In cocktailsyou could say that there are two types of creativity, the easier and the more difficult, and the reason why the Debbie, Don’t cocktail is so impressive (not to mention the fact that it is bright, delicious and elegant) is that this is a very simple example of the difficult kind.
To explain: the new thing is the dragon that we bartenders are always chasing. New cocktails, new seasonal lists, new trends, it never stops: when you create a drink, you have to do something you haven’t seen anywhere else. But how to approach it?
Let’s start with a Daisyone of the most delicious and refined cocktails ever created. Let’s say you’re mixing one right now, with tequilalime juice and agave nectar. It’s very simple to make a version that no one has ever made before, just open your pantry, close your eyes and start grabbing: I’m reasonably certain that no one has, for example, infused the tequila with a Triscuit or shaken it with a tablespoon of all-purpose flour, or served from a hollowed-out raw potato. These are novel ideas that might generally fall under the banner of “creativity,” but they’re also pretty stupid. But you can see how even the most non-stupid ones can be over-engineered and ultimately lacking in taste: yes, a Margarita with tequila infused with charred peanut shells, cricket-washed agave, and grass Acid-adjusted wheat might be good, but it’s probably not. . It’s probably just new.
The other side of mixological creativity (the “hard type” mentioned above) embraces constraints. Instead of looking for the obscure, the real challenge is to start with the same ingredients that everyone has, and not only combine them in a new way, but also make that new combination delicious. Many things can result from such a mission – these are the rules that the Beta cocktails gentlemen gave themselves, to weird And wonderful results – and it is with this sensitivity that Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin proposed the improbable combination of rested tequilaAverna, lemon juice and maple syrup to make the Debbie, Don’t.
The drink appears in Regarding cocktailsthe collection of recipes and methods from the late Sasha Petraske. Petraske is the most important mixological figure of the last 25 years: he founded the speakeasy Milk & Honey in New York in 1999 and, in doing so, created modern cocktail culture as we know it, and seeded a handful other major cities and a dozen bars – and it was under his exacting tutelage that many, if not most, neo-classical cocktails were invented: the Gold rushTHE PenicillinTHE Red hookI mean, it goes on and on. His creative philosophy was all about challenging creativity, refining details, perfecting technique and creating simple, repeatable and challenging drinks.
The story is that Gelnaw-Rubin was working at one of Petraske’s bars in the early 2010s, Dutch Kills in Queens, and turned Petraske into a drink he was working on: he started with rested tequilafor a lightly sanded vegetal agave note with a light woody spice, and combined it with the bitterness of black coffee from the Sicilian Averna amaro, the bright acidity of lemon juice and the sweet depth of the syrup of maple, and gave him Petraske to try. “He surprised me by telling me it was the best drink I had ever imagined,” says Gelnaw-Rubin, with Petraske adding: “if you don’t understand why, that’s OK.”
I would not pretend to read Petraske’s thoughts: the entirety Regarding cocktails is a decoding and a tribute to the genius of man, and it is worth picking up, but the reason among my favorite drinks, especially at this time of year, is its incredible combination of novelty, simplicity and of delight. It’s very simple and it’s been right in front of us the whole time. It takes a pretty tough liquor (Averna) and makes it play well in a shaken drink. It is autumnal in its herbaceous depth, both refreshing and deeply comforting, rising high and drumming low, and creating synergy between more than the sum of its parts. This is the most difficult type of creation, and all the more satisfying.
Debbie, don’t
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake long and hard, 10 to 12 seconds, before straining into a coupe or over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with lemon zest, a lemon slice, or nothing at all.
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS
Tequila Ocho, Casa Obsidiana, Cincoro Tequila, El Negocio
Reports: The original drink is only 1 oz. of tequila, which I increased a bit to manage the sweetness. If I’m wearing a sweater in New York on a cool fall day, I suspect the lingering maple note might be welcome, but by normal standards of cocktail balance, it’s a touch sweet. Feel free to ignore me and bring it back to 1 oz, but I’m thinking of increasing it, somewhere between 1 oz. and 1.25 oz. even, retains the charm of the original but helps manage the softness.
Rested tequila: It is important that the tequila has a little age: the blanco was good, but too vegetal and without charm. “Reposado” means rested and is when a tequila has aged between 2 and 12 months, just a kiss, just enough to keep the character of the agave but file down some of the sharp edges. Beyond that, try to find one without additives, or at least not sweet (Celebrity Reposados tend to be sweet). Fortaleza Reposado is the benchmark here, buttery and vanilla without being artificial, but the French oak of Don Fulano or the sweet spices of Tequila Ocho are excellent, as are the high-quality budget products like Cimarron, Olmeca Altos and Réal del Valle.
Avernus: Averna is such a tough kid to mix (always good, almost never better), it’s honestly just a joy to find a drink that it works with. I tried this with a bunch of its competitors, and it was almost always pretty good – the standouts were Ramazotti, for a grapefruit-like texture on the palate, and Cynar, with a deeper buzz of earth and d bitterness – but I think Averna was brilliantly cast and just right. If you have it, use it.
