Dave Broom/ Interview /September 2008

This month I thought I would mix it up by doing an interview a drinks writer/author rather than a bartender so here we go with the great Dave Broom...

1. What is the first alcoholic drink you remember tasting?

Crabbies Green Ginger at my Uncle Tom and Auntie Ei's house in Perth at Christmas time. I'd have been about 10. All other drinks were off limits, but in Scotland green ginger wine was somehow an exception to the rule.. like a vegetarian not classing bacon as meat I suppose. It was a long and slippery slope from there.

2. What are your 3 favourite drinks, cocktails or spirits? recipes if you have them?

Only three?! Mixed drinks I go classic: Negroni (made with Carpano Antica Formula and Beefeater), Manhattan (sweet, ideally with rye, if not Wild Turkey 101).

As far as spirit goes, it's a close call between aged rum and single malt Scotch, but not every expression of both!

3. Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently?

It's not a flavour it's an aroma and you showed it to me. It's called helional and is the smell of sunshine. Am searching for the equivalent turbo boost of life and brightness in alcoholic drinks. Am still deeply intrigued by the exoticism of Japanese whisky and some of the new gins [Jensen, Krahn, 209 in particular] oh.. and Japanese rum from Okinawa and Kagoshima. It's an exciting time at the moment.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to a bartender what would it be?

Always ask why .. oh and don't believe the hype.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry?

I never plan. I used to make plans, but they never quite worked out the way I believed they would. I'd love to get a new edition of the rum book out there and a whisky book as well, which looks at the subject from a slightly different angle. There will be more teaching and more talking and more travel. As for the industry .. predictions are dangerous things, especially given a volatile economic climate. The big firms will get bigger (either in size or in market share, or both) but there will be opportunities for the smarter smaller firm, but they'll have to be really smart. Everyone will be dazzled by the sheer scale of China and forget about the real long-term gains which can be made in America and Europe. Rum will continue to grow globally, but in different ways in each market. I hope that the bar scene will now spread beyond its strongholds and out into the world and that quality and flavour will be the key messages. I'd hope that people will finally see through the Emperor's new clothes with which vodka has attired itself.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind in the spirits industry?

Free booze? Seeing the growth of the bar scene and a realisation on the part of the guys working there -- and some of the more enlightened companies (or some parts of some of the more enlightened companies!) that it's flavour which is the key. If that's your starting point and your obsession then a world of possibilities opens up for you. When I started (20 years ago this year!) you'd have to seek out shady bars in Soho to get a decent drink.. it was like finding a speakeasy, you went on recommendations and whispered conversations. Now every pub is making mojitos. OK, they're often crap [where the Mojito Hit Squad?] but that's still a huge shift in mindset in a pretty short time. I worry about the eiltism which has crept in .. people believing their own hype.. and regret the lack of work that's been done in getting the mass-market excited about quality drinks. That said, I'm genuinely enthused when I go to shows or do teaching gigs that there's a new generation of bartenders who really want to learn.

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail/spirit, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail/spirit would it be and why?

I've often had late night conversations with a spirit. It's told me marvellous things, has revealed the secrets of life and ways of solving the world's problems. Oft has been the time where these messages down only to find the trickster god of drink has scrambled the writing (and the brain) while I sleep, rendering the page unintelligible when I awake. I'd ask a Manhattan where it came from, I'd ask Chartreuse about its past, I'd ask the rocks of Scotland why they called forth barley and then whisky, I'd ask a Jamaican rum "why??!! thank you, thank you for existing.. but.. what madness created you?"

8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)?

Music. Anything from (he scans around) Congotronics to Leonard Cohen, folk to Japanese psychedelia. Nick Cave. Dub. No U2 though, or Queen. Or the fucking Verve. In fact no-one who plays in a stadium (bar the Stones) and has flags waved at then. It gets me through the day, it's a soundtrack to writing and sets mood and helps with the thinking. As I write this it's Harry Smith's 'Anthology of American Folk Music' Books as well. Lots of poetry, nature writing,techy things on perfume. Walking influences me.. getting out there and smelling the world. People give me a wide berth sometimes. Actually, always.

9. If you where to break a writers/journalist golden rule what would it be?

Rules like deadlines are made to be broken. How can you be creative if you're constrained by rules and regulations?

10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion affects the appreciation of a drinks the most? Occasion. That's how drinks are brought into being. Get the occasion right and the drink will be perfect.

