I managed to get each step of David Wondrich’s Jim Beam Black Julep on Monday. I think it makes a good story, and shows each part of the compounding process in turning out a pretty epic drink.
Mint Julep
You’ll need: Some fresh mint, more is always better than less. Sugar, water, bourbon, rum, ice, mallet and a bag. You’ll also need a straw, and a silver julep cup wouldn’t go amiss either. I never said it was a simple process.
Still working my way through The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks and stumbled into Julep country. Mr Embury has an obvious passion for the Bourbon Slushy so I thought I’d try my hand.
Juleps come from a time when spirits were commonplace in drinks at any time a clock could show, and the Minted Julep offered a cool, refreshing respite while sitting on the porch, watching your workforce toil in the cotton fields. With the current Bourbon revival in full swing, this is a drink that is sure to making more of an appearance in the coming year.
Julep #1
Place your metal vessel in the freezer ahead of time, getting a good frost is key to the look and feel of a Julep and a frozen cup makes this much easier to achieve.
In a bar glass place three dashes of Angostura bitters*, 15mls of simple syrup and 12 fresh mint leaves. Give these a gentle muddle, to much vigor will taint the drink with a bitter aftertaste, so take your time and tease the oils out. And a generous measure (at least 60mls) of bourbon to this mixture and set it to one side.
Take your frozen vessel from the freezer and fill it with crushed ice. If you have a machine, use that, but beating cubes in a clean tea towel works too.
Pour in the minty bourbon, giving the ice a stir with up and down movements to ensure the correct slushy consistency and to accelerate the frosty exterior. Top the cup with more crushed ice so it’s full to the brim, or heaped like a Taiwanese snow cone. Add two short straws and a garnish of mint, the tips of the plant make the best looking garnishes. Exhale deeply and enjoy this truly superior drink.
*I’ve never come across another recipe that calls for angostura and I did think it a little odd from the outset, however, it delivers a Julep of unusual character, just as Embury promises.
P.S. I do believe this might just be the prettiest looking drink I’ve ever made.
Unlike the sours, slings, flips and smashes set down in the somewhat finessed worlds of American and European bar tending, Tiki drinks have a habit of evolving. I’m not sure if it’s the transition of a laid back lifestyle into the bar, the quality and availability of ingredients or just that tiki tradition seems to be more about scribbled notes than printed volumes, but I have seen upwards of 20 different recipes all claiming to be a Zombie.
A chap by the name of Patrick Duffy claims to have invented the beverage and certainly has the first version in print. His Zombie calls for Apple Brandy and launched a number of recipes that use fruit brandies, but I’ve found they tend to come out a bit sick sweet.
While there’s debate about who went first, Don the Beachcomber made this drink famous.
The Zombie, despite variations in print, is about just one thing – packing as many different rums into a beverage that remains palatable while delivering uncompromising alcoholic strength. Huzzah!
While Tiki has made a marked comeback in other parts of the world, it has been largely overlooked in Sydney, with only a few notable exceptions. Bacardi brand ambassador, Jeremy Shipley, has installed perhaps the city’s best bamboo shrine to the gods of tiki, unfortunately it is in the back of his house, rather than on public show in a bar. This snippet does point to the fact that Tiki is something that Sydneysiders will have to invest in and indulge themselves at home.
My recipe leans on Dr Cocktial’s recipe, with a couple of little additions of my own.
The Zombie
The juice of one whole lime, 30mls unsweetend pineapple juice, 15mls fresh Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, 15mls Falernum, 15mls passionfruit syrup, 30mls Ron Zacapa 23, 30mls Rum Shrub, 30mls Bacardi, 30mls Mount Gay XO, 5mls Absinthe, 4 dashes Angostura bitters, shake over ice and pour into a highball or tiki mug, half filled with crushed ice. garnish with a mint bush and plastic monkeys, if available.
I make my rum shrub by infusing the remnants of my anejo rums with dried orange peel, cinnamon, cardamon and vanilla. I store it in a dark cool place, and it hasn’t started fizzing yet. Clement have a nice product too.
