Aaron Deacon wrote:

caver01 wrote:I would like to point out, especially for Khaopaat that there are a few more THV recipes that are basically in the public domain via YouTube.

I believe there is also a thread on eGullet with a number of recipes from The Violet Hour.

caver01, I'll definitely have to check those out. Your transcriptions look great, by the way...don't be surprised if they get incorporated into the recipe database

I have the eGullet thread bookmarked, and check it from time to time...a handful of the recipes in the database are from there. The worst part is that I go check that thread, then get sidetracked by a dozen other threads, and the next thing I know an hour has gone by.

I am finally messing around with all-stainless shaker combinations and following Toby's advice, I tracked down the shakers made by Royal. These are basically the tall stainless weighted shaker that comes in at 26 ounces, model ROY CST 2 and the 16 ounce partner cup model ROY CST 1. They arrived today, and I was dissapointed to find that the smaller 16 ounce cups are actually TOO small. I am not sure what happened, but they are definitely labeled as 16 on the bottom, but they sit down into the larger tin too far.

So, I started looking at some videos on YouTube and found this:


The left two tins with the straws in them look like the ones I bought. They are too small to me. The tin in the middle is the one Toby is about to use with the tall one behind hit. It matches the one on the right between the eyedroppers and the muddler.

Perhaps Toby will chime in next time he checks back, but it seems like a 16 oz by Royal is just too small, and that there is a middle-range tin in use here. Any thoughts anyone?

Ok, one piece of followup detail. I measured the 16 oz Royal tin. It's exactly 4-9/16" high, and 3-3/16" wide at the open end. It doesn't really "stick" inside the Royal shaker, possibly because it goes down past where it starts to get narrower, whereas a glass pint glass sits up a little higher where the large tin widens a bit.

I tried the 16 oz tin in a winco shaker tin with similar results, but it seems to work ok in my WMF shaker tin. The WMF has a linear taper which seems to grab anything nicely, but it's also a little smaller than the others.

I feel like the small tin needs to be about 18 ounces, if there is such a thing, or something with a slightly wider rim (even 1/8" would help a LOT). It seems nit-picky, but as I am certain Toby would agree, there's something special about being able to hold an assembled Boston shaker like he does in one hand and really give it all you got.

Now I am rambling, but since this is Home Violet Hour, and one of the things TVH has going for it is the equipment, perhaps others would like to chime in on the tools they use by comparison.

18oz tins do exist. In fact, I just bought 18oz and 28oz weighted tins on barsupplies.com. While probably not being exactly what Toby uses, I've heard it's a fairly standard ratio that some bartenders prefer. It's a bummer that the 16/26 didn't work for you. I'd love to be able to do the one-handed shake as well, and if it takes a few tries at buying tins, so be it. It won't break the bank. I'll let you know how mine works out.

Buying tins on line is fraught with peril. I have had the tins not fit correctly way too many times. But this website http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/catalog/barware has wicked tins called Naranja, they are at the bottom of the page. They fit perfectly, the seal is amazing, you can fit two egg white drinks since the little tin sits much higher than the Royal, (the seal is so good they feel like they are going to explode while mime shaking.) AND THEY SNAP!

I am in the process of switching over to these in all my bars. They are a bit more expensive than some others, but you are sure to get the right fit.

Check out the cool books as well at Mud Puddle.

Cheers,
Toby

Thanks, Toby! I've been looking at the items at Cocktail Kingdom for a while, but they sell several shaker sets. I am going to go out on a limb here and assume it's the separates from Japan. The name Naranja shows up on the Japanese bar spoon, so I guess it must be the same manufacturer. These tins are the two sold separately (large and small with the Erick Castro endorsement), right? If it's Naranja, it must not be the WMF Parisian, and unlikely that it's the cobblers.

I am so tempted to just start buying everything they sell! I think I will treat myself to some of their gorgeous book reproductions like you suggested.

Sorry if this is a report, but I couldn't find it. Does anyone know how to make TVH's Zarzamora. Absolutely my favorite drink on their current menu, and I think I have tried half the menu...

