Monthly Archives

May 2022

5 Tequila Cocktails to Elevate Your Cinco de May Celebrations

By | Mixology News

There’s been a lot of stirring lately about the meaning of Cinco de Mayo and why we celebrate.

 

We like to celebrate this important day in Mexican history with sophisticated cocktails that celebrate Mexican culture.

 

The beautifully bottled Kah Tequila is an ultra-premium tequila created to honor Mexican people and their traditions. Check out these 5 elevated cocktails to bring a little class to your Cinco de Mayo.

 


 

El Diablo

El Diablo Cocktail

Credit: Daniel Schwartz

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 oz KAH Tequila Blanco⁠
  • 1/2 oz fresh lime juice⁠
  • 1/3 oz crème de cassis liqueur⁠
  • 3 oz ginger beer⁠
  • Blackberry and lime for garnish⁠

Preparation: In a cocktail shaker, combine KAH® Tequila Blanco, fresh lime juice, and crème de cassis liqueur. Add ice, then shake. Strain into a Collins glass and top with ginger beer. Garnish with blackberry and lime wheel.

 

 

Rosita

Rosita Cocktail

Credit: Daniel Schwartz

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 oz KAH Tequila Reposado⁠
  • 1 oz Campari⁠
  • 1/2 oz dry vermouth⁠
  • 1/2 oz sweet vermouth⁠
  • 1 dash angostura bitters⁠
  • Orange peel for garnish ⁠

Preparation: In a mixing glass, combine ingredients and add ice. Stir until chilled, then straight into a rocks glass over ice. Express orange peel and garnish with orange peel.

 

 

Matador

Matador Cocktail

Credit: Daniel Schwartz

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 oz KAH Tequila Añejo
  • 2 oz pineapple juice⁠
  • 1 oz fresh lime juice⁠
  • Bar spoon of sugar syrup⁠
  • Pineapple slices for garnish⁠

Preparation: In a cocktail shaker, combine ingredients and add ice. Shake, then double strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with pineapple slice.

 

 

KAHdillac Margarita

KAHdillac Cocktail

Credit: Daniel Schwartz

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz KAH Tequila Reposado⁠
  • 3/4 oz Cointreau ⁠
  • 1 oz fresh lime juice⁠
  • 1/4 oz agave syrup⁠
  • Float Grand Marnier⁠
  • Salt for rim⁠

Preparation: Add KAH Reposado, Cointreau, lime juice, and agave syrup to a cocktail shaker and shake, then strain into a rimmed glass filled with ice. Float Grand Mariner on top and serve.

 

 

La Madre Tierra

La Madre Tierra Cocktail

Credit: Daniel Schwartz

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz KAH® Tequila Blanco⁠
  • 1/2 oz Sirop J.M. ⁠
  • 1 oz Pineapple juice⁠
  • 1/2 oz Lime juice⁠
  • 1/12 tsp spirulina⁠
  • Edible flower for garnish⁠

Preparation: In a cocktail shaker, combine ingredients and fill with ice. Shake until chilled then strain into a coupe. Garnish with an edible flower.

 

 

 

 

The post 5 Tequila Cocktails to Elevate Your Cinco de May Celebrations appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Meet Jon Mateer, Chilled 100 Member and Spirits Awards Judge

By | Mixology News

Food & Beverage manager of St. Augustine’s TPC Sawgrass, Member of the Chilled 100 and one of our esteemed Chilled 100 Spirits Awards Judges gives us his thoughts on the best way to create memorable cocktails and where he thinks cocktail culture is headed.

 


 

What inspired you to become a bartender?

I think that like a lot of individuals who join this industry, I never planned on becoming a bartender. Bartending was something that called out to me initially. I had bartended in a few bars throughout college, but when I went to graduate school and continued bartending something finally clicked for me. I was spending time, energy, and money pursuing a career through school that I didn’t actually love. I was just going through the motions of what I thought was expected of me from everyone around me. But bartending – now that was something that had my full attention. Each and every shift was challenging, exciting, and presented amazing opportunities. The people working in those bars were actual humans – not just stuffy shirts focused on publishing the next big article in a scholarly journal. Bartending also gave me an avenue for creativity that I never had before. Working with new and fresh ingredients every day was incredible. Hopping behind the bar was the first time in my life that I was genuinely excited about what I was doing, and I haven’t looked back since.

