Suntory Spirits Unite in This Early Fall Cooler

The Bank of Japan is crisp, zingy, and refreshing.

Suntory makes an incredibly smooth whisky, Yamazaki, and we thought we would challenge each other to come up with a drink that showcases its mellow smokiness. The “Bank of Japan” is the name of the first drink (we’ll explore the other at a later date), and the path we took to come up with the name was long forgotten after a few rounds of these coolers that are perfect for late summer–early fall. (Happy Fall, by the way, and we hope you enjoy the lack of humidity wherever you may be.)

Sometimes it’s difficult to mix whiskies (the flavors of most single malts can be slightly overpowering when mixed with liqueurs that cannot hold themselves up to their piquancies). Mulling around the liquor cabinet, Paul thought that the addition of Midori, another Suntory product, might just be the sweetness that this 12-year Yamazaki needed. Midori, as you all know, is a melon liqueur, and a guilty pleasure in the Schul–Zablocki household. It’s also an ingredient in The Universe, which won First Prize in the the 1978 U.S. Bartenders Guild Annual Competition, and was a favorite at the bacchanalian Studio 54.



The addition of Midori did add just the right amount of sweetness, and also a tantalizing fruitiness, to the Yamazaki Whisky, but something was missing. The characteristics of what makes single-malt whisky, whisky, were now suppressed. How to bring them back? Another glance at the liquor cabinet revealed a bright yellow liqueur, recently purchased, and crying out to be used creatively. Strega! Italian for witch, and a brew of spicy, herbal wonder. Just a little bit goes a long way, so after a splash, and a few drops of Peychaud’s Bitters to round out all the flavors, we threw in some ice and garnished with a slice of pear (apple works just as well) to welcome the fall into our home. The color is gorgeous, and changes from a bright yellow, to a glowing chartreuse, depending on the light source (see photos).

Now as we enter the fall, and are sitting outside on our terrace, or back porch, or near an open window, we can sip our Bank of Japans, breath a sigh of relief knowing that in less than half an hour we’ll be ready for another one. Kampai!

Bank of Japan
(created by Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Yamazaki whisky
1/2 ounce Midori melon liqueur
1/4 ounce Strega
2 drops Peychaud’s Bitters
splash of soda

Method
Stir first three ingredients in ice for 30 seconds. Pour into rocks glass. Add ice. then bitters. Top with soda. Add red pear slice (such as Clapp, Red Barlett, or Red Anjou), as garnish.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Mixology Monday XXXI: Imbibing Old School with Old Tom

In C. F. Lawlor’s 1855 The Mixicologist, or How To Mix All Kinds of Fancy Drinks, there appears a recipe for The Improved Tom Gin Cocktail. For those of you who are not familiar with Old Tom Gin, or are but have never tried it, we direct your attention to Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, a botanically nuanced, balanced gin that is pleasantly sweet. Old Tom gin is called for in a lot of 19th-century cocktails, and has always been available in England, but in the U.S. it has only been recently made available since departing some time in the 1950s. Imagine taking your favorite London Dry Gin and adding a little simple syrup to it. That’s Old Tom gin in a nutshell. So we thought it would be fun to pick up a bottle and make one of Lawlor’s recipes, and see what happens.

The Improved Tom Gin Cocktail differs from its predecessor, the Tom Gin Cocktail, by requiring Curaçoa [sic] in place of simple syrup. We decided on l’Original Combier Liqueur d’Orange for our Curaçao, a perfect match since Combier touts itself as being the original triple sec (from 1834). It’s also delicious, with intense orange aroma and taste. Add to that a few dashes of The Bitter Truth Orange Bitters, which gives the drink a jolt of sharpness, and you've got on your hands a 19th-century recreation that will pack quite a punch. A few sips of this, and you'll feel like your brain’s taken a mini-vacation (both spirits are 80 proof.) As far as garnishing goes, we had some blueberries left over from a blueberry-stout salsa we had just made, so we threw in a few to give the drink a little color (and it’s always extra nice to bite into a gin-soaked berry once the drink has been imbibed).

So here’s our recipe for this 19th-century spirituous delight, based on C. F. Lawlor’s:

Improved Tom Gin Cocktail
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces Old Tom gin
1/4 ounces triple sec
3 dashes orange bitters

Method
In a mixing glass filled halfway with ice, stir the ingredients for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish. Sip. Get carried away.

