BarLifeUK were lucky enough to get hold of a copy courtesy of Banks Rum when Jim was in the country to help launch Banks 7 Island Rum a few weeks ago.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to get your hands on a copy yet you have almost definitely heard (probably from a smug git who has a copy) what a beautiful looking book it is, well it is, but unlike Megan Fox there is a lot more beneath the obvious looks.

BarLifeUK has yet to be lucky enough to visit Jim’s home of PDT (standing for Please Don’t Tell) in New York but it’s a bar as famous for its entrance through a telephone box in Crif’s hot dog stand as for its drinks. As a result when I first opened The PDT Cocktail Book I was hoping for more than a list of lovely sounding drinks and I was not to be disappointed.

The book starts with obligatory Foreword, this time penned by David Wondrich, which whet the appetite for what lay in store as he compared it to the Savoy Cocktail Book ‘a book that perfectly encapsulates what we drink in bars today in a way that’s both timelessly elegant and concisely and efficiently contemporary.’ High praise indeed.

As sure as an Introduction follows a Foreword….. well the Introduction followed the Foreword! Jim quickly gives an overview of his career to date including some expert name and bar dropping (well who wouldn’t when you have worked at Pegu Club with the likes of Sam Ross and Phil Ward?).

It was the next section of the book that really stood out for me. All too often people are so caught up in the cocktails, or the garnish, or the ice, or the glassware, or the tattoo’s that they forget the most important part of any bar (with the obvious exception of the bartenders), the design. What use is a great cocktail list with a myriad of barrel infused drinks served in glassware from the Titanic using ice from the very ‘berg that sank it if the bar is so badly laid out it takes half an hour to make the damn thing.

Jim was involved with PDT right from the start in 2007 and was behind the design of the workstations themselves. From the original design onwards, ‘Good bar design is evolutionary’, he points out as he explains the reasons for the various elements of the bar. With the assistance of 4 diagrams (including one of the back of house area) you get a real insight into how and why PDT works.

Following a look at the glassware and equipment used in the bar Jim moves onto another often overlooked area in cocktail books, the essential mixers and garnishes for a cocktail bar. From the juices and garnishes to the specific type of Maple Syrup and House Orange Bitters the PDT mise en place is laid out.

One of Chris Gall's awesome illustrations

Now that, as a reader, you totally understand what PDT, as a venue, is all about it is time to move into the cocktails. There are the classics but alongside these are every single cocktail included on the menus at PDT since its launch in 2007. Each cocktail comes with not only the creator (or author as Jim puts it) and year, but also the season, a great addition to put the drink into perspective. The recipes also get a written description as well as preparation guidelines for any of the more obscure homemade ingredients such as the Buttered Popcorn Infused Rum.

This builds up into a superb collection of recipes with inspiration on every page. All of the recipes are listed with brand specific ingredients which has been cause for complaint with a few consumer based reviews. In actual fact BarLifeUK thinks it adds a great dimension to the recipes as you can exactly recreate how a drink is served in PDT. Sure there are some ingredients that aren’t ready available in the UK but that is part of the fun, you can put your own twist on a PDT classic.

It was at this point that it occurred to me that Jim was laying PDT bare. This is a book giving away what some would consider the ‘secrets’ of their bar. Not just any bar, this is PDT, this is a bar that has taken out more titles in the last few years than Stu Hudson has made Blazers in a competition (I did try to research how many and Google had a meltdown, take my word for it, it’s a lot).

In the introduction for the recipe element of the book Jim made clear that this was very much a conscious decision:
‘I’ve never once questioned my decision to share all of our production methods and sincerely hope that my colleagues all over the world will follow suit’

The book finishes with a mini masterclass from Jim on the various categories of products stocked in PDT along with a list of all the cocktail/spirit books he suggests you should have in your book shelf. This is a real opportunity to get your geek on and leaves you in no doubt that this book is written by someone with a huge knowledge and love of the industry.

The PDT Cocktail Book is an absolute must have in every bartenders collection, not only is it full of fantastic recipes and an amazing insight into the workings and successes of one the world’s top cocktail bars, it is the best looking book I have ever seen. The Illustrations by Chris Gall are superb and give the book a unique and edgy quality you just don’t usually see.

