Cocktail Hacker

From Tequila’s flavor and smell alone it may be easy to tell that this spirit is different from the others we’ve used thus far.  What you’re senses are picking up is Tequila’s base, namely Blue Agave.  Blue Agave (agave tequilana) is one of a number of agaves that both grow natively and are cultivated in Mexico.  Although the other agaves are often used in making Pulque and Mezcal, Tequila makers can only use Blue Agave.  That brings us to our next point, the qualities of Tequila.

There are two qualities you should keep an eye out for when buying Tequila, mixto and 100% agave.  Not surprisingly 100% agave Tequilas must be distilled from a mash of fermented blue agave only, no other fermentables can be included.  Mixtos on the other hand must contain at least 51% blue agave.  The remaining 49% of the fermentable material can be other grains or sugars.  This means the distillers will use wheat or other grains as they are usually the most cost effective.  The resulting product doesn’t present as refined a flavor and is said to cause more hang overs.  Now it should be clear why I steer clear of the bottle of Jose Cuervo on my shelf.  I’d suggest sticking with 100% Agave Tequilas when mixing cocktails, the resulting drinks will be much better.

A couple more quick notes on the Blue Agave.  The plants, when growing in the wild, will send up a shoot after growing for about 5 years.  This shoot can reach 5 meters in height and is topped with yellow flowers which are then pollinated and the plant reproduces.  When cultivated for Tequila production this shoot is removed about a year after planting and used to produce more Blue Agave plants.  The resulting agave will then create a much larger core, or pina.  Once the plants reach 12 years of age they are harvested by Los Jimadores.  All the leaves of the plant are cut away and the pina, which now weighs as much as 500 lbs, is sent to the factory to be processed.

At the factory the pinas are halved and put in to large cookers which resemble giant ovens.  The pinas are cooked for anywhere from two to three days.  During this cooking process the agave’s starches are transformed in to sugars which can be processed by yeasts during the fermentation process.  Following the cooking the pinas are shredded.  Next the shredded pinas are fermented in a method similar to other spirits.  Finally the resulting mash is then fermented and either bottled immediately or aged.

If the Tequila is bottled immediately it is called a Tequila Blanco (or plata, silver or white).  Blancos are usually crystal clear, have a very pure agave taste and a bit of a sharper bite.  It’s the blanco’s agave flavor and bite that make it good for drinks with other strong flavors, such as this week’s cocktail, the Margarita.  If the distillers age the Tequila in barrels for a period of a few months the spirit is called Tequila Reposado, or rested Tequila.  Reposados tend to be light golden in color, are a bit smoother than blancos and have more of the wood flavors from the barrels.  It should be noted that not all “gold” Tequilas are gold from the barrel aging.  Some distillers will add carmel color to create the gold hue artificially.  This is primarily true of mixtos so make sure the bottles you’re buying say 100% Agave.  There are two final grades.  Tequilas aged from a few months to three years are referred to as Tequila Anejo and those aged more than three years Extra Anejo.  Anejos and Extra Anejos begin to have flavors similar to well aged whiskies from their time in the barrels.  These can be great sipping tequilas or can be mixed if you’re looking for a truly top shelf cocktail.

I hope this brief intro has shed some light on a sometimes mysterious spirit.  If you’d like some more in-depth information I’d suggest checking out “In Search of the Blue Agave.”  The site has a lot of great information and was a source of some of my facts above.  If you’d like to know more about the distillation process as a whole keep reading Cocktail Hacker.  I’m going to write a series of posts in the coming months on that very topic.  Until then, happy hacking.

We’ve been experimenting with cocktails for quite some time now here at Cocktail Hacker.  We have over a dozen drinks under our belt and not one of them has included tequila.  Which, as I’m sure some of you would be quick to point out, is wholly unacceptable.  So, in that spirit, this week we’re going to feature the cocktail that has become synonymous with Tequila, the Margarita.  You might be wondering why we haven’t covered any tequila drinks up to this point and the short answer is I don’t much like the stuff.  I have over 80 spirits in my collection and only one of those is tequila, and Cuervo Gold at that.  Which, near as I can figure, is as close as a living person can get to drinking pure death.  But, I’m willing and eager to change my mind on this spirit and I can think of no better cocktail with which to start my explorations than the Margarita.

