MxMo December 2010: Like That? You'll Love This!

[Chris Amirault]

For a good while now, Paul Clarke over at Cocktail Chronicles has been organizing a monthly online cocktail event he calls Mixology Mondays:

Mixology Monday is a monthly online cocktail party. Since launching in April 2006, Mixology Monday has attracted scores of participating bloggers and thousands of curious readers, all coming together on a monthly basis to share drink recipes and related information in a friendly online environment.

The process is quite simple: each month, a host, working with the moderator, selects a theme for the upcoming event, which is announced on various blogs and forums (including this one), and on or before the event date (a Monday — hence the name), participating bloggers join the party by posting a drink recipe or other post related to the theme. Each participant notifies the host that they’ve joined in, and soon after the event, the host posts a roundup, listing each participant.

The next MxMo takes place Monday, December 13, and I've gotten this topic up and running because we're hosting it! Our theme? Like That? You'll Love This!

Here's the story. At the bar where I now work, I regularly receive requests for the bar staples of the late 20th century, espresso martinis, appletinis, and other things that end inappropriately in -tini. Though these are standard-issue drinks at most bars, Cook & Brown Public House aims for a classic approach that eschews the pucker line, flavored vodkas, and bottled sour mix.

I've been talking with other bartenders and they, too, want to find a balance between customer service and stocking products that they can't or won't back. In addition, a well-made tweak of someone's favorite can be just the ticket through the gate to the sort of quality cocktails you want to serve guests at home or at work. Hence this MxMo, devoted to sharing gateway drinks that allow you to say, "If you like that, you'll love this!"

Please share your recipes and photos here. I'll be collecting all of the contributions here and sending them Paul's way by Monday, December 13, at midnight. Let's get the conversation started earlier, though, shall we?

[MrSpiffy]

I'm a huge fan of trying new cocktails! I'm definitely going to be following this to see what everyone comes up with.

Edited December 7, 2010 by MrSpiffy (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Here are a couple that are in the rotation; no photos yet, I'm afraid. We call the house espresso martini an Espresso Freddo Siciliano:

1 1/2 oz brandy

3/4 oz espresso syrup

1/2 oz Averna

Stir; strain over fresh rocks; orange twist.

The espresso syrup is made in-house following Toby Maloney's outline:

300 g demerara

240 ml espresso

150 g molasses

Stir the espresso into the demerara until dissolved, then add the molasses and shake like crazy.

Meanwhile, we've been making Lemon Drops (or lemontinis, if you will) along these lines:

1 1/2 oz vodka

3/4 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz simple

scant dash Fee's orange bitters

peel from 1/4 lemon (no pith)

Muddle the peel thoroughly with the liquids; shake; strain; lemon twist.

We tried to figure out a similar approach to the appletini, but we've been coming up short on that. Turns out the appletini drinker really misses that citric acid kick. Any ideas?

[Dave the Cook]

What is actually in an appletini and its variants?

[Chris Amirault]

The ones I'm familiar with run along these lines:

1 1/2 oz Smirnoff® Green Apple Twist vodka

1 oz DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps

That's from the DrinksMixer gang, creators of unintentionally hilarious videos showing how not to bartend, in which the instructor nearly always picks his nose.

[thirtyoneknots]

The ones I'm familiar with run along these lines:

1 1/2 oz Smirnoff® Green Apple Twist vodka

1 oz DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps

That's from the DrinksMixer gang, creators of unintentionally hilarious videos showing how not to bartend, in which the instructor nearly always picks his nose.

I may be able to do you one better...my difficulties with the requests for 'Apple Martinis' at my last job led me to this:

Eve's Redemption

1 oz Vodka

1/2 oz Laird's Bonded

1/2 oz Berentzen Apfelkorn

3/4 oz lime

1/2 oz simple

1/4 oz grenadine

Shake, strain, up, etc, lemon twist, apple wings, whatever garnish you want for this. NB our grenadine was extremely thick and flavorful, the use of simple tones it down a bit, but you may want to adjust this based on the grenadine you are using. The sharp-eyed will notice that this is closely related to the Jack Rose, which I always wanted to recommend to "Apple Martini" drinkers, but the woody sharpness of the Laird's was usually too much for them. Stretching and moderating it with the vodka and Berentzen makes a sort of on-the-fly apple liqueur with a much more honest yet approachable flavor for neophytes. I found that, once I started cautioning people that they were about to get more of a red vs green apple flavor, people were extremely receptive to this one.

[Boilerfood]

The ones I'm familiar with run along these lines:

1 1/2 oz Smirnoff® Green Apple Twist vodka

1 oz DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps

That's from the DrinksMixer gang, creators of unintentionally hilarious videos showing how not to bartend, in which the instructor nearly always picks his nose.

