#bobby gin

[tastatast]

Bobby Gin

La ginebra és molt més que un Gintònic i hi ha llocs a Barcelona que volen sortir de la fórmula més reclamada. Esperàvem més ambient i una posada en escena de més qualitat però l’atenció va ser més que correcta i agraïm la seva petita oferta culinària.

[philippegbois]

See Barcelona in 7 Gin & Tonic

See Barcelona in 7 Gin & Tonic | @ColmadoBCN @BobbyGinBCN @DryMartiniJDLM OldFashionedBCN @Fentimans @Schweppes

On a recent trip to Barcelona I wanted to take my drinking sensibilities somewhere different. Typically while traveling I like to seek out the best bars for cocktails or whatever the region is known for. Once I hit Barcelona I dedicated my palate to the refreshing cocktail that reigns supreme throughout Spain, the Gin & Tonic. This article will not talk about the long history of gin and the…

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[foodandbooksbcn]

Cata de Agaves + La belleza cautiva

"Si me fuera posible hacer un resumen y una definición brillante, la habría hecho, en lugar de escribir 400 páginas de prosa casi ininteligible" Juan Benet

Ahoy nerds!

Sí, lo se, la cita que os he puesto es un poco rara, pero tiene su lógica (a parte de que es jodidamente brillante), las cosas se pueden hacer simples o se pueden hacer bien. El viernes enredé a un amigo para que me acompañara a una cata/maridaje de los tequilas de Herradura en el Magatzem Escolà. La clase la daba Alberto Pizarro, un chico joven que suele trabajar en el Bobby Gin (otro día hablaremos de este bar maravilloso) y se nos descubrió como un experto en destilados. Hoy voy a intentar explicaros al menos una parte de lo que el nos contó.

El tequila se produce a partir de una planta llamada agave, que tarda de 7 a 10 años en madurar y están siempre atendidos por un experto llamado el jimador. El primer tequila que catamos fue el blanco (con solo 45 días de maduración en barricas de roble americano; en nariz daba notas de azahar, heno y un toque de vainilla. El paso en boca era untuoso (después del primer trago de fuego puro que a mi siempre da un tequila, por bueno que sea), con notas de mantequilla, jazmín y algo de bergamota.  Lo más curioso de esta experiencia, fue el maridaje, lo juntamos con pera que se unía muy bien con la melosidad del tequila, pero acababa con demasiada amargor por la piel), lichy (como siempre, una explosión de sabor que sacaba a relucir todos los puntos florales del tequila) y mango (que desataba un dulzor que apagaba toda acidez posible).

Tras la primera copa ya no volví a tener ese sentimiento de ardor, la saturación por alcohol existe señores míos. Los destilados normalmente se hacen con la fermentación de los azucares, pero el agave no tiene nada de azúcar, tiene almidón, para conseguir transformarlo hay que hervirlo durante muuuuuucho tiempo, si quieres uno bueno. Con esta presentación nos llevaron al tequila reposado (11 meses de barrica); con olor a miel de romero y alguna nota de frutas exóticas, como piña. En boca parecía aceite puro, mucho más que el anterior, con un punto más picante y dulce. Lo mezclamos con manzana (que a mi me desagrado bastante, demasiado amargo) y frutos rojos (que se comía el sabor de todo el tequila, aunque sacaba un retrogusto de lavanda y violeta maravilloso).

Después de la segunda copa me perdí el resto de la explicación, mucho alcohol en el cuerpo y discusiones en las notas de cata. El siguiente vaso que se nos plantó en la mesa fue el encantador añejo (2 años de barrica); esta preciosidad era todo avellanas y ambar (sí, huelo colores, todos tenemos nuestros defectillos) y parecía puro jengibre, un sabor muy complejo, larguísimo postgusto y de apariencia menos alcoholica. Lo combinamos con orejón (que lo volvió más picante, aunque compartían la presencia en boca), nuez de macadamia (que lo volvía mucho más dulce) y higos ( transforman el tequila en toffee y praliné).

