Last April I wrote about a cocktail book that was an idea looking to be realised. Well now it’s here as the latest addition to the crowd funded cocktail library.
It looks fantastic. You’ll have to visit the bar in Melbourne or Sydney to pick yourself up a copy.
$45 will get you the book. Best take along $100 so you can have a few drinks while you’re in.
Well played lads.
Some of you will know that Jason Williams, exAustralian Bartender of the Year and deliverer of some very fine chat, had taken a job working for the Keystone Group, working across the venues of the group, with a remit to improve the beverage offer.
Gazebo, perennial Pott’s Point wine garden and watering hole will be the first place that remit becomes visible on a cocktail list.
There are a number of interesting drinks on the list. The Shiraz Negroni is delicious, and the Love Potion brings a little table side theatre to the Sydney drinks market.
It’s the delicious beverage in the picture that I can see being drunk in large numbers as the weather warms up and competition for the outdoor seats heats up. It’s called the Spring Sherry Cobbler.
Cobblers are an older style of drink, mentioned in even the oldest surviving cocktail books. Jerry Thomas included seven in his book. On paper it’s a simple drink; wine, spirit or sherry mixed over ice with sugar and some fruit. Put in context its the definition of luxury, first made in a time when ice was not sallying forth from a hoshizaki ice machine but hauled in straw insulated railcars and ships from a frozen place to, well, not so.
The Spring Sherry Cobbler at Gazebo uses Pedro Ximinez sherry, the darling child of the food industry for its rich sultana and chocolate flavours. Well iced it delivers a remarkable freshness that will ease many a transition from work to afters. The PX coats your mouth to the finish.
Summertime goodness you won’t regret ordering. Yum.
A good time has a new home in Darlinghurst.
Hinky Dinks has transformed a tired cafe premisies, a stone’s throw from the famous Coke sign, into a comfortable cocktail lounge with a kitchen attached.
The cocktail list is great proof that straight classics aren’t the only way to showcase spirits and deliver a fine drink to the hands of Sydney punters. Many of the drinks are from the mind and palate of Jeremy Shipley, of Longrain and Bacardi Ambassadorial fame, plus he’s my cousin to boot. Expect delicious concoctions, punches and libations. The tall rummy number I tried last night was superb, fruit and berries giving way to a rich rummy finish. I’ll be back next week to try some more and take some photos too.
Food from the kitchen is packed full of flavour and without pretence, moreish toasted sandwiches, positively explosive bruschetta and plenty more deliciousness morsels are sure to turn more than a few visits from a quick drink into an extended session.
Seating is limited, so arrive early and stay late. A curvy booth area in the front offers a ringside seat to the colour of the cross, three tables on a chequered diner floor share space with a perfectly formed bar and a big service window into the kitchen. The overall feel references the fifties feel of milkbar and movies, while still feeling new in its Sydney execution.
It seems as though there might be a new triangle of tremendousness forming, one that could rival or even eclipse the Crown Burton epicentre of a good time in a small bar. Stalwarts like Eau de Vie and Victoria Room have led the way, bars like Hinky Dinks and Barrio Chino have shown there is still plenty of scope for growth.
Exciting times people, get amongst.
185 Darlinghurst Rd
(02) 8084 6379
On Google Maps, here.
A neat little Google Mashup of places to get a wonderful drink. I love when companies create business models like this, it’s a bit like owning a book store where folks come in, sit down and write books, and the company gets to advertisers to pay for the whole thing.
Almost as good as charging people $800 for entry to the bookshop and then charging for every book as well, and not letting them take the book to another store.
First of all, credit where it’s due. The Kit & Kaboodle website is a beauty. It shows a level of thought that most bars never even come close to. Despite the fact it seems a little light on pictures of the venue itself, it’s a fun and quirky good time. This, of course, begs the question: What’s the actual club like?
Walking through the colour of King’s Cross, a small roped off area and offical, clip board weilding woman under an old school cinema sign mark the entry to the venue. They do have a lot of special events, and it does seem a bit cold from the street, but chance your arm and have a go. Just to the left of the Sugar Mill, for those that can’t fathom my directions. climb the stairs to get to the action. First floor has the cocktail bar, all red and gold. I can’t really say more than that as I can’t remember being in there.
