MIXOLOGY

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BY SA R A H M U R PH Y PHOTO G R A PH Y BY A DA M VO OR H E S

WA L K I N G I N T O A B A R these days might feel like step-
ping back in time. Forget future-thinking: Today’s most
innovative bartenders are raiding their grandparents’
attics for inspiration, dusting off mixed drink manuals
like Jerry Thomas’ 1887 Bartenders Guide and shunning
manhattans and mojitos for aviations and last words.
But the most innovative bartenders aren’t just rehash-
ing old standards; they are reinventing them with new
techniques borrowed from chefs: infusing spirits with
unusual flavors like bacon, cedar, and smoke, and ren-
dering drinks in the form of solids, foams, and flosses.
The good news? It’s actually easier than you might think
to steal some of their best ideas to try at home. “Mak-
ing good cocktails isn’t like fancy cooking or baking,”
says Noah Rothbaum, author of The Business of Spirits.
“Anyone can do it. All you need are the right tools and
a good recipe.” That’s where Spirit comes in: Over the
next few pages, you’ll find a guide to every bottle and
tool you will need to reach true cocktail nirvana, plus
a few tasty recipes to try out on your own. Bottoms up.

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You know the basics: vodka, rum, tequila. But to replicate at home what
everyone drank in the ’30s, ’20s, and earlier, you’ll need these bottles.
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TONIC WATER AND SODA BOUTIQUE GIN
CRÈME DE VIOLETTE DARK RUM A bartender
Cocktail gurus like Fever-Tree BITTERS
A hard-to-find liqueur distilled (about $6 for 4-pack) and Opt for favorite is
from fresh violets. Try the Q Tonic (about $2.50, 6.3 oz). Gosling’s Black Craft bartenders Aviation Gin
Rothman and Winter brand ABSINTHE Seal (about love them for (about $28, 750
(about $28, 750 ml). Try Kübler $22, 750 ml), the balance they ml). Making
(about $50, the brand most add to cocktails. a comeback:
RYE WHISKEY 1 l), a new-to- frequently Check out Fee malty Holland-
the-U.S. brand name-checked Brothers (about style gin, such as
“It’s brash, it’s that contains at hangouts for $7, 4 oz) and Bols Genever
spicy, it’s not real wormwood, cocktail geeks. its variety of (about $50, 1 l).
as smooth as the herb once flavors, like mint
bourbon,” says blamed for and orange.
BORDER STORM Noah Roth-
by Robert Heugel, Anvil
madness and
baum, author of hallucination.
Bar and Refuge, Houston
The Business of
A take on the dark and Spirits. “It makes
stormy, this recipe no excuses.” Try
calls for dark rum and a classic like Rit-
homemade ginger beer. tenhouse (about
R E C I P E , PAG E 7 8 $18, 750 ml).

ST. GERMAIN
Distilled from
delicate elder-
flowers, this
liqueur (about
$33, 750 ml)
has a flavor
reminiscent of
grapefruit, roses,
and pear.

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 NINETY YEARS
O F AV I A T I O N
by Jamie Boudreau, Tini Bigs, Seattle

This updated version of the

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Your guests deserve better than those red plastic cups.
These glasses make the perfect home for your cocktail creations.
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aviation goes best with a crème de
violette “caviar” (see below).
R E C I P E , PAG E 7 8

NUBO DI FUMO
by Jeff Hollinger, Absinthe Brasserie
and Bar, San Francisco

This shrub/flip hybrid requires a dry

shake, smoked strawberries,
HIGHBALL GLASS and a healthy amount of tequila.
R E C I P E , PAG E 7 8
Ideal for drinks
with carbon-
ated mixers, like
mojitos. Best bet:
Crate and Barrel
Otis Highball,
COLLINS GLASS $5, crate-
Use for drinks andbarrel.com
with lots of
mixers, like an
Arnold Palmer. OLD-FASHIONED
Best bet: Crate OR ROCKS GLASS
and Barrel
Otis Tall Drink, Designed for drinks on the rocks,
$5, crateand- including old-fashions. Best
barrel.com bet: Crate and Barrel Otis Single,
$4, crateandbarrel.com

