Drinks! (2007–2009)

[thirtyoneknots]

The distribution for Martinique Rum in general seems to be very quirky at best but the good news is I picked some Ambre on sale in Houston last weekend for like $17/fifth!

[KatieLoeb]

Hosted a Domaine Familial Dupont Calvados tasting at my bar this evening, so there was a bit of product left at the end of the night. Possibly the most righteous Calvados sidecar I've ever had the pleasure of housing was my end-of-shift reward:

3 oz. Domaine Dupont Calvados Fine Reserve

2 oz. Luxardo Triplum

1 oz. fresh lemon juice

Big Fat Lemon twist

This was well earned. I had to polish a boatload of little tiny tasting glasses from the folks that had tried the flights. It was exhausting. The drink was so delicious and definitely an example of the perfect "gateway" cocktail. I can't imagine anyone walking up to me and challenging me to turn them into a cocktail convert that would not have enjoyed this drink. Yummy stuff.

The (click on 1989 on the following link) vintage 1989 was nectar of the gods...

The whole line of products was top notch. Mssr. Jerome Dupont couldn't have been nicer. It was great to have the producer on hand to discuss his procuct and the process behind it. I want to do more "meet the distiller" events at my bar. This was loads of fun.

Edited March 28, 2009 by KatieLoeb (log)

[bostonapothecary]

1 oz. macallan cask strength

1 oz. linie aquavit

1 oz. sweet vermouth (cinzano)

bar spoon melati di bosco spruce tree honey liqueur

there are some really interesting flavor contrasts in this drink and i made it quite a few times. the spruce tree honey's brand of pininess is a fun contrast to the anise and sherried character of both the whiskey and aquavit. it may hit the menu with a more affordable whiskey... but bourbon, rye or blended scotch?

[bostonapothecary]

inverse margarita

2 oz. hand imported strangely good anejo tequila

1 oz. roses lime

1 oz. seville sour orange juice

the sweet-tart balance here is really good. everything is familiar but different... i'm in love with this sour orange juice.

bronx

2 oz. beafeater

1 oz. stock sweet vermouth

1 oz. sour orange juice

awesome structure and flavor contrast...

[MattJohnson]

Pink Gin - even with just beefeater, its still pretty good.

[brinza]

Pink Gin - even with just beefeater, its still pretty good.

←

Man, I love Pink Gin. There is something about the way the bitters harmonizes with the aromatics in the gin. I tend to stick with Ted Haigh's suggestion of using "six goodly dashes" of bitters. A simple drink, yet it's so much more than the sum of its parts--the chemistry just works.

[thirtyoneknots]

Thought about this one all afternoon, then all night at work, then got off early and came home to try it. The combo of apricot and anise was what originally got me thinking, which then sort of presented a name (inspired by the presence of those flavors in N. African cuisine) and then the drink:

'Night in Tunisia'

2 oz Sazerac Rye

.75 oz M&R Sweet

.25 oz Apry

1/2 tsp Jade Edouard

Stirred with ice, strained into cocktail glass, lemon twisted then discarded.

This combo has some serious mojo potential, but as the astute will notice the relationship to both the McKinley's Delight (intentional) and the Slope (not intentional), this is perhaps not surprising. I think it needs a little tweaking on the preportions, but I'm certainly not disappointed for a first go-round.

Edited April 3, 2009 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[MattJohnson]

Pink Gin - even with just beefeater, its still pretty good.

←

Man, I love Pink Gin. There is something about the way the bitters harmonizes with the aromatics in the gin. I tend to stick with Ted Haigh's suggestion of using "six goodly dashes" of bitters. A simple drink, yet it's so much more than the sum of its parts--the chemistry just works.

←

Yeah, I hear ya. I've been doing 5 dashes (my bottle's dashes seem to be getting bigger). Pink Gin is a relatively new find for me. Its amazing how well angostura plays with gin. Something else I've been enjoying is starting with the pink gin and slowly adding other things to experiment- cointreau, lillet, vermouth.

