The Manhattan Cocktail.

The Manhattan: When taking an order for said cocktail, offer "sweet, dry or medium"; This way no-one is under the delusion that a mixture of sweet and dry vermouth is in someway "perfect".

The Backbar

The Backbar: Resist the urge for completism, only stock products that you know and love; And more importantly, only stock products that will sell; A selection is better than a collection.

Sex on the Beach.

Sex on the Beach.

My Variation.

35ml Vodka,
15ml Creme de Peche (Peach Liqueur),
15ml Chambord (French Wild Raspberry Liqueur),
35ml Cranberry Juice,
35ml Pineapple Juice.

Shake hard with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled tall glass; Garnish with a wedge of lime, and two raspberries.

My Raspberry Collins...

Raspberry Collins.

My Version.

50ml Appleton VX Rum,
20ml Fresh Lime Juice,
10ml Passionfruit Syrup,
15ml Raspberry Puree.

Shake with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled tall glass; Top with Sodawater (Club Soda); Garnish with a Lime wedge and two raspberries.

Jungle Rocker.

Jungle Rocker.

Created by George Sinclair.

50ml Sailor Jerry's,
25ml Passionfruit Puree,
15ml Creme de Banane,
10ml Gomme Syrup,
5ml Fresh Lime Juice.

Shake with ice, and then strain into a tall glass which is filled with crushed ice; Garnish with a mint sprig, and a blackberry..

King of Brazil

50ml Germana Cachaca,
25ml Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice,
15ml Gomme Syrup,
2 Dashes of Orange Bitters,
10ml Eggwhite.

Shake with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled rocks glass; Garnish with a lemon twist.

A damn fine Mojito!

Last Thursday's Mojito

Invented by my good self, 25th April 2009.

50ml Appletons Extra Rum,
25ml Fresh Lime juice,
15ml Gum Syrup,
8 mint leaves.

Lightly muddle the mint with the syrup, add the rest of the ingredients, along
with lots of ice cubes; Top with CREAM SODA, and then stir the lot up with a
long spoon; Garnish with a mint sprig.

Rye Manhattan

The fact is...

Any fool bartender can endlessly create weird and wonderous new cocktail recipes; The true skill lies in getting people to drink these "new" libations, and also to order another at some point.

Bloody Mary

Over the years I have had a very shakey relationship with the Bloody Mary, and by that I am not referring to its reputation as a morning after remedy. Too many times I have constructed Bloody Marys for customers while thinking, why are they drinking vodka with tomato juice? Regardless of how many "Ultimate" Bloody Mary recipes I have sampled, I have never quite been impressed by them; The reason for this ambivalence was never apparent until very recently; It was the wateryness of the mixture, and its increasing wateryness as it sat on the bartop. My "masterstroke" was to simply remove the ice, and thus the water, from the equation. Chill the vodka, and chill the tomato juice; And then the drink is at the correct dilution from start til finish; Your only concern will be the temperature of the libation; But will it last that long in the glass when the drink is consistently good, rather than evolving into a watery fruit juice?

My Bloody Mary.

Into an empty rocks glass: Finely dice two slices of cucumber and a cocktail gherkin, then pile it into a rocks glass. Add a heaped tablespoon of Nando's Peri-peri sauce, and 6 dashes of Worchestershire Sauce; And then squeeze the juice of half a fresh lime into the glass, Add salt and pepper to taste; 35ml of chilled/ frozen vodka; Top with Tomato juice, Stir thoroughly with a teaspoon; Serve.

Note: There must be no ice, and no straws for this drink; A teaspoon is allowed.

There are even more refinements to be made to this recipe, and this is best applied to jugs/ pitchers of the stuff; The tweaks to be recommended are freshly grated horseradish, celery salt, and finely diced celery.

New: Princess Peach.

Princess Peach.

50ml Haymen’s Old Tom gin,
15ml Creme de Peche,
10ml Peach Puree,
20ml Fresh Lime Juice,
5ml Blossom Honey,
8 mint leaves.

Shake hard with ice, and then double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass; Garnish with a lemon twist.

