NEW ORLEANS — Most of us who enjoy a libation are perfectly comfortable with pouring ourselves or our guests a glass of wine or a shot of bourbon. But we tend to head to the local watering hole when the urge for a fancier cocktail strikes.
“Consumers are intimidated to make great cocktails at home,” says Tony Abou-Ganim, also known as the Modern Mixologist, a consultant based in Las Vegas who specializes in bar staff training, product education and cocktail development. “Only the high and mighty priests behind the mahogany are entitled.” But it doesn’t have to be that way, he says, if you gather the right gear and outfit your home bar with superior spirits, fresh mixers and inventive garnishes.
Abou-Ganim, who created the cocktail program for the 22 bars at Las Vegas’ Bellagio resort, conducted a seminar titled “Tools of the Trade” during July’s Tales of the Cocktail, the fourth annual exploration and celebration of the history and spirit of the cocktail at various locations in New Orleans ’ French Quarter. Events included discussions by bartenders and award-winning chefs on subjects such as Classic New Orleans Cocktails, Pairing Cocktails and Food, Libations and Literature, Absinthe, Bourbon Academy, Hot Drinks / Cool Bars, Vodka Classics, and Caketails and Pie-tinis, along with book signings by food and drink authors, spirits dinners (like wine dinners, but with cocktails ), and walking tours of the French Quarter.
Before you send out party invitations, go shopping, he advises. Here’s what you’ll need.
1. A Boston shaker. Components are a 16-ounce mixing glass (the same size as a pint-size beer glass ) that can be fitted into a 24-oz. metal mixing tumbler. It’s used with two strainers, one that’s flat and shaped like a spoon with a spring edge (the Hawthorn ) used with the tin, and another with a curved metal bowl with holes in it, called the Julep, that’s used with the glass. “If you only get one tool for your bar, this is it,” he says.
2. A three-piece shaker. Usually made of glass or plastic, it tapers from top to bottom, has a built-in strainer and includes a cap that can be used as a measure for spirits or other liquids.
3. A twisted-stem mixing spoon. It’s used for stirring drinks.
4. A paring knife. You’ll need it to prepare garnishes and for slicing lemons, limes, peaches, etc.
5. A muddler.
6. A jigger for measuring.
7. Liquors, liqueurs, mixers and juices. What should you buy ? “Ask yourself — what do you like to drink ? Look out for yourself — or your significant other — first,” says Abou-Ganim.
When assembling items such as tomato juice to use in making a Bloody Mary, he suggests spending a little more on small cans. “Like a first-aid kit, you’ll always have tomato juice when you need it. If you buy a big can, you won’t use it all and end up throwing it out and not having any the next time.” Same thing with sweet and dry vermouths; if you don’t use them all that much, buy smaller bottles, as the bigger bottles will not improve with age.
8. Glassware. “Get rid of those jam jars from your college days and go buy some nice glassware,” he says. “Serve cocktails in cold glasses; put them in the freezer for an hour before serving.” 9. Ice. “Make sure your ice is fresh,” Abou-Ganim says. “Nothing will screw a cocktail up faster than bad ice. Don’t use that aluminum tray full of old ice that’s been under a pack of frozen salmon in the back of the freezer for who knows how long. It’ll taste like salmon and ruin your drink.” Now we’ll move on to how to use the tools you’ve assembled. “I like to do twists on classic cocktail recipes like the Bloody Mary,” he says, so that’s where we’ll start.
You’ll need vodka (he prefers Polish or Russian vodka, which he says stands up better to mixing with other tastes ), tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, fresh lemon, and any other ingredient you’d like to add — horseradish, dry mustard, chiles.
Balance is important, Abou-Ganim says. Measure your ingredients, either with a jigger or by eyeballing.
Pour about 2 ounces of vodka into the glass of a Boston shaker. Add 3 ounces of tomato juice (or to taste ), Tabasco, Worcestershire, a pinch of kosher salt, a grind of black pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon (remove the seeds before squeezing ). Add ice. Don’t shake; instead, roll the liquid from the glass to the tin and back. Fill a serving glass with fresh ice and strain the drink into the glass. Don’t serve it with the same ice you used to mix it. Garnish with a lemon slice. Next, we’ll make a martini. Gin or vodka ? “I like gin,” Abou-Ganim says, but it’s up to you.
Martinis are made with liquor and dry vermouth, which makes them a spirits-only drink. “Most spirits-only drinks [like Manhattans ] are stirred, but I love ice shards in a martini from the shaking. That’s why I like mine shaken, not stirred,” he says.
