VaVa Voom

The July/August issue of Imbibe magazine has a recipe for the VaVa Voom by Sean Muldoon of The Merchant Hotel in Belfast (recently awarded World's Best Drinks Selection at TotC).

The VaVa Voom (Variation)

2oz Aged Rum (used Barbancourt 8)

2 tsp. white Creme de Cacao

5 tsp. fresh Lime juice

2 cubes pure Cane sugar

1 dash Fee bitters

1 dash Angostura bitters

1.5 tbsp Apricot preserves

Muddle the cubes with the bitters, and the rest of the ingredients, over ice.

Shake, and pour into a chilled coupe.

So, why is it a variation of Muldoon's? Because I didn't have Cane Syrup, or Apricot brandy.

Regardless, it came out fantastic, and reminded me of the mature Tiki drinks that I've loved so much at the Flatiron Lounge.

Search for Deliciousness

It was unplanned, but we wound up at Momofuku Ssäm Bar last Friday. Don Lee was working behind the bar.

Since it was National Tequila Day, my first drink was a Loop Tonic which was created by Phil Ward at Mayahuel, a Tequila focused bar in NYC from a few PDTers.

Loop Tonic

Herradura Blanco, Green Chartreuse, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup.

I followed this with a drink created at Cure in New Orleans -- Search for Deliciousness. I've since made this several times at home, and I believe I am pretty close on the ratios.

Search for Deliciousness

1.5 oz Cynar

1 oz Punt E Mes

.5 oz Lemon Juice

2 dashes Orange Bitters (Regan's)

It has become a favorite, regardless of the lower alcohol level.

The final drink was a Momofuku creation.

Reverend Palmer

Tea infused Elijah Craig bourbon, Lemon Syrup, and bitters.

Libatious.com

Since this began, I was calling it Rhum With a Vieux. A bad pun.

I decided on a name finally -- Libatious. It is a combination of libation and delicious, but in slang also means "something worth being poured over." The name works well (for future plans) and surprisingly, the URL was available.

Something New

In the mood for a refreshing apéritif, I mixed up this after looking at my bottle of rarely used Poire William. In 1992, when in a little café in Brooklyn, I ordered saké, which I wasn't too familiar with, and then noticed pear juice also on the menu. A light went off in my head, and I thought it would make a stunning pairing. It did.

2 oz Junmai Ginjo Saké (Momokawa)

1 oz Bianco Vermouth

1/4 oz Poire Williams

2 dashes Celery bitters

Clean, light, and refreshing.

Pegu Club Cocktail

From the recipe in Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails.

1.5 oz Gin (used Tanqueray)

1/2 oz Triple Sec (used Hiram Walker)

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Delicious.

Momofuku Ssäm, Little Branch, and Del Pedro

Last Thursday, spent some time with my friend Chris. One of the few I have in NYC. But more so, a partner in crime. This evening, we will spend at his apartment in preparation for his birthday party on Saturday, mixing up small batches of punch. A dry run, pun intended. But on to last week...

Food and drinks and Momofuku Ssäm (my second time there in less than a week). First things first -- goddamn are those pork buns delicious. I could eat 10 of them in one sitting. Really. Screw hot dog eating contests. The upscale version should be David Chang pork bun eating contests. As for the drinks, same as last entry. I had the Pickled Ramp Martini and the Old Fashioned (Applejack infused with nori). Decent, but neither were as good as my previous visit. Still, though ramps are out of season, I'd like to attempt a unique Gibson/dirty Martini. Maybe pearl onions, but using David Chang's pickling recipe.

Moving on. We've never been to Little Branch, so decided to give it a shot. I was already suspect going into it. I'm really not into the elitist speakeasy vibe, and I am no fan of Sasha Petraske's White Star, where the bartenders (the one's I've met) see poorly trained. We waiting in line about 10 minutes. Inside was crowded. I found the clientele and hostess a little too hipper-than-thou annoying. Our cocktails were decent, but nothing to rave about. We left after one drink. Will I ever go back? I want to say no, but I wont. I'll give it a second chance. Maybe on a Monday.

We hopped in a cab with intent to go somewhere (Death & Co.?) but decided to hop out when right near Pegu Club, my reigning favorite. And, I am so thankful we did. Our bartender was the wonderful Del Pedro. He's tended for us before, but on more hectic nights. This Thursday was oddly low-key, and we had his attention. In part because Del overheard us talking the talk, and then schooling us. It was an amazing night. We started off ordering off the menu, revised for the season since I had last been there. Everything was perfect, and stunning. As the night drew on, I began asking for off-menu drinks. One of them being a a Paper Airplane, which I had just fallen in love with after reading about it in Food & Wine Cocktails 2009 -- ironically from Little Branch. Del said he would make it, but then also offered his own like drink, on the house, for a side-by-side tasting. His was the 19th Century Cocktail.

