Eau de Vie

It has to be said. I have a new favourite bar in Sydney. It has no view, it is in the back of a boutique hotel, it delivers one of the best service experiences I’ve had anywhere, ever. It’s name is Eau de Vie.

Tom Bullock in his 1918 book, The Ideal Bartender, put it very simply:

“It is proper, when a person steps up to the bar, for a bartender to set before him a glass of ice water, and, then, in a courteous manner, find out what he may desire”

Under these terms, this is very much a proper bar.

On my arrival I sat at the bar, was greeted but a solid tumbler of clean, icy water and asked for my choice. Possessing a strong love of cocktails as I do, I read the list and and accepted the barkeeps recommendation of the Crusta as an appropriate start to an evenings experimentation. The drink is typical of Eau de Vie, exceptionally well made, perfectly balanced, nodding to the classics but with its own, modern twist. The Crusta swapped Havana Club Rum for the more traditional brandy, with muddled pineapple as well.

Once you’ve made a start, the list offers much to keep you interested. The Countessa, a re imagined Negroni with Aperol, served up in an exquisite coupe, on the side a half time slice of orange, dusted with Campari powder and caramelized with a blowtorch behind the bar. The Hendricks Tea Party pairs the uniquely unusual taste of Hendricks gin with black tea and juices, served in the teacup martinis the brand has made famous and mixed in a large teapot, it’s a great drink for a crew of people to share and can be made accordingly. Magarita Con Palomitas, a well made margarita finished with a popcorn salt is a standout to those of you with a penchant for Mexico’s very own spirit. The Dark’n'Stormy is world class. Homemade ginger beer lifts the drink from a rum lovers’ standard to an exceptional zinging experience. Thanks to @MyffyRigby for the heads up.

While there were other drinks enjoyed at my table, I wasn’t lucky enough to get a taste. Frankly, I’m glad of the opportunity to go back. The Scotch Sazerac will be high on my list when i do too…

A couple of other reasons to get yourself along to the bar. A collection of shakers belonging to the proprietor, Sven Almenning, including the skyscraper and a great glass woman’s foot. The back bar is unreal, 24 tequilas and plenty of stuff I’ve not seen the likes of, plus a healthy collection of syrups, beakers, pipettes and equipment.

Trumping the drinks, the venue and the menagerie of bar equipment is Barry. Quite simply the best leader of a bar I’ve encountered. Flitting around the bar, talking serious drinks, arranging dinner reservations at restaurants that don’t take them and generally making sure everyone has an experience to be proud of.

I have no reservation in saying you need to visit this bar, ask for Barry. He’ll look after you.

Google Map here.

And their website is here. It’s not the world’s most impressive piece of digital technology, but the money really was better spent on glassware and Barry…

Filed under: Bar, Sydney , Barry is a legend, Darlinghurst Rd, Great Fucking Drinks, Kings Cross, Nice people from Glasgow

More Cuban than the Cubans

It’s Bacardi Founders Day today, the birthday of the world’s largest family owned spirits company. Staff and friends of the brand will be breaking out the rum and the cigars and you should too!

Celebrate the only brand to show its love for animals by having them on the bottle, the innovation that borrowed the Solera aging system from the court sherries and bought them to the new world, The family that allegedly financed a private bombing run on the Cuban mainland, the marketing genius of Mr Ogilvy and his still professed love for the Puerto Rican Rum.

Anyway, if any of you feel like celebrating one of the original spirits houses on their day of days, I’d recommend the hand shaken daiquiri, a drink that was truly invented for the bottle with the bat. 3 parts Bacardi, 1 part lime and 1/2 sugar. Combine in a shaker, ice and shake like you’re being chased out of Cuba. There’s a video after the jump.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Bacardi, Founders Day, Happy Birthday

On Tour: Agents and Merchants

A second little find for me this last weekend in New Zealand was A&M, partner venue to the esteemed Racket, hiding down a little alleyway just off Customs St East in Auckland’s Britomart development.

The laneways here are what is called contrived, like much of Birtomart’s development. BUT, and that is meant to be a big but, the team at A&M have done their level best to make their bar feel as though it is in Melbourne, and not the bottom of a Westpac office building. I believe they have succeeded.

Mid afternoon cocktails, a Corpse Reviver #2 & a Negroni were well made, quickly delivered and tasty as hell. The perfect questions on preference of gin for the negroni and 24 for the CR2 were unexpected but welcome discoveries.  The staff are attentive and friendly, and after tasting the pear, ginger and chili syrup from the team next door, Racket will be getting a visit on my next trip back home.

