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 had a great time in Vegas and enjoyed some seriously tasty cocktails while there. Our cocktail related travels began in one of the lounges at the MGM Grand. Aaron and Lindsey were enjoying Mojitos when Colton and I arrived. I, in an attempt to catch up, quickly chose to go with a Manhattan. The Manhattan was quite tasty although nothing that will stand out as one of my great cocktail experiences. This has solidified my belief that a Manhattan is a cocktail you can order with relative ease when the bar is questionable. Normally I would say that a Gin and Tonic, another of my perennial favorites, is another good choice in this category. However, Aaron decided to test this at the Mermaids Casino on Fremont Street. The cocktail served was horrifying. Aaron summed it up nicely as “tonic with a splash of brut cologne”.

The ingredients of a Manhattan most any bar will have on hand. Even if the base ingredients used are of poor quality the resulting cocktail usually ends up tasting all right. I followed my Manhattan experiment with a Sidecar, which Aaron had previously called his “Vegas standby drink”. What I got was some Brandy with sour mix. Although not the true recipe, the cocktail was still palatable. Later that evening we visited a great bar, Red Square, in Mandalay Bay. A Russian themed bar most of the cocktails were vodka based, but to their credit they clearly had some good thought behind them. I especially liked the freezer room that you could enjoy your drinks in if you took advantage of their bottle service. This privilege came complete with fur coats to keep you warm as you drank and dined. We didn’t opt for this choice, but perhaps next time.

Sunday night we continued our Tiki celebration by having some delicious cocktails at Trader Vic’s in the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino. I entered with some trepidation expecting a commercialized Tiki experience serving quickly built, poor tasting cocktails. I got nothing that I expected. The restaurant and bar is very upscale and the food and drinks were fantastic.

Colton even enjoyed his Mai Tai! Aaron and I started with Trader Vic’s Grog, which were fantastic, but unfortunately evaporated due to the low elevation. You can see this by Aaron’s confused look in the picture above. It was such a strange scientific phenomenon. We chose to have another round to see if the problem persisted. Next I had a Navy Grog. This was a nice chance to compare their recipe to the one I used during Tiki Week. The main flavor, and still my favorite, was the Allspice syrup. Although, in the Trader Vic’s version the sweetness was downplayed, which was actually quite nice. When mixing this cocktail in the future I think I’ll decrease the syrup to lessen the sweetness. Aaron had the Honi Honi which was an interesting Bourbon twist on a Tiki cocktail. Despite the obvious strangeness, the drink was very good.

What else did we do in Vegas? Well, some of it obviously has to stay in Vegas but I can sum it up with some bullet points:

• Carrot Top is Beyond Scary, Seriously
• Blue Man Group is Fantastic
• Ditto on Cirque Du Soleil ‘O’
• Vegas Free Drinks Span Horrible to Tasty
• Non-Free Drinks in Vegas are Rarely Cheap
• Nine Fine Irishmen in NY, NY has good Food, Music and Drinks
• Pai Gow is Way Better than Roulette
• Umbrella Drinks at the Pool Kick Ass (and your Wallet)

And I’m sad to report that Aaron died in a horrible fall from the top of the Stratosphere tower. That said, he died with honor, like any true cocktail hacker, with his beer in hand. He will be missed.

Ok, so he didn’t actually die, but the picture was too good not to be shared.

Where once there was one week of Tiki drinks, there are now two! I like to think of it as some kind of wonderful magic trick, but instead of pulling a rabbit out of a hat I’m pouring delicious cocktails out of the shaker. We’ve had a good time with Tiki drinks this week and have barely scratched the surface. So in that light we’re carrying on for another week. To celebrate this wonderful occasion we’ve adorned the site, albeit lightly, with a Tiki essential, bamboo.

Well, fellow cocktail hackers, I must take my leave of you for now. I go in search of passion fruit syrup, puree, or juice so I can try my hand at making a Hurricane.

Ooga Booga!

Every good story has its legendary heroes. In the case of Tiki Culture these legends are Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic. Their stories are similar in many ways and although they were competitors for many years it was always a pleasant rivalry.

Donn Beach AKA Don the Beachcomber

Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt better known as Donn Beach AKA Don the Beachcomber started his cocktail career as a bootlegger during Prohibition. Shortly after he moved to Hollywood and opened his first bar “Don’s Beachcomber”. A mere three years later in 1937 he opened the bar and restaurant for which he would become famous “Don the Beachcomber”. Following that he was called to service during World War II to create cocktails for military officers across the globe. This was likely what spurred the Tiki craze that followed the war. Donn went on to open a number of “Don the Beachcomber” restaurants including the one in the International Market in Honolulu, HI.

Victor Bergeron AKA Trader Vic

Starting at the same time in Oakland, CA Victor Jules Bergeron Jr, better known as Trader Vic, started his tiki career with a small bar and restaurant called “Hinky Dinks” which was located in his parent’s grocery store. Popularity quickly grew and the restaurant moved more and more to a Polynesian theme. With this move came a name change to “Trader Vics”. Vic also experienced an explosion of popularity following World War II and his restaurants quickly spread around the world.

Both of these legends of Tiki have since passed away, but their story will not be forgotten. Their legend lives on in the cocktails they left behind. Both men are credited with the creation of the Mai Tai which Aaron briefly discussed in his earlier post. Interestingly though, you’ll see recipes for the Mai Tai which in no way resemble this original recipe (as per Trader Vic’s). Robert Hess gives a good history of why that is the case in his Cocktail Spirit video about the Mai Tai. The same holds true for a number of classic Tiki cocktails. One recipe is the original, other bartenders try to match the flavor, get relatively close and poof, new recipe for the same drink.

In honor of the Beijing Olympics we have decided to declare this week to be Tiki week at CocktailHacker.com … Now, what exactly do high-octane, super-sweet cocktails have to do with the Beijing Olympics, I am not entirely sure, but the important thing to remember is that it is now officially Tiki week at CocktailHacker.com.

In honor of Tiki Week at CocktailHacker.com, we will be mixing it up a little, instead of investigating one cocktail, we will post several different cocktail recipes, along with our tasting notes, and any modifications we might have made, throughout the week.

Tiki drink “culture” is dominated by two imposing figures, Trader Vic and his friendly competitor Donn “the Beachcomber” Beach. The rivalry that existed between these two individual competitors lead to a great deal of secrecy, resulting in a wide variety of recipes for each cocktail. We will discuss this rivalry further in the coming week.

To get the week rolling:

The Mai Tai:

[Ingredients]

1 oz Gold Rum

1 oz Dark Rum

1 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz Lime Juice

1/2 oz Orgeat Syrup

Garnish: Maraschino Cherry, Pineapple, Mint Sprig

[Directions]

1) Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice

2) Strain into an old fashioned glass over crushed ice

3) Garnish with fruits and mint

4) Serve with a straw

Or, try one of the many variations.

Yeah, I’m totally drinking with Michael!