MxMo LXVI: Bein' Green

[edo]

Mixology Monday over on my blog Wordsmithing Pantagruel, so I'm starting this thread for people to post submissions to in case they have no blog, or just prefer this venue. The theme for this MxMo is "Bein' Green"; details from my announcement post:

With the warm days of summer now fading off into the distance in our rear view mirrors, let's pay one last tribute to the greens of summer before the frosts come and our outdoor herb gardens give up the ghost for the winter. For our theme for this month, I have chosen: (it's not easy) "Bein' Green." (Perchance due in no small part to my predilection for Green Chartreuse.) I'm giving you a wide berth on this one, anything using a green ingredient is fair play. There's not only the aforementioned Chartreuse; how about Absinthe Verte, aka the green fairy. Or Midori, that stuff is pretty damn green. Crème de menthe? Why not? Douglas Fir eau de vie? Bring it! Apple schnapps? Uh...well...it is green. I suppose if you want to try to convince me it makes something good you can have at it. But it doesn't have to be the liquor. Limes are green. So is green tea. Don't forget the herb garden: mint, basil, cilantro, you name it - all fair game. There's also the veritable cornucopia from the farmers market: green apples, grapes, peppers, olives, celery, cucumbers...you get the idea. Like I said, wide berth. Base, mixer, and or garnish; if it's green it's good. Surprise me. Use at least one, but the more the merrier.

As usual, here's how to play:

• Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses at least one green ingredient or significant garnish
  
• Make the drink, and post a photo, the recipe, and any thoughts or commentary you have on your blog, or alternatively to this thread on eGullet's Spirits and Cocktails forum (if you have no blog)
  
• Include in your post the above MxMo logo, as well as a link back to both the Mixology Monday site and this post on Wordsmithing Pantagruel. Once I post the roundup of all submissions, a link to that post as well is always appreciated.
  
• Let me know about your submission (by Monday Oct 15th) by posting a link to your post in the comment section on this post (preferred), or by gmail to wordsmithingpantagruel.
  
• Most importantly, have fun.
  

Do all that by midnight Monday Oct 15th and then check back here for a roundup post including all submissions. (As long as you get it in by the time I get around to finishing the roundup post, I'll try to include any stragglers.)

Looking forward to seeing what people come up with.

[Frederic]

I just wrote up the offical MxMo announcement that can be found at the link below, but Ed's description says it all. Should be a good one!

http://mixologymonday.com/2012/10/01/mxmo-lxvi-october-15-2012-its-not-easy-bein-green/

[haresfur]

I was so hoping to do a cold version, but a cold rainy spring day in south-east Australia, tipped me to:

Hot green tea punch

Muddle peel of 1 small lemon with 2 tsp raw sugar

Add 300 mL green tea (I used 1 Costco/Ito En sencha/matcha tea bag)

1 oz Inner Circle Red rum (for the funk)

1 oz Havana Club Anejo rum

Sorry about the mixed units.

ETA: Oh, thoughts: Refreshing, which isn't a word I usually associate with hot drinks.

Edited October 6, 2012 by haresfur (log)

[EvergreenDan]

1 oz Inner Circle Red rum

Shouldn't that be Inner Circle Green

[haresfur]

1 oz Inner Circle Red rum

Shouldn't that be Inner Circle Green

... or Black . I think I was feeling frugal on that trip to Dan Murphy's liquor. I don't think there is a flavour difference between the red and the green - just how much water you are paying for! I haven't tried the 76% black.

[FrogPrincesse]

I was pretty excited about this topic (despite a mixed experience with a green drink recently) because it reminded me about a cocktail that I had been wanting to make for a while.

Missionary's Downfall by Don the Beachcomber

Here is the recipe from Beachbum Berry Remixed. As opposed to some of the other famous creations by Donn Beach, the ingredients in this one are straightforward. I made sure to use a fresh pineapple.

1 oz white rum (I used Flor de Caña)

0.5 oz peach brandy (I substituted R&W apricot brandy)

0.5 oz lime juice

1 oz honey syrup

0.25 cup diced pineapple

0.25 cup mint leaves (packed)

0.75 cup crushed ice

Blend for 20 seconds. Garnish with a short mint sprig.

