bringing drinks to life

I’ve heard a few people say recently that they think the tiki craze is over, and I think I know what they mean. Tiki was heralded as the ‘next big thing’ much as tequila was before that, and while it has grown in popularity, and become more mainstream it has never really exploded in the way that was predicted. That’s not entirely surprising as it’s a niche style of drinking, but to say it’s dead seems a bit of an exaggeration to me.

Tiki, as I’ve written before, is a style of drinks inspired by Polynesia and tropical island culture and is predominantly based around rum, with plenty of exotic fruits, juices, syrups and liqueurs thrown in for good measure. It was originally popularised in the 1940s America when these enticing flavours from far-flung shores were a welcome bit of escapism after the gloom of WWII.

A few years ago there was a definite resurgence of interest in this style of drinking, with Tiki bars and nightclubs popping up on a regular basis. Of course many were quick to jump on the bandwagon to exclaim that Tiki would be the next big thing. Even if that promised explosion has somewhat failed to deliver, Tiki has still managed to establish a firm place within our global drinking culture. In almost every major city you will find at least one or two bars dedicated to tiki drinks, and on many cocktail menus you’ll find not only the classic Mai Tai or Zombie, but other modern tiki inspired cocktails. So to say that tiki is dead, to me at least, seems too strong a statement. Perhaps it would be fairer to say that tiki has found its place within modern cocktail culture, and has indeed added to it. Tiki isn’t dead, it’s alive and well, but in a limited way, and for that reason I say tiki is here to stay.

A few days ago a friend unexpectedly got me thinking about corpse reviver cocktails. You see I was looking for suggestions for some new drinks using Fernet Branca and he (admittedly in a half awake stupor) mentioned the Corpse Reviver #2. Now as any cocktail geek will know, the #2 doesn’t have Fernet in it, but between us we were pretty sure that one of the Corpse Reviver recipes did. And thus a small obsession with that family of drinks began!

Bartenders are often familiar with Corpse Revivers #1 and #2 from The Savoy and their famous Cocktail Book, as these are generally considered to be the first listed examples of this family of drinks, but from time to time people mention others. Within minutes of posting a few queries on Twitter and Facebook, suggestions came pouring in as to where I might find Corpse Reviver recipes listed in various cocktail books, but no one I talked to was clear about whether any of them were numbered or bore any resemblance to those from The Savoy. So my vague curiosity turned from an interest in finding a few recipes into a quest to list the Corpse Revivers in chronological order.

I should probably backtrack a little bit here and explain what a Corpse Reviver actually is. The name is highly evocative and relatively self-explanatory, as they are drinks designed to help you recover from the night before. It seems in days gone by that drinkers where made of pretty stern stuff, as they would stop into a bar for an ‘eye opener’ to get them back into gear for the day ahead. Sure we still have the trusty Bloody Mary, but it was commonplace once upon a time to have a stiff drink that would shock your system back into shape and get you going, hence the Corpse Reviver.

It’s undeniable that we’re in a new 'golden age' of cocktails; you can tell that this is true by the fact that cocktails are making it into mainstream culture. Want proof? Look no further than programmes such as Madmen and Boardwalk Empire. Want proof a bit closer to home? Well take a look at Tesco’s ‘Real Food’ website and you’ll notice a new cocktail section that’s gone live recently. Now maybe like me when you hear the word ‘cocktail’ you don’t immediately think of a national supermarket chain, but sure enough Tesco have caught on to the cocktail craze. So when they contacted me to ask if I’d be willing to come up with a Christmas cocktail or two from a box of random ingredients, I pushed aside fears of being sent a box of unusable ingredients and said yes.

A week later a large red box arrived and I eagerly unwrapped it, filled with equal parts excitement, trepidation, and of course hope at what the contents might be. Now before I tell you what was in the box (the photo to the left might give it away!), I should make it clear that I have enough self-awareness to know that I’m a bit of a spirit snob, I like my bourbons premium, my rum well aged and my tequila 100% agave. But I’m also a realist, so I knew I wasn’t going to be greeted by a bottle of El Dorado 15yo and a crystal mixing glass, but I was quietly hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to cocktails and spirits, so it’ll come as no surprise to you that I spend a good amount of time sat in bars staring at the back bar or the cocktail list. I’m always fascinated by the choices made by bars as to which products they buy into and choose to use. Obviously you have your house pouring spirits, which are often selected based on finding a balance between quality, price and support offered by the brand, but then you have a whole back bar of products that tell you something about the venue you’re in.

It’s interesting when visiting other countries that you find certain products that consistently appear on the back bars of the best cocktail bars. Many times they are the same from country to country, but sometimes you notice something different. Not necessarily a product that is local to that market, but maybe a brand that has caught on in one place but not in another for reasons unknown. So the last time I was in New York I found it strange to see Banks 5 Island Rum almost everywhere I went, when it’s so seldom found in UK bars. It made me think that I should probably take another look at this product.

I love cocktail books; in fact over the past few years I’ve assembled a nice little collection of antique books that take pride of place in the b&t drinking room. One of the things I like about them is that they paint a picture of drinking trends in different eras. Looking at a book from the 1930s, like the Savoy or the Café Royale Cocktail Book, you see absinthe added to every other drink and passion fruit is one of the most popular ingredients listed. You can almost sense the excitement of the bartenders from that era as they discovered what were at that time, new and interesting ingredients to play with.

It’s fair to say that generally speaking I prefer the old cocktail books to the new, but never the less there are some modern books that have been added to my library too. The thing about many of the modern books is that while they have beautiful glossy pictures and several hundred recipes to tempt the reader, they don’t really engage you in the same way that the old books do. Reading books from the late 1800s you experience bartenders explaining the art of serving customers, setting up your bar for service and dealing with drunken guests. Many have sections dedicated to toasts, or even how to use different spirits to cure your ailments. They really bring the world of drinking to life and help you imagine how it might have been to drink in that era.

When it comes to making cocktails at home, I find it very easy to turn to my old favourite drinks.  There are about 400 bottles of spirits in the b&t drinking room, and sometimes it can be difficult to decide what to choose, in those moments I find it easier just to stir myself a Manhattan with a favourite rye and vermouth, or shake up an Aviation with a particular gin. So to keep things interesting and to stop me from falling into a routine, I regularly ask my better half to pick a spirit and modifier and I come up with a new drink on the spot. It’s kind of the cocktail version of Ready Steady Cook.

A few weeks back we were on Twitter and it occurred to us to throw this idea out to our followers and get them to name a spirit and a drink style and we’d take care of the rest. Sure enough within a couple of minutes we had people suggesting ‘tequila in a tiki style’ and ‘banana frappe’ and so our regular weekly #readysteadyshake was up and running.

It’s been hard to miss the buzz over the last few days about Pusser’s Rum deciding to take PKNY (formerly Painkiller bar) to court to protect their trademark of the name Painkiller. It has been an eye-opening experience to watch the industry debate both sides of the argument, but mostly it has served to highlight what happens when brands don’t work with bars to achieve mutually beneficial results. Fortunately, today I get to write about a brand that is supporting bars and helping bartenders to share their knowledge and passion internationally.

You see St Germain Elderflower Liqueur have just started an international bartender exchange programme, designed to get bartenders sharing ideas and experiencing different cultures. This sort of activity is a shining example of how easily brands can promote the work of drinks industry professionals, create good feelings within the trade and achieve results that benefit everyone taking part.