At last week’s Tales of the Cocktails convention in New Orleans, alcohol and cocktail experts dished out new ingredients and methods for pouring on flavor in cocktails.
SavourEASE
Gina Chersevani, “mixtress,” PS7
Peter Smith, executive chef and owner, PS7
“Savory ingredients are something we use all the time in cocktails,” said Gina Chersevani, “mixtress” at PS7 in Washington, D.C. Mint a prime example of this. Chersevani suggested that other ingredients frequently used in kitchens could shift to the bar. She does that regularly by collaborating with Peter Smith, executive chef and owner of PS7.
First, know your herbs. Depending on herb, handling and usage vary if you want to get the most out of them. Hard herbs, such as thyme and rosemary, can be handled more roughly than soft herbs, such as basil or mint.
“Your hands are your worst enemies,” Chersevani said. And little things, such as temperature, can change the qualities of an herb.
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Even the common practice of placing mint in a glass of water on the bar can change its nature. The herb absorbs water, which can dilute its flavor. Smith advised storing herbs dry and picking, cleaning and placing them in a container immediately before service.
An herb’s characteristics also determine how it is used, whether fresh, steeped or cooked.
Salt is for flavor. Just as a little salt goes a long way in baking sweets, a little salt can add contrast or bring out flavors that add depth to a drink. Different salts in restaurant kitchens and pantries can be used in drinks to achieve different effects.
For example, Chersevani’s recipe for a cocktail called The Decoy calls for a pinch of fleur de sel. The drink’s other ingredients include mezcal infused with duck fat flavor (made by a process called fat washing), Cointreau and a house-made orange and sage shrub. The overall effect of the ingredients mimics the flavors of duck à l'Orange, so a little dash of salt made sense not only because the drink is reminiscent of a meat dish but because, “You need salt to break the fat … the fat coats your tongue.”
The sage shrub used in The Decoy also highlighted another kitchen ingredient that Chersevani and Smith said bartenders should reach for more often: vinegar.
Chersevani noted the ease with which different food flavors can be incorporated into drinks by making shrubs. Numerous recipes are available for making shrubs as they, like canning, were a popular preservation method.
Vinegar: The other acid
Kelley Slagle, bartender and mixologist, Hearth Restaurant
Ashley Greene, bartender, Vinegar Hill House
Karl duHoffmann, spirits brand manager, Winebow Inc. and marketing consultant, Orchard Hill Cider Mill
Drinking vinegar isn’t a new invention. Panelist Ashley Greene pointed out several ancient recipes featuring vinegar, such as oxymel, the Greek beverage made with honey vinegar and water, or the Roman variation, Posca, which added coriander seeds to the oxymel equation.
Most people today have probably heard of shrubs, a popular drink during colonial times and on old farmsteads, where vinegar is used to make beverages that soak up the flavors of fruits.
“Without acid in cocktails, we’d have flabby drinks,” moderator Kelley Slagle said of acid’s role in creating balanced drinks.
While much has been made of fresh-squeezed citrus in cocktails, Ashley Greene said vinegars can offer beverages great new tastes.
The wide variety of vinegars from around the world makes it a flexible ingredient that is more shelf-stable than fresh citrus juices like lemon or lime.
While most people are familiar with apple cider, balsamic or sherry vinegars, which are readily available in grocery stores, vinegars are also made from ingredients such as coconut, mango and maple.
A scientific study showed that at equal weight, acetic acid is more than triple the molar mass of citric acid — or the amount of a substance packed into a certain weight on a molecular level — the panel said. So in a drink, the vinegar used would be about a third the amount of fresh citrus juice, duHoffman said.
Slagle also suggested using vinegar as a base for tinctures, as opposed to the commonly used spirit. She experimented with spice and vinegar combinations, such as fennel and white wine vinegar, and cacao bean and balsamic vinegar, to add a different sort of punch to classic drinks.
When she added a fennel and white wine vinegar tincture to a Manhattan, she found that it “kind of turbo-charged” the flavors.
Greene and Slagle gave two different takes on apple cider vinegar.
The Jimmy Bedford, by Slagle, calls for Jack Daniels, pickled apple syrup, a splash of soda with fresh pressed apple juice and apple cider vinegar, and a pickled apple garnish.
Greene’s The “Greene” Apple cocktail was created during her time at Tailor, a molecular gastronomy-minded restaurant in New York City. Apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice, apple cider, and applejack were shaken and topped with apple cider foam.
H2O Cocktails
Kathy Casey, celebrity chef and mixologist
Tony Abou-Ganim, mixologist, beverage consultant and National Ambassador of the U.S. Bartender’s Guild
Thomas Kuuttanen, master blender, Purity Vodka
Using flavored waters in lieu of juices adds to the bartender’s bag of tricks. Bartenders can make their own flavored waters, Kathy Casey said, which can satisfy current consumer preferences for drier flavors and lower-calorie drinks.
“It’s important … to get the best-picked things,” Casey said of ingredients used to make flavored waters. Unlike juices or purees, flavored waters taste subtler, so the best ingredients mean the best flavors. Cut ingredients small to increase the surface area, allowing flavors to come out.
While the ingredients should be chopped small, they shouldn’t be pureed and mixed into the water or muddled, Casey said, since that gives the flavored water a muddy look.
Water, the main ingredient, should be distilled and cold, since hot water can change the property and flavor of fruits or vegetables.
Ingredients should sit overnight, but a soda siphon canister, without plugging in the CO2 cartridges for carbonation, can be used to create a vacuum and speed up the process.
Once the water has had a chance to absorb flavors, the ingredients are strained.
Be sure to taste your ingredients. Fruits, vegetables, herbs and even spices can be used to create flavored waters, but they require their own use and handling, so tasting is important. Casey said the same ingredients can have a wide variety of flavors depending on ripeness and variety. An English cucumber is lighter in flavor compared to a Kirby, as it’s hydroponically raised. Make sure spices are toasted lightly, then crushed. Herbs, particularly soft herbs, require extra care and should be handled gently.
H2O cocktails lend themselves to vodka because, as Tony Abou-Ganim explained, the flavors of the water are lighter and more refreshing. “You don’t have to have a big, robust spirit,” he said.
Casey reminded everyone, “We’re not doing juices; we’re going for essences.”
To take your flavored water to the next level, Casey said carbonating flavored water can give it a boost, but wait to carbonate the water until after the flavoring process, since the ingredient can block siphons.
Contact Sonya Moore at [email protected].