Beverage

There are several stories surrounding the birth of the mojito. One of the most colorful says the drink was developed in the 1500s when the famed explorer Sir Francis Drake landed in Havana to sack the city of its gold. While the invasion was unsuccessful, an associate of Sir Francis Drake may have created an early version of the mojito called "El Draque."

Topics: Drink trivia, Mojito, History, Beverage

When outfitting a new location or upgrading old equipment, a restaurant owner has to choose between saving on the cheap option or investing in tools that will last longer. But which is better for the bottom line?

Topics: Restaurant management, Blending solutions, Cost of ownership, Durability, Feature, High Performance Blenders, Beverage, Profitability

 

Latin America has enjoyed tremendous economic growth over the past several years, led by Paraguay, Panama and Peru, which grew at rates of 11, 9 and 6 percent respectively in 2013. Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Bolivia, Brazil and Mexico have also seen their economies expand and their restaurants and bars fill up with newly affluent customers.

Ask a bar full of “norteamericanos” to name a Latin American cocktail and surely the Margarita will top the list, along with the requisite debates: frozen or on the rocks, salt or no. But go a little deeper—a little father south—and you’ll find some unique cocktails sure to win over customers. And for guests in search of gluten-free indulgences, these drinks are a boon—all are made with brandies or grain-free liqueurs. 

Topics: Latin America, Peru, Cocktails, Pisco sour, Brazil, Feature, Mojito, Bolivia, Beverage, Chile

The term "milkshake" first appeared in print in 1885 and at that point it referred to an adult drink containing eggs and whiskey. But by the early 1900s, a milkshake had come to mean a drink made with ice cream and chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla syrup. 

Topics: Shakes, Drink trivia, Featured, Milkshakes, History, Facts

Even when summer temperatures reach the triple digits, most beer enthusiasts think of ice as something you put beer on, not something you put in beer.

Ice—or anything else one might add to beer—dilutes the flavor, traditionalists say. And taste is increasingly important to American beer drinkers, as the growing popularity of craft beers would seem to indicate.

But adding other flavors to beer actually has a long tradition going back to those beer-loving Germanic cultures. The “radfahrer,” or “radler” as it’s commonly translated, which means “cyclist” in German, is a mixture of beer and lemonade or beer and lemon soda.

The legend is that an Austrian innkeeper had a large group of cyclists arrive and had to stretch his limited beer supply by cutting it with lemon soda. The mixture became popular in warm weather, especially among young and active imbibers, and is now sold all over the world in some form or another.

Topics: Featured, Feature, Beverage, Liquid nitrogen, Beer cocktails, Frozen beer foam, Beer, Beer milkshakes, Beer trends, Radler

The culinary and cultural distance between Austria and Mexico is at least as great as the geographic gap, so how did an Austrian restaurant in Missouri earn a reputation for great margaritas?

The secret is fresh-squeezed lime juice, according to Scott Beskow, who manages the Wunderbar at Grünauer in Kansas City, Missouri. “We’re an Austrian restaurant known for our margaritas, which is weird. But it’s all because we juice them to order.”

The Wunderbar, located inside Grünauer but branded and licensed separately, is known for its fresh handcrafted cocktails. Beskow, who worked for over a decade as a corporate trainer at McCormick and Schmick's, a chain recognized for its innovative approach to mixology, has a thing for freshly juiced cocktails. He notes, “we sell a lot of beer and Riesling, but those don’t bring people back.” He observes that the bar gets more repeat business from the margaritas, greyhounds, and signature drinks like the “Flüssiger Strudel,” (shown below) made from fresh lemon juice, rum, egg whites and leftover strudel syrup.

Topics: Feature, Food, Margarita, amaretto, Kansas City, Austrian, Lime juice, Manual Juice Extractor

The Test Lab at Hamilton Beach, led by mechanical engineer Arthur Hudgins, Manager Engineering Test Lab and Model Shop, is a kind of punishment chamber for food service equipment and hospitality appliances. It’s a noisy place consisting of several rooms—some piping hot, some ice cold, some dry and others tropically humid—where appliances made by Hamilton Beach and its competitors are tested for performance, safety and durability.

Topics: Featured, Performance blenders, Durability, Product testing, Beverage, Culinary blenders

Balsamic vinegar. Arugula. Smoked jalapeno. Blenheim apricots.

Matthew Biancaniello isn't cooking with these ingredients. He's making drinks.

Call him a cocktail chef: a self-taught alchemist who has perfected the art of combining fresh herbs and produce with liquor to make garden-crisp cocktails. Through his company, Eat Your Drink, he now serves as a consultant and bartender for high-profile clients. He shared his expertise on creating and successfully launching an innovative produce cocktail program.

Topics: Cocktails, Produce-infused cocktails, Bartending, Featured, Beverage

In recent years, bartending has been elevated to an art form by professionals like Tony Abou-Ganim (left), one of the world's foremost bartenders and author of The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails. Instead of pouring drink mix from a bottle, a mixologist creates perfectly balanced cocktails with fresh and novel ingredients. Dedication to the craft isn't just about the ingredients; professional bartenders need serious tools.

Abou-Ganim has spent four years collaborating with design company Product Council to develop and manufacture his own line of fine barware. He shares his personal take on essential bar tools and advice for aspiring mixologists.

Topics: Bar Tools, Bartending, Featured, Beverage, Juicer, Recipes, Mixologist