Camper English's Blog, page 67
January 26, 2017
I Guess We'll Put Hops in Anything Now
Hops have long been used as preservatives and flavoring in beer, but recently the bitter, floral vine is making its way into spirits, cider, and now even canned wine.
It's been several years now since we the release of Charbay's Hop-Flavored Whiskeys, and increasingly whiskey makers are distilling bottle-ready beer with hops. I reported on that a year or so ago for Whisky Advocate.
We've also seen other hopped spirits: I believe that Anchor's Hophead Vodka was the first, and since then several hopped gins have hit the market and at least one hopped rum.
But this week alone I saw hops moving into new categories (or at least new-to-me ones). It turns out that hopped cider isn't as new as I thought it was, as this round-up from 2012 proves. But I just learned of it. Maybe I should stick to cocktails.
Today I received a press release for hopped sauvignon blanc in a can from Infinite Monkey Theorem. (Talk about hitting multiple trends...). From the release:
Inspired by the incredible success of the Dry Hopped Pear Cider launched in 2015, IMT set off to create a harmonious collaboration of wine and beer. The Dry Hopped SB is made with Citra hops giving the product aromatic characteristics of grapefruit citrus, melon and tropical fruits like lychee and passion fruit. Combined with the beloved Sauvignon Blanc varietal, imbibers can expect a crisp, bright, acidic finish.
Hopped wine was new to me (and I wouldn't expect to enjoy it), but it turns out there are also a couple other brands of it on the market - just not in a can.
So there's that.
January 24, 2017
So you think you're a bartender now?
When I'm making cocktails at events I'm often asked where else I bartend. The answer is "nowhere."
When I'm talking to my bartender friends and mention making cocktails, they all say some version of, "Wait what? You're bartending now?" The answer is "sorta."
In the last two or three years I've been making thousands of drinks each year, but pretty much all of them are served at events and conferences. I design, prepare, and serve cocktails, usually with an educational component or display. Themes have ranged from "Hey, shrubs!" to "Frozen Dinosaur Incubator Laboratory." A fair portion of my income now comes from this activity.
So yes, I make drinks for a living. But no, I've never had to serve drinks while taking money from customers. I'm slow enough at just cranking out partially-batched drinks in sufficient time (while providing excellent customer service and education though), but let's not kid ourselves.
I bartend, but I'm not really a bartender. Dancing around your living room doesn't make you a ballerina.
photo credit: Google, Inc.
p.s. If you want to hire me to bartend there is some info here.
January 19, 2017
Iceberg Animal Ice Molds Let you Experience Local Cooling in your Glass
Forgive me, I struggled with that headline.
Hey, I found these new kind of ice cube trays (on my regular search of new ice cube trays) that are pretty fun, if not totally clear. (I tried to hack them to make them come out clear, not very hard, but it didn't work.)
They're animals on top of ice cubes so that they float above the surface of your drink. It's like they're stranded on the rapidly-dissapearing polar ice caps- ADORABLY!
As your friendly neighborhood ice reviewer, I felt it my duty to purchase and test these trays. I bought two of them - a larger one and a bargain model. First, that latter.
The Fivebop Silicone Polar Ice Cube Molds come in Penguin and Polar Bear shapes. They only cost 13 dollars on Amazon (follow that link). They are smaller than the Monos brand ones - so if you put them in a warm drink they might not last long. I suspect that they're not quite as sturdy as the other ones but they worked well enough!
The monos 3D Ice Cube Mold Savanna comes in two versions: Lion & Hippopotamus Set and the Elephant & Gorilla Set. (They also have a Penguin and Polar Bear set that looks exactly like the Fivebop one but it's not available - not sure what's up with that.) I bought the Lion and Hippo one, as you can see from the below.
Good times with ice!
For all of the ice experiments on Alcademics, including how to make perfectly clear ice with Directional Freezing, see the Index of Ice Experiments Page.
