298 replies to this topic

[KatieLoeb]

Good one Mike. Sounds delicious and I just might have to make myself one soon. The St. Germain can be swapped in as the sweetening agent in many cocktail recipes. Per my buddy Nick's suggestion, I substituted half of the Maraschino in an Aviation for St. Germain and came up with the Aviatrix, a slightly more flowery and feminine version of the classic. I'm certain that would work in a myriad applications.

[thirtyoneknots]

Good one Mike.  Sounds delicious and I just might have to make myself one soon.  The St. Germain can be swapped in as the sweetening agent in many cocktail recipes.  Per my buddy Nick's suggestion, I substituted half of the Maraschino in an Aviation for St. Germain and came up with the Aviatrix, a slightly more flowery and feminine version of the classic.  I'm certain that would work in a myriad applications.

I'm assuming you're using more than 2 tsp of maraschino in the original recipe then? My main gripe against St. Germain is how easily it gets clobbered when used in small amounts, say, less than 1/2 oz in most drinks. Seems to be its main limitation.

[KatieLoeb]

Good one Mike.  Sounds delicious and I just might have to make myself one soon.  The St. Germain can be swapped in as the sweetening agent in many cocktail recipes.  Per my buddy Nick's suggestion, I substituted half of the Maraschino in an Aviation for St. Germain and came up with the Aviatrix, a slightly more flowery and feminine version of the classic.  I'm certain that would work in a myriad applications.

I'm assuming you're using more than 2 tsp of maraschino in the original recipe then? My main gripe against St. Germain is how easily it gets clobbered when used in small amounts, say, less than 1/2 oz in most drinks. Seems to be its main limitation.

Yes. 2 gin, 1 fresh lemon, .5 maraschino, .5 St. Germain.

I rarely use any ingredient in such small proportions unless it's something really strong like absinthe, Pernod, etc. Half an ounce is my usual minimum otherwise. I find anything less is not discernable in most cases.

[hathor]

Good one Mike.  Sounds delicious and I just might have to make myself one soon.  The St. Germain can be swapped in as the sweetening agent in many cocktail recipes.  Per my buddy Nick's suggestion, I substituted half of the Maraschino in an Aviation for St. Germain and came up with the Aviatrix, a slightly more flowery and feminine version of the classic.  I'm certain that would work in a myriad applications.

I'm assuming you're using more than 2 tsp of maraschino in the original recipe then? My main gripe against St. Germain is how easily it gets clobbered when used in small amounts, say, less than 1/2 oz in most drinks. Seems to be its main limitation.

Yes. 2 gin, 1 fresh lemon, .5 maraschino, .5 St. Germain.

I rarely use any ingredient in such small proportions unless it's something really strong like absinthe, Pernod, etc. Half an ounce is my usual minimum otherwise. I find anything less is not discernable in most cases.

I've had Katie's Avatrix....and it's damn good!
so now I got this big bottle of marschino, what else can I do with it?

[eje]

[...]
I've had Katie's Avatrix....and it's damn good! 
so now I got this big bottle of marschino, what else can I do with it?

You might find a few suggestions here:

Maraschino Liqueur

;-)

Edited by eje, 21 April 2008 - 03:37 PM.

[bostonapothecary]

i just entered boston's hendrick's cocktail contest... this what i settled on...

1.5 oz. hendrick's gin
1 oz. manzanilla sherry (la gitana, a very classic bottling...)
.5 oz. sloe gin (plymouth)
.5 oz. yellow chartreuse
dash of peychaud's bitters
stir...

chartreuse and sloe gin are my favorite liqueur duo's at the moment... the yellow works especially well. the contest was looking for cocktails that highlight a botanical besides cucumber and rose petal within hendrick's botanical formula... manzanilla as a sherry style was named after the chamomile flower because its flavor has that earth apple character, but it also has badass cocktail craving acidity! a classic example of the sherry (unlike the la cigarrera manzanilla that i really like) gives "chamomile acid" to balance and contrast the liqueurs and support the gin...

when i tried the drink with green chartreuse all it brought out in the wine was the intimidating oxidized wine character... yellow chartreuse really highlighted the "earth apple" character of the sherry...

now i need a name...

