Cocktail Culture.

One of the fastest emerging markets, or at least that which has garnered a substantial buzz about it, is coconut water.  The US market being slow at times to pick up on international trends is beginning to embrace the ‘agua de coco’ on the heels of it’s emence popularity in Brazil, in which it regularly exceeds $300 million annually surpassing almost every other drink category.

Three major US brands (Zico, O.N.E., and Vita Coco), have emerged in the past 5 years pumping the potassium and vitamin rich sports drink alternative into their respective markets.  The potential for the niche market appears promising as it continues to gain a foothold in chain health food stores such as Whole Foods as well as some main stream grocery stores and corporate cafeterias.

Like any good cocktail enthusiast I like to see what’s new and exciting in the beverage world and figure out how I can put booze into it.  The nectar of green coconuts is a lot different than the other coconut milk in many ways.  It is really what you might think water from a coconut might taste like, it is semi sweet and has a slight vegetal quality and the starchy potassium creates an ever so slight coating in your mouth.  Quite good after a workout and pairs well with the obvious spirit choices for an easy make at home exotic experience.

Not entirely satisfied I hit the net and found some interesting applications.  What I found was people pairing it with mojitos to caipirinhas and ginger caipiroskas with some more obvious spirit pairings (creme de cacao, coconut rum, banana liquor, ect.),  sprinkled in.  I have just recently pureed up some matured mangoes with fresh ground pepper and served mango caipirinhas topped off with coconut water as a specialty cocktail at my bar concession at the 3 day Photo LA event in Santa Monica.  The semi sweet exotic and vegital flavor adds a very real and fresh element to the cocktail, a nice alternative to the typical syrupy and artificially tasting standard fare for tropical style cocktails.

Ideas of things you’ve tried or would like to, leave us a comment and we’ll try it out!

I was just crusin’ around the interweb and came across a few notable story lines across the spirits universe that piqued my interest.

There has been a call for unity from French wineries feeling a 15% slump in exports in the first quarter of the year combined with a staggering 29% loss of value.  The remarkable fact that has managed to escape me throughout the years is the deeply fragmented state of French wine in general, it would seem the whole of the industry is boutiquie to a fault.  The three biggest wine producers have only 10% of the market, and to put that into perspective the three biggest in the US tally 60%, the four biggest in Australia share 80%.   If the trend continues the future of French wine may look different than it has in the past as they begin to explore the call to unite.

On a different note Jim Beam announced earlier in the month that they anticipate that their supplies of Knob Creek will dry up late in the summer.  If your going to have a problem as a manufacturer this is the one to have, double digit growth far exceeding future forecasts is said to be the cause.  Since the bourbon is aged for 9 years there is only a finite quantity available year to year, and I can’t help but gain respect for Bill Newlands, the president of the company, in refusing to release the next batch a few months early saying that just wouldn’t be right.

That’s love.

Just a follow up on the last post as promised.  I just wanted to share a few easy back patio cocktail suggestions for summer entertaining.  Most seasonal home bar recipes I’ve seen throughout the years almost invariably require complex processing procedures or ingredients foreign to the home bartender.  Let’s just take it one step at a time, here are a few offerings listed from no-brainer to a little more advanced.

One of the most popular summer cocktails I’ve ever served from behind my bar happened almost by accident, I was looking for ways to serve a new bottle of Square One Organic Cucumber vodka when it dawned on me to serve it chilled with sparkling white wine.  As simple as it is, just chill (1 1/2 oz.) in a mixing tin or really whatever kind of glass you have laying around and strain into a champaign or white wine glass and fill with a dry sparkling white.  Simple.  Clean.  Refreshing.  The cucumber doesn’t overpower the sparkling(use a crisp dry brute) but instead strikes a fine balance that plays off the heavier notes of the sparkling that creates a perfect cocktail for entertaining.  To add some flair simply slice cucumber wheels with a slit to the middle and attach to the top of the glass.

St. Germain elderflower cordial pairs with most sparkling whites in the exact same way and amounts, makes a great compliment to fresh fruit and cheese.

