bar-log = blog

the blasphemy: a Taiwanese whisky better than scotches

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:33:26 +0400

Wow - this will piss off a lot of Scotch drinkers and supporters:
Kavalan Single Malt whisky - made in Taiwan, blew away its Scottish competitors with ease!
Please head over to Luxist.com to read the original post!

So what happened?
First of all the competitors: Langs Blended Scotch [2nd], King Robert Scotch, St. George Whisky and Bruichladdich X4+1.
Who the hell selected these unknown and somewhat crappy products? It is obvious, that a proper composed product will win against discounter products!
You might say that Bruichladdich is a mean malt - and you are right - though the selection of the X4+1 ensured, that even the Laddich wouldn’t surely win! It is a very young and unconventional product - IMHO purely a collectors and geeks whisky.

And what is Kavalan all about? Kavalan is Taiwan’s whisky distillery, though it is built by Banffshire and uses Scottish malt. There are not more informations...

Does this “incident” takes the credibility from Scotch? Very unlikely - to be honest: there are a lot of good malt whisky around in a lot of other countries: France, Germany, the US, even Canada...
These products can be fantastic... but how consistent is the quality - not of one product or brand, but of the whole region? And how much is sold? You’ll already have your answer: Scotch [like all regional protected products] is all about consistency, availibility and that you can be sure, to get an appropriate experience, if you consume it; though this doesn’t mean, that you want to try the lowest and cheapest stuff!

I really hate this headlines, which are hooking up the average Joe, but if you look closer, haven’t got any substance!

Please Kavalan - make another blind tasting with independent persons. But this time, you might choose, main competitors [for malts]; e.g. Glenmorangie “the original”, or the Balvenie 12 years old, or maybe Glenlivet 12 years old, or even Monkey Shoulder.
I don’t mean, that these are the greatest malts [and it is just a list of entry malts, which just came to my mind], though you have a malt, so you supposed to compare it with a malt! And you want to make a shocking headline - so you supposed to beat the benchmark products from the market - not the misery low end products...

This practice actually prevents me to try this whisky at all [anyway, it will be difficult to get it here in Dubai]. I really hate more and more the practices in the liquor industry... is there no more fairness and dignity???

first sessions of diageo world class in dubai

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:24:59 +0400

Guys - I hope, you know, that I am not brand obsessed. Or that I am a person, who to kneel down in front of people of whose others say that they are gurus.

Though I am actually really looking forward to the Diageo World Class competition.
It is because, it is not only a lame cocktail competition. No - it is a comprehensive program, where you can show, how good you are as host, as cocktail créateur, as spirit geek and as bar entertainer. Obviously it concentrates to award the really best bartender.

Lets not say, that the best will win [this you can really only do, e.g. in sports] - though it will show, who is really good...

Well - like said, the first session was with Angus Winchester, who is one of the best known personalities in the now global bar world.

Sunday was the very first session - hosted by Ravi a good friend and manager of the Buddha Bar Dubai. There were a lot of people around - I haven’t counted, but it was said, that there were around 150 of them! In the first minutes Felix and Russell mixed classic and contemporary drinks with Tanqueray 10 [by the way, I think Diageo, supposed to get first of all the menus in Dubai right: I think Tanqueray is the most wrongly spelled word here - and if it comes to Tanqueray No.10 I have even seen it as 10 years old...] .
For me it was a bit... dull - most of the people just stood before the two and made pictures and videos and tried and were just overly excited... well I was not.

After around 40 minutes, Angus mounted the stage and talked first about the history of gin, about hoaxes about gin, about Tanqueray and Tanqueray ten.
Then he mixed few contemporary gin drinks from cocktail-gurus around the world. Inter alia the Garden G&T, which was new for me - but a bit complicated to be a drink of my choice [T10, elderflower syrup, cucumber, mint, lime, tonic]. The Clover Club, I knew before - though it is only a good drink, if a proper raspberry syrup is used [for this application I love the new Monin fruit puree].
He also concocted a Basil Smash - one of the best cuisine style drinks I tried in the last few years!

