The Cocktail Ponders of Miss Bella-Rouge
Part 3
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| 'Libratum' Creme d'Peche, Martin Bianco, Fresh Grapefruit Cocktail of the week a few weeks ago..tastes like a Petit Filous Fromage Frais (Morish!) |
Hi, me again.
What i have been pondering the past
few weeks.....
Rhuby Competition
My
cocktail (Autumnus) and I were chosen out of hundreds of entries to be in the final
7 in the competition in London as part of London cocktail week. I was paid to
travel to represent Circo and Bath at The London Cocktail Club
(@LDNCocktailClub). Ill be the first to admit I am a novice when it comes to
hanging in nice bars in London (I’m normally dragged to G.A.Y with some friends
to watch glowing balloons fall from the ceiling whilst sipping bad Cosmo’s or
what ever it is they do there now a days!) and this place had such a chilled
atmosphere, very old fashioned and cool; somewhere I really wanted to be behind
the bar at.
We met the judges as we walked in the door
and were immediately given Prosecco and Rhuby (Rhuby Fizz..yum!) and got
chatting away. The competition started with everyone pulling a number to see
what order we would be in. I naturally chose first and got last place…great! It
meant that 3 hours later after everyone else had gone (and I had necked a good
5 Prosecco’s in nervousness!) I had to follow in the steps of 6 brilliant girls
who all had an amazing natural flair and passion for mixing and creating
awesome drinks… but so do i!
I stepped up to the bar with my late
grandfathers Loftus (1930’s) double tin cocktail shaker that I had never used
before but thought ‘bugger it’, alongside was his well-used U.K.B.G (United
Kingdom Bar Guild) ‘Guide to drinks’ which over the past few years has given me
great inspiration and motivation. So nice to pick up something that a family member
of mine used for 60 years and it still have massive relevance in my life today.
Many Thanks to my cousin James for handing it down to be J
During the competition we were to make 3
different drinks. The first round was to make our video entry cocktail… and
mine was the ‘Autumnus’ (see previous post) which I think went very well. I was
congratulated for my use of Fernet Branca in my cocktail as it is notoriously
hard to make ‘taste nice’ as this gentleman put it. Pleased with that, it was
on to the next drink….our mystery classic cocktail that we then had to give a
Rhuby twist. I got the Negroni, a classic 1930’s drink from Italy that is said
to be named after a Count Negroni who requested the addition of Gin in his
drink the ‘Americano’(Campari and Sweet Vermouth). In my nervousness/half
pissed state I managed to get out the words ‘Negroni, 1930’s gin, lets replace
Campari with Rhuby and add some Rhubarb bitters!’ to my surprise the drink
actually tasted cracking and without the Campari the sweetness of the vermouth
really shone through- a Girly Negroni. I decided to stir my Negroni in my
massive home painted tea pot I also took with me, worked a dream and looked so
fun coming out of the spout.
The
last drink was our own home signature cocktail that showed our flair and
creativity. Naturally there was only one drink I could make…. ‘The Bella-Rouge’
Sloe Gin, Amaretto, Vanilla Vodka, lime and Cranberry…, normally served
straight up in a martini glass I ended up shaking it and pouring it into a
Glass Pint Tankard full of ice….i tried to brush it off as a ‘well I’m not that
girly looking and I like the feel of the handle’. And that was me done,
24seconds over time but I did it! The judges were straight into deliberation
and I barely got a chance to try any of my drinks properly but it was such an
amazing experience and I will defiantly be putting myself forward for
competitions in the future. The winners drinks were awesome and the lucky cow
won £500 and a trip to Sweden.
Here is the link to my write up on the
Rhuby website… sums me up nicely…apologies for the awful pictures!!( I did say
I was pretty tipsy)
Ive just
come back from my Cousins wedding in Italy (AMAZING!) I now feel
extraordinarily well fed and watered. As it was my first time to Italy I was
expecting very lavish restaurants, wines and coffee… and was thoroughly
disappointed with the Coffee. Myself, my Mum and the brides aunt Patricia Hodge
(See IMDB) ;) had an amusingly precocious conversation about our Nespresso
machines back at home, and how nothing can really beat it now, and we were
right :/ none of the cafes or restaurants really fulfilled my caffeinated needs
but never the less the thought of a fresh Arabica Espresso Martini at home was
warming.
Italy is a
seriously pretty place, even with all the ‘lookie lookie’ men around the
Leaning Tower of Pisa! The rolling Tuscan hills were the perfect setting for
their wedding and needless to say all the girls cried at least once during the
day! Spending 7 days in close quarters with the entirety of your family is a
testing challenge to say the least, and I’m amazed the week was as calm as it
was- maybe it was the fresh air.
Whats next?
