Drinks (2009–2011)

[KD1191]

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).

There are many here much more learned in the science behind the standard/optimal percentages of dilution in cocktails, but I'll agree that with hot drinks it often seems the amount of water called for is much larger than what you'd expect would result from stirring/shaking a cold cocktail. That said, something about the application of hot water can really bring the aromas and flavors out of certain elements (I'm thinking of the Cynar Toddy a few days ago...) even while they dilute them. In some cases you're adding something like tea, which in effect is serving as both a "mixer" and dilution...

[thirtyoneknots]

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..

Adding water to a drink is often a signal that the drink is or is inspired by/derived from the Old Days, when Punch was the most popular category of mixed drink. Unlike Cocktails, where dilution is undesireable, the strong flavors of punch take well to mellowing with water. Not to mention that people were generally drinking literally all day long back then and so mitigating the potency of the spirits (cask strength, of course) was a plus. Toby's drink definitely shows itself as a descendant of the hot punches of Jerry Thomas' time.

[Alchemist]

The key is not being stingy with the sweetener. There is a lot more water added to my toddies than to regular cocktails, and so I have learned to basicly double the amount of sweet that I think I am going to need. To get the richness I want the drinks border on the sweet. Then it's all about the citrus juice and essential oil, and the bitters, to add not only tartness but an edge of sharp/bitter. As we know cold retards smell and flavor, so hot drinks can be bombastic in their flavor profiles, so the tea in that drink was clutch as it gave me something to smell through my head cold.

If I could make this drink again, at a bar & when not sick, I would use some Rothman & Winter Apricot and either demerara or ginger syrup.

Cheers,

Toby

[thirtyoneknots]

If I could make this drink again, at a bar & when not sick, I would use some Rothman & Winter Apricot and either demerara or ginger syrup.

I did a toddy like this at work some time back with cognac, orchard apricot, honey, green tea, and lemon wedge. Just the thing.

[Alchemist]

So I have decided to drown this cold. In booze. Hot Booze.

Kinda Like Last Night

1.5 oz. Lairds BIB

.50 oz. Green Charteuse

.50 oz. Benedictine

1 ea Apple Spice Tea

1/2 ea Lemon Juice

3 Dsh Angostura

? ? Brown sugar (to taste)

This was waaay to busy.

So then I dug into the pantry, and found a box of Celstial seasoning Mixed Teas. Bring the noise.

Kiss My Grits (a Southern Toddy)

1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Gold

.25 oz Laphroaig

.75 oz Bulleit Bourbon

1 ea Country Peach Passion From Celestial Seasonings

3 Dash Regan's Orange #6

Orange Blossom Honey to taste

3 peels of a blood orange expressed and donated

How You Like

1.5 oz Lairds BIB

.50 oz Cherry Heering

1 ea Black Cherry Celestial Seasonings Tea

1 splsh Gilka Kummel

7 dsh Peychaud's

Um Buckwheat Honey to taste

3 ea Grapefruit peels expressed and donated

I am totally forgetting some stuff. But feeling better. Being sick ROCKS!

Toby

[bostonapothecary]

preventative medicine

.75 oz. sour orange juice

scant spoonful white sugar

1.5 oz. del maguey santo domingo albarradas

flamed sour orange twist

the character of these oranges is kind of crazy. tart and very high extract seeming. so flavorful. this bottling of mezcal is nice and meaty. though there is no bitters or liqueur this doesn't come across as lean as a simple lemon or lime sour. delicious.

[brinza]

Flipping through Robert Hess's The Essential Bartender's Guide, I came across a drink called Tango. It seems to be considerably different than the one in the Savoy and in Duffy. It may be Mr. Hess's own variation since no source is given in the book.

Equal parts:

Rum

Sweet vermouth

Dry vermouth

Benedictine

Orange juice

This was one of those drinks that as soon as it hit my tongue it became an instant new favorite. It has its own flavor and no one ingredient seems to dominate. I've made it now with different rums and different vermouths and it was good every time.

[FireAarro]

That's the Tango #2! I looooooooove it. Jay at Oh Gosh! did half a post on it once

[brinza]

That's the Tango #2! I looooooooove it. Jay at Oh Gosh! did half a post on it once

You're absolutely right. This afternoon I found it listed as the Tango No. 2 in the Waldforf-Astoria Bar Book. Good catch! I'll have to look it up on Jay's blog.

