This hot new thing called vinegar

I don't usually copy-and-paste entire stories from other sites, but this one appears to be only on the Gourmet Magazine weekly emailer. (sign up here). It's another story on vinegar in drinks! I'm going to have to try the Vinegar-ade. VINEGAR-ADE For a quick thirst quencher on a hot day, grab a bottle of fruit vinegar and think lemonade minus the lemons. Start with a tablespoon of vinegar in 8 oz of cold water and sweeten to taste. We love it with seltzer water, too. Play around with superfine granulated sugar, honey, or maple syrup. (You can even add more vinegar if desired.) Honey and cider vinegar is a classic combo. Or skip the fruit vinegar and try malt vinegar with maple syrup. Just don't forget to add the ice.

COCKTAIL SOUR Mixologists across the country are raiding the kitchen and sneaking back to the bar with all kinds of vinegar. Todd Appel, head bartender at Crimson Lounge, in Chicago, created a drink called the Pennyroyal that includes Muscat vinegar; Scott Beattie of Cyrus, in Healdsburg, California, makes several summer cocktails with balsamic vinegar; Duggan McDonnell of Cantina, in San Francisco, uses Sherry vinegar in his version of a Lemon Drop; and Eric Alperin of The Doheny, a private club in downtown L.A., uses Charbay Cabernet Sauvignon red-wine vinegar in a cocktail called The 1896. Vinegar: It's the new citrus.

Vinegarwatch continues!

Drinking at work

Ad Age reports that more and more agencies are installing in-house bars as employee bonuses. These are usually agencies that represent alcohol brands, so it makes sense (Can I use the word "synergy" here? That's so adsy of me!). Ad Age's list of agency in-house bars in New York, Chicago, LA, and St. Louis might make a good wish-list for job-seekers who like boozy perks.

avocado cocktails

The NYTimes reports on an avocado cocktail (with mescal) on the menu at Macondo in New York, an outpost of Rayuela. They also list a few other avocado drinks around the country:

Several years ago, Lucy Brennan, the owner of Mint and 820 Lounge in Portland, Ore., noticed the similarities between avocados and bananas while mixing a banana daiquiri, and created an avocado daiquiri that remains on the menu. Avocado margaritas dot Texas cocktail lists. And Dale DeGroff, the author and former Rainbow Room bartender, devised a frozen tequila-based avocado drink five years ago.

Along with the trend of putting drinks into food form- gelatin cocktails and molecular mixology- many bartenders like these folks are putting food into drink form. Bacon, avocados, dehydrated fruit, etc. It's like a big exchange of chewables and drinkables is sweeping the nation.

Is it just me...

... or are you sick of all the Sex and the City cocktail tie-ins? I don't deny the show's importance in kickstarting much of the current cocktail craze, but I think it's safe to say we've collectively moved far beyond the Cosmopolitan.

Links of possible interest

While catching up on my reading and email from vacation, I'll likely be doing lots of linking to other stories rather than the deeply intellectual thought-provoking essays you've come to expect from Alcademics.com. So it goes. I just discovered that the Wall Street Journal has a nice Food and Drink section page. On it right now, Eric Felten discusses the new Kingsley Amis compendium Everyday Drinking. I have the book at home but haven't had time to get into it. It's hilarious and deserves a thorough read. They also have a story on tips for wine tasting rooms, which is a follow up to tips for visitors to those rooms, and a very short review of some organic spirits. On other sites, Chow.com has a story on the history and return of punch. They mention that at Hawksmoor in London they serve punch at tables instead of bottle service. I think this sounds like a great idea, especially for all the new high-end cocktail bars. And the big shiny silver punch bowls would look better on a table in these places than a stupid light-up ice bucket for vodka.

Top recipe searches

A communications consultant for Ask.com sent me a list of the top cocktail recipe searches on the site over the past two weeks. I think this is probably a good indication of what drinks people are trying to make at home. Are the bloody mary and cosmo influenced by Mother's Day and the Sex and the City movie? People need recipes for the mimosa? People still drink pina coladas? Interesting stuff. 1. Bloody Mary 2. Cosmopolitan 3. Sex on the Beach 4. Margarita 5. Martini 6. Manhattan 7. Sangria 8. Pina Colada 9. Mimosa 10. Daiquiri

Cocktails = vacation relaxation

Here's another ad equating cocktails with relaxation and vacation. It's not the first time we've seen an airline promote cocktails, and the cruise lines are into it also. And blue seems to be a popular cocktail color in ads these days. I suppose the cocktail has undergone a symbolic status change. In the 2000 Sex in the City cosmopolitan era, cocktails symbolized going out and having fun. Nowadays, they seem promoted more like a luxury relaxation symbol, akin to the "woman in a spa with a hair wrap" or "dude on a lush golf course" image in ads.

