The beet mojito created by
Executive Chef Katsuya Fukushima
at Café Atlàntico in Washington, D.C. More delicious than curious. Click here for the recipe.
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CAITLIN BARRETT is a member of The Nibble™ editorial staff. She doesn’t seem to mind if the garnish on her drink can look her right in the eyes.
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October 2005
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Curious Cocktails
Bizarre Potions Give a Whole New Meaning to “Liquid Courage”
Mojitos are old news, Cosmos have gone buh-bye with Carrie Bradshaw and the girls. And while Margaritas will always be around, they tend to confine themselves to casas of Mexican cuisine.
What about martini madness? While civilization will always require a good dry Martini, we probably won’t need to hang on to the recipes of the 50 different Martinis at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in Chicago...which seem paltry next to the 100 or so at Kelso’s in Kansas City, MO and the 125 at Smoky’s in Madison, Wisconsin.
The mixology profession, needing more of a challenge than creating the next Truffled-Chai-Snickertini, has picked up the gauntlet. Newspapers and TV stations nationwide are reporting on a new trend that we call Curious Cocktails.
It started out perfectly normal and nouvelle. Switching out the mint in a mojito for another fresh herb like basil or rosemary provides a tasty variation. But then gastronomic logic took flight, leaving us with a menu of curiosities that require an adventurous spirit, an edgy perspective, and possibly an iron stomach.
We’re not talking about yet another variation of Bloody Mary, a Maria-From-the-Tropics with pineapple and papaya; or Frozen Mary Gazpacho-in-a-Glass. We’re not talking about retro group of Blue Curaçao, Chartreuse, and Pousse Cafe—neon drinks that taste as questionable as they look. We’re not even talking about the infinite combinations possible by mixing rum, vodka, gin, tequila and/or sake with a liqueur and a form of fruit.
No, we’re talking fearsome fusion. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but here are some examples:
Trend: Surf & Turf
- Akron, OH: If you like sushi and you like a martinis, head on over to Ken Stewart’s Grille for an Octopus Martini. You can have any martini you like (26 varieties on the menu, including an Espressotini, but they claim to make closer to 100 different kinds) with a pickled baby octopus clinging to the rim. It’s a steakhouse, not a sushi bar, so BYO wasabi.
- Kirkland, WA: The house drink at Jäger Restaurant and Bar is the Hunter (Jäger is German for hunter), a horseradish-infused vodka with Grand Marnier and a grilled beef tenderloin tip garnish. Talk about drinking your dinner! Non-meat-eaters may opt for the Katana: sake, vodka and a touch of wasabi served with cucumber and a slice of Ahi tuna. The restaurant calls it “an extraordinary drink.”
Trend: Candy That’s Not Dandy
- Raleigh, NC: Bogart’s American Grill serves a Bubblicious martini made from a vodka infused with bubble gum and blueberry-infused vodka. Think gum is gross? There’s the Jolly Apple martini which features vodka infused with with Jolly Rancher green-apple and watermelon candies. They sell more than three gallons of these a week (but to people over sixteen years old, we wonder).
- New York, NY: The Peanut Caipirinha at Churrascaria Plataforma combines Cachaca, Frangelico, peanut butter and crème de cacao. We weren’t able to find a variation with grape jelly, but we know it’s out there.
Curious cocktails are good for business. They draw in chic crowds looking for the next hot (or cool) thing, and generate buzz among people who don’t go but are “in the know.
According to data from Adams Beverage Group, sales in the $49 billion dollar spirits industry are relatively flat. The predicted modest 4% growth is attributed to the constant introduction of new products and flavors from liquor companies. By analogy, bars need to constantly innovative to increase their sales—and something different is a way to get $10 and $15 and more for a cocktail.
While a Pickled Octopus Espressotini is probably not a good thing, creativity does generate tasty innovations that may sound odd at first. One example is the the Beet Mojito at Café Atlántico in Washington, D.C. Executive Chef Katsuya Fukushima creates new excitement (and a “mo-beet-to”) by mixing red beet puree into the classic Cuban rum drink. It’s not as strange as it sounds: although a vegetable, beets have a very high sugar content, so it’s not dissimilar to using passionfruit purée, a fruit with a relatively low sugar content. If this concept makes your heart beet, we’ve included the recipe below
We at THE NIBBLE like to separate surf and slurp: we enjoy eating skewers of ahi tuna along with our sake martini, but don’t want to stir the martini with the tuna: it’s an attractive presentation, but a culinary gimmick that doesn’t do a service to either food. While we won’t be dropping cubed foie gras into a Champagne cocktail anytime soon, we share some of our house drinks with you—along with Chef Fukushima’s Beet Mojito. If you’re thirsty, click here.
For more fun with alcohol, check out our article on making beer ice cream.
© Copyright 2005-2008 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
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