We’ve all had Margaritas at some point in our lives.  I’d even be willing to bet that serious teetotallers could tell you what’s in one.  But have you ever had the true, original Margarita?  I know I sure haven’t.  Like the Daiquiri, the original Margarita is a simple affair and there are many currently implemented variants, but unlike the Daiquiri the Margarita you’re likely familiar with bears a fair bit of resemblance to the original.  There are a veritable pantheon of stories about the origin of this iconic drink.  I won’t repeat them here, but take a look, it’s interesting to see all the variations.  In addition to these reading materials Robert Hess’ Cocktail Spirit episode on the drink is also quite good, although the sound is a bit low.  In fact, I’m going to start my explorations with Robert’s recipe.

The Margarita - Robert Hess' Recipe

[Ingredients]

2 oz Silver Tequila
1 1/3 oz Cointreau
2/3 oz Lime Juice

[Directions]

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker
2) Shake to chill
3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a salted rim
4) Garnish with a lime wedge

Astute readers should note the huge similarity between this cocktail and the Sidecar.  In fact, some of the recipes I’ve come across call for lemon juice rather than lime which would bring it even closer in.  I think you could possibly do a Tequila Sidecar with a nicely aged Anejo Tequila but that will have to wait for a later exploration.

The greatest thing I discovered this week experimenting with the Gin and Tonic was a renewed love of my first favorite cocktail.  The Gin and Tonic is an exercise in simplicity.  Two ingredients and a twist of lime.   But, as we showed in our tonic tasting just because the Gin and Tonic is simple doesn’t mean its easy to perfect.  In our reviews we suggested some tonics to get you started.  But what about the gin?

Like the Tom Collins, the perfect gin for this cocktail is extremely subjective.  When I’m mixing with a store bought tonic I like to go with a lighter flavor gin that’s not going to over power the flavors of your chosen tonic.  One of my favorites is Indigo.  It has a great citrus forward flavor that plays nicely with the tonic.  If you step up to a more powerful tonic, like our homemade version, you’re going to need a more powerful gin to balance out the flavors.  For G&Ts with the homemade tonic I’ve been reaching for gins with a stronger juniper punch.  Juniper Green is working well as are the couple from Bendistillery that I have in my collection.  To generalize match your gin with your tonic.  The resulting drink will be more balanced and the flavors will play off each other better.

Finally the garnish.  In most cocktails the garnish may add a touch of flavor, but not much.  It’s there as a cocktail decoration.  In the Gin and Tonic the garnish, a lime wedge, not only adds visual appeal but also a lot of additional flavor.  And, although I love my garnish squeezed into my cocktail, not everyone does.  So, hang a lime wedge on the glass and let your guest apply it if they so desire.  I’m hoping I don’t need to say this but I will just to be sure.  Don’t drop the unsqueezed lime into the drink before you give it to your guest.  No one likes having to fish their lime out of the drink just to squeeze it back in.

A key part of a Gin and Tonic (or Vodka Tonic if you must) is the tonic water.  A good tonic water will make the drink and can cover a lot of problems with the gin.  A bad tonic, on the other hand, can bring even a drink made with the most perfect gin down to the level of swill.  We decided to take one for the team and taste as many tonics as we could get our hands on (in the Boulder area) and figure out what we liked and disliked.  The tonics we were able to get were (listed in order of our preconceived notion of their tastiness, low to high): Big K, Golden Crown (Kroger Brand), Shasta, Canada Dry, Schweppes, 365 (Whole Foods Brand), Stirrings and my homemade tonic.  For this tasting there were four of us: Sean, Amanda, Aaron and Myself.

[Big K] This tonic had a nose that was not so great, which didn’t start us off well.  Aaron felt it tasted like “air with bubbles.”  Sean gave it slightly higher praise saying it was “sugar water with bubbles.”  Overall it was not at all sour, had very little quinine bitterness, basically Sprite with a touch of quinine.

[Golden Crown] This tonic too had little to no quinine bitterness which is especially interesting since it was less sweet than the Big K.  Usually when you add sweetness you will mute some of the bitterness.  We also felt this tonic was too lightly carbonated.

