Drinks (2009–2011)

[bostonapothecary]

bees knees

1.5 oz. linie aquavit

.75 oz. lemon juice

.75 oz. ames farm bass wood honey from minnesota (usual alcohol preserved syrup technique)

the ames farm bass wood honey is in my top five of coolest honeys out there. it is pale in color if not green tinted and has strange focused aromas that remind me of lime aftershaves (in the best possible way!) a lime-like aroma might make some choose lime juice as an acid, but i didn't want a competing comparative aroma obscuring the honey's expression (i also prefer lemon juice with taylor's velvet falernum).

aquavit is a spectacular foil for honey's aromas. aquavit is simple stuff. an arrangement of a few aromas with serious attention to the tonality of each. the simplicity yields serious emotional content.

this rendition of the bees knees did everything a perfume aspires to do... but this drink was like those simple near mono-aroma colognes and aftershaves that you see sold at smoke shops. they often end up being more powerful and emotionally charged than all that overly "complex" "unique" stuff you see at saks 5th ave.

i just wish i had some mono quinine bitters to throw in the mix...

[Kohai]

Can you elaborate on the "usual alcohol-preserved syrup" technique? I am curious what you're using here. Is it just honey syrup with a float of vodka or something more?

[bostonapothecary]

[quote name=Kohai' date='17 June 2010 - 04:24 PM' timestamp='1276813484'

post='1747311]

Can you elaborate on the "usual alcohol-preserved syrup" technique? I am curious

what you're using here. Is it just honey syrup with a float of vodka or something

more?

[Kohai]

Very cool. Must try that myself today. Thank you. Oh - how do you store the syrup? Is it shelf-stable?

Edited June 18, 2010 by Kohai (log)

[bostonapothecary]

Very cool. Must try that myself today. Thank you. Oh - how do you store the syrup? Is it shelf-stable?

definitely. no refrigeration necessary. 20% alcohol will give you shelf stability even with low sugar contents (think dry vermouth). increase the sugar content beyond 170g/l (an estimate, think sweet vermouth) and you can be stable at as low as 16%.

the honeys are fairly expensive and we keep a big library of them so people can try stuff. nothing ferments. nothing spoils. it would otherwise because the sugar content is cut down to a point where it doesn't desiccate the yeasts and bacteria. also you can easily make tiny quantities if you don't want to invest too much.

the bar at work only has one gin (and one aquavit) so keeping many honeys has been a great way to add significant variation to our small program.

[bostonapothecary]

.75 oz. lime juice

.75 oz. brandymel honey liqueur from the algarve

1 oz. vale d'paul "nova" cape verdean rum

.5 oz. armagnac (forget the bottling)

quite the sour. refreshing structure, exotic pungencies.

the vale d'paul nova could have just become my all time favorite spirit pushing batavia arrack van oosten to no. 2.

i also made this with ames farm single source elder flower honey instead of the brandymel (plus a dash of angostura). the honey is astonishing with a focused elderflower aroma and an overall paleness. you wouldn't know you were tasting honey. if i can get more i don't think i'll use st. germain ever again. though if you want a pale honey with a focused aroma, bass wood is where it at.

[KD1191]

18th Century Brooklyn

2 oz Old Potrero 18th Century "Rye"

3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry

2 tsp Luxardo Maraschino

2 tsp Amer Picon

While experimenting with the Gentiane des Pères Chartreux over in the Suze thread, I somehow thought of this Old Potrero Brooklyn, and realized that the Gentiane liqueur would add something interesting in the place of the Dry Vermouth. It would restore some of the bitterness that is missing in modern Amer Picon, for one...

Garnished with a doctored Tillen Farms Maraschino cherry (a bottle of these 'all natural' cherries, where the sickly sweet liquid they were packed in has been replaced by a 3:1 Brandy/Luxardo mixture), the result was more-or-less as expected...initially somewhat sweeter, but with a lengthy and more bitter finish. With two ounces of ~125 proof whiskey, the higher proof of original Picon is not missed. The most predominate flavor is still the Potrero's oak, but the gentian and orange are well represented. It's a bit too sweet for me as is...I would cut back on the Gentiane or Luxardo next time.

[KatieLoeb]

I'm about to go make me a caipirinha. It's too damned hot here...

[campus five]

I'm enjoying one of those cocktails that may well require purchasing a couple things to make, even for the more advanced cocktail geek.

I specifically bought Galliano, Celery Bitters and Rhubarb Bitters to make it after having tried it at Copa D'Oro.

The Custer

2 oz Rye (they used Sazerac, I use Rittenhouse BIB)

1/2 oz Galliano

3 barspoons Cynar

2 dashes Rhubarb Bitters

2 dashes Celery Bitters

Stir, Strain, rocks glass w/ 1 big rock, Orange Twist

And you can read more about it here:

http://looka.gumbopages.com/2009/11/18/cocktail-of-the-day-the-custer/

[TAPrice]

Following a recipe in the Washington Post, I tried a Greenpoint. I gather this belongs to a class of rye drinks named after hipster enclaves.

• 2 ounce high-proof rye (I used Wild Turkey)
  
• 1/2 ounce green Chartreuse
  
• 1/2 ounce Punt e Mes
  

Stir, strain, lemon twist.

Not a great drink. Too hot. Too much alcohol. I won't be making this one again.

WaPo: Greenpoint recipe

[thirtyoneknots]

Following a recipe in the Washington Post, I tried a Greenpoint. I gather this belongs to a class of rye drinks named after hipster enclaves.