I should have made this claim 6 months ago, but whatevs.

Ginger beer is the new soda water. Who uses a splash of soda anymore? Nobody in San Francisco, it appears. It's all about the GB.

Vinegarwatch during National Vinegar Month!!*!!

Have you heard that vinegar is a hot cocktail ingredient? Of course you have- I can't seem to stop blogging about it. So has the Washington Post, where writer Jenn Garbee from LA wrote a story on it. Perfect timing for National Vinegar Month. Vinegarwatch continues!

The most important month of 2008

May is National Vinegar Month! Alcademics Vinegarwatch goes into hyper-drive! The press release from the Vinegar Institute (How do I join?) lists some of the culinary uses for vinegar:

In the kitchen, numerous vinegar varieties reign supreme when it comes to cooking. Many cooks know the solution to balancing flavors and adding a creative flair can be found right in the pantry. Vinegar is the cook's best friend when it comes to creating intriguing flavors in salads, sauces, marinades and more. If a dish lacks a little 'zip', a dash or two of the endless varieties of vinegar brings it to life or balances out flavors. The extended vinegar family includes such favorites as: Apple Cider Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, Rice Vinegar, and Wine Vinegar to name a few. Each variety offers its own distinct flavor and appeal. Numerous vinegar infusions can also be created with fresh herbs or fruit for countless flavor possibilities.

Unfortunately they left out the most important use for vinegar- as 2008's trendiest cocktail ingredient! When I become chairperson of the Vinegar Institute, things are gonna change. Vinegarwatch continues!

SF Represent!

I picked up a copy of Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 to see what the representation of bars and cocktails around the country was. West Coast drinks have been getting more attention in the past year and it's great to see this reflected in the book. The cocktails from the Bay Area are: Grapefruit Flamingo from Kieran Walsh at Solstice Green with Envy from the Poleng Lounge Amberjack from Le Colonial Bergamont Shandy from NOPA Zydeco Cocktail from Tres Agaves Vanilla-Cucumber Limey from Jay Crabb at Martini Monkey in San Jose Fog Cutter from Forbidden Island Puerto de Cuba from Dominic Venegas (formerly of) Bourbon & Branch Alsatian Daiquiri from Duggan McDonnell at Cantina Thai Boxer from Scott Beattie at Cyrus in Healdsburg Green Lantern from Range Mi-So-Pretty from Elizabeth Falkner and Angie Heeney-Tunstall of Orson Tommy Gun from Jacques Bezuidenhout of Bar Drake Filibuster Cockatail from Erik Adkins of Flora in Oakland Jose McGregor from Jimmy Patrick at Lion & Compass in Sunnyvale Northern Spy from Josey Packard The Alembic Off Kilter from Elixir Babylon Sister from Jonny Raglin of Absinthe Blackberry and Cabernet Caipirinha from Cantina Strawberry and Ginger Cooler from Jeff Hollinger Absinthe plus Dark and Stormy Ribs from Presidio Social Club That makes 17 SF and San Jose venues represented compared to 24 New York. Not bad for a city 5-10 times as small. Other cities represented and their number of venues were: Atlanta 4 Boston 7 Boulder 3 Chicago 8 Dallas 5 Houston 5 Las Vegas 5 Los Angeles 9 Louisville, KY 3 Madison, WI 4 Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale 5 New Jersey 4 New Orleans 5 Philadelphia 5 Phoenix/Tuscon 4 Portland, ME 3 Portland, OR 8 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC 5 San Diego 4 Seattle 4 St. Louis 3 Washington, DC area 4 Note: Go Portland, Oregon! That place has had a great selection of local beer, wine, sake, and micro-distillers for a while now. The new cocktail bars like Beaker and Flask and TearDrop Lounge are taking it to the next level. And with Imbibe Magazine based out of Portland, it may soon be the most important drinking city in the nation. Props.

Booze art, booze fashion

I like this trend. Booze companies are getting involved in art and fashion beyond sponsoring events and hiring spokesmodels. Just this week I heard about three different spirits sponsoring art projects: Tanqueray is auctioning off original artwork on ebay.com from graffiti artist Stash. [via UrbanDaddy] 1800 Tequila is putting out limited edition bottles with hipster art on them. Also, matching billboards and sneakers. [via Complex] And Courvoisier's Exclusif is doing a pop-up shop concept in a few cities where they'll showcase a new line of fashion and cocktail accessories from LRG.

