- Today I'm takin' the (bleep) out of cocktail.
(men laughing)
- [Keith] Disgusting.
(upbeat music)
(upbeat jazzy music)
- Craft cocktails, expensive drinks.
- We are here at Birds & Bees,
a craft cocktail speakeasy in downtown L.A.
where we're gonna be learning mixology.
And then we're going to head to head
in a craft cocktail making competition.
- [Jake] You guys are killin' me.
- [Keith] What the hell is aloha mix?
- [Jake] Uh oh. - [Zach] You broke an egg?
- [Eugene] I broke an egg. - [Keith] Oh my god.
- This is what I'm known for.
Like, one day I wanna be a spokesperson for a liquor brand.
Like I'm serious about that.
- I did used to be a chemist
so I'm very good at mixing liquids
and following precise instructions.
- I'm lookin' great.
I'm feelin' great.
I'm ready to
jerk it over your head and then turn it around.
(bouncy music)
- My name is Jake Larowe.
I am the bar manager mixologist here at Birds & Bees
in downtown Los Angeles.
Mixology to me is really having a deep understanding
of the ingredients and the spirits
and everything that goes into creating cocktails.
Mixologists to me are the chefs of the cocktail world.
- I love bourbon.
I love bourbon on the rocks, I love Old Fashioneds,
I love Manhattans.
My biggest competition is Eugene.
He actually was a bartender.
- Little do people know,
I did go to bartending school
after I graduated college.
I have, I think the basic skillsets for bartending
but I'm not a mixologist by any means.
I've never created a cocktail.
- I don't drink a lotta cocktails.
More of a white wine guy.
I love cooking but really don't know much about drinking.
So I don't know how this is gonna go.
- I don't actually drink alcohol anymore
so for me, I'm gonna be making mocktails
which is really just fancy juice
and I love juice.
- Bars like this, any bar really,
it's kinda like my second home away from home.
As a child of divorce, I was always looking for another home
'cause I had two already,
might as well add 20 more on.
(upbeat music)
- Okay so the first thing we're gonna learn to do
is how to make shaken gin martini,
a dirty gin martini.
Martinis are a really interesting cocktail.
There's a lot of different ways that you can do them
and there's a lot of different techniques
that you have to know.
A normal martini is going to be gin, dry vermouth, stirred.
That's the traditional martini.
However, a very popular martini is going
to be a shaken dirty gin martini.
- In your opinion, what is better?
The shaken or the stirred martini?
- It depends on how dirty you like it.
- [Zach] Oh my goodness. (men oohing)
- [Jake] It really does.
- Oh my goodness, we're just,
we're startin' off the day hot.
- If you like a very dirty martini it's nice to shake it.
When you stir something,
you're not trying to add bubbles to it.
You're trying to just chill it.
When you're shaking something,
what you're doing is you're oxidizing
and introducing bubbles to it.
The bubbles are going to lighten the cocktail
and add a lot of, like, lighter flavors on the palette.
So, what you're gonna do first
is you're going to take your jigger
which is this right here.
The line on the inside is one and a half ounces.
All the way to the top is two ounces.
On the other side is going to be one ounce to the top.
Two ounces of gin.
Right to the top, into your jigger.
And pour it into your shaking tin.
- Okay, but I gotta find the gin first.
- So it's just gonna be the second bottle in.
- [Ned] Vodka.
- [Jake] It's gonna go vodka, gin, rum.
- Now, did you hold your bottle in a cool way?
- Yes, hand there like that
and then turn it that way.
I hold it like this, it provides less wear and tear
on the wrist.
- Oh, it's harder.
- [Jake] It is a lot harder.
- All right.
(men laughing)
On one hand, I saved my wrist from wear and tear.
On the other hand, I have gin on my other hand.
- That's a good on the other hand joke right there.
That's a six dollar joke.
- The next thing we're gonna then do
is take our dry vermouth.
A half ounce of dry vermouth.
- Half ounce. - Right there,
nailed it, perfect, right at the line.
- Okay, so you slam it, flip it, boom.
(metal clattering)
- The next step is going to be the olive brine.
So we're gonna do three quarters of an ounce.
- [Ned] So far, it definitely reminds me
of being in a chem lab.
- He doesn't like olives.
- He doesn't like olives? - Or olive juice.
- But he's nailing the pinkies up
which is one of the most important parts.
Next thing we're gonna do is we're going to add our ice
and you're going to ice the tin to the very top.
- [Keith] Right there.
- You must have your giant, like, whiskey
ice in the fridge. - We do have the real big,
yeah, the big whiskey cubes as well.
Yeah, we cut.
- Wow. (excited exclaiming)
- Ourselves, we cut about 300 pounds every two weeks.
- You cut them?
- Yeah, yeah, I did it yesterday.
- With what?
- A saw and a chisel.
- It's crazy the effect a giant cube ice.
- Yeah. - Has on people.
(hands clapping) (men exclaiming)
- How is it so big?
- Place the big tin on the top.
Pop it with your hand like that
and what you're gonna do, is when you pick up,
you're gonna flip it over
so that the small tin is now on top.
You're going to shake forward and back
and then when you're done shaking,
you'll notice that the tin itself
will have a nice little amount of frost in it
and it'll sound slushy.
♪ Shake it low ♪
♪ Shake it up ♪
♪ Shake it low ♪
♪ Shake it up ♪
- Oh my god, oh my hands are freezing.
- [Jake] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- This is terrible, oh my god.
- [Jake] They get real cold real fast.
♪ Shake it ♪
That's the shake of a pro right there.
- Damn, he's so hot.
- Yeah, there ya go, cool. - Yeah, wow.
- [Jake] The face helps, the face helps, really sell it.
- Don't look at me.
Don't look at me.
Wow, it's freezing. - Right?
- Oh my god, my hands stuck to it.
♪ Come on and shake it now ♪
♪ Shake it ♪
(Ned grunts)
- That sounds slushy. - Sounds slushy.
- All right, okay. - All right, and you're going
to slap this against your hand this way.
And you'll hear it click.
- [Ned] Wow.
- Nice and quick.
This is a Coupe glass.
Originally it was believed that it was a gift
to Marie Antoinette and it was shaped after the shape
of her breast so it was the perfect container
to drink her champagne out of.
Yeah.
- Drinkin' right outta Marie Antoinette's breast.
- Breast, yes, out of the inside of it.
So, the next thing you're gonna do
is you're going to take your Hawthorne strainer
and you're going to strain it and that's it.
No dirty martini is complete
without the olive garnish, dropped in.
- [Ned] Oh yeah.
- [Eugene] Beautiful.
- [Ned] Oh yeah.
- [Jake] Nice and done.
- [Keith] Oh no, Zach.
- No, no Zach. - No, Zach.
- Why?
- No olive goin' in my drink.
- He has a thing about olives.
- No.
(smooth jazzy music)
- Cheers.
You know what, the strawberry note on top it's not bad.
It's a little bit bright. - Thank you.
- If you just smell it
and then you go in and you get that olive brine.
- I could go dirtier
'cause I like it to almost taste like I'm eating food.
- There is always something to be said about the beauty
of a simple, well-crafted drink
that is both light and sweet and perfectly balanced.
And then there's something to be said for the bitter
and esoteric flavor.
The same family's been making this specific liquor
and those are the types of drinks
that I really get into.
- You've taught us how to do
a gin martini. - Gin martini.
- But you also are gonna select craft cocktails
for each of us to try and you have to show us one yourself.
- Yes.
(upbeat ragtime music)
This is called a White Lady.
A White Lady is gin, curacao, lemon juice and egg white.
- Why's she gotta be white?
- [Jake] That's just the sign of the times from.
- Actually, is it the color of the.
- [Jake] Yes. - Drink, got it, got it.
- Think more lady in white. Two ounces of gin.
Three quarter ounce of lemon juice.
- [Ned] Three quarter.
- Three quarter ounces of our house-made curacao.
- Three quarters is that line right there.
- [Jake] Crack the egg and separate the egg whites
into the container.
- [Ned] Oh wow.
(upbeat jazzy music)
- [Keith] That was good, Eugene,
except you got egg white on the side.
Oh, oh, careful.
- [Jake] Did you get any in there?
- [Eugene] I got it.
- Ice into the small one.
Pop that on top.
- No, you can't, there's an egg in there.
- Shake it good and hard.
♪ Shake it ♪
♪ Come on and shake it shake it ♪
♪ I'll shake it ♪
(upbeat electronic music)
- Oh no. (men laughing)
- [Jake] What happened?
- [Keith] The egg just blooped right out.
- We can save it, we can save it, we can save it.
- And now here's where it gets interesting.
- Oh, now.
- So, to incorporate air into the egg,
you strain it back into the small tin.
