Rogue (now beta) Cocktails

[FrogPrincesse]

Italian Heirloom (Maks Pazuniak) with Cynar, blended scotch (I substituted Glenfiddich 12), Laphroaig, pinch of salt, lemon peel. This one has the particularity of using the oils from multiple lemon twists.

After the shock of the first sip (sweet, bitter, smoke, gasoline...), it grew on me, and I enjoyed the herbal notes of the Cynar with the essential oils from the lemon.

[FrogPrincesse]

Another one from Maks Pazuniak.

Growing Old and Dying Happy is a Hope, Not an Inevitability (aka Growing Old for short): Cynar, Rittenhouse rye, salt, absinthe rinse, lemon peel.

This cocktail was actually the precursor to the Italian Heirloom. It's a very nice cocktail with Cynar as the base and a pinch of salt to control bitterness. Absinthe nose (I used a spray of St. George - original recipe calls for Herbsaint). First I tasted the lemon oils and the herbal notes from the Cynar, then some sweetness and caramel. The finish is nicely bitter and the cocktail feels very fresh.

Edited November 14, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

A Moment of Silence (Maks Pazuniak): rye, apricot liqueur, Averna, Angostura bitters, apple brandy, Campari rinse. For the apple brandy, the recipe calls for Lairds bonded; I substituted calvados.

I find that the taste of Rothman & Winter apricot liqueur can be candy-like and unpleasant in cocktails when used in large quantities. In this cocktail, it disappears and blends harmoniously with the other ingredients. (Note that the original recipe specifies Marie Brizard which is what I plan on buying when this bottle is empty.)

I got a very pleasant bittersweet orange flavor from the cocktail, with a great "bite". Tons of interesting flavors from the Averna and Angostura, without a heavy feel. Great drink for a contemplative mood.

Edited December 3, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[EvergreenDan]

@Frog -- please let us know what you think of Apry re R&W Orchard Apricot. I'm afraid to buy another bottle of MB product as I've been disappointed in every one I've tried. I don't much like fruity liqueurs, but I don't object to Orchard Apricot in limited quantities. The candy-like aspect I find is much stronger in Peach liqueur, such as Mathilde Pêche, which I think requires a deft hand to avoid craptailosity.

[Rafa]

On its own, Mathilde Pêche tastes like melted peach jolly rancher. Miraculously, in drinks with other strong elements (like your Georgita) it can contribute some natural, and delicious, peach flavors. But I don't think I'll be replacing my half bottle when I'm through with it. Does anyone know of a better peach liqueur? If only peach season lasted longer than it takes to read this sentence...

[lesliec]

Not the right thread for a detailed discussion, but I've had great success with a recipe for mandarin liqueur which involves suspending three mandarins (in cheesecloth) above - not in - high-strength alcohol for three weeks, then sweetening. It pulls an amazing amount of flavour out of the fruit, and I'm planning to try the same sort of thing with apricots and/or peaches (this season's are just starting to appear; they should be better in another few weeks).

Might be worth trying your own with some Everclear.

Edited for spelling, dammit.

Edited December 5, 2013 by lesliec (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

On its own, Mathilde Pêche tastes like melted peach jolly rancher. Miraculously, in drinks with other strong elements (like your Georgita) it can contribute some natural, and delicious, peach flavors. But I don't think I'll be replacing my half bottle when I'm through with it. Does anyone know of a better peach liqueur? If only peach season lasted longer than it takes to read this sentence...

Rafa,

Briottet peach liqueur is very good and tastes natural (official name is "crème de pêche de vigne") . It's nice in champagne cocktails and also in Fish House Punch.

What do you use your peach liqueur for? (Are there a bunch of girly drinks that you make on regular basis and don't tell us about? I am concerned!)

[Plantes Vertes]

Rafa is a young man. It's natural for him to experiment.

[FrogPrincesse]

Rafa is a young man. It's natural for him to experiment.

