As a bartender I have to disagree but only a little bit. Have you ever seen Justin Wilson? He was a Cajun chef. He would measure a teaspoon or even a half teaspoon of salt in his hand. Then he’d prove it by using a measuring spoon. He’d pour it in there and it would be exact.
Most bartenders start with a heavy hand. And if you’re in my bar, I quickly disabuse you of your Cocktail movie dreams. I’ve regularly shown noobs that what they think is a shot is easily 2 or even 3 shots.
And sure, in a dive people love that. But your boss talks to you at the end of the week and says, “Did you drink all of this? Are you a drunk? Because you didn’t sell this shit.”
OTOH a truly professional bartender can eyeball a shot easily. In fact that’s a test that is done for the job. Why? Because if you’re in a high volume establishment, you don’t have the time for a measure or those Satan spawned measure tops.
I suppose it depends upon where one works. But after a few years you move up to better places where the tips get better. Or you continue to get people drunk in a bucket of blood dive and make $20 a night. YMMV.
Anecdotally when I tended and yes, went to school, I could hit any pour by the 1/2 ounce to an exact meniscus. Maybe I couldn’t have passed overinvolved hipster-muster, but I tested often and perfectly. I would argue that saying measured pours are essential in making a cocktail is like arguing autotune is essential in music.
I’m talking about places like Pegu Club in New York City, The Passenger in DC, and Smuggler’s Cover or Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco. None of which have been in movies, AFAIK. They all measure their drinks. (They’re also not high volume.) Hipster or not, they make extremely good drinks, and Pegu Club and Bourbon and Branch helped define 21st century cocktail culture.
You can make amazing drinks either way, there isn’t a right answer. It’s just like in cooking where there’s the Modernist/Molecular crowd driving innovation and as a byproduct end up with a lot of things with ingredients measured to the gram, but at the same time there’s still amazing rustic dishes out there and wonderful things being created with more traditional fusion/melting pot styles. I’ve had amazing dishes from both groups and horrible dishes. It’s about knowing what’s the right method for the dish.
I think cocktails are the same way.
I think we can all agree, though, that bars that measure small pours for basic drinks and charge too much for them are a travesty.
Every cocktail bar worth it’s salt uses jiggers. The difference between a 1/4 oz and a 1/2 oz can either make or break a cocktail.
All the bartenders I ever talked to at the great cocktail bars in new york swear by the jigger. They even routinely challenge freepourers to speed challenges to prove they are just as fast with the jigger.
And while I agree that pegu et.al., helped define cocktail culture for the country, I would disagree with the statement that they are not high volume. Go to pegu on a friday night after seven when they put the rail up and the bartenders are slinging drinks like they’re in the matrix.
EDIT1: and hipster, schmipster. Cocktail culture is as old as this country. Sure things can get out of hand and pretentiousness can creep into every corner, but when a place does it right it does it right. Like the great stanley kubrick once said “you either care, or you don’t.”
EDIT2: oh and wild turkey 101 on the eve of a blizzard. first two neat, last one with a nice fat ice cube.
I’ve reached out to Beam to clarify whether the alcohol is being reduced by 3%, as the email says, or three percentage points, which would be more dramatic. The footer of today’s email suggests it’s the latter, describing Maker’s Mark as a 42% ABV beverage, which is also known as 84 proof; it was previously distilled to 45% ABV, or 90 proof. That would be a 6.7% reduction in the amount of alcohol.
Noooooooooooooooooooo! What the fuck! Who has trouble finding it on the fucking shelves? I have literally never once been to a liquor store and had them be out of Maker’s. Not once. And I drink a fuck ton of this bourbon. Like 2 1.75s a month, easy, for the past 4-5 years. And I although its happened, I can not recall the last time I was at a bar or restaurant and had them tell me they didnt stock it or were out of it.
Old Overholt is ok (and affordable as hell), but doesn’t really have the umph to shine in most good classic rye cocktails (only 80 proof).
Better Rye alternatives to OO would be Rittenhouse Rye BIB (hands down best rye for mixing imo), the newish Knob Creek Rye (100 proof), or the old standby Wild Turkey Rye 101.
Depending on where you live the Knob Creek (which, if I’m correct, is just an older and stronger version of OO) should be the easiest to find, but it’s also probably the most expensive.
Rittenhouse is what everybody recommends for cheap Rye, saying it’s better than more expensive alternatives. I wouldn’t know though, never found a bottle of it.
It probably wouldn’t matter as much in an old-fashioned, there isn’t much in there for it to stand up against. But I think the general lackluster taste (which definitely is a result of the proof) could be a problem.
Plenty of people swear by OO so it definitely could work for you, but personally I find the great thing about rye is its boldness as a whiskey, and OO is not a great example of that.
Speaking to what Gendal said, yes indeed Rittenhouse has a very solid reputation and that reputation usually makes it kinda difficult to find. And the price keeps climbing, up in New York I usually see bottles going from between 22-28 dollars (it used to be as cheap as 11.99) and in that range it’s no longer the cheaper alternative to say something like Wild Turkey.
If you can find the wild turkey, even the 80 proof and not the 101, i’d go with that over OO. Especially in an old-fashioned.
EDIT: Also Ed, not sure what state you’re in, but if you’re in the MD, DC, VA area Pikesville Rye is SOLID and dirt cheap (a handle will run you like 26 bucks) anytime my folks come and visit I have them stop off and grab me a few bottles. Like OO it’s only 80 proof but it’s damn tasty. I like to drink it straight, something I just can’t do with OO.
Rittenhouse is really good for cocktails because it’s… uh, assertive as a Rye. With Dolin Sweet Vermouth and bitters, it makes an awesome Manhattan. It’s good with a splash of water. I don’t drink it neat, I’d switch to Scotch if I’m going that way.
I pass near Heaven’s Hill a couple times per year, I really should do the tour sometime.
Haven’t tried the bulleit yet. Will have to pick up a bottle and give it a go. It’s good to have choices now, used to just be Jim Beam Rye and OO. Now it seems we get a few new ones every year.
