Join the guys and very special guest and expert Long Island Iced Tea drinker, Stephanie Costa Stodel, as we talk about, you guessed it, the Long Island Iced Tea. With it's murky history and color, we dive through the origins and variations of perhaps America's shittiest but beloved cocktail. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

Join the guys and very special guest and expert Long Island Iced Tea drinker, Stephanie Costa Stodel, as we talk about, you guessed it, the Long Island Iced Tea. With it's murky history and color, we dive through the origins and variations of perhaps America's shittiest but beloved cocktail. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The Long Island Iced Tea

Our friends from Va'La Hospitality join us to talk the Michelada, a ubiquitious, unique Mexican cocktail whose recipe can change with the intensity of your hangover. Grab your clamato, grab your hot sauce, your lime juice, your spicy salt and of course your favorite Mexican lager! All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

Our friends from Va'La Hospitality join us to talk the Michelada, a ubiquitious, unique Mexican cocktail whose recipe can change with the intensity of your hangover. Grab your clamato, grab your hot sauce, your lime juice, your spicy salt and of course your favorite Mexican lager! All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

The Michelada w/ our Amigos from Va'La

We're talking Gin! Specifically the Southside. Grab your favorite London-style Gin and join the guys as we travel to Chicago, New York and more to discover and discuss this classic cocktail.

We're talking Gin! Specifically the Southside. Grab your favorite London-style Gin and join the guys as we travel to Chicago, New York and more to discover and discuss this classic cocktail.

The Southside

Toss away your mittens and wrap your hands around a nice warm Hot Toddy as the guys explore the origins of this historical elixir. Grab your favorite whiskey, honey, hot water and lemon and join us as we explore the Hot Toddy.

Toss away your mittens and wrap your hands around a nice warm Hot Toddy as the guys explore the origins of this historical elixir. Grab your favorite whiskey, honey, hot water and lemon and join us as we explore the Hot Toddy.

The Hot Toddy

Slane Irish Whiskey ambassador Rachel Potts joins the guys for Irish Coffee Day to talk the famous, beloved Irish Coffee cocktail. Grab your cream, your sugar, your favorite fresh coffee and Irish whiskey and follow along as we explore the elegant history of this legendary cocktail. 

Slane Irish Whiskey ambassador Rachel Potts joins the guys for Irish Coffee Day to talk the famous, beloved Irish Coffee cocktail. Grab your cream, your sugar, your favorite fresh coffee and Irish whiskey and follow along as we explore the elegant history of this legendary cocktail.

Irish Coffee

The guys tackle the champagne cocktail prior to the most overrated, widely celebrated non holiday, New Year's Eve, with Cinco's bar manager and bartender at the Manchester, Lauren. We talk the history of this under-valued sibling of the Old Fashioned, exploring its history while determining resolutions for the new year ahead. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The guys tackle the champagne cocktail prior to the most overrated, widely celebrated non holiday, New Year's Eve, with Cinco's bar manager and bartender at the Manchester, Lauren. We talk the history of this under-valued sibling of the Old Fashioned, exploring its history while determining resolutions for the new year ahead. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The Champagne Cocktail

Christiaan Rollich, disciple of James Beard award winning chef and restauratuer Suzanne Goin and co-author of Bar Chef: Handcrafted Cocktail, shares his famous egg nog recipe with the guys at new hotspot, The Manchester, in Los Angeles. What does egg nog mean to you? The strange white drink in the punch bowl, the mistaken milk carton at the grocery store, or maybe Clark Griswold downing the stuff to ameliorate his family woes at Christmas. Whatever your experience, this episode will change the way you think about egg nog and have you ordering one and then calling for a second, maybe a third or dare you, a fourth. All that and more on this week’s episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

Christiaan Rollich, disciple of James Beard award winning chef and restauratuer Suzanne Goin and co-author of Bar Chef: Handcrafted Cocktail, shares his famous egg nog recipe with the guys at new hotspot, The Manchester, in Los Angeles. What does egg nog mean to you? The strange white drink in the punch bowl, the mistaken milk carton at the grocery store, or maybe Clark Griswold downing the stuff to ameliorate his family woes at Christmas. Whatever your experience, this episode will change the way you think about egg nog and have you ordering one and then calling for a second, maybe a third or dare you, a fourth. All that and more on this week’s episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

Egg Nog

Choose your own adventure once the Pimm's Cup comes into your life. The guys tackle this summer classic and laud the effervescent flavors that make this UK staple a favorite since all the way back to the mid 1800's. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

Choose your own adventure once the Pimm's Cup comes into your life. The guys tackle this summer classic and laud the effervescent flavors that make this UK staple a favorite since all the way back to the mid 1800's. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

The Pimm's Cup

Join the guys as they welcome Brian Klemm, brand ambassador for the exquisite SelvaRey Rum, to talk about the Daiquiri, arguably the world's oldest cocktail. We travel hundreds of years, across oceans, to Cuba and the Dominican Republic and beyond, to discuss this fine tasting, oft misunderstood, but time-tested bartender favorite. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails. 

