298 replies to this topic

[M.X.Hassett]

BTW - the Calypso tea I got the sample of is very good.  I'm going to go back and get more and perhaps inspired by your brilliance, try do some rum infused with  the Calypso tea.  I think those flavors would be complimentary.

Yummmm.......The Calypso tea smelt like it would work wonderfully with rum. I am now sipping on a violet Earl Grey infused beefeater gin two parts, 3/4 part Lillet blonde, splash o' bitters.

[biscuit]

I came up with this variation on a Ward Eight:

1 ½-2 oz. Rittenhouse Rye
¾ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz. pomegranate molasses (not grenadine)
dash Peychauds

Works well with either a flamed lemon peel or a cherry.

[elixirofthetropics]

I've arrived at these cocktails as I've experimented with rum and whiskey. Most of them are simple, and I am not too creative with names.

The Spiced Peach

1 part Dark Rum (Myer's Dark, Gosling's Black Seal, Cruzan Black Strap)
4 parts Orange-Mango Juice

The Peach on the Oak Tree

1 part Whiskey
4 parts Peach Juice

Pina Colada Light

3 parts Cruzan Coconut Rum
8 parts Pineapple Juice
Serve over crushed ice in hurricane glass.

Rum Sour

1 part Heavily-oaked Rum
4 parts Lime-ade

Jamaican Sour

1 part Whiskey
4 parts Lime-ade
Serve over rocks: optional.

Clarksville Flies to Aruba

2 parts Medium or Dark Rum (OR 1 part dark rum and 2 parts Coconut rum)
4 parts Mango Juice
4 parts Orange-Pineapple Juice
1/2 - 1 part Lime Juice
Splash of Grenadine
Serve over crushed ice.
(named for my hometown where I was born and raised)

Holden Beach Sails to Barbados (My own variant of Bajan Rum Punch)

1 part Lime Juice
2 parts Sweetener (sugar, Equal, or Splenda)
2 parts Medium Rum (Mount Gay Eclipse or Appleton Gold)
2 parts Coconut rum
8 parts Water
Use less water if you serve over crushed ice.
(named for the beach to which our family has gone for the past 25+ years.)

Vanilla Coke

3 parts Vanilla Rum (Cruzan Vanilla, Mount Gay Vanilla, or Capt. Morgan Private)
8 parts Coca-Cola

Edited by elixirofthetropics, 23 January 2006 - 04:36 PM.

[M.X.Hassett]

I came up with this variation on a Ward Eight:

1 ½-2 oz. Rittenhouse Rye
¾ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz. pomegranate molasses (not grenadine)
dash Peychauds

Works well with either a flamed lemon peel or a cherry.

Damn this sounds yummy...........................................Oh my it is just made one real quick, and I think I may have had one last night

[KatieLoeb]

I stand corrected. The lovely aromatic tea I have the sample of is called Cyclone, not Calypso. Calypso must've been the other similar one.

Inspired by M.X.Hassett's tea based infusions, I decided to try something different this evening. This Cyclone tea is akin to a lovely potpourri, but not in a gagging way. Very aromatic and floral, with some tropical notes. I will contact the tea merchant and get a better idea of what's in the blend later. My mind made me go to rum for this infusion, but I only had coconut rum in the house. But I also had some Mae de Ouro Cachaca in the house. So I infused two tablespoons of Cyclone tea in two ounces of cachaca for a couple of hours. Then I created this lovely concoction which I am sipping on right now:

Cyclone Sour

2 oz. Cyclone tea infused Cachaca
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
.75 oz. 1:1 Demerara simple syrup
3 dashes Fee Orange bitters
1/2 a Large egg white

Shake viorously over ice until frothy and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy!



Delicious! Definitely one of my better efforts of late. Thanks for the inspiration Matt! This one's a keeper.

edited to add:

Cyclone tea = Sencha green tea, violets, marigold, rose petals and orange rinds

[lostmyshape]

wow... great idea to marry a floral tea with cachaca. i often think cachaca is "missing something," and this might do the trick. i'm gonna try this one.

[M.X.Hassett]

Cyclone Sour

2 oz. Cyclone tea infused Cachaca
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
.75 oz. 1:1 Demerara simple syrup
3 dashes Fee Orange bitters
1/2 a Large egg white

Shake viorously over ice until frothy and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Enjoy!



Delicious!  Definitely one of my better efforts of late.  Thanks for the inspiration Matt!  This one's a keeper.

edited to add:

Cyclone tea = Sencha green tea, violets, marigold, rose petals and orange rinds

Looks awesome too.

