Cocktails I'm supposed to like, but don't

[Daniel Robinson]

I suppose it is all about palates and taste preference.

For example I love slightly sweet/sour/bitter cocktails (not necessarily all in the same drink mind you) but i cannot get whisky to be like by my mouth. so for that a whisky sour is not nice. It's just my preference. In case of the cocktail you mentioned, I suppose enough of the 'right' people liked them for them to gain some coverage and get out there.

My advice? - spend your time finding something you like and stick with it. Then periodically try something different with what you like. If it doesnt work, you can go back to the version you do like. It's obvious advice I know, but sometimes it is needed

Hope that helps!

I've never understood the Twentieth Century, though perhaps that's only because good-quality crème de cacao is hard to come by. I'm also not a big Vesper fan.

But most of all, heresy of heresies, I've never seen the appeal of the Mint Julep!

Completely agree, I've tried and tried to get this to an enjoyable level, but cannot. Maybe it's my dislike for whisky (British or American) my taste buds are not just ready for that flavour yet.

[Hassouni]

This may be considered blasphemy, but I thought the jungle bird was utterly vile. The blackstrap and Campari run roughshod over everything else in the drink, and don't play nicely with each other, either.

[FrogPrincesse]

Hassouni - it's OK!

To me the Jungle Bird tastes like breakfast with the orange from the Campari and the maple syrup/molasses from the S&C. I like it but it's an odd bird for sure.

[FrogPrincesse]

Ha ha! The main thing is that you want tart orange juice for drinks where there is no other acid component. Blood orange juice usually isn't.

I was being facetious about the blood oranges. There is nothing wrong about using them in cocktails. We have many varieties available locally and the ones I use in cocktails are at least as tart as regular oranges .

Edited August 23, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

This may be considered blasphemy, but I thought the jungle bird was utterly vile. The blackstrap and Campari run roughshod over everything else in the drink, and don't play nicely with each other, either.

Get out. Just leave. You obviously aren't one of us.

Kidding.

[EvergreenDan]

This may be considered blasphemy, but I thought the jungle bird was utterly vile. The blackstrap and Campari run roughshod over everything else in the drink, and don't play nicely with each other, either.

Get out. Just leave. You obviously aren't one of us.

The original calls for dark Jamaican rum, not blackstrap. Perhaps you might like that better. I also think that 4oz of pineapple is 2.5 oz too much. Jungle Bird commentary on Kindred Cocktails.

[Rafa]

This may be considered blasphemy, but I thought the jungle bird was utterly vile. The blackstrap and Campari run roughshod over everything else in the drink, and don't play nicely with each other, either.

Get out. Just leave. You obviously aren't one of us.

The original calls for dark Jamaican rum, not blackstrap. Perhaps you might like that better. I also think that 4oz of pineapple is 2.5 oz too much. Jungle Bird commentary on Kindred Cocktails.

It's good with Coruba in the Sam Ross ratios, without the breakfast syrup flavors the blackstrap donates. Though I like the blackstrap version.

Hassouni, if you haven't tried it, you might prefer the Bitter Mai Tai. Similar concept (Campari + tropical flavors) but with a drier/funkier execution. There's also The Getaway (blackstrap + Cynar) and the Dirt 'n Diesel (blackstrap + Cynar + Fernet).

[Bourbonaut]

I like the Boulevardier fine, but agree that the 1794 is a much better drink.

I've been making my Boulevardiers as per this link anyway.

http://cold-glass.com/2010/09/15/1794-cocktail-the-boulevardier-comes-to-manhattan/

I was vaguely aware it wasn't the most historically accurate version and right now I've know idea where I discovered it, but was happy and never bothered to try another.

Ugh. That article really rubbed me the wrong way. For one thing, the author treats his own opinion (that the boulevardier isn't a very good drink) as if it was an absolute fact, or at least a general consensus, then goes on to imply that the reason it's an inferior drink is because the earliest ever version of the boulevardier calls for a 1:1:1 ratio while the 1794 is more spirit heavy, as if it couldn't possibly be made any other way. News flash: The earliest known version of any drink is rarely very good! McElhone's Pegu Club is pretty mediocre, even if you use a homemade lime cordial instead of Rose's, and the 1:1:1 sidecar doesn't exactly do the drink justice.

[Craig E]

On March 20, 2013 at 6:04 PM, Adam George said:

The Vesper in 6:2:1 proportions is pretty boring.

Invert it however...

Glad this suggestion made it to Kindred where I saw it. 

Per those directions I tried 1.5 Cocchi Americano to 1 Tito's vodka to 1/2 Tanqueray gin. So I guess that's 3:2:1. 

I think it's a touch too sweet, but it's more flavorful and appealing than the unreversed recipe to me. 

I made it with a grapefruit twist instead of orange because that's what I had on hand, and it worked well. 

I wonder if flipping the spirit ratios would allow the gin botanicals to match up better to the sweet wine-y flavors of the Cocchi. 

 

[Tzatziki]

Singapore Sling, Blood and Sand, Hemingway Daiquiri, ...*gasp* even the last Word.

 

Something about cherry liqueurs rub me the wrong way (especially Cherry Heering, I swear it's cough medicine...). I swear they don't taste like cherries. Someday I'll have to go to an Oregon farmer's market, make my own, and see if I actually like these cocktails...

[TheBoozeBaron]

4 hours ago, Tzatziki said:

Something about cherry liqueurs rub me the wrong way (especially Cherry Heering, I swear it's cough medicine...). I swear they don't taste like cherries. 

Yes yes! It's so synthetic and sweet. It would be amazing to try a real sling recipe with some proper sour cherry infusion but alas no.

 

Also Hemingway's cocktail recipes are pretty much 100% abominations designed to get you a bit more "F"ed up than their original drink. Like Death in the Afternoon? Atrocious to drink but fantastic for capturing the horrific romance of a matador being gored to death in front of you.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm partial to death in the gulfstream ...sometimes.