[Tri2Cook]

Somewhat a beginner to the cocktail world so when I post in this topic I'm usually going to be saying things most of you already know (or disagree with, but that's ok too). Other than a couple of standards, I've been more a beer guy over the years. Anyway, trying to play catch up and have been making the effort to mix up one cocktail I've never tried before each night after work for the past couple weeks. I've found a few that will become regulars... including tonights which was the Juliet & Romeo.

And just for the record, I think the Gin-Gin Mule might become my favorite summer drink (I say 'might' because there's still a lot I haven't tried). It's kinda scary how easy those go down.

Wish I'd started this years ago, it's almost as fun as cooking and and an excellent lesson in balancing tastes and combining flavors because there's nothing to hide behind.

[FireAarro]

brinza, what rums have you tried on the Tango no.2? I've only made it with Havana Club white so far.

[Dorek]

Last night was take 2 for a Tanqueray No. Ten martini. This time, I went 3:1 with a dash of orange bitters and a twist. Much more drinkable this time. The first time I garnished with an olive. Still doesn't taste like gin, though! I hate this stuff. Worst waste of a gift card ever.

[thirtyoneknots]

Drink tonight was all three of the 2009 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection's cask strength offerings at a dinner we had at work with them. After tasting them all we started making cocktails and things got really crazy. Some of the world's finest whiskies and the only guy who didn't have fun was the Scotch partisan who clearly just doesn't understand American Whiskey and can't enjoy things he can't be the expert on.

Best part was before everyone arrived though, with 6 glasses of whiskey poured for over 60 people...the smell in the room was incredible.

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. linie aquavit

.75 oz. rhododendron flower honey*

.75 oz. lemon juice

*the honey is just diluted 1:1 with vodka to make a preserved syrup that has about 400g/l of sugar. heat nothing. only stir patiently. don't bother to filter.

a killer sour. somehow the caraway within the aquavit was dramatically emphasized and awesomely contrasted with the unique expression of the single varietal honey.

[brinza]

brinza, what rums have you tried on the Tango no.2? I've only made it with Havana Club white so far.

So far, I've used Appleton Estate V/X, Flor de Caña Gold 4 yr, and even Kraken. I haven't tried it with white rum, but as the original recipe calls for gin, the clear spirit probably makes more sense. I have some Mount Gay Eclipse Silver that should work nicely.

[bostonapothecary]

i'm still in love with linie aquavit

.75 oz. linie aquavit

.75 oz. triple-sec

.75 oz. sweet vermouth

.75 oz. lemon juice

i made this last night for the kitchen guys. they don't really like triple-sec sours made 2:1:1 because there is not enough sugar so i tried here to add another minor sweet element as is seen in the corpse reviver no. 2.

paired with rye whiskey or an overshadowing liqueur, the caraway in the linie doesn't really stand out as a distinct aromatic interval. this drink consciously tries to respect that interval while building depth around it.

simple off the shelf parts, epic spatial effect!

[plattetude]

1 oz Laird's bonded

1/2 oz Cocchi Barolo Chinato

1/4 oz Benedictine

4 dashes Bitter Truth Xocolatl Mole bitters

I could've had several of these.

Christopher

[haresfur]

I can't (and wouldn't want to) take credit for this one:

light rum

ginger beer

vanilla ice cream

Make a float. Actually this tames the ginger beer bringing out the rum and was quite tasty. Um, would that be called a "Stormy Whiteout"?

On a related note, Starbucks coffee liqueur is really nice over ice cream.

[KD1191]

Since Dorek began discussing his disappointment with Tanq. #10, I've felt to the need to pull out my bottle and try to put it to good use. Tonight, an attempt to recreate a tasty gimlet I had at L2O in Chicago. They used Plymouth and a house-made lime cordial with a touch of Aperol.

Here's my take:

2 oz Tanqueray #10

1/2 oz lime juice

1/4 oz Aperol

1 barspoon simple syrup

Beautiful color and nice aroma...the Aperol is a bit overwhelmed by the gin. Not a bad drink, but not as good as the original.

[Dorek]

I thought the Tanq 10 might make a nice Aviation since it's more citrus-forward, but I was lazy last night, so I just made an Old-Fashioned. I really like this Bulleit Bourbon in an Old-Fashioned. Super cheap at Trader Joe's, too, 20 bucks.

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. batavia arrack van oosten

.75 oz. apricot liqueur

.75 oz. lemon juice

dash angostura bitters

.25 oz. float of smith & cross

for some reason i've sought this out time and time again.

i think the "bali passion" recipe on the side of the arrack bottle should change to this recipe. eric seed, any chance?

