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In case you weren't aware, bartenders hate making mojitos. This week's springtime, mojito-like libation comes to us from Jason Rector, bar manager at Globe (290 Pacific Ave). It's called The Globe, but that wasn't, in fact, it's original name...
From Jason: "The original name of the cocktail was FTM (fuck the mojito) and the name speaks for itself. But now it's on our cocktail menu and it's called The Globe."
The Globe
3 oz. 209 gin
1 oz. St. Germain (elderflower liqueur)
1 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. partida agave nectar
Shake together, and serve up with a mint garnish.
PREVIOUSLY: Beretta's Jeepster, DOSA's Batsman, Cantina's Laughing Buddha
Attention Bay Area bartenders, please email Jay here if you'd like to share a recipe for this weekly column. (NOTE: That email link was spelled wrong earlier, so if you got a bounce back, try again...)
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*bartenders hate making mojitos*
Yes, yes they do. And Old Fashioneds.
An Old Fashioned isn't too much trouble to make unless you're from the throw-Carmen-Miranda's-hat-in-there school.
Just out of curiousity, why? Are they old people drinks?
Do they hate making Bloody Marys, too? I love me Blood Marys because I'm always hungover, but I hate ordering them because they seem like such work for a such a cheap drink.
They shouldn't mind during daylight hours. At night it's tacky.
Awesome! I'm relieved I've never pissed off a bartender before. Well, not by ordering a mojito, at least.
The reason why is muddling. You have to muddle the mint into fine ribbons to create a mojito. (You also must muddle fresh fruit and bitters into the bottom of a glass for Old Fashioneds.)
It's more time consuming than drinks you merely pour. When slammed, the last thing a busy bartender wants to hear it "Five mojitos for me and my girlfriends, please! Extra mint!!"
I think the issue is ordering. When it's slammed order a beer, short on the rocks, gin and tonic etc. Do not order "one mojito, one blended margarita and um, um, what did you want again, hold on bartender I forgot one, and can I put it on my atm card? "
If you put fruit in my Old Fashioned, I'd return it for being ridiculous. Bitters + sugar + whiskey = Old Fashioned. You don't even need to do the muddle bar sugar + water thing - just squirt some simple syrup in with the bitters, pour in whisky. Stir with ice. Garnish with lemon twist. Done - easy, peasy.
You can save your high fructose corn syrup maraschino cherry and orange slice for a fruit cocktail or something.
@ Chinanob
You need to review your cocktail history. An Old Fashioned contains fruit, by definition.
Actually, you might want to review your cocktail history. The first documented definition of the word "cocktail" goes back to 1806 and called for a base spirit, bitters, water, and sugar - a bittered sling. The "Old Fashioned" cocktail was most likely invented in the 1880s at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky. It was invented by a bartender there and made popular by a club member, Col. James E. Pepper, a local bourbon distiller who took it to the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar. The recipe called for whiskey, bitter, sugar and water (to dissolve the sugar). The garnish was a lemon peel. No orange, no cherry, no muddling of fruit.
The earliest documented inclusion of the orange was Harry Craddock's influential 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. An orange slice was included as a garnish (not muddled.) A few years after, a recipe for Old Fashioned was published that included a cherry. So basically, the Old Fashioned lived with fruit for 50 years, and then the fruit was first only as a garnish.
Actually, you might want to review your cocktail history. The first documented definition of the word "cocktail" goes back to 1806 and called for a base spirit, bitters, water, and sugar - a bittered sling. The "Old Fashioned" cocktail was most likely invented in the 1880s at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky. It was invented by a bartender there and made popular by a club member, Col. James E. Pepper, a local bourbon distiller who took it to the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar. The recipe called for whiskey, bitter, sugar and water (to dissolve the sugar). The garnish was a lemon peel. No orange, no cherry, no muddling of fruit.
The earliest documented inclusion of the orange was Harry Craddock's influential 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. An orange slice was included as a garnish (not muddled.) A few years after, a recipe for Old Fashioned was published that included a cherry. So basically, the Old Fashioned lived without fruit for 50 years, and then the fruit was first only as a garnish.
Are you ready to have your mind blown?
Lemons are a fruit.
The reason why is muddling.
It's not just that, it's the fact that mint leaves have this preternatural knack for clinging to the inside of the cocktail shaker -- even after it's been rinsed out. And it waits there, only to be shaken loose during the mixing of top shelf martini.
It's like the herpes of cocktails.
And the worst thing about making a single mojito during the busy time is that once you make one, people see you making it and suddenly everyone is ordering them.
Something about the smell of muddled fresh mint that gets everyones panties in a twist.
Places that get lots of mojito orders should just prep ahead of time a lot of glasses with mint and lime wedges in 'em.
Its called an assembly line. Some guy name Henry Ford invented it. You may have heard of him.
In fact we have heard of Henry Ford. And if you prefer his business model when it comes to food and drink, by all means, enjoy McDonalds. Otherwise, the bar-as-assembly-line business model has all the sophistication of a keg line.
Prepping (expensive and wilt-prone) mint is obvious in a place like Cha Cha Cha's or Blonde's, but if you're a bar where the mojito is not an obvious choice, it can really slow down drink orders for the rest of the patrons.
RobinSF is quite right to point out the high multiplier effect with mojitos. Certain drinks have this power. The mere sound of a blender will double the orders of margaritas.
What really galled me about the mojito was that I couldn't hate the customer. It's totally worth it and utterly snob-proof. Unlike the blended strawberry daiquiri, it's a perfectly respectable drink ... a labor intensive, thoroughly contagious beverage.
Food service workers in this town are such a bitchy lot of prima donnas. And I say that as someone who has plenty of notches on my belt working in food service - dishwasher, prep cook, busboy, waiter, bartender.
What happens if their bar is CALLED Mojito? Do they still get mad?
After reading this I have finally realized why bartenders and waitress's liked me so much when I used to go to bars. I was such an easy customer. A shot of whiskey and a draft and I was set. :-)