Episode 056 - Stay Fresh

Hello all and welcome to my 56th episode of Behind The Bar Show. I've received a lot of questions about keeping ingredients fresh like simple syrup, citrus garnish and juices, vermouth, etc. Well this episode was created to fulfill this topic. Hopefully you find it entertaining and informative at the same time. Be sure to listen all the way through to hear one of my favorite home-made spice filled grenadine that will knock your socks off. After making, smelling and tasting this stuff, you'll NEVER go back to that nasty chemical laden bright red junk sold in stores again.

During this episode I also talk about a wonderful new website called Nirvino. I wanted to link to it here so you can all go take a look. Be sure to add me as a drinking partner after signing up. It's FREE to join! My username is MrMartini, of course.

Nirvino is a wonderful website that's kind of like Yelp but for rating wines and cocktails at specific cocktail bars. You can keep up with your friends on Nirvino to see where they're out drinking and to look at reviews based on cocktails and bars in your area.

Remember, I love feedback. Be sure to email me your comments, questions, favorite cocktail recipes, anything at behindthebarshow@gmail.com. If you're on Facebook, search for behindthebarshow@gmail.com and be sure to add me. I use Facebook extensively to keep personal contact with my listeners so you always have a voice in what's happening on the show.

Enjoy this 56th episode. Now I'm off to start working on the 57th. With a bit of luck, it might have a special guest.

Cheers!
Tim Morrison (Mr. Martini)

SF Cocktail Week

Hello fellow cocktail enthusiasts. For those of you who will be around San Francisco on May 11th through 18th, you could be in for a real treat. That week is the Third Annual San Francisco Cocktail Week: http://sfcocktailweek.com and is going to be a blast. There will be plenty to do all week between the Opening Gala to the Closing Gala. Go to their link and check out the planned events.

There are lots of classes available on Thursday, May 14th. I'll be attending two of them:

Gentleman's Companion
The first class I'll be taking will be at Heaven's Dog from 3pm to 5pm supporting one of my favorite bartenders in this city, Erik Atkins, as he takes us through the course of Baker's journey, sharing along the way some of Baker's most memorable tales and cocktail recipes.


House-made Ingredients
My second class will be at Absinthe Brasserie & Bar from 6pm to 9pm. The class will be held by Jeff Hollinger & Neyah White and will cover creating ingredients like specialty syrups, gastriques, shrubs, liqueurs & cordials, bitters, and tinctures. In addition, they will teach how to manipulate ingredients by using culinary techniques such as roasting, smoking, and dehydrating. Did you watch the last episode of Top Chef? This is where "our" top chef, Jamie Lauren, resides. She'll be preparing snacks for this event.

If you're going to be in the area this week, definitely look through the classes and events happening all over the city and enjoy the cocktail experiences to be had. Also, if you sign up to take either of the classes I just mentioned, I'll see you there!

Cheers!
Tim (Mr. Martini)

Do you get Imbibe Magazine?

Hello fellow cocktail enthusiasts? I just received the recent issue of Imbibe Magazine and had to type up a quick post about it. I receive questions all the time on how to start building a home bar. "What spirits should I start out with?" "What are the basic tools I need?"

In the latest May/June 2009 edition, Imbibe Magazine gives a wonderful article called "RAISING the BAR." The article is broken out into three sections, which could be considered "home bar 101", "home bar 201" and "home bar 301." If you've had questions about where to start on building your bar collection including spirits, tools, books, etc, this article is a MUST read. It's about one of the best lists I've seen. If you don't subscribe to Imbibe (why not?) head out to your closest book store and pick up their latest May/June 2009 issue. You'll be happy you did.

Cheers!
Tim

Episode 055 - Chartreuse

Hello fellow cocktail enthusiasts. I am proud to bring you my 55th episode of Behind The Bar Show. This episode is jam packed with history as it is about probably one of the oldest spirits known to man; Chartreuse.

During this episode, I give the following recipes:

Alaska Cocktail
1 1/2 oz Gin
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 dashes Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Bijou Cocktail
1 1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
Dash Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Tailspin
1 oz Gin
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
Dash Campari (1/4 tsp)
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Albertine Cocktail
3 oz Kirsh
3 oz Cointreau
3 oz Green Chartreuse
1 drop Maraschino Liqueur
Shake with ice and strain into two chilled cocktail glasses. You wouldn't want to drink alone, would you?

Everybody's Irish Cocktail
3 oz Irish Whiskey
1/2 oz Green Creme de Menthe
1 oz Green Chartreuse
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. The original recipe says "garnish with an olive" but I haven't had the guts to try that yet. Go for it if you like.