[KatieLoeb]

wow... great idea to marry a floral tea with cachaca.  i often think cachaca is "missing something," and this might do the trick.  i'm gonna  try this one.

Actually my thinking was more along the lines that cachaca is less "sharp" than rum and a better/more subtle "blank slate" on which to layer the floral flavors. I think the green tea base is less flavorful and tannic than an Earl Grey or other black tea might be, so I'd go the way Matt did and marry that with gin or a brown liquor that could stand up to it.

The Cyclone tea is sooooo delicious. It smells like a lovely potpourri. I bought it from my local tea shop House of Tea. This is a new product for them and isn't listed on the site yet. But I understand they'll be fully functional for online ordering around 2/1/06 when the site gets updated.

The Cyclone infused cachaca is the bomb. I need to make lots more of it.

[debbiemoose]

I am a novice at cocktail creation, so if this has already been posted, my apologies. And I didn't exactly come up with this. As part of an article I was writing on infusions, I talked with a restaurant bartender who infused gold rum with cinnamon, black peppercorns, vanilla bean and Thai chilis, then mixed the result with pear nectar. I did the infusion at home - for a fifth of gold rum, I used 1/2 vanilla bean, 2 cinnamon sticks (broken up) and about 3 or 4 peppercorns (whole, not crushed). I left out the chilies, because I didn't have them. Took a good 3 weeks to get a good flavor, and it's just gotten better as it has sat. Shake the pear nectar with ice. You might have to strain the rum as you use it if you shake up the debris at the bottom too much. I used the Looza pear nectar from the supermarket.

Any advice for bar tinkerers? I want to come up with a great bloody mary. I plan to try the horseradish infused vodka mentioned earlier. But I'm not crazy about most tomato juices/mixers. Could I puree fresh tomatoes? I had a wasabi bloody mary that was awesome and the tomato juice base definitely was not a mixer - tasted very fresh. How about coating the rims of the glasses with something, like celery salt?

[judiu]

I am a novice at cocktail creation, so if this has already been posted, my apologies. And I didn't exactly come up with this. As part of an article I was writing on infusions, I talked with a restaurant bartender who infused gold rum with cinnamon, black peppercorns, vanilla bean and Thai chilis, then mixed the result with pear nectar. I did the infusion at home - for a fifth of gold rum, I used 1/2 vanilla bean, 2 cinnamon sticks (broken up) and about 3 or 4 peppercorns (whole, not crushed). I left out the chilies, because I didn't have them. Took a good 3 weeks to get a good flavor, and it's just gotten better as it has sat. Shake the pear nectar with ice. You might have to strain the rum as you use it if you shake up the debris at the bottom too much. I used the Looza pear nectar from the supermarket.

Any advice for bar tinkerers? I want to come up with a great bloody mary. I plan to try the horseradish infused vodka mentioned earlier. But I'm not crazy about most tomato juices/mixers.  Could I puree fresh tomatoes? I had a wasabi bloody mary that was awesome and the tomato juice base definitely was not a mixer - tasted very fresh. How about coating the rims of the glasses with something, like celery salt?

Try using Clamato juice, or mix regular tomato juice with clam juice at about 3:1. Also, beef broth, same ratio. I like my celery salt in the drink itself, but the "rim job"(sorry) is a pretty good idea. Lots of lemon or lime, and maybe a bar-b-cue sauce substituted for Worst. sauce? Maybe that'd be too sweet; a drop of liquid smoke? Oh, a Bloody Maria with tequila instead of vodka. Infuse a decent tequila with horseradish? I'm just throwing out ideas here...

[KatieLoeb]

Infuse a decent tequila with horseradish?

I did this too, just to see what would happen. Since horseradish is part of the aroma flavor profile of tequila it seemed a natural match. It was pretty good. I preferred it as shots between oysters, but a couple of my regular customers bravely guinea pigged for me and said they liked it with the oyster in the tequila as a shot, so it's good either way I guess.

I was going to suggest the very same tomato juice dilutions as judiu. I personally like beef broth and I also prefer V-8 for Bloody Marys over tomato juice. I'd want to dilute the celery salt with a salt-free seasoning blend like Mrs. Dash or similar so that each sip of the drink isn't too overwhelmingly salty. I like the idea though. I'd probably buzz the celery salt and seasoning through a coffee grinder to get a nice evenly textured powder and then rim the glass with Worcestershire sauce and then seasoning. The Lea & Perrins White Worcestershire is a bit milder and might be good for this application.

You can also use Aquavit (a caraway infused vodka) and make Danish Marys. Quite tasty!