Further Exploration
We are happy to report that since posting this, a new Old Tom gin, developed with the collaboration of cocktail guru David Wondrich, has hit the market. It’s from Ransom, and it touts itself as being historically accurate, the way gin was made before Prohibition. Its hue is a deep gold, and the smell and taste of the botanicals and slight maltiness will definitely win you over, tempting you to make old school pre-bathtub gin cocktails, like the one above. Seek it out today and start stirring tonight.

photo © Cocktail Buzz

The Gin Stevie and Bruschetta Make a Perfect Pairing

Ah, the Gin Stevie. Watermelon–Sake ice cubes slowly melting in a pool of muddled mint and basil bathed in gin and lime juice.

Watermelon is still in season as we enter late summer. So Steve came up with an amazing cocktail that is perfectly paired with bruschetta topped with heirloom tomatoes and just a hint of red jalapeño. It’s called the Gin Stevie, and you will fall in love by drink’s end. Two drinks and you’re ready to walk down the aisle (sadly for us that is not a reality here in Brooklyn).

Politics aside (though you should be gearing up to vote this November), we are concerned now with the success of your cocktail party. Perhaps you are planning one this coming weekend and want something different, something relatively simple, and of course something delicious. Steve has crafted his Gin Stevie in a highball glass using chilled Hendrick’s gin, fresh lime juice, some watermelon–sake ice cubes (which were inspired by a recipe in Imbibe Magazine), and basil and mint leaves. Top with a little soda, garnish with a sprig of the mint, and bingo! the taste of summer comes sharply into focus.

We pair the Gin Stevie with bruschetta. Why? Because watermelon and tomato know how to get down and boogie-oogie-oogie with each other without stepping on one another’s toes. Balance is key, so we added a bit of red jalapeño to the bruschetta topping to bring out the sweetness in the Gin Stevie. Bruschetta is so easy to make, a real no-brainer, that requires you to grill some sliced baguette, chop up some tomatoes and red jalapeño, and sprinkle on some salt and pepper with a little drizzle of olive oil (oh, and you have to rub a little garlic on the bread once toasted). Simplicity at your grill.


Making a classic tomato bruschetta is easy. Just a few ingredients, and a hot grill are all you need.

Gin Stevie
(created by Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz)

2 ounces gin (we like Hendrick’s for this)
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
5 spearmint leaves
5 basil leaves
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3–4 watermelon–sake ice cubes*
splash of soda
spearmint sprig, as garnish

In a highball glass gently muddle lime juice, simple syrup, and leaves. Add chilled gin, watermelon–sake ice cubes, and soda. Stir. Garnish with sprig. Add a straw.

* Watermelon–sake ice cubes
4-lb. seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
1 ounce fresh lime juice
up to 1 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of watermelon)
180 ml bottle sparkling sake

Add first 3 ingredients to a bowl for at least 15 minutes and up to several days. Transfer contents of bowl to a blender and puree until chunks are broken down. Stir in sake. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze until ready to use.

Makes up to 8 dozen cubes. (It may sound like a lot, but trust us, you’ll be much happier with lots in your freezer.)

❤ ❤ ❤

You can learn how to make a Gin Stevie and bruschetta by watching our new video on our Web site, Cocktail Buzz. We had fun shooting it (although we had to wait every time the helicopters whirled above and planes soared by us), and editing was actually a blast. Hope you like the final products. And let us know when you make the Gin Stevie and bruschetta how every little thing turned out. Cheers and Bottoms Up!

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Four New Cocktails Inspired by Classics

Well, August is almost over, which means that summer fun is winding down. Is that a chill in the air? Maybe it’s just a cool breeze. Or maybe we’ve been holding our ice-cold cocktails for too long. In any event, we’ve been having fun experimenting with new cocktails and we’d like to share with you our results.


“Cut Flowers,” a tangy blend of tequila, lemon, and white vermouth.

A Birthday Surprise

This birthday cocktail was invented in July for our friend Curt Flowers. Curt used to be our roommate, but now he lives a few floors below us and we see him all the time. Curt is a beer man; not much of a cocktailian. But of course we love to change people’s perceptions of cocktails, and Curt loves our Oriental, as well as our classic Margarita, so we thought we would invent him a new drink that would be in the same flavor profile, both sweet and sour. We named it after him, sans the letter r in his first name, and added some orange flower water and an edible flower to drive the name home. We present to you Cut Flowers.


