569 replies to this topic

[KD1191]

Chartreuse Cuvée Des Meilleurs Ouvriers De France Sommeliers and one large ice cube.

It survived in the checked baggage, and we made it through the Icelandic volcano cloud...seems like enough reason to crack the bottle. It's like a refined Yellow VEP, but flavors are brighter due to what I would imagine is significantly less aging. Released in November 2008, this is a special bottling of Yellow Chartreuse that was a collaboration between the monks and several master sommeliers. After tasting it at the distillery in Voiron, I couldn't leave without some.

[Dan Perrigan]

Make a round of Paper Airplanes (thank you eGullet), and boy-oh-boy-oh-boy is that a good drink. Even the non-bourbon lovers loved it.

3/4 oz Bourbon
3/4 oz Campari (Luxardo Bitter, but close to the same thing)
3/4 oz Amaro Nonino (Ramazzotti because that's what I have)
3/4 oz Lemon

Really deserved to be in the rotation.

I wanted to try this last week. I didn't have Nonino or Ramazzotti, but I DID have Amaro CioCiaro so I gave it a try. Yes -- very yummy. But then I started tinkering. I wanted a bolder whiskey flavor so I halved the lemon and subbed Rye for the Bourbon. Bullseye! Since it's a bit stronger than the Paper Airplanes (at least in flavor -- CioCiaro is 80 Proof but I don't know about Nonino), I give you...

The Balsa Flyer

1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded
1 oz Campari
1 oz Amaro CioCiaro
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

This is a Fabulous drink. I actually waited a week to post this so that I could make it again to make sure it was as good as I thought it was. Actually, I think it's better than I remembered.

Cheers,
Dan

[bostonapothecary]

bees knees

1.5 oz. montanha genibera superior aromatica (portuguese gin)
.75 oz. cristinalda "brandymel" (54 proof)
.75 oz. lemon juice

this was an interesting riff on a bees knees with some portuguese products. the structure of the drink seemed tarter than what i make at the restaurant due to the difference in sugar ethic of the honey syrup/liqueurs.

a cardamom-like aroma was brought into focus some how, and was an interesting contrast to the honey. revisiting the gin alone, there seems to be an aroma like cardamom that rivals its juniper aroma. the tonal effect of the honey is pretty spectacular for a $14/750ml liqueur.

brandymel is something i've overlooked for quite a few years now. apparently its been produced for the last 55 years in the algarve region of portugal and is based on traditional folk rememdies for sore throats that use honey. the liqueur is essentially honey (maybe local?) preserved and aromatically contrasted by "medronho", which is a fruit brandy from the arbutus or "strawberry tree".

medronho is crazy stuff, though i've never had it by itself. the artisan tradition of its often illicit production detailed by joao mariano's photo book "alembics and alchemy" (i've only seen the photo exhibition published on the web) is the most interesting culinary tradtion i've seen in quite a while. simply wow. as far as romantic appeal, medronho completely surpasses american moonshine.

i'm familiar with the arbutus because i've been buying strawberry tree honey for a quite a few years now, but from a corsican source via formaggio kitchen. my limited understanding of the fruit was that it barely had a sugar content, was oppressively bitter and strangely only fit for one of the greatest honeys of the world (a pungent and slightly bitter honey)

being related to the strawberry tree makes brandymel interesting stuff. the fortifier has some serious pedigree, but where the hell does the honey come from? it smells wonderful and is definitely not bulk clover. based on my experience with the arbutus honey aroma, its likely not single varietal or something else, but who knows. the area is supposedly crawling with the trees, and no accounts of medronho production i've read describe the fruit as being barely sweet or even bitter so arbutus might be a component in the honey and its just reflective of their unique terroir.

i just don't understand how a country can make products of such high quality for so little money. portugal is a gold mine of culinary treasures.

[KD1191]

Another product I had never seen before visiting the Chartreuse distillery in Voiron (an absolutely wonderful tour and tasting, organized by their export director Philippe Rochez) was their Gentiane (Apéritif des Pères Chartreux). It is exceptionally bitter without the cloying sweetness and syrupy mouth feel that I have come to dislike in many other products. As such, I thought I'd take it for a test drive as a substitute for Campari in a Negroni.



1 1/2 oz Tanqueray
1 oz Cinzano Bianco
1 oz Gentiane de Chartreuse

I started with equal parts, but the gin was lost behind the powerful flavor of the Gentiane. With the juniper restored, besides looking like Ecto Cooler, the drink is marvelous. I don't want to badmouth the Negroni, it's one of my favorite cocktails, but where once there was just a lingering note of orange, now the herbs of the mountains and forest dance in the background.