 

Where do you tend bar now? What makes it unique?

I’m currently working as the Food & Beverage Manager at TPC Sawgrass working for the PGA Tour. It’s an incredible opportunity to be working for a program that is pushing the industry forwards in terms of not just food and beverage, but also in the world of hospitality. The thing that makes TPC Sawgrass so unique is that we’re not just there for private members – we’re open to the public to join us as well! We have two beautiful golf courses, a full-service restaurant, beautiful views of the course as you dine from our verandah, and access to some of the best golf facilities in the country. We’re constantly pushing innovation in terms of food and beverage while staying grounded in amazing hospitality for our guests.

 

Who has been most influential in your development as a bartender?

If there was ever one person who was the most influential in my development as a bartender, it would absolutely be my wife, Jessica. She was the first person to believe in me that I could make a career out of working in this industry. She’s been by my side since day one – we even met working in the trenches at a bar together. Jess has pushed and encouraged me to continue to grow and learn in ways I never thought possible. She’s always there to taste my drinks, convince to stop overthinking naming cocktails, and guide me towards the next step in my career and personal growth.

 

Do you have any advice for novice or at home bartenders?

The best pieces of advice that I could give novice and at home bartenders are these: • Get behind a bar! The best way to learn about making drinks is to get behind the sticks and start making drinks! If you’re a novice bartender or bar enthusiast, there are tons of bars all over the country who would love to have you working part-time a few days a week. You’ll get the exposure and training to take your game to the next level. • Drink what you like and don’t let anyone tell you differently. • Read. Read. Read. I’ve found that the second-best thing that helped me become a bartender, other than being behind the bar, is to pick up a book about the craft and dive into it. There are some amazing resources available now that weren’t available ten years ago. I’ve always believed that if others have paved the road to success in front of you, you should walk down that road. Take their experiences and expand upon them and learn from them! • Don’t get overwhelmed. At the end of the day, it’s just putting liquids in cups.

 

What is your favorite ingredient right now and why?

I think my favorite ingredient right now has to be coconut – in every form. Coconut is so incredibly versatile in creating unique flavors. You can use coconut oil to fat wash spirits, use the flesh to create creams or infused garnishes, use coconut water to thin out cocktails while adding tremendous flavor or turn that water into ice cubes for your cocktail as well. Coconut, as a flavor, isn’t confined to the world of tropical drinks. It can elevate a Manhattan or Negroni to the next level just as much as it can a Daiquiri or Mojito.

 

How do you go about creating a cocktail? Is there a specific process or simply a moment of inspiration?

I think creating new cocktails is such a unique experience for each individual bartender – the same way painting is unique to each artist – we just use spirits and fresh ingredients instead of paint and a canvas. For me personally, inspiration comes from a few different avenues. I like to work with new ingredients and if I find one I haven’t worked with before, I deconstruct it in every way imaginable. I juice it, dehydrate it, clarify it, fatwash it, candy it, gelatinize it, infuse it, turn it into non-traditional glassware – you name it, I’ll experiment with it. The goal is to find the best use of the ingredient for the style of cocktail that you’re looking to make. I also like to look to the classics and other bartenders for inspiration. Classics are classics for a reason; they’re the building blocks for every cocktail you see on a menu when you go out to dine or celebrate. Other bartenders are also an amazing resource! Social media has connected us in ways we never thought possible, and you can find so many great things through that avenue. Maybe a bartender at another bar has a really cool infusion or syrup that you want to use? Reach out to them and ask about it! Maybe that one ingredient spawns a new concept you never thought of before and then all of sudden you’ve got an entire cocktail menu based on the uses of turmeric or beets. The sky is truly the limit for inspiration.

 

Do you have a special technique you use or a tip for making a particular drink?

I think that special techniques for bartends aren’t always practical for every single bar. Each bar has its own challenges and opportunities that are unique to that venue. Something that works at one bar, might not even be possible at another bar. The two biggest things that helped me grow as a bartender was learning how to make drinks from the bottom up and mastering round building. By building drinks from the bottom, you start by working with the cheapest ingredient first. This way, if you make a mistake during a busy night in the weeds behind the bar, you aren’t throwing out two ounces of spirits, but instead a few dashes of bitters and some lemon juice. Round building was also crucial in my growth as a bartender. If you’re making a daiquiri, a Mai tai, and a pisco sour – picking up that bottle of lime juice once, instead of three times, helps make drinks so much faster.