After a few other drinks, like a Red Snapper he closed with a classic Martini Cocktail.

It was a good presentation and I have quite enjoyed the company of other bartenders in Dubai.

Did I learned something? Well... - not a lot. There were few touches, which I actually didn’t realized before. Not big things.
I was never so crazy about drink history. So it was an interesting note, that genever wasn’t invented by Sylvius de Bouve, as it was already documented 70 years before his date of birth; but it didn’t exactly rocked my world...

What have I missed? Honestly: that he kicked the bartenders into their butt [or into worse parts]. Angus is a nice person and he actually showed which options bartender have to prepare a drink.

This is a good thing, if you have seasoned and versed bartenders listening. But for most bartenders, it would be great to go back to basics.

Listen to me, Dubai: Go back to basics!

Back to basics!

Back to basics!

Back to basics!

We have a hell of a lot of 5 star hotels here in Dubai, with heavy frequented bars.
And in those luxury environment, barmen cannot deliver a constant level of quality of classic drinks.

Most bars are not able to make a decent Martini cocktail [cold enough but not over-diluted], or a Whiskey Sour, or a Gin Fizz.
For me, it simply doesn’t make sense, to talk about historic drinks and/or the last trends - if the simplest basics are not met.

==========================================

On Tuesday then, Diageo hosted another small event in Cooz bar. This was a bit a disappointment, as I thought, it would be rather a discussion than another “monologue” about gin.

Again Angus talked about history of gin and contemporary bartenders and drinks... Though a good chance of getting the opinions and perspectives of the brighter folks of Dubai’s bartenders was gone.

The short get-together after the sessions though was quite nice and I enjoyed it until my better half picked me up from the hotel...

MXMO XLV - Drinks with tea

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:08:22 +0400

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The first Mixology Monday in 2010 is hosted by cocktail virgin slut and tea is the topic, which sets it apart.
Lets first of all see, what Frederic from cocktail virgin slut has to say:

CocktailVirgin will be hosting this month's Mixology Monday, a monthly online cocktail party with a different theme each month. This month the chosen theme will be tea.

Tea has played a historical role in cocktails for centuries. Perhaps the best documented early example was its inclusion in punches as part of the spice role to round out the spirit, sugar, water, and citrus line up. Later, teas appear in many recipes such as Boston Grog, English Cobbler, and a variety of Hot Toddies. And present day mixologists are utilizing tea flavors with great success including Audrey Saunder's Earl Grey MarTEAni and LUPEC Boston's Flapper Jane. Now it's our turn to honor this glorious cocktail ingredient!

Here's how to play:

• Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses tea or tisane (a herbal "tea" which lacks tea leaves) as an ingredient. This can be hot tea, cold tea, tea syrups, or infusions and use it in a cocktail, punch, or other drink type. Be careful how long you infuse them (after 2 hours, things get really bitter!) if you go that route, and feel free to take a shortcut and use Beefeater 24 which has tea already in the botanical mix.
• Make the drink and then post the recipe, a photo, and your thoughts about the drink on your blog or on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.
• Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both the Mixology Monday and CocktailVirgin sites. And once the round-up is posted, a link to that summary post would be appreciated.
• Post a link to your submission in the comment section here, or send an email to yarm-at-verizon.net

The due date is Monday, January 25th which I will interpret as whatever gets posted before I awake on Tuesday the 26th.

Cheers,
Frederic

Tea... that sounds interesting! Tea is highly aromatic with an astringent quality. And it is virtually everywhere on this planet consumed.

Though - you know me - I just don’t want to take a random recipe...

When I heard tea, I remembered the rather annoying time in Yekaterinburg. Tea is a very common beverage in the culture there. And it is usual to drink black tea in combination with Varenja - kinda berry jam - some people are dissolving it to sweet the tea - others are spooning it separately.

