The Name Game

Manhattan.

The Last Word.

Corpse Reviver #2.

If you are a fan of cocktails, you know these classics. Chances are, you not only know the ingredients and have a relationship with their effects, but you likely have some sort of association with their names. The Manhattan is (dare I say it), the most masculine combination of ingredients one can pour into a cocktail glass. The first three letters are M-A-N, for godsake, and would anyone dare label the borough of Manhattan as dainty?

The Last Word? Sounds like your epic search for the ideal cocktail is over. That's that. End of story. Or perhaps the name is a warning? Either way it's evocative. Makes you ask, "Exactly what am I in for?"

Do we even need to discuss Corpse Reviver #2? If this name doesn't make you stop and ponder, you are way too jaded, my friend! When I first heard of this, my first thought was: Corpse Reviver NUMBER TWO? What the hell was number one?

As you know, here at Range we create a new cocktail every night--- which if you're counting, that's roughly 357 drinks per year--- and I'd have to say that we have an easier time coming up with the ingredients than we do the names. We don't always dig deep to find the names (see: "Peach Daiquiri" October 18, 2009), and sometimes we try too hard. For example, my first cocktail to make it on the list was "Oberon", which had pears, thyme, lemon and 209 gin. In Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, the fairies sleep in thyme, and Oberon is their king. Ta-dah... Yeah, I tried too hard on that one. If it takes more than a sentence or two to explain the name, or if you're mining Shakespeare, perhaps it's time to find a different name.

One exception is the "1794", created by former Range bartender, Dominic Venegas. The name refers to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 in which (among other things) small farmer/distillers were taxed at a higher rate than were large farmer/distillers, and the results were ugly. At this time rye was the predominant grain used to make whiskey, but because the taxing region excluded parts of what are now Tennessee and Kentucky, the distillers of that region started producing more of what we now call Bourbon, which is made primarily from corn. The "1794" features Old Overholt rye in honor of the original American whiskey. Sure, this explanation takes a minute or two, but it's actually interesting.

Same goes for the "Zyzzyva", created by our own Brooke Aurthur. This cocktail is a take on the aforementioned "Last Word" cocktail, and as such, we used the last word in the dictionary as the name. Sadly, a zyzzyva is an African weevil that is fond of palm trees, so the reference is purely linguistic. Oh, and hostess Serena Burman thought up the name, so thank her some time.

1794

1 1/2 oz. Old Overholt rye whiskey

1 oz. Campari

3/4 oz. Punt y Mes

Stir ingredients until chilled, and strain into a cocktail glass. Flame a chip of orange zest over the top and drop into the drink.

Zyzzyva

1 1/2 oz. Miller's gin

1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse

1/2 oz. Marie Brizard Apry

1/2 oz. lime juice

Shake ingredients and fine strain into a cocktail glass. No garnish needed.

Eli in Africa

It's been just about two months since Eli's final night at Range, and he's now officially in Kenya. Well... he might be in Uganda, but he's most certainly in East Africa. We all miss you, Mr. Marias, and are jealous as hell. Or, at least this bartender is.

Not sure exactly when Eli and Erin will be returning to San Francisco (he left this information vague intentionally, I believe), but when they do, we'll be shaking up the mango concoction pictured on his website. We just have to figure out which company distributes Popov vodka in the plastic jug. Mmmmm!

Eli mentioned that there are "hidden messages" within the pictures he selected, so if you're good at deciphering, let us know what you figure out. I have my thoughts, but I've never been that great at puzzles.

Guess Who Came To Dinner?

That's right. John Waters came in to Range last night.

Famous for being infamous, Mr. Waters has equally delighted and horrified the world with trash films and kitsch for decades now, but it turns out that he's a really personable, friendly guy in person. Range server, Max, is a big enough fan that he knew the fact that Mr. Waters is the proud owner of the world's largest collection of plastic food. That's funny enough that I don't even care to fact-check.

Oh, and he drinks Ketel One Martinis, up with olives.

