Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky - Made in South Africa

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11/11/15 • 29 min

Bartender Journey - Cocktails. Spirits. Bartending Culture. Libations for your Ears.

Bartender Journey Podcast # 136

· Guest this week is Andy Watts Master Distiller of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky from South Africa.

· Bains is made from 100% corn (or maize as it is called it in South Africa). It is double matured in first fill Bourbon barrels.

· In South Africa, Whisky is spelled without the “e”, as it is in Scotland, Canada and many other countries. American Whiskey is always spelled with the “e”.

· Cocktail of the Week - Cape Mountain Boulevardier:

o 1 1⁄2 oz Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky

o 1 oz Sweet Vermouth

o 1 oz Campari

o 6 drops Sea Salt Saline Solution: (1 teaspoon Sea Salt - Himalayan Sea Salt preferred) dissolved in 1 oz very hot water)

o Stir in mixing cup with ice. Strain into Old Fashioned glass with one large ice cube

o Express oil from a lemon twist into glass

o Add twist as garnish

· A Boulevardier is a Negroni but made with Whiskey (traditionally, Rye Whisky), instead of Gin. I used the Bain’s Whisky and changed the ratio from the 1:1:1 used in a classic Negroni, and did 1.5 oz Whisky, 1oz sweet vermouth and 1oz Campri.

· If you are not able to acquire Bain’s Whisky try a high-wheat Bourbon such as Larcany (a great bargain), or W.L. Weller, (more expensive, but still a great bargain for such a high quality Bourbon). The Bains is a very soft, mellow whisky, not spicy like a Bourbon that has a lot of rye (like Bulleit, or Basil Hayden). Even though I personally love high rye Bourbons, these have a much different flavor profile than Bain’s.

· There are very few Bourbons made with 100% corn. There's a great article about this subject in the New York Times.

· Book of the week: Discovering The New York Craft Spirits Boom by Heather Dolland.

You don’t have to be from NY to appreciate this book. Its all about Craft Distilleries of course and there is a lot of knowledge about how spirits are produced in the book. Heather traveled all throughout NY interviewing distillers.

· Bartender Journey will be traveling to Tampa in December 2015! The Tampa chapter of the US Bartenders Guild has a 4 day Repeal Day party. Repeal Day – December 5 1933 is the day alcohol became legal again in the US after Prohibition...a traditional anniversary for bartenders to celebrate! But the Tampa Repeal Day Party is not all just about celebration - there are seminars and educational opportunities too. If you are interested in attending the event or just finding out more about it, its repealdayparty.com

· Toast of the Week:

"Remember friends... The glass is neither half empty, nor half full... It just needs to be topped off!"

Bartender Journey Podcast # 136

· Guest this week is Andy Watts Master Distiller of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky from South Africa.

· Bains is made from 100% corn (or maize as it is called it in South Africa). It is double matured in first fill Bourbon barrels.

· In South Africa, Whisky is spelled without the “e”, as it is in Scotland, Canada and many other countries. American Whiskey is always spelled with the “e”.

· Cocktail of the Week - Cape Mountain Boulevardier:

o 1 1⁄2 oz Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky

o 1 oz Sweet Vermouth

o 1 oz Campari

o 6 drops Sea Salt Saline Solution: (1 teaspoon Sea Salt - Himalayan Sea Salt preferred) dissolved in 1 oz very hot water)

o Stir in mixing cup with ice. Strain into Old Fashioned glass with one large ice cube

o Express oil from a lemon twist into glass

o Add twist as garnish

· There are very few Bourbons made with 100% corn. There's a great article about this subject in the New York Times.

· Book of the week: Discovering The New York Craft Spirits Boom by Heather Dolland.

· Toast of the Week:

"Remember friends... The glass is neither half empty, nor half full... It just needs to be topped off!"