One more floor brings you to the supper club. A big room, that feels even bigger when it’s empty and a long bar running down the back wall. The staff are friendly and will help you out with table service if you need it. The guys behind the bar know how to mix a drink but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the style of the space masked a lack of real substance.
The cocktail list reads well, and I enjoyed the Biss Nonna, a tanqueray 10, sweet vermouth, maraschino and blood grapefruit concoction. I decided to try them out on a favourite drink of mine, the Corpse Reviver #2. No Lillet, and only a passing acquaintance with the drink didn’t really bode well. The finished product was ok, but i couldn’t help feeling a lack of love.
This is a fun place to hang on the smash with your mates, and ordering from the list offers its rewards, but in all honesty, the cocktails are better elsewhere. 6/10, 7 if its lucky.
33 – 37 Darlinghurst rd, Kings Cross
info@kitkaboodle.com.au (02) 9368 0300
A few of you may have wondered what those little plastic sticks added to a post mixed Gin and Tonic or Vodka Soda were for. They are indeed swizzle sticks, perfect for entwining the silky threads of falernum syrup around the shaved ice as it melds the rum and juice into a truly perfect marriage.
The swizzle is a drink from the Caribbean, a true tiki classic. Most histories point to Barbados as the home and as such Barbadian Rum would probably be a fine choice. I, however, am going to go all Nicaraguan on you and suggest the mystically smooth stylings of Flor de Cana Rum.
Take 60 mls of Flor de Cana Black Label, add 30 mls of fresh lime juice and 30 mls of fresh pineapple juice (or you can muddle a few chunks…)
Shake the mixture and strain into an iced glass, topping the drink with shaved ice. finish the drink with between 10 and 15 mls of falernum syrup.
Ok, now this is why the recipe is tagged maximum effort. Falernum requires effort and patience. there are a few recipes floating around the web, the most involved of which is at the Cocktail Chronicles.
I’ve tried my hand at this, and I will photograph the process later to explain it all, but in short.
Add the zest of 5 decent sized limes, 1/4 cup of almonds, roasted off in a tray, a tablespoon of cloves, a thumb sized knob of ginger, finely chopped, skin on to 250ml white rum, (I used Bacardi.) Leave it to soak overnight, fine straining, or cheese clothing out the bits in the morning. The result should be pungent and pretty green.
Add this infusion to 500 mls of 2:1 sugar syrup (twice as much sugar as simple syrup) the juice of the limes you zested the night before and a dash of almond extract, if the toasted almonds haven’t come through.
I haven’t tried adding gomme instead of 2:1 syrup, but I think the result might be special.
Part One in a Four Part Series called The Glorious Recipe.
One of the most common elements in modern cocktails is the smoothing and sometimes insipid sweet element. Learning different methods for sweetening cocktails and how to make your own syrup is an essential step to being able to make quality drinks for your guests when you are entertaining. Here are a few to get you started:
Simple Syrup.
The most basic if the sweet family of ingredients. Simply take equal parts white sugar and water and combine. There is much debate over the merits of hold vs. cold, but I have experimented and am yet to find a difference. I generally take 500 gms of sugar and add it to a pot of boiling water, that I have measured out to 500 mls (bless the metric system.) Take the pan off the heat when you add the sugar, and after about ten minutes and a couple of stirs the liquid should be free of sugar crystals. Bottled, it can be kept under refrigeration indefinitely, but you will most likely blow through the 800 odd mls that result from this recipes in two or three nights of irresponsible entertaining.
Demerara and Brown sugars, plus the new low GI cane crystals can be used, with differences in the way the final product will taste.
A note on infusion. Perhaps my single greatest revelation in mixing my own drinks at home was infusing the simple syrup with the flavors of fresh fruits, herbs and spices. Material should be chopped to small, but not obsessive slices or cubes and left to sit for an hour or more. Adding heat will speed the process but can add a stewed or caramelized note to the flavor that is not always welcome in your finished beverage. Personal favorites of mine are Lemon/Lime, made with peel and juice of each fruit; Ginger, with the skin left on to save both time and sanity; Lemongrass, with the stalks chopped and roughly smashed; Fresh Apple, I have found Fuji’s work particularly well; & Fresh Fig, which is surley one of the foods of the gods. (or god, depending on your stance.) The key here is experimentation, and remembering to remove the organic material with a sieve.
