Cocktails from the Grill #1 (Barbados Cooler)

One of the best things about grilling is having a beautiful cocktail at hand for sipping while you work. I started the Cocktails from the Grill series over on my Facebook page, and it generated enough interest that I thought I should start posting them here. Some are classic creations, others are original recipes. This is one I came up with based on the classic combo of rum, lime and ginger.  

Barbados Cooler
3 oz Mt Gay Eclipse rum
0.5 oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
juice of 1 lime
1 oz simple syrup
2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and serve in a double old fashioned glass. Or pour into a collins glass and top with ginger ale or soda.

New Amsterdam Gin: For People Who Don't Like Gin

Gin is the bastard step-child of the spirits world. It is the definition of love-it-or-hate-it. There is no in between.

The deal breaker for most haters is the essence of gin, the juniper berry, which gives the liquor its distinctive bitter, resiny bite. For many, the taste is akin to turpentine. I kinda like turpentine, apparently, though I have never tasted it.

For years I thought that gin was distilled from juniper berries, but the juniper is merely a flavoring, added to neutral spirits during a second distillation in better gins, or simply added afterwards in the case of compound gin. Other botanicals are typically added as well, including anise, orange peel, saffron, nutmeg, and coriander. Like many flavored liquors, its origins are in pharmacology more than mixology. Benedictine, Chartreuse, and absinthe are other examples of alcoholic concoctions infused with herbs and spices that were developed for medicinal purposes.

On a warm, breezy afternoon, a gin and tonic can have a definite medicinal effect on me, so in the hazy, pollen-yellow of spring I begin to crave gin. I generally don't like to skimp on gin or tequila, two liquors that have strong flavors that are not to be trifled with. For gin, I generally stick with Tanqueray, although it is mostly out of habit. It was one of the first premium gins I tried, and most of the others seem too dry and refined in comparison. Tanqueray lets you know it is there without stinging your taste buds and leaving them numb.

But damn, that shit is expensive, so while parusing the isles at the liquor store, I spotted New Amsterdam, a fairly recent entry that seems to have invested heavily in marketing through billboards, print ads, and cool bottles. That is usually a bad sign, but the reasonable price caught my attention. When all the marketing boils down to getting you to buy a $30 fifth of gin because you think it must be the shit cuz of its cool ads, that's when you've been had, my friend. But New Amsterdam was about $13 for a 750 ml bottle, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The Words Right Out of My Mouth: Who Owns Language?

The Comer family, which hails from Ireland, took over a faux-Irish singles pub that had proved an ill fit for grown-up Decatur, Georgia. The Comers renamed the bar The Grange, after the term for a manor house in their native Ireland. The new, more community-oriented pub was an immediate hit.

A year later, they received a letter from the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, an agricultural advocacy group founded in the United States after the Civil War, asking them to cease and desist from the use of the name The Grange. The National Grange (as it is commonly known) felt that it was necessary to protect its trademark on the name "Grange," even though their name is clearly taken from the same agricultural tradition that inspired the Comers and that predates the American organization by hundreds of years. The Grange in Decatur was an independently-owned pub, while The National Grange is a national fraternal order that has no involvement in food or beverage service. The action was part of a directed effort by the organization to aggressively defend its trademark. In fact, last year it successfully forced Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat processor, to drop its plans for a line of "grange and grassland" meats.

The National Grange may look like the heroes in a fight against Tyson, but forcing a local pub to change its name? I wrote to the Communications Director of the National Grange to express my distaste for their actions, pointing out many of the obvious ironies in the situation, most significantly, that the National Grange was founded with the purpose of protecting the common farmer from monied interests of the banks and railroads, but was now pushing around a single, family-owned business that had no interest in the affairs of the larger organization, nor posed any threat to its reputation, mission, or identity.

The Grange's communciations director, Jennifer Dugent, replied with a standard response, explaining that U.S. trademark law places an "affirmative duty" on the trademark holder to enforce its trademark against other users. She explained that the Grange Public House could take the issue up with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or agree to a "nominal" licensing agreement with the trademark holder. The Grange Public House decided to take a third route and change its name.

Leon's: A Good Problem to Have

I heard once that when Nikita Kruschev visited a San Francisco supermarket during his bizarre US visit in 1959, he believed that the shelves had been "salted" with merchandise as a propaganda ploy, that such abundance and choice was not possible.

No doubt Kruschev would have felt the same way on a pub crawl of Decatur, Georgia. How else to explain the 100 taps at Taco Mac, and the 100-plus bottles of Belgian and Belgian-style ales at the Brick Store Pub? Around the corner, Leon's Full Service has only 14 taps, but 13 different styles are represented and most of the selections could be considered among the top 10 in the category. The well-selected list, ample bar area, and creative food makes it a great alternative to the Brick Store, at least during the week. Weekends are reportedly very crowded.

I had a hard time choosing from this ridiculously appealing list:

Saison Dupont (saison)
St Bernardus Prior 8 (dubbel)
Oude Beersel Framboise (lambic)
Goudon Carolus Noel (Belgian Strong Dark)
Allagash White (witbier)
La Chouffe N'Ice Chouffe (Belgian Strong Dark)
Ayinger Brauweisse (hefeweizen)
He'Brew Lenny's RIPA (DIPA)
North Coast Old Rasputin (RIS)
Founders Red's Rye (rye ale)
Old Chub (Scottish ale)
Terrapin Hopsecutioner (American IPA)
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (Imperial brown ale)
Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter (Baltic porter)

My only complaint would be that the list is a bit too heavy on high-gravity styles, especially for a place that emphasizes food. They really should have at least one lager on draft, as well as a top-notch pale ale and a Belgian pale ale or tripel. But then, which ones would you replace?

I had the N'Ice Choufee and the Palo Santo Marron, the latter of which warmed my heart and sent chills down my spine. Great googly-moogly that is some good shit!

Leon's celebrates its first anniversary on February 9 with a tiki theme. Bartender Miles Macquarrie will be mixing up house versions of classic tiki cocktails, which brings up yet another dimension to Leon's, one that I will explore in future posts. Stay tuned!