11. If you where to champion a drink, cocktail or spirit which would it be? At the moment, rum, but then there's sake... actually there's gin! Jeez.. I'll keep on talking about them all.

The Chef statement by Blumenthal, McGee, Keller and Ferran Adria

Personally speaking I think that their statement sums it up in a nutshell:

The world of food has changed a great deal in modern times. Change has come especially fast over the last decade. Along with many other developments, a new approach to cooking has emerged in restaurants around the globe, including our own. We feel that this approach has been widely misunderstood, both outside and inside our profession. Certain aspects of it are overemphasized and sensationalized, while others are ignored. We believe that this is an important time in the history of cooking, and wish to clarify the principles and thoughts that actually guide us. We hope that this statement will be useful to all people with an interest in food, but especially to our younger colleagues, the new generations of food professionals.

1. Three basic principles guide our cooking: excellence, openness, and integrity.
   
   We are motivated above all by an aspiration to excellence. We wish to work with ingredients of the finest quality, and to realize the full potential of the food we choose to prepare, whether it is a single shot of espresso or a multicourse tasting menu.
   
   We believe that today and in the future, a commitment to excellence requires openness to all resources that can help us give pleasure and meaning to people through the medium of food. In the past, cooks and their dishes were constrained by many factors: the limited availability of ingredients and ways of transforming them, limited understanding of cooking processes, and the necessarily narrow definitions and expectations embodied in local tradition. Today there are many fewer constraints, and tremendous potential for the progress of our craft. We can choose from the entire planet’s ingredients, cooking methods, and traditions, and draw on all of human knowledge, to explore what it is possible to do with food and the experience of eating. This is not a new idea, but a new opportunity. Nearly two centuries ago, Brillat-Savarin wrote that ‘the discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.”
   
   Paramount in everything we do is integrity. Our beliefs and commitments are sincere and do not follow the latest trend.
   
   
2. Our cooking values tradition, builds on it, and along with tradition is part of the ongoing evolution of our craft .
   
   The world’s culinary traditions are collective, cumulative inventions, a heritage created by hundreds of generations of cooks. Tradition is the base which all cooks who aspire to excellence must know and master. Our open approach builds on the best that tradition has to offer.
   
   As with everything in life, our craft evolves, and has done so from the moment when man first realized the powers of fire. We embrace this natural process of evolution and aspire to influence it. We respect our rich history and at the same time attempt to play a small part in the history of tomorrow.
   
   
3. We embrace innovation—new ingredients, techniques, appliances, information, and ideas—whenever it can make a real contribution to our cooking.
   
   We do not pursue novelty for its own sake. We may use modern thickeners, sugar substitutes, enzymes, liquid nitrogen, sous-vide, dehydration, and other nontraditional means, but these do not define our cooking. They are a few of the many tools that we are fortunate to have available as we strive to make delicious and stimulating dishes.
   
   Similarly, the disciplines of food chemistry and food technology are valuable sources of information and ideas for all cooks. Even the most straightforward traditional preparation can be strengthened by an understanding of its ingredients and methods, and chemists have been helping cooks for hundreds of years. The fashionable term “molecular gastronomy” was introduced relatively recently, in 1992, to name a particular academic workshop for scientists and chefs on the basic food chemistry of traditional dishes. That workshop did not influence our approach, and the term “molecular gastronomy” does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking.
   
   
4. We believe that cooking can affect people in profound ways, and that a spirit of collaboration and sharing is essential to true progress in developing this potential.
   
   The act of eating engages all the senses as well as the mind. Preparing and serving food could therefore be the most complex and comprehensive of the performing arts. To explore the full expressive potential of food and cooking, we collaborate with scientists, from food chemists to psychologists, with artisans and artists (from all walks of the performing arts), architects, designers, industrial engineers. We also believe in the importance of collaboration and generosity among cooks: a readiness to share ideas and information, together with full acknowledgment of those who invent new techniques and dishes.

Heston Blumenthal, Harold McGee, Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria.

Anasthasia Miller Interview August 2008

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made?
A martini. My dad was fanatic for them. The second was strange: a layered King Alphonse.

