Drinks! (2013 Part 1)

[Adam George]

Well thank you Adam! I'll have to try it your way; sounds perfect for the season. I've been having fun pronouncing the drink's name as British-ly as I can.

.

Don't pronounce it "Queen's English".

The joke stems from a conversation we had behind the bar, impersonating an ill spoken person. Brice said, "D'ya know wha' I mean?" And it became the drink above.

I insisted I'd get a drink called that on a menu ever since but we didn't settle ona recipe, hence I borrowed your idea.

[Rafa]

Oh, that wasn't the

I had in mind. (Not that many people in London sound anything like Liam Gallagher, mind you.)

[EvergreenDan]

Adam, you clearly hate Americans. My "make crazy measurements rational" algorithm came up with:

Cynar What I Mean?
by Adam George, South Place Hotel, London.
1 1/8 oz Cynar
7/8 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Punt e Mes
1 t Maraschino Liqueur
2 oz Soda water
1 twst Orange peel

[Snark]

I agree: that doesn't look like enough acid. Rhubarb Tea (man, Rhuby was a much better name) has a floral character not evident from the list of ingredients. It doesn't stand up to large quantities of other bold flavors.

I might try cachaca or an agricole for the rum -- grassy rather than hogo. With that much 80 proof Rhubarb Tea, it doesn't need additional overproof backbone. And I'd go with more lime -- maybe 3/4 oz to start.

Another idea: try it in an Aviation variant, with gin, Maraschino and lemon, perhaps with a big dose of actually-bitter citrus bitters, like Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit.

Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely more acid. I could try an agricole; I don't have any cachaca on hand (I have to work on that), but last night I was pondering how the Rhubarb Tea might work with Pisco...? Different flavor combo, of course, but maybe worth trying...

[EvergreenDan]

Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely more acid. I could try an agricole; I don't have any cachaca on hand (I have to work on that), but last night I was pondering how the Rhubarb Tea might work with Pisco...? Different flavor combo, of course, but maybe worth trying...

Pisco might work.

I made two variants tonight.

1 oz Rhubarb Tea

3/4 oz Batavia Arrack or Rhum JM blanc

3/4 oz Averna

3/4 oz lime juice

2 d Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit bitters (one very full dropper)

I'm probably just go 1:1:1:1 next time. I think the Rhubarb will still come through, and it would certainly make a more memorable recipe. Of the two variants, I preferred the agricole and my wife like the Batavia Arrack. This is a nice drink, but I have to say that like, rather than love, Rhubarb Tea. I look forward to hearing other recipe ideas.

[Plantes Vertes]

I made a Black Heart, because it's Saturday Night and I am Still Working. I had to take a relaxed attitude to the actual ingredients of the cocktail, because I didn't have half of them and didn't know how much of what to put in. So I improvised and then I guessed. One or both of those let me down I feel.

Buffalo Trace Wild Turkey 101, Cynar, Luxardo Maraschino, coffee, Bitterman's Boston Bittahs homemade citrus bitters, a Laphroaig Bowmore rinse and orange oils.

Then later I went for a Rhubarb and Grapefruit Shrub with gin and soda and the same bitters.

Edited May 19, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[Rafa]

I assume you work from home; otherwise you just have an absurdly well-stocked bar at your office.

All weekend I've been enjoying plugging Becherovka into recipes that call for cinnamon syrup, including Tiki drinks (the Donga Punch especially) and bourbon cocktails:

Peter Buck

by Rafa García Febles, NYC

1 oz Bourbon, old weller 107 antique

1 oz Apple brandy, Lairds

3/4 oz Lemon juice

1/4 oz Honey syrup

1/4 oz Cinnamon syrup (or Becherovka)

2 ds Bitters, Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged

2 oz Ginger beer

1 bsp Peach preserves (or fresh muddled peach)

Shake all but ginger beer over ice and pour strained over fresh ice into a Collins. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with candied ginger and lemon wheel.

This is warm and spicy and very nice; perfect for the rainy Indian winter we've been 'enjoying' here this weekend.

I Should Buy A Boat (altered)

by Joseph Tkach, Seattle, WA, altered by Rafa García Febles, NYC.

1 1/2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Grapefruit juice (white)

1/2 oz Becherovka

1 oz Sparkling white wine (dry)

1 sli Grapefruit

Shake briefly, strain, lowball, rock, top with Champagne, garnish with grapefruit slice and a bit of fresh cinnamon.

And this I love. The original called for Doorly's rum, vanilla-cinnamon syrup, and ruby red grapefruit but I took it in more of a Brown Derby direction. (It probably needs a new name.) I don't think I'll ever tire of the grapefruit + bourbon combination; it's one of the pairings that first got me into both brown spirits and cocktails.

