Old School Warmth

As
winter is upon us again it’s time to revisit drinks that
ward off the chill. And for this article its time to go back
to the near-forgotten originals. The oldies are goodies for
a reason and this certainly goes beyond my beloved Side Car.
Recently I found some very interesting liqueurs that were in
the United States many years ago and have only recently
resurfaced. If we are going to return to the old school of
cocktails, we must begin before they were called cocktails,
but the liqueur was still mixed with other juices, herbs or
liqueurs.

One of these very
old-school but recently-returned libations is a Dutch
liqueur known as Batavia Arrack. The trade of this liqueur
dates back to the early 17th century when the Dutch East
India Company sailed the known world. Batavia Arrack comes
only from the Island of Java in Indonesia. It is distilled
from sugarcane and fermented red rice, using Chinese pot
stills with characteristic teak vats. This was a time when
punch for many was the drink of choice. It was a celebration
of the fruits and spices that were at that time rare and
expensive. Many punches are made with Batavia Arrack; one of
the more popular ones was Swedish Punch – or
Punsch.

Another newly rediscovered
liqueur is Zirbenz (est. 1797), which is a Stone Pine
liqueur from the Austrian Alps. Now admittedly when I first
saw this being poured by someone I can only think to call a
“liquor geek”, Eric Seed, Principal of the Haus Alpenz
portfolio, my expectation was something akin to what
fortified Retsina would taste like. I can’t say I like
Retsina much; I really do like Greek wine, but Retsina has
always made me believe it would do a better job than Pine
Sol on my floors. Seed’s knowledge and passion was clearly
evident so I continued to taste. The Zirbenz was a very
delicious surprise; none of that medicinal pine quality
evident. On the contrary, if it were possible to climb a
pine tree in July and smell the cones in their infant form,
this was the essence of what I was experiencing. Yet the
taste of pine had an almost sweet quality to it as young
garlic can have. As it turns out, baby pinecones are in fact
used in the distillation of Zirbenz. You can drink this
straight or as a Martini Salzburg, which is a combination of
Zirbenz, gin, lemon juice, and a bit of sugar to balance.
Another twist is on the hot rum toddy called le Grog
Austrian. Amber rum is combined with Zirbenz, lemon juice,
sugar, cinnamon, clove, and hot water.

Creme de Violette is
another of these liqueurs that has been used in recipes for
over a century but has been remiss for about a decade. It is
sometimes confused with Parfait Amour, which has flavorings
of mostly orange and vanilla, but Creme de Violette is quite
different. It is made from very particular violets in
Austria. A slightly sweet essence of violets was my first
thought after tasting this for a classic cocktail, a
Violette Royale, which mixes it with Champagne. A very old
school cocktail that was made with this is the Aviation:
gin, lemon juice, Creme de Violette, and a
cherry.

The final long-standing
traditional liqueur I’ll recommend is Nux Alpina Cream – a
walnut liqueur. This is the essence of what a fall cocktail
could be made from. Flavors of walnut, caramels and clove
are intense, sweet and long. It is made from green walnuts
that have been steeped for months in Weinbrand, which is a
local double distilled brandy, then in the final month with
walnuts, spices and herbs. The number of cocktails that
could be created with this – or ways in which it could be
cooked with – are myriad. A couple of cocktails that have
caught my attention are the Drake and the Raincoat. The
Drake is Nux Alpina, vodka and amaretto, all topped with
espresso. The Raincoat is Nux Alpina, bourbon and almond
syrup on ice with cinnamon.

Using any of the above or
any of the spirits in the Haus Alpena portfolio (available
via Ideal) could be an excellent addition to the back bar or
the home bar. Many of the cocktails I’ve described are
classic, yet there certainly is the potential to reinvent
these classics or spin the next wave of drinks. I look
forward to seeing cocktail lists around town in the near
future.