My Guess would be
1.5 oz Wild Turkey 101,
.5 oz Fernet Branca,
.5 oz Simple Syrup,
.5 oz Blackberries,
1/8 oz House Orange Bitters

Am I close?

Also, I have no clue how they make their Rum Old-Fashioned, but I know they use Flor de Cana. Anyone know? Absolutely the best Rum Old-Fashioned I've had, and a great choice of rum.

Thanks!

I like where you are going with the Zarzamora. I had one back in September and loved it. I need to get my hands on some Fernet and try your suggestion.

As for the Rum old fashioned, if I had to guess, I'd start with a basic Old Fashioned ratio:

2 oz Flor de Cana
1/4 oz Demarera syrup (2:1)
2 dashes [X] bitters

Fill in your bitters. I don't know what they used, but perhaps you do. Also, what was the garnish? Peel of citirus? I would usually toss the peel into a glass with the sugar and bitters, press out the oils with a muddler, add the spirit and stir with ice.

I would use either orange, flamed orange or grapefruit for the garnish. If you swap out the Demerara for Luxardo Maraschino and hit it hard with the grapefruit twist, you have a very wintery deconstructed Hemingway Daiquiri.

Cheers,
Toby

Know this isn't a "home made" question, but how far away are we from the Winter Menu, Toby?

hansoup wrote:My Guess would be
1.5 oz Wild Turkey 101,
.5 oz Fernet Branca,
.5 oz Simple Syrup,
.5 oz Blackberries,
1/8 oz House Orange Bitters

Am I close?

There's a bit of coca-cola added to the top of the drink (fernet & coke is a classic combo). As for ".5 oz blackberries" I don't think it gets that precise...they don't have a blackberry syrup, it's just a few berries thrown in the tin and muddled. You're also missing the sour component, which I believe is lemon juice.

jsagoff wrote:Know this isn't a "home made" question, but how far away are we from the Winter Menu, Toby?

Had a couple hot drinks off what I believe will be the winter menu last Thursday. Toby was in town helping to put the finishing touches on it last week, so I would expect it to roll out in the next week or three.

You are definitely right on the blackberries, they muddle a few berries, and then, I think, add one for garnish.
Good catch on the sour note and the coke, I did not notice that until I tried to make it myself.

The rum old-fashioned usually has a twist of orange peel thrown in.

Both drinks have a single large piece of ice. Which cuts the alcohol over time, yet somehow helps bring the flavors out more.

Thanks for the replies!

Hey guys,

Any idea about the Daisy 17? I really liked it when I was there! I am making my own grenadine and bought all of the ingrediants in the description (lemon juice, grenadine, wild turkey 101, orange bitters). Any idea the proportions?

bjackson wrote:Hey guys,

Any idea about the Daisy 17? I really liked it when I was there! I am making my own grenadine and bought all of the ingrediants in the description (lemon juice, grenadine, wild turkey 101, orange bitters). Any idea the proportions?

It's been a while since I've had one so I don't remember what it tastes like, but from the ingredients I would start it like a traditional sour and then go from there. Probably two parts whiskey, 1 part lemon, 1/2 part lemon, see where it gets you, and then adjust.

SSDD

that should be 1 part lemon, 1/2 part grenadine from headcase.

jsagoff wrote:that should be 1 part lemon, 1/2 part grenadine from headcase.

Ugh, thanks.

SSDD

any ideas on the ratios for the Etiquette ? The only 3 ingredients are champagne/Gruet, Pisco & Aperal so I guess I could play around or go over and have one and ask but I'm unemployed so I'm lookin' to save the $12

Also, myself and a few friends are throwing a Violet Hour-themed party. Since we don't want to have people backed up waiting for drinks, I picked out some that have simple ingredients that can be mostly pre-mixed. The choices so far are:

Whiskey - Eyes Wide (where can I get hibiscus syrup ?) and/or Whiskey Smash. the Daisy 17 looks good, too, so if anyone has the recipe for that, thanks !
Vodka - Gilded Cage
Rum - Dark & Stormy and Blackberry Caprissima (is it dark or light Flor de Cana ?)
Sparkling - The Etiquette (lots of leftover bubbly from New Years)
Tequila - Chapala (not a VH drink but has cointreau, OJ, lemon juice & grenadine and is delicious)

And if anyone thinks i'm being way too ambitious, let me know !