¡Pero aquí no se acabo la fiesta! El encantador barman nos preparó tres cocktails maravillosos, normalmente no soy de bebidas mezcladas, mi querida madre me enseño bien que los alcoholes se beben solos, pero hay que admitir que no estaban nada mal. Un Tomas Margarita, que se prepara con sirope de agave en lugar del azúcar, como todas las grandes recetas viene de un error, un ingrediente de menos en la cocina. El Paloma, con lima, sirope de pomelo y sirope especiado y un punto de sifon, en coctelera. Y un bonito Old fashion, con su bitter, azúcar y el precioso tequila añejo.

Para el tema cultural no me alargaré mucho, comprendo que ya debéis estar un poco cansados de mi, pero si estáis por Barna, aseguraos de pasar por la exposición del CaixaForum, Bellesa captiva, merece taaaanto la pena este recorrido por los cuadros más pequeños (en tamaño, que no en grandeza) del prado.

Hoy no os voy a molestar más niños, sé que os he contado un rollo un poco demasiado largo pero espero que os haya gustado aun así. Salid y bebed tequila, pero hacedlo bien, merece la pena el gasto.

P.S.: Las fotos son facadas del facebook de Magatzem Escolà i el cartel es el del caixaforum. 

[deliciousaugusta-blog]

I ♥ BCN Food - Tolle Stadt mit einem genialen kulinarischem Angebot

Ich war ein paar Tage in Barcelona. Zum ersten Mal. Und ich frage mich, warum ich dort nicht schon früher war. Diese Stadt bietet wirklich die perfekte Mischung aus einem spannenden, schicken und lässigen urbanen Leben mit guten Essen und interessanten kulinarischen Konzepten sowie netten Stränden mit glasklarem Meer. 

Ich habe allein vier Mercados besucht, natürlich den an den Ramblas und noch einen Grazias, in Barceloneta und in Eixample. Meine Freunde, die mit mir gereist sind, habe ich durch gefühlt 30 Fischstände geschleppt und sie mussten sich meine begeisterten Ausführungen über das Gemüse und das ganze reife Obst anhören. Mein Kumpel Ben meinte dazu: Was für mich der Apple Store ist, ist für Susanne eben so ein Markt, wir lassen sie jetzt mal in Ruhe! Danke dafür. 

Was ich auch noch mitgebracht habe sind einige Flaschen Olivenöl. Damit werde ich in den nächsten Woche tolle Sachen machen. Seid gespannt. 

Ach ja und wer einen Ausflug nach Barcelona planen will und nach einem wirklich tollen und zentralen Hotel sucht, dem empfehle ich die Praktik Bakery in Eixample. Ein ganz neues Designhotel. Das Beste ist aber die Bäckerei im Erdgeschoss, die Baluard Bäckerei mit dem besten Brot - mit Trockenfrüchten u.a. mit Erdbeeren - in ganz Barcelona. Ich rate auch dazu das Frühstück für 7 Euro pro Person zu probieren, denn dann kann man sich einmal quer durch die Brotpallette essen. Himmlisch! 

Und noch etwas, Barcelona steht momentan total auf Gin Tonic. Und die cooleste und beste Bar für Gin Tonic ist definitiv BOBBY GIN in Grazias. Dort mixt man in den Gin Tonic Gewürze und Kräuter. Total abgefahren und lecker! 

[trendybarcelona]

Tip: Tantos #gintonics como te imagines :) Elaborados a consciencia y servidos con simpatía @bobbygin

[whistlerchicago]

Cocktails in Barcelona and Madrid

I just got back from a trip to Barcelona and Madrid, Spain.  Great soccer, food, architecture, visual art, and guess what…cocktails.  After my trip to Barcelona three years ago, a town that I fell in love with, but found to be quite thin on cocktail offerings, it was a nice surprise to see the explosion of cocktail bars and interest in their wares.