Edited by KD1191, 22 May 2010 - 03:55 PM.

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. vale d'paul aguardente "nova" cape verdean rum
.75 oz. sour orange juice
.75 oz. unheated "fresh" sugar cane juice freeze concentrated to maybe 300g/l

this was an interesting drink. i was hoping that i could abstract some cool aromas out of fresh sugar cane juice by concentrating it in the absence of heat. eh, its not that cool. there are some fun exotic green aromas pre-concentration but they get largely overshadowed by the caramel aromas. overall on its own, the syrup doesn't seem too different than lyle's golden. sugar cane juice can also be tricky in that its so high in potassium it can be laxative, sticking to .75 ounce of this syrup easily keeps you in the safe zone.

the cocktail however, surpassed my expectations. i really expected the "stuck" and overshadowing caramel aroma to dominate but it didn't. somehow if i tasted this drink blind, i'd think it was made with a slightly aged martinique rum like st. james, but i bet i could get the same results with a spoonful of turbinado...

[TexasCocktailGeek]

The other night I had (what I thought was) a really excellent bourbon cocktail:



The Undertaker (from Misty Kalkofen of Drink, Boston)
1/4 oz Cynar
1 1/2 oz Eagle Rare 10 Year
1/2 oz grapefruit juice
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
orange twist garnish

Mellow, bourbon sweetness elevated just a bit by the grapefruit and just a pleasant hint of bitter. A new favorite for me.

[KatieLoeb]

Trying to clean out the liquor cabinet. So many sample bottles with just a bit left over in them. Tonight I decided to rid myself of some of the vodkas. Best effort was thus:

2.5 oz Pearl Plum vodka
.75 oz Sour cherry juice (can't remember the brand - will check later)
juice of a wedge of fresh lime
dash of Fee Brothers Aromatic bitters

Tastes like cherry pie. The Fee bitters definitely added that clove-like spice that made the drink what it was. The cosmo swilling chicks would be all over this...

[deensiebat]

Celebrating a sunny afternoon with a pineapple mojito:

[lancastermike]

A hot Memorial Day had me into several Dark and Stormy's. One of my all time favorite hot weather drinks

[KD1191]

Tonight, something a little different courtesy of my friends at North Shore Distillery. A few weeks ago they ran a contest to announce their limited release for 2010, which I happened to win. The prize was the #2 bottle of their new ready to serve cocktail CR², a "spirit distilled with herbs, spices and citrus, and blended with wine," inspired by the Corpse Reviver #2. All I did was shake a few ounces with ice and drop in a cherry. For the amount of effort required, the result was quite impressive. There's a nice absinthe aroma and the orange and lemon notes are significantly brighter than I would have expected. North Shore's gin and absinthe are quality products, so the Corpse Reviver #2 should be in their wheelhouse. Is it the equal of a CR #2 prepared à la minute by a highly skilled bartender with premium ingredients? Probably not...but it is unbelievably better than any bottled cocktail I've ever had.

[bostonapothecary]

bees knees

1.5 oz. linie aquavit
.75 oz. lemon juice
.75 oz. ames farm bass wood honey from minnesota (usual alcohol preserved syrup technique)

the ames farm bass wood honey is in my top five of coolest honeys out there. it is pale in color if not green tinted and has strange focused aromas that remind me of lime aftershaves (in the best possible way!) a lime-like aroma might make some choose lime juice as an acid, but i didn't want a competing comparative aroma obscuring the honey's expression (i also prefer lemon juice with taylor's velvet falernum).

aquavit is a spectacular foil for honey's aromas. aquavit is simple stuff. an arrangement of a few aromas with serious attention to the tonality of each. the simplicity yields serious emotional content.

this rendition of the bees knees did everything a perfume aspires to do... but this drink was like those simple near mono-aroma colognes and aftershaves that you see sold at smoke shops. they often end up being more powerful and emotionally charged than all that overly "complex" "unique" stuff you see at saks 5th ave.

i just wish i had some mono quinine bitters to throw in the mix...

[Kohai]

Can you elaborate on the "usual alcohol-preserved syrup" technique? I am curious what you're using here. Is it just honey syrup with a float of vodka or something more?

