Drinks (2009–2011)

[Chris Amirault]

Very Don the Beachcomber, Katie, which I mean in the most positive way! Had to make it immediately: Laird's, Marteau, M&R rosso, & Dole. No lime.

I like it a lot: the aroma of pineapple sits atop it, but the drink itself uses pineapple as base, not fruity front. My one suggestion would be to omit the Peychauds and stick to the Angostura/absinthe duo that Beachcomber discovered. What with the vermouth, it's a bit noisy to have the Peychaud's in there, too. I also toyed with adding an egg white and shaking the thing.

How in the world did you come up with this?

[Chris Amirault]

While not nearly as well-thought-out as bostonapothecary's experiments, I came up with a quick drink on New Year's Eve, mostly to save a friend who was trying to improve her cream soda with a healthy dose of Jameson's..

1oz passionfruit vodka

1oz mango rum

.5oz Cointreau

Cream Soda

Shake the alcohols with ice, and strain into a pint glass filled with ice. Add the cream soda to fill, and give a quick stir.

This had a wonderful fruity smell and was undeniably sweet. In other words, a huge hit with my target audience and immediately labelled as "dangerous" due to its smooth taste and sweet aroma. We were making it with A&W Vanilla Cream Soda because that's what we had, but I really think it would be better with Jones Soda's Cream Soda. The only problem here is that the Jones is hard to find.

I'm going to tinker with the recipe and refine it more, maybe make it an actual cocktail instead of just an on-the-fly mixed drink, but I'm having trouble coming up with a name. Any suggestions?

Cream soda and tropical flavors? Sounds like Miami Deli Fizz to me.

[KatieLoeb]

How in the world did you come up with this?

Chris:

The drink was in my files as I'd actually made the drink before (and called it an Algorithm), but with Bulleit bourbon. Tasty that way too, but tonight we were out of Bulleit and we already have a couple of bourbon cocktail possibilities for the new list. Tried it once with Canadian whiskey as an alternative we hadn't explored yet, but it was too light and the pineapple too overwhelming. Staring at the shelf trying to figure out what else to use I spied the bonded apple and my brain lit up. I'll certainly try it once without the Peychaud's as well, or maybe wait until our Fee Whiskey Barrel aged bitters come back in and try that. Thanks for the suggestion. The original Algorithm version had Peychaud and Whiskey barrel bitters, but we're out of those too, for at least a couple of days until the mail order ones arrive.

Our house absinthe is the Vieux Carre (a nod to our local friends at Philly Distilling) which is more herbal and somewhat less anise forward than many others. The well sweet vermouth is Boissiere, which I like a bit better for "normal" applications than the M&R for a similar price. I suspect that makes my version taste ever so slightly different than yours. I wonder what this would taste like with Carpano Antica? Might be a waste with the pineapple, but one for giggles would be interesting to try.

Edited January 7, 2010 by KatieLoeb (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Well, it's a stroke, let me tell you. I think that the WBA bitters would really work well, all that cinnamon and clove.

ETA: using Kubler instead of the supercomplex Marteau might leave more room, too, I should add.

[KatieLoeb]

I agree about the WBA bitters. When that next bottle comes in I'm transferring some to a dropper bottle. Much easier to deal with them that way. And far less wasteful, too. I think a dash of Peychaud and 2-3 drops of WBA and this will be ready for public consumption.

[lancastermike]

Working up some new ideas with my cohort behind the bar. My best effort tonight:

Newton's Law

2.0 oz. Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy

1.0 oz. pineapple juice

.5 oz. sweet vermouth

scant barspoon or 3 dashes absinthe

1 dash Peychaud bitters

1 dash Angostura bitters

Build over ice in a rocks glass. Roll a couple of times to mix and garnish with a lime wedge.

Pretty interesting how the apple brandy, pineapple and absinthe play together. Fruity in a good and not too sweet way. Lime wedge to dial it back if you disagree. Hopefully this one will make it on to the menu soon...

This sounds wonderful Katie. And I actually have everything needed to make one. I do have some of the Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters and I will try your revision with them. And as an aside, the WBA bitters are wonderful stuff, they are my favorite bitters and I use them often.

As to Chris A's question as to how you devised this one. Chris, she is a wizard of mixin'

[KatieLoeb]

Aw shucks! Thanks Mike!

I do love me those WBA bitters too. They smell like the best Christmas potpourri ever. A little goes a long way too, so doling them out with a dropper really is the way to go. Let me know how you like the Newton's Law revised version. I'd welcome the feedback.

On a side note, the 2009 WBA bitters are SOLD OUT!! Heard it from Joe Fee himself when I called to inquire about getting some more. My manager found some online, but we're SOL here in Philly at the usual retail outlets. Stock up if you see them because the 2010 WBA bitters won't be released until some time in March, I'm told.