 

Where do you see the bartending/cocktail culture headed?

I think the next step for bartending is expanding on the experience for the guest. We’re in an age where anyone can make an amazing cocktail – it’s not just the high-end craft bars anymore. The big decision to consider is why the guest is willing to come to your establishment instead of someone else’s. What are you offering to increase their experience? Is it amazing hospitality? Is it an absolutely stunning interior? Maybe your bar has an interactive component to it? Do you have great drink specials? Maybe you just tell really great dad jokes that keep them coming back? Elevating the cocktail experience while also providing hospitality is definitely the next frontier for cocktail culture that is going to set bars apart from one another.

 


 

Local Legend

Jon Mateer’s original cocktail

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Coconut Fat washed Bourbon
  • 1 tsp Demerara Syrup (2:1)
  • 2 Dashes Tiki Bitters
  • 1 Dash Angostura Bitters
  • 1 Dash Saline solution (7:1)

Preparation: Stir and strain over a large rock into a rocks glass / Garnish with two pineapple fronds, a pinch of nori seaweed, and an edible flower. To make the coconut fat washed bourbon – Combine 1/2 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil with 500mL of bourbon in a sealable container. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Then, seal the container and place the mixture into the freezer overnight (12 hours minimum). Remove from the freezer and scoop the “hockey puck” from the top of the container. The hockey puck is the leftover fat from the coconut that doesn’t infuse into the spirit. Strain the remaining bourbon through a coffee filter, nut bag, or mesh chinois. Store and keep refrigerated to enjoy!

 

Mateer.jonathan@gmail.com

The post Meet Jon Mateer, Chilled 100 Member and Spirits Awards Judge appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Summer Obsession: Whiskey Ice Pops

By | Mixology News

Summer is coming, it’s time to break out our favorite boozy treats.

The SLIQ Spirited Ice’s Whiskey Frozen Cocktails are a great way to stay cool with three unique flavors—apple, ginger, and cola. Crafted with barrel-stored bourbon, these hard pops are gluten-free, vegan and kosher and have less than 100 calories and 8% ABV per pop!

 

We asked Gavin Wegner, Senior Brand Manager to tell us more about the latest flavor launch for SLIQ Spirited Ice.

 


 

Tell us about SLIQ’s Whiskey- the latest launch.

SLIQ’s Whiskey Frozen Cocktails are the first Whiskey-based pops to market—joining the core product lineup alongside our Rum, Agave, and Vodka-based offerings. Infused with premium barrel-aged bourbon, each naturally flavored pop delivers 8% ABV at only 90 calories. Putting a new-fashioned twist on a classic spirit, the variety pack contains an assortment of three popular highball flavors – Apple, Ginger, and Cola – ensuring there’s a frozen cocktail choice for all taste buds out there. Launching into select retailers nationwide, including Walmart, and available online beginning in April, SLIQ Whiskey will be promoted heavily through digital media/creators and major partners like Barstool Sports.

 

What is the inspiration for whiskey SLIQ’s?

When we launched with Rum, Agave, and Vodka packs in 2021, we always knew a Whiskey offering would be our next innovation. With this spirit booming in the market, it made all the more sense to capitalize on the consumer demand with an alternative consumption format. There also hasn’t been anything like this released within the RTF category, so we wanted to be the first mover here. As noted already, this new pack fully rounds out our portfolio of options for consumers to choose their preferred pack based on their respective spirit tastes and interests.

What about the different flavors?

Instead of going down the path of developing more ‘high end’ whiskey cocktails like an Old-Fashioned or Manhattan in a frozen format, our intent was to keep things simple yet refreshing. No whiskey cocktail fits that mold better than a highball. So we chose three of the most popular highball cocktails – a Whiskey Cola, Whiskey Apple, and Whiskey Ginger – to include in this new pack.

 

What should bartenders know about the brand?

SLIQ is not here to replace the wonderful work bartenders do by any means! SLIQ serves as an alternative way to imbibe, primarily in an at-home setting when taking out a blender and gathering all the ingredients to DIY an icy drink feels too laborious. Our intention from the start has always been to offer high-end frozen cocktails infused with top-shelf spirits and flavors that are delicious and conveniently prepared. Our full portfolio of trending options backs this up: Vodka-infused Lemonade, Cranberry & Grapefruit, and Blue Raspberry; Agave-infused Classic Margarita, Strawberry Margarita, and Mango Margarita; Rum-infused Strawberry Daiquiri, Coconut & Lime Daiquiri, Pineapple Daiquiri; Whiskey-infused Apple, Cola, and Ginger.