New: Andean Breeze.

New: Andean Breeze.

2 shots Pisco Brandy,
1 shot Fresh Lime Juice,
1 shot Ginger & Lemongrass Cordial,
2 shots Pineapple Juice.

Shake with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled tall glass; Garnish with a lime wedge, and a mint sprig.

My Bloody Mary Recipes

The Official "Bourbon George" Bloody Mary.

Into an empty rocks glass: Finely dice two slices of cucumber, then pile it into glass. Add a heaped tablespoon of Nando's Peri-peri sauce. And then squeeze the juice of half a fresh lime into the glass, Add salt and pepper to taste; 35ml of vodka; Top with Tomato juice, Stir thoroughly with a teaspoon; Serve.

Note: There must be no ice, and no straws for this drink; A teaspoon is allowed.

My Bloody Mary #2.

Into an empty rocks glass: Finely dice a cocktail gherkin (those small ones), then pile it into glass. Add a heaped tablespoon of Horseradish cream. And then squeeze the juice of half a fresh lime into the glass, Add salt and pepper to taste; 35ml of vodka; Top with Tomato juice, Stir thoroughly with a teaspoon; Stir again for luck; Serve.

Note: There must be no ice, and no straws for this drink; A teaspoon is allowed.

Bloody Maria.

Into an empty rocks glass: Finely dice two slices of cucumber, then pile it into glass. Add a heaped tablespoon of Groovy Chilli Coriander Lime Agave Marinade. And then squeeze the juice of half a fresh lime into the glass, Add salt and pepper to taste; 35ml of 100% agave tequila, served in a shot glass, next to the main glass; Top with Tomato juice, Stir thoroughly with a teaspoon; Serve.

Note: There must be no ice, and no straws for this drink; A teaspoon is allowed.

Ideas for new bloody marys (untested)

Bloody Gaucho.

Diced Apple and Pear, plus Malbec. Peychauds Bitters; 35ml Vodka; Salt and Pepper; Tomato Juice; Worchestershire Sauce; Tabasco Sauce.


Thai Mary.

Coriander/ Cilantro; Deseeded Chilli Pepper.

Red Curry Paste/ Yellow/ Green.

New: Red Prince.

Red Prince.

Into an empty rocks glass:

Finely dice two slices of cucumber, then pile it into glass.
Add a heaped tablespoon of Nando's Peri-peri sauce.
Squeeze the juice of half a fresh lime into glass,
Add salt and pepper to taste,
Top with Tomato juice,
Stir thoroughly,
Serve.

Note: There must be no ice, and no straws for this drink.

I can not believe that the UK is the only country in the world that has a foreigner as the head of its bartenders guild. But to be fair the only people who join the UKBG are foreigners working in hotel bars.

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese."

New: Lush Martini

50ml Sailor Jerry's.
25ml Passionfruit Puree,
10ml Creme de Banane,
5ml Gomme Syrup,
5ml Fresh Lime Juice.

Shake with ice, and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass; Garnish with a flamed Orange twist.

Corazon

50ml Vanilla Stolichnaya Vodka,
15ml Coco Lopez,
10ml Peach Liqueur,
50ml Apple Juice.

Shake with ice, and then strain into an ice-filled tall glass; Garnish with a lime wedge.

Pisco Punch (My Version).

50ml Pisco Brandy,
25ml Fresh Lime Juice,
25ml Blossom Honey,
50ml Pineapple Juice.
2 dashes of orange bitters.

Shake with ice, and then strain over ice in a tall glass; Garnish with a lime wedge.

Only two were sold, but I am happy with the recipe. Lush.

So 16 Katkarino cocktails were sold last night, not bad; Better than the duck from the previous night. We are going to shift to doing weekly cocktails rather than daily cocktail specials, this is so the waiting staff get used to the cocktail before the weekend and can at least be confident when selling them to guests.

Off to work I go.

The Beast of Bourbon is back.

Off to work in a moment, for a fun-packed night of inspiration and perspiration. Will report back on whatever peaks my interest.

Ciao for now.

George (BG).