I'd use the Flor 4 Extra Dry for the BC (white rum).

Hi, and Happy New year to all!!!

That menu is pretty labor intensive. I would think twice about adding a vodka-egg white drink. That can get you in the weeds really fast. Especially if you have a very popular muddled rum or whiskey drink. The key is going to be doing some batching. Some drinks-the BC being one- will get better with maceration.


You sure picked drinks with lots of homemade syrups.


The Etiquette

1 oz Pisco Acholado, La Botija
.5 oz Lime Juice
.75 oz House Made Raspberry Syrup

Top: Sparkling Wine
Float: .5 oz Aperol

Glass: Cocktail Wine Glass
Garnish: 1 Raspberry
Ice: Cracked KD

Build in glass.

Syrups are FLAVOR in (cold) simple syrup. So for Hibiscus syrup, get some dried hibiscus flowers and steep them until you have a lovely, pink floral syrup, strain through a chinois. For raspberry syrup take 4-5 pints per liter simple, buzz quickly, let sit (overnight might be a good idea as the berries are not at their peak) and then force strain through a chinois.


Eyes Wide

2 oz Bulleit Bourbon
.25 oz House Made Raspberry Syrup
.25 oz House Made Ginger Syrup
.25 oz Lemon Juice
.5 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice

Top: Soda Water
Float: .25 oz House Made Hibiscus Syrup

Glass: Collins
Garnish: Long Grapefruit Peel
Ice: Shard

Shake. Strain over Shard. Top Soda Water. Float House Made Hibiscus Syrup.


Daisy 17

2 oz Wild Turkey 101
.75 oz Lemon Juice
.50 oz House Made Grenadine
.25 oz Simple Syrup
3 dash House Orange Bitters

Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Flamed Orange Twist (Discarded)
Ice: None

Build all ingredients in a Shaker.. Shake. Strain. Serve up.

I hope that your party is a smashing success.

Toby

thanks Toby !

making syrups is pretty easy, I think, and there will certainly be batching w/ most of them. And you're probably right about the Gilded Cage -- I'll probably skip it and do an easier one w/ vodka. I've had the Part & Parcel and love it but I'm not sure where to get St. Germaine Elderflower.

There will definitely be a photo report.

edit: it looks like Binny's has St. Germaine so I guess that's that !

St. Germaine Elderflower is available at Binny's and presumably a bunch of other places around town.

Hey Toby!

Thanks again for posting all of formulas (only appropriate for an alchemist). It's really great of you!


I'm sipping a Daisy 17 right now. I used 2 dashes of Regan's, a dash of Ango Orange and a dash of Fee's just to cover my bases .

Just wanted to say that this weekend I had the privilege of visiting PDT, Little Branch and Pegu Club in New York City, and I still think that TVH is the clear standout from amongst the whole group. Though I am curious if Pegu Club inspired Bradstreet in Minneapolis decor-wise.

Absolutely agreed. I went to Pegu Club, Death and Company, PDT and Flatiron when I was in NYC last year and TVH was clearly superior. My girlfriend found most of them undrinkable in comparison .

jsagoff wrote:Just wanted to say that this weekend I had the privilege of visiting PDT, Little Branch and Pegu Club in New York City, and I still think that TVH is the clear standout from amongst the whole group. Though I am curious if Pegu Club inspired Bradstreet in Minneapolis decor-wise.

No the inspiration for Pegu was an officers club in Burma in the 1800's. Bradstreet was a noteworthy gentleman from Minneapolis who brought eastern aesthetic to the Arts and Crafts movement.

Thanks,
Toby

Thought I'd add a drink that a friend of mine had the other night at TVH.

