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Drinks! (2013 Part 2)


lesliec

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A cocktail is born ...

Last night felt like a good night (there are no bad ones) to visit our favourite bar, the Hawthorn Lounge in downtown Welly. While getting ready to go out a name/concept for a cocktail popped into my head, so when we got there I asked Gian to help me create it. The idea was something smoky with a good bitter element. With a bit of thought and some ideas from both of us, we had this:

Toast2.jpg

The Nice Bitter Toast.

The smoky bit is Mezcal, the bitter is Cynar (because Gian knows I like it), helped out with tequila, lemon juice, carrot marmalade (because it was there, plus it adds to the toasty vibe), simple syrup and an egg white. It's probably a little heavy on the lemon to be in my personal Top 20, but I'm notoriously averse to sour so others may like it just as it is. If we'd had any to hand, I think a sprinkle of toast crumbs on top might have been a nice touch.

[Moderator note: This topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Drinks! (2013, part 1)]

Edited by Mjx
Moderator note added. (log)

Leslie Craven, aka "lesliec"
Host, eG Forumslcraven@egstaff.org

After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives ~ Oscar Wilde

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lesliec- this looks good. It reminds me very much of the Old Sombrero, another tequila/mezcal/cynar/egg white drink I had at Comme Ça, a restaurant & bar in LA. They serve it tall with soda water and it makes a great brunch drink (French bistro food + craft cocktails = bliss).

Last night I wanted something strong in the old-fashioned family. I went with a Monte Carlo, a David Embury creation with rye, Benedictine, and Angostura bitters (ratios from the Bartender's Choice app). I had been introduced to this cocktail at the Varnish a while back. They garnish it with lemon & orange peel, but I had run out of lemons so I went with orange only. With Rittenhouse rye it's a fantastic drink.

9959787945_7e913593bc_z.jpg

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I had a delicious fiddy-fiddy Martini at Pouring Ribbon's last night with Perry's Tot Navy Strength Gin and Dolin Dry Vermouth, orange bitters and a lemon twist. Dolin is so good. I don't know why I don't stock it more often.

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”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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Okay. Okay. I'll chime in with a recipe or two.

I'm creating new drinks for the winter menu.

These two drinks I nailed in one hit and have received great feedback thus far.

The first is a Sour inspired by a blackberry/tonka pastry from the afternoon tea service and the general shift toward apple, blackberry, blueberry and cassis in the desserts.

1.75oz Chivas Regal 12 Scotch

1.25oz Plymouth Sloe Gin

1.00oz Winter Berry Shrub*

1.00oz Lemon Juice

4 good dashes Bob's Cardamom Bitters (From CK Bitters Bottle - Use one good squirt from original dropper)

1 Clarence Court Duck Egg White

Double shake. Fine Strain into coupe.

Garnish with two blueberries sandwiching one blackberry on a golden cocktail stick

Dust with fresh grated tonka bean.

*Winter Berry Shrub

In a boston tin, take two ounces of Monin (gasp) Blackberry Syrup and thoroughly muddle in 10 Blueberries and 5 Blackberries.

Add a further three ounces of syrup and one ounces of Apple Cider Vinegar and three good grinds of both salt and pepper.

Leave to steep in a bainmarie of hot tap water for a hour, stirring and prodding at any whole pieces occasionally. Alternatively mix in a thermomix at 125 degrees Fahrenheit, if you're rich.

Double fine strain and bottle. Will keep. Refrigerate if you like.

A note on using Monin:

I doubt it's the same for the rest of the world but my Monin Blackberry claims 44% fruit juice content - 22% of the total is blackberry. Given that the syrup has an overall sweetness similar to their Gomme, Sugar Cane Syrup or a 2:1 solution - around 65 Brix - this is a good solid fruit content and makes a great, convenient base for modifying.

Sorry if this is not "craft" enough, but I'm not going to waste valuable man hours on prep. I have a small team and prep is done on the fly during service.

The next drink is a flip that using the amazing Hibiki 17. I love this Whisky for its balance of fruit and cocoa and that is what this drink is about.

2.50oz Hibiki 17 Blended Japanese Whisky

1.00oz Edmond Briotett Creme de Cacao Blanc

0.50oz Edmond Briotett Creme de Apricot Liqueur

0.50oz Cream Sherry

0.75oz Double Cream

2 Dashes Bitter Truth Naked Grouse Bitters (From original bottle - Use two from CK bottle. And don't ask, I've no idea where they're from. Probably promo' material.)

1 Whole Clarence Court Duck Egg.

Double shake and strain into small chilled white wine glass. I'm using a Schott Zwiesel Riesling glass, I believe.

Dust with a very light sprinkle of cinnamon, attach an orange twist and float a small dark chocolate tile bearing your hotel's coat of arms.

(Please note that with with the exception of the shrub which is an accurate conversion, cocktail recipes are given in US ounces for convenience and do not represent the volume of the actual serve. Once you Americans accept that 20ml "ounces" make much more sense, this will become easier for all of us)

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I had a delicious fiddy-fiddy Martini ...

Hmmm... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fiddy

"And Dan said,

'Yo, Aud', yer Fiddy Fiddies are hot,

But we like yer pronunciation,

Not one jot.'"

Adam "50 Pence" George

Drink Craft or Quit Buyin'

2013

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The Dead Parrot; Built from the ground up by bartenders, for everyone:

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I had a delicious fiddy-fiddy Martini ...

Hmmm... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fiddy

Urban Dictionary?

50laugh.gif

PS- I'm just following Audrey Saunders' lead...

