Red Ant
From Thomas Waugh, Death & Co., NYC

• 1 1/2 oz. rye whiskey (Rittenhouse bonded; failing that, Wild Turkey 101)
• 1/2 oz. kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz. Cherry Heering
• 1 barspoon mezcal (Chichicapa if you got it)
• 2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
• –3 cherries skewered on a pick, as garnish. Sneer all you like, but it looks like an ant; besides, I’m still kind of a sucker for Toschi Amarena

Stir well with ice & strain into chilled coupe. Stick that cherry ant in there and shut up for a while about the damn cherries.

Excellent, excellent drink — but there’s an accidental variation on this drink that I also like quite a bit. See, I first heard about this drink from Avery Glasser, who with his wife Janet is the mastermind behind Bittermens Bitters. Somewhere in talking about this drink with Avery, there was a mixup in the ingredients, and for a couple of weeks I was sampling this lovely drink using the wrong recipe. Thomas Waugh set me right, and the recipe above is the correct version; but, the “mistake” version also kinda rocked, so I’ll pass that along as well. Keep in mind that this alternate doesn’t include mezcal, so the whole “Red Ant” idea is out the window, as is the rationale for including this drink in a mezcal post, but hey, it’s just liquor.

via The Cocktail Chronicles » 60/30, #9, 10 & 11 – Mezcal makes the rounds.

Kahiko Punch, a concoction of Steven Liles of Smuggler’s Cove, with rum, passionfruit nectar, Hawaiian lehua honey syrup, hibiscus liqueur and cinnamon syrup and Elemakule Tiki bitters, among other tropical notes (recipe here)

via Hawai’i-themed cocktail contest: Voters, nonprofit are the winners : Hawaii Insider.(SFGate.com)

Hemingway’s Nog

Next up was my favorite of the winter cocktails, the outstanding Hemingway’s Nog: Atlantico Rum, Licor 43, crème fraiche, andBittermens ‘Elemakule Tiki Cocktail Bitters, topped with freshly grated nutmeg. It’s a rich but lighter take on the traditional holiday favorite that goes down almost too easily. If Alex ever decides to sell it by the pitcher, he’d make a killing.

via A Drinkable Feast at Hemingway’s Lounge | Thirsty in LA.

Unique Gift Ideas: Season’s New Spirits | Food & Wine.

From the December Issue of Food and Wine:

Unique Gift Ideas: Mixologist’s Favorites

© Noah Kalina.

As managing partner of New York’sPDT and deputy editor of F&W Cocktails 2010, Jim Meehan test-drives every new mixology ingredient and tool. Here, his new favorites.

AVERELL DAMSON GIN ($33)

“Damson plum gin is an English classic, but it’s often very sweet. Averell keeps the gin flavor instead of burying it in sugary fruit.”drinkupny.com.

JAPANESE-STYLE JIGGER ($11)

“These measuring tools are functional and beautiful, like Japanese jiggers, but they have US increments.” cocktailkingdom.com.

BITTERMENS XOCOLATL MOLE BITTERS ($18)

“I love this brand of chocolate bitters for tequila cocktails, but it also works well with rum and whiskey drinks.” cocktailkingdom.com.

via LOUNGERATI: What Were Drinking: Averna Amaro in Cocktails.

Tuesdays with Mole
by Damon Dyer

Where to get it: Clover Club in Brooklyn or Lani Kai in SoHo when Damon is rolling drinks and preferably on a Tuesday.

The Clover Club, one of our favorite bars in Brooklyn, had their Pedro’s Martinez chosen as one of the Tasting Table’s NYC Best Cocktails of 2010! Hit the link below and check out the other fantastic bars and cocktails on the Tasting Table list!

Pedro’s Martinez

Is the Martinez the new Manhattan? Time will tell. If so, this heady rum-and-sherry-based riff on the Jerry Thomas original–courtesy of the bar that helped make Cobble Hill one of the best cocktail crawls in Brooklyn, if not the entire city–deserves to be remembered as one of the first. Even if its name will fill every Yankees fan’s soul with hatred.