• 2 ounce high-proof rye (I used Wild Turkey)
  
• 1/2 ounce green Chartreuse
  
• 1/2 ounce Punt e Mes
  

Stir, strain, lemon twist.

Not a great drink. Too hot. Too much alcohol. I won't be making this one again.

WaPo: Greenpoint recipe

When I tried this quite some time back I did 3/4 oz Punt e Mes and 1/4 of Chartreuse. The drink was ok but I don't think I've made it for myself since then.

[lancastermike]

I'm about to go make me a caipirinha. It's too damned hot here...

I'm with you here, Katie. In this hot summer I narrow my selection way down. I'll do my fancy mixing when it cools off. My summertime standbys: Dark and Stormy, Caipirinha, and Gin and Bitter Lemon.

[Chris Amirault]

Made a Caipirinha last night, muddled Thai palm sugar with the lime. Actually, I was forced to make a second one because of deliciousness.

[KatieLoeb]

Seriously, the caipirinha might be the single best hot weather cocktail known to man. In fact, I'm going to go hit the store and get some more demerara right now so I can make one later...

[TAPrice]

Another miss for me. Maybe I should start reporting this experiences on the "drink that go in the sink" thread.

I tried the Colonial Cooler from this month's Imbibe. It's from the article on Brooklyn bars.

• 1.5 oz London dry (I used Beefeater)
  
• 3/4 sweet vermouth
  
• 3/4 oz Carpano Antica
  
• .25 Cointreau
  
• .5 lemon juice
  
• Soda water
  

Shake. Strain into iced high ball (I used a Collins, because who can find highballs?) and top with soda.

Going into this, I thought it would be too sweet. Three sweet elements (two vermouths and Cointreau) seemed like overkill. In the end, it was just a unpleasant (and somewhat watery) mismash. Nothing played nice.

Strike two for Brooklyn related cocktails. I'm going to stick to Manhattans.

[KatieLoeb]

Sour Cherry Caipirinha. Standard issue with a splash of sour cherry juice from a carton, and a topper of a tiny dash of soda. Delicious.

[vice]

some sort of manhattan-like frappe:

1.5 oz rye (wild turkey)

.75 oz bonal

2 dash absinthe

1 tsp demerara syrup

shake with crushed ice, pour into frozen old-fashioned glass

This was refreshing and had a really lovely cherry flavor, but needs a bump up in dimensionality - maybe a float of absinthe or peychaud's?

[eas]

Yum. Try adding orange bitters or wide wedge of grapefruit peel.

[brinza]

Another miss for me. Maybe I should start reporting this experiences on the "drink that go in the sink" thread.

I tried the Colonial Cooler from this month's Imbibe. It's from the article on Brooklyn bars.

• 1.5 oz London dry (I used Beefeater)
  
• 3/4 sweet vermouth
  
• 3/4 oz Carpano Antica
  
• .25 Cointreau
  
• .5 lemon juice
  
• Soda water
  

Shake. Strain into iced high ball (I used a Collins, because who can find highballs?) and top with soda.

Going into this, I thought it would be too sweet. Three sweet elements (two vermouths and Cointreau) seemed like overkill. In the end, it was just a unpleasant (and somewhat watery) mismash. Nothing played nice.

Strike two for Brooklyn related cocktails. I'm going to stick to Manhattans.

I made this too. I thought it was okay. I think part of the problem is that, as you pointed out, the taste is somewhat of a surprise. Sounds sweet, tastes a little tart and bitter. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's a little jolting when it's not expected. I think the CAF is wasted in that half & half vermouth pairing, and since the sweetness factor of Italian vermouths is all over the place, you don't what you'll end up with. I thought this was kind of like a tart Martinez. But you're right, the soda makes it a bit watery. Nevertheless, I still found it somewhat refreshing and bracing in the manner of a Negroni (on the rocks) or an Añejo Highball. I might tinker with this and try it as cocktail (no soda).

[Chris Amirault]

Speaking of which (CAF and Martinezes), I'm enjoying the first of many, many Martinezes this summer thanks to a kind gift of CAF. Luxardo maraschino and Boker's bitters. No garnish. Yum.

[vice]

I guess you could call it a Hemingway old fashioned:

2 oz Saint James Ambre

1 tsp maraschino

1 tsp demerara

2 dashes Peychaud's

2 dashes Bittermen's grapefruit bitters

twist of lime

I will be drinking half as many ti punches

[FireAarro]

Regarding the Green Point, as far as I know the original recipe (oxymoronically) called for yellow Chartreuse, which would lower the hotness factor. I still didn't like it that much.

[eje]

Yeah, WaPo has the Greenpoint recipe wrong.

The Greenpoint should be: 2 oz Rye, 1/2 oz Italian Vermouth, 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse, dash Orange bitters, dash Ango. Stir, strain, Lemon Peel.

Neighborhood Cocktails

Edit: well, they do say, "Adapted From..."

Though why they would adapt it thus, is beyond me.

Edited July 22, 2010 by eje (log)

[KD1191]

Edit: well, they do say, "Adapted From..."

Though why they would adapt it thus, is beyond me.

I believe the recipe originally accompanied an article on high-proof concoctions/spirits, so a switch to the higher proof green fits that frame of mind. The intro to the WP recipe also says, "If it's too intense for your taste, use yellow Chartreuse instead (which the original calls for)."

[deensiebat]

Beat the heat with a homemade gin & tonic:

A bit heavy on the quinine, but man is it nice on a hot day.