[bostonapothecary]

Can you elaborate on the "usual alcohol-preserved syrup" technique? I am curious
what you're using here. Is it just honey syrup with a float of vodka or something
more?

the float of vodka technique doesn't work because the syrup absorbs the alcohol and the alcohol content averages out to something so low it can't preserve.

for the honey syrup we try to create a 20% alcohol content which gets you near the minimum of preservation. to hit the numbers you add an equal volume of honey and an equal volume of 40% alcohol spirit. most importantly, the equal volume measure also puts the sugar content at a point where it can elegantly contrast an equal volume of lemon or lime juice.

most of these single varietal honeys are crystallized but this doesn't mean you have to heat them to get them to dissolve. heat risks destroying aromas. you simply scoop the honey out and then stir it patiently with the spirit. everything dissolves easier than you'd think. i usually first put the spirit into the scooped out honey jar to dissolve everything on the sides before i mix it with the bulk in a new container.

what you get is a preserved single varietal honey "syrup" that you don't have to worry about using too quickly or refrigerating.

the variation of aromas among the varietals is amazing. far more fun than seeking out new gins.

[Kohai]

Very cool. Must try that myself today. Thank you. Oh - how do you store the syrup? Is it shelf-stable?

Edited by Kohai, 18 June 2010 - 09:56 AM.

[bostonapothecary]

Very cool. Must try that myself today. Thank you. Oh - how do you store the syrup? Is it shelf-stable?

definitely. no refrigeration necessary. 20% alcohol will give you shelf stability even with low sugar contents (think dry vermouth). increase the sugar content beyond 170g/l (an estimate, think sweet vermouth) and you can be stable at as low as 16%.

the honeys are fairly expensive and we keep a big library of them so people can try stuff. nothing ferments. nothing spoils. it would otherwise because the sugar content is cut down to a point where it doesn't desiccate the yeasts and bacteria. also you can easily make tiny quantities if you don't want to invest too much.

the bar at work only has one gin (and one aquavit) so keeping many honeys has been a great way to add significant variation to our small program.

[bostonapothecary]

.75 oz. lime juice
.75 oz. brandymel honey liqueur from the algarve
1 oz. vale d'paul "nova" cape verdean rum
.5 oz. armagnac (forget the bottling)

quite the sour. refreshing structure, exotic pungencies.

the vale d'paul nova could have just become my all time favorite spirit pushing batavia arrack van oosten to no. 2.

i also made this with ames farm single source elder flower honey instead of the brandymel (plus a dash of angostura). the honey is astonishing with a focused elderflower aroma and an overall paleness. you wouldn't know you were tasting honey. if i can get more i don't think i'll use st. germain ever again. though if you want a pale honey with a focused aroma, bass wood is where it at.

[KD1191]

18th Century Brooklyn

2 oz Old Potrero 18th Century "Rye"
3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry
2 tsp Luxardo Maraschino
2 tsp Amer Picon

While experimenting with the Gentiane des Pères Chartreux over in the Suze thread, I somehow thought of this Old Potrero Brooklyn, and realized that the Gentiane liqueur would add something interesting in the place of the Dry Vermouth. It would restore some of the bitterness that is missing in modern Amer Picon, for one...

Garnished with a doctored Tillen Farms Maraschino cherry (a bottle of these 'all natural' cherries, where the sickly sweet liquid they were packed in has been replaced by a 3:1 Brandy/Luxardo mixture), the result was more-or-less as expected...initially somewhat sweeter, but with a lengthy and more bitter finish. With two ounces of ~125 proof whiskey, the higher proof of original Picon is not missed. The most predominate flavor is still the Potrero's oak, but the gentian and orange are well represented. It's a bit too sweet for me as is...I would cut back on the Gentiane or Luxardo next time.

[KatieLoeb]

I'm about to go make me a caipirinha. It's too damned hot here...

[campus five]

I'm enjoying one of those cocktails that may well require purchasing a couple things to make, even for the more advanced cocktail geek.

I specifically bought Galliano, Celery Bitters and Rhubarb Bitters to make it after having tried it at Copa D'Oro.

The Custer
2 oz Rye (they used Sazerac, I use Rittenhouse BIB)
1/2 oz Galliano
3 barspoons Cynar
2 dashes Rhubarb Bitters
2 dashes Celery Bitters

Stir, Strain, rocks glass w/ 1 big rock, Orange Twist

And you can read more about it here:
http://looka.gumbopa...day-the-custer/

[TAPrice]

Following a recipe in the Washington Post, I tried a Greenpoint. I gather this belongs to a class of rye drinks named after hipster enclaves.