Experimenting is perfectly fine and actually encouraged.

I was objecting to the fact that he was not sharing his findings with us, that's all. I feel left out.

[Plantes Vertes]

Yes, you're right. That's just not cricket, Rafa.

[EvergreenDan]

Rafa -- make your own peach liqueur: select the pink Skittles from a bag and infuse in can of turpentine.

[lesliec]

With Rafa's interests (and manly credentials) in mind, earlier this week I started a batch of what I hope will end up as peach liqueur in a few weeks. I'll keep you all posted (probably in the Infusions thread).

[FrogPrincesse]

Rafa's silence speaks volumes...

Anyway, here is an Angostura Sour that I made the other night: Angostura bitters, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white; a variation on a Charles H. Baker's recipe. Egg white shaken by hand ("dry" first with the lime juice) which worked great this time.

Aesthetically it's not the most-pleasing; the cocktail is very dark with a maroon color and the foam is colored as well. Flavor-wise, mostly cinnamon and lime. Bitter but less than you would imagine. Good digestif for an upset stomach.

[FrogPrincesse]

Rafa posted something on Kindred yesterday about the Michigander, a creation by Jason Schiffer of 320 Main in Seal Beach, with apple brandy, Cynar, lemon juice, and honey syrup. On Cocktail virgin slut it says that it is reminiscent of another cocktail combining rosemary and Cynar, Rosemary's Baby from Rogue cocktails, so I decided to try that instead. It's not included in beta cocktails.

First you have to light up a fire with fresh rosemary and Grand Marnier. It was fun and burned for a long while. I used 1/2 oz of Grand Marnier (instead of 3/4 oz) since someone had mentioned in the comments that the cocktail was a little sweet.

It's actually not a good idea to do this in your mixing glass, because it was very hot by the time the flame had died off and I had to transfer the rosemary-infused Grand Marnier to another vessel for stirring. The other ingredients are applejack (I went with calvados), Cynar, orange and grapefruit bitters.

The orange flavor of the Grand Marnier was not detectable. The rosemary flavor was subtle and completed the cocktail, which tasted like a caramel apple with a little bitterness. Rich but not too sweet.

Edited December 13, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Rafa]

I do apologize for my silence on the matter of peach. I slipped into a diabetic coma after following Dan's suggestion.

Looking forward to your results, Leslie.

[lesliec]

With Rafa's interests (and manly credentials) in mind, earlier this week I started a batch of what I hope will end up as peach liqueur in a few weeks. I'll keep you all posted (probably in the Infusions thread).

I do apologize for my silence on the matter of peach. I slipped into a diabetic coma after following Dan's suggestion.

Looking forward to your results, Leslie.

Alas, the experiment failed. The alcohol sucked no flavour at all from the peaches, and I have to confess peaches were harmed in the making of the attempt.

But see this.

[ChrisTaylor]

Made a Rosemary's Baby, too, with the same improvement suggested in the comments section of the cocktail virgin slut post. It's ... man, this drink fast forwards you to autumn. Winter, even. Makes me think of the probably mythical image of people aging barrels of applejack in a forest. In snow. When the rosemary is probably dead from frost or something.

And yeah, it does burn for a good long while and heat up the glass nicely (with your experience in mind I did that part in a little glass dish). You'd have a real good time making these after knocking back a few drinks.

Edited January 5, 2014 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Boudreau has something in the same vein with flamed rosemary (using green chartreuse as the fuel) - see his Rubicon cocktail. I haven't tried it but have been intrigued. Sadly, my rosemary plant has died since I've made the Rosemary's Baby.

