Kronenhalle

I was tired from a long day at work in Zurich and so I looked forward to a good drink at my last stop on my Europe bar journey: Kronenhalle. Kronenhalle has an atmosphere quite similar to Widder Bar, comfortable and warm, but smoke-filled like all bars in Switzerland. It's a classy establishment too, quality paintings on the walls and most people dressed up in spiffy evening garb. I felt very out of place in my work gear: a t-shirt, jumper and jeans.

I quickly ordered my first. The service was little different to the other bars in Zurich, the bartenders seemed unexcited and serious, with an attention to detail that would rival James Joyce. Such attention is only worthwhile when suitably directed and unfortunately, the drinks produced were extraordinarily average. My first was called the "Kron Spezial", containing the natural combination of gin, Cointreau, apricot liqueur and grapefruit. Sickly sweet. Too heavy on the apricot, and as most of you will know, that just spells death for a drink.

Second up was an Old Fashioned. I must say, when a bar claims to have a "crew of master bartenders", I really expect to not have soda in my Old Fashioned. It tasted somewhere between bourbon and swamp water, as all such creations do. Very disappointing.

I bid a hasty retreat after this couple. I do hesitate to give outright bad reviews. Usually, for example, a bar with ordinary drinks may have a cool vibe to make it worthwhile. However, I didn't find anything positive about this place. Lousy service, poor (and expensive) drinks and a smoky room really leave nothing much in the way of redeeming features.

Mixology Monday XLV: Tea

Well isn't this convenient? A Mixology Monday on Tea, just as I have finished creating my green tea bitters. I do love using tea in cocktails, it makes wonderful infusions as well as being part of some of the great new classics like Audrey Saunders' Earl Grey MarTEAni. But, given my new bitters, I just have to use them, don't I?

Let's start with the recipe for the bitters themselves.

Green Tea Bitters

Lime zest infusion
Cucumber infusion
Bittering blend
Lin Yun infusion
Jasmine green tea infusion
Lung Ching infusion
Genmaicha infusion
Rose infusion

Combine the infusions until the desired flavour profile is achieved. I ended up with the ratios 3:4:6:7:4:4:5:4 in the order above, but I wouldn't use that as a guide. To this, add an amount of freshly made tea with the four teas above, until reduced to the desired strength. All of the infusions were made simply with 100 proof vodka, for the specifics see the original post.

The bitters were a moderate success. I readily call these my "Green Tea Bitters No. 1", since I believe I can improve on this recipe in the future with the knowledge I've gained from this iteration. Nevertheless, with the correct ratios the flavours were all there, the rose, jasmine, lime and cucumber included in addition to the different teas. But these flavours are not bright and sunny like citrus or punchy like aromatic bitters. Instead they are muted and subtle. Therefore they must be used in greater quantities in a cocktail than would normal bitters and so the strength has been reduced appropriately. "Bitters" is probably not even the right name, but let's stick with it for now. A big surprise is the incredible drying sensation of the bitters, much like you get with a very tannic red wine. This makes them even more interesting to use in cocktails.

In the creation of my cocktail for today, I was inspired by Tony Conigliaro's truly dry martini, which uses a dry essence of distilled tannins.

Here Comes the Sun

2 1/2oz gin (I chose Aviation, but I think Beefeater 24 would be a no-brainer to try, if only I had any)
1/2oz green tea bitters
2 dashes maraschino
lemon zest (for garnish)

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

And the verdict? It tastes pretty much how I wanted. The simplicity of the drink allows all of the complexity of the bitters to shine through, contrasting with some of the floral elements in the gin. The maraschino serves to take the edge off the drying aspect of the bitters, though I did consider using extra dry vermouth for a different experience entirely. The lemon zest is definitely necessary and serves to tie everything together. It's a good, solid drink and quite tasty for those used to martini-family cocktails.

