drink
by Diana Cercone
Cole Porter immortalized them in song. Ogden Nash sang their praises in his poem “A Drink with Something in It.” In “Sex and The City,” Carrie Bradshaw introduced the Cosmo to women everywhere, while Don Draper in “Mad Men” turned to more than one Old Fashioned whether celebrating a deal or losing an account. And who doesn’t know that James Bond asked for his martini “shaken not stirred?”
Here in Doylestown, it’s Jake Brogan that’s shaking up the craft cocktail scene, reviving the old classics as well as, like a jazz soloist, rendering them anew with his own riffs. Not surprising, then, he’s also composing cocktails of his own which seem well destined to become the new classics.
Jake’s the bar manager at Hops/Scotch 22, located in The Marketplace on S. Main Street. What he loves best next to creating cocktails is talking about them. An affable, tall, red-haired and blue-eyed craft bartender of Irish descent, it’s not hard to imagine Jake serving James Joyce his favorite drink and matching him story for story.
I had a chance recently to sit down with Jake and talk about his favorite subject. Though I met him in Hops/Scotch 22’s upscale bar, Jake suggested we wander downstairs to the bar’s spacious lounge, Dram & Barrel, where comfortable, cushioned chairs, sofas and tables complement its large bar. (Dram & Barrel is also where Jake holds special dinners, tastings, classes, the annual Prohibition party and salsa nights.)
For someone not quite 30, Jake’s knowledge of cocktails—both on how to make them and their history—is impressive. An avid reader of cocktail and cook books, he has a home library of more than 80 books, including those written by acclaimed spirits historian David Wondrich.
It’s important, he says, to not only know how to make a cocktail correctly but to know its origin. And not just him. Every member of his staff must also. They have a required reading list, he says. No one objects. Rather, he says, they enjoy bringing in articles and books to share.
There’s nothing worse, he says, than going to your favorite bar, not seeing your favorite bartender and asking for your favorite drink which the different bartender can’t make the way you like it. “You won’t find that here,” he says. “Everyone can make your favorite drink. We pride ourselves in consistency and service.” His staff, he says, is his greatest asset.
And, yes, you can ask any one of them about the history of a drink. Just, please, not on a night when they’re crazy busy (which is most).
Jake grew up in Frenchtown and now lives in New Hope. His foray into the cocktail world started, he says, while working at the Stockton Inn where he learned how to make the “old-school classics” perfectly—and by heart. No looking up in a bartender’s drink book. The first one he made was The Sidecar, he says. “Sunshine in a glass. A classic French cocktail made with Cognac, Cointreau, fresh lemon and a sugar rim.” It still is one of his favorites today. And a popular one at Hops/Scotch, although, Jake says, “We add a touch more sugar to the rim since we [Americans] have gotten used to more sugar in our diets over the past century.”
After the Stockton Inn, he went to Zoubi’s where he met Chef Justin McClain. From Justin, as well as from other chefs, Jake saw that many of the utensils in a chef’s arsenal could easily carry over to a craft bartender’s. For example, a few of the crafted cocktails at Hops/Scotch are made with smoke. “I first saw a smoke gun in Justin’s kitchen and asked to borrow it to see what I could come up with,” he says. After many trial and errors with his staff, they hit on the right combination where the smoke does not linger on top of the cocktail, but joins it, tempering the taste of alcohol and making for a very smooth drink as I later learned first-hand.
But, then, Jake is always looking for ways to make his cocktails better. That’s why as many of the ingredients as he can, he makes in-house: no premixed or frozen anything. “We make the vast majority of our ingredients in-house,” he says, “like our simple and compounded syrups, various tinctures/bitters, juicing our citrus, infusing certain spirits and making our own drunk cherries.
“We try to hit all five senses,” he says. The sense of smell, he says, is the strongest. “If your nose is working, you’re going to get more of the flavors from a cocktail.” One way he achieves this is by giving a spritz of Barefoot Botanical’s lavender spray to a cocktail like his Lavender Mist (an ambrosia mix of vodka, lavender simple, lemon and champagne). After setting the drink in front of a customer, Jake gives a quick spray over it. The fresh lavender aroma arouses your taste buds, he says, so you’re more receptive to all the nuances of the cocktail’s ingredients.