Join the guys as they welcome Brian Klemm, brand ambassador for the exquisite SelvaRey Rum, to talk about the Daiquiri, arguably the world's oldest cocktail. We travel hundreds of years, across oceans, to Cuba and the Dominican Republic and beyond, to discuss this fine tasting, oft misunderstood, but time-tested bartender favorite. All that and more on this week's episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The Daquiri

Join the guys on location with Leandro DiMonriva, host of the wildly popular bartending Youtube series, "The Educated Barfly," at world renowned Cole's in downtown Los Angeles, to discuss The Sazarac! Originally a brandy cocktail, and a brandy cocktail we make, provided by the California-made Argonaut Brandy. The guys discuss the various histories of the New Orleans born Sazarac as well as the origin story of the beloved Peychaud's Bitters, a staple ingredient of the Sazarac. Follow along and make your own as we dive into the Sazarac on Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

Join the guys on location with Leandro DiMonriva, host of the wildly popular bartending Youtube series, "The Educated Barfly," at world renowned Cole's in downtown Los Angeles, to discuss The Sazarac! Originally a brandy cocktail, and a brandy cocktail we make, provided by the California-made Argonaut Brandy. The guys discuss the various histories of the New Orleans born Sazarac as well as the origin story of the beloved Peychaud's Bitters, a staple ingredient of the Sazarac. Follow along and make your own as we dive into the Sazarac on Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The Sazerac @ Cole's

Equal Parts is a bartending podcast about cocktails. Every episode we dive into the history and construction of all of our favorite cocktails with host Kim Stodel, bar manager for the Michelin rated Providence restaurant, and Ben Molina, proprietor of Angelisco tequila and Cinco, a Oaxacan restaurant with a cutting edge bar program. Our hosts travel through their own histories to guide us with essential bartending tips for the home and professional bartender. Learn the cherished history of the Tom Collins or why you would order a negroni up instead of on the rocks. All that and more on Equal Parts. Music by Micah Smith, Edited by Sam Ganich.

Great hosts who are very knowledgeable.  I could listen to it all day and have a good time.

Informative and fun

Informative, helpful, fun.  Would recommend.  Love Equal Parts, Thank you!!!

Great info and fun to listen to.  Very helpful and educational, thank you!!

Equal Parts - A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails

The guys talk the ubiquitous, yet oft misunderstood Gimlet. This week on Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

The guys talk the ubiquitous, yet oft misunderstood Gimlet. This week on Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

The Gimlet

Kim talks about his zero waste focus using items that are often discarded from the kitchen or using ingredients more than once. He talks about making garnish out of citrus pulp, called Pulp Confection. Ben talks about the process of creating a cocktail menu for his newest establishment, The Manchester. Trick Dog has a great cocktail menu, what makes the experience fun is going there because they have so much fun making a cocktail menu. Folklore about the Ward 8, named after a district in Boston, famous but not super famous, reminds Kim of Ben. When Ben came into the Bar Chloe when Kim worked there asked for a Ward 8 and he didn’t know what it was. It’s a fun drink with roots in classic cocktail making. Discovered it in Imbibe, the famous Jerry Thomas cocktail book. It’s a rye cocktail with fresh orange, fresh lemon and grenadine. An exciting cocktail because of its history. Ward 8 comes out of Boston, where local politicians wanted people to consume more vitamins. In 1898, where the Ward 8 was created at a bar called Lock Ober, in honor of the election of a local politician. The drink was also theorized to have been created at the Quincy House. As well as other legends of its origin. The Ward 8 is categorically a sour, a cocktail with citrus in it. And in this case, it’s orange and lemon. The orange makes it less of a citrus bomb. And then there’s grenadine, classically known to most of us as the key ingredient in Shirley Temples, but grenadine is actually made from pomegranate, not cherries. As a kid, we were all rock stars with our Shirley Temples. This drink covers a lot of different types of cocktails. It has classic cocktail roots, it’s a sour and it’s a fun drink. Made from rye whiskey. Recipe out of Imbibe: 3 ounces of rye, 3/4 oz fresh lemon, 3/4 ounces fresh orange, 3/4 ounce fresh pomegranate. Always served on ice, want to keep it balanced. Maraschino cherry, sprig of mint and an orange slice to garnish, for Ben. For Kim’s recipe, 3/4 ounce orange, 1/4 ounce lemon, 3/4 syrup or 1/2 syrup, splash of grenadine, 2 ounces rye, and up, not on the rocks. Up means chilled, diluted and then strained into a glass of your choosing. The guys talk the history of rye, killed during Prohibition, and reborn in the last few decades. Check out Nomad or Varnish for a great Ward 8! And Triforium and the Streamliner!

