Maker’s Mark Bourbon

Made in tiny batches of around 19 barrels at a time in Loretto Kentucky, Maker’s Mark is some pretty great Bourbon.

Although the website recipe for an Old Fashioned cocktail calls for the use of soda, which would be such a waste, this is a premium spirit designed from its inception to be special. The labels on the bottle are turned out on a couple of hundred year old rotary press. The bottle is expensively and uniquely sealed with the trademark red wax that drips iconically from the neck of the bottle. It is remarkably smooth, but so are most in this category.

I like the full taste, I feel like I can pick out pieces of the ingredients and the love that went into making it. Legend has it that when the original distiller, Bill Samuels, was coming up with the recipe he baked loaves of bread with different ratios of barley and red winter wheat and chose the best tasting loaf as the basis of the original recipe.

The good folks at Annandale Cellars flog it here in Sydney and online. If you’re quick, the Liquorland at Bondi Junction was selling bottles for $49.95 over the weekend, and in case you didn’t realise, that’s not a bad deal.

I’d suggest having some of this spirit mixed into an Old Fashioned. without soda as it wasn’t invented when this drink was.

Maker’s Mark are smart about the way they use people with passion for their product. They’re leading the industry with their ambassador program. Most brands use ambassadors, talented bartenders to get out on the road and into the bars, training staff and consumers and telling the story of the brand. The Mark has taken this one step further asking anyone who tells the Maker’s story to register online, offering a bottle from their very own named barrel as an incentive and opening a great channel for news and special product offers to those that care a little more than most.

Filed under: Spirit , Bourbon, Maker's Mark, Old Fashioned, Premium, Small Batch

The Old Fashioned

On May 13, 1806, The Balance and Colombia Repository printed the first known definition of the word “cocktail”

`Cocktail, then, is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters it is vulgarly called a bittered sling`

This somewhat unsavoury sounding mix is what we today call the Old Fashioned. 

Like almost all things alcohol related, there are disputes as to who coined the name instead of it just remaining ‘Cocktail,’ the members of the Pendennis Club claimed for some time in their blustery Colonel Sanders way that the name belonged to a Bourbon Cocktail made in the club. David Wondrich, who looks not dissimilar to a member of the Pendennis Club, discounted this theory by uncovering a wealth of examples of the use of the word prior to the Club’s foundation in 1880.

But I digress.

The Old Fashioned Cocktail

Take a sugar cube* and douse it in three or four belts from a bottle of Angostura Bitters, slide this into the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass. I use at least 60 of good quality Bourbon in my version, Maker’s Mark would be a fine choice. Add a little of the Bourbon, with a couple of pieces of ice and start stirring. Keep adding a little more Bourbon, a little more ice and perhaps around 15 mls water. 

The result is an amazingly balanced, rich and seductive elixir. 

*I prefer to use a cube of sugar as the time it takes to get it to dissolve is around the same time it take to mellow this drink to a superior level.

Variations.

This cocktail is amazingly adaptable, you can change out the spirit for a Rye Whiskey, Brandy, Cognac or Rum.

At Toko on Crown St they do a Old Fashioned with Junipero Gin and there is a fashionable trend for Tequila Old Fashioneds around the world right now.

Once you’ve tried a variety of spirits, perhaps making a move on to changing out the bitters. Peychaud’s, Fee Brothers Peach or Orange Bitters, even Aperol or Campari. I’ll post an article later in the week about the process of homemaking bitters as well, to really change things up.

This really is a drink for the ages, we’ll be putting this up against the Trans-Galactic GargleBlaster when we make it to the restaurant at the end of time.

Filed under: Cocktail , Bitters, Bourbon, Cognac, David Wondrich, Gin, Ice, Maraschino Cherries, Old Fashioned, Orange Juice, Rum, Rye, Sugar, Tequila

Friday Fix for a quick thrill

Ok, so I know it seems like everyone on earth must be writing a Michael Jackson post right now, and it’s my second in memoriam post in as many weeks, but I know Gregor was in favour of intoxication and by the looks of Michael’s autopsy, the King of Pop wasn’t shy when it came to mixing it up.

The legal ramifications of championing OxyContin and Demerol use in Australia seem a little dicey at best, so let’s go home tonight, mix up a Thriller and settle back on the couch to watch the prisoners in Cebu, Philippines perform their very special tribute.

Thriller Cocktail.

45mls Laphroaig Scotch Whisky, 30 mls Stone’s Green Ginger Wine, 30 mls Orange Juice. 

Combine the ingredients in a Boston glass, top with ice, slap on the tin and shake vigorously with a sparkly white gloved hand.

Strain into a martini glass, collapse on the couch and marvel at the life of a man who may have touched kids, and not in a good way but who inspired the likes of this: 

Filed under: Cocktail, In Memoriam , Friday Fix, Green Ginger Wine, Michael Jackson, Orange Juice, Scotch, Thriller

The last testament of Gregor de Gruyther

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Bayswater Drinks 2009

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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.

The Ideal Bartender, 1917, Tom Bullock.

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Unmixed drinks

A Schooner Darkly

 Schooner of beer with a jolt of Aperol or Amer Picon in its bottom.

Boilermaker

Schooner of beer with a shot – we recommend:

Creature’s Pale Ale with Makers Mark

James Squire Amber Ale with Cazadores Blanco

Cooper’s Porter with Grand Marnier

Tequila con Sangrita

This is how the Mexicans drink their Tequila, with a spicy non-alcoholic shot on the side. It’s how we drink ours.

