Drinks! (2012, part 2)

[KD1191]

I think you're right...when I first got it home I had that suspicion, but the bottle clearly says liqueur and the more authoritative descriptions of macvin don't refer to it as such. Working off your combination above, I made the following:

1 oz Quebranta Pisco

1 oz Secret de Montbourgeau

.5 oz Fernet

.5 oz Punt e Mes

I'd never had brown, bitter & stirred with Pisco, but it was quite nice.

i went out and acquired a bottle of punt e mes to drink along. i used don cesar's "italia" for the pisco and the montbourgeau macvin du jura. what a drink!

i love the interplay between the two grape based elixirs. i've used that theme in the past with the "me and my grand father" which is basically a cognac & pisco sour.

fernet might be the greatest attentional feature for most people, but if you can see past that, the view is beautiful.

Yes, the Fernet was certainly hogging the stage, and you're absolutely right that what was underneath was quite a treat. With the aim of bringing it a bit more to the fore, I tired this...

The Esoteric Appeal is Worth the Beatings

1 oz Estirpe Peruana Pisco Mosto Verde de Moscatel

1 oz Secret de Montbourgeau

1 oz Savagnin de Montbourgeau (L'Etoile)

.5 oz Unicum

The thought was a more intense bitter, but in smaller quantity, along with a more verdant brandy. In the result, the bitter hits hard, but moves aside quickly, allowing for the full appreciation of the other elements. This is a keeper.

Edited August 1, 2012 by KD1191 (log)

[EvergreenDan]

Secret supply of Unicum in Chicago?

[bostonapothecary]

With the aim of bringing it a bit more to the fore, I tired this...

The Esoteric Appeal is Worth the Beatings

1 oz Estirpe Peruana Pisco Mosto Verde de Moscatel

1 oz Secret de Montbourgeau

1 oz Savagnin de Montbourgeau (L'Etoile)

.5 oz Unicum

The thought was a more intense bitter, but in smaller quantity, along with a more verdant brandy. In the result, the bitter hits hard, but moves aside quickly, allowing for the full appreciation of the other elements. This is a keeper.

i have not seen the Savagnin de Montbourgeau before. what does it rhyme with aesthetically? a manzanilla like La Cigarrera?

[KD1191]

Secret supply of Unicum in Chicago?

Nope, found a lone bottle high on a shelf in Texas while hunting Wild Turkey 101 Rye.

With the aim of bringing it a bit more to the fore, I tired this...

The Esoteric Appeal is Worth the Beatings

1 oz Estirpe Peruana Pisco Mosto Verde de Moscatel

1 oz Secret de Montbourgeau

1 oz Savagnin de Montbourgeau (L'Etoile)

.5 oz Unicum

The thought was a more intense bitter, but in smaller quantity, along with a more verdant brandy. In the result, the bitter hits hard, but moves aside quickly, allowing for the full appreciation of the other elements. This is a keeper.

i have not seen the Savagnin de Montbourgeau before. what does it rhyme with aesthetically? a manzanilla like La Cigarrera?

I first had it paired with the Turtle Soup at Next's Paris menu. At the time I remarked that I wanted to find a bottle to try in cocktails. I've been mixing it in places where dry vermouth is called for but doesn't stand out, as well as when both dry vermouth and sherry are called for, as thematically it strikes me as splitting the difference. I'm not familiar enough with sherry to provide much further context.

[tanstaafl2]

Not surprisingly last night was about Irish Whiskey. Did a little comparison between the newly arrived Green Spot and Powers John's Lane against Redbreast, the most readily available in the US (only?) single pot still whiskey that I am aware of.

I had grand plans to include the cask strength Redbreast and Irishman (which is not single pot still but rather a blend of single malt and pot still, roughly 60/40 I think. The regular Irishman is 70/30 but I believe the pot still percentage is higher in the cask strength version) but never quite got to those two.

Started with the Green Spot which has no age statement but is likely around 8-9 years old from what I have read and comes at 80 proof. While a delightful whiskey I personally did not note any characteristics that made it stand out from Redbreast. It had a nice mouth feel but not remarkably so and the touch of sweetness I associate with a good Irish whiskey. A couple of drops of water in a fresh 1 ounce pour did help it to open up a bit but i could not really identify the "green apple" taste noted on the packaging or the mint characteristics others have described.

This was followed by the Redbreast, a fine 12 year old whiskey I am already familiar with. Also bottled at 80 proof this had a bit more mouth feel and the delightful oiliness that I enjoy. I always find a couple of drops of water helps this to come alive as well. Nice vanilla and sppice in the long finish.