Now on it’s second print run copies are much easier to get hold of so if you want to get your hands on a copy, and trust me you do want to get your hands on a copy, then head to Amazon to get it alternatively the lovely folk at Spirit Cartel the distributors of Banks Rum in the UK have got a copy or two for you lucky BarLifers so to be in the draw simply e-mail simon@barlifeuk.com with the subject line ‘Please Do Tell me I won a book’.

Chasing the White Dog by Max Watman

An amateur outlaw’s adventures in moonshine

Chasing the White Dog isn’t a new book (it was published in 2010), but it caught my eye in the Hotel Monteleone bookshop in New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail, and turned out to be one of the best booze-related books I have read.

Max Watman is an American journalist and author who clearly enjoys the finer things in life, and is something of an adventurer.

In Chasing the White Dog, he chronicles his own attempts to distil moonshine (something that is illegal in the US under any circumstances, and carries heavy federal penalties if you are caught).

Alongside this journey is an account of his efforts to get to the bottom of moonshine culture in America, in which he delves past the ‘straw-chewing good ol’ boy’ stereotypes, and spends time with ATF agents, retired bootleggers, and a few active moonshiners.

He wraps up the book with a chapter devoted to the recent trial of Jody ‘Duck’ Smith, an alleged bootlegger who recently faced the full fury of the federal government, and became a friend of the author to boot.

Reading this book will inspire you to do two things – firstly you will want to order one of those tiny copper stills from Portugal that you sometimes see on Ebay, and secondly you will want to jump on a plane to Virginia, taste some White Lightening and hang out with some genuine modern outlaws who sound like incredible value on a night out.

Watman’s writing style is casual, humorous and insightful – a little like Danny Wallace without the smugness and punchable quality – and he also gives great insight into the micro-distilling scene that is gradually growing in America.

Chasing the White Dog can be purchased on Amazon by clicking this link: http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-White-Dog-Adventures-Moonshine/dp/1416571787

The book is split up into four sections – A Serialized Autobiography focusing on gaz’s first 17 years of life (but not as yet explaining when he stopped being able to spell serialised properly), The Mindful Bartender, The Nuts & Bolts of the Bartender’s Craft and finally Other People’s Stuff.

Here's a front cover for you

We kick off with gaz’s autobiography, with some people this could come across as self indulgent, dull and worst of all irrelevant. Not in this case, the look back to the early years of gaz’s life, his upbringing and more importantly how his parents dealt with the locals in their pub is all relevant and in many cases related to the coming chapters making all of the ‘lessons’ this book teaches have a human feel to them.

The next section of the book deals with what gaz calls the ‘Mindful Bartender’ now I have to warn you that when you start reading this you may think that the boy from Lancashire has spent too long in a country that is powered by therapists and holistic medicine.

When he starts encouraging meditation your inner Englishness might want to run away (in the same way that it does if someone asks you to explain ‘your feelings’) but don’t, be strong and you might just learn something.

The Mindful Bartender section of the book could come across very easily as patronising, I can see hundreds of bartenders across the country getting the hump with someone telling them how to deal with customers. Strangely these are likely the same people who will travel miles to see someone like gaz show them how to make a drink they have made thousands of times before or listen to their 12^th seminar on rum that month.

The truth is the skill of interacting with punters is no different to the skill of making drinks or product knowledge – at no point do you know it all and ALL knowledge is useful.

Part three, The Nuts and Bolts of the Bartender Craft, is taken from gaz’s earlier book The Joy of Mixology. This section is updated and expanded on, however for the experienced bartenders out there this may be a little primary school-esque.

However when it comes to upcoming bartenders be they making the jump from pub to cocktail bar or from bar back to bartender there is surely not a more well put together list of do’s and don’ts (oh and we get to find out some of gaz’s pet peevs – rimming?!?!).

In saying all of that I can report that pretty much every mistake highlighted in this chapter has been observed at one time or another by BarLifeUK in the last year or so in a lot of ‘top’ bars, so a little reminding may be just what people need.