Perfect for an afternoon with friends and the massive outdoor fireplace means it would be a good hit for winterly conditions as well. Wine also looked great.

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Filed under: Bar, New Zealand , Auckland, Beefeater 24, Campari, Cointreau, Corpse Reviver No.2, Customs St East, Lillet Blanc, Negroni, On Tour, sweet vermouth, Tanqueray

On Tour: Mea Culpa

Tucked beside Snatch on Ponsonby Rd, Mea Culpa is the sort of bar I wish I had downstairs from my house. Tucked away just a few doors down from the very beery but popular Chapel and Crib metropubs on Ponsonby Rd, Mea Culpa is a world class gem of a cocktail bar.

Five coffe coloured pages hold the cocktail and wine list, chock full of boozey goodness. Any venue that lists the Corpse Reviver #2 gets a high score in my book, and the addition of La Floridita #4, a selection of tribute drinks from around the world and across the centuries, plus a number of tasty well crafted originals put this place over the top. This is a place where drinks are truly crafted, served in a handpicked glass and presented with nothing but love.

A good bar experience rests on the crew your hanging out with and all signs were pointing to yes on Saturday night. A Professor of Vodka, the father of Power Dub, a seasoned water and wine exporter, my gorgeous girlfriend, a bloke in a super cool F<3NK t-shirt and a currently unemployed ex-TGIF bartender.

Outside seating is at a premium, but the carpet on the pavement makes it feel like it should be. I ordered the Consilieri, an absolutely delightful mix of Makers Mark, Almandine (that’s Amaretto to you and me) a spritz of Angostura (sorry UK) shaken well with the white of an egg to achieve velvety heaven. Happily the drink was originally made (and the one i drank) by none other than my tablemate and companion, Jacob Briars, during his previous incarnation as the bartender at Motel in Wellington. I also snuck a sip of the Miyagi Mule my girlfriend had ordered, a refreshing mix of vodka, cucumber and a pleasing hint of wasabi.

If you’re in Auckland, this has to be one of the stops you make while you’re in town.

3/175 Ponsonby Road
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Filed under: Bar, New Zealand , Angostura, Auckland, Bourbon, Maker's Mark, Mea Culpa, New Zealand, On Tour, Ponsonby Rd, Vodka

February Wishes and Caviar Dreams.

It’s been a while since I’ve really got out and visited the bars of Sydney so I thought I’d make my intentions for next month clear and idnetify a few doors I plan on darkening.

Eau-de-vie is the first venue opened by Sven Almenning, Diageo’s trainer has taken the reins at the boutique Kirketon Hotel. A welcome little addition to Darlinghurst rd indeed.

La Sala looks very Surry Hills, in that faux NYC way you know and love if you skinny up your jeans and slide on plimsols as a daily ritual. Their list sounds good too.

AbsintheSalon looks right up my alley too. Mmm tasty thujone.

Saftey Wolf might be enough for me to hop the ferry for some Man-tastic action. 32 Belgrave St, for those of you already on the insular peninsula.

Madame Fling Flong seems to offering up a cup of difference and those couches remind me of Nana.

I’ve also got a post about ice, Sticky and my upcoming adventure for you all as well.

Filed under: Uncategorized , nothing to say

Quoth the Raven , Nevermore – Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin Discontinued

Put this in any liquid thing you will
    And drink it off, and if you had the strength
    Of twenty men, it would dispatch you straight.

ACT V. Scene I. Romeo & Juliet

Some love affairs are doomed right from the start. I feel like I’ve found rock genius just before she dies of an overdose.

Beefeater came to market with Crown Jewel back in 1993 when premium hadn’t been eclipsed by super and uber as the top rungs of the spirit ladder.

In an epic purple bottle with the legend of the Tower ravens ion the reverse. The legend states that the ravens must be found at the Tower, else the Tower and the Monarchy shall fall. The Ravens have all been killed at least once, during the Blitz when Germany bombed London. They were repopulated, and continue to be, hanging out next to the Bloody Tower in the care of a Beefeater with the fantastic title, the Raven Master.

I digress however, the Gin itself is an epic flavour hit. Full of Juniper and none of the softness that seems to be in favour with 24 and Oxley with their grapefruity tastes. bottled at 50%ABV it makes a great and quite lethal martini.

The Gin has recently been discontinued, but can be found at the astonishingly cheap price of $34 for a liter at the Wellington Airport in New Zealand, almost worth risking death in landing there.

