Drinks! (2013 Part 1)

[Plantes Vertes]

This evening we had some 75s before going to the pub quiz.

2oz calvados

1oz London dry gin

1bsp absinthe

Shake and strain

Holy Hell that's dry.

[Plantes Vertes]

Looking for a way to use up two limes I zested for a marinade, I figured what better than consulting Beachbum Berry's Tiki+ app, where I found:

Cesar's Punch:

...

Only problem - I got the 2 oz lime juice from just one of the damn limes!

Guess you'd better have another.

[FrogPrincesse]

Looking for a way to use up two limes I zested for a marinade, I figured what better than consulting Beachbum Berry's Tiki+ app, where I found:

Cesar's Punch:

TWO WHOLE OUNCES lime juice (!!)

1 ounce grenadine (homemade per slkinsey's recipe from a while back)

3 drops (dashes in my case) Angostura

2 oz Barbancourt (they don't say white, 3 star, 5 star or what, but since I have the white and 5, I went with the 5)

Shake w cubed ice, strain over crushed.

Quite delicious!

Only problem - I got the 2 oz lime juice from just one of the damn limes!

One full ounce of grenadine? Wow. I find this quite terrifying :-)

[tanstaafl2]

East is more spicy, a little more grassy and citrussy(lemongrass, duh) than Sapphire. Surprisingly god at highlighting those extra botanicals, though juniper gets shoved even further toward the back.

It's bottled at 42% in the UK and that is a good thing.

Thanks Adam, that sounds like something I would be interested in trying.

What Adam said! It is indeed bracing served neat but not its strong suit I think. Just thought it be a good way to punch up that "meh" gimlet!

[Hassouni]

Looking for a way to use up two limes I zested for a marinade, I figured what better than consulting Beachbum Berry's Tiki+ app, where I found:

Cesar's Punch:

TWO WHOLE OUNCES lime juice (!!)

1 ounce grenadine (homemade per slkinsey's recipe from a while back)

3 drops (dashes in my case) Angostura

2 oz Barbancourt (they don't say white, 3 star, 5 star or what, but since I have the white and 5, I went with the 5)

Shake w cubed ice, strain over crushed.

Quite delicious!

Only problem - I got the 2 oz lime juice from just one of the damn limes!

One full ounce of grenadine? Wow. I find this quite terrifying :-)

Two ounces lime though, mind. It's fairly well balanced, even verging on the tart side. Of course, my grenadine may not be as sweet as commercial grenadine or someone else's homemade.

[mukki]

Cucumber Collins from the Goose & Gander in St. Helena, CA. Made with yuzu and pickled huckleberries and Hendrick's (at my request). Had to go back the next day and get another along with their delicious burger.

[KD1191]

I've been playing around with some Heaven Hill-barrel aged coffee from Dark Matter in Chicago. It's pretty potent stuff aroma-wise (coconut, vanilla), and the El Eden beans retained much of their tobacco, banana, and blueberry that they were known for before they got friendly with the charred oak. Tonight, I brewed up some concentrate on the Aeropress and made a 1:1 simple syrup. I was interested to see how it would play with Averna. My first attempt, a Black Manhattan riff, was fine, but nothing worth making again. For my second trick, I thought I'd try Brian Miller's Bay City Roller. Originally, it's:

Bay City Roller

by Brian Miller (formerly of Death & Co., NYC)

2 oz Compass Box Asyla

1 tsp 1:1 Simple Syrup

1/4 oz Averna

Stir/Strain/Rocks

Orange Twist

i used the Dark Matter barrel-aged El Eden Aeropress syrup (1:1 coffee concentrate/sugar) instead of simple, and switched up the Scotch to Balvenie's 17 Year Doublewood. It was terrific.

Edited August 16, 2013 by KD1191 (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

I tried making a Jack Rose with Crème de cassis in place of grenadine. I'm calling it a Rachel Rose.

2oz calvados

1oz lemon juice

1/2oz c de c

Shake + strain

It was nice. Sharp and sweet.

My friend had an Opera.

2oz gin

1oz Dubonnet Rouge

1/4oz maraschino

Stir + strain

Edited August 17, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[lesliec]

Last night's indulgence: a 1934 Zombie (thanks, Hassouni):

Not that you can see it much; the goblet thing is as close as I've got to a tiki mug (they're not common over here). But the umbrella is always a classy touch, I think. And that's mint floating on top.

This with Gosling Black Seal, Appleton VX and Wray & Nephew. I have a problem with sourness (could just be our lemons and limes don't get as ripe as in warmer regions), so I cut the specified amount of lime juice down considerably and spiked a slice of lime on the umbrella - token gesture. My home-made falernum provided quite a bit of lime kick anyway. This thing was freakin' delicious.

