...I'm Sweet Enough.

A fundamental building block in mixed drinks, we thought we'd give you a brief insight into sugar: where it came from and how it got here.  I referenced a few sources to compile this, but in all fairness, the majority of this article has been heavily-influenced by Wayne Curtis' fine book on rum: 'And a Bottle of Rum - A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails'.

Sugarcane first appeared in Asia around 4000 B.C. - most likely Papua New Guinea.  As trade routes opened up and empires expanded, as did the reach of sugarcane, with the cultivation and processing moving west via China, India, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Iberia and the Atlantic islands of Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Azores.  Christopher Columbus was subsequently responsible for carrying live sugarcane seedlings to the New World on his second trip in 1493 (his Father-in-Law was a Madeira sugar planter) planting these on Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti).  It turns out the Caribbean islands offered the perfect climate and soil conditions for sugarcane and the colonists were quick to establish plantations in Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

To produce sugar, the cane syrup is machine-pressed from the cane and heated until near-crystallisation.  It is subsequently cooled and cured (this is the point at which the by-product molasses appears).

With great quantities of sugar being produced in the New World colonies, prices fell in Europe and many of the plantation owners were ruined.  Meanwhile, New World plantation owners were making a killing, building great houses like the one below...

In England, the demand grew quickly as sugar evolved from a luxury item only the aristocratic classes could afford, to a staple for the common man.

To keep up with the sugar needs of Europe and their emerging colonies, slaves were imported.  On the colonised islands, native tribes had been decimated by European disease (such as small-pox) and poor working conditions.  Thus began the Trans-Atlantic triangular slave trade, carrying sugar and rum from the Caribbean and New England to Europe where these were sold and the profits used to purchase goods to be traded in West Africa for slaves to be transported to the Caribbean to work in the plantations, to produce sugar for...you get the idea.

As the European powers continued their colonisation of the world, sugar, in turn, reached new territories: Brazil, Pacific Islands and Australia, among others.  Significantly, in 1747 a German scientist discovered sucrose in Beet Root and shortly after, beet sugar began production.  This didn't really take off until the British blocked all Caribbean trade with Napoleon's French Empire.  Beet sugar grew as a result and now accounts for 30% of today's sugar production.

An important point to note is that, currently,  sugar prices in the US and Japan are higher than the rest of the world due to import tariffs and as a result their domestically-produced high-fructose corn syrup is favoured over sugar, especially for soft drinks and processed foods.

The trend with us bartenders is to make our own 'cane syrup', usually to 65 degree brix.  'Degree brix' is the sugar content in an aqueous solution, with one degree brix equating to 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution measuring representing the strength of the solution as a percentage of weight.  Hence, if you make your cane syrup (or sugar syrup, or simple solution) in a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water, then the degrees brix is 65.

Back to Basics...

Those of you who know the bartenders of this blog will know we all share two things in common: An unending passion for cocktails, and a somewhat unhealthy love for Rum. To that end, for my first outing on the Corpse & Cocktail, I decided I would pay homage to the glorious spirit by going back to the original drinks it made.

Now we all know Pirates drank Grog right?

Wrong. In reality, it was the conscripted sailors of the royal navy who quaffed Grog. The reason for this was that they would spend longer at sea than your average pirate or privateer. This meant that they wouldn’t have access to fresh fruit, vegetables and sugars which would in turn lead to scurvy. Navy Grog was simply watered down rum, and if you were lucky you might get a lime to go with your Grog, to fend off the scurvy.

People often speak of Grog, but in the days of Pirates, Bumbo (or Bombo / Bumboo) was the better drink. Bumbo was a better version of Grog because, lets face it, pirates plundered all the good stuff from villages and merchant ships. Also, to give pirates a little bit of credit, they were better at living off the land than the conscripted sailors, who rarely got shore leave.

Bumbo is a simple drink, with its key components being rum, water, sugar and nutmeg. Bumbo, however, gets better depending on the resources at hand. It can obviously incorporate limes but for the most part were not included. Fruit juices can also be added. Think tropical fruits in the Caribbean. In essence, if you think about it, pirates may very well have been the first people to drink “girly drinks”. Jack Sparrow does wear guy-liner, so it may not be that far from the truth.

If you stick to the traditional recipe, however, a mug of Bumbo would basically be a spicy rum cocktail. Cinnamon was often added, along with the nutmeg, to make the drink taste better. It seems almost Christmas-punch-like: we have the strong, the weak, the sweet, the spice…add some sour and you’re there. In my research, I couldn’t quite find a proportional recipe from the time, so it was more likely to be to each person’s taste.

Jody’s Bumbo Recipe - this is a basic one, but have fun and experiment with it.

-50ml Amber Rum (use something from the Caribbean please, we strive for authenticity - I used Pyrat)

-25ml Chilled Water – I shook some water in an ice filled shaker to get it chilled enough.

-1 Sugar Cube (brown or cane sugar)

-Sprinkle of Cinnamon

-Sprinkle of grated Nutmeg

-Friends of mine tried a dash of Masters Of Malt Christmas bitters and they found this rounded the flavour off well.