1½ ounces Ron Zacapa 23-year-old rum
¾ ounce sweet vermouth
½ ounce Pedro Ximenez sherry
2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
Ice

1 lime twist, for garnish

In a pint glass, combine the rum, vermouth, sherry and bitters. Fill with ice and stir briskly until chilled. Strain the cocktail into a chilled coupe, garnish with the lime twist and serve.

Clover Club
210 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-855-7939  http://www.cloverclubny.com

via Tasting Table New York City: Tasting Table’s Best Cocktails 2010. Copyright 2010 TDT Media Inc. doing business as Tasting Table.

The bittersweet smell of success

by Luke ONeil  |  November 15, 2010 | Stuffboston.com | Copyright © 2010 Phoenix Media Communications Group

The story behind Bittermens, the Somerville-based bitters makers, is a pretty common one in the world of small-batch producers. Avery and Janet Glasser wanted to use a product, saw an opening for it in the market, and said, “Screw it – we’ll do it ourselves.” In 2007, the couple were cocktail enthusiasts living in San Francisco when they were invited to a bitters-making class at a nearby distillery. Their first effort, a riff on the mole sauce common in Mexican cooking, was almost instantly well-received; when bars started sniffing around, they realized they had a potential business opportunity on their hands. The recipe they designed on that first try, a potent, spicy blend of cinnamon and chocolate, is essentially the same one you’ll find in their popular Xocolatl Mole Bitters today.

Wait a second though – what are bitters again? First things first: there are two kinds of bitters, potable and non-potable. The former are digestifs (like the ubiquitous bartender’s friend Fernet-Branca) that are meant to be consumed on their own. Non-potable bitters, like Bittermens and bigger brands like Angostura and Peychaud’s, are essentially liquid spices that add flavor and complexity to cocktails; they’re made by steeping herbs, barks, and citrus in high-proof neutral spirits. Since they generally have a high alcohol content and a very powerful flavor, you wouldn’t want to drink them alone (unless you were living 100 years ago, back when they thought getting drunk on stuff like this counted as taking medicine). Many classic cocktails – like the Manhattan, the Sazerac, and the Martinez – call for varying types of bitters.

“Most people who drink cocktails vaguely know what bitters are, since they are called for in many recipes. However, for the average drinker, they probably have a bottle of Angostura and that’s it,” says Janet Glasser. A product like Bittermens is designed for people who want to take at-home mixing to the next level.

While the Xocolatl Mole is still the most popular recipe, Bittermens has branched out into other flavors as well. The Grapefruit Bitters are made with grapefruit peel and hops, while the ‘Elemakule Tiki Cocktail Bitters are a bright, spicy cinnamon blend meant to be used in tiki-style cocktails. And the most recent addition, Boston Bittahs, is a citrus-heavy recipe best served in crisp, refreshing seasonal cocktails. The Glassers recommend using the Xocolatl Mole in a cocktail like the Latin Quarter, a riff on the Sazerac made with rum instead of rye. (For more imbibing inspiration, check out their website, Bittermens.com, which features a bevy of original recipes.)

Unsurprisingly, Bittermens has caught on among the mixologist crowd in Boston. “When we gave the bitters to bartenders, the reaction was very positive, and we now have bars throughout the country where they are used,” says Janet Glasser. Locally, you’ll find them being used at bars like Eastern Standard, No. 9 Park, Hungry Mother, and Drink, to name a few. The Boston Shaker (69 Holland Avenue, Somerville, 617.718.2999) carries all the bitters, as does Liquor World (13 White Street, Cambridge, 617.547.3110).

Scott Holliday of Rendezvous (502 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 617.576.1900) prefers the Xocolatl Mole bitters himself. “I find they’re a nice departure and addition from other aromatic bitters in Old Fashioneds and even Manhattans. They are nicely complex with layers of flavors, qualities that are lacking in so many of the new ‘one-note’ bitters.” He’s using them most often these days in his version of New York bar Milk & Honey’s drink Penicillin ($9), which also features Scotch, honey-ginger syrup, and Angostura bitters, with a spoonful of smoky Scotch floating on top and a squeeze of orange juice.

