Manhattan Cocktail vs. the Manhattan

The Manhattan Cocktail that is being served today is quite a different recipe from its former glory days in the latter half of the nineteenth century.  The cocktail in it's original first appeared in books such as how to mix drinks as well as Harry Johnson's 1882 Bartenders Manual.  The forgotten recipe has a higher ratio of sweet vermouth than we know today along with orange Curacao, Boker's bitters and served straight up with a lemon twist.  Cherry's in Manhattans came much later as our cultural drinking habits changed.  

I've tried this version and prefer it much more than the contemporary Manhattan.  I've met others that said they've ordered Manhattans and thought they didn't like the drink but had they tried this cocktail they would have added it to their black book of favorite drinks.  I stress to use quality ingredients as opposed to what's less expensive otherwise you'll end up with drink that's not palatable. 

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com 


Manhattan Cocktail 

1 1/2 Rittenhouse 100-proof rye
1 3/4 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth 
1/2 oz  Orange Curacao 
Dash of Boker's bitters
Lemon Peel for Garnish

Place ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously and serve in a chilled cocktail glass with a lemon peal for garnish. 

Using Eggs in Cocktails

Being involved in the craft cocktail movement and knowing a few things about mixology there's been some question about the use of eggs or egg whites in cocktails from the last few centuries as well as present day drinks.

Eggs have been an integral ingredient in cocktails for at least the last two hundred years.  They add a silky frothiness, and body that a cocktail wouldn’t have otherwise.  The reason the egg was removed from many cocktails in the last few decades was from some bad publicity.  At some point in time it was stated that “eating raw eggs could lead to serious illness from salmonella.”

The FDA states that only 1 in 20,000 eggs has the salmonella bacteria. Nowhere does the National Safety Council's data state that raw eggs are a common risk; however, death from choking on food is rated at 1 in 5000 odds.  The odds of getting salmonella from an egg are extremely remote and you have a better chance of dying from accidental drowning (1 in 1,000), a storm related accident (1 in 3,000) or slipping (1 in 6,500).

Some drinks that include egg or egg whites are the following:  The Los Angeles cocktail, Tom and Jerry, whiskey sour, pisco sour and my own Angels Flight.  Try a few of these and you'll be a hit at your upcoming parties for the holidays.

Cheers & God bless,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

National Repeal Day

Hello Friends and family,

December 5 is special day to commemorate the repeal of the eighteenth amendment or if you're not familiar, the abolishment of prohibition. It was thought of as a good idea by the woman's Christian Temperance movement during the early party of the 20th century that alcohol was the cause of many social ills. One of the most famous was Carrie Nation who would go into bars with a hatchet in hand and start destroying the bar and get arrested for publicity. 

The the Volstead act ( eighteenth amendment ) was in tact from 1919 until  December 5th 1933. The law prohibited the production, sale and transport of intoxicating liquors but didn't define "intoxicating liquors" or provide penalties.  America's thirst for Alcohol increased along with organized crime and the growth of many speakeasies. This proved to be a failed attempt at trying to govern the moral fiber of the nation.

This is not a widely celebrated event but it commemorates Americans right to drink as they please. So Celebrate today by stopping by your favorite tavern, winery, pub or bring home your favorite spirit and raise a glass in honor of it and enjoy. For more information check out www.repealday.org or the Ken Burns documentary Prohibition .

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

Lion's Tail

Some of my favorite things about October is the relaxing scents that accompany the season such at cinnamon, pine cone, allspice, etc. One of the cocktails that includes some of these aromas is the Lion's Tail. It's from the Cafe Royal Cookbook from published in London in 1937 and since the term twisting the Lion's tail was American slang it must have been an American refugee that went to the UK during prohibition and stayed.

I've made this cocktail for several friends and they love it because of the flavors it carries. Give it a try at you're fall celebrations.

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com

Lion's Tail 

2 oz of bourbon whiskey
3/4 oz Allspice Dram
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz tablespoon simple syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

A Vitamin for Drinkers

I stumbled upon this article a couple of weeks ago and thought I should share it with you. You can take it with a grain of salt or try it out to see if it works.