[helenas]

We all seem to be on a St. Germain kick. 

1 oz Tequila por Mi Amante
1/2 Tequila reposado
1 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz lime juice

Shake, strain, sip contentedly.

I have a batch of Tequila por Mi Amante and made the cocktail above many times - it's great.
Now i'm thinking of using Licor 43 instead St. Germain: it should work just fine right?

ETA: just maybe orange juice instead of lime? should be a classic combo, of strawberry, vanilla and orange :)

Edited by helenas, 09 September 2008 - 10:42 AM.

[jmfangio]

We all seem to be on a St. Germain kick. 

1 oz Tequila por Mi Amante
1/2 Tequila reposado
1 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz lime juice

Shake, strain, sip contentedly.

I have a batch of Tequila por Mi Amante and made the cocktail above many times - it's great.
Now i'm thinking of using Licor 43 instead St. Germain: it should work just fine right?

ETA: just maybe orange juice instead of lime? should be a classic combo, of strawberry, vanilla and orange :)

I've never had Licor 43, so I can't really say, but it's worth a try!

What about grapefruit juice? This summer I played around with adding about 1/4 oz tart grapefruit juice to the above recipe, and it worked really well. (I also tried grapefruit juice alone, but didn't like it as much as lime alone, or the lime/grapefruit combo).

[MPruett]

This one seemed kind of obvious to me, but I haven't heard of anything exactly like it... I call it the Grogirinha.

1 lime, cut into eigths (cut in half, then quarter each half)
1 tsp simple syrup
1.5 oz rum (I use Mt. Gay Sugar Cane Brandy myself, but any white or gold works fine)
Ginger ale.
Ice

Assembly:

Muddle your lime and your syrup in your shaker similar to a caipirinha.

Add the rum and ice and shake well.

Dump entire shaken drink into an 8-10 oz glass. Top off with 4-5 oz of ginger ale. Stir gently.

You'll probably want to adjust the simple syrup to your tastes, but it's a good summery drink that is somewhere between grog, a caipirinha, and a dark & stormy I suppose.

[thegoodist]

After running out of tonic to make Baton's with a still very full bottle of Becherovka, I got to experimenting:

First step was subbing it for gin in a Last Word and using lemon instead of lime:

1oz Becherovka
1oz Luxardo Maraschino
1oz Green Chartreuse
1oz Lemon Juice
Shaken and served up

This was surprisingly delicious with the added spice of the Becherovka punching up the herbal notes of the Charteuse - far more balanced than I expected.

For some reason the cinnamon-like spiciness made me think of oranges, and the best fit out of all the options in the cabinet seemed to be Grand Marnier:

2oz Becherovka
1/2oz Grand Marnier
2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters
Stirred with ice a good long while and served up

This is could have gone either way, but luckily turned out pretty nicely. Definitely a slow sipper though, you couldn't drink this quickly if you tried and it's key that it attain some dilution.

Fun stuff

[deensiebat]

Holiday time brought the return of the Scandopolitan:



Basically just a Cosmo, but with aquavit and lingonberry juice. And infinitely more fun to say.

[Shamanjoe]

That just looks sexy. Is it a salt or sugar rim? I'm leaning towards sugar, but salt might be interesting too, depending on how tart the lingonberry juice is.

[deensiebat]

That just looks sexy. Is it a salt or sugar rim? I'm leaning towards sugar, but salt might be interesting too, depending on how tart the lingonberry juice is.

It's sugar -- I hadn't even thought about the salt option, although I suppose it's in line with the salted licorice of Scanidinavia. We keep joking about the appropriate garnish, since sprigs of lingonberries aren't available. A sprig of dill? Skewer of herring?

