Letters from Quarantine

Combine all non-carbonated ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake for about 15 seconds until everything is well chilled and diluted, and then strain into a rocks glass or a collins glass over ice. Then, top it up with your bubbly water and find something that sounds fun for a garnish. A lot of recipes call for fresh, seasonal fruit, some call for a sprig of mint, and still others remain minimal with a humble lemon twist.

Most original versions of the drink were made using Genever or “Hollands-style” gin and orange liqueur. Then, as taste preferences changed, many recipes swapped in London dry style gin and grenadine. This is the beauty of the sour cocktail category – as long as you’re between the lines of boozy, sweet, and sour – there’s not a whole lot you can do to mess up your drink, so feel free to riff, experiment, and tinker to your heart’s content.

How to Flavor Egg Whites

Sometimes when I put together an episode like this, I try to come at it like a baseball coach. Right? I’m like: alright, who’s our lead-off batter, who’s batting cleanup, who do I want down in the order to catalyze a little action? But for this episode, I just can’t hold back from dropping this big bomb of a question right at the beginning. It’s got everything: science, intrigue, a non-typical cocktail locale…what’s not to love? So here it is, comin’ atcha from Danny in Wyoming, who says:

Hey guys, 

Love the podcast. My name is Danny, and I’m a bartender and student in Laramie Wyoming. 

I’m trying to get advice, notes, etc.. on flavoring egg whites. I’ve spent much time on Google looking for an answer and it’s mainly (“why are there egg whites in my cocktail?””whiskey sour recipe” etc..) 

I only turned up a few things. There’s a guy in the U.K. flavoring egg whites with hay. Another article on flavoring egg whites with elderflower liqueur. Yet, no tips or tricks on how to go about it. 

I created a spin-off on a whiskey sour and I’m currently dry shaking egg whites with lemon zest and honey and add and change other ingredients. I ordered lemon bitters so I can drop the zest texture to the drink. 

Is there an episode where you guys dive into this topic? Help! 

Thank you,
Danny

For more info on egg-based cocktails, check out Episode 029 – Egg Cocktails, an interview with home bartender Dennis Sendros.

First, we need to address the elephant in the room, which is:

Why do you want to flavor the egg whites when other aspects of the drink are probably friendlier to the process of infusion, which is what you’re talking about when you say: “hey, how do I get flavor from this medium into that medium?”

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying it’s not a good idea to flavor egg whites, but I’m saying right off the bat, you’re choosing a medium that’s more difficult to infuse flavor into than hot water or alcohol, which are your two most common culprits for this type of move. I’m very confident that’s why you’re not turning up a wealth of search results when you type this into Google.

If there’s one misnomer that needs dispatching right away, it’s “hay-infused” because he’s not infusing actual hay into the drink, but rather, a flavor compound called cis-3-Hexenal, which, according to Conigliaro has:

“the perfect ‘just-cut grass’ note that, when added to fresh apple, makes it taste and smell just like hay.”

He goes on to explain that eggshells are porous, and so he purchases this flavor (or more accurately, aroma) compound from an industrial flavor lab, soaks a wool cloth in it, and seals it in a container with a bunch of eggs. Over a certain period of time (which is not specified in the article), the eggs absorb the hay-like flavor through their shells, which is how he is able to get the flavor directly into the egg whites.

At this point, Danny, I need to ask you to consider the differences between yourself and Tony Conigliaro, who was executing this move early on in the cocktail renaissance, signaling to me that he had a lot of funding and free time on his hands to get it right. When I look at this method, from the perspective of 98% of bars and 99% of home bartenders, it’s just oppressively difficult and cost-prohibitive.

First off, you need to find the right flavor compound, and then you have to do a bunch of painstaking testing to get a single drink just right. So unless you have Bill Gates flying into Laramie for cocktails on the reg, I think this might be a bit beyond your reach.

Complex Infusions

But to be honest, when I first read your question, I had a few immediate thoughts that didn’t have anything to do with infusing eggs with flavor through the shells.

My first thought was: what about aquafaba?

This is the water that’s left over when you strain a can of chickpeas, and most bars use aqua faba as a vegan or labor-saving alternative to real egg whites. You can use it in similar proportions to an egg white in cocktails, and it produces very similar effects, minus the initial viscosity.

But egg whites themselves are about 90% water, so whichever route you decide to go keep this one central rule in mind: water is known as “the universal solvent,” but it’s only good at dissolving and taking on the flavors of “water soluble compounds.”

