White House Press Dinner, Pt.1 - Art of the Drink 70

Anthony heads down to Washington, DC, to attend the Capital File Magazine White House Press Correspondents' Dinner After Party in the first of this 3-part AOTD On The Road series!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• bourbon
• cocktail
• correspondents
• dinner
• makers
• mark
• white
• house
• twitter
• facebook
• hulu

[sarsattacks]

When it comes to bourbon, when do you shake and when do you stir? These two drinks are really similar but one was shaken and the other was stirred.

[drinkart]

Great question, and source of contention among some bartenders. Shaking versus stirring doesn't depend on the liquor, but rather on the mixers and, more importantly, how the bartender wants to present the drink. Shaking aerates the drink, which makes it easier for your nose to get involved in the tasting and can thus intensify the flavor. This also froths the ingredients, which lightens the texture but also clouds the liquid. Lastly it imparts ice flakes which help keep the drink at temperature.

[drinkart]

Stirring keeps the drink dense and clear, but does this at the expense of aeration and ice flakes. To me, flavor and temperature are more important in most cocktails than keeping them clear, so I shake almost all my drinks. The exceptions are liquor-only (no mixers) drinks that I serve up (no ice) and specifically want to keep crystal-clear - and these are rare. (Also consider that even a shaken drink will clarify in just a few minutes.)

[drinkart]

I've taken temperature readings over 30 minutes of shaken and stirred drinks countless times in training classes, and shaken drinks stay significantly colder longer. A properly-shaken martini will still be below 40F after sitting for 15 minutes, while the stirred version doesn't hold temp nearly that long.

[drinkart]

Last common misconception is that shaking waters a drink down more than stirring, which is not only untrue but immaterial. First off, ice melt is an important ingredient in a properly mixed drink. Secondly, physics tells us that cooling a liquid from Temp A to Temp B requires the ice to absorb X amount of heat, which in turn results in Y volume of ice melt. Both methods rely on convective cooling and if the temperature is lowered the same amount, the melt will be equal. Thanks!

[SPRSwede]

wohoo new vid!

would like to try those drinks out, but ginger syrup, or honey-clove star anis, little bit to fancy ingredients for a hobby bartender... any suggestions on what i could use instead?

otherwise, WOHOO, will share for sure!

[drinkart]

Actually, flavored syrups are some of the simplest (hence the name simple syrup!) ingredients for new bartenders to experiment with. To make the base, mix equal parts sugar (or honey) and hot water. Then just add ginger, or clove, or star anise, or fill-in-your-choice-here, and let steep until the flavor is as strong as you like. Strain, chill, and mix! Thanks for watching!

[TheAbsintheReviewNet]

Another great video!

[spabank]

Keep the new vids coming!!!! Your the man Anthony!!!!

[joethebourbonman]

Great stuff...happy to see new videos. It's great to see bourbon cocktails being made, I've always thought it was a shame that a lot of people don't realize how complimentary the flavor profile of bourbon can be to the right mixer.

[SPRSwede]

well, making it is not a problem, it's finding the ingredients, but i'll see what i can do

[Krivc89]

You can make that stuff at home in about 10min, just make a small batch of it so you'll use it before it goes bad.