Mixing it up with classic cocktails, modern twists
Perfect Manhattan on the rocks with a twist.
Before I could enjoy the drink myself I measured sweet and dry vermouth and bourbon into a stainless steel, double-sided shot glass, added it all to an ice-filled glass, gave it a quick stir with my finger and had it waiting for my mother as she walked in the door after work.
That was my parents' drink and likely their parents' drink as well; a cocktail that has withstood the test of time and one that is making a resurgence in the 21st century.
"I'm a big fan of the Manhattan," proclaims Ray Isle, wine editor at Food & Wine Magazine and contributor to "Food & Wine Cocktails 2008." "It's my go-to cocktail."
As Isle explains, people lately have turned to classic cocktails, such as the Manhattan, Old-Fashioned and Margarita, because they invoke a simpler time.
"One way to define a 'classic' is time; cocktails that were around in the pre-Prohibition era."
Jody Richardson's definition doesn't require reaching back quite that far.
"Classic cocktails are something my parents or grandparents used to drink," says Richardson, sommelier at Niche Restaurant in Geneva. "My mom always drank gimlets; you don't see people order those anymore."
As martinis have taken over the bar scene Richardson says people want to be different, but that doesn't mean sipping a funky and fruity martini anymore.
"Everyone wants to be the one drinking something different; they want to try something fun and new," Richardson says - even if that something "new" is something old, like a Pimm's Cup or Sidecar.
Area bars such as Potter's at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, The Violet Hour at 1520 N. Damen Ave. in Chicago and the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago have returned classic cocktails to their lists of featured drinks.
"There are younger, more ambitious bartenders who are resurrecting these cocktails; they are taking cocktails seriously," Isle says. "They're not just mixing a drink, they're mixing a really great cocktail."
Some mixologists are even putting their own twist on the classics. At Tru restaurant in Chicago, a Manhattan gets served over ice cubes (spICE cubes) infused with cherry and cinnamon.
Isle says the classics also are the building blocks for new cocktails, as witnessed by the signature martini trend. (Yet of that he says, "Just because it's a signature drink doesn't mean it's a good drink.")
Great cocktails have balance, he says.
"You have to think about 'is it too sour?' or 'is it too fruity?'," Isle says. "Just as there's an art to creating a great dish in a restaurant, the same is true of cocktails."
Alex Rose, head mixologist at the InterContinental Chicago, agrees.
"A quarter ounce more of lemon juice can offset the balance of flavors," he says, urging home bartenders to follow directions.
Don't assume that because of the name you don't like bitters. Bitters is a distilled mix of herbs and roots; like vanilla extract, you don't want to drink it straight, but imagine chocolate chip cookies without it.
"When bitters are called for, use them," Rose says. "Bitters make a cocktail, tying together all the flavor profiles of the liquor in the drink."
Shaking it up
Walk into any bar and you quickly learn that while these classics have their place at the bar, mixology is an ever-evolving craft and new creations are just a jigger away.
Cocktails that use locally grown ingredients, homemade batches of infused liquor, fresh-squeezed juices, and drinks made with vitamin-enhanced and so-called "super" foods have been debuting across the country.
At Tales of the Cocktail, a culinary and cocktail festival in New Orleans in July, for example, bartenders went through more than 20 flats of berries, 12 cases of grapefruit and 23 pounds of cucumbers.
Niche's Richardson says by infusing their own liquor (like vodka and rum), bars can buy lower-quality brands yet create powerful flavors; it's a way to save money in the tough economy without disappointing customers.
Adds Isle, look for drinks made with agave nectar, lemon grass and herbs as well as those made with smoked ingredients.
New variations
Purple Rita
1 ounce Purple acai juice
1 ounce tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
Fresh lime juice, to taste
Simple syrup, to taste
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, blend all ingredients. Strain into an ice-filled margarita glass rimmed with salt.
Serves one.
Bella Rose
1½ ounces passion fruit vodka
2 ounces rose nectar
1 ounce fresh sour mix
Pink sugar for garnish
Lemon wheel, for garnish
Wet rim of a martini glass with lemon and dip into pink sugar.
Into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour vodka, rose nectar and sour mix. Shake to combine and strain to rimmed glass. Garnish with lemon wheel.
Serves one.
Entourage, Schaumburg
Golden Age
2 ounces amber rum
½ ounce cherry liqueur, such as Cherry Heering
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce simple syrup
Fill a highball glass with crushed ice.
In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients, except the ice and garnish and shake for 10 seconds. Add ice cube; shake 10 seconds.
Strain into a glass and garnish with lemon and cherry skewered together.
Serves one.
The Violet Hour, Chicago, from "Food & Wine Cocktails 2008" (Food & Wine Books, $14.95)
Tommy Gun
2 thin slices fresh ginger
1 teaspoon apricot jam
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
Ice
2 ounces Irish whiskey
½ ounce Grand Marnier
1 lemon twist, for garnish
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the ginger and jam with lemon juice. Add ice, whiskey and Grand Marnier and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Bar Drake, San Francisco, from "Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 (Food & Wine Books, $14.95)
True Blue
2 ounces orange vodka
1 ounce Blue Island Pucker
1 ounce lemon lime soda
Orange wheel
Combine liquors in a martini shaker and pour into martini glass. Add soda, give a stir and garnish with orange wheel.
Serves one.
Entourage, Schaumburg
The classics
Perfect Manhattan
2 ounces blended or straight whiskey
Dash sweet vermouth
Dash dry vermouth
Cherry, for garnish
Pour all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Serves one.
Potter's at Palmer House Hilton, Chicago
Sidecar
1 ounce brandy
¾ ounce Cointreau
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
Cherry, for garnish
Pour all ingredients over ice in an old-fashioned glass.
Serves one.
"Field Guide to Cocktails" by Rob Chirico (2005 Quirk Books)
Pisco Sour
2 ounces Pisco (Peruvian brandy) or brandy
1 ounce lime juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
1 egg white
1 dash bitters
Shake hard or blend with ice, the brandy, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white. Strain into a glass. The bitters are an aromatic garnish topping the finished drink, put on top of pisco sour foam.
Serves one.
Adapted from "The Joy of Mixology" by Gary Regan
Pimm's Cup
1 medium cucumber, sliced, plus more for garnish
1 pint strawberries, hulled
3 cups Pimms No. 1
3 cups lemonade or sour mix
Add cucumber and strawberries to a 2-quart pitcher.
Add Pimms and lemonade and let soak for an hour or so.
To serve: Pour over tall glass filled with ice and garnish with a cucumber slice.
Serves 10.
Mixologist's note: Add a splash of lemon-lime soda to glass for a touch of sweetness.
Jody Richardson, Niche Restaurant, Geneva
Old Fashioned
1 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 orange slices, divided
2 maraschino cherries, divided
Water or soda water
2 ounces bourbon
In the bottom of an old-fashioned glass, carefully muddle the sugar, bitters, 1 orange slice and 1 cherry and a splash of water or soda water.
Remove orange rind. Add bourbon, ice and rest of water or soda water. Garnish with remaining orange slice and cherry.
Serves one.
"The Craft of the Cocktail" by Dale DeGroff (2002 Clarkson Potter)
1930s Tequila Sunrise
1½ ounces tequila
¾ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
2 ounces seltzer
½ ounce good French cassis
½ ounce grenadine
Build the first four ingredients in a highball glass over ice and stir to mix.
Pour the cassis and grenadine down through the drink to create the sunrise effect.
Serves one.
"The Craft of the Cocktail" by Dale DeGroff (2002 Clarkson Potter)