Kim talks about his zero waste focus using items that are often discarded from the kitchen or using ingredients more than once. He talks about making garnish out of citrus pulp, called Pulp Confection. Ben talks about the process of creating a cocktail menu for his newest establishment, The Manchester. Trick Dog has a great cocktail menu, what makes the experience fun is going there because they have so much fun making a cocktail menu. Folklore about the Ward 8, named after a district in Boston, famous but not super famous, reminds Kim of Ben. When Ben came into the Bar Chloe when Kim worked there asked for a Ward 8 and he didn’t know what it was. It’s a fun drink with roots in classic cocktail making. Discovered it in Imbibe, the famous Jerry Thomas cocktail book. It’s a rye cocktail with fresh orange, fresh lemon and grenadine. An exciting cocktail because of its history. Ward 8 comes out of Boston, where local politicians wanted people to consume more vitamins. In 1898, where the Ward 8 was created at a bar called Lock Ober, in honor of the election of a local politician. The drink was also theorized to have been created at the Quincy House. As well as other legends of its origin. The Ward 8 is categorically a sour, a cocktail with citrus in it. And in this case, it’s orange and lemon. The orange makes it less of a citrus bomb. And then there’s grenadine, classically known to most of us as the key ingredient in Shirley Temples, but grenadine is actually made from pomegranate, not cherries. As a kid, we were all rock stars with our Shirley Temples. This drink covers a lot of different types of cocktails. It has classic cocktail roots, it’s a sour and it’s a fun drink. Made from rye whiskey. Recipe out of Imbibe: 3 ounces of rye, 3/4 oz fresh lemon, 3/4 ounces fresh orange, 3/4 ounce fresh pomegranate. Always served on ice, want to keep it balanced. Maraschino cherry, sprig of mint and an orange slice to garnish, for Ben. For Kim’s recipe, 3/4 ounce orange, 1/4 ounce lemon, 3/4 syrup or 1/2 syrup, splash of grenadine, 2 ounces rye, and up, not on the rocks. Up means chilled, diluted and then strained into a glass of your choosing. The guys talk the history of rye, killed during Prohibition, and reborn in the last few decades. Check out Nomad or Varnish for a great Ward 8! And Triforium and the Streamliner!

The Ward Eight

The guys talk the ubiquitous, oft misunderstood, oft mismade but endlessly lovable Mojito! Made using silver rum(or a slightly aged rum), fresh mint sprigs, fresh lime juice, simple syrup (or sugar in the drink) and soda water will be all of your key ingredients. Depending on the style you make, you may need a Hawthorne strainer, a fine strainer, a jigger, a muddler and a Tom Collins glass. Like the drink can be, the history of the Mojito is muddled. We think it originated in Cuba, from Sloppy Joe’s Bar Manual, in the 1930’s or possibly the Libro De Cocktail cocktail guide that came into being in the 1920’s. Cuba being a home for rum, ingredients native to Cuba, mint, lime, sugar. There could be a through line all the way back to Sir Francis Drake, but that could be lore. The guys talk their first mojitos, bastardized versions of the elegant, fun cocktail they make today. All that on more on this episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The guys talk the ubiquitous, oft misunderstood, oft mismade but endlessly lovable Mojito! Made using silver rum(or a slightly aged rum), fresh mint sprigs, fresh lime juice, simple syrup (or sugar in the drink) and soda water will be all of your key ingredients. Depending on the style you make, you may need a Hawthorne strainer, a fine strainer, a jigger, a muddler and a Tom Collins glass. Like the drink can be, the history of the Mojito is muddled. We think it originated in Cuba, from Sloppy Joe’s Bar Manual, in the 1930’s or possibly the Libro De Cocktail cocktail guide that came into being in the 1920’s. Cuba being a home for rum, ingredients native to Cuba, mint, lime, sugar. There could be a through line all the way back to Sir Francis Drake, but that could be lore. The guys talk their first mojitos, bastardized versions of the elegant, fun cocktail they make today. All that on more on this episode of Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails.