As I supposed to take care of the Fireside bar there, I created a drink, which was directly taking onto this ritual; the Fireside Sour.

Basis of this drink was blended Scotch - first, because Fireside is a whisky-centric bar - second because people like to drink whisky there.
Honestly - Russians are drinking quite a lot of whisky - especially those who can afford to drink it - vodka there [even the very fancy Russian vodkas like Kauffman or Beluga] is really cheap. Even a pouring spirit of an imported beverage, is more expensive as a premium vodka.
Hence Scotch is much more expensive - well and this is the point - Russians like to buy expensive things - if they can afford those.

Anyway - I infused Johnnie Walker Red Label [yes I would not use it normally - though we had quite a lot of bottles of it in the bar] with Lapsang Souchong - which is a really smoky black tea.
I’ve combined the tea infused scotch with freshly squeezed lemon juice and varenja syrup [varenja combined with simple syrup- much easier to work with] plus a bit of egg white.

This is a fantastic drink, smoky - whisky-y and fruity with a lot of froth of the egg white.
I like to spray some citrus oils from a twist. So you get rid of the egg white-y smell...

Never seen this method - though everybody is talking about egg white, though didn’t you ever recognize the light but definitely recognizable smell of it? This is not really appetizing. But with a twist, it will be al OK!

So here we are:

The Fireside Sour

5 cl Lasang Souchong infused Blended Scotch
2 cl instantly squeezed Lemon Juice
2 cl Varenja [Russian berry jam] Syrup
1/4 Egg White

Shake all ingredients very long and very strong with a Boston Shaker on whole ice cubes.
Strain into a pre-chilled ice cube filled tumbler.
Use a large citrus twist [lemon or orange] to spray citrus oils on top of the surface and garnish, the drink with it.

cigar business compared with bar industry

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:54:04 +0400

I am actually preparing a bit for the new competition: the habanosommelier 2010 - here in Dubai.
The competition is really demanding - the questions are difficult and the time to prepare yourself is short.

Though this is not the subject of this post. As Cuba is a kinda micro-climate for the cigar business, it is very interesting to take this business as example, how a controlled environment can sophisticate a product.

I think nobody can really argue about Cuban cigars and their quality! I think it is not necessary the individual product - a lot of non-Cuban cigars are absolutely great - it is more about the whole cigar infrastructure - the diversity - the philosophy, which sets Cuban smokes apart!

What makes Cuba so incomparable?
Due to the centrally planned economy in Cuba and the fact, that all are reporting to the exclusive Cuban cigar company Habanos, every single brand is obedient to the overall strategy.
That means, all factory sizes [vitola de galera] are absolutely the same - doesn’t matter, if Cohiba, Montecristo or El Rey del Mundo!
The production methods and the credo of authentic high quality and regional products are also shared of all brands!

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t judge the political consequences... but the result on the cigar culture is impeccable!

What we have in the bar business is an absolute free market - everybody can do whatever he/she likes! There is not even an overall agreement, that artificial colors and flavors supposed to be not used - or that fresh juices are the only appropriate choice...
That doesn’t make the individual cocktail bad - though it also means, that there is not a chance, to create a consistent, connoisseur bar culture!

And the bar unions and associations doesn’t make it better - as they usually don’t make rules - and in their competition quite bad drinks are winning.

If you are comparing, which points a product with controlled origin [AOC] would need to fulfill [and Habanos cigars wouldn’t have a big challenge to meet this expectations] I am asking myself, why it is not possible to make similar solicitations for bars & bartenders.

This might be a far stretch - but for me it makes perfect sense. Well I don’t mean, that a bartender would need to have a maximum and minimum size or has to be of a special origin - but the recipes, would need to be standardized, fresh produce when possible would need to be used! As well as specific services of a bar, would need to be a minimum requirement [e.g. complimentary water to spirits and dry, medium and sweet cocktails].

