Infusion Confusion…

Infusions behind the bar

We’ve all seen that funky jar of liquor behind the bar… sometimes it is obvious what’s inside, sometimes not so much. You know the jars I’m talking about. The jars with sliced Pineapple and vodka, sliced Jalapeno’s and vodka, sliced Strawberries and vodka… zzzzz. Humph, snort? Oh, sorry. I dozed off for a second there. If we are lucky, we find some creativity in finer establishments, lavender-vanilla bean infused rums, bacon infused bourbons or Cobra infused Sochu. This of course, does not guarantee a palate pleasing experience. With a couple notable exceptions these infusions smell incredible and taste mediocre unless placed in the hands of a talented cocktailian.

There are in fact many ways to flavor a spirit. A mixologist or master distiller will flavor a spirit in one of five ways: Compounding, Distillation, Maceration, Infusion or Percolation. Compounding is achieved by adding artificial or natural flavors to a spirit after distillation. Distillation is the process of adding ingredients to the mix before fermentation and letting the flavors in those ingredients adhere to the ethanol molecules before extracting the alcohol from the mix. Maceration involves extracting flavors by crushing or muddling. Infusion is the easiest. Put ingredients in a jar and fill with alcohol. Since ethanol is a solvent, if the ingredients have any natural oils, they are quickly absorbed and the spirit takes on those flavors. But what if we want to exact caramelized flavors that result from cooking? The wild card is Percolation; the rarely used art of cooking spirits to incorporate flavors within them.

The reason we avoid cooking spirits is because the evaporation point of ethanol is lower than water, therefore when we try to flavor a spirit through cooking we end up burning off the alcohol. It turns out this is an excellent way to flavor foods… think bananas foster with rum, or a brandy flambé. But how can we extract subtle flavors from foods and put them into our spirits? This is a different matter entirely. Some foods taste notably different when cooked than raw. Ask most mixologist to percolate a spirit and they reach for the coffee pot or pressure cooker. However, there is an alternate method of percolating spirits that has only recently been employed by a select few… cooking sous vide.

Ah-ha! (says every chef reading this). What the hell is Sous Vide (asks everyone else)? Cooking Sous Vide (under water) is actually a very classic French way of cooking. Place meats, fish or vegetables into an airtight bag and place in a warm water bath, thus very, very slowly caramelizing the natural sugars within. Chef Thomas Keller is famous for his Maine lobster tail which he adds to a cryo-vacuumed packed bag with just a little butter, coarse sea salt and cooks sous vide. The lobster cooks so slowly that the proteins never seize up and because the bag is vacuum packed the butter melts while the tail expands from the heat. In this way, the butter and salt are literally drawn into the tail resulting in an incredibly tender, perfectly seasoned buttery piece of perfection. But the advantage to using this technique on spirits has far greater implications.

By cooking spirits in an airtight bag, the ethanol can’t cook off. Now a universe of new flavors has just become available to the creative mind. In 2004, I created my own artisanal Tonic water from scratch, a full year before Fever Tree, Q-tonic and now a dozen other producers. Today it’s not uncommon to see a cocktail menu with a “house-made” tonic. Before I left PER SE, it was always my intention to create my own gin. I would have simply taken a high quality vodka, added it to an airtight bag and fill it up with botanicals. Juniper, citrus peels, cardamom, cassia bark, angelica root, lavender, cucumber, rose petals, saffron… whatever I wanted. Several years back, I mentioned this idea to a dear friend and mixologist in Vancouver. A year later, she was cooking spirits sous-vide with hemp (yes, the active ingredient remains. No I did not partake). If the final product has extracted some undesirable color, simply pass several times through a fine coffee filter or cheese cloth and you can revert to a clear spirit.

So the next time you decide to make an infusion behind the bar, consider percolation. Now flavoring spirits is only limited by your imagination. The flavors you adopt cannot be replicated using any of the other methods, yet this is the least utilized method for adding flavors to distillates. So don’t be just another jar head, the next time you gain a hankering to create an insane infusion, consider perky perks of percolation.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream… Cocktails!?!

Say it ain’t so… Ice cream cocktails are making a comeback? Well… it ain’t so, but it should be. Many of us who lived through the 80’s remember TGIF’s innovative bar program where they rolled out syrupy sweet classics like the Oreo Mudslide and Orange Creamsicle. The concept was simple, different flavored ice cream with vodka… ugh. These over-sweet cocktails quickly took us out of a Good Humor and had us waking up in a Breyer’s Patch the morning after. Initially, ice cream cocktails fell out of favor with the general public because of the high caloric nature of dairy based drinks. And they’ve stayed out of flavor favor as mixologists prefer to source out local fresh ingredients and balance the acidity. With the dawn of the new golden age of the cocktail, consumers have grown out of their adolescence and are demanding acidic adult cocktails. And like many adults we have traded in our evening bowl of ice cream for a cheese plate with membrillo.
What you may not know is that the ice cream industry is going through its own revolution. Ice cream makers are creating some very creative flavors that any respectable mixologist would begrudgingly approve. Take Neal Gottlieb at Three Twins Ice Cream (www.threetwinsicecream.com) for example, he is creating flavors like Sea Salted Caramel, Lemon Cookie, Balsamic Strawberry and my personal favorite, Dad’s Cardamom. He is using cane sugar and other natural ingredients to make some of the most innovative and delicious ice creams in the world. Combine these flavors with Cognac, Gin, Aged Tequilas, Mezcals, Whiskies and Piscos and you have some extremely tasty drinks that any pastry chef would be proud to serve as their signature dessert.
Still not convinced? Here is a simple recipe that I created for the American Airlines “American Way” in-flight magazine. Give it a try and tell me your thoughts:
Don Julio’s Three Twins
1 ¼ oz. Don Julio Anejo Tequlia
¼ oz. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 ½ oz. Melted Three Twins Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream
¼ oz. Agave Nectar
½ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Glassware: Small Cocktail Coup
Garnish: Rim inside of glass with thick aged Sherry Balsamic Vinegar (15 yrs+); add one strawberry on rim dipped in agave nectar and chipotle chili powder.
Method: Ganish Glass, add all ingredients to mixing glass with big ice cubes, shake vigorously and double strain.
Btw, this philosophy applies to sherbets, sorbets and gelatos as well. So mixologist… you heard it here first. The ice cream cocktail is coming back and I predict that with so many sweet teeth in the world, there will be better Daaz ahead.