• 2 ounce high-proof rye (I used Wild Turkey)
• 1/2 ounce green Chartreuse
• 1/2 ounce Punt e Mes

Stir, strain, lemon twist.


Not a great drink. Too hot. Too much alcohol. I won't be making this one again.

WaPo: Greenpoint recipe

[thirtyoneknots]

Following a recipe in the Washington Post, I tried a Greenpoint. I gather this belongs to a class of rye drinks named after hipster enclaves.

• 2 ounce high-proof rye (I used Wild Turkey)
• 1/2 ounce green Chartreuse
• 1/2 ounce Punt e Mes

Stir, strain, lemon twist.


Not a great drink. Too hot. Too much alcohol. I won't be making this one again.

WaPo: Greenpoint recipe

When I tried this quite some time back I did 3/4 oz Punt e Mes and 1/4 of Chartreuse. The drink was ok but I don't think I've made it for myself since then.

[lancastermike]

I'm about to go make me a caipirinha. It's too damned hot here...

I'm with you here, Katie. In this hot summer I narrow my selection way down. I'll do my fancy mixing when it cools off. My summertime standbys: Dark and Stormy, Caipirinha, and Gin and Bitter Lemon.

[Chris Amirault]

Made a Caipirinha last night, muddled Thai palm sugar with the lime. Actually, I was forced to make a second one because of deliciousness.

[KatieLoeb]

Seriously, the caipirinha might be the single best hot weather cocktail known to man. In fact, I'm going to go hit the store and get some more demerara right now so I can make one later...

[TAPrice]

Another miss for me. Maybe I should start reporting this experiences on the "drink that go in the sink" thread.

I tried the Colonial Cooler from this month's Imbibe. It's from the article on Brooklyn bars.

• 1.5 oz London dry (I used Beefeater)
• 3/4 sweet vermouth
• 3/4 oz Carpano Antica
• .25 Cointreau
• .5 lemon juice
• Soda water

Shake. Strain into iced high ball (I used a Collins, because who can find highballs?) and top with soda.

Going into this, I thought it would be too sweet. Three sweet elements (two vermouths and Cointreau) seemed like overkill. In the end, it was just a unpleasant (and somewhat watery) mismash. Nothing played nice.

Strike two for Brooklyn related cocktails. I'm going to stick to Manhattans.

[KatieLoeb]

Sour Cherry Caipirinha. Standard issue with a splash of sour cherry juice from a carton, and a topper of a tiny dash of soda. Delicious.

[vice]

some sort of manhattan-like frappe:

1.5 oz rye (wild turkey)
.75 oz bonal
2 dash absinthe
1 tsp demerara syrup

shake with crushed ice, pour into frozen old-fashioned glass


This was refreshing and had a really lovely cherry flavor, but needs a bump up in dimensionality - maybe a float of absinthe or peychaud's?

[eas]

Yum. Try adding orange bitters or wide wedge of grapefruit peel.

[brinza]

Another miss for me. Maybe I should start reporting this experiences on the "drink that go in the sink" thread.

I tried the Colonial Cooler from this month's Imbibe. It's from the article on Brooklyn bars.

• 1.5 oz London dry (I used Beefeater)
• 3/4 sweet vermouth
• 3/4 oz Carpano Antica
• .25 Cointreau
• .5 lemon juice
• Soda water

Shake. Strain into iced high ball (I used a Collins, because who can find highballs?) and top with soda.

Going into this, I thought it would be too sweet. Three sweet elements (two vermouths and Cointreau) seemed like overkill. In the end, it was just a unpleasant (and somewhat watery) mismash. Nothing played nice.

Strike two for Brooklyn related cocktails. I'm going to stick to Manhattans.

I made this too. I thought it was okay. I think part of the problem is that, as you pointed out, the taste is somewhat of a surprise. Sounds sweet, tastes a little tart and bitter. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's a little jolting when it's not expected. I think the CAF is wasted in that half & half vermouth pairing, and since the sweetness factor of Italian vermouths is all over the place, you don't what you'll end up with. I thought this was kind of like a tart Martinez. But you're right, the soda makes it a bit watery. Nevertheless, I still found it somewhat refreshing and bracing in the manner of a Negroni (on the rocks) or an Añejo Highball. I might tinker with this and try it as cocktail (no soda).

[Chris Amirault]

Speaking of which (CAF and Martinezes), I'm enjoying the first of many, many Martinezes this summer thanks to a kind gift of CAF. Luxardo maraschino and Boker's bitters. No garnish. Yum.