Guerrilla Cocktails
I think classically crafted cocktails are too often becoming synonymous with specialized equipment and/or obscure or one-of-a-kind handmade ingredients. Somewhere between the extremes of the slam ‘em back meat market clubs, shot-and-a-beer joints, and the high-end, big city bailiwicks of the bar chef and whiz-bang mixologist are the local watering holes that just want you to enjoy a nice drink, some decent chow, and a friendly good time. These are the places in our neck of the woods and extended travels that my wife and I go to most often. (Before I go on, please allow me to introduce my dear bride of 38 years, Ann. She’ll be coming along for many of these guerrilla cocktail skirmishes, so you may as well get to know her, too.)
For my own pallet-pleasing defense, I have developed a little trick for ordering alternatives to most cocktail menus. When Ann and I go into a restaurant, our preferred choice is to sit at the bar. The treatise on why we do so will have to wait, suffice it to say for now, this gives us a fairly full view of the available resources on the back bar. From the moment we sit down, we’re scanning those resources to see what’s available. From this flavor palette, I will either order a classic drink, a variation or adaptation of a classic drink, or spontaneously create something new.
I am “formalizing” this technique, which I now refer to as Guerrilla Cocktails. What I have come to realize is that I was merely applying one of the archetypal formulas outlined on that page of this site. So, excuse me while I don my Johnny Applejack garb, it’s time to sow the seeds for spreading classically crafted cocktails everywhere I go.
In my introduction to the Five Archetypes, I noted that they did not provide measurements. But creating a well-crafted and balanced drink means, in sports parlance, all the ingredients work together as a team. So, a Guerrilla Cocktail can end up being anything from a grand slam to a wild swing for strike three. I will often begin with measurements attached to an established drink, replacing those ingredients with equivalent available ingredients. Then, when I get home or the next time I’m somewhere with the same ingredients, I’ll nudge the ratios depending upon the specific flavors offered by the new ingredients.
In the Guerrilla Cocktail Blog, I’ll assess the Guerrilla Cocktail classics and creations I’ve tried and provide examples of them. And I’ll provide a discussion of the successes and the failures. You, dear reader, have the opportunity to nudge, praise, or pan what I consider successes or failures. Have at it, folks.
For my own pallet-pleasing defense, I have developed a little trick for ordering alternatives to most cocktail menus. When Ann and I go into a restaurant, our preferred choice is to sit at the bar. The treatise on why we do so will have to wait, suffice it to say for now, this gives us a fairly full view of the available resources on the back bar. From the moment we sit down, we’re scanning those resources to see what’s available. From this flavor palette, I will either order a classic drink, a variation or adaptation of a classic drink, or spontaneously create something new.
I am “formalizing” this technique, which I now refer to as Guerrilla Cocktails. What I have come to realize is that I was merely applying one of the archetypal formulas outlined on that page of this site. So, excuse me while I don my Johnny Applejack garb, it’s time to sow the seeds for spreading classically crafted cocktails everywhere I go.
In my introduction to the Five Archetypes, I noted that they did not provide measurements. But creating a well-crafted and balanced drink means, in sports parlance, all the ingredients work together as a team. So, a Guerrilla Cocktail can end up being anything from a grand slam to a wild swing for strike three. I will often begin with measurements attached to an established drink, replacing those ingredients with equivalent available ingredients. Then, when I get home or the next time I’m somewhere with the same ingredients, I’ll nudge the ratios depending upon the specific flavors offered by the new ingredients.
In the Guerrilla Cocktail Blog, I’ll assess the Guerrilla Cocktail classics and creations I’ve tried and provide examples of them. And I’ll provide a discussion of the successes and the failures. You, dear reader, have the opportunity to nudge, praise, or pan what I consider successes or failures. Have at it, folks.
