Welcome to the new By the Book, where the Sauce editors choose a monthly theme and pit cookbooks in a head-to-head battle to see who comes out on top. And the winner? We hand the champion over to you in a By the Book Facebook giveaway. In honor of our annual Guide to Drinking, we’re kicking the new BTB off with cocktail books. Last week, we shook up a Pegu Club from GQ Drinks. Next up: Cocktails on Tap by Jacob Grier.
Cocktails on Tap: The Art of Mixing Spirits and Beer is perfect for those nights when you can’t decide between kicking back with your favorite craft brew or shaking up an Old-Fashioned. However, it is not perfect for those nights when you want a quick drink. Jacob Grier will teach you the nitty-gritty on mixing beer with spirits, and he’s equally informed on both subjects. He is also meticulous, which means you’ll be crafting your own cardamom tinctures, making from-scratch licorice syrup and calling fancy bottle shops to ask for hard-to-find liqueurs.
I opted to make a Detroiter, as it required me to buy only two new bottles of obscure booze to add to the Sauce HQ bar: Cynar and apple brandy. Also, we had a few bottles of Schlafly’s TIPA around, which sounded perfect for a warm fall afternoon. While I had to research the specifics on Cynar (like what is was), the team at Parker’s Table knew exactly what I was after. I sipped this artichoke-based, herbaceous apertif and could see how its bitter notes would complement the hoppy IPA.
The Detroiter starts sweet with the apple brandy and honey syrup tempering the hops in the IPA. However, the Cynar cuts through the sugar mid-sip, backing the hops and ending the drink on a gentle bitter note. Welcome fizz from the beer keeps the drink effervescent and light, no easy task with both brandy and honey syrup.
The Rundown
Skill level: Advanced. Nearly all the recipes require an unusual ingredient or an additional recipe requiring the stove or a few days to infuse.
This book is for: That hipster couple who can never agree on whether they should pull an esoteric beer from the cellar or shake up a 10-ingredient cocktail – at last, something to agree on.
Other recipes to try: Ale Punch, for a traditional beer cocktail to share; Mulled Ale, to replace that tired mulled cider recipe; Strange Bedfellows, for a contemporary, beer-inflected take on a Manhattan.
The winner: Cocktails on Tap. The recipes may be more complicated, but the end results are worth the effort.
Detroiter 1 serving
1 oz. Cynar
¾ oz. apple brandy
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ Honey Syrup (recipe follows)
2 oz. (60 ml.) IPA
Twist of grapefruit peel, for garnish
• Combine the Cynar, brandy, lemon juice, syrup and 1 ounce of the IPA in a cocktail shaker. Shake without ice, then add ice and shake again. Srain the drink into an ice-filled rocks glass, top with the remaining IPA and garnish with the grapefruit peel.
Honey Syrup Makes 1¼ cups
½ cup (120 ml.) water
1 cup (240 ml.) honey
• In a pot, bring the water to a boil and add the honey, stirring until it is dissolved. Store the syrup in a sealed bottle at room temperature. It will keep for several weeks.
Reprinted with permission from Stewart, Tabori & Chang
This article appears in September 2015.