Curt and Steve enjoy some Cut Flowers, tripping the light fantastic.

Cut Flowers
(created by Steve Schul and Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces silver tequila
1 ounces bianco (white) vermouth
1/2 ounces agave nectar
1/2 ounces lemon juice
1–2 drops orange flower water
edible flower, as garnish

Method
Shake all ingredients except flower in a shaker filled with ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add flower, such as a pansy or dianthus. Enjoy!

And if you’re wondering, Cut Flowers go really well with chorizo sobres and, of course, guacamole.

Gin Is In

When trying unfamiliar gins, martinis are the way to go. But what if you’re out of olives and the lemons you have resting in a bowl on your counter have softened to the point of disuse? Try another garnish, such as a cocktail onion, and you have a Gibson.

We were given some free samples of DH Krahn gin when we were at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and thought we would give it a go. What a beautiful fragrance: light juniper with hints of pine. And the taste, equally beguiling.

Our Gibson uses a little less dry vermouth than most recipes, so we balance the flavors by using some orange bitters (which were originally used in early-20th-century Martinis). Plop in the slightly briny cocktail onion and you’ve got yourself a late-summer sipper that’ll pair with a variety of foods, including seafood, eggs, and herbed chicken.

Gibson
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces gin (try DH Krahn)
1/3 ounce dry vermouth (we used Noilly Prat)
1–2 dashes orange bitters (we used Bitter Truth)
Cocktail onion, as garnish

Method
Stir for 30 seconds in ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add onion.

Imbibing with Friends


Jack, Jim, Phil, Paul, and Steve at Captain Dusty’s Ice Cream.

August is the perfect month to spend a weekend on the North Shore of Boston. Our friends Jim and Lou own a beautiful estate, Sunset Rock, resting on the cliffs looking out over Cape Ann, resplendent with gardens of heirloom tomatoes, luffa, eggplant, hydrangea, roses. Simply divine.


The pool at Sunset Rock.

We recently spent the weekend with these food-loving gentlemen along with friends Phil and Jack. Jack brought a bottle of Plymouth gin along and wanted to make a variation of a French 75, a classic gin and champagne cocktail. So he and Paul whipped up a quick, potent cocktail using imprecise measurements, turbinado simple syrup, and lemon juice with pulp left in. The result was bestowed the moniker “Sunset Rock,” beginning with a golden cloud of bubbles and tart sweetness, ending with a concentrated gin kick!

Sunset Rock
(created by Jack Gorman)

Ingredients
2 ounces gin (we used Plymouth)
1 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce rich simple syrup (we used turbinado)
3–4 ounces champagne
long lemon twist, as garnish

Method
Use chilled champagne and gin. Pour the ingredients one by one into a champagne flute in the order presented above. Dangle the lemon twist over the side into the flute.


Lou tends to dinner, as Henry and Edie wait for something to drop on the floor.

The Marriage of Rum and Absinthe

Remember last month when we told you that Steve was playing with rum and absinthe, and that he invented a yummy mule. Well, here’s the recipe for a Lancaster's Mule:

Lancaster’s Mule
(created by Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces white rum
1 teaspoon absinthe
4 ounces ginger beer (the spicier, the better; try Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew)

Method
Stir rum and absinthe in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled highball or double rocks glass. Top with chilled ginger beer.

❤ ❤ ❤

Bottoms up, everybody! Take the time to make a cocktail for a friend or loved one. Make a toast. Sip and smile. What are you waiting for? Ahhh, much better.

Mixology Monday XXX: It’s a Brooklyn Thing

The Brooklyn Nonino, perfect for a Brooklyn sunset.

So, what better way to celebrate the place we live than riff on the classic Brooklyn Cocktail, which unfortunately contains the unattainable Amer Picon (and we had no time to create Amer Boudreau . . . but perhaps next time).

