The Taxi Driver Caipirinhia

It has been about a year, year and a half since Joe made his Caipirinha for me. I remember it distinctly; lime, cachaça, and a dash of sugar, all fizzied up with a splash o' soda. Mmmmm.

And so, Joe decided to resurrect this popular little number with a twist, (as is befitting Joe's idiom,) and presented me with this week's offering, The 'Taxi Driver Caipirinha."

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice, add:

- 1 part Galliano, (Home-Made or otherwise!)

- 1 part Vana Talinn

- 2 parts Orange Juice

- 4 parts Cachaça

- Shake! Shake like the very wind!

- Strain into a large martini glass

- Garnish with a slice of orange or a maraschino cherry.

Oh, sure, I should've seen this coming. Joe has been threatening me for a while with revamping some of our earlier cocktail reviews. "Bring those great drinks from our early posts up to speed with all the bells and whistles, (i.e. pop-up illustrations, videos, tangental bar-chatter,) of our modern postings." And I have been stringing him along, ("Yeah, we should! That is a great idea! We should DEFINITELY get around to doing that!") with little or no time to spearhead this initiative.

But, more recently, Joe has been complaining about his computer being on the blink. And this week, after dropping this tasty little number in front of me, he emails me saying his home PC is dead and he can't send me any notes regarding the cocktail!

Being a tad bit on the suspicious and jaded side, I assumed duplicity: "DID YOU THINK I WOULDN'T SEE THROUGH YOUR LITTLE PLAN!?! HA!!!"

Anyways, this is what I thought had happened, until Joe emailed me a "Polaroid" of the repairman he found on AOL. ("It was difficult finding a guy who knows the Sinclair ZX-81," he explained as the problem, whatever that means!)

So, in any case, Joe was unable to provide any notes for this week's Greatest Drink. This week, I walk alone!

From my experience with the cocktail, I can say that this "Taxi Driver" Caipirinha differs greatly from the original with the addition of the vanilla. The traditional "Taxi Driver" calls for a healthy dash of vanilla extract. Joe opted for a new flavor on the ever-growing list of Passage liqueurs with the substitution of the Vana Tallinn.

This is a really nice liqueur with a rich, vanilla taste, giving our subject of the week a smooth velvety quality that mingles nicely with the citrus crowd of O.J. and Galliano, (and remember, you can very nicely use Home-Made Galliano here. I know where you can find a good recipe!) and really makes that Cachaça POP!

I also found out that Vana Tallinn is named after and made in the Estonian capital city of Tallinn, ("Reval," for you in the nonagenarian crowd.) And wouldn't you know it, Tallinn was recently named "The European Capital of Culture for 2011."

I am not sure if Joe knew this or not, but here we are, honoring Estonia for this achievement with a cocktail, and a cocktail that features another of their fine achievements!

That Joe.

I can't help wondering if he intentionally abandoned me this week, so that I could travel down this road of cultural enlightenment and learn these things for myself. So wise, he is, so inscrutable.

I swear, sometimes, I feel I work with Yoda.

This week's video, although only barely related, absolutely stinks with culture. Enjoy Bohemian Rhapsody!

Teie Terviseks!

C:

Tequila Mockingbird

So, there seems to have been a little action in the polls lately. A spike in the tequila votes means it is time to do a tequila cocktail.

And so it was that we, the dedicated few, discussed tequila drinks. Joe had a few ideas that he wanted to try out on us, but they were without a name. We listed a few other tequila cocktail names: Tequila Lime, Tequila Sunrise, Tequila Slammer; and out of nowhere, the name just appeared. We went with it, and to the catchy little moniker, the following cocktail was attached.

The Recipe:

Into an empty cocktail shaker, add:

- 1 whole fresh lime, quartered,

- 1 tablespoon of simple syrup

- Muddle indiscriminatingly!

- Add a generous scoop of ice,

- a 3 count of Cabo Wabo Tequila Blanco,

- a 3 count Cachaça

- a "sploosh" of orange juice

- shake judiciously,

- pour over ice,

- float some Grand Marnier over the top, (to taste,)

- garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry

Recipe by Joe the Bartender, Passage to India Restaurant, Salem, MA

Joe's notes: My choice of what tequila and cachaca are purely my own preference. Please feel free to use any quality tequila and cachaça you prefer. Just remember that a drink is only as good as the ingredients you use. Saying that, for a mixed cocktail like this I would not use very high-end tequila: you want to keep the cost affordable. The use of fresh ingredients, however, like fresh limes and freshly squeezed orange juice does make a big difference to the flavor and quality of the drink.

