A Bitters Pill To Swallow

We’ve all seen that little brown bottle on the bottom shelf of the liquor store.  You know the one: it has a slightly oversized label that extends over the fat part of the bottle.  There is probably a bottle in your home bar right now.  You bought it years ago to put in a particular drink that you didn’t like and you haven’t opened it since.  So there it sits, in cocktail purgatory.  You don’t know why you keep it; it doesn’t know why it has to sit there unused.  I’m here to tell you that a functional relationship between you and bitters can be salvaged. 

To start, there are two different varieties of bitters: cocktail bitters and digestive bitters.  Digestive bitters can be consumed straight and can be served in measurable quantities.  Examples of digestive bitters are Campari, Chartreuse, Benedictine, and Absinthe.  For the sake of brevity (and perhaps laziness), we will only be covering cocktail bitters, (specifically aromatic bitters) in this post. 

Cocktail bitters are made by soaking herbs and spices in alcohol, which extracts and concentrates the flavors of the ingredients.  With that in mind, there are a variety of recipes that correspond to today’s market offerings of bitters.  The bottle with the oversized label is Angostura bitters, probably the best known and most recognizable type of bitters.  It’s also the easiest to find.  The Old Fashioned is an example of a cocktail that utilizes Angostura.

Old Fashioned

1 sugar cube

1 tsp water

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 oz rye or bourbon whiskey

Muddle sugar, water, and bitters together until the sugar is mostly dissolved.  Fill glass with ice and then add the whiskey.  Garnish with a twist of orange peel and a cherry.

Another example of an aromatic bitter similar to Angostura is Peychaud’s Bitters.  Peychaud’s is the vital component in the Sazerac, which I covered in an earlier post about The Monarch.  Other examples of aromatic bitters include Fee Brother’s and Scrappy’s. 

There are tons of other types of cocktail bitters beside aromatic, from lime to chocolate to apple to lavender.  I will make an entirely separate post that deals with exotic bitters.

Do you have a bottle of bitters in your bar?  What’s your favorite drink that contains bitters?  Comments are always appreciated, and questions can be directed to @rebellionwhisky.  

In Memorandum: The Monarch

For those of you who have been following the birth of this blog, you will know that I recently reviewed a few of the drinks at The Monarch in Maplewood.  It pains me to say this, but, unfortunately, The Monarch is closing its doors for good on March 11^th.  Obviously this is sad for the owners and staff of the restaurant, but in past few months I had really enjoyed popping in to the bar for a drink or two.  The Monarch contained a bar that was able to pay homage to traditional cocktails while also being able to concoct new, daring creations.  One of my favorites was Purgatory, a devilish mix of whiskey, Chartreuse, and Benedictine herbal liquor that one could not consume two of without starting to think about obtaining a ride home.   In the drink description on the menu, it reads: “If you drink very many of these in succession, you will experience this drink's namesake. You have been forewarned.”  They are not kidding.

In keeping on the traditional side, The Monarch was able to drudge up long forgotten memories of the cocktails of yesteryear and replicate them in the most accurate way possible.  The Sazerac is not for the faint of heart, as you can tell from the recipe:

Sazerac

1 sugar cube

3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

2 oz rye whiskey

¼ oz absinthe, Herbsaint, or Pernod

Lemon twist

Fill old-fashioned glass with ice. Muddle sugar and bitters in second old-fashioned glass.  Add whiskey and stir.  Discard ice from first glass.  Add absinthe to chilled glass, swirl to coat inside, and discard excess absinthe.  Pour whiskey mixture from second glass into chilled glass.  Twist lemon over drink, but do not add to glass.

When I first tried the Sazerac, I was incredibly leery of the absinthe.  However, this cocktail has such a small amount, there is only a hint of the black licorice flavor imparted by the absinthe; a subtle kiss of anise that when mixed with the spicy rye, is just the perfect amount.  The Monarch made this drink better than most, and while I can’t say that it’s the best Sazerac I’ve ever had, I can tell you with full confidence that you would not be disappointed if you had one from there.

All in all, a big thanks to the folks of The Monarch.  To the bartenders, the waiting staff, the chef, and the owners, we wish you luck in your future endeavors.  Thanks, and cheers.

The Scottish Arms

Welcome to my first (documented) venture out into the St. Louis bar scene.  First on the docket: The Scottish Arms.  Located on the east edge of the Central West End, The Scottish Arms is best known for their exhaustive offerings of (what else) scotch whisky.  

Quick tangent: ever wonder some brands are ‘whisky’ and others are ‘whiskey?’  It all depends on where the spirit is produced.  American and Irish brands are the only ones that spell it whiskey.  All other brands (Scottish, Canadian, etc.) are spelled whisky.  Why, I hear you ask?  I have no clue.  Maybe in another post I will tackle that question.

