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.

Vintage Manhattans

The idea of a vintage cocktail came to me when I was, as ever, revisiting the classics. Knowing that I would be making them numerous times over the years to come, as in the years before, I was struck by the thought that the evolution of drinks is almost Darwinian: the best ones outlast their competition and many have survived from the 20s or even earlier.

Following the theory of evolution, I then wondered if it was possible to make the best ones even better without just changing the obvious components: products and proportions.

After reading a number of papers, I was particularly inspired by a piece by Harold Mcgee which talked about the effect of oxidisation on wine. A Spanish friend had recently given me a 70-year-old bottle of an aperitif and I had been amazed how good it tasted. The flavours had matured and mellowed due to the residual air in the bottle. Barrels and staves where used tried but did not work in my opinion.

Hence the question. Could I use oxidisation in a positive way, controlling the process and thus refortifying not only sweet vermouth but even bourbon, and so improve the Manhattan? So I mixed together ten different bottles of sweet vermouth, bourbon and bitters, allowed a little air to enter them, then sealed them and lay them down...

After three months I found the result was dire and gave up on the project as another failed experiment. However, six months later, when clearing out the cellar of the bar, I came across my forgotten bottles. I was about to throw them away when I thought to taste them.

To my surprise, the flavours had blended together perfectly to give a mellower and smoother cocktail. So I laid down a whole batch in preparation for the next few years and now I have some that are over four years old!

The Vintage Manhattan

Stir all the ingredients together in a bowl – DO NOT ADD ICE!
Once combined completely pour the mixture into clean bottles using a funnel.
Allow a little air in the top then seal them tightly.
Leave in a dark place at room temperature for a year.

When aged serve as would a normal Manhattan

Featured Drink

Jim Meehan of PDT in New York introduced me to this Trader Vic drink whilst last in there.

Royal Bermuda Yachtclub Cocktail

2 oz Mt Gay Eclipse

1 oz lime juice

.5 oz Cointreau

.5 oz Falernum

Add all of the ingredients then add ice

Shake and strain into a chilled coupe

Garnish with a lime wheel

The Wink

The Wink is a drink that i first made back in 2003 is a sazerac style of drink with gin as the base, a subtle hint of anise from the absinthe rinse, an orange hint from both the dash of triple sec and the orange twist (which is discarded). The last ingredient is a drop of peychaud bitters. The garnish is a Wink...;)

Class Article April 2008

I first became interested in looking at how flavour worked back in 2000 at Isola. It was the Head chef, Bruno Lubet, who introduced me to the work of Ferran Adria and prompted me to start to writing to him: asking questions about how he was making some of his cocktails and about his ideas. This communication was, in essence, what stimulated me to scratch behind the surface of what a cocktail was. Having been involved in various projects since then, I have been able, not only use a great deal of these techniques, but also create new ones; some using the simple basics of science, others; far more complex. Nevertheless, it must be emphasised that science is not the only avenue I have followed over the years, there have been many influences, from designers to perfumers to books on alchemy, the list is endless, but I have never strayed far from my love of the cocktail.
Last year I was involved in a project that asked me to show case some of the ideas I have learnt from chefs, to give bartenders an in road to this way of thinking. I have always known that these techniques are not for everybody but there are defiantly things that can be used in any bar at any level, so see this more as the opening of a toolbox…and only use the tools that are relevant to the work that you are doing.
This year I will be showing far more techniques with strictly cocktail references. Here we go:

Take three words that you have heard a million times “A Dry Martini” how many times have those words reverberated in your eardrums? Now think how many times have you thought beyond what you have immediately been asked for?
We know what a dry martini is, we know that by asking a series of questions you will be able to garner the dryness required by adding the appropriate amount of vermouth, we also know that the series of actions that follow the initial request will achieve the finished drink. It is fair to say that it is no secret that the alcohol and the herbs in the vermouth is what provides the slight dry-ish feeling in your mouth. From here your mouth reacts and produces saliva. In turn the stimulation of the saliva glands prepares your stomach for the on coming food, producing that hungry feeling… job done in the aperitif department. The dryness comes from the reaction of the alcohol within your mouth, and the botanicals mainly with-in the gin; but if you then take that further and isolate the ingredients and processes that make the dryness happen.

