Here’s what Becky has to say:

Your excellent Negroni post reminded me that I had been meaning to describe a recent (anti)cocktail experience I had with a friend.

He took me to the annual summer T-Market–which started a few years ago as an outdoor bazaar where Tel Aviv silk-screeners, street artists, and independent designers would sell (you guessed it) t-shirts showcasing their graphics/art/logos/whatever. It’s now become something of an institution for the insufferable hipster set, and has expanded to include visual art, men and women’s apparel, booth outposts from a lot of the coolest new boutiques, live music, DJs, food, and, naturally, alcohol.

Seems like these shirts would about some up Becky’s experience

It’s a young, energetic, but eminently polished, stylishly curated event, with clipboard-toting PR flacks at every entrance talking into bluetooth headsets, security, funky outdoor lighting, corporate sponosorship, the works.

AND THIS IS WHAT WAS BEING SERVED AT THE “BARS” on either end of the outdoor market:
–Goldstar (undistinguished Israeli beer)
–Tubourg (another undistinguished Israeli beer)
–”Red Bull and Vodka” which is both incredibly foul and also indisputably the most popular mixed-drink (I refuse to call it a cocktail) in all of Israel. Also, to make it more confounding, “Red Bull and Vodka” is *never* made with Red Bull, but instead with one of two local “energy drink” brands, the most common one of which is called XL.
–And Campari. In Negronis? No. Americanos? No. Maybe, just, Campari and soda? No. And not on the rocks either. Just 1 inch of lukewarm, incadescently red-orange Campari, lonesome and bereft in a flimsy plastic SOLO cup. Served during the height of a sizzling-hot Israeli summer afternoon.

WHO DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT? AND WHY?

Infusion is the key to making home mixology sparkle.  Half the fun is making drinks that I can’t get in a restaurant or bar.  My home drinks are mostly distinguished by quality: most bars use mixes and shortcuts.  But increasingly, they are also distinguished by unique ingredients.

I’ve made mention of using various infusions already, but some questions I’ve received suggest that other home mixologists are still suffering from a crisis of confidence when it comes to infusing things on their own.

How to infuse?  Simply take some liquor and put something that provides a new flavor into the liquor.  Leave it overnight.  Strain out the non-liquid item.  DONE!

There are methods of hot infusion that some bars use for consistency.  I don’t have the inclination to bother.  I kind of like each infusion to be different.  It changes my drink-making inspiration.  That said, some infusions are simple and reliable:

1) Lavender and gin – Buy lavender at the store in the herb section.  Pick it fresh; don’t use the dried kind

2) Jalapeno and tequila – need I elaborate?  But watch out, because this can get VERY HOT.  It’s ok if it does… I just put in a little and use uninfused tequila for most of the drink

3) Dill and vodka – this is fantastic for bloody mary’s, or even a simple vodka-tonic.

And taking it to the next level, keep in mind the potential of infusions for:

• Ice.  Not even an infusion really, but you don’t risk a bottle of liquor being wasted.  Last year we hosted a Kentucky Derby event, and EE had the excellent idea of making mint-infused tea and turning it into ice cubes.  Just pour boiling water over whatever you want the ice to taste like, then freeze the water in ice cube trays.  This was great for the party, because it easily enabled guests to make themselves truly minty mint juleps.
• Gifts.  A shout-out to some of my Texan kin, who gave pineapple-infused vodka to various family members (including me, of course) for Christmas.  It was a very charming and obviously useful present.  Tessa loves a practical gift.  I shared mine with the crowd in the form of brunch blood  mary’s, and later, a refreshing evening cocktail involving tonic, lemon, and an ancient Galliano-like liqueur I found in my grandparents’ bar.

If you really want to go to the next level, you can start making you own liqueurs, but that’s a topic for another time.

The Bevvy Alexander.  A cocktail for cold nights.

