This is a preliminary version of the Bibulo.us Cocktail Taxonomy and a request for comments on it from the bar community.
During the writing of the first Bibulo.us cocktail book it has become apparent that existing methods of categorizing cocktail recipes do not handle wine-, beer-, champagne-, and other low-alcohol-based drinks in a consistent fashion with other drinks.
The goals of this taxonomy are thus to create a consistent, regular, and objective method for organizing cocktail recipes by type.
- Consistent such that the approach does not vary by type of drink.
- Regular such that it can be quickly applied and the method easily remembered.
- Objective such that it does not require subjective judgments such as whether a drink is best described as "dry" or "sweet".
By their nature, regular taxonomies often contain groups of things which are distinct from each other. For example, among fruit we can see that citrus are an obvious grouping, but must concede the very distinct character of orange vs. lime. The goal of this taxonomy is not to create groups in which every group is without internal distinctions, but to create an easy way to refer to cocktails which share significant common qualities.
This point is well-illustrated by William Grimes' caveat regarding classification efforts by David A. Embury:
Occasionally Mr. Embury could get carried away. He explained, offhandedly and unhelpfully, that ''essentially the sidecar is nothing but a daiquiri with brandy in the place of rum and Cointreau in the place of sugar syrup or orgeat.'' Well, all right. And ''Romeo and Juliet'' is the same as ''Two Gentlemen of Verona,'' if you delete the tragic ending and make Juliet a man.
[New York Times, December 24, 2003]
As you will see below, the Daiquiri and the Sidecar are indeed within the same group, but that is by no means meant to suggest that they are the same drink. What it does imply, though, is that someone who loves Sidecars should definitely try a traditional Daiquiri sometime.
The Bibulous Taxonomy of Cocktails allows the placement of any drink within its logical group based on the results of no more than five questions.
QUESTION 1: Does the drink contain juice (or vinegar)?
Note: Drinks in which a piece or pieces of fruit (not just peel) is muddled—for example, the Mojito—contain juice.
If yes, the drink is considered CITRUSY JUICY. If no, it is SPIRITUOUS.
QUESTION 2: Does the drink contain dairy?
Note: This is dairy in its most traditional sense, encompassing not only milk and cream but also eggs.
If yes, the drink is in either the CITRUSY JUICY DAIRY or SPIRITUOUS DAIRY family, based on the answer to the first question. If no, continue to the next question.
QUESTION 3: Does the drink contain bubbles?
Note: Bubbles encompasses all fizzy ingredients such as champagne, soda water, cola, ginger ale, tonic, cider, and beer.
If yes, the drink is in either the CITRUSY JUICY BUBBLES or SPIRITUOUS BUBBLES family, based on the answer to the first question. If no, continue to the next question.
QUESTION 4: Does the drink contain sweetener(s)?
Note: This does not refer to naturally sweet ingredients such as "sweet vermouth" but to sugar, simple syrup, other syrups, cordials, and non-bitter liqueurs.
If yes, the drink is in either the CITRUSY JUICY SWEETENED or SPIRITUOUS SWEETENED family, based on the answer to the first question.
If no, then the drink is in either the CITRUSY JUICY DRY or SPIRITUOUS DRY family, based on the answer to the first question.
The last question is used to identify the cocktail group within the designated family to which this drink belongs.
QUESTION 5: How is temperature incorporated into the served drink?
There are four possible groupings within each family:
- no ice is included and the drink is served cold (i.e., "up");
- rock ice is included and the drink is served cold;
- cobble or crushed ice is included and the drink is served cold;
- the drink is served hot.
EXAMPLES AND GROUP NAMES
Citrusy Juicy Dairy family:
The Fizz Group, e.g., a Ramos Gin Fizz contains juice and egg, and is served up.
Spirituous Dairy family:
The Grasshopper Group, e.g., a Grasshopper does not contain juice, does contain cream, and is served up.
The Milk Punch Group, e.g., a Milk Punch does not contain juice, does contain milk, and is served with rock ice.
The Irish Coffee Group, e.g., an Irish Coffee does not contain juice, does contain cream (the whipped cream despite being on top like a garnish is a key ingredient), and is served hot.
Citrusy Juicy Bubbles family:
The Bellini Group, e.g., a Bellini contains juice, but no dairy, has champagne, and is served up.
The Collins Group, e.g., a Tom Collins contains juice, but no dairy, has soda water, and is served with rock ice.
Spirituous Bubbles family:
Kir Royale Group, e.g., a Kir Royale does not contain juice or dairy, has champagne, and is served up.
Americano Group, e.g., an Americano does not contain juice or dairy, has soda water, and is served with rock ice.
Citrusy Juicy Sweetened family:
Daiquiri Group, e.g., a Daiquiri contains juice, but no dairy or bubbles, has sugar, and is served up.
Margarita Group, e.g., a Margarita contains juice, but no dairy or bubbles, has Cointreau, and is served with rock ice.
Zombie Group, e.g., a Zombie contains juice, but no dairy or bubbles, has sugar, and is served with cobble or crushed ice.
Hot Toddy Group, e.g., a Hot Toddy contains juice, but no dairy or bubbles, has sugar or honey, and is served hot.
Spirituous Sweetened family:
Martinez Group, e.g., a Martinez contains no juice, dairy or bubbles, has maraschino liqueur, and is served up.
Old Fashioned Group, e.g., an Old Fashioned contains no juice, dairy or bubbles, has sugar, and is served with rock ice.
[Note: The "fruit salad" style of this drink, in which an orange slice and cherry are muddled, contains juice and is therefore a member of the Margarita Group.]
Julep Group, e.g., a Mint Julep contains no juice, dairy or bubbles, has sugar, and is served with cobble or crushed ice.
Whiskey Skin Group, e.g., a Whiskey Skin contains no juice, dairy or bubbles, has sugar, and is served hot.
Citrusy Juicy Dry family:
Bronx Group, e.g., a Bronx contains juice, but no dairy, bubbles or sweetener, and is served up.
Bloody Mary Group, e.g., a Bloody Mary contains juice, but no dairy, bubbles or sweetener, and is served with rock ice.
Spirituous Dry family:
Manhattan Group, e.g., a Manhattan contains no juice, dairy, bubbles or sweetener, and is served up.
Comments?
- Are these the right questions, in the right order? (Dairy currently comes before Bubbles so that the Ramos Gin Fizz ends up with its pals like the Pisco Sour.)
- Are these the right terms for the families? [NOTE: Updated name from Citrusy to Juicy January 27, 2013.
- Are these the right names for the groups? (The Manhattan Group could also be called the Martini Group, but that seems destined to create confusion with the Martinez Group.)
- Are any groups missing?
- Were you able to come up with any drinks that create classification problems or which clash so wildly with the other drinks in their group that further subdivision seems necessary?
Thank you for your assistance in improving this taxonomy before the book comes out!
April 14, 2013: Caught up with a change made earlier but not listed and clarified sweeteners to note "non-bitter liqueurs". Thus for example, a drink with Benedictine, an herbal liqueur, is sweetened, and one with amaro or one of the more syrupy quinquinas is not (unless it has other sweeteners in it, of course).
