A Visit to Scott & Co., Tucson

Well, don't I sort of feel silly now.

I have had this post title and its pictures sitting in my D4TH queue for a few weeks now following a fantastic trip to Scott & Co.. The thing is I just hadn't had a chance yet to stop what I've been doing and put my thoughts down on (virtual) paper of the mixology bar to land in my former hometown of Tucson, Arizona.

I was going to tell you about the uniqueness and "newness" of the mixology scene in Tucson. The ambient atmosphere in the bar. Its special Tiki Thursday menu. I could also launch into the great bar service we had from Ciaran and Carl; their ability to listen to the customer provided for a great drinking experience. Then there's a Bartender's Choice on the drink menu to solidify that dedication to hospitality.

But then, alas!, that darned Roberto de Tucson of BarMedia beat me to the punch with this number he wrote for Nightclub & Bar. I definitely would recommend giving Robert's article a read and I'll just provide my nickel-and-dimed version here.

I actually first learned of Scott & Co. not from a Tucson source, but rather from Tasting Table NYC, whose new Top Shelf newsletter featured an article on bars using acid phosphate or ingredients of the like, a movement I first learned about from bartender/chemist/blogger Darcy O'Neil.

I dropped in early on a Thursday evening and started the evening off with a spin on a classic - Carl served me a gorgeous-looking Pisco Punch with a twist; Scott & Co.'s Pisco Punch boasts the addition of a Chinese Five Spice blend, in addition to the traditional lemon juice and pineapple gomme syrup. My boyfriend decided to test out this Bartender's Choice concept early - ending up with a gin-based Tiki drink served in the fantastic glassware pictured far up top.

Next up for me - I asked for a Chartreuse Swizzle and, boy, did Ciaran figured me out early. He made me the beautiful swizzle pictured on the right with a float of Fernet Branca on the top. Needless to say, I was a happy camper.

Before I knew it, our small and quiet mixology bar was packed three people deep. And the gentlemen behind the bar continued to shake up the same quality cocktails as we were provided early on in the evening. After our large group captured many more of the drinks on the bar's Tiki Menu, my friend and I capped the night off fittingly with a couple of Sazeracs.

I am thrilled to see the efforts of Ciaran, among others, bringing this craft cocktail culture to Tucson and I hope it continues to thrive and grow in the Old Pueblo. The bar will most definitely be on my radar for my next trip back down, where another Tiki adventure will await (perhaps Roberto will even join me!).

Optimizing Egg White Foam in a Pisco Sour

The idea occurred to my daughter Lindsay and me when she was making a birthday cake for my wife. Why do cooks whip egg whites in copper pots? My first stop was a query to Darcy O'Neil, of Art of Drink fame, drink chemistry guru and author of the definitive book on soda fountains titled Fix the Pumps. His answers combined with a little digging in the literature surfaced the chemistry behind it. There are basically two factors at work here, one physical, and one chemical. The physical whisking folds air into the albumen creating the foam. But it also unravels some of the amino acid molecules "opening them up" to combine with the air and water. When you whip in copper, the physical contact with the whisk frees up some copper ions that combine with the sulphur in eggs to make those unraveled amino acid bonds with water and air much more stable...yielding a more stable foam.


So the next question was, how come we don't use copper lined shakers in bars that make drinks with egg whites as an ingredient like the Pisco Sour, Ramos Gin Fizz et al.?

Darcy didn't have an answer to that one, nor a source for copper-lined shakers, though he did suggest testing the theory with copper ball bearings, the thought being ice may not be hard enough in a shaker to release the copper ions. (and a suggestion to use a solid metal shaker rather than a Boston Shaker!)


Two other alternative methods that improve foam stability are to add an acid (citric acid from the limes in the recipe may already be maximizing the foam),and cream of tartar which also lowers the pH.


So we're going to do some experimenting and determine whether or not we can use this copper/egg white interaction to make a better Pisco Sour. Not having access to copper ball bearings, I'm thinking I'll stop by the hardware store for some copper plumbing fittings and a micrometer and stop watch to measure foam height and stablility.




Stay tuned...more to come.

Simple Syrup-or is it?

Simple syrup is just about the extent of my experience with making homemade cocktail ingredients. I completely agree with many cocktail bloggers out there who believe that the addition of homemade ingredients like fresh sour mix, grenadine, orgeat, and tonic water make a quality cocktail truly superior. I’m fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to sample the spectacular results of others’ hard work at home. For me, however, making cocktail ingredients at home is an issue because:

1. I’m busy.
2. If I’m not busy, I’m lazy.

The one ingredient that’s been “simple” enough for me to whip up at home myself is Simple Syrup. I mean, why would you ever buy a bottle of premade Simple Syrup? That’s about as crazy as buying bottled water…oh wait.

Anyway, embarrassingly enough, it has come to my attention that I might have managed to screw up Simple Syrup. My mother would be proud. How can this be? Well, I’ve always done a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water for my Simple Syrup, but there are a lot of people out there telling me I’m doing it wrong. I figured I’d bring this matter on to the blog and ask everyone’s opinion—what is the right way to make Simple Syrup?

