Shaking a drink into a froth introduces air bubbles into it which increases the surface you taste so there is more flavor and it feels creamier, akin to high divers using aerated water to make their entry softer. It seems reasonable to think some cocktails would benefit from this in the same way souffles and a good chocolate mousse do.

I wish I could just get a well made Manhattan.

and name one craft cocktail you can get anywhere in the country? You can't and don't say bee's knees that was popular 30 years ago. Enough said

If you ask me, you douche wannabe prohibition bartender's are getting exactly what you deserve. I have said for years that you can't make up drinks, and there are many reasons why. Someone going to another bar expecting the drink they got at a craft bar. Another reason is how are you sure it's not called something else already? You aren't, you crafties are just chef douches. Look at PKNY, enough said. Besides, you all just copy your "history" off degroff, wondrich, and haigh or even worse wikipedia. If you looked into the true history of nearly every classic drink you would learn that all those sources blatantly lie. Btw douche, have you even read ennslin's book? half of the internet has the year wrong and the aviation is not even in there. You are all noobs and seriously need to start at the basics. I know why you all embrace the movement, because none of you know the tried and true calls that have been around for centuries. So instead of doing work for yourself and learning them you just don't carry the liquor to make them. Maybe you will all wake up and realize one day that making drinks is not about YOU or YOUR DRINKS! that's only 10% it's really about the patron, I think you've all forgotten who pays the bills.

let MANHATTAN to drink they way he wants to, he's not asking for your education (based on your own believes and tastes that you have probably learned from Gary Regan blogs and then you go and copy is words).
If the guy wants that, you do it, is his $ and his time and his own SUBJECTIVE taste preferences. so again, you can all go and FUCK OFF.

you obviously don't get it, and that's why you keep working at lousy bars following instructions that you read in blogs, fcbk comments and books but without understanding a shit.
nobody tells you how to drink your coffee, so SERVE CUSTOMERS AND NOT YOUR EGO, looser.

you all f uck off. bars in SF are very poor in standards but fool of snobs that believe to be good bartenders. There are a few exceptions that are good bartenders. You can all go and suck your own homemade bitters, and the press that writes bullshit and brings fame to people who are confused.

Great article. I guess this is better than the alternative though... customers that don't appreciate the craft.

Vexed.

You better be careful.

Vexed.

You better be careful.

There is no need to be a snob. Each bar and each bartender is different. The best thing for any customer who has interest in cocktails is to be open minded as they were when they were first intrigued by the craft. And the best thing for each bartender to do is learn their craft, do it well, continue to teach but not be a snob themselves.

Anon loves Marco,

Marco never forgets,

Marco never forgives,

Marco is legion,

Expect him.

Anon-

http://www.anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=619

the butter in the pan example isn't analogous to ice in water.

we want to maximize the amount of heat transfer that occurs before phase change. More surface area = more heat transfer.

Another way to consider it:
In a large block of ice, lots of the ice in the middle will stay at freezer temp, say 10f. Assuming the same amount of heat has left the liquid part of the beverage in both examples, but in the large-ice-block example there are portions that are colder (gained less heat) than the small-ice-block example, then by conservation of energy there must be portions that gained more heat, and thus melted more. In other words, more has been forced to go through a phase change.

The butter example doesn't work, because although the butter melts faster in small chunks, the large chunk of butter has had less of a temperature impact on the pan than the small chunks. Analogizing that to the drink would mean ice that had less of an thermal impact on the drink = warmer drink.

I suspect that with smaller ice cubes people are actually using less ice than they realize, and therefore more heat transfer comes through phase change, leading to dilution.

I'm certain that the last thing you said is very correct, and I suspect the most important factor.

I'm open to being proven wrong

@kindofabigdeal

Actually the opposite is true. As the surface area to volume ratio is lower, big ice cubes make a drink colder and dilute it less. Think about butter melting in a pan - if you put one big lump of butter it will melt much more slowly than if you cut that lump up into lots of small pieces. I think Kold-Draft and Hoshizaki ice machines make ice that is DENSER than a lot of other ice machine manufacturers, and so melts more slowly. They also produce true cubes rather than some machines which produce ice with a large indentation in one side which increases the surface-area-to-volume ratio.

The same argument explains why it is important to FILL THE GLASS with ice. More ice makes the drink colder, which in turn makes the ice melt more slowly, so less water goes into the drink. Less dilution means fizzy mixers (e.g Coca-cola, tonic water) stay fizzier and the drink tastes better. Trying to explain this to people across a busy bar is next to impossible though!

D x

someone explain the ice please, why do you care about the cube size? Thinking thermodynamically, larger cubes will water a drink down more, for a given target temperature. Is that the goal?

Wow, VEXED (If that is your real name...). Quite a harsh critique of someone you admit you don't know.

I'm glad, at least, that you enjoyed one of my "excellent drinks".

