Drinks! (2012, part 2)

[bostonapothecary]

How do you figure Chartreuse involves no infusion when it has color like that? Doesn't seem like the kind of product you'd find blue #4 in.

whatever colors it probably contributes negligibly to the aroma. it is colored with chlorophyll, but i bet it is concentrated somehow and not just a simple infusion of one of the botanicals.

[Curt Rowe]

I made a "Cherry Pop" today out of the PDT. My sister likes sweeter drinks so I promised I'd make it for her when she came to town and decided I better make one ahead of time. I was thinking it was going to be overly sweet, but it turned out to have a nice balance. It was one dimensional, however.

2 oz. Plymouth Gin

1 oz. lemon juice

.5 oz. simple syrup

.5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino

3 cherries [i used Luxardo canned cherries]

Muddle two cherries with the simple syrup. Add the rest of the indgredients and shake with ice. Serve over pebble ice with a cherry garnish. - Jane Danger 2009

[FrogPrincesse]

One of my favorite twists on the Manhattan: The Red Hook.

Rye, Punt e Mes, maraschino, brandied cherry.

[bostonapothecary]

"last laugh"

.75 oz. lime juice

.75 oz. cocchi aperitivo americano

.75 oz. special edition green chartreuse sweetened with jaggery sugar

.75 oz. seagram's gin

the jaggery sugar here is part of a beautiful overtone rather than being obvious. the drink is an awesome accompaniment to an Acid Mother's Temple album side before work.

(the special edition chartreuse can be re-colored green using chlorophyll die sold by health food stores)

Edited January 27, 2012 by bostonapothecary (log)

[haresfur]

Aperolitini

1 1/2 oz Beefeater gin

1/2 oz Aperol

Stir, strain, you know the drill

I liked this, my partner not so much. And yes, the name is supposed to jerk a few chains.

Might try it with Tanqueray. Or perhaps 6:1 instead of 3:1...

[thirtyoneknots]

Aperolitini

1 1/2 oz Beefeater gin

1/2 oz Aperol

Stir, strain, you know the drill

I liked this, my partner not so much. And yes, the name is supposed to jerk a few chains.

Might try it with Tanqueray. Or perhaps 6:1 instead of 3:1...

Oddly enough I bet that needs bitters of some kind. Aperol is kind of sweet, I'd guess that pairing it against gin alone is flattening it out a bit.

[haresfur]

Oddly enough I bet that needs bitters of some kind. Aperol is kind of sweet, I'd guess that pairing it against gin alone is flattening it out a bit.

Good idea. Any thoughts on what kind?

[thirtyoneknots]

Oddly enough I bet that needs bitters of some kind. Aperol is kind of sweet, I'd guess that pairing it against gin alone is flattening it out a bit.

Good idea. Any thoughts on what kind?

The usual suspects would be a good bet but it seems like the kind of thing that might be quite versatile as a bitters vehicle if you possessed some of the newer more novel flavors.

[FrogPrincesse]

You could add lemon juice and Angostura for the Intro to Aperol.

[bostonapothecary]

vesper template

.5 oz. cocchi aperitivo americano

1 oz. savory & james "brandy of cream sherry"

1.5 oz. caledonia spirits "barr hill" gin

a spectacular drink. i was not overly enthused with the savory & james brandy. it seemed like a good idea in theory but is kind of bland. the subtleness made it seem like a nice vodka stand in and it fit the drink quite well.

the new caledonia "barr hill" gin is spectacular. it was $18/375ml. "made with juniper and raw honey". the tonality of their juniper aroma is extraordinary and the intensity leaves nothing to be desired. the juniper is elegantly contrasted with the aroma of the honey. the honey supposedly is added just before bottling and probably makes up their legal limit of sweeteners. bravo to caledonia spirits.

