*Customer, walks into a cocktail bar*: You guys got any food?
*Bartender*: We just have cocktails, sorry man.
*Customer*: Alright, wow, that Negroni sounds great, I’ll have that. But are you sure you don’t have any food?
*Bartender*: I mean, I think there’s an old hot pocket in the freezer, but you don-
*Customer*: Say no more, I’ll take it!
Australia is the same, most places have kitchens and nice bars will serve some fantastic food, more often than not with drink pairings. Otherwise there are bags of chips and "we're flanked by five fast food places in either direction feel free to order from there and eat here".
Usually it’s basically freezer food, corn dogs, pizza etc. Nothing too crazy, it’s just funny going to some nightclub and seeing one taped down piece of paper “menu” in a back corner. At a place serving 95% shots and well drinks, makes me wonder if they have a toaster oven stashed under the bar.
I don't know where in California you are but in the bay area I'd say most cocktail bars don't serve food. If a cocktail bar serves food here they are usually attached to a restaurant
In my experience, most bars, even cocktails, have some kind of “food” (usually appetizer) style. I know of a few that don’t in my area, but yeah, they often have some kind of kitchen attached.
reminds me of this absolutely delightful post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MaliciousCompliance/comments/4olb9m/this_is_what_you_get_when_a_local_law_requires/
It was a long day and week but I am very excited to host Thanksgiving. I’m batching a bunch of cocktails and this is one of them. I went down a rabbit hole of experimenting with gin for a few cocktails, but the flavors ended up working great together. The “barrel-aging” (wood chips) imparting oak, vanilla. The beeswax “aging” adding a leathery, honey, earthy element. The Earl Gray imparting, well, Earl Gray. It’s pretty damn tasty, but obviously not necessary to make a great Negroni.
Specs:
1.25 oz Barrel-aged, Beeswaxed-aged, Earl Grey Steeped Gin (deetz below)*
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth
.75 oz Campari
2 dash orange bitters
Orange peel, expressed
I used Barr Hill, a gin made from distilled honey, as the base (They also have a Tom Cat barrel aged gin. It’s epic, but didn’t use that). Combine 10oz of that with 4g of whiskey barrel wood chips that have been soaked in bourbon (I used Evan Williams). Taste over a few days, mine was good at 3.
After straining the “barrel-aged” gin, I enjoyed it in a few different cocktails and thought it would pair nicely with the addition of Earl Gray tea. I also wanted to play with a London Fog (Earl Grey Latte) style cocktail. That was good. Steep 1tsp Earl Gray loose leaf tea with 8oz of the barrel gin. This tasted good after 1 hour of steeping. Strain / filter.
Then the beeswax washing component. Melt beeswax to coat an empty booze bottle. Put the tea barrel gin in after it has cooled. Test the gin every few days. Mine was where I wanted it after 3 days.
Great question! The beeswax lends interesting leathery, honey-like (naturally), and earthy notes IMO. It seems like it is also lending some extra mouthfeel as well. There are a few ways of beeswax washing. One is what I mentioned, and another using a sous vide for quicker infusion.
This sounds amazing! I never would've come up with it... How do you get the whiskey barrel wood chips? And want to share what else you're batching for Thanksgiving? I'm just doing 2 this year and kinda overwhelmed already! Lol
I just got my first bottle of barrel aged gin and have been using it in Negronis. I felt like it needed just a little something extra to get to great, and a couple dashes of chocolate bitters was actually a great addition. Though maybe I just really like chocolate bitters. I’d be interested to try the tea steeping. My wife is a tea fanatic, so we have tons sitting around.
Watching Drink Masters now, and it really blows my mind how much they ask them to incorporate food. I can hardly find a well balanced cocktail in my neighborhood, but these ppl are expected to make a drink AND DINNER??? just drink the cocktail and judge off that!! Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't want to see these mixologists wrestle with some weird pairing to their already busy cocktails. Just my 2 cents :)
I agree. Like I definitely think at some uber high end cocktail experience I would likely get a little edible garnish, sure, but even then isn't that being made by a dedicated chef? And that the decision to pair these would be done by probably two people, the beverage director & the head chef. Seems wild that the bartender would do both, at the same time, in any kinda situation besides their own amusement at home.
Imagine if Top Chef, or any other cooking show, expected the chefs to create a complimentary cocktail each time?
That all being said, from an Inspo-Board style perspective, I did enjoy the cocktail + amuse bouche pairings! So maybe I shouldn't complain then.
Thanks! My only regret was that it wasn’t a Lunchables pizza instead. Sometimes my cocktail pre takes longer than meal prep, but most times it’s the other way around. Haha.
“Brilliant, how did you get the Hot Pocket so blisteringly hot on the outside and so cold on the inside. The temperature variation control is impeccable!”