[FrogPrincesse]

Heart of Glass for me last night. Interesting room-temperature drink created by Troy Sidle. For this one, first you coat a glass with bourbon (the recipe calls for Eagle Rare 10 years, I went with St. George Breaking & Entering). Then you mix separately 1.5 oz bourbon with 3/4 oz each Cynar and sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica is specified, I used Cocchi vermouth di Torino) and 17 drops of Angostura. I only made a half cocktail so I used 8 drops... The whole thing sounded a little OCD to me but I went with it; I transferred the ango into a suitable delivery device and patiently counted each drop. This is all done without ice, so a little bit of water is added for dilution (~ 1/2 oz).

The mix is added to the coated glass and a bunch of orange oil is added - I used three fairly large pieces of orange peel, and you can see the oil sheen at the surface.

 

 

It's close on paper to Audrey Saunders' Little Italy (rye vs. bourbon, etc) but the vibe is very different because of the serving temperature.

I really liked it. It did not feel bitter to me at all except a bit in the finish, but I am so used to Cynar now that I may not be a very good judge.

 

Of course the song is still stuck in my head, even the morning after.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Realized I had finally gotten a copy of the book but hadn't delved into it yet. So tonight I went "Under the Volcano". Always a fan of a good tequila cocktail and this did not disappoint.

IMG_6167mod.jpg

Anejo tequila (I substituted El Major for Tesoro since both were highland tequilas and I hoped that might make it a decent sub) along with lime juice, yellow chartreuse, cynar and agave nectar. Plenty of agave flavor in this but the cynar seemed to keep it from being too sweet. Definitely one to make again.

 

 

I liked it too. I used Siete Leguas añejo.

 

 

[mkayahara]

Meant to post a few nights ago that I finally got around to having The Last Mechanical Art. Like pretty much everything in this book, it's a brilliant drink. I'm looking forward to having a couple more of them before my supply of Punt e Mes runs out, and even then I'll probably try it with plain ol' sweet vermouth.

[FrogPrincesse]

After trying Underberg for the first time on Sunday (it was less bitter than I expected and has a very strong licorice flavor), I tried Charles Joly's Red Light (genever, Grand Marnier, Underberg). It was created with Bols genever; I substituted St. George dry rye gin. It was surprisingly drinkable and worked great with the dry rye gin, the crisp flavors of which seemed to resonate with the other ingredients.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Teenage Riot (Tonia Guffey) with Cynar, rye (Bulleit), dry vermouth (Dolin), dry sherry (Lustau Jarana), orange bitters (Regan's), flamed lemon twist.

Lemon aroma, bitter, herbal, dry. It did not last very long.

 

 

 

On an unrelated note, my bottle of sherry seems to possess superpowers. It fell from the top shelf of the fridge to the (stone) floor which it hit, but then just rolled without breaking (this is what happens when I try to carry 3 bottles out of the fridge at the same time). A small miracle. 

[tanstaafl2]

Teenage Riot (Tonia Guffey) with Cynar, rye (Bulleit), dry vermouth (Dolin), dry sherry (Lustau Jarana), orange bitters (Regan's), flamed lemon twist.

Lemon aroma, bitter, herbal, dry. It did not last very long.

 

 

 

On an unrelated note, my bottle of sherry seems to possess superpowers. It fell from the top shelf of the fridge to the (stone) floor which it hit, but then just rolled without breaking (this is what happens when I try to carry 3 bottles out of the fridge at the same time). A small miracle. 

 

Delighted to hear you finally found some decent sherry and the Teenage Riot is a great place to start! Might be fun to play with a few different sherries to see what works best. I have pretty consistently used the Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado to good result. Probably not quite as dry as the Fino with a hint of raisin-y sweetness. 

[lesliec]

Delighted to hear you finally found some decent sherry and the Teenage Riot is a great place to start! Might be fun to play with a few different sherries to see what works best. I have pretty consistently used the Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado to good result. Probably not quite as dry as the Fino with a hint of raisin-y sweetness. 

 

I second that.  The Teenage Riot is a stunningly good drink, and I'm sure I can taste the Amontillado as one of the (many) flavours.  But then I haven't tried it with a fino.