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| The best wedding favours ive even seen :D |
As it’s
Circo’s 1st birthday this Satruday (27th Oct) we are
throwing a mahooosive party at the bar, serving some fun molecular cocktails
alongside 7 of baths finest DJ’s... see www.circobar.co.uk
for more info ;)
Its nice to
get back into the swing of things at work after a week off... it can really
throw you off taking time away and I’m amazed at how much changes in such a short
time and how people grow and progress. The staff are all settling into the new
menu now with an extra 10 or so drinks and new wines on the list to learn they’ve
all proved a real passion and willingness to further their knowledge. What I love
about the new menu is that it is predominantly made by our staff. The drinks
are unique and untied to any corporate omnipotent force trying to tie us down.
It’s ours and we will do what we like with it!
The Oak
Barells are en route ready for some Christmas aged cocktails. I’m going to try
to create an Aged Aviation, alongside mulled wine and cider (c/o our lovely
friends at Orchard Pig cider and Juices). After talking to various people via
twitter and face to face I’m going to soak the casks in Sherry first( I think
it will give the overall drink a sweeter flavour) then add Vodka steeped with
lemon zest and Juniper for 2 weeks and Luxardo
Maraschino Liqueur. Instead of just adding Gin i wanted to create something
totally unique and by steeping vodka with the lemon first then ageing it I hope
(fingers crossed) It will add a new level to the overall flavour. But hey! Were
all about experimentation and if it doesn’t work the first time we will just
try again. Once aged (approx 3 weeks or
so, maybe more) we will take a 75ml measure of the cocktail and shake it with lemon juice
and sugar and serve with a Maraschino cherry and squeeze of lemon zest. Watch
this space for pics and first tasting videos!
On the
Molecular front after receiving all the goodies in the post weve been
experimenting with various bits, the Halloween party looks set to be fun with
Jellied amaretto worms to top our Sherbert Sour Cocktail (bright green!),
Pearled Cosmo shots (Looks like salmon roe!) and Kamm & Sons Ginseng and
Rhuby Caviar to top Prosecco ( looks like frogspawn tastes like lushness). We
may throw a foam in the mix somewhere but with the limited space and time we
have at Circo I think that will be enough! From the past few weeks of quality
control and pre sale customer testing it seems people are so receptive to the
idea of drinking something that looks like fish eggs, ( the flavour is amazing),
but the texture is what stumps them.
To be
perfectly honest I have no greater pleasure than watching the reaction of
people when they take a sip of something that feels like jelly that explodes or
pops in their mouth! It’s the same sort of thing when watching a baby eat a
lemon for the first time! I’m not entirely sure if I want people to like
it...it’s an experience even if they don’t. The Prosecco topped with the Kamm
and Rhuby is fabulous as the pearls float and resemble massive champagne
bubbles that once in the mouth are smooth and burst with a sweet Rhubarb
flavour that leaves a glorious bitter taste that resembles that of a classic
champagne cocktail. The amaretto worms are made In the same fashion as the
pearls using Calcium lactate and Alginate but instead of dropping the liquid
using a pipette into the calcium bath im squirting it at high speeds to create
a long worm length piece! So fun.
Method for Spherification
: (making the Rhuby and Kamm Pearls)
2g alginate
+ 100ml calcium free water (below 30mg/l) blend with hand blender.
Add cordial
or spirit in ratio of 2:1 with alginate and blend once more. (I use 25ml Kamm
& Sons+25ml Rhuby---25ml Alginate)
Prepare
calcium bath 6g calcium lactate + 200ml water and dissolve totally by stirring.
Using a pipette
drip the alginate and spirit/cordial mix into the calcium bath and leave for 1 minute
to harden slightly. if they are left for too long the juicy inside will also
turn hard thus making the mouth sensation not as fun!
Transfer
into a water bath and rinse.
Then add
them to whatever you like!
Check out
this website for fun kits and tips( all in French but Chrome should translate
it for you)
Or check out
this website too for the larger kits where I got all our parts for the bar
from.
I suggest
purchasing a book to go along with your ingredients as its pretty tricky to
start with. I was never good at chemistry at school so this is pushing my
boundaries!
It can be so
fun doing this and unfortunately the public are increasingly becoming wary of
different gastronomic/ mixology techniques due to a certain incidents where 18 year olds inhale and drink active
liquid nitrogen...eek! I feel sorry for the girl as the supervision within the
bar should have been a lot stricter; a silly accident that is going to affect
the progression of molecular mixology in bars across the country...especially
in places such as Bath that have yet to see cocktail bars using it regularly
(watch this space though!) But hey! I’d never
touch liquid nitrogen...as I said, Im crap at chemistry!
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| Jellied Havana 3yo Mojito with popping candy |
I will leave
you with the thought of fun molecular bits ( focus on the good parts and not
the freak accidents) and anyone who has any hints or tips. I feel its all about
trial and error as I found out with a jellied Havana 3yo popping candy mojito (
didn’t really work!) but that’s what its all about right?
What's to come.....?
Tequila tasting tonight at the bar with my awesome man Mr Chris Scullion (@bathwhiskyrum) who knows more than most about their favourtie tipple tonight looks set to be fun! Then some ponders on Halloween and the 1st Birthday Party! Bring it on.
Toodles x BR
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