2. What are your 3 favourite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own?

a. Bradford a la Martini
3 parts Gin
1 part Lillet Blanc
2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters
Shaken not stirred over ice.
Strained into a frozen cocktail glass.
Garnished with a lemon twist.

b. Mi Amante
1 part espresso gelato
1 part Gin
Shaken without ice until blended.
Pour into a frozen cocktail glass.
Garnish with a pinch of nutmeg.

c. Soyer Punch Jelly
240 ml Gin
120 ml maraschino
juice of 2 lemons
120 ml gomme syrup
240 ml champagne
3 envelopes gelatin
240 ml boiling hot water
Dissolve gelatin in hot water in a jug.
Stir in lemon juice, gomme syrup, maraschino, and gin. Add champagne.
Pour contents into a glass baking dish. Refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight.
Cut into 3 x 3 cm squares.
Serve 2 squares on the base of a chilled cocktail glass with a sprig of mint and 3 fresh raspberries.

3.Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently?

Green tea ice cream. It's absolutely luscious matched up against gin. For some reason I seem to be wandering through cream drinks, jellied drinks, and hot punches lately. A couple of years ago, it was egg sours with tea syrups and drinks made with blended scotch. Green tea ice cream was an eye opener.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender what would it be?

If you can't serve a customer a scotch on the rocks or a pint and make them feel like it is the most remarkable experience of a lifetime, get out of the business.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry? That's a loaded question. Basically, Jared and I are working on distributing as much information on the history of spirits and drinks as directors of Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux (www.euvs.org). In between times, we consult with spirits producers on spirits and drinks history. We believe the only way we can help elevate the professional level of the industry is to expand the new generation's knowledge base about the past: reviving the forgotten drinks not for replication but for inspiration, relating the rich history of the birth of spirits, instilling pride in an industry that is centuries old. The industry is very much at the same level cuisine was at 15 years ago. We've gone through the discovery phase, the back to basics stage, and now we're learning to work both inside and outside the boundaries to find creativity that is accessible. That's where I think history plays an important role. Find the outlandish from the past that is accessible and create fresh thoughts based on past successes.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar?

Learning to love interaction with people. Learning to share what's in my heart with people.

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be and why?

As if that hasn't happened? I've actually my best tête-a-têtes with an equal parts Manhattan. How can you be sweet and strong at the same time? Why do you have such depth, especially with a healthy dose of bitters? Why do you leave me remembering every moment with you without regret?

8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)?

What I've done in the kitchen as a chef. What I see in motion pictures: I'm a movie junkie...action films, thrillers, that sort of thing

9. If you were to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?

Remove the bar between the bartender and the customer. Make the bartender sit with the customer and teach the customer how to make a cocktail one on one, mano a mano. The customer will come back for more as an empowered, informed consumer.

10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most? My relationship with a customer, the experience I encourage and stimulate.

11. If you were to champion a cocktail which would it be?

Well I have championed a few: the Martini, the "75" (not the French 75); the White Cargo; the Ramos Gin Fizz; the Manhattan. My latest? A Gin and It with 2 dashes of orange bitters. Sensual, sexy, subtle, all the s words.

Guess who? One of our all time favourite Bartenders circa 1970......

The Sazerac becomes the Louisiana state Cocktail

Poster for bartenders breakfast at Tales

The Museam of the cocktail New Orleans opening!!

Dale Degroff, Chris Mcmillan, Phil Greene......

Elegante Part 2

Bartenders Breakfast New Orleans 19th/July/08

Fruit Sticker Garnishes/ Sept 2007

What started out as a joke with a friend of mine Marco Farone from Sydney, when he recieved a drink with a fruit sticker on the garnish. We started talking about when we were starting out in the trade as barbacks and how annoying it was peeling all the little stickers off the fruit..... this lead me to thinking would'nt it be nice to have stickers that were part of the garnish and could be left on so to speak! ..... so I got these made with that in mind and they where used for garnishes for some of the drinks I was doing.....
The "Farone Island Ruby Limes" had an extra twist in that I dyed the insides and changed there flavour using food grade essences.... so heres to you Marco.......

Shochu/Sake at the Temple Kyoto

Glassware/ Fantasy World part 1

Glass insipiration Lillies for "Summer" drink at Tales

Fritz Lang's Hollywood house Bar circa 1920's

Deconstructed Wine/ Chef Unknown?

Apparently a wine desert soup with the composite flavours deconstucted....... Interesting!!

Airs

Airs

Airs where an extention of the foams, (but they are much lighter in consistency) in the el bulli menus. The first of these was a carrot and orange air. This was later adapted and used for a salt air Margarita. The Margarita was presented in a frozen block of ice itself frozen. Then had a sea salt air foam over the top which you kind of breath in, then eat the Margarita. And eat a tarragon ball.