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January 18, 2017
Three Cocktail Science Events at Museums This February
For seven (!) years now the Exploratorium in San Francisco has offered a major event/fundraiser called The Science of Cocktails. Now other science museums are getting in on the action.
As science and cocktails are pretty much my two favorite things (with Baywatch coming in a close third), I wish I could attend all of these. Museum-hopping meets bar-hopping? IN.
The original: Science of Cocktails at The Exploratorium in San Francisco
Site: Link here
Date: Feb 3, 2017
Description:
Science of Cocktails blends the unique beer, wine, and cocktail culture of the Bay Area with the Exploratorium’s hands-on explorations of science and art. Learn about the distillation process, check out the chemistry behind brewing beer, or discover your favorite new vintage. San Francisco’s most spirited fundraiser sells out every year, and you don’t want to miss it.
Proceeds from Science of Cocktails go toward the Exploratorium's innovative educational programs. The Lab is proud to support these important initiatives and strives to educate young patrons about these programs.
A portion of your ticket purchase is tax deductible. The membership portion of packages is fully tax deductible.
Northern Science: Science of Cocktails at Science World in Vancouver
Site: Link here
Date: Feb 9th, 2017
Description:
Celebrate the Artistry of Mixology and the Science Behind it. On February 9, 2017, the Science of Cocktails signature fundraiser will transform Science World at TELUS World of Science into Vancouver’s largest laboratory, where the city’s most talented bartenders and chefs will showcase the chemistry, biology and physics behind preparing modern cocktails and cuisine. Each ticket includes complimentary cocktails from 20+ bar stations run by award-winning bartenders, paired with 12 food stations featuring molecular gastronomy from local talent. You will also enjoy a variety of special cocktail science activities, hands-on science demonstrations and classic Science World fun. Ticket proceeds will support Science World’s Class Field Trips for underserved schools in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
A portion of your ticket purchase is tax deductible.
The Newbie: Science with a Twist at the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix
Site: Link here
Date: February 20, 20917
Description:
We're starting 2017 off in the roaring 20's. Join us for this adults-only event as we travel back in time to a prohibition era-inspired party which includes science with a Speakeasy twist. Dress as a flapper, bootlegger or gangster and enjoy food, music and specialty cocktails including Highball and Gin Ricky while roaming all four levels of the Center.
January 17, 2017
Detroit! Join me for a Gin & Tonic event on January 29
Citizens of Detroit, I'll be coming to your fair (and cold) city for an event at Sugar House on January 29.
Bartenders of Detroit, I'll also be speaking on a different topic at a USBG event at Bad Luck the next day, January 30.
Public Event: Camper English talks Gin & Tonic
At this event guests get a copy of my book and 2 drinks for $30 total. Buy tickets here.
Gin and Tonic Time!
Join us in welcoming Camper English to Detroit to talk about his new little book on the Gin & Tonic. The recipe of this cocktail classic is simple enough (the answer is in the name- so he didn’t bother putting it in the book) but the drink has a long and hilarious history involving Dr. Seuss, the Bubonic Plague, cats airdropped onto Borneo, the invention of the color mauve, cobweb-sucking, blood-drinking, and the Panama Canal. It’s a cool story. Camper will be telling tales from the book while you’ll be enjoying cocktails.
Tickets include:
- Meet and greet with Camper English starting at 5pm.
- A fun talk by Camper on his new book.
- Book signing after the presentation.
- Two drink tickets
- One copy of the book (softcover, ~80 pages)
Camper English is a freelance booze journalist and the man behind Alcademics.com. He has written for publications including Saveur, Popular Science, the San Francisco Chronicle, Fine Cooking, Cook’s Science, Whisky Advocate, and Imbibe, and has been the North American poling coordinator for the World’s 50 Best Bars list for several years. Camper has visited over 120 distilleries, blending houses, and bodegas in more than 20 countries, judges cocktail contests internationally, and is a popular speaker at cocktail conventions around the globe.