Ah, Brooklyn. The borough we love. Our Brooklyn Cocktail variation, which we imbibed tonight while overlooking the Brooklyn (and Manhattan) skyline, is made using another amaro, one of our favorites, Nonino. Bittersweet bliss. And with the addition of a bit of orange rind, the complexity of all of its components reveals itself exposing a bright New World essence that is this great borough. You’ll already have all the other ingredients at home, so go out and get some of that Nonino, stir until cold, and fuhgettaboutit.

Brooklyn Nonino
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces rye (we used Wild Turkey)
1/2 ounce dry vermouth (we used Noilly Prat)
1/4 ounce Amaro Nonino
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur (we used Luxardo)
orange peel, as garnish

Method

Stir all but garnish in a pint glass 2/3-filled with ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add garnish.


Greetings from the Buzzed Boyz in Brooklyn.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

One Wafer-Thin Mint: Temptation on the Road to Per Se by Way of Sobieski Vodka

This is a tale about the breach of integrity and shamelessly jumping at an opportunity presented mysteriously, as if it were a gift from the culinary gods. In literature, we would say, “It’s about the loss of innocence,” or perhaps a “Faust Story.”

So, it all begins Thursday night. Hanna Lee (who we met in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail), a PR superwoman from Hanna Lee Communications, invites us to the Sobieski Vodka “Spread the Truth” event where she introduces us to Junior Merino (from one of our favorite restaurants, Rayuela, and the newer Macondo). Junior created some new summer drinks for this vodka (Sobieski is an award-winning Polish grain vodka, very inexpensive, and smooth, with a slightly sweet start, and a slightly peppery finish). Although vodka drinks on the rocks are probably our least-favorite cocktails, we do love the addition of fruit and refreshing liqueurs in summertime, so we placed our orders with Junior and his associate Heidi. One called “Sobieski Truth Serum,” was slightly fruity/slightly tart, made with Sobieski Vodka, Veev Liqueur (made from açaí, a Brazilian berry), Republic of Tea Açaí, simple syrup, lime juice, and currants). Another thirst quencher was the “Sobieski Blues”:

Sobieski Blues
(created by Junior Merino)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Sobieski Vodka
1 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 ounce bianco vermouth
1/2 ounce lime juice

Method
Shake in ice. As you strain into highball glass [filled with ice], drop in 8–10 blueberries.

❤ ❤ ❤

The techno music was way too loud, so we headed up to the VIP area, a gorgeous terrace overlooking the west. It was a sultry night, but the outdoors beckoned us and we answered its siren call. While gazing out over Manhattan, we ran into the cutest couple in the world, Kelly Samardak of Media Post Communications, and her boyfriend David. Kelly was snapping photos and accumulating dish for her post, Just an Online Minute, and David joined her for the ride. We chatted endlessly about cocktails, living in New York, and cooking. David told us that his roommate used to work in the kitchen at Per Se, but left because the work methods of the powers that be disturbed his gentle, carefree ways. (For those of you who do not know what Per Se is, bless your hearts. At $275 per person, you are served nine courses of drop-dead gorgeously plated and flavored food. Amuse bouches and mignardises are also guaranteed. Service is reportedly impeccably over-the-top efficient. Word is that trainees are subjected to militaristic dressing-downs in order to perfect their craft.) After listening to Kelly and David go on about how David’s roommate had to get out of there because of the putative institutionalized daily scolds, and after imbibing several of Junior’s drinks, we proclaimed in tipsy solidarity, “We will never go to Per Se.”

Well, the lesson learned is “Never Say Never.”

Jump ahead twelve hours. We receive an e-mail from cousin Barbara: “Please join us Saturday Night. 9:30. Per Se! Barbara’s treat.”

Life works in mysterious ways. Sometimes you send something out in the universe, and the message comes back to challenge you. Only, in this instance, no gauntlet was thrown down, no hair-pulling ambiguity. Our proclamation of the night before was cast into the trash can like an emptied plastic cup.

Our immediate response was unequivocally YES!!!!!!

The evening began at the The Bar at The Four Seasons Hotel where we each imbibed a cocktail (at $22 a pop). We chose the “Allure,” a heady mix of champagne, Frangelico, and blackberries. A refreshing way to start any evening. Barbara looked summer ravishing in a short, Holly-Golightly-like turquoise dress, adorned with only a few strands of sparkly chartreuse green around her neck and her hair slightly up. No earrings, no ostentation, perfection.