[bostonapothecary]

1 oz. unaged cape verdean rum (think caesar pisco)

1 oz. trimbach prunelle sauvage sloe berry eau-de-vie

1 oz. lemon juice

half barspoon of sugar stirred in

bar spoon of danzig goldwasser

2 dashes peychaud's bitters

a lean ass kicking sour. exactly what i needed. i'm addicted to the rum which has a weird hard character that is like gargling gravel. the prunelle is pretty cool. its very much like kirshwasser but with different tonality. i love its effect but i'll never give up on hiram walkers kirshwasser. the danzig is somehow lost to the pungent and strange character of the rum and sloe brandy. out of the bottle the goldwasser smelt very monastic like a chartreuse but it is supposedly "unchaste" and decadently contrasted with orange peels.

hans hoffman said that "a plane is a fragment of the architecture of space". the spatial effect of my opposing planes is like a frank gehry building... epic spatial effect!

[Shamanjoe]

Cream soda and tropical flavors? Sounds like Miami Deli Fizz to me.

That sounds like we might be on to something, though I think I'd drop the Deli part..

Miami Fizz, has a nice ring to it.

[KD1191]

In honor/defiance of the snow blanketing Chicago, we enjoyed Tom & Jerry last night...some were made with Blackstrap and Matusalem, others with Blackstrap and Weller 7. I'm not entirely fond of the vanilla notes in Matusalem, so I preferred the Weller.

[KD1191]

It's possible that tonight I was the first person on Earth to taste this drink...I only mention it because as someone who lacks both creativity and the stomach/wallet for elaborate experimentation, it would be a rarity for me. I assume there are those among us for whom this is a nightly occurrence, due to the breadth of their homemade cordials and scavenged antique spirits, or simply their limitless imaginations. For the less hearty/lucky souls, we must hope we are sitting at the right bar at the right time, when inspiration strikes and stars align. Tonight, I was at the intersection of knowledge and ingredients that I imagine likely makes me the first person to make Michael Rubel's (The Violet Hour, Big Star) Harlan County (so far my favorite in his pursuit to craft a drink embodying-and named for-each of Kentucky's 120 counties) using Vietnamese Son Tinh Apricot Liqueur in place of the called for Marie Brizard Apry. It was really, really good.

2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon

3/4 oz Lime Juice

3/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (Apry is called for, and when it is used I like to choose a rougher bourbon (i.e. Elijah Craig, Elmer T. Lee)...with the Son Tinh, the BT was perfect.)

1/4 oz Rich Demerara Syrup

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake, strain, sip.

[bostonapothecary]

1 oz. laird's bonded apple brandy

1 oz. brillet pineau des charentes

1 oz. der lach's danzig goldwasser

1 oz. lemon juice

2 dashes regan's orange bitters

goldwasser is sweet but not really sweet enough to make a sour without help, hence the need to employ the corpse reviver template and pair it with a minor sweet element (PDC). the danzig is also high enough in alcohol to keep the drink interesting.

manageable structure, epic contrasts, i will put this on a cocktail menu someday.

Edited January 9, 2010 by bostonapothecary (log)

[KD1191]

Finally got "Forgotten Cocktails" for a gift...so far, very pleased.

Made the Ford Cocktail with Ransom, very tasty.

2 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin

2 oz Noilly Prat Dry

Scant Bar spoon Benedictine

Scant Bar spoon Regan's Orange Bitters

Lemon Twist

[Vieux Carré]

For close to 45 years I've been mixing and drinking Manhattans. For me just about the perfect drink (after the Vieux Carré, of course). Tonight, when I came home, I found my first bottle of evo-lution's Boker's had arrived and so I had to pull out my copy of Imbibe! and mix up the Manhattan Formula #3 (New Standard). I followed William Scmidt's formula to the "T" that Splificator suggested including the Maraschino. What a lovely cocktail! Definitely a Manhattan, but with a twist. Thanks Adam for the bitters and David for the formula--a great combination!

[KatieLoeb]

Another new drink hopeful for our menu:

Say Goodnight Gracie

2 oz. white rum

3/4 oz. demerara simple syrup

1/3 oz. Creme de Violette

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

1 dashes Fee Brothers Rhubarb bitters

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

Basically a violet daiquiri. Hopefully something to get the Cosmo girlies on to something resembling a real adult cocktail.

[Chris Amirault]

Looks good, and great name! Too bad most of the peeps won't get the reference.

What rum with that? I could imagine something higher end, like 10 Cane, would be delicious -- but I'm not sure your customers are going for that price point.

[vice]

As long as we're on the subject of goodnights, I often turn to the Goodnight, Irene format for a nightcap. Last night it was:

1 oz cognac

1/2 oz curacao

1/2 oz Branca Menta

Build in a rocks glass over cracked ice and give a stir. While this is not going to supplant the original, it's nice to have a little variation.

[Chris Amirault]

Yeah, I do a similar thing that I call a Rough and Tumble bc of the edgy Brugal -- my favorite nightcap, in fact:

2 oz Brugal (Extra Viejo if you can find it)

1/2 oz Creole Shrubb

1/2 oz Branca Menta

[KatieLoeb]

What rum with that?

