Craig E
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Posts posted by Craig E
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Happy 'Rack
by Jordan Devereaux, Chemistry of the Cocktail- 1 oz Apple brandy, Clear Creek 2 Year
- 1/2 oz Applejack, Lairds
- 1/2 oz Batavia Arrack, Van Oosten
- 3/4 oz Lemon juice
- 1/4 oz Grenadine
- 1/4 oz Allspice Dram
- 1/4 oz Simple syrup (optional)
- 1 pn Nutmeg (as garnish; optional)
Shake, strain, up.
I'm out of the Clear Creek so I just used 1 1/2 oz Laird's bonded for the base spirit. At the suggestion of a commenter at Kindred, I doubled the grenadine in place of the simple. Used homemade grenadine and homemade dram (which I poured a bit skinny as it's potent stuff). Plum forgot the nutmeg.
This was delicious. Maybe more autumnal tasting for mid-May, but a very appealing mix of flavors. ★★★★★
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There are fewer variables in a cocktail than in a hamburger, so I'm not sure the analogy holds. I could just suggest a daiquiri for example, but I don't think the results would tell you which bartender was most skilled--more likely just the quality of rum or the luck of better limes. Maybe a better test of the quality of the bartender would be asking for a bartender's choice with a given spirit and see what they come up with.
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Alicante
by Scott Holiday, Rendezvous, Cambridge. For Drink, Boston- 1 1/2 oz Grand Marnier (Pierre Ferrand dry curacao)
- 1 oz Batavia Arrack, Van Oosten
- 1 oz Dry vermouth, Noilly Prat
- 2 ds Orange bitters, Angostura orange (Regan's)
- 2 ds Bitters, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole
- 1 twst Orange peel (expressed and discarded)
- 1 pn Salt (as garnish)
As I read it, this recipe seems to be an attempt to use a liqueur as a base, and then work hard to keep the drink from being too sweet. The Batavia arrack added funk, the Noilly Prat dried it out, and the bitters and garnishes did their part to counter the saccharine base. I think it worked: first sip was sweet but then the countervailing forces kicked in.
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I imagine you're joking, and in theory I like the idea of foisting more interesting ingredients onto unadventurous guests, but for the record it's worth noting that there are people out there (my wife among them) with shellfish allergies so this would not be a substitution to do without notification.
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On 4/13/2018 at 1:42 PM, FrogPrincesse said:
Most likely, that is going to be a downgrade from the falernum you have been making. I know that Martin Cate recommends using it in his book, but for me I'd have a really hard time going back to that after making my own for years. I am curious to read your thoughts!
Yes, I mostly bought the bottle because of this little secret: the falernum I made is about 4 years old. It shows no signs of degradation, but when making drinks for others I thought it prudent to get some fresher stuff.
Tasted them against each other tonight. The Velvet Falernum is sweeter; there's lime if you look for it but mostly flavors of soda-pop syrup, and a sugary finish. The homemade, made from this recipe if memory serves, is a "rounder" and deeper flavor, definitely preferable but some of those subtleties may well evaporate in the context of complicated fruity drinks which are the usual setting for falernum.
@lesliec you're right, the Strega is pretty wonderful. Since it's herbaceous and honeyish, I just tasted it next to Drambuie, but the latter is far more generic and boring. I think it might be fun to try in some recipes that call for Drambuie, as well as Yellow Chartreuse.
Happy to play with the Batavia Arrack too!
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Smith & Cross and Beefeater are restocks. The Beam Pre-Prohibition rye I bought on impulse, based on how it did in the NY Times blind test discussed around here a while back. The Strega, Velvet Falernum, and Batavia Arrack are all new to me (though I've been using my homemade falernum for a while). I'm bringing cocktails to a dinner party tonight and the theme is Vietnamese food, so I'm taking the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity about the spirit from Southeast Asia. Planning to make Eulogies.
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Mexican Razor Blade
by Dan Greenbaum, Attaboy, New York, New York (USA)- 2 slices Cucumber
- 2 oz Tequila
- 1 oz Lime juice
- 3/4 oz Simple
Garnish with pinch of cayenne on a floating cucumber slice.
I muddled the cukes before realizing the spec said simply to include them in the shake.
The cayenne slid off the garnish slice on the walk from the bar to the table, but that's a small matter.
This was terrific! Benefits no doubt from good tequila (I like the Tesoro Platinum I used).
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That experience (harsh even distasteful first sip, but surprisingly appealing by the end) was borne out by tonight's experiment, the Paper Trail by Colin Shearn.
- 1 1/2 oz Bourbon
- 1 oz Aperol
- 3/4 oz Salers Gentiane (Bittermens Amer Sauvage)
- Grapefruit twist
Thanks for the inspiration!
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I've not purchased Suze but I was gifted a bottle of Amer Sauvage which I've used in a couple of Suze recipes. My faves have been the Brown Bomber mentioned in that Suze thread, and The Smartest Man Alive.