Uslurper and vinegarwatch sighting

Paul Clarke has a story on pimento/allspice dram in today's SF Chronicle. The title: "Hot Dram!" Included in the story is a recipe from Martin Cate of Forbidden Island, and included in that recipe is the magic ingredient: vinegar!

A big month for vodka flavors

Smirnoff just added two flavors to their line of vodkas: white grape and passion fruit. Now the line stands at 13 flavors. Then Skyy Vodka announced they are reformulating their flavors to use all-natural flavorings and now calling them Skyy Infusions (including grape and passion fruit flavors- coincidence?). I asked for specifics on the flavoring process but am not convinced by their answer that they're doing anything but purchasing natural flavors instead of artificial ones. The Skyy flavors don't come close to the whole-fruit taste experience of flavors by Hangar One and Charbay, but you don't really expect them to. Though I'm very leery of their overuse of the words "infusion" and "natural," the flavors are much brighter and seem to have more flavor elements than the average mono-flavoral (I just made that up) stuff on the market. So all marketing aside, they did something new and interesting. Perhaps I'll blog some tasting notes later. In other interesting flavor news, I've got to say that the organic Tru vodka lemon flavor is a total winner. You can taste rind and pith and smell the zest of the lemons. Of what I've tried, only Hangar One's Buddha's Hand is in the same league. Nice work. And finally, Charbay vodka announced that now all the fruit used in their blood orange, meyer lemon, and pomegranate flavors is organic. It's great to see everything moving in this direction.

Tiki taking over?

Now that they're serving tiki drinks in New York, the rest of the country can read about the trend. At Elettaria they're serving a few tiki cocktails including the Navy Grog and Zombie, the Rusty Knot is some kind of tiki dive, and DISCUS threw a tiki party that was reported on all the blogs. Out west, the Teardrop Lounge in Portland is doing Tiki Third Tuesday with a whole list of drinks just for the night- dang that's a lot of work! In San Francisco, a busload of bartenders went to Forbidden Island on Monday for a Rhum Clement event, so Tuesday at happy hour your favorite bartender may not look so happy. The Times story does make a good point, though.

“Certain elements of mixology have gotten too dry,” (Angus Winchester) said, referring to a bar ethos that esteems pre-Prohibition cocktails, sometimes to a point of purism. “Cocktail lists are starting to look like history lessons, with bartenders hiding behind the fact that they’re using the 1812 recipe of a drink rather than the 1814 recipe. Tiki is the antithesis to all that.”

To a degree, anyway. As Mr. Miller said of the Navy Grog: “We’re using the original 1941 recipe.”

I think the tiki trend allows for the same nerd-ness as pre-Prohibition cocktail worship, but with different flavor profiles. Those earlier drinks (and their modern incarnations favored on the East Coast) use citrus zest, twists, flames, foams, and other aromatic tricks to give spark and life to small-volume drinks that largely come out of bottles. Many tiki drinks, it seems, use citrus and other mixers as the lively base canvas of the drink, allowing the spirits some breathing room in which to show off. (Does this make sense? I'm trying to say it's like the difference between drinking straight rum and a Daiquiri.) In any case, I say more (well-made) tiki drinks is a good thing.

Shapely bottles

If short and fat is the new tall and skinny, my bottle collection will soon match my body type. Pictured: Rhum Clement VSOP, G'Vine gin, St. George Absinthe Vert.

Easter brunch drinks

Green Street in Boston is celebrating Easter by making cocktails with eggs. Great idea.

Absinthe about town

Since absinthe became available on the market again, many restaurants are serving it in traditional cocktails like the Sazerac. At the restaurant Absinthe, they've also rediscovered a classic cocktail called the Lawhill. Farallon offers the Sazerac, Corpse Reviver #3, and the Waldorff cocktail. For a while, Yankee Pier restaurant on Santana Row in San Jose was serving oysters Rockerfeller with absinthe, as the original recipe called for it. Who knew? Other venues are experimenting with new uses for absinthe. At the lobby bar and Ame restaurant in the St. Regis, they're serving an Ame Tremor, made with Armagnac, sweet vermouth, absinthe, and a dash of bitters. At the launch party for Right Gin at bacar, they served a gin and absinthe drink that wasn't going to be on the permanent menu, but maybe if you go on Friday night Carlos will make you one. Sens restaurant offers a Raspberry-Absinthe Press, made with absinthe, framboise liqueur, and sparkling water with a lemon twist. I've tried it and it's pretty darn tasty- and you can make it at home! I've also had a touch of absinthe in A Touch of Evil at Orson that was amazing. It has bourbon, mint, lemon juice, absinthe, and rhubarb syrup. (And by the way, Orson's cocktail list is now online here.) At Conduit, a new restaurant a block from my house that I have yet to visit, they're serving a drink called The Hub with reposado tequila, absinthe, and bitters. I need to get in there and drink my way through the menu. And these are just the drinks in San Francisco. It's fun when a new ingredient hits the market and everyone uses it in different ways. St. Germain had the same effect last year. What might be the next hot spirit? I'll place my bets on Square One Vodka's cucumber flavor whenever it finally comes out (you guys know there is another cuke vodka hitting the market, right? hurry up!), and I bet we'll be seeing a lot of Veloce. But more on that later.

