Drinks (2009–2011)

[thirtyoneknots]

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.

Whether snowstorm or heat wave, Hurricane or draught, that will put you in the right frame of mind no matter what is happening outside.

[KatieLoeb]

...that will put you in the right frame of mind no matter what is happening outside.

Indeed. And in anticipation of what will more than likely be a "snow day" off from work tomorrow, I'm on my second one...

[plattetude]

In the vein of FatGuy's Stocking the nursery-school bar, take 2, I put myself on the hook a month or so ago to devise a signature cocktail for a benefit held by and on behalf of the avocational chorus I preside over, celebrating our 85th anniversary season. I limited myself to a single cocktail that could be easily batched and would appeal to a wide range of palates. My immediate initial thought was a champagne- (or sparkling wine-) based cocktail, which would be (a) relatively low-proof, (b) festive, and © potentially just interesting enough to make people think twice about what cocktails can taste like.

So I mulled for a week or two over potential ingredients, trying first to come up with something not only hitting the mark flavor-wise, but also have some cultural significance (the choir's founder was born in Vienna and grew up in Frankfurt before coming to NYC as an adult). The list of decent, cocktail-friendly liquors and spirits from Austria and Germany isn't all that compelling (Jagermeister and champagne? no thanks), and that which might've been workable would be spendy (I toyed with the idea of Obstler eau de vie, but no way). So ultimately I trashed the "cultural" angle and went strictly to flavor. I had four paths of possible ingredients to test and tweak (and my wife has the liver damage to show for it), which resulted in this:

The Margarete

3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

3/4 oz Plymouth gin

1/2 oz Aperol

2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters

1 dash Angostura bitters

3-4 oz sparkling wine (Gruet Blanc de Noirs for this occasion)

Stir spirits and bitters over ice. Strain into flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon twist.

It was, I am happy to report, not only a gorgeous looking drink, with a rich orange hue, also a delicious and well-received drink. (And I have lots of cocktail base left over, so it looks like I'll be playing with other things to do with that stuff too, without having to crack open a bottle of sparkling wine every time.)

Christopher

[mkayahara]

The list of decent, cocktail-friendly liquors and spirits from Austria and Germany isn't all that compelling

The Germans and Austrians are awfully good at making fruit eaux-de-vie, but I imagine you were looking for from decent, cocktail-friendly and affordable!

Edit: Either way, what you ended up with does sound good. If only I had a bottle of Aperol...

Edited February 11, 2010 by mkayahara (log)

[plattetude]

The list of decent, cocktail-friendly liquors and spirits from Austria and Germany isn't all that compelling

The Germans and Austrians are awfully good at making fruit eaux-de-vie, but I imagine you were looking for from decent, cocktail-friendly and affordable!

Edit: Either way, what you ended up with does sound good. If only I had a bottle of Aperol...

Yeah, like I said, I considered toying with an obstler (apple/pear eaux de vie), which to my mind is as much Austrian as German in terms of cultural relevance, but I wasn't about to spring for several bottles of it to feed the unwashed masses, particularly when it would likely be a *very* finicky ingredient.

I bet Campari would make a reasonable substitution, if a bit more bracing. (The beauty of Aperol for this occasion is that it's still low enough profile that people don't make a face when they see it as a cocktail ingredient, unlike Campari, which definitely has a reputation as "eww, I can't drink that stuff.")

Christopher

[campus five]

I picked up some homemade chocolate/chili bitters today at barkeeper here in Los Angeles, and I wanted to put them to good use. I was thinking of just making a manhattan, but then I thought of starting with a cocktail that already has some chocolate-y flavors so I went with a tweaked Little Italy.

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse BIB

1/2 oz Carpano Antica

1/2 oz Cynar

several dashes Chocolate Chili Bitters

Cherry

Pretty good, and it really pushes the chocolate flavor out in front.

[bmdaniel]

We were having hot toddies yesterday to celebrate our dallas snowday. Someone requested something reminiscent of herbal tea, so I made a:

1.5 oz Famous Grouse

0.5 oz Green Chartreuse

Teaspoon rich simple

Lemon peel

Pretty good (if you're in the mood for a scotchy herbal tea) - honey as the sweetener would've probably worked well too.

ETA: Also 2 oz boiling water.

Edited February 12, 2010 by bmdaniel (log)

[eas]

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?

S- do you have a name for it? :-> We actually just changed the recipes on the bottle and Bali Passion is gone. IRRC it now has the Bombay Govt Punch.

[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?

S- do you have a name for it? :-> We actually just changed the recipes on the bottle and Bali Passion is gone. IRRC it now has the Bombay Govt Punch.