I’ve been needing to get this up for a while, and now I’ve just about missed the season, but there are some chilly spring nights to come.

The excellent request made by a lovely guest: a great cocktail that’s warm, for when the weather is cold

I looked around and found lots of cider recipes and coffee-based drinks.  I hate apple juice.  I like my coffee to be coffee.  Ultimately, I just made a good cocktail and added hot water.  This may sound cheap, random, not very well-considered, I don’t know, just sort of wrong.  My guest liked it, though.  And, if I wanted a hot drink, I’d like it too.

At the end of the day, the Bevvy Alexander is hot and it tastes good.  It looks good too, in a lovely sort of way.  What’s wrong with that?

Ingredients

1/2 darker rum

1/2 Stone‘s ginger currant wine

1/4 Maraschino liqueur

few drops lavender & bergamot infused vodka

a squeeze of agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in a teacup (they should fill about 1/3 to 1/2 of it) and top with very hot water.  Stir and garnish with a twist.

Bloody Marys are the undisputed heavyweight in the daytime/brunch drink arena (sure, mimosas and champagne are typically present, but they aren’t as thick and strong tasting).  The problem with Bloody Marys is that many of them are very bad.  In fact, I can’t figure out why they haven’t faced a general ban resulting from the all-too frequent rail vodka poured into pre-made mix by a hungover waiter who is filling in as a bartender.  I get sort of worked up about how bad many Bloody Marys can be, because when they are well-made, they are really, shockingly, amazingly uplifting.

There are a few ground rules to making uplifting Bloody Marys:

1.  The critical ingredient in Bloody Mary preparation is coffee.  Do not attempt to make any brunch drinks without a cup of coffee helping you out.  In addition to increased alertness around the Cuisinart blades (crucial to not cutting your fingers off), many people will drink coffee around the same time that they drink the Bloody Mary you are making.  It is important that you season the drink to play well with coffee.

2.  The most important ingredient to the drink itself is fresh tomatoes.  Do not use canned juice.  Do not use something from a jug.  The only tomato in the thing should be the kind you buy whole.  Any tomato will work, but I believe campari tomatoes are best.  If campari are unavailable, go for grape or cherry.  The idea is to use a sweet tomato.

3.  Never, ever use vodka, unless something interesting and complementary is infused into it.  I learned this the first time I had a Bloody Mary that I really loved.  The bartender at Fortnum & Mason offered to make my drink with gin.  Liking gin, I agreed.  I have never looked back.  Always order your Bloody Marys with gin; you will have a more enjoyable drink even if you don’t usually drink gin.

Making the Drink

coffee, horseradish, Tabasco, lime, spicy pickles, celery salt, tomatoes, garlic salt, salt, Worcestershire Sauce, black pepper, more tomatoes

Unlike most things I post, this one has a lot of ingredients.  There is also substantial flexibility as to which ingredients one does or does not include.  You can vary it to suit your taste, or simply because you don’t happen to have something – totally fine.  Whatever substitutions you make, remember a few things:

1. Salt (lots) is a must! Raw tomato juice is horrible without salt.  If you remove a salty ingredient, replace the salt.
2. Spice is a must!  It doesn’t need to be killer, but it needs a little bite.
3. Citrus is good.  Tangy-ness really helps cut the mouthfeel of the drink and actually reduces the salt needed.

All that said, the recipe below will make about 1.5 liters of Virgin Mary (i.e., Bloody Mary mix).  If you combine that with about 0.5 liters of liquor, you’ll have at least 10-12 servings.

Today, our friends hosted and cooked; I brought the Bloody Mary’s in my trusty Tupperware pitcher.  They travel well.

Ingredients

4 pints tomatoes (seeded)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons spicy pickle juice (whatever you can find, but McClure’s pickles, available at the Brooklyn Larder, rock!)

