Quantcast
Channel: Ingredients – bartending.ch
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 8

Competitions & Recipes March

0
0

March was a quite a prolific month: 16 new creations, 6 different competitions and a whole bunch of lucky finds. 

Havana Club Grand Prix

This was the toughest, fairest competition I did so far: sent in a new recipe representing a modern Cuba, do a speed round (make 6 different drinks as fast as possible) and identify different rums and spirits in a blind tasting. The top 3, which I was lucky enough to be one of, then were teamed up with the other competitors and had to come up with three new cocktails to pair with three dishes Michelin-starred chef Dave Wälti from Eisblume in Bern had prepared. 

As far as the drinks go, I’m happy about how I prepared for the speed round, tweaking the classical recipes to taste fresh and be easy to prepare – indeed, I’m quite proud I managed to be the fastest by far!

Also, the two of the drinks we came up with for the food pairing challenge were pretty damn tasty. This is probably due to the ideas of my team mates, so credit also goes to Nicola of Little Barrel in Geneva and Andre from Hafebar in Solothurn. Across the board, I was pretty un-impressed with most Cuba Moderna cocktails (mine included, unfortunately), and the presentations. Many competitors chose sustainability as their theme, which was boring and prompted all sorts of vessels to needlessly stand in for a nice glass. In saying that, the winner, Jason Candid, did really well in all challenges and deserved to win! 

Apart from that, I think the tastiest thing at this competition was the non-alcoholic chaser I served with my Cuba Moderna cocktail.

Horchata
  1. 100 gr uncooked Basmati rice
  2. 1000 gr water
  3. 1 cinnamon stick
  4. 1 split vanilla bean
  5. 1 lime's zest, microplaned
  1. Blend rice and water on high for 3 minutes, sit for 3 hours, then pass through cheesecloth. Add remaining ingredients to rice water, infuse for 48 hours and filter.
  2. Serve iced in highball glass rimmed with cardamon-cinnamon sugar.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

 

Mariela

My Cuba Moderna cocktail was inspired by a Cuban dish called moros y cristianos (black beans and rice). It is dedicated to Mariela Castro, who not only is the daughter of Raul Castro, but also a leading LGBT rights activist in Cuba. For me, the argument was that a modern society is one that embraces diversity, be that racial, religious, sexual or cultural diversity.

It was the first competition presentation for me that revolved around something more substantial than the usual talk of the grandmother’s recipe, childhood memories and national identity of whatever bottle the competition prompts you to say something favourable about. I didn’t do it particularly well, nor did the cocktail taste amazing; but to speak about something that actually matters to me during a competition was new, and something I’m definitely going to pursue more in the future.

In saying that, I conceptually overloaded the presentation. I should have focused solely on moros y cristianos, and worked harder to make a tasty drink. I could’ve infused the horchata below with some spices (or use a roasted rice?), and, as judge Rory Shephert of Little Red Door kindly suggested, use Dolin Blanc instead of Noilly Prat.

Also, the sugared beans were not particularly tasty; there must be a better way to make them sweeter and infuse them with some complimentary, surprising flavour (arrack, cocoa, fruity black tea, coffee?).

Mariela
  1. 50 ml Havana 3
  2. 30 ml black horchata*
  3. 20 ml dry vermouth (Noilly Prat)
  4. 5 ml Galliano Autentico
  1. Throw 6 times with ice, then strain into coupette. Garnish with kuromame** and mint.
  2. * blend 20 gr of black rice with 100 ml of water on high for 5 minutes, steep for 3 hours, then strain. Keep this fella in the fridge at all times, it will ferment crazy fast if left at room temperature.
  3. ** soak 100 gr Japanese black beans in 600 ml water overnight, add 100 gr cane sugar and cook for 4 hours. Add 50 ml soy sauce, and steep for 6 hour more in the fridge.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

 

Me Respala

The one drink that really stood out at Cuba Moderna challenge was Taweechai Frick’s Me Respala. His presentation of the drink in particular blew my mind – the photo doesn’t fully capture the visual dramaturgy he achieved by placing the broken glass on the canvas with a fake foot made from chocolate. This is storytelling without words like I’ve never seen before!

