How to make a famous Polly Mojito!

Customers love our cocktails so much that we have decided to make our own YouTube channel so you can make them at home for yourself!

The first is the very popular classic The Mojito. Let our bar manager Dave show you how to get it Polly tasty!

 

Brrrr….Cold times bring yum times at Polly!

Ok, so we all know at the moment it is pretty darn cold in Melbourne town. To make your winter a little brighter, we have conjured up a few awesome Winter treats for you at Polly.

Firstly, we have added an amazing Cheese Platter to our menu. It includes cheeses, crackers, homemade strawberry relish, and homemade fruit cake – decadent and just the right flavours to beat off the winter blues (and beat off hunger as well!)

Another fun thing we’ve done this month is have an in-house Hot Toddy Competition. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a Hot Toddy is, it’s a number of alcaholic ingredients heated. We like making ours with a mixture of Port, Whiskey, lemon and spices. However, if you like Rum, or Scotch, or even certain liquers more than Port, we can refine a Hot Toddy to your specific tastes.
You can tell us what you like, or ask one of our Bartenders to make up for you their entry into the Hot Toddy comp. Believe me, a Hot Toddy is just perfect on a chilly winter evening. Mix it with a Cheese Platter and a Cigar and you are set for one comforting winter night!

Polly Pizzas! Tuesday Special!

On Tuesday nights we have an awesome special for you all!
Take any pizza and pot of beer on tap and get both for just $9!
On tap we have -
St. Arnou Pale Ale
Big Helga Lager
Coldstream Cider

We have seven scrummy Pizza varities to choose from, all made fresh to order, on Polly made bases! 

*Super Satay – Peanut satay, sweet chilli, chicken, capsicum and red onion

Super Satay

*The Foreign Exchange – Salami, onions, bacon, pineapple, chicken and camembert

The Foreign Exchange

*The Euro – Onions, garlic, mushrooms, semi-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, feta and olives (good for vegetarians!)

The Euro

*Funky Blues – Blue cheese, mushrooms, caramelised onions, tomatoes and olives (also good for vegos!)

 

Funky Blues

*Cajun Voodoo – Cajun lamb, avocado, onions, fresh salsa and sour cream

 

Cajun VooDoo

*Mexican hell fire – Salami, refried beans, avocado, onions, salsa, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and fire roasted capsicums

Mexican Hellfire

*The Virgin – Ham, onions, gherkins, bacon and smoked cheese

The Virgin

*DESSERT PIZZAS*

*Lady Polly – Caramlized apple, cinnamon, crumble and custard

*Sweet Velvet – Berries, banana, chocolate and custard

So, why bother cooking when you can get a deal like this? Come by on a Tuesday night, sit in a comfy Polly armchair and relax after a long hard day at work (or play) with our Pizza and pot special!

NEW food at Polly!

By popular demand, we have put dips back onto the menu in a totally new and improved form! The focaccia bread and the dips are all made fresh in the Polly kitchen.

Also new to the menu, is our Mexican style wedges. Topped with cheese, sour cream, salsa and jalapenos, it’s a nacho take on an old favourite!

Staff Weekly Recommendations!

Now for the weekly recommendations from those who work at Polly!

Cocktail 
The De-Cider  
New to Polly -

The Menu Says - “The last word in refreshment. Coldstream Victorian Cider over

The De-Cider

 ice,tempered with Campari and crowned with homemade Blood Orange Sorbet.”Why we love it - Not only is it really refreshing, it also combines some damn fine products!
The Cointreau and Campari work together to form a yummy light orange flavour, which isn’t too sweet, and add to that the sparkling Coldstream straight from the tap. 
A scoop of Polly made Blood Orange Sorbet tops it off and you are left with a so scrummy you can’t believe drink that refreshers as well as plays with your tastebuds!

Absinthe
Jade PF 1901
Silver Medal Winner – 2007 London IWSC Jade PF 1901

Jade PF 1901

Jade PF 1901 is in the same category as the Jade VS 1898 – both are premier Absinthe’s based on old pre-ban recipes. This recipe came from a sealed bottle of Pernod Fils (hence the ‘PF’) it’s the closest you’re going to get to the real French Absinthe of the pre-ban era. It is also made by the same distillery as the Jade VS 1898, in Saumur, France.
Taste wise, this Absinthe has a well balanced palate of wormwood, anise and fennel with a lovely flowery freshness. We love to grab one of these after a long shift, sit back on one of Polly’s regal chairs, and pretend we’re back in 1900′s.

