Hot stuff: Monin spicy syrups

Well, looka what the postman brought:  Monin’s line of spiced syrups.  I had a great time experimenting with the Habanero Lime flavor over the weekend, which is why you don’t see it in the photo below, dashing it into 7-up, tequila, and whatever else I had on hand. I’m excited about this product line, with good reason.

Spicy Chocolate, Spicy Red Cinnamon, Spicy Mango, Chipotle Pineapple syrups.

Let me tell you a syrup story. Maybe a year ago, after the book manuscript was safely turned in to my editor but long before the publication date, I hit upon the brilliant idea of marketing a line of Spice & Ice-branded syrups and glass rimmers. Great idea, right? I got busy with all the due diligence:  I signed up for a seminar with the NASFT (the same folks who bring us the Fancy Food show); I found a commercial kitchen in Brooklyn willing to let me use their space; I ordered dozens of tiny food-grade squeeze bottles to share with a few selected bartenders; I cranked out a marketing plan.

But wait — one key piece of the puzzle still was missing.

The product.

Here’s the problem:  I have lots of great simple syrup recipes, but they’re good for a couple of weeks, and that’s it. In order to sell a product, it has to keep long enough to survive distribution, maybe sitting in trucks or warehouses or on shelves for months and months. Even refrigerated products require some longetivity.

I spent several weekends brewing up syrups I really liked – Habanero Orange! Jalapeno Mint! Clove & Cinnamon! – and then I’d decant them into squeeze bottles, cap ‘em up, and sit them on a shelf to see how long a shelf life I might claim. Each time, it was about 2 weeks, and then a thin scum of black mold would grow. So very appetizing! So I’d toss out the bottle and start over again. I pestered a lot of very nice people with questions, who generously shared advice:  Use a greater sugar-to-water ratio, since sugar is a preservative. Purchase preservatives to extend shelf life (I had my heart set on creating an organic product, so that ruled out most preservatives). Find a better way to seal air out of the bottles.

Equally troubling: sulfur. I wanted to work with fresh peppers, which work great in freshly-made syrups but don’t age well. They begin to exude a horrible, knock-you-over-backwards, sulphuric stink after about 3 weeks.

So we stamp Kara’s Great Entrepreneurial Syrup Adventure with a big, fat, red FAIL.  (Anyone want to buy a box of 2 dozen tiny food-grade plastic bottles?)

If you’re still reading, you understand one reason I’m psyched about the Monin line:  they pulled off what I could not. I was sure this would be a high-fructose extravaganza, but no, they’re all made with cane sugar, and only the fruit-flavored syrups include potassium sorbate, a relatively innocuous preservative. But maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself:  I insisted on using fresh peppers and spices, where Monin subs in “natural pepper flavor,” “natural cinnamon flavor,” etc. I’m not entirely sure what goes into that, or how “natural” it actually may be.

In terms of taste, I was pleased. There’s a good balance of sweet and heat, with just a pleasant peppery tingle and no harshness in the throat or unpleasantly overt ersatz aftertaste. Nothing is the same as making it yourself, but I consider these syrups a perfectly acceptable substitute, and they get a rare recommendation from me. Bravo to Monin for making the product that I could not.

Drinks at the Brigidarium

I love watching other people make cocktails from Spice & Ice. It’s fascinating to see how people tweak the recipes to suit their taste or the occasion, plus it just makes me feel like I’ve contributed to the universe in some small way when I see the drinks make others happy.

So of course it took me all of 2 seconds to say “yes” when foodie friend Meryl Rosofsky invited me to a party where Spice & Ice cocktails would be on the menu, along with luscious delicacies like bacon-wrapped apricots to nibble. Meryl had given a copy of the book to her friend, Brigid Pearson, and gracious Brigid didn’t seem to mind my crashing the party at “The Brigidarium.”

Her drinks were fabulous. Below are a couple of snaps I took. There’s also a full account on Brigid’s blog (Feb 6 entry). 

Brigid makes a Blueberry Lemon-Pepper Martini

Don’t you love the pattern on the wall? She painted it herself…clearly a woman of many talents.

