Drinks! (2004–2007)

[Friend of the Farmer]

In some other thread I'd promised to report back on the stone pine cocktail I'm serving this season. Eje is right on the fragile nature of the Zirbenz, but I've experimented around (and cheated by asking bartenders using it) and find that a little goes a long way and still economic if not mixed with too many ingredients.

So what I'm serving is an offshoot of the recipe suggested by Gary Regan a few months back.

Alpine Christmas

2 oz Gin (Plymouth here)

1/2 oz Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur

1 twist lemon

1 candycane

(1 drop of peppermint extract optional)

[thirtyoneknots]

This evening it was an unusually cold 29F here in College Station, TX, so I made myself a fire in the fireplace and after 2 cups of Earl Grey I switched to something a little more warming and came up with the following (I prefer tiny cocktail glasses and make drinks accordingly, scale up for your preferred glass size)

Old Fashioned: (I gave Mr. Wondrich's recipe a spin, winner hands-down)

1/2 tsp simple syrup (4 dashes 2:1)

3 dashes Angostura

2.5 oz Weller 12 yr

bit of ice

lemon twist

That was delicious so I went for somethign similar in concept, the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail:

2 oz Dutch Gin (Boomsma is all I can find)

1 tsp Grand Marnier

1/2 tsp sugar syrup (4 dashes 2:1)

2-3 dashes Peychauds

Build over rocks in glass, garnish with twist (Many versions advocate stir/strain/up but for some reason the first time I made this it was built on ricks and I stayed with that)

Then I went for a Widow's Kiss:

1 oz Calvados (Christian Drouin)

1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse (apparently green was originally meant, its on my to try list)

1/2 oz Benedictine

2 dashes Angostura (perhaps more than normally called for but I have a bitters fetish so whatever)

stir/strain/up garnish with a twist (and/or cherry if you prefer)

wonderful and rich (and a bit on the sweet side), very nice to have by the fire, as per Dr. Cocktail's suggestion. This drink also warms exceptionally well.

All in all a wonderful set of cocktails. After that I was rather hungry, not having eaten supper, so I made myself an egg and cheese sandwich. Perhaps a bit odd after all these lovely premium cocktails, but I enjoyed it immensely ;-)

-Andy

[birder53]

Tonight we tried a Kentucky Colonel .

2 oz Maker's Mark

1 oz benedictine

Shake with ice, strain into an iced rocks glass.

This was very nice. It went down real easy.

[gethin]

Tonight I had a " Terrible Mistake"

Noilly Prat

Orange bitters

Velvet Falernum

That will teach me to try to make a drink without bothering to switch the kitchen light on ! I thought I had a bottle of Berry Bros own label gin in my hand - not the Taylors Falernum it turned out to be.

I'll try not to make this one again.

Gethin

[johnder]

Tonight, a variation on the High Hat.

1.5 Rye

.5 Lemon

.5 Cherry Heering

2 dashes angostura

Shake, up, cherry garnish.

Very refreshing.

I also tried this with Kirschwasser instead of the heering. Way too tart.

[Ktepi]

I had a Sputnik earlier -- I don't know if the proportions are exactly the same, but I think it's fair to call it a Lemon Drop with the addition of Fernet Branca -- and am now having a Monkey Gland, which is even better than I thought it would be.

[Alchemist]

I have just had “one of those days”. You know what I mean, where it seems that the universe is hostility indifferent, and the City is malevolent. It is as cold as the depths of a Milk and Honey freezer, the MTA is as hostile as a drunk frat boy, and there has been an APB out to all retail staff to treat you as shabbily as possible. The list in my pocket, as long as the walk from St. John of the Devine to the Isle of Staten, was impervious to crossing out as I am to offers for a free Cosmo.

So the violet hour crept upon me like a lynx on a bunny. I huddled into my collar, breath like cumulous clouds, trudging down Hipster Highway only to see a little black sign proclaiming salvation. Guinness…the very name warms the cockles of my soul.

I step into a cozy little pub, bottles of scotch hold court, and beer taps, top-heavy jesters jumping for attention. Laughter melts into the tin ceiling, while secrets and bitterness sink through the worn floor. I am home, at church, in my lover’s arms, and there is a dancing fire in the corner.

I take a stool, not knowing that bad metaphors, similes and analogies await me at my laptop when I get home to write about this. I order a Pint of Black and delve into the Times. There must have been a hole in the bottom of that glass; it was empty before I could shake the chill from my fingertips. Another Mother’s Milk was ordered. The leader of the free world looked like a monkey. Then I saw a bottle that made the Holy Grail look like cheap tin chalice made in summer camp by a six year old.

Ok, that is slightly hyperbolic, (very possibly the wrong word) but they had a rye that is old enough to drive and be drafted into the Army.