The chemical that is used that in the lyshophine or soya lechtin which is a emulsifier, commonly used in the chocholate industry to keep chocolate bars together and to stop them melting.It also occurs naturally in various vegetation. When lechtin is added to a liquid in very small quantities it binds the water particles in the liquid in a kind of web, so that when the liquid is agitated and bubbles are produced the lechtin creates a wall around the bubble which will hold for a limited amount of time. Think what bubble bath does in the bath it works on a similar principle.

The result is a much lighter version of the foam which can quite literally be breathed in.
The process is relatively easy to achieve:

1 g soya lechtin
1 litre liquid (more lechtin the heavy the liquid, remember don’t at to much more as it will make the liquid taste creamy and could detract from the flavour you want)

place all ingredients in a large basin which you have placed on a tilt. See fig….
Blend at an angle with a hand blender.
Leave to settle for a minute.
Scoop out of basin with large kitchen spoon.
Place in place desired, repeat process carefully piling air on top of itself.
Don’t go to high as it will fall in on itself. Practice in this case will give you an eye for when and how high you can get.

Mint

Mint is vital to a whole range of cocktails, from the Mojito upwards (or downwards depending on your point of view), yet has always proved a problem to keep fresh, especially for a long service. It is quite a delicate herb, and traditional solutions like covering it with a wet cloth or putting the stems in a glass of water have their own problems.

The problem seems to start as soon as you strip the bottom leaves off a sprig and cut the stem short. The enzymes in the plant start to degrade and the mint starts to go brown.

We looked at ways of arresting this process, or at least of slowing it down. Freezing was an obvious choice, but this would be impractical as drinks require fresh, not frozen mint. But this did lead us to look at what actually happened to the mint when it was frozen. It slows down the the enzymes working and the mint going limp or brown.

It was obvious that freezing stopped the degradation process, and stopped the mint going brown. So we wondered if we could use a part of that process ie to flash freeze or like a reverse blanching.

So we cut the stems to length with a sharp knife and plucked all leaves apart from the top ones. We placed the cut stems and leaves in very cold shallow water (with crushed ice) and covered them with more ice for five minutes only. This seemed to seal the mint leaves, almost cold searing them, (as the common misconception that you hot sear a steak to keep the juice in): the flavour is kept in, and the only disadvantage is that the mint loses just a shade of its colour although if get the timing right, you keep this to an absolute minimum.

After that, all we needed to do was place the ends of the stems standing up in a container with shallow water and store them in the fridge until needed. But the mint looked spritely all night long.

Booklist/Class Article/ July 2008

I get asked a lot what books are useful to me in what I do the answers are varied but probably the most useful book I have found over the past few years is a book written by Harold McGee called “ On Food and Cooking, The science and Love of the Kitchen”. It is quite simply a book that looks at culinary love and the science behind it.
The book really is a great read; even the bits that are not applicable to liquid or alcohol; you find yourself wandering into those parts anyway as they are just incredibly interesting. McGee’s questioning of what we take for granted is infectious, you end up asking yourself questions about the everyday things. It is full of great historical references i.e. the invention of the thermometer, a lot of very easy to read science bits i.e. how sugar works, some not so easy science bits although you can (after a few reads) get through them, some great anecdotal stuff; but best of all it has a whole section on Alcohol (Chapter 9). The chapter covers everything; wine, beer, spirits, distillation, the history of alcohol, even what a hang over is!
In addition to alcohol, you also have a section on fruit; which can be a real eye opener and an extremely useful section on sugars.
Overall, I cannot praise this book enough as it really does open up the gateway to the sometimes, baffling world of science, and instead introduces you to a universe of comprehensible ideas which can be used to improve, and inform, your craft. Finally, the best thing about it is, it inserts the question in you; why does that do that?
This can head towards, why don’t I try that? and that’s when the fun begins!!

Other great books are Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking or Molecular Gastronomy (exploring the science of flavour) both by Herve This, these books are quite dense and difficult to understand for the layman although well worth working through if you have the patience.
There are some great chapters especially the ones 77/78 on Champagne which are a really fascinating and gives you a great insight to Herve This’s thinking!

And just before we get all to serious I thought I would throw in a fantastic book called Hellraisers that is on the drinking stories of Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Oliver Reed and Richard Harris some of the biggest hellraisers of the last century which is full of some of the funniest drinking stories I have ever read….

pH Charts

Dave Wondrich/NY/ Interview/ July 2008

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made? I believe it was a Tequila Sunrise, made in an old Army canteen with tequila, OJ and grenadine and drunk out in the woods with my little teenage friends. I learned how to make it from my Friend Jon, who was from Texas.

