The bar book

Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

Photographs copyright © 2014 by Alanna Hale.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the

publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4521-3027-9 (epub, mobi) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-1384-5 (hc)

Designed by Alice Chau

The photographer wishes to thank Arlo Jamrog and Helynn Ospina.

Chronicle Books LLC

680 Second Street

San Francisco, California 94107

www.chroniclebooks.com

This book is dedicated to the countless men and women all over

the world whose bars I have sat at over the years, asking

questions, borrowing ideas, and stealing recipes. It is your

combined knowledge that fills these pages, and it is you who

continually inspire me to work harder, learn more, and share

with the rest of the world so that we can continue to keep

growing this thing together.

CONTENTS

WHY I MAKE COCKTAILS, AND WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK 8

ANY GOOD COCKTAIL NEEDS THESE THREE ELEMENTS 10

I’VE ORGANIZED THE BOOK THE WAY I BUILD MY

COCKTAILS 11

CHAPTER NO 1

CITRUS JUICE 13

CHOOSING YOUR FRUIT 16

BUYING IN BULK 16

HOW MUCH JUICE CAN YOU EXPECT? 17

CHOOSING THE RIGHT JUICER 19

HAND PRESSES 19

MECHANICAL PRESSES 20

ELECTRIC PRESSES 20

BARTENDER’S CHOICE: ELECTRIC JUICER 20

JUICING TECHNIQUE 22

CUTTING YOUR FRUIT FOR JUICING 22

HOW TO JUICE CITRUS FRUIT WITH A HAND PRESS 22

HOW TO JUICE IN VOLUME 23

HOW LONG WILL CITRUS JUICE STAY FRESH? 24

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR CITRUS 24

CITRUS PROFILES 27

Daiquiri No. 3 28

CHAPTER NO 2

OTHER JUICES 31

TYPES OF JUICERS 33

FOOD MILL 33

FOOD PROCESSOR 33

JUICE EXTRACTOR 33

BARTENDER’S CHOICE: BREVILLE JUICE FOUNTAIN ELITE 33

IMPROVISATIONAL JUICE EXTRACTION 34

Strainer Method 34

Macgyver Centrifuge Method 36

APPLE JUICE 38

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING APPLE CIDER 38

PICKING APPLES FOR JUICING 38

APPLE BLEND 39

KEEPING THE JUICE FRESH 39

SHOULD YOU WORRY ABOUT THE SEEDS? 39

Flannel Shirt 40

PINEAPPLE JUICE 42

PICKING PINEAPPLES FOR JUICING 42

Kingston Club 42

TOMATO JUICE 43

THE SAN MARZANO HOAX 43

POMEGRANATE JUICE 44

PICKING A POMEGRANATE 44

HOW TO JUICE A POMEGRANATE 44

KEEPING THE FRUIT AND JUICE FRESH 44

GINGER JUICE 45

CHOOSING GINGER FOR JUICE 45

HOW TO JUICE GINGER WITH A JUICE EXTRACTOR 45

KEEPING GINGER AND ITS JUICE FRESH 45

FRUIT PUREES 46

HOW TO MAKE A FRUIT PUREE 46

How To Make a Stone Fruit Puree 46

STORING FRUIT PUREES 46

Bellini 49

CHAPTER NO 3

SODAS & MIXERS 51

A HISTORY OF CARBONATION 53

CARBONATED WATER AS HEALTH TONIC 54

MECHANICAL CARBONATION 54

HOW CARBONATION WORKS 55

Tom Collins 56

SODA WATER 57

MAKING YOUR OWN SODA 57

How to Use a Soda Siphon 57

Other Ways to Carbonate 57

TONIC WATER 58

MAKING TONIC WATER 58

Quinine Syrup 59

Gin and Tonic 62

Ginger Beer 65

Dark and Stormy 68

SPARKLING WINE 70

French 75 71

CHAPTER NO 4

SIMPLE SYRUPS 73

SELECTING THE RIGHT SUGAR 75

WHITE SUGAR 75

BROWN SUGAR 75

RAW SUGAR 75

MUSCOVADO SUGAR 76

HONEY 76

AGAVE SYRUP 76

MAPLE SYRUP 77

CALORIE COUNTS FOR SUGARS 77

A SUGAR IS A SUGAR IS A SUGAR 77

MEASURING YOUR INGREDIENTS FOR SIMPLE SYRUP 78

WHY CRYSTAL STRUCTURE MATTERS 78

DISSOLVING THE SUGAR IN THE WATER 78

Hot Process 78

Cold Process 80

STORING THE SYRUP 80

SUGAR SYRUPS IN COCKTAILS 81

House Old-Fashioned 82

Rum Old-Fashioned 82

Oaxaca Old-Fashioned 83

Maple Old-Fashioned 83

CHAPTER NO 5

COMPOUND SYRUPS 87

SWEET SYRUPS WITH ADDED FLAVOR 90

SWEET-AND-SOUR SYRUPS 90

FLAVORLESS BUT FAMILIAR: GUM SYRUP 90

GUM WHAT? 91

Gum Syrup 93

HERB SYRUP 94