[Rob Simmon]

I've posted this recipe before (a sidecar variation), but thought it was worth another mention:

1.5 oz. solera (Spanish) brandy
1 oz. Liquor 43
0.75 oz. lemon juice

shake with ice, garnish with a fat lemon twist


and something I tried last night but needs work:

1.5 oz. scotch (a moderately peaty Highland Park)
1 tsp. warm honey
1 sprig lavender, de-stemmed

dissolve the honey in the scotch, then muddle with lavender.
shake over ice, then strain (with a fine-mesh).

perhaps it would work better as an infusion?

[KatieLoeb]

I posted this over in the Maraschino thread, but since it's a new creation I thought I'd mention it here too:

Red Feather Boa

2.0 oz. Old Overholt Rye
0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
0.5 oz. Luxardo maraschino
0.25 oz. (or one barspoon) Fee Brothers American Beauty Grenadine
2 dashes bitters

Shake with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

[eje]

May have some folks over to watch the Scorsese's Dylan Documentaries.

Thinking of two cocktails so far:

Tangled up in Blueberries

Creme de Myrtille (Blueberry liqueur)
Lemon Juice
Fees Old Fashioned Bitters
Rye(?)

Hard Rain (Guttering Bush)

Rain Vodka
Peychaud Bitters
Simple Syrup
Flamed Herbsaint wash

First, I will need to make sure doesn't taste too much like blueberry pie. Second I'm imagining to be close to Mr. Wondrich's Delancey but served up. Not sure if I can get Herbsaint to burn without heating it or adding additional high proof liquor. Might be one of those, better concept than actual cocktail things.

[eje]

Tangled up in Blueberries

Did some experimenting with proportions and base spirits for this one last night. This formulation isn't bad:

1 1/2 oz bourbon
3/4 oz Creme de Myrtille
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Fees Bitters

It's pretty sweet; but, if I increase the proportion of base spirit or lemon, the blueberry from the liqueur is completely lost. I'm disappointed with the (lack of) fruit character of the particular Creme liqueur (Verdrenne). Knudsen has a product called "just blueberry" and I think a half ounce of lemon and a half ounce of that in a slightly larger cocktail might punch up the blueberry character.

[slkinsey]

Erik, what bourbon are you using? Maybe if you went to a lighter base spirit? Something like Old Overholt might work nicely, as it has a relatively light body compared to most bourbons and it's not nearly as sweet. And, of course, I couldn't help thinking that it sounds like it might be pretty good with a gin base. Actually, I'd be tempted to try it with a linie aquavit base.

[eje]

Erik, what bourbon are you using?  Maybe if you went to a lighter base spirit?  Something like Old Overholt might work nicely, as it has a relatively light body compared to most bourbons and it's not nearly as sweet.  And, of course, I couldn't help thinking that it sounds like it might be pretty good with a gin base.  Actually, I'd be tempted to try it with a linie aquavit base.

Sam,

I usually mix with W.L. Weller 12 year. It's a reasonably priced, wheated bourbon that has a nice vanilla character and isn't too aggressive.

I did try a couple other usual suspects, Plymouth Gin and Wild Turkey Rye, and didn't find they were even worth reporting about. Though, those cocktails were 2 oz liquor. Perhaps with a smaller proportion of liquor and/or one of the milder ryes it might be more notable.

I didn't think of trying Aquavit, that might be interesting. It isn't uncommon for some of those flavors to be combined in scandanavian cooking. Though it is sometimes tough to sell Aquavit cocktails to guests.

In any case, I think pumping up the sadly deficient blueberry flavor will be key.

[slkinsey]

See, I think both the Weller bourbon and the Wild Turkey rye are pretty full-flavored spirits. If you like the blueberry-with-whiskey idea, and if can get your hands on some, give it a try with Old Overholt. It's lighter, softer and dryer than those others. The other thing you could do is forget about the blueberry liqueur and either muddle blueberries or use a blueberry syrup (or some combination thereof).

[eje]

Hard Rain (Guttering Bush)

I'm not a big fan of the Vodka cocktails; but, this one, an up variation on Mr. Wondrich's Delancey is pretty nice. Sadly, there was no way I could get the Herbsaint to burn, even after combining it with some vodka. Just be sure to leave only the barest scent of Herbsaint in the glass, or it will overwhelm the vodka.

2 oz vodka (preferably Rain vodka from the Sazerac company)
1/2 tsp rich simple syrup
1 dash Peychaud bitters
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
Herbsaint, to coat glass
Lemon Zest

Add a splash of Herbsaint and a little vodka to a chilled old-fashioned glass, coat the inside, and shake it out very well. Combine vodka, simple syrup, Peychaud, and Regan's in a cocktail shaker. Ice and stir to chill for a good 15 seconds. Strain into your now mostly dry glass. Twist lemon zest over the top, rub the rim to scent, and discard.

edit - fixed grammar and recipe details.