USBG Bartender Event: Water on the Brain
This is an event just for members of the local USBG chapter. Register here.
Members! Join us on Monday January 30th as we host Water on the Brain with Camper English
In this nerdy talk on water in spirits and cocktails, we’ll look at some of the ways water matters and some ways it doesn’t - no matter what the marketing departments say. When making spirits, water is added during fermentation, distillation, and barrel- and bottle-proofing, but not all of that water is created equal. We’ll study sources and styles of water, survey some innovative uses of good old H2O, get technical about dilution (should you add water to whisky or whisky to water?), call into question the concept of “bourbon & branch,” and do a super cool tasting that demonstrates the massive impact a small change of water can make. Finally we’ll get bubbly examining carbonated water, both commercial and homemade, and propose some experiments to keep you busy long after the talk.
Camper English is a freelance booze journalist and always “that guy” on the distillery tour with the never-ending questions. He has written for publications including Saveur, Popular Science, the San Francisco Chronicle, Fine Cooking, Cook’s Science, Whisky Advocate, and Imbibe, and has been the North American poling coordinator for the World’s 50 Best Bars list for several years. Camper has visited over 120 distilleries, blending houses, and bodegas in more than 20 countries, has judged cocktail contests internationally, is a member of the United States Bartenders' Guild, and passed the 5-day B.A.R. course. His website is Alcademics.com.
I hope to see/meet you at one or both events!
January 16, 2017
Abstract Cocktail Menus You Don't Need To Read
Who needs to read when you can choose cocktails based on your other abilities? These three bars let you pick drinks based on your choice of perfume, your association with memory, and your taste in art.
Evocative Menu from Little Red Door, Paris
The menu of Paris' Little Red Door is a thick book of illustrations with no obvious words on it - until you pull out the flaps accompanying each image. Each artwork is a "visual representations of the flavour experience" so drinkers can simply choose drinks based on how it makes them feel, rather than reading anything about it should they not want to bother.
The menu itself feels like an art object, and I hear from Remy Savage that the next menu will be based on the Brutalist architecture movement. I can't wait to see how that plays out!
Read more about the menu and program from The Cocktail Lovers here.
Perfume-Inspired Menu at Fragrances at the Ritz-Carlton, Berlin
The cocktail menu here is based on famous scents from Giorgio Armani, Bulgari and Guerlain. Rather than a printed or scented paper, the "menu" is an area with cocktail ingredients under bell jars and accompanying perfumes. Drinkers walk through and choose their drinks by their noses- or by looking at the ingredients in the cocktail dioramas. I'm bummed I didn't visit this bar when I was in Berlin this fall.
Sensorium Menu, Tipping Club, Singapore
The Sensorium menu launched in fall 2016, and is a group of scent strips offered to drinkers poking out from a cocktail strainer. The strips/cocktails are meant to evoke memories, and include Rain, Campfire, Grass, and Forest among others.
They're no standard drinks - this is a molecular mixology/gastronomy joint with chef/owner Ryan Clift and newish head bartender Joe Schofield - so they include things like a sonicated Negroni to make it taste barrel-aged, and an edible rock(!) as garnish on the Rain cocktail.
Check out the artsy, I-want-to-go-to-there video on the Tippling Club's website.
They sent along a press kit so I'll use their photos:
I love where this stuff is going. Bring on more abstract cocktail menus!
January 13, 2017
New Booze 2017
This year I am going to try something a little different with New Booze. Rather than post a monthly round-up of new products hitting the market, I'll keep a running blog post throughout the year with the newest entries on top. We'll see how it goes.
1/13/17: “Zmaj” Serbian juniper barrel aged absinthe from Copper & Kings American Brandy Co.
Matured 18 months in Serbian Juniper wood barrels, the double-distilled Muscat brandy base, non-chill filtered spirit is unadulterated by any post distillation infusion of flavors or essences.