Your quest for immaculate health has taken you many strange places.

You've consulted physicians. You've read scholarly journals. For one brief, crazy moment, you were in congress with a medicine man who may or may not have married your spirit with a bald eagle.

But through it all, you've made sure to get your regularly scheduled intake of the one substance you couldn't be healthy without: booze.

Which brings us to another miracle of science:Drinkwel, the world's first daily multivitamin designed especially for drinkers, available now.

Now, first things first: we're not doctors, and so we couldn't say whether this pill will make your life better, worse or changed in a way you may never fully understand. All we can say is that when someone has the chutzpah to attempt such a noble project, we feel it's our solemn duty to make you aware of those efforts.

As for what this is, it's basically a multivitamin—clear capsules loaded with a powder that contains basics like vitamin C—that's been tricked out with ingredients known for their booze-fighting properties. Think healthy-sounding-enough ingredients like amino acids (which help your body process the sauce) and milk thistle, known to help detox your liver. (Never trust a multivitamin without milk thistle.) You're advised to take three a day, and three more if you're drinking to excess.

We're not quite sure what that means.


God bless & Cheers,


John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com 


http://www.drinkwel.com/What%20is%20drinkwel_a/142.htm

National Martini Day

If you didn't know that June 19th is national Martini day, well by all means let's all raise a glass. It has an interesting history along with several stories of how it actually came into being. The most famous of them is legendary bartender Jerry Thomas who was working at the Occidental Hotel in San Fransisco, CA in the second half of the nineteenth century.  When a traveler on his way to Martinez, CA stopped in for a drink and wanted him to make him something special, Jerry created one in honor of the place he was headed.  He mixed one pony (one ounce) Old Tom Gin, one wine glass (four ounces) Italian sweet vermouth, a dash of Boker's bitters, two dashes of maraschino liqueur, and called it the Martinez cocktail.  The Martini has evolved over the decades and some even think a Martini is made with Vodka and various flavored syrups, but that's proves criminal negligence!

If you talk about a classic Martini, then it's a two to one ratio (that dates back to 1915) including bitters. Meaning two parts of top shelf gin to one part dry or semi dry vermouth and a few dashes of orange bitters, shaken very hard and served in a stem glass usually about three to four ounces. A popular recipe I use is the following:

Classic Martini


1 1/2 oz gin (such as No 209 or Hendricks) Don't even think about Beefeaters or Seagrams
3/4 oz vermouth such as Cinzano  Blanco or dry
2 - 3 dashes of orange bitters (such as Regan's or Fee Brothers)

Shake very hard with ice for about 20 seconds and serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

Give it a try and let me know what you think, happy National Martini day!

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com

Bartending schools = bad bartenders

When I had decided to go to bartending school over two years ago, I thought I might be able to learn the secrets of good bartending, was I wrong. I was taught a lot of short cuts using things such as sweet and sour, speed guns and not even learning how to make a classic martini.

I remember the two weeks was very rushed with a brief descriptions of base spirits and was told a good bartender could crank out 10 drinks in five minutes. I also brought in orange bitters and some of my own bartending books I had collected such as the Craft of the Cocktail, Hollywood cocktails and Vintage cocktails and the teachers looked at the books and especially Regan's orange bitters and told me they had never seen them. One of the instructors even tried to convince me that classic martinis don't take orange bitters and he finally looked it up in a bartending book not from the school and told me "oh, I guess you're right" and this guy is supposed to be teaching me? I was also told that most high volume bars such as the corporate chains like Elephant bar, TGI Fridays or BJ's would hire a hot looking 20 something year old girl then a good looking guy so where does that leave a lot of the bartending students. Other options were to either work at a dive bar or a gay bar. That's why I started Daddy-O's martinis and have no regrets because I care what I create for clients and friends alike and want to use fresh fruits, herbs, top shelf spirits and proper balance and flavors rather than high fructose syrups and cheep liquor.

