hummmmm...

Among other reasons for establishing the 'The Venture Mixologist', I wanted a blog in which to reference cocktails that I might submit for participation in 'Mixology Monday'.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, Mixology Monday was established back in '06 by the well regarded, Seattle-based cocktail enthusiast Paul Clarke, and is essentially an online, themed cocktail event hosted monthly by different sponsors.  Various writers, readers, mixologists, enthusiasts, etc. participate by submitting cocktail creations (often, but not always original) based on the corresponding theme chosen by the host.  My goal was to begin with a first contribution this year, and that time is now upon me.  The theme for this month is 'Local Color', hosted by Lindsay of Alcohol Alchemy, and for my inaugural submission I've decided to go with the use of a locally crafted botanical spirit...hum.

hum (no caps here) is a 70 proof spirit produced by cold tea maceration of four very distinct botanicals - hibiscus, ginger, cardamom, and kaffir lime - in pot still, cane sugar rhum.  Founded and developed by Chicago mixologist Adam Seger (formerly of Nacional 27, Tru, and The French Laundry), hum is reminiscent of Italian-style amari, possessing a slightly bitter, yet sweet profile with tons of depth and herbaceous complexity.  

I considered a number of different ways to integrate hum into a cocktail and came away with a couple ideas worth pursuing.  The first was a botanic-forward approach in which I paired it alongside Citadelle gin, Lillet Blanc, a couple dashes of Regan's Orange No. 6, and garnished with a wide swath of orange zest.  The result was a nice harmony of all the aromatics, and with hibiscus and ginger notes at the forefront, it definitely put hum on display without drowning the lingering bontanicals of gin and Lillet on the finish.  I gave this another try swapping Lillet for either Cocchi Americano and Dolin Blanc (a quinquina and dry vermouth, respectively), both of which were pleasant variations, but Lillet was my preference.  This cocktail seems meant for a warm summer afternoon, it was vibrantly refreshing and faintly reminded me of a lighter version of a Negroni (more on this in a bit).  Given the marriage of hum with French-based Citadelle and Lillet Blanc, this one was called Le Bourdonnement (The Hum).

Le Bourdonnement
1 oz hum
1 oz Citadelle gin
1 oz Lillet Blanc
2 dashes Regan's Orange bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled old fashioned glass over large square ice, garnish with orange twist.

Le Bourdonnement

Next up, as the season turns to fall here in the Midwest, I felt it was appropriate to make a less summery, somewhat cozier cocktail fit for the autumn months.  Enter whiskey.  While I certainly don't reserve whiskey only for the cooler months, it does lend itself particularly well to this time of year.  The question was, which type of whiskey?  Bourbon, a favorite spirit of mine, was the first to cross my mind, but I thought the spiciness of hum might overshadow it a bit (tho that obviously depends on the mashbill of the bourbon).  Scotch was another option, perhaps quite an interesting combo if paired just right.  But given my relative lack of experience with most scotches, I opted for something more familiar and went with a rye instead, looking no further than Rittenhouse, BIB.

BIB, or bottled-in-bond, refers to a spirit which is the product of one distillation season and one distiller at one distillery, and has been aged in a federally bonded warehouse for a minimum of four years.  The resulting product must also be bottled at 100 proof, all in accordance with the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897.  While the primary reason for this legislation was to guarantee the quality of the spirit relative to other products of inferior quality and ingredients, an additional benefit for distillers was that the excise tax was not paid until the final bottling process.  This allowed for a tax savings on the spirit which was lost to evaporation (often referred to as the 'Angel's share') during the lengthy aging process.  And with that brief history out of the way, back to the cocktail.

I went with a bit of a riff on The Boulvardier (bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth), which in and of itself is a cousin of the earlier dated Negroni (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth)...a deeper dive into these related cocktails will be the subject of a future post for sure.  While each of these concoctions might take some getting used to given Campari's acrid, bittersweet character often being described as an acquired taste...it is a taste I have acquired.  Following on that theme, I felt that the amaro-like qualities of hum would stand up to the rye and perhaps blend well with Punt y Mes.  Dating back to 1867, Punt y Mes is a unique style of sweet vermouth, a 'vermouth amaro' (vermouth with the addition of bitters), and it is the oldest and best selling product of the Carpano brand based in Torino, Italy.  When combined with the rye and hum, the Punt y Mes was not overpowering, yet this cocktail still had a bit of pungency to it and the heat from the rye was certainly noticeable on the back end.

Hum variation no. 2
1 oz Rittenhouse rye
1 oz hum
1 oz Punt y Mes
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with orange twist.

Hum variation no. 2

While not displeased with the result, I was left with the impression that there was room for improvement.  Reflecting back, I wasn't quite sure that Punt y Mes was the best choice in vermouth here.  While it certainly works well in a number of cocktails, it just didn't shine in this mix (go figure, I'm learning).  So, instead I shifted focus to my 'go to' sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica.  This style of vermouth, introduced in the 1990s by the same Carpano brand - yet based on a much older recipe - is referred to as 'vermouth alla vaniglia'...most notably differentiated by the subtle addition of vanilla and a further hint of sweetness.  I think it works terrifically in just about any cocktail I've had calling for sweet vermouth (at least so far), with The Manhattan and Negroni at the top of that list.  And the end result of this substitution?  For me, it was spot on...a much better match and a perfect example of how slight variations in similar classes of spirits, aperitifs, or liqueurs can make a world of difference.  The delicate sweetness of hum blended wonderfully with the woody, vanilla notes of Carpano and Rittenhouse, and equally as well, the unique botanicals were harmoniously drawn together by the complexity of Angostura bitters.  And in the end, ironically enough, I devised this cocktail to better align the use of hum with the changing seasonal climate here in the Midwest...on the eve of September 23rd.

The Equinox
1 oz Rittenhouse rye
1 oz hum
1 oz Carpano Antica
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with orange twist.

The Equinox

And with that, here are two relatively simple, straight-forward cocktails which feature the very unique hum botanical spirit.  Le Bourdonnement on the lighter side, with gin and Lillet Blanc pleasantly embracing the distinct herbaceous qualities of hibiscus, ginger, and kaffir lime...and The Equinox, a warmer, more robust cocktail with a rich dark fruit character and spicy edge of cardamom and rye, rounded out nicely by the full-bodied Carpano Antica.  Definitely pick up a bottle of hum and mix up some magic yourself, it is wonderful stuff.  

For all the terrific local creations for this month's MxMo, click here for the round-up post at Alcohol Alchemy.