Mixed Methods

New cocktail mixers keep sales bubbling

By Virginia Gerst, Special to R&I -- Restaurants & Institutions, 4/1/2004

Bartenders are astir over mixers.

"I live by them," says Mark Pollman, who has poured libations at the Fox and Hounds Tavern in St. Louis for 19 years. "How could you work without them?"

Tonic and club soda, favorites for decades, still earn their places behind the nation's bars, and so do soft drinks, cream and even coffees and teas. And today, fruit juices are making a big splash with patrons from coast to coast.

"If a customer wants something tropical, use fruit juices, and use cream if a guest wants something muted," counsels Pollman, a creator of more than 40 original mixed drinks for Fox and Hounds.

Fruit juices used as mixers add flavor and eye appeal to cocktails.

During cooler months, bartenders at The Red Star Tavern & Roast House in Portland, Ore., pour plenty of steamed drinks, including Bakers Hot Toddy (made with chai tea, cider, bourbon, lemon and a cinnamon stick) and the Louis Armstrong (composed of coffee, vanilla-flavored vodka, coffee liqueur and citrus-flavored liqueur). The High Street Speakeasy in Denver mixes coffee with chocolate and coffee liqueurs for one of its popular winter libations.

While everyone knows that cream comes from a dairy and coffee from a roaster, there is less accord on the source of juice. Fresh, frozen and bottled juices have their advocates. So do juices shot through the back-of-the-bar "gun" that mixes water, CO2 and flavored syrup.

Pollman reaches for bottled lime juice to make a selection of frozen cocktails, and pulls out the gun for specialties with names like Merlin's Magic Potion ("It's sweet and tart, like those candies we had when we were kids," he says). He believes that juice from a gun is faster to work with than fresh. "I was thoroughly against it at the beginning," he admits. "But I did a blind tasting, and chose cranberry and orange juice from a gun over fresh."

Frozen Assets
Gary Regan, author of books including "The Bartender's Bible," also believes fresh and prepared juices have their places. While he advocates fresh limes for margaritas and fresh lemons for whiskey sours, he finds the quality of other fresh fruits unreliable. He calls frozen fresh juices "the best of all worlds," but points out that they also are the most expensive choice. Bottled products place second on his list. Guns, which must be regularly checked to ensure the proper ingredient mix, rank a distant third. "I have never had tonic water out of a gun that tasted anything like tonic water," Regan says.

At Signatures restaurant in Washington, D.C., where classic cocktails are making a comeback, veteran bartender Nick Winewriter stirs up sidecars, Manhattans and rusty nails with a house-made sour mix of fresh lemon juice and simple syrup. "There's a big difference if you make it yourself," he contends.

Winewriter's orange juice is fresh-squeezed, and pineapple and grapefruit juices come from a can. He draws sodas and tonics from a gun. "Our bar is extremely busy," he says. "We don't have time to open up bottles and make people wait."

Mark Pollman has created more than 40 original mixed drinks for Fox and Hounds Tavern.

The guns are not loaded at Nikita, a restaurant and vodka bar in the newly developing West Village area of Dallas. Bartenders use only fresh fruit and juices for house specialties, including its popular versions of Australian "stick drinks."

"Bartenders put fruit in the bottom of a glass, muddle it with a huge stick and add flavored vodkas," says Michael Bratcher, Nikita's director of operations. "Customers are impressed with our drinks' freshness."

Produce, delivered daily, goes into drinks such as the Iron Kitten (a mix of coconut rum, pineapple and oranges) and the Redhead in Boots (raspberry vodka, cranberry-flavored cognac and orange juice).

Overlooked Advantages
At the 18 Anthony's Restaurants in and around Seattle, Best of the Season Coolers, made with fresh lemonade and fresh seasonal fruit—and with or without alcohol—are a customer favorite.

"They look exciting, and people want to drink them," says Tom Diller, vice president of operations for Bellevue, Wash.-based multiconcept operator Anthony's Restaurants. He adds that Coolers and other mixed drinks add to the operations' appeal. "Many times the bar is an overlooked part of a dinnerhouse, but it's important to put some energy into it," he says.

A range of fruit mixers helps define the bar scene at New York City's Guastavino's. Its specialty drink, the Flirtini, was created at Guastavino's in 2000 during a "Sex in the City" premiere party when star Sarah Jessica Parker requested "a fun, pink drink." Made with raspberry vodka, triple sec, fresh lime juice, bottled pineapple juice, fresh raspberries and sparkling wine, the Flirtini was featured on the recently ended TV show and has since been copied by other bars.

"A signature drink helps people remember the place," says Guastavino's Beverage Manager Adrian Gjonbalaj. "It becomes a conversation piece at dinner and gets people to talk about the restaurant when they meet their friends."

Whether bartenders use the gun, bottled or fresh products, suppliers are giving them more reasons than ever to keep their patrons talking.

"The fact is, there are new flavors available all the time," says Regan. "Operators can now get pomegranate juice in a bottle. Strawberry, banana, kiwi and mango are all available. It's worth experimenting with all of them."

Virginia Gerst is a Chicago-based freelance writer.

Flirtini
Guastavino's, New York City

Yield: 1 drink

Raspberry vodka	1 oz.
Triple sec	1/2 oz.
Fresh lime juice	splash
Pineapple juice	1/2 oz.
Raspberries, muddled at bottom of glass	4
Sparkling wine	as needed

Combine vodka, triple sec and lime and pineapple juices. Gently pour into martini glass over muddled raspberries. Top off with sparkling wine.

King George's Colonial Reward
Mark Pollman, Fox and Hounds Tavern, St. Louis

Yield: 1 drink

Peach brandy	3/5 oz.
Light rum	3/5 oz.
Dark rum	1/5 oz.
Peach purée	1 oz.
Pineapple juice	1 oz.
Orange juice	1 oz.
Lemon-lime soda	1 oz.
Cream	1/3 oz.
Shaved ice	as needed
Cherry, Orange peel sliver	garnishes