Drinks! (2012, part 2)

[bostonapothecary]

final volume 4.5 oz.

carbonated to 8g/l sparkle! sparkle!

1 oz. hop aromatized gin

.5 oz. aperol

.75 oz. lime juice (from a very yellow lime)

shaken, double strained, then watered up to the final volume before hitting the carbonator.

i think i'm really getting the hang of this. really wild forms of grapefruit are conjured from the colliding planes of aroma, bitterness, acidity, and carbonation. eventually i'd like to scale these up to magnums for a new perverted form of batching. i'm currently using 29mm bottle caps but i need to find some true champagne corks so i can bounce them off the ceiling when i pop the bottles. i thought empty magnums would be hard to get but i asked my reps if they had any store display magnums and they told me there was an unlimited supply.

my boss insists that when we do buyouts every guest has a glass of sparkling something in their hands immediately. we've evolved to just doing gin-french 75s but i think the next one is going to be a total orgy of sparkling magnum bottle nonsense. i may even make a bunch of hibiscus sodas for the pregnant chicks and non drinkers.

[bostonapothecary]

carbonated beyond 9 g/l with the manifold.

1 oz. lime juice

1 oz. madeira ponche (passion fruit based bottled punch from the island of madeira)

1 oz. ypioca cachaca

shaken, double strained and diluted further to a final volume of 4.5 oz.

this drink was an exercise in decanting the gassed up liquid into a smaller bottle and capping it. i hoped to over carbonate the liquid and try and figure out how much i lost in transfer which was simple decanting. the end vessel was a frozen 100ml sanbitter bottle. the 4.5 oz of liquid took on 1.5 grams of CO2 but 0.3 grams were lost in transfer so i ended up with only 1.2 grams. when you extrapolate i think that is 9.33 g/l which is plenty sparkling.

i like this drink template. the ponche is a liqueur whose sweetness is well contrasted by its own acidity. it makes for quite the tart base which complements the bubbles well. the umami aromas of the rhum help keep the drink away from congealed connotations of sprite brand citrus sodas.

all this need for extra acidity is making me think acid phosphate might be relevant.

Edited December 16, 2012 by bostonapothecary (log)

[bostonapothecary]

final carbonation just under 7g/l

faux cola

1.5 oz. m&r dry vermouth

1 oz. india's pride rum (a very heavy rum)

.5 oz. coffee liqueur from the island of madeira

.5 grams acid phosphate (i weighed it so the measure would be easier to repeat and augment)

double strained and diluted to 4.5 oz.

this attempt at a faux was fun. it was inspired by the a great cuban cocktail, the alta cucina, (whose name i ripped off for another drink) that paired aged rum, dry vermouth and coffee liqueur in a ratio that was quite dry and sophisticated. it was further inspired by a faux cola based on a spiced chocolate syrup and soda water that they were doing at erbaluce many years ago. it was the only soda they offered and a lot of fun. it certainly foamed a lot while pouring into the flute and according to the scale i must have lost 40% of the dissolved gas. i think in the future i'll either add more acid phosphate or a quotient of lime juice in place of some dry vermouth.

[bostonapothecary]

i aspired to make something in the spirit of a cherry phosphate.

carbonated to well over 8g/l!

1.5 oz. randall grahm's "pacific rim" framboise (from a very tired bottle)

.5 oz. hercules rendering

.5 oz. cascade mountain gin

.5 oz. acid phosphate

shaken double strained and diluted to 4.5 oz.

this is really lovely. the framboise was very tired due to sitting around for a year and being mostly empty, but wow does its aroma greet you frontally upon sipping. nothing can keep those resilient fruity esters down! the hole drink is pacific in theme. i thought a restrained amount of menthe-mate-juniper aromas might add fun contrast to the extraordinary fruit expression of randall's heirloom raspberries. the framboise has enough acidity to be self contrasting and the acid phosphate add enough to contrast the aromatized wine, though i think it might be even more fun re-rendered as a framboise/lime-rickey.

the champagne bottle manifold/carbonator allowed me to easily blow past the 7g/l barrier. i over shot it by quite a bit then ended up in the 8's in the glass due to some minor foaming.

[KD1191]

A couple excellent drinks this weekend on a very brief trip to San Diego...

First, the Gypsy Gentleman from Eric Johnson at Noble Experiment... It's Buffalo Trace, Lime, Grenadine & Fernet Branca. I wouldn't have thought you could end up with anything close to deliciousness by swapping the apple notes of a Jack Rose for bitter mintyness, but I'd have been wrong. A wonderful spot, I'm sad that I couldn't stay longer, but we were only in town for about 24 hours. Eric was a great host and I'm not just saying that because he also makes a terrific rendition of my favorite Sam Ross drink, the Paper Plane. I'd love to go back on not-a-Saturday, because the crowd was a bit too...trendy.