Once you have discovered this, you are armed with the knowledge that you can re-add those ingredients to the drink and create that dry sensation in a pleasant manner, and that adds to the experience of Dryness in the martini. That would be a truly “Dry” Martini!

By deconstructing the processes of drinks and how they work you can really begin to play with them. However, it is very much about being very precise about what you are doing slap dash efforts produce slap dash results. Start with asking yourself simple questions about flavours or ingredients that you use everyday, i.e.: how does sweet and sour work? Why does my mint not keep fresh? Etc (Ps Wikkipedia is an amazing tool!)

Next the Millefleur Champagne Cocktail is a drink I worked on for almost 2 years. It was from studying of work of perfumers and reading books on alchemy that I realized the links between the three disciplines and the shared history. I started looking for a usable perfume (useable in the sense that its original notes had ingredients that could be found or be replicated into food grade essences to make the translation). That perfume was the iconic perfume. I then set about working on how I was to translate the notes in the perfume into an ingestible replica and which delivery system to use in the cocktail.

After a lot of trial and error (writing everything down at each turn) I managed to get an accurate translation of the perfume. The delivery system was, in a way, decided for me in that although there was no direct translation for aldyhydes, which is one of the structural notes of the perfume, the note has been described as musty champagne floral. I then consulted some sommelier friends in order to find a champagne which would achieve both of these things: musty and floral.
I knew the drink would have to try and emulate the perfumes iconic status; within the cocktail world, making the cocktail, as distinguished and elegant as possible was the priority, it was therefore easy to narrow if down the style to a classic champagne cocktail. This choice of delivery system inadvertently saved me a great deal of time solving another problem; how to ensure that the cocktail. As prior experiment, I had tried to use a classic martini as the delivery system, but the volatiles where lost due to the low temperature, but by using the champagne, which is served at a slightly higher temperature, the volatiles carried well. In addition, the bubbles helped by carrying the essences to the top of the drink….

The result is, a faint waft of flowers off the top of the drink (just a hint), and a subtle floral champagne taste in the mouth.

I think it is important to note that if a drink is not perfect do not foist it on your customer. Yes, people have different tastes but if a drink is badly made then it’s badly made, that is not an excuse for a badly made drink, it doesn’t matter how much gimmicky stuff you do to it. Take time to ensure that the structure is well worked out, then keep working on it until it is absolutely perfect; there nothing wrong with working on something for a very lengthy period ….its not about gimmickry, its about well thought out drinks that create a different effect or stimulate a different emotion….

The beauty of a good magic trick is that you are left with the feeling that you don’t know how it worked, with a feeling of wonderment at something you can’t quite grasp.
The way you learn a magic trick is by practicing your trick over and over again and studying so that one day your trick is perfect.

If someone shows you a trick that is done badly you feel let down, the trick loses its magic. In the same way that, although it is very interesting for other magicians seeing how a trick works, don’t you always feel disappointed when you’ve seen one of those programmes that “reveals all the secrets”? As an audience member it is far better to be intrigued that to know the mechanisms………..

I am in a way using this as a metaphor to say even though there is a move towards using new techniques for drinks, the use of science etc, lets not bore our customers with geeky talk of xyz chemicals or the machine that goes beep, like the trend was a couple of years back when there was a lot of historical (s)pouting…its all about the delivery; from the glass-ware, to service, to a good yarn to an amazing tasting drink…..

You are the magicians so lets create magic….!!



Now, it will not be all about high tech stuff in my column over the next few months; I will be disseminating different techniques and equipment like things like enfleurage, brix meters, ph meters, etc. I will be starting by talking about the Rotavapor, a machine I was introduced to a couple of years ago and one that opens up a huge amount of possibilities for bartenders.

Article published in the British trade magazine Class in April 2008