Thursday, February 11, 2010

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Letters | Opinion | Editorial | Weekend Report
A sip of pleasure By SHAVAUGHN MOSS ~ Lifestyles Editor ~ shavaughn@nasguard.com: The British Colonial Hilton has spent thousands dollars to revamp their drinks menu for the newly-launched Bullion bar — and it shows with drinks that are laden with spices and fresh fruit which resulted in drinks that intrigue and tantalize with names like Rumbullion, La Pinela, the Cavalier and their namesake, British Colonial Punch. What they're now shaking, stirring, straining, blending, and pouring as they explore the use of different rums, spices and combinations, with virtually no limits has self-described bar connoisseur Benedict Sargent excited. Sargent, who has been tending bar at the Hilton for 10 years, but has 30-plus years in the field says the fresh fruit and addition of spices have really enhanced their drinks. "In the past we really never used fresh fruit, we used canned fruit and that made a big difference. And we have a wide variety of syrups like ginger, cinnamon, falernum (a spice syrup) that we all make from scratch. With most bars, the only syrup you usually find is the simple syrup (sugar and water) or grenadine, but we have spice syrups that we make ourselves, which really affects the taste, and then we have a number of different spices from different countries. When the people come in and taste these drinks they say they can't find them anywhere else so they have to come back again." The new drinks menu that Bullion features was made especially for them by a London-based cocktail events group that are specialists in hospitality — the Gorgeous Group — which specializes in fresh fruit, super premium and luxury cocktails, and are known for their award-winning team of bartenders, mixologists and cocktail hosts. Hilton bartenders now make use of rums from around the Caribbean, some of which are hard to come by, and which local distributors don't even stock, and which they've made arrangements to have flown directly into Nassau. "We are serving drinks now that you won't find anywhere else on the island and you're just going to have to come here and try," says Michael Wong, assistant manager of Restaurant and Bars at the Hilton who is partial to the Cavalier, a drink that's made with apricot jam, orgeat, cognac, Cointreau and fresh lemon and which they describe on the menu as their Bullion progression on the classic side car. "Our menu is fantastic, because you can't get any of the drinks anywhere else and that's what makes the Bullion bar super special," says LaToya Hanna-Moxey, Hilton's marketing and leisure sales manager, who says her preference is more along the lines of a drink on their menu called La Pinela, made up of white rum, fresh lime, mint and pineapple served mojito style with a vanilla float. On the menu it is described as tall and refreshing. "It's very good and a spin on the mojito, and for someone who isn't a hard drinker and doesn't know the difference between "X" and "Y" it would be a nice, fresh drink to try." As for the "bar connoisseur" himself, Sargent says the Rumbullion — a dark rum mixed with fresh lime, pineapple and their special house made ginger infusion — which is described as fiery, flavorful and delicious is a must try from amongst their 31-drink menu. "It's a drink not to be missed due to its exotic taste. You can try many different tropical drinks, but the Rumbullion has a taste of its own, and it's very good. For me the apricot jam makes it a drink not to be missed. The first time I tried it, was the first time I had a drink with apricot jam, and it was definitely nice." He also says the British Colonial Punch which is named after the hotel is also special and another of his must-try drinks. "Most punches have orange juice, pineapple juice, and grenadine, but what makes the British Colonial Punch different is that we have a port in it which gives it a different type of body, along with the pink grapefruit, a spice syrup and lemon. We also use a flavored dark rum where most other people use a white rum, so our British Colonial Punch is big with bold flavors." They've not left the non-alcoholic drinkers "out in the cold," and have six specialty drinks formulated especially for them — a Seasonal Fresh Fruit No-Jito, which is a combination of fresh fruit, mint and lime served mojito-style without the rum; Strawberry Jungle, a blend of strawberries, mango and mint; Spice Keg which is comprised of orange, grapefruit, spiced with cinnamon and ginger beer; Eastern Shore which has apple, lychee, lemon juice and grenadine; Passionada a mix of passion fruit, lime and ginger beer and Island Colada, a mixture of coconut