And if you’re interested, this is the earliest Don the Beachcomber version:
Don the Beachcomber Zombie recipe
“Zombie Zowie, Hollywood Night Life Weird and Wonderful,” Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 28, 1938
“The serving glass should be approximately 14 ounces and frosted. Into it is shaken one ounce of Demerara 150 proof rum, one ounce of heavy Jamaican rum, one ounce of Guadalupe rum and one ounce Porto Rican cartadora. To this is added one ounce of Falernum and one ounce of simple syrup, the juice of one whole Mexican lime and four dashes of bitters. Decorate with fruits in season, and mint.”
This one is pretty good too, and shows how the drink evolved:
Zombie
Recipe from “Hawaii Tropical Rum Drinks & Cuisine by Don the Beachcomber” by Arnold Bitner & Phoebe Beach (2001)
“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.
While the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the warming light of the sun, hot punch recipes are being dusted off. Some provide warmth, others exist solely to bring a tint of colour to the milky white skin of Englishmen.
Rejoice then, that you live in Sydney, where access to sun, surf, parks and beaches are plentiful and open to all.
As you head to any of these places, to meet in large groups or small, the default choice for refreshment is a six pack of coldies or a bottle of wine. I’d ask you to consider for a moment stepping outside of that norm and heading, replete, with a fine jar of tippling punch on your next park sojourn.
Punch was invented back when alcohol was so rough, punters only wanted to mask the flavour enough to get it down and start the glorious journey to intoxication, these days, punches in the summer or the winter showcase flavours of booze, fruit and herbacious additives. Experimentation is the key here, perfect punch is a very fluid concept, go with what’s fresh and match the flavours as best you can.
Punches are best described in ratios, as everyone will have a different sized jar, bowl or bathtub, depending on the size of one’s frivolity, and frankly your ambition.
My Summer Punch
Fill a preserving jar with ice and slide slices of lemons, limes and oranges down the side with a barspoon. Add 2 parts Tanqueray Gin, 1 part Lillet Blanc, 1 part pomegranate juice, 1 part cloudy apple juice, 1/2 part fresh squeezed lemon juice. Garnish with mint, think bush not sprig.
The walk or drive to the destination should provide sufficient mixing.
Enjoy, and feel free to share your own punch combos in the comments.
This is a drink that I was most thoroughly introduced to by Jacob Briars, socialist, bon vivant, erstwhile global Professor of vodka for 42Below and the eleventh best bar chef in New Zealand.
The Southside is essentially a Gin daiquiri with mint. It is a simple drink that relies entirely on the quality of its ingredients. I’ve found that the round mint gives the best result and I prefer it with a softer Gin, like Moore’s or South but it is palatable whichever spirit you bring to the mix.
It’s another of those great drinks that got their start during the Prohibition. Although it’s Chicago roots set it apart from most of the classics and, appropriately are wrapped up in the Gangland culture and history of that time. The territories in the city were split North & South, the boys in the North had cornered the market in high quality spirits, smuggled across the border from Canada, leaving the Saltis-McErlane gang with access only to hooch and swill, manufactured locally and of dubious provenance. The mobsters used sugar, citrus and mint to cover the imperfections in their products. While history has not been as kind to Frankie McErlane as it was to Al Capone, Frankie blazed trails outside of the field of mixology, being the first man to use the Tommy gun and racking up at least 15 bodies during the bootlegging wars.
The Southside.
Two teaspoons of caster sugar, the juice of half a lime and 60 mls of South Gin. Combine in a boston glass and add eight leaves of mint. (don’t muddle it, you’ll only make it bitter.) Ice the glass and give it a good, hard shake. Double strain the mixture into a cocktail glass, a few of the smaller pieces of mint might get through, but it makes for a pretty drink with a few specks. Slap a couple of leaves over the glass to boost the smell and the flavour. Garnish with a single mint leaf.
What you’ll be left with is a great balance of sweet, tart and strong with an amazing cool element that makes this a perfect summer drink and in the Professor’s own words “Frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrresh.”