[thirtyoneknots]

Went on a manufacturing spree a few weeks back, various flavored syrups and a few hastily-concieved liqueurs. One thing I made was cinnamon syrup as called for in Sippin' Safari, and on a whim I bottled a small amount of it cut 50/50 with Flor de Cana 4 yr Gold rum. The other day I smelled it, much more integrated than previusly, and tonight to cap off a nice night of socializing with future family I mized up 1 oz of this cinnamon liqueur and 1 oz of brandy--feeling frugal, I went with the Masson VSOP, and poured this over crushed ice. Sort of a cinnamon stinger, and very subtle; just what the doctor ordered.

Might have to work on this "cinnamon liqueur"

[vice]

toronto sour

1.5 oz rittenhouse bonded

0.75 oz lemon juice

0.75 oz demerara syrup

0.25 oz fernet

0.5 oz egg white

a quick and dirty adaptation of the toronto to make use of some surplus egg whites. very nice.

[Chris Amirault]

Looks very interesting. No bitters? Not even a drop on the meringue?

[vice]

hey, when i said quick and dirty, i meant it! a friend asked for one last taste following a sunday afternoon supper, something with fernet and whiskey. bitters weren't close at hand and i wanted my house back .

no, actually, the fernet is prominent enough to hold your interest, both in taste and in aroma as you dip your nose to the glass. i'm sure some aromatic bitters would be a fine addition to the meringue. i'll give that a whirl next time. or if one concocted some burnt orange bitters...

Edited April 6, 2009 by vice (log)

[sadistick]

Created a new drink the other night - -

2 parts citrus infused dark rum

1 part lemon maple juice

3 or 4 dashes of ango bitters

shake then serve over ice

Mmmmm these could become evil.

←

Lemon maple juice? As in unrefined maple sap is involved or is this like a sour mix involving lemon juice and maple syrup?

←

Sour (well not as much after the syrup) mix with Canadian Maple Syrup and Lemon Juice, little less than 2:1 lemon to maple.

[bostonapothecary]

i just put something new on the menu after drinking a few... it got quite good reviews though some staff members didn't aquire the taste...

bees knees

2 oz. gin (seagrams)

1 oz. honey liqueur*

1 oz. lemon juice

*the honey is corsican single varietal "strawberry tree" honey. when from sardinia its called "miele de corbezzolo". supposedly its classicaly used to marinate fish but i can't remember the source i read that in. the honey is curiously bitter but reminds me of chile threads. the single varietal nature brings a serious uniquness to it and the descriptors most thrown around were chile or tobasco. most honeys are 60 brix so i cut them in half with cruzan to make an approximately 30 brix liqueur. this puts it in between cointreau and 1:1 simple syrup. the honey quickly dissolves into the rum and if you leave it over night you can rack off all the comb solids. i'd definitely take rum or vodka over hot water so as not to disturb the delicate flavors.

[thirtyoneknots]

Had the afternoon off and spent a nice bit of it sipping on Old Weller 107 and water. Sometimes even lemon and sugar is too complicated. Sometimes even bubbles are too complicated. Lazy Wednesday afternoons with the weather just so are one of those times.

[thirtyoneknots]

I reread recently about Mr. Clarke's misadventures with Baker's Fraise d'Amour here and decided to see if the promise of a wonderful drink waiting in the combo could be realised. I found success with the following:

2 oz Cognac (Hardy VS)

2 tsp Strawberry Syrup (1883)

1 tsp Maraschino (Luxardo)

1 heavy dash Orange bitters (50/50)

Mix and pour over small glass heaping full of finely crushed ice.

Yes.

Perhaps an experiment with strawberry nectar is in order to giver a fresher flavor? I also couldn't help feel how marvellous this would be with the addition of some lightly muddled mint to take into julep territory.

Cognac is an underrated warm-weather drink.

[Mattmvb]

A slightly twisted margarita: (these are rough quantities as it was freepoured and then tweeked in the tin before pouring)

50ml Ocho 8 reposado

15ml Licor 43

10ml MB Apricot

30ml freshly squeezed lime juice

1 barspoon medium agave nectar

That small amount of agave nectar gives the drink an incredibly silky mouth feel. Highly recommended.

