eje

For cocktails, most traditional style, and reasonably priced, absinthes are perfectly fine. Of those I've tried, I can easily recommend: Clandestine, Duplais Verte, Kubler, Marteau Absinthe de la Belle Epoque, Obsello Verte, and even Lucid. Marteau and Clandestine are a bit more expensive, but worth the extra investment IMHO. Plus, when most cocktails call for a dash or two, a bottle does last a good long while.

Peggy Cocktail. 1 Dash Absinthe. (Absinthe Verte de Fougerolles) 1 Dash Dubonnet. (Dubonnet Rouge) 1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Noilly Original Dry Vermouth) 2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Beefeater Gin) Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. There are a couple cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book that call for Dubonnet Rouge in “dash” proportions. I had heard that the French version of Dubonnet Rouge was distinct from the American version, so assumed it might have more bitter character. I thought maybe that might explain using it in such small proportions. However, I recently had a chance to try the French version of Dubonnet Rouge. While it did seem to be a nicer product, with maybe a slightly higher quality wine base, it was really not much different at all in terms of overall taste and bitterness. While it is possible that both products may have evolved over time, I suspect that the dash of Dubonnet here is just providing a slight rosy hue. In any case, this is a pleasant, if not outstanding, cocktail. A slightly richer, and pinker, version of a dry martini. As Mrs. eje and I are still making our way through the second season of Mad Men, the name of this cocktail reminds me a bit of the always conflicted Peggy on that show.

Wow, wacky to read back through this topic! Anyway, to me the most important factors in the mojito, as with all simple drinks, come down to ice and execution. First, ice. Cubes, cracked, crushed, or fine. I find recipes which call for all of the above. Personally, I don't think just building the drink over cubes works, especially with kold draft. The drink just won't really get cold. I lean towards cracked, either lightly hammered with a mallet or hand cracked with a spoon. As Toby notes above, you get a nice mix of cube sizes, a decent amount of chill and not too much dilution. I could be wrong, but fine just seems wrong. This isn't a julep. What have I been doing lately: Lightly press several leaves of mint in a glass with the sugar syrup and lime, trying to get mint oil over as much of the internal surface of the glass as possible. Add cracked ice and white rum. Mix with a spoon or swizzle stick. More ice and top up with a small amount of soda. Straw and freshly spanked mint sprig.

Pauline Cocktail (6 People) 3 Glasses Rum. (1 1/2 oz Barbancourt White Rum) 3 Glasses Sweetened Lemon Juice. (1 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 oz Rich Simple Syrup) 1 Dash Absinthe Bitters. (1 Dash Verte de Fougerolles Absinthe) A little Nutmeg, grated. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. I tried this one both with "Gin and Wormwood" and plain old Absinthe. I found I preferred the regular Absinthe. Since it doesn’t specify what type of rum to use here, and I’ve really been digging Barbancourt’s white rum lately, I chose to use it in this cocktail. Barbancourt’s rums are produced from Cane Juice so they have a bit of flavor in common with the Rhum Agricoles from Martinique and elsewhere. However, their white rum has less of the harshness and funk of the white rums from those areas. Proves to work quite well in this Daiquiri-like cocktail. No idea who the eponymous Pauline might have been, but I like her taste in cocktails!

Pat’s Special Cocktail. (6 People) Put 2 Glasses of Gin (1 oz Sarticious Gin) , 2 of Sherry (1 oz Don Nuno Dry Oloroso Sherry) and 2 of Quinquina (1 oz Dubonnet Rouge) in the shaker; add 2 dashes of Crème de Cassis (dash Brizard Creme de Cassis) and 2 of Abricotine (dash Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot). Shake well and serve with a (Luxardo) cherry and a piece of orange peel. I’m still unsure about “Quinquina” used generically as an ingredient. Dubonnet Rouge is definitely a Quinquina. Just not sure if it is what is called for in cocktails that use the actual word. I’ve been playing, off and on, with the Sarticious Gin, and enjoy it. I can’t find much information about the company that makes it. I guess it is in Santa Cruz and the owner also runs the Alexander Cellars Winery. Beyond that, their use of non-traditional botanicals like Cilantro has gained them some attention. Anyway, for some reason, I thought of it for this cocktail. Kind of a kitchen sink recipe, as far as ingredients go, but fairly enjoyable. The Cassis and Apricot liqueur end up being more hinted at than actually present in the flavor profile of the cocktail. Mostly I get slightly exotic tasting Sherry and Gin. Enjoyable enough to make again. Gotta say thanks to the Shabbanigans for sending out this lovely cocktail shaker. I promise to use it in good faith and hope to see you soon!

