerry punched it up and lots and lots of club soda stretched it back out. cI transported all the gear and product to the staging grounds (basically just a waterfront) in a bike trailer lent by a friend, and found a friendly tailgate where Cayman and crew were getting prepped and got to work.

SMUGGLER'S PARADISE PUNCH

(No recorded ratios...)

Sailor Jerry's Rum
Orchid Island Orange Juice
Loov Mango Juice
Lemons
Limes
Angostura Bitters
Banana slices
Pineapple Slices
Club soda
Ice 

I gained some insight into creating punches in the wild; below are some thoughts.

DO: Splurge on very good juice. Non-pasteurized is a good start, and never, ever Tropicana. You might as well pour corn syrup in the punch.

DO: Use big ice cubes made in take out soup or yogurt containers. I messed around with bags of deli ice and it adds complication and drips water everywhere. The giant cubes melt slowly and are easy to transport.

DO: Bring Angostura bitters. Other kinds of bitters too, possibly, like Fee Brother Rhubarb or Regan's Orange # , but never be withouth Angostura. It can rescue a punch that's gotten too sweet and butch it up, and fast, bringing a dirty rootsy flavor that punctures anything saccharine that you've mixed by mistake.

DON'T: bother cutting up bananas, unless it's a garnish. They don't juice up. Try a Looze banana juice.

DO: Squeeze fresh lemon and/or lime juice. This brings the sweetness of the juices back into tangy, interesting territory, and makes even lame tinned juices taste more alive.

DO: Use soda water liberally. You will not regret watering a delicious punch down a little and stretching it out, and neither will your thirsty chums.

DO: Let one batch pretty much run out before starting another--I had a never ending, ever-mutating punch going as I jsut threw stuff in as it got lower and that was probably a little too chaotic for quality control. No one complained, however.

David Wegman was around during those crazy during that era, and his presence added a nice bit of real life to the make believe. This "Olaug" bike boat is inspired by a real boat that was busted with some insane amount of hashish onboard in the early seventies. 

Cayman The Smuggler, outfitted as one of the South American militia memebers who were a key part of the drug trade, here with our smuggled rum. More photos after the jump.

Last Minute Thanksgiving Cocktail Thoughts Part 1: Pumpkin Spice Mojito

Lisabet Summa is serving pumpkin-spice mojitos at her Reef Rd. Rum Bar in downtown West Palm Beach and the subtle cinni-mint beverage is shockingly tasty.

The rum bar opened in October and is the third restaurant Summa has opened on the 200-block on Clematis Street. “Rocco’s Tacos” is directly across the street boasts the widest selection of Tequilas in the country. Her other joint, “Grease,” is a self-defined “burger bar.”

Despite Summa’s success as an entrepreneur and a chef, I admit I shirked the prospect of the bartender adding nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger to my mojito. So, I made my husband order one and then demanded a sip. To my surprise the pumpkin spices added a subtle complexity that we both really liked. What will the holiday spirit inspire next? Peppermint egg nog? Well, if Summa serves it at the rum bar in West Palm, I just may try it.  Bonnie Obremski

Pumpkin-Spice Mojito

2.5 oz. Bacardi Light
1/2 lime cut into quarters
6 mint leaves
1 oz. Lisabet’s pumpkin-spice syrup
soda water

Muddle and shake, pour over ice.

Pumpkin-Spice Syrup

Boil 8 oz. of sugar in just enough water to dissolve it and simmer until the solution is the color of Coca Cola. Stop the liquid from simmering by dipping the pan into ice water. Add more water to thin the syrup (about 1 cup) and return to a boil. Remove the liquid from heat and add 1 and 1/2 tbsp. of pumpkin pie spices. 

Tales from Tales: The Nitro Experience

 The events and tastings in New Orleans during Tales Of The Cocktail ran a pretty impressive gamut, from fancy cocktails in an antique store or sit-down dinners, coursed with cocktails, to poolside parties and the ritual late night meet-ups at the Absinthe House. But an unexpected foray into the Don Q suite provided the most surreal and undeniably cool set-up of the week.

I'd been hanging out with Meaghan Dorman of SpiritMeAway.com at a lame party in the ballrooms of the W Hotel that was going for a decadent 7 Deadly Sins theme but landed instead on Holiday Inn, Wichita singles mixer--of course, Hendrick's had set the bar impossibly high, so perhaps it's not fair to judge. On our way out we ran into freelancer Liza Weisstuch who invited us to tag along to some mysterious tating that involved liquid nitrogen. On the 16th floor we found ourselves in the Don Q suite along with some other strays, Tom Conte, an affable large fellow from Don Q and bartender Esteban Ordonez. And a giant canister of liquid nitrogen.

Estaban bade us all stand back, and began releasing some of the liquid nitrogen into a pitcher, with the fringe benefit of monster movie fog spilling out everywhere. Note the bowl of orange liqiud on the right.

That's an instant party right there. Very dramatic, very satisfying, particularly for someone who's favorite book at age 10 was 'Monsters, Monsters, Monsters'.

Esteban carefully poured some of the nitro into the a pitcher with water that turned to a sort of liquid ice, and then pour that into the metal mixing bowl containing a mixture of rum and mango juice.

When the smoke cleared: instant rum mango slushy.

Aside from the science fiction appeal of the nitro the resulting drink was better by far than anything we'd had downstairs-a slushy created without adding almost any ice and so perfectly rich.