Mixology 101

A glass of delightfulness, compliments of Bradstreet Crafthouse Restaurant

Tuesday evening, I attended a mixology seminar at Bradstreet Crafthouse Restaurant in Minneapolis.  For those who have not visited Bradstreet, it is something special, a big-city bartender-y oasis here in our little hamlet.  And what fun it was. . . on the tasting menu were four classic cocktails - Gimlet, Dark and Stormy, Margarita, and Old Fashioned, which had been stripped down to their chassis and rebuilt with house-made bitters, syrups and pristine fresh juices per the cocktail stylings of our hosts: Toby Maloney and Jason Cott of Alchemy Consulting.

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Mojito Madness!

The beginnings of a Mojito Jelly Shot

Summer,  won't you stay a while longer?  JSTK is pulling out all the stops to keep the seasonal change at bay.  When we met last night to formulate new varieties for the test plates, Mojito was at the top of our list.  Consider it our version of an anti-rain/sleet/snow dance . . . 

Also attempted, the daiquiri  . . . in strawberry and banana.  Fresh fruit, we concluded, was a must. Strawberry has some potential.   Banana may be a bit tricky, due to a distinct translation issue.  Bananas were pureed, strained, and combined with the ingredients and proportions of a classic daiquiri (per author and Master Mixologist Dale DeGroff, aka "The Man" of  all things cocktail).  In a glass, blended with ice . . . gorgeous.  Gelatinized, however, nothing short of a Horror Show!  Back to the drawing board we go for a reformulation of the banana daiquiri . . . 

Speaking of Horror Shows, we are working on a jelly shot treatment for Halloween!  In the shape of EYEBALLS!  (Tester #5, this one's for you . . .)

Cheers, JSTK

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