EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
Fall is my favorite time to be a New Yorker and this year is no exception: it is chock full of a lot of the things that I like, and is, in my experience, a feast for the senses: bright, crisp sunlight illuminates everything just so, providing a foil to the crisp, bracing, cool air. Brilliantly colored leaves litter the streets like confetti, and are tossed about, jubilantly, by gusts of cool air. I would be remiss if I didn't mention other myriad expressions of the bounty of fall: there are an explosion of cultural offerings, as museums, theaters, film studios and music venues mount productions and exhibitions to entertain us as we move collectively indoors. It goes without saying that fashion rules right now, as the cooler temperatures prompt people to layer, warm, cozy, durable fabrics and materials, and to smarten up overall as the ease and casualness of summer fades into memory. If the sights and sounds weren't enough, fall is the time when the flavor dial gets kicked up a notch: holiday gatherings and feasts of many stripes abound. Stoves, once dormant in the summer heat, are brought back from their hiatus, and as the weather makes staying inside an attractive alternative to going out, folks are baking breads and cookies, roasting roots vegetables and indulging in comfort foods like mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and meatloaf. So many things look, feel, smell and taste delightful right now, which is super inspiring as I cook up new ideas behind the bar and a little daunting as I think of ways to create something that conveys as well as enhances the spirit of the time. For me, a compelling experience, in the glass or otherwise, involves an element of the unexpected, and this is no more exciting than when it is applied to a classic or common idea: the question I come to, again and again, is: what can be done to imbue the everyday with a sense of something special? How can you stay true to a basic idea, while pushing forward and expanding on it, to strike a balance between the familiar and new? Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with The Noble Experiment's Owney's NYC Original Rum. I'm my first tastings, I was struck by it's grassy notes, full, big mouthfeel, and the smokey edge on the finish. I wasn't familiar with white rums that tasted like this and was initially reluctant to put it into the rum cocktails that folks typically ask for - mojitos, caprahiña, daiquiris, for fear that it's uniqueness might fail to make the translastion: I cannot stress enough that Owney's is truly special among rums, and it's proper use in a mixed drink demands that this come across. I found myself having that age old conundrum of being in love while not knowing if I was up to the task of impressing the object of my affection. I was struggling to find a place for the funkiness and the smoke in a rum drink whose appearance might not initially broadcast what was afoot in the glass. Little did I know at the time, this "funkiness" is the key to what makes Owney's so special and is an indication of the craft and quality found in each hand labeled bottle. On meeting Owney's distiller and proprietor, Bridget Firtle, I learned that her rum has more in common with agricole or "hogo" rums exemplified by Rum J.M., Niesson, or Wray and Nephew: it is made from unprocessed molasses (agricoles use fresh pressed cane juice) and distilled by hand in small stills, utilizing a method of batch selection and craft akin to that applied to the production brandy and cognac. My favorite thing about the aesthetic guiding the production of Owney's is it's basis is in terroir when compared to more widely distributed and familiar rums: the molasses is made from domestic cane grown organiclly, the water is straight from the NYC taps, and the botanicals utilized in the new line of jnfused liquors are grown in Firtle's back yard. What you get is a product based in a type austerity that highlights the painstaking nature of the craft behind it - and for this, it deserves close scrutiny by any bartender who wants to bring real character to their drinks. After trying out a few agricole rums and coming away with the impression that they are best on the rocks or even neat, I set out to make some drinks around Owney's that reflected it's stylistic connection to rhum agricole, and started off with some the oldest rum drinks I could find on record. I served a few brave souls my rendition of T'Punch: "think of it as a rum old fashioned" I offered to skeptics, as I muddled lime wedges and simple syrup, hoping the familiar motions would convince them. Many, unaccustomed to rum served up in a way that highlights it's richer, deeper flavors, we're taken by surprise, for some not good but not bad, either. I worked at a bar that mixed it into a Hemingway variation, and it was one of the best selling drinks on the menu. Further experimentation revealed that it makes excellent mojidos and caprahinas, and, most surprisingly of all, a delicious and intriguing Knickerbocker, a classic that was among the most popular cocktails in mid 19th century New York City. It was this drink that completely sold me on Owney's, in part because it shows that the distiller succeeded in crafting a spirit that is inspired by New York, and proves it amply by the way it expresses the character of the drinks that are a product of it's rich and diverse cultures, history, and collective experience. "Knickerbocker" was mid 19th century slang for a New Yorker, and is the name of a thoroughfare in modern day Bushwhick, where Owney's is distilled - the drink, to me, has a connection to it's surroundings, which is fun to contemplate as I think about mixing other drinks. Jerry Thomas' recipe specifies Santana Cruz rum, others do not. I have made this drink (with excellent results) Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago rums, and these might be considered more authentic or classic. Still, the one I mixed with Owney's was the most compelling: it's enigmatic grit and depth belies it's bright, brilliant, ruby like color and the citrus and fruit make it dangerously easy to drink down. Traditionally served as a summer cocktail, I love it for this time of year as it plays of fall colors and makes a striking statement on any holiday table or sidebar, and yes, it can be made into an excellent punch as well: to serve about 15, mix a bottle of rum with 3 parts each of the combined equivalent volume of fresh squeezed lime juice, curaçao or a bitter orange liqueur, and raspberry syrup or cordial (I use Creme De Yvette). THE KNICKERBOCKER 1 3/4 oz dark rum* 3/4 oz raspberry syrup 3/4 oz curaçao 3/4 oz lime juice Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake and fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. If desired, garnish with fresh raspberries or an orange twist.