I think these bitters have some versatility. Particularly with the addition of a little simple syrup (or similar) they could be used in place of aperitif bitters in cocktails, which may prove a more appropriate use. Nevertheless, the Here Comes the Sun is a good demo drink to place the bitters really at the front and centre and show what they are made of.

Thanks of course go to the host of this Mixology Monday: Frederic & company at Cocktail Virgin Slut and also to the folks at Mixology Monday. I had tremendous fun with this MxMo, here's to many more!

Widder Bar

From Munich I travelled to Zurich where I set up shop to work from my company's local office for the week. A couple of bars in town were recommended to me by the folks at Le Lion, and I am also half Swiss, so I was greatly looking forward to experiencing the cocktail efforts of Switzerland.

* My first attempt in Zurich was Widder Bar, a hotel bar attached to the Widder Hotel in Zurich's Augustiner quarter. It's got quite a nice atmosphere, very comfortable with red leather chairs and a pianist playing standards in the background. Smoking is legal, and common, in swiss bars, so I was put off by the haze of smoke around me. Fortunately, smoking in the immediate area of the bar is discouraged, so I managed to get a relatively smoke-free area.

I spied a "Gin and Red Basil smash" on their menu, which sounded like a great little variation on the Gin Basil Smash I encountered at Le Lion, so that was my first. I noticed pretty immediately the idiosyncrasies of the Widder Bar bartenders, they are very finicky, choosing shakers by their temperature, putting exactly the right amount of ice into the shaker, making sure every bottle is precisely turned and positioned in presentation style on the bar as they are used, arranging the ice in the glass as the drink is poured. They also rarely smiled.

One would hope that with such a serious, attentive attitude to the drink that it would be wonderful. Unfortunately this was not the case. The drink was seriously unbalanced towards gin, with the basil showing up as a background echo. Slightly too little water also. Really not a pleasant drink... well, not any more that plain gin on ice is, but that's not what I had asked for.

The second was better. It was a G&T variation consisting of gin, maraschino, cucumber, tonic and peppermint. The mintiness of the peppermint contrasted in an interesting way with the maraschino and gin. Nothing to blow my mind, but was interesting enough and reasonably well executed.

For my third, now comfortably skeptical of the cocktails, I simply had a Caol lla 18yr. One certainly positive thing to say about the Swiss, they do love their scotch. And indeed, the menu at Widder Bar had several pages of them, including a number of rare and obscure drams. I was not in the mood for anything particularly expensive, but mine hit the spot just right. The ability to smoke was a blessing as well as a curse, so I decided to have my once-in-a-blue-moon cigar in the bar with my scotch. It was an interesting experience, although no superior than having a scotch and a cigar anywhere else.

Overall, meh. The drinks were moderately poor and although the prices were fairly standard for Switzerland, this comes off as being outrageously expensive to anyone else. Considering the quality of the drinks as well, the bartenders came off as just anal, rather than perfectionist. I think, if you're in Zurich and dying for a cocktail, this place might have to do, otherwise go elsewhere or simply do what the Swiss do, and have a scotch.

* Photo courtesy of myswitzerland.com

Negroni Bar

Continuing on my travels around Europe...

It was 1am on a brisk Friday night in Munich. I had just been at a concert* and really wasn't prepared to sleep, so I travelled across town to get to my next stop: Negroni Bar.

In all honesty, because this was Munich, a town that has a strong reputation for beer, I had little hope for Negroni Bar despite the recommendation from Mario at Le Lion. Fortunately, I am often surprised.

Negroni Bar is interesting. Walking in, it feels somewhere between a local pub and a cocktail bar, which is hardly surprising considering this is Munich after all. It's very comfortable and low-key, no fancy speakeasy gimmicks and the bar is well supplied, but understated.

The menu is generous but well-laid out so not quite as intimidating as other menus of similar sizes. Most notable is the whole page list of Negroni variations at the start. How could I not? I began with one of these, the Negroni Magnifique. The drink consisted of gin, Campari, dry vermouth and absinthe with a lemon peel garnish. Certainly an interesting idea, but while I like the concept I think the absinthe was actually overpowered** by the potent flavours in the Campari and the vermouth. So I'm undecided on the drink. I've tried this combination a couple of times at home since and can't quite find the balance, but my gut tells me there's a winner in here somewhere, it just requires some very fine tuning.

