Bought some beverages now need ideas for cocktails

[maitkaa]

Hello

Just bought : bols creme de cacao brown, Morelos Tequila, Kahlua, Dooleys, Minntu(pepermint schnopps). So my question what kinda of coctails i can make from these alcohol products without buying more alcohol.

looking forward to your responses

[Hassouni]

Not much, frankly....Use the tequila with some grapefruit soda and make palomas. What is Dooley's?

[Chris Amirault]

Agree with Hassouni: not much. Save for the tequila, you've got after-dinner sippers there, not cocktail ingredients per se. Lots of tequila ideas around here, though. Why'd you buy those products exactly?

And welcome!

[Panaderia Canadiense]

If you've got some vodka and rocks, you've got the makings of good black russians with the Kahlua. Otherwise, you've got sipping liquors, not cocktail ingredients.

[ChrisTaylor]

Yeah. If you want to dip your toes in the water of mixology there are a couple of threads on starting out. Depending on your interest you'd be wanting less in the way of flavoured liqueurs (a helluva lot can be done with just sweetening agents, bitters, spirits and fruit juice) and moving more in the direction of things like rye, gin and maybe a white rum, a couple bottles of vermouth and at least Angostura bitters. Plus some kind of orange liqueur--Cointreau, perhaps. That is a starting point. You'll find some (and a couple of them might even be good) cocktails that include all of those ingredients ... but what you've unintentionally done, if you're really interested in getting into mixing as opposed to just sipping liqueurs, is buy the Dremel bits without the actual unit that drives it.

I know, I know, I know. You said you don't want to buy more shit. I get that. But just elaborating more, I guess, on the posts that basically say this won't work. In most cocktails--most--you have a spirit as a base. This is giving you must of your booze content, as a spirit is probably going to be higher in apv than, say, a wine-based product or a liqueur. This might be tequila, yeah. It might also be rye or gin or rum or a hundred other things. Certain liqueurs, wine-based products and etc are used all the time in cocktail-making, whether you're looking at classic recipes at CocktailDB or flipping through the pages of the bitters-heavy beta cocktails. Hence why it makes more sense to start with a handful of spirits (no need to have a hundred kinds of rum or whiskey initially--you'll figure out after a while if you want to go down those roads) and some oft-called for ingredients. You'll find thousands of valid uses for a bottle of dry vermouth but not too many for a bottle of creme de violette/cacao/mentha/et al.

Edited December 18, 2012 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

You could make a Brave Bull, which is the tequila version of the Black Russian. The DeGroff version has 1 ounce each of tequila and Kahlua, on the rocks.

PDT has a recipe for Café arroz that calls for tequila (reposado) and Kahlua, plus horchata. I can look up the recipe if you are interested in the specifics.

Other than that, I would just make tequila cocktails. The Paloma that Hassouni already suggested, a Bee Sting, or Tommy's Margarita (with agave syrup and lime juice).

Edited December 18, 2012 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

One more - PDT has a twist on the 20th Century called the 21st Century with tequila, creme de cacao (recipe calls for the white but I am sure the brown could work although it will not be as pretty!), and lemon juice. That would be a fun one to try.

[Tri2Cook]

One more - PDT has a twist on the 20th Century called the 21st Century with tequila, creme de cacao (recipe calls for the white but I am sure the brown could work although it will not be as pretty!), and lemon juice. That would be a fun one to try.

Of the 20th Century variations I've tried, I liked the 21st the least by a wide margin. I thought the 19th with bourbon and dubonnet rouge replacing the gin and lillet blanc was tasty and I like the original but there was something about the 21st that was completely disconnected from the other two in my non-expert opinion. The absinthe rinse didn't work for me in it and I didn't particularly enjoy it overall. That's not to say it's not worth trying, it might be someone elses favorite of the bunch.

[Will]

If you want to learn about mixed drinks, try starting with some American whiskey (bourbon or rye), some sweet vermouth, and some angostura bitters. That will at least let you make Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, whiskey sours, etc. Or, if you prefer, gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters (you can make the Martini, Tom Collins, etc.). If you learn the skills to make these drinks (when drinks should be stirred and when shaken, how to determine balance, etc.), you will not find making most other drinks that difficult.

Then branch out from there, exploring variations on some of these (for example, see the Manhattan variations thread at http://forums.egulle...tan-variations/ to see the # of different variations you can find for a single drink). Most of the things you mention aren't that generally useful.

Edited December 19, 2012 by Will (log)

[haresfur]

2nd the Brave Bull. Aside from that put some peppermint schnapps in your hot chocolate.

[maitkaa]

Thanks for all the answers so far

Dooleys is a toffe liquer kinda like Baylis.