[catscandal]

tried a Deadly Sin tonight which i had never heard of before reading the joy of mixology but i thought it was a very intelligent use of maraschino. although the given proportions were a pain in the something or other. what jigger has a 1/3oz measurement? i ended up using teaspoons =P

given how much i enjoyed this i MUST try a red hook, but i promised myself i wouldn't buy any more aromatized wine until i finish off the sweet vermouth i have. and then my heart will be absolutely shredded trying to decide between dubonnet, punt e mes, and vya sweet.

[thirtyoneknots]

...

what jigger has a 1/3oz measurement? i ended up using teaspoons =P

...

I generally assume that kind of measure means the recipe was either scaled to fit a different quantity than originally specified, or converted from metric measures. Though I have seen 1/3 oz on a jigger before, I think maybe the new OXO conical jigger?

edit: comma abuse.

Edited January 29, 2012 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[Tri2Cook]

...

what jigger has a 1/3oz measurement? i ended up using teaspoons =P

...

I generally assume that kind of measure means the recipe was either scaled to fit a different quantity than originally specified, or converted from metric measures. Though I have seen 1/3 oz on a jigger before, I think maybe the new OXO conical jigger?

Based on this conversation, I'm assuming it's a bit strange that I keep a set of measuring spoons with my other measuring devices in my home bar. "You can take the cook out of the kitchen but you can't take the kitchen out of the cook..."

[catscandal]

I generally assume that kind of measure means the recipe was either scaled to fit a different quantity than originally specified, or converted from metric measures. Though I have seen 1/3 oz on a jigger before, I think maybe the new OXO conical jigger?

you're probably right. the book did say it was an "adapted" recipe. it was probably written something like

1.5oz bourbon

.25oz sweet vermouth

1 barspoon maraschino

1 dash orange bitters

but regan likes a more hefty pour of whiskey in his drinks (his sazerac recipe calls for 3oz of rye ) so he scaled it up to 2oz despite the awkward results. metric seems unlikely since 10mL is an equally awkward amount.

my brief google is not revealing the original recipe, but i think we can assume.

and you are also correct about the oxo jigger. maybe i'll pick one up, i'm well sick of mine.

Based on this conversation, I'm assuming it's a bit strange that I keep a set of measuring spoons with my other measuring devices in my home bar. "You can take the cook out of the kitchen but you can't take the kitchen out of the cook..."

not strange at all! my teaspoon takes almost as much abuse as my vegetable peeler (which i may as well rename the lemon twist maker... it hasn't seen a carrot in months). but if i ever wrote down a drink recipe that required the use of two tsp of anything, i'd scale it up or down. bartenders are busy people, they shouldn't need to pour five times in a three-ingredient drink. it's a manhattan variation, not tiki.

[Tri2Cook]

It's not warm enough to really get into tiki mode yet but I decided to venture there for tonight with the Trader Vic's Nelson's Blood...

2 oz dark rum

1/4 oz brandy

1/4 oz falernum

1/4 oz lemon juice

1/4 oz blood orange juice

1/4 lemon

1/4 blood orange

2 oz ginger beer

Squeeze 1/4 lemon and 1/4 orange into shaker, reserve rind for garnish. Shake with ice: everything except ginger beer. Strain over ice and top with ginger beer. Garnish with reserved lemon and orange rinds and mint sprig.

I only have the ingredient list, not instructions, but that seemed like a logical approach. I've seen pictures so I know the garnish is correct.

Edited January 30, 2012 by Tri2Cook (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

I revisited the Manhattan now that I have better vermouth (Dolin) and actual, honest-to-God rye (Wild Turkey). It's still a bit 'meh' for me. I can see why some people would enjoy it a whole lot but to me it's no Sazerac or Old Fashioned. It's no Negroni (which, as someone pointed out when I started my cocktail journey, somehow--and very quickly--moves from 'jesus that's bitter, what the shit is that?' to being something you just want sometimes).

Tried a new one, too. A Bijou (gin, green chartreuse, sweet vermouth and orange bitters). It's okay. Not something I'd ever make my go-to order in a bar, but it's workable and cold.

