The Gibson

On the surface of it, the Gibson appears to be merely a dry martini with a cocktail onion garnish, instead of an olive or lemon peel.  But as the olive gives a certain character to a dry martini, the cocktail onion - a GOOD cocktail onion - will make all the difference in producing a perfect Gibson.

First, a little background. The most frequently offered story on the Gibson attributes its name to the famous illustrator who challenged a bartender to improve on the martini.  But that particular story is unlikely.  More likely is that the prominent San Francisco businessman Walter D. K. Gibson (1864–1938), was said to have created it at the Bohemian Club in the 1890s.

Whatever the backstory, here's where I make the distinction between the martini and the Gibson:  Shaking.  As for martinis, I say, "stir, stir, stir."  For some reason, a stirred Gibson (to me) never quite makes the grade.  So I fill my impeccably clean stainless steel shaker about 2/3 full of ice, add the ingredients and shake it for a good 60 seconds.  Then I strain it into a chilled cocktail glass and add its signature garnish.

Like all cocktail bloggers, I have my preferences and opinions.  I prefer the larger cocktail onions, to the tiny pearl onions often prescribed in bar recipes.  Why?  Because the smaller onions tend to be fragile, and simply passing a cocktail skewer through them, generally causes them to begin peeling and disintegrating.  The larger onions are far more sturdy.  The ones most commonly seen in liquor stores and supermarkets are the "Tipsy Onions," which are stored in a bit of brine and a little dry vermouth.  The Tipsy brand are too sweet for me.  If you can find the cocktail onions made my Silver Palate, try those.  If they're too sweet for you, dump the pickling liquid and replace it with fresh, white vinegar (or if you prefer, you may use any simple brine used for pickles - stay away from the dill brine).  Here's how I make my Gibson:

The Gibson

3 oz Dry gin (I prefer Beefeater - it's not too heavy in juniper or botanicals)

1 oz Dry vermouth

2 Cocktail onions

Place gin and vermouth into a shaker filled 2/3 with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with two, skewered cocktail onions.  If you like the taste of orange bitters, feel free to add a few drops to the shaker, before you add your ingredients; or you can twist a lemon peel over the Gibson, before you add your garnish.

News You Can Use

This entry isn't about a cocktail, but about the "stuff" we use to MAKE cocktails.  If you have any personal pride as a mixologist, then certain things have to be a part of your way of doing things:

• Cleanliness.  It's not a habit or a tradition, that bartenders are always wiping the bar, cleaning or drying glassware or putting things in order behind the bar.  Lots goes on in that space.  And anything from plain vodka, to sugary, sticky fruit juices or simple syrup can splash on the bar.  When you reach for a maraschino cherry, you want them to be there, and you shouldn't have to fish around for an olive, to complete a dry martini.  So clean, clean, clean.

• Glassware:  You can fnd the names of the different barware pieces anywhere on the internet.  But the one piece I need to straighten out is the cocktail glass.  There technically is no such thing, as a "martini glass."  The cone-shaped, stemmed glass in which a dry martini is served, is a COCKTAIL GLASS.

• Martini:  A Martini is a cocktail made with dry gin (or vodka) and dry vermouth.  A Cosmo is NOT a martini, nor is a chocolate cocktail a martini.  Let's do this again:  MARTINI = GIN OR VODKA + DRY VERMOUTH.  Period.  (And as long as I'm on the subject, the martini was NOT named for the vermouth.  It is a distant cousin of the Martinez Cocktail, a sweet, pre-Prohibition version originally made with Old Tom Gin, Sweet Vermouth, and Maraschino liqueur).

• Fruit garnishes:  Generally, citrus garnishes are applied as the cocktail is served.  It can be a peel, shave, wheel, half-wheel, or wedge.  A peel is made by THINLY peeling just the colored part of the citrus peel, from the fruit.  A wheel is a thin slice cut crossways, and a half wheel is self explanatory.  Technically, bartenders refer to ANY garnish as a "fruit."  So a "dry martini, no fruit" would mean a dry martini without an olive (or perhaps even a lemon peel).

• Stir or Shake:  If you're making a dry martini, the answer is STIR.  Shaking makes a very cold martini, but it shakes air bubbles into the drink, and tiny shards of ice make the drink look odd.  Stirring also allows the requisite amount of ice to melt (about an ounce) into the drink, taking the sharp edge off.  The ONLY - repeat ONLY - martini shaken, rather than stirred, is the Vesper, which James Bond created in Casino Royale.  It contains gin, vodka and Lillet and - as per his instructions - is shaken until very cold.  Then, it's served in a champagne coupe and garnished with a "thick peel of lemon."

• Builds:  Builds are drinks that are neither shaken nor stirred.  You "build" them, right in the glass.  A Bloody Mary is one.  An Old Fashioned is another, and so is a Caipirinha (most mixologists build these, some shake).

Dead Reckoning. . . The Ramos Gin Fizz

I first heard about the Ramos Gin Fizz, while watching one of my favorite 40's film noir offerings: Dead Reckoning (1947).  Lovely Lizabeth Scott's character seemed to really like this tall cocktail, and because I wasn't awfully interested in mixology in my mid to late twenties, I let it slip by.  But there was something about this drink that intrigued me, and when I became a cocktail blogger, I re-discovered this drink, while researching classic cocktails.  And this is a CLASSIC!