Poor Liza

2 oz Clear Creek pear brandy or other Poire Williams eau d'vie
3/4 oz lime juice
scant 1/2 oz simple
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

shake, strain -- maybe add a drop or two of additional Peychaud's on top and flame an orange twist

This drink tastes SO strongly of pear -- like biting into a truly ripe Harry and David Royal Riviera. Delicious.

here's some pics from the Violet Hour party I helped host last night. The menu was:

Eyes Wide
Dark & Stormy
Blackberry Caprissima
Part & Parcel
The Etiquette

Friday PM a friend and I did the shopping, spending about $200 at Binny's, not including the bitters, Bulleit and Flor de Caña I already had. I spent Friday night making the syrups - simple, demerara, raspberry, hibiscus & ginger. I did the ginger syrup by just boiling a a bunch of ginger (skin and all) in water for about 45 minutes, straining and then adding sugar. If it was too strong, I added some more water. I also made candied ginger.

It got a bit challenging at times as I think all 30-35 people at the party ended up drinking cocktails and not just wine or beer. I bought some 16oz bottles at Cost Plus ($4 for 2 -- great deal) and made batches of the base mixtures in those but I could have used some bigger containers as I had to replenish a few times during the night. The biggest faves by far were the Etiquette and the Part & Parcel. I had all of them (some a couple times over ) and was quite festive by about midnight though I was a WRECK today .

The only casualty of the night was my shirt, which I stained when I shook up a drink w/o putting the cap on the shaker. Woops. The bar was kinda small and a bit cramped but it worked OK. We didn't use real glassware as managing/cleaning them would have been a major hassle. I brought a couple of my own coupe & collins glasses for photo ops, however The floor and bar were also quite sticky at the end of the night ! Note that my friend actually painted the walls of her living room the exact color of TVH as well

As it turned out, the only drink I actually got a shot of was the blurry Dark & Stormy (stupid camera can't focus in low light). Things got busy kinda quick and I lost track of everything.

Overall the party was a blast and everyone was raving about the drinks. Thanks to Toby for being so generous with the recipes !!

Those pictures are glorious! Thought I'd also share a couple more (off-menu) recipes from a recent visit.

Jamaican Julep

2 oz Smith and Cross Jamaican Rum
4 mint leaves
scant 1/4 oz demarara
splash pineapple juice

lightly bruise mint leaves and combine w/rum and demerara. Fill glass with crushed ice and stir. Top with splash of pineapple juice.

Speaking In Tongues

1 oz Chichicapa Mezcal (Del Maguey)
1 oz Luxardo Amaro
1-2 strawberries
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup

muddle strawberries with liquid ingredients, shake, serve up. This was one of the best drinks I've had at TVH.

New to this forum, but i love what i see so far.

toby, even though im not from chicago, once i discovered the Violet Hour, ive made sure to go there every time i was in town (even when the wait was 2 hours. it was worth it). in the 4 times i went last year, i managed to try a handful of different cocktails, but the Juliet & Romeo is definitely my favorite so far. being in my early 20's, im pretty new to the idea of drinking for taste instead of inebriation, but Violet Hour is certainly helping that transition. most of the mixology in this thread is way above my current level of recreational bartending, but im enjoying the learning process.

It speaks very highly of you and Violet Hour that you are willing to share your recipes like this. Ill make sure to stop by the Patterson House next time im in Nashville and have one in your honor

Well, I finally got my hands on some Fernet Branca. I want to try making a Zarzamora. Any ideas about the proportions? Here's what I know from the menu:

Wild Turkey 101, Fernet Branca, Blackberries, House Orange Bitters

Here's what I observed and others have discussed:
Blackberries are muddled to nice effect, but I didn't really taste them. Subtle I guess.
Served in a Collins glass with a shard of ice.
Possible Coca Cola in this--splash on top?
Lemon juice to sour this one a bit?

Here's the start of the recipe from hansoup plus additions:

1.5 oz Wild Turkey 101,
.5 oz Fernet Branca,
.5 oz Simple Syrup,
.5 oz lemon juice?
two Blackberries, muddled
dash orange bitters
splash of coke