HOW TO BLANCH HERBS FOR SYRUPS 94

Mint Syrup 96

FRUIT SYRUPS 97

SOFT FRUIT SYRUPS 97

SYRUP FROM FIBROUS INGREDIENTS 97

Grenadine 98

Jack Rose 100

Raspberry Syrup 102

Clover Club 102

Ginger Syrup 103

Pineapple Syrup 103

Hotel Nacional Special 106

Oleo Saccharum 108

Philadelphia Fish House Punch 111

ORGEAT 112

Japanese Cocktail 113

SHRUBS 114

Strawberry-Mint Shrub 114

CHAPTER NO 6

INFUSIONS, TINCTURES & BITTERS 117

INFUSIONS 119

HOW INFUSIONS WORK 119

THE COMPLEXITIES OF FLAVOR AND INFUSIONS 119

CHOOSING YOUR INGREDIENTS 119

How to Infuse Liquor 121

HOW TO STRAIN INFUSED LIQUOR 122

STORING INFUSED LIQUORS 122

Tequila Por Mi Amante 122

INFUSING WITH HOT CHILES 124

INFUSIONS OF HERBS, SPICES, AND OTHER

INGREDIENTS 126

Infusing with Herbs 126

Thyme-Infused Cointreau 127

Speed Infusion through Pressure 127

To Infuse Using a Cream Whipper 127

Infusing with Spices 127

Chinese Five-Spiced Dark Rum 128

Nocino 129

Limoncello 130

WOOD INFUSIONS, A.K.A. BARREL AGING 132

Aging Cocktails Do’s and Don’ts 132

TINCTURES 133

CHOOSING ALCOHOLS FOR TINCTURES 133

How to Make a Tincture 134

Cinnamon Tincture 134

Autumn Leaves 135

BITTERS 136

ALCOHOL THAT’S TOO HARD TO DRINK? 136

COMMERCIAL BITTERS 136

Angostura Bitters 137

Peychaud’s Bitters 137

Orange Bitters 137

House Orange Bitters 138

Revolver 140

CHAPTER NO 7

DAIRY & EGGS 143

CHOOSING THE BEST DAIRY PRODUCTS AND EGGS 145

CREAM 146

Alexander Cocktail 146

What Does the Sell-By Date Mean on a Carton of

Cream? 147

HOW TO STORE CREAM 147

HOW TO WHIP CREAM 147

Using a Cream Whipper 147

Whipping Cream Manually 147

The Mason Jar Method 148

Irish Coffee 150

EGGS 152

MEASURING EGGS 152

CRACKING EGGS 152

WHOLE EGG COCKTAILS 153

Cynar Flip 153

Clyde Common Eggnog 154

EGG-WHITE COCKTAILS 154

HOW TO SEPARATE AN EGG 154

The Shell Method 154

The Hand Method 156

The Tool Method 156

HOW TO PREPARE AND STORE EGG WHITES 156

HOW TO SHAKE AN EGG-WHITE COCKTAIL 157

Sealing a Boston Shaker for a Dry Shake 158

White Lady 161

CHAPTER NO 8

ICE 163

HOW ICE BEHAVES 165

WHY ICE CLARITY MATTERS 165

OBTAINING CLEAR ICE 166

STORING ICE 168

TRANSPORTING ICE 168

HANDLING ICE 168

TYPES OF ICE 170

BLOCK ICE 170

How to Break Down Block Ice 170

LARGE-FORMAT ICE 172

CUBES 172

SPEARS 174

CRACKED ICE 174

CRUSHED ICE 174

Mint Julep 176

ICE FOR PUNCH 178

Adding Ice to the Punch 178

Chilling Punch Externally 178

MAKING SPHERICAL ICE 181

CHAPTER NO 9

MEASURING 183

WHY DO WE MEASURE? 185

OLD TERMINOLOGY 185

MODERN MEASURES 186

THE METRIC SYSTEM 187

HOW MUCH IS A DASH? 188

MEASURING TOOLS 188

JIGGERS 188

HOW TO MEASURE LIQUOR PROPERLY USING

JIGGERS 189

HOW TO POUR FROM A BOTTLE 189

SPEED AND FREEDOM 191

SPEED POURING VERSUS FREE POURING: THE TWO

CAMPS OF MEASURING 193

WHY METRIC MAKES MORE SENSE 195

Vesper 196

BATCHING DRINKS 196

Liquid Measurements 197

CHAPTER NO 10

STIRRING & SHAKING 199

CHILLING AND DILUTION 201

Times and Measurements for Ideal Dilution 202

STIRRING 203

THE SPOON 203

BARTENDER’S CHOICE: BAR SPOON 204

STORING BAR SPOONS DURING SERVICE 204

MIXING GLASSES 204

BARTENDER’S CHOICE: MIXING GLASS 206

PROPER STIRRING TECHNIQUE 206

How to Perform the Japanese Stir 208

STRAINING A STIRRED DRINK 208

HOW TO STRAIN WITH A JULEP STRAINER 208

BARTENDER’S CHOICE: JULEP STRAINER 208

Martini 210

SHAKING 213

THE SHAKER 213

The Cobbler Shaker 213

The Boston Shaker 213

The Parisian Shaker 214

LEARNING TO SHAKE 214

How to Shake a Cocktail 214

How Long to Shake 215

SHAKING DON’TS AND DO’S 215

Opening the Shaker 215

How to Seal and Open a Boston Shaker 218

Straining Twice for Texture 218

Fine-Mesh Strainer 218

Sidecar 220