Drinks (2009–2011)

[Chris Amirault]

Sick, so:

1 1/2 oz Fundador brandy

1 1/2 oz Appleton V/X

1/2 oz smoked pineapple syrup

cinnamon stick

Put all into a cup and fill with boiling water. Stir.

[Chris Amirault]

Still sick, so:

3 oz El Dorado 15 rum

1/2 oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

1/4 oz pimento dram (homemade)

2 dashes Angostura

tsp ginger syrup

1/4" slice of lime

1/4" slice of ginger

Into a mug; fill with boiling water.

[MikeInSacto]

Have been working on making a good Red Hook using the Maraska maraschino I unwittingly bought in a large format some time ago. Tonight's was perfect.

2 oz. Catoctin rye

1/2 oz. Punt e Mes

1 tsp. Maraska

Stir for an extra long time before straining into a cocktail glass.

[haresfur]

Made one of these (sort of):

I was looking for bars in Tucson to work in this winter, and checked out (among others) a place called NoRTH. Right off the bat, I noticed they had a nice garnish tray of the usual citrus, plus fresh sprigs of mint, terragon, and fennel, and a couple types of fresh berries. The friend I was with picked a drink off their small cocktail menu to try, called a Botanical. It was very good, so I asked the bartender for the recipe:

Muddle:

1/4oz lime

1/4oz simple

1/4oz Drambuie

2 thin slices cucumber

1 sprig terragon

Add 1 1/2oz gin, shake

Strain over rocks, top with a splash of tonic

Garnish with another sprig of terragon and a cucumber slice

Didn't read the tonic bit but it was quite nice anyway. Used more cuke than called for because I had some to use up and French tarragon. The tarragon taste didn't come through. Also used castor sugar in lieu of simple. I could see a variation with a dash of maraschino or ginger wine.

[elix]

For the last several days I've been enjoying this. It's just a tweak of a daiquiri using cognac instead of rum that I cooked up. And it has a dash or two of Peychaud's:

2 oz cognac

.5 oz lime juice

.5 simple syrup(1:!)

1-2 dashes Peychaud's

shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I've searched around the web...cocktaildb, kindred cocktails, etc...and haven't come across anything quite like this. I've made it and enjoyed it with Hardy VSOP, Courvoisier VS, and even cheap American brandy. But compared to the others, it really sings with the Hardy, coming off with an almost apple-y flavor when it's all put together. So if I were making it for someone else, maybe I'd garnish with a slice of apple. Anyway, give it a shot. Even my wife, who is mostly a vodka person, really likes this. It's good enough I thought it deserved its own name, and the best thing I've come up with is Coney Island, since "Coney" sounds like a diminutive of "Cognac," and the daiquiri(on which it's a riff) is a Cuba/island drink. Sort of a goofy name but whatever(and I was surprised that this names still seems to be up for grabs, in case I missed something). I thought of a few Wisconsin-type names since that's the brandy belt, but the Bears fan in me wouldn't let me go there. Ha ha.

Eric

Ps- This is my first post. I'm pretty new to cocktails, coming from about 10-12 years of beer nerdiness(I'm 32), mostly. I had my first martini in December, and have been hooked on cocktails ever since(I've been doing martinis at 2:1 or 2.5:1 with Beefeater and M&R, for the record. I'm sure some would argue with the choice of vermouth, but I think these two work really well together, and that's a subject for another thread;)

But I've been lurking and searching for a month or two, getting help with trying some of the classics, and I'm excited to get an opinion on my modest little recipe. And like I said, being new to spirits/cocktails...I'm sure something would work better than the Hardy VSOP, but it does seem to click.

[bostonapothecary]

brewer's sazerac

heaping spoon of breiss dried malt extract

2 oz. ransom old tom gin

2 dashes peychaud's

2 dashes angostura

rinse of herbsaint

more or less all the aromas line up, but next time around i'll dilute the malt sugar with non aromatic white sugar and make a syrup. that way i'll avoid overshadowing the gin with a more elegant amount of malt aroma.

affordable aromas... i'm pretty sure amer picon used malt extract. cheap lager plus cheap picon equals poor man's chimay.

[bostonapothecary]

brewer's old fashioned

2 oz. ransom old tom gin

bar spoon of hiram walker kirschwasser

level teaspoon non aromatic white sugar

level teaspoon breiss dried malt extract

2 dashes angostura bitters

excellent sugar ethic and elegant aromatic contrasts.

[haresfur]

For the last several days I've been enjoying this. It's just a tweak of a daiquiri using cognac instead of rum that I cooked up. And it has a dash or two of Peychaud's:

2 oz cognac

.5 oz lime juice

.5 simple syrup(1:!)