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”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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The gods of serendipity, or maybe just cocktails, were smiling on me last night. I set out to make a Suzette (gin, sweet vermouth, gentian) but grabbed the Cynar bottle instead of the Punt e Mes that was right beside it. And, as it seems with all the other variants on the Negroni theme, it worked rather well.

I've searched Kindred Cocktails and CocktailDB but the gin/Cynar/gentian combination doesn't appear. So I claim at least some degree of originality.

For your pleasure, the Choke up, little Suzy:

ChokeSuzy.jpg

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Leslie Craven, aka "lesliec"
Host, eG Forumslcraven@egstaff.org

After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives ~ Oscar Wilde

My eG Foodblog

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.5 oz. tabasco aromatized gin

1 oz. blanco tequila

.75 oz. lemon juice

.75 oz. high concept grenadine #fail **

**the grenadine here isn't too amazing but was an attempt to make a concentrated grenadine that used the exotic sugar trehalose as a fixative to prevent aroma from evaporating as it was concentrated. the main problem of using trehalose in this application is that it is half as sweet as sucrose so it take a lot to make up for sweetness therefore diluting your reduction. I can see how it makes sense for dehydrated fruit slices and leathers and stuff like that because it can be added without over sweetening but here it is probably a failure.

the drink is pretty good but more for the ridiculous tabasco aroma. at least we can cross this idea off the list.

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A round of mezcal "Mojitos." To quote Terry Lennox on the subject of another drink, it beats rum Mojitos hollow.

DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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A round of mezcal "Mojitos." To quote Terry Lennox on the subject of another drink, it beats rum Mojitos hollow.

Rafa- what mezcal did you use?

Fidencio Clásico, which has moderate smoke and a lot of jammy fruit on the palate. I could see how something heavier, like Sombra or Vida, would overwhelm. I might cut it with a tequila (or even a rum) in that case.

I also made a variant with Crémant and a homemade serrano syrup that I really dug.

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DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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A round of mezcal "Mojitos." To quote Terry Lennox on the subject of another drink, it beats rum Mojitos hollow.

There's a bar in DC that does that. Quite good. I wouldn't say they beat rum mojitos hollow though - a mojito is supposed to be a clean, refreshing, effervescent drink for hot weather. Mezcal by its very nature doesn't have that effect. A Mezcal buck with mint would probably be superb though...

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A round of mezcal "Mojitos." To quote Terry Lennox on the subject of another drink, it beats rum Mojitos hollow.

Rafa- what mezcal did you use?

Fidencio Clásico, which has moderate smoke and a lot of jammy fruit on the palate.

Thanks. Added to the booze wish list!
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A round of mezcal "Mojitos." To quote Terry Lennox on the subject of another drink, it beats rum Mojitos hollow.

There's a bar in DC that does that. Quite good. I wouldn't say they beat rum mojitos hollow though - a mojito is supposed to be a clean, refreshing, effervescent drink for hot weather. Mezcal by its very nature doesn't have that effect. A Mezcal buck with mint would probably be superb though...

Mezcal's never going to be as light-bodied or as "clean" as (Cuban-style) rum, but I still found these refreshing and more-ish on an unseasonably hot and muggy night. Then again, I used a relatively light mezcal.

Thanks. Added to the booze wish list!

I recommend it. It's complex and sippable at a very reasonable price.

DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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A round of mezcal "Mojitos." To quote Terry Lennox on the subject of another drink, it beats rum Mojitos hollow.

There's a bar in DC that does that. Quite good. I wouldn't say they beat rum mojitos hollow though - a mojito is supposed to be a clean, refreshing, effervescent drink for hot weather. Mezcal by its very nature doesn't have that effect. A Mezcal buck with mint would probably be superb though...

I put something on a cocktail list maybe seven years ago called the tlaxcala verde which was basically a tequila mojito. it got its name from a pulque drink attributed to the region that was made with mint and limes. those simple variations can be so much fun.

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creator of acquired tastes

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Happy with this fortified wine lead Creole drink.

1.25oz Lillet Rose

1.25oz Amontillado Sherry

0.75oz Pikesville Rye

0.75oz Remy Martin VSOP

0.50oz Benedictine DOM

4 Dash Peychaud's Bitters

2 Dash Angostura Bitters.

Stir over cubed ice,

strain into a small chilled wine glass rinsed with Absinthe

Lemon twist, discard.

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I can't seem to master the fine art of "not violating very basic terms of fair use," so just pretend I responded to your comment with a picture of a smiling Bertram Cooper, serene and smug, in the offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

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”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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Rafa has much to answer for, the bounder. Last night we had his The Man Comes Around again. It was so good we then had to have another one ...

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Leslie Craven, aka "lesliec"
Host, eG Forumslcraven@egstaff.org

After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives ~ Oscar Wilde

My eG Foodblog

eGullet Ethics Code signatory

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So I want to go on record as possibly creating this drink.

The Lion's Tail Swizzle.

I did this once at home, and had it recreated tonight (my birthday) by the masterful bartenders at the Passenger, DC

It's a basic Lion's Tail (bourbon, pimento dram, lime), but swizzled - so a bit of mint and bitters added, with crushed ice as a long drink.

I'm drunk so excuse the language, but FUCK YEAH!

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So I want to go on record as possibly creating this drink.

The Lion's Tail Swizzle.

I did this once at home, and had it recreated tonight (my birthday) by the masterful bartenders at the Passenger, DC

It's a basic Lion's Tail (bourbon, pimento dram, lime), but swizzled - so a bit of mint and bitters added, with crushed ice as a long drink.

I'm drunk so excuse the language, but FUCK YEAH!

Sounds nice. To paraphrase WC Fields, "Take the lion by the tail and face the situation"

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

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