Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Help for a Couple of Cocktail Novices (Part 1)


Kerry Beal

Recommended Posts

I'd drink that but all I have for apple is calvados. I wonder if it would work...

The calvados that I have tastes fairly similar to the apple brandy I used for this (actually perhaps a bit smoother than this one) so I think it should work nicely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6711020901_5baf48167f_z.jpg

From the PDT Cocktail Book - Applejack Rabbit. Apple brandy, lemon, orange and maple syrup. Yum!

How funny, we had that one tonight as well. I used Laird's bonded applejack which I am not a big fan of and took me at least a year to track down. I much prefer a nice Calvados.

Anyway, we really liked this cocktail. The maple seemed to round the rough edges the applejack, while not making itself noticed. A really good cocktail.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The St Germain/gin/Campari/orange peel setup is nice. Kudos for the idea.

The kudos have to go to Manifesto in Kansas City - their drink - my proportions though since the recipe doesn't seem to be published anywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6717333219_0cc578ff23_z.jpg

Tonight - Widow's Kiss - apple brandy, yellow chartreuse, benedictine and angostura bitters. Boozy for sure - I added a little lemon to mine in the glass. Was happy with the addition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That one's been on my list for a while. It's waiting until I or someone I know is heading to the city so I can add Benedictine to my cabinet. Every time I intend to do that, I end up passing on it for something else I want more... but I'll grab it eventually.

I have to confess amongst all this tasty craft cocktail discussion that what I'm looking forward to most right now is getting into tiki mode when the weather warms. Most of my purchasing lately has been geared in that direction. :biggrin:

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6722690731_937897308a_z.jpg

Eclipse Cocktail from the PDT book. Tequila, aperol, cherry heering and lemon. A bit smoky - I'd like the try the same combination with with another spirit and see the result.

I wish you could see the pattern on these 'new' glasses - there are etched with a bamboo pattern - wait - I'll take a picture so you can see.

6722747261_f4a30bd672_z.jpg

They are a small glass - a little over 3 ounces to the rim. Picked up 3 of them for $4.99.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6738819151_b2c7c0f677_z.jpg

Tonight - Amaretto Sour - Luxardo amaretto, lemon juice, simple, egg white and angostura bitters. Forgot the bitters, so added at the end to stir in. A huge hit! Sadly I am DD too often and only got the tiny one in the middle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6722690731_937897308a_z.jpg

Eclipse Cocktail from the PDT book. Tequila, aperol, cherry heering and lemon. A bit smoky - I'd like the try the same combination with with another spirit and see the result.

I wish you could see the pattern on these 'new' glasses - there are etched with a bamboo pattern - wait - I'll take a picture so you can see.

6722747261_f4a30bd672_z.jpg

They are a small glass - a little over 3 ounces to the rim. Picked up 3 of them for $4.99.

I must say that I really like the etching on those glasses! A shame they aren't a bit larger but that size has its place as well.

A lot of interesting drinks in the PDT cocktail book it would seem. I have it on order at Amazon but it has been on back order for awhile. I waited too long to make the decision to buy so I couldn't get it when I ordered a few other books there recently. I suppose I could cancel and order elsewhere but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Edit - Just checked and it seems to be back in stock. Will probably arrive the day after I leave town at this point. Oh well...

Edited by tanstaafl2 (log)

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6751885751_fae429020b_z.jpg

The Witchy Woman (plural Witchy Women?) - thanks Tri2cook. After I bought the Havana Club I went looking for ideas and found a recipe you had posted here in the Tiki thread. Sadly I had no long 'proper' straws - however bendy straws filled in.

Well received!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I liked that one. I can't remember where I found it but I remember the campari being the clincher for me wanting to try it. I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate some of my other favorite cocktail ingredients into tiki drinks... I'm sure I'll end up offending the tiki faithful at some point. :biggrin:

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6751885751_fae429020b_z.jpg

The Witchy Woman (plural Witchy Women?) - thanks Tri2cook. After I bought the Havana Club I went looking for ideas and found a recipe you had posted here in the Tiki thread. Sadly I had no long 'proper' straws - however bendy straws filled in.

Well received!

Did you sub Aperol for the Campari as the picture suggests? Not being as big a bitter fan that is something I might try in making this drink at some point. A little more orange but that is not a bad thing as far as I am concerned.

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those curious on the source, Witchy Woman was created by Yao Lu formerly of Anvil Bar & Refuge in Houston, TX.

Thank you sir. I did some digging through my bookmarks in my "tiki" folder and tracked down where I found the recipe. It was on the Imbibe website and does indeed include a credit to Yao Lu.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup - Aperol was what the recipe suggested.

Hmmm. The recipe I have calls for campari but I'd certainly be happy to try it with aperol. In fact, I think I will. :biggrin:

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My guilty conscience is kicking in! I have been making my fair share of cocktails but have been too lazy to post about them. :shock::sad: Tonight, though it is not the weekend, I felt the need of a quiet cocktail to enjoy alone. This is Katie Loeb's Negroni- gin, campari, carpano antica:

KL negroni.jpg

Very nice indeed.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Me too - tonight from the PDT Cocktail book - the Edgewood. Gin, punt e mes, lillet blanc and grapefruit juice with a pinch of kosher salt.

Not one of my favourites - not binnable but not great.

6757582149_db9e697441_z.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tonight I went with the Cat's Pajamas... gin - campari - green chartreuse - orange juice - maple syrup - shake, strain, flame orange peel. Tasty.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking for direction. I started with an Opal: three dashes of orange blossom water, 1 oz gin, .5 oz orange juice, .5 oz Cointreau, sugar (I've yet to arrive at a quantity, as the recipe I found measured sugar--a granular thing--in 'dashes', which was new to me. And it's okay, if you like the flavour of orange blossom water. It's sweet not so much in the sugary sense as in the floral sense. The orange blossom flavour is very strong and, I think, interesting.

The logical next step was a version jacked with bitters--either Angostura or Campari (I don't have orange or, say, chocolate bitters, both of which could maybe be interesting, at my disposal). The Angostura version was okay but the Campari one--I added a fairly non-specifc amount, maybe a teaspoon (which is a lot, I guess, when we're talking about adding something as strongly-flavoured as Campari to something you don't want to taste like Campari)--was good. Not perfect but good. I can fine tune the amount of Campari I add. Maybe ditch the orange juice and use the juice of blood oranges.

I'm keen for feedback. Have I made a god awful mistake, adding a strong bitter element (which, I think, as strong as it is, still lets the floral orange notes shine and maybe makes them more interesting)? Is Campari the right choice or should I maybe look at, say, an extra couple dashes of Angostura over what I added before? Is it worth grabbing some orange bitters?

This is the first time I've deviated from a recipe and I'm still getting my head around what a cocktail is supposed to be, exactly, so I'm not quite sure what the process for fine tuning is--especially when I can count on an audience of myself and maybe one or two half-drunk friends.

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well if it tastes good to you, then it's not wrong. Generally a recipe like that, with spirit, liqueur, and orange juice, would definitely benefit from a bitter or acidic component for most palates. Sounds like you did a fine job of tweaking the recipe with available ingredients but do note that Campari has a significant amount of sugar on its own and is not an orange bitter per se.

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...