White Russian Cocktail – it sounds wintry but is good all year round

There’s something about the White Russian that just sounds cold; it reminds people of those snowy winter scenes in Doctor Zhivago.  If thinking of that makes you feel cold, think instead of the classic film The Big Lebowski, set in sunny California, where The Dude abides thanks to two essential items: bowling and White Russians.  As you can guess, White Russians did not originate in Russia, legend has it that they got their name because Vodka is the main ingredient.  Kahlua®, of course, comes from Mexico, but has a distinctly minority position in this fine cocktail, so don’t get hung up on names.

The White Russian is easy to make.  If you’re lazy and not too picky about how cold it is, you can build it in the glass and save having to wash the shaker, but most mixologists prefer to make the extra effort to obtain a superior result.  It is possible to substitute other coffee liqueurs for Kahlua, but be careful here.  Starbuck’s® Coffee Liqueur, for example, replaces the subtlety of Kahlua with an overpowering coffee taste.  Either stick to Kahlua or cut back on the quantity.

White Russian

2 oz Vodka

1 oz Kahlua liqueur

Light cream, half and half, or milk

Pour Vodka and Kahlua into a shaker half full of ice.  Shake well for around 15 seconds.  Strain into an Old Fashioned glass about 2/3 full of ice cubes.  Fill with light cream and stir thoughtfully while dreaming of Maude Lebowski.  Garnish with a cinnamon stick (make sure it’s long enough) and enjoy.

The Ultimate Vodka Martini

Since the primary ingredient of a Vodka Martini is vodka, you will want to use your best, and be sure to store it in the freezer. (See my paragraph on vodka in Stocking Your Bar.) The best Vodka Martini I ever had was at La Caille Restaurant right here in Utah while attending a private party. A friend told me they had great Martinis, so I asked the server for one and he recommended a dry, Grey Goose® Martini. I ordered one with two olives and had it in my hand about three minutes later. It was fantastic! The vodka was straight from the freezer and you could actually feel ice crystals in it as you drank. The worst Vodka Martini I ever had was at La Caille Restaurant right here in Utah at the very same party. We had just sat down at the table, and since the first martini was so good, I decided to have another. (This is not always the prudent thing to do, but I wasn’t driving.) The server brought it 25 minutes later, so I thought that the bar must really be backed up. The first tepid sip revealed the real problem – the server had let my drink sit on the bar for at least 20 minutes. What a disappointment. There is a lesson there, though. Martinis should be served and sipped as soon as they are poured.

The glass is key to a good Martini. The best glass for Martinis is (you guessed it) a Martini glass. The purpose of the stem is to keep your hands away from the drink and consequently to keep the drink cold. Once you get hooked on Martinis, you will want to invest in some glasses. Chill your glasses in ice or in the freezer (preferred) for five to ten minutes or longer. Chilling glasses is good for all cocktails, but especially for Martinis.

Good vodka is, of course, the essential element. My current favorite is Teton Glacier® potato vodka, but feel free to substitute. Keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to shake. When your freezer vodka is on the bar, keep the lid on so that moisture from the air does not condense inside the bottle. For garnish, some people prefer olives in their Martinis (this is obviously the only way to go for a dirty Martini), others prefer a twist of lemon peel (twist it above the glass to release the oils before dropping it in). I go both ways, depending on mood. I like to serve this Martini with a twist and drop three dried Montmorency cherries into the glass. These tart cherries soaked in ice-cold vodka are delicious. Be sure to provide a toothpick so your guests don’t have to fish for cherries with their fingers.

Vodka Martini

2 oz Teton Glacier® potato vodka

1/2 teaspoon Noilly Prat® dry vermouth

Pour vodka into a shaker half full of cracked ice. Shake briskly 15-20 times to infuse the vodka with ice crystals. Let it rest while you fetch a glass from the freezer. Add the vermouth to the glass and swish it around to coat the glass. Feel free to pour out any excess vermouth if you like. Strain the Martini into the glass, add your selected garnish, and enjoy!

For a dirty Martini, add 1/2 oz olive brine to the shaker, but take my word for it: you’re better off not doing this.

For a lazy man’s martini, you can just pour the freezer vodka straight into the prepared glass without shaking and add garnish, but where’s the fun in that?