Cheers!
Mr. Martini

Episode 054 - Obsello Absinthe

Hello again everyone. This episode has definitely jumped to the top of my list as my favorite episode. It was so much fun doing this one. Yes, I've already done an episode on Absinthe (episode 009 - Absinthe) but I'm doing another. Why not? Absinthe is now legally being sold in the US and I'm happy to do my part to break the myths about this wonderful spirit as well as to talk about a brand that I really do enjoy.

I receive email all the time from PR reps pushing information on their client’s products. The majority of the time it's an email that's obviously just a generic message talking up a spirit with usually really bad recipes added and pictures. I delete those pretty quickly. Then there's the email I'll receive from a PR rep that starts off on a personal level saying how much they love my show and then they advertise their client’s . What’s wrong with that? It’s when they start the email with, “Hello Greg.” Who's Greg? How can you really enjoy my show if you think my name is Greg? Yes, this really happened. Anyway, every now and then I get contacted by a PR rep who really does their homework and that's what happened here. (Hello Olivia!) I started an email conversation with this person and they asked if they could send me a sample of Obsello Absinthe. Who am I to turn down free alcohol? Well this wouldn't be the first time I've received free samples and I can definitely tell you I don't post about every single one of them. There's been a few that I've opened, tasted and then poured down the drain. Anyway, Obsello really got me. Now this is an absinthe I'd put my name behind! For that reason, I ended up getting in contact with the distiller of Obsello and we scheduled a phone interview. This episode is the outcome of that interview.

Most of my listeners subscribe and get my show through iTunes but if you don't, you can get all of my episodes on Podcast Alley. To quickly hear this episode, just click the title to this blog posting or click here.

In this episode, I give a shout out to all the wonderful listeners who have linked up with me on Facebook, give a great absinthe quote from Oscar Wilde and then play the interview with B. Alex from Obsello Absinthe.


We also briefly mention a gin made by Esmeralda Distillery called Port of Barcelona Gin.

Be sure to listen all the way to the end where I give the recipes of two of the drinks B. Alex mentions during the interview.

For those who like pictures, here are a few I've taken using Obsello to show off the wonderful verte color and the louche. What is louche? If you're asking that question then you obviously didn't listen to my Episode 009 - Absinthe show. I'd start there first and then listen to this one.


This picture shows the natural color of Obsello Absinthe. Notice it isn't neon green? Do you think a neon color is natural? No. This color comes naturally from the herb's chlorophyll during the final masuration process.

This image shows the the louching affect as the ice water drips into the absinthe. Notice the oils coming out of solution and clouding the absinthe while a thin film floats on top.



And here it is ready to drink. Okay, it's a bit much. These pictures come from the first time I tried it and I quickly realized that Obsello is such a smooth, refreshing absinthe that I can get away with a lot less water. I'm used to making an absinthe drip with another brand that works best at 1 part absinthe, 4 parts water but I now like to use Obsello as 1 part absinthe, 2 parts water. Anyways, this picture shows of that perfect milky color.

I also realize I'm not using real absinthe glasses. Instead I'm using Reidel glassware. Unfortunately, I've yet purchased a set of absinthe glasses. What are the best absinthe glasses? They are shaped perfectly for absinthe where they have a bulbous shape on the bottom to show you how much absinthe to add and then you fill the rest with the water.

Here is the perfect example:


I hope you have enjoyed the pictures. Click on the images to download the full image. (Be warned. I left the images large so you can really see the detail.) Now what are you waiting for? Go listen to this episode!

Cheers everyone!

Tim Morrison (Mr. Martini)

Did your iTunes try to download ALL my episodes again?

I've received a few messages from listeners asking why all of my episodes posted again and their iTunes tried downloading them all again. Yes, I saw this too. Here's what happened: Google purchased Feedburner, which is the service I used to publish my RSS feed. Unfortunately, when this merger happened they changed the URL of the RSS feed, which causes iTunes to think it's a new feed so it tries to download them all again. Sorry for any confusion. Just highlight all the dupicate episodes, if downloaded or not, and delete them. This should clean up your Podcasts list in iTunes.

Cheers!
Tim

Episode 053 - Drink Type Part Two

Well it's finally here. This is my 53rd episode, which finished out my Drink Types episodes. During this episode I also talk about my drinking experiences in Singapore and instead of doing my usual "famous quotes" during the break, I play a great voice message received from two listeners from Germany who recorded a spoof of my show. You must check it out!

I've posted some new pics on Flickr so check them out. Here is one of the pictures in this post. I'm about to enjoy my Singapore Sling at the bar it was created; the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel.