Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/33511
COCKTAILS FOR GEEKS Italian The 108 / the tasting panel / june 201 1 OUR COCKTAIL ENGINEER, PHIL ADLER, WHIPS UP A FOAM AT PADRI RESTAURANT Getaway W photos by Rob Brown e see foams everywhere: cooking shows, chef competitions and, of course, cocktail lists. While they may be ubiquitous, foams, used with restraint, add depth and a cool factor to any cocktail list. Foams are essentially whipped mixtures; the whipping incorporates air and ‘puffs up’ the base. There are products that hold the air in the foam base: agar, lecithin, egg white, gelatin and many more. You can froth the mixture with a stick blender or a whipped cream canister. I chose the latter. It’s easy to store and you don’t have to continue to re-froth the mixture. There is an investment though – about $50 retail. But the good ones last and besides the N2O chargers, there is nothing more to spend. For this round, we went to Italy, at least in spirit (no pun intended). The cocktail that immediately came to mind was the Negroni. It is traditionally made with gin, sweet vermouth and a bitter – usu- ally Campari. I made a softer version of the classic using Aperol. It’s slightly sweeter and less bitter than Campari, but just as well balanced. I built a caramelized blood orange foam to add texture…it was quite good. What better place to go have a Negroni than a cool Italian restaurant and cocktail lounge, so it was off to Padri Restaurant and Martini lounge in Agoura Hills, just north of Los Angeles. I really enjoyed my time with bartender Melissa Scott and Padri owner Saverio Posarelli. It was a pleasure sharing the recipe for The Italian Getaway with them. Cocktail Engineer Phil Adler demonstrates the steps of making a foam for Padri bartender Melissa Scott.