The Mojito

The guys welcome world renown master distiller for Michter’s Whiskey, Dan McKee, to discuss the wonderful, foundational Whiskey Sour! Grab your Michter’s US 1 Single Barrel Rye, fresh lemon juice, simples syrup (1:1) and if you’re feeling adventurous, grab a couple eggs. You’ll need a shaker, Hawthorne strainer, fine strainer and world class ice! It can be up, it can be on ice, it can have a fancy garnish, no garnish, it’s a special one. Dan takes us through his personal history taking him through the midwest as a flat roofer, to the Jim Beam factory as a distillery operator at their Clairmont distillery. Promoted quickly after just two years, learning from great people, Pamela Heilmann, master distiller at Michter’s, recently retired, for over ten years! Dan talks about the wonderful art of distilling whiskey. From the grains to fermentation to the people. If you can get your hands on the 20 year Michter’s Kentucky straight bourbon or the 25 year, they’re not wood bombs! There’s an industry term for you. They have complex flavors. Pool together $500-$700 with your friends and let us know what you think. Dan discusses how the science blends with the art of distilling whiskey, utilizing sensory organoleptic tests, gas chromatography mass spectrometry, HPLC to collect data on volatile compounds allows them to make real time decisions on how to manage the stocks. Michter’s has a long rich history that dates back to John Shenk, a Swiss Mennonite farmer, in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania in 1753. In the 1800’s, owned by Bomburger’s, closed by Prohibition. After Prohibition, it changed hands several times, but in the 1950's Lou Forman, renamed the distillery after his two sons, Michael and Peter, to Michter’s. It went bankrupt in the 80’s, but was revived by Joe Magliocco, who used to represent the brand on the distribution side, in the 1990’s, his friend Dick Newman and he bought the brand and moved to Kentucky. Purchasing matured stock from local distilleries to formulate their own profile, in the early 2000’s took their proprietary yeast and mash bill. What is a mash bill you ask? The mash bill refers to the breakdown/percentages of what grains are used in the production of whiskey: an ingredients list. They’re not making the recipes back from there Pennsylvania days, this is Michter’s, through and through. Michter’s releases on a taste profile, not by year, interestingly enough. Once it’s ready, we get to taste it. Well enough about that, we’re talking whiskey sours!  Everyone has had a different one. Kim’s first whiskey sour contained egg, like Ben, which fortifies and emulsifies the cocktail. But typically, the whiskey sour is whiskey, lemon and sugar or sweet and sour.  Try it with Rye or good ole fashioned Bourbon. Neither better than the other, but distinct flavors for distinct times. Enjoy this very special episode and tell us what you think about Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails!