Close it again and then you're gonna shake it
without any ice and what this does is it gets oxygen
and air into it
and it causes that egg to form that nice rich foam
that you see in egg white cocktails.
- Like you're whipping egg whites.
- [Jake] Yeah, like you're makin' a meringue, frothy and.
- More like Merengue.
- Yeah, oh my god, that was so good.
Did you guys hear that?
Can we play that back?
♪ Shake it ♪
- More like Merengue. ♪ I wanna shake it shake it ♪
♪ I'll shake it ♪
- [Eugene] Merengue.
♪ Come on and shake shake down ♪
- And then you're going to strain it back in
nice and smooth. (men gasping)
- [Eugene] That's why she gotta be white.
- [Ned] It looks like milk.
- [Eugene] She white, she so white.
- And then just a little bit of absinthe.
And that is a White Lady.
- [Eugene] Are we allowed to try the White Lady?
- [Jake] Please do.
- Well, I. - Vests first.
- We're married to white ladies, so.
- They get to try white ladies all the time.
Give Eugene a taste.
- [Keith] Wow, that's really good.
- [Jake] Thank you.
- [Keith] It's delicious.
- It's incredible.
It's, like, citrusy.
- You don't think of an egg drink being refreshing.
- That was egg-cellent. (cymbal crashing)
- Think Zach's got some egg on his face.
- So how much would someone shell out
for a drink like this? (men booing)
I am curious, I am curious.
What is this, like $18?
- This drink is. - No, more like a dozen.
(cymbal crashing) (men laughing)
- All right, so, going into the competition,
Keith looks the best at this point.
Wash line is good, the froth is good,
the bubbles are small.
- And in the Antoinette, oh my god.
- All right, let's get to the competition.
- Let's do it.
- And shake. - And shake.
♪ Shake it ♪
(tense music)
- All right, gentlemen, here we go
for the competition part of this.
In my hand I have the cocktails you're gonna be making.
The first cocktail is the same across the board,
the second cocktail is one of our house specials.
I have a non-alcoholic drink for you for the second one.
- Awesome.
- The ingredients and the instructions
are all in there on exactly how to do it
and build it and what it should look like at the end.
You're gonna be graded on time,
cool under pressure, technique, taste,
and, most importantly,
who has the most visually pleasing cocktail.
When you win, you will get to make one final punch bowl
and light it on fire.
- Wow, one of us gets to be a master of fire.
Good luck Ned - Good luck Keith.
- Yeah.
- The representative from team drunk.
The representative from team sober.
Are you ready?
- Yeah, it's like Hunger Games.
- Yeah. - Except with drinking.
(upbeat rock music)
- [Ned] Three, two, one.
- The Kentucky Maid. - Kentucky Maid.
- [Jake] The Kentucky Maid is going to be two ounces
of Kentucky straight bourbon,
one ounce of lime juice,
three quarter ounce of simple syrup,
three to four cucumber slices and mint.
- Bourbon, bourbon, bourbon. - Two ounces of bourbon.
This one looks like bourbon.
- [Ned] Is this bourbon?
- Hey, how ya doin'?
Welcome to my bar.
Oh, hah, I went to that same high school.
That's crazy, small world.
- One ounce of lime.
Oh, that's funny.
Three quarter simple syrup.
- [Zach] I've never muddled somethin' before.
Oh, in the small shaker, it said.
I already fucked up.
- 10 mint leaves.
That's so many mints.
(ice rattling)
- Think I did four ounces of bourbon.
- Oh, you used that one twice?
- Yeah, I think so.
- [Jake] It's gonna be a good drink.
- Yeah. I wanna make it strong for you today.
- [Jake] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
♪ Shake it ♪
(upbeat electronic music) ♪ Come on and shake it shake ♪
♪ Now shake ♪
(upbeat electronic music)
♪ Come on and shake shake down ♪
- [Jake] Really focused and I love it.
Rocks glasses are gonna be right there.
- [Ned] Oh boy.
Over ice, no.
- [Jake] Yeah, big ice, you gotta big cube, go for it.
Use the, hold the tea strainer above the glass.
- [Ned] Like this?
- [Keith] Go like this.
- [Jake] Hold the tea strainer above the glass
and strain into the tea strainer.
Very good, very good.
How ya doin' over there sobersville?
- I'm doin' okay.
I just, any time that time gets added to something,
I start to second guess so.
