The Tippling Bros. a Lime and a Shaker Read online

  “These fiestas begin in the most important room in the house: the altar. A judge is appointed and must pour mezcal into as many small cups or glasses as the person holding the fiesta has. Each person participating receives their cup of mezcal and waits for the judge, or juez, who begins by pouring a small cross on the floor for Mother Earth, the four directions, and our ancestors. Then, everyone says ’stigibeu’ (stee jee bay you), which means ’to your health, to the health of your friends, and to the life of the planet’ in Zapotec. Then everyone drinks. These fiestas usually start around five in the morning and the tradition is that you do not drink just one cup but must have two. A great way to start.”

  Batchology: a term that we bandy about a good bit and believe we might have coined. We own the URL for sure. The Tippling Bros. have been “batchologists” for a bunch of years. Many thanks to a certain Mr. Andy Seymour for jump-starting our batching careers. We have produced scores of high-profile and exceptionally high-volume cocktail events, from awards shows to the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, serving thousands of cocktails at a time. If it weren’t for our ability to batch copious amounts of liquid, we never would have survived the events, let alone take home a signed paycheck. At some of our restaurants, batching has saved our butts and the sanity of our bartenders. At Mercadito Chicago on any given Friday night, we serve an average of a thousand Margaritas. That’s a thousand handmade-from-scratch Margaritas, on top of a couple thousand of our menu cocktails. Massive. If we didn’t hedge our bets by batching components of our house Margarita, the Borracho Bros. would be run out of town—by our guests and our staff.

  Over the years, we’ve gotten pretty damned good at batching and have become quite intrigued by the potential to shift the way things are done in the cocktail game, so much so that we were some of the first operators to introduce cocktails on tap. In a handful of our restaurants, we designed and built intricate and very expensive keg systems that rely on custom tubing and equipment to deliver quality craft cocktails. We are able to serve the very same cocktails that we build by hand and shake or stir but with just a flick of the wrist in a fraction of the service time. For certain settings and applications, they are a godsend. We are not suggesting that every bar and restaurant in America should be pumping drinks out of kegs. Time and a place for everything.

  We’re also not suggesting you turn to a carbonation system with carbon dioxide and nitrogen to make your guests Saturday night drinks on the patio, but we are saying that if ten, twenty, or fifty people are coming over next weekend, attempting to make Palomas to order for all of them may be more than a tad frustrating. You want to mingle with your guests and eat some of that salsa they are demolishing; you don’t want to be squeezing grapefruit into the wee hours. Of course it’s nice to flaunt your mixology skills in front of the posse, but if it means waiting for a cold, delicious drink, they’ll be okay skipping your “shaker face.” Plan in advance and batched cocktails will come to the social rescue. Here’s what you need to remember when batching.

  Water

  The forgotten ingredient that’s in all of our cocktails. We don’t think about it, yet it’s crucial to soften spirits and deliver balanced flavors. It also makes up for 1/5 to 1/4 of the liquid volume of our drinks, which means that in the example above, once the drinks are shaken and properly diluted, there will really be about 25 servings. Some-thing important to consider when planning for a party.

  You can either choose to add water to your batch or shake over ice when you are ready to serve your guests. Adding water will allow for faster service, while all you’ll have to do is offer pitchers full of your cocktail to guests who can simply pour it over ice. To dilute your batch, add 25 percent cold water to the total of the batch and stir. If you think 25 percent is too much, or too little, try an experiment. Mix up your favorite drink and measure the liquid volume before adding ice. Then add ice and shake as you normally would. Strain the drink off and measure the volume again and determine the percentage difference in liquid volume. Use that as your guide to adding water to your cocktail batches.

  Juice

  While you can assemble your batch the day before, keep fresh juices for the day of service. It’s fine to mix your spirits and syrups to get ahead of party preparations, but as we say: fresh, fresh, fresh.

  The Hot and the Dry

  We are not exactly sure how or why we came up with the terms, but the Tippling Bros. refer to batches in two distinct ways, both of which sound suspiciously like something that requires some sort of medicated spray to clear up. We digress. Sorry for that.

  Hot Batching

  Completely batching a cocktail in volume, including citrus and other perishable ingredients. This is what we typically do for events and for drinks served via an exceptionally high-volume service bar. Also perfect for hands-free party hosting.

  Dry Batching

  This is for those who are afraid of commitment. When we dry batch, we add spirits, liqueurs, syrups, and other sweeteners together, while leaving the perishables (citrus and other fruits, dairy products) out of the mix, to be added when it’s time to serve. We dry batch certain cocktails that require several ingredients or steps that we serve behind the bar.