Popular, but not pretty

According to this report on Wine & Spirits Daily, the top three cocktails ordered in metro areas New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Dallas/Ft. Worth are:

1. "Martinis"- "The “traditional” martini is most commonly ordered, followed by apple martinis, miscellaneous fruit martinis, dirty martinis and chocolate martinis."
2. Mojitos
3. Red Bull and vodka

Also, the most popular shot in bars and clubs is a Jager bomb- Jagermeister and Red Bull. I suppose the good news is that the most-ordered drink is a "traditional" martini, though I have a feeling it's a vodka-based one given the rest of the list. But it's too bad that even in these large cities, people are still drinking apple martinis. Mojito- a fine drink, but it's time to move on. The big news to me is how popular Red Bull is as a mixer, both in cocktails and in shots. This is interesting not only because it makes drinks taste far worse than without it, but also because it's a premium mixer that raises the price of the drinks. You get soda, tonic, and juices for free but they charge extra for Red Bull, even with bottle service. Given that, the caffeinated and energy vodkas on the market make a little more sense- they can be cost-savings products that cut-out the horrid taste of Red Bull. People can now enjoy energy apple martinis, energy mojitos, and energy margaritas. (If you hadn't heard, P.I.N.K. has expanded its line to include energy rum, tequila, sake, gin, and white whiskey.) I can see that as the up-sell in nightclubs from now on: "Would you like that with energy for an extra two dollars?"

Hollywood vinegar

I wasn't even searching for vinegar cocktails and stumbled across this story from Metromix LA:

Trend report: vinegar cocktails The type of acid trip that won’t get you arrested

Vinegarwatch 2008 continues...

Vinegarwatch continues

The Liquid Muse checks out Kumo's in West Hollywood and finds a vinegar drink.

The Black Margarita blends Patron tequila, Citronage, homemade sour and a splash of black vinegar. The whole thing is shaken and served on the rocks with a lavender salt rim.

VinegarWatch '08

Yesterday I attended a mixology seminar at Bourbon & Branch that was also a fundraiser for Les Dames d'Escoffier. There was a panel discussion and drink demo by about eight local mixologists plus Charlotte Voissey, who is in town for the Hendrick's gin dinner at Absinthe on Wednesday. When asked about the future of cocktails, Cyrus' Scott Beattie said that more people will be interested in where the ingredients in their drinks come from. Absinthe's Jeff Hollinger thinks we're a long ways away from that, which isn't to say he's not optimistic. Greg Lindgren of Rye said he's finding better-tasting and better-quality liquor products on the market that are more useful than flavored vodkas. As to the immediate future, Hollinger was cooking up a savory cocktail, which included cooked beet and green Szechuan peppercorn-infused gin, Punt-e-Mes, a sherry vinegar gastrique, and a clove-scented cocktail onion as garnish. What what? Did someone say the magic word? That's right: VINEGAR! Then on my morning reading list I turned to Morty's Mixology Monday recipe for the Flor de Baya, which includes a cranberry gastrique. That's more vinegar to get your party started folks. Stay tuned for further coverage on this season's hottest ingredient. VinegarWatch '08 continues!

Deep thoughts

In 2008, vinegar will be the new egg white.

Smells like 'tini syrup

By me, in Friday's SF Chronicle:

For the past few years, cocktail consultant Jacques Bezuidenhout has been sneaking maple syrup into the drinks he invents for the Starlight Room and special events, and perhaps it's finally caught on, because now we see it on several menus about town.

At Bar Drake, downstairs from the Starlight Room, Bezuidenhout put maple syrup in the lobby bar's signature cocktail: the Bar Drake Manhattan. It contains Woodford Reserve bourbon, Port, Angostura bitters and maple syrup. 450 Powell St. (at Sutter), San Francisco; (415) 392-7755, Ext. 226, bardrake.com.