The guys welcome world renown master distiller for Michter’s Whiskey, Dan McKee, to discuss the wonderful, foundational Whiskey Sour! Grab your Michter’s US 1 Single Barrel Rye, fresh lemon juice, simples syrup (1:1) and if you’re feeling adventurous, grab a couple eggs. You’ll need a shaker, Hawthorne strainer, fine strainer and world class ice! It can be up, it can be on ice, it can have a fancy garnish, no garnish, it’s a special one. Dan takes us through his personal history taking him through the midwest as a flat roofer, to the Jim Beam factory as a distillery operator at their Clairmont distillery. Promoted quickly after just two years, learning from great people, Pamela Heilmann, master distiller at Michter’s, recently retired, for over ten years! Dan talks about the wonderful art of distilling whiskey. From the grains to fermentation to the people. If you can get your hands on the 20 year Michter’s Kentucky straight bourbon or the 25 year, they’re not wood bombs! There’s an industry term for you. They have complex flavors. Pool together $500-$700 with your friends and let us know what you think. Dan discusses how the science blends with the art of distilling whiskey, utilizing sensory organoleptic tests, gas chromatography mass spectrometry, HPLC to collect data on volatile compounds allows them to make real time decisions on how to manage the stocks. Michter’s has a long rich history that dates back to John Shenk, a Swiss Mennonite farmer, in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania in 1753. In the 1800’s, owned by Bomburger’s, closed by Prohibition. After Prohibition, it changed hands several times, but in the 1950's Lou Forman, renamed the distillery after his two sons, Michael and Peter, to Michter’s. It went bankrupt in the 80’s, but was revived by Joe Magliocco, who used to represent the brand on the distribution side, in the 1990’s, his friend Dick Newman and he bought the brand and moved to Kentucky. Purchasing matured stock from local distilleries to formulate their own profile, in the early 2000’s took their proprietary yeast and mash bill. What is a mash bill you ask? The mash bill refers to the breakdown/percentages of what grains are used in the production of whiskey: an ingredients list. They’re not making the recipes back from there Pennsylvania days, this is Michter’s, through and through. Michter’s releases on a taste profile, not by year, interestingly enough. Once it’s ready, we get to taste it. Well enough about that, we’re talking whiskey sours!  Everyone has had a different one. Kim’s first whiskey sour contained egg, like Ben, which fortifies and emulsifies the cocktail. But typically, the whiskey sour is whiskey, lemon and sugar or sweet and sour.  Try it with Rye or good ole fashioned Bourbon. Neither better than the other, but distinct flavors for distinct times. Enjoy this very special episode and tell us what you think about Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast About Cocktails!

Episode Twelve - The Whiskey Sour

The guys catch up first to learn about Ford’s gin being purchased by Brown Forman. The background of Ford’s gin stems from the 86 Spirits company, co-founded by Simon Ford, a  bartender forward spirits company. After starting with a variety of spirits, Ford’s gin stood above the rest and is now a part of the Brown Forman family. But let’s move onto the fantastic Paloma! Made from Jarritos grapefruit soda (or Squirt) and your favorite tequila, whether reposado or blanco, but not an anejo. But don’t forget the limes, because you need limejuice. And a grapefruit to use as a garnish. This cocktail is built in the glass. No tools necessary. A lovely tall glass, add ice, and you’re good to go! Ben talks of his first Paloma, a few years back, when he had heard of it while bartending at Cinco. So he grabbed a case of Jarritos grapefruit and tried it himself. Fast forward to today, there is a house version on draft at Cinco! Ben’s spin consists of a grapefruit liqueur, Giffard’s, a vanilla bean syrup, lime juice, spicy salt on the rim of your Collins glass, and topped with club soda. Kim on the other hand, hasn’t had many Palomas in his life, he’s more of a margarita man. Maybe he thought it was too simple, but after years of experience, simple is better. It is an old drink, but isn’t everywhere. If you look at old cocktail books, like Savoy or Jerry Thomas, there are virtually no tequila cocktails. The apocryphal version says there’s a pap, from Meehan’s, popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande by famous bartender Don Javier Corona of La Capilla in the town of Tequila. Ben went and had a famous La Botaña, a derivative of the Paloma, tequila, lime and coca cola and stirred with the same knife used to cut the lime. Don Javier has denied authorship of the pamphlet. but David Wondrich put out an artsy flip book called Killer Cocktails. He traces the origin back to a Squirt advertisement in Mexico suggested combining Squirt and Tequila. You want a tall glass and for the bubbles to travel north. For Ben’s Cinco Paloma, an ounce and a half of blanco tequila, quarter ounce of vanilla bean syrup, three quarter ounce of grapefruit liqueur and a half ounce of lime juice, topped with soda and good to go. If you’re going traditional, at home, two ounces of tequila, half an ounce of lime juice and Squirt to taste! And a salt rim. Which enhances the flavor of tequila. When you’re sipping tequila in Mexico, you’re enjoying it with Sangrita, a salty tomato-based drink. A drink that may be hard to find unless you make it yourself! Paloma means dove, a great name for a drink. Maybe do a purple Paloma and called it “When Doves Cry.” And to get the drink purple, you can buy butterfly pea blossom, dried, steep them in the tequila and will color the spirit without any additional odor or flavor. Check out Kim’s @kimstodel instagram for pictures. Some background to know about tequila, you’ll want a 100% agave tequila, from one of the two regions in Jalisco, the lowlands and the highlands, and will take on complexities similar to the terroir of wine. Because it’s a plant based spirit, it should be the only ingredient. In the lowlands the soil is volcanic, drier, arid and the agave are working harder to build their agave sugars until maturity, where the flavor will be drier, more peppery, briny like olives. The highland tequilas have mineral rich red clay soil, where the climate is cooler, more moisture and precipitation. The plants build their sugars under relatively little stress, causing the tequila to become sweeter, green as in fresher, vegetal, lemon citrus quality. David Suro did a presentation for Ben and the guys at Cinco, who describes the highlands tequilas are feminine and the lowlands tequilas masculine. Find tequilas that aren’t using additives. Product labels often misinform customers, so be sure to read 100% agave on your label. If not, chances are you’re actually drinking a Mixto, which means it has to be at least 51% of the distillate is 100% agave, you can call it Tequila. You can’t say 100% agave, but you can say tequila, which deceives a lot of the general public. 100% agave is a mark of purity. But it doesn’t end there. Back in the old days, before transparency in production, many taquilleros, were using additives. Some of them used it to distinguish their tequila from someone else, but others were using residual sugars, agave sugar, vanilla, agave nectar. There are a lot of companies still doing this, cutting corners in production. Because they’re making money they have clout with there CRT and so forth, so many producers got grandfathered in and are allowed to utilize one percent of additives in the tequila. Home bartenders out there, look for 100% agave AND tequila on the label. Learn about rimming the glass with salt! Learn about making vanilla syrup!

