Drinks! (2013 Part 2)

[Rafa]

I don't mean to speak for Adam, who may have indeed used vodka for all I know, but Ketel One also makes genevers for European markets.

[FrogPrincesse]

Ok. When I read Ketel One, I automatically assumed vodka based on what is available in the US. I did not realize that they also made a genever.

[Hassouni]

Yep, their first few hundred years of existence was a genever producer

[Adam George]

The clue is the shape of the Ketel One vodka bottle!

Indeed I used Ketel 1 Jenever. It's poking out behind the Ferrand there. It's less strong than Bols and less malty also.

Having drank their Jenever first, and Vodka days apart at a tasting, it's incredible how much of the character of the copper still is present in the vodka and how similar the two products are. There's some legit heritage behind that brand.

http://img.thewhiskyexchange.com/l/jen_ket1.jpg

Edited November 13, 2013 by Adam George (log)

[haresfur]

The clue is the shape of the Ketel One vodka bottle!

Indeed I used Ketel 1 Jenever. It's poking out behind the Ferrand there. It's less strong than Bols and less malty also.

Having drank their Jenever first, and Vodka days apart at a tasting, it's incredible how much of the character of the copper still is present in the vodka and how similar the two products are. There's some legit heritage behind that brand.

http://img.thewhiskyexchange.com/l/jen_ket1.jpg

Maybe they don't clean out the still between genever and vodka batches

[ChrisTaylor]

I bought some High West Double Rye today so an Old Fashioned seemed like a solid starting point. 2 oz rye, a couple dashes each of Angostura bitters and Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters and a lonesome sugar cube. Plus a lemon twist.

[Adam George]

Double Rye is so good.

A local bar and I banged through a bottle without them selling a drop!

[Hassouni]

And tonight's experiment, killing off the bottles of the two main spirits:

1 oz Cuervo Tradicional reposado

1.5 oz Pikesville rye

.5 oz lemon

.75 oz or so Senior Curaçao

tiny squirt of 2:1 demerara syrup

two dashes Regan's orange bitters, one dash Angostura

Shaken, up

Yeah....I won't be repeating this.

The tequila isn't playing nice. And .75 oz of curaçao is way too damn much (I started with .5, MUCH too dry, stirred in the squirt of Demerara syrup, still pretty dry, then stirred in <.25 oz more curaçao. Now it's too orangey.)

[ChrisTaylor]

I don't think agave ever does a good job of playing nice, even when it's decent quality agave. It's agave all the way or it acts all antisocial, wearing obscene t-shirts and playing vile music.

[Hassouni]

True that.

[FrogPrincesse]

Last night's cocktails.

I wanted to make something else with the dry rye gin, and chose a recipe from the St. George website. I picked the Winter Sun with Gran Classico and Lillet. I hardly ever use my bottle of Gran Classico so this was an added bonus.

The recipe sounded very sweet, but I went against my better judgment. The beautiful gin was the best part of the drink (thank god it was front and center). The candy-like flavor of the Gran Classico did not do anything good in that cocktail. I added a generous dash of Boker's bitters to mask that flavor, which was pretty successful. Still, this was a disappointment. A nice collection of pretty labels though. Anybody want that bottle of Gran Classico?

This one is my CR2 variation with rye and Bonal, You Only Live Twice. I still like it very much. Next time I will do a lemon twist for contrast and go a little heavier on the absinthe.

[Vieux Carré]

Some Fridays just cry out for a Corpse Reviver #2!

[lesliec]

And some Mondays just cry out for a corpse.

FP, how different is the Bonal to, say, Suze? I don't think I've seen it here.

[Rafa]

Very different. It's more like a fortified wine-based gentiane-quina a la Cocchi Americano, although with a mixed mistelle/brandy base rather than wine (like a Pineau des Charentes). It has a dark red fruit character (cherry, plum, grape) and is drier and less bright compared to the Cocchi; if Cocchi Americano is a zestier and more bitter Lillet, then Bonal is a darker and more complex Dubonnet. It pairs well with dark spirits.

