beakerandflask.com Blog

I’ve been a bit hesitant to post much in the way of recipes or drink ideas I have that will find their way on to the menu at Beaker & Flask. The thought process being, I was not really bartending anywhere where my drinks were being featured and well, I’m not really concerned so much about receiving the credit as much as not looking like a copycat should someone use something I may have posted. I’m generally quite open about giving away recipes and I think it’s the proper way to go about it. Things have changed recently, though, and now that I’m in charge of the cocktail list at Clyde Common, I feel I can post about some things I’ve been working on.
I’ve had the words “watermelon” and “quinine” written in my notebook for a while now, with the desire to pair these two flavors together. It’s not really watermelon season here in the Northwest just yet (we get amazing melons out of Hermiston, OR), but with the recent 4th of July holiday and the sublime Oregon summer weather we have been enjoying, I felt the time was right to experiment with this idea.
My idea was to go as neutral as possible with the spirit and just see how the two flavors worked together so I chose vodka as my base. I cut up a baby watermelon and infused it in 100 proof vodka for about four days. I then strained the vodka and took the left over melon and combined it with a cut up fresh melon, a few pinches of salt and fresh cracked pepper and pureed the whole mess in my blender. I started making my own tonic water a few years ago, which is basically a syrup that I combine with soda water to make the tonic, so I used this to get the quinine flavor in the drink.

The basic recipe is as follows:

2 oz. watermelon vodka
1/2 oz. tonic syrup
1 oz. watermelon puree
build over ice and top with soda water. Turn it over into a metal shaker and then serve in your favorite rocks glass.

The combination of flavors was exactly what I’d hoped for, refreshing and clean, and honestly a better use for the tonic than a standard G & T. I’ve put this drink on the menu at Clyde Common and called it The English Picnic. Upon further review, I tried out the drink using a blanco tequila instead of the watermelon vodka and I think I like this version better. Which is great, because then I don’t have to infuse the spirit at all. I have a bunch of the flavored vodka so I’ll run with that for now, but I think I’ll be changing it over to the tequila version as soon as that is gone. If you are interested in my tonic recipe, I’ll post that below. It’s actually very easy to make and it beats the hell out of commercial tonic waters.

Tonic Recipe #5
4 cups water
3 cups unrefined pure cane sugar
6 tablespoons powdered citric acid
3 tablespoons quinine (cinchona bark)
3 limes
3 stalks of lemongrass (chopped)
1/2 cup juniper berries

Boil the sugar and water to dissolve, making a syrup, reduce heat
zest the limes in to the syrup
squeeze the limes and add the juice to the syrup
add the lemongrass
grind up the juniper berries and add
add the acid and the quinine, stir and then turn up the heat and bring it all to a rolling boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour.
Then I’ll strain the mixture into a large jar to get out the large particles. Put the jar in the fridge overnight and then gently pour off the syrup. The mass of quinine should sit pretty solidly in the bottom of the jar. There you have it. Just combine about 2 oz. of gin with 1 oz. of syrup over ice, squeeze in a fresh lime wedge and top with soda.
I have done many variations on this recipe, some work, some don’t. You can add other spices to create different tonics that work well with other liquors.

There are two stories I like to tell when people ask me about my philosophy of bartending. They both took place early on in my career and they have shaped everything I have been about since.
When I was brand new to the profession, I was filling in one night on a busy Friday night at Wildwood Restaurant and found myself knee deep in the weeds of the service well, doing all I could to maintain my sanity. An order came in for a 1977 Dow’s Vintage Port, which I pulled from the shelf and poured into the glass, finishing the bottle (think about it), which I deposited in to the recycle bin and then moved on with my work. Now, those of you who have ever done what I had just done, probably know the outcome of this story. Vintage port, especially an old one like that, develop a whole mess of sediment as they age and the last pour of the bottle usually contains all of it. The manager of the restaurant soon came back to the bar with the almost empty glass that looked a little like someone had rid themselves of their last dip of Copenhagen in the bottom of it. The manager scolded me pretty severely and then let me get back to work. At the end of my shift, he discussed the matter and explained a few things about the world of vintage ports and pointed me in the direction I might take to learn a little more. I took him up on that offer and then proceeded to go a few steps further. My lesson for the night: Always know what you are pouring.
The second story also took place at Wildwood. I was again working the service bar and a young guy ordered a rum and coke. I made the drink, in the process finishing the bottle of Bacardi just short of a full pour. I was busy so I figured he wouldn’t notice if I just added a little extra coke and sent him on his way. About five minutes later, I notice him talking to the other, more experienced, bartender complaining about the weakness of his drink. The other bartender walks over to my well and pulls the empty (mistake number 2) bottle from my well to add some more to the man’s drink. I was busted right there as I obviously gave the guy a short pour. Lesson number two: Never take shortcuts!
Why am I telling you this? Well the manager that I spoke of in story number one turned out to be something of a mentor over those years at Wildwood. His professionalism and class were guiding principles for me as I found my way behind the bar. Over the years we became good friends and eventually peers and I always looked to him for an example of “the right way to do things.” His name is Randy Goodman and after all this time, he and his wife Nancy have finally opened their own place. It’s called Bar Avignon and it’s located over on SE Division. I was invited to the opening party and it looks as though they have captured exactly what they are all about. If you appreciate fine Alsatian wines, good food and a welcoming neighborhood vibe, I’d go check the place out. I’m sure he has no recollection of that fateful night back in 1995, but the impact on my career will never be forgotten.