opinionated alchemist

  Ok... provocative title - I know. Let's directly spoil the resolution: we can't have a good Apple Martini, because the original "Adam's Apple" (how it was originally called) is not a Martini cocktail - duh! There is a fantastic and very expansive article on Eater.com.  In this article Jeffrey Morgenthaler said, that it is not possible, to make a good version of this drink, because using fresh juice isn't just the same. True. But it is better. Let me explain. We can basically go two ways. One way is the way of being incredible sophisticated and also very pretentious. We can think of making a real  Martini out of it. We can make a vermouth from a nice slightly sour cider. And then we could use gin (yeah - we can also use vodka - but what is the point?). Some bitters. And maybe something like a low temperature poached apple ball (made with a melon baller).  The problem: It is almost not recognizable as a "Apple Martini". Yes it is cool and all. But o...

There are things, which boggles me - basically these are first world problems, however it is annoying, that these problems are not solved [yet]. In the bar there are some points, which rob my sleep, when I think too much about it - but basically nobody seems to care: All cocktail glasses [speak martini glasses] in glass lines of reputable drinking glass producer are too big for refined cocktails [yeah I know, if you are living in the US or Europe, you might be able to buy vintage glasses...]. Glass washer of any producer doesn't clean [against all claims] glasses to a level, that you don't need to polish them anymore [which is more hygienic, more convenient and basically cheaper, as you won't have that much glass breakage]. ... Drinks made with egg-white smells after a short period of times [read seconds] like a wet dog. I have had a short discussion with Jeffrey Morgenthaler on his website [via comments] - but he didn't cared about this small hints, and ju...

If you are reading about some products, or even see youtube videos, which celebrate the "latest" new tool, you might fantasize, what you would be able to achieve with it. More often than once I was disappointed when reality stroke! One of this too good to be true appliances is the Vulcanology vaporizer. Simon of www.muddle-me.com loaned me this machine, to take it for a spin. [Big thank you to the guys at www.muddle-me.com - they are awesome - and you really should pay their website a visit - especially if you are living in the Middle East!]. What is it? Basically it was designed to vaporize active ingredients from Marihuana and other pot head stuff. An avant-garde chef (I guess it was Grant Achatz- but cannot say for sure), had the idea to use it also for conservative herbs and spices. They used air pillows, which they placed underlates, but also glass domes over the food to add the aroma. Eventually some "mixologists" had the glorious idea, to use t...

So folks, a lot of time past, since I participated the last time a Mixology Monday. And honestly - even this time, I am impossible late with my contribution. Well - rest assured, it will be an unique one! Let's first of all get to the topic. Craig over at A World of Drinks  is hosting this MxMo - please follow his explanation: For this month’s challenge I would like to take us back to the humble beginnings of the cocktail bar, the days when bartenders didn’t have the luxury of daily deliveries of ingredients from around the world. In these times bartenders would have been uncertain when they would again have the privilege to work with special ingredients so would naturally try to make the most of them… Such methods of preservation such as syrups and preserves have been staple ingredients behind the bar ever since, while others such as shrubs and sherbets were relatively short lived. The aim of the challenge is to go back to the days of the preserve, pick an ingredient, seas...

So we tried to do the barrel aged Mai Tai in an 1l barrel - and the taste was really good. The only problem was, that the leftovers, of "diverse angel shares" were... not worth the effort. What angel share you ask? Well, first the barrel was leaking out of the spigot. It was leaking slow and sticky - but anyway. Another serious reason for the angel share was the tasting [sorry!].  This cocktail really has to be seriously tasted. This is ok for a large barrel, but for one liter barrel, it is a real problem... Anyway - batch no.2 is on its way. I did some amendments: I was always curious, why "Trader Vic" called for a dollop of French g arnier o rgeat in his original Mai Tai recipe. Almond syrup and dollop doesn't really properly align in my sense. But then it stroke me: what is orgeat: a syrup made from almonds, sugar and often a hydrosol [usually orange flower water]and water... guess which ingredient has all ingredients except of the water? Yes - marz...

Now we did the whole barrel aged Mai Tai thing: I thought it will be great to use Wray & Nephews white overproof and Cointreau and solid orgeat... And age everything in a barrel. So now we aged this mixture (with additional like zest) I'm a one liter oak barrel for ca. 8 weeks. The liquid which came out is dark amber and smells intoxicating- sporting a lot of funk of the Jamaica rum, however also have toffee aromas and... oak. The taste is even better, while it is quite sweet, the rather strong alcohol level balances perfectly the sweetness and there is a ton of complexity... The set back, you ask? It is, that it became almost too good, to mix with fresh lime juice and pour onto a lot of crushed ice. In fact, I would prefer this barrel-aged cocktail before other aged rums... E.g. the prohibitly expensive Havana Club Añejo 15 Años. Or even an Appleton Estate 21 years old... It actually needs only a few drops of waters... While this might be just the best cocktail base since the ...

No - this post is not the another "the perfect XYZ". Lets say, it is a preamble post about it. I have to say, that tomato juice [the canned one] is kinda guilty pleasure of mine. However I somewhat dislike Bloody Mary's. It is strange - but there is so much wrong with it: The texture - yeah - I am a declared hater of purees and thick cocktails. And a Bloody Mary with canned juice is exactly that. The texture - no - this is not a typo. It is not only the thick texture - it is also the watery [and grainy] texture, when the drink dilutes. The drink culture. The Bloody Mary is a hangover remedy. It. Is. Consumed. Over. The. Day. Not in the evening [when it is usually ordered]. The spirit. Funny is, when you start to experiment, it is surprising, how well the mixture goes with any spirit - but vodka! Even rum has an almost addictive character to it. Gin is awesome [call it Red Snapper], Tequila is also great [Bloody Maria]. Vodka just taste... almost bitter. I think ...

I was so enthusiastic about the agave infused tequila. But sometimes you have admit, if your ideas are failing- and this infused tequila just did. The tequila didn't got any further boost in vegetal flavors but got a weird astringency, which I haven't foreseen. However - it is not exactly back to the drawing board... Long time ago, I tried to make homemade agavera liqueur and it ended up to be much better than the original. With. Artichoke. Sounds funny, but then I have envisioned, that artichokes are having exactly the strong vegetal flavors, I searched for. And as artichokes are just getting into season (well at least they are popping up in the supermarkets again) it is just a great thing, which proofed toe work. So artichoke infused tequila it is!