By Khalida Sarwari
It’s one of the most famous catchphrases in American pop culture, but what does it really mean when James Bond requests a martini “shaken and not stirred?”
As Cache Bouren, San Jose’s Singlebarrel cocktail lounge founder and bartender, explains, the difference between the two preparation methods is one that results in a fully mixed cocktail with a cloudy appearance versus a cocktail that’s fully blended and diluted. The rule of thumb is to shake any cocktail that contains fruit juices, cream liqueurs, egg, dairy or any other thick or flavorful mixers and to stir cocktails that use distilled spirits or very light mixers only, such as gin and whiskey cocktails.
Any connoisseur will tell you that there’s a fine art to making the perfect cocktail, and Bouren, a 15-year veteran of the business, is no different. In a pair of presentations at the Cupertino and Saratoga libraries in December titled “The History and Craft of the Cocktail,” he and Singlebarrel head bartender Tomoyo Yoshinaga will discuss the rise of the cocktail in the mid-1800s, as well as techniques and styles of mixing. The two will talk about how these drinks came into being and the expertise that goes into making a distinctive and flavorful beverage, and throw in a few facts about such celebrity bartenders as Jerry Thomas and Harry Johnson.
The bartenders will also talk about and display various tools used by American bartenders past and present, including ornate, hand-carved bottles, bar spoons, citrus squeezers, a kit containing 50 different spices, soda syphons, liquor bottles, mixing glasses and strainers. Many of these tools belong to Bouren, who began collecting them about four years ago by scouring the Internet.
Bouren co-founded his famous downtown speakeasy-style bar five years ago to introduce something new to the nightlife scene. Unlike many bars in the area that display their name and logo on flashing signs, Singlebarrel’s sole distinctive feature from the outside is an overhanging barrel above the door. Bouren indicated that was completely intentional.
“We needed to hide in plain sight; we didn’t want to make it easy to find us,” he said.
For Bouren, bartending is more than a job. The cocktail aficionado’s interest in the business is rooted in his childhood. He recalls helping his mother, a bartender and cocktail waitress, pick up bottles and, on many occasions, packing guitar cases for his musician father.
“I grew up in bars,” he said. “It’s in my DNA.”
And though he knows how to make 125 drinks off-hand, he says he doesn’t have a favorite. To him, the perfect drink is one that is to a patron’s liking and brings a smile to their face. Getting to share stories about the craft with others is the cherry on top for Bouren.
“It’s exciting for me to broaden someone else’s horizons, which is what we do here,” he said.
That said, Bouren offered two cocktail recipes that tend to be popular with patrons. The aptly titled “Corpse Reviver No. 2” is the perfect morning-after drink to cure a stubborn hangover, he said. This drink has equal parts freshly squeezed lemon juice, gin, Kina Lillet, quantro and five drops of absinthe, garnished with a fresh raspberry.
“It was literally meant to keep your body moving in the morning,” Bouren said.
Named after a men’s club in Philadelphia, the “Clover Club” was created in 1888 and tends to be another popular choice among patrons. This cocktail contains 1.5 ounces of gin, 0.75 ounces of freshly-squeezed lemon juice, 0.5 ounces of rich, simple syrup (made of two parts sugar and one part water), one whole raspberry and about 1 ounce of egg white.
The Santa Clara County Library District events are free and open to the public and don’t require reservations. Alcohol will not be served at the event, but attendees will have the opportunity to sample and identify various herbal flavors often used in cocktails, and to check out library books describing the recipes highlighted in the demonstration.
This event will be held at the Cupertino Library on Dec. 11 and at the Saratoga Library on Dec. 15. Both start at 7 p.m.
Link: Cache Bouren bringing cocktail hour to Saratoga Library