Filed under: Spirit , A real pity, Beefeater, Beefeater Gin, Gin, Nevermore, Rare Spirits

Garden Party Punch

“One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong and four parts weak and a pinch of spice” muttered the Hatter, waiting ever impatiently for something, not quite remembering who.

While this snippet didn’t make it into Carroll’s epistle, it is a valuable lesson in the construction of punch. It was passed on to me by Jacob Briars, vodka professor, chairman of the drinking classes and curator of the world’s largest collection of Hawthorn strainer springs.

I had a challenge of making punch for a hundred people. This recipe tantalized and intrigued, while being strong (and odd) enough to not be readily consumed by all in attendance.

Garden Party Punch (fills a 10 litre punch bowl)

3 750ml bottles of 42 Below feijoa vodka, 750mls fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1.5 liters elderflower cordial, 1.5 liters of cloudy apple juice, 1.5 liters of ginger beer.

The sober among you will know that only makes 7.5 liters. I’d suggest filling up 2 liters of that available space with a giant ice cube, done in layers with fruit or a fresh (non poisonous) flower. The remaining space should accommodate at least a cucumbers worth of thin slices, the adventurous among you could cut stars or other event relevant shapes. A good handful of ripped mint leaves will finish things off wonderfully.

Stir frequently and sip wisely.

The elderflower turns the taste of the feijoa up to the max, as my American cousins are fond of saying. If you don’t know what a feijoa is, I suggest a trip to New Zealand, where they are prevalent, or Chile, where they are native.

Filed under: At home, Cocktail , 42BELOW, 42BELOW feijoa vodka, cloudy apple juice, Cucumber, elderflower, giant ice, ginger beer, Lemon Juice, mint, punch recipes

Nog you. Nog you very, very much.

If I had to pick the one thing that is wrong with Christmas traditions, it would be that too many Christians live in the northern hemisphere. When the sun is blazing down outside and the mercury is hitting thirty, roasted beefs, glazed geese, Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings feel as alien to having snow on the ground.

Translating that into drinks, warm noggy custards just about seem the most unappetizing thing you could get close to this Christmas. Excited by the challenge, I left the store with fresh free range eggs, a small bottle of full cream milk, a pound of sugar and a whole nutmeg.

I knew that my nog was going to be cold, but little else. Most of the recipes I could find online were for warm productions, so I decided to do it by trail and error. All of the recipes below are for two drink only. Multiply them by ten if you’ve got a tribe coming over.

The first nog of Christmas.

For my first attempt, I put one egg in the blender with 60 grams of caster sugar. Blitz it until it triples in volume, you could whisk it, but I was incapacitated by a powerful hangover. In an ice filled glass, add 80mls of the egg mixture, 80mls of brandy and 80 mls of cream. shake well and pour over ice into a rocks glass. Grate some nutmeg and you’re laughing. The result is tasty, but not quite the textural experience I was after.

If I ever feel better, I’ll have another nog.

As before, add sugar to the egg and blitz. I also decided the put the cream into the blender too, 60mls, as the volume increases as it whips up. I also added 10mls of Jamesons Irish whiskey to the blend too. Be careful not to over blend, you want thickened cream, not whipped up butter. I added this mixture to a tin with 80mls of Brandy and stirred them together and poured them, again over ice, with a grating of nutmeg.

Roll, roll, roll a nog, twist it at the ends.

Trying new things is important at Christmas, so I thought that making a rum nog might be just the ticket. same recipe as above but with no whiskey and Appleton Estate rum. works well with a little cinnamon I found too.

Don’t you nog who I am?

This one I was lucky enough to sample when made by its creator, Jacob Briars, a true bon-vivant’s companion and erstwhile Professor of Vodka for 42Below. It somewhat unsurprisingly contains vodka. I used a full cream milk, because I don’t remember it being quite as creamy as my previous attempts.

One egg, 50 grams sugar, 100mls 42Below passion fruit vodka, 30mls Chocolate liqueur, 50mls full cream milk. combine well and serve.

Feel free to offer your own recipe or corrections in the comments. I am but a nogice.

Filed under: Uncategorized , 42Below Passionfruit vodka, Appleton's Estate Rum, Brandy, caster sugar, chocolate liqueur, cream, Egg Nog, eggs, jamesons irish whiskey, milk, Nutmeg

Friday Fix: Grandmother’s Minted Pear Cooler

The latest fruit to become seasonally inexpensive in Sydney has been the Packham Pear. Incorporating pears into a drink with resorting to a nasty schnapps has been a bit tough for me in the past, muddling is a lot of work and only seems to impart flavor without that great velvety texture that I associate and love about pears.