Also a great treat was to see the close-knit community of bartenders in Spain, something I have come to greatly appreciate in the community stateside.  It was this community that immediately took me in, and was responsible for my word-of-mouth tour of bars.

The first evening of my trip brought me a bit tired, but terribly excited, to the event which precipitated my trip: El Classico, a match up between arch rivals, and arguably the current best two soccer teams on the planet, Barcelona and Real Madrid, at Barcelona’s famous stadium, Camp Nou.  Energized by the crowd of 100,000 plus, and the victory of my beloved Blau-Grana, I was prompted to eschew the jet-lag and to head for the one bar I had identified before leaving Chicago, The Adrià brothers’ (of El Bulli fame) new cocktail bar, 41°.  My trepidation heading into this bar, created as much or more by my disheveled appearance and exhaustion, as by the reputations of the owners, was quickly replaced by a welcome comfortable feeling, one which I would pleasantly find to be the theme of my bar visits.   Each barkeep provided great conversation, well-crafted drinks, and excitement in making recommendations for the next bar in my tour.  From the starting point of this one bar, I found myself with a healthy list of bars and their tenders, scrawled on the backs of their assorted coasters and napkins.  With the help of these informal notes, I will attempt to relate the highlights in rough order of my discovery:

  41°, Barcelona: As already mentioned, Alex, Juan, Juan and Eva did and amazing job shepherding me into the Barcelona Community.  The ‘Cuidad Deus,’ a swizzle consisting of carob nib infused Cachaca, lime, angostura and cardamom tincture, over crushed ice made from coffee, garnished with nutmeg was a highlight. In addition to introducing me to a number of other spots for drinks, the crew got me into a seat the next night right in front of the kitchen at the Adrià’s adjoining Tapas bar, Tickets, for an amazing meal. Exploding olives and air baguettes!

Bobby Gin, Barcelona: Alberto, who I happened to meet on the other side of the bar at 41°, runs the drink program here which features… go figure… gin.  Gin is the fastest growing, most popular spirit in Spain, and as such Bobby Gin carries more than 100 brands.  But Alberto doesn’t stop there.  He tasted me on an endless collection of house infusions and blends of gin, many of which merited sipping and enjoying neat.  The Maraschino infused gin was awesome and begged for inclusion in a dry variation of a Martinez.  Interestingly enough, the other standout was not gin, but a house spiced rum made through the process of fat washing (releasing the essences of spices in butter, adding the butter to rum, and then freezing, which allows you to separate out the butter, leaving the spices in the rum).  Right now, Alberto is so excited to create these elixirs, he prefers to provide samples to those who are interested, rather than to include them in his impressive cocktails, but I can’t wait to hear of news of them in his mixed creations.

The Boca Chica, Barcelona: Roberto and Bibi were working tonight, and I had a really nice, classically prepared Old Fashioned, with a heart warming use of rum.  Roberto also made me a fun combination of Chambord, tequila and citrus.  He was enjoying himself during this slow, last hour of service, practicing his “throwing technique” and treating myself and the other group of guests to his experiments.

Ohla, Barcelona: Italian transplants, Giuseppe and Max, warmly received me in this cozy bar.  I tried their Old Fashioned as well, which also contained rum, in addition to bourbon and cognac, but was prepared in a non-traditional style: the drink was individually smoked bar-side.  At first sight, this preparation seemed like it might just be a visual gimmick, but upon one taste, it was clear that this made for one hell of an Old Fashioned, the smoke quite present and a perfect way to meld the characters of three base spirits.  You can see an over the top video of this drink's preparation on Max's blog.  When I exclaimed how great this drink was, the guys suggested that maybe I should spend a longer time drinking it!  By no means did I want to guzzle the drink, but it was so good, and I didn’t want to overstay my welcome as the guys were closing down for the night and gracious enough to let me hang around.  They didn’t let me leave, of course, without a recommendation of their own.  On a whim, I had decided to take the high-speed train to Madrid to visit the Prado and Reina Sofia museums to take in some world-class visual art.  With this in mind, they sent me to Le Cabrera in Madrid.