Second, The Mule at Grant Grill... Far from your ordinary Moscow variety, they take a mixture of Vodka, Ginger, Muscat & Cascade hops, and bottle condition it (or, as they say, age it 'sur lie') with Champagne yeast. This was by far the most interesting vodka cocktail I've had in years. The ginger was thankfully muted, but it still added a compelling tang that encouraged a second sip. Like most, I've taken my shots at vodka, but here it certainly helped accentuate the flavors of the wine and hops, and they played wonderfully with the luxurious mouth-feel and bready undertones that were provided by the yeast. My only complaint would be that the bartender here was clearly in the weeds and failed to chill the drinks adequately.

[FrogPrincesse]

A couple excellent drinks this weekend on a very brief trip to San Diego...

First, the Gypsy Gentleman from Eric Johnson at Noble Experiment... It's Buffalo Trace, Lime, Grenadine & Fernet Branca. I wouldn't have thought you could end up with anything close to deliciousness by swapping the apple notes of a Jack Rose for bitter mintyness, but I'd have been wrong. A wonderful spot, I'm sad that I couldn't stay longer, but we were only in town for about 24 hours. Eric was a great host and I'm not just saying that because he also makes a terrific rendition of my favorite Sam Ross drink, the Paper Plane. I'd love to go back on not-a-Saturday, because the crowd was a bit too...trendy.

I am glad to read that you enjoyed Noble Experiment, my favorite cocktail spot. I agree that it's best to avoid Fridays and Saturdays if you can. If you can't you just have to do your best to ignore all the "trendiness" around you - but the bartenders are always very happy/relieved to chat with true cocktail connoisseurs.

[KD1191]

A couple excellent drinks this weekend on a very brief trip to San Diego...

First, the Gypsy Gentleman from Eric Johnson at Noble Experiment... It's Buffalo Trace, Lime, Grenadine & Fernet Branca. I wouldn't have thought you could end up with anything close to deliciousness by swapping the apple notes of a Jack Rose for bitter mintyness, but I'd have been wrong. A wonderful spot, I'm sad that I couldn't stay longer, but we were only in town for about 24 hours. Eric was a great host and I'm not just saying that because he also makes a terrific rendition of my favorite Sam Ross drink, the Paper Plane. I'd love to go back on not-a-Saturday, because the crowd was a bit too...trendy.

I am glad to read that you enjoyed Noble Experiment, my favorite cocktail spot. I agree that it's best to avoid Fridays and Saturdays if you can. If you can't you just have to do your best to ignore all the "trendiness" around you - but the bartenders are always very happy/relieved to chat with true cocktail connoisseurs.

Well, I preach the same gospel when it comes to my favorite Chicago spots, so I did have an idea of what I was getting into. We certainly had a great time chatting with the bartenders, particularly about Chicago's evolving beer scene, once we got out of the line and up to the bar. That said, waiting in line with folks who are already drunkenly making out at 7 pm and then getting stuck next to a group of scenesters trying to order "Jameson & Ginger" can kill the mood of an otherwise fantastic place.

[emmalish]

Right now I'm enjoying a Mediterranean Manhattan from the Woodford site (no direct link, sorry).

2 oz. Bourbon

1 oz. Tuaca

1/4 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. simple syrup (I subbed honey syrup)

Very nice. I'll definitely be making this one again.

[EvergreenDan]

Mediterranean Manhattan from the Woodford site (no direct link, sorry).

2 oz. Bourbon

1 oz. Tuaca

1/4 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. simple syrup

How they can call this a Manhattan, I do not understand. It has no rye, no vermouth (sweet or otherwise), no bitters, and no cherry garnish. Might as well call it a Mediterranean Boilermaker.

[emmalish]

How they can call this a Manhattan, I do not understand. It has no rye, no vermouth (sweet or otherwise), no bitters, and no cherry garnish. Might as well call it a Mediterranean Boilermaker.

I know right? Which is why I didn't bother posting this in the Manhattans thread. I'd be inclined to call it a variation on a sour. But whatever it is, it's tasty.