My second was a Gin Fizz with Ginger - Beefeater gin, ginger, soda, lemon juice and simple. Really nice. Just a simple drink, perfectly balanced and surprisingly refreshing despite my reticence to try such summery drinks during winter. The fresh ginger really made the drink. Nothing better than absolutely fresh ingredients to create a winning cocktail.

By this time I was chatting with Mauro Mahjoub, one of the owners of the bar, who gave me a look into the German cocktail world and bartending. However, the one thing that can not be missed, Mauro mentioned his cocktail books collection. Approximately 2000 in all. That's truly amazing. Unfortunately I did not get to see this amazing library before I departed Munich the following day, but I look forward to experiencing it.

While chatting, I had a couple more. The first was a half-passionfruit topped with Dillon rhum agricole and brown sugar. Anything this simple and fresh had to be wonderful. And it was. There's really nothing else to add. The second was a shot drink, with passionfruit, lime and rum. Again, something so simple is perfection itself. The zesty lime and rum is very invigorating.

And that was it. Despite my initial trepidation I was mightily impressed by this cocktail bar in the beer heart of Bavaria. The cocktails are fairly priced (~8€ a piece) and skillfully made. The bartenders are friendly and, like all the bartenders in Europe it seems, very patient with my ineptitude in their native language. If you are in Munich and have a craving for cocktails, Negroni Bar is certainly worth a visit.

* Muse! It was awesome!
** I can't believe I'm saying that about absinthe

Experimental Cocktail Club

Since it's been around two months since I arrived back from Europe, and I'm now having a thoroughly enjoyable romp around Wellington, I thought it might be time to conclude my Europe adventures. When we last left off, I was in Delirium Café in Belgium. After that, I travelled to Paris, where I visited the Experimental Cocktail Club.*

The Experimental Cocktail Club has what is almost a predictable speakeasiness to it. Not that this is a bad thing. It's tried and tested, to be sure, so I felt at home. There are a few nice touches, the chandelier for one, made of curious interlocking slices of transparent material. It's small, cozy, and secluded in a back alley with a subtle entrance. All normal, in other words.

The bartender, Michael, was friendly and whipped up an interesting first drink for me. The Stone Sour** piqued my attention through its modification of the traditional Jack Rabbit (or Applejack Rabbit) cocktail. The Stone Sour substitutes rye for applejack and adds smoky Islay scotch over the top, giving it a much deeper and dryer profile. The drink is also served in sour form, whereas I'm used to Jack Rabbits in cocktail glasses. It is a thoroughly enjoyable drink for the scotch fan. Since I am unaware of the proportions of the Stone Sour, here is the recipe for the eminently drinkable Applejack Rabbit:

Applejack Rabbit

1.5oz Applejack
0.5oz maple syrup
0.5oz lemon juice
0.5oz orange juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish. Note that you will have to play around with proportions to get it just right, but it's a pretty hard drink to ruin.

A nice variation, due to Soren Sorensen of Le Lion in Hamburg is to add an absinthe rinse, which adds terrific complexity.

Second in my ECC list was the "Carina's Experience" - Cognac, Miller's gin, Carpano Antico, Lavender and Bitter Truth Aromatic. The drink intrigued me due to the inclusion of a lavender tincture, lavender being very tricky to use. However the drink was excellent. The lavender was well controlled and contrasted well with the gin and Carpano. The combination is well balanced and just esoteric enough to make it really interesting.

Next up was a classic Aviation with Beefeater and Bitter Truth Violette. Naturally, this was just an excuse for me to try the Bitter Truth Violette. I was quite impressed. Compared to the pleasant but muted profile of the Rothman and Winter Violette I have at home, the BT offering was lively and fresh. I'll have to try and get my hands on a bottle.