The guys catch up first to learn about Ford’s gin being purchased by Brown Forman. The background of Ford’s gin stems from the 86 Spirits company, co-founded by Simon Ford, a  bartender forward spirits company. After starting with a variety of spirits, Ford’s gin stood above the rest and is now a part of the Brown Forman family. But let’s move onto the fantastic Paloma! Made from Jarritos grapefruit soda (or Squirt) and your favorite tequila, whether reposado or blanco, but not an anejo. But don’t forget the limes, because you need limejuice. And a grapefruit to use as a garnish. This cocktail is built in the glass. No tools necessary. A lovely tall glass, add ice, and you’re good to go! Ben talks of his first Paloma, a few years back, when he had heard of it while bartending at Cinco. So he grabbed a case of Jarritos grapefruit and tried it himself. Fast forward to today, there is a house version on draft at Cinco! Ben’s spin consists of a grapefruit liqueur, Giffard’s, a vanilla bean syrup, lime juice, spicy salt on the rim of your Collins glass, and topped with club soda. Kim on the other hand, hasn’t had many Palomas in his life, he’s more of a margarita man. Maybe he thought it was too simple, but after years of experience, simple is better. It is an old drink, but isn’t everywhere. If you look at old cocktail books, like Savoy or Jerry Thomas, there are virtually no tequila cocktails. The apocryphal version says there’s a pap, from Meehan’s, popular Cocktails of the Rio Grande by famous bartender Don Javier Corona of La Capilla in the town of Tequila. Ben went and had a famous La Botaña, a derivative of the Paloma, tequila, lime and coca cola and stirred with the same knife used to cut the lime. Don Javier has denied authorship of the pamphlet. but David Wondrich put out an artsy flip book called Killer Cocktails. He traces the origin back to a Squirt advertisement in Mexico suggested combining Squirt and Tequila. You want a tall glass and for the bubbles to travel north. For Ben’s Cinco Paloma, an ounce and a half of blanco tequila, quarter ounce of vanilla bean syrup, three quarter ounce of grapefruit liqueur and a half ounce of lime juice, topped with soda and good to go. If you’re going traditional, at home, two ounces of tequila, half an ounce of lime juice and Squirt to taste! And a salt rim. Which enhances the flavor of tequila. When you’re sipping tequila in Mexico, you’re enjoying it with Sangrita, a salty tomato-based drink. A drink that may be hard to find unless you make it yourself! Paloma means dove, a great name for a drink. Maybe do a purple Paloma and called it “When Doves Cry.” And to get the drink purple, you can buy butterfly pea blossom, dried, steep them in the tequila and will color the spirit without any additional odor or flavor. Check out Kim’s @kimstodel instagram for pictures. Some background to know about tequila, you’ll want a 100% agave tequila, from one of the two regions in Jalisco, the lowlands and the highlands, and will take on complexities similar to the terroir of wine. Because it’s a plant based spirit, it should be the only ingredient. In the lowlands the soil is volcanic, drier, arid and the agave are working harder to build their agave sugars until maturity, where the flavor will be drier, more peppery, briny like olives. The highland tequilas have mineral rich red clay soil, where the climate is cooler, more moisture and precipitation. The plants build their sugars under relatively little stress, causing the tequila to become sweeter, green as in fresher, vegetal, lemon citrus quality. David Suro did a presentation for Ben and the guys at Cinco, who describes the highlands tequilas are feminine and the lowlands tequilas masculine. Find tequilas that aren’t using additives. Product labels often misinform customers, so be sure to read 100% agave on your label. If not, chances are you’re actually drinking a Mixto, which means it has to be at least 51% of the distillate is 100% agave, you can call it Tequila. You can’t say 100% agave, but you can say tequila, which deceives a lot of the general public. 100% agave is a mark of purity. But it doesn’t end there. Back in the old days, before transparency in production, many taquilleros, were using additives. Some of them used it to distinguish their tequila from someone else, but others were using residual sugars, agave sugar, vanilla, agave nectar. There are a lot of companies still doing this, cutting corners in production. Because they’re making money they have clout with there CRT and so forth, so many producers got grandfathered in and are allowed to utilize one percent of additives in the tequila. Home bartenders out there, look for 100% agave AND tequila on the label. Learn about rimming the glass with salt! Learn about making vanilla syrup!