Gomme
While most modern recipes consider gomme and syrup the same thing, they are in fact somewhat different. Gomme is made by combing a paste made from equal parts Gum Arabic and water with a 2:1 (less sweet) version of the simple syrup above. Gum Arabic comes from unhealthy trees in the Sudan, it was used in the past to adhere ink to newsprint and is one of the constitute ingredients of jelly babies. It can be found at specialty food stores.
The principle reason for adding Gum Arabic was to stop the sugar in the syrup from crystalizing with the lack of cold storage. It did have a side effect of adding a silkiness to a mixed drink, something now achieved by the addition of raw egg, making gomme the vegan alternative I suppose. Probably only made for notoriety rather than necessity.
Agave Syrup
Equal parts so hot right now and reviled because of the uneconomic nature of having said syrup slowly crystallizing on the rack, Agave Syrup is a low GI alternative to using Simple Syrup. The product is made from the Agave Plant, or more specifically, it’s core, ‘sweet cactus juice’ would probably be quite an accurate description of its provenance. Agave Syrup does carry a little hint of the sawdusty note found in Tequila, but a Tommy’s Margarita, which is made with this stuff, is possibly the nicest, smoothest, most incredible drinkable elixir I have ever laid my lips on.
Corn Syrup
Basically the reason America is fat, corn syrup is great at making things sweet, and ridiculously cheap to produce. It can be found flavouring everything from your Coke to your Cheetos. It should never sweeten your drink.
Agricole Syrup
Essentially the cane sugar syrup that is used to make Agricole rum. Can be used to great effect, especially if you can buy a bottle of both the Rhum and the syrup it came from. Tikilicious!
Artificial Sweeteners
Are acceptable, but are generally not used in bars due to the pesky nature of the complex chemicals and the way the streak up glassware, even when its put through a high temperature cycle.
Liquers.
Are basically syrups with some booze added.
I am sure that some people will try and tell me that this is not a cocktail. Some may even question the pluralisation of Gin, but i’ve been told its Gins & Tonic by far too many barmen to consider writing it any differently.
The definition of a cocktail I like best is a fine spirit, slightly improved. The Gin & Tonic truly embodies this fine ideal. It is also one of the easiest cocktails in the world to make. Add any quantity of Gin to an iced glass top with tonic and lightly flavor with citrus. tall glasses on a long day, short ones in more serious company.
The choice of Gin again is up to personal preference. Bombay Sapphire is my Dad’s standby, Gordon’s makes a fine G&T, Beefeater too. My own personal favorite is the Tanqueray and Tonic, particularly when its made with the very special and very preeemium Tanqueray No. Ten. Legend has it this Gin is made from the only still at the Tanqueray distillery to escape Hitlers bombers during the blitz. It is a well crafted and very smooth example of the category, and one that works with almost any type of citrus you can lay your hands on.
Most drinkers will be familiar with swapping lemon for lime, and on occasion orange or grapefruit. I would encourage you to try a decent measure (say squeeze two or three segments into the drink) of Tangelo, Blood Orange, Pomelo, Yuzu frankly, if its citrus it will change the profile of the drink, swap between a few during the course of the night.
My father used to ask for two fingers of Gin, in a glass with no ice, topped with cold tonic. It remains a great drink, so long as you whip through them before they warm up.
Here’s how I like it: at least 60 mls Gin, poured into an ice filled glass. Three segments of whatever citrus is at hand and between 90 and 150 mls of tonic to fill the glass. Savour the taste of the spirit, the cold of the ice, the sour of the citrus and the tangy effervesence that comes with the addition of tonic.
22 Challis Ave, Potts Point.
+61 2 9326 9000
Stashed away out the back of Lotus‘ restaurant on Challis Ave in Potts Point, this micro bar punches well above its size. Part of Sydney’s flash as Merivale Group, while the clientele is often fruitier than the cocktails, Lotus manages class without the pretension of the shinier, larger and altogether more wanky Ivy. But I digress.
There are two seats up close to the bar, if I am not sitting in them, pull up a pew, talk, drink and enjoy some of the highest quality hosting in the City. The bar manager, Peter*, is genuine czech class, mixing up ultra tasty libations for an adoring bar.
