Blender drinks make a comeback
Blender drinks make a comebackWe loved blended cocktails in the ¡¯30s and ¡¯40s, when the Waring blender washed ashore in Havana and was adopted by Constante Ribalagua, head barman at the Floridita.
According to legend, Ribalagua made more than 10 million daiquiris. There is a dispute about his precise technique, but for many drinks he seems to have used the blender almost as a cocktail shaker, pulsing the ingredients just long enough to chill them, but not so long as to turn it all to slush.
We loved blender drinks in the ¡¯50s, when the pina colada sailed north from San Juan and captured the mainland United States.
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It was taken up by the tiki bars and restaurants that spread across the country after World War II, inspired by the success of Trader Vic¡¯s in Emeryville, Calif., and Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood, Calif.
We might have loved them a little too much in the ¡¯70s. At fern bars across the land, singles¡¯ nights were lubricated by heaping goblets of sugary frozen drinks like the Mudslide and the Outstanding Alexander (Cognac, Grand Marnier, coffee liqueur, whipping cream, chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream).
In the wake of that era¡¯s lawless abandon, "the whole world of exotic cocktails ended up having this bad reputation," says Martin Cate, who owns the Forbidden Island bar in Alameda, Calif. What went wrong, Cate and others say, is that the bartenders who were scooping rum raisin ice cream into their drinks forgot that there was a craft to this business.
"If you¡¯re going to make a blended drink, don¡¯t take any short cuts," says Toby Maloney, owner of the Violet Hour in Chicago. "You¡¯re going to need good ingredients. You¡¯re going to make simple syrup, you¡¯re going to need to squeeze your juices fresh, you¡¯re going to have to use bitters. It takes the same attention to detail, if not more."
Those were among Maloney¡¯s tricks when, serving as a consultant, he devised the Rusty Knot¡¯s pina colada recipe. For his Spiced Colada, he added lemon and lime to Captain Morgan¡¯s spiced rum and positively drenched the drink in Angostura bitters. It was just the sort of crisp slap in the face that was needed to bring the pina colada back to life. The Rusty Knot, at the western edge of Greenwich Village in New York, sells more of them than its owners ever imagined.
For home bartenders, it¡¯s worth practicing a few basics before the rum takes effect. The blender can be put to several handy uses behind the bar. It will puree fruits like mangoes, peaches or strawberries, one of the best ways to get their ripe flavors into a cocktail. For drinks with egg whites, like the Pisco Sour, it can whip up a fast froth. (A dose of soda or sparkling wine also produces a nice thick head on a blender drink.)
And in a technique called flash blending, a three-to-five-second pulse with cracked ice chills the drink quickly and efficiently.
The ice can be strained out or the chunks and shards can be left in, which is typical of tropical cocktails.
Cartagena Limeade
Adapted from the
Charleston Santa Teresa, Cartagena, Colombia
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
In a blender, puree all ingredients with 3 ice cubes. Pour into any type of glassware and serve with a straw cut to a comfortable length.
Yield: 1 drink
Spiced Colada
Adapted from the Rusty Knot in New York¡¯s Greenwich Village.
For the syrup:
1 15-ounce can coconut cream, preferably Coco Lopez
3/4 cup (6 ounces) pineapple juice
3 ounces lemon juice
3 ounces lime juice
1/2 cup (4 ounces) superfine sugar
9 dashes Angostura bitters
For the colada:
2 ounces spiced rum
1 or 2 dashes Angostura bitters.
To make the syrup, pour coconut cream, pineapple juice, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and bitters into a blender with 1/2 cup (4 ounces) water. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer syrup to a separate container. You will have far more than you need, enough for about 4 coladas.
To make the colada, pour 4 ounces ( 1/2 cup) colada syrup and the rum into a blender with about 1 1/2 cups ice. Puree until colada is thick but can still be poured, a minute or more. Pour into an appropriate vessel, such as a ceramic coconut shell, and sprinkle surface with a dash or two of bitters. Serve with a straw snipped to rise 2 to 3 inches above lip of vessel.
Makes 1 drink, plus extra syrup.
Daiquiri No. 2
Adapted from El Floridita, Havana.
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 ounces clear rum
1 teaspoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon Curacao liqueur
1 small lime wedge or wheel, for garnish
Place all ingredients except lime in a blender with 1/2 cup ice, preferably in small cubes. Blend about 5 seconds. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass, straining out ice with blender¡¯s lid (or for a particularly refined daiquiri, a sieve). Balance lime wedge or wheel on glass¡¯s rim. Yield: 1 drink.
Missionary¡¯s Downfall
Adapted from Forbidden Island, Alameda, Calif.
10 leaves fresh mint
1/2 ring of peeled pineapple cut 1/2 -inch thick, core removed
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) lime juice
1 tablespoon ( 1/2 ounce) peach liqueur, preferably Leopold Brothers or Mathilde
1 tablespoon honey syrup (see note)
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) clear rum, more if necessary
Pineapple juice, if necessary
Combine all ingredients in a blender with about 1 1/2 cups ice. Puree until smooth. If too thick, add a little pineapple juice or extra rum, to taste. It should look like a slushy mint pesto. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass or goblet, and serve with a straw snipped to rise 2 to 3 inches above rim of glass. Makes 1 drink. Note: To make honey syrup, combine equal measures of honey and water, and stir well.
Cherry Crush
Adapted from El Floridita, Havana.
2 ounces bourbon
3 pitted cherries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Mint sprig, for garnish
In a blender, mix all ingredients except mint with 1 to 1 1/2 cups ice for a minute or two, until smooth. Pour into a cocktail glass and serve with mint sprig and a straw snipped to rise 2 to 3 inches above rim of glass. Makes 1 drink.
