A Mule By Any Other Name ....

The cocktail known as the Moscow Mule dates its origins back to the early 1940s.  The deliciousness of this spicy-sweet and citrusy drink appeals to hordes of people from every walk of life.  Over the years, multitudes of variations have been created by bartenders worldwide.  From Spanish Mules that use tequila, to Kentucky and Tennessee Mules that utilize bourbon, to Scottish Mules that (you guessed it!) use scotch, to simple flavor variations via infused vodkas, the varieties of options for this liquor+lime+ginger beer combination are as endless as there are flavor possibilities!

Personally, I love mules.  As a bartender, I enjoy the opportunity to tweak the basic recipe to appeal to the unique, individual tastes of my guests.  No matter whether I use flavored vodka, or employ juice additions, or even change the presentation to a crush-style drink, or, serve it up instead of on the rocks, the combination of flavors in a mule-style cocktail are always sure to please!  Read on for a few of my favorite recipes, and, as always, feel free to add your own twists and share your results!

The Spanish Burro (a fruity, sweet, and spicy version of a spanish mule)
  What You'll Need (tools and ingredients):
- 2 oz. of spicy sweet tequila
- 5 wedges of lime (4 for mixing the drink, 1 for garnish)
- .5 oz. of pineapple juice
- 3 to 4 oz. of ginger beer
- Crushed Ice
- Fresh pineapple (for garnishing)
  Creation Directions:
  Pour the tequila and pineapple juice in a copper mug or frosted pint glass.  Squeeze and drop in 4 lime wedges.  Add crushed ice to the top, and fill with ginger beer.  Garnish with a pineapple chunk and a lime wedge.

The Pearlicious Mule (a holidaylicious twist on the classic)
  What You'll Need (tools and ingredients):
- Shaker set
- Cocktail spoon
- 2 oz. of Pear vodka
- 1 oz. of cinnamon clove syrup*
- 3 slices of lime
- 3 to 4 oz. of ginger beer
- Ice cubes
- Fresh pear (for garnishing)
  Creation Directions:
  Pour the pear vodka and cinnamon clove syrup into a shaker, then squeeze and drop in the limes.  Add ice and shake.  Pour into copper mug or frosted pint glass, add a bit more ice, and fill with ginger beer. Stir until frothy and garnish with a fresh pear slice.
  * To make Cinnamon Clove Syrup, dissolve 1 pint of sugar in 2 pints hot water. Place in a deep saucepan on the stove, add 3 to 4 cinnamon sticks and 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of whole cloves. Bring to a slow boil (tiny bubbles) and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain into a separate container to cool.

Caribbean Kicker (a cosmopolitan meets caribbean mule cocktail)
  What You'll Need (tools and ingredients):
- Shaker set
- Cocktail spoon
- 1.5 oz. of Coconut rum
- .5 oz of orange liqueur
- Splash of orange juice
- Splash of pineapple juice
- 1 oz. of ginger beer
- 1 circle of lime
- ice cubes (for chilling)
  Creation Directions:
  Pour the rum, orange liqueur, orange juice, and pineapple juice into a shaker with ice and Stir.  Place the lime circle into a martini glass or wide-mouthed wine goblet and strain the cocktail mixture on top of it in the glass. Top with the ginger beer.

If you try out any of my recipes, let me know how it goes and send pics!  If any of my directions confuse, let me know that too ... I'm always happy to help!
Happy Cocktailing!

Clovers and Whiskeys and Leprechauns ... Irish Cocktails for St. Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick's Day is approaching!  Being part Irish, I feel a special connection with this holiday, not to mention that, as a bartender, I get the opportunity to have all sorts of fun with cocktails and customers alike!  Keeping with all of the beverage fun and frivolity, here are a few twists on the standards that I've tested out and thought I'd share ....

The Redheaded Lass
This one is my twist on the standard Irish Mule.  It's a bit sweet, a bit tart, and the spice of the ginger beer creates a beautiful even out effect with the fruit and whiskey flavors.