 

Wither Hills Pinot Gris.
“This pinot gris shows some handy complexity and richness on the nose, with ripe pears and stone fruits, and fragrant lift and floral notes too. The palate’s nicely worked into smooth shape, with long pear and peach flavour and decent acid balance. Tidy indeed. ” – The Age 2011 Wine Guide by Nick Stock.

Dry in style, this beautiful fruity Pinot Gris is from the famed Marlborough wine region in New Zealand. The aromas of elderflower, peach and honeysuckle hit you straight away, whilst the taste is full bodied, with essenses of ripened pear, lychee and tropical flavours with a lovely spiced aftertaste. This is perfect for when we can only stay for a quick drink after work, as it doesn’t take too long to finish this lovely drop!

 

Hawthorn Amber Ale
Bronze International Beer Challenge 2010

Talking about drinks that are easy to finish after work – this is surely one of them! Also, this great beer comes from near-by Hawthorn, which at Polly we see as a big plus, as we love supporting local and Australian made!
This beer starts off, when poured (which generally, you should always do – it lets the beer breathe and releases flavours that if you don’t pour out, will stay trapped in the bottle!) with a beautiful head that is quite long lasting. The colour is also something to comment on, as it’s a nice rich dark brown. It has a lovely aroma, bitey, rich and fruity. The taste if quite malty, with a warm caramel flavour. Hawthorn also prides itself on using no perservatives or additives when making it’s beer – hey, with this plus to your health, there’s no reason not to drink it!

 

 

  

Fun Mojito Vid

Thought this was a pretty cool YouTube video. It’s funny how everybody has their own tale when it comes to how something is created – during my research, I never really came across tales of Cuban slaves coming up with the drink. I did however, hear that the drink came from the African word ‘Mojo’
Here is the video, I hope you enjoy it!

What in the cocktail glass?! The Mojito

Everyone has heard of them. They are featured in movies, drank by celebrities, they have songs written about them, but most people actually don’t know what’s in a lot of classic drinks.
A prime example – In my first few weeks as a bartender, I had a tiny little Asian girl order a Martini. I asked her how she wanted it, and by her responses I should have realised she had

All these are classic cocktails - can you name them all??

no idea what she was ordering. But, being a newbie, I just went along with her instructions (a dead give away is when you ask if they want it shaken or stirred and they think for a moment and say, “Shaken! Like James Bond has his!) and watched as she took her first sip and nearlly spat it right across the bar! – It’s Ok not to know what is in every single classic, I mean, we as bartenders and drinkers have learnt over years and years of dealing with customers, suppliers, fellow bartenders and by doing our research. The average punter doesn’t spent their days mixing drinks and talking booze like we do, so it’s silly to think that they would know exactly what is in all the classic drinks that they have seen in popular culture. Sex and the City did wonders for the Cosmo and the Manhattan, and many women, when faced with ordering from our huge cocktail list, feel too embarrassed to ask for help or ask what is actually in the drink, so they just order one that they have seen a famous person or character drink. – Which is all well and good, but I think that if customers really want to know, they shouldn’t be scared to ask, or, if they would perfer, they can come on here and find out for themselves! Another good reason to know about the history of classic cocktails is that the stories behind them are usually so interesting, I always find customers are amazed and enthralled whenever I tell them the history of the classic cocktail that I’m straining into their glass.

The Mojito

So many Mojitos...

This week I thought I’d start with a classic that, after the Expresso Martini, is our best selling classic. It’s a drink that is a total crowd pleasure – Nearlly every weekend I see one friend ordering a round of  Mojitos for his Mojito virgin mates, who then are so smitten by the drink that it’s all they will have for the rest of the night!

Firstly, I’ll tell you what exactly is in a Mojito. It’s a ‘build’ cocktail, which means you make it in the glass instead of making it up in a shaker. You then add 60mls of either dark or light rum, a handfull of mint (which you slap to released the herbs flavours), 30mls of sugar or sugar syrup (brown sugar for a dark Mojito), 30mls of fresh lime juice (please use fresh and not lime cordial – the taste is very very different when it’s fresh!) Let that settle so the rum soaks into the rum, and then add crushed ice, giving it a stir so that all the ingredients combine nicely.
Now, onto the history!

History of the Mojito   

The history of the Mojito begins in Cuba in the 16th Century. The Queen of England at the time, Queen Elizabeth I gave money and orders to privateers (a person or ship that is instructed by the government/crown to attack certain foreign counties or vessels during wartime) to invade Spanish cities. One of these privateers was Sir Francis Drake, who, in 1586, was highly considering raiding Havana in order to steal their Aztec Gold. In his journey over to Cuba, the governor of Cuba was warned of the ships approach, and began to ready the city for an attack.  

