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IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 1 Gone buł Obscure Vintageno tIngredients F Areorgołłen a Cocktailian’s Holy Grail Story by PAUL CLARKE Photography by STUART MULLENBERG

huck Taggart is ordinarily a pretty cheery guy. regional flavors rarely found outside their places of CAuthor of “The Gumbo Pages” Web site and a dedi- origin. What these ingredients share is a common cated fan of fine cocktails, Taggart has a taste for obscurity—but instead of squelching demand, this the classic, the historic and the obscure. But when scarcity seems to fuel it. he’s hankering to mix a drink with something that “The thing most desired is the thing denied,” can’t be found at his local liquor store—or any liquor says Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh, author, cocktail his- store, for that matter—his patience has limits. torian and Imbibe columnist (read about his own “I don’t like being told I can’t have something,” search for the hard-to-find Amaro Cora bitters on Taggart says emphatically. While accustomed to page 18). He’s the one who introduced Taggart to the occasional challenge, he says the ingredient that pimento dram. “The thought that there’s a cock- has particularly stymied him is a sweet rum-and- tail out there that might be good, and the one allspice combination known as “pimento dram,” reason you can’t have it is that there’s this strange, made in Jamaica and available almost nowhere lost ingredient that keeps you from tasting this else. “It brings such an air of mystery to a drink,” flavor—that drives people like me crazy.” Taggart says of the , which he first sampled Small liquor companies are showing interest at the home of a friend who has an extraordinarily in reviving once-lost spirits, and some mixologists well-stocked liquor cabinet. “It’s really very simple are even replicating these elusive ingredients. This stuff, but it has such a complex flavor. I was frus- was the path Taggart chose with pimento dram, trated that I couldn’t get a bottle.” and it’s a course taken by many professional bar- Taggart is hardly alone in his desire to taste tenders as well. “By re-creating stuff, I’m getting hard-to-find cocktail ingredients. Prompted by flavors that people aren’t going to find at any other recent books and driven by Internet forums and bar,” says Jamie Boudreau, bar manager at Vessel in blogs, a grassroots enthusiasm has blossomed for Seattle. “As a bartender, you have a large number of spirits and that can be all but impossible mediums to play with. If you can find more, that’s to obtain. Devotees pursue once-common bar ele- fantastic; if you can find something that no one ments that have faded into history, and unique else has, that’s even better.”

34 IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 Attention A cocktail dating back more than 70 years, the Attention was recently updated for contemporary palates by Jamie Boudreau at Vessel in Seattle.

2 oz. gin 1/4 oz. dry vermouth 1/4 oz. crème de violette or homemade substitute 1/4 oz. Herbsaint, Pernod or other pastis 2 dashes orange bitters Cracked ice Tools: mixing glass, bar spoon, strainer Glass: cocktail, chilled Garnish: lemon twist

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill with cracked ice and stir briskly for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish.

IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 35 Brooklyn Amer Picon and maraschino liqueur lend this classic relative of the Manhattan an intriguing depth and an engaging bitterness.

2 oz. rye whiskey X oz. dry vermouth (sweet vermouth also works well) W oz. Amer Picon, Torani Amer or homemade substitute W oz. maraschino liqueur Cracked ice Tools: mixing glass, bar spoon, strainer Glass: cocktail, chilled Garnish: cherry

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill with cracked ice and stir briskly for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish.