Across town at the Presidio Social Club, you'll find the breakfast ingredient in the Pays d'Auge Cocktail, along with Calvados and citrus. 563 Ruger St.(near the Presidio's Lombard Gate), San Francisco; (415) 885-1888, presidiosocialclub.com.

Maple syrup is an unexpected ingredient in any drink, let alone drinks at a tiki bar, but Forbidden Island in Alameda has added it to the fall drink menu. The Dead Reckoning also pairs maple syrup with Port, along with 12-year-old Cockspur rum, Navan vanilla liqueur and fresh citrus. 1304 Lincoln Ave. (at Sherman), Alameda; (510) 749-0332, forbiddenislandalameda.com.

And at the new Bar Johnny in Russian Hill, they make no secret of the syrup in the Bourbon and Maple. It includes those two ingredients, along with the nutty liqueur Nocino Della Cristina and Angostura bitters. Does anyone else want pie? 2209 Polk St. (at Vallejo), San Francisco; (415) 268-0140.

Fly to Brazil

Stirrings came out with a Caipirinha mixer. When I made a joke about what a great scam Caipirinha mixers would be a month ago, I had no idea so many brands were rushing to fill this niche. But I guess it shows that a lot of people are banking on the Caipirinha to be the next Mojito and building drink accessories around it. Yesterday I was flipping through New York magazine to see a two-page spread for Delta that promotes nothing but their cocktail program. The in-flight cocktails are all made with Stirrings mixers, so maybe next year we'll able to get Caipirinhas in the air.

If it ain't broke...

...why rebrand it? Glenmorangie is rebranding much of its line of whiskies, changing the bottle style, and renaming the wood-finished lines.

The company is also replacing its Wood Finish expressions with the Glenmorangie Extra Matured range of three single malts with Gaelic-inspired names -- Lasanta, Quinta Ruban and Nectar d'Or -- aged for 10 years in Bourbon casks and then additionally matured in either Sherry, Port or French Sauternes barrels. The Glenmorangie 18-year-old and 25-year-old whiskies will also be re-launched with their own bespoke identities, the company said.

Apparently Quinta Ruban is easier to remember than "port" (or whichever one it is). For continuing updates on this, check in with The Scotch Blog, which always has the news as it happens. I was just speaking with a bartender yesterday about how obfusicating product information really turns off bartenders and consumers. In particular he was annoyed with US bourbon and French vodka companies who try to hide where, when, and from what the products were distilled. He said he's now trying to avoid a certain corporation's products because he thinks their being ultra-tight-lipped is akin to dishonesty. There is an increasing trend toward consumer education in the booze industry, with brand tasting parties, bar education programs, and advanced coursework and training for bartenders. People are really curious about what they're drinking and always want to know more. I know I am (note the domain name) and I've made a career out of finding out stuff about booze and sharing it. On the other hand, look at vodka. Sales continue to rise despite increasing negative attitudes from media, bartenders, and amazingly even brand people. Three times over the past month I've heard well-known bartenders, consultants, and even a vodka marketing bigwig say "There's no real difference in vodkas." The media barely reports on it, bartenders in better cocktail lounges have dropped it from the menu or limited their selection to just a few brands, and at industry events vodka is openly mocked as a product for suckers. And we've all been chanting "gin will be big" for years and it just hasn't happened. So who knows, perhaps the Glenmorangie marketing people are making a smart decision, and those of us who care about what's in the bottle are too dumb to see it.

Beating me to the Punch

I was telling someone at a bar how I wanted to publish the San Francisco bartender family tree, showing how you can connect most bars in the city through bartenders who work at multiple venues. The person I was talking to said, "Have you seen the latest issue of 7x7?" Naturally, Jordan Mackay had just published an article on bartenders working in multiple venues. Though not exactly the same thing I was going to write, I've decided that this happens far too often for it to be coincidence. Obviously Jordan cannot come up with these brilliant topics months before I do, so he clearly has invented a time machine that allows him to go into the future, and another machine that allows him to plagiarize my thoughts while there. He's very crafty. If only he would use his powers for good.

Jam On It

By me, in today's San Francisco Chronicle:

Jammin' cocktails Camper English Friday, August 3, 2007

With mixologists around town focusing on farmers' market fruits and fresh herbs, we wouldn't have guessed the hot new cocktail ingredients would be marmalade and jam. But we don't make the trends, just report on them.

-- Bar Drake, the new lobby bar in the Sir Francis Drake hotel that opened last month, serves the Tommy Gun with Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, Grand Marnier, apricot jam, lemon juice and fresh ginger, and the Breakfast at Tiffany's cocktail with Ketel One Citroen, orange marmalade, orange bitters, fresh lime juice and ginger beer. And since the bar opens at 11 a.m., you can actually have it for breakfast. 450 Powell St. (at Sutter), San Francisco; (415) 392-7755, Ext. 226, bardrake.com.