As gaz says himself when describing a later section on Citrus - ‘It’s the kind of section that bartenders who have worked behind the stick for six to 12 months might skip, and bartenders who have plied their trade for 10 years or more will probably pore through in case they find something new. Which are you?’

The second half of the book is handed over to ‘other people’s stuff’ which starts with the 12 winners of the first Fabulous Bartenders Awards, the names may not all be familiar to you but the reasons for their inclusions will certainly resonate.

The innovators section of the book is a truly inspiring, not least because it shows just how many new innovations have appeared in the last 10 or so years. The innovators in this section include a couple of BarLifeUK’s good friends, namely Francesco Turrini for his Martini Stones and Tony Conigliaro for his Aged Cocktails. Also in this chapter are Carbonated Cocktails, Smoked Whiskey, Fat Washing and plenty more.

It gives you a chance to step back and appreciate just what strides the bar industry has taken over the last decade and makes the mind boggle as to what the next holds in store. I do get the feeling gaz has opened up a vat of worms though as I can already hear the ‘I was doing that in 2002’ arguments beginning.

The final section of the book is the heart of it – The 101 Best New Cocktails. Gaz sent out the word a while ago that he was putting this book together and encouraged people to send in their favourite new cocktails. He received over 2,000 suggestions, whittled this down to 211 and set about making and tasting all of these – the result is these 101 fantastic drinks from around the world. Gaz has been kind enough to let BarLifeUK feature some of these drinks over the past few months but it is a real treat to see them all in one place.

Overall this book is a real treat mixing great drinks and funny stories with celebrations of people and techniques.  If you want to get your hands on a copy (and why the bloody dickens wouldn’t you?) we have some great news for you. The book is being distributed by Anistatia and Jared at Mixellany and they have very kindly offered all of you a $5 discount off the cover price of the book….. say thank you. All you have to do is head to their website and type BARLIFEUK into the coupon box in the checkout section.

But wait, it gets better than that. They have also given us 5 copies of the book to give away. To win simply e-mail us and we will pick the lucky 5 out of a hat on the 8^th June.

It isn't clear which one of these people is David himself

Cocktail books fall into two categories.

First comes the ‘coffee table’ style full of cocktail recipes to inspire and enjoy, usually accompanied by beautiful pictures of the drinks to really get you salivating. Punch is not one of these books.

Punch firmly places itself in the second category, that of ‘reference book’ style. These are text dominated titles full of information, history, research and facts tending to be light on the recipes and lovely pics.

It could be argued that David Wondrich is the Don of the reference style book with his previous title Imbibe! one of the must have cocktail books for any bartenders book shelf.

One of the reasons for this is David (or should that be Mr Wondrich) gave up a career as an English Literature professor to continue his love of writing about drinks.

It is probably due to his academic background that Punch has that academic feel of a book from my college days.

Don’t let this put you off though, if, like me, you hated studying – you see now the subject is Punches not Statistics and the book shows you how to make some amazing drinks instead of how to work out the value of Z in the formula X{3-v} x Z{4-v}

As David points out early on it is amazing that this is the first book dedicated to Punches considering the influence they have had in the past and the boom they are experiencing currently. Punches are cool, as the revival of Tiki and the inclusion of a Punch round in the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup UK finals have shown, but how much do you really know about 2011’s hottest drinks category?*

Punch starts with a history of this much misunderstood beast with what must be years of research laid out and interspersed with facts and anecdotes from days of Yore as well as David’s various Punch experiences to keep you entertained whilst taking in all of the facts. As is the way with this whole book, you feel as though you have learnt something important as well as a few good stories to keep people entertained.

Geek section

The second section is the geek section and clearly marked thus so as to warn all ‘normal’ people away, it is ‘A Concise but Comprehensive Course in the Art of Making Punch’. You have to be a certain type of person to find this chapter interesting and informative luckily pretty much all of you that visit BarLifeUK are that kind of person so you will, as we did, love it. Sit back relax and get your geek on.

Finally comes the reward for your academic readings, the recipes. This section takes up the bulk of the book containing nearly two thirds of the pages.