2. What are your 3 favourite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own? This varies from week to week, but there are the ones that are at the top of the stack right now; the last one is my own:

a. Prescription Julep In a highball glass, dissolve 2 teaspoons superfine sugar in a pony (1oz) of water. Lightly press a sprig of mint in the resulting syrup and discard. Using a carpenter's maul and a coin sack, pulverize a goodly quantity of cold, hard ice. Pack the glass with the pulverized ice. Add a jigger (2 oz) XO-grade cognac (I like Martell Cordon Bleu)and 1/2 pony straight rye whiskey. Stir briefly and top the glass off with more fine ice. Float 1/2 oz dark, pot-stilled rum on top. Insert 3 sprigs of mint and a straw. Then smile.

b. Daiquiri (Original Style) Squeeze 1/2 lime into a cocktail shaker. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar. Add 2 oz Havana Club Anejo Blanco rum (or equivalent) Shake vigorously with plenty of ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

c. Jakewalk Shake well with plenty of ice: 3/4 oz Reposado tequila 3/4 oz rhum agricole 3/4 oz St. Germain 3/4 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with piece of candied ginger.

3.Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently? The delicate, lightly floral taste of well-distilled toddy-palm sap. Delightful.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender what would it be? Know everything but never act like you do.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry? God, I wish I knew. I'm working on a book on Punch, that much I know. As for the industry, it's like any other game of musical chairs.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar? As a non-bartender, I'm thrilled any time I get to step behind the bar and make drinks for people.

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be and why? I would very much like to have a few words with the Manhattan. All too often I find Mr. Whiskey bullying his wife, Ms. Vermouth, and whoring around instead with that rouged slut Cherry Juice, while totally neglecting the little Dashes. I will not put up with it.

8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)? Well, history, I guess. Is tat outside the industry?

9. If you were to break a bartending golden rule what would it be? I would like to be able to wear a hat behind the bar. I like hats.

10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most? The backstory.

11. If you were to champion a cocktail which would it be? The Holland Gin Cocktail. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Another, please, just like that.

Dave Wondrich of NY fame is the author of the fantastic Imbibe book...

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made? I believe it was a Tequila Sunrise, made in an old Army canteen with tequila, OJ and grenadine and drunk out in the woods with my little teenage friends. I learned how to make it from my Friend Jon, who was from Texas.
2. What are your 3 favourite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own? This varies from week to week, but there are the ones that are at the top of the stack right now; the last one is my own: 1. Prescription Julep In a highball glass, dissolve 2 teaspoons superfine sugar in a pony (1oz) of water. Lightly press a sprig of mint in the resulting syrup and discard. Using a carpenter's maul and a coin sack, pulverize a goodly quantity of cold, hard ice. Pack the glass with the pulverized ice. Add a jigger (2 oz) XO-grade cognac (I like Martell Cordon Bleu)and 1/2 pony straight rye whiskey. Stir briefly and top the glass off with more fine ice. Float 1/2 oz dark, pot-stilled rum on top. Insert 3 sprigs of mint and a straw. Then smile. 2. Daiquiri (Original Style) Squeeze 1/2 lime into a cocktail shaker. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar. Add 2 oz Havana Club Anejo Blanco rum (or equivalent) Shake vigorously with plenty of ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 3. Jakewalk Shake well with plenty of ice: 3/4 oz Reposado tequila 3/4 oz rhum agricole 3/4 oz St. Germain 3/4 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with piece of candied ginger. 3.Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently? The delicate, lightly floral taste of well-distilled toddy-palm sap. Delightful. 4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender what would it be? Know everything but never act like you do. 5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry? God, I wish I knew. I'm working on a book on Punch, that much I know. As for the industry, it's like any other game of musical chairs. 6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar? As a non-bartender, I'm thrilled any time I get to step behind the bar and make drinks for people. 7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be and why? I would very much like to have a few words with the Manhattan. All too often I find Mr. Whiskey bullying his wife, Ms. Vermouth, and whoring around instead with that rouged slut Cherry Juice, while totally neglecting the little Dashes. I will not put up with it. 8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)? Well, history, I guess. Is tat outside the industry? 9. If you were to break a bartending golden rule what would it be? I would like to be able to wear a hat behind the bar. I like hats. 10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most? The backstory. 11. If you were to champion a cocktail which would it be? The Holland Gin Cocktail. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Another, please, just like that.