  Storage

  You can keep your cocktail in any glass pitcher or in food-grade plastic containers. Saving used wine or alcohol bottles can add to the presentation of your cocktail, just make sure you remove the previous label. Any home furnishing store, big box or bespoke, will have several options for decanters, carafes, and other containers. Glass jugs that hold two gallons or more and that have spigots, stands, and wide-mouth tops, are ideal.

  Chilling

  Once you’ve assembled your cocktail, make sure you keep it chilled in the refrigerator or over ice in a cooler. If prediluting and hot batching, get the libation chilling several hours before serving.

  Skip the Eggs, Save the Bitters for Last

  Never add eggs or bitters to your batch. For eggs, it’s probably best to stay away from those cocktails altogether, because the last thing you want is to while away your own party shaking. As for bitters, it is best to add them on top after serving your batched cocktail over ice. This will prevent an overly bitter drink and add enhanced aromatics. Bitters can be finicky and don’t always behave as expected when dropped into a batch. It’s also more fun to allow guests to dash their own bitters into their cocktail at your home parties. Behind the bar, it adds back in a bit of bar theater that was removed by consolidating steps.

  Stir Before Serving

  Be mindful that there will be some separation of ingredients in your batched cocktail. Make sure you stir or agitate prior to, and while, serving.

  Be Creative

  Don’t let a party or batching a cocktail scare you into not showing off your mixing skills. If you want to roll your sleeves and shake what your mama gave you, get in there.

  Say Freeze

  It was 1971 when Mariano Martinez transformed his fledgling Dallas restaurant, Mariano’s Hacienda, into a Tex-Mex mecca. How so? By introducing a revamped soft-serve machine that churned out beautifully slushy tequila concoctions. The revolutionary frozen margarita was born.

  Blended drinks, in any incarnation, are just fun. They allow us temporary mental or emotional escape to an exotic locale. They make us think of toes in the sand, and smell coconut oil on the breeze. Historically, they have not been made with the highest quality ingredients (think giant, swirling vats of soft-serve neon blue, orange, pink artificial nastiness) so for many years were rightfully eschewed by craft cocktail bartenders. We remember very clearly our precocktail renaissance years behind the bar, pouring every brightly colored liqueur in the well into the blender cup with a splash of some standard-issue rotgut tequila, followed by a healthy squeeze of the soda gun handle to dispense a couple ounces of sour mix that would blend it all into oblivion. Over the last handful of years, however, these bartenders have realized that frozen drinks can be j
ust as viable a delivery method for artisanal spirits and ingredients as any, as well as becoming a “hook” on their menus to bring a completely different experience to their bars. At home? Well, they’ve always been cool.

  * * *

  proportions

  Determine how many cocktails you will want to batch. For a party we typically will calculate to make 1.5 to 2 cocktails per invite if you are also serving wine or beer and don’t know which your guests will be consuming. Some people don’t prefer cocktails while others might have four servings of your delicious concoction. Multiply the number 1.5 or 2 by the number of guests you are expecting. Then use that number to determine the batch recipe by multiplying each ingredient amount.

  10 guests x 2 cocktails per guest=20 cocktails

  1 ounce blanco tequila

  1 ounce reposado tequila

  ½ ounce dark rum

  1 ounce orgeat syrup

  1 ounce guava puree

  1 ounce fresh lime juice

  2 dashes Angostura bitters

  ⅙ ounce Bacardi 151 high-proof rum

  OLD-FASHIONED

  Rim of Hibiscus Salt, an inverted lime shell, a bamboo pick

  Simply put, Admiral Big Nose is my (Tad’s) pirate alter ego. I was a pirate in my past life; high-ranking I’m certain. For the past several years, I have created drinks in my alter ego’s honor and placed them on menus, in magazines, or in our own restaurants. Always, they have an island, boat-drinky, Tiki bent. This particular iteration is our answer to a Mexican Mai Tai, Trader Vic’s 1934 version, with some license taken. It’s complex, sweet and sour, exotic, and a ton of fun at parties—much like us.

  Add all the ingredients except for the Bacardi 151 rum to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake, shake, shake, señora.

  Strain over fresh ice in an old-fashioned glass with the Hibiscus Salt rim.

  Carefully pour the 151 into the inverted lime shell and place it atop the drink.

  Ignite with a long lighter. It’s best to serve this with the bamboo cocktail pick so that your guests can flip the lime over in the drink to extinguish the flames.

  Note: It is also best to discourage folks from drinking anything on fire.