Me Respala
  1. 40 ml Havana Club 7, infused with pineapple rinds
  2. 20 ml lime cordial*
  3. 2 ds Havana Club Essence of Cuba Island Fruit
  1. Stir and strain.
  2. * Mix zests of 16 limes, 600 gr sugar and sit for 24 hours. Heat 700 ml lime juice to 40° C, add 2 ml pectinase, sit for 1 hour. Add 2 ml Kieselsol (15%), sit for 15m, then add 2 ml Chitosan (1%) and sit again for 15m. Add another 2 ml Kieselsol, then centrifuge for 15m at 4600 RPM. Pass through cheesecloth, then dissolve lime sugar in 600 ml of clarified lime juice. Strain and bottle.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/
I haven’t tried this, but I remember an article on mixology.eu about a clarified lime cordial that uses agar instead of a centrifuge. Agar, amongst other benefits and quite unlike the centrifuge, has the advantage of being readily available in a supermarket.

 

5 second Mojito & mint syrup

It is only thanks to this competition that I finally took some time to take apart the Mojito, and play around with Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s mint syrup. Aren’t I glad that I did: a mint syrup that is easy to make, doesn’t turn brown, doesn’t taste cooked.

While it was really nice for the speed challenge to be able to dish out a tasty Mojito in no time at all, we keep the syrup on stock in Spitz Bar now and it makes my life so much easier: think instant Champagne Juleps, think easy Spritzes (or Spitzes, as we call them), think no f*** pieces of mint stuck in the shaker!

Mojito
  1. 50 ml Havana Club 3
  2. 30 ml lime juice
  3. 30 ml mint syrup*
  4. 50 ml soda
  1. Build, add crushed ice, straw, dehydrated lime wheel steeped in Angostura.
  2. * place 1 bunch of mint in boiling water for 12 seconds, then immediately place in ice water. Remove leaves and blend with 500 ml of simple syrup (1:1) on high for 1 minute. Pass through cheesecloth, then bottle.
Adapted from Nico Colic
Adapted from Nico Colic
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Cuanchancharra

Originally a Cuban classic using honey, lime or lemon, rum. I find this a bit dull, so I swapped out the honey for Bénédictine (which is sweetened with honey). With this drink, bee pollen provides a beautiful nose, but they tend to make drinks look messy pretty fast. So I prepared a piece of honey comb to which I glued some pollen with honey so that they would not float around in the drink and dissolve into an unsightly mess.

Cuanchancharra
  1. 50 ml Havana Club 3
  2. 30 ml lime juice
  3. 30 ml Bénédictine
  1. Build in highball glass, add crushed ice and straw. Garnish with honey comb and bee pollen.
Adapted from Nico Colic
Adapted from Nico Colic
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Hotel Nacional

Remembering Dave Arnold’s Liquid Intelligence, I decided to freeze pineapple juice and dried apricot puree, and use these ingredients in lieu of ice in the blender. Not only the fastest, but also the tastiest way since you forgo the additional dilution that blending with ice normally incurs.

Hotel Nacional
  1. 50 ml Havana Club 3
  2. 30 ml lime juice
  3. 6 frozen pineapple-apricot cubes* (2 cubic centimetres each)
  1. Blend for 30 seconds, then garnish with chopped pistaccio
  2. * blend 20 gr of dried apricots with 100 ml of pineapple juice, then pass through a fine sieve. Sweeten if necessary, then freeze.
Adapted from Nico Colic
Adapted from Nico Colic
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Havana 7 Old Fashioned

Normally, I like my Old Fashioneds as simple as possible, often even omitting the citrus peel. However, while Havana 7 is a decent rum with a good woodsy structure, it doesn’t offer the complexity I’m looking for in a spirit for an Old Fashioned. Consequentially, this is Old Fashioned take adds fruitiness from the port wine to offset the rum’s dryness, and uses a playful, aromatic garnish that plays to its tobacco and cocoa notes.

