Anatomy of a cocktail our hero finds himself in a muddle

Cheers, July-August, 2005 by Gary Regan

I've been mulling about muddling of late. It seems to be a method of making cocktails and mixed drinks that's really in vogue in 2005, and for a few good reasons, too.

When I recently added Mojitos to the drink list for my almost-every-Wednesday-night gig at our local joint, I noticed that customers ordering them watched with great interest as I pummeled all heck out of the fruit, sugar, and mint before adding the rum and completing the drink--by the way, I made a white tequila Mojito for one guy, and it worked really well. So, I think that the bartender as showman aspect comes into play with muddled drinks--people love to watch the process.

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Although I use simple syrup when making most drinks that call for sugar, in the case of muddled drinks that include wedges of lemons or limes, I always use granulated sugar since, as you grind the sugar until it dissolves, it abrades the zest of the fruit, releasing the essential oils therein and brings a fresh citrusy flavor to the drink. And if I have the time, I muddle lemons when I make drinks such as a Tom Collins instead of using lemon juice and simple syrup--it results in a much "brighter" drink.

When it comes to choosing a muddler, I truly believe that bigger is better. I'm lucky in that regard inasmuch as Chris Gallagher, a friend who took one of my very first bartender training classes, now offers handmade, superb muddlers that he markets under the PUG! Muddler brand.

These tools boast a diagonally cut top that fits into the heel of your hand, making them very comfortable to work with, and although Chris hasn't been marketing them aggressively, they're already pretty popular with bartenders as far away as London as well as in the U.S. In fact, when I visited the Milk and Honey bar in London last year, and whipped out my muddler to loan to the bartender, his eyes opened wide. "It's a PUG!" he exclaimed.

MUDDLING ADDS VALUE

Perhaps another reason that muddling is becoming so popular is that it broadens the bartender's choice of ingredients--all sorts of berries, herbs, and fruits can be used in muddled drinks, and there's no need to make, say, a pint of fresh blueberry juice prior to opening the doors, and having to toss half of it down the sink at closing time. Customers get very fresh juice in muddled drinks, and that makes a huge difference in both the quality of the drinks, and the value perceived by customers--it's possible to get a couple of extra bucks for muddled drinks without getting a word of complaint from the other side of the stick.

I'm highlighting a couple of new muddled drinks in this article, both created by Xavier Herit, resident mixologist at Francesco at Mix, a Manhattan restaurant that opened its doors as a French-American concept, but recently went in another direction when owners Alain Ducasse and Jeffrey Chodorow hired Italian chef Francesco Berardinelli, switching it to a very modern-Italian-style menu.

The first drink you'll find here is Summer Berries, a non-alcoholic quaff, though I'm sure it would also work well with a lot of rum, tequila, gin, or vodka. Herit created this one for a customer who doesn't drink beverage alcohol, and it's good to remember that these people are every bit as important as drinkers--hey, we need more designated drivers out there!

The second drink is Herit's take on an Italian Mojito, and quite appropriately, that's what it's called. The Italian aspect of the drink appears in the form of Prosecco, the sparkling wine that hails from the Veneto region that takes the place of the club soda normally used in Mojitos. But Herit doesn't stop there. He also uses a touch of brown sugar in his creation, and this gives the drink a little more body than the usual version.

The Italian Mojito also calls for white rum, though no brand is specified, so I'll make a few recommendations that will work well. The new 10 Cane rum from Trinidad--made from sugar-cane juice rather than molasses--has lots of character, as does the Bacardi 8, a fine Puerto Rican rum. Okay, it's not white rum, but I look for character rather than color in my Mojitos. A white rum with tons of character, this one from Jamaica, is the Appleton White: it's aged for up to two years in oak, then filtered to remove the color. Or you might want to try the Appleton VX, their flagship bottling--I usually use this in my Mojitos when I'm behind the stick, and they go over really well. And rounding out my rum recommendations from the Caribbean suitable for this drink are Mount Gay Eclipse from Barbados, and Barbancourt Traditional White Rum, from Haiti.

It's good to see the art of muddling making a comeback behind the bars of America. Remember, showmanship behind the bar is a very important aspect of the job, and muddling provides bartenders a great chance to prove their worth.

RELATED ARTICLE: Summer Berries

(Adapted from a recipe by Xavier Herit, resident mixologist at Francesco at Mix, Manhattan.)

2 fresh raspberries, coarsely chopped, plus one whole raspberry,
  for garnish
1 fresh strawberry, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 oz. lemon-lime soda
1 sprig fresh mint, for garnish