I’ve never been a fan of things floating throughout my cocktail. Not seeds, pulp, flowers or leaves. For me it’s a texture thing. That is not to say I don’t appreciate a beautiful garnish in my cocktail in so long as it serves a purpose and doesn’t impede my enjoyment of the drink. However, some cocktails actually call for leaves and pulp in the drink… Enter the Mojito.

The Mojito is the number three ordered drink in North America (following the Margarita and Cosmopolitan). Consumers love it and bartenders complain about making it. Like any cocktail, when properly balanced with fresh ingredients, it truly is a wonderful libation. The original Mojito was made with fresh lime juice, light rum, sugar, club soda and mint leaves in the drink. As the former barman of Per Se restaurant I always took care to remove the leaves from mine. And here is why…

1) DON’T GET TEA’D OFF- Just like Mint tea if you leave freshly muddled (or steeped) leaves in your drink too long, it gets bitter. The idea is to thoroughly muddle the leaves so that they turned a dark green and release their oils. Then shake your drink and double strain over fresh ice. You retain all of the aromatics and flavor but none of the bitter finish.

2) THE FUZZ WILL BRING YOU DOWN- Mint leaves, while they smell awesome and taste even better, have a fuzzy almost furry surface. If you’ve ever chewed on a fresh mint leaf, it is not only bitter, but it tends to give you the heebie-jeebies as your body shivers from the texture.

3) MINT DOESN’T SUCK- Have you ever been sipping on a lovely Mojito only to get a big piece of mint stuck in the straw? It’s a little bit like trying to suck a bowling ball through a garden hose. Despite your best efforts, there is no graceful or subtle way to clear your straw without drawing attention. Usually, we end up plucking the straw out and just sipping on our drink, which means were back to chewing on mint leaves.

4) GET THE GIRL- Picture yourself at a bar, a tall, cool glass of sunshine steps up to the bar. Thinking quickly, you decide to make your move. You raise your Mojito and give her your best toothy smile, only to have her look at you in disgust and walk out of your life forever… If only you knew about the big green leaf stuck between your teeth. Sigh!

5) I LOVE A GOOD SPANKING- One argument for leaving the leaves in your drink is because they smell so good. However, if you simply slap (or spank) a fresh sprig of mint between your hands and garnish the drink with it, you will smell intense mint without the aforementioned issues.
Now, the purists will insist that it’s not a true Mojito unless there are leaves in the drink. And perhaps they are right. Personally, I would rather have a great tasting, properly made drink than stick to a recipe simply for the namesake. Plus, there is no reason you can’t take a beautiful, fresh sprig of un-muddled mint and perch it on your glass at two o’clock. I will look amazing, smells amazing and if properly balanced, be the best tasting Mojito you’ve ever tried. Make one and let me know…

In the words of my mentor and former employer Chef Thomas Keller: “When in doubt, strain it out!”

Flaming citrus oils over cocktails is hardly new. Famed barman Pepe Ruiz was flaming peels in 1970 when he created the Flame of Love Martini for Dean Martini at Chasens Bar in Los Angeles and the practice started long before that.The technique is easy enough to learn, but if done improperly can completely ruin a cocktail. Igniting the essential oils that are found in citrus peals greatly increases the aromatics and puts on an attention grabbing visual show for the guests.Here are some basic tips on how to flame citrus oils over a cocktail:
1.THE RIGHT CUT- Make sure to cut your twists fresh right before use.If you cut them in advance they will dry out within an hour and will not release their oils when needed.The cut should be round, about the size of a half dollar.Thick skin peels are best since thin skinned juice fruits have less oil. Also, avoid cutting too deep and getting the peel wet from the juice of the fruit.
2.MATCH IT UP- Always use wooden match sticks, never butane lighters.Butane will leave a slightly unpleasant odor which defeats the purpose of igniting the oils in the first place.Also, it is important to let the smoke from the carbon tip of the match burn-off before executing.
3.HEAT THINGS UP- Once you’ve cut the peal, struck the match and are ready to ignite, take a moment to run the tip of the match back and forth directly under the peel.This will warm up the skin allowing more oils to be released. You should try to use a citrus peel that reflects the citrus juice in the cocktail… if any; orange peels to orange juice, lime peels to lime juice, etc.
4.DON’T GET BURNED- Perhaps the most important tip is to make absolutely certain that you don’t hold the flame to close to the surface of the drink.If you squeeze the oil over the flame too close to the surface, you will leave a black carbon smudge on top of your cocktail which not only looks terrible, tastes bad, but smells outright disgusting.Instead, hold the flame at least two inches above the surface and the peel either two inches above the flame or one inch to the side of the flame.
5.BE GENTLE BUT FIRM- One of the biggest mistakes a beginning bartender can make is accidently squeezing the oils out of the peel prematurely.Once you cut a peel, it should be treated like parchment paper.Delicately pick it up in-between your index finger and thumb with the outside skin face down.Take great care not to squeeze while picking it up, however when you do squeeze, be firm and fast.The idea is to get the oils to spray out in one quick burst directly over the flame.
6.SMILE DARN YOU SMILE- Smile! After all, you are putting on a show for the guests.They love the theater and will often ask questions.Flaming oils draws attention and starts up conversations.This is an opportunity to increase check averages by offering a second round. Finally, don’t forget to extinguish the match or you may end up with a garbage can fire!