Havana 7 Old Fashioned
  1. 50 ml Havana Club 7
  2. 10 ml spiced port reduction*
  1. Build in rocks glass, add ice and stir. Garnish with olive leaf that has been sprayed with olive oil.
  2. * 100 ml Ruby port, 25 ml Angostura, 50 gr sugar. Stir on low heat until dissolved.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

El Presidente

Researching this drink, I found a plethora of different recipes, some framing this cocktail as a Manhattan-style drink with pomegranate molasses, others interpreting it as a light, aperitif-style drink. I find the latter style more intriguing, mainly because I cannot think of many rum aperitifs.

As such, I decided to leave the grenadine out of the drink, to keep it dry and refreshing; and rather introduce it as a playful garnish. It’s dehydrated pomegranate juice, which, ironically, the idea to use I got from Evdokimova’s 2013 Bacardí Legacy cocktail.

Lillet already has a strong orange taste, allowing me to cut the curaçao and save more time.

El Presidente
  1. 50 ml Havana Club 3
  2. 25 ml Lillet Blanc
  1. Build in tumbler, stir and garnish with lavashak anar*
  1. * Cook 200 ml pomegranate juice with 1 cubed pear until reduced to 50 ml. Strain, spread on parchment paper, then dehydrate.
Adapted from Nico Colic
Adapted from Nico Colic
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

The Fisheye Martini

The dish we paired this cocktail with was a fatty fish. With such dishes, boozy, dry cocktails tend to work well, cutting through the fat and refreshing the palate. The addition of ginger further amplified this effect; and using Beefeater 24, which uses some Japanese green tea that tends to have a fishy taste, worked particularly well.

Fisheye Martini
  1. 40 ml Havana Club 3
  2. 10 ml gingered Beefeater 24*
  3. 15 ml Noilly Prat, infused with wakame**
  1. Stir and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with toasted nori and flamed mandarin zest.
  2. * 10 gr sliced ginger, 100 gr Beefeater 24, 1 hour.
  3. ** 10 gr wakame, 100 gr Noilly Prat, 1 hour.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

The Pornstar Bellini

Of the drinks I created for Havana Club Grand Prix, this is the one I’m most proud of: it’s an explosion of flavour and a marvellously tasty drink. 

Pornstar Bellini
  1. 40 ml Havana Selección de Maestros
  2. 10 ml carrot juice
  3. 5 ml fresh coconut cream
  4. 50 ml champagne
  1. Shake all ingredients except champagne, then add champagne, strain and garnish with tarragon caramel grid* and curry leaf.
  2. * Infuse 100 ml simple syrup (1:1) with 10 gr of tarragon for 1h, then strain and reduce to soft caramel. With a spoon, drizzle over a parchment paper to make a grid, let dry.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Lucky Find: Amore in Italy

Part of the competition took place in Traube Bar in Bern, where the bartenders served me the following drink when I really couldn’t care for more rum. It was love at first sight: 3 ingredients, easy to reproduce, all the aromas lined up! This is one of these drinks I wish I had come up with; and that I owe now several hangovers to.

Amore in Italy
  1. 30 ml mezcal (I use Alipus San Miguel de Sola)
  2. 30 ml Bonal
  3. 30 ml Cynar
  1. Stir, strain into coupette.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Linie The Journey competition

A competition judged by Monika Berg & Alex Kratena. Yes, please! The goal was to be inspired by any of the ports that Linie stops at when shipping their aquavit around the world for ageing. Being the Japanophile that I am, naturally my choice fell on Yokohama. Incidentally, this is the city where supposedly the Bamboo cocktail was conceived. This is particularly fitting, seeing that Linie matures their aquavit in sherry barrels. The drink I came up with is bone-dry, keeping in style with the Bamboo; and would make a great food pairing cocktail.

