What's That Cocktail Menu About? (part 2)

*Tommy's Margarita:

Tommy's is a mexican restaurant in San Fransisco and the world's best tequila bar in the world. It has also pours the most extensive collection of 100% agave tequila outside of Mexico .

According to  Mexican laws a spirit can be named TEQUILA, when is the 100% distill product of the Mexican native plant called Blue Agave. (Agave Azul Weber Tequilana). In a few words these are the most quality tequilas, and actually are the only ones that you will find at Baba Au Rum! So please trust our suggestions about tequila when you find out that we dont have your favorite popular (but not really quality...) tequila.

We make Tommy's Margarita mixing 100% de Agave Tequila, fresh lime juice and organic agave nectar. Fresh crispy and classic.

Agave nectar is a natural sweetener commercially produced from several species of the Agave plant.  It can be produced in specific Mexican  states

pertaining to certificate of origin!

Blue Agave plants in Jalisco Mexico

 

At Baba Au Rum we have a small but appreciable collection of the best 100% blue Agave Tequilas.  You can choose one of them to make your own Tommy's Margarita, or enjoy it neat.

Blanco (Silver or Plata) Tequilas are generally unaged but can be aged up to 60 days.

Reposado Tequilas are  aged for a minimum of 2 months up to 1 year in any size oak containers.

Añejo Tequilas are aged for a minimum of 1 year in barrels no larger than 600 liters in size!

     BABA AU RUM  TEQUILA MENU

DON JULIO Silver, Reposado and Anejo

JOSE CUERVO  Reserva De La Familia

JOSE CUERVO Traditional

HERADURA Silver and Reposado

PATRON Silver, Reposado and Anejo

CASCO VIEJO  Plata, Reposado

CORRALEJO Silver, Reposado and Anejo

DON AUGUSTIN  Blanco, Reposado, Anejo

MARACAME  Plata, Reposado, Anejo

 

* THE ZOMBIE:

This is our star- cocktail the one that you really loved during the summer months, our tribute to the famous TIKI era ! (California 1930's!)

See full article in Baba's blog following the web address:

http://babaaurum.blogspot.com/2009/05/zombie-inside-me.html

And what about the rums we use for the Zombie blend. That's is our secret, but you can be sure they are the best!

In the following days we will have a full homagge to our Rum Menu that now includes about 100 Rum labels from all over the globe, by far the biggest in Greece and one of the most  important around Europe!!!

 

* BRANDY CRUSTA:

This is a New Orleans classic cocktail founded in 1840's-50's and one of your most beloved cocktails in our Bar.  We can say its the grandfather of later famous cocktails such the Sidecar, Margarita and Cosmopolitan! 

Baba Au Rum is the first Greek Bar that ever made this cocktail for its intellectual clientele!

Perfect quality Brandy, Maraschino liquer, our homemade bitters among other ingredients, served in a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar and garnish with a spiral of orange (or lemon if you wish)

(to be continued...)

What's That Cocktail Menu About?

And here is the Baba Au Rum's  summer- autumn cocktail menu!  Within the last six months that Baba Au Rum Bar is open, we printed 300 copies

of that beautiful cocktail book-menu, a piece of our soul...

SIX COCKTAILS THAT YOU HAVE TO TASTE (AT LEAST) ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!

* In case you are wondering, these are the 6 cocktails we believe you should try at least once in your life:

Juleps, Sherry Cobbler, the Ramos Gin Fizz, the Original Zombie, Tommy's Margarita, and a Crusta!

*MINT JULEP:

   A blend of Bourbon whisky,  Rye Whisky, and VSOP Cognac(!) shaking with fresh mint, simple homemade syrup and bitters, served in  the traditional Julep Cup with lots of crushed ice and thin pineapple slices on the edge!

                   This is a classic old American cocktail!  We use one the most quality bourbons , called Woodford Reserve, Wild Turkey Rye whisky, and Courvoisier VSOP cognac . VSOP  means "Very Special  Old Pale, where the youngest brandy is stored at least four years in cask, but the average wood age is much older.  (according to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac)

  (See also http://babaaurum.blogspot.com/2009/04/dear-travelers.html)

*SHERRY COBBLER:

   Founded around 1830's,  that was the first cocktail that people used a straw to drink it!   Harry Johnson  a professional bartender for most of his life and author of the legendary "Harry's Johnson bartender's manual"  said around 1880, that Sherry Cobbler was the most popular cocktail in the United States!             

                We make it, mixing Dry Sherry, Caribbean fruits, grated nutmeg, and on the top we float Myer's Jamaican  heavy dark rum!