“A wee dram of that with an odd number of ice cubes, and if you could hand me the bottle of REGANS ORANGE BITTERS #6, well, my day will go from Syisiphus and his rock to Hercules at the Aegean stables.” Damn I wish I said that.

Molten whiskey, knee deep to a hampster is served to me in a lovely global glass. A bottle of exotic, wicked, bitters thunked just to my right. One dash in the glass, the rye seemed full of promise, like a cheerleader on prom, night, two dashes (the ice melting, taming the bronco cooped up the bottle) and I was so confused I had to step outside for a cigarette. I ordered another beer (one that was like making love on a beach, so as not get in the way of my Cocktail) and got rid of the Guinness. The third dash of bitters… I am sitting in Calcutta on a street corner, a banana leaf as my glass, Rye is my Mutton, and the bitters are the masala. The glass has dreamy, cool legs, long enough to be a Rockette. I ask The Barkeep to hit me with a lemon twist. The essential oils scurry across the top of the drink, then settle, like the oil stains in a 'doublewide" drive way. The brightness of the lemon grapples with the other flavors, but instead of a scrum it becomes an ménage a trios.

Since it seemed like a good idea at the time I order another of the same. But this time I have the Barkeep rinse the glass with Grand Ma. The burnt Carmel, orange and luciousness of the brandy waft like a San Francisco fog (oops another bad simile) into my probiscious.

So, Start with A great Rye then,

Add bitters, then some sort of twist, Orange, flamed orange, lemon, um, not sure what else. And then a whisper of a sweetener, Benedictine, Chartreuse, Grand Ma, Cointreau, Apple Pucker, (Just kidding) and enjoy. Compliment this with a beer of modest, unassuming quality.

I guess this is just an old fashioned built in stages. Fun nonetheless

[KatieLoeb]

Alchemist, you are my hero and a poet.

[thirtyoneknots]

I can't match any of those descriptions above, but last night I had my first experience with hot buttered rum, which I may write about later (perhaps for MxMo) but at any rate it (and my laziness) inspired me to put about a jigger of pimento dram (homemade) in a cup and top with hot water.

Yum.

[hjshorter]

A very spicy Dark & Stormy. Mmmmmm.

[thirtyoneknots]

My mother, currently in her 29th year of teaching 11th grade history, was recently named Teacher of the Year for her school. I decided to commemorate this event with a new cocktail, to serve her when my parents come in to visit this weekend. This is my best effort so far, and I think it's pretty good, but please feel free to add criticisms and advice.

Teacher of the Year

1 oz Rye, for American History (101 proof for authority)

3/4 oz Lillet, for class (as a double entendre)

1/4 oz Fino Sherry, for both dryness and nuttiness (she's both)

2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters, for the inevitable result of decades of incompetent administrators

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass that has been rinsed with absinthe (pastis), for inspiration. Garnish with a stern look and a twist of lemon.

Let me know what you think!

-Andy

[Nishla]

Andy, that's really cool...congrats to your mom!

Thanks to Donbert, we are now in posession of Laird's Bonded (and the Brizzard Apry)

I made a Jack Rose the other night, and tonight we had it in an AJ cocktail:

1.5 oz applejack

1.5 oz grapefruit juice

0.5 oz grenadine

The bonded applejack makes a HUGE difference.

I tried the Apry in an English Rose:

1 oz gin (plymouth)

.5 oz Apry

.5 oz dry vermouth

.25 oz grenadine

.25 oz lemon juice

This wasn't bad, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of Apry with gin. I feel like it needs something more assertive.

[Ktepi]

Last night I had a Cabaret Cocktail Variation, which was terrific, something I'll make a lot of in the future.

Tonight, with half of the 1/2 oz of Garnier Creme de Violette I picked up on Ebay, a "half serving" of a Blue Moon. I was nonplussed when I tried a tiny sip of the Creme de Violette by itself -- I didn't pick up anything but sweetness. But with the gin and the lemon juice, this is really something. I don't know if violets would be the first thing to come to mind if I didn't know what I was drinking, but this bottle is old and half of it had evaporated away.

The drink has this deep floral, but non-cloying, nose that makes me want to just sit here smelling it, to be honest. I feel a little silly. But I feel the same way about Sazeracs.

[Nishla]

duplicate

Edited December 14, 2006 by Nishla (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

Ok I had a couple of hours to think about this and came back with a little different approach. I was trying to achieve something a lot more mellow that I was originally getting, but I think I've hit it now, so here's the semifinal version. I guess now it only needs Mom's approval ;-)

Teacher of the Year:

1 oz Rye (101 proof)

3/4 oz Fino Sherry

1/4 oz Benedictine

2-3 dashes Peychauds

Stir and strain into chilled glass rinsed with absinthe or pastis, garnish with twist.

It now looks a lot like a variation on a Cocktail de la Louisiane, but the drier preportions and sherry make it distinct.

-Andy

Edit: Let's use correct capitalization and punctuation while honoring teachers, shall we?