"the shining path". if maoist rebels had a drink, it is what it would be.

[KD1191]

The "Growing Old and Dying Happy is a Hope, Not an Inevitability" by Maks of Cure:

2 oz Cynar

1 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye

Pinch of salt

2 pieces of lemon peel (+1 to garnish)

Herbsaint (for rinse)

Stir Cynar, rye and salt to combine.

Express and donate two pieces of lemon peel.

Add ice and stir.

Strain into an Herbsaint-rinsed coupe.

Garnish with an additional lemon peel.

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. auchentoshan "select"

.5 oz. ardbeg 10

1 oz. vergano "americano"

spoonful of rhododendron flower honey syrup

this was a really interesting drink. i think i'm going to put it on the menu as a "bobby burns", but with a chestnut flower honey. the only scotch we keep on the bar is the auchentoshan "select" which is kind of bland, and in the context of the drink doesn't have enough contrasting aroma to create solid spatial effect with honey and the fruity bittered wine. the peatyness of ardbeg definitely solves the depth problem. another fun way to come to a similar result would be to use cognac and mezcal.

ingredient esoterism. epic spatial effect!

[KD1191]

Seeing Cynar and brown sugar/coffee syrup combined to good effect over in the Batavia Arrack thread, I thought the same combination might be tasty in a toddy.

2 oz Cynar

3/4 oz Brown sugar/Coffee Syrup (this stuff smells amazing, but the flavor is not nearly as bold, might need a full oz).

Slice of Lemon

4 oz Hot Water

Pretty tasty, and quite fragrant. I wonder how Averna would work...

[eje]

It was midnight, and I'd made a couple bad drinks. Felt like rewarding myself with a Scotch Cocktail. Maybe an Affinity. Is that a Scotch bottle at the back? No? Oh, it's Smith and Cross. Hm. What the hell.

1 oz Smith & Cross

1 oz Punt e Mes

1 oz Dry Vermouth

But what can I do to make it a bit more Scotchy? Oh, I know! This Mescalero Mezcal is damn smoky. True, only 178 bottles were imported into the US, so maybe just a rinse on the glass (with the rest going directly into my mouth).

Huh, goddamn that's tasty. I should email Craig, as it's something he'll like. Name? Name?

Oh, hahahaha!

"Ashtray Heart"

[filip]

Erik Adkins made me an excellent drink the other night at Heavens Dog in SF. Not sure what the official name is (or if it has one) but it's another variation of the many borough drinks (red hook, green point, etc..).

2 oz Rye

1/2 oz Averna

1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (rothmans and orchard)

Delish, one of the more memorable drinks I've had recently.

Maybe the other Erik (eje) can find out what the name is

[bostonapothecary]

It was midnight, and I'd made a couple bad drinks. Felt like rewarding myself with a Scotch Cocktail. Maybe an Affinity. Is that a Scotch bottle at the back? No? Oh, it's Smith and Cross. Hm. What the hell.

1 oz Smith & Cross

1 oz Punt e Mes

1 oz Dry Vermouth

But what can I do to make it a bit more Scotchy? Oh, I know! This Mescalero Mezcal is damn smoky. True, only 178 bottles were imported into the US, so maybe just a rinse on the glass (with the rest going directly into my mouth).

Huh, goddamn that's tasty. I should email Craig, as it's something he'll like. Name? Name?

Oh, hahahaha!

"Ashtray Heart"

i just whipped one up with vergano's "americano" instead of punt y mes which i lacked and a chichicapa rinse. i may do it again switching to lemonhart 151 instead of smith & cross. there is a lot of wisdom to three equal parts with two being aromatized wines. the savoy would be proud.

delicious.

[eas]

With my rollerbag resting by the barshelf, it was time to show some respect for the battered road warrior.

"Socks"

2oz Sea Wynde

2 pathetic small ice cubes

a clean glass

enjoying the rum, and most definitely doing the laundry in the morning. Any one of the four or five drinks posted above this would be preferable and recommended, but this tot before nighttime is just fine and fitting.

[eje]

Fairview Cocktail, because it was the first cocktail in "Rogue Cocktails" that I can make without too much trouble.

But goddammn it.

alex chilton dies

[EvergreenDan]

Fairview Cocktail, because it was the first cocktail in "Rogue Cocktails" that I can make without too much trouble.

Because you always keep Zirbenz Stone Pine at hand? What does that stuff taste like? Is it similar to Clear Creek Douglas Fir Eau-de-Joist? And how was the Fairview?

