North Shore News – 3.20.11
Bartenders serve an education
By Tim Pawsey, Special To North Shore News March 20, 2011
To be totally honest, we weren’t sure precisely what to expect from Tales of the Cocktail — the three-day shake-a-thon from New Orleans that rolled into town this past week.
However, with 10 years under their belt and an impressive line-up of speakers, seminars and no shortage of conviviality, with 500 confirmed to attend, we were sure this would be one serious cocktail of a convention.
One thing we have learned over the years is a healthy respect for bartenders, to try to drink across from them (and not necessarily with them)–and never to doubt the extent or scope of liquor-ious knowledge they can impart.
The latter was reconfirmed in spades over the duration of the festival, which never failed to entertain, stimulate and educate, starting out with the initial de rigueur shooter at registration–the perky, peppery Don Julio Tequila Snap Crackle & Drop artfully tailored to match my ‘Radical/Sociable/Passionate’ personality.
Evidently it worked! In seconds I was primed and ready to move on to bigger (and better) things, such as: the (not at all sweet tasting) Grand Marnier Grand Splash (a recipe we’ll definitely revisit come summer); and the seductively creamy Appalachian Flip, a far too dangerously quaffable concoction of soon-to-arrive Root (made from sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch bark and other roots and herbs) with pale ale and egg white.
We’ve seen people carve everything from polar bears to salmon-clutching eagles out of blocks of ice. However, nothing really quite compares to the technical prowess displayed by Hendrick’s ambassador Jon Santer, as he deftly reduced a giant block of ice to near-usable mini-bricks with his trusty (and definitely oil-free) electric chainsaw. It definitely helped put the buzz into superstar mixologist Charlotte Voisey’s informative primer on the history of ice.
Long ago, in another city, I was introduced to the joys of Beefeater Gin by my eccentric (and therefore favourite) late uncle Rick — who, among other things, drove a second-hand London taxi and was a reservist with the Honourable Artillery Company. Part of those activities involved getting dressed up as a pikeman and musketeer, occasionally with some Yeomen connections. Which led him to believe that no self-respecting Londoner would use anything other than Beefeater to make what I’m sure was the driest martini on earth. As for Vermouth?
“Just show it the cap, my boy.”
Maybe for that reason I appreciated an informative chat from Beefeater master distiller Desmond Payne (who insists he’s “the oldest gin distiller on the planet”).
Payne delivered the perfect potted history of London gin, along with three excellent recipes: a perfect Collins; a revival of the classic Vancouver Cocktail (that used to be served at the Sylvia Hotel’s “Dine in the Sky”); and this classic morning pick me up, The English Breakfast Cocktail, which is made as follows:
2 oz. Beefeater — 24 Tea Infused Gin
1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 oz. egg white
* oz. sugar syrup
* tsp. marmalade
Shake with crushed ice, strain and garnish with zested orange peel. Serve . . . in a teacup.
Cheers Ricky!
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