Posted on April 17, 2008
Filed Under Matt Robold | Leave a Comment
This is the debut post from Matt Robold. Matt is an Orange County, California-based blogger with a passion for rum, an interest he indulges on his blog Rum Dood.
Tales of the Cocktail is rapidly approaching us, and it can’t come soon enough. This year will mark my first venture out to the show, and I couldn’t be more excited. In addition to giving me an excuse to visit New Orleans and providing me with the opportunity to hobnob with the creme-de-la-creme of the cocktail blogosphere, the sessions on tap all seem too good to possibly pass up. Sessions will be covering everything from New Orleans history to bartending techniques to molecular mixology - and the idea of missing any of them pains me greatly.
One session I will not be missing unless I’m somehow restrained by large men with guns, is “Rum, Ron, Rhum” on Sunday morning — the last day of the event.
The Triple-R session is being hosted by Wayne Curtis (freelance writer, author of …and a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails, and all-around-nice-guy), Angus Winchester (rum expert, founder of Alconomics, and mixologist extraordinaire), Ben Jones (of Rhum Clement), and Chesterfield Browne (award-winning bartender for Mount Gay Distilleries). In a mere 90 minutes, these men will lead you down the long and winding path that is the past, present, and future of rum.
“Rum, Ron, & Rhum” will cover a lot of bases, everything from the history of rum from the Elizabethan Age through the modern era to the differences in styles between the numerous rum-producing nations and distilleries that dot the Caribbean and other tropical locales of the world to the current trends in today’s market. It’s a lot of ground to cover in a scant hour and a half.
I caught up with Wayne via email as he and I likely passed each other in the air, criss-crossing the US (admittedly, his criss-crossing was probably much more interesting and fun than mine). I asked him how he could possibly go about fitting over 300 years of rum history into a presentation that lasts only 90 minutes, especially considering that they won’t only be discussing rum’s history.
“It took me about two years to do the research and writing,” Wayne responded, “and there’s no way to compress that two years of the underlying three centuries into 90 minutes. So we’ll be skimming across the top, and looking at some of the highlights of history and the chief variations of style.”
Styles are something of which rum has no shortage. From Jamaican to Barbadian to Cuban to Demerara and on and on and on; the breadth of the spirit’s offerings can be dizzying and even somewhat intimidating to the uninitiated. I asked Wayne what his favorite of the myriad styles is.
“In general, I tend to be a fan of the heavier, Demerara-style rums — they just seem to concentrate and intensify the flavors of the rum, like a good gelato. But my preferences shift by season and day - sometimes toward something a little lighter (like Ron Barillito or Mount Gay Extra Old), and often I find myself just wanting a robust rhum agricole white with a bit of lime and sugar.”
So what does it all mean? What will people take away from this concentration of rum expertise?
“I hope people come away knowing the main difference between the flavor profiles of the sugar cane and molasses based rums, how different rum styles emerged from different islands, and which are best in different types of cocktails.”
“Rum, Ron, Rhum” takes place 11:00 am - 12:30 pm on Sunday, July 20, at the Hotel Monteleone. Tickets may be purchased here.
Posted on April 15, 2008
Filed Under Craig Hermann | 2 Comments
This is the debut post from Craig Hermann. Craig is a cocktail fan and tiki aficionado in Portland, Oregon. He publishes Tiki Drinks & Indigo Firmaments.
The garnish is often considered an afterthought to the cocktail — A superfluous distraction to be placed on the napkin before quaffing. This is an unfortunate end for such an important ingredient for the mixologist. On Saturday , July 19 Martin Cate will lead a seminar on the punctuation of the cocktail.*
Martin Cate is no stranger to the revival of lost arts. He is co-owner, designer, and chief mixologist of Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda: The premiere west-coast destination for the liquid archeology of the Tiki Drink. Forbidden Island hosts a vast and formidable repertoire of rediscovered and Polynesian Elixirs from exotic locales of days gone by. Martin is joined by panelist Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry, the supreme mixologist and researcher who has unearthed the original recipes of these forgotten drinks in his books Grog Log, Intoxica and the latest Sippin’ Safari.
Martin tells me he’ll give us “a little how to, a little history, and how a good garnish can provide form and function. Plus some over the top stuff and of course a little fire.” The Oregon Cherry Growers and Wild Hibiscus Flowers are sponsoring. I know there will be some surprises in store. Ask Martin about the organic, natural maraschino cherries he sourced for use at Forbidden Island. I’m hoping he’ll show us his napkin bib trick (to guard against the warmth of the hand ruining a good glass frost).