1. Grab a mug or Old Fashioned glass.

2. Combine all ingredients

3. Muddle/crush sugar cube and stir.

4. Consume.

It’s as easy as that.

Bumbo doesn’t take ice so it is served only slightly cooled. But if you want you can add ice, the modern preference being for drinks to contain ice. Additional things that would have been added to Bumbo include coconut water, any tropical fruit juice, or of course… more rum! A bartender…er…I mean pirate can never have too much rum.

Interestingly enough, Bumbo was commonly used during election campaigns in colonial British America. In fact it was used to the extent that treating voters to gifts and other freebies during election campaigns was referred to as "swilling the planters with Bumbo". George Washington himself was particularly noted for using this technique:

A 24 year old George Washington first ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses, he attributed his defeat to his failure to provide enough alcohol for the voters. When he tried again two years later, Washington secured his appointment to office partly on the rum, punch, hard cider and beer his election agents handed out. A little under half a gallon was issued for every vote he received. His papers state that he used 160 gallons of rum to treat 391 voters to Bumbo during campaigning for the Virginia House of Burgesses in July 1758.

Just goes to show that Politicians really are just like pirates!

Bacardi Legacy Finalist...Metinee Kongsrivilai

The second of our series of posts on the outstanding Bacardi Legacy competition (Matthew Dakers, eventual winner of the 2009 competition, featured back in February 2010) highlights Metinee Kongsrivilai (May) of Edinburgh's Bon Vivant, who placed in the final three with her drink, The Matinee.

The Bacardi Legacy competition has firmly cemented itself as one of the top bartender competitions in the world, with a grand final that must put a slight dent in the (deep) pockets of Bacardi every year.  Having been a guest at two finals myself, I can confirm that no expense is spared in hosting this magnificent occasion.

Every year, three finalists are chosen to spend the next year marketing their drink in any number of ways.  May has chosen to initiate a website featuring bars and bartenders who are supporting The Matinee.

In May's own words, here's the story behind the creation of The Matinee:

"Initially it started out as remark from a friend who thought it would be funny to make a joke out of my name: 'Metinee Kongsrivilai'..."hahaha...why don't call the drink 'Matinee'?". At that moment, the switch was clicked inside my head. To me, the definition of a 'Matinee' is “a performance or entertainment that can also be enjoyed during the day”. Something that I think The Matinee delivers. Jokes aside, there’s an element of seriousness to the background of the drink.

Learning about the hardship and the success that the Bacardi family had experienced across eight generations inspired me to take a look at my own family history and heritage. Generations of my family lived in poverty surviving floods and supporting such a large family with minimal money. Throughout all of this, the Kongsrivilais attempted a sweet and dessert making business. Their business wasn’t amazingly successful, yet, Like the Bacardi family, it was their determination and passion that made has eventually established them as one of Thailand’s greatest dessert business, three generations on.

In the end, I was inspired to incorporate the element of heritage into The Matinee. The Characteristics of Bacardi together with the Martini Rosso and Vanilla represents the dessert component that is so important to my family. The Kaffir was inspired by the Jungle that had surrounded my home for generations and a source of provisions that helped my family survive. We're very lucky to live in a globalised world, and have access to so many wonderful flavours of the world. I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of this.

The Bacardi legacy competition has been career changing for me and has helped me rekindle my love for this industry a just before the competition, I started to have doubts as to whether there's a place for me within it. For the time being, I'm just going to keep pushing the Matinee as I believe that there's a place for it in this new generation of contemporary classics, but we'll just have to see."

We're currently hoping to tie up a Guest Bartender appearance from May as part of her final Bacardi Legacy presentation, so we'll keep you updated on that one.  In the meantime, best of luck May!

The Matinee

50ml BACARDI SUPERIOR
2-4 Kaffir Lime leaves
12.5ml Martini Rosso
12.5ml Lemon Juice
12.5ml Vanilla gomme
12.5ml Egg white

Shake and double strain, serving straight up with a kaffir lime leaf garnish.

10 Dollar Shake & 17th Letter Presents...Repeal!

The anniversary of the repeal of the Volstead Act is upon us again, albeit we're celebrating a day early so we can land on our usual Sunday night.  The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, and the only amendment ever to be repealed.

If you look back to this time last year, we did a little write-up on the history.  The long and short of it all is that prohibition in the States was much more complicated than a few paragraphs can illustrate.  Take our advice and hunt down Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's documentary, 'Prohibition'.  In three episodes and five-and-a-half hours, the documentary runs the gauntlet from the rise of the temperance movement, the ratification of the 18th Amendment, the age of the speakeasy and subsequent gang warfare, and the eventual repeal.  I can't recommend it enough.  Sure, viewing time is steep but you'll gain a fantastically-detailed insight into the 'Noble Experiment'.

Education-aside, we always find a way to party so this Sunday we're holding our annual party, Repeal!.  Prohibition-era cocktails, live jazz courtesy of our house band The Corpse Revivers (17th Letter) and bartenders dressed appropriately in flat caps and braces.  Doors from 8pm, look forward to seeing all you fellas and broads...