Staying with almost classics, a rum manhattan and then a Negroni, both with cherry bitters. I can't exactly remember what prompted the two cherry bitters drinks, but I believe it may have been something to the effect of me mentioning off hand that I hadn't really been convinced of the commercial cherry bitters I had tried so far. I've heard wonderful things about Jamie Boudreau's cherry bitters, but haven't obtained or made them yet. The two drinks I had were not enough to turn me into a convert, but they were better than expected. The Negroni in particular (using Aperol instead of Campari) had a powerful sweet to bitter transition that brought an extra buzz to the classic formula. Still, I'm a sucker for the classics so I think I'll be sticking with the original mostly.

Finally a Vieux Carré. I had asked the very bored looking second bartender for a drink (I've forgotten her name, unfortunately. Apologies.) so she made me a mysterious concoction consisting of rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, angostura and peychaud's bitters. When I tried to guess what it was, she told me it was a Vieux Carré. I said that the drink I had was good, but that a Vieux Carré has Benedictine. At which point, despite my best efforts she nabbed the drink back and remade it. Can't fault her enthusiasm!

So that's quite a list of drinks for one night. I had a very nice time at the Experimental Cocktail Club, and the service and quality of produce really compared quite well to my experiences in other Paris establishments. The menu had a good set of originals and classics and the bartenders were courteous and patient with my complete lack of French understanding.

The one really wonderful thing about this place though, that deserves special mention, was the music. The DJ, Fred, was very good and played a great mix of non-intrusive but moody bar music that very much set the tone for the entire place. He was so talented I felt inclined to tip him at the end of the night, but he turned down my tip! The music here truly elevated the experience, and that's something I can't say about any other cocktail joint I've been to.

* For those of you waiting on the conclusion to my bitters experiments, don't worry! I've delayed that to account for January's Mixology Monday. So it's coming!

** I believe that's the name. The strong French accent did obfuscate things a little.

Mahler

I'm back from my Christmas break! Hopefully I'll be able to post more regularly again now.

I had been contemplating a summer drink for this hot summer's evening. I sought to use my Strawberry gastrique*, which I had recently made up for dinner a few nights ago, and scotch, which I though might pair pleasantly. I started off with the Mamie Taylor as my model. I added my gastrique, and since the drink clearly needed another ingredient, I also added Green Chartreuse. It's quite a combination:

Mahler

2oz blended scotch
1/4oz Green Chartreuse
3/4oz strawberry gastrique
1/2oz lime juice
ginger beer

Build all except ginger beer in a higball glass and stir well with ice. Top with the ginger beer. To make the strawberry gastrique:

1 1/2cups white vinegar
1 1/2cups sugar
10oz fresh strawberries
juice 1 lemon + zest
1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves

Boil all ingredients for 20 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to break up strawberries. Strain mixture through cheesecloth, bottle and refrigerate.

It's certainly a flavourful drink. The already complex green chartreuse and gastrique mixed with the smokiness of the scotch and a good ginger beer generate an intimidating symphony of tastes (intimidating symphonies make me think of Mahler). Nevertheless, despite the waves crashing on the palette, the highball combination of cocktail, ice and ginger beer makes an excellent heat quencher for the cocktailian suffering through the Australian summer.

I must give due credit to Jeffrey Morgenthaler for the idea of using gastrique in a cocktail. The idea comes from this February 2008 Mixology Monday post. In the post Jeffrey presents the recipe for the amazing Flor de Baya cocktail. At the time I first read it, I was relatively new to cocktails, and it was one of those drinks that showed me just how deep the cocktail rabbit hole is.

Flor de Baya

2 oz Sauza Hornitos tequila
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
2 barspoons cranberry gastrique

Shake ingredients over cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lime. To make cranberry gastrique:

1 1/2cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 oz fresh cranberries
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 star anise
4 cloves

Boil all ingredients for 20 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to break up cranberries. Strain mixture through cheesecloth, bottle and refrigerate.

