Author Archives: Ideal Cocktail Bar

Sherry, the new trend in pairing

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For a long time in the gastronomic world we have had in high esteem the wines from Jerez (the sherries), especially the “fino” variety of sherry, these wines have very special characteristics thanks to the unique fermentation process that they follow and are the most recommended to pair with appetizers or meals due the fact that their fermentation process makes them stimulate the taste buds way more than other wines.

The world of restoration is beginning to establish the fino as a key to pairing and in the mixology world it is increasingly being included in recipes, in fact in Ideal we have talked about cases like the Tio Pepe Challenge. I’ts been a few years now since in Ideal we decided to start buying the Tio Pepe Fino in Rama, a limited edition wine that is made especially for the Fería de Abril festivity, a very popular holiday in Andalucía, this wine stands out for its freshness and intensity, it’s the perfect wine to pair with fish and seafood and also with tapas (of course!), in Ideal we recommend to accompany this fino with some of the tapas that we make like the potato omelette, the table of stilton, the tapa of anchovies or with the white clams form the Galician rías tapa.

We encourage you to pay us a visit and enjoy a good tapa with the Fino en Rama 2017 and get off to a good start this summer!

1HOY COMEMOS CON... EN LOS TRONCOS. DANIEL PEDRIZA.

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Rhum Clément, world’s most expensive rum

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We recently discovered in Ideal one of those news that has attracted much attention and it is that the established record for the most expensive bottle of rum ever created has just been renewed. The Clément house and the Maison Tournaire jewelery maker have created, for anyone who has enough money, the world’s most expensive and exclusive rum bottle: the 1966 Agricole Vintage Rum, valued at… 100,000€!

3The bottle itself, as you can see in the images, is a work of goldwork, made with Baccarat glass and a cap that is the icing on the cake: an extremely detailed representation of the Habitation Clément estate made with 200 grams of 18 carat yellow and red gold bevelled and 4 carat diamonds set at the tip and edges. Maison Tournaire has been in charge of such design, a small company recognized worldwide for its jewels inspired by architectural works. In addition to all this the bottle comes in a custom made case made of aged leather, the whole set is one of the most exquisite creations in the world.

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And now, after seeing that they have not saved expenses in terms of what “packaging” refers, we wonder how the rum, the soul of this product, is: Clément has chosen for this occasion a vintage of 1966, bottled in 1991 which has not been commercialized to date, according to its tasting note, the house Clément says that “the expressive and powerful nose of this aged rum seduces instantly with its notes both warm and sweet. The aromas of chocolate, spice bread and mocha, are mixed with finely spiced and sugary notes of vanilla and candied fruits (fig, date, orange) .After the airing it, subtle notes of box of cigars appear. Powerful and voluptuous at the beginning, the aromas perceived in the nose by the taste of this 1966 vintage, round and with body, stands out for its subtle notes of licorice. Finally, the intensity and power of the aromas extend in the mouth with an exquisite sweetness that lasts for several seconds “.

The idea of this bottle was born “from a meeting of passionate people”, the general director of Tournaire, Frédéric de Saint-Romain, and the commercial director of Clément, Dominique de la Guigneraye, both explained. A conversation about rum led to this idea: to make a replica of the house Clément in the form of a cap, inspired by the Architecture rings produced by the famous jeweler. Grégoire Gueden, CEO of Clément, confessed that he had wondered “if there were people so crazy” to buy it. In the end, the bottle found an owner in less than two months, as did his little sisters: eight bottles of Baccarat glass with an identical but bronze cap, sold for 19,000 euros each. Buyers came from Greece, Belgium and even Martinique.

Both promoters of the idea each gave 7,500 euros to the Association for the Information and Prevention of Drepanocitosis (APIPD), an inherited disease that is characterized by the presence of abnormal hemoglobin in the red blood cells and is the most widespread genetic disease in the world.

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Semifinal Tío Pepe Challenge 2017

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On Monday 25th we were part of the jury in the international contest of cocktails with wines of Jerez Tío Pepe Challenge, this contest brings together every year more than 400 professionals from different parts of the world (Germany, Mexico, United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Colombia and Chile) with the aim of exploring the diversity and potential of the wines of Jerez in the production of unique, creative and breakthrough cocktails.
The jury was composed of Pedro Rebuelta, Vice President of González Byass, Antonio Flores , Winemaker and Master Blender by González Byass, Boris Ivan , International Brand Ambassador of González Byass, Óscar Guitart, sommelier, François Monti, journalist specialized in cocktail and Josep Maria Gotarda of Ideal Cocktail Bar and president of the Spanish Association of Mixologists.

In the semi-final of monday it was decided to grant the access to the international final, which is going to be held in Jerez on May 17 at the Bodegas González Byass, Eduardo Barrios, from Wine Cocktail Masters, thanks to his cocktail: Jerezade. We want to congratulate him from here! Eduardo is the founder of Wine Cocktail Masters, a cocktail catering where he continues to work to this day developing new forms of consumption of wines and spirits.
As a prize for his victory, in addition to going to the final, he will have a place for V Sherrymaster by Tío Pepe , which will take place in this winery in Jerez on 6 and 7 of September.

This year more than a hundred bartenders have been presented for the Spanish semifinal, among which 10 were the ones who, after passing an online test on the world of sherry and presenting cocktail proposals, agreed to the grand finale where they had to demonstrate their knowledge of these millennial wines through three tests. The first, a recreation of the classic cocktail, Sherry Cobbler ; The second, the elaboration of an own recipe based on the wines of Jerez of González Byass and, finally, the final test: Tío Pepe’s service using the venencia .

Here is the recipe and ingredients to make the Jerezade:

Jerezade

  • 5 cl. of Amontillado Viña AB.
  • 2 cl. of Brandy Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva P.X.
  • 5 cl. of White grape must.
  • 2 cl. of Marie Brizard’s orgeat syrup.
  • 1 dash of chocolate bitter from bitter truth.
  • Garnish with a roasted cinnamon stick and an almond blossom.
  • Mix all the ingredients in the shaker, shake and serve in a glass of double Martini.

Finally we leave here some photos of the event, and now we can only wait for the international final!
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LXIII Catalonian Cocktail Championship

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Next Sunday 7th of May we will be participating in the sixty-third edition of the Catalunya Cocktail Championship in the Terrace of the Hotel Duquesa de Cardona, Paseo de Colón 12 in Barcelona. We are delighted to be participating for another year as part of the jury and we can’t wait to see who will take the awards this year. We look forward to seeing you there on May 7!
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Waters of Spain and the world

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This year has been published the book Waters of Spain and the World by Faustino Muñoz Soria, a book we highly recommended for all of you who are interested in gastronomy or simply in your health: water is a basic good and it is important to know what does it contain, what sorts of water we drink, who bottles them, and where they come from. Josep Maria Gotarda has collaborated on a small note about how water is an indispensable element in the world of cocktails. Water is present in the world of the cocktail from the ice cubes that refresh the drink (which must be made with the purest and most neutral water available) to the refreshing glasses of water served before a good cocktail. We leave here the note of Josep Maria and we encourage you to be more interested in the world of mineral water, we all consume water daily and it is important to know what we drink.

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Visiting BrassClub and Chapeau 1987 in Mallorca

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One week ago we had the pleasure to visit two of the most famous bars in Palma de Mallorca: the BrassClub and Chapeau 1987, we want to thank Fernando Martín and Borja Triñanes for inviting us and of course we recommend these two magnificent places, if you are in Palma de Mallorca do not miss them!
1Josep María with Fernando Martín from BrassClub bar

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The BrassClub’ spectacular ceiling

2Borja Triñanes behind the bar

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Beefeater and International Women’s day

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Today is a an important day: as every 8th of march women all around the world will bring themselves to the streets and claim for their rights as they fight for an equal society. We, from our little bar, would like to show you something that we hope you will find, in the worst case, interesting and at best, hopeful.

In 2007 Moira Cameron managed to become the first yeoman woman (better known as Beefeaters: the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London), after 522 years of male tradition in which they had never let a woman become a beefeater, mainly because the requirements necessary to opt for yeoman excluded women from base. Thanks to days like today rules have changed and and for a relatively short period of time women are able to access to this job too, Moira had completed 22 years of military service to become a beefeater and was between 40 and 55 years old (requirements still needed today) and despite not being the first woman to run for the post, she was the first to beat the 5 male candidates who had presented themselves at the same time as her for the position. But her fight did not end there, once was in she was harassed by two of her teammates, Mark Sanders-Crook and Bob Brown, she managed to get them fired after being proved that they destroyed her uniform and subjected her to cyber-harassment systematically, simply because Moira was a woman, the only woman.

“…Be yourself – don’t change who you are to try and fit in. After all, it is ‘you’ who will get ‘you’ there and look at yourself in the mirror. Every morning smile and tell yourself you are good enough…”

- Moira Cameron

Moira is the living proof of what does the feminist movement stands for: equality between sexes and, in honor for her achievement, Beefeater designed a limited edition bottle where its characteristic yeoman is a characteristic woman yeoman, at Ideal we have this unique bottle:

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From Ideal, we want to encourage all the women that today are going out to the streets, all of those who will not be able to but they would love and all those who unfortunately won’t be able to ever again, there is always a little hope in all the right fightes, however bleak the outlook may seem. Happy March 8th to all!

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Blue Cocktails thursdays at MACBA

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Barmen of Barcelona shake the bar of the International.
The city’s best mixologist also want to join in the many acts that have been held recently in the legendary New York restaurant that Miralda and Montse Guillén have reproduced inside the Macba exhibition.

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At the end of October, the retrospective that the contemporary art museum of Barcelona has dedicated to the work that the artist produced in the United States opened its doors with the classic Blue Margarita. A cocktail that was born in the bar of this renowned restaurant which now the city’s mixologists want to pay homage.
For this reason, the next Thursday mixologists from Boadas, Caribbean Club, Fizz Bartenders, ESHOB school and Ideal Cocktail bar will offer an original blue cocktail with a tequila base created to pay tribute to the International universe.
The bartenders of the city will happily collaborate every “Thursday of Blue Cocktails”, once again, an event that celebrates the cocktails as an art of sharing ideas, experiences and culture.

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BLUE COCKTAILS THURSDAYS
MACBA – MIRALDA MADEINUSA
EL INTERNACIONAL BAR – 2nd floor
schedule 5 to 7:30 PM

Days:
Thursday 9 march – Escuela ESHOB (Students of the third TGM)
Thursday 16 march – Ideal Cocktail Bar (Josep Maria Gotarda)
Thursday 23 march – Caribbean Club (Juanjo Gonzalez)
Thursday 30 march – FIZZ Bartenders (Héctor Henche Vila)
Thursday 6 april – Boadas (Adal Marquez) – tribute to Maria Dolors Boadas

Barcelona’s Resilient Bar Culture

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This week we’ve been featured at The Daily Beast in their article Barcelona’s Resilient Bar Culture we recommend you to take a look at this article which is about all those bars that survived Franco’s dictatorship and are still going strong to the present day, bars as our Ideal that have demonstrated extraordinary strength and perseverance, along with us they also highlight the Club Caribbean, the Dry Martini and Bar Boadas as examples of other successful pubs that have been around for several years and are still trying to innovate and improve day by day.

“I don’t want to talk about modern bars. Instead, I want to talk about the old ones. The ones that were around during Franco’s reign and the years of reconstruction that came in his wake, and are still, amazingly, here today. Not only are they great bars, but, after an evening spent visiting perhaps (OK, definitely) too many of them, I think they also have a message for us.”
- David Wondrich, The Daily Beast’s Senior Drinks Columnist and the James Beard Award-winning author

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