 

How can bartenders use SLIQ’s behind the bar?

Although establishing an on-premise presence for SLIQ has been limited to date, we have been amazed by the ways that bartenders have embraced SLIQ and gotten creative with their inclusion of the pops in existing and new drinks. This has ranged from using a pop as a floater in a small or large format beverage or even taking different flavors and leveraging them as the base ingredient to make unique daiquiri or margarita fusions. We have also seen places have great success selling the pops individually or in buckets à la seltzers and beers. The opportunities to include SLIQ on menus are truly endless, and we can’t wait to see what bartenders will whip up next with SLIQ!

 

Talk a bit about the background of the brand.

As the category leader of frozen novelties for over 60 years, our parent company, Jel Sert, has always ideated around different extensions of the format, including infusing alcohol into them for the enjoyment by a 21+ consumer. As we began to see nostalgic products become more popular and modern, ready-to-drink cocktails and seltzers surge, we believed it was time to turn the idea into a reality by putting an icy twist on these trends. After multiple years of branding, packaging, and formula development work, our own ‘baby’, SLIQ Spirited Ice, was born last year.

 

Just a year old, SLIQ is now the fastest-growing premium frozen cocktail brand that delivers unmatched variety, taste, and innovation within the exploding RTF category. We quickly established a national retail footprint in year 1 with distribution at chains such as Walmart and Albertsons, making the products available to shoppers from coast-to-coast. SLIQ’s variety of pop options were developed using only premium spirits – 7x distilled vodka, 100% blue agave spirit, Caribbean white rum and barrel-aged bourbon – to deliver a premium taste. Most importantly, consumers appreciate SLIQ being able to replicate a professionally-made frozen margarita, daiquiri, vodka or whiskey cocktail in a shelf-stable, enjoy-at-your-leisure pop format – no blender required! The variety of spirits we offer also permits enthusiasts of all backgrounds to pick and choose their preferred pack, catering to different taste buds. Each naturally flavored frozen cocktail comes perfectly portioned with the right amount of sweetness, 8% ABV, 100 calories or less, and a vegan friendly, kosher, & gluten-free ingredient list – all in a recyclable package via TerraCycle.

 

 

 

 

The post Summer Obsession: Whiskey Ice Pops appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Zip Lining in Redwoods, The Chilled 100 Bartenders tour Redwood Empire in the Trees

By | Mixology News

Zip lining among the giants along the Northern California Coast, which is one of the few places in the world where giant redwood trees grow, The Chilled 100 Bartenders got a taste of what this area inspires.

 

This same place, where Redwood Empire Distillery ages its barrels of whiskey for a slow and even extraction of flavor that produces exceptionally balanced and complex whiskey, our Chilled 100 Bartenders toured the distillery and zip lined in the Redwoods.

 

“The fact that we were successfully able to get 14 bartenders together on a Monday at 8am still blows my mind,” laughs Elliott Sneen, Brand Manager of Redwood Empire for Purple Brands. “We woke the crew up with zip lining through the trees of the Redwood Empire and then had the opportunity to sit down and learn about our how our region impacts our distinctly Californian whiskeys.”

 

Wendy Hodges, Chilled 100 Bartender National Director adds, “The outing with the Chilled 100 bartenders and Redwood Empire was amazing. The zip lining was extremely exciting, and it was a way to commune with nature and for some of us a way to triumph over our fear of heights. The best part of the day was the exclusive distillery tour! I really loved listening to Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn and Head Distiller Lauren Patz share their passion for distilling and learning how Redwood Empire whiskey is made.”

Chilled 100 Bartender Zackary Kusch of Santa Monica says, “What a truly special day spent soaring through the redwood trees in the morning, driving through the heart of the Sonoma valley and finishing at Redwood Empire’s distillery where we were greeted by a fresh batch of beautiful rye fresh from the still! It really summed up Redwood Empire’s connection to the region where it is made.”

 

Mariangela Urquizo of San Francisco adds, “It was a fun experience. It was nice doing something that just wasn’t a tasting but the brand sharing with us the community and nature that their distillery is located in.”

