February Drink of the Month - Pisco Sour

For my birthday this year, I decided to find a new bartending book for myself. Amazon was helpful in suggesting the "PDT Cocktail Book," and I couldn't be happier with my purchase. There are hundreds of unique recipes as well as plenty of classic cocktails. While some of the recipes call for liquors our of my price range (I am a humble graduate student, after all), I can make most of them with a little liberal substitution.

I love new books because they challenge me to try new techniques or new ingredients. Ever since adding the Aruba to my repertoire last month, I've been on an egg white kick. I love the froth and texture that it adds to drinks, and making drinks with raw eggs never fails to impress folks. This month's drink, the Pisco Sour, continues my egg white trend using a new ingredient - Chilean (or Peruvian) brandy called Pisco.

All brandy is made from distilled grapes. Just as in wine, different grapes lend themselves to slightly different flavored brandies, leading to flavor differences between the classic French Cognacs or Armagnacs. There are a few other significant steps in the distillation process that lend unique flavors - for instance, Armagnac is traditionally made using a column still while Cognac is made using a copper pot still (similar to Irish whiskey). The final step in producing fine brandy is to allow it to age in oak casks for a period of time. The oak gives the otherwise clear spirit its distinctive golden color and imparts much of the caramel flavor to brandies.

Pisco is different in that it is never aged. It is distilled from a blend of either Chilean or Peruvian grapes in a copper pot still, but it is then placed in either glass or stainless steel containers to rest for a period of time. The result is a clear liquor that still retains a strong "fruit-forward" flavor that stands out all the more because of the lack of oak-infused flavor. Right now, Brandy is my favorite cocktail base - Pisco is fun to mix with because its strong floral notes make it just different enough that it totally changes the flavor profile of almost any brandy drink.

Here is the recipe for the Pisco Sour, courtesy of the PDT Cocktail book:

In a cocktail shaker, combine:
2 oz Pisco*
3/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
1 egg white

Dry shake these ingredients for 5-10 seconds to allow the egg white to emulsify. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds until frothy. Strain and serve in a coupe glass - you should have a nice 1/2 to 1 inch or so of foam on top of your drink. Add 3-4 drops of Angostura bitters on top and serve.

*A quick note on Pisco brands: Pisco comes in several varieties - Chilean, Peruvian, and now several American distillers also make Pisco. There is debate which country - Peru or Chile - gave rise to Pisco. It appears that Peru has a better claim, but I use Chilean "Capel" Pisco, as it is the most affordable. You can find decent Capel Pisco for under $15 a bottle. Peruvian Machu Pisco is a much nicer spirit, but will cost closer to $30-35.

Enjoy your Pisco Sour! 

January Drink of the Month - Tropical Trio

Happy New Year to you all from Bar Kiley! I spent my New Years in Minneapolis, MN this year, where the high temperature on January 1st was a balmy -6°. Things didn't get much better upon returning to South Bend, where it has been snowing for the last two days. I've made it my personal mission to fight off the winter doldrums - we're fighting back against Old Man Winter here at Bar Kiley this month by featuring a trio of tropical drinks to help put you in a warm place, even if the warmth only goes to your stomach...

Drink #1: Mai Tai

Maita'i is the Tahitian word for "good" and this drink certainly lives up to its billing. Most people credit the Mai Tai to Trader Vic's restaurant in California in the mid 1940s, but it may have originated as early as 1933. There are two very different ways to build a Mai Tai - one results in an understated drink heavy on rum flavor with a bit of citrus and almond and the other gives you an incredibly sweet, fruity drink. I greatly prefer the classic Mai Tai, but both will do wonders to keep you feeling tropical!

Classic Mai Tai:
In a cocktail shaker, combine:
2 oz white rum
3/4 oz orange curacao (triple sec will do here in a pinch)
3/4 oz orgeat syrup*
1/2 oz lime juice

Use the back of the bar spoon to float your dark rum. You
can also pour down the spoon if you have a spiral-cut
bar spoon, which is a great tool to own!

Shake over ice and strain. Then, using the back of a bar spoon, float 1 oz dark rum on the top of the drink.
The dark rum is lighter than the drink you've made and will float on top of the rum mixture as long as you pour it slowly and distribute it over a larger surface area (hence the use of the spoon). Garnish with a pineapple section and serve.

* Orgeat syrup is so named because it was originally made with barley (Orgeat is a version of the Latin word hordeata - "made with barley). It is an almond flavored syrup made from almonds, sugar, and rose or orange flower water. It is a milky color and gives the Mai Tai its distinctive flavor. You could make your own Orgeat syrup at home, but there are also pre-made syrups available at most liquor stores.

My stop light Mai Tai

Fruity Mai Tai:
In a cocktail shaker, combine:
1 oz light rum
1 oz apricot brandy
3 oz orange juice
3 oz pineapple juice

Shake over ice and strain. Then slowly sink 1 oz grenadine to the bottom of the glass. The grenadine syrup is quite heavy and should settle to the bottom forming a nice red layer. Then, repeating the step from the Classic Mai Tai, float 1 oz dark rum on top of the drink using a bar spoon. Serve with a straw or cocktail stirrer. The drink will have a pretty three-layer look, but you will want to stir it up before imbibing.

Drink #2: Aruba

The Aruba cocktail also features Orgeat syrup, but uses gin as its base liquor. It features hints of orange, lemon and almond to compliment the gin and uses egg white to create a pleasant frothy layer on top. (Scared of using egg whites? Ty it, the gin and lemon will kill all the bugs, so never fear! Still squeamish? Read this article from the Washington Post, and then give it a try anyway!)

In a cocktail shaker, combine:
2 oz gin
1/2 oz white curacao (again, triple sec works in a pinch)
1/2 of an egg white
1 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz orgeat syrup

Shake over ice, strain and serve in a highball glass with a lemon ring garnish. The egg white should produce a nice foam that will sit on top of the drink. Seriously, make sure you use the egg white - its worth it! If you read the Post article, the Clover Club is another excellent drink - try it some time (maybe we'll feature it in a future post...)

Drink #3: The Blue Hawaiian

Finally, you can't have a feature on tropical drinks without adding the Blue Hawaiian, which is the only reason most bartenders own Blue Curacao (although you may remember the Blue Orchid from August which also uses Blue Curacao). This drink combines rum with pineapple and coconut cream and is often topped with extravagant tropical garnishes. Plus, it's blue - guests tend to notice that fact when its served....

In a cocktail shaker, combine:
1 oz blue curacao
1 oz coconut cream (Coco Real is the brand I most often find in the store, often in the mixers section next to the grenadine and lime juice)
2 oz light rum
2 oz pineapple juice

Shake over ice, strain and serve. Impress your friends with your blue drink making expertise and your over-the-top garnishes. If you start with a pineapple wedge, you can use a toothpick to add all sorts of flair - orange wheels, cherries, limes and even prickly pear!

Before we go,one quick note concerning rum: Just in case anyone needed this cleared up, there are three basic types of rum: white rum, light/golden rum, and dark rum. All three of these varieties are sold as-is, but you can also find spiced versions of all three types. Bacardi is the most common white & light rum, and Meyers is the most commonly used dark rum. Captain Morgans is an example of light spiced rum, while Kraken is an example of dark spiced rum. You can substitute spiced rum in any of these recipes, but note that the flavor profile will change a bit as a result. When making a Mai Tai or a Blue Hawaiian, make sure you use the right type of rum - don't try to float Bacardi Gold in your Mai Tai, you'll be disappointed with the results!

Enjoy your Tropical Trios!