The cocktailian Holy Vesper: in which our country cocktailian says his evening prayers

Cheers, April, 2004 by Gary Regan

Peter, one of the owners of Painter's, the inn at which the Cocktails in the Country bartender training course is held, is very proud of his liquor list, and when he and his wife. Mary Beth, join the students and me for the cocktail dinners served on the Saturday night, he sometimes has a mission. If, for instance, someone seems to have an interest in a specific liquor, he'll often show them the list of myriad bottlings he has to offer, and convince them to sample a couple after dinner. This can sometimes lead to disaster.

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Such was the case on one fateful Saturday night last year, and on the Sunday morning, when the entire class was slurping back copious quantities of coffee over breakfast. I could tell that some heads were hurting. I was very sadistic when I played my signature tune, "Have a Drink on Me," as the students filed into the Gallery bar--our weekend classroom. The song, if you've never heard it, was recorded by a British artist called Lonnie Donegan, around 40 years ago--it's a sort of country rock number that he plays with great gusto. I turned the volume up to number 11 on this particular morning, grinning as the group settled down on their bar stools.

Regina Rose, my flirty assistant, and I served fresh grapefruit juice, spiked with a little Peychaud's bitters, to each member of the class, and one cheeky young guy asked for a small shot of vodka to be added to his glass. It was time for a hair of the dog. I guess. Most of the rest of the class followed suit.

It didn't take too long, though for everyone to start paving attention, and their ears really pricked up when I put one of them behind the bar and told them what ingredients they had to use to create their first drink of the day: TURI Vodka, a smooth, silky spirit with a great spiciness and lots of character; Tanqueray Gin, a heavily perfumed bottling that slaps you around the head with juniper and makes for a very heady Gin Martini, and B & B, a mixture of Benedictine and Brandy with great herbal flavors suspended in a sea of smooth cognac. B & B can be a tricky ingredient to use.

Martha, the woman faced with these ingredients, tasted each one and, like many new students, she asked me which ingredient was the base of the drink. As is my normal modus operandum, I told her that I didn't know--she was the bartender, not I. She glared at me for a while then went to work, pouring twice as much TURI as Tanqueray into the iced mixing glass before staring at the bottle of B & B, and thinking for a while. To my amazement she put the liqueur bottle down, and dipped a straw into the sample I'd given her to taste capturing just a few drops of B & B by placing her finger over the top of the straw. She then released this into the mixing glass and stirred the ingredients together. Result: Perfection.

The TURI diluted the flavors of the gin without masking them completely, and a tad of spiciness from the vodka still remained. The B & B, though low in quantity, added a lovely herbal sweetness to the drink, but it didn't take over the whole drink. B & B can be a great post-prandial potion served neat, perhaps in a snifter, and I have one friend who drinks B & B & B--B & B with extra brandy added--but when this liqueur is employed as a cocktail ingredient it's usually best to start out using it sparingly lest its herbal flavors take over the whole drink.

The rest of the day went swimmingly. Each student took their place behind the bar, making cocktails from the ingredients I dictated, and at the end of the day, as is the norm, I handed the bar over to the class, and left them to their own devises. The limo arrived at 5 o'clock to take the students back to Manhattan, and Peter, Regina Rose, and I stood in the parking lot to wave them off.

"Have a good time with the class last night?" I asked Peter.

"Too much of a good time, I'm afraid."

"How so?"

"Well, one guy wanted to sample all of the Glenmorangie wood-finished single malts we have behind the bar, and since I hadn't tasted them all yet, I decided to join him. We sampled the Port Wood, Sherry Wood, Madeira Wood, and Burgundy Wood bottlings, then we rounded out the night with the 15-year old--my personal favorite"

"A little too much whisky, huh, Pete?" I asked.

"Not at all. I was very careful. It was just that I was having such a good time I never did get around to giving him a tab."

RELATED ARTICLE: Holy Vesper

1 1/2 ounces TURI Vodka

3/4 ounce Tanqueray Gin

2 or 3 dashes B & B

1 lemon twist, for garnish

Stir over ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the garnish.

Apply to attend Cocktails in the Country by visiting www.ardentspirits.com, and clicking on "Classes and Events." Mention Cheers magazine in your application and receive a free signed copy of Gary Regan's latest book, The Joy of Mixology, if you're accepted into the program.