I started with a Corpse Reviver 22, which is actually a Corpse Reviver No.2, but despite the faux pas on the name, the drink was immaculate. As close to perfect as I have ever tasted.
Bohemia was a champagne cocktail of excellence; le mercier absinthe, shaken with a hint of fresh lemon and sugar, topped with domaine chandon and caramelised star anise.
I followed these up with a cocktail from the front section. I can’t recall it’s name but it was Tain something, cherries muddled with Glenmorangie. Stunning, deep, velvety, delicious. I’ll be back to find out the name later in the week.
I’d definitely be going to this, Sebastian is a legend:
Mixology Management 5 Day Cocktail training Course
The Mixology Management 1806 cocktail bar training week is conducted at 1806, a fully functional, modern cocktail bar and training facility.
As well as taking students through the basics of bartending and customer service, we educate our participants in all the components of modern cocktails.
Course Objectives and Outcomes
The course is designed to take candidates with little or no experience and prepare them with knowledge and practical skills to comfortably begin an entry level bartending position in a bar or cocktail bar. Our course provides all the necessary knowledge and skills required to work happily, safely and efficiently in a modern cocktail bar.
Students who show willingness to succeed and excel will become part of Mixology Management’s casual and event staff database and will be given opportunities to gain experience. Those students will also have the opportunity for their details and CV to be distributed through Mixology Management’s extensive hospitality venue database and will be recommended for bar positions as they come up. There is no guarantee of work, but there is access to details about Melbourne’s best bars, bar managers, venue operators and advice on the best way to enter the hospitality industry.
There is currently a shortage of skilled bartenders in Australia, most venues in Melbourne are looking for reliable and competent staff, so there has never been a better time to enter hospitality, and there is no better cocktail community resource than Mixology Management.
| Street: |
169 exhibition Street
|
| 1806 |
| Phone: |
0400225532
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| Email: |
Over the weekend I entertained some friends with French 75’s, some slow cooked Italian and a tortuous game of scrabble.
The French 75 is named for the small but powerful artillery piece the French were so enamored with firing at the Germans.
Recipies vary, but all contain Gin, lemon juice and sugar, topped with Champange. My personal favourite incorporates absinthe, just a few drops in the bottom of the flute, before the rest of proceedings are kicked off.
Mix 3 parts* Gin, I used Beefeater, to 1 part lemon** juice over ice with a small measure of sugar or gomme***, shake briskly over ice and fill flutes about a 1/3 full with this mixture. top with Champagne and garnish with a large twist of lemon peel.
Harry Craddock probably said it best, ‘Hits with remarkable precision.’
* say 120mls for four cocktails, ** say 30mls, or almost the juice of an entire lemon (depending on how large the lemon is, of course), you might want to add a touch more sugar if you’re using bone dry Aussie bubbles instead of the French stuff.
354 Bourke Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tel: +61 2 9357 1111
info@theberesford.com.au
The money spent on fitting out this grand structure is supremely visible. The quality of the finishes from the front bar, the bathrooms downstairs and the outdoor courtyard are stunning. I hear good things about the restaurant, and the food did look stunning. The menu is available on the website.
Happily the quality is matched behind the bar, with a fine selection of hard to find spirits and bar tending nouse ensuring that any libation that crosses the bar is tasty, balanced and well presented.
Blake Head, another fine kiwi export, whipped me up a great little drink to unwind a busy day at the office, the South Gin Southside. The Beresford has a vodka southside on the list, but my preference is for the extra lift that gin imbues. South Gin is made in New Zealand, by the same guys that make 42 Below. It is a very soft gin, meaning the hefty kick of juniper prominent in most English gin is softened considerably. The liqour is distilled with a couple of native botanicals, namely kawakawa and manuka.
The southside is essentially a gin sour. 3 parts gin, 1 part gomme (sugar syrup), 1 part fresh lime juice. About six to eight leaves of mint are added before the mixture is shaken, strained and served up. garnished with a mint sprig.
The taste is both sharp and cool, the mint hangs on your breath and the drink will also stand up to being made with something a little heftier, say a Beefeater perhaps. Probably not one to stay on all night, but a great way to freshen the senses before a meal, snack or another beverage.