[Tri2Cook]

It's no Negroni (which, as someone pointed out when I started my cocktail journey, somehow--and very quickly--moves from 'jesus that's bitter, what the shit is that?' to being something you just want sometimes).

The Negroni is evil. It's almost singlehandedly responsible for my cabinet going from "I'll get a bottle of Campari because it seems to come up in recipes somewhat frequently" to "what other Italian bitters can I get my hands on if I really try"...

[thirtyoneknots]

Based on this conversation, I'm assuming it's a bit strange that I keep a set of measuring spoons with my other measuring devices in my home bar. "You can take the cook out of the kitchen but you can't take the kitchen out of the cook..."

Not unusual at all for the home enthusiast, but it would be something of a hindrance for a working bartender to have to rely on that setup. Barspoons are another matter.

metric seems unlikely since 10mL is an equally awkward amount.

You would think so but it comes up with much regularity in metric recipes. Hard to say without seeing the original though.

[thirtyoneknots]

I revisited the Manhattan now that I have better vermouth (Dolin) and actual, honest-to-God rye (Wild Turkey). It's still a bit 'meh' for me. I can see why some people would enjoy it a whole lot but to me it's no Sazerac or Old Fashioned. It's no Negroni (which, as someone pointed out when I started my cocktail journey, somehow--and very quickly--moves from 'jesus that's bitter, what the shit is that?' to being something you just want sometimes).

Tried a new one, too. A Bijou (gin, green chartreuse, sweet vermouth and orange bitters). It's okay. Not something I'd ever make my go-to order in a bar, but it's workable and cold.

As much as I adore Dolin, their sweet is not a particularly good vermouth for Manhattans. Reserve final judgement til you can get Carpano or Cocchi sweet vermouth.

[bostonapothecary]

improved gin cocktail

2 oz. ransom old tom gin

4 g. non aromatic white sugar

barspoon absinthe aromatized with yerba mate instead of wormwood.

barspoon maraschino**

applied peel of lemon

**maraschino is essentially sweetened kirschwasser that also includes the aroma of a portion of the stones. the maraschino here is designed as a substitute for those in regions without access to commercial maraschino. hiram walker kirshwasser and a "standardized" aromatic concentrate of the stones are precisely diluted and sugared to the same proportions a book on separation science gives for maraschino liqueur in 1920 (many of the techniques of separation science were taught using liquor). the aroma is adjusted for intensity via raw empathy or a tasting panel.

this was delicious but not exactly a great recipe to show off the maraschino.

[bostonapothecary]

.75 oz. caledonia gin from vermont

.75 oz. green chartreuse restructured to be sweetened with jaggery

.75 oz. rendering of maraschino with the sugar/alcohol ratio of 1920

.75 oz. lime juice

unique tonality. delicious. this doesn't exactly blow the original away, but it did support a local distillery, prove a tradition could be practiced when the original experience might not be available, and add specific exotic aromatic tonality and symbolism on the cheap for those needing relief from complacency.

Edited January 30, 2012 by bostonapothecary (log)

[catscandal]

I feel like I'm the only person on earth who loves campari but doesn't drink negronis.

It's all about campari highballs in my book.

EDIT: as a followup to the measurement conversation, I did pick up an oxo conical jigger the other day and my life has been greatly improved already.

Edited January 31, 2012 by catscandal (log)

[Tri2Cook]

I feel like I'm the only person on earth who loves campari but doesn't drink negronis.

Actually I very rarely drink Negronis but it was the gateway drug that sparked my love of Italian bitters and fueled my search for drinks that make use of them.

[haresfur]

I feel like I'm the only person on earth who loves campari but doesn't drink negronis.

It's all about campari highballs in my book.

I tend to agree - an americano is equally satisfying and more refreshing for me. And I'm happy to drink Campari and soda. Although I haven't had a negroni in a long time so I suppose I should revisit them.

[ChrisTaylor]

Blackthorn: gin, sloe gin, Dubonnet, orange bitters.