Absinthe Fountain

Feel the history in action as the spoon hits the glass, the tap opens and the water drips down to the Absinthe. Watch in awe as the potent brew ‘louches’ (clouds up) as the wormwood opens its arms to you. Drink the green fairy deep down… and let her in to heal your twisted soul.

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Depression, Prohibition & Echoes

Toreador

A drink to rival the Margarita. Young Tequila with peach bitters, apricot liqueur and freshly squeezed lime juice.

Torino-Milano

The drink, legally available during the Great Depression, from which sprang the Milano-Torino, the Americano, the Negroni, the Bicycletta, the Spagliato… the list goes on. Homemade sweet vermouth with Campari and soda.

Cecil Baker

London Dry Gin with fresh coriander and lime, kaffir lime syrup and soda.

Between the Sheets

 This was as risque as it got in the 1930s. So we pimped it some. Rhum Agricole, VSOP Cognac  and citrus in a sugar rimmed glass.

Millionaire #5†

The first four? Not so great. This one’s lovely. Jamaican Rum, Sloe Gin, Apricot Liqueur, fresh citrus.

Excelsior

Vodka, citrus, and this week’s fruit preserve, lengthened with soda. This is our tall fruity pink vodka drink: there’s quite a lot of vodka and fruit in here, but it’s not too sweet.

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King’s Cross Tributes (with thanks to William Oxenham)

Knife Tricks‡

An Absinthe-laden sugar cube with Calvados and peach liqueur, topped with Prosecco.

Man on Fire∫

A Malt and Mescal – Talisker 12 year old with fresh lime with twin licks of agave syrup and honey. Served on the rocks, rocking a smoked chilli salt rim.

Eureka #2º

Rye, Calvados and Sloe Gin with fresh lime and sugar. A rediscovered classic, pimped!

Electric Avenue

Vodka, Cognac, Bourbon, passionfruit, orange blossom and a big sac of sexy goodness prevail here. A filthy disco drink.

(Eastern Suburbs High Maintenance) Lady Sour

London Dry Gin shaken vigorously with peach liqueur, fresh lemon juice and egg white. Crowned decadently with a lovely Côte de Rhone.

5 Buck Back Alley Quick Buck

Single malt and sweet vermouth, lime juice and sprigs of fresh mint, topped off with ginger ale.

Mamacita

Three tequilas, Mescal, Chartreuse Juane, Falernum, grapefruit, pineapple and lime juices shaken up into a ridiculous glass with fire and stuff. For two.

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Refreshed and Restyled

Cuffs & Button

M.W. Heron based his famous ‘Southern Comfort’ liqueur on this awesome drink. Woodford Reserve Bourbon with puréed peach and orange and lemon pieces.

Bayswater Cup no. 32

James Pimm created his cup to complement the seafood in his Covent Garden restaurant. Ours works great with everything. London dry gin with Amaro, Dubonnet, Chambord and lemonade, garnished with seasonal fruit.

Bayswater Cream

Baileys is a mix of chocolate, coffee, cream and crappy Irish whisky. Our version is fresh and vibrant with Kahlúa, Crème de Cacao, cream and great Scottish malt whisky. You can have it with or without extra milk¤.

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We don’t want to dumbfound anyone with a ridiculous long list. If you’re reading this far, your date’s probably late or dull, in which case we recommend naked Twister. Failing that:

Ask your bartender for different odes to the Collins family (capsicum, hibiscus etc) or a Grapefruit Rickey. Test him on Martinis and Manhattans. Enquire about Russians, Cold Wars, Bucks, Blinkers, Bulldogs, Breezes, Drakes, Marys, Juleps, about Fixes, Flips, Fizzes, Spritzes & Spagliatos. Luscious Highballs from all over – 7 & 7s, G&Ts, C.C. & Cs, Presbyterians, Horse’s Necks, Piscolas, the Dark ‘n’ Stormy, the Cuba Libre, the Fudpucker, the Greyhound, the Fernet Cola, the Kir, the 75, the Peg, the Suicide Blazer, the horrors of sunrise and the glory of the last light before dawn…

…and of course, the humble Cocktail.

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House Spirits

Beefeater Gin

Wyborowa Vodka

Cazadores Blanco Tequila

Havana Club Light Rum

Appleton V/X Dark Rum

Maker’s Maker Bourbon

Chivas Regal 12yr Scotch

Hennessy VS Brandy

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† Based on Harry Craddock’s ‘Millionaire Cocktail’, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930.

‡ ‘Got tight last night on absinthe and did knife tricks. Great success shooting the knife into the piano’. Ernest Hemingway.

∫ Based on an original drink made by our mate Rich Hunt.

º Based on the ‘Avenue Cocktail’, Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, 1931.

¤ Fellas, If this looks a little bit girly, think of it as whisy & milk. Like quiche is fried egg pie, yeah?

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Filed under: Cocktail, In Memoriam , 2009, Bayswater, Cocktail List, Gregor De Gruyther, Sydney

The world just got a little less tasty

Gregor was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Quick with a joke and even faster with a drink, he was known and loved by many of the people I know from the industry around the world. The last few days on Facebook have seen an outpouring of love and stories for this remarkable young man.

Almost his last act was the design and production of the new list for the Bayswater Brasserie in Kings Cross. I’ll publish a full copy tonight.

Gregor was a fantastic entertainer, host and a magician of liquor. I’ll miss his welcome, his smile and his hospitality. 

Gregor, wherever you are, I wish you a willing crowd and a good supply of Jager.

Filed under: In Memoriam, Sydney , Gregor De Gruyther