- [Ned] Sprig pushed through a cucumber slice.
- [Keith] Little tree on an island.
- And here you are, sir.
Oh, the ice, the ice (laughs).
I'm just gonna go ahead and take a little off the top.
Calm and cool under pressure, there you go.
(upbeat rock music)
- Sam Cooke, two ounce brown butter infused rum.
- Sam Cooke is going to be muddled mint,
a brown butter infused rum, lime juice,
grapefruit juice, honey,
and an allspice tincture.
- This isn't a mixed drink.
It's just all made into the glass.
- Built in glass, yeah.
- Well, goodbye.
- So I'm making a Summer Wind.
It's a bunch of rum.
It looks like it's got a little whipped cream goin' on.
- The Summer Wind is well rum,
Rum-Bar Overproof Jamaican Rum,
Doctor Bird, aloha mix
which is a caramelized pineapple coconut sugar mix
with blue curacao and passion fruit liquor,
lime juice and pineapple juice.
It's going to be shaken
and then strained over a coconut cream whip.
- Is this rum?
- [Jake] That's rum.
- All right, I'm a little nervous at this point.
Quarter of an ounce Rum-Bar Overproof.
Back left bottom shelf.
What are you talkin' about?
Rum-Bar Overproof?
- [Jake] Rum-Bar Overproof Rum is the name
of the rum you're looking for.
- Oh, okay.
- So, do you like boardgames?
We got a lot over there to the side.
Welcome to the bar.
- [Keith] What do I do when I pour too much?
Drink some of it?
- [Jake] Yeah.
- I just poured a half of it.
- [Jake] Pour a little bit out.
- Close enough.
No one's ever upset about a little extra rum, huh?
Doctor Bird Rum, what a great name.
- Brown butter infused rum.
- [Jake] Six 36, you guys are killin' me.
The tables are thirsty.
- This?
- [Jake] The people are waiting.
- What the hell is aloha mix?
Oh my god.
- You found it!
- Oh, it's green.
So you just went to Hawaii huh
and now you want a little taste of it?
I get it, that's fun.
Yeah, I went to Hawaii with the wife once.
- [Jake] All right, he's gettin' close.
How are ya doin?
- [Keith] Pineapple?
- Pineapple, right here.
Really depends on who's gonna finish.
Right there's good.
Ooh, beautiful, beautiful.
Toasted coconut, yeah.
Time? - [Producer] Nine 26 for Ned.
- Where's the wooden spoon?
There we go, done.
- [Producer] Nine 45.
- Nine 45, time.
All right.
- All right, one ounce bourbon
for the Love Me Tender.
- The Love Me Tender is a blend of Kentucky straight bourbon
and Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy,
strawberry gomme syrup, apple cider vinegar
and egg white as well as lemon and mint sprigs.
- Okay, so this is my mocktail.
Oh, jeez, now I have to remember what's what.
I remember this one is pineapple.
This one is lemon.
Okay, one ounce of lemon.
Comin' right up, sir.
- Zach's mocktail is going to be lemon juice,
pineapple juice, orange juice, rosehip hibiscus orejot
and topped with ginger beer
and then garnished with mint.
- Three quarter ounce of pineapple.
Now, I love pineapple.
I might give a little extra.
Now five ounce of rosehip orgy.
- On ounce strawberry gomme, gomme?
Apple cider vinegar mixed with strawberry.
That sounds delicious.
- Wow, I'm just playin' juice god over here.
You want some juice?
I got some juice.
How ya doin' over there, Eugene?
- Pretty well. - Break an egg in it?
- I did.
- Just, here, just. - Dump it.
- You broke an egg? - I broke an egg.
- Just dump it and start over.
- Yes!
Character growth.
♪ Shake it ♪
(upbeat electronic music)
♪ Come on and shake it shake ♪
♪ Now shake ♪ - [Jake] Pop in the bottom.
♪ Come on and shake shake down ♪
- And now we are going to dump in a highball
which I just learned this is a highball.
It's not a euphemism for cocaine
which is what I thought.
And now top with ginger beer.
- [Eugene] That is such a pretty color.
- [Zach] Of course, I'm an eco-friendly boy.
Metal straws.
- [Jake] Time for Zach?
- [Producer] Nine 45.
- [Eugene] Black ball pick, mincer pushed in behind,
I'm tryin' to draw the hearts into the egg white.
- Not quite working.
Time's tickin'. - Okay.
That's as best I could do.