Book List Article/ Class Magazine July 2008

I get asked a lot what books are useful to me in what I do the answers are varied but probably the most useful book I have found over the past few years is a book written by Harold McGee called “ On Food and Cooking, The science and Love of the Kitchen”. It is quite simply a book that looks at culinary love and the science behind it. The book really is a great read; even the bits that are not applicable to liquid or alcohol; you find yourself wandering into those parts anyway as they are just incredibly interesting. McGee’s questioning of what we take for granted is infectious, you end up asking yourself questions about the everyday things. It is full of great historical references i.e. the invention of the thermometer, a lot of very easy to read science bits i.e. how sugar works, some not so easy science bits although you can (after a few reads) get through them, some great anecdotal stuff; but best of all it has a whole section on Alcohol (Chapter 9). The chapter covers everything; wine, beer, spirits, distillation, the history of alcohol, even what a hang over is! In addition to alcohol, you also have a section on fruit; which can be a real eye opener and an extremely useful section on sugars. Overall, I cannot praise this book enough as it really does open up the gateway to the sometimes, baffling world of science, and instead introduces you to a universe of comprehensible ideas which can be used to improve, and inform, your craft. Finally, the best thing about it is, it inserts the question in you; why does that do that? This can head towards, why don’t I try that? and that’s when the fun begins!! Other great books are Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking or Molecular Gastronomy (exploring the science of flavour) both by Herve This, these books are quite dense and difficult to understand for the layman although well worth working through if you have the patience. There are some great chapters especially the ones 77/78 on Champagne which are a really fascinating and gives you a great insight to Herve This’s thinking! And just before we get all to serious I thought I would throw in a fantastic book called Hellraisers that is on the drinking stories of Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Oliver Reed and Richard Harris some of the biggest hellraisers of the last century which is full of some of the funniest drinking stories I have ever read….

Book List for Class magazine article July 2008

Ross Lovegrove / Water Bottle

"The bottle with its unique ripple effect packaging, which refracts light and colour, imitating surface reflections on water is a celebration of the beauty of water."

Asa Nevestveit / Stockholm Sweden / Interview

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made?
If I remember correctly, a Bloody Mary.

2. What are your 3 favorite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own?
My favorites always change but at the time I would say:
Old: Negroni

1/3 Plymouth, 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Carpano Rosso.
Stir and strain. Whiskey glass with one large lump of ice. Slice of orange.

New: The OK Cocktail
40 ml Beefeater Gin
15 ml Lillet Blanc’
2 dashes orange bitters
4 ml home made grapefruit sugar syrup
Stir, cocktail glass, lemon twist

My own:
Lingonberry
50 ml Martell Cognac
15 ml lemon juice
10 ml simple syrup
4 mint leafs
2 bar spoons of home made lingonberry jam/marmalade
Shake, cocktail glass, double strain, mint leaf garnish

The reason I picked this one is that I have been working primarily with Swedish flavors and berries lately. This is one of the simples and best ones I’ve created lately.

3.Tell us about a new flavor you have discovered recently?
I would say that I have re discovered almost all flavors since I stopped smoking a few months a go! J I cannot believe the difference!

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender what would it be?
The importance of good ice. Shit ice= a shit drink!

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry?
Most probably I’ll stay in the trade I Stockholm for the next couple of years. I want to learn more about wines and food; I am considering studying to be a sommelier.

Stockholm and the rest of Sweden are always fighting with high taxes and high staff costs; this makes it difficult for bar owners to finance a good high quality product in a bar. Hopefully the government will lower the taxes on alcohol and make it easier for bar owners to raise quality of service and drinks. Stockholm is booming with bars right now and slowly but surely guests learn to appreciate quality and well-made cocktails with a nice approach from the bartender.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar?
Constantly learning new things. Everything from different flavors to service.

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be and why?
The Dry Martini. Kill the myth!

8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)?
Politics. Global warming for instance. I try really hard to use ingredients from local producers or at least produce from Sweden.

9. If you where to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?
There is not one single rule I can consider breaking. Sorry...

10. Outside of flavor and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most?
Color and presentation, i.e. Glasswear etc.

11. If you where to champion a cocktail which would it be?
The Martinez

Brix Article Class Magazine June 2008

Brix meter

The brix meter is a small (usually) hand devise for measuring the amount of sugar in liquids or fruits.
It has been extensively used in the wine making industry and by fruit growers for testing the sugar content of the grapes and fruit to help (the growers always taste as well) determine the best harvesting times of fruit and vegetables so that products arrive at with consumers in a perfect state or are perfect for the process of vinification.