The Paloma

Enjoy this week's endeavor to explore the Gin Fizz and the category of the fizz cocktail. is it a mimosa, is it a collins, is it both, is it neither. We'll dive in and learn a thing or two about the Gin Fizz.

Enjoy this week's endeavor to explore the Gin Fizz and the category of the fizz cocktail. is it a mimosa, is it a collins, is it both, is it neither. We'll dive in and learn a thing or two about the Gin Fizz.

The Gin Fizz

The guys discuss the seminal Aviation cocktail, made with London dry gin, fresh lemon juice, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, creme de violet (possibly), a cherry to garnish. Your tools will include a shaker, a Hawthorne strainer, a fine strainer if you like, and all of this goes in a beautiful classic cocktail coupe. Ben talks about the fun process of making a new cocktail menu. Kim discusses the upcoming whiskey dinner at Providence Restaurant with the renown Michter’s whiskey, featuring Michter’s 20 year bourbon. And . . .  the guys got engaged. Not to each other, but to their longtime girlfriends, wonderful gals. Lucky guys, lucky girls, things are happening, we are flying. Which brings us back to the Aviation! Often a gateway cocktail into craft cocktail making, a touchstone of sorts, because it’s well branded, it has a great name, it is timeless. Goes beyond the fundamentals of classic sour cocktails, this is essentially a gin sour with the funky Marascino liqueur that makes the Aviation so unique. Created by Hugo Enslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallach in New York City, in the early twentieth century, first published in Enslin’s “Recipes for Mixed Drinks.” The recipe consisted of 1.5 ounces of gin, 3 quarters ounce of lemon juice, two dashes of maraschino liqueur and two dashes of creme de violet, giving it a pale, purple color. Harry Craddock, writer of the influential Savoy cocktail book, but omitting the creme violet. Meehan’s, Death &amp; Co., suggest using almost no creme de violet, because it can have a soapy quality. Both the guys use the creme de violet ands that the name of the cocktail, the Aviation, is in reference to the color resembling the sky. Enjoy your own as the guys discuss the differences between their personal recipes and the Aviation has impacted their careers in the spirits industry. All that and more on Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

The guys discuss the seminal Aviation cocktail, made with London dry gin, fresh lemon juice, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, creme de violet (possibly), a cherry to garnish. Your tools will include a shaker, a Hawthorne strainer, a fine strainer if you like, and all of this goes in a beautiful classic cocktail coupe. Ben talks about the fun process of making a new cocktail menu. Kim discusses the upcoming whiskey dinner at Providence Restaurant with the renown Michter’s whiskey, featuring Michter’s 20 year bourbon. And . . .  the guys got engaged. Not to each other, but to their longtime girlfriends, wonderful gals. Lucky guys, lucky girls, things are happening, we are flying. Which brings us back to the Aviation! Often a gateway cocktail into craft cocktail making, a touchstone of sorts, because it’s well branded, it has a great name, it is timeless. Goes beyond the fundamentals of classic sour cocktails, this is essentially a gin sour with the funky Marascino liqueur that makes the Aviation so unique. Created by Hugo Enslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallach in New York City, in the early twentieth century, first published in Enslin’s “Recipes for Mixed Drinks.” The recipe consisted of 1.5 ounces of gin, 3 quarters ounce of lemon juice, two dashes of maraschino liqueur and two dashes of creme de violet, giving it a pale, purple color. Harry Craddock, writer of the influential Savoy cocktail book, but omitting the creme violet. Meehan’s, Death &amp; Co., suggest using almost no creme de violet, because it can have a soapy quality. Both the guys use the creme de violet ands that the name of the cocktail, the Aviation, is in reference to the color resembling the sky. Enjoy your own as the guys discuss the differences between their personal recipes and the Aviation has impacted their careers in the spirits industry. All that and more on Equal Parts: A Bartending Podcast about Cocktails.