[KatieLoeb]

The House Martini at Amada at one point had Spanish olives and a boquerone (fresh anchovy in olive oil) on the skewer. Not sure if the herring really goes with the Scandopolitan in the same way that olives and anchovies might go with a martini, though. Perhaps a lime wedge or lime twist would be fine, or if you wanted to be different, a lemon wedge. I'll bet Lingonberry and lemon are delicious together...

[Shamanjoe]

Maybe one of those sweet dry salt-cured herrings? It would sure turn some heads

[Maitre D'Hell]

Tried a riff on a Corpse Reviver last night that came out pretty well. I give you the...

Holiday Inn

1 oz. Citadelle gin
1 oz Luxardo maraschino
1 oz Lillet Blanc
Peychaud's bitters
orange twist

Stir first three ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Coat the inside of a
chilled cocktail glass with 3 dashes bitters. Strain liquors into glass, and
garnish with a flamed orange twist.

[Ricky]

I came up with a drink for a customer who requested pear vodka. We called it Nat Marie.

2oz. Grey Goose Poire
.25 oz Cointreau
.75 oz simple syrup
1oz lemon juice
egg white
orange peel
cinnamon

Dry shake the liquid ingredients
Add ice, shake some more
strain into a chilled cocktail glass
express oils from the orange peel and place in the glass
grate cinnamon stick on top

[Tri2Cook]

I'm going to take this in the opposite direction for a moment if that's ok and ask the experts to help me create. I made a syrup with some local chokecherry juice I had in the freezer using advice from the "make your own grenadine" thread. Now I have no idea where to go with it (in the cocktail world). Anybody willing to throw out some ideas? Barring any ingredients I'm unable to get locally, I'll try whatever's thrown at me.

[Shamanjoe]

I came up with a drink for a customer who requested pear vodka. We called it Nat Marie.

That sounds pretty good. I'm always looking for more drinks that utilise pear. Does it have to be pear vodka though?

[EvergreenDan]

I'm always looking for more drinks that utilise pear. Does it have to be pear vodka though?

I've had good luck with a Pear-Ginger Batida:

1 1/2 oz Cachaca
1/2 oz Poire William
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur (e.g. Creme de Gingembre)
3/4 oz Lime
1/2 oz Stirrings Grenadine OR
1/3 oz juice from high-quality jarred baking cherries.
Garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger or cherry.

You might have to play with this as I'm going from a similar, but different recipe. You might try 1 oz Cachaca and Poire William if you want a bolder pear flavor, and I bet it would work with white rum if you don't care for cachaca.

My mind is now thinking pear thoughts and Poire William + Luxardo Maraschino + tiny bit of ginger liqueur seems like a good idea, maybe with lemon for the acid.

[Brad]

Riff-by-necessity of a drink I found on CocktailDB (http://www.cocktaild..._detail?id=3683)

Rum Ricky Variation Variation

1.5 oz Dark Rum
.75 oz Benedictine
.5 oz Lemon juice
Scant .5 oz Hibiscus-Ginger infused Simple Syrup

Build in an ice-filled Collins glass and top with soda. Garnish with an orange twist.

Turned out better than I expected : D Little cold for this kind of drink (At least in Southern Ontario), but tasty none the less.

[NadyaDuke]

Oregon started issuing a special run of Pacific Wonderland plates today and my husband came home with two pairs. We've always loved this old plate style and were excited they are being reissued. Here's a pic: http://www.oregon.go..._wonderland.jpg

To celebrate I invented a Pacific Wonderland cocktail. I was shooting for all Oregon products, but had to fudge as I needed sugar, and a twist of lemon. I started playing with the idea of a Vesper variation, but the Old Tom Gin is so herbacious that in this it worked better as an accent than as a main ingredient. This might be improved by a bit of lemon juice - it's good but we think it could be better.