Edited December 19, 2012 by emmalish (log)

[bostonapothecary]

Tiger Lilly by Brynn Tattan of Back Bar

aged 20 something days and carbonated to 7 g/l of dissolved CO2

1 oz. blanco tequila

1 oz. st. germain

.75 oz. aperol

.5 oz. lime juice

.5 oz. grape fruit juice

1 oz. water

i'm pretty sure all the measurements are correct but i wasn't the author of the drink. this was bottle nearly a month ago for a science of taste event at the hotel commonwealth. this fun cocktail was sort of a bonus at the end of the event where we primarily examined classics. to be honest i wasn't thrilled with it at the time and i think its creator was sort of on the fence about the ratios but we were out of time to adjust anything. i ended up with quite a few extra bottles in my fridge and figured my room mates would drink them. well they did slowly and raved about it but i never joined them. i drank the very last bottle and wow is it fantastic. some sort of elegant bitterness beyond that of the aperol has developed adding more contrast to what i saw as too sweet for my acquired tastes. the aromas also integrated where originally it was easy to parse the elderflower aroma of the st. germain but now there is just some sort of extraordinary shade of grapefruit.

it is awesome to know that some of these drinks can age so gracefully. being able to keep carbonated cocktails around more than a day will really help the logistics of serving them. now i need to figure out the rules of thumb for aging citrus in a harmonic context.

[Tri2Cook]

Tried the Tabonga & Jerry tonight. A tiki-twist on the Tom & Jerry. Tom & Jerry batter, Cruzan Black Strap rum, brandy, lime juice and falernum topped with hot water and garnished with grated nutmeg and a cinnamon stick. I enjoyed it. Not as rich as the original but tasty on a cold night.

[bostonapothecary]

"making monsters for my friends"

carbonated to 8g/l of dissolved gas with the chamapgne bottle manifold carbonator

1.5 oz. averell damson gin

.5 oz. lime juice

.5 oz herbsaint

.5 oz. campari

shake, double strain then adjust dilution to final volume of 4.5 oz. before carbonating

twist of lime peel to add highly attentional top notes.

this beat the odds and then some. delicious. i was so pleased with the template i established with the bonny doon framboise that i thought i'd try to repeat it with another high acid, practically self contrasted liqueur. i remembered the wisdom of basque patxarian where they combined sloe gin and anise with great success and thought maybe that maybe it could be repeated. in a very sneaky move i thought i could alliterate and amplify herbsaint's wormwood aroma by adding campari which worked well though its admittedly subtle. before the lime peel top note is applied, the plebian and ordinary anise aroma that unfortunately is herbsaint is the most attentional feature. after the top note is applied, the anise aroma for the most part is thankfully overshadowed. the gratuitous amount of bubbles provides further distraction from the monster.

this will be made again and again and again.

[ChrisTaylor]

Sampling the two new additions to my booze collection

Mojito using PDT ratios w/ Banks 5 Island Rum. Very good. Keen to try this rum in other applications. Maybe a Daiquiri later, even.

Arrack Attack. A delicious monster.

[KatieLoeb]

Made up a drink on the fly at a photo shoot recently. Just retested the proportions. Not bad and fairly simple.

Paramour

1.5 oz. Penn 1681 vodka (photo shoot was for my friends at Philadelphia Distilling)

1 oz. Lillet Blanc

.5 oz. Aperol

Stir, strain into a coupe. Garnish with an expressed orange zest and brandied cherries.

The photo shoot was for an upcoming ad campaign with the PA Liquor Control Board. Hoping the photos and pretty glassware I brought along as well as styling help makes them look good. Will post a picture if I can scan one in after the ads start to get press...

[bostonapothecary]

carbonated to 8.5g/l of dissolved CO2 with the champagne bottle manifold.

1.5 oz. tamarind ponche from santo antao
.5 oz. 1995 guyana rum finished in chateau y'quem casks
.5 oz. cynar
.5 oz. lime juice
shaken, doubled strained then further diluted to a final volume of 4.5 oz. before getting gassed.

my brother described this as grapefruity but it is so tawny the descriptor is a bit of a stretch. the aroma is a focused beam light a light saber. there is probably too much aroma, but i really do adore all the gustatory proportions relative to the carbonation. i suspect a change in rum to something unaged and agricole might make it more elegant. maybe also a change to lemon juice. as it is, its one of those cocktails that comes across as a double I.P.A. i feel as though it does further validate the pattern where a liqueur that is well contrasted with its own acidity makes a gorgeous sparkling cocktail base.

i'm trying to think of what high acid liqueurs are left to run through the pattern. maybe just madeira, though i haven't tried many fruit liqueurs from the new american producers.

[Moderator note: This topic continues in Drinks! (2013 Part 1)]