Becherovka works very well with honey flavors (as in the Metamorphosis) including Drambuie, and plays well with Campari/Aperol. A bit medicinal on its own, but very versatile in cocktails. A great ingredient.

I also tried to make Adam George's "Cynar What I Mean?" this weekend, but found out the hard way that Cocchi Vermouth, despite its notable bitterness, is no substitute for Punt e Mes. With Cocchi the end result was medicinal.

Edited May 19, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

I assume you work from home; otherwise you just have an absurdly well-stocked bar at your office.

I do work in an office with an absurdly well-stocked bar. It has an extensive cellar as well. If I wasn't such a paragon of self-restraint my actual job could get pretty sloppy... Ah, the 'staff meetings'...

But yes, those famous background plants are mine. I work from bed sometimes.

Your I Should... there looks sublime.

[FrogPrincesse]

Well thank you Adam! I'll have to try it your way; sounds perfect for the season. I've been having fun pronouncing the drink's name as British-ly as I can.

.

Don't pronounce it "Queen's English".

The joke stems from a conversation we had behind the bar, impersonating an ill spoken person. Brice said, "D'ya know wha' I mean?" And it became the drink above.

I insisted I'd get a drink called that on a menu ever since but we didn't settle ona recipe, hence I borrowed your idea.

Well maybe this one should be pronounced in Queen's English...

It's the Cynar What I Mean à la Royale, with sparkling wine replacing the soda water. Really good. There is something great about the cynar + maraschino combination. So much better than an Americano.

Edited May 20, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Adam George]

Oh, that wasn't the

I had in mind. (Not that many people in London sound anything like Liam Gallagher, mind you.)

They've better pronunciation than I was referencing, but yes, perfect

Adam, you clearly hate Americans. My "make crazy measurements rational" algorithm came up with:

Cynar What I Mean?by Adam George, South Place Hotel, London.

1 1/8 oz Cynar

7/8 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Punt e Mes

1 t Maraschino Liqueur

2 oz Soda water

1 twst Orange peel

Sorry it's an annoying ratio, but I much prefer using increments of 5ml so as to really fine tune a drink.

And thank you so much for posting it, it means a lot.

Anyway, I too have a very well stocked bar at work (well strictly, I have five well stocked bars) and today we had fun behind one of them.

What started as joke response to a regular guest's ability to down a standard issue Pina Colada in a matter of seconds, despite our best efforts to spike it with gross amounts of Absinthe and bitters, led to the question, 'Exactly how strong can we make this drink before it becomes undrinkable?'

With this question in mind, we turned to our other favourite tropical number, the 1934 Zombie and with a little help from our favourite uncle it seemed the answer to our question was 'PRETTY EFFING STRONG! And shit, it's still really good!'

Without further ado, my colleague Brice de C'amargo Bitters and myself, Adam George present to eGullet

The Res-erected Penis Collider, in good old rounded U.S. Imperial measurements to make it nice and easy:

Res-erected Penis Collider

45ml Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum

45ml Plantation Dark Overproof 146 Rum

15ml Pernod Absinthe

15ml Angostura Bitters

15ml Peychaud's Bitters

10ml St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

90ml Pineapple Juice

60ml Coco Lopez

Shake over cubed ice until hands stick to the tins

Strain over nugget ice in seldom used Hurricane Glass

Garnish with Fresh Mint, Orange Twist and house brandied Amarena Cherry (Craft, yo!)

Edited May 20, 2013 by Adam George (log)

[Adam George]

]Well maybe this one should be pronounced in Queen's English... It's the Cynar What I Mean à la Royale, with sparkling wine replacing the soda water. Really good. There is something great about the cynar + maraschino combination. So much better than an Americano.

Oh wow, thank you for giving it a go.

Ironic, because I posted a response to Dan's mocking my ratios with a quote and picture from the "Royale with Cheese" scene in Pulp Fiction. It was removed under copyright, but you can see the rest of the post above.

I just enjoyed your version with Moët.

Very nice. Shame I can't put a £7 champagne cocktail on the menu, but this is great:

[FrogPrincesse]

Oh wow, thank you for giving it a go.

Ironic, because I posted a response to Dan's mocking my ratios with a quote and picture from the "Royale with Cheese" scene in Pulp Fiction. It was removed under copyright, but you can see the rest of the post above.

I saw it. This was a nod to your (now deleted) reference...

[Adam George]

Oh, cool. Thank you.

Enjoy your drink.

