raising the bar

Gavin MacMillan Proudly Presents: The Bitter Truth Elevating customers’ taste experiences

’ve been bar- bitters can make an tending for enormous difference in the longer than I depth of flavour in your I can remember drinks. They are also the best and, to be honest, it was value for money investment a years before I ever opened a bar can make. bottle of bitters. Take a traditional balanced like While working in Australia I was the Libre (rum and coke). Four introduced to bitters as one of the elements are used to balance this drink and ingredients in the hangover cure make it a bestseller: rum (strong); ice or water trifecta — lemon, and bitters. (weak), which balances the strength of the rum; Made with lemonade (or 7Up to those (sweet); and lime (), which balances the The Semi-Annual of us who live in North America), lime sweetness of the cola. cordial and the magic “bitters,” this When balancing a cocktail based on these two elixir is used to settle the stomach. axes, (strong versus weak, sweet versus sour), you Beverage Menu By definition, a bitters is an alcoholic end up with a drink that hits both sweet and beverage similar to a spirit but sour taste receptors. Because the Cuba principally derived from herbs Libre hits two of the four taste sensors Make-Over Contest and citrus dissolved in alcohol. on the tongue — the others being salty Bitters generally have a bitter or and bitter — it is given a rank of two. bittersweet flavour profile. They also Then there’s the whisky sour, another commonly have an alcoholic strength of up to 45 cocktail classic. This drink has all the makings One lucky restaurant will win 2 days of per cent. But because they are so rich and full of of a great balanced cocktail. Even though its hands-on staff and management training by flavour, bitters are normally consumed in small namesake is ‘sour,’ the addition of sugar or master mixologist and renowned flair bartender amounts (1/64 of an ounce to 1/32 of an simple syrup balances this drink and makes it Gavin MacMillan, focusing on: ounce.) palatable. Most bartenders use rye or bourbon, Bitter liqueurs like Jagermeister were simple syrup and fresh lime juice to make this • accuracy • speed • flair • cocktail synergy • time management behind the bar • review of originally consumed for their medicinal cocktail. However, if you look at the classic current menu and full menu makeover qualities as much as their intoxicating and sometimes forgotten recipe, it calls for properties, however, those mentioned here two dashes of Angostura bitters. The addition Here’s what to do: Complete the ballot below (one entry per are considered digestif. of bitters to a whisky sour hits sweet, sour and establishment). Mail or fax your ballot to the coordinates listed below. There are hundreds of brands of bitters but bitter notes on the tongue, giving this drink a We’ll take care of the rest. Gavin will visit your restaurant to help your the worldwide bestseller and most readily rank of three. staff ‘Raise the Bar.’ available one in Canada is Angostura. Drinks like the naturally hit In addition to its original bitters, Angostura three of the four taste receptors — sweet Name: ______has an orange bitters that works well in (orange liqueur) balanced by sour (lime juice) cosmopolitans, and as well and salty (salted glass rim). Adding a few Establishment:______as most containing Campari, Cointreau, dashes of orange bitters can create a cocktail Grand Marnier, triple sec or blue curacao. Other that hits all four taste receptors, providing the Address:______exceptional orange bitters include Regan’s drinker with an unparalleled taste Orange Bitters No. 6, Stirrings’ Blood Orange experience. Phone:______Bitters and Fee Brothers’ West Indian Orange Bitters, which also produces grapefruit, peach, Gavin MacMillan is a master mixologist, Email: ______lemon and mint-flavoured bitters. And then bar chef and owner of BartenderOne Corp., there’s Peychaud’s Bitters. While similar to Canada’s fastest growing group of Angostura, Peychaud’s has a big, bold red bartender training facilities. Gavin is an fruit flavour. award-winning flair bartender and Over the years, the widespread use of bitters published author. He is also considered has dwindled due to the lack of education one of Canada’s leading authorities on about this alcoholic liquor and bartender cocktails and mixology. Contact Gavin at 5255 Yonge Street Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6P4 Or by fax 416.512.8344 ambition. However, a couple of dashes of [email protected].

10 FoodService News • www.foodservicenews.ca