                Talking about Sherry, keep in mind that we are not talking about Cherry liquer! Sherry is a fortified wine  made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez in Spain.  I strongly recommend a glass of good  "Fino Sherry" before your dinner, or an "Oloroso Sherry" after that. Oloroso means "άρωματικό"  for the Greek friends!

"Martin Chuzzlewit," Charles Dickens, 1844

"This wonderful invention, Sir...it is called a Cobbler. Sherry Cobbler, when you name it long; Cobbler when you name it short."

 

*RAMOS GINN FIZZ:

Mr Henry C. Ramos  was the owner and founder  of the famous Imperial Cabinet  Bar, in New Orleans 1888!

He is also the founder of this legendary cocktail, the most popular in the States after the end of the drink prohibition in 1933.

We make this Fizz mixing Plymouth Gin, fresh lemon juice, homemade syrup, egg white, fresh cream, and a few dashes of  "The Bitter Truth" Orange Flower Water, which is the ingredient that makes the difference!  Soda on the top.

Orange flower water is a clear, perfumed distillation of fresh bitter orange blossoms.

 

to be continued....

Back From Holidays!

The time has come, and if that makes us happy, it makes us feel a bit of melancholy as well, thinking all the beautiful islands we visited the last 2-3 weeks in the Aegean Sea, like Antiparos, Ikaria (with the Quentin Tarantinos - like bars), Patmos, Kithira....

But yes we are back and on Tuesday, August 25,  Baba Au Rum will open again its door (everyday from 11.00 morning till late night) to all you cocktail aficionados!  Plus we celebrate our first- official cuisine- day, with a free buffet !  And of course more cocktails, rums like Zacapa, the only which its distillery (in Guatemala)  does not  face the Caribbean  but the Pacific Sea, the ultra premium ''Bicentenario'' from Venezuela, aged cachacas from Brazil and rare sample malt whiskies!

DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE DID THAT SUMMER?

We listened  beautiful music and drank some brilliant cocktails! And here are the Baba Au Rum's summer 2009...

...SONG TOP 10

1) JACKIE MITOO - SUMMER BREEZE

2) YO LA TENGO - BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE GOT

3) PHYLLIS DILLON - THE LOVE THAT A WOMAN SHOULD GIVE TO A MAN

4) ROY AYERS - EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE

5) WILSON DE NEVES - CALIFORNIA SOUL

6) STEREOLAB - RAINBOW CONVERSATION

7) A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - JAZZ(WE'VE GOT) AND BUGGIN' OUT

8) BILLIE HOLIDAY - DID I REMEMBER?

9)  THE JAM - START

10) BELLE & SEBASTIAN - SONG FOR SUNSHINE

And here are the Baba Au Rum's summer 2009...

COCKTAIL TOP 7!

1) TRADER VIC'S ORIGINAL MAI TAI - 1934 recipe  (rum based)

2) ZOMBIE!!!  (rum based)

3) TOMMY'S MARGARITA (100% de Agave Tequila)

4) SPICY BABA (rum based)

5) BRAMBLE (gin based)

6)  BRANDY CRUSTA (Brandy based)

7) YOUR MAN IN HABANA (rum based)

 

http://www.inyourpocket.com/greece/athens/Nightlife/Bars/venue/54788-Baba_Au_Rum.html

http://el.wordpress.com/tag/%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%84%CF%81%CF%8C%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%B1/

Tequila Day!

I know its funny, but you have to know that every July 25th  Americans  are celebrating  the Tequila Day!!!

A good chance to drink a perfect Margarita after all.

And when we talk about tequilas you better forget  all those horror hangover days that i am sure you have at least many times in your life!

At Baba Au Rum , we talk only about  100% Blue Agave Tequilas, which means the best and most quality of them.

Blue agave or tequila agave, is a plant that it is  grows natively in Jalisco Mexico. It plays an  important economic  role as the base ingredient of tequila!

Tommy's Margarita!

Like all great cocktails, the ingredients should accentuate what's great about the liquor.  So we forget about the orange curacao (Triple Sec, Cointreau) and use Organic Agave Nectar.That way  Margarita tastes like never before.  We also forget to salt the rim!....

50 ml  100% Blue Agave.  (or terragon infused White tequila or Rosemary infused White Tequila!) See pic above

30 ml  Fresh Lime Juice

15 ml  Organic Agave Nectar

Shake very well  and double strain to a Cocktail glass!

Ok this is the old way, but we just love this picture...

Tales of the Cocktail!

Tales of the Cocktail is the biggest  festival of cocktails, cuisine and culture held annually in New Orleans!

The event brings together the best and brightest of the cocktail community--award-winning mixologists, authors, bartenders, chefs and designers--for a five-day celebration of the history and artistry of making drinks.