[Shamanjoe]

I really like this Bulleit Bourbon in an Old-Fashioned. Super cheap at Trader Joe's, too, 20 bucks.

They sell Bulleit at Trader Joe's? I'm going to have to pick up a bottle, haven't been in that place in months.

I've been feeling traditional lately, mostly making Tom Collins' with different types of gin to see which is best. So far I like Saphire, but I still haven't gone through all the bottles in my closet.

[Dan Perrigan]

An Applecart.

A couple months ago I bought a bottle of Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy. One of the first things I did (besides just drink it) was make a Sidecar using it in place of the Cognac. I named it an "Applecart" and was rather proud of myself... until I saw that the drink had been called an "Applecart" on this very forum by Katie Loeb as early as 2008. Oh well -- great minds...

Anyway, since then I've been trying to perfect this drink. With the Laird's Bonded, it always seemed to come out either too "Apple-y", too sweet, or too sour. Well, this weekend I acquired a bottle of Laird's 7 1/2 Year Old Apple Brandy. Now this stuff is NICE. Katie has said that this makes a mean sidecar so I gave it a shot. After a couple of tries I came up with this:

1 1/2 oz Laird's 7 1/2 Year old

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Lime

1 tsp 1:1 Simple Syrup

This came out great, and I'll make another later tonight. But I'd like your help perfecting this drink. Please let me know if you can think of any improvements or tweaks.

Dan

[brinza]

An Applecart.

A couple months ago I bought a bottle of Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy. One of the first things I did (besides just drink it) was make a Sidecar using it in place of the Cognac. I named it an "Applecart" and was rather proud of myself... until I saw that the drink had been called an "Applecart" on this very forum by Katie Loeb as early as 2008. Oh well -- great minds...

Actually, David Embury called it that back in 1948 in his The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, where he states it rather matter-of-factly as if the name was already in common use by that time.

(page 130, following the Side Car de Luxe recipe):

The same drink may be made with applejack in place of cognac and, when so made, it is variously known as the Kiddie Car, the Apple Car, and the Apple-Cart.

Edited February 10, 2010 by brinza (log)

[KatieLoeb]

An Applecart.

A couple months ago I bought a bottle of Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy. One of the first things I did (besides just drink it) was make a Sidecar using it in place of the Cognac. I named it an "Applecart" and was rather proud of myself... until I saw that the drink had been called an "Applecart" on this very forum by Katie Loeb as early as 2008. Oh well -- great minds...

Anyway, since then I've been trying to perfect this drink. With the Laird's Bonded, it always seemed to come out either too "Apple-y", too sweet, or too sour. Well, this weekend I acquired a bottle of Laird's 7 1/2 Year Old Apple Brandy. Now this stuff is NICE. Katie has said that this makes a mean sidecar so I gave it a shot. After a couple of tries I came up with this:

1 1/2 oz Laird's 7 1/2 Year old

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Lime

1 tsp 1:1 Simple Syrup

This came out great, and I'll make another later tonight. But I'd like your help perfecting this drink. Please let me know if you can think of any improvements or tweaks.

Dan

Would that I were able to take credit for the Applecart name, but I'm sure I saw it referred to that way somewhere and then it stuck with me...

As for your recipe, with the addition of the teaspoon of simple syrup you've pretty much approximated the ideal 3:2:1 Spirit:Sweet:Sour recipe for any sour drink, be it a Sidecar, Applecart or Margarita. Applying those proportions you'd have:

1.5 oz. 7.5 yr. old Applejack

1 oz. Cointreau

.5 oz. fresh lemon juice

If that makes it too "orangey" for you, I'd suggest trying a different orange liqueur like Gran Gala or Combier in place of the Cointreau, or just use a scant 1 oz. instead or up the lemon just a hair.

That 7.5 year old Laird's is awesome stuff, no? Closest thing to domestic Calvados I've ever tried. And a steal for the price!

edited to add:

What's hitting the spot for me right this minute is a very large tumbler filled with ice and a double shot of Eagle Rare 10 year old bourbon. It's snowing like a mother outside (for the second time in a week, I might add...) and we're expecting between 12-18" in Philly by the time all's said and done. We just got 27" of snow last Saturday! This is a record breaking winter season in the City of Brotherly Love and nothing less than some fine whiskey in a glass will do while I watch the snow pile up on the trees outside my window and the across-the-street neighbors' rooftops...

Edited February 10, 2010 by KatieLoeb (log)