Fortified wines seemed to have had their day not long ago. Seen as the preserve of the stuffy and old, most bars might have a bottle of port or cream sherry kicking around on their back bar, gathering cobwebs and dust. But there has been a resurgence of interest in sherry and other fortifieds, and why not?
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Drinks
Bartenders have long been touting mezcal as the next big spirit to take over back bars, cocktail lists and even earn a trending hashtag on Twitter. The reality is it’s got a long way to go with high entry level prices, limited availability and challenging flavour profiles meaning it’s mainly bartenders serving mezcal to other bartenders at the moment.
Queen Victoria was one memorable monarch. She might not be a picture of beauty, but Victoria’s reign as Queen of the United Kingdom stretched for over 63 years – the longest of any British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history.
I do have the odd drink at home and occasionally even whip up a cocktail. But I have to admit that mixing drinks often feels too much like work on my days off. Now if I really want to unwind on a Sunday it’s by cooking – a creative outlet that many bartenders not only enjoy but often excel at.
A witch with which to sip By Gary Regan I’ve a witch living not too…
There was a time – not that long ago – when bars were filled with the sound of whirring metal blades blitzing ice and fruit and booze; a time when the cocktail glasses were large, the drinks coloured bright, and the bartender was the boss of the blender.
Tequila. I love it. You love it. Heck, even punters are coming around to its agave spirit goodness be it sipped neat or quaffed in mixed drinks. But for a long time tequila has been viewed as a bit of a one trick pony when it comes to cocktails.
You have six packs of cream charges, a cream canister, a load of fresh berries and all sorts of party supplies like balloons and cocktail parasols. You make a note to ignore the knowing looks you get from the barely post-pubescent checkout guy.
By Gaz Regan. “What do you like to mix with Cynar?” fellow cocktail scribe Warren Bobrow, who writes for the likes of Foodista.com and the Williams-Sonoma blog, asked me recently. And I had to admit that I’d never really fooled around with this Italian aperitif/digestif. It wasn’t entirely off my radar, though.
Vermouth. It’s taken some doing, but bartenders are starting to slosh the stuff around like it’s the 1890s again. It’s a good thing too as it means a mix like the Affinity Cocktail, presented here, might actually get a run.
Happy Repeal Day! Toast the occasion with this classic, the Scofflaw, and be thankful the bars are open tonight.
Aromatic bitters: it is a trickier category for tastings than most, and requires a little more experience as bartender than do other drinks categories. Just as well we were at the Hazy Rose, in Darlinghurst. We sourced a surprise for this the issue, with the Hazy Rose crew among the first bartenders in Australia to get their hands on the Dale DeGroff Pimento Bitters.