“Freshness,” quips martin about the premium consideration for garnish. I know each attendee will come away with fresh ideas about the role and significant use of garnish.
“The Cocktail Garnish From Functional to Fabulous” takes place Saturday, July 19, from 2:30 - 4:00 at the Hotel Monteleone. Tickets may be purchased here.
Posted on April 14, 2008
Filed Under Robert Simonson | 2 Comments
This post marks the debut of contributor Robert Simonson, a veteran of Tales of the Cocktail 2007. Robert is a Brooklyn-based wine and spirits journalist. He further documents his interest in these topics at Off the Presses.
One of the pleasures of the Tales of the Cocktail spirits convention is that one’s examination and exploration of cocktail culture can continue far beyond the many information and enjoyable events and seminars sponsored by the organization. The action does take place in New Orleans, after all, home, arguably, of more fine taverns that any other city in the U.S. of. A.
New Orleans is alone, I think, in one particular respect regarding bars. In our country’s bigger cities, you can find more saloons per capita, I’m certain. And New York City is home to the tightest collection of elite, high-end, cocktail dens. But The Big Easy combines these two ideals. It possesses a great many regular-guy bars that are still capable of serving superior mixed drinks. Hard to get that in Gotham. Either you’re in a regular Joe bar, or a cocktailian utopia. The twain do not generally meet.
This circumstance allows a gentleman opportunity to conduct an epicurean drinking study without fear of running out of outlets to do so. At last year’s TOTC, I used my off hours to test the state of the Sazerac in New Orleans. This was the City of the Sazerac, after all, and I wanted to see how they were holding up. I sampled them at the Monteleone Hotel’s Carousel Bar, Commander’s Palace, Bayona and a couple other places. I enjoyed all of them, the one at Bayona perhaps the most. Upon return to NYC, I learned from some parties that the Sazerac currently being served in New Orleans is on the sweet side—a sop to the flavored vodka crowd. Could be. Probably so. They were still good.
I will most likely continue my search this year, checking into a few places I didn’t get to last time—Tujague’s, Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, etc. Also Napoleon House, where I always go, but invariably order a Pimm’s cup.
Is it asking for trouble to order a Sazerac at Pat O’Brien’s, home of the Hurricane?
Posted on April 8, 2008
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Last year, Tales of the Cocktail inaugurated a new, annual event: the Spirit Awards. These awards recognize some of the establishments, products and individuals that have made major contributions to advancing the craft of the cocktail and the art of mixology. This year’s Spirit Awards will be presented at Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans on July 19.
Nominations for the Spirit Awards are being accepted through April 15. Categories include:
- Best Drinks Selection
- Best Classic Cocktail Bar
- World’s Best Cocktail Bar
- Best New Cocktail Bar
- Mixologist / Bartender of the Year
- Best New Cocktail / Bartending Book
- Best Cocktail Writing
- Best New Product
- Best Cocktail Menu
- Best Drinks Brand Representative / Brand Ambassador
- Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award
Know of someone or someplace you’d like to nominate? Additional details and nomination forms are available for download (PDF); be sure to return your nomination by April 15, and drop back by here after the awards to find out who the winners are for 2008.
Posted on April 7, 2008
Filed Under News | 2 Comments
Tales of the Cocktail is a massive event, attracting thousands of attendees to nearly a week’s worth of seminars, dinners, parties and presentations. It goes without saying that organizing such an event is not only complicated, but expensive.
Fortunately, Tales of the Cocktail receives a great deal of invaluable support from an array of sponsors. Here at Blogging Tales of the Cocktail: 2008, we’re pleased to note the generosity of one of these sponsors: Cabana Cachaca. Thanks to their assistance, we’re able to present several months worth of previews of various Tales events; in July, our 30 contributing bloggers and countless guests and friends will be able to meet in New Orleans, and observe, document and celebrate Tales in style.
Blogging Tales of the Cocktail: 2008 is proud to be sponsored by Cabana Cachaca; please visit their website to learn more, and take the time to sample this small-batch, pot-distilled premium spirit from Brazil.
Posted on April 2, 2008
Filed Under Jamie Boudreau | 3 Comments
This is the introductory post for contributor Jamie Boudreau. Jamie is the bar manager at Vessel, in Seattle. He blogs about the art of mixology at Spirits & Cocktails.
April first has come and gone, and now that everyone has played their pranks, I feel it is time to offer an announcement: Tales of the Cocktail is back! That’s right, tickets went on sale as of yesterday, but due to the antics of the day, I felt that it might be better that I let you know on another date, just in case you thought that I was pulling your leg.
This year has a fantastic lineup as always, with the added bonus(?) of yours truly taking part in a number of seminars.