Cheers!

Video: spice humor

OK spice lovers, get ready to laugh:  comedian Michael McIntyre takes on “Herbs and Spices” in this comedy routine posted on YouTube. I love his impersonations of Five-Spice and Paprika, and “arrogant” salt and pepper. Brilliant! Watch it here.

Four things booze writers don’t want you to know

The food media is doing an awful lot of navel-gazing right now. It’s in large part due part due to the recent demise of Gourmet, the magazine dear to many a foodie heart, and once thought too big to fail (and by “big” I mean both important and deep-pocketed). The shuttering of Gourmet was a wake-up call for the food and drink media community, forcing many of us to lift our noses from plate and laptop, and take stock of what’s happening in the wider, sometimes Wild-West media scene.

 Beverage media is by no means exempt, and in fact faces its own unique set of challenges. I’ve been taking part in dialogues myself at venues like the recent Wine Entrepreneur Conference in Washington, D.C., and the upcoming Roger Smith Food Writers Conference here in New York on Feb. 13. Both events are new to the world this year, and both include panels on writing about potables.   (But they’re not the only discussions going on – check out also The Future of Food Journalism on Feb. 8 and The New York New Food Media Panel on Friday. And of course, the annual Wine Writers Symposium kicking off on Feb. 16. Damn, we’re a chatty bunch this month!)

Guess what?  There are a few secrets those of us who write about cocktails and spirits would prefer outsiders didn’t know, such as:

1. The words every booze journalist fears the most are:  “Just tell me what to drink.”  I have to credit wine writer Alice Feiring with this insight. But it’s 100%, undeniably true, and it’s not something I’ve ever heard from general food writers. As journalists, we consider ourselves storytellers — we want to tell you the story behind that great bottle, bartender, distiller, etc. Beverage writers fear that our great passion may be marginalized as just something to pair with a meal. (and if you want to hear more from Alice, she’ll be one of my panelists at the Roger Smith event, along with blogger Nora Maynard and Mutineer wunderkind Alan Kropf.)

2. It’s difficult to be both a booze writer and a wine writer. Believe me, I’m trying to do both. But it’s an incredibly fragmented world. Each requires their own vast knowledge set, not to mention industry contacts, vocabulary, etc. etc.  And it fragments even further if you aspire to write about food AND beverages, or coffee AND wine. From the outside it may all appear seamless, but from within it can segment endlessly.

3. We’d all better get camera-ready if we still want careers in five years. I’ve always wondered why there isn’t more “wine and booze TV” since we’re so inundated by Food TV. Apparently I’m not the only one who is thinking this. Look at The Winemakers, the Tasty awards, that gross-but-adorable McNuggetini video. Yes, video produced specifically to watch online is getting eyeballs too. Unfortunately, most booze TV has been amateurish, or assumes that viewers are morons (or drunk. okay, maybe drunk). If someone can raise the bar and make engaging, well-produced booze tv, they stand to make a lot of money. If that’s you, call me.

4. The “booze fairy” is our best friend. Except when it isn’t.  That’s right, the dirty little secret of wine and spirits journalists are those brown-box deliveries that slosh when you pick them up. Sometimes I wonder how spirits companies don’t go out of business, they send so many product samples to bloggers and journalists to try, and hopefully write about. (I do love that ”Liquor Fairy” graphic.) Of course, this isn’t a problem isolated to beverage writers, and Dianne Jacobs not long ago had a fabulous post about guidelines for food bloggers. Still, I rarely see a critical review of products that tend to arrive on the doorstep, moreso for beverages than for food products. I guess that would result in the end of said deliveries.

What do you think? Are we all needlessly obsessing about the state of food and beverage media?

Endlessly awesome: new things to put in your drink in 2010

The endlessly awesome blog Endless Simmer put together a must-read drink trends list, “Top 10 New Things To Put in Your Drink in 2010.”  Some fabulous ideas here for those who love bold and brazen cocktails, including:

Saffron (Spiced ice! ’nuff said.)