Remind me what the difference is between a mojito and mojito criollo. The recipes are nearly exactly the same in cocktaildb. One calls for lemon, which I would guess is a translation error. And nearly every mojito recipe I see on the internet is slightly different. Anyway, in general, I am talking about making them more or less exactly as Eben Freeman does in this video from epicurious. How to Make a Mojito

Been struggling with the Mojito recently. I'd been making them and thought them OK, but not outstanding. After reading this topic, I started thinking of the Mojito, more or less, as a swizzle, and am much more pleased with the result. In fact, I think they rock. Cheers!

Some yes, some no. I think, like you point out, much of it isn't the alcohol itself, so much as the other substances.

Short answer is, don't use booze you wouldn't drink anyway. You don't need to use top shelf booze, but if the flavor of the spirit you are infusing in tastes awful to you, chances are your infusion will as well. Comes down to personal taste. A lot of people like to use everclear for infusions, tinctures, and liqueurs. The smell of highly refined alcohol is a flaw to me and I feel like I can detect it in just about any infusion or liqueur.

Parisian Blonde Cocktail. 1/3 Sweet Cream. (3/4 oz Sweet Cream) 1/3 Curacao. (3/4 oz Cartron Curacao Triple Sec) 1/3 Jamaica Rum. (3/4 oz Appleton Extra) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Well, no. Using a Milk Frother, whip cream until slightly thickened. Stir rum and curacao with ice to chill. Strain into cocktail glass. Carefully pour lightly thickened cream over the back of a spoon to float on top. Garnish with finely grated cinnamon.) As in the Panama Cocktail, again deploying the Clover Club method of agitating the cream separately from the other ingredients, then spooning on top. Done that way, this is an enjoyable after dinner cocktail, along the lines of a Brandy Alexander. Found the Cartron Curacao at a liquor store in Napa. May be my new favorite orange liqueur. Nice complex intense orange flavor, good proof level, and very little harshness or burn. The interesting part, here, is that the name of the product uses both “Curacao” and “Triple Sec”, hearkening back to the origins of orange liqueurs.

Yeah, what's the deal with his 8:2:1 ratio for everything? Those are some boozy Daiquiris... ← That sounds about right for a Daiquiri to me, maybe cut back on the sugar a bit? ← 2 oz rum, 1/4 oz lime, 1/8 oz rich simple syrup? I guess mostly I tend to use a bit more lime, like 3/4 oz. Then a heaping teaspoon of caster or bar sugar, whatever that works out to. Not really that far off from Embury.

Why am I not surprised? I guess I seemed a bit dismissive of the Parisian. I realized this AM, I meant to rewrite the Parisian before posting it, but the Stomp caught up with me before I had the chance. Definitely a cocktail with "good bones". I do sometimes wonder if some of the cocktails, like the Parisian, lost their soda in translation. Or if they were adaptions of French drinks for American Bars. Building something like Cassis, gin, and vermouth in a glass and then topping it up with soda just seems so very French. Not to mention, build it over crushed ice and you're a dash of lemon juice away from something like Dick Bradsell's famous Bramble.

Parisian Cocktail. 1/3 French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Original Dry) 1/3 Crème de Cassis. (3/4 oz Brizard Creme de Cassis) 1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Beefeater Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Nothing particularly earth shattering here in another Cocktail likely sourced from the 1929 edition of Harry’s McElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Cocktails”. How enjoyable this cocktail is to you will likely wholly depend on how interesting you find your bottling of Creme de Cassis.