Edited by eje, 17 February 2006 - 10:15 AM.

[Gary Regan]

I've posted this recipe before (a sidecar variation), but thought it was worth another mention:

1.5 oz. solera (Spanish) brandy
1 oz. Liquor 43
0.75 oz. lemon juice

shake with ice, garnish with a fat lemon twist


and something I tried last night but needs work:

1.5 oz. scotch (a moderately peaty Highland Park)
1 tsp. warm honey
1 sprig lavender, de-stemmed

dissolve the honey in the scotch, then muddle with lavender.
shake over ice, then strain (with a fine-mesh).

perhaps it would work better as an infusion?

Both of these drinks look very interesting. Are you serving them at a bar?

On the honey front, it seems like you're heating the honey for better consistency, though I could be wrong. I've taken to making a simple honey syrup (1:1 with water) in the microwave. It helps with consistency, and it's also a little easier to work with on the sweetness front since honey can easily overpower a drink.

(The honey syrup idea came from a variety of bartenders in USA & London who seem to be using honey this way.)

[eje]

and something I tried last night but needs work:

1.5 oz. scotch (a moderately peaty Highland Park)
1 tsp. warm honey
1 sprig lavender, de-stemmed

dissolve the honey in the scotch, then muddle with lavender.
shake over ice, then strain (with a fine-mesh).

perhaps it would work better as an infusion?

For what it is worth, my favorite culinary lavender for sweet applications is Lavandula angustifolia, 'Munstead'. The variety more commonly used in French cooking, 'Provence', has a more perfumey flavor. Also, if you really want to be anal about it, you can just use the flowers and not the flower bracts, which have a slightly harsher flavor. I made a pretty awesome sorbet last year by briefly infusing a couple tablespoons of fresh 'Munstead' flowers in a sugar syrup. I was thinking of trying some cocktail applications with this summer's crop.

Some other flowers I've been thinking of trying for cocktail applications are Rosemary and Pineapple Sage.

[Rob Simmon]

I've posted this recipe before (a sidecar variation), but thought it was worth another mention:

1.5 oz. solera (Spanish) brandy
1 oz. Liquor 43
0.75 oz. lemon juice

shake with ice, garnish with a fat lemon twist


and something I tried last night but needs work:

1.5 oz. scotch (a moderately peaty Highland Park)
1 tsp. warm honey
1 sprig lavender, de-stemmed

dissolve the honey in the scotch, then muddle with lavender.
shake over ice, then strain (with a fine-mesh).

perhaps it would work better as an infusion?

Both of these drinks look very interesting. Are you serving them at a bar?

On the honey front, it seems like you're heating the honey for better consistency, though I could be wrong. I've taken to making a simple honey syrup (1:1 with water) in the microwave. It helps with consistency, and it's also a little easier to work with on the sweetness front since honey can easily overpower a drink.

(The honey syrup idea came from a variety of bartenders in USA & London who seem to be using honey this way.)

I'm just playing around for pleasure and to entertain my friends. I considered the honey/water mixture, but didn't feel up to making a batch-it did take the warm honey quite a while to dissolve in the scotch. I've also thought about Barenjaeger, but haven't picked any up yet.

[eje]

Tangled up in Blueberries

This version turned out well. Look out for the "just blueberry", though. It stains like you would not believe. Any fresh blueberry experiments will have to wait until they are in season, as they are ridiculously expensive right now.

1 1/2 oz bourbon
1/2 oz Knudsen Just Blueberry (or other blueberry juice)
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Creme de Myrtille (blueberry liqueur)
dash fee's bitters

Edited by eje, 18 February 2006 - 09:51 AM.

[KatieLoeb]

Tonight's effort:

A Jacked Up Peach

2 oz. Laird's Applejack
1.25 oz. Peach nectar (I use Goya)
.50 oz. fresh lemon juice
one barspoon grenadine
dash Orange bitters
Ginger ale

Shake over ice and dump into rocks glass with the ice. Fill with ginger ale. Stir. Garnish with an orange twist.

I think it would work even better with pear nectar, but I already had the open can of peach from some earlier bourbon experiments and needed to use it up.