Le Cabrera, Madrid: Mike was so excited to receive me here, inviting me behind the bar, into the inner works, and even escorting me around the corner to the construction site of a new experimental cocktail project housed in an apartment.  I had my favorite scotch sour variation at Le Cabrera, which I was very happy to encounter here, as in a few other bars on this trip.  I have been really into making scotch sour variations while entertaining at home, and have been impatient to include one at The Whistler, so it was neat to see its popularity among bartenders in Spain.  This variation included honey, ginger and… Genever!  As we have just created a cocktail that combines gin with whisk(e)y too, The Odd Couple, I was happy to share our recipe with Mike for a section of their menu, which includes cocktails from bars around the world.  I’m excited to see if we find a place along side one of my favorite drinks from Beta Cocktails’ and Cure's Kirk Estopinal, The Pimm’s Up.  What a blast to flip open a menu in a small, DIY neighborhood bar in Madrid, and discover a drink you had and loved in a small DIY neighborhood bar in New Orleans.

Mutis, Barcelona: I list this bar out of order, so as not to give away the barkeep that called ahead, securing me entrance into this speakeasy.  Mutis is a true speak easy, complete with the necessity of an invitation, a flamboyant Maitre-D, a five-seat bar, a small band playing American lounge classics, and a location completely out of sight in a second floor apartment of an otherwise operational residential building. Despite what may sound like a stuffy environment, Mutis was anything but, with folks from all different walks of life (again, my disheveled appearance) relaxing in comfy chairs by candle-light, dancing wherever they might find space, and chatting with the bartenders, who even found themselves leading the clap-a-longs with the band.  Along with the requisite bar/bartender recommendations, and warm invite back, Jordi introduced me to his version of a great classic that includes cognac and orgeat, Jerry Thomas’ Japanese Cocktail.

?, Barcelona: Lest one might think I only visited cocktail bars, I mention this unlicensed venue/bar (?) that most closely resembles my bands’ (relay beken) favorite place to perform in Chicago, Ball Hall.  I can’t tell you the name of this spot – it didn’t have one – or even the address – I stumbled upon it while exploring the winding alleys of the gothic quarter late one night.  I find it often pays to take a chance and to investigate the source of young people drinking cheap beer in the street, and this time was no exception.  I ordered the only beverage I saw coming from the makeshift bar with my limited Spanish, “cerveza,” and headed into the basement where I found a packed room of young locals. They were enjoying and participating in live folk music, sharing conversation, and some sort of homemade liquor from unlabeled water bottles.  This liquor, I learned from asking, “what is this?” of a neighbor who spoke “a little” English, was “Greek moonshine”.  The drink and the music being played fit, as “this” was a celebration of “Greek night” to fund an upcoming art exhibition.  While I thought this moonshine might resemble ouzo, I was pleasantly surprised upon accepting a small taste, to discover that while it contained a hint of anise, it was quite mellow and possessed a funky characteristic I enjoy in Genever or rhum agricole.  You can see rough video of the basement here, as it is the best way to convey the scene.

My tour of the bar community, was heart-warming and full of inspiration… and I haven’t even mentioned the numerous stand-up tapas and in-market bars that provided my go-to locals for lunchtime! 

I can’t wait to use it as a jumping off point for some new stuff at The Whistler.  If looking for cocktail bar recommendations in Barcelona, while I encourage you to use my list as a start , it is for the most part, unnecessary.  Just head to any one of these spots, and let the gracious, friendly person behind the stick prepare you a drink while suggesting your next stop.

— Robert Brenner

[whatzandidnext]

best gin y tonicas... with rooibos or extra lime or strawberries or just plain old-fashioned... bobby gin

zan's bcn black book