-- Cantina serves a Marmalade Cooler that sounds like a Latin version of the Breakfast at Tiffany's, with Appleton rum, Bonne Maman orange marmalade, lemon and California ginger brew. Since these venues are close to each other, it only makes sense to visit both and compare. 580 Sutter St. (at Mason), San Francisco; (415) 398-0195, cantinasf.com.

-- The Marmalade Whiskey Sour has been on the menu at Bourbon & Branch since it opened last year, and the bar is only a few blocks from these other two venues should you feel motivated to go on a marmalade bar crawl. The drink is made with bourbon, lemon, orange marmalade and orange bitters. 501 Jones St. (at O'Farrell), San Francisco; bourbonandbranch.com.

-- Sino Restaurant at Santana Row currently offers two unusual drinks with their house ginger marmalade in the mix. One is Seduction, with Smirnoff vodka, Vermeer chocolate liqueur and ginger marmalade, and the other is the Sinodriver, with Wasabe vodka, orange juice and ginger marmalade. The drink menu is scheduled to change soon and we don't know if these drinks will still be on the new list, so get them while they're hot. 377 Santana Row, Suite 1000, San Jose; (408) 247-8880, www.sinorestaurant.com.

Aged agave

William Dowd has a good article on the increasing popularity of aged (extra-anejo) tequila, addressing the question: at what point is tequila no longer tequila?

Health drinks

The NY Times has a fun article on the trend of "healthy" cocktails.

Speaking of small-batch spirits

The Associated Press has a good story on the trend, focusing on Tuthilltown Spirits in New York. Here are some key facts.

• They saw their chance in 2002, when New York introduced a new class of distilling license for small producers that carries a fee of $1,450, as opposed to $50,800 for the old license. (Woo! Let's move to New York!)
• "It took us about 2 1/2 years from a dead stop knowing nothing about it until 'We can turn this thing on and make alcohol,'" Erenzo said. (On the other hand, I don't have that kind of patience.)
• Small-scale distilleries like this were common in America before Prohibition wiped the slate clean. New York, for instance, now has only 16 licensed distillers, including some larger operations in New York City and wineries that specialize in fruit-based spirits like brandy and grappa.
• They are among some 90 craft distillers active nationwide, according to Bill Owens of the American Distilling Institute.
• Tuthilltown also rides the wave of the "buy local" movement. Their vodkas are made from local apples.

Hot Cocktails

The Chicago Tribune ran a story on a new drink trend: using chilies in cocktails (free registration required). It includes several Chicago venue recipes, and oddly two different bartenders paired chilies with mango puree. Here in San Francisco, bartenders have favored using chilies on cocktail rims, though I had jalapenos both in a champagne drink and in an orange juice drink as well. I've enjoyed most of the combinations I've had- the only ones I didn't like where were the drink was too hot.

Bitter Summer in San Francisco

I wrote a piece for the July issue of San Francisco Magazine about the city's summer love for Italian bitter aperitifs and digestifs that you can find here, though in the print edition it's in groovy chart format and they didn't omit the Aperol row. I also wrote about our two San Francisco-distilled gins in the Best of the Bay section. Check me out!

New Infusions

In today's Chronicle, I have a short trendicle about the new infusions. It's no longer about infusing one ingredient in vodka. Now to impress bar patrons you either need to infuse the modifying ingredient like the vermouth, infuse an unusual spirit like cachaca, or add a whole salad's worth of ingredients to your infusion jar.

Infusions 2.0

Remember when a jar full of vodka with lemons floating in it was enough to make you ooh and aah? These days, bartenders have reclaimed their counter space for commercially flavored vodkas, but that doesn't mean that infused liquor has gone away. Homemade infusions, though often kept out of sight, are now more complex and subtle than the old ones.

-- At Etiquette, bartenders infuse bourbon with vanilla and spices in the Manhattan, cachaca with pineapple in the Brazilian Tease, and sun-dried tomatoes, three kinds of peppercorns and celery in the Garden Vodka, which is then poured into a dirty Garden of Etiquette Martini with a salt and pepper rim. 1108 Market St., San Francisco, (415) 869-8779.

-- The signature Americano cocktail at Americano restaurant calls for chai-infused sweet vermouth along with Campari, soda water and an orange slice. 8 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 278-3777; www.americanorestaurant.com.