The Punches are divided into basic categories which are – Arrack; Brandy, Rum and Brandy & Rum; Royal; Milk; Orange; Whiskey; Gin; Oxford; Regency and American Fancy. Each section and each recipe has an introduction looking at the history of the drink, why it is included in the book, the original recipe and more often than not David’s thoughts on how this drink works best with modern ingredients and techniques (it must be said at this point that David has spent a lot of time researching all of these Punches for your benefit – what a kind and selfless fella).

At the end of the day Punch is an absolutely must read for anyone who is considering adding Punches to their cocktail lists (after all it is THE drink of 2011**) or is interested in the history of cocktails, spirits and bartending.

David has, once again, managed to produce a book which manages to educate and inform you whilst you think you’re just being entertained. On top of it all you’ll have some great Punch recipes as well inspiration and knowledge to produce bowl after bowl of your own concoctions!

We will leave the last word to the man himself:

‘It is my fondest hope that anyone who reads this book will feel that it has rendered him or her fully capable of sizing up whatever the archives should disgorge and reducing it to a shopping list and set of procedures. To that end, on top of the forty odd Punch recipes you’ll find here, I’ve also supplied as thorough a course in the fundamentals of Punch-making as I can provide, including notes on formulae, techniques, ingredients and equipment. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll always have Fish-House Punch.’

To buy Punch click here

* This fact is based on no research whatsoever but hey, we’ve been right before
** Still no basis in fact but if we keep saying it you might believe us

One of the original modern day speakeasy style bars, Employees Only has been one of New Yorks top venues since it opened in 2004. The story behind the origins of their bar and the evolution of their interpretations on classic cocktails are at the heart of this, their first book.

The first thing that will grab you about Speakeasy when you open it up is just how beautifully photographed the cocktails are. The book is presented in such a way that you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a consumer coffee table tome. It is however a refreshing take on a real bartenders book shelf must have, with full page photo’s having you reach for your shaker much quicker than the almost clinical layout of all to many classic cocktail books.

More about the drinks in a minute – the book itself starts with a foreward from their mentor Dale DeGroff (combine this with the afterward by David Wondrich and you get an idea just how well respected these guys are in the US) and moves into a great little story about how they got to where they are.

I will leave the details up to them however if you have ever sat in a bar after a busy shift with a mate or two and talked about opening your own venue, and who hasn’t, then this will be a real source of inspiration for you.

Next up follows the seemingly obligatory equipment and ingredient guide for the home market, however just like with Remixed this can be quickly skipped over and even more quickly forgotten once you get into the recipes.

The recipes are split into 3 sections – Aperitifs; Long Drinks and Fancy Cocktails; Pitchers, Punches and Sangrias – with a final section on Homemade Syrups, Cordials, Infusions and Accompaniments which are vital if you want to truly taste these drinks as they were intended.

Jason and Dushan have built up a reputation by appreciating the classics and reinterpreting them. This combined with their belief that it is ‘….paramount to express and share all our knowledge and technique….’ has led to a unique recipe lay out.

Each chapter contains several of Employees Only signature cocktails, however they are interspersed with the classics that inspired them. Along with this is a fascinating insight from the guys about how they took the classics and turned them into their own signature drinks. Their thought and flavour processes give a rare glimpse into the minds of two great bartenders and will undoubtedly provide inspiration to any bartender who reads them.

It is a fantastic book and one that not only makes you want to jump the first flight to NYC but also leaves you with a head full of drinks to make and ideas to play with.

For a piece of this action you can order the book here.

Below is an excerpt for you plus one of our favourite recipes:

Fraise Sauvage

Photo courtesy of Ani Barberian

The Fraise Sauvage was inspired by the famous pre-Prohibition classic, the Frech 75. The name itself is a play on words in French, meaning “wild strawberry”. This cocktail uses our EO homemade Wild Strawberry Cordial* to create a cocktail in a classic style.

We shake together Plymouth gin with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and strawberry cordial, then top it off with demi-sec champagne. For our first summer menu at Employees Only , we wanted to put on the list a cocktail that would be a crowd-pleaser.