First appears in the 1930 Edition of Harry Craddock`s Savoy Cocktail Book in a section called `Reviver Cocktails`, designed to be drunk before 11am or `whenever steam and energy are needed`.
This is one of those drinks that just works. A perfect balance of liqueur, vermouth, spirit and citrus. The style existed briefly around 1920; until the more practical style of the 30`s, the Sour (citrus, spirit, liqueur, no vermouth) won the day. The flavours are all clearly defined and at the same time beautifully mixed. A truly great classic drink.
Find yourself a boston glass, or a three piece shaker will do the trick. Add equal parts Beefeater Gin, fresh lemon juice, Cointreau and Lillet Blanc. Ice yourself a martini glass, adding a dash of absinthe (or Pernod, should you have none) to the ice. Ice up the Boston, top it with the cap and give it a short, sharp shake. Discard the ice from the martini glass and strain your perfectly balanced Corpse Reviver No.2 into its vessel. Garnish with a wide peel of lemon, twisted.
I’ve found this drink also works well mixed in a tupperware container in bulk, up to a liter measured out in a Pyrex jug, shaken and poured long over ice on a hot Sydney day, garnished with mint to bring out the cooling anise…
Rum, for me, is very special. Often overpowered by post mix coke in bars across the country, the Tiki revival has seen the number, quality and popularity of Rum explode.
On the top of the ever growing heap sits Ron Zacapa. This Rum is from the mountain regions of Guatemala. What this means is that the sugar cane is grown at altitudes in excess of 23oo meters above sea level. The result is an exceptionally smooth Rum, beautifully packaged. Ron Zacapa comes in 15, 23 and 25 yr old versions and is now being imported and distributed in Australia by Diageo.
I cannot stress enough just how gorgeous this sweet nectar of the gods tastes. It is best served on its own, like a fine single malt. Add a little ice if you must.
Many would say that to use this, the finest of spirits in a cocktail is a waste. In general, I would agree with this line of reasoning. However, I have come across one recipe that does the flaxen bottle justice. The Imperial Mojito.
Add a generous measure of Ron Zacapa to a highball glass. Twist off six or seven leaves of mint and rip them roughly in half and add them to your glass, you can add a little sugar or mint syrup but the Rum packs a good measure of sweetness as it is. Top it up with ice and give it a generous stir to release and mingle the minty oils. Top the highball off with Champagne, Bollinger for my preference but I heartily encourage experimentation. Garnish with fresh mint, a straw and a warm, hammock filled afternoon.
Old World Elegance
Level 1, 235 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Sydney, Australia.
+61 2 9357 4488
Up a set of awkward but seemingly authentic warehouse stairs, lies Sydney’s Victoria Room.
A stylish eating and drinking affair, the room gets a little crowded, so either get there early enough to get a seat or a pice of the bars real estate, or get your game face on and stare down any number of on-the-cusp tweentie somethings to mark your territory.
I started proceedings with a Rittenhouse Manhattan from the house list. A very generous measure of Rittenhouse Rye, stirred over ice with Cinzano Rosso. It was a smoky wonderful treat, perfect for cutting through the lethargy remaining from my meal.
Rittenhouse Rye Whisky was originally launched upon the repeal of Prohibition by the Continental Distilling Company of Philadelphia , and was subsequently acquired by Heaven Hill Distilleries, the nation’s largest independent family-owned spirits producer and the second largest holder of aging American Whiskey in the world.
For a follow up, I ordered one of my favorites, the Aviation Cocktail. I prefer mine with Tanqueray stirred over ice with just a dash of Luxardo Maraschino Liquer and around 10 mls of fresh lemon juice. Strained up in a martini glass and icy cold is the way to drink this one.
Traditional recipes may call for the addition of Creme de Violet or as much as 15 mls Maraschino, but I find this overly floral and sweet. The drink originates from the prohibition era, when the gin was made in bathtubs, served in teacups and needed a lot of hiding. Use any of the new style premium gins and you’ll find this a delightful experience.
Overall, the Victoria Room was an average experience, with an overcrowded bar and long waits for service being offset by friendly, engaging staff. I’ll go back and try it again, hopefully on a quieter night.
Everyday Drinking 