Finally the Powers John's Lane was last. Again a 12 year old whisky but this time bottled at 92 proof. Don't know if I expected the added proof to make a difference which influenced my expectations but this was the clear winner among the three. Almost wish I had bought tow of these instead of two of the Green Spot. Even bigger mouth feel and weight/oily quality to it with a subtle sweetness that was more noticeable than the other two. A bit of pleasant spiceness in the finish but still quite smooth to drink (as were all three). Again added a coulpe of drops to a fresh pour which helped to emphasize all those characteristics even more.

All three will deserve further exploration over time. I also will have to decide if the Barry Crockett Legacy is worth the siginficant extra expense to add to the current collection.

Decisions, decisions.

[TheStarvingArtist]

i think nocino differs only from nocello (or nocillo) in that nocello comes from sorrento. lemoncello, orangecell, nocello...

Actually, Nocino is the green walnut liqueur: herbal, bittersweet, occasionally spiced/citrused/etc. Nocello is a more proprietary liqueur that's akin to a walnut-version of Frangelico. Easily confused, but really not even sort-of interchangeable. I love both of 'em!

[bostonapothecary]

its time to put the Sap House Meadery on the map. great stuff.

1.5 oz. overproof overholt

1 oz. sap house meadery, hopped blueberry 14.6 ABV "off dry"

.25 oz. cynar

.25 oz. maraschino liqueur

what a great drink. this particular mead which is composed of blueberries, honey, and simcoe hops reminds me of a dry vermouth of strange tonality. it is labeled as off dry but seems to have a dryness and weight akin to the euro noilly prat dry vermouth.

lovely stuff. use where you'd use dry vermouth or even dry sherry and success seems guaranteed. their distributor is berkshire which also hosts the BBC brewery and berkshire mountain distillers.

[bostonapothecary]

i looked to the sanru, but as usual took liberties at every corner

1 oz. cascade mountain gin

1 oz. sap house meadery, hopped blueberry 14.6 ABV "off dry"

1 oz. punt y mes

2 dashes peychaud's bitters

like the sanru few people would enjoy this drink, but i certainly did. the uniquely raw juniper expression in the cascade mountain gin is the perfect foil for the extraordinary olfactory-sweet overtone lead by the blueberry tinged mead.

Edited August 14, 2012 by bostonapothecary (log)

[haresfur]

2 oz rye (Rittenhouse)

1 tsp 1:1 simple syrup

1/2 oz blood orange juice

4 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Rinse glass with absinthe (Obsello)

Build over ice

The blood orange season is brief here and I found some small ones at the local Sunday market (1/2 orange was 1/2 oz of juice). Looks lovely and is very satisfying. This was tweak #2 on the proportions and I think further research may be in order

[bostonapothecary]

lovely stuff. use where you'd use dry vermouth or even dry sherry and success seems guaranteed.

2 oz. cascade mountain gin

1 oz. sap house meadery, hopped blueberry 14.6 ABV "off dry"

dash peychaud's bitters

if only it were so simple. this drink did not work out very well. the mead lacks of the acidity of a dry vermouth or dry sherry so the result here comes across as flabby. in suspect that in the absence of a significant amount of sugar as alcohol content decreases acidity has to increase or the result will be flabby and unsatisfying..

tragic really, the aromas were wonderful, but if the structure isn't taut enough it all turns mushy...

[Czequershuus]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

So I have been trying to find a way to use Zwack in a cocktail after finding it in mini's at a local liquor store. No Unicum, sadly, which I would love to try to satisfy my bitter tooth, but the Zwack is still quite nice. This night I tried a Martinez variant as follows:

1 1/2 Oz Gin(Brokers)

3/4 Oz Sweet Vermouth(Carpano Antica)

3/4 Oz Zwack

1/4 Oz Maraschino

1 dash Orange Bitters

1 dash Angostura

I thought replacing half the sweet vermouth with the sweet, herbal liqueur might work out well. Certainly not a bad cocktail, but the Antica really dominated proceedings. I might try it again, or maybe move on to a manhattan variant.

[bostonapothecary]

this has really turned out to be the mythic mead of inspiration

.75 oz. sap house meadery, hopped blueberry 14.6 ABV "off dry"

.75 oz. dorado "superior high strength rum" 75.5 AB

.75 oz. lime juice

.25 oz. campari

4 g. non aromatic white sugar

dash peychaud's bitters

this started out with averaging the mead into some over proof rum to create a alcohol-aroma unit... then i doused it with acidity... then i hesitated. aromatic liqueur or non-aromatic sweetener? less is more and white sugar won the day. apparently the mead has an incredible density of aroma which acidity really unlocks.

this will be made again.

[Adam George]

I made myself a quick Aviation this afternoon.