Edited December 14, 2006 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Andy:

That's brilliant! Your mom should be very proud. Both of herself and of her son's bartending skills...

Fino sherry is a fine substitute for dry vermouth in many applications, with a more pronounced and savory flavor. I'm surprised there aren't more drinks that take advantage of that.

[thirtyoneknots]

Thanks so much We're certainly all proud of her, it's long overdue (and in her characteristic modesty, she didn't think she'd get it til the day it was announced).

In re Sherry, I recently bought some Fino Sherry to try a Chaplin cocktail after finding a 50% off bottle of Ramazotti in a backwoods liquor store in Somerville, Texas, of all places (stopped in on a whim). I've been experimenting with it since then and it's quite interesting, almost like French Vermouth without the herbals. I'm not sure I quite love that stuff, there's something reminiscent of the funk that I don't enjoy in tequila/cachaca/maraschino happening in there, but I do like it, far more than any of those other items. The brand I got was Savory & James, about $13 and the only Fino I could find. Plus it has a cork stopper of the kind that I am for some reason a sucker for :-P

As far as the Chaplin goes, pretty good drink, it almost tastes like a liquor of its own, not a mixture of other things. I think it would work better with a more powerful bourbon like Wild Turkey, vs the Weller 12 yr I used.

-Andy

[Bricktop]

Tonight, a Martinez Cocktail Variation from cocktaildb

1.25 oz Gin (Tanquerey Ten, from a miniature I got for $0.99)

1 oz Dry Vermouth (Vya)

0.25 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)

Dash Fee's Orange Bitters.

Stir over ice and strain, garnished with a homemade maraschino cherry.

Wowie zowie, this is a beaut!. I love the texture that the Luxardo brings to the party.

I'm also thinking that a shift to more vermouth in my rarely drunk martinis may move

that cocktail to a more prominent spot in the rotation. I've never been below 4:1

but a premium dry vermouth like the Vya tips the balance closer (but not all the way yet)

to equilibrium.

[johnder]

Tonight -- the daddy of all sazeracs with...

...

...

It was amazing. So smooth, even at 135 proof. I am spoiled now. Although at $110 a bottle I will have to restrain myself.

[eje]

Tonight -- the daddy of all sazeracs with...

...

...

It was amazing.  So smooth, even at 135 proof.  I am spoiled now.  Although at $110 a bottle I will have to restrain myself.

←

Wow! Love the label.

Ouch on the price, though.

Where does the Rye come from?

[ThinkingBartender]

Tonight -- the daddy of all sazeracs with...

...

...

It was amazing.  So smooth, even at 135 proof.  I am spoiled now.  Although at $110 a bottle I will have to restrain myself.

←

Wow! Love the label.

Ouch on the price, though.

Where does the Rye come from?

←

Lenell's - Wine, Bourbon, Bitters and Cocktails.

[eje]

Lenell's - Wine, Bourbon, Bitters and Cocktails.

←

I was actually wondering where the rye inside the bottle came from.

[johnder]

Lenell's - Wine, Bourbon, Bitters and Cocktails.

←

I was actually wondering where the rye inside the bottle came from.

←

According to the little info sheet they give out, it is from KBD (Kentucky Bourbon Distillers) in Bardstown, warehouse "G"

[Bricktop]

A kind of Red Hook tonight, in that I unthinkingly grabbed the Vya rather than the Punt e Mes when compiling it.  2:0.5:0.5 of Jim Beam Rye, Vya Sweet Vermouth and Luxardo Maraschino.

Very yummy drink.  Elsewhere (Cocktail Chronicles) I read that some had throttled back on the maraschino from 1/2 oz, and I concur.

Not remembering my own thoughts on the amount of maraschino (shocking, eh?), I revisited this drink tonight, but this time I used Sazerac 18 YO, and added 4 (yes FOUR) good dashes of Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters. The bitters thread had a post advocating a heavier hand with bitters, so I did.

If this isn't the best frigging cocktail I have had to date, I can't think of one better. The Luxardo's viscosity gives a fabulous mouthfeel, and the bitters help balance off the inherent sweetness of maraschino. I'm really proud of this one!

Cocktail Nirvana is within sight.

Tonight, YARHV (Yet Another Red Hook Variation)

2 oz Sazerac (regular, nor 18 YO)

1 oz Carpano Antica

0.5 oz Luxardo Maraschino.

4 dashes Forest Floor bitters.

To quote the Beatles, "It's Getting Better All The Time".

Next and possibly last change will be to the 18 YO Sazerac.

That will be my Christmas Day drink.

[tkd7]

I had a bijou cocktail tonight

Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain

1 1/2 oz gin (4.5 cl, 3/8 gills)

1/2 oz green Chartreuse (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills)

1/2 oz sweet vermouth (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills)

1 dash orange bitters

Add cherry

I think I'm in love. Chartreuse is my new muse.