Shea's Rebellion Cocktail Recipe

White House Correspondents’ Dinner After-Party: Part 1 Anthony Caparelli: Welcome to Art of the Drink my name is Anthony Caparelli. We’re here at the Capitol File Magazine after party for the White House Press Correspondents’ Dinner. We are going to be talking to some of D.C.’s hottest bartenders and check out the amazing cocktails that they make for this incredible party. Okay so we are working with John Arroyo. John where do you work? John Arroyo: I work for Founding Farmers on 20th of Pennsylvania. It’s located inside the IMF Building. Anthony Caparelli: Fantastic and what cocktail are you going to do for us today? John Arroyo: Today we’re going to do the Shea’s Rebellion. This drink was created because a guest came into the restaurant and said; “Hey make me a drink called the Shea’s Rebellion;” because that was what his name was. Anthony Caparelli: Okay. John Arroyo: Well first thing I thought about was a Whisky Rebellion. Anthony Caparelli: Sure. John Arroyo: And next thing you know, the Maker’s Mark is involved then bam, Shea’s Rebellion is born. It’s really a simple, simple recipe. We take fresh raspberries. We take a little bit of some fresh lemon juice here, put that in the drink. Anthony Caparelli: You have a half ounce, looks like? John Arroyo: Looks like a half ounce is correct, sir. Anthony Caparelli: Okay. John Arroyo: Very good. A little bit of homemade ginger syrup that we make in our restaurant. Anthony Caparelli: So I’m thinking about half ounce of each one? John Arroyo: Exactly; half ounce of each one. Anthony Caparelli: Okay. John Arroyo: Very good. And then, a quick little muddle. You just want to get a nice little puree and a little consistency in there. Anthony Caparelli: So you’ve got a little sweet from the raspberry, a little heat from the ginger going on and then the sour from the lemon, right? John Arroyo: You get a little spice; you get a little bit of the sour form the lemon, and then you get a little bit of sweet from the raspberry. Anthony Caparelli: Fantastic. John Arroyo: They kind of marry well. Then finally, last but not the least. We add our whisky, Maker’s Mark of course. Anthony Caparelli: Absolutely. John Arroyo: We do not mess around with the Maker’s Mark. We need two ounces. We’ll put a little ice in that. We’re going to shake them up. When you have citrus and sweet together so you definitely want to shake it up. Anthony Caparelli: I agree, absolutely. John Arroyo: Alright, that will do. And what we’ll do is we’re going to fine strain this out into the cocktail glass just so that we have the essence of this delicious beverage and not a lot of pulp. Anthony Caparelli: Fantastic and for the viewers, this is a technique called double straining when you strain it once from the tin into a fine sib and that gets the pulp out and the seed out right? John Arroyo: Exactly right. I’m assuming you’ve done this before? Anthony Caparelli: A couple of times, yeah. John Arroyo: Two or Three times I’m sure. We finish this of to add a little bit of aromatics to it. We do a little rose water. Anthony Caparelli: Oh that’s beautiful. John Arroyo: Right. Anthony Caparelli: Taste with your nose. John Arroyo: Right, exactly. And then finally the lemon wheel action. Anthony Caparelli: Due to the sour heritage of the drink right? John Arroyo: There you go. Cheers. Anthony Caparelli: Look at that. Look how crystal clear and beautiful that is? John Arroyo: Enjoy. Anthony Caparelli: That hits you from six inches away. John Arroyo: You know tomorrow’s a Mother’s Day. You’ve got to have roses. Anthony Caparelli: Fantastic, fantastic. John Arroyo: Excellent. Thank you. Anthony Caparelli: John, thank you so much. John Arroyo: Hey it’s my pleasure. Anthony Caparelli: Appreciate it. Each week our Art of the Drink video pod cast price package will consist of a Maker’s Mark apron, a copy of my Art of the Drink volume 1 Bar Essentials DVD, and a limited edition version of That Special Touch, a Maker’s Mark cook book not available in stores. Alright so we’re working with Logan Skidmore from Alto Plaza. Logan, welcome. Logan Skidmore: Thanks man. Anthony Caparelli: How you doing, man? Tell me a little about the drink you got going for us. Logan Skidmore: Well today we’re doing a modern variation on the classic Derby Cocktail. Anthony Caparelli: Okay. Logan Skidmore: So mine is called the derby Cocktail Number 2. Anthony Caparelli: Alright beautiful. Logan Skidmore: It’s pretty simple okay. We’re going to start with a Honey Clove Star Anise, a simple syrup that we made at home. Anthony Caparelli: Honey Clove Star Anise? Logan Skidmore: Yes. A little bit of— Anthony Caparelli: Fantastic, Star Anise is licorice for— Logan Skidmore: Yeah. There’s a little bit of licorice flavor. Anthony Caparelli: Fantastic, okay. Logan Skidmore: We’re going to start with about an ounce of that. Anthony Caparelli: Nice. Logan Skidmore: We’re going to add our Maker’s Mark. I’m a two-ounce guy but obviously this is not going to fit in this glass so we’re going to go with about an ounce and a quarter here. Anthony Caparelli: Okay, alright. Logan Skidmore: Okay. Add a little bit of some in here we’re going to do some fresh lemon juice probably about a—well take the size of the glass, about half an ounce. Anthony Caparelli: Okay. Logan Skidmore: Like that just to balance it out and that’s it—three-ingredient drink, nice and simple. Okay? Anthony Caparelli: Beautiful. Logan Skidmore: We’ll add our ice just like that. I prefer when working with bourbon to stir so we do not bruise it at all here. Anthony Caparelli: Keep it clear. Logan Skidmore: Exactly. Keep it nice and simple and clear. Anthony Caparelli: Okay. Logan Skidmore: Just get a nice and shady work done there. Nice and simple, we’re going to top it off there, strain it right in your glass. Anthony Caparelli: Oh that’s beautiful. Logan Skidmore: Nice honey color. Anthony Caparelli: I was just going to say it looks like honey, it’s fantastic. Logan Skidmore: It does? Anthony Caparelli: That’s great. Logan Skidmore: I’ll now be calling it the Derby Cocktail, I like doing mine with a little bit of mint with a nice slap like that right on top. Anthony Caparelli: Nice. Just to bruise it a little? Logan Skidmore: Just to bruise a little crack to let the oil out so you can smell it as you drink it. Anthony Caparelli: Right, right. Logan Skidmore: And just a nice star anise for looks basically. Anthony Caparelli: Ready to go? Logan Skidmore: And there you have it—Derby Cocktail number 2. Anthony Caparelli: Derby Cocktail number 2. Let’s see what you got. Oh dude, that’s— Logan Skidmore: Can you smell it, yeah? Anthony Caparelli: Oh men. Logan Skidmore: You like it? Fantastic. Anthony Caparelli: Dude, I can’t even tell you. That’s fantastic. Logan Skidmore: Good. Anthony Caparelli: That’s fantastic. Congratulations, Man. Logan Skidmore: Thank you. Thank for having us. Anthony Caparelli: Thank you so much.