If all someone wants to do is pour vodka and Red bull, Jager bombs and serve cheep beer all night long,  great there's plenty of places like that to find some work . On the other hand if one cares about bartending as a craft or an art then bartending schools are not the way to go. You're best off buying some recommended books and learn from find a bartender that is creating cocktails they way they were intended to be made. I recommend looking for prohibition style bars and talking with the bartenders or there are a lot of online forums and groups you can join to learn more about classic cocktails, punches, juleps, sours, smashes and crustas. I'll list a few resources to get started but you can always ask me and find an answer for you.

Cheers,

John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com

Recommended books

Craft of the Cocktail by Dale DeGroff

Vintage Spirits and forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh AKA Dr. Cocktail

Classic Cocktails by Salvatore Calabrese

How's your Drink? by Eric Felten

Vintage Cocktails by Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel

Imbibe by David Wondrich

Online Resources

http://www.imbibemagazine.com/In-the-Magazine

http://www.critiki.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?

http://www.drinkinglounge.com/

http://www.cocktailia.com/

http://cocktaildb.com/

http://www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org/

http://rumdood.com/

http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/

The Classic Stork Club New York

This is John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis. One of the most famous clubs of all time that the former Walter Winchell said to be "New Yorks, New Yorkiest place on W. 58th street" was the old Stork Club.  It was a symbol of café society where movie stars, celebrities, the wealthy, showgirls and aristocrats all mixed here. 


It was opened in 1929 by Sherman Billingsley an ex-bootlegger from Oklahoma on 132 West 58th street but was closed down by Prohibition agents in 1931. He moved the club to E. 51st for three years then moved it to 3 E. 53rd street and it remained there until it closed in October 1965. Some of the famous who frequented the club over the years were Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, the Kennedy's, Frank Sinatra, Betty Davis, Elizabeth Taylor and many others. Not only was the stork club a great place to be but there was the exclusive Cub Room where it was carefully guarded by the nicknamed door man St. Peter who watched over the "gates of heaven". There was many movies and references to the Stork Club over the years and even a signature cocktail, invented by legendary barman Nathanial Cook that I've had a number of times and can confirm it's a winner.


The Stork Club Cocktail


1 1/2 oz of top shelf gin
1/2 oz of triple sec
1/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 oz of fresh squeezed orange juice
1 dash of Angostura bitters
Orange peel for garnish


Shake all ingredients for one minute and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Ciro's in West Hollywood

This is John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis. In the 1940s and 50s there was very glamorous night club in West Hollywood on the Sunset strip where many movie stars came to drink, to see and be seen and be served by leggy cigarette girls in shorts skirts.  Many of the famous would end up in the gossip columns of Hedda Hopper or  Variety, that place was Ciro's and it also gave a few performers their big break to stardom.

It opened in 1940 under the owner Billy Wilkerson and was a success at first but it began to cool off as others flocked to the Macambo across the street and closed it's doors for a short time but was taken over by Herman Hoover. It was reopened on December 26, 1942 under and  unlike the Ciro's in London, this was a hot spot at the end of the Sunset strip where top notch entertainment was the order of the day along with new acts such as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in 1950. Many of the stars that frequented were Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, George Burns, Jack Benny, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford.

However the club saw entertainment and new nightclubs with gambling moving to Las Vegas in the late 1950s and closed it's doors in 1959 but it's not forgotten yet it still stands where the comedy club is. Another loss is the cocktails from the club but there's a recent reprint of the Ciro's of London 1930 edition filled with great recipes such as one of my favorites, the Leroi made with brandy, sloe gin, curacao, egg yoke, grenadine,cream and lemon juice. I tried it and it's so good, don't let the idea of using an egg yolk scare you it's adds texture and flavor. Try it and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

John Apodaca

The Leroi


1 Part Brandy
1 Part Slow Gin
1 Part Orange Curacao
1 yolk of an egg per cocktail
1 teaspoonful heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice per cocktail.