Mole – especially in the form of those lovely Xocolatl Mole Bitters from Bittermen’s.

Sriracha – a very cool idea, and one I’ve not yet tried. Personally, I think the texture of Sriracha is a little thick and ketchup-y for cocktails, but what the hell, it’s worth a shot.  And I’m forever indebted for the link to a how-to on making your own sriracha from scratch. Swoon.

Chinese Five Spice – the ultimate for glass rims and syrup infusions. Although I say why stop at five spices?

Smoked Coke – We’re going to be seeing a lot more in the way of smoky flavors in the year ahead. Just ask Ryan Maybee about the Smokin’ Choke.

Drink recipe: Rouge Noir

I’m heartened to see how the bar industry is pitching in to help benefit the crisis in Haiti. This morning I walked past Wildwood BBQ; they’ve created a special cocktail and 50% of all proceeds from the drink will go to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. Sunday night I’ll be headed to a “Hearts & Cocktails for Haiti” benefit at BAR*CELONA.  And while not strictly bar-related, dynamic food writer Ramin Ganeshram is organizing a Food 4 Haiti cookbook sale and food festival on Jan. 30 (I’ve donated a signed copy of Spice & Ice for auction, among the many, many other books that will be on offer.)

But the earthquake also potentially affects a spirits brand I was recently introduced to:  Combier’s Liqueur d’Orange and Royal Combier both are made with orange peels sourced from plantations throughout the island of Haiti.

So it makes sense to add Combier to the list of do-gooders: the company will donate 20% of all earnings from January 20 until March 1, 2010 to Doctors Without Borders - Emergency Relief Fund in response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

With this in mind, I’m featuring a Valentine’s Day drink made with Combier Rouge, which the company describes as “light and fruity with hints of pepper and licorice.”  Although I didn’t detect much in the way of pepper when I tried the liqueur, it does have a  rich ruby color (it’s made with black cherries), and pleasing cordial-like sweetness balanced with a touch of bitter orange and spice.

Like Chartreuse and Benedictine, apparently Combier Rouge is another in the currently fashionable family of monk-made (or at least monk-invented) liqueurs. According to the press materials:  “The original composition for Rouge was first conceived in 1632 by the Reverend Mother Gautron of the Benedictine Abbey of Samur, and became so popular that it delighted the court of King Louis XIV.  True to tradition, it is still produced much like it was nearly 400 years ago.”

Rouge Noir Cocktail

Rouge Noir

1.5 oz Combier Rouge
.5 oz Combier Orange Liqueur
4 oz brut
1 Orange zest

Pour Combier’s Rouge and Orange Liqueur in champagne flute. Top with champagne. Garnish with 1 orange zest.

Why didn’t I think of these spicy cocktail ideas?

A “pani puri margarita”? Chipotle and Lillet? Blackberry syrup and Tabasco?  Good ideas all, and not a single one mine.

Photo credit: Flickr/A30_Tsiitika

I was psyched to read a write-up of Spice & Ice  (or rather, a write-up of the WaPo’s write-up) in the widely-read Serious Eats blog (Serious Cocktails:  Adding Spice to Your Drinks).  But what really grabbed my attention was the Comments section – one fabulous spicy drink idea after another. Pow, pow, pow!  A quick sampling:

From laetitiae:  a friend makes the most delicious jalapeno lemonade. The spice and tart and sweet all blend together in beautiful, beautiful harmony in that drink.

From nickiter:  a dash of Tabasco mixed into a glass of Four Roses bourbon. You can’t taste it, but you can feel the warmth of it.

From TravelEatDrink, who also helpfully provided a link to a recipe for this treat:  Doesn’t get better than homemade jalapeno, cucumber, mint infused vodka with soda and a slice of lemon. (http://tinyurl.com/ye35dew)

From MikeK:  Vermilion in Chicago does a “Pani Puri Margarita” that is delicious

From nomenclature: One night a few were in the (communal) kitchen concocting these shots involving vodka, a splash of blackberry syrup and a dash or a few of tabasco. They were surprisingly good. A nice sweetness followed by the burn of the heat.