The lack of choices, makes a product better. This you can see, if you are looking at Cuban cigars [they are only using Cuban tobacco and only from the Vegas Finas de Primera, There are less than 200 sizes [vitolas de galera], which all cigars need to follow - the construction is more or less always the same, etc]. The overall quality of Cuban cigars is great! And you’ll know quite good, what you can expect.
For the moment, this is just a dream, if it comes to bartending. There are only very few bars on this planet, you know, what you expecting. Bars like Milk & Honey or Pegu Club. Even bars, which have a very good reputation, disappointed me regularly.

So we would need a kinda quality seal for the bar - very similar, to the habanos seal, you can find on any original box!

an opinionated view on paul martins mojito

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:01:09 +0400

Ok guys - after I get so much response [mostly my readers were upset...] about my kinda unpleasant review of Junior Merino, I wanted to avoid these kind of posts. Though another Cocktail Guru, who always markets himself and his cocktail courses via facebook, grabbed my attention.

May I introduce to you Paul Martin... even with the greatest effort [even though sarcastic], I could not match the same exaggerations as showed on one video on his website:

To see the video, please head over to
www.opinionated-alchemist.com

Wow - this is bold! Well - I have to say, that I checked his variation of his Mojito with any mean thoughts. I actually thought, that there is someone, who not only markets himself quite well, but also tries to popularize contemporary mixology.

I thought until he praised the Long Island Iced Tea and I spotted several blue’ish drinks... I also muted most of my faith, when I saw the drinks of his videos: Melon Mayhem and Yellow Tiger doesn’t make me very optimistic about high standards of cocktail preparation.

Still: he also covered the Mojito and the Tequila Sunrise. As IMHO the Mojito shows much of the comprehensive understanding and appreciation of cocktail culture of one bartender, I’ve decided to have a closer look on Pauls Mojito!

So please have a look on below video:

To see the video, please head over to
www.opinionated-alchemist.com

Very small glass - muddling lime - using brown sugar - muddling mint - no soda.

All points which Paul did in his video, are common practices and each individually wouldn’t harm too much. Though all points together, is alienating the drink quite a lot of his origin!

I hope you are understanding my point. There is a invisible line between the own interpretation of a drink and a completely different drink.
In the case of Paul’s Mojito, I think this line has been crossed. If you are carefully reviewing the steps of making the drink and the actual character, his drink resembles a Minty Caipirissima [Caipirnha made with rum instead of Cachaça] rather a Mojito.

Minor minus point: the wooden board was split and cannot guarantee proper hygiene...
Big plus point of Mr Martin: at least he indicates, that there is a “variation” served as long drink with club soda.

But what is the major point here?
I think, as Mr Merino, Mr Martin wants to be opinionator, a cocktail guru, a bar mastermind!  And again: It can be expected, that someone, who ties himself to the spearhead of our profession, would promote and appreciate more the traditions and the characters of classic drinks.

Well does this intention [this time without much cursing and abuses] makes sense for you?

how can one take bartenders serious, if winner drinks are rubbish?

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:51:22 +0400

My last post was a bit un-targeted - maybe because of desperation...IBA Winning Cocktails

[2000-2009 | 1990-99 | 1980-89 | 1970-79 | 1960-69 | 1955-59]

2000-2009

Sweet Road
2009 Berlin, Germany
Vladimir Banak - Slovak Republic

Methood: Shake

• 3 cl Absolut Raspberri
• 1.5 cl Monin Creme de Cassis Liqueur
• 1 cl Monin Vanilla Syrup
• 1 cl Monin Strawberry Syrup
• 1.5 cl Cream (float)
Garnish: Cacao powder Method: Shake  Glassware: Libbey Bravura glass

Golden Rico
2008 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Rene Hetzlinger - Austria

• 2 cl Matrioshka Lux
• 1.5 cl Amade ChocOrange
• 1 cl Monin Vanille
• 4 cl Caraibos Orange Juice
• 2 cl Fresh Cream
Garnish: Kumquat, lemon, pineapple leaves and Cinnamon  Method: Shake  Glassware: Martinoi glass 29.6 cl (Libbey Vinal)

