What's the future of cocktails?
A look into secret cocktail books, the non-alcoholic revolution, the relevance of critics, tiktok and cocktails, 'sexy' videos for a chuckle, a recipe and more!
Hello!
Hope you’ve all been having a great week. Happy (belated) Lesbian Visibility Week! And what better way to celebrate than upgrading your subscription, sharing this newsletter, and supporting a lesbian you love! (Me, lol).
Kate and I have been in Mexico! So much fun I know. And very on theme with Agave April and our focus on Mezcal the past few weeks! (Head to drink seco to see my past newsletters about tequila, mezcal, and the like).
We celebrated our 4-year anniversary (1 month early) at a ‘super rico’ jungle restaurant called Kokoro! Kate learned that she loves actually loves sake and I got to eat 100’s of grams of toro so it was truly a 10/10 evening. We also sipped on some Mexican sake which lacked a little bit of complexity but it was dry, clean, and crisp and a perfect food pairing.
Last week we had Part 2 of the Agave Classes which was so much fun. If you’re looking for some recipes we covered head to the seco cocktails Instagram!
This week, as hinted in the last newsletter (such a tease I know). We’ll be looking a little into the future of the cocktail and hospitality world. I’ve got a big read for you today, things haven’t been quite as chaotic so I’ve had a little more time! This means we’ll be covering:
Secret cocktail books
Lunch? Noonshine? Nunch? What’s in a name?
Tiktok trends and the changing cocktail industry
Are critics still relevant?
and The non-alcoholic revolution. Mocktails? Non-alcoholic cocktails?
Let’s talk about those viral ‘sexy’ (yikes) cooking videos
A cocktail to send you into the weekend
Enjoy!
Secret cocktail books:
Ask any bartender or mixologist and they’ll have their very own, priceless, bible-adjacent secret cocktail recipe book.
This is the stuff of witches (lol yes, I’m thinking of that Practical Witches Margarita scene). An accumulation of our best cocktail recipes for any occasion or ingredients. Despite my secrets existing on an online spreadsheet- call me the Modern Witch, I can sympathize with the holy cocktail Bibles.
That’s why I loved this article, combining 2 of my favorite things, cocktails and traveling. It’s about the famous Czech cocktail book that has been passed between bartenders and across continents, becoming a living record of modern drink-making for 15 years.
Started by Adam Slavík, he created a gorgeous Cognac-hued leather beauty filled with 333 pages (a nod to the Czech tongue twister referencing 333 silver syringes squirting over 333 silver roofs) of handmade paper produced at a late 16th-century Czech mill. Slavík called it The Bartenders’ Travelling Book. This was then passed around to bartenders around the world, filling it with their best recipes. To add to the mysticism no one is allowed to post a photograph of another person’s page or reveal content that isn’t their own without asking so there is little to no digital footprint of the book.
It feels nice in the age of the internet and readily available cocktail recipes (with all the joy they come with) to have a few things to hold dear and to value the long tradition of bartenders before us and keep some of the mystic behind the art of cocktails.
You can read more here: https://punchdrink.com/articles/secret-cocktail-recipe-book/
Lunch? Noonshine? Nunch? What’s in a name?
I also thought I’d share this fun little article about the etymological origins of ‘lunch’! As a notorious snacker and someone who is far from restricted from the traditional times and foods for meals, I think there’s always more time in the day for another meal. Brunch- Ingenius, a winner. Dunch- needs some working on, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
This article works through some of the other historical names for ‘lunch’, ‘Noonshine’ (which you’d probably know if you’ve read Jane Austen) has to take the trophy for me.
In the spirit of Lesbian Visibility Week, I also enjoyed this little fun fact from the article about Alice B. Toklas! Who knew Alice B. Toklas was behind pot brownies?! After a 1968 Peter Seller movie featuring Alice and her partner the wonderful Gertrude Stein publishing her hit cookbook containing a recipe for “Hashisch Fudge”. Since then, Toklas’s recipe for Hashisch Fudge has been a strong ally to the LGBTQIA+ community.