Of course, this is only a sampling of the ideas – but you can read all of them at the end of the Serious Cocktails blog post.

It’s good to be reminded every now and then that I don’t know everything about spicy cocktails – that there is still so much to learn, that someone out there may be creating something new and fabulous right this very second. Just don’t remind me too often, okay? (I’m kidding about that last part- send along new ideas, anytime!)

Finally – a new cocktail technique?

Compared to cooking, where new techniques are seemingly infinite, the cocktail playbook is limited to a few, relatively simple moves:  Pour. Shake. Strain. You get the picture.

So you’ll understand why I get excited to find someone doing something new, like Ryan Maybee of Manifesto in Kansas City, MO. 

Initially, I was pointed in his direction because of his Smokin’ Choke cocktail; he was among the first to use a “smoking gun” to quick-smoke liquor. And he was smart enough to make a video, which PolyScience glommed on to, making Ryan the poster child for the product. (Contrary to my initial perception, the videos are not created by or sponsored by PolyScience. They just knew a good thing when they saw one).

So what other cool tricks does Ryan have up his sleeve? Using eyedroppers to drizzle a spicy float on top of a cocktail. Although I know that eyedroppers are not a new tool in the bartender arsenal – they’re sometimes used to dose a drink with bitters or aromatic tinctures – I have never seen it used to add heat to the top of a drink. It’s different.

The drink itself, called ”The Tempest,” is a riff on the classic Dark & Stormy, and it’s shaken to create a foam on the top of the drink. Then he drizzles a five-pepper-infused tequila on top of the drink. “It gives just a whiff of pepperiness,” he explained to me. “It’s the first thing you smell.”

Ryan was kind enough to share the recipe with me. I have to admit, for the quintet of infused peppers, I worry about infusing two habaneros, even roasted habs, in a bottle for a full week. A week! I’ve done hab infusions that are searingly hot in just a couple of short hours. A week seems a little insane with habs, although perfectly reasonable for bell peppers and poblano peppers. But then again, you’re just getting about a teaspoon’s worth, not a full two-ounce pour of this firewater.

The Tempest  (courtesy of Ryan Maybee, Manifesto)

2oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum

1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

1 oz homemade ginger syrup

Eyedropper of 5 pepper-infused Tequila (recipe below)

Combine Rum, lime juice, and ginger syrup in mixing glass, add ice.  Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.  Strain into Collins glass with ice.  Using an eyedropper, drizzle a few drops of 5 pepper infused Tequila over the top of the foam.  Garnish with a lime wheel and piece of homemade candied ginger.

 5 pepper infused Tequila

Using Blanco or Silver Tequila, infuse 1 750ml bottle with 1 sliced Green Bell Pepper, 1 sliced Red Bell pepper, 1 sliced yellow bell pepper, 1 sliced Poblano, and 2 small roasted Habaneros.  On all sliced bell peppers, remove the hearts and seeds.  Infuse for 1 week in a cool, dark place, shaking up occasionally.

Drink recipe: The Masked Devil of Bombay

Okay, I admit it. I just wanted an excuse to use this fabulous drink photo with the chile pepper “horns.”

Masked Devil of Bombay

But wait – it’s an interesting drink, too – a gin-based cocktail sassed up with melon, lemongrass, and hot peppers. I haven’t tried this one out yet…but if you do, take a photo, I’d love to see how your drink turns out!

Masked Devil of Bombay (courtesy of Bombay Sapphire)

1 part Bombay Sapphire Gin

1 part Melon Liqueur

1 Lemongrass Stalk

2 Chiles

Muddle the lemongrass stalk, melon segments and chile peppers in a Boston Shaker. Add 1 oz. of Bombay Sapphire and 1 oz. of Melon Liqueur and ice. Shake the ingredients together vigorously and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with two ‘split’ chile pepper horns on the rim

Yeah, buddy, the bartender means YOU!

Hat tip for this one to Mr. Mixologist.

Buddy, I'm talking to YOU!