Let's step back as second. I had just recently also discovered and loved the 20th Century Cocktail after reading about it in the just re-released Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails, by Ted "Doctor Cocktail" Haigh. So, what was this 19th Century Cocktail?

• Bourbon
• Lillet Rouge
• Lemon Juice
• Creme de Cacao

(Portions unknown until I experiment.)

Similar in ways to the Paper Airplane and the 20th Century, but oh so much more delicious.

The night evolved into a discussion of Amari, and then small tastings of their selection -- Nonino, Ramazzotti, Averna, and others..

Thanks to the generosity, mentorship, and expertise of Mr. Pedro, this was probably the most fun I've ever had on a night of mixed drinking.

I just hope we tipped him well as we stumbled out. :)

Reverse Martini

Last night I posted about my genius Martini, made from gin, vermouths dry and bianco, and celery bitters.

As I wind down the day at 1:20 AM, several cocktail experiments in, I'd decided to go light. A flash of inspiration led to this reverse Martini:

2 oz Bianco vermouth (used M&R)

1 oz Gin (used Bombay)

1 dash of Bitter Truths Celery Bitters

Delicious. A perfect apertivo.

Stir and strain into a Nick & Nora.

Smoked Rosemary Manhattan

I read about this trick in a magazine article on 'Molecular Mixology.'

Burn a stalk of fresh rosemary under the lid of a cobb shaker. When it gathers some smoke, close it, and shake the ingredients.

2 oz rye (used Wild Turkey 101)

1 oz amaro (used CioCiaro)

Dash Angostura bitters

Shake, and strain into a Nick & Nora.

It may seem odd, but I despise the flavor of rosemary. So, while not thrilled going into this project, I was fascinated enough to try the technique. I am so glad I did. The cocktail retains all of the smokey goodness, and none (or very little) rosemary. It is unique, and quite delicious. The flavor is something like Chinese BBQ spare ribs.

Paper Plane -- Food & Wine Cocktails 2009

In publications since 2005, and edited by PDT's Jim Meehan since 2007. These guides are fun and inspiring. Sometimes the recipes are over-ambitious for home mixology, but it is still cool to read recipes from bartenders you know, and from places you've been.

The 2009 guide changes the format a bit, focuses on specific bartenders for sections such as Jamie Boudreau for Apertifs, but is a welcome change.

Flipping thru the book, I immediately zoned in on a drink called a Paper Plane, from NYC's Little Branch. I haven't been there yet. The only Sasha Petraske place I've yet been was White Star, and frankly, I though it was inferior. The bartenders were surprisingly amateur in technique and knowledge. One of their signature cocktails is called an American Trilogy. Though the menu specified an American Whiskey, the bartender insisted -- after pouring the wrong ingredient -- that the correct Whisky was Irish, and that it had been created by an Irish bartender at Milk & Honey. Make sense? Not at all. I don't care who created it. An American Trilogy must use only American spirits. Right?

Back to the Paper Plane. It is damned delicious. The drink was created by Sam Ross at Little Branch, and named after M.I.A.'s song of similar name.

Paper Plane

3/4 oz Bourbon

3/4 oz Aperol

3/4 oz Nonino Amaro

3/4 oz Lemon juice

Essentially, a corpse reviver. Try one ASAP. This is a killer summer drink, and gets my highest praise.

I don't have Aperol or Amaro Nonino at home, so took the recipe to my local favorite, Skinner's Loft, where the bartenders may lack expertise but make up for it in enthusiasm.

My Best Martini Yet

Inspired by my recent visits to Flatiron Lounge and Momofuku Ssäsm, I devised a Martini using some of the ingredients from cocktails I've had at each place. At Flatiron, I had a Hendricks Martini variation that used Bianco Vermouth. I'd never purchased or tasted it before. As I had guessed, it is a sweet white vermouth. A bit spicy, and quite delicious. At Momofuku, I had the Laird's Nori-infused Old Fashioned, which uses Celery bitters. They may make their own, but I use the award-winning Bitter Truth bitters.

I am naming this Martini as an hommage to the Jewish deli classic Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda, as it takes its celery essence from the bitters and sweetness from the bianco.

The Cel-Ray Martini

2 oz Gin (I used Tanqueray, which is sweet for a London Dry)

1/2 oz French vermouth

1/2 oz Bianco vermouth (I used M&R)

2 dashes Bitter Truth's Celery Bitters

Small things make big differences

I have been testing a variety of ice sizes lately and have concluded that for home use the Tovolo silicone trays indeed make the best ice. (Of course, I wouldn't mind having a $1700 Kold-Draft Ice Butler for the Penthouse condo I will some day live in after hitting the Mega Millions lottery.)