[Shasta] Amanda felt this one was a touch too sweet commenting “Holy sweetness batman!”  Shasta did have the most quinine of the three we’d tried to this point though which was a good thing.  Sean and I felt this tonic was on par for sweetness with the other two but added some additional bitterness and citrus sourness.  If you were throwing a party and expecting to go through a lot of tonic water this would be our recommendation.  It’s cheaper than Canada Dry and Schweppes and still has a nice flavor.

[Canada Dry] This tonic was Aaron’s favorite coming in to the tasting and remained as such.  Aaron liked that it was definitely carbonated, more so than the others we’d tried.  Sean also commented on the carbonation, liking the larger bubbles.  Amanda was the one voice of dissent for this tonic stating that it was “kind of muted and watered down” and as such she “wouldn’t drink that one.”  The overall consensus is that this one had more of a quinine bite, which is what I like in tonic, but slightly less sweet and sour than the Shasta.  Overall this is the favorite super market tonic of Sean, Aaron and Myself.

[Schweppes] As opposed to Aaron Schweppes was my favorite super market tonic coming in to the tasting.  As you can see from the above comment I change my allegiance.  Amanda thought this was much more like a proper tonic than Canada Dry and as such this is her favorite super market tonic.  Sean really liked the nose but felt the flavor was more muted than the Canada Dry.  Overall it seemed that this tonic had less quinine than Canada Dry but was a bit more sour, they were both on par for sweetness.

[365] In a comment I had given on Chowhound I had put 365 over Schweppes and Canada Dry in taste, I don’t any more however.  Sean liked the 365 more than Schweppes but it didn’t quite over take Canada Dry.  There is less bitterness in this one than either Schweppes or Canada Dry where the sweet and sour remain about the same.  Our feeling is that the cane sugar over powers the quinine.  If you’re morally against high fructose corn syrup I think this is going to be your best bet for super market tonic.

[Stirrings] This is the only store bought premium tonic water I got my hands on for this tasting and I can’t say we were impressed.  There is more quinine than some of the others but the sourness is less prevalent.  Sean liked the nose on this tonic the best of those we had tried.  This tonic, unlike some of the others, contains no salt and its also made with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup.  We all liked this tonic but felt it wasn’t strong enough to stand up to a powerful gin in a G&T.  Were you looking for a good Vodka Tonic mixer I think this would be a good choice because of the nice flavors.  Overall I don’t think this tonic is worth the extra money, stick with Canada Dry or better yet, make your own.

[Homemade] Sean’s first comment I think sums it up very nicely “Yummy!”  We used 3/4 oz tonic syrup to 2 oz soda water to mix this up and felt it needed a bit more soda water.  Although at this ratio we did feel that this tonic would even stand up to the Old Raj, which is really saying something.  Overall we all liked this tonic the best and the best part, at least for me is the customizability.  Sean likes his tonic a bit less sweet where I like mine a little sweeter.  Not a problem with this tonic.  Mix it up a little less sweet and add simple syrup to up the sweetness if you so desire.

A great time was had by all and it was nice to experience all of these tonics at one time.  It really gave us a chance to decide what we liked best.  In summary, if you’re throwing a party and serving a ton of G&Ts pick up the Shasta, it won’t do you wrong.  For the everyday home mixologist we’d recommend Canada Dry, although Schweppes is also very good.  I’d reocommend trying both and deciding which you prefer.  And finally, if you have the time and motivation definitely try making your own tonic.  The results are truly a special cocktail.

There are two other premium tonics, Q and Fever Tree, that I’ve heard very good things about but haven’t gotten my hands on as yet.  If I can score some of these I’ll be sure to update the tasting notes to include them.

There is a great thread on eGullet titled “You might be a cocktail snob/geek if…”  Well, tonight I can add another of my own.  You might be a cocktail geek if you make incredible homemade tonic syrup and immediately start thinking about what you can tweak to make it better.  Last night the cocktail hacker crew had a tonic tasting to coincide with our Gin and Tonic week.  I’ll be writing up our results tomorrow.  To go with this theme I made up a batch of homemade tonic syrup used the recipe posted by Jeffrey Morgenthaler.  This being the first time I had made Tonic Syrup I decided to stick with Jeffrey’s recipe nearly to the letter.