[Adam George]

I thought I'd get back to my geeky, wankologist roots and play with some new toys:

Zacaparac

2oz Zacapa 23

.25oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

.25oz Lustau PX Sherry

3 Dashes Peychaud's Bitters

2 Dashes Fee's Whisky Barrel Aged Aromatic Bitters

1 Dash Fee's Gin Barrel Aged Orange Bitters

Stir over ice and Cherry Smoke

Strain into Cynar rinsed rocks glass.

No Ice

Orange twist.

Edited May 21, 2013 by heidih (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

I thought I'd get back to my geeky, wankologist roots and play with some new toys:

Zacaparac

2oz Zacapa 23

.25oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

.25oz Lustau PX Sherry

3 Dashes Peychaud's Bitters

2 Dashes Fee's Whisky Barrel Aged Aromatic Bitters

1 Dash Fee's Gin Barrel Aged Orange Bitters

Stir over ice and Cherry Smoke

Strain into Cynar rinsed or is glass.

No Ice

Orange twist.

That's cool, but... how do you make it all stick to the ceiling?

ETA Wait... apparently Zacapa is 'aged at altitude'. Now I understand.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[Adam George]

Yeah, and it also happens when you throw the glass up in the air, doing the rinse.

[Snark]

Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely more acid. I could try an agricole; I don't have any cachaca on hand (I have to work on that), but last night I was pondering how the Rhubarb Tea might work with Pisco...? Different flavor combo, of course, but maybe worth trying...

Pisco might work.

I made two variants tonight.

1 oz Rhubarb Tea

3/4 oz Batavia Arrack or Rhum JM blanc

3/4 oz Averna

3/4 oz lime juice

2 d Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit bitters (one very full dropper)

I'm probably just go 1:1:1:1 next time. I think the Rhubarb will still come through, and it would certainly make a more memorable recipe. Of the two variants, I preferred the agricole and my wife like the Batavia Arrack. This is a nice drink, but I have to say that like, rather than love, Rhubarb Tea. I look forward to hearing other recipe ideas.

I'm not in love with the Rhubarb Tea either, but I'd still be interested to know people's thoughts if they ever mix this up:

1 ounce Rhubarb Tea

1 ounce Pisco (Encanto)

1 ounce Averna

1 ounce lime juice

2 dashes Bittermens Burlesque Bitters

2 slices cucumber

2 strawberries

Muddle cucumbers and strawberries with lime juice; add booze and let sit for a minute or two. Add bitters, shake, and strain into coupe. Garnish with strawberry section or cuke slice if desired.

I'm not at all convinced I've quite nailed it, but it's a decent enough spring drink, I think.

[sbumgarner]

Kinda sorta did a Jungle Bird-inspired drink the other night:

1.5 oz Smith & Cross

.5 oz pineapple shrub (http://mymansbelly.com/2012/07/06/pineapple-cocktail-recipes-get-serious-when-its-a-shrub-cocktail/ - I didn't use cilantro leaves and used apple cider vinegar in place of the coconut vinegar)

.5 oz Cynar

.5 oz lime juice

dash of angostura

Shake, strain over rocks.

Bitter and tiki-type flavors is one of my favorite combinations (I want to be buried in Bitter Mai Tais), so I liked this.

[KD1191]

Last night started with a Zarzamora, a derivation of a whiskey sour, with blackberry & Fernet. This is a drink I enjoyed quite frequently during the heyday of the Violet Hour, courtesy of Troy Sidle, but I haven't seen it mentioned here, so I thought I'd give it a plug as blackberries are getting to be rather tasty this time of year.

Muddle:

3 Blackberries

3/4 oz Simple

Add:

2 oz Bourbon (Wild Turkey 101 is specified, but I used Weller 107)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Fernet-Branca
9 drops (50/50) orange bitters

Shake with ice.

Strain into a Collins glass containing ice & a splash of Coke.

Garnish with orange peel.

The evening ended with a Prescription Julep featuring the newly acquired Louis Royer 53 & Handy Rye, following Paul's version of David's recipe...an exceedingly delicious sucker punch.

Edited May 22, 2013 by KD1191 (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

Well, today I made a Juliet and Romeo that was an honest-to-God abomination. The limes were all dry inside, the mint was also quite ropey, it tasted like salt. Disgusting.

Here it is!

[Adam George]

3/4 gin

3/4 Green Chartreuse

3/4 [chocolate]

3/4 lemon

It was another quiet day so I nailed this.