Sir Francis Drake being knighted by the Queen

When Drake’s 14 ships arrived off the coast, Havana was prepared – but they weren’t prepared for an anti-climatic response. Drake only fired a few minor shots, and in a week, simply sailed away. Havana may have been intact, but it was changed forever due to his subordinate, Richard Drake, who had invented a cocktail named after his Captain called the Draque. This drink contained the exact same ingredients as I have listed above for the Mojito, but with one major difference – Aquardiente, the harsher predeccesor to Rum was used. The Draque was served with a wooden spoon with a cock’s tail handle and wasn’t drunk for fun times, but actually used for medicinal purposes. Whenever a Spanish port was conquered, Richard Drake would bring to the people his drink. It became so popular, that in one of Havana’s worst Cholera epidemics, resident narrator Ramón de Paula remarked, “Every day at eleven o’clock, I consume a little Draque made from Aquardiente and I am doing very well.”
It wasn’t untill the mid 1800s, when the orginial Bacardi Company was founded, that the Draque’s main ingredient was then changed to Rum.

Does it matter if your Dark or White? 

Says it all really!

 The age old question when it comes to Mojitos is whether you will have it with Dark or White/Light Rum.
Firstly, what is the difference between Dark and White/Light Rum? Well, it’s all in the distilling process of course! Rum is made from sugar cane and molasses. White/Light Rum is fermented in steel and filtered. It has a clear, white colour – like the colour of Vodka pretty much. Dark Rum is aged in charred oak casks, which gives it a richer, caramel type flavour, and it has a dark brown colour.
At the end of the day, when it comes to choosing between a Dark or White/Light Mojito, it all comes down to personal taste. If you want a more refeshing, simple drink, then White/Light is the way to go. If you want something that is more complex and richer then Dark is your best bet. Also, if you choose do go Dark at Polly, we have an extremly awesome list of Dark Rums – which include fifteen Dark Rum varities. A great variation on the standard Mojito is to ask for Spiced Rum, a bit of cinnamon sugar instead of just straight sugar syrup, and you have a lovely, refreshing, Spiced Rum Mojito!

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin NV

Though we have three sparklings on our house pour list, Veuve is the only one in which we can call Champagne. A lot of customers, when they come up to the bar, ask me for Champagne, and then I ask them if they want a sparkling or a Champagne. The price is extremly different as to make a Champagne is so much more labour intensive than it is to make a sparkling. If

One of the Veuve Clicquot Vineyards

you don’t know, and it’s ok if you don’t because we’re here to inform, Champagne can only be called Champagne it if is made in the Champgne region of France. Same can be said for Tequila and Brandy as well.  Veuve Clicquot is an extremly popular and well known Champagne with fans such as Jack Nicholson, Pamela Anderson and with events such as the ‘Veuve Clicquor Polo Classic’ which brings in attendances by people like Chole Sevigny and Prince Harry. It’s easy to see that Veuve is a classy, extremly well established drop that’s very familiar with celebrity and the upper class. - But how did it become so, and what is all the fuss about? Keep on reading to find out the answers!

History 

The history of Veuve Clicquot begins in 1772 with the textile and finance company of Philippe Clicquot. Philippe was also in charge of two small vineyards in nearby regions. When his son

Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin

died at the age of 30, Philippe believed he would have to sell off the family business, as he felt he was now too old to be in charge of the company. This is when his daughter in law, Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin stepped in and announced that she would like to take over the business. The word for widow in French is ‘Veuve’ so this is where the company recieved it’s name – Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, though most people know it by the first two names only. The take over, though unheard of in it’s day of male dominated businesses, was the best thing for the company, as Ponsardin had an amazing business sense. Her first call of order was to bring in a new winemaker,  Antoine Müller, in 1810. She then decided to break into the Russian market, which had been shattered since Napoleons war. The wine was an instant success, and this gave the company a financial leg to stand on. Ponsardin also brought in a new method when making Champagne, which improved the taste and look and solved the problem of sediment brought about by yeast, which would float around the wine. This practise is now used universally in the production of bottle-fermented sparklings.
In 1828 a rich employee of the company, Eduoard Werlé, paid off the debts in which Ponsardin’s son in law had tallied up, and was made a partner, and in 1841, when Ponsardin retired, Werlé took control over the business. The business would be passed on through son-in-law to son-in-law, untill 1984 when Joseph Henriot, head of Champagne Henriot acquired the role of chairman of the company.
Today, Clicquot owns 382 hectacres of vineyard, which is mainly in the Grande Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs regions. Though it may seem like a lot of land, with such a demand for Clicquot’s products, the company still needs to purchase grapes from 
growers who are under long-term contract. In saying this, most of the fruit that will be harvested will be used for the sparkling in which we stock at Polly. It is better known by the name, ’Yellow Label’, due to it’s iconic yellow labels.  But at Polly, we like to call it simply Veuve Clicquot.

