US Airways - June 2013 - (Page 20)
Wine & Dine
20
june 2013
usairwaysmag.com
Bacon in general
is a Big thing in
the south, so it
Works out pretty
Well for us.
—Joshua streetman, bartender at
motor supply company Bistro
with commercial vodka.
The trend of house-infused spirits is
part of the growing desire among consumers for authenticity in food and
drink: an interest in where that steak,
that broccolini, or that cocktail comes
from, and how its taste is like no other.
To this end the modern bartender
is engaging customers in a conversation about what they want to drink,
what they like. You can’t imagine Lou
Grant, much less Archie Bunker, discussing a fig-infused cocktail with his
bartender. But today’s hipster web
designer? Certainly.
Fig-infused cocktail? Oh, yes! It’s
the creation of Gonzolo Marin of Barraca, Macondo, and Rayuela in New
York City, and it’s delicious. Marin
confirms the trend. “Over the last ten
years, consumers have educated themselves so much,” he says. “It’s not like
years ago when they used to go to a bar
and ask for a cosmo or a margarita. Now
they know. They see a cocktail list and
they see that whoever made the list is
putting work into it, offering something
different and interesting, and they want
to try it. They know better now.”
Today’s bartenders have the inven-
tive enthusiasm of a great chef, constantly musing on new ways to combine
flavors. After all, why should the chef be
the only one to play with rosemary or
tamarind?
Of course, preparing these infusions
and crafting these unique cocktails is
time-consuming and expensive. But
there’s a subtle payoff beyond commanding premium prices. Houseinfused spirits differentiate a bar from
its competition and enhance its image
as a purveyor of something special.
And you can’t get more special than
a bacon-infused Bloody Mary to set off
a Sunday brunch.
Nick Passmore is a contributing editor.
His website is nickonwine.com.
7 sweet
recipes
The Dos Lunas
Watermelon Margarita
A Nick Passmore creation
The iNfusioN:
infuse 8 oz. cubed watermelon in
12 oz. dos lunas silver tequila for
1 week.
The cockTAil:
3 oz. infused tequila
juice from one half lime
2 tsp. Grand Marnier
shake ingredients well with ice. rim
glass with lime and then salt. add
fresh ice to glass and pour margarita
over them.
photos (from top) courtesy of motor supply company Bistro and By Zuma Wire service/alamy
customers. “From that it began to
evolve as we thought, ‘What other kinds
of spirits can we use? What other kinds
of things can we do to make interesting
cocktails?’ ” Streetman says.
They moved into fruit-based infusions like gin with grapefruit and thyme
served as a highball, hibiscus in tequila,
and a strawberry-vodka lemonade.
And, of course, these dramatic glass
jars attract questions and give the bartenders an opportunity to talk about
the infusions, which can lead to even
more ideas.
A side of bacon marinating in a
six-liter jar of alcohol might look like
something you’d encounter in a pathologist’s lab. But three different colors
of sliced peppers in tequila at A Voce in
New York City is far prettier, and perhaps a little less off-putting to those
New Yorkers not quite so enamored of
things porcine as the residents of Columbia. The infused tequila is the central ingredient in A Voce’s most popular
cocktail, the Margarita in Fuoco, and
I’ve never tasted a drink like it, so bursting with the flavor of fresh peppers.
Their other signature cocktail, the
Tartufo Speciale (the Truffle Special),
is even more ambitious. Its base is a
ten-year-old bourbon infused with black
truffle served in a martini glass rimmed
with truffle honey.
The magic of these drinks is the
aftertaste, which lingers on the palate
like a fine red wine. But infusions aren’t
really meant to be consumed straight.
George Costa of Pub & Kitchen in
Philadelphia infuses spirits in order to
“add a little more depth to cocktails, to
add flavors that you can’t find in a bar
spirit,” he says. His Peachy Keen Collins (see the recipe on page 22) makes
his point.
I found this out for myself when I
macerated two cups of strawberries in
half a liter of vodka for several days, and
the result was not that interesting. But
when I used the infused vodka in a
cocktail, the drink sang with a vibrant
freshness that’s impossible to achieve
http://www.nickonwine.com
http://www.usairwaysmag.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - June 2013
US Airways - June 2013
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: Best Outdoor Music Venues
Hub Crawl: Los Angeles International Airport
Wine & Dine: Infused Spirits
Great Tastes: B.B. King's Blues Clubs
Diversions: Beer Gardens
Great Escapes: Hard Rock Hotels
Great Escapes: Universal Orlando Resort
Diversions: Seven Super Spas
Adventure: Sebasco Harbor Resort, Maine
Golf: Billy Casper
Gear Up: Family Games
Travel Feature: The Lure of the Lake
US Airways: All in the Family
Chefs Tell: Sea Fire Grill
Charlotte, NC
Special Section: Los Angeles Arts
Must Read: Color Blind
Great Dates
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Window or Aisle?
US Airways - June 2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_december2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_november2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_october2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_september2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_august2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_july2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_june2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_la_cultureguide
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_may2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_april2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_march2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_february2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_january2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_december2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_november2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_october2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_september2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_august2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_july2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_june2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_may2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_april2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_march2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_february2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_january2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_december2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_november2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_october2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_september2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_august2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_july2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_june2012
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com