Scotch is an acquired taste, and as such, I have failed to acquire it.  It seems like it would be right in my wheel house; it is whisky, after all.  At family gatherings, it is always available, and I always partake, yet, I have not found a special place in my heart for it as I do with bourbon. However, like the dutiful blogger that I am, I feel that I need to experience each and every bar’s main feature.  So, of course, I get a sampler of three scotches.  I let my kilted, bearded waiter drive my choices, as I know nothing about the different regions or brands.  I was presented with Cragganmore, Dalwhinne, and Bunnahabhain brands from the Speyside, Islay (pronounced eye-lay), and Highland regions, respectively.  (If you are geographically curious, the map at the start of the post will help.)  Three scotches, three very different experiences.  Flavors varied from honey to smoke to floral to leather.  The most profound moment of the tasting occurred when trying the Bunnahabhain.  My waiter described it thusly: “It’s like being punched in the mouth, but then that same person makes out with you after.”  At first, I smirked at the seemingly over-the-top description, but after tasting, I realized that his statement was very accurate.  The alcohol bite of the Bunnahabhain was at first overwhelming, but the honey flavors smoothed out the finish, almost to the point where it could be considered sweet.  Granted, it still had a leathery taste to it, but overall, I would gladly order a dram of it.

Seeing as how this blog is supposed to be about cocktails, I then decided to browse the Arms’ cocktail menu.  The first one to catch my eye was called “The Redundant.”  The menu description:

Based off the Alcoholic’s White Russian which used Bailey’s instead of cream, we though a lightly smoky scotch such as Johnnie Walker Red would play nicely and it does.  So what to call it?  Originally we called the Drunken White Scotsman[sic], but we thought that was a bit redundant.  Johnnie Walker Red, Kahlua, Frangeilco[sic], Bailey’s.

I love White Russian’s, so this was an exciting variation; in theory, at least.  While the Bailey’s is a fun idea, it takes away the richness that heavy cream would provide.  The smoky flavor imparted by the Johnnie Walker is barely noticeable, but the Frangelico provides a welcome nutty flavor.  Overall, I would rather just have a White Russian, but maybe my taste buds are not trained enough to enjoy the scotch addition.  And if you like Bailey’s, then definitely give this drink a try.

In relation to the previous post, my wife ordered the Rye Manhattan from the cocktail list.  They put a ton of bitters in their version, almost to the point where the sweet vermouth is nullified.  My wife ordered two, if that is any indication to the quality of the drink.

Ever been to The Scottish Arms?  How was your experience regarding the drinks or otherwise?  Leave your opinions in the comments.

Also, I started a Twitter account as a way to announce new posts.  Feel free to comment or ask questions @rebellionwhisky.    

The Manhattan

I’ll make no secret about it:  I love whiskey.  More specifically, I love bourbon.  What makes whiskey bourbon? According to United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 27, Section 5.22(i)(1):

“Bourbon whisky”, “rye whisky”, “wheat whisky”, “malt whisky”, or “rye malt whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored at not more than 125° proof in charred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type.

Right, what you need to know there is bourbon has to be 51% corn.  (Note that, contrary to popular belief, bourbon does not have to be made in Bourbon County, Kentucky.)  From there, however, the amount of adjuncts (other grains) can vary wildly.  With this in mind, you have to be careful when selecting bourbon for particular types of cocktails.  Bourbons with a significant amount of wheat, such as Maker’s Mark or W.L. Weller, tend to be smoother than bourbons with more rye.  Rye imparts a spicy character into the bourbon as can be seen in Bulleit (pronounced “bullet”) bourbon.

So, how does this apply to making the superior cocktail?  Let’s take a fairly straightforward cocktail to see if we can taste the difference.            

The Manhattan, my wife’s favorite, and a cocktail that I have shared with her frequently as of late.  Normally, we would make her Manhattan’s with bourbon, but after some research (you know, Google), I found that the time-honored Manhattan is made with rye whiskey, rather than bourbon.  I liked the bourbon version, but if the traditionalists say rye, then I would give it a shot.  Here are the recipes for the two cocktails that we compared:

Bourbon Based Manhattan

2 oz Bulleit bourbon

½ oz sweet vermouth

3 dashes of Angostura bitters

Rye Based Manhattan

2 oz Bulleit 95% rye whiskey

½ oz sweet vermouth

3 dashes of Angostura bitters

I chose Bulleit bourbon because of its high rye content, thinking that a rye based bourbon will be closer to the traditional Manhattan recipe.  With that said, these two cocktails are like night and day.  The bitters work much better with the rye whiskey.   The vegetable flavors imparted by the bitters work significantly better with the bite of the rye.  With the sweeter, smoother bourbon, the cocktail is far too sweet.  Granted, I wouldn’t have made this distinction without comparing the bourbon version to the rye.  Still, that’s what this blog is all about: discovery.  There is no comparison between the two beverages, and I will never make/purchase a Manhattan without rye whiskey as the backbone again.

How do you take your Manhattan?  Comments are always welcome, as are suggestions for future drink experiments.