First off will be the seminar that I will be moderating: Intro to Molecular Mixology. I have been truly blessed with having some of the best (if not the best) practitioners of this stream of bartending joining me. Eben Freeman, Eben Klemm and Claire Smith have all been gracious enough to give me a hand with the seminar (and probably straighten me out when I steer wrong) as well as showcase some wild drinks. This will be a fun seminar indeed, with the journey starting us out with the basics (like foams, airs and dusts) and leading us off into the twisted imaginations of the world’s best.
The other panels I will be taking part in are Paul Clarke’s Homemade Ingredients seminar and Darcy O’Neils Sensory Perception seminar. As I’ve mentioned before, this five day New Orleans line-up is jam packed with interesting topics led by even more interesting people, so stop reading this crap and click here to sign up for this year’s festivities!
On another note, as some of you may know, I write a Molecular Mixology (MM) column for a European bar magazine. This month’s theme was the martini, and I was given the task of trying to update this age-old cocktail using MM techniques. As much as I hate to mess around with that most venerable of recipes, I acquiesced, and given the timing of the sale of tickets to Tales, and thereby my seminar on MM, I’ve decided to share the recipe with you, so you can get a feel of the subject matter that we will be discussing in New Orleans.
When using techniques that usually fall under the heading of Molecular Mixology, I like to surprise the imbiber by adding textures or flavors that they wouldn’t expect, but still keep the resulting product recognizable as a drink. Every once in a while, however, I like to throw my guests a complete curveball and give them an experience that they would never have expected. This is the case of my Martini Sorbet.
As most people know, spirits don’t freeze. So it comes as a quite a surprise to most people when I tell them that I can make a sorbet out of a martini. The key, unbeknownst to them, is agar and xantham gum. A touch of agar to help solidify and a dash of xantham gum for elasticity and texture and the next thing you know, your martini is able to freeze to the consistency of a beautiful sorbet. And yes, it tastes just like a martini, alcohol burn and all.
One will notice that the proportions of my “martini” are quite high at 1:1. But do not fear, for after you’ve dissolved the agar, you are now left with a more reasonable martini ratio of 2:1, and a lovely dessert to boot!
MARTINI SORBET8 oz vermouth1 tsp agar8 oz gin¼ teaspoon xantham gumplace vermouth and agar in a pot on high heatstir until all of the agar has dissolvedtake off of heatadd gin and xantham gum and stir until completely dissolvedplace in freezer until frozen with the texture of a sorbet
OLIVE CAVIARopen and wash a jar of black olivespuree olivespush olive puree through a chinois to make olive watertake 8 oz of olive “water” and place in a pot on medium heatadd 2 ½ sheets of bloomed gelatin and dissolveimmediately remove from heat and refrigerateplace mixture into a squeeze bottleplace a container of vegetable oil in a freezer until almost frozensqueeze droplets of olive mixture from the squeeze bottle into the almost frozen oilwhen enough “caviar” is made, strain out of oil and rinse off with water
TO SERVEplace a small spoonful of olive “caviar” onto two scoops of Martini Sorbetserve with spoon
Picture and drink by:Jamie Boudreauwww.spiritsandcocktails.com
“Molecular Mixology” takes place Thursday, July 17, at 12:30 pm at the Hotel Monteleone; tickets may be purchased here.
Posted on March 31, 2008
Filed Under News | 1 Comment
It may be only April, but thousands of people in the U.S. and around the world are making plans to attend be in New Orleans from July 16-20 to attend the most important spirits and cocktails-related event of the year: Tales of the Cocktail.
Among those attending the dozens of sessions, celebrations and events at Tales will be around 30 people who are so dedicated and passionate about fine spirits and cocktails that they document their spirituous explorations on some of the most well-informed and widely read blogs in the culinary world. These bloggers range from professional bartenders to drink journalists to dedicated home mixologists, and hail from such disparate locations as Auckland, Seattle, Tulsa, Boston and London.
In the months to come, these bloggers will use this site to preview some of the many sessions and events that will take place in New Orleans this summer. In addition, guest bloggers will use this space to give a glimpse of the sessions, dinners and parties they have planned. In July, these bloggers will convene in New Orleans to enjoy all that Tales of the Cocktail has to offer. In between Sazeracs, they’ll document many of their experiences on this site for the enjoyment of everyone who likes a good drink. And this site isn’t just for regular bloggers: Tales veterans and participants are invited to share their own thoughts and experiences related to this remarkable event.
Be sure to bookmark us or subscribe to our RSS feed, and keep an eye on what’s to come at Tales of the Cocktail in July. Hope to see you in New Orleans–
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