I only Act to support my bartending career…

An actor walks into a bar and says “I’m sorry, I just didn’t feel that…” so he walks into it again.

For years bartending as been the job-of-choice for actors everywhere. Good money, flexible hours and the fringe benefits can be very, ahem, let’s just say… educational. Plus, the very nature of the job usually requires energetic, dynamic individuals. When you think about it, how many people actually go into the service industry with the express intent of becoming a professional bartender? Prior to 1920, before Prohibition, bartending was a proud profession. Icons like the professor Jerry Thomas were leading the industry with innovative craft recipes. However, in recent decades tippling has been relegated as a job for actors, writers and law students. Only since the turn of the century have we seen a new generation of bartenders regard their jobs as careers. Bar owners are demanding more from their applicants. Knowing your recipes and keeping a clean bar just aren’t enough anymore. Unless your pulling beers and pouring wine, today’s bartender is expected to actually make a tasty cocktail.

I remember one of my first bartending gigs. I took it to generate some income while I aggressively pursued my acting career. I found I was pretty good at slinging drinks even though, at the time, it was just a job. I was bartending at the Veritable Quandary or the VQ as the locals call it (http://www.veritablequandary.com/) during the day and performing Vaclav Havel by night. My friend, Lana Veenker was directing the play and I fancied myself a starving artist. For me, bartending was only a means to an end.

Fast forward a couple decades… Lana is a successful casting director. I moved back to New York, finished my college degree and made the decision to quit acting as a career. Yet, I have successfully transformed my bartending job into a rewarding career as a Mixologist. I travel the world to redesign cocktail programs, teach bartenders about craft cocktails and create media opportunities. I am regularly asked to do TV and radio appearances and have been featured in dozens of articles all around the world. Today, I am far better known as a mixologist than I ever was as an actor. I love my career and the best part is I didn’t have to sell out or give up on my dreams to achieve success in my new field. I combined passions and found a niche. Still, as much as I enjoy the art of mixology, I never would have achieved this level of success behind the stick, if not for my years of training on the planks.

I used to be hesitant to mention acting when applying for a bar position. If I was asked by a restaurateur what I studied in college, I would give a vague answer for fear it would be held against me if it came out that I was a theater major. In the upper echelon of the service industry it is understood that hiring actors to staff your bar is a risky proposition at best. Even if they aren’t flaky or bail on you with no notice for a chance to audition for Preparation H commercial, their passion lies elsewhere. It is rare to find an actor who gives a damn about their restaurant job.

Thespians need not worry about this new restaurant trend; there will always be bartending jobs available for those with a pretty smile. In fact I would rather hire an eager actor who was open to learning a craft than a snooty mixologist who puts his career above the guest experience. There are a lot of talented mixologists out there with poor people skills but they are outnumbered ten to one by charismatic actors who can’t make a decent cocktail.

I once had an acting teacher who told the class that we should all quit acting for a length of time and learn another profession. At the time I believed he was reciting the cliché about having something to “fall back on” in case we all didn’t become as successful as we all knew we would. As I look back, I always thought it odd that my professor was teaching by day, acting by night, yet went to school for a law degree. Now I finally get it. Acting is the study of the human condition and the smart actor is constantly observing others behavior. For me, bartending provided a limitless cast of character studies for the aspiring actor. More to the point, I believe a well-rounded actor must experience life outside of the acting community if they are to develop depth in their work. And by extension a successful bartender must make a connection with their guests in addition to simply making a delicious libation. Acting taught me passion, bartending taught me discipline. Any fortune 500 CEO will tell you that the combination is the recipe for success.

After reading about my cocktails in the New York Times, I once had a guest at PER SE (http://www.perseny.com/) ask me: “So what do you want to be when you grow up?” I never occurred to me to be insulted. I’d been asked this question before in other restaurants. For years my pat response was always to proudly boast that I was an actor working hard to be discovered. However, in that moment, I smiled, found my voice and from the diaphragm I stated: “When I grow up, I hope to become a professional bartender!” She looked confused for only a second when I saw the epiphany dawn. She smiled back and without hesitation ordered another cocktail.