You can read more on the origins of lunch and some lunch staples here:
https://lithub.com/whats-in-a-meal-on-the-linguistic-origins-of-lunchtime/
Tiktok trends and changing the cocktail industry:
This next section is something that has been on everyone’s minds in the past few years. What is the impact of social media trends on hospitality? And should I get on TikTok?
These days so much of what we eat, drink, and cook is driven by social media trends. A lot of this was covid (who didn’t try at least one TikTok food/drink trend, vodka pasta lovers I’m looking at you), but is this a mark of thriving creativity and inclusivity or hyper-capitalism?
In my newsletter about the future of wine, I spoke about this relating to wine sommeliers and the really positive impact this had. You can read more here.
There are so many positives to the social media community exploring and sharing food and drinks, and trying new things out. It takes away an element of gatekeeping, or class barriers that have usually defined the creative food and cocktail industry. It’s also a great way for chefs and bartenders to educate people and bring in new clients/customers. Most importantly, it makes it fun! Cocktail making should be about trying and learning new things (shameless promo for my classes).
However, on the other side, we’ve got an increased emphasis on Instagrammable, high-turnover, food. In August 2021 US-based survey of 2,000 people by OnePoll found that one in three people order food or drink they don’t actually consume so they can post a picture of it on social media! Crazy! It’s a fine line between creating something innovative that is also sustainable. Likewise, for businesses, there’s a paradox that you can just as quickly be ‘in’ one day as you are ‘out’.
I should also mention there is a fun side to this. Last newsletter I mentioned the virality of Tom Hanks’s ‘Cokange’, also known as the American Aperol Spritz- Diet Coke and Champagne. I hate to think of the other cocktail trends I’ve seen going around…
What about the infamous “Negroni sbagliato with prosecco in it” that had bartenders groaning for weeks. Once again, it’s just a negroni sbagliato, the prosecco is implied! But what a hot clip. In honor of Lesbian Visibility Week, I’ll put it in for you all. Stunning!
It’ll be interesting to watch how social media trends continue to define the hospitality industry and who manages to walk the line of popular, creative, and sustainable.
Until then, I can’t quite get around the revival of eggnog or the orange juice espresso, so I think I’ll stick to my cocktail bible.
Are critics still relevant
In a similar vein, these days critics play more of an entertainment role than an important defining cultural and industry role in hospitality.
To be fair this has been a long time coming, you’re probably more likely to quickly scan the Google reviews of a place than go to the trouble of finding a trusted food critic, right? Barbara telling me she “waited 45 mins for the lamb which was worth the wait but the $20 salad might as well be rabbit food” liked by 20 people, is much more useful than reading some 1000-word piece on the intricacies of the flavors in the sauce most people wouldn’t even know the name of by a so-called ‘arbiter of taste’.
These days every Tom, Dick, and Harry can review and share venues, and for the most part, we trust them more than the privileged (predominantly white) middle-aged lucky bugger who gets paid to eat, they’re one of ‘us’ right? This rhetoric is growing in parallel with conversations about who gets to define what food is ‘good’ and what does that look like when you’re eating food from other cultures?
On the other hand though, are they alternatively exactly what we need? Someone we can trust to cut through all the bullshit? And being in the industry, recommendations and good reviews from the right people can define a holiday.
Post pandemic hospitality world has really encouraged us to think about the relevance, role, and influence we want food critics to have. From looking at the direction of foodie magazines there has definitely been a shift. People are wanting to connect with their food, chefs, community, and writers more than ever rather than read a dichotomous critique. Further, where do industry issues of labor, pay, inequality, and appropriation come in? Is it a food critic’s job to weigh in?
The Non-Alcoholic Revolution: Mocktails? Non-alcoholic Cocktails?