Cheers,

Matt

[haresfur]

Not much to report recently but found a Tasmainian Elderflower soda that went quite nicely with the dregs of a flask of Oban.

Also tasted some Tasmanian spirits in Hobart. Pepperberry gin was decent, rum horrible and the single cask single malts were worth sampling. Forget the distillery name already...

[Jstern35]

My bar stock is running a bit low so had to make do with what was around..

2 oz plymouth gin

3/4 oz st. germain

3/4 oz orange juice

1 oz pear juice

4-6 dashes of cherry bitters

Was quite good!

[db_campbell]

My two recent post-prandial quaffs:

1 oz. Port (Graham's Six Grapes)

1 oz. Dry Vermouth ('new' Noilly Prat)

1 oz. Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded)

..................................

1.25 oz Port (Graham's Six Grapes)

1 oz Brandy (Raynal VSOP)

0.5 oz Blackberry Liqueur (homemade)

4 dashes, Peychaud's

[taion]

Steve's Word.

It's a Last Word with Laphroaig in place of the gin. Surprisingly tasty – the Laphroaig takes a much bigger role in the drink than the gin does in a Last Word, but it works quite well.

[suzilightning]

found St. Germaine in a local mom & pop liquor store. tried a Parisenne martini

2 oz Plymouth gin

1 oz St. Germaine

1/4 oz sweet vermouth

shake with ice and serve

would dial down the St. Germaine for me by about half but quite tasty for an afterwork chill out drink on the deck with neighbors.

[bostonapothecary]

inspired by the charleston cocktail but lacking some ingredients...

1/6 del maguey chichicapa

1/6 kirschwasser (hiram walker... not terrible)

1/6 yellow chartreuse

1/6 sloe gin (plymouth)

1/6 sweet vermouth (boissiere)

1/6 manzanilla pasada (la cigarrera)

the original drink seemed to be about three good combos so i substituted the best combos i had laying around...

i prefer sweet vermouth & dry sherry to vermouth & vermouth because you get the same acidity but more rich whiskey like contrast.

i substitute yellow chartreuse and sloe gin all the time in old recipes where i see the too comparative extra old school curacoa & maraschino duo.

i've been trying really hard to find a home for the mezcal and the fruit eau de vie of the original charleston seemed like a great contrast to rival all the smokiness. at .5 oz. del maguey's chichicapa really spoke through the entire drink...

all in all very memorable with a structure that, even with my tastes, i didn't find too sweet.

i think the winner of the drink is the mezcal-kirschwasser combo... if i come across a lemon in my travels i will try the duo in a simple sour...

[thirtyoneknots]

So I been kicking something around all evening in response to a managerial requirement for a vodka drink on the new menu. Finally had it down enough to make, heres the first attempt:

Strawberry Fix (tentative name)

1.5 oz vodka

.5 oz St. Germaine

generous 1/2 oz lemon

2 tsp 1883 strawberry syrup standing in for fresh berries muddled in simple

Shaken and strained onto new rocks, scant 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar floated on top.

Of course with the name 'fix' it should be built in the glass, which it probably would be in field conditions. I though about incorporating the balsamic as a rinse or float, but since the flavor improved as the drink sat I'm thinking it should be upped to a full spoonfull and mixed in with everything else. Next time I make this for myself it's going to be with pisco. Stay tuned.

Edited April 27, 2009 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[plattetude]

Expanding my uses of newly-acquired peach bitters...

2 oz reposado tequila (El Tesoro)

1 oz bianco vermouth (Cinzano)

1 tbsp apricot liqueur (R&W Orchard Apricot)

5-6 dashes peach bitters (Fee's)

2 dashes Angostura

Love how the apricot and agave marry. Mmm mm mmmm. Might need to try with a dry vermouth -- this was a bit sweet, but I *do* like the bianco with tequila.

Christopher