For two moderately sized cocktails:

2 ounces Medeyoff Gin
3/4 ounce Clear Creek Distillery Pear Brandy
1/4 ounce Ransom Old Tom Gin
1/4 ounce simple syrup

Stir with ice and strain into cocktail glasses. Twist a generous lemon peel over, and drop in. Celebrate Pacific Wonderland!

Edited to fix word choice

Edited by NadyaCat, 01 March 2010 - 07:17 PM.

[mhagglund]

I love akvavit and lingonberry together. I've been doing a drink lately using both that guests really seem to enjoy:

Skål! Cocktail
1 1/2 oz Aalborg akvavit
3/4 oz Hidalgo Pedro Jimenez sherry
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Vya dry vermouth
1 barspoon lingonberry preserves

Got the preserves from Ikea, they bring great bright fruit flavors to the drink that then changes into a nuttier flavor from the sherry and dry vermouth, finishing with rye/caraway flavors that linger.

[NadyaDuke]

Correction to the Pacific Wonderland - a friend pointed out an error. That's supposed to be Medyoff Vodka. It's made by House Spirits in Portland. I can't seem to edit the post - I guess it's been too long.

[Kohai]

On the aquavit front, I've got something I really really like.



3 oz. Linie Aquavit
1/2 oz. Luxardo Maraschino (generous)
1 dash orange bitters
Rye whiskey (Wild Turkey 101)
Garnish orange twist

Rinse a wine glass or rocks glass with rye whiskey, thoroughly coating it, then discard. Stir together first three ingredients and strain into glass. Garnish with an orange twist.


Basically an Improved Aquavit Cocktail with a rinse. Works well, for me.
Name withheld for the moment.

[Dan Perrigan]

Resurrecting an old topic...

I've been playing around with Pisco quite a bit since acquiring a couple bottles recently and have come up with a couple drinks I'm quite proud of -- so I wanted to share them with the group. I welcome any comments.

Silver Lining

2 oz Pisco (used La Diablada)
1 oz fresh Lemon juice
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
2 tsp Vanilla Syrup (homemade)
(Shake. Strain into chilled coupe)


City of Gold

1 oz Pisco (used Macchu Pisco)
1/2 oz Lairds Bonded Apple Brandy
1 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (or sub Carpano Antica)
3 drops Scrappy's Grapefruit Bitters
8 drops Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit Bitters
(Stir. Strain into chilled coupe. Grapefruit twist)


Cheers,
Dan

[Roddy]

Been messing around with a bottle of Nardini Rabarbaro that I brought back from a trip to Italy -- amazing stuff. Anyway, Negroni variations are a favorite of mine.

The Maximilian Affair

1 oz. mezcal

1 oz. Campari

1 oz. Nardini Rabarbaro

dash Bittermen’s Xocolatl Mole bitters

Here's the inspiration: http://frontpsych.co...millian-affair/

[EvergreenDan]

Yikes. Two different Mezcal drinks with the same name:


Maximilian Affair
by Misty Kalkofen, Drink, Boston, adapted by Eric Felton, WSJ
1 1/4 oz Mezcal, Del Maguey
3/4 oz Elderflower liqueur, St. Germain
1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Lemon juice
1 twst Lemon zest

Note: Original ratio is 1:1:1/2:1/2.

I've been served a version of the above with a Fernet rinse, which was nice.

[Kohai]

Been playing around with charcoal-filtered cocktails recently. We're using Japanese hibachi charcoal, additive-, propellent- and chemical-free. It's a passive filtration, resting the mix on charcoal, rather than forcing it through. The charcoal mellows it, smoothes it, imparts a sooty finish and aroma. Interesting.

Lincoln County Boulevardier
1000ml Buffalo Trace
600ml Campari
400ml Antica Formula
500g lump charcoal

Break large pieces of charcoal into smaller nuggets to increase surface area exposure and place in a large sealable vessel. Pour bourbon, Campari and vermouth over charoal. Cover and rest shielded from sunlight, agitating daily. After ten days, strain through a coffee filter. To serve, stir briskly over ice and strain into something concave.