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my mai tai
I love rum. A lot. A great local tiki restaurant here in Columbus has a drink called Rum and Happiness, and for me that pretty much describes any drink that has rum in it. Coconut is one of the aromatics in this recipe: one of the three types of rum is infused with it, and the coconut water (which is one of the unique modifications I’ve made to make it “my mai tai”) adds another dimension of tropical nuttiness. If you can find raw coconut water, such as Harmless Harvest, all the better. my mai tai 1 cup dark and/or spiced rum ¾ cup coconut rum ½ cup citrus rum ¾ cup triple sec or mango vodka 1½ cups mango lemonade (or ¾ cup mango nectar plus ¾ cup lemonade) 1 cup orange juice 1 cup pineapple juice 2 cups raw coconut water (also may use flavored, such as mango, peach, or pineapple) 1 cup pomegranate, blueberry or other dark juice One can lemon-lime soda or sparkling lemonade Add all ingredients except soda to a bottle with a cap. Shake well. Transfer to a pitcher, add soda and stir very gently. Serve with a fresh pineapple wedge on each glass. (Umbrella is optional!) Makes about eight servings. All quantities should be adjusted to suit your taste, and feel free to experiment as well. I sometimes add lychee juice, for example, because I love the taste. The only real requirements for a mai tai is lots of rum and tropical fruit...
read moreinfused simple syrup
Most of us at one time or another have probably put sugar crystals into a tall glass of iced tea or other cold beverage, only to spend the next ten minutes stirring until all the granules have dissolved. There has to be a better way! There is. A simple syrup is sugar-sweetened water, which blends immediately and effortlessly with most any drink. (The Japanese have already figured this out, and you can get cute little capsules of simple syrup at any coffee shop, while we chumps here in the U.S. continue to have to stir the contents of sugar packets into our cold beverages. But I digress…) Your basic simple syrup recipe usually specifies a sugar-to-water ratio of 2:1. That will yield 3 cups of a nice sweet liquid that you can store in your refrigerator for up to a month. Very handy. But the possibilities go well beyond such a simple, simple syrup. You can add just about any aromatic (herb, spice, floral, tea, etc.) to flavor it, which opens up a vast range of specific flavoring uses. simple syrup 2 cups sugar 1 cup water Place the sugar and water into a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, approximately 3 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add whatever aromatic you desire, making sure to bruise or crumple it (if possible) to release more of the flavor-intense oils. Allow to cool completely, then strain the liquid into an airtight storage container to remove the aromatic, and refrigerate for up to one month. Yield: 3 cups A few examples of suggested aromatics: Cinnamon stick Coconut Dried flowers (hibiscus, lavender, roses, etc. – just make sure they are food-grade) Fresh or dried citrus peel or slices (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, yuzu, etc.) Fresh or dried fruits (strawberries, raspberries, etc. Fresh or dried herbs (basil, mint, thyme, cilantro, rosemary, etc.) Tea (black, Earl Grey, green, herbal, matcha, etc.) Toasted nuts (hazelnuts, for example) Vanilla bean I have not provided quantities for the aromatics because it really is a matter of taste. It also depends on the intended use; if it will pair with strong flavors, you’ll want to make a more intensely flavored syrup. After it has cooled, taste your simple syrup in its intended application, and then make any adjustment that may be needed for your preference and purpose. You can make your finished product more strongly flavored by adding more of the aromatic and letting it steep overnight in the refrigerator (strain it again to remove the aromatic) or less strongly flavored by making a small recipe of simple syrup and adding it to your infused...
read moreexxxtra-minty mojito
The mojito may be my favorite cocktail. When the weather warms up, there are few things more refreshing than a tall glass of minty, sweet and tart goodness. I take an atypical approach to my mojito, however. If you’ve ever ordered one at a bar or restaurant, you’ve probably received a clear liquid with a few whole mint leaves swimming around. Tasty, but not nearly as tasty as it could be. I consider the amount of mint, and the degree to which it gets muddled, to be entirely insufficient for my tastes when it’s made correctly. You’ll notice that my mojitos are green. Really green. In fact, the xxx in the name is because it’s obscenely minty. Don’t worry – it’s not toothpaste minty. Just really fresh, green, delicious minty, which is offset beautifully with sweet and tart elements. I use a lot of mint, and I muddle it really well. Seriously – I don’t “bruise” it – I pulverize it. Don’t worry about those lovely little pieces of mint leaves floating around – they only enhance the aromatic qualities of this beautiful beverage from Cuba. The holes in a typical cocktail shaker lid will allow only the smallest pieces through; or, you can pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer before serving if you prefer to have no pieces of mint. exxxtra-minty mojito About 25 fresh mint leaves Half a fresh lime, juiced 1/8 tsp sugar (the coarser, the better) Two shots of light rum (I like Bacardi Limón for this recipe) Lemon-lime soda Put the mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add the fresh lime juice and then sprinkle the sugar on top, and muddle well. Really well. Like, to the point where there are no leaves, only bits and pieces. Add the rum and some ice, cover, and shake well. Put ice into two 6-8 ounce glasses and strain equal amounts of the contents of the shaker into the two glasses. Fill glasses with lemon-lime soda and stir gently. Makes two...