36 IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 Batavia by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz of Batavia arrack is the coelacanth of San Francisco’s Absinthe Brasserie) print spirits, a liquid fossil from mixology’s recipes for cocktails that utilize Swedish primordial era. Produced since at least punsch, an ingredient easily crafted by the early 17th century on the island of creative mixologists who have access to Java (formerly a Dutch colony known Batavia arrack. “The inclusion of this stuff as Batavia), arrack might be the most in current cocktail guides certainly shows influential spirit you’ve never heard of. that the audience is willing to seek out “Along with gin and brandy, arrack these products,” Seed says. “I take their was one of the most important spirits guidance seriously.” ever,” Haigh says. Distilled from sugarcane and fermented red rice—and distinct from Crème de Violette the arracks produced in other parts of the For a product that appeared in minute world—Batavia arrack was an ancestor quantities in century-old recipes, crème of rum. Crisp, vaguely malty and with de violette has inspired a disproportionate an intriguing smokiness, the spirit was level of devotion among cocktail aficiona- commonly mixed with citrus juice, , dos. “Whenever I bring up violet liqueur, water and spice in a concoction known as people immediately have the sense of , “one of the most important precur- the fleetingness of a flower,” Haigh says. sor drinks to the cocktail,” Haigh says. “Before they even taste it, they say, ‘Oh, Arrack punch was served at inns, my!’ It’s amazing, the wonderful beauty taverns and gatherings of all types through that people can extract from little, delicate the 18th century. But as rum became things.” widely available and as stronger, sleeker Flavored and colored with violet cocktails displaced punch as the preferred petals, crème de violette lends a sense of tipple, arrack faded. Even then, arrack’s ethereal mystery to the cocktails it graces. companion liqueur, Swedish punsch During the peak of its popularity in the (basically a sweetened arrack flavored 1890s, the purple liqueur—Crème Yvette with ingredients such as lemon zest and was a popular brand—was considered a tea) remained a useful cocktail ingredient ladies’ liqueur, and was typically served in until the mid-20th century, appearing in dainty cordial glasses. It was also layered drinks such as the Have-a-Heart Cocktail, with other liqueurs in pousse-cafés, but it the Volstead and the smoky, rum-based was in the more rugged atmosphere of the Doctor Cocktail. barroom that this Gilded Age relic made Now, Batavia arrack is back. Last its lasting impression. year, Eric Seed, a principal at Haus While still made in Japan and Alpenz—a Minnesota-based company Europe—brands include Hermes, Monin that sources artisan spirits for import and Benoit Serres—crème de violette and distribution—learned of the demand was unavailable in the United States for for these vintage ingredients, and was decades. This drought ended in June, when intrigued enough to reintroduce the spirit Haus Alpenz began importing limited in the United States in June. “There’s a base quantities of Rothman & Winter crème de of customers that simply wants to dig into violette from Austria. traditional recipes that reference Batavia Faced with the long absence and con- arrack and Swedish punsch,” Seed says. tinued rarity of violette, many mixologists He also notes that modern books such have chosen to improvise. A common tech- as last year’s The Art of the Bar (written nique is to mix violet syrup with vodka;

IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 37 Amer Replica Boudreau mixes syrup from the French uses was in a distinctive Basque highball maker Giffard with Citadelle gin, using 4 called the Picon Punch. “It’s the drink for Jamie Boudreau replicates the flavor of ounces of syrup for every ounce of gin. “Side me on a summer day,” Haigh says. “It’s just Amer Picon using an Italian bitter liqueur by side, you can tell the difference, but in a delicious when made with the old stuff.” supplemented with orange tincture and cocktail it’s fine,” Boudreau says. Fortunately, alternatives are avail- other flavors. Frequently found in the company of able. Torani produces Torani Amer, a gin, crème de violette appears in pre-Pro- product mostly similar in flavor and 10 oz. Ramazzotti Amaro hibition cocktails such as the Blue Moon, alcohol content to the original Picon, and 7 oz. Orange Tincture the Atty, the Attention (recipe on page 35) Boudreau is experimenting with a replica 2 oz. Stirrings blood orange bitters and the Violet Fizz. Perhaps violette’s most that harks back to the original. The replica, Tools: jar for mixing significant appearance was in the early which he’s planning to use in drinks Aviation, a mixture of gin, lemon juice served at Vessel, “has a little higher alcohol Combine the ingredients in a jar and maraschino liqueur. The original 1916 content, and a little more heat” than the and gently shake to mix. The amer is printed recipe includes a teaspoon of crème current Picon, he says. “In a cocktail, it’s ready to use right away, but the flavor de violette, and this likely earned the drink indistinguishable in flavor, and it has a improves with age. its name. The liqueur gives the cocktail an stronger character. I really like the way the airy appearance evocative of the wild blue orange flavor comes through.” Orange Tincture yonder that beckoned early aviators. Place 1 oz. dried orange peel (available While flight is now commonplace, the Falernum at tenzingmomo.com) in 1 cup vodka, liqueur that gave the Aviation its cerulean Like a character in an old melodrama, faler- preferably 100 proof. Soak for two months, hue isn’t. With the recent re-introduction num follows a dramatic arc from a modest shaking daily. of crème de violette into North America, origin to a role in one of the 20th century’s Boudreau hopes the situation will soon most famous drinks, and back to obscurity. change. “There are so many recipes in the Originating in Barbados, falernum is a syrup old books that call for violette,” he says. flavored with limes, ginger, almonds and Chuck’s Jamaican “There must be a good reason for it.” cloves, and usually contains just enough o. alcohol to rate as a low-amplitude liqueur. Pimento Dram N 3 Amer Picon In the islands, falernum is a common sweet- The search for Amer Picon can be doubly ener for icy Rum Swizzles and also appears Chuck Taggart’s pimento dram recipe frustrating. A French bitter aperitif, Amer in the Corn ’n Oil, a drink combining the highlights the distinct allspice flavor of this Picon was commonplace in bars from syrup with rich Barbados rum. beautifully nuanced liqueur. the 1890s through the mid-20th century. Had falernum’s story ended there, it The product disappeared from American might be little more than a pleasant oddity. 2 W cups 151-proof Demerara rum shelves in the late 1980s—but more than But with the advent of the tiki bar, falernum V cup whole dried allspice berries, crushed a decade earlier, the House of Picon refor- got its big break. Tiki pioneer Donn Beach 3 cups water mulated the product, reducing the alcohol utilized falernum in an array of concoc- 1 V lb. brown sugar content by almost half and emasculating tions, including the original 1934 version its once-robust character. of the Zombie, his most popular and most Crush allspice berries in a mortar and place “The current Picon has a different imitated drink. Falernum also crept out of in 1-liter jar with rubber seal. Cover with rum flavor,” Haigh says. “The original had a the tiki mug and into the cocktail glass in and steep for at least 10 days, agitating the singular flavor that is so balanced and so drinks such as the Royal Bermuda Yacht maceration daily. Pour through a fine strainer, right. Once you’ve tried that, it’s hard not Club Cocktail and the Frosty Dawn. pressing on the solids to extract as much to want it.” Falernum is still available, though it liquor as you can, then pour the strained Amer Picon contributes a bitter can take some dedicated searching. Prod- liquor maceration through another strainer orange flavor to drinks, giving a crisp ucts include Velvet Falernum, a lightly lined with a filter (this’ll take a while). edge to rye whiskey cocktails such as alcoholic version from Barbados that’s the Brooklyn (recipe on page 36) and the billed as the original falernum; and a non- Make a simple syrup by heating the water Liberal. One of the spirit’s most popular alcoholic version made by Fee Brothers. and brown sugar until sugar dissolves, then allow to cool. When cool, combine with the rum maceration and age for at least one month. Decant and enjoy. This will almost fill two 750 ml. bottles.

38 IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 Réveillon Cocktail Pimento dram lends a wonderfully warm tone to the luscious blend of fruity and spicy flavors in this original cocktail by Chuck Taggart of gumbopages.com.

2 oz. apple brandy or Calvados 1/2 oz. pimento dram or homemade substitute 1/2 oz. dry pear brandy 1/4 oz. Punt E Mes 1 dash Fee Brothers old-fashioned aromatic bitters or Angostura bitters Cracked ice Tools: mixing glass, bar spoon, strainer Glass: cocktail, chilled Garnish: cinnamon stick or star anise

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill with cracked ice and stir briskly for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish.

IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07 39 Falernum No. 9 Despite this availability, some mixol- “You can’t name any other liqueur ogists prefer the do-it-yourself approach. you can add to as many divergent drinks Paul Clarke’s homemade falernum recipe “I think they’re really artificial tasting,” as you can pimento dram, and have all uses fresh limes and ginger, which give the Boudreau says of the commercial ver- of them remain delightfully palatable,” syrup a bright, natural flavor. sions. “I decided to make my own because Haigh says. “You can add it to a Bloody I thought it would be an improvement. Mary, you can add it to a White Russian, 6 oz. Wray & Nephew Overproof It’s relatively easy and it tastes a million you can add it to a Whiskey Sour and you White Rum times better.” Boudreau uses his house can add it to a martini. It’s amazing—it Zest of 9 medium limes falernum in traditional drinks such as works in all of them. Do I want it in all 40 whole cloves the Corn ’n Oil, but also introduces it into of them, all the time? No—and you don’t 2 Tbsp. blanched, slivered almonds his own creations such as a Chartreuse need much; it really goes a long way.” V 1 oz. peeled, julienned fresh ginger Swizzle. Like falernum, pimento dram owes W tsp. almond extract At El Vaquero in Eugene, Ore., bar- much to the midcentury tiki craze. While 2 cups sugar tenders have also taken to using house- the liqueur plays a key role in rum drinks 1 cup water made falernum instead of the commercial such as Jasper’s Jamaican and in the V 4 oz. fresh, strained lime juice versions. “I think the reason we’ve been bourbon-based Lion’s Tail, it proves its (optional) pursuing the do-it-yourself approach is versatility when used in small amounts in Tools: jars for mixing; Microplane because we’d like to turn the clock back tropical-style drinks such as the Nui Nui grater, sharp vegetable peeler or to a time when there were so many more and the Montego Bay. paring knife; strainer; cheesecloth. flavors available to mixologists,” says Today, pimento dram is rarely found Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bar manager at El outside Jamaica, but its reputation for Zest limes with a Microplane, vegetable Vaquero. Morgenthaler found a falernum versatility inspired Chuck Taggart to peeler or paring knife, being careful to avoid recipe online (see recipe, left), and has replicate it at home (see his recipe on page the bitter white pith. Dry-toast almonds in a been using the syrup in Rum Swizzles, 38). After fine-tuning several recipes he’d pan over medium heat until light brown and Corn ’n Oils and other drinks, with a good found on the Internet—“It turned into an aromatic; let cool. Combine rum, lime zest, response from customers. “Nobody’s ever obsessive quest,” Taggart says—he found a cloves, almonds and ginger in a pint jar and tasted anything like it,” he says. “People version that seemed close to the original. seal. Let mixture soak for 24 hours, shaking have been going crazy for the falernum Haigh, who sampled Taggart’s replica, occasionally. Strain through moistened ever since we introduced it.” agrees. “The replica is a little sharper— cheesecloth, squeezing solids to extract While Ted Haigh helped Fee Broth- which is good, because it’s a sharpness the last, flavorful bits of liquid. Add almond ers craft their falernum, he supports the borne of the allspice berries—and it’s a extract. do-it-yourselfers. “I think the homemade little more allspicey,” Haigh says. “It’s just stuff is treasure,” he says. “Anytime some- ample evidence that the stuff isn’t that Mix sugar and water in a jar and seal. Shake body makes something with their own hard to make.” thoroughly until sugar is entirely dissolved. hands, there is a wonder and a sense of For Taggart, the opportunity to Measure 14 ounces (1 3/4 cups) of resulting delicacy to it.” introduce his homemade version to sugar syrup and add to rum mixture. Press guests—especially in drinks of his own juice from several limes, straining pulp Pimento Dram creation, such as the Réveillon Cocktail using a fine strainer, and add to mixture, Issues of availability aside, pimento dram’s (recipe on page 39)—is part of the adjusting proportions to taste. Refrigerate chief liability might be its name. While enjoyment. “It’s such an unusual cocktail and use within one month (the shelf life the word “pimento” conjures images of a ingredient for your garden-variety may be extended by skipping the lime juice, cocktail olive’s flaccid red stuffing, in this American drinker,” Taggart says. “I enjoy instead adding a little to each drink as the case it refers to fresh allspice berries. With serving it to guests and seeing if they can falernum is used). a deep, voluptuous flavor, pimento dram figure out what it is. Because its flavor is has been called the most versatile liqueur so complex and nuanced, it’s a really fun in mixology. ingredient to use.”

40 IMBIBE JULY/AUGUST 07