Two of the ingredients required a bit of foot work to find.  I found citric acid at a local home brewing / wine making shop.  The clerk was a bit startled when I said I was making my own tonic and later added that citric acid is usually purchased for barrel cleaning.  His next question was where I got the quinine from.  At Jeffrey’s suggestion, and most of the homemade tonic recipes for that matter, I used powdered red cinchona bark that I got from www.zooscape.com.  There are other online retailers as well, but ZooScape treated me well and I’d recommend them if you’re wanting to try this recipe.

Once I had all the ingredient prepped we brought them all to a boil then lowered the burner and allowed the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes.  Following that we moved on to the straining process.  The first step to this is to use a mesh strainer to remove all the big pieces.  This step will also remove a lot of the bark powder, but you’ll still be left with quite a bit of particulate.  To solve that problem there are a couple of routes you can take.  The immediate choice is to run it all through a coffee filter.  This method, although a good one, takes an exceedingly long time.  We tried it for a bit, but I got impatient so I tried my favorite filtering method.  We broke out my tiny Bodum French Press [Referrer Link] coffee maker and got to filtering.  The resulting syrup still has a bit of bark in it, but I think that adds a unique homemade look to the cocktail.

Once the syrup was strained we added the sweetener.  This is where I deviated from Jeffrey a bit.  I didn’t have any Agave Syrup and didn’t want to get any at this point so I sweetened with a 1:1 simple syrup.  I used the same proportion as Jeffrey suggests but the resulting product was a lacking a bit of sweetness so I’ve been adding a touch of simple syrup as I put it in my squeeze bottles.  Given that, I’m not going to list my altered recipe at this time or the recipe for the Gin and Tonic.  I will say though that this is, without question, the best tonic I’ve ever had.  It is bitter and sour but has great citrus flavor and the allspice really adds a nice note.  As usual I love the fact that I can vary the sweet,  bitter and sour components at will.  This is truly what cocktail hacking is all about.

Jackelope Gin was the next gin on our tasting list.  This is a small batch gin produced by Peach Street Distillers in Palisade, CO.  Being a sucker for small batch, artisinal spirits I knew this bottle had to come home with me the minute I saw it.  The gents at Peach Street give a superb telling of exactly why gin is the best bait for the Jackelope and sadly I can’t say we had any luck in catching any.  I think this stems more from my location in a small city though than our choice of bait.  As any amateur cryptozoologist knows Jackelopes prefer the sparsely populated high mountain deserts and sand stone mesas.  What we did find is a great gin that is well worth seeking out.

Jackelope has a nice fruity nose and the taste of sweet fruits comes through in the flavor as well.  We all concurred that this gin is much smoother than our control (Bombay Sapphire) and has little burn which is also nice.  Peach Street uses a blend of local junipers which I think adds to the uniqueness and great taste of this gin.  Beyond that the “secret” ingredients are the standard gin fare: Coriander, Angelica, Oris root, Licorice, Lemon peel/zest, Lime peel/zest, Cassia bark.  In this gin they are very nicely balanced and make for a complex but tasty gin.  None of the botanicals are screaming at you but they are all there.  I think this gin would be excellent in a Martini, but maybe go a little light on the vermouth, say 5:1, so as not to overwhelm the subtle flavors.

Overall Jackelope is a great gin and well worth seeking out if you’re in the Colorado area.  I’m starting to see it at a number of local liquor stores and with luck it will be going nationwide soon.

The Gin and Tonic, the cocktail that started my love.  The G&T is so utterly simple that a lot of people, I would hazard to guess, wouldn’t even classify it as a cocktail, rather a simple mixed drink that you pound back to get buzzed.  I on the other hand will expound that a well made G&T is truly a thing of beauty.  Introduced by the Army of the British East India Company, the Gin and Tonic was originally consumed for the quinine contained in the tonic water.

Quinine was the first effective treatment for malaria discovered and was in use as early as the 17th century.  In addition to its antimalarial properties it is also a fever reducer, painkiller and can reduce inflammation.  The story goes that due to its very bitter taste gin was added to quinine tonics in order to make them more palatable, and thus, the Gin and Tonic was born.  So why is it then that this cocktail of medicinal wonder has been relegated to the lowly position of buzz inducer?