With this idea, and a kilo of Packham pears for only 2.99 from Harris Farm markets, I hit the kitchen and got to work making poached pear syrup. First, I peeled the pears, leaving the stalk, as it makes it easy to grab the pear out of the hot syrup later in the process. I used two pears to make my syrup, but if you wanted to have them for dessert you could add one for each guest. Of those two pears, one will be for eating after and one will be for the syrup itself. So on one of them, cut a deep X into the base, halfway up the pear, so it gets really soft. Leave the other one peeled but otherwise whole.

In a saucepan, add 250grams of sugar and 350mls of hot water, stirring it until the sugar crystals dissolve. Add the pears to the pot, put the lid on and set the element to a low heat. (My stove, mark 4 is perfect, it only just simmers but not boils.) Leave it on the stove for a good couple of hours.

The pear with the X might slump a little, so grab some tongs and put it in a blender, put the other pear on a plate, pouring over a couple of tablespoons of the syrup. Add the remainder of the syrup to the blender and pulse until smooth. Strain this over a bowl, you might want to push the pulp through with the back of a spoon and strain it again as well, depending on how much process you can handle.

You should be left with about 350-400mls of cloudy but fine poached pear syrup. While it cools, go and eat the other pear.

The poached pear syrup is great in a Champagne cocktail and makes a fine addition to most sour cocktails.

Grandma’s Minted Pear Cooler.

Combine 60mls Basil Hayden’s Bourbon, 15mls poached pear syrup, 20mls fresh lemon juice, 6 mint leaves and a couple of dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters over ice. Give it a crisp shake and strain it up. It shouldn’t require a double strain due to your efforts earlier on. Garnish with a mint sprig.

I’m also partial to the same drink made with Gin, minus the bitters and I’d love to try it with Fee Brothers Peppermint Bitters too.

You can also serve it in an old fashioned glass with some ice and a splash of soda if you want to summer things up a little, or it’s daytime and drinking from a martini glass makes you feel a touch of a lush.

Filed under: At home, Cocktail , Basil Hayden's, Bourbon, Friday Fix, Gin shaken, Lemon Juice, Peychaud's Bitters, Poached Pear Syrup, Tanqueray No. Ten

The Manhattan Cocktail

Few cocktails are as simply great as the Manhattan. Strong, Simple, beautifully refined at the first, somewhat less at the third. A drinking man’s drink. A simple mix of vermouth, whiskey and a dash of bitters.

Drinks this good always have a number of different histories. One of the best attributes the beverage to Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston. Lady Randolph was throwing a dinner party for Samuel Tilden, 25th Govenor of New York, Bourbon Democrat and erstwhile Presidential candidate in the 1876 Elections. Tilden out polled his opponent Haye’s in the election, but lost as 20 electoral college votes were awarded by the courts. His misfortune didn’t end there either. A short examination of the history books show that Lady Randolph was in France at the time of the dinner, pregnant.

The drink was probably invented at the Manhattan Club, where the aforementioned banquet allegedly took place, so Tilden’s relationship with the drink is not completely extinguished and the window of time is about right too, so he probably tried one, if not had it made in his honor.

Most agree that it is best made with rye, but prohibition introduced Canadian along the American Whiskey, and all are generally acceptable  these days, your own preference really being key here. A lot of people add maraschino, which I find just covers the taste of the spirit but again, to each his own. I’ve chosen Basil Hayden’s primarily as it has a high percentage of rye in the mash.

The Manhattan Cocktail

Add 60mls of Basil Hayden’s, 15mls sweet vermouth and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters to a well iced shaking tin, stir well and strain up. garnish with a twist and luxuriate.

Variations

Dry Manhattan – substitute dry vermouth for the sweet.

Perfect Manhattan – half dry, half sweet vermouth.

Rob Roy - substitute the whiskey for Whisky

Paddy – Irish whiskey, to be sure.

Fanciulli - substitute the vermouth for Fernet Branca

Ruby Manhattan - substitute port for vermouth

Metropolitan – substitute cognac for whiskey

Cuban Manhattan - substitute dark rum for whiskey

Latin Manhattan – Perfect with light rum.

Filed under: At home, Cocktail , angostura bitters, Basil Hayden's, stirred no, sweet vermouth