12 Bottle Bar

Somewhere in an alternate minstrelverse, Matt Gatting, in the role of Monty Python’s brave Sir Robin, is being ceaselessly tormented by the Duckworth Lewis lads’ never-ending serenade of “Jiggery Pokery”.  But, today, the gentlemen are here.  Well, by today, I mean roughly a month ago, when they answered their 12 Rounds, and by here, I mean London’s fabled Abbey Road Studios, where they were putting the finishing touches on the forthcoming Pugwash album, “The Olympus Sound.”  They were, however, kind enough to take time away from their busy record-mastering business to answer our probing questions.

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a 12 Bottle Bar original

1.5 oz Redbreast Irish Whiskey
0.5 oz Grenadine
0.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Hard Apple Cider

Add whiskey, grenadine, and lemon juice to a mixing glass and stir to combine
Pour into a collins glass with crushed ice
Top glass with hard cider
Stir gently to combine

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There are two things in this world which I really would love to wholeheartedly embrace, but no matter how much effort I put into understanding them, I fail time and time again.  They are mahjong and cricket.   I have books on both – books which I’ve picked up here and there over the years – yet I seem to remain absolutely clueless on either subject, which is problematic, at least on the cricket front, since I’ve chosen to follow up our lawn tennis post with one about that sport of gentlemen.  Even worse, it’s not just a post about cricket; it’s one on an obtuse scoring mechanism applied during rain-outs.  Thank goodness there’s a drink to go along with it – I think I’ll be needing it.

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1.5 oz Remy Martin Cognac
2 tsp Sugar
1.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Raw Egg
Ginger Beer

In a mixing glass, combine sugar and lemon juice, stirring to dissolve sugar
Add brandy and egg, then shake without ice to emulsify
Fill mixing glass with ice and shake again
Strain into a goblet filled with ice
Top with ginger beer, stirring gently to combine
A little dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg on top is nice

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Are things better left alone?  Should things stay the way they’ve always been, or is change an inevitable force of nature?  The cocktail world is certainly at odds with itself on the subject – on one hand, committed to resurrecting arcane alchemy while, simultaneously, embracing new science and ideas.  If things never changed, we might all still be living in thatched cottages and playing ball games like longue paume.   Fortunately, we evolve – taking the best (and sometimes, the worst) of what came before and building upon it, creating an ever-changing foundation that will continue to grow and mutate while retaining its core integrity.  What I’m really talking about with all this is, of course, tennis.

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2 oz Bols Genever
1 tsp Sugar (Demerara preferred)
3 Dashes Orange Bitters
2 Fresh Ripe Sweet Cherries, pitted
2 Quarter Sections Fresh Ripe Tangerines, with peel
Splash of Club Soda
Rinse of Kübler Absinthe (optional)

In a thick bottomed glass, muddle together sugar, bitters, and fruit
Strain into a chilled rocks glass
Add genever and top with splash of soda
Give a short, gentle stir to combine
Garnish with a cherry and tangerine “flag”
Optional – Rinse the second glass with absinthe
Optional – add cube(s) of ice

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If you ask me – no one did, but I’m going to tell you anyway – this is the perfect modern cocktail.  Not only does it adhere to a traditional recipe, it’s full of market-fresh fruit prepared directly in the glass, and the base spirit is old and funky.  It’s this last point – the use of Genever here – that marks this as my submission for this month’s Mixology Monday, which is focused on niche spirits.  If you’re Dutch or Belgian, surely genever is as common place as Jack Daniels at a Tennessee barbeque, but it’s probably the most odd of all our ducks – and it’s perfect for this month’s MxMo theme.

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I’ve been reading Caleb Carr lately, and I blame him for this post.  Maybe blame is the wrong word, but reading The Alienist has certainly shifted my mind into forensic mode.  While not one of my favorite books, Carr’s tome stands out as one of the better modern examples of the Gilded Age detective novel.  In the book, a team comprised of a behavioral scientist, police officers, a newspaper man, and Teddy Roosevelt (then, the commissioner of the NYC police force) set out to solve a series of grisly murders worthy of Jack the Ripper himself.  For the first half of the adventure, they spend the bulk of their time eating at Delmonico’s while assembling a psychological and physical profile of the assailant.  Based on the facts, you see, they begin to make certain logical assumptions about how tall the killer must be, whether he is athletic, has physical deformities, was loved as a child, and so forth.  From these, they paint not only a picture of their prey, but also when and how he will strike again.  I offer all this because, should this same lens have been applied to my own recent activities, any sleuth worthy of his or her deerstalker could have seen this post coming a mile away.

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