“A trip to zip line through the redwoods and a private whiskey tasting with Redwood Empire Whiskey, what better way to spend a Monday?” remarks bartender Courtney Guillory.

“Thank you, Chilled Magazine, and Redwood Empire distillery, for hosting such an amazing outing!!”

 

“The whole experience of zip lining amongst other industry professionals is the greatest part of our industry. Getting to overcome fears with our peers is inspiring,” shares Maxton Kennedy. “The added bonus of getting to learn and interact with the passionate people who run a great distillery who pumps out some excellent whiskeys was spectacular.”

 

“I personally can’t wait to do it all again,” concludes Elliot. “As well as paying each of these bartenders a visit on their own turf to see what Redwood Empire Whiskey cocktails they’ve dreamt up.”

 

 

 

 

The post Zip Lining in Redwoods, The Chilled 100 Bartenders tour Redwood Empire in the Trees appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Berry-Infused Cocktails

By | Mixology News

In the limelight this week are Berry-Infused Cocktails.

 

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or cranberries can all take a cocktail to the next level.

 

These natural sweeteners when mixed with alcohol can actually provide you with your daily dose of antioxidants.

 

Take advantage of berry season with these sweet drinks!

 


 

LPM Club

Created by LPM Restaurant and Bar Miami, Brickell

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 oz Tanqueray Ten Gin
  • 1/2 oz St-Germain
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 3 bsp Sugar Syrup
  • 1 Egg White (if you want to make it vegan you can use 0.75 oz methylcellulose solution*)
  • 6 fresh Raspberries muddled
  • 3 leaves fresh Basil (for garnish)

Preparation:
 Pour all the ingredients into a shaker, muddle gently for 5 seconds. 
Dry shake, and then shake with ice for 7 seconds. 
Double strain into a chilled coupette glass, garnish with a basil leaf in the center and a touch of fresh ground black pepper.

*Methylcellulose solution: mix 40 g of F50 formula of methylcellulose powder with 1.5 L of warm water, whisk well, and let it sit for an hour.

 

 

Toki Can

Created by Sushi Garage CocoWalk, Coconut Grove

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz Santori Toki
  • 3/4 oz CHAMBOR
  • 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
  • 3 Fresh Blackberries
  • Fresh Mint
  • Topped with Cranberry Juice
  • Fresh Mint and 1 blackberry (for garnish)

Preparation: In a shaking glass, muddle mint leaves and blackberries. Add simple syrup, whiskey, and stir. Add cranberry juice and ice and shake well. Strain mix into a glass over ice and garnish with a mint sprig and a blackberry.

 

 

 

 

The post Berry-Infused Cocktails appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Rye Tai

By | Mixology News

Get a sip of the rye with Sagamore Spirit RyeTai cocktail using its Rum Cask Finish Rye Whiskey, the second iteration of its Rum Cask Finish Rye Whiskey Reserve Series.

 

Interested in future releases from Sagamore Spirit? Sign-up to become a Whiskey Thief!

 


 

RyeTai

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz Rum Cask Finish Rye Whiskey
  • 2 oz Black Tea
  • 1 oz Pineapple Juice
  • 1 oz Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir to combine and strain into a high ball, topped with ice.

 

 

 

 

The post Rye Tai appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Beverage Director Ian Lokey’s Modern Approach to Wine Pairing for Bartenders

By | Mixology News

Ian Lokey, beverage director at Sushi Note, one of Los Angleles’ top omakase and wine destinations, uses a modern approach to wine tastings and pairings.

 

Who better to ask which wine goes best with our California Roll!!

 

Focused on challenging the traditionally intimidating wine culture and creating an inviting environment, Lokey strives to use his 20 years of hospitality and wine experience to create highly curated beverage lists that excites both wine enthusiasts and novices alike.

 

A veteran in the hospitality industry, prior to joining the Sushi Note team, Lokey launched his own boutique wine service  Lokey Wines, which provides private wine tastings and events, cellar curation, and wine education. We asked Lokey about his love of German and Alsatian wines that inspired him to become a sommelier and what bartenders should know about suggesting and serving wine.

 


 

Tell us a bit about your background in the industry.

I started in the service industry when I turned 16. It was instantly clear to me that I loved giving people a wonderful time. As my experience grew, I moved into more upscale styles of service, which really took off with my move to Los Angeles after graduating from college.