Onward via cab to Per Se, which is located in the Columbus Circle Time Warner Center. After four escalator flights, we enter and are instantly amazed. The Asian-influenced blue doors do not open for us. Rather, the windows on either side of the door part and we enter, commenting on how someone thought out of the box to come up with that crafty effect. The food surely had to beguile us with the same sleight of hand.

Barbara’s husband, the adorable Jon, was turning 40, and this was the gift. Well, let us tell you something about turning 40 . . . it’s %$@#! awesome! Jon, with his infectious smile, looked handsome as any New York Dapper Dan.

Our waiter, the dashingly casual, let-me-take-care-of-you-while- you-dine-with-us Jonathan guided us through the nine-course menu, complete with amuse bouche, seemingly endless mignardises, and a tour of the immaculate kitchen (which surprised us for its tight quarters and lack of rows of burners). Highlights of the fare included Pan Roasted Maine Sea Scallop served with Sweetbread–Corn Ravioli, Cipollini Onion with Lovage “Mousseline,” and of course Per Se’s famous “Oysters and Pearls,” a “Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar. The wines all equally impressed, and by the time dessert (one of three) rolled around, we were all feeling a little stuffed. But how could we refuse the first dessert that Jonathan (who by now is our best friend on the planet) brings to us via the well-drilled wait staff, a gorgeous Plum Sorbet made with Santa Rosa Plums, accompanied by Ginger Pudding, Plum Consommé, and a Gingerbread Crisp.

Jonathan had surmised by hearing us chat that we were knowledgeable of spirits and liqueurs, so he tempted Paul with a mystery glass of a dark red–amber spirit. He said it was his new favorite and it had bewitched him from the start. Paul put it up to his nose and announced it was an amaro. Jonathan was impressed. After Paul took sip and informed everyone at the table it was Nonino, Jonathan looked a little shocked. “I can’t believe you guessed that.” What Jonathan didn’t know was that Paul loves amaro and all things bitter, and Nonino is one of his faves.

But the story doesn’t end here, dear reader. If you look again to the title of this piece, you need to ask yourself, “What does a wafer-thin mint have to do with an evening at Per Se?”

Poor Steve. He was tempted by the final mignardise that Jonathan brought to the table, one of his favorites, a Passion Fruit White Chocolate. And as the avoirdupois diner at the end of Monty Python’s Meaning of Life is tempted by one wafer-thin mint to end his food orgy, Steve too reaches for the confection and pops it into his mouth.

Ah, yes, ladies and gentlemen. Karma is a funny thing. Perhaps we should not have proclaimed our solidarity with Kelly and David two nights before the blessed Per Se nonathalon. Or perhaps we should have not sacrificed our integrity for one of the best dining experiences in our lives. In any event, we indulged, and are very happy for all the choices we made.

After Jonathan introduced us to the remaining kitchen and front-of-house staff, he handed each couple a bag full of cookies and led us to the sliding window–doors, waving good-bye and we parted into the chilled evening air of the mall. Innocence lost, integrity compromised, experience . . . priceless.

We’d do it again in a heartbeat.

How Tasty!: Musings on Tastings and Tasters

This article was first published on July 28, 2008, as a part of the 2008 Tales of the Cocktail Blog. It was addressed to the contingency of cocktail bloggers and anyone who cared to read along.

There is no better joy than to see a grown man or woman take a sip of something so utterly breathtaking, words fail to to express the glow of inner peace. Ah, the ineffability of Elysian elixirs. We would love it if they rejuvenated our tired bones and sere skin, or offered us a brief glimpse into the future, but alas, they can only delight, and sometimes intoxicate.

The Tasting Room

Tastings at Tales of the Cocktail were by far the easiest and sometimes most fun method of getting to know a new spirit or being reinvigorated by an old favorite shaken up in a new way. It was also a surefire way to observe firsthand the crazy world of PR, Marketing, and Sales, and meet the people who are their driving force.


