The Cocktail Cabinet Cookbook Giveaway & Quick Bites
November 21, 2022 by JennyEnter our US/UK/CA giveaway to win one of three copies of The Cocktail Cabinet: The Art, Science and Pleasure of Mixing the Perfect Drink by Zoe Burgess.
In The Cocktail Cabinet flavour expert Zoe Burgess demystifies cocktails, explaining and exploring the structures, flavour profiles and techniques used. In the first part of the book Zoe helps you understand why cocktails work, looking at the five basic tastes and other elements, including the flavour profiles of key spirits. She pulls apart classic recipes to explore their structure and explains why certain ingredients work together.
Understanding these elements allows you to understand and build on your personal taste preferences, opening up a vast palette of options – including those of your own creation.
The second part of the book puts that knowledge into practice, with more than 80 recipes for drinks organised by cocktail type – champagne-based, stirred, bitter, sour and long. In each chapter Zoe builds on the basic recipe, layering on additional ingredients and variations to ensure you go on the journey of exploration with her, and get under the skin of how the cocktails are built. Throughout the book informative illustrations show everything from the flavour profiles of spirits to the deconstructed building blocks of each cocktail.
Cocktails are about enjoyment, of course, but what this ingenious book demonstrates is that the more you understand what you’re drinking, the more you will enjoy not only that drink but the whole world of delicious options that understanding opens up.
Zoe’s publisher has shared two recipes with our Members.
Champagne Cocktail
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- 1 white sugar cube
- 6 dashes of Angostura bitters
- 15ml (1/2oz) Cognac
- 100ml (3 1/3 oz) Champagne
Total drink volume: 115ml (3 2/3 oz plus 1 tsp)
Ideal glass volume: 150–240ml (5–8oz plus 1 tsp)
Glass: coupette at room temperature
This is an iconic cocktail with great depth of flavour and an approachable taste. Though a little stronger in spirit, we’ve retained balance with the warm flavour profile of all the ingredients involved. The spices from the Angostura bitters complement the Cognac’s woody profile and act as a bridge between the Cognac and Champagne. This is a richer, deeper-flavoured cocktail, especially when compared with the bright fruity notes of the Kir Royale (see page 82).
What’s great about this drink is that the aroma delivery system has changed and this is because of the sugar cube. The sugar cube encourages and becomes the starting point for the bubbles, and this is important. Each bubble carries with it the aroma of the bitters, making this cocktail a great example of the impact aroma has on the drinking experience. It’s therefore important you stick with a sugar cube – sugar syrup would taste fine, but the aroma of the drink will be reduced.
Place the sugar cube on a napkin and dash the bitters on to the sugar cube;
it should be fully covered in the bitters. Place the soaked sugar cube in the
glass, add the Cognac and top up with the Champagne, then serve.
Note: You do not stir this cocktail, as you do not want to disturb the sugar
cube. The goal is to let it gently release the flavour from the bitters while
it slowly dissolves and makes the cocktail sweeter. The drink will therefore
get sweeter as it sits, so don’t be concerned if this cocktail is dry at the start.
Enjoy the experience of it changing over time.
Sweet Manhattan
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- 40ml (1 1/3 oz) Bourbon
- 20ml (2/3 oz) sweet vermouth
- 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) maraschino liqueur
- 1 dash of Angostura bitters
- maraschino cherry
Total drink volume: approximately 75ml (2 1/3 oz plus 1 tsp)
Ideal glass volume: 100–150ml (3 1/3 – 5 oz)
Glass: chilled coupette
A Sweet Manhattan is a great place to start if you are looking to explore
Bourbon-based stirred cocktails. Despite its rich, sweet, warm and woody
flavour, this cocktail has a dry finish, making you want to go back for more.
Fill a cocktail tin with cubed ice. Add the Bourbon, sweet vermouth,
maraschino liqueur and Angostura bitters and stir approximately 15 times
to combine. Double strain into the chilled glass, garnish with a maraschino
cherry and serve.
Note: Buffalo Trace is a great Bourbon to start with, but do feel free to
experiment with your choice, paying attention to how it changes the body
and length of flavour in the cocktail.
Excerpt from: The Cocktail Cabinet by Zoe Burgess is published by Mitchell Beazley (£20). Photography by Andre Ainsworth’
Zoe took time from her busy schedule to answer some questions for our Members.