• 2 ounces of Irish Whiskey
• 1 ounce of Strawberry Puree (recipe below)
• Fresh Lime
• Ginger Beer

In a pint glass, pour the Irish Whiskey and Strawberry Puree, squeeze and drop in the fresh lime, add ice to the top, pour in the Ginger Beer to fill the glass, then Stir.

Strawberry Puree:
In a blender combine 1 quart of fresh strawberries with 1 1/2 pints of water until liquid


Lucky Clover Cider
I get asked for this cider recipe year round, but it's perfect for the St. Patrick's Day holiday!  It can be served with the whiskey or without it, and I like to garnish it with a green sugar and cinnamon rim, but feel free to get creative with cookies, apples, or rock candy in fun colors and flavors!

• 1 quart of fresh Apple Cider
• 3-4 whole Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 tablespoons of whole Cloves
• 8 ounces of Irish Whiskey

Place the Apple Cider, Cinnamon Sticks, and Cloves in a saucepan on the stove. Heat until you achieve a slow boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.  Strain into a seperate container to cool.  Add the Irish Whiskey.  Garnish glasses, pour and serve.

Leprechaun Gold

This is my twist on the standard Pot of Gold cocktail.  The rosemary and thyme in the syrup give it a wonderful earthy twist, and the fresh ginger is a sweet spicy kick.

• 1.5 ounces of Irish Whiskey
• 1 ounce of Rosemary Thyme Syrup (recipe below)
• 2 slices of fresh Lemon
• 1 slice of fresh Ginger Root

Muddle the Lemon and Ginger Root in the Rosemary Thyme Syrup, add ice and the Irish Whiskey, then Shake and serve!

Rosemary Thyme Syrup:

• 16 grams of fresh rosemary
• 6 grams of fresh thyme
• 107 grams of light brown sugar
• 4 grams of cinnamon sticks (approximately 1 small stick)
• .08 grams of lemon zest (basically the zest of 1 slice of lemon)
• 882 grams of  hot water

Throw it all in a saucepan, stir to dissolve the sugar, bring to a slow boil, then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Strain into a seperate container to cool.

Regardless of whether you're preparing one of these Irish-inspired cocktails, or enjoying a pint of Guinness, Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  Send me pics of your cocktail creations and may the luck of the Irish be with you! 🍀

Happy Cocktailing!!

What's Old Can Be New

Sometimes, the best pairings are the old fashioned tried & trues. I say this, because mixology and cocktail pairings aren't always about the new, or the fad, or the creative exciting. Sometimes, the best possible pairing with a dish, is one that's been around for ages.

A good example: the culinary team is doing a special appetizer in which the shining star is a beef tartare. The mixologist side of me wants to create something completely new and interesting, but the realist side of me knows beyond a doubt, that the biggest seller drink pairing will definitely be a classic semi-dry martini with bleu cheese olives.

Now, that doesn't mean an eclectic twist can't be put on that classic martini. Bleu cheese olives have a strong flavor that pair well with vodka or gin cocktails, and steak tartare with its pepper and coriander spicing is also a strong flavor that lends itself to this strongly flavored cocktail. Basil or lemongrass infused in the gin or vodka are a nice, sweet citrusy compliment to both flavors. Another creative option would be to place the stuffed olives on a sprig of rosemary for the combination of flavor and aromatic.

My point is, just because it's not new, or a fad, or massively creative, doesn't mean that it's not the perfect cocktail pairing for your dish. If you want to get creative with an old favorite, great! If not, don't sweat it. Like many things in life, sometimes the best stuff has been in your wheelhouse all along!

Happy Cocktailing!

Cocktail R&D, The Fun and The Refusal of Failure

People ask me all the time, "how do you come up with these drinks?", or, "what made you create / think of that?" Honestly, for me, it's about working backwards. I realize that may sound weird, but it's true.

In my "former life" I was a dance teacher and choreographer. I pretty much got paid to create pictures with people! The funny thing is, I could always See the music. I could close my eyes, listen, and see what I wanted the end result to be. From there, it was simply a process of working backwards to get the movement, steps, lighting, and costuming that I had originally envisioned.  Not all of my visions always came to absolute fruition, though. Just because it works in your head, does not necessarily mean it works in practice! There were always adjustments to be made for the realities of capability, however, the end result was usually pretty dang close to my original vision, and if not, the alternate result was a success bourne of entertainingly tested non-failures!