1-2 dashes Peychaud's

shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Welcome to the forum, Eric. Sounds tasty.

[thirtyoneknots]

For the last several days I've been enjoying this. It's just a tweak of a daiquiri using cognac instead of rum that I cooked up. And it has a dash or two of Peychaud's:

2 oz cognac

.5 oz lime juice

.5 simple syrup(1:!)

1-2 dashes Peychaud's

shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Looks like a kissing cousin to the Bennett, which would use gin and Angostura (and is technically unsweetened!). Hardy is my go-to at home but something a little rounder and fruitier like Martell or Kelt would play with Peychauds in a pleasing way as well. Sounds like a winner.

[haresfur]

Never thought about using malt extract in cocktails. Is there a reason for dry rather than liquid? Was that a dark or a light malt? Need to save some aside next time I brew.

[Tri2Cook]

Tonight's post involves a drink that didn't particularly hit the spot. It was a stupid mistake. I don't know where my head was. I was thinking about a Martini when I got home from work. Then I decided on a Perfect Martini. Then I thought no, I'll do a Fifty-Fifty instead. Somehow I got my wires crossed and wound up with a Perfect Fifty-Fifty in my glass. Half gin, half an equal split of sweet and dry vermouths. The result wasn't something I would put the word "perfect" in front of. I toyed with tossing in more gin and going with the traditional Perfect after all but I was already at 4 oz and 6 oz wasn't sounding tempting. Oh well, I still drank it.

[mkayahara]

Tonight I'm nursing a Charles Lindbergh. Entertaining little mix of gin, Lillet and grapefruit bitters with an apricot brandy rinse. Starts off rather like a dry Martini, but ends up a bit sweet and rather apricot-y. Not the most grown-up drink I've ever had, flavour-wise, but quite pleasant.

[Yojimbo]

This is from last night:

1 part Irish Whiskey (Jameson's was on hand)

1 part brandy (Paul Mason, trying to economize)

1 teaspoon maraschino

2 dashes Peychaud's

built on the rocks and stirred, went down very well.

I also boiled up some gum arabic for making gomme syrup -- still at the ugly stage, but if it works out I'll try the smoked pinapple syrup next.

Matthew, what apricot brandy do you use in the Lindberg?

Jim

[mkayahara]

Matthew, what apricot brandy do you use in the Lindberg?

I debated the whole eau-de-vie vs. liqueur question, but went with the liqueur (Bols, since Apry isn't carried in my market). It'd be interesting to try it again with an eau-de-vie, which I bet would add some nice aromatic notes with none of the sugar.

[Chris Amirault]

Half brandy (Hine cognac), half rye (Rittenhouse) Sazerac, with gum syrup, Peychaud's, and Leopold Bros absinthe, which is just the thing to finish the fruity cognac and pick up the anise notes in the bitters.

[Tri2Cook]

Still playing with the Campari. Did a Jasmine tonight. I'd read that the gin, cointreau, campari and lemon juice add up to something remarkably similar to grapefruit juice. I would somewhat agree but I got more of a grapefruit juice with a twist of grapefruit zest impression from it. I found the bitterness to be a bit above that of the average grapefruit juice. Could just be me though. Tasty drink regardless.

[EvergreenDan]

Tri2Cook - You may have watched Robert Hess's videoon The Small Screen Network where he mentions that it tastes like grapefruit. I think the idea is that it has a similar flavor to grapefruit, but is obviously much more bitter.

I find the following to have even more of a grapefruit-like flavor:

Bitter Grapefruit Fizz

2 oz Aperol

1 oz Campari

1⁄2 oz Lime juice

2 oz Seltzer water (to top)

1 wdg Lime (as garnish)

It is more bitter than a Jasmine because of the larger proportion of amari. It make a refreshing lower-alcohol drink.

[Tri2Cook]

I haven't seen that video but I'll check it out tonight after work. I read the grapefruit comparison on one of the many cocktail blogs I check regularly, I just don't remember which one. I have Aperol coming in in the next day or two so I'll definitely try your suggestion when it gets here.

[campus five]

On the Jasmine there are the original Paul Herrington proportions, and then I've seen a lot of people use Robert Hess' modified proportions. Try both.

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. 1995 guyana rum finished in chateau yquem barrels (renegade rum co.)

.75 oz. ames farm dandelion honey syrup

.75 oz. lemon juice

ames farm dandelion is doing a stint as our honey of choice so i thought i'd run it through a series of tests... serious aromas. next time i would even consider splitting the lemon juice quotient with dry vermouth and stirring...