Taste
Veuve Clicquot is made from a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay, 12% Pinot Meunier

Veuve in all it's finest!

including 39% reserve wines. It’s aroma is an intense blend of apple, citrus fruit and caramel, and it’s stunning colour is that of pale straw. It has a full bodied flavour, with a lovely balance of crispness, and a lasting spicy aftertaste.
This quote from the New York Times really sums up the way in which Veuve has made it’s way into society,

“Veuve Clicquot is the kind of Champagne you can take to any party and know that your host will instantly recognize and appreciate it.” -Amanda Hesser, July 22, 1998.

 

So, next time you are at Polly and thinking of indulging in a fine drop of wine, why not treat yourself to a glass of one of the worlds my recognised and celebrated champagnes!

Pelorus NV

Pelorus is one of the three sparkling pours we have by the glass at Polly. It is qutie popular with customers, due to the fact that it’s is from the popular wine region of Marlborough in New Zealand. Pelorus is made by the established wine makers, Cloudy Bay, and though they were established in Australia, their vineyards are situated in Malborough.

Company History

Cloudy Bay Wineyard

Cloudy Bay was established in 1985 by Cape Mentelle Wineries in Western Australia. Their philosophy was to make wines of ‘regions’, and therefore their focus is to enhance the flavours that come out of the soil and climate of their vineyards in Marlborough. The winery recieved it’s name through Captain Cook. ‘Cloudy Bay’ was the name in which Cook gave to the bay at the far eastern side of the Wirau Valley on his journey to New Zealand in 1770.

Pelorus NV

A number of different chardonnay and pinot noirs are used in making the Pelorus NV. All the grapes are pressed without crushing the grapes, and the base wines are then left to ferment and age in large oak vats and small French oak barrels.
The taste is quite Chardonnay dominant, clean, crisp, lively and yeasty. With aromas of apples and lemons, and with a toasty, creaminess to it’s over all complexity, and a beautiful nutty finish.  
The New Zealand Herald has sung the praises of Pelorus NV, and this quote sums up nicely the complexities of this lovely Marlborough Chardonnay based sparkling,

“It’s no mean feat that the winemakers and grapegrowers at Cloudy Bay winery in Marlborough can turn out this incredibly elegant, dry, chardonnay-driven bubbly year after year. It’s very crisp, very dry and will woo devoted Tattinger fans instantly.”

 

Clover Hill

At Polly, we have two sparkling pours – one from NZ, and the other from Tasmania, which is Clover Hill.
This drop was made even more famous when Princess Mary drank the sparkling at her Danish Wedding reception, though it really doesn’t need any more press, as the product speaks for itself.

Winery History

Clover Hill Winery

 Clover Hill began in 1986, in the Pipers River region of Tasmania, which is made up of 66 hectares and has been said to have the same climate as the Champagne region of France. 
Clover Hills mission was to be dedicated to sparkling wine and to only deal with sparkling wine varietals which include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Clover Hill was established in 1986 in the Pipers River region of Tasmania as a dedicated sparkling wine estate. The 66 hectare property overlooking Bass Strait has a similar climate to the Champagne region of France and plants only traditional sparkling wine varietals – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Clover Hill Sparkling 2006

Clover Hill Sparkling 2006, which is our Australian sparkling house pour, has a grape variety of 57% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot Noir and 7% Pinot Meunier, combine with this a selection of reserve wines that have been aged in French oak foudres and barrels, and you encounter a tipple that is very uniquely Clover Hill.  

With a golden colour, Clover Hill’s aroma hits you peaches, pears and toasted almond. The taste is an elegant mixture of tropical fruits, freshly baked characters, creamy undertones and a lengthy finish. The mixture of the red and white grapes can be noticed, and this is an attribute to the richness of the flavours.
I think a quote from Gourmet Traveller also sums up how lovely this sparkling is, “What a wine, one of power and finesse, complexity and purity. The impact of the red fruit is immediately apparent with a bouquet of strawberry tart and bush honey and a rich, round texture. Brilliant stuff!”