I tend to approach mixology in much the same way. There's an end vision that I have that just needs to be played with and tested to ultimately create! The key takeaway here is "played with and tested" ... Cocktail Research and Development. We all know what happens when the spice of ginger pairs with the citrus of lime and the tang of vodka, but what happens if you introduce the sour of grapefruit into that mix, or if you infuse the spicy sweet of banana pepper? What about if the smooth fruit of cabernet is introduced into the sour bittersweetness of a bourbon sour? Or tequila or rum into the hoppiness of an IPA beer? What happens if you add apple, or honey, or mint, or cinnamon sticks into your shake of any drink, or even in the muddle? Does the taste change if you remove the zest and pith from the citrus you squeeze in before shaking, or does it make a taste difference if you add an aromatic to the garnish? It's all about playing with your original vision and allowing the results to not quite be what you want ... until you get it totally right with what you want it to be, or even a delicious different version that you love. There are no failures!!  Play with the flavors! There's no idea that's too stupid, or insane, or farfetched!

On that note of inspiration, here's the recipe for my honey jalapeno grapefruit puree. It's fantastic with margaritas, bloody maries, martinis, and even sangrias ... any drink you want a bit of sour spice in!

What You'll Need  (tools and ingredients):
●  Blender
●  1/2 a finely chopped jalapeno pepper
●  3 Tabelspoons of honey
●  1.5 cups of fresh grapefruit juice
●  1 packet of raw sugar

Directions:
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Fine strain into a quart container. Use for whatever your drink pleasure!

Feel free to play with substituting serrano for jalapeno, or ruby red for white grapefruit, or adding cilantro or cucumber or whatever you dream up!  Let me know how it goes! I love hearing inspirations!

Happy Cocktailing!

To Beer, or Not To Beer

I love the concept of "beertails".  Craft beer has so many flavors and facets and genres ... there's no way it doesn't lend itself to be incorporated in mixology!  From the honeyed undertones of lagers, to the bitter variances in IPAs, the possibilities are endless for blending those tastes with well chosen liquors, liqueurs, and any other kitschy cool ingredient that may strike your fancy.  Much like wines and sparkling wines have been for years (think mimosas and sangrias), beer seems to be the new fantastic mixer that's coming into its own.

One of the bars I work at keeps a number of local, rotating brews on tap.  I've had the opportunity to play with them as basises for cocktails (nee, beertails!), and all have been popular with my patrons. 
Generally, when creating a beer based cocktail, I begin by taking into account the underlying flavors in the beer I want to use. It's not just about the first taste that hits my mouth ... what are the flavors that I find in the middle, or on the back end of the experience?  Those are usually the ones that I try to pair with, or intensify, with my other ingredients.  Sometimes, though, it's simply about creating something I don't have on tap!  Once, a customer really wanted a sour beer, so I blended fresh lemon and lime with a splash of sour mix, a dash of rosemary thyme honey syrup, and one of our pilsners on tap to create one ... he still orders it to this day. 
Here are a couple of my other creations that have worked really well:

• Take 1.5 oz of spiced rum, a splash of apple cider, and an orange slice, add rocks and shake.  Pour into a pint glass and fill the rest of the way with your favorite winter or autumn lager.  The spices in the rum and the fruit in the cider blend perfectly with this style beer, and create a wonderful frothy spicy sweet beverage.

• Stir together 2 oz of sweet heat tequila, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1/8 teaspoon of worcestershire, and a squeeze of fresh lime.  Top with 6 to 7 ounces of  your favorite honey IPA and stir again, then enjoy!  This twist on the classic Michelada is a sure favorite that will compliment any Spanish cuisine, and you can add additional spice by simply adding 1/8 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce (I prefer Chalula with this one) and increasing the honey to 1 1/8 tablespoons.

