Drinks! (2007–2009)

[plattetude]

For the Superbowl, I put together a quick drink list that included cocktails aligned with each team -- The Cardinal, a cardinal-red concoction of Campari, Lucano amaro, gin, and Cointreau (good, but not great), and Big Ben (as in Roethlisberger), which was designed to be big and brawny enough to cut through a crush of linebackers. Hence the doubling up of the spirits. That drink was a major win, I thought.

Big Ben

1 oz rye (Rittenhouse BIB)

1 oz genever (Anchor Genevieve)

1/4 oz Benedictine

orange bitters (Bitter Truth)

Christopher

[Chris Amirault]

Very interesting! I have everything at home save the BT bitters, which I've never had. I've got Regan's, Angostura, and Fee's orange -- thoughts on a good substitute?

[plattetude]

I've never had the Ango, but from what I understand, it's punchier than the other two. That's what I'd go with. Otherwise you'll need a good bit of dashing of the Regan's or Fee's to notice a difference with the Benedictine there.

Christopher

[birder53]

From the weekend edition of the WSJ.

Union Club Cocktail

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz maraschino liquer

1/2 oz Campari

1 1/2 oz orange juice

I like all the ingredients but the end result was lacking something. Maybe going 1/2 lemon juice here might liven this combo up.

UPDATE

Tried it a second time going with half & half lemon and oj. Much brighter flavors!

Edited February 5, 2009 by birder53 (log)

[Johan Sjöberg]

I purchased this gem today, so I thought I'd try it out:

I got the last bottle in the store, but I had called them a day ahead and told them to set a bottle aside for me, so I had planned ahead. It was really good - a lot more intense and flavorful than the more elegant (and still very good) cognac I have.

[eje]

I've been in inventory reduction mode lately.

Having finished off a very old bottle of Michter's Rye, I've moved on to the Pikesville.

The other week, I was thinking about having a Manhattan and Green Chartreuse came to mind. I had a vague memory of a red hook variation called Greenpoint, thinking it had Chartreuse, so went ahead.

2 oz Pikesville

1/2 oz Green Chartreuse

barspoon Maraschino

3/4 oz Punt e Mes

This seemed OK to start, but as I drank the cocktail the dark flavors of the Punt e Mes and Green Chartreuse seemed to coalesce into something unpleasant. I figured I must have done something wrong.

Handily, Robert Simonson recently published a bit of a round up of the various East Coast neighborhood cocktails:

Got a Neighborhood? Here's Your Drink

Oops, the Greenpoint is:

2 oz rye

1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse

1/2 oz sweet vermouth

Dash orange bitters

Dash Angostura bitters

Lemon peel garnish

Pour liquid ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into cocktail glass, serve up and garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Which is lovely, but, as usual when it comes to modern cocktails, I thought a bit light on the vermouth.

When I got home from work last night, I defintely needed a cocktail, so I revisited the Green Chartreuse idea.

2 oz Pikesville

3/4 oz M&R Sweet Vermouth

1/4 oz Green Chartreuse

dash Angostura Orange

dash Angostura Aromatic

Stir, strain, lemon peel.

Ah, just what the doctor ordered!

[bostonapothecary]

"Iced Tea Classic

Submitted by: Emily Whetstone, New York

Emily writes: "The inspiration for this cocktail is traditional iced tea with lemon. The prep is a bit complicated, but so worth it:

1 to 2 parts Earl Grey-infused vodka

2 parts lemon soda (Editor's note: We used Limonata)

a sprig of mint

a thinly sliced lemon

a splash of simple syrup (optional)

all summer at the bar we've served the "john daly" whom is the alcoholic counterpart to arnold palmer on the course and in the glass....

2 oz. black tea rum*

3 oz. lemonaide

*to make the black tea rum.... put black tea in rum and try to keep small quickly used quantities so the tea doesn't oxidize too much.... 45 minutes of steeping works nicely.

newmans own lemonaide is far superior to anything made by hand and really captures the essence of the man in the drink....

as far as a tobacco pairing.... menthol cigarettes are the perfect foil for the drink....

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The New York Times just wrote about the alcoholic black tea-lemonaide concept today.

anyone else having fun with tea in drinks?

i'm really into caraway aquavit with spiced hibiscus tea...

[db_campbell]

The New York Times just wrote about the alcoholic black tea-lemonaide concept today.

anyone else having fun with tea in drinks?

i'm really into caraway aquavit with spiced hibiscus tea...

