Savory Cocktails Are Here to Stay
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LED BY THE FAMOUS & FLEXIBLE ‘MARY’, SAVORY COCKTAILS ARE HERE TO STAY BY JACK ROBERTIELLO here’s no lack of savory in cocktailing. Gin’s tang of juni- enough appetizer add-ons to justify a big ticket. Said to be per, vermouth’s herbal zip, Sherry’s nutty astringency—all were home of the world’s largest Bloody Mary bar is the Silver Grill important to many original cocktail whistle wetters. Vermouth Café in Fort Collins, CO, where 50 or so items including and gin together gave us the sublime Martini, the drink’s crisp quail eggs and pickled cactus leaves are on display. pungency the pure definition of savory. But today, it’s the Bloody family—the Mary, the Cae- sar (made with clam broth) and the Bull (made with beef broth)—that are the mainstays on the savory menu, based VARIATION SITUATION largely on their ubiquitous brunch appeal. Lately though, bartenders with a culinary flair have introduced new sorts of The Bloody model is ultra-flexible. Use aquavit, get a Danish savory into their flavor tool kit, broadening the trend both Mary; use Scotch for a Highland Mary and Irish whiskey for a Bloody Molly. A Russian Mary is a shot of vodka, tomato geographically and creatively. juice and Tabasco. The Bloody Geisha calls for saké instead The Midwest has long been known as the unchallenged of vodka; the Bloody Maureen replaces vodka with Guinness. headquarters of groaning board Bloody Mary bars Similarly, savory cocktails work like canvasses for creativity. incorporating schooners of mixes, dozens of garnishes and LE BALSAMIQUE BY RYAN TANAKA / NIGHT VISION BY CAROLYN FONG CAROLYN / NIGHT VISION BY TANAKA RYAN LE BALSAMIQUE BY CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: At LA’s Le Petit Paris, Le Balsamique is based on vodka, but driven by strawberries and balsamic vinegar. At Cole’s, also in LA, Max Seaman revamped the Bloody Mary using top-quality tomatoes and a gaggle of garnishes. Night Vision, at Duke’s in Healdsburg, CA, features gin, carrot, caraway, lemon and dry vermouth. The Churchill Bloody Mary at Howells & Hood in Chicago comes in a 20-oz goblet. SAVORY COCKTAILS While not many operators take on this accessorized format, others seize op- A ‘BLOODY’ BY ANY From maximum to minimalist… At left, the $20 “The Breakfast of Shaw” at HalfSmoke in portunity to focus on Bloody presenta- OTHER NAME? Washington, DC, basically comes with a meal tion. Howells & Hood in Chicago serves as garnish. Above, “Tomato,” at The Pool Although created in the 20th century, the the Churchill Bloody Mary in a 20-ounce Lounge in NYC, showcases the vegetable, goblet crowned with a skewer of pepper Bloody Mary purportedly takes its name enhanced with vodka, elderflower and lemon. from Mary Tudor, aka Mary I, Queen of jack, grilled shrimp, cornichon, cherry England (1553-1558), notorious for her tomato, cocktail onion and a Slim Jim, literally “bloody” persecution plus an Old Bay-seasoned rim. At Stoic Elsewhere the Bloody is being re- of Protestants. Most drinks thought. At Cole’s in Los Angeles, Max & Genuine in Denver, an Alaskan crab experts, including Gary Seaman just revamped theirs starting with leg is an $11 upgrade to their $10 “Best Regan, trace the drink’s quality tomatoes. “One of our goals was to Bloody Mary,” which already comes with vodka and tomato juice get as much umami as possible, while mod- mini bottle of Tabasco, pickle ribbons, foundation to Fernand skewered lemon and lime wedges and two “Pete” Petiot, a bartender at Harry’s NY erating the sodium levels,” says Seaman. green olives. Bar in Paris (no relation to Harry’s Bar “We took a look at classic Worcestershire in Venice), whose initial rendition was sauce and decided to “deconstruct” it by BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS dubbed “Bucket of Blood.” including many of its ingredients: ancho- Riffs on the build-your-own motif are Petiot was brought to NYC shortly vies, tamarind paste, garlic flakes, onion after Repeal to work at the King Cole showing up as well. The Halifax at the powder, miso paste and malt vinegar.” The Bar in the St Regis Hotel. There, the W Hotel in Hoboken, NJ, recently drink is garnished with a chile-salt rim, cel- name of the drink was changed to the launched a weekend brunch affair called ery stalk, pepper jack cheese, pickled egg, Red Snapper for a while, and eventually cucumber, carrot and green bean. “It’s About Bloody Time” with a DIY the Bloody Mary. A more subtle savory version can be check-off menu that starts with a list of On the occasion of the cocktail’s found at LA’s Roku, where Charity John- eight spirits and beers, two mixes, seven 80th anniversary in 2014, historian John