Drinks! (2004–2007)

[little ms foodie]

TallDrinkOfWater mixed up a few Falling Leaves tonight

[johnder]

I have been on a milk punch kick recently. Tonight I had one with 2oz Turkey 101 and 1 oz Goslings along with some half and half, simple and a few drops of vanilla extract.

Very tasty in front of a warm fire.

[Ktepi]

In a glass rinsed with a few drops of green Chartreuse (like the absinthe in a Sazerac):

A couple dashes of Regan's orange bitters

Rich simple syrup infused with vanilla bean

1 1/2 oz Laird's applejack (not the bonded, because I can't find it)

[Nathan]

I developed this the other week -- a riff on the White Lady:

"Woman in White" TM

1.75 parts gin

.75 part cointreau

.5 part lime juice

.5 part Parfait Amour or Creme De Violette

1 egg white

2 dashes orange bitters

shake twice as long of course.

despite the presence of the Amour or Violette, this will appear white under anything besides very bright light.

[birder53]

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.

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Wow! Love the label.

Ouch on the price, though.

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Big sign in LeNell's window on Christmas Eve proclaiming that their stash of Red Hook Rye was sold out!

[thirtyoneknots]

Today I had reason to celebrate: as of this afternoon I am the newest (and second) bartender at Veritas Wine and Bistro, scheduled to open within two weeks!

Soooooo...a Manhattan, of course. But no ordinary Manhattan: I recently acquired some Vya. I have to save the Baby Saz for when my roommate gets back (since he did buy it), but 2 parts of Wild Turkey 101 and one part Vya, 2 dashes Angostura, stirred, strained into my favorite cocktail glass and garnished with a heavy twist of lemon.

Woooo.

I must say that Vya has all but redefined every drink I have tried it in, esp ones with a strong vermouth flavor (biggest winner so far is the Americano made with it).

-Andy

[eje]

Today I had reason to celebrate: as of this afternoon I am the newest (and second) bartender at Veritas Wine and Bistro, scheduled to open within two weeks!

[...]

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Congrats Andy!

Sounds like a good Manhattan, too!

Cheers!

[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.

Well, now I've gone and done it. I cut back the Carpano Antica to 0.5 oz, and went back to the Fee's bitters, and used the 18 YO Sazerac. My new benchmark for what a (cold weather) cocktail should be. Perfection in a glass.

[Bricktop]

Nice gig, Andy. Congrats!

I love the Vya too, and it is a bit (but no much) more available than my new heathrob, Carpano Antica. Both are guarded jealously.

Edited December 29, 2006 by Bricktop (log)

[eje]

Couple drinks last night from Holliger and Schwartz' "Art of the Bar" before heading out for the evening.

First tried a couple versions of the Bob-Tailed Nag. In the book it is, 2 oz Michter's Single Barrel Rye, 1/2 ounce Cocchi Barolo Chinato*, 3 dashes of mint bitters, and lemon twist for garnish. Liked the Barolo Chinato; but, didn't really care for the mint bitters. Much preferred a variation: 2 oz Sazerac 6yr, 3/4 oz Barolo Chinato, dashes of The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters, lemon twist. The funky flavors of the Barolo Chinato and Sazerac 6 marry quite nicely.

Friend came over and wanted to try an Absinthe cocktail, so obliged by making him Le Demon Vert, also from "The Art of the Bar". 1 1/2 oz gin (Citadelle), 1/2 oz Absente (Verte de Fougerolles), 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum, 1/2 oz lime juice. Supposed to garnish with a black licorice stick. Tasty cocktail. Sort of an Absinthe based variation on The Last Word.

*Barolo Chinato is a red wine (Barolo!) based digestiv flavored with Quinine and other herbs and spices. Similar to; but, definitely more of a bitter, spicy kick than sweet vermouth. Makes fine drinking all on its own.

edit - add note about Barolo Chinato and picture of Bob-Tailed Nag

Edited January 2, 2007 by eje (log)

[Ktepi]

Last night:

A few shots, per glass, of roasted lemonade "concentrate"

A shot of Bulleit bourbon

A dash of Angostura bitters

Fill the glass with prosecco

Sort of a cross between a lemon Bellini and a whiskey sour. The "concentrate" was just undiluted roasted lemonade (halved lemons roasted in the oven with water and sugar; pulp and two of the halves pureed and strained, with a little more sugar and fresh lemon juice), which has a body like pulpy white grapefruit juice.

Easy to drink a lot of those.

[johnder]

A friend from London came to visit for the holiday and gave me some bottles that I can't find here in the US. One of the bottles was Bokma genever. I decided to make an improved holland cocktail with it.

2 genever gin

1 teaspoon maraschino

1 teaspoon simple

2 dashes peychaud

lemon twist

stir, up.

I also got a bottle of Plymouth navy strenght and a bottle of Monin violet liqueur.

[Bricktop]

John, I need friends like that.

[eje]

A friend from London came to visit for the holiday and gave me some bottles that I can't find here in the US.  One of the bottles was Bokma genever.  I decided to make an improved holland cocktail with it.

[...]

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Cool!

Jonge or Oude Genever?

How does it compare to the Boomsma?

[johnder]

A friend from London came to visit for the holiday and gave me some bottles that I can't find here in the US.  One of the bottles was Bokma genever.  I decided to make an improved holland cocktail with it.

[...]

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Cool!

Jonge or Oude Genever?

How does it compare to the Boomsma?