The capirinha has gained in popularity the past few years, and being a truly spectacular and relitivively easy cocktail to make I just wanted to get the record straight on how to make it because cutting corners actually does change the taste and quality.  After wedging a lime (1/6 length wise), add 2 wedges to a medium size glass of about 12 oz. or so.  Next add 1 1/2 tablespoons of REAL SUGAR, as the granulated texture of the drink is said to represent the Brazilian sand in this beachy cocktail.  Simply add 1 oz. of soda water and muddle, and in absence of a proper muddler any blunt object like a small wooden spoon or something to that effect, as your muddling you want to create a good mash of lime wedge and sugar to “work up” the signature flavor.  Fill the glass with ice and add cachaca and shake.

For a caparoska substitute your favorite vodka for cachaca, feel free to play around with different flavors if your adventurous!

For a mojito add 5-6 medium size mint leaves and substitute a silver rum for cachaca and top off with soda water, the real sugar makes a much more enjoyable and authentic cocktail than those made with simple syrup.  So even if all the sugar isn’t dissolved into solution don’t sweat it.  For a little more adventurous mojito add fresh strawberries when muddling and top off with sparkling white wine.

       During the first quarter of the year it seems on-premise liquor sales are still down, although, as with many other mal-affected industries, the rate of decline is slowing.  So consumers are still largely getting their drink on at home, for the better or worse.  Ok, drinking at home does have it’s advantages: 1. you don’t pay a premium for your highball of choice 2. you never get cut off 3. you don’t have to tip the bartender 4. your bar’s always open and you don’t have to wait for a drink!  

        Some of the industry heavy hitters have already made moves to capitalize on the spirited frugality movement offering a vast array of new home bar offerings, some of which leaves this observer with something to be desired.  Of these new developments includes Beam’s addition of new Dekuyper flavors such as lemon drop, Alabama slammer and sex on the beach as well as launching their Sauza margarita in a box.  The current events also sparked the first addition of the Jim Beam line in nearly ten years with Red Stag, a black cherry infused bourbon, and having experience steeping bourbon with dried cherries and a cinnamon to create my dried cherry manhattan, I do wonder how this new product measures up .  With their recent purchase of Cruzan rum, it seems that Beam’s prospects aren’t all that desolate in the current conditions which may serve as a barometer for the health of the industry as a whole (let’s hope so!).  

       So the home bartender has a few more turn key cocktail options at their disposal, good for them.  Be it fair or not I am reluctant to add that I have had a number of the “turn-key cocktails” on the market, be it at a home gathering or just tailgating, and my experience is a bad one almost 100% of the time.  The majority of them are laden with sugar and have a distinctive artificial taste, not to mention WICKED hangovers even hours after consuming these beverages.  To be fair, the slew of new offerings may be exceptional beyond belief and may satisfy even the most discerning palate, but this blogger remains skeptical.  

       To the home bartender I wish you the best of luck mulling over your new options, and I promise advise and DIY tips are soon to come!  I’m just a simple bartender myself and have also forgone going out for my drinks a bit as well due to current events, so I am in the same boat anticipating my return to the bar scene with the rest of the country.  I have on good information that a viable alternative is on the horizon, but until then we are all left to our own devices.  I do look forward to the mass migration back to on-premise cocktail bliss, but until then we will step up our efforts with some helpful advise….so stay with us and we’ll make it through with our palates in tact!  

It’s been about 2 and a half years since I first heard the idea, and roughly 14 months since my involvement.  So here I am,about to move myself out to California and approach the final lap of the nascency that is and will become infuZHUNS.  The cocktail industry is and has been changing over the past 10 years for the better.  An entire shift in the way we view cocktails and their applications creates a NECESSITY, and from that comes innovative ideas on how we approach craft cocktail protocol and it’s limitations.  All the nooks and crevices of the modern cocktail industry is why we are  here doing what we’re doing, infuZHUNS is here to fill in the gaps and streamline mixology.  This blog is here to chronicle the process.

Despite the slowdown in on-premise consumption, premiumization rose 4% in the last quarter in 2008 with vodka leading the way with 16% growth.  Other premium spirits to experience growth were super-premium tequila at 11.3%, and premium rums at 8.4%  The data indicates that despite the downturn on on-premise sales, super-premium consumption at the bars and restaurants has risen which is advantageous for the release of the infuZHUNS line, since the premium cocktail mixer is designed to pair with super-premium spirits.