 

What inspired you to become a sommelier?

I was in Sonoma wine tasting with my mother who was living in San Francisco at the time. As I was tasting what was probably my fourth or fifth wine a bit of a lightbulb went off in my head. “Am I tasting blackberries?” I asked. “Yes!” they replied, and from that moment I went down a rabbit hole of what made the wines of the world so different, as well as what kinds of food they paired with.

 

Talk to us about your modern approach to wine tasting?

I don’t believe in there being a “right” answer, since on any given day that may change. However, I do believe in the science of tasting and bring that to inform my recommendations. Once you take the label and reputation out of the equation and focus on what the juice is actually like, you can find pairings that bring more pleasure for the guest because it might be a wine, they aren’t familiar with or didn’t expect to work as well as it does.

 

What advice can you give bartenders who must suggest wine to their guests on the fly?

The most obvious answer is to have back pocket wines that cover all the major types. A crisp white wine like Gruner Veltliner, a full-bodied white like Chardonnay, a light bodied red like Pinot or Gamay, and a full-bodied red like Cabernet. That casts a wide enough net that you can feel out what they want from there. Also, always keep a wine with a bit of residual sugar on hand. Most of our guests these days will say “dry”, but there is a rich history of wines with detectable sweetness, and often they can be one of the more interesting choices. Also, it’s good for guests with a bit of a sweet tooth.

 

What are some of the best wines / best value wines on the market today?

It’s no secret among my friends that I am an addict for Alsatian and German wines. It can be tough to find the higher quality ones unless you go to a nicer wine shop, but dry Rieslings, Pinot Blancs and Pinot Gris are some of the most food friendly wines out there. Grand Cru producers like Domaine Weinbach and Marcel Deiss are two sides of the regional spectrum where it’s hard to be disappointed with anything they make.
As far as best value goes, it’s hard to beat Spain and Portugal. I always tell my guests who ask “what do you buy at the grocery store” that a fifteen-dollar Spanish red can often be more pleasurable than a thirty-dollar domestic wine in a similar style.

 

If you were stranded on an Island- which wine would you want an endless supply of?

It would be insane to not say Champagne, right? I recently reminded myself about how perfect Vilmart can be, and that might’ve been the fastest I’ve ever drank a bottle of bubbles.

 

What other advice can you give bartenders who would like to sound knowledgeable about wine?

Avoid words like “smooth” or “dry”. They may not be inaccurate, but they are rather vague. Instead, ask the major questions and pair it down as you follow up.

 

Red or white? Light body or full? Earthy or fruity? That right there does about 90% of the job.

In addition, if you work in an establishment that allows tasting before you pour, it can be enlightening to pour guests a taste that you think they will enjoy without telling them what it is. I can’t tell you how many people miss out on a great wine simply because they had a bad version of it one-time years ago. As I said before, when you remove the preconceived notions and see the wine as it is, you might find a new favorite.

 

 

 

 

The post Beverage Director Ian Lokey’s Modern Approach to Wine Pairing for Bartenders appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Watch Ariel Neal Create her Filthy Dirty Martini using Barfly Mixology Gear

By | Mixology News

Barfly Mixology Gear by Mercer presents the Chilled 100 Bartenders with its popular and professional mixology tools, gaining loyal fans across the country in the process.

Bartender and CEO of beverage events company Leira Knows Cocktails and Events, Ariel Neal uses part of Barfly’s Mixology Gear Set including the Parisian cocktail shaker, atomizer, jigger, swizzle spoon and muddler, along with its bitters bottle to create her easy-to-make take on a Dirty Martini.

 

Neal enjoys using her Barfly Mixology Gear by Mercer because she finds the tools to be beautiful and ergonomically correct. She especially loves the Barfly atomizer for this cocktail, which she says is like perfume for cocktails.

 

 

Dirty Martini

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. Grey Goose vodka
  • 3-4 dashes of olive juice
  • Sprays of vermouth

Preparation: Shake and strain into Martini glass. Garnish with olive and lemon peel.

 

 

 

 

The post Watch Ariel Neal Create her Filthy Dirty Martini using Barfly Mixology Gear appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News

Bar Strength Cachaça Made for Bartenders

By | Mixology News

Novo Fogo Bar Strength Silver Cachaça is crafted for bartenders.