spices and sauces, plus 20 accessories Mariani noted that it is not clear just son created the Shochu Tomato. “It’s the including oysters, shrimp, bacon, salami- when, when or how other bars around epitome of a savory cocktail,” she says. “I wrapped mozzarella, cornichons, pickled town began calling it the “Bloody Mary,” always wanted to love Bloody Marys but carrots and more. with reference to Queen Mary I. And they were too heavy for me. People can In Washington, DC, HalfSmoke offers to complicate matters, in a 1939 ad be a little afraid to try it at first but it is campaign for American-made Smirnoff The Breakfast of Shaw, a monster Bloody so simple and light.” In her version, fresh Vodka, entertainer George Jessel Mary topped with tater tots, French fries, cherry tomatoes are muddled with basil claimed to have named the drink after a leaves, and shaken with shochu, lemon mac-n-cheese bites, corn dogs, sliders, friend, Mary Geraghty. grilled chicken wings and celery. juice and simple syrup. SAVORY COCKTAILS WHEN SUGAR IS the Bloody Mary “the world’s most com- plex cocktail,” explaining: “[F]rom the LEFT OUT OF A DRINK’S standpoint of flavor chemistry, you’ve got SPOTLIGHT, THE FLAVOR a blend of hundreds of flavor compounds COMBINATIONS EXPAND that act on the taste senses. It covers al- QUITE EASILY. most the entire range of human taste sen- sations—sweet, salty, sour and umami or savory—but not bitter.” Indeed, when sugar is left out of a drink’s spotlight, the flavor combinations Tomatoes are already umami-rich but expand quite easily. A drink at Le Petite other savory ingredients are showing up Paris in Los Angeles exemplifies how lately. Tara Heffernon of Duke’s in Heald- little tweaks can highlight a savory burg, CA, created a Pimm’s Cup variant quality. Le Balsamique dashes balsamic using dried shiitake tea, shiitake tincture vinegar into a mix of vodka, strawberries and yuzu oil; the drink’s popularity pushed and lemon juice. And at Academia, just it onto the regular menu. opened in Austin, Texas, the opening “Here we all tend to gravitate toward menu featured the Raw Dill (Linie things that have an element of savory Aquavit, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, St.- even if it isn’t strictly a savory cocktail, Germain, saline, dill, salmon roe). SHOCHU TOMATO By Charity Johnson - Roku, Los Angeles, CA using a lot of savory ingredients to cre- Charity Johnson, who oversees ate something more harmonious,” she cocktails for Innovative Dining Group’s says. “For the fall into winter menu we 2 oz Shochu various units of Roku, Sushi Roku and ¾ oz Lemon Juice all picked things like butternut squash, Boa Steakhouse employs such savories as ½ oz Simple Syrup beets, mushrooms, salted cherry blossom, macha and oolong teas, shishito peppers Cherry Tomatoes turmeric, all with a savory quality.” and sage. “Most of my cocktails will have Basil an earthy or vegetal element to them,” Rim: Lemon + Salt & Pepper COMPLEXITY TO BURN she says. So many cocktails today lean 1. In a shaking glass or tin, muddle Does the Bloody Mary possess some spe- toward citrus and sweet with perhaps cial quality that has enabled it to evolve 3 cherry tomatoes and 3 basil leaves some bitter, she says, but salty and savory thoroughly. so dramatically? The iconic cocktail has can shift a drink’s flavors notably. had the honor of being analyzed by the Bar Manager and partner Tim 2. Add Shochu, lemon juice, simple syrup and ice. Shake well. American Chemical Society (ACS). Wiggins at Retreat Gastropub in St. Presenting a paper in 2011 at the 241st Louis agrees. “The depth and different 3. Rim the edge of your serving glass National Meeting & Exposition of the layers that savoriness can create, even with a lemon wedge and salt and pepper. ACS, Neil C. Da Costa, Ph.D., declared a tiny pinch of kosher salt or pepper or coriander can really brighten a drink.” 4. Strain the mix over ice and garnish Coriander, sage, charred rosemary, carrot with cherry tomatoes and basil. THE STALK juice—even pumpernickel-infused Mt. THAT STIRS Gay Rum—make their way onto his THE DRINK drink menu. Wiggins likes the way savory works away, chamomile, turmeric and shiso A celery stalk, often with leafy with bitterness, balancing the astringency brandy in the mise en place, Heffernon plumage, is the classic Bloody Mary better than sweetness does. In one drink, and co. at Duke’s are firmly in the sa- garnish. While its vegetal status vory camp. “Ninety percent of cocktails would seem to be especially Fresh Prints, he uses white miso with pas- copacetic as an ingredient, in fact the sion fruit pureé, white rum, pisco, grape- could use a little harmonizing through stalk adds more function than flavor. fruit, lime and nutmeg.