Zoe Burgess, founder and owner of independent drinks consultancy Atelier Pip, is one of the UK’s most renowned flavour experts and founding partner of one of east London’s most unique and creative cocktail bars, Untitled. With a career spanning over 10 years, she has developed groundbreaking cocktail menus for giants of the hospitality industry including three Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal and has collaborated with some of the world’s most respected sensory scientists, including Oxford University’s Charles Spence and University of London’s pioneering chemist Andrea Sella.
Her passion is pushing the boundaries within the sensory- and flavour-led sectors to create an immersive and memorable drinking experience for consumers. She continues to work with Heston Blumenthal’s creative team and has worked with clients such as SOMA Soho, The Standard Hotel and Be-oom tea rooms in London.
Q: What first triggered your interest in cocktails?
It was while I was working at a small artisanal chocolate company in London that I discovered the potential for a cocktail to deliver a full flavor experience. I was intrigued by how you could encapsulate a variety of different flavors into a single, perfectly balanced liquid and create a unique experience for guests. The opportunities felt endless and the more I explored with less traditional flavors, aromas and unconventional combinations, the more fascinated I became.
Q: Please tell our Members why your cocktail book is a must have?
While The Cocktail Cabinet contains over 80 cocktail recipes, what makes my book a must have is its holistic approach to the beauty of cocktails and knowing why exactly they work, which is by understanding their structure, the flavor profiles of the spirits and the skill of combining those elements to make a perfectly balanced drink. Once you learn to master the classics in the different categories (champagne-based, stirred, bitter, sour and long), you can then have fun exploring the wonderful spectrum of each category just by substituting 1 or 2 ingredients in your cupboard and adding your personal flavor preferences. Cocktails are unique in their flavor structure, and the book shares my knowledge on this with tips for you to explore and set you on a personal cocktail journey and host others in the home.
When you’re hosting, you want to focus on your guests and be in the moment, so I’ve designed the book in a way which presents everything you need to create a memorable experience at your fingertips, as well as a flavor thesaurus and cocktails indexed by spirit, type and occasion.
Q: Are you a cookbook collector? Just cocktail related books? Any others?
Yes! In fact, I tend to collect cookbooks more than anything else. I love the world of flavor as a whole, so looking at how chefs work with ingredients and layer up flavors is a real inspiration. I also enjoy artist biographies, it’s fascinating looking at how creativity works in general.
Q: Do you like to cook/bake – or are you devoted to cocktails and leave the cooking to others?
I do like to cook but normally just for others. The host in me comes out and it’s a very pleasurable experience, especially if I throw a cocktail into the mix.
Q: What is the best part of your job? Do you sometimes feel like working with drinks and food all day keeps you from wanting to get creative in the kitchen?
No two days are the same and I have the opportunity to collaborate with some amazingly talented people with skills that cross all areas of hospitality, that is the best bit. If I’m at home then the vibe is a little different and the Northerner in me comes out; I want comfort and calm.
Q: What is your go to for a quick dinner – quick dessert (if you are a cook/baker).
Noodle soup. I’ve always got a good miso and some veggies in my fridge so the basics are there if I’m in a hurry.
Q: If someone is throwing a cocktail party for the first time – what would you suggest about setting up a minimal bar and which cocktails are musts?
Firstly, keep it simple and think about what your guests will like.
Stirred cocktails will require less time and allow you to cover a selection of different flavor profiles. If you know that your guests enjoy Martinis, for example, it would be simple for you to offer a personalized Martini menu offering the different styles of this drink: vodka or gin (and possibly options of both, which I share in the book (p. 42-45)) and either a dry, wet or dirty martini, as well as garnishes. Throw a Gimlet into the mix too, that way if one of your guests would like a lighter and slightly sweeter drink, you can make it happen.
Q: Tell us about this cookbook or any future projects you are working on?
‘The Cocktail Cabinet: The art, science and pleasure of mixing the perfect drink’ has all my attention at the moment. It was a year of writing and then bringing it to life with the photography and bursts of color through the illustrations – it took a lot of time and teamwork. I’m so happy to have it released and to be sharing it now, especially in time for the festive season. There are more book ideas that I hope to work on in 2023 as well as a few bar openings I’ll be involved in, all exciting stuff!
You can follow Zoe on Instagram at @atelier_pip
Special thanks to the publisher for providing three copies of this title in our promotion. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
What is your favorite cocktail?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on January 31st, 2023.
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