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. vale d'paul "nova" unaged cape verdean rum (fresh cane juice rum)

.5 oz. kuchan peach eau de vie

.5 oz. green chartreuse

.5 oz. cape verdean cinnamon liqueur

1 oz. lime juice

dash peychaud's bitters

cape verde it has been so long! to vale d'paul, i could devote the rest of my liver..

[thirtyoneknots]

On my last day at the old job back in September I was gifted a bottle of a Charbay Pomegranate Aperitif Wine, which is sort of like a pomegranate-y Lillet (though 21%), by some dear regulars. I've been drinking it mostly on the rocks or mixed with other wines (Lustau Medium Amontillado is one I've returned to more than once) but tonight was my first earnest attempt at a real cocktail with it. Not terribly imaginative, but if it ain't broke...

1.5 oz Laird's Bonded

1.5 oz Charbay Pomegranate wine

2 dashes Peychaud's

More or less a Star Cocktail variation. I did it over the rocks and skipped the usual twist because I was being lazy, but I'm glad I did--the nose on this is amazing and it really brings out the fruitiness of the Laird's. I could probably use the rest of the bottle like this.

[Tri2Cook]

Always a missing piece. Been interested in the Eeyore's Requiem since reading about it a while back. Couldn't remember the entire recipe but now that I have my Campari and Cynar, I dug it up. Oh yeah, needs Fernet Branca as well. Barrel aged, no less. The barrel aged probably won't happen anytime soon (or ever if we're being honest) but I guess I need to get that F.B. ordered soon so I can give it a less refined try. Any suggestions for giving the Cynar a try in the meantime?

[bostonapothecary]

Always a missing piece. Been interested in the Eeyore's Requiem since reading about it a while back. Couldn't remember the entire recipe but now that I have my Campari and Cynar, I dug it up. Oh yeah, needs Fernet Branca as well. Barrel aged, no less. The barrel aged probably won't happen anytime soon (or ever if we're being honest) but I guess I need to get that F.B. ordered soon so I can give it a less refined try. Any suggestions for giving the Cynar a try in the meantime?

if you end up enjoying "Eeyore's Requiem", i can recommend a thirtyoneknots inspired drink i was served recently from Will @Drink that looked something like this:

1.5 oz. cognac

.5 oz. orgeat

.5 oz. cynar

.5 oz. zirbenz stone pine liqueur

grapefruit twist

Will's recipe was a rendering of this:

Equal parts Scarlet Ibis, Zirbenz Stone Pine, and Cynar, with dash each of Angostura and (homemade) grapefruit bitters. Up, I think I used a lemon twist.

today i made this for a few guests:

1.5 oz. blanco tequila (agavales)

.5 oz. randall's pacific rim heirloom framboise

.5 oz. lemon juice

.5 oz. del maguay creme de mezcal

scant spoonful of non aromatic white sugar

the sugar content of the framboise is largely self contrasted with its own acidity and the creme de mezcal does not have enough sugar to create a broad shouldered tension between an equal volume of lemon juice so i added a little extra non aromatic sugar to stretch the drink into a shape that wouldn't be so dry as to distract from the aromas.

the aromas of randall's liqueur is well worth the funny ratios you have to fit it into. excellent foil for tequila and/or mezcal.

[KD1191]

Always a missing piece. Been interested in the Eeyore's Requiem since reading about it a while back. Couldn't remember the entire recipe but now that I have my Campari and Cynar, I dug it up. Oh yeah, needs Fernet Branca as well. Barrel aged, no less. The barrel aged probably won't happen anytime soon (or ever if we're being honest) but I guess I need to get that F.B. ordered soon so I can give it a less refined try. Any suggestions for giving the Cynar a try in the meantime?

Hmm...not sure what you're referring to by "barrel aged"*. Eeyore's Requiem is as follows:

2 oz Campari

1 oz Dolin Bianco

1/2 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Fernet (skinny)

Dash 50/50 Orange Bitters

Stirred, garnished with heavy orange oil and a pigtail twist.

Cynar is a great addition to a Manhattan. Or, use it in place of the Rye (and with orange bitters) and you get the Bitter Giuseppe. I really like it warm in toddy-like applications, the nose is spectacular. A Cynar/Yellow Chartreuse toddy called The Witch Season is currently on the menu at Sable here in Chicago.

*ETA: I see there's a recent article that discusses the drink and mentions "barrel-aged Fernet Branca". As far as I know, the Fernet used in this drink at the Violet Hour comes straight of the shelf. I'm 99% sure the "barrel-aged" refers to the process by which Fernet is made, not something that happens at Violet Hour.

Edited February 12, 2011 by KD1191 (log)