Yokohama is also a jazz city, so the name of the drink plays on Minoru Muraoka, a jazz artist who played a Japanese bamboo flute. Check out his music here.

Minoru Martini
  1. 25 ml fino or manzanilla sherry
  2. 25 ml umamified vermouth*
  3. 25 ml Linie aquavit
  1. Stir ingredients, then strain into chilled coupette. Garnish with a single grain of pink pepper, and express oils of grapefruit peel onto surface.
  2. * Steep two bar spoons of bonito flakes in 100 ml Noilly Prat for 5m, then strain and add 10 gr sugar.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Lucky Find: Rivington’s Spring Menu

Having worked at Hotel Rivington & Sons for 5 years, I was invited to one of their team meetings and asked to give my feedback to what they are planning for the new menu. Overall, there will be some pretty tasty drinks, but one of them, proposed by Lee Legis, really stood out!

It takes former manager David Marxer’s golden ratio for sophisticated spritzes as a template: 30 amaro, 30 wine-y stuff, 30 lemon juice, 22.5 syrup and soda; which during my time in Rivington we actually based a whole bunch of our drinks on.

Golden Ratio
  1. 30 ml Gran Glassico
  2. 30 ml amontillado sherry
  3. 30 ml lemon juice
  4. 22.5 ml wheat beer syrup*
  1. Shake, strain into chilled highball on the rocks, top off with soda
  2. * blend equal parts of Paul 08 wheat beer and sugar (by weight) until dissolved.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

 

Diageo World Class

This year, World Class is doing something completely new and is asking bartenders to submit a cocktail using modern, groundbreaking techniques while keeping with a general theme of sustainability! This is vastly different from the years before, when the topics were more focused on sustainability or new techniques! #mindblown

Anyway, sustainability is important, but in the bar world, I haven’t seen anything inspiring since Dandelyan started their trash tiki project in 2016 and were making cordials from spent lime shells. If I have to eat one milk curd that remains from some witty milk punch twist in the name of sustainability, I’m going to stab a dolphin with a non-degradeable plastic straw.

So, I tried to take a more zen approach to sustainability, and started with this quote from Suzuki: 

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself

For me, there are three aspects to leaving no trace

Firstly, when we prepare a drink, we give our full attention to every detail: The temperature, the garnish, the glass ware. This is the most direct interpretation of Suzuki’s quote. With full attention to the detail, there remains no ego. However, it is very easy to get lost in the details, which happens when the bartender tries to impress the guest to feed his ego.

I think we should try to leave no trace in the interaction with our guests: The guests don’t need to be impressed with our egos and our achievements, but rather, we should try to make them feel good about themselves. This is the second aspect.

Thirdly, and most importantly, we cannot leave an ecological foot print behind in this world. Every straw we throw away, every bit of produce that goes unused adds to the environmental stress. 

Consequentially, my cocktail tries to be thoughtful in every of these aspect, but humble in presentation, and aiming at leaving as little trace as possible.

Traceless
  1. 30 ml Jinzu, carrot butter washed (I)
  2. 25 ml natsumikan juice (II)
  3. 10 ml coconut cream (III)
  4. 10 ml honey syrup (IV)
  5. carrot ash for garnish (V)
  1. Shake and fine strain into chilled ceramic cup. Garnish with carrot ash and one drop of toasted sesame oil.
  2. I: Carrots are tasty, but the cellulose that it contains gives a woodsy flavour. The process below strips away the cellulose, and gives carrot flavour that tastes better than actual carrots.
  3. Peel carrots (retain peels for ash) and juice. Mix equal parts of carrot juice and melted clarified butter (ghee) in blender for about 2 minutes. Bring resulting liquid to a boil and skim off cellulose floating to the surface. Chill and retain carrot butter.
  4. Melt 10 gr of butter for every 100 ml of Jinzu, mix, chill and infuse for 1h, then strain.
  5. II: If not available, substitute mandarin juice.
  6. III: Simmer 200 gr of shredded, fresh coconut in 50 gr of milk for 1 hour, then strain through cheesecloth.
  7. IV: Mix 100 gr of honey with 100 gr of warm water to dissolve. Use local forest honey.
  8. V: Spread carrot peels on baking tray, bake for 1h at 180° C, then pulverise and run through fine sieve.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Lucky Find: Bar 63’s new menu