My impression is that the Amer Sauvage is even more bitter than Suze. At any rate, it is nigh unbearable sipped straight. And even mixed into cocktails like the above, my first sip usually says "oh no, I can't handle this." But it quickly switches to drinkable and then even compelling with further sips.
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Love the Aperol spritz; I don't think any substitutions could make it better! Following guidance I think I saw in the NY Times, I like a garnish of orange wedge and green olive, which initially seemed absurd but works great!
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2 minutes ago, GarethLangston said:
I've just made this, it was nice, predictably quite manhattan-ish but I liked the sweet notes.
I might try it again with my peanut infused bourbon in place of the rye.
Report back if you do! I wonder if the spiciness of the rye (and bitters) are the only thing keeping it from being cloying. But I think the peanut infusion could work really well.
Thanks for trying it out!
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A new original:
- 2 oz Rittenhouse rye
- 1/4 oz Maraschino
- 1/2 oz Crème de Cacao
- 1/4 oz Cynar
- 2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
- 1 twist Lemon peel (expressed and discarded)
Going for sweet peanut-butter candy flavors.
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- 1 1/2 oz Aquavit (Tattersall)
- 1/2 oz Grapefruit juice
- 1/2 oz Lemon juice
- 1/4 oz Grenadine (Homemade)
- 1/2 t Sugar
- 1 sli Orange (as garnish)
This was great!
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On that brighter list, Gin Rickey and Tom Collins. Daiquiri if rum's around. Basically, booze + citrus + sugar is often a winning combination.
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- 1 oz Old Overholt (Rittenhouse)
- 1 oz Snap ginger liqueur (Stirrings)
- 1/2 oz lemon juice
- 3/4 oz demerara syrup
- 3 ds Angostura
- 1 egg white (aquafaba)
Dry shake, shake, strain, up, garnish with grated nutmeg.
Super tasty. I feared it might be too sweet but the spice of rye/ginger/Ango kept it balanced. If you're a fan of whiskey sours, this is next-level.
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I posted this to Kindred a few months ago but only now got around to making it:
- 1 oz Apple brandy
- 1 oz Carpano Punt e Mes
- 1 oz Cynar
- 2 ds Peychaud's Bitters
- 1 Maraschino cherry (as garnish)
I'm sure the cherry garnish (which I indulgently tripled) contributed to this, but I got a strong cherry flavor from this though no cherry liqueur was involved. Dark cherry and chocolate. It actually brought to mind Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, which is one of my favorites.
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@Rafa's Good Country People, just posted to Kindred Cocktails.
- 1 oz Gin, Beefeater
- 1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur, Luxardo
- 1/2 oz Grapefruit juice
- 1/2 oz Lime juice
- 1/4 oz Simple syrup
- 2 ds Peychaud's Bitters
Shake, fine strain, up.
I used Tanqueray, and red grapefruit juice (I assume white was intended).
This is a superb drink; maraschino complemented wonderfully by the other ingredients. Five stars!
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Oui Sì Aye 2 Aye
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2 minutes ago, lesliec said:
Thanks, @Craig E. I thought it looked tasty when I saw it pop up on Kindred a couple of days ago, and I can now attest that it definitely is!
Glad you tried it and glad you liked it! Any further feedback welcome!
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9 hours ago, damaaster said:
Just curious where did you find those Swizzle Sticks/cocktail picks? I've been looking for something similar for a while now - but can only ever find the bamboo ones, or the tacky plastic colorful ones.
Mine are Prodyne brand, picked up from Amazon a few years ago.
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Invented something new tonight; I'm calling it the Vit Bit.
- 1 1/4 oz aquavit (I used my local favorite Tattersall)
- 1 1/4 oz gin (Tanqueray)
- 1/3 oz ginger liqueur (Stirrings)
- 1/4 oz Cointreau
- 3 dashes Regan's orange bitters
Served up with an orange twist.
Balance seemed good to me on the first try, though it's maybe a bit sweet. Cointreau and clear spirits sometimes get a little "chewable aspirin" ish to me, but here the bite of ginger and complexity of caraway happily take the wheel.
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Best cocktails I had during my just-finished trip to London were at Oriole Bar, the spinoff from the celebrated Nightjar. My favorite was the Kathmandu Sour: Johnny Walker gold, Kümmel cordial, cao guo syrup, lemon juice, tangerine egg white. I think every single drink on the menu had at least one ingredient that I'd never heard of (in this case cao guo). In this one the Kümmel spices and tangerine were a wonderful combo.
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22 hours ago, sbumgarner said:
is Sfumato a reasonable substitute for Zucca?
I was wondering the same thing, and pondering that maybe Sfumato for the less-smoky (?) Zucca and tequila for the more-smoky mezcal might be a workable double switch.
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A gin and tonic with Tanqueray No. 10 and Fever Tree tonic. Supremo.
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Hand-held citrus juicers
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
^ Only problem with that is that the lime is upside down!