HAHA I have come across this guy's youtube channel. Its always good for a laugh. His older videos are actually far worse than this.

[Kohai]

We use gin for our lemon drops. No one has ever complained, or even noticed. (Bloody Marys too, actually.)

[MrSpiffy]

Just throwing this out there... I know quite a few people who enjoy a good Long Island Iced Tea. I'd imagine that they may also enjoy a well-made Sidecar, which could eventually transition into a Manhattan. (Goin' old-school! ) I went through that progression myself, as my palette gradually widened to include a bit more of the bitter/dry/smoky flavors of bourbon. I've yet to find a good recipe for a Sidecar, though... Anyone have one?

[Tri2Cook]

The ones I'm familiar with run along these lines:

1 1/2 oz Smirnoff® Green Apple Twist vodka

1 oz DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps

That's from the DrinksMixer gang, creators of unintentionally hilarious videos showing how not to bartend, in which the instructor nearly always picks his nose.

Citric acid is cheap and a very little goes a long way. Malic acid is a little more expensive but still cheap based on the tiny amount needed to do the job. I'm wondering if you could profile acidity in a simple syrup (or even just water if you didn't want to add sweetness) to match that of an apple. It would be predominantly malic acid. If I remember correctly, it's something like 4.5:1 malic to citric.

[edo]

Here's my post, I tried to make a more respectable Chocotini: http://www.wordsmithingpantagruel.com/2010/12/mxmo-liii-like-that-youll-love-this.html

in short:

Dark Daze

* ¾ oz Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP

* ¾ oz Bulldog London Dry Gin (or some other not too assertive gin)

* ¾ oz Mozart Dry Chocolate Spirit*

* ¾ oz Dolin Blanc

* 1 dash to ¼ oz rich (2:1) simple syrup**

* 2 dashes Regan's orange bitters #6

Stir and strain, orange twist garnish.

* or substitute ½ oz white Crème de cacao and omit simple syrup. That kinda defeats the purpose, but at least it's not vodka and still has some bitters

** For the simple syrup, I prefer just a dash for a dryer cocktail, but if you are trying to win over an actual chocolate martini drinker, the ¼ oz makes it a pretty sweet drink. remember to omit if you've subbed Crème de cacao for the Mozart Dry

[KatieLoeb]

Improved Appletini

2 oz. vodka

.75 oz. Berentzen Apfelkorn

.25 oz. fresh sour mix

splash Midori

Much tastier and more "real" flavored than the hideous green debacle most call an Appletini. Still a silly drink for those that need to take off their training wheels, but sometimes baby steps is the way to go. You'll never get them to a real cocktail without easing them into it in virtually invisible increments...

[Chris Amirault]

These look excellent! The non-Society members are starting to weigh in as well. Here's Frederic over at cocktail virgin slut, who's thinking that Josey Packard's WiFi would be tasty basis for the Cosmo drinker. Here's the base drink:

WiFi

1 3/4 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy

1 oz Lillet Blanc

1/4 oz Drambuie

1/8 oz Honey Syrup (1:1)

2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Click here to read Frederic's tweaks and see the snap.

[Chris Amirault]

Kim over at understandingcocktails.com whipped up a Whiskey Sour that tweaks the classic DeGroff ratios (2 whiskey; 1 simple; 3/4 citrus) into tart turf:

2 ounces of blended whiskey or rye

2 ounces of lemon juice (sometimes less if we are feeling surly)

half ounce of simple syrup

You've got your pucker fan covered right there! Read more over at Kim's blog.

[Chris Amirault]

Rowen at (the terrifically named) Fogged In Lounge offers the Abraxas Margarita:

Liquid ingredients:

1 1/2 oz reposado tequila

3/4 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz lemon juice

1 tsp blue curacao

Plus:

1/4 oz Galliano

Rim:

several pinches unsweetened cocoa (Green & Black’s)

sea salt, to taste

cayenne, to taste

Assemble the powdered ingredients in a saucer. (The measures for the rim are given loosely. Not too much cayenne or you lose the flavors of the drink to the heat.) Rub outside edge of chilled cocktail glass with a cut lemon and roll carefully in plate.

Combine liquids except Galliano in glass with ice and shake. Pour Galliano in the bottom of the glass. Strain the Margarita mixture, pouring gently over the back of a spoon and down the side of the glass for a sunrise effect.

Sounds delicious -- and when you click here, you'll see that the drink doubles as a night light. Get out the turntable, blast "Oye Como Va," and settle into this baby!

[Chris Amirault]

Dennis over at Rock & Rye is taking his own crack at the Lemon Drop and provides not one but two drinks:

Improved Lemon Drop

2 oz Citrus Vodka

1 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

2 dashes Lemon or Orange Bitters

or

Gin Sour

2 oz Gin

1 oz Simple Syrup

1 oz Lemon Juice

2 Dashes Lemon Bitters

Full post here, including an interesting genealogy for the drink.