I'm working on getting some Appleton white to replace the Bacardi (I know. Don't even say it...) we are currently carrying. Another possibility is the Brugal white which is available in PA. Don't forget I'm forced to deal with that state sponsored monopoly that is the PLCB, and that limits my choices immensely as well as allows the Commonwealth to line their pockets with revenue and taxes that would be prosecutable under the RICO statutes in virtually any other state...

I could imagine something higher end, like 10 Cane, would be delicious -- but I'm not sure your customers are going for that price point.

At a reaonable price point we could conceivably order the aforementioned Brugal or perhaps Flor de Cana 4 yr. old or Cruzan white but all of those require divining which purveyor is carrying it and whether the supply can be counted upon to be uninterrupted. And that's for "Special Order" products. Sometimes the Commonwealth simply decides that they need shelf space back and decides to stop carrying a more niche product that has lower sales than that which they wish to replace it with. I hate spending all that time to tweak a drink exactly as I wish it to be and then finding out that the PLCB has decided to "de-list" the main component and I simply can't get it anymore. I'm still getting over the fact that Chartreuse is just getting back into the rotation and that I still can't get plain Benedictine as opposed to B&B. These are the joys of living in a controlled state.

Edited January 14, 2010 by KatieLoeb (log)

[bostonapothecary]

2 oz. st. james ambre

1 oz. sour orange juice

.75 oz. taylor's velvet falernum

.25 oz. brillet pineau des charentes

2 dashes angostura

a wonderful sour with an exotic acid. i blended the falernum with the pineau des charentes to average down the sugar content so the drink would still seem tart.

beautiful structure, epic aromatic contrasts.

[KD1191]

Wanted something warm. Glanced at Twitter and found what I was looking for, Cynar Toddy.

[Dan Perrigan]

Went to Yerba Buena yesterday (in East Village, NYC). In addition to having amazing food, I had an amazing cocktail: the Poquito Picante. The usual suspects of Gin, Lemon, and Cointreau, plus jalepeno, cucumber, and cilantro. Perfectly balanced, and a little spicy -- just as advertised.

I figured I'd have to spend weeks trying to reproduce it at home, but a search turned up the exact recipe:

Piquito Picante. By Artemio Vasquez.

6 to 8 cilantro leafs

2 slices of cucumber with skin

3 slices of seedless jalapeño

¾ oz fresh lemon juice

¾ oz simple syrup

½ oz Cointreau

2 oz Tanqueray gin

Directions:

1. Muddle cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeño with lemon juice, pressing gently.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Shake well and strain twice.

4. Garnish with a dry chili pepper.

(I made three of these today)

This is an amazing drink. Now I can't wait to try his Desert Rose...

[bostonapothecary]

1 oz. laird's bonded apple brandy

1 oz. brillet pineau des charentes

1 oz. der lach's danzig goldwasser

1 oz. lemon juice

2 dashes regan's orange bitters

goldwasser is sweet but not really sweet enough to make a sour without help, hence the need to employ the corpse reviver template and pair it with a minor sweet element (PDC). the danzig is also high enough in alcohol to keep the drink interesting.

manageable structure, epic contrasts, i will put this on a cocktail menu someday.

i reused this drink for an event but batched it to be three liters and diluted it to 3.6 liters which was kept really cold and served over crushed ice. i had used up a couple ounces of the danzig so i filled it in with cape verdean cinnamon liqueur. the only thing i changed was to a cheaper brand of pineau des charentes. i switched from brillet to the 5 year old "chateau de beaulon" to save $5. well the brillet is worth the extra money. the beaulon is frail and dieing with a noticeable amount of over the hill white wine aromas. the fruit is also slightly raisinated and lacks the stunning cognac fruit tonality of the brillet. beaulon still make the cocktail work and for some reason an anisey component from maybe the danzig was brought to focus in the drink. people were asking for the "one that taste like anise". i totally never noticed it in the single serving version last week. kinda cool. kinda magical. i wonder how it came about because it was very prominent. did i overlook it before or did a particular dilution level "open it up"? or did my one significant brand change bring it about?

[Alchemist]

I have a ferocious head cold. So I took a mug and donated a bag of Celestial Seasonings Apple Spice tea into it. I then Put in about 1.5 oz Lairds BIB, and .50 oz Drambui. I let that sit while I waited for the water to boil. The 100 proof really extracting the flavor out of the tea. Then added 1/2 a lemon, 3 dashes Regans Orange bitters#6 and a tablespoon of orange blossom honey. Top with hot water. Being sick isn't so bad.

Toby

[Shamanjoe]

I know drinks get watered down some when shaking and as the ice melts, but it has always seemed counter-intuitive to me to add water to a drink, especially hot water (as I'm not a hot drink type of person generally). I guess the thing that most confuses me is a hot buttered rum. Hot water and and pat of butter added to rum? I've never gotten up the nerve to try it, is it really that good?

Although, Toby, your drink does sound pretty tempting..