The book says that the recipe yields 2 drinks, but I have to disagree on that one - it's the perfect size for one person.

The result is a pretty green drink with an intense herbal flavor from the blended mint. The cocktail is light on the alcohol content and is very refreshing. There is a nice balance between the chlorophyll notes of the mint, the sweetness of the pineapple and the apricot in the background. Next time I will use slightly less honey syrup - mine was ~ 2:1 so the drink was on the sweet side.

Mint and pineapple seem to always go great together. One of my favorite simple desserts is a combination of fresh pineapple with a mint sugar that is made by muddling white sugar with fresh mint (I think it's from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with the Naked Chef). The aromatic sugar is sprinkled on thin slices of pineapple and it's wonderful. The cocktail reminded me of that dessert and I enjoyed it a lot.

Edited October 8, 2012 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[haresfur]

Thanks FP, that's really interesting since the advice I generally hear is to be very gentle with muddling mint and not to blend it. Glad to hear it worked out.

[FrogPrincesse]

Thanks FP, that's really interesting since the advice I generally hear is to be very gentle with muddling mint and not to blend it. Glad to hear it worked out.

In general, I try to be very gentle with mint in cocktails and make sure to muddle it carefully to obtain the pure mint flavor and not release any of the bitter chlorophyll. With this recipe however, it's the opposite. You get mint notes together with strong herbal notes, which is a good thing here because they add depth and complexity. (However the jury is still out on the green julep thing.)

[Tri2Cook]

Patong is reputed to be the party beach destination in, already famous for it's beaches, Phuket, Thailand. So when I decided to go with a Thai flavor theme for my drink, it seemed an ideal namesake. I'm an amatuer at creating drinks but I was pretty happy with the result. The W&N speaks loudly in this one but I like it so it worked for me. I had this image in my head of some guy in a small Thai village mixing this up with his homemade hooch and I imagined that hooch wouldn't be at all subtle so I wanted something that demanded attention without hiding everything else. I think I got that. The problem with being pretty new at this creating thing is confidence. I always wish I had a critique from someone with more experience before going public. But I didn't, so here it is...

Patong Swizzle

1 1/2 oz Wray & Nephew overproof rum

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

3/4 oz Thai syrup*

1/2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

Swizzle with crushed ice, top with more crushed ice.

*Thai syrup

1 1/4 cups coconut water

2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed, sliced and crushed

4 kaffir lime leaves

1/2" piece fresh ginger, chopped

1 slice from a hot green chile

4 fresh mint leaves

4 fresh basil leaves

6 fresh cilantro leaves

Heat coconut water, lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger and chile at a slow simmer for ~5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and infuse for ~20 minutes. Blanch herbs in boiling water for ~10 seconds, shock in ice water and add to coconut water. Blitz everything with a stick blender and strain (I strained through a medium strainer, squeezed the liquid from the pulp through then strained it through a fine strainer).

[EvergreenDan]

I'm insufferably pleased with my submission's recipe and name.

Bad Word

by Dan Chadwick, Kindred Cocktails

3/4 oz Gin

3/4 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse

3/4 oz Amaro, Gran Classico

3/4 oz Lime juice

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball, or up/cocktail glass.

Delicious variation on the Last Word. Better than the original for a bitter-lover.

[ChrisTaylor]

Just assembled a Bad Word, subbing Campari for the Gran Classico (Google, at least, tells me it's a good sub--don't have Gran Clas on hand and don't remember seeing it on sale anywhere) and using Hendrick's--tail end of the bottle, see--for the gin. Nice. And, yeah, better than the Last. As much fun as the Final, I think.

[EvergreenDan]

Little bump for MxMo Green. Tomorrow is the deadline.

[Tri2Cook]

I'm not sure if I was supposed to give the link to my post if I posted my drink here but I can't edit the post now so... just in case.

[edo]

Thanks, the link helps, otherwise I'd just link to the post here.

We're at at least 22 participants so far, still going strong. And I still have yet to get around to posting mine...

We got some great looking drinks so far.

[Tri2Cook]

I just realized I forgot to mention in my post here that after straining the infusion, the liquid should be measured and an equal amount of sugar dissolved in. I really am an amatuer...