Fraise Sauvage is the EO equivalent of the ubiquitous Caprese salad. The flavours of gin, strawberry, and champagne are a timeless combination and showcase how simple flavours can become complex when combined. To make this cocktail without the strawberry cordial, simply muddle a shole fresh strawberry, then follow the rest of the directions

• 1 ¼ ounces Plymouth gin
• ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ ounce simple syrup
• ½ ounce Wild Strawberry Cordial*
• 2 ounces of demi-sec champagne
• 1 half strawberry for garnish

Pour the gin, juice, syrup and cordial into a mixing glass. Add large cold ice cubes, cover, and shake vigorously for 7 or 8 seconds. Pour the champagne into a chilled cocktail glass and pour the cocktail over it. Garnish with half a strawberry.

*You’ll have to buy the book for the Wild Strawberry Cordial folks but I can tell you it really is worth the effort – Ed

The great look continues throughout

Some may argue that the phrase ‘New Book’ is false advertising seeing as how Remixed is in essence the combination of his 1998 title Grog Log and 2002’s Intoxia! These people, however, need to grab a Mai Tai sit down and actually read Remixed as Beachbum’s on-going mission to uncover the mysteries of the world of Tiki has led to a these original books being revised and updated with new discoveries and 107 new drinks to boot.

During his mission to discover the original recipes from the often secretive world of Tiki concoctions, Beachbum has uncovered stories from the days of Donn Beach and Trader Vic which pepper the pages. These tales rest alongside recipes that, without his tireless work, would have disappeared, never to be mixed again (not least the original Zombie recipe which has taken over a decade to uncover) and a host of new drinks from the man himself and other top bartenders.

A majority of the cocktail recipes come with Beachbum’s own thoughts or a description of how he tracked them down giving some great back stories to impart on inquisitive guests to your bar. There is also a series of recipes for syrups & liqueurs to help make the drinks even more traditional – BarLifeUK will be making some of these in coming weeks so check back to see how we did.

The section on the origin of the Mai Tai is worth the entrance fee alone. It’s a detective story with more twists and turns than the mating ritual of the King Cobra.

As we know part of the allure of the world of Tiki is the Polynesian art and history, the book doesn’t disappoint on this front either with a beautiful design full of pictures, posters and images featuring tiki mugs, cocktail umbrellas and girls in bikinis aplenty. It also gives you an insight into just how big the Polynesian scene was back in the 60’s such as the awesome sounding 12 acre “Tiki Gardens” Polynesian Theme Park featuring a “Polynesian adventure trail, eight fascinating shops, Trader Frank’s Restaurant,” and exotic creatures like “Chang the peacock.”

You will find that some of the sections are aimed slightly more at the home market than the professional side of things but that really is a very minor moan for a book which is as much fun to read as it is to drink (and believe me folks this is one hell of a book to drink!!).

By now you are probably about to search the internet to get your hands on copy so let me help out – the book can be ordered from Amazon here

The man himself is gracing these shores with his presence during The UK RumFest on October 16^th & 17^th so pop by and say Aloha or check out his very own website for the latest news on his adventures.

Below we have a little extract for you plus one of our favourite recipes from the book:

The Fog Cutter: Long Island Iced Tiki

The life of a Beachbum

With its benumbing blend of rum, brandy, and gin, the Fog Cutter is the Long Island Iced Tea of exotic drinks. It doesn’t cut fog so much as put you in one, which even its inventor had to admit. “Fog Cutter, hell,” Trader Vic wrote of his creation, “After two of these, you won’t even see the stuff.”
Eventually Vic took pity on the befogged and replaced his 1940s original with the lighter Samoan Fog Cutter, diluting the original’s strength by blending it with crushed ice instead of shaking.
After the Mai Tai and the Scorpion, the Fog Cutter became Vic’s third most famous concoction. As such it was offered in many other restaurants, in many other permutations – not because Vic’s recipe was proprietary and rivals had to guess at it (as was the case with Donn Beach’s closely guarded secret potions), but because the version Vic published in his 1947 Bartender’s Guide provided a template that invited experimentation. A Scandinavian restaurant could make the Fog Cutter its own by floating Danish aquavit instead of sherry, while bartenders who preferred lime to lemon could make the switch with impunity.