The main thing to remember is that there's no limit to the combinations you can dream up and create!  In the same way that multitudes of recipes for and styles of wine cocktails exist, beer has just as many possibilities as wine for drink bases.  Start playing with the options and let me know what fantastic (or ridiculous ... all are valid) things you come up with!

Happy Cocktailing!

Fragrant Syrup and Other Lessons

As of late, I have had the opportunity to work with some ridiculously talented chefs, one of which is a master chef who's talent blows me away. The good fortune to be able to learn from them simple things like knife skills, (I'm still not very good .. but I keep practicing & have a healthy stock of bandaids on hand!) temperature techniques when cooking, and, most importantly, subtle flavor enhancements via herbs & spices that one would not normally think of for cocktails, is a chance of circumstance that I am Oh So Grateful for!

A couple things that are important take-aways for me:
1. The best stuff takes time. Bartending is a lot of instant gratification. People want their drinks as immediately as possible, and, as a bartender, we want to move light speed fast to handle multitudes of drink orders from customers. Speed pours and multiple drinks being made at once are a norm in our multitasking bartending world. But, taking the time to slow down, to carefully and intentionally create the bases for those cocktails, (i.e. syrups, mixers, and infusions) is wonderfully fulfilling and, surprisingly relaxing! Wow. Who knew the fast paced world of bartending could contain those types of moments?!

2. Specificity in recipes is key. Just because I know for a fact that when I free pour a 4 count with my favorite pour spout style it equals 2 oz, doesn't mean that I'm not a slight fraction off of someone else's pour for a cocktail recipe. Taking the time to use measuring barometers like jiggers and tare weights is crucial to recreating the exact same cocktail with the exact same taste every time. #NoShame !

3. (This one is something that I always knew, but in cases of handling a crazy busy bar, it tended to fly to the sidelines for basic drinks like vodka and soda or gin and tonic) In the end, it's about the taste and experience, Not the alcohol. If you take the time and effort to make a great drink, it's going to be the thing that brings people back again and again. I have patrons that show up specifically for their favorite cocktails that I created weeks and months ago on weekend specials menus. I had one tonight that came in because he only is having one drink per week during Lent, so he wanted it to be the one that I'd created that he loved. Moments like that aren't about the alcohol. They're about the experience, and the fact that if you didn't put the time, effort, and specificity of ingredients into your cocktail base, the patron wouldn't come back again and again to relive that drink moment. The end result from the effort is truly gratifying.

With all that in mind, let's get to creating! I recently had the honor of creating the only cocktail served at the annual Academy of Chefs gala dinner. The syrup for this one was the key to the cocktail. It takes time, but the end result is totally worth it!!

Fragrant Syrup
What you'll need (tools & supplies):
●  a big pot
●  a sharp knife
●  a food scale
●  80 g. peeled and sliced ginger root
●  15 g. lime zest
●  90 g. granny smith apples
●  37 g. chopped lemongrass
●  1/2 a lime without pith (FYI, for those of you that are unfamiliar, "pith" is the white stuff that exists in between the zest and the fruit. Don't worry. Until I started working with these guys, I didn't know that was what it was called either!)
●  225 g. sugar
●  800 g. water

What to Do:
Put the water and sugar in the pot and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then throw all the rest of the ingredients in, stir, and bring to a slow, tiny bubbles boil. Hold it there on low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring often. When you can taste the flavors, not just the sugar, it's ready! Strain and enjoy in your favorite cocktail!

The above recipe makes approximately 1 quart of syrup. Feel free to math out your amounts to create more or less. This one is great with vodka, rum, or gin. The subtle citrus, spice, and fruity sour work well with almost anything you can dream up. I used it with vodka, fresh ruby red grapefruit, and soda water, with an orange garnish for the AAC Dinner, but it will work wonderfully with a variety of liquor options and garnish choices! In the end, it's all about the flavors. It took me a couple of tries testing with things like lime versus lime leaves in the syrup, and what fruit would work best in the cocktail itself to get to the final product. Play with it! Let me know what you come up with! Variations are definitely the "spice of life"! :)

Happy Cocktailing!