It's this pink colour as I used Edgerton Pink Gin as I had a miniature from Taste of London Festival. No garnish as my lemons have all been peeled.

Edgerton is far from my favourite, but you get a lot of the pomegranate or whatever they say is in it.

8:2:2:1

Edited August 18, 2012 by Adam George (log)

[Vieux Carré]

I'm drinking a Brunswick, which I picked up from fredrick over at cocktail virgin slut (http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/search?q=brunswick). I've had it in my book for quite awhile but hadn't tried it until tonight. Wish I had. Quite tasty.

2/3 Cognac (1 1/2 oz Courvoisier VS)

1/3 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Pratt)

1 dash Bénédictine (1/4 oz)

1 dash Picon Bitters (1/4 oz Amer Picon)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added a lemon twist.

[ChrisTaylor]

Caught mention, here, of someone making a Manhattan w/ Averna instead of or with the vermouth. Googled around and stumbled on recipes for Black Manhattans. My attempt ...

- 30 mL Averna

- 60 mL Saz rye

- dash each Angostura (standard) and Regan's orange

- no cherry

It was okay. I think, rather, that the Averna dominates. And I like Averna, I mean. But I like rye, too. And I want to be able to taste it. Experimentation is in order. Half Averna and half vermouth? Possibly something with a stronger flavour profile on the whiskey front? Maybe a ratio of .75 to 2 instead of the more usual 1:2?

[Adam George]

Rittenhouse BIB and 15 ml each of Averna and Martini Rosso, perhaps?

[ChrisTaylor]

Maybe. I'm fresh out of Ritt, tho', and until I get through the Old Van, Turkey and Sazerac ryes I can't really bring myself to buy another bottle. Especially given the price of rye--well, other than Jim and Wild Turkey--in Australia. I also have a suspicion, probably unfounded, that the flavours of sweet vermouth and Averna mightn't play nice.

Edited August 19, 2012 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[Adam George]

I don't have a lot of experience with Averna, though will have play if my new place stocks it.

[mkayahara]

Martinez tonight, served with a side of "horrifying realization that I've been drastically under-bittering my drinks."

[bostonapothecary]

last night a long lost friend stopped in to the restaurant and gifted me a bottle of wine. "put it in cocktails". i had no idea what it was but you don't have to tell me twice.

the wine turned out to be the 2009 domaine cauhape "symphonie de novembre" from the jurancon region of france (imported by the always awesome Arborway). it is a sweet style of white made from the small mansang varietal. i've heard of a lot of stuff, but have never heard of this.

i really enjoyed the wine on its own. residual sugar but awesome acidity, all of which really emphasized some extraordinary aroma. for a cocktail i had just the right template to show it off with.

.75 oz. domaine cauhape "symphonie de novembre" 14% ABV

.75 oz. dorado "superior high strength rum" 75.5% ABV (notice how this and the above wine keep a nice average proof)

.75 oz. lime juice

.25 oz. campari

4 g. non aromatic white sugar

dash peychaud's bitters

the wine and lime combine to create a very focused and very beautiful olfactory overtone most commonly associated with wines like dry reisling. i think i may even find this expression more extraordinary than the mead variant i was making last week. so many geeky wine programs would like to serve this style of wine by the glass but unfortunately they are very difficult to make a market for. i've found that learning to wield the overproof rum is a useful way to generate interest in these wines, keep them in print, and keep them moving.

Edited August 24, 2012 by bostonapothecary (log)

[KD1191]

last night a long lost friend stopped in to the restaurant and gifted me a bottle of wine. "put it in cocktails". i had no idea what it was but you don't have to tell me twice.

the wine turned out to be the 2009 domaine cauhape "symphonie de novembre" from the jurancon region of france (imported by the always awesome Arborway). it is a sweet style of white made from the small mansang varietal. i've heard of a lot of stuff, but have never heard of this.

i really enjoyed the wine on its own. residual sugar but awesome acidity, all of which really emphasized some extraordinary aroma. for a cocktail i had just the right template to show it off with.

.75 oz. domaine cauhape "symphonie de novembre" 14% ABV

.75 oz. dorado "superior high strength rum" 75.5% ABV (notice how this and the above wine keep a nice average proof)

.75 oz. lime juice

.25 oz. campari

4 g. non aromatic white sugar

dash peychaud's bitters

the wine and lime combine to create a very focused and very beautiful olfactory overtone most commonly associated with wines like dry reisling. i think i may even find this expression more extraordinary than the mead variant i was making last week. so many geeky wine programs would like to serve this style of wine by the glass but unfortunately they are very difficult to make a market for. i've found that learning to wield the overproof rum is a useful way to generate interest in these wines, keep them in print, and keep them moving.