Bum Barrel
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce white grapefruit juice
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce soda water
¾ ounce passion fruit syrup
¾ ounce honey mix (equal parts clover honey and water, heated, dissolved, cooled)
2 ounces dark Jamaican rum
2 ounces gold Virgin Islands rum
Dash Angostura bitters
Shake everything – except soda – with plenty of ice cubes, then stir in soda. Pour into a double old-fashioned glass or ceramic barrel mug.
We make no claim to originality here. It’s simply our version of the Rum Barrel, a drink invented by Donn Beach and perfected at the Mai-Kai and Steve Crane’s Kon-Tiki chain. In 2007 we cobbled together the things we liked about all three versions, rebalancing so we could shake instead of using a blender.

You know about gin right? Bubonic Plague, Juniper, Holland, genever, bathtubs, Hogarth, Tippling Act, prohibition and the Queen Mum. It’s bartender basics, is the base of our knowledge.

Why on earth do we need to buy and read a book telling us what we already know? ‘the bartender’s GIN compendium’ is about as useful a book as ‘the politician’s LYING compendium’ correct?

Well Gaz Regan is here to prove you wrong. His latest book is an absolute must for any drink lover’s bookcase. Anyone who has had the good fortune to have a drink or six with Gaz will tell you his humour, passion and knowledge are beyond reproach.

The bartender’s GIN compendium brings those attributes to the printed word.

Rarely has a ‘spirit’ book been such a joy to read, from the outset Gaz’s personality jumps off the page.

The book is split into 3 basic parts – the first is a potted history of everyone’s favourite junipered spirit, next up is a more detailed look at the various styles with a write up on the brands that fall into each category and finally Gaz’s favourite gin cocktails from around the world. Sounds okay right? Nothing ground breaking. Another spirit’s book!

What the bartender’s GIN compendium has to separate it from the crowd should be easily understandable to all bartenders. Like a well made G&T or Aviation, the ingredients may be the same but how they are put together makes the world of difference.

This book is filled with quotes, musings and memories from various gin experts who Gaz has befriended over his years travelling the world, bar by bar and distillery by distillery.

More than that though it contains Gaz’s own memories and stories of a spirit that has been with him since his very first cocktail (a Gin Gimlet), through his early years of tending bar in New York where he ‘tended under the influence for the first time and invented sex (apparently) through to making his own gin at the Plymouth distillery after a dawn-ish return from a casino.

The stories are what set’s this book aside from the pack and give a real insight into the life of the man in charge. The middle sector could easily become a boring rewriting of brands press releases as each brand is given a page or three on their history, distilling techniques, botanicals etc however this is interspersed with Gaz’s personal memories and tales.

Tales which are refreshingly self-deprecating in a world where all too many bartenders seem to be over concerned with their ‘cool’ factor.

Due to the constantly changing gin landscape at the moment some of the more recent brands don’t make it into the book unfortunately (the likes of Sipsmith, Chase and Edinburgh Gin are all missing) but hopefully this will be rectified once the second print run is ordered.

The book is published by Gaz himself and can be ordered online here or through Amazon. Here as a special treat is a little extract for you and one of my favourite recipes from the book:

The man himself

Thought’s from a Gin Mill

Gin’s a spirit unto herself. She’s a loner. Gin can gnaw on the back of your neck till she nigh-on draws blood, and she can just as easily kiss you softly behind each ear, stroke the back of your shivering hand, and make you know that everything’s going to be okay. And it will, you know. It really will.

Gin can be sort of sneaky, too. Many a Ramos Gin Fizz has been served to a supposed gin hater, for instance, and the glass has been refilled more than twice before they discovered what was being poured. And who the hell would have thought that gin would walk out quite so well with chocolate?

But if you’ve ever had a Twentieth Century Cocktail – gin, crème de cacao, Lillet Blanc, and lemon juice – you know for yourself that these two make quite a lovely couple, especially when Lillet and lemon juice tag along as chaperones.

Gin is for thinkers and doers alike, but she won’t be seen dead with a loud, brash braggart down the end of the bar. Gin likes a little foreplay before she commits to going all the way. Tease gin with elderflower cordial, for instance, and she’ll flirt for a while before she takes her blouse off.

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the blouse is coming off, but Gin takes her own good time.

