Cocktail of the Day: Do Svidaniya

Friday, December 18, 2009

Do Svidaniya

December 16, 2009

Svedka vodka
mint
kumquat
kumquat simple syrup
lemon juice

Muddle kumquat and mint, combine ingredients and shake. Strain (not fine-strain) into an ice-filled bucket. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Do svidaniya (pronounced DUH svee-DAH-nee-yeh) means "until we meet again" in Russian. Why Russian? Because it's a vodka cocktail, of course. Never mind that it's made with Swedish vodka, or that we don't even carry a Russian vodka!

5 comments:

Mr. Manhattan said...: Curious: how did you make the kumquat simple (as a catering gig unexpectedly left me with lots of kumquats)?

Thanks!

Michael; December 18, 2009 at 2:08 PM
The Bar said...: Hi Michael
Our pastry chef candied a bunch of kumquats and gave us the resulting syrup. I haven't worked for a few days, but I'll get back to you soon... hopefully, you still have some good fruit!; December 21, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Mr. Manhattan said...: Thanks. I might be able to ferret this out myself knowing it was a side-effect of candying the fruit. I've done it with blood orange slices last year.

BTW: I'm BIG fan of exotic citrus---in fact I've been growing calamondin and chinotto at home. ;->

Michael; December 22, 2009 at 3:55 PM
The Bar said...: If you've candied fruit before, go for it! The pastry chef told me that they use about a 2:1 sugar-to-water simple syrup. They simmer sliced kumquats on the lowest temp possible until the fruit is a little translucent, then cover and let it cool. Save the fruit in a little syrup, and use the rest in cocktails.

Your citrus sounds great! You don't live in SF do you? Seems like a chilly climate for good citrus.

Cheers!; December 22, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Mr. Manhattan said...: I live in Oakland and have a very nice south west facing back deck. I started the citrus project last summer. The calamondin gave me one small ripe crop a few weeks ago with more on the way. (Used them in a variation of Le Chapeau, BTW.) The chinotto are ripening more slowly, which is good because I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with them, probably some kind of home made bitter/amaro. I've also got a kaffir limes from which I've made a tincture of the peels. That will undoubtedly become the basis of an aromatic bitters.

Michael; December 23, 2009 at 8:25 AM

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Essential Bar Tools:

Pint glass
Shaker
Citrus squeezer
Paring knife
Cutting board
Patience
Wine opener
Bottle opener
Jiggers: Utensils for measuring liquids with 1/4- 1/2 oz. increments.
Hawthorne strainer: Metal device with a spring that fits over a shaker in order to strain the liquid from the ice.
Julep strainer: Solid metal paddle-like strainer with numerous holes. Fits into a pint glass, and is often used with stirred cocktails.
Fine strainer: Small metal sieve used to remove anything solid from a cocktail.
Bar spoon: Long, thin spoon used primarily to gently stir cocktails.
Channel knife: Tool used to carve twists from citrus.
Muddler: Baton-like device used to press, crush or pulverize ingredients.
Extra Liver: Let's just say: We like what we do.

More to come, of course!

Cocktail Terminology:

Up: Chilled, but served without ice, typically in a martini glass.
Neat: Served at room temperature, typically in a rocks glass.
Over: Served on ice. Glass may vary.
Strained: Ingredients combined in a shaker are strained into a glass through a Hawthorne or Julep strainer.
Fine Strained: Ingredients are poured through a small mesh strainer, eliminating ice chips, fruit pulp, or whatever else is unwanted.
Twist: The zest of any citrus (but not the flesh of the fruit).
Ribbon: Wide twist made from using a vegetable peeler. Not an official term, but it's what we use at Range.
Wedge: A wedge of fruit (often citrus) which includes the zest, pith and flesh of the fruit.
Wheel: Round cross section of citrus.
Half-moon: Half of a wheel. Another Range term. Not sure why we don't call them "half wheels".
Chip: A small, circular piece of citrus zest used as a garnish.
Dry: For Martinis this means using only a few drops of vermouth.
Very or Extra Dry: No vermouth
Shake: To mix vigorously with ice in a shaker
Stir: To gently stir a drink in a shaker with a bar spoon. This keeps the ingredients more "pure" because the ice doesn't break up and melt as it does with shaking. The trade off is that the cocktail is less chilled. Gin Martinis, Manhattans, and Sazeracs are examples of drinks that should be stirred.
Dry shake: To combine ingredients in a shaker without any ice. Typically used in order to properly emusify cocktails containing egg white.
Muddle: To use a muddler to press, crush or pulverize any ingredient in order to extract juice and/or flavor.
Rocks Glass: Short, cyllindrical glass meant to hold a spirit and ice.
Bucket: A large rocks glass. Gin and tonics and the like are typically served in a bucket.
Collins Glass: Tall, cyllindrical glass used for collins, fizzes, and often juice-bassed drinks.
Pilsner Glass: Very tall glass, often featuring a pedestal base. Aside from beer, these are used for cocktails that contain juice and soda, such as Mojitos.
Cocktail Glass: Often called a "Martini Glass".
Shot Glass: Small glass meant to hold around two ounces of liquor.
Cordial Glass: Smallish stemmed glass used for port, and desert wines.

More to come, as well!

Cocktail of the Day

Friday, December 18, 2009

Do Svidaniya

5 comments:

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