Edited March 18, 2010 by EvergreenDan (log)

[eje]

Because you always keep Zirbenz Stone Pine at hand? What does that stuff taste like? Is it similar to Clear Creek Douglas Fir Eau-de-Joist? And how was the Fairview?

I actually haven't had the clear creek fir eau-de-joist, so can't say if it is similar, but yeah, there is a bottle of Zirbenz at the back of the kitchen cabinet where I keep the upstairs booze, so the fairview was less trouble than heading downstairs to retrieve the Cynar or another of the common ingredients in Rogue Cocktails.

A sort of "imperfect Manhattan" with a Islay scotch rinse and hint of pine, the Fairview Manhattan is delicious! Perhaps a bit less "Rogue" than many of the other drinks, but for someone who is in a bit of a Scotch phase, just what the doctor ordered.

[vice]

If you're going through a Scotch phase, give Maks' improved Scotch sling a try. I've found it just the thing for our early-spring warm spell, though I think it could be stretched out a tad with some soda water.

[bostonapothecary]

1.5 oz. auchentoshan "select"

.5 oz. ardbeg 10

1 oz. vergano "americano"

spoonful of rhododendron flower honey syrup

this was a really interesting drink. i think i'm going to put it on the menu as a "bobby burns", but with a chestnut flower honey. the only scotch we keep on the bar is the auchentoshan "select" which is kind of bland, and in the context of the drink doesn't have enough contrasting aroma to create solid spatial effect with honey and the fruity bittered wine. the peatyness of ardbeg definitely solves the depth problem. another fun way to come to a similar result would be to use cognac and mezcal.

ingredient esoterism. epic spatial effect!

i did revisit this with the chestnut flower honey and it was exactly what i was looking for. unfortunately peat smoke as opposed to mezcal smoke proved dissonant for many in my focus group so who knows if it will make the menu.

i just retried a version at home as:

.5 oz. del maguey "chichicapa"

1.5 oz. cognac (gaston lagrange)

1 oz. vergano americano

spoonful of benedictine

fairly cool, but the benedictine as opposed to the focused flavors of the varietal honeys i keep at work, created this weird nut like character. it reminded me of luxardo abano amaro. fairly cool but not what i wanted. i want a focused futuristic roundness with strange intervals from the honey, americano, and cognac. i should have also added a dash of peychaud's bitters. what i really need is the bitter corsican strawberry tree honey, but i have to wait for the next vintage because i sold too much.

not inharmonious but too stodgy.

[thirtyoneknots]

[...]

I actually haven't had the clear creek fir eau-de-joist, so can't say if it is similar

[...]

I can say they are not very similar at all...to grossly oversimplify the issue, Zirbenz tastes more like a pine cone and Clear Creek tastes more like a pine needle.

edit: formatting

Edited March 19, 2010 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[eje]

If you're going through a Scotch phase, give Maks' improved Scotch sling a try. I've found it just the thing for our early-spring warm spell, though I think it could be stretched out a tad with some soda water.

Interesting. Lemon, honey, and sweet vermouth in a cocktail. Reminds me a bit of the Los Angeles, a cocktail I've had great luck with. Anyway, with Laphroig 10 this is pretty tasty, uh, in a peaty kind of way. More of an old-fashioned, really, than a sling, but who am I to quibble.

[KD1191]

We've been enjoying the Vellocet from Rogue Beta Cocktails...this was based on it:

2 oz Pisco (La Botija Taberno Quebranta)

1 1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice

1/2 oz Honey Syrup (infused with Lavender and Seville Orange Peel)

1/2 oz Wray & Nephew Over proof Rum

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

1 Dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Shake and strain, coupe garnished with grapefruit twist. If I'd had some mint, I would have built it in a Collins and done a swizzle, with a 'blue blazer' of W&N to burn the mint as the Vellocet does with Green Chartreuse.

[bostonapothecary]

2 oz. unaged cape verdean rum (from a new producer: fortaleza "grogue")

1 oz. lime juice

1 oz. basket pressed strawberry syrup (400g/l sugar)

dash peychaud's bitters

today was nice so i hit up hay market and found everyone selling strawberries. the basket press worked really well to yield a clear juice which was really surprising because the centrifugal acme juicers have a really hard time with them. i put them in the press whole which i regret because there was quite a few uncrushed berries in the press cake which means my yield could have been better if i actually crushed them beforehand. because these aren't perfectly ripe summer strawberries, their skin is tougher than i thought.

a great simple sour with epic fresh strawberry aroma.

this rum is great and barely different than the unaged JM which was distributed by grape moments who supposedly ran out. fortaleza is distributed by a small firm in brockton.