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I've had good success infusing Appleton V/X with Lapsang Souchong. I've used it as a basso foil to the more soprano notes of valencia juice + St. Germain (sorry, I oftentimes think of spirits and cocktail ingredients in terms of musical pitch), and also construct Asian-themed sours with it as the base alongside lime and one of Domaine de Canton/Batavia Arrack/Soju. Any ideas on how I can retain the necessary acidity, while using a more authentic Eastern fruit?

[bostonapothecary]

The New York Times just wrote about the alcoholic black tea-lemonaide concept today.

anyone else having fun with tea in drinks?

i'm really into caraway aquavit with spiced hibiscus tea...

←

I've had good success infusing Appleton V/X with Lapsang Souchong. I've used it as a basso foil to the more soprano notes of valencia juice + St. Germain (sorry, I oftentimes think of spirits and cocktail ingredients in terms of musical pitch), and also construct Asian-themed sours with it as the base alongside lime and one of Domaine de Canton/Batavia Arrack/Soju. Any ideas on how I can retain the necessary acidity, while using a more authentic Eastern fruit?

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you could add really good yuzu juice concentrate to saki with some wine makers acid if thats not too creepy and "molecular"...

sometimes i invent acids when i have to make drinks for big charity events. usually always dry vermouth as tart as a lemon.

[David Santucci]

1 1/2 oz Pear Eau-de-vie (Clear Creek)

3/4 oz Sloe Gin (Plymouth)

1/2 oz Brandy (Camus VS)

1/4 oz Simple Syrup

1/2 of an Egg

dash Aromatic Bitters (Hermes)

Silky, lush, fruity, definitely worth repeat visits

[plattetude]

I've had good success infusing Appleton V/X with Lapsang Souchong.  I've used it as a basso foil to the more soprano notes of valencia juice + St. Germain (sorry, I oftentimes think of spirits and cocktail ingredients in terms of musical pitch)

<snip>

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I like! But wouldn't you call St. Germain an alto? Maybe a mezzo? It's pretty full-bodied in its own right....

Christopher

[db_campbell]

I've had good success infusing Appleton V/X with Lapsang Souchong.  I've used it as a basso foil to the more soprano notes of valencia juice + St. Germain (sorry, I oftentimes think of spirits and cocktail ingredients in terms of musical pitch)

<snip>

←

I like! But wouldn't you call St. Germain an alto? Maybe a mezzo? It's pretty full-bodied in its own right....

Christopher

←

I have to concur with your assessment; I suppose I thought of it as more soprano-like since I was conceptualising the St. Germain and valencia juice as one amalgamative (is that a word?) flavour element (it being a tropical kinda drink for a BBQ last summer).

[bostonapothecary]

i'm in love with sour oranges...

.5 oz. sour orange juice

1 oz. clayton's kola nut tonic

1 oz. lemon heart 151

scant dash angostura

flamed twist of a sour orange.

one ounce of lemon heart brings an awesome concentrated rum flavor to the drink. clayton's kola nut tonic isn't too sweet so this still ends up a sour drink. clayton's probably differs from roses significantly in the sugar department. it also seems to have a lot of acidity and intense lemon-lime citrus notes to it.

a sour orange twist is far more potent than a conventional orange and when you raise your match to it without even squeezing fire works go off... a squeeze gives you an orange torch... this batch is different than the last batch i ordered for the bar. they are a lot browner, the peels seem stiffer and more concentrated in oils. a large one only yielded a half ounce of juice...

[MattJohnson]

Its been cold. We've been making something called a Cafe Diablo that we found in a book we've got.

2 oz brandy

1 oz curacao

1 oz cointreau

16 oz coffee

8 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

6 coffee beans

Warm the 3 boozes and the spices in a pan. Ignite for a bit. Pour in the hot coffee and stir to put out. Strain and drink.

I'm not a huge fan of hot drinks, but this isn't too bad. Might be more to my taste with a bit more booze, but pretty good as is.

[Wild Bill Turkey]

If the liquor has already been heated up, why ignite it? Isn't that burning off some of the booze you wish it had more of? This is an honest question I don't know the answer to. Does the flame caramelize the sugars or change the flavor in some desirable way?

Edited February 19, 2009 by Wild Bill Turkey (log)

[slkinsey]

Burning will definitely change the flavor.