This is just about the best Margarita variation I've had the pleasure of trying. The fruit and vinegar mix adds an amazing fresh complexity to the immortal cocktail. Truly excellent.

* A traditional French sauce consisting of fruit, sugar and vinegar sauce. It is commonly served with meats.

Mixology Monday XLIV: Money Drinks

Another monthish, another Mixology Monday. This month's topic is cool. Money Drinks. According to the description this could mean one of two things. First, those eminently wonderful drinks that can sell classy cocktails to anyone:

A “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless of tastes or distastes about the spirits involved ... example: turning someone onto a Corpse Reviver #2 when they like lemon drops.

Second, it could be one of those fancy, expensive drinks with crazy quality ingredients that you would only crack out for special requests or special occasions.

... for example mixing your regular Sazerac, but breaking out the Red Hook Rye and the Jade Edouard absinthe for a Sazerac capable of breaking the sound barrier.

Now, me being me I tried to capture the both of them in a slight modification of one of my favorite drinks of all time. The original drink is the Blood and Sand. An amazing mix of scotch, sweet vermouth, orange juice and cherry liqueur that I love to use as a way of introducing new people to the world of scotch cocktails. I find that scotch can be easily one of the biggest hurdles for a new cocktailian, so this drink allows the drinker to come to terms with scotch and scotch cocktails in a way that is mellow, fruity and sweet enough to be accessible, but still so complex that it never loses its edge after having them time and time again.

So we have the first part down. The classic Blood and Sand is a wonderful gateway to scotch. What I present now is a variation that originally hails from Le Lion - Bar de Paris in Hamburg, though I have in turn put my own twist on it. The idea that I shamelessly steal is to use a smoky single malt scotch in the mix, rather than a blend, which brings a lovely change of profile to the drink and allows a scotch connoisseur to appreciate a fine Islay malt in the context of a cocktail. The drink has to be rebalanced, of course, to account for this change.

My personal twist is, rather than using the traditional Cheery Heering or the more modern, but equally good, Guignolet de Dijon as the cherry component I use my own concoction. I was playing with cherry juice today in preparation for making brandied cherries. Having made the brandying mix, I decided that the mix itself would work beautifully in a Blood and Sand. Thus, here it is, my pimped version of the Blood and Sand. I call it the "Crimson Tide", but it's really just a fancy Blood and Sand.

Crimson Tide

1 1/4oz smoky single malt scotch
3/4oz orange juice
3/4oz homemade "cherry brandy" (see below)
1/2oz sweet vermouth
orange zest, for garnish

Combine all and shake with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange zest.

To make the "cherry brandy" it's dirt simple, just get the juice from a jar of morello cherries, reduce by half. Then add decent brandy to bring it back to the original volume, and add a small amount of maraschino liqueur and cherry bitters to taste. To the skeptics: try it, it really works! Makes a great brandying agent too, just throw it back in the jar with the cherries and a week later you'll have tasty homemade brandied cherries for Manhattans etc.

Here's what it looks like:

I've chosen to use Laphroaig 10yr because it happens to be one of my favourites, but you could just as easily upgrade this! I would only note that as the scotch gets better, you should increase the proportion of it in your cocktail, since it should be more and more the 'central' character of the experience. Also, as always with oranges, change the proportion to account for seasonal changes in the fruit.

Obviously with the cost of the scotch and the moderate labour intensity of the cherry brandy, this is not something you want to be making every day. However, when you want a really special Blood and Sand, the Crimson Tide is a worthy upgrade. The smoky quality scotch brings a lot of sophistication to the drink, while the other ingredients effortlessly float around it. The simple fruity sourness of the cherry mix actually works really well here, despite having less complexity than Heering, since it again emphasises the scotch as the king of this drink. Over all of this though, it is still a Blood and Sand at heart. I hope you enjoy it!

As usual, cheers to the host for hosting this MxMo! This month it is Kevin Langmack of Beers in the Shower. Kudos!