Chill a cocktail glass, also known as a martini glass.
Fill a three-piece strainer 3 1 / 4 full of ice. Add / 2 ounce dry vermouth to the ice to season it. Pour out the excess vermouth plus the diluted water. “Smell it — beautiful !” he says with enthusiasm.
On to the gin. “I think of types of gin as being feminine and masculine, depending on how the botanicals are blended in them,” he says. “Beefeater, with juniper and coriander, has masculine tones. Bombay sapphire is a citrus gin that’s feminine.” Choose whichever suits you, add a generous 2 ounces to the seasoned ice, seal the shaker, and shake 20 times.
Get the chilled glass out of the freezer. Starting on the inside rim of the glass, pour the drink in a circular motion. Add an olive garnish. “One olive is elegant, two is proper, three becomes a meal,” Abou-Ganim says. Have fun with garnishes. Use marinated green beans. Take pimentos out of Spanish olives and replace them with garlic or blue cheese or almonds.
The Negroni is an elegant drink, which Abou-Ganim describes as “a benchmark to see how committed the bartender is. I once had a guy give me a Negro Modelo [Mexican beer ] when I ordered one. Another bartender told me that his bar didn’t stock ‘Negroni.’ It’s not a spirit. It’s a drink made of equal parts gin [he likes to use a feminine type but encourages others to experiment ], sweet vermouth and Campari. It’s stirred because it’s spirits only and is served straight up.” He digresses for a moment to talk about Campari. “Campari is made of herbs, barks, spices and alcohol, sweetened with sugar and colored with carmine [a natural dye ]. It’s got a bittersweet taste. Sometimes when people are making a Campari and soda, they think they’ll dilute the bitterness by adding lots of soda. But too much soda dilutes the sugar and enhances the bitter. If you serve Campari and soda, use a 50-50 ratio. Garnish with an orange slice; orange is a perfect complement to Campari.” Back to the Negroni. Add all the spirits to an ice-filled glass shaker and work the bowl of your twisted spoon from top to bottom. Pour into a cocktail (martini ) glass and garnish with a slice of burnt orange.
A what ?! Don’t fret, it’s easier than you think. Cut a 1 / 2 inch by 1-inch peel off a large firm thickskinned navel orange. Get just the skin and as little of the pith as possible. Holding the ends of the orange peel between the thumb and first two fingers with skin facing out, hold a lighted match over the glass with the orange peel about an inch away from the flame. Squeeze the peel quickly and firmly. If you do it right, a burst of flame will come from the oils being released from the orange peel, leaving a wonderful scent. Drop the twist into the drink to add a note of orange flavor.
Let’s have a mojito ! “Make them from scratch,” Abou-Ganim says. “I’ve not found a mix that tastes as good as fresh ingredients. It’s the love you put into it.” You’ll need 12-14 mint leaves plus a nice sprig for a garnish, fresh limes, simple syrup (recipe below ), rum and club soda.
“Limes will oxidize in 15-20 minutes when cut, so don’t cut them until you’re ready to use them,” he says. Put the mint leaves in a glass shaker and add 3 / 4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice. Pick out the right limes: Bright green, thin skinned, soft, and stored at room temperature. Clip the nibs (ends ) before squeezing, and don’t let the pith get into the drink because it’s bitter. Add the same amount of simple syrup as lime juice. To make simple syrup, mix equal volumes of sugar and water, boil, cool, and store in the refrigerator. “It lasts forever,” he says. Hold the base of the glass, grab a muddler (which looks like a little baseball bat ) and crush the ingredients against the sides of the glass. Add crushed ice (put cubes in a plastic bag and beat them with a muddler 1 to crush ) and 1 / 2 ounces rum (choose a light-bodied rum that complements subtle flavors like lime and mint ). Stir well. Add a splash of club soda. Pour into a glass. Garnish with mint sprig. We’ll finish our lesson with a Cosmopolitan. Assemble citrus vodka, Cointreau (an orangeflavored liqueur ), fresh lime and cranberry juice. “With any 1 cocktail, use 1 / 2 to 2 parts predominant spirit (in this case, vodka ), one part modifying spirit (Cointreau ), plus acid 3 (juices ). Fill a tin shaker / 4 full of ice. Add liquors, a squeeze of lime, and cranberry juice, which accents with color and tartness. It should be a pink drink.” Seal the tin with the glass shaker, then shake forward and on an angle. “Is that not the greatest sound on the planet ?” he asks. Use a Hawthorn strainer and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon zest.
For more drink recipes, visit Abou-Ganim’s Web site at www. themodernmixologist. com.
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