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It is the Jonge. I don't have a bottle of Boomsma on had to do the side by side comparison, but it was very smooth. I actually picked up a hint of pine in it.

I have a picture in flickr of the bottle here.

[Bricktop]

Tonight, a Negroni. 1:1:1 Junipero Gin:Vya Sweet Vermouth:Campari.

A lovely drink. Added to the rotation.

[thirtyoneknots]

Rye can be hard to come by around here and the Sazerac 6 yr was recently added to the cabinet here in Apt 401 (previously the go-to was Wild Turkey). Tonight the inaugural drink was made with it, Sazerac (natch). The drink was delightful in every sense of the word, but gosh the stuff is so...mellow. I'm so used to the Wild Turkey, which is so much more robust in comparison, almost made me wonder...what is a Sazerac supposed to taste like. While the drink was wonderful I'm not 100% sure I'm sold on it for Sazeracs, though of course in the interest of science it will be test-driven in all our favorite Rye cocktails: Manhattans, Old-Fashioneds, Vieux Carres, de la Luoisianes, etc. I do like the stuff a LOT but my initial impression is that it may work much better in something like a Manhattan. Now one caveat: I typically make my Sazeracs a little different depending on wether it's going to be an aperitif (rarely) or a digestif (often), doubling the simple syrup to a full tsp in the latter case. The Sazerac Rye was so soft (for a rye) that I wondered if less sugar would have been more appropriate.

-Andy

[eje]

Rye can be hard to come by around here and the Sazerac 6 yr was recently added to the cabinet here in Apt 401 (previously the go-to was Wild Turkey). Tonight the inaugural drink was made with it, Sazerac (natch). The drink was delightful in every sense of the word, but gosh the stuff is so...mellow.[...]The Sazerac Rye was so soft (for a rye) that I wondered if less sugar would have been more appropriate.

-Andy

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Interesting.

I have a bottle from the initial release of the Sazerac 6 and I wouldn't describe it as mellow. Definitely a different rye from the Wild Turkey, though. Very representative of the Buffalo Trace school of whiskey making. I wonder if they have mellowed the style since the initial release?

Anyone compared recent bottles with older ones?

[thirtyoneknots]

My experience with different ryes is so limited that I perhaps used inappropriate adjectives. Of the ryes available to me, Jim Beam didn't impress, Old Overholt I don't like much (except in Sazeracs and Old Fashioneds...weird), and Wild Turkey I love. Perhaps this consistent use of one brand made too much of an impression of what Rye should taste like, and so a different bottling just seemed so different. As far as another good rye, I could only describe it in terms of Wild Turkey, which is a lot more powerful, I think, and so maybe that wasn't quite fair. I do like the stuff, but I'm just not quite used to a rye you could sip on the rocks.

Obviously more investigation is necessary. Stay tuned. ;-)

-Andy

[freshherbs]

last night, i had a French 75 with Poire William instead of gin. it was good.

[lancastermike]

Right now sipping Sazerac baby rye with a little Luxardo maraschino and two dashes of orange bitters. On the rocks tonight with a nice lemon twist. Wonderful stuff

[thirtyoneknots]

Another phase of putting the Sazerac 6 yr through the paces: tonight it was an Old Fashioned, made thusly:

4-5 dashes rich simple syrup (about 1/2 tsp)

3-4 dashes Angostura

2 oz Sazerac Rye

add ice, stir, garnish with twist.

Once again the stuff was so smooth and different from my usual go-to brands for OF's that it really had me contemplating my preception of what rye is. Almost too smooth. Though not as much as the Sazerac, this drink bordered on gulpability.

-Andy

[eje]

Another phase of putting the Sazerac 6 yr through the paces: tonight it was an Old Fashioned, made thusly:

4-5 dashes rich simple syrup (about 1/2 tsp)

3-4 dashes Angostura

2 oz Sazerac Rye

add ice, stir, garnish with twist.

Once again the stuff was so smooth and different from my usual go-to brands for OF's that it really had me contemplating my preception of what rye is. Almost too smooth. Though not as much as the Sazerac, this drink bordered on gulpability.

-Andy

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...And that is bad because?

FWIW, you gotta do a Manhattan next. 2-1, or so, with a couple dashes Angostura.

Cherry, or not, orange zest is also nice. It's my favorite drink with the Sazerac 6.

[thirtyoneknots]

My impression was initially, and remains, that the Sazerac will do best in a Manhattan, and I've been longing for it since I first whiffed the bottle. Manhattans have long been my favorite, hands-down, and to make this one even more special, I've managed to acquire some Vya. Sooooo, stay tuned to this very thread for another Sazerac Rye update. Tomorrow's edition: the Manhattan.

PS: I always make my Manhattans with a (lemon) twist, I don't even think I have any cocktail cherries in the house anymore.

-Andy

[lancastermike]

My impression was initially, and remains, that the Sazerac will do best in a Manhattan, and I've been longing for it since I first whiffed the bottle. Manhattans have long been my favorite, hands-down, and to make this one even more special, I've managed to acquire some Vya. Sooooo, stay tuned to this very thread for another Sazerac Rye update. Tomorrow's edition: the Manhattan.

PS: I always make my Manhattans with a (lemon) twist, I don't even think I have any cocktail cherries in the house anymore.

-Andy

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a Sazerac rye Manhattan may be as close to perfection as mankind has yet come. Seriously great stuff. For many years I drank Manhattans, badly made by bartenders and myself. Than I stopped. Now that I have the proper whisky and the proper knowledge I drink them all the time.