There are various types of brix meter, from refractometers that have a glass plate that you would place the substance you want to check between then hold up to the light, to the hand held type of brix meters.

More commonly nowadays you will find electronic hand held brix meters with a small glass plate that a laser will bounce off the sample placed on it and give you an electronic reading, the more expensive ones will also take into account the temperature of the reading as this can also make a difference. What the laser is actually doing is bouncing off the sugar crystals in the sample, the larger the crystals the bigger the reading, the more sugar content in the sample.

I.e. 25grams of sugar in 100grams of liquid will equal 25 brix.

It also quite interesting testing your spirits you will find some interesting discovery’s as it will also read other sucrose products. These are often used to create sweetness and mouth-feel in products that need a little helping hand.

But if you want a real shock test some of your soft drinks (if the scale of your brix meter goes that high!!)

In practice this can be used in many everyday applications such as checking your homemade sugar syrup or syrups in general, to create and check consistency.
I found this tool invaluable for making the liquorice syrup for my liquorice whisky sour as the liquorice could vary making the syrup sweeter. Also really useful if you are making your own liqueurs…..

Another use was when we were adding fruit with spirits in the sous vide machine or to macerate fruit in spirit as to get a higher degree of consistency the sugar content in the fruit is a major factor in how the flavour will be at the outcome as the sugar is one of the major flavour conductors. If you test at different times of the year, or fruit from different regions, the variances can be enormous thus affecting both the outcome of the flavour in your infusion or simply in your cocktail.
Strawberries are the best example of this as can be seen if you take a reading out of season.

The process is so simple that all you have to do is make sure the glass screen is very clean after each use and then recalibrate by using tap water, you then put a small cut of the fruit on the screen or the juice and press the read button. You will then get your brix reading. I have always found it useful to take more than one read (i.e. from several of the samples for a overall more balanced reading and not under a strong light source.)

Brix meters vary in cost but you can pick some up at quite reasonable prices, but they are I think an investment worth making!

Brix Table

Merlet Distillery

The Sartorially dapper Mr. Gilles Merlet... Tasting the Cassis berries in the fields....


The Cognac aging casks with the Leblon Cacahca inside....

The Merlet Cassis plants with unripe berries...

The stainless steel liqueur vats.....

Taking a closer look at the Cognac stills at the Merlet distillery at Saintonge.....


Tasting with Gilles Merlet at his Distillery......

Merchant Hotel 19th June 2008

Pontus Frith Stockholm Sweden

The brief was to create a small drink menu that was paired with the menu the chef created.... I also did made the Twinkle to go with the salad that had a lemon emulsion...
and a Moonlight that was made from shochu and rice water.... that went with a Yakatori style dish with yuzu....
"The Blush" a homemade Rose vodka, homemade Rhubarb syrup, topped with champagne and grapefruit oil from a zest of grapefruit.... this went with the final dish which was a delicious rhubarb dessert with rose water.....

Dirty "Dry" Martini by the sea (a version of a dirty martini with seaweed (like the stuff they use in japanese salads) cooked sous vide with Vodka) " Dry" Vermouth (vermouth with added ingredients that slightly out your mouth)... with intense olive bread crisp this was drink was accompanied by a Plate of oysters.... the drink is part of a set of savory drinks that I have worked on...

Mr. Ueno/ Star Bar /Tokyo

Featured Drink/ Mr. Ueno. / Star Bar / Tokyo

Kanu-No. (or Sensual). This is a fabulous drink I had last night at the Star Bar in Ginza, Tokyo made by Mr.Ueno, it is very original as you can see by the ingredients but it is absolutely delightful.

Havana 7yr 4.5cl
Olorosso (Valdespino Solera 1842) .1cl
Harvey Bristol cream. teaspoon
Taylors Ruby Port. teaspoon

Stir and strain in martini glass.

Jason Crawley Interview

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made?

Harvey Wallbanger – messed it right up too!

2. What are your 3 favourite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own?
Old:
White Lady, equal parts Plymouth Gin, Lemon, Cointreau & tear sized egg white, dribbled in and shaken.

New:
Wayne’s ‘Lady Marmalade’, same recipe but with a teaspoon of Grapefruit marmalade.

