Vinegar in Cocktails

By no means a brand new ingredient to the art of mixing drinks, vinegar is somewhat enjoying a slight resurgence at the moment.  Vinegar is an acetic acid (CH3COOH if you're scientifically-minded), produced through the fermentation of ethanol by way of oxidisation (think of the change in taste to red wine after being left opened for a few weeks).  Historically, vinegar has been used for medicinal purposes with Hippocrates (year 460 - 377BC) prescribing it for persistent coughs.  Common day treatments include sun-burn and jellyfish stings - however apparently the myth that it may circumvent urinalysis testing for cannabis is unfounded!

Acetic acid is known in the food industry as E260, an acidity stabiliser.  An essential ingredient in salad dressings, vinegar first appeared in fruit shrubs, helping to both preserve the fruit and add a sharp, sour edge to the sweetness.  A similar thought is applied in the production of gastriques - a caramelized sugar, de-glazed with vinegar.  Addition of flavourings and spices, opens up a host of imbibe possibilities.  We're making an orange/cardamom gastrique, and a strawberry/balsamic gastrique for our list this evening.

Tonight's Cocktails

Caprese Martini - vodka, kitchen-made salsa di pomodoro, balsamic reduction and basil served in a salt-rimmed coupette and garnished with a pickle.

Clements Shrub - bourbon, fig preserve, lemon, apple cider vinegar, cider, cinnamon and cracked pepper.

House Shrub - Blackberry, raspberry and red wine vinegar shrub.  Drink on it's own or in a Whisky Smash.

R'Apple Cider - light rum, velvet falernum, cider vinegar and cloudy apple juice.

Rum Old-Fashioned - mature rum doused with an orange/cardamom gastrique.

Strawberry & Balsamic Mojito - Classic Mojito twisted with a strawberry/balsamic gastrique.

Hallelujah! The Mojito's Are On Me...!

Ladies and gentlemen, remember this day.  Bacardi have somersaulted into my good books.  Bacardi was a brand who's stylish ad campaigns (see "True Originals") always impressed me, but the product never did.  Not that it is not a good product, I wasn't sure where it fitted in cocktail-wise as the rum category is amazingly diverse and top-heavy with great brands.

Now, I get it.  The Bacardi Mojito (in a bottle) is the answer to my (and your) prayers.  Next time a chump comes up and asks for 4 mojitos, I'm going whip my bar blade out my pocket and whack off the lids on four of these bad boys.  "There you go.  £24 please."

Now before you start calling me pretentious and a snob, that is not the case at all.  I'll actually enjoy making one of these for the first time in a long-time when someone asks for an Appleton's Mojito, or a Rhum Acricole Mojito.  That shows that someone is drinking something that they didn't just see on a billboard, but can appreciate the fact that the Mojito is indeed a great classic cocktail.  The chump that asks for "4 fajitas" wouldn't know the difference between the contents of this bottle and a finely-balanced labour of love.  I'm going to rep these big-time!  Bacardi, you are back in the circle of trust.

More here: http://barmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/bacardi-unveils-mojito-and-cuba-libre-in-a-bottle/