(130 proof/65% ABV) $60 per 750mL bottle
1/13/17: J.A. Magnus Reserve Bourbon
Washington, D.C based distillery, Jos. A. Magnus & Co., is proud to announce the creation of their latest limited edition bourbon, J.A. Magnus Reserve at suggested retail of $1,000 a bottle. Only 192 bottles were made. Once they are gone this product will never exist again.
J.A. Magnus Reserve is a cask strength blend of two rare "honey barrels" comprised of 16 and 18 year straight bourbons which were hand-selected by Master Blender Nancy "The Nose" Fraley.
Brands Skipping the Education Intermediaries and Going Directly to Consumers
They say that robots are coming for our jobs. It's true in the booze world too, if your job is a journalist or a brand ambassador.
Typically, liquor brands' websites are all about 'lifestyle'- lots of videos and images of people and parties and fun times and cocktail recipes and hardly any detailed brand information whatsoever. You never know how a spirit is actually made (beyond the basics) from their own information. They're commercials, really. This seems to be truer the larger the brand.
For more interesting and detailed information, curious consumers could read traditional magazines or search the internet and find sites like Alcademics (the best!) for super nerdy details about a spirit they enjoy, but you'd never learn it from the brands themselves. Now I think that's starting to change.
It seems to me many brands are developing educational programs that do or will engage curious consumers directly, rather than indirectly through media. It's the same with the industry - why hire brand ambassadors as intermediaries if you can go right to the bartenders?
In a recent story that quotes Charles Gibb, the president of Belvedere vodka, he says:
“Before the financial crisis people were all about celebration, parties. It was an overtly celebratory time. But in the aftermath you saw people interrogating things more, asking more questions. Suddenly people were wanting to talk to us about the environment. They weren’t doing that 15 years ago,” he says.
“Before the crisis, I think if you tried to tell the vodka story the consumer was less interested. Today I think the expansion of social media and access to information means that as a brand your ability to be transparent is critical to having authenticity. So we ask people to come walk around our distillery, see how we distil, meet the rye farmer. If people can’t be there directly, how can we still tell this story in a virtual way? We’re increasingly looking at ways that we can do that and tell that story.”
Let's Get Cyber
Enter the 3D goggles: Brands including Patron, Sipsmith, Bowmore, Hendrick's, and others have all tried to strap me into their 3D virtual reality 'experience,' in my home city or at various cocktail conventions. While some of the virtual tours are a little more artsy and abstract, many of these videos are 'visiting the distillery' experiences simulating a press trip.
Given the choice, I'd prefer the real life version of those.
For now the challenge is that the brands have to bring their own goggles to consumers/bartenders, set up a space, and lure people in. In the future, they might be able to simply offer them for download when those things become more commonly owned by individuals.
Advanced Degrees
I'm also starting to see more high-level consumer education programs being rolled out. There have been a few I haven't taken much notice of (so forgive the lack of detail) but as I was writing this post an announcement crossed my desk that pointed to the future.
It's for Johnnie Walker's "new digital mentorship program, leading a new year of whisky education that can be enjoyed right at home!"
From the press release:
Johnnie Walker has developed a progressive collaboration with Amazon to develop an innovative Alexa skill that allows consumers to experience the full Johnnie Walker portfolio and learn about the brand’s rich history.
The Johnnie Walker Alexa skill allows consumers to immerse themselves in an entertaining and educational whisky tasting, all without ever having to leave the comfort of their own home. Staying in just got that much better!
So what happens once you say, “Alexa, open Johnnie Walker”? You’ll then be guided through a clever, personalized whisky tasting, hear anecdotes from the storied Johnnie Walker history to up your whisky knowledge and learn unique, new cocktail recipes to re-create at home.
You can talk to your computer devices and get a richer brand experience and guided tasting.