The Aviation

The guys talk about Lost Spirits Distillery in downtown Los Angeles after Ben toured the facility. Surprisingly clear minded, Ben discusses how Lost Spirits recreates forgotten and of course, lost, spirits. Sometimes making a what tastes like a twenty year old rye and produced in one week, using flash aging, essentially using light and sound to rapidly age spirits, utilizing scientific equipment to mimic traditional spirits. It sounds like a gimmick, but it’s also really good. What do you think? For today, we discuss the Trinidad Sour. You’ll need Angostura bitters, orgeat, fresh lemon juice and your favorite rye whiskey! A modern classic! It has a unique identity because there is nothing like it. Invented by Guiseppe Gonzalez, a well traveled modern legend in the bar world, from Clover Club, and now in Las Vegas at Herbs and Rye. It’s a different take on cocktails, taking an essential ingredient for cocktails and making it the base of there drink, the star of the show is Angostura bitters. It’s high proof and can carry a drink! Blind taste it with amaro and you might not know the difference at first. Typically a catalyst for blending flavors, bitters are like salt and pepper, the seasoning of drinks. For our home bartenders, the source for the recipe comes from Difford’s guide: an ounce and a half of angostura bitters, half ounce of your favorite rye, maybe Rittenhouse Rye, wink wink, a full ounce of orgeat, an almond syrup, and three quarter ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice. Don’t forget your ice, shake it up, then pour it into a coup. You’ll drink this up, with no ice. Kim learned to use one ounce instead of Ben’s ounce and a half, so maybe to taste is the best way to go. The spiciness of the bitters with the rye, contrasted with the bold orgeat flavor, the juxtaposition is a perfect pairing. This is a disruptor type of cocktail. The name is in reference to the bitters, made in Trinidad &amp; Topango, the Angostura bitters is a classic ingredient. A four ingredient cocktail, simple and beautiful.

The guys talk about Lost Spirits Distillery in downtown Los Angeles after Ben toured the facility. Surprisingly clear minded, Ben discusses how Lost Spirits recreates forgotten and of course, lost, spirits. Sometimes making a what tastes like a twenty year old rye and produced in one week, using flash aging, essentially using light and sound to rapidly age spirits, utilizing scientific equipment to mimic traditional spirits. It sounds like a gimmick, but it’s also really good. What do you think? For today, we discuss the Trinidad Sour. You’ll need Angostura bitters, orgeat, fresh lemon juice and your favorite rye whiskey! A modern classic! It has a unique identity because there is nothing like it. Invented by Guiseppe Gonzalez, a well traveled modern legend in the bar world, from Clover Club, and now in Las Vegas at Herbs and Rye. It’s a different take on cocktails, taking an essential ingredient for cocktails and making it the base of there drink, the star of the show is Angostura bitters. It’s high proof and can carry a drink! Blind taste it with amaro and you might not know the difference at first. Typically a catalyst for blending flavors, bitters are like salt and pepper, the seasoning of drinks. For our home bartenders, the source for the recipe comes from Difford’s guide: an ounce and a half of angostura bitters, half ounce of your favorite rye, maybe Rittenhouse Rye, wink wink, a full ounce of orgeat, an almond syrup, and three quarter ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice. Don’t forget your ice, shake it up, then pour it into a coup. You’ll drink this up, with no ice. Kim learned to use one ounce instead of Ben’s ounce and a half, so maybe to taste is the best way to go. The spiciness of the bitters with the rye, contrasted with the bold orgeat flavor, the juxtaposition is a perfect pairing. This is a disruptor type of cocktail. The name is in reference to the bitters, made in Trinidad &amp; Topango, the Angostura bitters is a classic ingredient. A four ingredient cocktail, simple and beautiful.

The Trinidad Sour

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