- [Producer] 11:35.
- Ugh, I guess I was the slowest, man.
- All right, Eugene was the slowest
but you got a lotta other points.
(tense music)
All right, for Ned's Kentucky Maid.
On presentation, little wonky.
The mint could've been pulled through a little bit more.
See how it tastes.
That's really nice.
Yeah, it's freshing, it's a great summer drink.
Keith, again, the mint could've been pulled through through
a little bit more, a little bit more bushy,
a little bit more bright.
Also very good.
You did use a little bit too much citrus
when you were pouring it, some poured over,
so that's why it's a little bit too tart.
Very nice.
That one's a little more citrusy.
This one's got a little bit more better balance to it.
So for the Kentucky Maid, I'm gonna give it to Ned.
- Fuck! (men laughing)
- All right, so, presentation, fantastic.
You pulled the mint down.
You picked a good, nice, full sprig.
It's nice and bushy and it stands up on its own.
Very good.
It's a little on the tart side.
That's very good, the bourbon comes through nice and clean.
You get the citrus, you get the cucumber.
Point to Eugene for that one.
This is our Sam Cooke.
This is one of our house specialty drinks.
You followed all those steps except for one
which was to swizzle it without disturbing the mint.
Very nice, very well done.
Keith, the color on this is perfect.
You absolutely nailed it.
You did the right amount of coconut cream.
I watched you follow all of the instructions.
That is good.
The overproof rum's a little strong.
For the signature drink,
I'm gonna give that one to Keith.
- Nice job, Keith. - All right, so,
so right now though you're ahead
because of time.
For presentation and for calm under pressure,
also gonna give that one to Ned.
Keith had a lotta runnin' around lookin' for stuff.
Couldn't find the rum.
Started wondering what's he lookin' for.
- Didn't know where it was.
- [Jake] Didn't, it happens
when you're workin' in a new bar.
- Don't drink rum.
- [Jake] Happens to everybody first night.
First night behind the stick, it's hard.
Everyone gets it, however, I gotta give Keith
an extra point for the bow tie, excellent.
Excellent, excellent touch.
Excellent touch.
I'm gonna try this one over here.
It is very sweet. - Yep, thank you.
- It's very thick, too.
- [Zach] Yeah.
- I'm not sure why.
It's a lotta juice. I don't know if I need to point this out
but that's a decimal point.
(Zach laughing)
So everything that you did five ounces of
should've been a half. - Wait, he was supposed
to do half an ounce. - Yeah.
(Zach laughing)
(Eugene grunts)
- [Zach] It's just syrup.
- Yeah, it's syrup.
- Yeah, well, I, you know, I got those ones right.
- You nailed it. - Hey, hey, you won the speed.
- Well, to be fair, this is one of our more complex drinks.
It has a lot of different ingredients to it
and a lot of different steps.
You performed well under pressure
and you get an extra point
for putting it back as well.
For the cocktail itself,
your initial shake wasn't quite hard enough
so you didn't quite emulsify the egg white on it.
So you didn't build up that really nice frothy foam
that should've been on top.
- Shoulda shaken it longer and harder.
- All right, so gentlemen,
based on attention to detail, speed,
under pressure, final product, presentation.
In fourth place, you did very well on time,
however, the attention to detail wasn't quite there.
Zach, I'm sorry, but mocktail was just a little bit rough.
- Yeah.
- In third place, you did very well under pressure.
You had a little bit over on time.
Eugene, you're gonna be in third.
It was real close, it was really close.
It really came down to the wire.
And then in first place, you did well on time,
the final presentation looked really good,
you were calm under pressure.
Ned.
(men cheering)
- Fuck!
- Oh, thank you, thank you.
- Call Pitbull 'cause there's time for a fireball.
- I get to do a fire drink!
I forgot!
- I'm a little toasty, to be honest.
I feel great.
I had an awesome time.
I get why you guys like watchin' Try Guys videos.
They're hilarious.
- Every time we make something in Try Guys videos,
I put alcohol in when it's not supposed to be there
and then I win.
And this is the first time we have a video
where I'm supposed to put alcohol in something
and I lose.
What fucked up universe is this?
- Next time you're at a bar
and you're like, why they takin' so long?
It's because they're makin' art, god damn it.
This is art.
- I won.
This is great!
I feel amazing!
I used to be a wine guy
but after this, I'm a cocktail guy.
(upbeat rock music)
Make sure to subscribe.
(men laughing)