Mixology Planet Tour 2012

Building experiments truly is something for the patient and daring. Results seldom favor the palate, given the product in this case, Pernod Absinthe, and the test lab, my kitchen. What shocks me is that all I ever hear is sazeracs, and no green beast cocktails but never the implications in culinary world.

So we are using Pernod Absinthe. What is in it?  We know anise, wormwood, fennel melissa, and hyssop. There many more but for now lets stick the five.  From a flavor profile we know anise is sweet, aromatic, easily confused with fennel for it’s licorice like flavor. Wormwood tends toward a floral, sometimes almost per fumy, minty bitterness that doesn’t come across as harsh, but is quite pleasant. Fennel resembles dill but taste more licorice like than any of the herbs. Melissa, in the US we call it lemon balm, obviously for the lemon like oil fragrance it gives off. Hyssop is strong bitter and somewhat minty along with fennel and wormwood help give absinth it’s green color.

Something I should mention is I could not get to do too many experiments but what I had the time was making absinth, salad dressings and absinthe butters. Might not sound too exciting but the possibilities are endless. IF you understand the core flavor profiles of the spirit, you have the directions and information to adapt recipes. Maybe you don’t want to overload on fine herbs, maybe you want your shrimp dinner to have the herbal notes but have a better-controlled variable.   For more information on absinthe culinary uses, check out the link for amazing by some really exciting people.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/718672

So where does absinth stand now? Well it is probably gaining dust, or at some mustached iconic mixologist bar, rocking the shit out of some killer drinks.  The spirit is versatile, but needs proper pairings.

Hell the sazerac is a perfect example, held together because of the Peychauds, and it’s on everyone’s menu.

Absinthe needs to be educated on the flavor side to bring back its relevance in western culture. In a marketing perspective, have Rachael Ray whip up some absinthe candies or sauté seafood on live TV, absinthe sheds its bad reputation and reestablishes it’s self.

http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2012/01/ultrasonic-absinthe-mist-cocktail/

I enjoyed my time with absinthe, especially with Pernod Ricard and their amazing staff. So many more ideas and so many modifications to fountains, all things I hoped to accomplish.  Before this class ends I will make my best effort to amend my posts and try to update and reiterate my thoughts and ideas. Absinth uses vary further than most would agree. I hope this segment was interesting and keep checking and I’ll have updates in a few more days, finger crossed.

Here is a photo of vegetable profiles used in a German style absinth, Pernod should invest in food pairing and make my life easier. We can see how the combinations of the herbs open the door for experiments and where we can use absinthe outside of cocktailing.

Muse

1. To think or meditate in silence, as on some subject.

2. Archaic. To gaze meditatively or wonderingly.

verb (used with object)

3. To meditate on.

4. To comment thoughtfully or ruminate upon.

Libation

1. A.  The pouring out of wine, etc., in honor of a deity

b.  The liquid so poured out

2. Usually facetious an alcoholic drink

[From Latin lībātiō, from lībāre to pour an offering of drink]

Where does one start, your behind the bar, slammed on a busy night, pouring so many vodka sodas your hands instinctively pour the drink before your know it, your already cashing out the tab and moving to what one would only assume another order for more vodka sodas.  This time someone doesn’t exactly request, that o’ glorious in and out drink of choice by every resident of river north.  This person says this time, he would something bitter, with depth, not something too sweet, but something on it’s own. It’s own identity could be something outshining it’s classic cocktail predecessors. Hell if you have been fortunate to be in this industry, you have probably been that person sitting in front of Chicago’s beverage leaders, asking these outrageous demands.  That person turns away throws something in together comes back and you have your drink, but its more than that, it’s yours, it contents catered to your request sitting in front of you, it’s life depending on your reactions. Yes it’s great just, what I wanted, or no not what I’m looking for but keep trying and you may get it right next time.

Regardless what matters is how you approach the situation and react, producing the final product.  For some this isn’t enough, for some boundaries need to be pushed, new ideas need to be formed. This is why I mention the definitions above. Reflection is the key to discovering new ideas and directions.  A vodka soda only differs from a vodka tonic simply by changing the mixer, or if you can say an Americano only differs from a Negroni by the addition of gin instead of club soda. If you think about it, the only way to advance is to consider what is in front and changing the base components. That doesn’t mean that everything has to be that simple, but for the most part it’s not just about finding exotic ingredients, its taking the core and shaping it to however you desire.  Take lemonade for example, it has always been the crucial training for all bartenders. Master the drink, you can master any cocktail under the sun. If you take the lemon out and switch it with a lime, it becomes limeade. Noticing a pattern? If you take the lemon out and switch it with an orange, and maybe the sugar out, switch the water with tonic, what becomes of the drink?

What inspires us is what we recall upon when put in the situation that requires quick decisions to custom make cocktails. If time spent is on learning how flavors work with each other, and what flavors different ingredients give off, then the possibilities are endless.

For the next couple of weeks, experiments will be conducted during the duration of time spent in the countries we stay in, with the limited resources I have at my disposal. To make my point clear, spirits will be tested in ways to expand their usefulness outside of conventional bartending.  I will use the spirits given as a sort of muse, to learn and expand and make something new, a libation worthy of the best of us. We are in the class to learn, to push new boundaries, to take risks and challenge the conventional. Some of us may not make it in this business, some of us may not even need to try, but as long as one of us learns something extraordinary, then others will follow.