A Muddled Thought

In an odd occurrence I recently came across an article on cocktails in an Airline Magazine while visiting family. The article described the author being introduced to the magic of cocktails after visiting PDT’s and ordering a Maker’s Mark, neat.

The author’s introduction came via PDT’s head mixologist, Jim Meehan. Jim, who after seeing the writer order bourbon, recommended he try PDTs take on an Old Fashioned, The Benton which is made utilizing bourbon infused bacon.

Jim and Don Lee are two of the cocktail guru’s behind the menu that has constantly drawn people to PDT’s night after night since it opened several years ago.
The writer of this article also made mention of a new drink that Jim’s been experimenting with dubbed the El Burro. As a lover of most of the ingredients that were mentioned (Absinthe, Tequila, and Ginger Beer) I had to see if I could obtain this recipe from Jim. He was kind enough to provide it to me.

El Burro
1.5 oz Siembra Azul Reposado Tequila
.75 oz Lime Juice
.75 oz Pineapple Juice
.25 oz Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe
.5 oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Ginger beer

Add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass, then add ice
Shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice
Garnish with a lime wheel and candied ginger
(Jim Meehan, Winter 2008)

While I’ve been to PDT’s numerous times in the past several years, I’ve never had the opportunity to try the infamous Cinema Highball that Don Lee devised. Somehow they’ve always been out of the infused Flor De Can Rum that Don uses in the recipe. So while I had Jim providing some of his secrets, he was also kind enough to ask Don about the recipe Cinema Highball.

Cinema Highball
2 oz Butter Popcorn Rum (Flor de Cana is recommended)
4 oz Coke
Build in a tall glass with ice.

Popcorn infusion
120g unsalted unbuttered popcorn
3 table spoons of melted clarified unsalted butter
infuse popcorn in white rum for 20 mins and strain
add melted butter to rum and infuse for 12 hours
place mixture in freezer and strain off solidified butter

The original article that inspired this post. Originally by Coleman Neary.

So as one of many fans of the Conference, a Death and Company cocktail, invented by Brian Miller and inspired by the Old Fashioned. In recent weeks I’ve been experimenting with my take on the drink.

Here’s the original recipe from Death and Company.

The Conference:

1/4 oz Demerara Sugar Syrup
1/2 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye (100 Proof)
1/2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
1/2 oz Cognac
1/2 oz Calvados
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Dash Xocolatl Mole Bitters

My Take:

2 oz Gosling Black Seal

.5 Oz Tequila

.5 oz Velvet Falernum

2 Dashes Chocolate Extract

Or Dash Bittermans Xocolatl Mole Bitters

Shake with ice

Serve in old fashioned with one large cube

While talking to Phil Ward of Mayahuel and Death and Co., I decided to get his take on the recipe.

After trying it my way there were several other routes he took.

In the first go around, he decided to add some whiskey barrel bitters to my recipe, which brought some additional balance to the drink. At this point I still favored my version better.

Phil insisted on giving it another try, though this time changing up the ingredients a bit. As Phil is a big fan of Mescal, he decided to replace the tequila with Mescal.

This is something that i had previously tried this recipe at home using Mescal as well it didn’t seem to work as I had hoped it had. Though I was utilizing a bottle of Scorpion Mescal, which should probably be reserved for blender drinks and shots.

As a lover of Mescal, Phil decided to tweak the concept of the drink and mix up a few different ingredients for his final take on it.

Phil Ward’s Final Take-

All ingredients are equal parts. In other words ¾ of an Ounce

Antica

Los Danzante Mescal

Goslings Black Seal Rum

Marie Brizard White Cacao

Lime

Phi's Version of The Last Request

While this drink probably won’t make it to the Cocktail Menu at Mayahuel anytime soon, I figured I’d still give it an appropriate name. I’m still hopefully that Phil will at least let me pick the name if it does somehow become a featured choice. If that does happen, keeping with it’s Spanish influences, I’d suggest petición pasada which translates to “last request”.

For those interested in some of the more creative ways Veev Acai has been used throughout New York City , I’ve been able to obtain the following recipes for your home mixology experiments. Feel free to pick up a bottle of Veev at your local spirits establishment, or head over to one of these restaurants for a taste.

Restaurant-Empire
Cocktail-UWS Mojito
VeeV
Muddled lime and mint
Simple syrup

Restaurant-
The Eldridge
Cocktail:The Chrystie

1.5 oz VeeV
.5 oz Liquor 43
1 oz fresh pineapple juice
6 mint leaves
Simple syrup
Lime juice
Shaken and double strained over ice


Restaurant-Blue Smoke
Cocktail-Your Money Maker
2 oz VeeV
Pineapple juice
Splash of Canton

Restaurant-Village
Cocktail:VeeV Acai Village Regal
2 oz VeeV
1 oz Chambord
Lemon juice
Shaken and served on the rocks

Restaurant-Pastis
Cocktail-The Acai Mango Cooler
Veev
Fresh Mango Juice
Lemon
Agave Syrup
Club Soda
Restaurant-Southgate
Cocktail-The Cougar
Veev
Pomengranate Infused Tea with Spices
Topped with Champagne