I think the primary reason for this is people don’t give this cocktail’s ingredients and their proportions enough thought.  Although the ingredient list is very short, there is a surprising amount of variability held within.  This week we’re going to take a look at each of these key players and make some suggestions on how you can elevate this cocktail back to the place it rightly deserves.

Gin and Tonic (Difford's Guide #7)

[Ingredients]

2 oz Gin
Tonic Water
Lime Wedge for Garnish

[Directions]

1) Add gin to an ice filled Collins glass
2) Top with tonic water
3) Run lime wedge around rim of glass
4) Squeeze lime into drink and drop in

Sadly, I’ve not had the time I like to spend experimenting fully with this cocktail this week.  But, on an up note, I have a wealth of prior knowledge to draw from.  There are a few points I’d like to make about the Collins.  The first being Gin is but one base spirit that can be used.  A Vodka Collins, Rum Collins or even a Whisk(e)y Collins are quite tasty.  I highly recommend making a Collins with your favorite base spirit.  I’m betting you won’t be disappointed.

The next point is one of construction.  Nearly every Collins recipe you run across will state that you should “combine over ice and top with soda”.  Now, were I making this cocktail as a bartender I think this would definitely be the best method as its the quickest and will yield near absolute consistency given your ice remains the same size.  For home preparation however I advocate a different method.  When I build these I do the following: 1) Combine spirit, syrup and juice in a glass. 2) Swirl briefly to combine. 3) Fill glass to about 1-1.5″ from the top with soda water. 4) Add ice cubes slowly to fill remaining space.  The resulting cocktail will not require stirring as pouring in the soda has effectively done that for you.  Additionally there won’t be as much fizzing since you’re adding the ice at the end.  I’m guessing that purists will tell me that this isn’t the “right” way to build this cocktail, but I’m not making it for them so .

Now for the selection of gin.  As with most cocktails I’ll recommend you first try your favorite gin, it is your favorite after all.  When I’m building this cocktail I reach for a citrus forward gin.  I think with this choice the gin’s flavors and the lemon blend nicely and make for a very harmonious tipple.  My choice if I’m just looking for a refreshing summer drink to quench my thirst is Baffert’s Gin.  It’s very cheap which makes it a great choice if you’re going to be serving this at a party and I think you’ll really be surprised by the flavor.  For such an inexpensive spirit its really very good.  If I’m wanting to up the ante I bit I pull down my bottle of Indigo Gin.  Again a citrus forward gin, but a touch more refined than the Baffert’s.  All of that aside I don’t think I’ve made a Tom Collins at home with any gin that I haven’t liked.

Finally, the Tom Collins while dining out is always a roll of the dice.  Generally, unless you’re at a restaurant with a great bar, you’re going to get gin, sour mix and soda water.  And, as you may have guessed, the gamble comes in the form of the sour mix.  There are some really great sour mixes out there, don’t get me wrong.  Are they a replacement for fresh juice and simple syrup?  Most definitely not, but they’re good for what they are, shelf stable sweetened cirtus juice.  There are, however, some really terrible sour mixes out there as well.  I went out with my cousin for dinner on Monday (Thanks again for dinner Mike!).  The Tom Collins I ordered was really very good.  Good enough in fact that I asked the waitress whether it was made with lemon juice or sour mix.  Sour mix it was.  In retrospect I should have known seeing as you couldn’t see any lemon juice pulp in the drink, but it was pretty damn good.  So give it a go some time.  You may be pleasantly surprised, and, if not, don’t order one there again.

The Tom Collins truly is one of my favorite summer drinks.  It’s extremely refreshing and has enough liquid (other than alcohol) in it that you’re actually going to rehydrate yourself a bit.  As with other cocktails we’ve covered here, I must pass on my warning.  These are very easy to drink. Two, Three, Seventeen, all go down very easily.  With that I leave you for another week fellow hackers.  Enjoy your Collins.  I certainly will.

This is the first time here at Cocktail Hacker that we’ve had a chance to use any sort of carbonated water in a cocktail.  Most of you are quite familiar with some of the types of soda water by now, but there are some important differences that you should keep in mind when mixing drinks.