Golden Autumn
2007 Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Krista Meri (Miss) - Estonia
Category: Pre-dinner
Methood: Shake

• 2 cl Nemiroff Original
• 2 cl Extra Dry Martini
• 1 barspoon Di Saronno
• 1 cl Monin Green Apple
• 2 barspoon Monin Lime Syrup
Garnish: Apple, Blueberry and Cinnamon  Method: Shake  Glassware: Cocktail glass (Durobor)

Cool Sweet Heart
2006 Thessaloniki, Greece
Kung Hui Chun (Miss) - Taiwan
Category: Long Drink
Methood: Shake

• 3 cl Bacardi Carta Blanca
• 3 cl Amade ChocOrange (Mozart Distilleries)
• 3 cl Monin Mojito Mint
• 7.5 cl Fresh Orange Juice
• 1.5 cl Fresh Lemon Juice
Garnish: Lemon, Cocktail Cherry, Mint Leaves  Method: Shake

STRAWBERRY NIGHT
2005 Helsinki, Finland
Sergio Pezzoli - Belgium
Category
Fancy
Method
Shaker

• 2 cl Absolut Vanilla
• 2 cl De Kuyper Passion Fruit Liqueur
• 2 cl Marie Brizard Manzanita
• 2 cl Passion fruit juice
• 4 cl Fresh strawberry juice
• 1 cl Monin Gomme syrup
Garnish: Kumquat, physallis, pineapple leaves, vanilla stick Method: Shake

RECALL
2004 Las Vegas (U.S.A.)
Neville Azzopardi - Malta
Category
After-dinner
Method
Shaker

• 2 cl Turi Vodka
• 1 cl De Kuyper Apricot Brandy
• 1 cl Monin Grenadine
• 1 cl Monin Passion Fruit Syrup
• 2 cl Fresh orange juice
Garnish: Apple, kiwi, cherry, mint Cocktail glass

ADAM EVA
2003 Sevilla (Spain)
Sergio Serrano Rivero - Cuba
Category
Pre-dinner
Method
Mixing Glass

• 2,5 cl Havana Club 7 Años
• 2,0 cl Manzana Verde Pages
• 2,0 cl Martini Bianco
• 0,5 cl Campari Bitters
Garnish: Two heart shape slices from green apple  Cocktail glass

SMILE
2002 Bled (Slovenia)
Jorge Alberto Soratti - Italy
Category
Longdrink
Method
Shake and Build

• 3 cl Absolut Mandarin
• 2 cl Charleston Follies
• 2 cl Cinzano Dry Vermouth
• 1 cl Strawberry Syrup
• 12 cl Fresh Pineapple Juice
Shake over ice and strain into a highball glass Garnish: Apple, Pineapple and Plum  Highball glass

SUMMER QUEEN
2001 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
JaapVan Worcum - Holland
Category
After-dinner
Method
Blender

• 3 cl De Kuyper Blueberry Liqueur
• 2 cl Grand Marnier
• 0,5 cl Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 cl Coconut Syrup
• Fresh Strawberry
All blended with Ice and strained Garnish: Apple, Mint leaves, Red cherry  Cocktail glass

BACARDI SYMPHONY
2000 Singapore (Singapore)
Ales Ogrin - Slovenia
Category
Pre-dinner
Method
Shaker

• 3 cl Bacardi Rum
• 1,5 cl Martini Bitter
• 1,5 cl Martini Extra Dry
• 0,5 cl Galliano
• 0,5 cl Grand Marnier Rouge
Garnish: lime wheel, red cocktail cherry, orange peel Cocktail glass   Compiled by Mr Heikki Tomperi of FBSK.

This post, is again serious - though again controversial and opinionated.

I found the actual winner drinks of the worldwide annual competition of the International Bar Association.
I knew already before, that I won’t find miracles of contemporary mixing - but I was curious, which drinks were internationally recognized; after the won challenge. Well - not a single drink within the last 50 years became a classic! And actually there are less than a handful drinks, which I would consider good drinks, if I would spot them on the beverage list of a bar!

