Drinks! (2013 Part 1)

[FrogPrincesse]

The mint on our patio is doing great, so we had a classic Queen's Park Swizzle with Appleton 12 year old rum this weekend.

Earlier we had a couple of cocktails at a new restaurant specializing in sausages, Salt and Cleaver. They also have a good beer selection and this short cocktail menu.

My husband got the Salt's Manhattan was missing its advertised garnish. I got a classic Negroni. They were both a touch too warm which was a shame.

[Adam George]

You should have said something to management.

Things like this need to be nipped in the bud early if a new venue is going to avoid disappointing.

[FrogPrincesse]

You should have said something to management.

Things like this need to be nipped in the bud early if a new venue is going to avoid disappointing.

Yeah, I just prefer to complain on eGullet.

They were quite busy so there was not really an opportunity to provide this type of feedback. Also I did not want to make a big deal out of it. At least the drinks had been stirred, not shaken!

[Plantes Vertes]

We had some bourbon slings at home:

Then in the bar a Cherub's Cup, which was super summery. I thought it was very funny the way the bartender served this with the garnish trying to escape over the side. (It should actually be garnished with a strawberry but this is England in June. Still basically winter. There was one in there but it might as well have been a pink stone.)

2 parts Hendrick's gin
1 part St. Germain
1 muddled strawberry
3/4 part lemon juice
1/4 part simple syrup
champagne (Brut or Brut Rose)
ice

And a Manhattan:

Edited June 5, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[bostonapothecary]

bobby burns

2 oz. chivas 12

1 oz. punt y mes

spoonful of brandymel limao (lime version)

I've been playing around with making julep strainers so I thought I'd put the newest prototype to practice. someone re-gifted me a handle of chivas so I've got some blended scotch drinks ahead of me. this one worked out quite well. I never thought I'd be putting lime aromatized honey liqueur in a bobby burns but this drink is a winner.

[Plantes Vertes]

I've been playing around with making julep strainers so I thought I'd put the newest prototype to practice.

It looks beautiful How did you make it?

Edited June 7, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[bostonapothecary]

I've been playing around with making julep strainers so I thought I'd put the newest prototype to practice.

It looks beautiful How did you make it?

I used to date a jeweler. she broke my heart actually. all the cutting and sanding techniques I learned from her but to form the spoon I made a forming dolly and dapping bowl out of plastic. they were based on an old antique julep strainer with great shape and size but a broken handle that I sacrificed. you pound it a little bit with a mallet then press it in the forms then pound a little more. If I was better equipped I could shrink the metal around the sides a little bitter and smooth it all out with an english wheel. as it is I find the imperfections and limited degree of involvement sort of endearing.

[Plantes Vertes]

I've been playing around with making julep strainers so I thought I'd put the newest prototype to practice.

It looks beautiful How did you make it?

I used to date a jeweler. she broke my heart actually. all the cutting and sanding techniques I learned from her but to form the spoon I made a forming dolly and dapping bowl out of plastic. they were based on an old antique julep strainer with great shape and size but a broken handle that I sacrificed. you pound it a little bit with a mallet then press it in the forms then pound a little more. If I was better equipped I could shrink the metal around the sides a little bitter and smooth it all out with an english wheel. as it is I find the imperfections and limited degree of involvement sort of endearing.

I love the naive quality as well, it's lovely. I used to work for a jeweler. One day when I'd cost her about £800 in precious metals failing to make a ring properly, she suggested I should look for another profession. If only I'd thought to make a julep strainer first!

[Plantes Vertes]

I messed about with cherries today, since there's a cherry thread knocking around.

I tried a Grape Escape, with cherries instead of... grapes.

5 cherries

5 mint leaves

2oz cognac

1/2oz cane syrup

Muddle fruit and mint, shake the lot, top up with Champagne. Or something a bit like Champagne. Mint sprig for garnish.

Since I love the truth I will tell you that this drink was not especially brilliant. I suppose the grapes have rather more in common with the wine than cherries do. They were a bit sweet and sloppy.

Then I made this one:

2oz Flor de Cana 7

1.5oz red grapefruit juice

Splash absinthe

2 bsp simple

Thyme leaves from 5 sprigs (~ 1TBS thyme leaves)

5 cherries

Muddle the cherries and thyme, shake everything, double strain

In my head this was going to be nice with pistachio liqueur in it instead of the syrup but that kicked the bitter grapefruit out the door andmade it taste like Calpol so I dropped it.