This means that oils and certain volatile aromatics are not going to infuse well into a water- and protein-based media like aqua faba or egg whites. And that also goes for the oils in the lemon zest you grated into your egg whites, Danny. That’s why you had to do it in the moment, and plus, as you mentioned, you’ve got a textural issue now with all that lemon zest swimming around the foam in your drink.

Your best bets for flavoring egg whites are going to be hydrosols, like rose water or orange blossom water – which are created as bi-products of the essential oil making process. They’re more delicate than essential oils, but they are still extremely powerful, so use in moderation. Most popularly, we see the use of orange blossom water in the Ramos Gin Fizz – the one drink in the classic cocktail canon most notorious for its foamy head – so you can pretty much trust hydrosols for in-the-shaker infusion and possibly pre-service infusions into egg whites or aqua faba.

Otherwise, you can certainly mess around with infusing fresh herbs into your egg whites, and similarly, you could see what berries and non-acidic fruit will yield – but make sure you’re not dropping a whole bunch of acid into your protein-rich solution because that could have some unintended textural consequences when it comes time to make the drink.

In the end, Danny, egg whites are all about texture, which is why you see most people using infused spirits and outside hydrosols and flavor extracts to do the heavy lifting. It’s usually way easier and more effective to infuse your vodka with a handful of basil overnight than to try and balance both flavor and texture in egg whites.

I know this long-winded answer might not have been what you were hoping for, but the important thing is this: you saw an opportunity, you got curious and did some research, and you didn’t stop trying when no easy answer presented itself. This sort of curiosity and persistence is exactly what leads to breakthroughs in our industry, so just because infused egg whites are tricky and expensive to execute doesn’t mean there aren’t other frontiers out there. What about trying to color your egg whites? What about playing around with stencils so that you can create designs on the finished drinks? There’s a lot to do out there, and we hope you keep us posted with updates as you continue along your bartending journey.

Thanks for writing in.

Tips For Making Smoked Cocktail Garnishes

Next up, we have a smoky question from Brianne in New Hampshire, who says:

Hey Eric and team,

Hope you’re well despite all the craziness and quarantines going on. I have a question about smoked drink garnishes and was wondering if you have any experience making them.

My husband just got a new smoker over the holidays, and we both love smoked food and smoky drinks like Scotch. He has been working super hard at an essential job during the coronavirus outbreak, and I wanted to surprise him with some smoked cocktail garnishes since I’m working from home right now and have the time.

Any suggestions about how to do this and what garnishes might work best? I know about how long to smoke a pork shoulder, but I have no clue about non-meat items, so any advice you have would be amazing.

Thanks, and stay safe,
Brianne

Well Brianne, you pose an interesting question because smoke is an excellent way to impart flavor – as you mentioned, Scotch makers have been doing it incredibly well for centuries.

My initial thoughts here is that this project might require a little bit of trial and error because there seem to be a lot of variables involved. So let’s run through a couple of those variables on air here and I’ll see if I can help you decide how to approach your smoked garnishes.

First off – what to smoke? I think citrus wheels are an attractive option here. Because smoking produces heat in addition to the wood polyphenols and other compounds that comprise smoke, you can potentially use your smoker as a way to dehydrate your citrus wheels while adding flavor. We’ll get to this in a second because I really think this is going to be your best bet.

Other common cocktail ingredients and garnishes you might consider smoking are simple syrup for Old Fashioneds, brandied cherries for Manhattans and other delicious drinks, smoked salt for rimming Margaritas, and even smoked water for ice. You can smoke all these things in roughly the same way – varying the amount of time in the smoker based on how smoky you want them to be. Keep in mind with the cherries and the simple syrup that – depending on how hot your smoker gets – you might experience some evaporation or drying of the fruit, so think about how you’d ideally avoid that.

Now, this talk about temperature brings me to my next big piece of advice, which is: really think about what kind of smoker you’re using. Spoiler alert – Brianne and I went back and forth a little bit on this, and it turns out her smoker has a built in thermostat for temperature control, but many smokers out there – including the one I use at home – do not.

Obviously, for the dehydrating of citrus wheels or other fresh garnishes, temperature is going to be important if you want to avoid over-cooking or under-cooking. Most recipes recommend putting your citrus wheels on a baking sheet in the oven somewhere between 160 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 hours, so if you can manage something similar with your smoker, then I say go for it.