Bar 63 have very conceptual menus, focusing on a specific topic like fruit brandies, Scandiavia, Daiquiri-variations etc. For this spring, they’re taking their guests to the Alps! Lots of herbal liqueurs and gentianes, which I find quite daring and innovative, given that the average Zurichois still thinks the Moskow Mule the pinnacle of modern mixology. The drinks we had were great; very typical of Bar 63’s style in that they are straight-forward, made with little fuzz and pretence, and focus on the products.

Green Suzette
  1. 40 ml Suze
  2. 15 ml crème de violette (Bitter Truth)
  3. 5 ml maraschino
  1. Stir and strain into chilled Nick & Nora glass.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Chivas Masters 2018

Next up was Chivas Masters, where last year I managed to get into the Swiss top 3. As part of the final, we got to stay at a the Linn House near the distillery, and received a bottle of 31 year old cask strength Chivas. That stuff was so tasty it didn’t even make it into the new year; so this is my motivation to participate again!

The challenge was to make a cocktail and a video to capture a certain community. For me, I picked the Gothic scene; playing on the esoteric inclination of its members by using different kinds of incense and on the cliché we all spend our time weeping over fading roses.

No Cure
  1. 30 ml Chivas 12
  2. 30 ml Byrrh, infused with sandalwood and dried rose*
  3. Sandalwood and siam benzoin for perfuming the glass.
  1. In a box, place 0.5 gr of sandalwood and 0.2 gr of benzoin on charcoal together with balloon glass. Close box for 60s, then remove glass. Stir liquid ingredients, then strain into perfumed glass.
  2. * 100 ml Byrrh, 2 gr each of sandalwood and dried rose. Infuse for 4 hours.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Lucky Find: Las Raices

I haven’t been following around the Bacardí Legacy competition too much in the last few years. However, at a guest shift in Baltho Bar of Bacardí’s Hasan Sivrikaya, I got a chance to catch up on Legacy, and try this year’s Swiss winner’s drink, Las Raices.

Apparently, Bacardí Legacy is taking a step down again: The top 12 are determined only on the basis of their drink, and then move forth to promote their drink. I think this is a smart move, that spares resources of Bacardí, the competitors and their peers.

The drink I tried was quite smart, picking up the cold brew and tonic-trend. Apparently, the winner, Kacper Dylak, was smart enough to settle for a specific brand of coffee and tonic, and harnessing their marketing power to promote his drink.

Las Raices
  1. 45 ml Bacardí 8
  2. 10 ml vanilla syrup (1:1)*
  3. 20 ml cold brew coffee
  4. half a bar spoon of crema di balsamico
  5. 50 ml tonic
  1. Shake all ingredients except for tonic, then add tonic and strain into chilled highball glass. Garnish with orange peel.
  2. * Bring to a boil 500 gr brown sugar, 500 gr water and 1 vanilla pod, steep for 1 hour, strain.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/
What I like about his drink is that it has enough ingredients to play around with (which coffee? which tonic?) so bartenders can feel they add their own touch to it and feel good about themselves while still serving someone else’s brainchild.

What I don’t like is the use of crema di balsamico, which is a horrid imitation of true balsamic vinegar made from grape must, caramel and wine vinegar, and belongs together with blue curaçao, Monin syrups and fake cocktail cherries. (Where do they belong? The bin, just in case you didn’t get the memo that it’s 2018 now.)

 

Made in GSA

So far, I’ve never managed to even get into the final of Made in GSA; so this one is always a bit tricky for me. This year, I tried to put Swiss saffron, which is produced in a couple of little mountain villages, in the spotlight. Saffron pairs well with apricots and peaches, and thus links well to the Belsazar White, which uses peach brandy from Schladerer to bring up the ABV. 

