Make Ahead

Hibiscus is used throughout the Middle East and Latin America to make a ruby-red herbal tea. You can find the flowers at a tea or herb retailer. This hibiscus cordial is the brainchild of our bar manager and long-time friend Robert Krueger. This cleverly designed cordial brings out a rich color, beautiful floral notes, and a nice citrus flavor from the dried hibiscus flowers. It’s the main ingredient in Rob’s Roselle cocktail (page 71). Vodka and brandy serve to fortify the cordial for longer use.

How to Mix Drinks or the Bon Vivant’s Companion offers a recipe for English Bishop that involves sketchy directions and an open fire. It took some trial and error, but we adapted it to a standard oven. The infusion can be a cocktail sipped on its own, or an ingredient that can be mixed into other cocktails; we use it in our Jersey Devil cocktail (page 99).

When first conceiving Employees Only, we knew we wanted to create our own house vermouths. We abandoned the idea of making our vermouth from raw wine and decided instead to use dry vermouth as a base for an infusion of additional herbs. The primary flavors in dry vermouth are rosemary, thyme, lavender, and anise—the same botanicals that make up the herbes de Provence blend used in cooking. To extract and transfuse flavors, we use a hot infusion method to create just a small amount of highly concentrated liquid that can be blended with the rest of a bottle of vermouth without cooking out all the alcohol. This controlled method of infusing reduces the amount of contact between alcohol and herbs—if left to steep too long, the finish is bitter. EO Vermouth de Provence is one of the key ingredients in the Provençal cocktail (page 49).

Simple syrup is the most basic sweetener used in cocktails, and as the name states, it’s simple—made of just sugar and water. Like salt, sugar is a flavor enhancer, and simple syrup is used to bring out the character of other cocktail ingredients. Its sweetness also balances acidic elements like citrus juices. Superfine sugar (also called bar sugar, a nod to its use by bartenders) is best for making simple syrup because the fine granules dissolve easily without heating. There are two methods for making simple syrup: hot and cold. Most people are familiar with the hot method and do not realize that you can get the same result by simply stirring or shaking it. The cold method works only with superfine sugar. Standard granulated sugar requires heat to thoroughly dissolve all the granules. Either way, the sugar and water proportions are the same—one to one by volume; because there is a lot of air trapped between granules of sugar, we recommend measuring by weight. For those who don’t own a kitchen scale, we offer a volume measurement as well.

Pineapple syrup is a very simple affair and a tasty sweetener made for use in the Pisco Punch (page 116). The flavor experience is different from using juice or fruit, because although it is clean, it picks up much of the vegetal characteristics of the pineapple. This syrup has many applications and can substitute for simple syrup to add more depth in tropical cocktails.

Grenadine has suffered a tragic alteration at the hand of commercial producers, who have made it into an artificially flavored and colored, high-fructose corn syrup travesty that has nothing to do with the fruit for which it is named. (The word “grenadine” comes from the Spanish word for pomegranate, grenada.) Determined to revive the real deal, we crafted our own recipe using POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. We fortify it with Cardenal Mendoza aged Spanish brandy to help preserve it and add an additional depth of flavor. Alternatively, try our Employees Only brand (see the Resources section).

Ginger beer is often made as a live fermented brew, a time-consuming and messy process—our method shortcuts time, but not flavor. For a controlled version of premade ginger beer, use a soda siphon to provide carbonation.

When added straight from the bottle or jar, honey does not work well in chilled cocktails. It will stick to the sides of the shaker when the ice is introduced and will resist mixing. If you want the flavor of honey in cocktails, you must first dilute its texture, make it soluble, and make it into a syrup. Most honey syrups contain just honey and water, but we have added vanilla and orange peel to accentuate some of the key flavor notes in the honey. Acacia honey is light in flavor and fragrant and is one of the few honeys that is truly liquid and does not crystallize. This particular recipe was developed for our Mediterra cocktail (page 108), which was one of the most popular cocktails in the first years after Employees Only opened.

This is our favorite sangria recipe—it involves a little more effort than the usual sangria, but its flavor is far more complex than just wine mixed with orange juice. It really should be enjoyed with food, preferably tapas and small plates. It is an excellent companion to cheese and fish as well.

White Sangria is something you really want in the summertime when nothing is going on and it’s hot and very humid outside. We developed this recipe about six years ago and have loved it ever since. Highly suggested for afternoon gatherings and finger foods.

This is one of our End of Prohibition party special punch recipes and it was adapted from the Philadelphia Fish House punch, which was a favorite of Generals Washington and Lafayette. We replaced the original cognac with our local Laird’s AppleJack and got something fantastic as a result. We use all seasonal fruits for this—a beautiful feature that also makes it extra tasty.

This is a party version of the Pimm’s Cup (pages 110 to 112), for when you want to give your guests a break during a three-day cricket match marathon. The difference is you have a few more fresh fruits at your disposal. We find it tastes best if in addition to the cucumber and mint you add strawberries, diced apples, and orange half-wheels. Then again, you can experiment for yourself and play with some seasonal fruits. Maybe some pears will give it your special touch; gin and pears mix really well. When preparing the large-batch cocktail, try to press the fruits and herbs very gently. It’s essential that you mix the large batch several hours ahead—ideally, the night before your guests arrive. Refrigerate it to let the fruits steep and release their essence into the blend.

Instead of using cream or half-and-half in this classic dessert sauce, I prefer using milk. It keeps the sauce light, tasty, and simple, but the mixture will not appear as thick as some other versions of crème anglaise. This can be served with any dessert, but I especially like it over fresh fruit.

I love a good bread and butter pickle, so I decided to create my own version. While I don’t have the classic spices here, my blend of rice vinegar and yuzu juice approximates the same acidity of the original. These are terrific with (or on) sandwiches. Of course, I like to eat them straight, too.

Pickling chiles sounds so much more difficult than it really is. For homemade, all-natural pickled chiles, simply cover them with vinegar. They soften while retaining a little bite and get even hotter while developing a headier flavor. Their acidic pop and bright heat make these my go-to condiment.

My grandmother taught me how to make this basic pastry when I was young. The one thing I learned simply by eating her endless variations on delicious tarts for dinner every night is that this dough can be used for just about anything—sweet or savory.

The trio of sugar, cream, and butter can’t be beat. In its liquid form here, it can be drizzled on desserts—or even breakfast treats.