Way before Lizabeth Scott's character sat across from Humphrey Bogart's character in Dead Reckoning, the Ramos Gin Fizz had been a classic for decades.  Because mixology is about folklore, I'll share the backstory about this absolutely DELICIOUS drink:

The Ramos Gin Fizz was created by Henry C. Ramos in 1888, in his New Orleans bar, where it was originally called a New Orleans Fizz. Before Prohibition, labor was not expensive, and the Ramos brothers could afford to hire more than a dozen men to shake these drinks, during heavy bar times. The Ramos Gin Fizz was so popular, that it was still difficult for them to keep up with the orders. As time went on, the focus changed from a quality drink made for a valued customer, to a quickly made drink that could be easily provided to a crowd.  However, the Ramos Gin Fizz is still made in bars and hotels, but very few outside of New Orleans.  NOLA has a well established reputation for taking the time needed, to give the customer a quality cocktail - no matter how complicated.  The Sazerac is proof of that.

The attraction of this classic cocktail is about its consistency and unique taste.  As you look at the recipe and the preparation, you'll see how important it is to get the components right. . . and to shake, shake, shake to get the right mouth feel.  Here's how I make mine:

Ramos Gin Fizz

2 oz dry gin (Some recipes recommend Old Tom [sweet] gin)

1/2 oz Lime juice

1/2 oz Lemon juice

1-1/2 oz Simple syrup

2 oz Heavy cream

1 PASTEURIZED egg white*  (I recommend using Frothee, if you do NOT have pasteurized egg whites)

2 dashes Orange Flower Water**

Club soda

Into a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ICE, place all the ingredients EXCEPT FOR the club soda.  Dry shake (NO ICE) for one minute.  Add cracked ice, then shake HARD for at least another two minutes.  Strain into a highball glass containing a splash of club soda.  Garnish with a lemon peel, lime peel, orange peel, OR a sprig of mint.  Pop in a straw and PLEASE don't gulp this one down.  It's light and interesting, and from a mixologist's point of view, this is a gentle feather stroke on the cheek, compared with the slap in the face of a piña colada.

* Any number of cocktail recipes include an egg white.  Keep in mind that these recipes were created back when eggs were not an issue.  IF AND ONLY IF - repeat: IF AND ONLY IF - you can get PASTEURIZED egg whites, include it in the recipe.  Most supermarkets carry cartons of PASTEURIZED egg whites.  Keep them refrigerated.  You may also use powdered egg whites.  And I heartily recommend a product called Frothee, which has NO egg white but makes a very nice froth.

**  For many/most of you, orange flower water may be a strange ingredient, for ANY purpose.  I grew up in an Italian American home, and orange flower water was part of the recipe for the annual Grain Pie at Easter (Pizza Grano).  This was made with cooked wheat, eggs, ricotta cheese, sugar and a dash of orange flower water.  But don't look in a liquor store for this.  You're more likely to find it in a large supermarket or in a specialty store, with the baking items.  If you can't find it, I would recommend using a grating of orange peel.  But DO try to get the orange flower water.

Papa Doble Plus One: A Summer Celebration

Ahh, summer.  Its arrival is heralded by longer days, shady decks and patios, and an occupied hammock.  And when summer gets here, I think immediately of two great drinks that can make long, pleasant evenings with friends just a bit more pleasant:  The Papa Doble and the Salty Dog.

  

Ernest “Papa” Hemingway was said to have been fond of his cocktails, from the Bloody Mary, to the Classic Martini, to his own special version of the daiquiri, known to his friends and favorite bartender as the Papa Doble.  Hemingway, of course, was known as “Papa,” and his reputation for enjoying doubles of his daiquiri gave this cocktail its name.  To me, this is THE Summer Cocktail, and here’s how I make mine:

The Papa Doble

2 oz Bacardi White Rum

Juice of ½ lime

1 oz Grapefruit juice

Dash Luxardo maraschino liqueur

I create mine as a “build.” I just add them to an Old Fashioned Glass, add ice, stir, and garnish with a lime wedge.  The “official” way (if there is one) is to place the ingredients and cracked ice into a shaker, shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  It’s summer, so it’s your choice.

TIP:  If you prefer pink (ruby red) grapefruit juice, go right ahead.  Summer is about having it your way!

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Somewhere back in the late Forties, the Brownsville Herald mentions a drink that “replaces the salt sweated out in torrid Texas summers.”  This summer classic was the great alternative to the screwdriver, and it’s known as the Salty Dog.  To me, the Salty Dog is far more interesting than mere vodka and orange juice, and it’s a nice way to break the ice at the start of summer gatherings. . . or when you just want to kick back and relax with friends.

The Salty Dog

2 oz Gin

3 oz Grapefruit juice

Pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients into a shaker with cracked ice, shake, then strain into a highball or Old Fashioned glass.  You may rim the highball glass with salt, if you wish.  Garnish with a slice of lime and serve with a straw.  Personally, I make mine as a build, just adding the ingredients to a glass with ice, giving it a stir and adding a straw.

TIP:  Without any salt, this cocktail becomes a Greyhound.  So if you’re watching your sodium, a Greyhound may be a good alternative.  For those who prefer pink grapefruit juice (a bit sweeter and more colorful than white grapefruit juice), fear not!  Mixology is all about creating what YOU like.  So use ruby red grapefruits or pink grapefruit juice and enjoy.

The Scurvy Medic

Before you head to Google, to find out what this is, let me just tell you that there really isn't much of a backstory to this cocktail.  It's really just the rum alternative to the screwdriver.  Also called the Cuban Screw, the Scurvy Medic is simply rum and orange juice, with a dash of lime juice.

The Scurvy Medic

2 oz Bacardi Superior (white rum)
4 oz Orange juice
Dash of lime juice

Put all the ingredients into an Old Fashioned glass, add an ice cube and give it a stir.  For my taste, I also like to add a good dash of Peychaud's Bitters.  When you serve, garnish with a lime wedge.