Own:
‘Platypus Martini’ – 60ml Level Vodka, 1 x childs tear size droplet of Pernod and 1 x childs tear sized Ardbeg 10yr, stirred, served with an Onion.

3.Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently?

New flavour? I have made a great Roast Chestnut and Burnt Orange Bitters, lovely.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender what would it be?

Be nice, and very tidy.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry? I am currently writing a (humorous) book, which I hope will entertain anyone who has experienced being faced with the general public. I just hope it sells! In the meantime I am very happy continuing to help to raise standards in the industry and to some extent, inspire a new generation of bartenders who attend my MIXXIT training sessions and read my articles. The future of the industry will be decided by the application and attitude of the next generations of bartenders. Hopefully they will aspire to help serve the general public in meaningful ways (and probably with waxed moustaches) with coherent quality products.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar?

Gaining perspective of the World around me, but as an experience, getting a couple engaged with an old bar trick and a ring.

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be and why?
Great question, as I have never considered this! I guess it would have to be the ‘original’ Martini in its infancy. Only so, we can put its history to bed, but then again maybe that is why we love it so much, in the same way ‘JAWS’ was a great film, as it did not show us the full Shark till near the end!

8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry? Art, definitely. More recently, may I say ‘mainstream’ (?) artist D Hurst’ with his jewelled skull, took me down a new road, which I have not yet finished travelling. However, from a flavour perspective it has always been ‘semantics’.

9. If you where to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?
Wearing carpet slippers instead of ‘black polish-able shoes’

10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most? Presentation and theatre.

11. If you where to champion a cocktail which would it be? I do like the Harvard Cocktail.

Buchi RotaVapor

Close up of the condenser chamber.....

Class Magazine May 2008 Rota Vapor Article

I remember the first time I saw the Rota vapour a couple of years ago at the lab at Fat Duck, at first I thought that it looks like it has all the components of a still on a small scale. I remember going through a mental checklist; thinking it has a condenser, it has an evaporation bulb and a receiver, but what is all the other stuff? After numerous questions and a few trails on it I realized that this was a machine for me! The possibilities it would, and has opened, are incredible for a bartender. It has allowed me to incorporate flavours I had previously found impossible to use.

The Rota Vapour (the name of the particular make I use)is in essence a vacuum still, this implies that you can distil things at lower pressures, therefore allowing you to boil your liquids to condensation at lower temperatures. This is enabled as the whole unit is a closed chamber with a pump which sucks the air out, the chamber is regulated by a digital control panel. An example of how this works; if you look at mountaineers on Everest, when they boil water it will boil at 69 degrees as the pressure is a lot lower due to the height. The advantage for this is, if you can boil samples in liquid at a lower temperature; for example, herbs for which high temperature will damage the volatiles, you can add less heat and the volatiles will not get damaged. Another good example of this is in Shochu distilling. In some instances you have very delicate rice notes which are preserved more when distilled at low pressure, you also find this happening a lot in the perfume industry where they have very delicate volatiles.

In practical terms this has allowed me to distil the essence of numerous herbs, flowers, zests and fruits that had previously been difficult to obtain. One particularly successful method I have found is to marinate my subject in alcohol, then distil the alcohol off,
leaving the essence of the plant which the alcohol has extracted in the evaporating bulb. I have found that more often than not what is left behind in the bulb is just as
good as what is in the evaporated end. This is how I started making tinctures, which I can add to bottles of alcohol as a hint of flavour, or in drinks doing roughly the same job.

You can also redistill spirits to add flavour, so for example you can put your flavour in with the spirit and evaporate it all off. So what you get in the receiving end of the rotavapor is the redistilled spirit with the volatiles and flavour perfectly incorporated to the spirit.
It is completely clear as all the vegetal mass is left in the evaporating bulb.

The heat source is a Bain Marie with an electronic temperature gauge. As a point of interest the Bain Marie was invented by an alchemist called Maria the Jewess from Alexandria in 100 b.c.
As with a lot of this equipment, this is just the high tech version of what alchemists/distillers have been using for hundreds of years, this by comparison is just very very accurate. This machinery deserves accuracy in return to obtain the best results, I find it best to write everything down, as even small variances can produce very different results, so keeping a log I found to be the best method of getting consistent results. It really does place a lot of emphasis back in the hands of the bartender as you don’t have to wait for a drinks company to invent such and such flavoured spirit; its more a question of this week I will be making!!!

There are other stills you can use from different companies and costs but I have found this to be the most complete BUCHI R210.

Further information contact BUCHI on 01616331000.