 

“We designed this product with bartenders in mind, as they value efficiency, knowledge, and leadership,” notes Dragos Axinte, CEO of Novo Fogo Cachaça. “The new Silver 1-liter bottle offers the ergonomics and economics to become a bartender’s favorite, while also serving as a flagbearer of cleaner business practices in our industry.”

 

With nearly 500 years of tradition and history as Brazil’s national spirit, the cachaça category has developed into a hugely diverse constellation of producers throughout the country. Novo Fogo is an ecologically sound, award-winning spirit, handcrafted in small batches at the company’s carbon negative, zero-waste distillery. We asked CEO Dragos Axinte to tell us more about the newly launched Bar Strength Silver Cachaça and the distilleries unwavering commitment to sustainability.

 

 

What should bartenders know about the cachaça category? 

Three high-level things: Cachaça is old. Cachaça is diverse. Cachaça is agricultural. As the Western Hemisphere’s first distilled cane spirit, cachaça’s origins (around 1520) predate the first accounts of rum distillation in the Caribbean by nearly a century. This geographic and cultural diversity means that there is huge variety among cachaças due to unique growing conditions for sugarcane, approaches to fermentation, distillation techniques, and barrel-aging strategies. There is a lot to experience!

 

It’s important for bartenders to understand that cachaça is an agricultural spirit, in that it is produced from the juice of an unprocessed plant. When you taste cachaça, you’ll experience flavors that emanate from the place where the sugarcane was cultivated, without any additives or cooking or alteration. It tastes raw and alive, similar to other plant-based spirits (e.g. agave spirits, unaged brandies like pisco and singani, or eaux de vie). And for bartenders who care about beverage production as a matter of sustainability, the farming and cultivation methods for sugarcane make a big impact for the earth – and on the final distillate.

 

What are some important talking points bartenders should know when suggesting cachaça to their guests?

Cachaça (ka-sha-sah) is already a tricky word to pronounce for folks who are unfamiliar with the Portuguese language, so it’s a good idea to keep it simple, fun, and welcoming: Cachaça is a unique version of rum from Brazil. It’s distilled from fresh sugarcane juice instead of molasses, so it tastes more like fresh cane (but all the sugar is distilled out, and it’s dry, not sweet!). Like tequila, cachaça can be unaged, rested, or barrel-aged, so there’s a cachaça for all kinds of preferences!

 

Bartenders—Want to enter your Environmentally Friendly Cocktail in the Novo Fogo Bar Strength Cachaça Contest? Enter HERE.

 

Tell us more about Novo Fogo Bar Strength.

Novo Fogo Bar Strength Cachaça is our latest, high-proof silver cachaça in a 1-liter bottle format designed for the bar community. It has been reformulated to allow the service industry to find the elusive intersection between high-quality spirits and cocktail menu costs. The bottle redesign features a smaller, circular footprint (3.7” at its largest diameter), a taller neck (3.5”), and a slimmer midsection that fits easily in the well and is easier to handle throughout busy shifts.

 

As a business practice, Novo Fogo maintains a negative carbon footprint for its own actions through waste minimization, organic production, the ownership and management of forested land, a growing reforestation project for threatened tree species, and the purchase of carbon offsets. But leadership in a silo is ineffective in today’s increasingly connected and congested world, so we sought to understand and take responsibility for the carbon footprint of our entire supply chain. Calculations included activities by suppliers and distribution partners upstream and downstream of Novo Fogo’s own activities, such as the production of the glass bottles, labels, corks, and cases, ocean and land freight, distributor warehouse utilities and fuel, sales and delivery activities, etc.

 

Unsurprisingly, Novo Fogo’s activities generated only 21.5% of the total emissions created in the supply chain of this product; the rest were emitted by our suppliers (45.9%) and distribution network (32.6%). We totaled these numbers and purchased carbon offsets to bring the net to neutral for the entire supply chain of the Bar Strength Cachaça; the detailed calculations are included with each case.

 

Through Native, our offsets provider partner, our carbon offset purchases financially support a project that provides water filters for 2,000 coffee-growing families in Honduras, eliminating their need to cut and burn trees for boiling water. This ultimately preserves the fragile local forest habitat and thus satisfies two core tenets of Novo Fogo’s sustainability foundation: carbon management and forest preservation.