More to the point, none of the specified liquors are at or above proof. So they will not ignite unless heated.

[MattJohnson]

If the liquor has already been heated up, why ignite it? Isn't that burning off some of the booze you wish it had more of? This is an honest question I don't know the answer to. Does the flame caramelize the sugars or change the flavor in some desirable way?

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I'm no expert, but I think the ignition does 2 things:

1. allows the bartender to burn something

2. I actually think it brings out some of the flavors of the spices. I didn't heat it for very long and without the ignition, I'm guessing that the spice wouldn't come out as much (They sizzle a bit when its on fire). Perhaps I'll try it once without ignition just to compare.

I'm also not sure how long I'm supposed to let it burn. I kind of swirl it around for about 15-20 seconds until I start smelling spice and then in goes the coffee. It would also be interesting to just infuse the brandy with the spices and use that without the theatrics. It might even be better. Maybe I'll put some in a jar and see what happens.

[thirtyoneknots]

It would also be interesting to just infuse the brandy with the spices and use that without the theatrics.  It might even be better.  Maybe I'll put some in a jar and see what happens.

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The value of theatrics cannot be overstated in a commercial setting. They shouldn't take the place of quality and flavor, of course, but when you can combine both, rest assured you'll have a top seller on your hands. People love to see tableside presentations and the like.

[bostonapothecary]

It would also be interesting to just infuse the brandy with the spices and use that without the theatrics.  It might even be better.  Maybe I'll put some in a jar and see what happens.

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The value of theatrics cannot be overstated in a commercial setting. They shouldn't take the place of quality and flavor, of course, but when you can combine both, rest assured you'll have a top seller on your hands. People love to see tableside presentations and the like.

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the cafe diablo is confined nowadays to being a french quarter drink. i can't drink and enjoy it, but its really awesome to see a waiter that is good at it.

i used to have to debone the dover soles then flambe the pepper steaks, baked alaskas, and banana's foster... i never had to make salads table side luckily...

some times it was like iron chef and people loved it.

[MattJohnson]

It would also be interesting to just infuse the brandy with the spices and use that without the theatrics.  It might even be better.  Maybe I'll put some in a jar and see what happens.

←

The value of theatrics cannot be overstated in a commercial setting. They shouldn't take the place of quality and flavor, of course, but when you can combine both, rest assured you'll have a top seller on your hands. People love to see tableside presentations and the like.

←

the cafe diablo is confined nowadays to being a french quarter drink. i can't drink and enjoy it, but its really awesome to see a waiter that is good at it.

i used to have to debone the dover soles then flambe the pepper steaks, baked alaskas, and banana's foster... i never had to make salads table side luckily...

some times it was like iron chef and people loved it.

←

I don't downplay theatrics at all. After all, this is about having fun. Sometimes people get too serious. However, I'm curious, what makes a waiter "good" at it. Do they do anything specific? I know I've seen some flaming drink video where a bartender poured the flaming drink from one pitcher to another. I basically light it and do my best not to set myself on fire. So far so good.

Edited February 20, 2009 by MattJohnson (log)

[bostonapothecary]

tropical cocktail

1.5 oz. glen fiddich 12 year

1 oz. clayton's kola nut tonic

.5 oz. grenadine

.5 o.z lemon juice

dash angostura

stir! don't shake!

garnish with a flamed sour orange peel.

this was enjoyed by quite a few people despite its low alcohol nature.

[haresfur]

Picked up some Fees Aromatic Bitters in Portland last time I was there and have to say they are wonderful in Italian style lemon soda - with or without rum.

[KatieLoeb]

I'm working on an Old Fashioned variant with Pisco that will be called a Peruvian Old Fashioned on my spring cocktail menu. So far I've narrowed it to muddled limes and brandied cherries with Demerara sugar (extra grittiness works well to extract oils from peels) and Angostura and Fee Whiskey Barrel aged bitters for spice. Add Pisco, a bit of Carpano Antica for added complexity and a splash of pear nectar. Early results look promising. I'll post a full recipe when it's perfected.

[Rich Pawlak]

Working in your "laboratory" at 5AM? Holy Shamoley!

[KatieLoeb]

Working in your "laboratory" at 5AM?  Holy Shamoley!

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No - just insomnia in front of the 'puter. I was working on the drink at the bar earlier tonight during business hours....