Gin makes her own statement, too. She doesn’t need a sleek black dress and screw-me pumps to make her presence known at the party. She can just sit quietly at the end of the bar, faded jeans and a plain white T-shirt, secure in the knowledge that only the guys and gals who know exactly what they want, how they want it, and how they’re gonna go about getting it, will ever approach her. And when they sidle over to her side, they know that they’d better treat her with some respect, too. Don’t mess around with gin. She’s been known to take off her earrings…

Ruby Sunday
Adapted from a recipe by Gary Regan, Ardent Spirits, NY, 2008
Rhubarb was a 1969 movie, written and directed by British comedian, Eric Sykes, in which “rhubarb” was the only word spoken, and every character’s last name was Rhubarb. There was also a 1951 movie called Rhubarb, and this one was about an eccentric rich guy who left his money, and a baseball team, to his beloved cat, Rhubarb. Rhubarb, Rhubarb, released in 1980, was a remake of the 1969 Rhubarb movie, and again, “rhubarb” was the only word spoken throughout the picture. Oh yes, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a little rhubarb in this drink, too.

• 60 ml (2 oz) Bombay Sapphire gin
• 30 ml (1 oz) Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
• 30 ml (1 oz) Rhubarb Simple Syrup*
• 15 ml (.5 oz) fresh lemon juice
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• 1 lemon twist, as garnish

Add everything, mint leaves and all, to a shaker full of ice. Shake over ice and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Add the garnish.

*Rhubarb Simple Syrup: Take 4 cups rhubarb that’s been cut into 1-inch lengths, cover with water (about 2 cups or 475 ml), add ½ cup (100 g) sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for just a couple of minutes until the rhubarb is tender. Strain the water from the rhubarb – that’s your simple syrup. Use the rhubarb in a yummy dessert. Gary made this kind of cobbler thing. Well, it wasn’t really a cobbler as such, but…….

Where Spirits Live Cover

If five days of making, talking about and drinking cocktails wasn’t enough, New Orleans also makes you feel like an extra in a gritty, sexy, sweaty movie.

In fact, if cities can be likened to bars, then New Orleans is a dive bar. Which, as anyone with any taste knows, is the best kind of bar, and it has to be experienced at least once in a lifetime.

But unless you have quite a few bob in your pocket, or a benevolent drinks brand to fly you there, it can be a prohibitively expensive trip for UK bartenders.

Numerous magazines and websites have written up the TOTC experience, however no matter how good the story, it wont help you taste the cocktails.

However, help is at hand in the shape of the ‘Where Spirits Live’ eBook that is now available for download on the TOTC website.

Essentially, Where Spirits Live is a collection of all the cocktails made and discussed in the various seminars and sessions that take place during Tales.

With an introduction by Dale DeGroff and recipes from luminaries such as Simon Ford, Wayne Collins, Timo Janse and Charlotte Voisey to name a few, the 244 page PDF volume really is an exhaustive list.

Being a digital publication, Where Spirits Live offers the obvious benefit of being kinder to the environment than a traditional tome, however it is searchable by keyword, which also makes it a valuable resource when researching or creating cocktail menus.

The PDF eBook is available for download from www.talesofthecocktail.com for $10US, which at the time of writing is a very reasonable £6.39.

So, should you feel the urge to immerse yourself in Bourbon Street’s sweaty glow from the comfort of your own bar / home, or re-live your time at Tales, get clicketing and download Where Spirits Live for liquid inspiration.

Example recipe, taken from the ‘Techniques and Problems of Historical Mixography’ seminar:

Punch Royal
Presented by David Wondrich

• 3 oz Martell VS cognac
• 1 oz Smith & Cross rum
• 2 oz Sandeman ruby port
• 4 oz still water
• 1 oz juice, lemon
• 1 oz fine Demerara or raw sugar
• Lemon peel
• Fresh-grated nutmeg

Muddle lemon peel in sugar and let sit for 60 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir to dissolve sugar. If necessary, add 1 oz (or proportional quantity) hot water to aid dissolution, subtracting same amount from water added at end.

Add cognac, rum and port. Stir.

Add water. Stir. Grate nutmeg over ice in serving cup then pour over top.