RAMOS GIN FIZZ

M A R SHM A L LOW
by Eben Freeman, Tailor, New York City

An edible take on a
drink popular in the 1880s.
R E C I P E , PAG E 7 8

COCKTAIL OR
MARTINI GLASS
Great for chilled COUPE GLASS
drinks. Best bet: A curvaceous
Crate and Barrel alternative
Viv Martini to the cocktail
Glass, $4, crate- glass. Best bet:
andbarrel.com Crate and Barrel
Groove Cocktail
Glass, $4, crate-
andbarrel.com

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 LONG BAR
SPOON
BAC ON O L D - FA S H I ON E D
by Lance Mayhew; Beaker and Flask; Portland, Oregon
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Though not as delicate as a soufflé, cocktails require careful treatment
and the proper tools. Every home mixologist should have these devices.
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Used for smooth Everything’s better with bacon,
stirring and for including one of the oldest cocktails.
measuring small R E C I P E , PAG E 7 8
amounts. Best STRAINERS
bet: Stainless Double-straining makes clearer
Steel Bar Spoon, drinks. Use the classic Hawthorn
$3, bedbathand- strainer plus a small fine-mesh
beyond.com SILICONE MOLD
one. Best bet: Rösle Bar Tools
Strainer ($34) and Camford 4-Inch Use these to make your own ice
Stainless Steel Wire-Handled Sieve cubes. (Larger ice cubes melt more
($7), surlatable.com slowly, so you can control how the
BOSTON SHAKER drink tastes.) Best bet: Tovolo Per-
Most bartenders prefer a fect Cube Silicone Ice Trays, $14 for
CITRUS JUICER a set of two, cheftools.com
utilitarian version—just
a metal tin plus a pint glass. Pick either a
Best bet: WMF Boston Shaker, simple wooden
$45, amazon.com reamer or a
manual juicer
with a built-in
measuring cup.
MUDDLER Best bet: Cuisipro
A silicone or Citrus Juicer, $18,
unfinished amazon.com
wooden mud-
dler works best,
since the
finish won’t
flake off. Best
bet: Silicone
and Stainless
Steel Muddler,
$13, crateand- MEASURING CUP
barrel.com
Precision is
everything, as
1/2 ounce versus
1/4 ounce makes
a big difference.
Best bet: Oxo
Mini Angled
Measuring Cups,
$10 for three,
cooking.com