-- The Mission's Elixir uses rose hip-infused vodka, along with elderflower liqueur, Cointreau and lime juice in the delightfully dry Eldersour. 3200 16th St., San Francisco, (415) 552-1633; www.elixirsf.com.

-- Vegetarian temple Millennium recently infused bourbon with peach for use in an old-fashioned. They'll also be using cherries in that drink, as well as infusing them into a cherry brandy. And there's also a a chocolate mint-infused vodka that is mixed with a vegan version of Bailey's. 580 Geary St., San Francisco, (415) 345-3900; www.millenniumrestaurant.com.

-- Camper English

Who's that girl?

I was perusing my ever-increasing list of booze blogs and saw Rick Dobbs' mention of Google's trend tracker and how you can use it to track wine trends. I went to try it out for liquor, my one and only love. I randomly put in "bitters" and it appears that my story in the SF Chronicle on homemade bitters was the sixth highest ranked bitters news story (and one of them was a sports story so that makes mine fifth) on Google over the past few years. This is: 1) Scary. 2) Freaking awesome!! I wasn't even surfing for validation today and I found it. Of course, I just got lucky that the bitters event was happening and I reported on it. But still, with all the new blog readers and upcoming trips and high Google ranking I'm starting to feel pretty darn good about what I'm doing here with the booze reporting. It's great that this stuff isn't just interesting to me. Now I just need to monetize my popularity so I can afford to live the life of excess befitting a person of my stature. The penthouses and fast cars and weekends in exotic drinking locales will surely follow, and I hope to be the first person to have his liver insured for 20 million dollars. But for now I'm focused on slightly less lofty goals: a few more writing gigs and the luxury of health insurance.

Mystery Drink

I think this is awesome.

Singapore beverage company Out of the Box caters to consumers who respond to "What would you like to drink?" with a non-committal "anything" or "whatever". Two weeks ago, the company launched two complementary brands: Anything and Whatever. Anything is fizzy and comes in six flavours (Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer) and Whatever is non-carbonated (Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea).The surprise part? Consumers don't know which flavour they're getting until they take a sip.

Sweetness and Spice

A trend piece by me in today's SF Chroncile:

Sweetness and spice

Cocktails in the city these days will taunt you with hotness then leave you cool -- just like some Internet dates. But at least these chile-spiked drinks give you a good buzz for the bus ride home.

-- Farmer Brown serves up a creamy Mango Margarita Mango with Tequila, mango puree, lime juice, agave nectar and cayenne salt around the rim. Often the bar serves a spicy watermelon variation as well. 25 Mason St., San Francisco; (415) 409-3276, farmerbrownsf.com

-- The base ingredients of the Agua Caliente at Rye (invented by Jackie Patterson of Le Colonial) are also Tequila, mango puree and lime; but this drink has triple sec and a dash of Campari beneath the chile rim. 688 Geary St., San Francisco; (415) 474-4448

-- At Poleng Lounge, hot Thai chile peppers and dry green tea are muddled with cooling cucumber, mint and vodka in the signature Po'my Leng cocktail to make the hot and cold ingredients battle for dominance in your mouth. 1751 Fulton St., San Francisco; (415) 441-1710, polenglounge.com

-- The Gunpowder Cocktail at Presidio Social Club is merely a gin gimlet (gin, lime juice, simple syrup), with a sprinkle of cayenne powder on top, served in a martini glass. Drink it and your date will call you "hot lips." 563 Ruger St., San Francisco; (415) 885-1888, presidiosocialclub.com.

-- Last week, the winning cocktail in Harry Denton's Starlight Room's cocktail contest joined the menu. The Pink Cream Soda (invented by Todd Smith of Bourbon & Branch) tastes like its name, with rosé Champagne, guava, lemon and vanilla syrup, but it's the muddled jalapeno pepper at the bottom that really makes it interesting. Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St., San Francisco; (415) 395-8595, harrydenton.com.

Angel of the Morning

A couple of years ago, I wrote that the Michelada was going to be the hot new beverage of the summer. In reality, not so much. But increased chatter about the drink lately by the likes of Jordan Mackay and The Spirit World and others makes me think its got a chance. I make it like this:

Michelada Salt the rim of a pint glass. Fill with ice, add the juice of half a lime, a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, one dash of Worcestershire sauce, and fill with Mexican beer such as Tecate.

I wrote about the drink again recently as something that should be served at brunch. Beer and juice over ice means that it's extremely low in alcohol so you can drink them early and often, and when I have a six-pack laying around I tend to go through about half of it making Micheladas instead of just one. The reason I post this is to encourage people to try the drink at home and to request it at bars. It's a light and simple drink that deserves to be popular.