Fresh citrus peels are also de rigueur here. “We peel fresh lemons, limes and oranges so fresh, the oils in their skins are still present,” Jake says. When you add them to a drink, you can actually see their beads of oil skimming the surface, he says. To coax even more of the citrus’ flavor and oil out, Jake will set a fresh peel on fire in front of a customer before serving the appropriate drink, like Hops/Scotch’s Devil’s Advocate, blowing the flame out and dropping the singed peel into the cocktail. Dramatic, yes. And, oh, so worth it.
Jake also uses as many local ingredients as he can. Along with Barefoot Botanicals in Doylestown, he uses Boardroom Spirits in Lansdale, 1675 Spirits in Bensalem, and Bluecoat Gin and New Liberty Spirits in Philadelphia.
To shake or stir? It all goes back to biology, he says. If it’s organic, (having juice, dairy, egg whites or herbs), you shake. By shaking these cocktails, you’re aerating the organic matter in a pleasing way, he says, releasing more of their essence and creating a nice frothy effect. You stir, he says, when using only spirits, like in a martini and Manhattan. And there is another science at play here, he says. You never want to dilute a cocktail by melting too much of its ice. Therefore, when stirring, the rule is to do so for only 20-25 seconds, and when shaking, do for only 8 to 12 seconds. Both will yield the desired amount of 20 percent water in a cocktail, he says. (I know, Bond asked for his martini to be shaken not stirred. The theory behind that is he wanted his drink diluted to keep him sharp.)
What about the perfect cocktail? Easy, Jake says. Everything should be balanced. “All the ingredients should play off of each other,” he says. You should taste the complexities and appreciate each ingredient. Yet no one ingredient should overpower the others but join together to create a new sensation. Proving once again that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Though I could have continued peppering him with more questions, it was time to go upstairs for some tastings. Joining me at the bar were four of my friends—each cocktail imbibers, including Cynthia, our own “mixologist.”
Didn’t take Jake long to size us up of what we like to drink. And in about 10 minutes an inviting cocktail was set before each of us. For Cynthia, it was a Lavender Mist, which after tasting it, raises her glass in salute to Jake and proclaims “This is the bomb!” In front of Joyce, Jake places A Slow Roar, espresso infused vodka, espresso and Bergotti coffee liqueur. We all share a taste and declare it so smooth and delicious we wouldn’t mind having it in the morning with a Danish.
For Donna, who said she likes her drinks spicy, Jake made a Mans Not Hot, comprised of mango-infused tequila, lime, simple and a salt and pepper rim. Delicious! Holding a glass of Lavender Mist in one hand and a Transient Lullaby in another, Barbara, happily, says, “I like this one. And I like that one.” Later after tasting the Devil’s Advocate (made with Sexton Irish Whiskey, fresh lemon juice, demerara syrup, topped with a session IPA and singed orange peel) that Jake made for me, Barbara says, “If I was a whiskey drinker, I’d drink that. It’s so smooth.”
Though I wasn’t a whiskey fan either, I became one that day. And “forgot” about sharing the Old-Fashioned and Smoked Old-Fashioned (all made with Sexton Irish Whiskey) Jake put in front of me. They were that good.
On the day of our tasting, we were two days’ shy of Hops/Scotch 22’s cocktail menu for spring. (Yep, just like farm-to-table chefs, Jake varies his drink offerings according to what’s in season.) To be sure, I’ve been back since—as well as having had taken his whiskey cocktail class. Cheers!
Hops/Scotch 22 is located in The Marketplace, 22 S. Main Street, Doylestown. For more information, call 267-576-7980 or visit www.hopsscotch22.com and on Facebook.
(bio)
Diana Cercone is an area freelance writer who specializes in food, art and travel.