Video reblogged from a teknikolored life. with 2 notes
[Flash 10 is required to watch video]The bar tender in this video is me, I’m not kidding, this was filmed at my bar.
Source: teknikoloredlife
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Lumberjack Breakfast
So, first of all let me apologize for the massive break in posting here, it’s been a really manic few weeks.
Anyway a while back I went out drinking with my mates Cait and Dave, and we started the night at a diner where I ate a Lumberjack Breakfast (blueberry pancakes, bacon, egg and maple syrup) it was such a great night that I figured I would make a drink out of it. So here it is:
50ml Jack Daniels washed/infused with smoked bacon.
25ml Orange juice (Tropicana works well)
2 heaped barspoons of blueberry jam
1.5 bar spoon of maple syrup.
1 Whole egg.
Dry shake all the ingredients, then reshake with ice. Double strain in to a coupe or martini glass, garnish with the spray from orange zest and an espresso cup of filter coffee on the side.
Trust me, this really is a great drink!
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Fall from Grace
This may be the best cocktail that I’ve ever made. I say this because I had an idea of what I wanted to create (a guest asked me for a cocktail involving champagne which led to a flash of creativity.
First of all I would like to say thanks and congratulations (they’re getting married) to Jess and Jack for letting me get them very drunk over several classic (and brand new cocktails) they took this picture of me and my new creation.
The Fall From Grace
20ml Razberry Vodka
20ml Peach Liquer
20ml Fresh Cranberry Juice
Shaken very well over ice, double strained into a chilled cocktail, topped up (pour it down a bar spoon to get the separation) with champagne or sparkling white wine.
The reason I like it so much, is because when you first sip it, all you get is Champagne and a hint of fruit, but it slowly shifts towards the fruit the more you drink. It’s really subtle and elegant in my opinion.
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Salta Spritzer
So I made this drink as the special cocktail on Sunday (British Mothers day). Now I know Spritzers are generally seen as at best, kind of boring, and at worst an easy way to destroy wine, but I really like the concept behind this drink.
The wine I used as a base for this was an Argentinian Torrontes, made in Salta.
I had this idea that it might be nice to add a few splashes of liqueurs to the spritzer, which led me to the idea that I should add the flavours that I could smell on the wine.
The dominant scents on the wine (for me) are Lychee, Elderflower, Peach and Lemon Zest. With this in mind:
12.5 Lychee Liqueur
12.5 Peach Schnapps
20ml St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
I then added ice, topped up the glass halfway with Torrontes wine, and then topped up with sparkling water (I wanted it to be gentler than soda water). I garnished it with a spiral of lemon peel, making sure to spray as much of the lemon oils into and on to the glass as possible.
It was light and refreshing, and if I say so myself, tasted very nice!
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Wonderland Blush
It took me a few goes to get this cocktail right, my mind wasn’t really with it at first. At first I tried adding a dash of sauvignon blanc, but it completely threw the whole balance of the drink.
Anyway, I took a minute to think about it and what I was trying to achieve and then everything started to flow a whole lot better.
So before I go into the recipe for this I’d like to take a moment to say that even though this seems obvious, it’s so important to think about what you are trying to create in a cocktail.
So I wanted something that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. I know it sounds strange, but I’d just read a graphic novel about it recently. Anyway, I was looking for a play between strawberry, vanilla, blackberry and just a touch of elderflower.
So:
35ml Chombord
30ml Vanilla Vodka
20ml Lemon juice
25ml Cranberry juice
20ml Strawberry Purée
1.5 barspoons of sugar
Method: Shake all the ingredients very well over ice, and double strain into a cocktail glass rinsed with with St Germain elderflower liqueur. Garnish with a flamed orange.
One of my workmates told me that it was like tasting a naughty version of childhood. What a compliment!