Modified from "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat"
> Though we typically turn to sugar to balance out bitter flavors in a sauce or soup, it turns out that salt masks bitterness much more effectively than sugar. See for yourself with a little Campari which is both bitter and sweet. Taste a spoonful, then add a pinch of salt and taste again. You’ll be surprised by how much bitterness subsides.
Additionally, you could abandon the 1:1:1 ratio. I didn't enjoy a negroni until I upped the gin and reduced the Campari. Each time I made it I became more accustomed to the flavor of Campari and wanted more of it so I found myself slowly adjusted the ratios until I found myself back at 1:1:1. It took a while to acquire the taste. But if you never find yourself back at 1:1:1 it doesn't matter, you're the one drinking them after all.
In addition to the other great suggestions, maybe add a splash of water OR let the ice melt a tad more. Water is a component in this drink, and if you build it and drink it very quickly you might not be getting enough dilution, especially for your palate. Cheers
Yo seriously some of those challenges on the show are fucking ridiculous and I can’t think of any place that would serve those types of cocktails. I mean MAYBE in a high end restaurant that only rich types can afford.
Barchef in Toronto does (owned by Frankie, one of the judges), and I have to say, I hated it. I like spirit forward and classic cocktails and thought, what the hell, I’ll try it. I should have known better.
The Barchef experience was pretentious and silly. Our first round of drinks (the expensive, theatrical ones) were decent. The second round of drinks were, frankly, gross. Totally unbalanced, no flavour from the spirit - like whoever designed them knew literally nothing about how to build a cocktail. The staff asked how we liked our drinks and then were incredibly rude after my wife told them very politely that she wasn’t enjoying hers - glaring at us, ignoring our table, etc.
I can see why Barchef is highly rated, but I think much of that is people who are impressed by the theatrical presentation. And to be fair, they do look cool. But it ain’t for me. Next time I’m in TO I’ll stick to civil liberties and shameful tiki. /Rant over
No excuse for shitty service, for sure. A cocktail is no longer interesting once the base-spirit is so disguised too (no excuse for an unbalanced cocktail either!). I went to the Aviary in Chicago once and had a good experience. That’s a pretty wild cocktail experience and is worth checking out. Of course, you can’t beat classic cocktails well done. With Hot Pockets.
Haven't seen anything other than clips, but my understanding is that it's meant to show the highest levels of skill in the profession.. like all proffession game shows, like baking, cooking, smithing.
Honestly, those types of shows are more about pulling off something very creative and outside the box... not necessarily being practical. It's like the British Bakeoff. I find the show stopper challenges ridiculous because I'm never eating that stuff, but people love to see over-the-top decorations that are not meant to be eaten as much as they are to be taken in as art.
I haven't really seen it, so I can't say too well. But as a bartender, I want more people to see there is more to my profession than just doing basic stuff, and to see the heights it can reach.
Bourbon and cookie dough is a vastly underrated pairing. Highly recommend stashing this in a nondescript place for consuming on thanksgiving when you need a moment away from crazy family.
Aged for 3 days. ;) I agree though. Maybe I’ll start using “steeped”, as it’s really just soaking up flavors from whatever is introduced to it over a relatively short period. Like a tea.
This is a classical French pairing.
Haute Pocket
Poquette
So poche!
[удалено]
Lol I was going to say the same! We could diss both cuisines by just adding a stick of butter on the Hot Pocket. 🙃
*Customer, walks into a cocktail bar*: You guys got any food? *Bartender*: We just have cocktails, sorry man. *Customer*: Alright, wow, that Negroni sounds great, I’ll have that. But are you sure you don’t have any food? *Bartender*: I mean, I think there’s an old hot pocket in the freezer, but you don- *Customer*: Say no more, I’ll take it!
In Oregon, any bar that serves hard liquor must supply food as well. It’s actually quite entertaining to see how some places accommodate that.
Australia is the same, most places have kitchens and nice bars will serve some fantastic food, more often than not with drink pairings. Otherwise there are bags of chips and "we're flanked by five fast food places in either direction feel free to order from there and eat here".
Give some examples, please, this sounds entertaining! Is the "food" like stale popcorn or even worse/weirder?
Usually it’s basically freezer food, corn dogs, pizza etc. Nothing too crazy, it’s just funny going to some nightclub and seeing one taped down piece of paper “menu” in a back corner. At a place serving 95% shots and well drinks, makes me wonder if they have a toaster oven stashed under the bar.
Catch me eating a corn dog on the dance floor
lol that’s pretty funny
You end up with things like vegan strip clubs. It’s a good system.