The overarching theme then is modesty – the farmers that devote so many hours to cultivate and harvest saffron, not because it’s so flashy; but because that’s what they like doing. Likewise, the aromas of the drink are subtle, allowing you to take your time and to quiet your mind to really appreciate the craft and devotion that went into the ingredients.

Bscheideheyt
  1. 50 ml vodka
  2. 20 ml Belsazar White
  3. 5 strings of Swiss saffron
  4. 1 ds absinthe
  1. Infuse saffron in vodka for 5m, then add Belsazar and absinthe. Stir, then fine strain into chilled coupette. Garnish with thyme flower.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/
In developing this drink, we also came up with a easy drinking variation for Spitz Bar. Summer is coming, and this means we’re changing from a cozy 20-seat whisky bar into an outlet for our 100-seat patio. This means we are welcoming a completely different clientele in summer, with very different tastes. This drink is an attempt to please unexperienced drinkers sitting in the sun, while still offering a quality cocktail that can be produced fast.
Geilheyt
  1. 30 ml apricot eau de vie
  2. 30 ml verjus
  3. 30 ml lemon balm syrup*
  4. 30 ml soda
  1. Add ingredients to wine glass, fill with crushed ice. Garnish with dried rose leaf, and spray with saffron tincture**.
  2. * Place one bunch of lemon balm in boiling water for 12s, then immediately place in ice bath. Remove stems, then blend on high with 500 ml of simple syrup (1:1) for 60s. Pass through cheesecloth and bottle.
  3. ** Steep 5 strings of saffron in 100 ml apricot eau de vie for 48h, then strain.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Lucky Find: Angel’s Share Bar

During Havana Club GP I got to have a few chats with Roger Grüter from Angel’s Share Bar in Basel, who is a very cool guy and great bartender. I managed to visit him in his bar for a few drinks, one of which really hit the spot – reminiscent of the Old Crow’s Nachtvogel and a Seelbach, but lighter, more elegant and Japanese.

Port Ume
  1. 40 ml tawny port
  2. 20 ml umeshu
  3. champagne
  1. Stir port and umeshu, then add champagne and strain into flûte. Garnish with lemon zest.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

 

TOTC’s Official French 75 Competition

I met Chris Hanna, bartender at Arnaud’s French 75 bar in New Orleans during Tales 2017. I was impressed with his cocktails and hospitality. He’s one of the judges for this year’s Tales’ official competition, which asks bartender to put forth their twist on the classic.

I find lemon juice quite aggressive, and not suited to elegant, subtle drinks that I tend to like. This is the premise that then prompted the following rochade of ingredients: verjus for lemon, lemon oil for sugar syrup, soda for champagne, champagne for water.

Sticks & Stones
  1. 30 ml gin
  2. 30 ml verjus
  3. 10 ml oleo saccharum vinoso*
  4. 30 ml soda
  1. Throw ingredients except for soda 5 times, then add soda and strain into chilled coupette. Garnish with mint.
  2. * Mix zest of one lemon with 100 gr sugar for 24 h, then dissolve sugar in 100 gr champagne.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

 

Lucky Find: Rosita Espinosa

Finally, this is the result of a slow night just before Easter: The bartenders tasting their mezcal range, the people from service sipping on an easy drinking rosé wine from Zurich, and your humble narrator putting things together. A great Easter drink when I couldn’t see any more Instagram posts of glasses dipped in chocolate, cocktails garnished with chocolate eggs or using advocaat.

Rosita Espinosa
  1. 20 ml fruity mezcal (Del Maguey Santo Domingo Albarradas)
  2. 40 ml fruity rose wine (Zweifel Pinot Noir Rosé)
  3. 5 ml maraschino
  4. 3 ds of Peychaud bitters
  1. Stir and strain into chilled coupette.
bartending.ch http://bartending.ch/wp/

The post Competitions & Recipes March appeared first on bartending.ch.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 8

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images