If your smoker has a thermostat, you’re golden. But if not, you’re going to pull your hair out trying to maintain a semi-constant temperature in that range, which is generally a bit hotter than most small smokers get – at least in my experience. If this is the case, I’d recommend – partially dehydrating your citrus in the oven until the wheels are a bit leathery, but still pliable, and then maybe finishing them in the smoker.

Another option for temperature control would be to build or buy a cold smoker box, which basically takes in the smoke and holds it, but it’s further away from the heat source, so you don’t have to worry as much about scorching or over-drying. Cold smoking is how things like smoked mozzarella are made.

Finally, I do have one little piece of side advice for anybody who has a smoker without a thermostat – get yourself a remote digital thermometer. This was about the only smart thing I did when I got my smoker last year, and it really helped me understand what’s going on at various points throughout the smoking cycle, where you load wood chips or sawdust into this little pan that sits on a heating element.

The cool thing about a remote digital thermometer is that you can take the probe and stick it right down in the smoker, and then the reader can just hang out somewhere nearby and display the temperature inside the smoker. It’s fascinating to watch the temperature fluctuations that take place when you add new wood chips, for example, and even though I don’t have a cold smoker box, I could see the thermometer being really useful as you try to optimize for things like air flow in a cold smoker. So no matter what you’re trying to smoke, if you don’t have a thermostat, you need some way of tracking your temperature if you ever hope to re-create a smoked garnish or cocktail ingredient.

I am eyeing up either a really intense Bar Cart Foundations episode on smoke, or perhaps even a series of episodes – but until then, Brianne, I hope we’ve at least inspired some fun ideas for you to play around with during the quarantine.

Spirits Supply Chain Disruptions

Next up, we’ve got a question from Steve in Chicago, who writes:

Dear Modern Bar Cart,

Huge fan of the pod! 

A couple times since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak I’ve heard you mention that there might be some supply chain disruptions in the spirits industry. Any chance you’re willing to share insights about what might be disrupted so your humble listeners can stock up and get ahead of the curve? 

I’m not trying to go to jail for insider training here – I just want to know if some of my favorite bottles might be about to disappear.

Thanks in advance if you can help.

Well, Steve – I’ll start by saying I’m not a huge fan of panic purchasing or hoarding. Right before this whole hullabaloo got started, my wife and I got a puppy, and the housebreaking effort was in full swing when all paper towels and other paper products vanished from the shelves…so needless to say I’m a bit salty about the tragedy of the commons that this pandemic is triggering, but I’ll give you a few thoughts.

First, I’ve been going on walks. And a great destination to walk to a few times a week is the liquor store near my condo. It’s a chance to stretch my legs, and then when I’m about to go into the store I flip on my mask and peruse the shelves during non-busy times of day when most folks are at home.

What I’ve found during these walks – and you have to keep in mind that I’m in a very large city market – is that most of your base-level spirits are being picked clean. This is especially true in the whiskey space (both for Bourbon and Scotch), and I’ve seen some less extreme evidence in the rum and agave world.

So for example, my liquor store is completely sold out of Laphroiag 10 year and a bunch of other baseline Scotch expressions. They’re also out of a bunch of middle-of-the-road bourbons in the $35-$50 range. So if you’re somebody who does a lot of mixing with these types of spirits, you might either have to get creative or locate some way more (or way less) expensive options in the very near future. That’s tip number one.

Now, when it comes to imported spirits, one point that came up in a recent episode is that – okay, maybe some places like Milan are getting hit really hard right now, which might make you think there could be shortages in spirits that are produced there (like Fernet Branca). On the other hand, we’re not sure exactly how the widespread closure of bars and restaurants is affecting the amount of product available on the market. So in one sense, there could be a shortage, but in a different sense, there could actually be a glut of product on the market.

The Most Popular Cocktail Herbs

In the penultimate position, we have a question from Michelle in Ohio, who write:

Hi Eric,

I really enjoyed your herb interview with Collen O’Bryant, and I was wondering if you had a list of the herbs that are most often used in cocktails. I’m planning on planting a small herb garden for the first time, and I’m excited to use them in my drinks.

Thanks for your advice,

Michelle

I love this question because it’s basically “The Twelve Bottle Bar,” but for herbs. Unfortunately, unlike bottles, herbs have different sunlight needs and soil preferences, so there’s no way for me to claim an objective standard here. Instead, I’ll put a bunch of herbs into 3 categories here, and you can pick and choose which ones appeal most to your palate.