read moreinfused cocktails
I will never forgot my first herb-infused cocktail. It was a lovely white wine sangria at Chef Jose Garces’s Philadelphia restaurant Amada. Long before he became an Iron Chef, he was a very well respected Philadelphia icon. I didn’t know this at the time, however. All I knew as I walked by it while strolling through the Old City neighborhood was that this was a Spanish restaurant that I had to try. As I sipped the sangria, I wondered what was giving it such a uniquely refreshing quality. It was rosemary. That blew my mind. And it forever changed how I think about cocktails and new cocktail recipes. Seven years later, it now serves as the inspiration for this blog – and ultimately a book – about using aromatics to infuse cocktails in new and delicious ways. When talking about beverages, infusing just means that an aromatic – an herb, spice, fruit, tea, flower, etc. – is placed into a liquid and given time to impart its flavor. Heat speeds up the process, but is not always desirable or appropriate for beverages we may wish to make. Take sangria, for example. The fruit, as well as the rosemary that I always include, will lend their flavors nicely if left overnight in the refrigerator. On the other hand, if I wish to make an herb-infused simple syrup, I may want to take advantage of the heat, placing an herb into the mixture for awhile before straining and storing it for use in future cocktails. Whatever the method, it is generally preferable to bruise, crumple or crush the aromatic (if possible) in order to release its flavor-intensive oils before adding it to the liquid to be infused. Infusing presents the cocktail creator with nearly endless possibilities. Some of the recipes in this section use refrigeration overnight, while others use a heated liquid for steeping. They may require a little planning ahead and additional time, but your patience will be rewarded. However, you also will find recipes in this section featuring aromatic liqueurs, which means that the infusion has already been done for you; all you need to do is add it to a few other ingredients....
read moreshaken cocktails
Using a cocktail shaker is much more than just a cool-looking way to mix a drink. It actually performs several important functions: Shaking with ice helps chill the mixture before pouring it into in a glass, so it’s ready to drink and doesn’t melt the ice in the glass as quickly. Shaking with ice also helps bruise or crush any herbs or other aromatics that you have added. This process helps release oils and other flavor-intense elements to produce a better-tasting cocktail. Most shakers have a built-in strainer in the lid that helps keep your drink neat by preventing the larger chunks of ice and ingredients from getting into the serving glass. Shaking also helps incorporate thicker liquids into the mixure more effectively, such as fruit juices, dairy products, egg, etc., producing a smoother cocktail. (Try my mai tai and see for yourself!) Because all of the recipes in this section use various aromatics that will benefit from this process, shaking will generally be preferable to stirring. (Stirring is thought to be a better approach for some spirits considered more delicate, like gin and whiskey.) If you don’t yet have a cocktail shaker, purchase one that’s high quality and feels good in your hands, and shake it,...
read moremuddled cocktails
My muddler and I have had a lot of good times together. It helps me get out some pent-up aggression and I get a tasty cocktail out of the deal. You might say it’s therapeutic. I bought my first muddler in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the House of Bacardi. I knew I would use it when I make my exxxtra-minty mojitos. I had no idea that I would use it as frequently as I do, and with many different kinds of herbs, fruits, and other aromatics. Muddling is the technique that inspired the name Crushed Cocktails. A muddler is a long, thin utensil, usually with teeth on one end. It looks kind of like it could be a kinky sex toy, but it’s not – it’s used to bruise and crush various aromatics to help them release their flavors. Typically, the aromatic is muddled with sugar and a small quantity of liquid before other ingredients are added. How much or how little you muddle something depends on how much flavor you wish to impart to your cocktail, and whether you want large or small pieces of it in your cocktail. (No pieces also is an option; just use a fine mesh strainer.) All of the recipes in this section require a muddler. I recommend a metal one with plastic teeth and a comfortable handle end, but you also can purchase a wooden one if you prefer. If you have a mortar and pestle, that may work for some applications, but if you’re going to make more than one muddled cocktail, it’s best to make the very small investment in a muddler. My recipes usually specify that the muddling be done in a cocktail shaker, but it also can be done in the serving glass if you want all of the pieces to remain in the cocktail. Get yourself one of these sleek and sexy tools, and muddle...
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