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The Quest to appreciate Whiskey…
So as a bartender my passion and focus is on cocktails. I really love creating new concoctions from scratch, tweaking classics so that they become more palatable to new drinkers, and of course introducing someone to a favourite classic. However the reality is that there is more to my job than cocktails.
In my mind a good bartender is like a head chef, he or she needs to be the font of all knowledge when it comes to the bar. So yes, that does mean knowing a whole bunch of different cocktail recipes, but it does mean being extremely knowledgeable about all the spirits available on the market. So sure, you need to know the origins and history of the different spirits, their method of production and so on and so forth.
The thing is, all those amount to a huge amount of information. But if you hit the books, it’s not that difficult. There is one area which is actually rather time consuming:
TASTE!
As it currently stands, I know the differences between Lowland and Highland Whiskeys, Irish and Bourbons and so on. However, I haven’t tasted them all, and when I have it’s only been a tiny sip at a time. So when it comes to talking about the qualities of various single malts I sometimes feel like a bit of a fraud.
So with this in mind, I accept that Whiskey will probably never really be my drink of choice, I’m determined to teach myself to really appreciate different whiskeys. So I went for a drink with my brother tonight, and instead of ordering my usual, I sipped my way through a double measure of Jamesons Irish Whiskey. I have to say by the end I was really appreciating the vanilla and caramel flavours that were coming through.
Tomorrow I will be buying a guide to whiskeys and sampling various ones on a daily basis. I will keep you posted. If any of you have any advice I’d be happy to hear it!
Photo reblogged from HeroChan with 40,880 notes
Minimalist DC Superhero Poster - by Michael B. Myers Jr.
I want this in a giant poster.
Source: herochan
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Candied Apple Cosmo
Hey everyone. So each shift I work I have to come up with a special cocktail for the shift. Sometimes when I’m feeling overtaxed I just tweak a classic, and other times I go all out. Last night was one of the all out nights. I haven’t seen this cocktail anywhere before, but I’m sure someone will prove me wrong!
Anyway the recipe:
50ml Apple Sourz
25ml Midori
25ml Absolut Citron
Juice of 2 lime wedges
Splash of apple juice
Splash of Gomme
Method: Dip the rip of a chilled cocktail glass into grenadine then sugar. Shake all the other ingredients over ice (I leave the lime pieces in the shaker) and double strain into the glass. Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry. “Enjoy quickly whilst it’s still laughing at you!)
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A little while ago I posted a piece about a band I went to see (pocket satellite) who have made their way into my all time favourite bands! This is no small feat I assure you!
Anyway, before I get carried away ranting about how freaking awesome they are (check them out!) I should mention that I named a cocktail after their new EP.
The cocktail is called: The Paper Aviator and there is a whole story behind it.
Here it goes: every time I go see pocket satellite play live, they seem to have tied red balloons to the drum kit and various other convenient places on the stage. On top of this the light technicians seem to like bathing them in pale blue lights. Finally their latest EP, and possible favourite of mine, is called Paper Aviator,
I sat down (or rather stood up behind my bar) and thought about this for a while and decided their cocktail needed to be pale blue with a red cherry inside. Naturally the 1930’s classic Aviation Cocktail came to mind, but I decided to make it fruitier so that Maya (lead singer of the band would enjoy drinking it).
I know the cocktail in the picture looks white, but that’s only because the bar is so so dark that it’s hard to see, I promise you it is a pale blue with a maraschino cherry inside (or tiny tiny red balloon).
The Recipe:
35.5ml London Dry Gin
25ml St Germain Elderflower liqueur
25ml Lemon juice
12.5ml Peach shnapps
25ml Lychee Liquer
15ml Gomme Syrup
Enough Violette liqueur to turn the drink pale blue.
Method: Add all ingredients into a shaker in any order. Shake the living daylights out of it. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry. Enjoy
P.S: Thank you to the totally immense Pocket Satellite!
P.S: Many props to Fred my fellow bartender for the picture, and putting up with me on a semi-daily basis!
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