Twelve Mile Limit Cocktail

This is John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis and I want to introduce a cocktail with some interesting history behind it called the Twelve Mile Limit. During Prohibition there were gambling ships parked three miles off the coasts of several cities, such as the Rex in Santa Monica bay. Clients could take water taxis three miles out to sea to be able to drink and gamble freely where they couldn't do this legally on dry ground. In honor of the distance, there was a drink called the three mile limit, but after the U.S. government, along with the I.R.S., found out about these ships and extended the boundary to 12 miles thus the twelve mile limit was invented.  The 12 Mile limit was stronger than it's cousin the three mile but nonetheless very tasty for the rebells that enjoyed good libations and gambling in spite of the long arm of the feds. Give it a try at your next party.

The Twelve Mile Limit


1 oz White Rum (Recommended Appleton White Jamaican)
1/2 oz Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Brandy such as (Hennessey)
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Size Really Matters!

This is John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis and I believe that glass size for cocktails really does matter.  As a bartender and cocktail enthusiast I research recipes from vintage cocktail and bartending books from the 19th to the first half of the 20th century.  Most of the ingredients in these recipes will equal approximately three to four ounces per drink. Originally, cocktails were served in 3-4 ounce glasses.  A recipe that size means the cocktail will remain cold and flavorful to the last drop.  As a fellow bartender (Jason from 320 Main in Seal Beach) says, "the last sip should taste as good as the first one".  I agree.

Todays cocktail glasses are usually seven, nine, twelve and sometimes thirteen inches in size.  Most people would think, "I'm getting my moneys worth," but in essence, once they are finished with half the cocktail the drink loses it's initial chill, the flavor is lost, and person will have to order another or finish the drink quickly rather than sip it.  Serving drinks in smaller glasses allows one to savor the flavor, as well as enjoy more than one drink without becoming too intoxicated.

If you prefer a cocktail served in the classic style, have it served in a 3-4 ounce glass.  Both James Beach and Canal Club in Venice Beach, CA, as well as Musso & Frank Grill in downtown Hollywood serve cocktails in glasses of this size.  You can find this stemware in restaurant supply stores such as Surfas in Culver City, CA, Bar Keeper in Silver Lake, CA, or even sometimes at Ikea. For further reference, check out the book Craft of the Cocktail by Dale DeGroff.

Welcome to Daddy-O's Martinis

This is Daddy-O's Martinis, Southern California’s premiere source for bartending in the classic style. John ‘The Master’ Apodaca created Daddy-O’s Martinis in response to the increasing demand he found from clients for an alternative to the trendy, yet relatively un-knowledgeable, bartenders currently for hire.

With the growing popularity of ‘retro’ and ‘vintage’ styles in present day pop-culture, it seems people crave anything from the past decades they find new and exciting – including cocktails. There are only a handful of bartenders knowledgeable of any cocktail past the current trends, and of those few, only a dozen or so that continually research and test cocktails from the past and actually go through the pains of acquiring the sometimes hard to find ingredients so their clients can discover for themselves the joys of a well prepared cocktail they may never have heard of.

John is meticulous in searching out original recipes, and procuring the original ingredients giving his cocktails a flavor and texture unequalled amongst average bartenders, even in the most famous bars and hotels. John’s current focus is on cocktails from the pre-revolutionary war period through the mid-1960s. He regularly tests cocktails discovered through his ongoing research, and those that meet with success make it onto his latest discoveries list.

Many clients who were formerly one of the throngs of club-goers and bar hoppers that insist they ‘don’t drink gin’ are shocked to find that, in the hands of a expert bartender like John, gin based drinks take on a whole other flavor and texture. It is also shocking for them to discover that many of the top notch hotels and cocktail lounges these clients used to frequent actually have bartenders that know next to nothing about cocktail preparation, and that any attempt to order even the basic classics like an Old-Fashioned is met many times with a blank stare, or a hastily prepared, virtually undrinkable concoction.

Happily, thanks to craftsmen like John Apodaca whole new generations are discovering the joy of expertly prepared cocktails, as opposed to those hastily thrown together with a powdered mix, a shot from a ‘soda gun’, and subpar ‘well’ quality spirits served by bartenders who don’t know any better.