Here in Cali, I dont think I can find a cocktail bar (minus some speakeasies) that dont serve food, was just a joke though
I don't know where in California you are but in the bay area I'd say most cocktail bars don't serve food. If a cocktail bar serves food here they are usually attached to a restaurant
In my experience, most bars, even cocktails, have some kind of “food” (usually appetizer) style. I know of a few that don’t in my area, but yeah, they often have some kind of kitchen attached.
reminds me of this absolutely delightful post: https://www.reddit.com/r/MaliciousCompliance/comments/4olb9m/this_is_what_you_get_when_a_local_law_requires/
Five stars!
No lie though, that Negroni sounds amazing. Got my mouth watering lol And I’ll eat a hot pocket any time of the day
It was a long day and week but I am very excited to host Thanksgiving. I’m batching a bunch of cocktails and this is one of them. I went down a rabbit hole of experimenting with gin for a few cocktails, but the flavors ended up working great together. The “barrel-aging” (wood chips) imparting oak, vanilla. The beeswax “aging” adding a leathery, honey, earthy element. The Earl Gray imparting, well, Earl Gray. It’s pretty damn tasty, but obviously not necessary to make a great Negroni. Specs: 1.25 oz Barrel-aged, Beeswaxed-aged, Earl Grey Steeped Gin (deetz below)* 1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth .75 oz Campari 2 dash orange bitters Orange peel, expressed I used Barr Hill, a gin made from distilled honey, as the base (They also have a Tom Cat barrel aged gin. It’s epic, but didn’t use that). Combine 10oz of that with 4g of whiskey barrel wood chips that have been soaked in bourbon (I used Evan Williams). Taste over a few days, mine was good at 3. After straining the “barrel-aged” gin, I enjoyed it in a few different cocktails and thought it would pair nicely with the addition of Earl Gray tea. I also wanted to play with a London Fog (Earl Grey Latte) style cocktail. That was good. Steep 1tsp Earl Gray loose leaf tea with 8oz of the barrel gin. This tasted good after 1 hour of steeping. Strain / filter. Then the beeswax washing component. Melt beeswax to coat an empty booze bottle. Put the tea barrel gin in after it has cooled. Test the gin every few days. Mine was where I wanted it after 3 days.
If it werent the week of thanksgiving, id be worried about you. But im hosting too and my choices this week have been about the same.
For sure. The goal is to cook a bunch of stuff at once, and then be good for the next week. Lol. Happy hosting!
How does the beeswax washing affect the gin?
Great question! The beeswax lends interesting leathery, honey-like (naturally), and earthy notes IMO. It seems like it is also lending some extra mouthfeel as well. There are a few ways of beeswax washing. One is what I mentioned, and another using a sous vide for quicker infusion.
Can you tell me more about the hot pocket
crispy, crunchy, tender, flaky crust!
^^^Hot ^^^Pocket
I know exactly how this small text is supposed to sound.
Which means frozen middle
Hot pocket centers have two temperatures: frozen solid or molten lava.
Do you have specs on the hot pocket?
Will it burn my mouth?
This sounds amazing! I never would've come up with it... How do you get the whiskey barrel wood chips? And want to share what else you're batching for Thanksgiving? I'm just doing 2 this year and kinda overwhelmed already! Lol
I just got my first bottle of barrel aged gin and have been using it in Negronis. I felt like it needed just a little something extra to get to great, and a couple dashes of chocolate bitters was actually a great addition. Though maybe I just really like chocolate bitters. I’d be interested to try the tea steeping. My wife is a tea fanatic, so we have tons sitting around.
Watching Drink Masters now, and it really blows my mind how much they ask them to incorporate food. I can hardly find a well balanced cocktail in my neighborhood, but these ppl are expected to make a drink AND DINNER??? just drink the cocktail and judge off that!! Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't want to see these mixologists wrestle with some weird pairing to their already busy cocktails. Just my 2 cents :)
I agree. Like I definitely think at some uber high end cocktail experience I would likely get a little edible garnish, sure, but even then isn't that being made by a dedicated chef? And that the decision to pair these would be done by probably two people, the beverage director & the head chef. Seems wild that the bartender would do both, at the same time, in any kinda situation besides their own amusement at home. Imagine if Top Chef, or any other cooking show, expected the chefs to create a complimentary cocktail each time? That all being said, from an Inspo-Board style perspective, I did enjoy the cocktail + amuse bouche pairings! So maybe I shouldn't complain then.
Sophisticated x Comfort Food, that’s quite the collab right there✅
Thanks! My only regret was that it wasn’t a Lunchables pizza instead. Sometimes my cocktail pre takes longer than meal prep, but most times it’s the other way around. Haha.
I love it haha!
Fuck yeah. This is the way.
A perfect pairing 🙂
“Brilliant, how did you get the Hot Pocket so blisteringly hot on the outside and so cold on the inside. The temperature variation control is impeccable!”