I thought I was a genius for having thought of the thyme. Then I noticed the Flor de Cana site has a thyme cocktail on the front page. Evidently it was morphic resonance. I garnished it with thyme before discovering in quite an unpleasant way that that was a choking hazard. So maybe go with some discarded grapefruit peel.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[campus five]

I'm sure I've posted this before, but this is the Drinks! thread, right?

It's that kind of whether, and *this* is my kind of Tiki Drink.

The Bitter Mai Tai

1.5 oz Campari

0.75 oz Smith & Cross

1 oz Lime Juice

0.75 oz Orgeat (Los Angeles' own St. Vincent brand)

0.5 oz Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao)

Crushed Ice / Mint Sprig

It's the first drink I've made with the St. Vincent Orgeat, and it makes a huge difference over the Torani I've had in the cabinet for a while. It's not shelf-stable, so it has to be refrigerated, which I don't mind at all.

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful copper trainer, Stephen.

We tried Kyle Davidson's Goodbye Marie last week. It's a relative of the Manhattan with apricot liqueur and a lot of bitters. It's funny how precise the recipe is. It took me a while to count all these drops... I used Punt e Mes and R&W apricot liqueur.

Goodbye Marie
by Kyle Davidson, The Violet Hour, Chicago
2 oz Bourbon, Bulleit
1/2 oz Apricot liqueur, Rothman & Winter (Skinny half ounce, add dash demerara to R&W, or use Marie Brizzard)
1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula (Skinny, use Punt e Mes if no Carpano)
13 dr Bitters, Fee Brothers
15 dr Bitters, Angostura
1 rinse Bitters, Regans' orange bitters (Into rocks glass filled with crushed ice, sazerac style, about 5 dashes)
1 twst Orange peel (Expressed and discarded, a la sazerac)

Fill rocks glass with crushed ice, and coat inside with about 5 dashes Gary Regan's Orange bitters. Build cocktail in a mixing glass, if using apry, skinny half ounce, if using R & W (preferred) make a skinny half ounce out of an eighth ounce demerara and the rest R & W apricot. Stir. Dump out crushed ice and bitters from rocks glass, Strain chilled drink into it. Garnish with orange peel expressed and discarded.

I liked it but my husband thought it was too bitter. So I made him an Old Fashioned. Both cocktails were made with Buffalo Trace barrel #19 from Hi Times.

[FrogPrincesse]

A couple of classics recently.

3:1 Martini with Plymouth gin and Noilly Prat dry vermouth.

Last night we had Caipirinhas. I don't know if it's because this new bottle is not as good as the ones I've had in the past, or if my taste buds are getting more picky, but I didn't enjoy the cachaça (Sagatiba Pura) as much as I did in the past. It did not have the grassy/coconut notes that I remembered.

[Adam George]

Have you accidentally tried Leblon in the meantime? That's some really grassy stuff.

[FrogPrincesse]

Have you accidentally tried Leblon in the meantime? That's some really grassy stuff.

I've had it but it felt too rough for me. It is bizarre that there is such a variation with the Sagatiba. It used to be everywhere and then disappeared from the shelves (at least in San Diego). I was excited to have finally found a bottle and while it's not awful, it's nothing special.

[Plantes Vertes]

Adios Amigos from Trader Vic:

1oz white rum

1/2 oz dry vermouth

1/2 oz cognac

1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz lime juice

[FrogPrincesse]

Adios Amigos from Trader Vic:

1oz white rum

1/2 oz dry vermouth

1/2 oz cognac

1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz lime juice

Your impressions?

[Plantes Vertes]

It's a very pleasant drink with a beginning, a middle and an end. Strongly citrussy and fairly sweet at the beginning, but still there's a refreshing bitter aftertaste from the gin and a nice equilibrium which allows the almondish flavour of the vermouth and the spice from the cognac to express themselves alongside the lemony side of things. The rum unites the more wintery cognac flavours with the lighter fruity ingredients.

It also has a really nice texture. It's quite viscous without getting syrupy.

I used El Dorado 3, Remy Martin Fine Champagne, Noilly Prat and Beefeater.