I have to thank Chris this week putting me back on track and giving me the inspiration for the Tequila Mockingbird.

Friday evening, as is usual, Chris came to the bar to discuss the G.D.I.T.W.T.W. I noticed as he sat at the bar that he had a very serious look on his face.

This is the dialogue that followed:

Chris: "Joe, I feel that we are moving too far away from the original idea of this blog."

Joe: "What do you mean?"

C: "Well, your stories, although I accept they may be mildly entertaining to a couple of our readers, they are not what you were brought on-board for."

J: "O.K., Chris, but I do feel that with any new concept, a reason needs to be attached to the principal"

C; " What?"

J: "I like telling stories."

C: "Listen, this week I would like you to make an original drink, I have come up with the name Tequila Mockingbird as a starting point for you."

J: "Great name! Obviously tequila, but where should we go from there?"

C: "That, my friend, is up to you."

J: "Your right, Chris, in fact this reminds me of the time.."

C: "Stop it. Your doing it again. You are like the demented old relative at Thanksgiving that starts every story with 'When I was a boy.' Please try to stay in the plot."

End dialogue.

Feeling somewhat dejected and realizing I was never going to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, I cast my eyes over the vast array of bottles waiting for me on the shelves. Grabbing the tequila, I started to mix.

A mixologist is like a chef, you start with a quality ingredient and experiment by attaching additional flavors. The thing you never want to happen is that the additions you make mask the original ingredient. You may enhance the flavor or make your customer experience the original ingredient in a new and unexpected way. But, just as you would never garnish farm raised salmon with pig's liver, also never mix tequila with something like strawberry-flavored whipped cream from an aerosol can. Use quality and fresh ingredients and you can't go wrong.

I did have a story about a bottle of tequila and a Vegas show girl, but as my story telling days have been put on hold it will have to wait.

I, like Igor, am ever subservient to my master.

Chris's notes: I OBJECT!!!

That conversation, is a complete fabrication! (And I am not saying this simply because it makes me out to look like some kind of control freak!)

Okay, yeah, I may have suggested the name. And true, I do come in every Friday, but I swear, I have no recollection of this conversation taking place the way Joe says it took place!

I will testify to the freshness of ingredients claim made here. From my side of the bar, this is among the biggest contributions to the flavor. Freshly cut, squeezed, or muddled, not protects the purity of the flavors as well as fresh ingredient in the proper proportion. And these ingredients really help bring out the flavors. In particular, I felt that the taste of the tequila is really noticeable, in a good way! Joe claims that he tastes the cachaça more, but he admits that cachaca is among his favorite drinks! Research partner, once again present, Michael B., agrees with me, but also states that he, too, is a "tequila guy!" But there was no disagreement about the final product. Delicious!

Incidentally, that tequila is made by none other than legendary rocker, Sammy Hagar, and shares the name of his bar in Cabo San Lucas, The Cabo Wabo Cantina!

Salud!

Caipirinha

In honor of their winning the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, this week's entry is Brazil's national cocktail, the Caipirinha, (pronounced "kie-purr-REEN-yah,") made with a spirit called cachaça, (pronounced "kah-SHAH-sah,") which is distilled from sweet sugarcane juice, and is very similar to rum. This is Joe's favorite drink!

The Recipe:

Into a chilled 16 ounce, pint glass:

- Add one whole lime, quartered, and muddled with a teaspoon of simple syrup, (or a teaspoon of light brown sugar,)

- Add a generous 5 count of Cachaça, (a Brazilian sugarcane-based spirit,)

- Fill with crushed ice,

- Top with a spritz of soda,

- Garnish with a wedge of lime.

-Recipe by Joe the Bartender, Passage to India Restaurant, Salem, MA

Bartender's Notes:

As a mere lad, working the pubs of London, living on warm beer and cheese & onion crisps, Joe met a young barkeeper from Sao Paulo who introduced him to this drink, thusly changing his life forever, for the better.

With this posting, we hope to pass this life-changing moment on...

Saúde! -Chris