Types of Fizz Water

[Soda Water] – Also known as carbonated water, seltzer, fizzy water, or sparkling water is what is best known to most people.  It is simply water in to which carbon dioxide has been introduced thus carbonating the water.  There ware some natural sparkling waters available which are equivalent to carbonated mineral water.

[Club Soda] – This is the other main type of carbonated water you’re likely to find at your local grocery store.  The primary difference here is that club soda has had a small amount of salt added in the form of sodium chloride (table salt), sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, or disodium phosphate.  Which salt is added depends on the bottler.  Wikipedia says that these are added to emulate the taste of home made soda water.  They also have a nice history of carbonated water that I’m not going to go in to here.  Although, the anecdote about mice is rather interesting.

Sources of Fizz Water

Like most of the ingredients we feature here on the site there are many sources for fizz water, some that allow you to precisely control the resulting product.  Naturally these types are my favorite.

[Store Bought] – There are a nearly endless number of choices when it comes to store bought fizz water.  I’d caution against using club soda as it may throw of the intended flavor of the cocktail in general.  That said, most club soda will have such a small amount of salt added that you’re likely not to notice it at all.  You can even experiment with a flavored fizz water that will complement the end flavor of the cocktail you’re producing.

[Soda Siphons] – Soda siphons are the tried and true home soda making tools.  They consist of a carafe that you fill with your choice of water (I’d suggest filtered for the most neutral flavor).  The carbonation comes in the form of small CO2 cylinders that introduce the carbonation to the water in the carafe. In the old days full bottles of pre-carbonated water were delivered to the home and your siphon attached to the top.  The siphon provided a way to use a small amount of the water while keeping the rest fizzy.

Siphons work fantastically and make for a very elegant presentation.  I’ll also say that if you want to make Fizz drinks, such as the Ramos Gin Fizz, a siphon is very nearly a requirement.  The reason behind this is that the recipes call for the soda water to be injected in to the mixed cocktail rather than poured on top.

[Soda Makers] – If you’re really in to soda water, as I am.  Then a soda maker may be more your sytle.  Soda makers allow the use of much larger bottles of CO2 which allow for the carbonation of many liters of water before they empty.  I personally have a Soda Club (now Soda Stream) soda maker and can’t speak highly enough of it.  Each CO2 cylinder will carbonate approximately 100 liters of water and I have two bottles always chilling in the fridge.  As for the water itself I go with Brita filtered water.  This way I know I’m using pure water and not introducing any flavors I don’t intend to.

Another soda maker route is to build one yourself.  Kevin Kelly has a nice overview of one DIY system.  Here’s an instructable on the same topic.  If you’ve done some home brewing, then home carbonating might be old hat for you.  If not, then try one of the other options, or simply buy good store bought products.  There are lots out there so experiment away.

This week’s cocktail is one of my absolute favorites.  When I first started enjoying cocktails my go to drink was always the Gin and Tonic.  This drink is a great choice when out and about as most restaurants will have passable gin and tonic in their bar.  At home you can craft an even more perfect G&T, but we’ll leave that for a later week.  A couple years ago I found out about the Tom Collins and ever since it has become the equal of the G&T at least while I’m at home.  This is the first Fizz style cocktail we’ve covered here at Cocktail Hacker and the key ingredient you’ll want to pick up that we haven’t used before is soda water.  There are a few options for this ingredient and I’ll explain them later this week.

So, where did the name Tom Collins come from?  Well, there is some confusion on that one.  It is said that the cocktail started it’s life as the John Collins, named for the waiter at London’s Limmer’s Hotel of the same name.  David Wondrich lists a recipe for this cocktail in his book “Killer Cocktails”.  The drink has a base of Genever Gin, or Holland Style Gin.  Since then the drink’s name has morphed into Tom Collins.  The thinking behind this is that the name change came along when the drink’s primary spirit switched over to Old Tom Gin, which was a sweetened aromatic gin.  Fear not though, English Dry Gin works perfectly well when constructing this cocktail.

Here is the recipe I’ve always used.  As is customary I’ll spend the week trying other versions and will come back with what’s the best.

Tom Collins

[Ingredients]

2 oz Gin
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
Soda Water

[Directions]

1) Combine the gin, lemon juice and syrup in a tall glass with ice
2) Stir to combine
3) Top with soda water to fill glass