However the big news is my new Japanese stirring glass. I've been lusting after this for a few years of patronizing Angel's Share, B-Flat, Tokyo Bar, and PDT. I can say unequivocally that this glass aids in producing the finest mixed drink. It is heavy, which allows for smooth, easy, one-handed stirring. And I assume from its short stature, cools the liquids quicker when properly filled with ice (4 cubes hand-cracked, 3-4 whole cubes to the top). Previously I was using the standard pint glass, or 16 oz mixing tin (which gets cooler quicker than the pint glass). Neither come close. Even my wife, who is usually not attuned to such nerdism noticed a profound difference in my drinks coinciding with the arriving of this Japanese beauty.

Where did I get it? Well, right now, I am being a selfish a-hole, so won't mention because it is only available in limited quantities. I have a few friends that need to buy it first before I reveal the source.

July 4th

We started out at Shake Shack. Burgers -- NYC's best -- made sense on this holiday. We were a bit disappointed. Though our pup surely was not. I have many times in the past proclaimed the Shack to be A-1, king of the hill, top of the heap. However, this is now my 3rd time that I have been let down. It is still a good burger. But just not the holy-crap-I-waited-in-line-an-hour-and-it-still blows-my-mind good. So, right now, I are 3 for 3 with the Shack. Not an encouraging sign. The Shack-cago dog was damn tasty though, and I am not one for overdoing a dog.

The good news is that Shake Shack is just a few blocks from Julie Reiner's Flatiron Lounge. I had only been there once before after a job interview. One of FL's unique offerings is a daily flight -- a set of three themed mixed drinks. The first time I was there, it was Tiki themed. Being a life long (literally) tiki nut, I jumped on that without hesitation. And, it was a revelation. These were not the common booze infused Hawaii punches. These were serious drinks. Each ingredient perfectly, sublimely balanced. It was in awe.

To my delight, last night, the 4th of July, the flight was similarly themed -- Island drinks: a Mai Tai, a Jamaican Firefirely, and... something else I am not sure what the bartender called it. They were all once again perfect.

My wife ordered an excellent drink of Hendricks Gin, French vermouth, Bianco vermouth, and a dash of yellow chartreuse. For the second round, when I specified a drink made with Rittenhouse Rye, the bartender ecstatically suggested her favorite drink on the menu, "Remember the Maine." You can read about the historical lore here, but I will focus on the drink. It is a solid drink. I wasn't at first enamored, but the more I drank, the more it grew on me. It is somewhat of a modified Manhattan, and by the final sip, had fallen in love. My wife was also very fond of it.

On the way home, we stopped by a decent nearby liquor store. They didn't have Rittenhouse, but did have Wild Turkey Rye 101. A suitable substitution. Once home, I attempted to recreate.

Remember the Maine (My guess at the portions)

2 oz Rye (Wild Turkey 101)

1 oz Sweet vermouth (Dolin)

1/2 oz Cherry Heering

1 tsp Absinthe [rinse] (Emile Pernot Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe Francaise Superieure)

Whether or not I nailed the proportions, the taste was right on. I think the only noticeable difference was between the Rittenhouse and the Wild Turkey Rye. I've since looked it up, as I had (ironically) forgotten the name until this morning, and though recipes vary, I am sticking with mine.

UPDATE: It seemed like an obvious variation, so I swapped out Gin for Rye with the Remember the Maine. Fantastic. And dare I say, gin seems to work better than rye. I doubt I am the first person to think of this alternative. I am wondering if it has a name. If not, my submission is "Remember the Brain," as this highly quaffable libation can do damage.

Ssäm-thing New

Friday, July 3rd -- Finally made it to one of David Chang's Momofuku Ssäm. Excellent, as expected. The steamed pork buns are truly amazing. We also had Benton's Smokey Mountain Country Ham. It was shaved thin, like prosciutto. Delicious. The "Bread and Butter" small dish is exactly that: bread with a delicious salted butter, and lardo. (Yes, lard.) Decadent. For the main dish I had the Bell & Evan's Fried Chicken. My wife had the pork shoulder. Both savory and satisfying.

But on to the drinks, which were unique and surprisingly delicious, thanks to Don Lee.

My first was was the Pickled Ramp Martini, using Haymans Old Tom Gin, dry vermouth, ramp brine and bitters. Next up, the Celery & Nori Old Fashioned -- Nori infused Laird's Applejack, celery syrup and celery bitters.

Looking forward to going back soon.