I briefly touched on this last newsletter, we are in the midst of a non-alcoholic cocktail revolution. As I last spoke about, Gen Z is drinking a whole lot less than the generations above, and research is now telling us it’s a whole lot better for your health to not drink at all.
For many reasons, health, mental wellbeing, practicality, cost, etc the non-alcoholic drink industry is booming. The industry is forecast to grow a whopping 31% by 2024.
Okay so terminology, you probably don’t hear ‘mocktails’ being thrown around as much why is this?
While the term 'mocktail' has been widely used to refer to non-alcoholic drinks, it carries with it a certain negative connotation. The word 'mock' can be interpreted as an imitation or a joke, suggesting that non-alcoholic drinks are not serious or legitimate beverages. This is not only unfair but also inaccurate. Non-alcoholic drinks can be just as complex, delicious, and thoughtfully crafted as their alcoholic counterparts.
Furthermore, the term 'mocktail' does not accurately describe what these drinks are. A drink's value does not solely come from its alcohol content, but rather from the combination of flavors, textures, and presentation. Therefore, calling a drink without alcohol a 'mocktail' diminishes the drink's identity, making it seem like a lesser version of a 'real' cocktail. Using the term 'non-alcoholic cocktail' or 'NA cocktail' more accurately represents these drinks and their value.
It acknowledges that these drinks are not lesser versions of cocktails but rather a different style of drink altogether. This promotes inclusivity and allows those who choose not to drink alcohol to enjoy and appreciate the artistry of mixology without feeling excluded or belittled. Ultimately, the term 'mocktail' is outdated and potentially harmful to the perception of non-alcoholic drinks. Using more inclusive and accurate terminology such as 'non-alcoholic cocktail' or 'NA cocktail' better represents the value and complexity of these drinks.
There are some really exciting non-alcoholic spirits out there, I like to use these as it gives you more to work with outside of citrus and sugary options, still creating heavy and stronger flavors. It’s now an expectation that bars will have some sort of non-alcoholic cocktail option.
And then we have non-alcoholic wine! I know right! It’s a thing. A super fascinating multiverse. You’ve got de-alcoholized wine (it started as wine, but the alcohol was removed in fermentation). And there are alternative blends, that mimic the taste of wine with herbs, spices, and other ingredients. So much to explore, and luckily it just keeps getting better.
Stay tuned for the next newsletter, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite non-alcoholic spirits and NA cocktail recipes!
Let’s talk about those ‘sexy’ cooking videos:
Okay. I’m gonna say it. What the fuck? I cannot take these guys seriously, and I’m 99% sure it isn’t just because I’m gay.
If you’ve spent any time on TikTok or Instagram you’ve probably come across these guys, if you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. In the videos, some guy cooks but does it all very suggestively/sensually. Dough kneading, finger sucking, slapping, fruit fingering, and slow-mo dripping things. Oh, and did I mention they’re almost always shirtless? I struggle to get through a video without laughing.
Cedrik Lorenzen is one of the big names with 3.7 million followers, with some videos having over 37 million views!!!. Don’t get me started on the captions. And he’s not the only one, he’s part of a growing thirst trap chef content-creating community. No hate to him, the editing is so impressive, and there’s clearly a demand for it.
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Or him making an espresso martini:
Disappointing news for you all, I will not be following suit on his cocktail making…
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We truly do live in the wild west. The possibilities are endless .
A cocktail to lead you into the weekend:
Rather than leave you on the uncomfortable albeit hilarious thirst trap cooking vids from above. Let’s send you into the weekend on a brighter note.
MARGARITA A L'ORANGE:
1 pinch salt
.75 oz simple syrup
1 oz acidified orange juice
1 oz tequila blanco
That’s all for this week! I’ll leave you with Kristen Stewart at the MET Gala (a whole conversation for another day). Happy weekend!
Remember to like, share, comment, subscribe and all that jazz.
Carlie x