Very interesting. I also recently had my first experience with Jurançon (Uroulat, also 100% Petit Manseng). At The Fat Duck, a few weeks ago, it was paired with the 'breakfast for dessert' course (nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream, candied bacon, pain perdu). I enjoyed it enough to purchase a bottle when I saw it in a shop in Paris a few days later. That said, it wouldn't have occurred to me to mix with it. Now I'll be sorely tempted. It seems like it may be time for a 'Wine in Cocktails' thread...

[Yajna Patni]

I found an unwanted tree full of ripe peaches so I am making jam. I thought I would put a little boubon in, then got hit by inspiration. I am sipping a derby cocktail, and am making derby peach jam...Peaches wtih bourbon, lime and grand marnier, (which i have a big bottle of because it was on sale) Should I add some vermouth too? Maybe I will just go with some bitters.I hope it turns out.

[bostonapothecary]

It seems like it may be time for a 'Wine in Cocktails' thread...

i've had a lot of fun with the idea. you just need ways of averaging the proofs up to normal. too often wine buyers say "i love it, but i don't know if anyone would buy it" and the idea really provides a secondary market for under represented styles of wine.

another idea that i've used a lot with astounding success is our boutique a la minute sangria. a coworker just called on the phone to get the recipe.

2 oz. sparkling wine (prosecco or a sparkling rose)

2 oz. something inverse to the sparkling wine. the "symphonie de novembre" would be perfect with the huber sparkling rose we serve

.5 oz. lemon juice

.5 oz. honey "syrup" (we are using a 1:1 vodka fortified ames farm honey)

.5 oz. liqueur (typically we use the matilde poire which is one of the very few liqueurs we stock)

adorned with mint plumage, citrus peels (lemon, lime, orange), and raspberries

today i took a break from working in the foundry to drink this:

1.5 oz. india's pride rum (this strange and amazing bottling is described way up thread if anyone is curious enough) 42.8% ABV

.5 oz. domaine cauhape "symphonie de novembre" 14% ABV

.5 oz. cynar

.25 oz. algarvinha portugeuse almond liqueur

.25 oz. wray & newphews berry hill pimento dram

dash peychaud's bitters

this reads like a sprawling mess and is a divergence from the neat proportions that characterize my usual attempts at poetry. i thought of some of the pairs as chunks divided only to add depth and complexity so in my head everything was neat and tidy. i am in love with it but a friend (a bartender) did not enjoy it and found the almond unnerving. i used to be disturbed by stone pit aromas, but then i slowly learned to enjoy them. algarvinha is definitely the most extraordinary expression of the pit aroma i've ever come across and my modified clear version (proprietary technique!) is a real treat with its dramatic divergence of color and aroma. the strange rum in relations to everything else conjurs some sort of characteristic reminiscent of mature carignano del sulcis. a few years back i was in love with the 1999 vintage of sella e mosca's "terre rare" and then i drank or sold all the city had and it was gone. this was like getting a whiff of a long lost lovers perfume in a crowd.

[bostonapothecary]

cradle to the grave...

1 oz. eau-de-verjus*

1 oz. villa rosati grappa de moscato

1 oz. lime juice

8 g. non-aromatic white sugar

*eau-de-verjus is a brandy whose aroma is derived from the bonny doon "verjus de cigare". it was offered to me numerous months ago and being a patron of the arts i snatched a bottle up instantly and then unfortunately life happened and it languished on a shelf. according to the label, this verjus was harvested in september 2010 which is several weeks in advance of their normal harvest making them not fully ripe; grenache grapes from the Lieff Vineyard in San Luis Obispo. this brandy was treated like styles of eau-de-vie whose aroma source does not have enough fermentable sugar to bother with.

verjus from the very earliest harvest, before even the table wine harvest, forms the cradle and grappa naturally is the grave being from the pomace left over after table wine production. a smart ass would think vinegar would befit the grave, but they miss the terroir theme. up thread the "symphonie de novembre" expressed november, the verjus expresses early september, the grappa expresses something that is probably before november, but being linear and neat and tidy isn't really the point and nothing is even from the same country. our sense of time as linear is probably an illusion that is a byproduct of literacy; hyper-literacy. all in all this was lovely. a lot of moisture condensed on the glass, it must be very humid.

[Chris Amirault]

Inspired by the new issue of Imbibe, I made a Casino with Ransom, but felt that the maraschino component was insufficient. This made more sense in my mouth:

2 oz Ransom Old Tom gin

1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino

1/4 oz lemon juice

2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Stir; strain over rocks. I added a lemon twist, though Harry Craddock calls for a brandied cherry. Perhaps that cherry brings a bit of its liqueur, obviating the need for the added maraschino? Further research is needed, clearly....