[FrogPrincesse]

From this weekend:

Astoria, a 50:50 Martini with Plymouth gin, Noilly Prat dry vermouth, orange bitters. My bottle of Noilly Prat is almost empty; it is time to get some of the re-launched extra dry version.

A Daiquiri at my husband's request, with rhum agricole & sirop JM. The syrup is very sweet so I had to reduce the amount. It gives a slight yellow tinge to the drink.

I had a minuscule amount of Hayman's Old Tom left so I had a mini Pink Gin with Angostura biters in an effort to straigthen out my liquor cabinet. What a great way to really taste the nuances of the gin.

Charles H. Baker's Remember the Maine, an excellent Manhattan variation with cherry liqueur and an absinthe (pastis) rinse.

[FrogPrincesse]

It's a very pleasant drink with a beginning, a middle and an end. Strongly citrussy and fairly sweet at the beginning, but still there's a refreshing bitter aftertaste from the gin and a nice equilibrium which allows the almondish flavour of the vermouth and the spice from the cognac to express themselves alongside the lemony side of things. The rum unites the more wintery cognac flavours with the lighter fruity ingredients.

It also has a really nice texture. It's quite viscous without getting syrupy.

I used El Dorado 3, Remy Martin Fine Champagne, Noilly Prat and Beefeater.

Thanks Plantes Vertes, I will have to try it. Unfortunately I am out of mixing Cognac so this will have to wait a little. The rum + brandy + gin combo reminds me of Joe Scialom's Dying Bastard, minus the ginger.

[Adam George]

A friend and I went to Purl and had drinks. We were served by the hugely knowledgable and incredible beautiful Assistant Manager, Pip

. Everything was perfect about this visit. Purl is well worth a detour.

Our Tai:

I managed to wrangle the prep out of the bartender, but the menu lists it as follows:

House blend of rums, mango tea, Cointreau, Almond, Citrus. Bottled.

What they do is blend Pampero Especial, Trois Rivieres Blanc in a 3:1 ratio and Cointreau. This gets infused in with Mango tea and aged in 1 litre oak barrels for 1-2 weeks.

After that, typical Vic's Mai Tai Recipe, diluted and bottled in individual serves.

The "sand" was some sort of gingerbread.

Purl Open No.1 Cup:

Purl's take on Pimm's.

Ketel One. "Nitro smashed red fruits"

I got a lot of cucumber on tea with this. Not a drink I would choose for myself, but very refreshing and accessible for what it was.
Served on "turf". It's Wimbledon after all.

Tanq' and Tab.

Inspired by a scene in Kingpin and created in house, Tab syrup is meant to be Purl's recreation of a clear Cola from the 1960s. I believe this was created by Tom Aske as I have the recollection of him giving samples at a training.

Salt and Pepper popcorn served on the side.

The drink was spicy and refreshing. Well worth revisiting

Cuba Libre Del Pombre:

WS2 Cream Gin, Dry Vermouth, Cassis, Cola. Red wine ice lolly, carbonated grapes.

Questionable name. More Martinez in style. I can't say much about this as it wasn't mine. Good drink, if not a first choice.

And today I went to the Churchill bar at the Hyatt to see a former colleague and enjoyed many a drink that I did not photograph, however I had a pleasantly underpriced Epicure No.2

[Adam George]

Bonus round.

Check out the Purl menu:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/972105_552363858140151_477022686_n.jpg

Make your own Tab

http://fluidmovement.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/tanqueray-tab/

Learn a little about Cream Gin and watch WS2's GM James make a drink

http://www.diffordsguide.com/class-magazine/read-online/en/2012-10-02/page-13/signatures

[Plantes Vertes]

What did you think of the way those drinks were served, Adam?

[donaldosborne78]

Thanks Adam George

[Adam George]

Yeah I was happy with how they are presented.

Fluid Movement typically have a concept surrounding each drink and at Purl more often than not the concept is further realised through presentation.

I like the Tanq and Tab being presented as if on a cinema snacks tray.

[Plantes Vertes]

Now we just need to find out which cinemas are serving these things...

Actually, refreshments arrive on a little piece of grass like that in the Satyricon if I remember well.

Further information on the herbiage and verbiage of entertaining in antiquity available upon request.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)