Bobby Flay has said 1:1, and then Natalie, the Liquid Muse, called him out on it. Paul Clarke provides a 2:1 recipe on Cocktail Chronicles, but Stevi Deter of Two at the Most uses a 1:1 simple syrup in her Pisco Sours. Jeffrey Morgenthaler is on the 1:1 side, while Darcy O’Neil of Art of Drink is all about 2:1 simple syrup in his homemade Sour Mix. Stop the madness! Who’s doing it right and who’s doing it wrong? Or could it be it’s just a matter of taste? Please, share your thoughts in the comments!

Imbibers One Hundred

Darcy O’Neil of Art of Drink posted this and I couldn’t resist joining in on the fun. It’s a list of the 100 things you should drink before you die. Here’s what to do if you want to play along:

“Instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog, with instructions. 2) Bold all the drinks you’ve imbibed. 3) Cross out any items that you won’t touch 4) Post a comment on Art of Drink and link to your results.

OR

If you don’t have a blog, just count the ones you’ve tried and post the number in the Art of Drink comments section.”

List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire

1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Weasle Coffee)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe (Did a tasting of four, actually)
4. Rootbeer (A&W is clearly the best…mmm…rootbeer floats!)
5. Gin Martini
6. Sauternes
7. Whole Milk
8. Tequila (100% Agave)
9. XO Cognac
10. Espresso (hate it)
11. Spring Water (directly from the spring)
12. Gin & Tonic
13. Mead (In Salem, MA)
14. Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budwieser (college…)
17. Maraschino Liqueur
18. Mojito (first Mojito was at the Parrot Bar in Puerto Rico…very good!)
19. Orgeat
20. Grand Marnier
21. Mai Tai (original)
22. Ice Wine (Canadian)
23. Red Bull
24.Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice (had to fresh squeeze as a bartender…pain in the ass but worth it)
25. Bubble Tea
26. Tokaj
27. Chicory
28. Islay Scotch
29. Pusser’s Navy Rum
30. Fernet Branca
31. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider (every Fall)
32. Bourbon
33. Australian Shiraz
34. Buckley’s Cough Syrup
35. Orange Bitters
36.Margarita (classic recipe)
37. Molasses & Milk (not together….)
38. Chimay Blue
39. Wine of Pines
40. Green Tea (obsessed)
41. Daiginjo Sake
42.Chai Tea
43.Vodka (chilled, straight)
44. Coca-Cola (far superior to Pepsi)
45. Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
46. Barley Wine
47. Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
48. Pisco Sour
49. Lemonade
50. Speyside Single Malt
51. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
52. Champagne (Vintage)
53. Rosé (French)
54.Bellini (a favorite…had them at my good friend’s bachelorette party)
55. Caipirinha
56.White Zinfandel (Blush)
57. Coconut Water
58.Cerveza
59.Cafe au Lait
60. Ice Tea
61. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
62. Vintage Port
63. Hot Chocolate (craving it right now…it’s that time of year)
64. German Riesling (at a recent holiday show actually…)
65. Pina Colada (oh how I love thy sticky sweetness)
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guiness
73. Rhum Agricole
74. Palm Wine
75. Soju
76. Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
77. Belgian Lambic
78. Mongolian Airag
79. Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
80. Sugarcane Juice
81. Ramos Gin Fizz
82.Singapore Sling
83.Mint Julep
84. Old Fashioned
85. Perique
86. Jenever (Holland Gin)
87. Chocolate Milkshake
88. Traditional Italian Barolo
89. Pulque
90. Natural Sparkling Water
91. Cuban Rum
92. Asti Spumante (every New Years, it seems)
93. Irish Whiskey
94. Château Margaux
95. Two Buck Chuck
96. Screech
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daquiri (classic recipe)

Vodka DOES Matter

Steve attended the "Rediscovering the Traditions of vodka" led by Steve Olson and learned a great lesson on how to engage an audience. Throughout the whole TOTC event, Vodka was criticized, belittled, vilified, marginalized and ultimately disrespected. It's like the old Yogi Berra line..."nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."But with 28% share of the total US spirits market, Olson eloquently made his points that it warrants respect and consideration and can't and shouldn't be ignored. He went on to walk us through a product tasting that was more about sensing the vodka as opposed to tasting it. Darcy O'Neil made the point in the sensory perception session that if you analyze vodka chemically, there aren't any flavor compounds in there... no citrus, no wheat, no potato and certainly no tobacco, peanuts or any other contrived descriptors. What there are however, are components that might trigger a flavor memory or association. And that's what we're really sensing, e.g. not citrus per se, but a compound similar to citric acid that sparks an association in your mind. Steve demonstrated a tasting protocol where you can separate the liquid flavor components from the aromatics. By coating the oral cavity with the vodka, then closing your mouth and breathing out your nose, you can segment the feel of the alcohol from the smell of the volatile compounds. Then breathe in only through your mouth to gauge the quality of the alcohol...it should feel cool like menthol or eucalyptus, not harsh or burning. He went on to demonstrate the difference between a number of brands and show how they not only differed, but had specific characteristics that would make a given vodka the preferable spirit for a given cocktail. At the end of the session, he had turned a roomful of skeptics into advocates.