|
|
|
Philly Distilling recreates John Bartram's original bitters recipe
Tonight, Bartram's Garden (54th and Lindbergh) is hosting a fundraising soiree that'll appeal to lushy history buffs - bartenders Theo Webb (Fish), Christopher Walls (Dettera) and drink-lady-about-town Phoebe Esmon will be mixing cocktails using a bitters recipe originating with the family of lauded botanist John Bartram himself.
Philly Distilling recreates John Bartram's original bitters recipe
Tonight, Bartram's Garden (54th and Lindbergh) is hosting a fundraising soiree that'll appeal to lushy history buffs — bartenders Theo Webb (Fish), Christopher Walls (Dettera) and drink-lady-about-town Phoebe Esmon will be mixing cocktails using a bitters recipe originating with the family of lauded botanist John Bartram.
Curators at the national historic landmark uncovered the recipe in their research and asked Robert Cassell of Philadelphia Distilling Co. (Penn 1681 Vodka, Bluecoat Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe, XXX Shine) to recreate it. "To a general point of geekiness, we tried to stay very true to the recipe — this is how he would've done it," says Cassell. Though the recipe vaguely calls for a "neutral proof spirit" to go along with the botanicals, the distiller decided to use a cane-based raw product as his base for the Bartram bitters, as rum was the most popular alcohol in America during that era. In lieu of running the product through a modern still — another luxury not available to the OG bittercrafters — Cassell simply let the Caribbean-derived cane lie, along with additives like cherry wood provided by Fair Food, gentian root from Penn Herb and prickly ash bark taken right from the Bartram grounds. He also refrained from using modern milling equipment to grind these ingredients to a consistent size, meaning each 20-gallon batch he produces tastes a little different than the last.
"I hate to use the term 'bitter' to describe bitters, but it's definitely that — there's a firmness to it," says Cassell, contrasting Bartram's recipe to modern bitter brands like Angostura. If you can't make it to tonight's event — tix, which range from $50 to $125, also include food from Power Catering with support from Supper — Cassell tells us the product will soon be made available via the PLCB's online store.
Image: bartramsgarden.org
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