Paradise Cocktail. 1 Dash Lemon Juice. 1/4 Orange Juice. (1/2 oz fresh squeezed Orange Juice) 1/2 Gin. (1 oz North Shore Distiller’s No. 6) 1/4 Apricot Brandy. (1/2 oz Rothman and Winter Orchard Apricot) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Sadly, nothing particularly amazing or fantastic going on here in the Paradise, but what do they say? “Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.” This version of paradise is a refreshing and enjoyable cocktail and not much more. Strikes me as kind of non-threatening and brunchy. Crap, I should be keeping a list of these Screwdriver, Mimosa, and Bloody Mary replacements, so I can order them the next time I have brunch at a cocktail bar. Hear that Clover Club? I’m looking at you!

Previous to the Mount Lassen walnuts arrival, I, fortunately, had the chance to taste through a bunch of the previous years' batches with some visiting friends. Recently I've been straying a bit from the early batches, by including other fruit and/or spices. Comparing them together, 2006 was the true stellar batch. With the bitterness faded, you could really taste the true walnut flavor. Completely basic recipe, too. This years' models are returning to the tried and true.

Pantomime Cocktail. 1 Dash Orgeat Syrup. (1/3 tsp. Homemade) 1 Dash Grenadine. (1/3 tsp. Homemade) The White of 1 Egg. 1 Liqueur Glass French Vermouth. (1 1/2 oz Noilly Original Dry) Shake (without ice for 10 seconds. Add ice, shake) well and strain into medium size glass. (Garnish with drops of angostura bitters and grated nutmeg.) Kind of odd to have egg white in a cocktail without citrus, but there you go. I found the Pantomime an interesting and fairly enjoyable light cocktail. Heck, you could even make this at a bar without a full liquor license! Of course it is an awful lot of work to go for very little “bang”, if you know what I mean.

You may remember that a couple weeks ago I made a Hibiscus Milk Punch based on a recipe I read on another blog. The whole thing was a bit of a leap of faith, given I’d never made anything similar or even tried it. However, it turned out so well, I thought I should turn back the clock a bit further and investigate an older recipe for Milk Punch. So when Daniel Hyatt suggested we make some punches for one of our Savoy Cocktail Book night at Alembic, I thought I would make Savoy Milk Punch No. 1. Upon investigation, it turns out it is based on a recipe from the 1862 version of Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide. The recipe from Mr. Thomas is as follows. Using Mr. Thomas recipe as a starting point: Perhaps not so oddly, I misremembered the recipe and used Cardamom instead of Coriander. But I really like the clove/cardamom nexus, so not a bad thing. I needed some pineapple and pineapple juice for another cocktail this week, so only used half for the punch. More pineapple wouldn’t hurt. The initial division of the infusions was just a result of the size of my containers, but actually seemed to help with getting a firmer curd from the milk solids. If I had to do it again, I’d do it the same way. The water amounts didn’t really make sense to me for starting with 80 proof booze. My guess is Thomas was working with cask strength liquors, to require that much dilution. So I adjusted a bit. Perhaps a bit too much, as according to Mrs. Flannestad, this ended up a bit strong and boozy. Depending on your perspective, that may be bad or good. Very good response to the punch at Alembic’s Savoy Cocktail Book night last Sunday, so if you’re feeling adventurous give it a try. I don’t think you’ll regret it. We just served it over ice with a splash of soda. It would make a fantastic highball! Even though I can now cross this off the list of Savoy punches I need to make, I have a feeling I’ll be making this Milk Punch again some time soon.

Nice, David, I'll have to remember that the next time I serve it. If only it was a tastier drink!

Pansy Blossom Cocktail. 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters. 1 Teaspoonful Grenadine. (1 teaspoon Homemade Grenadine) 1 Glass Anis del Oso. (1 1/2 oz Kubler Absinthe) Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Spanked mint tip garnish.) As the Block and Fall Cocktail calls for “Anis del Oso or Absinthe”, I’m going to assume a blanche absinthe, like Kubler, is a fair substitution here. Perhaps Anis del Oso is a dry style Anis. I added the mint tip, just to give the camera something to focus on, though it also brings a pleasant brightness to the scent of the cocktail. Not much difference between the Pansy Cocktail and Pansy Blossom. Slightly less Grenadine and Angostura in the Blossom, making it a bit less murky in color. On the previous post someone pointed out the color wasn’t dissimilar to the dark center of the pansy flower. Another possible reading of the name comes up on the pansy wikipedia entry: “In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the juice of a pansy blossom (”before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound, and maidens call it love-in-idleness”) is a love potion: “the juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, will make a man or woman madly dote (fall in love) upon the next live creature that it sees.” (Act II, Scene I see also: Oberon at II, i).” There’s a definite parallel there, between Absinthe’s alleged aphrodisiac properties and those ascribed to the pansy blossom. Again, if you like Absinthe and are into high proof booze, this isn’t a horrible cocktail. I’ll take it over Jägermeister any day. Still, there are better uses for these ingredients.

Pansy Cocktail. 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters. 6 Dashes Grenadine. (2 barspoons homemade Grenadine) 1 Liqueur Glass Absinthe. (1 1/2 oz Kubler Absinthe) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Wow, is that not a menacing, muddy, brown-ish red color? “Oh yeah, if you can’t drink this, you’re a pansy!” is about all I can think regarding the name, as there is a sort of disconnect between a shot of slightly sweetened and chilled Absinthe and the word, “Pansy”. With a good, long, hard shake, this isn’t, strictly speaking, awful. In the end, probably not all that dissimilar to a shot of Jägermeister. Still, there are probably better ways to use all of the ingredients here, at least if quality cocktails is your goal, and not simply getting drunk.

Oh funny! I didn't watch the whole video, but cool. Irish Mist always reminds me of my father-in-law. Apparently, someone used to always give him a bottle every Christmas. He always says, you could gauge how stressful the particular year was by the level of Irish Mist left in the bottle. By the way, those aero latte type devices make whipping the cream for a single drink a breeze.

Yes, it is traditional to top Irish Coffee with slightly whipped cream. However, I'd never seen it done to top a cold cocktail. Now that I think about it, the first time I remember seeing someone top a cold cocktail with slightly whipped cream, it was Thomas Waugh for an Averna contest last year. And Thomas now works at Clover Club! What a small world!

Panama Cocktail. 1/3 Crème de Cacao. (3/4 oz Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur) 1/3 Sweet Cream. (3/4 oz Cream) 1/3 Brandy. (3/4 oz Osocalis Brandy) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (How about: Lightly whip cream with a dash of sugar syrup until slightly thickened. Stir brandy and Creme de Cacao together to chill and strain into a cocktail glass. Layer thickened cream carefully onto drink. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.) OK, I’m cheating. I can’t take the credit for this great idea. One of the drinks we are serving at Heaven’s Dog is from Charles H. Baker, Jr. and called the “Tiger’s Milk II”. This drink follows the pattern for most cream and spirits drinks and is of typically Baker-esque proportions. Uh, yeah, since Baker preferred 2 oz jiggers, that’s, um, 6 ounces of spirits and a cup of half and half. Wheee! That’s a party in a glass, all right. Erik Adkins shrunk the spirits by about a third, then separated the cream agitation from the chilling of the cocktail. When I asked he how he’d thought of separating the cream out of the drink into a separate element, he said he’d seen a similar drink at Clover Club in Brooklyn, NY. In any case, the Tiger’s Milk II has proven to be a brisk seller at the restaurant, even if it is a bit of a pain to make. So I am stealing from him and the Clover Club here for my version of the Panama. Give it a try some time, and you’ll see this Alexander-like drink in a new light.

Funny, I don't remember noticing that one at the time. However, there is a fair bit of repetition. We've had at least three of a cocktail with equal parts brandy, lemon, kina lillet, and cointreau. Frank Sullivan, Hoop La!, and Odd McIntyre. There may be more to come!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Lots of good choices! I always forget about the Bloodhound, even though I think it's a great cocktail, especially when made with punt e mes. That will definitely have to go on the menu! We're big Thin Man/Asta fans, but what is it with dog cocktails and vodka?