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BORDER
STORM
Robert Heugel
Anvil Bar and Refuge
Houston
For the ginger beer:
3 ounces ginger juice
(from about 1 ½
pounds fresh ginger)
6 ounces lemon juice
9 ounces turbinado simple
syrup
30 ounces warm water
10 fresh Habanero chiles,
stems and seeds
removed
75 granules Champagne
yeast
For the drink:
2 ounces dark rum
1 lime wedge
1 cinnamon stick
1 ounce of the ginger beer
In a large container,
combine the ginger juice,
lemon juice, simple syrup
(made by combining equal
parts turbinado sugar and
water and simmering over
medium heat until the
sugar dissolves), water, and
chiles. Cover and let mari-
nate for 12 hours. Remove
and discard the chiles. Add
the champagne yeast and
cork or cover tightly. Keep
the ginger beer in a warm
place for 48 hours. The
mixture will get bubbly.
Chill the ginger beer.
To make the drink: Fill
a rocks glass with crushed
ice. Add the rum, top with
one ounce of the ginger
beer, and stir. Garnish with
the lime wedge and cin-
namon stick. Makes one
Border Storm.
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At your next cocktail party, serve marshmallows, bacon, and caviar.
All in the proper glasses. Below, our favorite retro-inspired cocktails.
NINETY YEARS
O F AV I A T I O N
Jamie Boudreau
Tini Bigs
Seattle
Canola oil
4 ounces crème de violette
2 ounces Parfait Amour
3 ½ ounces lemon juice
2 sheets gelatin, softened in
cold water
2 ½ ounces gin
1 ½ ounces maraschino
liqueur
Start by making a “caviar”
(gelled liquid pearls): Fill a
tall container with canola
oil and freeze for six hours.
In a saucepan, combine the
crème de violette, Parfait
Amour, two ounces of
the lemon juice, and the
gelatin. Heat gently over
low heat until it dissolves.
Transfer the mixture to
a squeeze bottle and
refrigerate until thickened.
Squeeze the gel, drop by
drop, into the cold oil; the
drops will solidify as they
sink. Scoop the “caviar”
out of the oil, and rinse it
in cold water. Set aside.
Combine the gin, mara-
schino liqueur, and remain-
ing lemon juice in a shaker.
Add ice, shake, and strain
into a cocktail or coupe
glass. Serve alongside a
generous spoonful of the
violette caviar. Makes one
Ninety Years of Aviation.
RAMOS GIN FIZZ
M A R SHM A L LOW
Eben Freeman
Tailor
New York City
3 tablespoons sugar
mixed with ½ table
spoon cornstarch
5 ounces Citadell gin
1 ¼ ounces lemon juice
1 ¼ ounces lime juice
1 bar spoon orange blossom
water
1 tablespoon powdered
gelatin
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1⁄3 cup water
2 large egg whites
Spray a square pan with
cooking spray and dust
with the sugar/cornstarch
mixture. Tap out the
excess. In a small sauce-
pan, stir together the gin,
lemon and lime juice, and
orange blossom water.
Sprinkle the gelatin over
the liquid. Let soften for
five minutes, then heat
over low heat until the
gelatin dissolves. Set aside.
In another saucepan,
combine sugar and water.
Place over high heat with
a thermometer attached.
When the mixture reaches
245 degrees, beat the egg
whites at high speed until
they form firm peaks.
When the sugar syrup
reaches 265 degrees, slow-
ly whisk it into the warm
gin-gelatin mixture, then
pour the syrup into the
egg whites in a thin stream
while beating on high until
they are barely warmer
than room temperature.
Pour into the square pan
and smooth with a spatula.
Cover with plastic wrap
and let sit until it solidifies.
Cut into about 35 Ramos
Gin Fizz Marshmallows.
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NUBO
DI FUMO
Jeff Hollinger
Absinthe Brasserie and Bar
San Francisco
2 medium strawberries
½ ounce Banyuls vinegar
¼ ounce agave nectar
¾ ounce Galliano
1 ½ ounces Don Julio Añejo
Tequila
1 egg white
3 slices oven-dried
strawberries, for garnish
First smoke the strawber-
ries for 15 minutes over
a low flame, with cherry
wood shavings in a stove-
top smoker box. Slice, then
muddle the strawberries
in a mixing glass along
with the vinegar and agave
nectar. Add the Galliano,
tequila, and egg white, and
shake for 10 to 15 seconds
until the egg white froths
(a technique called a dry
shake). Add ice to the
shaker, and shake again for
another 20 to 30 seconds,
or until the cocktail chills
and the mixture feels light
and frothy.
Double-strain the cock-
tail into a chilled coupe
glass. Garnish by gently
laying one dried straw-
berry flat over the foam,
and then carefully stand
the other two strawberry
slices on top of the first
slice, balancing them
against each other to form
a “pyramid” of strawber-
ries floating in the center
of the cocktail. Makes one
Nubo Di Fumo.
BACON
O L D - FA S H I ON E D
Lance Mayhew
Beaker and Flask
Portland, Oregon
6 pieces good quality,
thick-cut bacon
1 bottle Buffalo Trace
bourbon (750 ml)
¼ to ½ ounce brown-
sugar simple syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 small piece cooked bacon,
twisted into a curl
Cook the bacon slowly
over medium-low heat
until all the fat renders.
(Save the cooked bacon
for another use.) Infuse
the bacon fat into the
bourbon using the fat-
washing technique, which
adds the flavors of a fat
into the spirit. To do so,
pour the fat into a large
glass jar and add the spirit,
then swirl together. Cover
and let the mixture sit in
a cool, dry place for three
days to one week, then
refrigerate for 24 hours.
The fat will solidify and
separate. Pour through a
strainer lined with coffee
filters to strain.
In a cocktail shaker,
combine two ounces of
the bourbon, the brown-
sugar simple syrup (made
by combining equal parts
sugar and water and sim-
mering over medium heat
until the sugar dissolves),
and the bitters. Add ice,
shake well, and serve in a
rocks glass. Garnish with
a bacon curl. Makes one
Bacon Old-Fashioned.