I will report back when I purchase some pear nectar.

edited for thinking ahead of myself and forgetting ingredients

[trcroyle]

I invented this last year right at the tail end of bergamot season. This year I'm freezing as much juice as I can fit in the freezer:

1.5 oz gin
.5 oz yellow chartreuse
1 oz bergamot juice

splash of campari (enough to turn the drink a delicate orange)

Shake with ice and strain into a coctail glass. Garnish with a twist of bergamot peel.

I'm still trying to come up with a name.

[Chef Shogun]

From the "I guess you could, but...." files, I subject you to:

Not The Dogsled
3/4 oz Yukon Jack
3/4 oz Canadian Club
1/2 oz Gran Gala
1/2 oz Lemon juice

Alright, it was supposed to be entirely Yukon Jack, right? No, wait...come back! Thank you...And be called The Dogsled (It's like a sidecar, you see? See??). But I didn't have as much Yukon Jack as I thought (it's popular at parties, you see. LATE into parties, mind, but still....popular), so I was like "I need something else that's Canadian or the drink won't be thematically sound anymore!"

Long story short...this isn't bad! Little sweet, little sour (too much lemon). More Yukon Jack, less on the Gran Gala. Maybe on the rocks with soda instead of up. I give it 6.5 stars out of a possible 10.75. Seriously, it was alright!

--Matt
May Your Drinks Be, If Nothing Else, Basically Thematically Sound

[crabbjay]

UPTOWN

- 1.25 oz. Makers Mark Bourbon
- 1 oz. Hangar 1 Raspberry Vodka or your own house-infused Raspberry Vodka
- 1/2 oz. Licor 43
- 1/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth
- Optional: 2 drops of Angostura Bitters

- Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
- Garnish with 2 Raspberries or Brandied Cherries

* I love Manhattans, raspberries, and licor 43, so I decided to see if they could "play well together." They do! I love bitters in my Manhattans, but I prefer the UPTOWN without. Cheers :)

- Jay -

Edited by crabbjay, 09 March 2006 - 03:15 PM.

[Rob Simmon]

My girlfriend hopped over the border from New Mexico to Paloma, Mexico and brought back some tequila and crema de membrillo (quince). Seemed like a good combination, so:

The Paloma
1 oz. Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Crema de Membrillo
3/4 oz. lemon juice

garnish with a lemon twist, or perhaps a dash of an aromatic tincture? The mebrillo is mild, so a sweeter and/or heftier liqueur would likely need to be used more sparingly.

[Graphix]

Ali, its an interesting recipe, i just wonder, do you remove the seeds from the bird peppers. a thai bird pepper has the same skovel rating as a habanero, i can imagine that after enjoying your nice refreshing lemongrass and lime cocktail, taking a bite of one of those peppers would be far to strong compared to the drink. It would actually i think be a cool garnish to lay across the top of a tequila shot or something. something with tequila (i guess, even though its a thai pepper, who would know :-) ) If it were me, id make a slice down the pepper and use a little tool to strip the seeds out, tehn candy it. it would probably be more palatable this way.

B

I've drink we call it the Emanuelle named after the soft core porn movie(in keeping with the names most of our drinks the Naughty Kitty, Bliss , Love, Fling, Democracy Whisky Sexy, love bite golden cosmo)

Part one simple syrup infused with ginger, lemon grass & kaffir lime leaves; I cup sugar 2  1/2 cupr water 2inches grated ginger, 1 lemongrass stalk, chopped, 8 kaffir lime leaves chopped...heat gently let sit at least 1 day, strain. cool

Part two candied thai bird chilie: Heat 1 cup sugar till it caramelizes remove from heat (not that cook at the candy making so i would defer to an better source for temperatures) carefully dip peppers in to liquid sugar (I used chopsticks) set on cheet pan w. wax paper let harden keep in air tioght container


ok.

3 oz Hangar One kaffir Lime infused Vodka

( if you have not tried this yet it is a revelation blows any flavored vodka away thier Mandarin blossom is beautiful too I serve that up .w an edible orchard floating in it)


2 squirts from squirt bottle of infused  simple syrup


shake with ice pour in to martini glass & granish w. candied chili & kaffir lime leaf

[Rob Simmon]

My girlfriend hopped over the border from New Mexico to Paloma, Mexico and brought back some tequila and crema de membrillo (quince). Seemed like a good combination, so:

The Paloma
1 oz. Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Crema de Membrillo
3/4 oz. lemon juice

garnish with a lemon twist, or perhaps a dash of an aromatic tincture? The mebrillo is mild, so a sweeter and/or heftier liqueur would likely need to be used more sparingly.

Proving that it's a small world, and I have the memory of a flea, the last drink I mixed before crafting this--out of Wondrich's Killer Cocktails--was already named the Paloma, so I'm going back to the name drawing board.