Master of Simplicity With the Gold Rush Cocktail
With the advent of modern mixology, I understand why many people tend to find cocktails too complex and too difficult to reproduce at home. Between infusions and transfusions, smoke and mirrors, several different changes of the emperor’s costumes, ice cubes carved from gems inexplicably ready to stick in your eye if you take a sip … who can blame them?
Very often the complex is mixed with the sublime. I’m not here to be the ultimate arbiter of cocktail culture, but when it comes to their preparation and consumption, my personal philosophy does distinguish between ostentatious spectacle and thoughtful craftsmanship, the latter of which shouldn’t necessarily be misleading.
To be clear, I am not judging any of you who love pomp and flamboyance. (The circus seems funny after all.) But I don’t want those of you at home to think that you have to start insisting on expensive bottles of rosemary gin or buying all the bitters available to make a good drink. Houses. More often than not, what separates a cocktail “just fine” from “really good” has more to do with a little knowledge and attention than elaborate decoration.
So, in the spirit of the new school season and in a sharp departure from my usual column, this week we’re going to cover some of the basics.
Respect tradition (and then abandon it)
Almost every cocktail you come across belongs to the cocktail “family.” Think of it as templates, equations for elegant drinking solutions, or a real family tree with multiplying expanding branches.
I chose Unconventional Sour (or NTS) this week because it is a large, fundamental branch of the pre-banned cocktail tree. It’s very simple too. Formula:
2 ounces of rubbing alcohol + ¾ ounces of lemon juice + ¾ ounces of modifier = unconventional sourness
“Spirit” refers to your booze-booze, lemon juice (always fresh, please don’t break my heart) provides acidity, and your modifier – the most classic simple syrup of 1: 1 sugar and water – provides sweetness and balance. but also helps to bring out and / or suggest depth of scent.
The most standard NTS is 2 ounces of gin, 30 ounces of lemon juice, and 30 grams of plain juice, whipped and served in a compartment (some variations, such as this week’s cocktail, are better shaken and poured onto ice). Add egg white, you have the traditional sour. Add soda and serve high and you have Collins. Add egg white and baking soda for a pop. The stroller is essentially a drier NTS with a Cointreau set modifier. Combine the fruit in a glass and serve over ice and you have a solution. Substitute 30 grams of lemon juice for 30 grams of lime juice and you have Gimlet (a sister branch of Sour).
Start with the basics (and then level up)
Gold Rush is a great example of the simple yet effective creativity that can be achieved within the NTS settings. Formula:
2 ounces of bourbon + ounces of lemon juice + ounces of honey syrup * = intense and soothing delight
It is also the forerunner of its even more famous offshoot, penicillin, which itself has become an often rhymed pattern:
Make the base:
1 ¾ ounce Scotch tape + ¼ ounce Islay Scotch (floats on top) = 2 ounces alcohol base
Then your modifier:
Ounces of honey syrup + ounces of sweetened ginger juice = ounces of modifier
Then add it all together:
All of the above + ounces of lemon juice = a smoky ginger option that can almost be convinced to be healing.
(For honey syrup: mix 3 parts honey with 1 part hot water. Stir well.)
Now that you know the formula, you can start spreading the home bartender’s wings. Try rye instead of bourbon, or split your base 1: 1 with calvados or apple juice. Add some Angostura. Use a different syrup or use liqueur instead of syrup. You may prefer a higher strength whiskey to compensate for the honey. Maybe you have blackberries that you could stir and add. You know, have fun with it.
Tips for unsuccessful success:
Use a jigger: or some measuring tool. No free pouring, no eyeballs, no honky tonka. There is precision in making a good cocktail, and you cannot be sure that the wings will be accurate.
Refresh your ice: If you’ve been using freezer chips, consider purchasing large square ice cube trays. Either freeze a chunk of ice in Tupperware and cut it open using protective gloves and a serrated knife (you can buy both at the dollar store), or simply chop off large chunks with an ice pick (but this is a shorter, less homogeneous affair).
Shake it however you want: If you are not pouring the drink on crushed ice, shake the shaker as if you are trying to recreate a big bang, rather than shaking it to sleep like a child – say, for 14-16 seconds. If pouring on ice or Collins style, shake it for no more than 8 seconds.
Utensils: Cool this shit.
Juice: Lemon and lime juice should always be fresh. Is always.
A flavor of balance: keep extra juice and some simple syrup on hand. After pouring the cocktail into a glass, try to balance it. Sometimes the citrus is very sour, the syrup is a little sweet, or maybe the pouring was a little weak. In any case, all is not lost: a teaspoon of simple syrup or a little juice can restore this balance.