[EvergreenDan]

Like Margaritas? You'll love Cuatro Naranjas!

Cuatro Naranjas

1 oz Añejo tequila

2/3 oz Aperol

1/3 oz Campari

1/3 oz Creole Shrubb

2/3 oz Lime

1 ds Angostura Orange Bitters

1 Orange peel (expressed)

1 Lime peel (expressed)

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball, express peels.

Named for the 4 orange colored or flavored ingredients.

Small back story

Edited December 13, 2010 by EvergreenDan (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

Like Margaritas? You'll love Cuatro Naranjas!

Cuatro Naranjas

1 oz Añejo tequila

2/3 oz Aperol

1/3 oz Campari

1/3 oz Creole Shrubb

2/3 oz Lime

1 ds Angostura Orange Bitters

1 Orange peel (expressed)

1 Lime peel (expressed)

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball, express peels.

Named for the 4 orange colored or flavored ingredients.

Small back story

I'm often perplexed by measurements like this so I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask: What gives with the 1/3, 2/3 oz measurements?

[EvergreenDan]

I'm often perplexed by measurements like this so I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask: What gives with the 1/3, 2/3 oz measurements?

With an OXO measuring cup, it's easy to estimate the 1/3 and 2/3 oz, or use 2 tsp and 4 tsp, if you prefer.

Normally a 3:2:1 ratio drink would be 1.5 oz : 1 oz : 1/2 oz = 3 oz. But this drink has two more ingredients, and I didn't want it to become a huge 4.5 oz drink. Without substantially changing the flavor of the drink, I'm not sure what other option I had.

Once nice thing about metric measurements is that there are a lot more convenient ratios with centiliters.

Edited December 13, 2010 by EvergreenDan (log)

[Frederic]

I'm often perplexed by measurements like this so I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask: What gives with the 1/3, 2/3 oz measurements?

They're actually rather common in European recipes (or everywhere else in the world that does not use ounces). 1/3 of an ounce = 10 milliliters, and there are jiggers from around the world in 10 mL (and other metric-oriented) sizes. Both the Boston Shaker Store and CocktailKingdom sell these from England and Japan, respectively, I believe. Otherwise,

1/3 oz = 1/4 oz + 1/2 tsp = 10 mL

2/3 oz = 1/2 oz + 1 tsp = 20 mL

[Cocktail Enthusiast]

Great theme, Chris. Here's my reply to anyone who orders a vodka soda at my home bar.

The Gintervention

2 ounces gin

3/4 ounce lemon juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

1 barspoon Maraschino Liqueur

2 dashes orange bitters

Club Soda

Shake all ingredients except soda with ice, then strain into a rocks glass. Top with soda, and garnish with a lemon peel.

Full post can be found here -

http://cocktailenthusiast.com/2010/12/13/like-vodka-try-the-gintervention-instead/

[Chris Amirault]

BK over at Raised Spirits has Piña Coladas on the mind, and drug out Beachbum Berry's version of the Painkiller for his MxMo drink:

4 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice

1 oz. coconut cream (Coco Lopez preferred)

2 1/2 oz. Pusser's Navy Rum (sub dark Jamaican if unavailable; I like Myers for this)

Shake juices, coconut cream, and rum with crushed ice, strain into tall glass or tiki mug, dust with cinnamon and nutmeg. Garnish with a pineapple stick, cinnamon stick, and an orange wheel.

Read more about it here on his blog!

[EvergreenDan]

I swam to the Soggy Dollar bar just two weeks ago and had the original Painkiller. It includes orange juice, has no cinnamon, and the topping of nutmeg is both freshly grated and very generous.

I believe a closer recipe is:

Painkiller

Skinny Legs on nearby St. John makes their version thusly:

Painkiller (Skinny Legs version)

I got the Skinny Legs recipe from an e-mail from a local I know who asked the owner for the recipe. The amounts are approximate as the bar measures by eye.

[Chris Amirault]

Around these parts, the booze people say they don't like is -- shockingly -- rum. Given that grapefruit are in season, I thought it was time to bring out the Nevada variation that I fiddle with now and then. The main tweak here is to deepen the cocktail a bit with the dark rum and demerara. I had some nice stuff on hand, so here's...

Carson City

3/4 oz light rum (Matusalem Platino)

3/4 oz dark rum (El Dorado 15)

3/4 oz lime juice

3/4 oz grapefruit juice

dash Angostura bitters

dash Bittermens xocolatl bitters

grapefruit twist

Better than the photo suggests: rich, complex, and -- thanks to the combination of xocolatl bitters and El Dorado rum -- looooong. If that doesn't convert rum haters, nothing will.

[bmdaniel]

No sweetener in that Chris?