And feel free to admire the splendid bamboo-look straws we found last weekend!

[FrogPrincesse]

Indeed it's a beautiful straw!

[Plantes Vertes]

2oz medium-dry cider

1oz calvados

1/2oz London dry gin

Build in the glass

These days I love apples.

[heidih]

In response to the straw comments above I had to mention the lovage that my mentor has us growing because folks use the stem as a straw for Bloody Marys - it has that celery taste?

[lesliec]

That sounds lovage-ly.

(Sorry ...)

[sbumgarner]

Basic Mai Tai last night, I usually play around with different rum combos but last night's was a real winner in my book.

1 oz Depaz Blue

.5 oz Smith & Cross

.5 oz Appleton Reserve

.75 oz orgeat

.75 oz lime

.5 oz Creole Shrubb

I've tried using 100% S&C for the Jamaican rum portion before and while it was pretty good, cutting it with a richer/smoother Jamaican seemed to elevate the drink.

[FrogPrincesse]

sbumgarner - how do you like the Depaz blue? I have heard mixed reviews.

[Rafa]

'Ti Punch with La Favorite Blanc. YES.

It's been a while since I've posted. That last drink damn near

.

[Kerry Beal]

Enjoyed a "Third Strain" this evening at the Slurping Turtle in Chicago. Sake, dry curacao, Lillet Rose, Salers and apple bitters.

[Plantes Vertes]

'Ti Punch with La Favorite Blanc. YES.

It's been a while since I've posted. That last drink damn near

.

Glad you found a reason to keep living

[FrogPrincesse]

An excellent reason indeed...

I was starting to get worried about Rafa!

[sbumgarner]

sbumgarner - how do you like the Depaz blue? I have heard mixed reviews.

As a sipper I enjoy it, the agricole funk isn't overpowering and it has some good complexity. It's drier/spicier than other aged rhums I've tried, which leads to mixed success in some cocktails calling for the category. In the Mai Tai I made I think those qualities worked in it's favor, cutting some of the sweetness while not trying to compete with the Smith and Cross flavor bomb. Apparently they water it down to 90 proof for export, would be interested in trying the 100 proof at some point. I can get it for under $40 near me, at that price it's worth taking a flier on.

[Adam George]

A perfect Clover Club at Wabi, the Japanese restaurant in Horsham.

Noilly Pratt and Tanqueray. fresh fruit.

Dehydrated raspberry on top.

[furzzy]

Last night's indulgence: a 1934 Zombie (thanks, Hassouni):

And feel free to admire the splendid bamboo-look straws we found last weekend!

I'm not just admiring them. I'm hoping you got them online so you can tell me where you got them. I NEED some of those.

[lesliec]

Afraid not, Furzzy - they came from the wonderful Moore Wilson's here in Welly. But I'll try to remember to look on the box when I get home to find a brand for you.

[Plantes Vertes]

furzzy, you can get them on Amazon here.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[bostonapothecary]

"left for dead"

.75 oz. walnut oil aromatized slivovitz**

.75 oz. peruchi spanish sweet vermouth

.75 oz. der lachs danzig goldwasser

.75 oz. lime juice

posthumous dash quinine tincture

**the slivovitz was distilled with the walnut oil as part of my project to hunt for new aroma sources. after seeing the success of fat washing nut oils seemed like a good candidate. I actually left the stuff for dead because at first it was so unremarkable yet somehow a year later it has really transformed. I suspect a good deal of the transformation is post distillation esterification and the spirit approaching various equilibriums after the big shake up of distillation. It would be so cool to explore more of non-traditional esterification but the projects really need a year of foresight and investment. I recently put 8 lost distillation papers on my blog that delve deep into aroma creation within the pot still. I found them in the archives of Roseworthy agricultural college in Australia and convinced the school to digitize them. I think they were forgotten due to WWII and that is why they were never collected by U.C. Davis.

this might read interesting but before the quinine was applied it tasted like Tang brand fake orange drink. I suspect it is from the alliteration of orange aromas in the sweet vermouth and goldwasser. quinine's bitterness added an adult edge but I'd still call this a failure. I need to come up with a new context to show off the remainder of the funky distillate.

a redeeming feature of the drink is that I put the goldwasser through the colloid mill a long time ago to mince all the gold. it didn't became as small as I thought but somehow in this drink it forms a beautiful suspension of gold dust instead of just sinking to the bottom like usual. it might be worth exploring a little deeper.