Stocking Your Bar – Part 1

The first step in stocking your bar is to take stock.  Most amateur mixologists are not starting from scratch.  By the time you decide that you want to learn how to shake and pour your own cocktails, you have probably been imbibing alcohol in some form or other for a while and mixing simple drinks.  What kind of liquor do you have around the house?  What bottles have your friends left after parties?  Gather it all together and see what you have.  Don’t bother with wine and beer at this point; you’ll need to have some around for parties and everyday consumption, but I don’t consider them to be part of your cocktail bar.

Space is also an issue.  It’s often a better deal to buy bigger bottles, but you may not have room for very many of these in your bar.  I prefer 750 ml. bottles for my bar due to limited space; I already have an overflow area in the pantry.  I do buy 1750 ml. bottles when they’re a good deal, but I use them to refill the smaller bottles that I keep in my bar.  Don’t try to deceive your guests by refilling expensive bottles with cheap booze; you will fool very few people, and hurt your reputation in the process. 

Begin by stocking a basic bar.  As you buy needed ingredients for cocktails, your bar will grow and evolve (this will happen organically if you start a drink-of-the-month club).  If you’re on a budget, don’t try to buy everything at once.  If you buy bottles as you need them, you will be able to afford better brands.  If you and your friends lean toward a certain type of drink (e.g. rum or gin), address those needs first.  You should also consider the types of cocktails you will be pouring.  If you plan on making gin or vodka Martinis you will want to buy better quality brands than if you plan on making Vodka Collins or Tom Collins. 

All spirits can be purchased across a broad spectrum of quality and prices.  There is a loose, but not absolute, correlation between these two factors.  Some assign themselves higher prices in an attempt to make you think they are better than they are, much like some people you may know.  Search the web for brand comparisons if you’re not sure which ones are the best, or ask your friends.  If you discover any great bargains, post them as responses to this post so that others may benefit.  To find out more about any type of liquor, try the Wikipedia. Here’s what you need to make a good start on your bar:

Rum – There are three varieties of rum: light, gold, and dark (not to mention all the flavored rums now available).  For flavor, I like dark rum the best (Goslings Black Seal Rum® is my favorite), but you will need the light and gold varieties for cocktails (try to buy Bacardi® or better).  If your budget is limited, start with a bottle of light because it will not impact the color of translucent cocktails.  Add a bottle of dark to float on Mai Tais when you can afford it, and fill in the gold as you go along.

Vodka – There are countless varieties of vodka, and you may acquire several as you shake different cocktail recipes, but start out with a bottle of unflavored vodka, versatile enough to go into a large variety of cocktails.  All brands have their fans and detractors.  Many say that potato vodkas are the best, and indeed my current favorite is Teton Glacier® potato vodka.  There are many excellent grain based vodkas; French vodkas are currently in vogue.  Last year my wife and I did an unscientific blind tasting of straight-from-the-freezer shots of Grey Goose®, Costco® French vodka (not available in Utah, I’m sad to say), Absolut®, and Skyy®.  Grey Goose barely edged out the Costco, but not by enough to justify the price differential for the Goose.  Those two brands scored well ahead of the others.  For mixing in cocktails, buy Smirnoff® or better, for Martinis go with one of the better brands, Absolut or better with Teton Glacier highly recommended.

Gin – Once again, variety is the name of the game.  Basic gin is flavored with juniper berries for starters, but different brands add other flavorings.  Bombay Sapphire®, for example, is flavored with “ten carefully selected botanical ingredients”.  The most common type of gin in the US is London Dry gin.  The appellation “London” used to indicate that the gin was made in London.  Plymouth® is a brand name, but also a distinct type of gin, and probably the last type of gin the pilgrim fathers had before sailing to America.  Bombay and Plymouth are good for Martinis.  Feel free to move quite a bit downscale for a gin to mix in cocktails, but don’t go below Seagram’s®.  

You should also stock Bourbon, Tequila, Brandy, and Whiskey; for mixing cocktails, you will also need a selection of liqueurs and mixers.  I’ll cover those in another post.

A quick note on bar safety.  If you have children in your home, keep your bar locked or out of reach.  By the time they’re teenagers, locked is the best option.  Alcohol and kids do not mix.  We used to keep ours (bottles, not kids) in a cabinet above the fridge You may think you can trust your kids, and you may be right, but what about their friends? Be safe and avoid heartbreak.