  1½ ounces blanco tequila

  ½ ounce Velvet Falernum

  1½ ounces guava puree

  ¼ ounce Mexican Spiced Syrup

  1½ ounces cava or sparkling wine

  collins

  An exotic and festive drink that is perfect for brunch. If you can’t track down guava puree, guava nectar will also work.

  Add all the ingredients except the cava to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake until very cold.

  Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice and top with the cava or sparkling wine.

  Batida D’Uca

  2 ounces blanco tequila

  1 handful fresh cilantro leaves

  ¼ ripe mango, peeled and sliced

  1½ ounces sweetened condensed milk

  1 teaspoon orange marmalade

  ½ cup ice

  collins

  Orange Mullet and a sprig of fresh cilantro

  Like aguas frescas, batidas are beloved nonalcoholic refreshers throughout Latin America. They are always whizzed in a blender with fruit, condensed milk, and plenty of ice. This one brings dimension in the form of bright bitterness, courtesy of orange zest, and the distinct aroma of fresh cilantro.

  Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend thoroughly.

  Pour into a Collins glass.

  Garnish with the Orange Mullet and cilantro sprig.

  2 ounces blanco tequila

  1 ounce fresh lemon juice

  1 ounce Honey Syrup

  4 (½-inch) rounds of peeled English seedless cucumber

  8 to 10 ripe blueberries

  1 cup ice

  tall

  A long cucumber slice

  Created for some friends with a restaurant in San Diego, a combination of nicknames gave this smoothie-esque concoction its handle. Its explosion of summer flavors elicits a spalike experience.

  Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

  Pour into a tall glass.

  Garnish with the slice of cucumber.

  ¼ fresh jalapeño, skin only

  3 ounces fruity, medium-bodied red wine

  ½ ounce ruby or LBV port

  2 ounces fresh ruby grapefruit juice

  1 ounce Epazote Syrup

  1 fresh strawberry, hulled and quartered

  tall

  A slice of grapefruit

  Also known as Crazy Red, this take on Mexican sangria is a little out there, but we guarantee your mouth (and guests) will go crazy for it as well.

  Lightly muddle the jalapeño skin in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.

  Add all the remaining ingredients.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass.

  Garnish with the slice of grapefruit.

  1½ ounces reposado tequila

  1 ounce Chocolate Mole Mixture

  ½ ounce agave nectar

  cocktail

  Rim of agave nectar and crushed tortilla chips, or toasted, salted pepitas

  Mole poblano you can drink. It rocks. ’Nuff said. This clever concoction is so versatile you can even serve it hot. If you do, we recommend garnishing it with marshmallows rolled in melted chocolate and, for a dash of Mexican authenticity, crushed tortilla chips.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake until very cold.

  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a rim of agave nectar and crushed tortilla chips, or garnished with toasted, salted pepitas.

  2 cups water

  1 cup whole milk

  ½ cup evaporated milk

  ½ cup sweetened condensed milk

  5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1 teaspoon ground cumin

  1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

  1 teaspoon dried ground guajillo or similar chile

  ½ teaspoon dried oregano

  2 (8-ounce) packages Abuelita Mexican chocolate or other semisweet dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

  Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

  Reduce the heat to medium and add the milks and peanut butter. Whisk until smooth.

  Add the spices and let simmer until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a light batter.

  While hot, pass through a fine strainer using the back of a ladle to push the mixture through.

  Immediately add the chocolate and stir to melt.

  Let cool to room temperature before using.

  Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week if not using right away.

  Serves 16

  Hot Piece of Aztec

  2 ounces blanco tequila

  1½ ounces Honey Syrup

  1 ounce Meletti Cioccolato or chocolate liqueur

  1 splash heavy cream

  1 strong pinch ground cayenne

  2 dashes Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters

  1 cup ice

  Highball

  half Rim of Chipotle Salt

  We created this frozen Mexican hot chocolate for our New York bar the Tippler’s “Lushie” menu. It’s delicious and fun in any kind of weather.

  Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend.

  Pour
into a highball glass with the Chipotle Salt half rim.

  Manzanasada

  1 ounce blanco tequila

  ¾ ounce mezcal

  1½ ounces apple cider

  ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

  ¼ ounce maple syrup

  3 ounces ginger beer

  tall

  Spoonful of diced red apple

  As you might have noticed by now, we are fans of taking license with the Spanish language. We should probably have mastered it first, but . . . Very crudely translated, the name means “roasted apple.” This is a terrific fall or winter seasonal long drink. While we believe it also works rather well as is during the spring and summer, try lightening it up by using apple juice instead of cider.