Vin D'orange

Anyone who knows me knows I love Lillet. It's a delicious aperitif on it's own (on the rocks with a slice of orange), and it is a versatile ingredient in cocktails. You might remember it in such drinks as:

The Third Rail

• 1.5 oz Bulleit Bourbon
• 0.75 oz Lillet Blanc
• 0.5 oz honey
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 5 dashes Fee's Brothers orange bitters
• small chunk of orange
• Shake, fine strain, serve up. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Lillet is essentially a commercially made Vin D'orange, which is an aperitif made by fortifying white wine with some sort of spirit, and infusing it with orange, vanilla, and other botanicals. Making this and other aperitifs is common throughout France, and each region has it's own specialty. It's a tradition that I want to push here, too, so I have started my own batch of Vin D'orange, using a simple recipe I found in a book called Aperitif, by Georgeanne Brennan. I altered it slightly due to container constraints, and because I can't help but mess with recipes (see Ramos Gin Fizz: Parts 1-4 below). Here's the actual recipe:

6 2/3 bottles French-style rose or white wine
1/2 quart vodka
2 cups granulated sugar
2 vanilla beans
1 lemon, cut into several pieces
peels from 6 Seville or other bitter oranges

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar. Cover and store in a cool, dark place for one month, stirring each day for a week, or until the sugar has dissolved. At the end of the month, using a fine-mesh sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth, strain the wine into another container. The wine is ready to serve in two months.

At the beginning of September I plan to take half of my Vin D'orange, and begin aging it in a small oak barrel I have at home. After a month or two I will combine the oaked wine with the non-oaked wine and it will be ready to drink. Even after just a week it's pretty tasty, so let's cross our fingers that it'll only get better.

Ramos Gin Fizz: Part 4

This weekend I continued indulging my Ramos obsession, and I decided to do something crazy: I followed the actual recipe to a tee. The results were so good that I'm afraid that I'll be making them for my girlfriend and myself every weekend, and will certainly get "Ramos Elbow". She insists that she won't put me through the shake-o-rama too often, but I can tell that we both enjoyed them way too much for this to be the end of it. The powdered sugar helped with the frothiness, the heavy cream somehow became light, and the orange-citrus-vanilla balance was complex and refreshing.

Lessons learned:

1. I suggest using club soda rather than mineral water. The sodium in most mineral water can make your fizz have an slight Alka-Seltzer aftertaste which competes with the more delicate citrus-orange flower combo.
2. I also cannot overemphasize the importance of going light on both the vanilla and the orange flower water (see Ramos Gin Fizz: Part 3 below).
3. Use tall glasses so you can have room for plenty of soda water.

Once again, I encourage you to check out the Fizz, as made by legendary New Orleans bartender, Chris McMillian.

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Ramos Gin Fizz: Part 3

This weekend I had a few people over to my place for brunch. They were all excited about my Ramos Gin-thusiasm, so I broke out my gear, cut up some citrus, and got my shake on. Since my last attempt (see post below) I had purchased some orange flower water, and I decided to substitute half & half for the heavy cream. I shook that thing for five minutes after a two minute dry-shake, and the results were visually impressive. The contents expanded by about 75%, and were practically bursting from the shaker... my guests were on the edge of their seats. Sadly, that's where the improvements over my last fizz ended. These cocktails were a little gritty, and that impressive froth died down after a minute or two. The taste? Let's just say, we were not impressed.

This is what I concluded:

1. Half & half is no good. It just doesn't have high enough fat content to remain properly whipped up, nor does it seem to fully emulsify.
2. Orange flower water is potent stuff. Use sparingly! A few too many drops of this stuff and you're drinking grandma's perfume.

One of my guests also mentioned that using powdered sugar (as listed in the original recipe) would help improve the frothiness, so I think I'll try that next time. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that I haven't achieved the perfect fizz, considering I have consistently altered the recipe with each attempt. Silly me.

Oh well. Back to the cutting board.