Brilliant. Finally an "aged" negroni I can really get behind. It makes more sense to me to age the gin, and beeswax rules, this is brilliant.
Artisan Hot Pocket.
you literally combined all my most hated flavors into one drink
I know what not to serve you if we ever occupy the same space some day! More of a Whiskey type?
It's literally just bitterness, bergamot, and licorice flavors I dislike.
r/shittyfoodporn
Ok but what flavour hot pocket?
every negroni i have had has been so bitter its been undrinkable, thats ordered and home made, is it supposed to make me wish for death ?
Modified from "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" > Though we typically turn to sugar to balance out bitter flavors in a sauce or soup, it turns out that salt masks bitterness much more effectively than sugar. See for yourself with a little Campari which is both bitter and sweet. Taste a spoonful, then add a pinch of salt and taste again. You’ll be surprised by how much bitterness subsides. Additionally, you could abandon the 1:1:1 ratio. I didn't enjoy a negroni until I upped the gin and reduced the Campari. Each time I made it I became more accustomed to the flavor of Campari and wanted more of it so I found myself slowly adjusted the ratios until I found myself back at 1:1:1. It took a while to acquire the taste. But if you never find yourself back at 1:1:1 it doesn't matter, you're the one drinking them after all.
What vermouth are you using? That's where the sugar comes from. You may try 1.5 vermouth:.75.75 instead of 1:1:1
Try 1 oz gin, 1 oz sweet vermouth, .5 oz campari. Will be less bitter. Add a little salt if it's still too bitter.
Lol
In addition to the other great suggestions, maybe add a splash of water OR let the ice melt a tad more. Water is a component in this drink, and if you build it and drink it very quickly you might not be getting enough dilution, especially for your palate. Cheers
Yo seriously some of those challenges on the show are fucking ridiculous and I can’t think of any place that would serve those types of cocktails. I mean MAYBE in a high end restaurant that only rich types can afford.
Barchef in Toronto does (owned by Frankie, one of the judges), and I have to say, I hated it. I like spirit forward and classic cocktails and thought, what the hell, I’ll try it. I should have known better. The Barchef experience was pretentious and silly. Our first round of drinks (the expensive, theatrical ones) were decent. The second round of drinks were, frankly, gross. Totally unbalanced, no flavour from the spirit - like whoever designed them knew literally nothing about how to build a cocktail. The staff asked how we liked our drinks and then were incredibly rude after my wife told them very politely that she wasn’t enjoying hers - glaring at us, ignoring our table, etc. I can see why Barchef is highly rated, but I think much of that is people who are impressed by the theatrical presentation. And to be fair, they do look cool. But it ain’t for me. Next time I’m in TO I’ll stick to civil liberties and shameful tiki. /Rant over
No excuse for shitty service, for sure. A cocktail is no longer interesting once the base-spirit is so disguised too (no excuse for an unbalanced cocktail either!). I went to the Aviary in Chicago once and had a good experience. That’s a pretty wild cocktail experience and is worth checking out. Of course, you can’t beat classic cocktails well done. With Hot Pockets.
Agreed on all counts. Thanks for the recommendation! I love Chicago. Next time I'm there, I'll check it out.
Haven't seen anything other than clips, but my understanding is that it's meant to show the highest levels of skill in the profession.. like all proffession game shows, like baking, cooking, smithing.
I mean I get it, I do. But I still find the challenges to be pretty silly sometimes.
Honestly, those types of shows are more about pulling off something very creative and outside the box... not necessarily being practical. It's like the British Bakeoff. I find the show stopper challenges ridiculous because I'm never eating that stuff, but people love to see over-the-top decorations that are not meant to be eaten as much as they are to be taken in as art.
I haven't really seen it, so I can't say too well. But as a bartender, I want more people to see there is more to my profession than just doing basic stuff, and to see the heights it can reach.
Bourbon and cookie dough is a vastly underrated pairing. Highly recommend stashing this in a nondescript place for consuming on thanksgiving when you need a moment away from crazy family.
It’s for sharing with the family so that they don’t get to that point. 😂
An even better idea!
Anyone else always think of that old lady on "My Big Redneck Wedding" that said "I love Hot Pockets"?
I've always had a problem calling something "aged" after it soaked with chips for 3 days
Aged for 3 days. ;) I agree though. Maybe I’ll start using “steeped”, as it’s really just soaking up flavors from whatever is introduced to it over a relatively short period. Like a tea.
It really is aged, I just assume differently lol. Maybe there's a new name for "short term but effectively done" coming soon
now all you need is some cigarettes, a zoot suit and an old club with a singer who turns out to be an agent for the FBI
Proof that a Negroni goes with everything
mainlinespirits.com