At Green Street (280 Green Street, Cambridge, 617.876.1655), they’ve got a cocktail called Avery’s Arrack-ari ($8.50), made with Batavia Arrack (an Indonesian “rum” distilled from sugarcane), lime juice, simple syrup, and a Talisker rinse. It’s named after Avery Glasser, who’d sit at the bar with owner Dylan Black and talk recipes. It’s not regularly made with Bittermens tiki bitters, but adding a few dashes made the citrus really pop. Green Street’s Déjà Vu in Delhi ($8) adds the tiki bitters to Old Monk rum, St. Germain, and lime juice for a surprisingly dry citrus-and-molasses blend.

“Beyond the standard bitters, we wanted to bring in some that fit in well with the rum profile of our cocktails,” Black says. “Beyond that, we’re interested in supporting people we could see face to face.” There’s nothing bitter about that.

via The bittersweet smell of success – Liquid.

The 7 Bitters Every Bar Needs - 3:30 PM / November 11, 2010 / Posted by Andrew Knowlton

Without bitters, a classic Manhattan would not be a Manhattan and an old-fashioned Martini would not be a Martini. Bitters (essentially alcohol infused with herbs and spices), all but forgotten since Prohibition, are back as part of the current cocktail renaissance. Here, some old and new favorites that deserve a place in your next cocktail.

Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters, $18

Redolent of bitter chocolate with a hint of spice, this Somerville, Massachusetts-made bitter does wonders for many tequila-, rum-, and whiskey-based cocktails. Try in a Tequila Negroni.

via The 7 Bitters Every Bar Needs: The Bon Appetit Foodist: bonappetit.com.

By Lauren Shockey – September 25, 2010

When seeking to enliven a drink, a mixologist looks no farther than his bottle of bitters. “With the addition of a single dash of bitters, I have effectively added dozens of ingredients to that cocktail,” explains Joaquin Simo, a bartender at New York City’s Death & Co. “Even better, you can add a dash of one or two bitters to a cocktail and increase that depth exponentially.” ”

Highly concentrated mixtures of alcohol and aromatics like gentian root and orange peel, bitters were originally touted as medicines before becoming popular cocktail flavorings. Angostura and Peychaud’s have long dominated the market, but now is a heady time in the small-batch bitters world, particularly for Bittermens, Inc., owned by Boston-based Avery and Janet Glasser.

Bitters can be marketed either as beverage alcohols or non-beverage alcohols. Bittermens’ used to be classified as the former, which made for difficulties dstributing the product in states with tough liquor laws. In July, the Glassers began personally producing the bitters (including a new Boston Bittahs, flavored with chamomile and citrus) as non-beverage alcohols. Thus, the bitters are now freely available for purchase online. Cocktail enthusiasts rejoice!!

via Better With Bitters – WSJ.com.

The New Frontier – September/October 2010 Issue

The craft-cocktail revival has been accompanied by a flood of new spirits and flavors, some requiring a re-imagining of bitters. While living in San Francisco in 2007, Glasser and his wife, Janet, had the idea of creating a tequila-friendly bitters for a Mexico-born bartender at Bacar restaurant. Free-associating their way toward a flavor, the Glassers settled on a style with the rich, spicy character of molé. “I combined classic bitter theory with new flavors,” Avery says. “Classic bitters have cinchona and angelica and gentian, which are standard European digestive bitters components; but we also used Mexican-style cacao, Mexican cinnamon and hot pepper. I don’t think anyone’s used hot pepper flakes in a classic bitters recipe.”

While developing what became Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters, the Glassers became part of a growing number of producers who are creating new styles.

…

This summer, the Glassers introduced two new styles of Bittermens Bitters: a citrus- and ginger-accented Elemakule Tiki Bitters made for tropical-style rum cocktails; and Boston Bittahs, flavored with citrus and chamomile and designed to work with gin.

via Cocktail Bitters – Imbibe Magazine.