Cheers,

Marco

@Make my MANHATTAN my way

Great troll (I hope). A foam head on a Manhattan looks like someone pissed in a toilet that hasn't been flushed in a long time.

Yes - I loved this essay, but I have to say - I also love that we have those people out there. Sure, someone that wants a bourbon Sazerac may be missing the point, but here at Liberty in Seattle, where we have one of the biggest back-bars that you've seen and a sixty drink cocktail list, I see these people as a) our foot soldiers and evangelists who are advancing our beloved industry, and b) let's work with these people and lead them to where they want to go. In the examples above, they simple do not know that they have gone off track - and it's our job to help them get that perfect drink and that memorable experience.

"The customers may simply be reflection of—and comeuppance for—the pompous attitude some bartenders have assumed lately."

AB-SO-Lutely. Let's help the 'barstars' move on who care more for what is in the glass or who is behind the bar, instead of who is in FRONT of the bar.

Thanks for the interesting read.

Love the line about bitters! The piece reminded me of an old joke...Sign behind a bar: "Martinis, $2, with instructions $3.

You can tell how old it is by the prices.

As we mix the majority of our drinks at home, it is fun to order the specialty of the house, or even the mixologist choice or signature cocktail. As we live in Portland rife with top-notch mixoligists and bars, this may be easier for us than those in those in smaller cities. I agree that people should explore, order to the strengths of the bar, and get out of their comfort zone. These practices as well as Camper's strong advice have yielded many delicious cocktails and new experiences.

I think that if one has the recipe for a drink, are relatively sure that the bar has all the proper ingredients, and it is not during a rush, there is no earthly reason why it is bad or rude to see if the bartender will make it for you. My feeling is the worst they can say is that they can't or won't do it.

If they make you feel like an ass for doing it, start frequenting places whose staff realize that it is important to be hospitable if they are going to work in the hospitality industry.

@Kindred - I think the off-the-menu comment was referring to signature cocktails from places like Pegu that may seem now like classics, but are in fact idiomatic to one or a few bars (i.e. potentially challenging to make if you don't have that cocktail menu).

@Manhattan - how is it you have a snobby attitude *and* don't understand the mechanics of a Manhattan? Your entire goal is frothy bourbon and only one brand at that? Maybe find a barista at Starbucks to foam it up for you. Or stay home. Whichever.

Have to laugh at the guy up there complaining about "mixologists" and how he can't stand them and then posting his extremely specific Manhattan recipe. Make your own at home and let the rest of us enjoy ourselves!

Ha! Marcovaldo Dionysos is an expert on BEING a snob. He is a stain on the fabric of the bartending community and represents all that we fight against. All ego, he is pompous and condescending, a trip to his bar is almost insufferable, except that he makes excellwent drinks. Those who know him love and defend him, mostly by saying "you gotta know Marcos." No I don't need to know him, I see cocktail snobs like him every day. those of us who don't know him see how he treats those of us not in his circle of friends. He is a disgrace to the HOSPITALITY industry.

A drink is not a drink without the Kold-Draft Big Cube. If you need a machine let me know. bwhittington@kold-draft.com

I've had it with the over the top, posier, mixologist "revolution". Mixologist, bar tenders, McDonalds alumns, read up.

If your pathetic bar doesn't stock Knob Creek in 2011, I'll find another bar.

It's my $15 for your outrageously costly Manhattan UP, this is how I want it prepared:

- Knob Creek bourbon, 2 shots minimum.

- ONE DROP sweet vermouth. READ ONE DROP!

- A few shots of Angostura bitters

- Extremely well SHAKEN with lots of ice

Bruise the bourbon and ensure there's a foamy head as you strain the concoction into the martini glass.

Understood? Why does it have to be so difficult?

So, I'm at the Clock Bar in the St. Francis. Not only is the female barkeep wearing a tank top with her abdominal loaf falling over her jeans, she refuses to shake my cocktail. Did I say THE St. Francis hotel in San Francisco???

I happily paid 30 Euro's in Paris last month for the finest, most voluminous and delicious Manhattan I could find. Guess what, they made it my way and yes, they were French and the cherries were from Madagascar!

The message to "mixologists", I'm paying you to make what I want to drink, don't give me a hard time, give me the drink I want. It's just not that difficult. PLEASE!

Really, House of Shields is douchey? I've been there about four times now late night and it's chill as hell and the bartenders are chill. I get a beer and a scotch and there doesn't seem to be any issue. Maybe you've gone when all the douche bags are there, but then I guess that would make you a douche bag as well since you're frequenting the bar at the same time. No offense meant, but I feel like I can think of at least ten more spots more douchey then House of Shields.

Well done. But ... shouldn't I be free to order a reasonably-well-known cocktail that isn't on the menu and requires only ingredients that I can see the bar has?

That needs to be corrected. It was our error, not Campers. He likes the big ice!

What's wrong with 1.25" Kold-Draft cubes?

Love the article! Spot on!

Blair

It's like being at Leary's new douchbag House Of Shields!