 

We also contribute $3 per case of all bottle sales to the brand’s Un-Endangered Forest project, a program that works to remove 36 species of native Brazilian trees from the threatened list. Each bottle is made from recycled glass and the neck wrap is repurposed from plastic collected from the streets of São Paulo, Brazil.

 

The higher-proof expression presents at 43% ABV in the bottle, after resting in chemically-inert stainless steel tanks for one year. The resulting effect of intensified tropical fruit flavors takes the leading role in a broad range of cocktails, from sours to tiki drinks and twists on classics.

 

What inspired this expression?

We love bars and bartenders! We heard from a bunch of folks we trust and revere who love mixing drinks with our Silver Cachaça. To make the bottle even easier, economical, and ergonomic for bartenders to use Novo Fogo in their wells, we redesigned it (more on that below). We also bumped up the ABV by an extra 3% from our existing Silver Cachaça so it stands out boldly in cocktails.

 

What about the packaging? How is the redesign functional for bartenders?

Here are some of the bottle’s key design features:

  • The bottle measures 3.7” in diameter, leading to a smaller footprint in the bar well.
  • The longer neck improves grip and wrist torque to balance extra weight.
  • The small circumference and curvy shape of mid-level grip reduces hand strain.

Talk to us about mixing with  Novo  Fogo  Bar Strength. 

 

The flavor profile of our Bar Strength Silver Cachaça evokes our tropical origin in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest, with notes of banana, lime blossoms, passion fruit, sweet red peppers, sea salt, and green grass. We think its versatility and deliciousness will meet the requirements of the most inventive bartenders. It also plays nicely with other bright, tropical flavors like citrus (the Caipirinha’s combination of cachaça, lime, sugar, and ice is sublime), berries, and seasonal fruits.

 

How is the higher-proof being received by bartenders? What is the feedback you’ve received? 

 

We’ve received feedback that the seemingly modest 3% increase in ABV brings some much-appreciated heft to cocktails. It’s possible to use a touch less to achieve a similar drink, which also helps to reduce pour costs. In bars where margins are slim, every drop counts!

 

As a carbon negative company with a dedicated environmental focus and cutting-edge in cachaça—where do you see this category headed? 

 

We’re trying to be leaders in the cachaça category by growing it responsibly. For us, that means farming organically and using production methods that aren’t detrimental to the environment, treating our community and employees really well, reducing and offsetting our entire business’s carbon emissions, and being hyper-focused on sourcing Brazilian wood barrels from legal and sustainable sources. In all these areas, cachaça has the potential to be an emissary of doing business positively Brazil, by producing delicious things while taking care of people and prioritizing environmental conservation. Just a fraction of Brazil’s cachaça production is exported from the country, so there is a lot of room for more people outside Brazil to discover and fall in love with it!

 

 

BERRY BRAZILIAN

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. Novo Fogo Bar Strength Silver Cachaça
  • 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 oz. Campari
  • 1/2 oz. strawberry syrup*

Preparation: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with sliced strawberries. *Strawberry syrup: blend 1 cup of fresh or (frozen and thawed) strawberries into 1 cup of 1:1 simple syrup. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

 

 

PARANÁ PUNCH

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 oz. Novo Fogo Bar Strength Silver Cachaça
  • 1 oz. organic lemon juice
  • 1 oz. erva-mate tea syrup*
  • 5 mint leaves
  • 1 1/2 oz. sparkling wine

Preparation: Add all ingredients except for sparkling wine in a shaker and shake with ice. Pour over ice and top with sparkling wine, stirring to combine. Garnish with fresh mint.

 

This Brazilian sour brings together two delightful beverages from southern Brazil: Novo Fogo Organic Cachaça and erva-mate (aka yerba mate). Mate is a traditional South American tea made with the leaves of a forest shrub that are high in caffeine and antioxidants. The flavor of Brazilian erva-mate is like robust, earthy green tea. It can be enjoyed hot or cold; cold mate tea is commonly mixed with citrus or herbs and is called tereré.

 

*To make erva-mate tea syrup, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and turn off the heat. Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in the water. Steep 6 bags of bagged mate tea in the hot syrup for 15-20 minutes, then remove the tea bags and chill the syrup.

 

Bartenders—Want to enter your Environmentally Friendly Cocktail in the Novo  Fogo  Bar Strength Cachaça Contest? Enter HERE.

 

 

 

 

The post Bar Strength Cachaça Made for Bartenders appeared first on Chilled Magazine.

Source: Mixology News