Common Cocktail Herbs

The most commonly used herbs in the cocktail world are certainly:

• Mint

• Basil

• Rosemary

If you’re going to make drinks, these are the must-haves. Now, I’ve got a little bad news for you, which is that Ohio is solidly in zone 6, which means you might have trouble growing rosemary, so make sure you select a variety that is classified as Cold Hardy. If you do, then you might get away with treating it like a perennial. With Basil, you’re definitely going to have to plant that every year because unless you have a greenhouse it’s just not going to survive the cold winter temps. And with mint, the big thing to keep in mind besides selecting a variety suited to your zone is the fact that it spreads like crazy, so it’s a good idea to keep it completely separate from your other herbs, or to even plant it in a dedicated container so that it doesn’t start taking over.

For the next two lists of herbs, I won’t go into hardiness or planting zone related stuff – just know that if you want to find information, you can type the name of the herb and the number of your hardiness zone into Google and you should come up with plenty of resources.

Often-Used Cocktail Herbs

In terms of frequency, here are a few herbs that aren’t part of the cocktail pantheon, but they’re common enough that you should plant them if they’ll grow in your neck of the woods. The are:

• Cilantro

• Parsley

• Sage

• Juniper (I know, it’s not an herb, but I feel like it deserves a spot)

• Lavender

Some of these, like Cilantro, Parsley, and Sage, are used frequently as garnishes, and other – like juniper and lavender – are more commonly found in botanical infusions, which are super fun.

Esoteric Cocktail Herbs

Finally, here are some herbs I’ve seen used, but not commonly, so only plant them if you really dig the flavor, or if you have a particular use case in mind. The are:

• Tarragon

• Dill

• Wormwood

• Thyme

• Lemon Balm

Now, I love a bunch of these herbs for culinary purposes. Dill for pickling, tarragon for delicate, fragrant stews and salad, and thyme for its excellent pork and chicken applications. But in the cocktail world, these all definitely take a back seat to the big three: Mint, Basil, and Rosemary.

Hope this helps, and Michelle, I hope you and everyone else out there remembers to tag us @ModernBarCart on Instagram and Facebook when you share pictures of your beautiful herb-inspired cocktails.

How To Support Modern Bar Cart

Rounding out this mailbag episode, I selfishly saved my favorite question for last because I’m so grateful for the outpouring of kindness and support we’ve received from our community during this pandemic. Obviously, with most of the industry closed down, we’ve had to get creative alongside all our distiller and service industry friends, but we’re hangin’ in there, and notes like this one definitely help.

Camille from Maryland writes:

Dear Eric,

I hope you and your team are staying safe and healthy during these strange times. All the distilleries and bars near me are closed down, but most have sent out emails telling people how to purchase gift cards or the hand sanitizer they’re making. I love your podcast, and I wanted to know if there’s a good way to support Modern Bar Cart until things get back to normal. My husband and I are trying to spread the love around and we’d love to add you to our list if there’s anything we can do. 

Cheers,
Camille

Well, during this whole ordeal, I totally didn’t think to even reach out to our community and let them know because we’re still up and running, unlike our bar and distiller friends. However, when they’re closed, we definitely take a big hit, so thanks Camille for prompting me to help you help Modern Bar Cart.

If you’re looking for gift cards, we do have digital gift cards available for our eCommerce store – so that’s a great way to help us out if you’ve got someone with a birthday coming up. We’ve actually seen a HUGE uptick in eCommerce orders since the pandemic, so that’s a part of our operation that’s humming right along. In fact, until DC re-opens bars and restaurants, we’ll be running the coupon code PLAGUE on our site, which will get you 20% off your entire order from ModernBarCart.com when you enter it at checkout.

The other thing I’ll say is that we’re also about to launch a bunch of glassware and bar tools on the site in the next few weeks here, so please keep your eyes open for that. The plan is – once we figure out how best to ship things like glassware – we’ll put together a bunch of fun kits that will make excellent gifts to yourself or someone else, so stay tuned, and we’ll be sure to announce those new products on the podcast and on social media.

Camille – thank you for thinking of us, and thanks to everyone who has helped out by making a purchase from our eCommerce store in the past month. Every little bit helps.

That about does it for this COVID-19 mailbag episode of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast. I hope you, like all the folks who wrote in, are finding creative ways to still enjoy great drinks during the quarantine, and now, more than ever, we need to keep my favorite little catch-phrase in mind:

Drink responsibly, and experiment boldly.