Previous Episode

Liquid Bar Tools

On Bartender Journey Podcast # 135 we talk with “Flavorist” Jamie Beurklian from Bar 40 Bitters.
· The Bar 40 Bitters are very unique –they come in 4 varieties:
Sweet, Salt, Sour and Umami (or "savory").
· A few drops can really change the flavor of your cocktail. Jamie tells us how the Bar 40 Bitters were originally designed to “fix a problem” with a cocktail.
· Bar40Bitters.com says their bitters are “based on the five gustatory taste receptors. Each flavor includes the compulsory bitter component and is paired with either sweet, sour, salty or umami (savory) flavor profiles”. This allows the cocktail creator to “chose the specific taste profile of their liking for their personalized cocktail creations”.
· So we’ll make our cocktails of the week during the interview – we do a Manhattan & a Negroni (my 2 favorite cocktails btw!) We make the Manhattan first with Umami bitters and then add the Sour bitters.
· Cocktails of the week, provided by Jamie Beruklian:
Manhattan – Recipe #1:
· 1oz rye
· 1oz sweet vermouth
· 0.5 pinch (6-8 drops) of Bar40 Umami
· stir with ice to desired dilution.
Notes:
This recipe will give you an ultra smooth experience, the harshness or "burn" of the alcohol just goes away with the strong aromatics of the Umami. I A/B tested it with a standard Manhattan with Angostura. They are Apples and Oranges... Angostura Bitters adds spices notes, which I like, but can be slightly harsh. Bar40 Umami just smooths it right out. It is reminiscent of a hardy winter's meal. Very easy to drink.
Manhattan – Recipe #2 (adding sour):
· 1oz rye
· 1oz sweet vermouth
· 0.5 pinch (6-8 drops) of Bar40 Umami
· 0.5 pinch (6-8 drops) of Bar40 Sour
· stir with ice to desired dilution.
· Orange peel twist for aromatics
Notes:
· Garnishing with an orange peel is great. It adds a beautiful orange aroma to it, which is very bright in the nose and makes the drink very desirable. but it just doesn't get enough acid in the drink to brighten it up for the tongue. So if you or who you are serving to wants something more bright, poppy and complex, adding Bar40 Sour just makes it more lively as it reacts with the vermouth. It beings out a beautiful complexity to it. A thinking persons drink.
Its easy to A/B the two recipes as you're building it and you can notice the difference yourself.
Negroni – Recipe #1:
· 1oz Gin
· 1oz sweet vermouth
· 0.5 - 1oz Campari
· 12-16 drops Bar40 Salt
Notes:
· Negroni's are classically bitter cocktails. Campari is a wonderful spirit to my tongue. this cocktails bitter complexity makes for an excellent amuse bouche or aperitivo, kickstarting one’s tongue into gear for better tasting your meal. However, many people find the bitterness overpowering. I have had many people refuse a Negroni because they don't like the bitterness. I've realized most North American tongues aren't sensitized to bitterness on their palate. So to help this, adding Bar40 Salt to a Negroni will cut down bitterness of the Campari and let the citrus, grapefruit notes shine. it makes for a wonderful complex drink.
Negroni – Recipe #1:
· 1oz Gin
· 1oz sweet vermouth
· 0.5 - 1oz Campari
· 12-16 drops Bar40 Salt
· 6-8 drops Bar40 Sweet
Notes:
In this cocktail, I made the Campari a variable. Because the Bar40 Salt will not totally kill ALL the bitterness in the drink (Bar40 Bitters still has bitter in them) yet you still want some bitterness which makes it a Negroni, so you can adjust the volume of Campari to the right level of taste based on your palate. However, Sweet perception is another taste that will help suppress bitterness. So to further add complexity to our drink, adding Bar40 Sweet will also help cut the Campari down. This opens up a bouquet of scents and tastes and makes for a truly complex and wonderful drink that wets your appetite and gets you in the mood to appreciate further food or cocktails.
· Book of the week: Well, I was planning to make the book of the week 901 Very Good Cocktails - A Practical Guide, but much to my surprise, it is sold out and only available on Amazon used for $360.05 (plus $3.99 shipping)! We have a short interview with the author Stew Ellington recorded at Tales Of The Cocktail 2014. The book is also available as an app for iOS for $3.99.
· Toast of the week:
A toast is a boast or other compost
To a guest or the host or one we love most;
To a wink or or a girl that is pretty in pink --
Or any old thing, only for a chance to drink.

Next Episode

Pour A Better Pint & Do Inventory Faster

Bartender Journey Podcast # 137

Listen with the player below, or subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

· At the 2015 Hotel Experience Show at the Javitz convention center in Manhattan we got a chance to speak with 2 very interesting people:

o Greg Elliott of the Chill Rite 32 company

o Vanessa De Caria from Bevinco

· The Chill Rite company makes draft beer systems that deliver beer to the tap at 32 degrees (or whatever temp you like), regardless of the temperature of the keg. This system promises zero waste. We talk to Greg about a lot of issues regarding draft beer. They also make the Frost Rail. The frost rail is a frozen rail built into the bar surface, which the guest sits their drink on and it keeps it cold!

· We also speak with Vanessa from Bevinco - a company that has a system for liquor inventory for bars & restaurants that is very fast and accurate. We’ll learn a lot about doing inventory, (which is such a dreadful task!)

· Book of the Week: Cuban Cocktails 100 Classic and Modern Drinks. This is a great book from the Manhattan bar Cienfuegos. There are classic cocktails from Cuba, plus lots of modern original recipes. It’s a really fun book with beautiful photos from Cuba.

· Cocktail of the Week is the El Presidente

o 3⁄4 oz Aged Rum

o 3⁄4 oz Silver Rum

o 3⁄4 oz Dry Vermouth

o 1⁄4 oz Orange Curacao, (I used Grand Marnier)

o 1 Barspoon Grenadine, (I used Jack Rudy)

o Stir with ice, strain into chilled couple. Lemon twist.

· Toast of the Week:
“Here’s to the nights we’ll never remember, with the friends we’ll never forget”.