Fifty days of doing something is considerable. You have built something if you complete the same task, over and over, for fifty days. Patterns start to emerge, information looks a little different, and it becomes integrated into your day. It is also a good stopping point to look back and see what you have done. How the good days made things better, and how the bad days made you ask some serious questions. Either way, knowing you have to do the same thing the next day makes it a little easier to shake off the successes and failures of the previous day and focus on the task at hand. My task is to make a cocktail every day for one hundred days and put it on Instagram. The research and the blog posts are added benefits that sometimes get lost in the shuffle of day to day living, but get accomplished by and by. It takes some dedication to get to this point, and I want to thank all of you for helping me get here.
One of the books I have read in this new burst of bar exploration is The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler. His book lays out what it takes to be a bartender, and not just the making cocktails side of it. How to prep, how to develop flavors, and what to look for in the tools that are right for you. Using the right liquor for the cocktail to how hard you should be shaking your cocktails. It is the first book I read cover to cover that went beyond just recipes and proper glassware. That is one reason I want to meet him. The other is that his journey feels similar to mine, right down to the fact we both wanted to work in architecture. All of these factors, and the fact it was a fun play on the Whiskey Sour, made we want to try out the Bourbon Renewal.
Another Whiskey Sour upgrade.
Bourbon Renewal (by Jeffrey Morgenthaler)
2 oz./ 60 mL bourbon
1 oz./ 30 mL fresh lemon juice
.5 oz./ 15 mL creme de Cassis
.5 oz./ 15 mL simple syrup
1 ds. Angostura bitters
Glass: Old Fashioned
Garnish: Lemon wheel
Ice: Cubed
Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing tin. Add ice, then shake until well chilled (20 - 30 seconds). Strain the mixture into an Old Fashioned glass over fresh ice. Place the lemon wheel for garnish, then serve.
How can you go wrong with a sour cocktail? Adding the currant liqueur is a lovely, and light, touch, adding the depth of the berries to the sour lemon and simple sugar. Berries and lemons are a natural marriage anyway, and the bourbon brings the whole thing together. It is another fine example of a classic cocktail that, with a addition of one element, becomes something a little different. Go out and find a good bottle of creme de cassis so you can make this at home. Or if you are in Portland, just head over to Clyde Common.