Each year before Tales of the Cocktail, there is a contest to find the cocktail of the conference. This year the theme was Juleps and this is the little silver cup of perfection that took the prize. Why a Julep? David Wondrich summed it up pretty nicely on the tales site.
“The Mint Julep was the drink that put American mixology on the map, the thing that foreigners pointed to when they wanted to say something nice about the rough-and-tumble new nation on the western shore of the Atlantic. And originally, like most American inventions, it allowed for plenty of individuality and improvisation. With this contest, the Julep is back,”
But, I digress, Here is the recipe, created by Maksym Pazuniak, Rambla/Cure
2 1/4 oz. (70 mls) Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
1/2 oz. (15 mls) Clement Creole Shrubb
1/4 oz. (7.5 mls) Captain Morgan 100 Rum
2 dashes Fee Bros. Peach bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters
8-10 mint leaves
1 Demerara Sugar Cube
They haven’t put a method up on the site, probably because everyone at Tales could make this drink in their sleep. For the benefit of those that couldn’t I’ll go out on a limb, probably get things wrong and put down on the page how I would make this little tasty beverage.
In a silver julep cup, like the one pictured above, add the sugar cube, both the bitters, the mint and the Captain Morgan 100 Rum. Stir until the sugar starts to dissolve, but gently enough that you don’t bruise the mint and render the drink bitter. Next, I’d add the Creole Shrubb and some crushed ice. stir some more, a minute or so should do. Now I would add the Cruzan, and enough crushed ice to fill the drink to about half an inch below the rim of the julep cup. Stir until the flavours are well mixed. Top the cup with ice, not so much as to look like a sideshow ice shaving but enough that the drink is solid. Slap a piece of mint over the top, releasing the oils over the drink for an extra burst of flavour, add two straws and a garnish of mint from the top of the bush (so it looks nice.) Sip it down. Repeat.
This sounds like a labour intensive drink, and it is. But oh, so worth it.
For those of you that are wondering what Creole Shrubb is, and if you can’t find any where you are:
Take a bottle of Rhum Agricole (Rum made from sugar cane juice, as opposed to Blackstrap.) Add a handful of Creole spices (paprika, chilli, file, dried thyme & basil, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder) Also add the peel of ten oranges, preferably dried in the Caribbean sun. It should taste, orangey, sweet and maybe even a little coppery or metallic.
I’m going home to make one now.
A gin that’s not for everyone the little label on the neck of this dark, squat and frankly medicinal looking bottle. Hendrick’s offers an unusual addition of cucumber and rose to the traditional British recipe. Perhaps it would be more at home in a Persian pantaloon convention, if it wasn’t for the fact that this little tweak, coupled with the use of a very special still makes a Gin that just works.
Fragrant and soft martinis, surprisingly refreshing gins and tonic, all garnished with a slice of cucumber that screams “look at me! I’m different!”
Anyway, seriously, more inconoclastic than Scotland’s own John Knox. Go and get yourself a bottle today and make:
A Punch and Judy.
INGREDIENTS: 1 oz Martell VSOP, ¼ oz Old New Orleans Crystal Rum, ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin, ½ oz Bols Orange Curacao, 2 oz Pineapple Juice, ½ oz Freshly squeezed lime juice, ½ oz orange juice, ½ oz Partida agave nectar, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 4 mint leaves. PREPARATION: Assemble ingredients in a mixing glass with as much love and interest that is healthy (that is to say not in a obsessive fashion but certain passionate and perhaps as if you were preparing the drink for someone you respect, admire and love in a plutonic fashion) – no need to muddle the mint, just throw it in- shake properly (hard) and strain over fresh ice in a highball glass.
Cut a thinly sliced lime wheel and place on top of the Punch and Judy; add a hearty sprinkle of ground nutmeg directly on the lime wheel fresh from the “nut” with a small grater or using already ground nutmeg from a small shaker.
This rather complicated cocktail is the first of a series which I will appropriate from Dale De Grof, the King of the Cocktail, and maker of extremely fine Irish Coffees.
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.
Everyday Drinking 