cream, pineapple, cucumber and lime. And starting on Thursday and continuing every Thursday through the end of February, the Hilton and the Bullion bar will host "Hiltini" nights where they will focus on all things martini with their "Mixology 101" classes where patrons at Bullion can learn the do's and don'ts of drinking a martini; how to make one and the benefits of pouring a little more of this and a little less of that. During this event they will also showcase their top-shelf vodkas — Belvedere, Skyy, Absolute, Finlandia, Grey Goose and Bombay. They will also offer jello shots with the different types of vodka. On "Hiltini" nights they will also feature traditional martinis like the apple, espresso and cosmopolitan, and liven-up the evening with a martini-making competition that four random Hilton patrons will be selected to participate in for a more interactive experience. With two for $12 martinis offered between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., Hanna-Moxey anticipates exciting "Hiltini" nights. After paying thousands of dollars to the Gorgeous Group for their new drinks menu, officials at the British Colonial Hilton are understandably tight-lipped on their recipes, but after lots of pleading and cajoling on my part, I was able to get them to loosen up on at least what goes into four of their drinks recipes, but under the "promise of bodily harm" done to my person, I swore not to release the amounts of the ingredients. So feel free to experiment all you want with what I was able to get out of Hilton execs. BRITISH COLONIAL PUNCH Mount Gay Rum Port Pink Grapefruit Juice Falernum Sprite Nutmeg Lime wheels Mint sprig Swizzle in a glass and serve. THE CAVALIER VSOP Cognac Cointreau Orgeat Lemon juice Apricot Jam Lemon zest Shake and strain and serve in a martini glass. LA PINELA Havana Club Blanco Pineapple juice Sugar syrup Lime Juice Mint leaves Nassau Royale Mint Pineapple leaf Shake, strain over ice and serve in a Highball glass. RUMBULLION Goslings Pineapple juice Lime juice Ginger infusion Lime Shake, strain and serve in a martini glass. BULLION DRINKS MENU COLONIAL SIGNATURES Rumbillion: Fiery, flavorful and delicious. Dark rum mixed with fresh lime, pineapple and special house-made ginger infusion. Have it on the rocks La Pinela: White rum, fresh lime, mint and pineapple, served mojito-style with a vanilla float. Tall and refreshing. Pacific Breeze: Bountiful fruit flavors. Light rum, lychee, lemon and ginger, served tall and proud. British Colonial Punch: Big, bold flavors. Aged rum with port, pink grapefruit, falernum spice and lemon. Quackenboss: Bourbon and fresh passion fruit smashed with mint, lime and sugar. American Beauty: Bourbon shaken with smashed berries, fresh citrus and a touch of sugar. Beautiful! The Cavalier: Apricot jam, orgeat, cognac, Cointreau and fresh lemon. Bullion's progression of the classic side car. Bahamas Swizzle: Rum, prot, homemade falernum infusion, pineapple and lime. Long and luscious! Best Pina Colada: Fresh pineapple, super premium smooth run, cracked coconut and cream. Served frozen. HEYDAY CLASSICS Hemingway Daiquiri: White rum daiquiri piqued with Italian maraschino liqueur and pink grapefruit juice. Hotel Nacional: Ripened rum, pineapple, fresh lime and apricot brandy. Mai Tai: Orange Curacao, Orgeat and fresh lime. Dressed up to the nines. Dark & Stormy: Gosling's Rum, fresh lime and ginger beer Planter's Punch: Spiced fruit punch. Mojito: Mint, lime, sugar, heavy on the rum and a sparkle of soda from the siphon to finish. Rum Sour: Shaken with lemon juice, sugar, egg whites and bitters. ELEGANT CLASSICS Martini: Gin and vermouth, stirred ice cold. Martiniz: Gin, maraschino, sweet vermouth and bitters. Negroni: Gin, Campari, sweet vermouth. Aviation: Gin, maraschino and freshly squeezed lemon juice. A bright starter on the tart side. Manhattan: Rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth and bitters. Stirred. Sazerac: Rye or cognac, absinthe and Peychaud bitters. Old Fashioned Cocktail: Brown sugar, orange peel, bitters and really good whisky. Made slowly. Singapore Sling: Raffles recipe: gin, Benedictine, cherry heering, pineapple juice, bitters lemon and a snap of soda. Brandy Alexander: Cognac, crème de cacao and cream. Served fluffy. NON-ALCOHOLIC CREATIONS Seasonal Fresh Fruit No-Jitos: Fresh island fruit, mint and lime served mojito-style with rum. Strawberry Jungle: A cleansing blend of strawberries, mango and mint. Spice Keg: Orange, grapefruit, spiced with cinnamon and ginger beer. Eastern shore: Apple, lychee, lemon juice and grenadine. Passionada: Passion fruit, lime and ginger beer. Island Colada: Coconut cream, pineapple, cucumber and lime. Wednesday January 13, 2010