These new apps/devices will not only decrease the need for spirits brands to rely on media stories (perhaps going back to typical ad spends to increase awareness), they can also hire less brand ambassadors and educators:
With these new programs the brands don't have to send an ambassador to a local market; just set up a bunch of goggles in the corner of the mall or release an interactive experience in an app.
The future is coming, so let's each plan appropriately.
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January 12, 2017
A Look at the Cocktails at Flip Flop, the Reservations-Only Bar Inside ABV
Inside ABV in San Francisco is a small balcony room recently renovated to include an additional bar and some tall shared tables. They're calling the space Overproof, and it will have four themes over the next year. The first is called Flip Flop and it's dedicated to rum. The whole space is decorated in a tropical, 70's sunsets and Cuban posters theme. This will all change when it converts to a whisky bar with a different name in three months, so prepare to get your kilt dry-cleaned.
There are two seatings nightly, and for 80 bucks inclusive of tax and tip, attendees are given a tasting menu of 5 smaller-than-usual drinks and 5 bites, though they emphasize that it's neither a dinner nor a cocktail pairing.
There are no substitutions available on the food or drinks, so your friendly neighborhood vegetarian won't be eating there any time soon, but I did get in for a look at the cocktails on the current menu.
Hurricane Sandy is a bright little number with rum, passionfruit, lemon, and Cappelletti in the glass, and a spray of cochineal-dyed-red rum on top.
Pink Flamingo is a take on the Jungle Bird with agricole rhum and "tiki-aperitif"- a custom aperitif blend they made in place of Campari.
"Cuba Libre" is a take on the rum and Coke, but in the form of a bottled, carbonated cocktail that contains no Coke at all. Instead it has rum, Bonal, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, and is carbonated and served from a glass Coke bottle.
Coconut Daisy is a play on the Daisy de Santiago with toasted coconut-infused rum that gives it a nice complexity.
Pineapple Bum is a bottled cocktail with Stiggins Fancy pineapple rum, Cappelletti, and rancio wine, served in a glass with water frozen into it. The rum and rancio combination is delicious and caramel-like; a great end to the tasting menu.
Reservations are available at the Overproof website.
January 11, 2017
Oxymel: The Other Vinegar Drink
I've reported on shrubs (vinegar-based fruit syrups) for years, and only a couple years ago learned about switchels. Now I've just learned about Oxymel.
A while back I posted on the difference between a shrub and a switchel, thanks to Brandon Wise of Imperial in Portland, OR.
Recently, Humberto Marques, Owner/manager of Curfew Cocktail Bar in Copenhagen, sent me a recipe with oxymel in it. I needed to know more.
A quick internet search reveals this definition from Emily Han, author of the book Wild Drinks & Cocktails: Handcrafted Squashes, Shrubs, Switchels, Tonics, and Infusions to Mix at Home:
DRINKING VINEGARS AT A GLANCE:
• SHRUB = VINEGAR + SWEETENER + FRUIT … AND SOMETIMES HERBS AND SPICES
• SWITCHEL = VINEGAR + SWEETENER + GINGER … AND SOMETIMES RUM
• OXYMEL = VINEGAR + HONEY + HERBS
Darcy O'Neil also has a good post about oxymel and other vinegar drinks.
Marques repeated some info he posted at Liquor.com here, plus shared a recipe.
Here is is:
Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel (by Humberto Marques of Curfew Cocktail Bar)
3cl Parsley, sage , rosemary and thyme Oxymel
5cl Tanqueray gin
3cl apple& rosehip marmalade
4cl lemon juice
1,5cl frangelico
Shake all the ingredients and strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish: hazelnut powder floating
Herbs oxymel- 1 liter
in a blender:
2- sprig of parsley, sage , rosemary and thyme
1 litter of acacia honey
280ml apple cider vinegar
Liquidise in the blender , strain and filter , keep refrigerated.
Thanks Humberto!
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