My dared question: How can our trade be respected, if the allegedly best drinks of the year doesn’t have an appropriate classic profile?

It goes even further: how can a f&b manager or recruitment person, who doesn’t really have an idea of bartending, can select a good bartender, bar manager, if even awards like the IBA crown are useless?

You got the point! It is impossible - and thats why our profession is so inconsistent.

May be it would be a good time, to discontinue these cocktail competitions in favor of more complete and comprehensive challenges. Which shows the excellence, expertise and personality of the participant?

I know one thing: For the moment, the bartending world doesn’t need new recipes. It needs refinement, and a sense of back of basics.

People are blind, if it comes to drinks

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:19:53 +0400

Something more serious...

There are quite a lot of thoughts going through my head.
I think often we bar-people are living in a bubble and only have the eye for the next historical drink, or the wrong attempts of our friend or opponent.

Especially me, I am too often too bold - about judgements. This is good, on one side! I think the bar needs straighter lines - more focus on quality - and needs to go back to the basics.
On the other hand, there is the risk of losing the grip on reality...

Reality is: that most people [even people working in food & beverage departments in the hospitality sector] don’t have a clue about what we are doing!

This is really sad. But this is a fact. Long time, we [my better half and me] weren’t out that much and when we went out, we went to the same places and Sarah tried to move me from trying a cocktail [...drama...].
Though last week we went to 3 different places - which are considered for the moment as new good joints. Today is not about diss-ing other bars [thats why for the moment I will not “review” them.] Though it is about the status of bartending.

In all three places - two were designated cocktail bars - you could not find one classic cocktail. Well, lets substantiate it: there was not even one decent drink on the drink menu. Admittedly there were a lot of fancy sounding drinks on the there - but not one had a serious reference! E.g. in the first outlet, Sarah took a Passion Fruit Collins [I was cleverer and ordered a Tanqueray 10 & Tonic, which was decent].
The drink was a fruity mess, without any character. Why do they mix vodka with sweet & sour [I hate this description], Midori [WTF] and fresh passion fruit [plus other ingredients I can’t recall]??? It would be more sensible to use a passion fruit flavored vodka [even if I don’t like vodka - that was a kinda vodka bar and nomen est omen].

Long story short: this was only one example. In the bars around the city - and I am sure, that this is similar to the most bars all over the world, there are no quality standards, no proper guidelines and for the guests no references for drinks!

I’ve heard, that recently my fellow beverage manager from another hotel left - quite short termed - and to be truthful: I don’t feel either good in my position!

Why? Because most of the higher management in hotels [and even in chains], don’t take mixed drinks serious and won’t take bar & drink culture serious!
Every restaurant has a brigade of cooks - though [at least here in Dubai] the beverage manager [if there is one] overlooks a bevy of unversed junior bartenders.
I am now not kidding: The usual practice is, to promote waiters to bartenders, not because they are interested, but because the management consider, that they aren’t ready to be supervisors - so they give them the bartender position, which bears at least more salary!

Think about a hotel [or cluster of restaurants] with one executive chef which is watching only over commis and maybe chefs de partie but wouldn’t have any chefs de cuisine?

The exactly same scenario dominates in the beverage sector. Usually the outlet manager and assistant outlet manager are also no help; usually they don’t have a clue about spirits, mixed drinks and all. They might have knowledge about wine... but you will have trouble, that people know, how to make a simple Gin & Tonic...

What is the result of these thoughts?
I am not really sure. One is, that we are talking about the freedom of individual creativity, if we are still need to proof ourselves to actually anyone out of our bubble!
Another thing is: For the moment it seems easier [at least for kinda bartender managers] to be responsible for one bar, as for the whole f&b division! You can proof yourself easier and people see the achievement - but it ain’t easy neither! You have to find the right company with the right bosses in the right time - and off course with a package, which is right for you! Not an easy task!