2.5 teaspoons horseradish

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

lots of salt (keep tasting and adding)

lots of coarse ground black pepper (keep tasting and grinding)

garlic salt

celery salt

First, seed the tomatoes.  This isn’t an absolute necessity, but the seeds are bitter and make the drink less pleasant to consume.  Not every seed has to be out, mind you.  My method is to cut all the tomatoes in half (width-wise) and then just squeeze the seeds out.  Basically, you just squish each tomato half and they pop out.

cut the tomatoes width-wise, as shown

Put all the tomatoes and other ingredients in a food processor or mixer (food processor will work best if you have one).  I throw in ingredients as I get tomatoes seeded.  This method allows me to taste as I go.

Fill a glass (tumbler or tall) with ice, add the liquor of your choosing – again, gin is the best go-to, but I used dill-infused vodka today (thanks to Sherry for this fabulous idea).  Pour in the mix you just created and garnish with olives, celery, and/or anything pickled.

Enjoy - the day is still young.

I’ve gotten requests to help others start their home Mixology Stations, and that is just what this post will attempt to do.  Luckily I’ve been asked to opine on this topic previously and another time the in-laws asked what was needed for a fun Christmas.  The answer was about the same…

Rude interruption from the readership rabble: “Tess, you’re a dork, why not just call it a bar?”

Bite me.

A bar is more complicated, and sounds a bit trashy to bring into one’s home.  More importantly, though, this blog is about mixology, not say, beer and wine.  I’m not saying I’m never going to write about beer or wine, but I don’t mix beer and wine.  I think we would all agree that beer and/or wine would be a part of any bar.

Alright then, on with it.

Tools

There are some basics that you have to have.  I wouldn’t buy anything too gimmicky, but I’m not sure you can get by without the following:

• shaker
• jigger
• stirrer
• strainer

Glassware

Drink from your morning latte’s crumpled Solo cup if it fits the circs.  If you’re going for the more traditional style or registering for your wedding, start with at least four of each:

• high ball glasses
• martini glasses
• tumblers

Liquor

“I only like X!”  Then only buy X.  Why fight it?  But if you want to be able to host with the basics, some basics are required.  All of these are placed here with the idea of MIXING drinks (remember, this is building a Mixology Station), so if you get all high and mighty about what is best on its own, then buy that for serving on its own.  If you’re a fiend for labels and want multiple high-end whatever, then by all means, get more of that whatever.  I won’t object anytime you add another bottle to the cart.  Basics:

• Gin – I keep Sapphire and Hendricks and think gin is basically the best base liquor
• Whiskey – you need at least one, even if you don’t drink it, regardless of what I said before.  They should be (in order of importance):
  • Bourbon – don’t spend a ton, but make it good.  I recommend Buffalo Trace
  • Scotch – something in the middle range if you’re not into scotch already
  • Rye – whatever you can find.  It’s needed for Manhattans
• Tequila

Am I really leaving off vodka?  Damn straight I am!  Unless it is infused, it does nothing for mixing flavors.  If you want to stock it, go for it, but buy something really cheap for mixing, as people truly can’t tell the difference.  I also left off rum.  Rum is hard.  Poor rum, go marry a Coke.

Liqueurs and Such

SHOCKER: The real key to mixology is not the liquor, but the random stuff you have to put in it.  This becomes more subjective, but the list below is ordered with necessities at the top and things I prefer descending below:

• Cointreau – no way around it, this is critical
• Vermouth – sweet (red/Italian) and dry (white/French)
• Bitters – keep at least Angostura.  Look for specialty flavors like Fee Brothers or Regan for Orange/Lemon/Peach, etc.
• St. Germain’s Elderflower liqueur – just makes mixology too easy
• Campari – I love the stuff, turns a drink red, people accuse me of having a girly drink, and then I give them a taste…
• Absinthe – I’m using LeTournement and think it adds great flavors
• Domaine de Canton’s Ginger liqueur – great way to spice things up

This is a starter list.  Recipes will call for all kinds of junk, but you can pretty much cheat using the first three items in this list.