 

And what the Americans think about bars and cocktails? Here they are:

· World's Best Drinks Selection
WINNER - Merchant Hotel, Belfast
· Best American Cocktail Bar
WINNER - Pegu Club, NYC
· World's Best Cocktail Bar
WINNER - PDT, NYC
· World's Best New Cocktail Bar
WINNER - Clover Club, Brooklyn (Hmm, looks they never heard about Baba Au Rum!!!)
· World's Best Hotel Bar
WINNER - Merchant Hotel, Belfast
· American Bartender of the Year
WINNER - James Meehan, PDT
· International Bartender of the Year
WINNER - Tony Conigliaro
· Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
WINNER - The Essential Cocktail - Dale DeGroff
· Best Cocktail Writing
WINNER - Dave Wondrich
· Best New Product
WINNER - Bols Genever
· World's Best Cocktail Menu
WINNER - Merchant Hotel, Belfast
· Best American Brand Ambassador
WINNER - Simon Ford, Plymouth Gin and Pernod Ricard

• Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award
  WINNER - Peter Dorelli

And who the f**k are the judges they did not vote for Baba???

Simon Difford (Chairman)
· Julio Bermejo
· Salvatore Calabrese (Best Drinks Selection 2008)
· Frank Coleman
· Dale DeGroff (Helen David Lifetime Achievement 2008)
· Simon Ford
· Ted Haigh
· Michael Menegos (The Greeks are all right!! So proud as we used to work together at Bar Guru Bar, Athens)
· Sasha Petraske (Best Bar 2008)
· Christy Pope
· Gary Regan (Best Writer 2008)
· Claire Smith
· Nick Strangeway (Bartender of the Year 2008)
· Dave Wondrich (Best Bartending Book 2008)

P.S.: As the Greeks rules,( and they are also are right!!!) we want to congratulate Aristotelis Papadopoulos, from Banquet Bar restaurant in Thessaloniki, who made all Greek bartenders proud, as he won the Diageo's World Classs Bartender Competition, 2009.

To understand how important that success is, you can easily compare it with the victory of Euro 2004!

New Cocktails at Baba Au Rum: Spicy Baba Cocktail!

Love Ginger with a touch of summer?

So come to Baba Au Rum and try:

           50 ml Angostura 5 years old rum from Trinidad and Tobacco

            40 ml Dragon Fruit puree

            10 ml homemade sugar syrup

            10 ml fresh lime juice

            25 ml homemade ginger syrup.

Shake all ingredient in and serve in a cocktail glass with crushed ice. Colours everywhere!!!

TIKI MUGS AT BABA AU RUM!

 

Photos by Irini Michopoulou Thanx!!!

www.irinimichopoulou.com

The Zombie inside me!

"TIKI" as a word was initially used to describe  the giant totems in the Eastern Islands, as well as  the Polynesian culture's "First Man" the one that we  would call "Adam".

Timejumping in the 1930's two legendary bartenders and bar restaurant owners, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic, gave birth to the Tiki craze with their Tiki bars being THE COOLEST place to be seen,gathering actors ,politicians and the so called high society ,all in aloha leis and hawaian shirts drinking from giant straws  strange multi-colored conjoctions served in ceramic tiki mugs and volcano bowls.

Zombie cocktail was created in 1934, with a mix of 5  rums, fresh  fruits (exotic for us but local for them) and other secret ingredients.
Don  would only allow customers to drink a maximum of 2 Zombies per night... and that was a strict rule.
Only one person of the so called underworld trying to prove how tough he was ,bet Don he could manage more and he certainly would have if he had not fainted few sips before he finished the third one.

 

Beach's original recipes for the Zombie and other Tiki drink have been recently published in Sippin' Safari by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry.

 

 

Don  instructions on his bartenders contained coded references to ingredients such as "Donn's Mix", the contents of which were only known to him. As a result of Beach's secrecy and the enormous popularity of these drinks during the Tiki craze, countless variations on the Zombie emerged.

Beach's original recipes for the Zombie and other Tiki drinks have been recently published in "Sippin' Safari" by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry a really great guy who has one of the worst jobs on the planet.Drinking rum and writing about it that is.

At Baba Au Rum Bar we make our own "Zombie blend' using 5 different rums we import from the Carribean seas, including heavy dark Jamaican  rum, , Demerara and  Wray & Nephew overproof rum and more(...) as well as homemade Falernum liquer, fresh fruit juices, homemade or "Bitter Truth " bitters, dashes of Pernod Anis and...

 

Be sure that you will be served in the traditional ceramic TIKI mug that are exposed in our bar!

 

The people in Baba Au Rum are like puzzle pieces to a Unicef jigsaw...

... Hmm.. we like poets...

http://twitter.com/Ammos/status/1799693928

 

(photo taken from the "poetry of bartending blogspot)