Catdaddy: a love affair begins

Our favorites were, in no particular order (but for very particular reasons):

Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine, from Piedmont Distillers, for its sweet kick in the pants (love the way it mixes with the peach-infused Midnight Moon Moonshine and sweet tea); there was even duck confit and crackers for those of us who like a little food with our cocktail;

All the Chartreuses, especially the rare and mind-blowing Elixir Végétal, of which Antoinette Cattani, President of Cattani Imports, touted its curative effects for combating ague. “One dose of this, and a good night’s sleep, and your fever is as good as gone.” We only wish it was available in this country, but the Fed’s won’t allow it because the recipe is secret and the FDA only allows full disclosure of all ingredients that enter this country. Oh well. Next time we’re in France . . . ;


Chesterfield Brown, of Mount Gay

Mount Gay, for the stentorian Chesterfield Brown, the master mixologist who explained to us every step in the distillation and bottling process of each and every rum available at the tasting (we liked the Barbados Sugar Cane Brandy Aged Rum); and

Clément Créole Shrubb Liqueur, for its beguiling orange essence, and that you can sip it all by its lonesome without being disturbed by an alcohol-heavy, or too sweet, aftertaste. As a mixer, it excels.

Tasters, Supertasters, and the Unfortunately Named Nontasters

Darcy S. O’Neill, from Art of Drink, led us on an oral and mental journey of our taste buds in the session titled “Sensory Perception in Mixology/What your taste buds are telling you.” Most of us are Tasters, that is, we have a a certain number of receptors on our tongue (papillae) that tell us if the food we are eating is bitter (our ancestors equated bitter food with poison). Nontasters have fewer taste buds, so they don’t have as strong an aversion to bitter foods and sometimes gravitate towards fatty and sweet foods more easily. Supertasters have a great number of bitter taste-bud receptors on their tongues, and usually hate bitter (and too sweet) foods and drinks. As a result, these people tend to be “picky” or “fussy.” Most children are supertasters, their buds not yet compromised by the effects of a lifetime of challenging their palates.

We put little strips of paper on our tongues that would inform us of our taster status. Supertasters have a huge avesion to the taste of the paper, and want to spit it out immediately, gagging in the process. Tasters scrunch up their faces wrily and complain for the next ten minutes how bad their mouth tastes. Nontasters chew the paper and swallow it as if it were the bitten-off end of a wrapped straw.

What we discovered is that we are not the same . . . which is a good thing! We balance each other: One keeps the other one from over-seasoning food and over-sweetening (or over-bittering) the cocktails. The other encourages more herb and spice play in the kitchen from the first and challenges him to make and shake an occasional cocktail with more zing. We also learned that mood plays an important role in what we are, well, in the mood for when we sit at a bar hoping the bartender will understand without words our very needs. So, offering “flavorful drinks to low-key people” might cheer them up a bit, while perhaps it would be best to avoid too much bitter flavors in a cocktail for a gaggle of “cheerleaders whose team just won the State Championship.”

Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay, So I Make My Own!

Our hats off to Paul Clarke of The Cocktail Chronicles for the “Making Your Own Cocktail Ingredients” session. What a pleasure it was to see all these amazing mixologists relate their tales of the sometimes Hurculean labors it took them to perfect their particular liqueurs, syrups, and bitters. For those of you who were not present, we were treated to Paul’s Falernum #10, a well-balanced blend of rummy spiciness, and Erik Ellestad’s orgeat (Erik, of the Underhill-Lounge in cyberland, was gracious enough to let us take a bottle home with us!), an incredible sweet, almond syrup used in drinks such as the Mai Tai. Jamie Boudreau’s recreation of the unattainable Amer Picon was a bittersweet delight (he calls his “Amer Boudreau,” natch), and we wanted to take some home with us, but the recipe is available on the Web. He was also a hilarious speaker. The 50-50 Manhattan used Jon Derragon’s (of PDT) recreation of the defunct Abbot’s bitters. The flavor bowled us over and made us love the Manhattan all over again (not that we ever fell out of love, but it’s always good to surprise your palate with a new twist on an old classic). And a big surprise which had the whole room abuzz was the Bacon-infused bourbon from PDT. One sip and there was no doubt that infusions had jumped to a new level. Now whether you like it or not is another story. We already have an idea for a cocktail.



We now pose two questions to ourselves:

1. What flavor sensations can we exploit in our own liqueur, syrup, or bitters?; and

2. What will be next year’s new big thing that’ll be on everyone’s tongue (both in spirits and buzz), and will have every mixologist clamoring to play with (and perhaps inspire to recreate)?

Tune in next year, and in the meantime, start steeping, mixing, infusing, and, most important, sipping.