Well i also got some whiskey (Jameson) and Vodka(Absolute) , so any cocktails now ?

[Mjx]

Your selection is pretty much what you see at a Danish student party, and honestly, if it's just a question of mixing drinks for that crowd, I'd buy a couple bottles of seltzer and a couple of limes, and just... experiment You cannot possibly go wrong, unless you run out of booze before everyone is drunk enough to start dancing.

On the other hand, if you're interested in developing your mixed drinks skills, the advice offered by everyone else is sound. If you want to see how a couple of other cocktail novices approached this, there the Help for a Couple of Cocktail Novices topic. If you want to look at some focused and advanced discussions, check out the topics in the Spirits & Cocktails listing, especially (since you have these spirits) the Tequila Cocktails, Scotch Cocktails, and Vodka Cocktails discussions.

[turkoftheplains]

My #1 recommendation would be to head back to the liquor store, buy:

1. a bottle of Cointreau (don't sweat the price, if you continue making drinks you will use this bottle for everything)

2. some limes (not mix, not lime juice)

(3. ice, if you don't have an ice maker--good cocktails need a LOT of ice)

Then start making yourself some honest-to-god Margaritas! The great thing about this drink is even with lousy tequila, with fresh lime and Cointreau it will taste great. Try 3 oz. tequila, 1 oz. lime, and 1.5 oz Cointreau to start (I like 3/1/1 but my taste is on the tart side.) Just shake them with lots of ice and strain (no blenders!) Too sweet? Use less Cointreau. Too sour? Use more Cointreau (or add some sugar/syrup.)

The best way to start making cocktails is to pick a drink you like (or want to learn) and get what you need to do it, then build your liquor shelf one drink at a time. In a surprisingly short time (3-5 new cocktails), you'll have enough basics to mix dozens of different drinks. You'll progress especially fast if you stick with the classics, since the ideas in those cocktails are used in many different cocktails with just 1 or 2 different ingredients. This also prevents situations like the one you have now-- lots of bottles (e.g., creme de cacao, peppermint schnapps) that can't be used to make very many different drinks. The good news is you're already one very, very useful bottle away from a classic (and hugely popular) cocktail.

Example: say that you liked that Margarita. Pick up:

1. some gin (another bottle that can be used for hundreds of drinks)

2. Angostura bitters (dirt cheap, used in hundreds of drinks, and a bottle lasts for ages.)

Now use the same recipe as above, only instead of tequila use the gin and add 2-3 drops of bitters. Congratulations, you've made a Pegu Club, a drink so good that it has its own bar* and a guy has an entire blog dedicated to it.

As for the Vodka and Kahlua, these are best consumed together with milk or cream while watching The Big Lebowski.

*Pedantic cocktail types: I know Audrey Sanders actually named it after the same bar in Burma that the drink is named after.

Edited December 20, 2012 by turkoftheplains (log)

[EvergreenDan]

If you bought these liqueurs because they appeal to you, then I'm guessing you like straightforward (not complex, herbal, or bitter) drinks, with ample sugar and familiar fruit / candy flavors. You are not looking for challenging or hard-to-like drinks. You might best like drinks that are simply beefed up versions of these youthful flavors. Consider just adding them to vodka, dark rum, juices, and/or soft drinks. While this doesn't appeal to me now, it certainly would have earlier in my life. Some flavor ideas:

Rum + chocolate, coffee, or toffee, either singularly or in any combination

Vodka + chocolate, coffee, toffee + dairy (cream)

Vodka + peppermint + chocolate + dairy

Tequila + grapefruit juice (or grapefruit or citrus soda)

Rum + lime + sugar (a Daiquiri)

Rum + peppermint (possibly + seltzer and/or fresh lime)

Tequila + lime + orange juice + sugar (almost a Margarita, kinda)

Rum + pineapple juice + coconut cream (Coco Lopez, for example) (Pina Colada)

Same as above + orange juice (Painkiller)

(God help me. I'll repent with a Bernet Frankenstein.)

[turkoftheplains]

Tequila + lime + orange juice + sugar (almost a Margarita, kinda)

I have yet to see anyone (including diehard vodka-tonic/screwdriver drinkers) regret buying a bottle of Cointreau. Why settle for tequila/lime/oj/sugar when you can have a Margarita?

(God help me. I'll repent with a Bernet Frankenstein.)

Good God, that ingredient list reads like a cocktail geek entry exam. Even the vermouth choice seems calculated to alienate as many people as possible. I need to make one of these. Now.

[turkoftheplains]

i also got some whiskey (Jameson)

Now we're talking!

(By the way, the rest of that site is a really great intro to cocktails.)

Edited December 21, 2012 by turkoftheplains (log)