On Writing (About Drinking)

Last night I was speaking with Duggan McDonnell of Cantina, where I was drinking for the third time before it officially opens on Thursday. It turns out that in addition to opening a culinary cocktail bar, Duggan is also getting his MFA in creative writing in his spare time. He was asking me about the world of booze writing, as it would make sense to combine his two passions. Though I had no practical advice, what I should have said is, "Don't quit your night job." Writing is a terrible way to pay the rent, and even dive bar bartenders make twice the salary in half the time that I do. But it did stimulate some thinking: What are the ways that people write about cocktails and drinking?

• Recipe writing. Some people, many of them coming from the bartending world, write recipes and fill in the space around them with information. I do this for Frontiers Magazine, and Gary Regan does this in his column in the SF Chronicle.
• Technique writing. Shake or stir? Proper muddling, not-so simple syrups. There is more and more of this writing as people become interested in home mixology. Imbibe Magazine specializes in it, and many magazines have DIY advice as part of stories.
• History. People like Ted Haigh and Eric Felten of the Wall Street Journal will track every reference of a drink to find its origin, creator, and cultural popularity. This makes great bar conversation topics for the rest of us after they do all the hard work.
• Industry. Both the liquor industry and the service industry have trade publications following them and educating one another on what the competition is doing. Magazines like Bartender, Sante, and formerly Patterson's Beverage Journal cover these topics.
• Reviews. In the Web 2.0 world, bar reviews aren't as important as they once were, but the public still needs to know which bars are where and what they're like.
• Trends. A combination of industry news (three more organic vodkas launched) and reviews (three more bars serving flavored mojitos launched), trend writing is really my bread and butter.

Anything I missed?

Clean planes and dirty martinis

Delta is advertising seat-side cocktail preparation including mojitos, martinis and virgin cocktails. They put the menu online so you can make first-class cocktails at home. They have a bourbon/apple drink, a passion fruit mojito, and a vodka Fresca drink. Most are made with Stirrings drink mixers, which makes a lot of sense. Can you imagine your flight attendant trying to muddle in the middle of the aisle?

Bitter and Loving It

Last week I attended an event for Averna; yesterday it was a poolside Aperol party. Campari is already an essential ingredient in the Negroni though I'm seeing more people enjoy it with soda lately, and San Francisco sells a ton of Fernet-Branca. These brands are all examples of Italian bitter liqueurs, also known as amaros. I have a lot to learn about amaros and the difference between them and other herb-heavy spirits like pastis, pernod, and herbsaint. But I can tell you the marketing push is on for this summer's hot new drink category to be light aperitif cocktails invoking thoughts of holidays on the shores of the Mediterranean. I don't mind that one bit. The thing I do mind is that San Francisco weather doesn't remind one of summer at all.

Let's make this official

The Aviation is the new Negroni. There, I said it. I am an expert so now it's official. Negroni 1 ounce gin 1 ounce sweet vermouth 1 ounce Campari Aviation gin lemon juice maraschino liqueur (Proportions different everywhere you get it.)

Trendy ingredients

In the March issue of Out Magazine, I have a story on cucumbers in cocktails. I wrote a sidebar to that story that didn't make it into the print edition but is online here.

Five More Trendy Cocktail Ingredients Vegetables in your cocktails? Flowers? Check out these cutting-edge cocktail components Our April issue is cool as a cucumber with recipes for the veggie’s use in cocktails. Here we gather five other surprising cocktail components. 1. Elderflower. This trend is largely driven by commercially available elderflower simple syrup that adds a light floral note to vodka and gin drinks. Use elderflower syrup in place of unflavored simple syrup in your next gimlet. 2. Yuzu juice. Yuzu is a sour Asian citrus fruit that makes a heck of a tasty cocktail. Use it in place of lemon juice in a lemon drop. 3. Cayenne and other peppers. Bartenders are combining the hot peppers with cool fruits (like cukes) for an icy hot drink experience. Infuse black peppercorns in vodka for one day and make a spicy cooler using the vodka with lots of lemon or lime juice and soda water. 4. Pomegranate. With a pomegranate liqueur, vodka, tequila, and schnapps on the market it’s easy to add the rich syrupy flavor into your drinks. To equal parts vodka and PAMA pomegranate liqueur, add a splash of Grand Marnier and a lemon garnish for a wonderful pom-tini. 5. Ginger. Whether in juice, simple syrup, infused into booze, or muddled with other ingredients, ginger is turning up in a wide range of drinks. Simmer sliced ginger into simple syrup for half an hour and use it in your next mojito or caipirinha.