Other Things You’ll Need

• Citrus – mainly limes, but some lemon too
• Olives – they can be be in vermouth in a jar in the fridge indefinitely
• Onions – get the ones in sweet vermouth; I’ll write many odes to them in posts to come
• Fruit juices – unsweetened cranberry is #1, after that it just depends
• Any fruit you can put in the freezer – blueberries and cranberries are particularly useful
• Mint – you can freeze this too
• Sparkling water – feel free to get a siphon
• Tonic – particularly in the summer

Wait, I don’t have this much space, you’re not a dork, you’re a nut!

If you go with the first two items in each list, you’ll be fine.  A lot of where and how to store things comes down to aesthetics, and there’s nothing wrong with picking your bottles to enhance your decor.  Plus, you should use the fridge.  I keep the gin, plus the citrus, olives, etc in the old icebox.  My own bar cart is pictured at the beginning of the post, but I also think a minimalist setup like the below is sweet.  Make your own, since this is expensive:

Ultimately, your Mixology Station should match your style.  If it limits your menu, so be it.  Just be sure you limit it to drinks you like.

Ingredients, Stations, Mix!

Luckily, all that changed this weekend.

Fully understanding this tale requires a very short trip in the way-back machine to last June.  I was down at Buckeye Farm (a stunning country house in Rappahannock County, VA, recently featured on Apartment Therapy and owned by some lovely people to whom Tessa-boy is lucky enough to be related by marriage) celebrating the end of the CFA Level I exam.  We’d been making various cocktails throughout the long weekend when I entered into a conversation with my hostess about how she could use as many of the fresh and beautiful herbs she had grown as possible.  We decided we should create simple syrups and infused liquors.  I set about harvesting lavender, rosemary, and dill before leaving the next day.

Herbs and flowers flourishing on Buckeye Farm

The lavender and rosemary were mostly boiled, strained, and then re-boiled with sugar added in to create syrups.  I took some jars of these syrups with me and left some at the Farm.  I also took three Ball jars and filled them thus:

1) lavender and gin

2) rosemary and gin

3) dill and vodka

When I returned to the Farm this weekend, the three jars (along with some remaining lavender syrup) were waiting patiently.  The lavender was darkest, a rich caramel color.  The rosemary was the most aromatic, with a light yellowish-green hue. The dill was the lightest of all.

All three were amazing for martinis or simple concoctions with a liqueur/syrup added in – the dill made a spectacular vodka-tonic.

But the real value of the whole enterprise was the Sunday night barbecue with about 20 people.  When helping prepare for the event, people were clear that we should use these locally (from the garden we would be sitting in) flavored drinks to enhance the milieu.  I realized that trying to introduce 20 people to unfamiliar drinks could be awkward and take lots of time.  Plus, this is the country: people have to drive home (on dark winding roads, no less).

PUNCH

The elegant solution happened to be a trendy one.  I could make punches that would use the local ingredients, match the rustic/historic feel of the area, refresh the party, and prevent my bed being taken by guests too sodden to drive.  By all accounts the plan worked.  Here’s what I made:

Buckeye Farm Gin Punch

0.5 cups lavender gin

1 cup gin

0.5 cup lavender syrup

0.25 cups chamomile grappa

1.5 cups French lemonade

a little dry vermouth

a splash of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

0.5 cups powdered sugar

2 lemons

peach bitters

Tweak it to taste in a pitcher, then double the amount of liquid with sparkling water.  Pour into a punch bowl with a single block of ice that has fruit pieces frozen into it.

Rose Sparkler

1 bottle sparkling rose

0.5 cup Cointreau

0.5 cup St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1.5 cup orangeade

orange bitters

Tweak it to taste in a pitcher, then double the amount of liquid with sparkling water.  Pour into a punch bowl with a single block of ice that has fruit pieces frozen into it.