The Last Willy

1oz Beefeater Gin

1oz Yellow Chartreuse

1oz Lemon Juice

.75oz Gabriel Boudier Creme de Cacao Blanc

.25oz Mozart Dry Chocolate Spirit

2 Dash Bitter Truth/Bittermens Mole Bitters

1 Dash Mozart Black Chocolate Bitters

I had to use Yellow as Green was smothering the chocolate.

I played around with this a lot and this is V.1.4.

At one point I took the Chartreuse down to .75 but then returned to equal parts, cutting the CdC with a quarter of Dry Chococlate Spirit.

The Bitter Truth bitters up the vegetal qualities in the Chartreuse and the Mozart Bitters boost the deep chocolate notes on the nose.

Interestingly, the chocolate element of this drink is almost entirely retro-nasal. Holding your nose whilst a drinking nearly eliminates the chocolate altogether.

Two of my regular guests immeadiatly ordered this drink after trying a sample.

[Rafa]

3/4 gin

3/4 Green Chartreuse

3/4 [chocolate]

3/4 lemon

It was another quiet day so I nailed this.

The Last Willy

1oz Beefeater Gin

1oz Yellow Chartreuse

1oz Lemon Juice

.75oz Gabriel Boudier Creme de Cacao Blanc

.25oz Mozart Dry Chocolate Spirit

2 Dash Bitter Truth/Bittermens Mole Bitters

1 Dash Mozart Black Chocolate Bitters

I had to use Yellow as Green was smothering the chocolate.

I played around with this a lot and this is V.1.4.

At one point I took the Chartreuse down to .75 but then returned to equal parts, cutting the CdC with a quarter of Dry Chococlate Spirit.

The Bitter Truth bitters up the vegetal qualities in the Chartreuse and the Mozart Bitters boost the deep chocolate notes on the nose.

Interestingly, the chocolate element of this drink is almost entirely retro-nasal. Holding your nose whilst a drinking nearly eliminates the chocolate altogether.

Two of my regular guests immeadiatly ordered this drink after trying a sample.

Brilliant. We can't get Mozart spirit here (someone import it already!) but I'll try this with Don Esteban Rum Liqueur, which is chocolate-infused and not too sweet. Curious about the chocolate being almost entirely olfactory...

How'd the name come about? I get the Last Word connection, but Willy?

ETA: Wonka. D'oh.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[Adam George]

It was either that or Great G-Last Elevator, though it doesn't roll off the tongue too well. Plus I get a chance to say Willy, which is always funny.

[TheStarvingArtist]

aviation.

.75 oz. lemon juice

.25 oz. parfait amour

.5 oz. paolo lazzaroni & figli maraschino liqueur (25% alc.) ("imported in the USA by Laird & Co.")

1.5+ oz. bombay gin

I had heard of this maraschino but never seen it before and somehow it ended up on my kitchen counter. I think my room mate bought it at Cirace in the north end whom does a lot of their own importing but the label does say Laird & Co. its pretty bland stuff. very little aroma. I'm really unimpressed.

the drink is okay. nice and tart but not exactly memorable.

lately I've just been drinking and serving whatever is around without being particular. sort of in the prohibition spirit I guess. de-emphasizing brand and bottle choices and emphasizing other things. well, never de-emphasize your maraschino.

I have to politely disagree a bit in re: the Paolo Figli Maraschino--

Yeah, it definitely is more muted when compared to Luzardo, but I'm someone to whom the Luxardo's perfume often seems obnoxiously heady and overwhelming, so to the point of occasionally making me hate a cocktail because it just tastes like maraschino. I found the Paolo Figli to play much more nicely with other lighter flavors.

Sure, there's still a place for Luxardo (the Paolo can't stand up to powerful liquors very well), but I made a few cocktails for a friend of mine (who HATES maraschino), and she really liked them when I used the Figli-- it sort of sat in the background and bound the other flavors together.

[Rafa]

Paper Trail

by Colin Shearn, St. Charles Exchange, Louisville, KY.

1 1/2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Aperol

3/4 oz Gentian liqueur, Salers

1 twst Grapefruit peel

Stir, strain, up, twist.

--

Kindred Cocktails | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community

Very nice. A light, fruity, earthy Boulevardier alternative.

Otherwise it's just been a long string of JT Collins* and Rickeys here lately. With the premiere of the fourth season of Arrested Development only hours away I expect tomorrow will be a day for Hot Ham Water and other AD-themed drinks from this article, or perhaps, given the weather, some Tiki medicine from Dr. Fünke. Even if it means taking a stiff one in the mouth, I'll suck it up.

(1 oz Bols Genever to 1/2 oz Broker's Gin. Don't really know what to call these, but they seem to respond to both John and Tom.)