James Bond may know fast cars, beautiful women and big guns, but “shaken not stirred” martini’s? Clearly he doesn’t know how to order a proper drink… or does he? Interestingly enough Daniel Craig once came into my bar at PER SE with Ian Fleming’s daughter while studying for the role of James Bond. She ordered a Vodka Martini, he ordered my house made gin-with-tonic (the “best he’d ever had”). Even though I knew better, I couldn’t help myself and I asked the lady “would you care for that shaken or stirred?” She laughed and not surprisingly ordered it shaken.
For twenty years I was always told to stir my martini’s because to shake them would “bruise” the gin or spirit. For most of that time I never truly understood what that meant, I thought I did but I was wrong. Even today many bartenders understand that a proper Manhattan should always be stirred, but ask them why and the answers vary from the cryptic to the absurd. So I thought I’d take a moment to set the record straight…
If you ask most bartenders why you stir instead of shake, they will suggest that it has something to do with dilution. That is only partially true and usually not for the reason they think. The biggest myth about stirring is that you can’t get the cocktail as cold as shaking. The truth is that you can get your cocktail just as cold depending on two criteria, how long you stir and the size of the ice cubes you are using. With proper technique, a skilled barperson can get a cocktail properly chilled in close to the same time it takes to shake. But why stir at all? Why not always shake?
The real reason we stir over shaking is to maintain the viscosity or oily texture of a great spirit. When we shake a cocktail we are doing two things: First we are breaking off little chips of ice from the larger cubes which then melt faster and further dilute the drink thus changing the texture. The second reason is more important. When we shake a cocktail, you’re forcing little micro bubbles throughout the liquid. By aerating the liquid you are changing the mouth-feel or oily quality of the spirit. The oils that are found in better quality distillates actually coat the back of the tongue and greatly enhance the finish of a well made cocktail.
Most bartenders don’t understand this fundamental principle. Combine their lack of knowledge with the myth that shaking is faster and the positive feedback they receive from uninformed consumers and you have a nation of bartenders shaking when they should be stirring. This naturally begs the question… Why don’t we always stir? The answer is simple; the viscosity principle only works when combining a base spirit with a modifying spirit (as in a classic Martini or Manhattan). Once you start adding mixers (non-alcoholic components) the oily texture is sufficiently compromised and stirring doesn’t make a significant difference. However, if you do shake a cocktail, it is important to double strain the smaller ice chips out of the drink to prevent further dilution. If the guest requests that you leave the ice chips… leave them. After all, it’s a major faux pas in the customer service industry to lecture a guest unless they WANT to be educated.
Think of it this way, I like my steak cooked medium, I know that I should order it medium-rare and that many chefs will complain that I am are ruining a good piece of meat by overcooking it. Still, I just don’t care for blood in my meat. And telling me that I have poor taste is just bad form, especially from a restaurant that aspires to great customer service standards.
So when a guest asks for a martini, now you know the default. You should never have to ask which way the guest wants a martini prepared unless they specify one way or the other. Now that you are armed with the knowledge of how and when to shake vs. stir, what do you do when James Bond walks into your bar and asks for his Vesper Martini shaken not stirred? You give it to him exactly as he requested, without judgment. After all, he knows fast cars, beautiful women and big guns… that and he has a license to kill!