[haresfur]

A good one to settle the stomach:

1 oz Beefeater Gin

1 oz Fernet (last of my non-Branca)

Build over ice

Add 2 oz tonic (Cascade - yes Chris it is good)

A tiny wedge of lemon squeezed over and dropped in

[lesliec]

Inspired by Czequershuus over here, last night's delight was a Tia Mia:

I used Ilegal reposado, Appleton V/X, my own Curaçao and orgeat, some very good local lime cordial and 1:1 sugar syrup. Excellent - definitely a keeper.

And promptly added to Kindred (did I just beat you, Rafa?).

[Edited 'cos the fonts went silly, and I care.]

Edited November 17, 2013 by lesliec (log)

[EvergreenDan]

And promptly added to Kindred (did I just beat you, Rafa?).

But you did share your rather-nice photo there.

[lesliec]

Oops. Sorry, Dan - don't feel left out! Happy now?

Edited November 18, 2013 by lesliec (log)

[Rafa]

I made Dan's Georgita, a peach Margarita (augmented with Chartreuse). Great stuff. Wild peach aromas. Very good balance. A good use of Mathilde Pêche, which I find candylike on its own, but really works in this drink. KC suggested this drink while I was working on my similar pear and tequila sour.

I also made a pirate rum Gimlet.

[FrogPrincesse]

Rafa - a peach Margarita, really. So much for Cynar then; you are into girly drinks now?

Speaking of which, I had a very nice Audrey Saunders-inspired Guava Sour last night. Her original called for soursop/cherimoya; I made a variation with fresh guava from my CSA (I used 1 ounce of homemade nectar). Really lovely, and pairing gin with exotic fruit is interesting and unexpected compared to the obvious pairing (rum). It brings out different flavors from the fruit.

I have two versions: a plain one, and one for Dan with Tiki accoutrements, so he does not have to spend his free time photoshopping.

[Rafa]

After endless teasing about my love of bitter black and stirred, I've gone the way of Dan and now drink all girlie drinks, all the time.

[lesliec]

My 'standard' Mai Tai again last night - 2 each Appleton VX and Wray & Nephew, 1 each orgeat, falernum and curaçao (all home-made) with a dribble of Smoke & Oakum on top. Gawd, that's lovely.

I must reveal my new collection of tiki mugs to the assembled eGullet masses sometime, but I didn't take any photos last night. (It's not an extensive collection. Three, in fact. But Wifey's getting another one for Christmas, so maybe after that.)

FP, nice to see you following my lead with the green stripey 'bamboo' straws.

[Hassouni]

Bring on the sugar, Rafa! Make a drink so sweet it crystallizes, dare?

Inspired by Jo's marathon Mai Tai tinkering, the other night I made one

1 oz lime

.75 SC

.75 Appleton 12

.5 WN

.5 Senior Curaçao

.5 Homemade crazy thick orgeat

.5 2:1 SS

Surprisingly more tart than I remember. My finger is pointing at the Wray & Nephew.

Also, a Scofflaw, both a well-made one by me and one made by my cousin who aspires to be a bartender but has never made a drink in her life...and doesn't really like any proper cocktails.

1.5 Rittenhouse

.75 lemon

.75 Noilly Prat extra dry

.25 hella thick homemade grenadine

I also spent some time experimenting with Perso-Iraqi dried limes but that can't be revealed yet....

Edited November 19, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[lesliec]

Bring on the sugar, Rafa! Make a drink so sweet it crystallizes, dare?

And then call it the Evergreen? No, maybe not - looks like there's at least three different drinks already called that.

Don't be too hard on Dan and the girly drinks. Can you be absolutely certain Dan isn't short for Danielle, anyway?

[Rafa]

Last night, two weird drinks on opposite ends of the classiness spectrum.

Airbag

by Phil Ward, Mayahuel, NYC.

1 oz Reposado Tequila, El Tesoro Reposado (Calle 23)

1/2 oz Batavia Arrack, Van Oosten (Smith & Cross)

1/2 oz Mezcal, Los Amantes Joven (Fidencio)

3/4 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula

1/4 oz Allspice Dram, St Elizabeth (homemade)

1/4 oz Bénédictine

1 ds Bitters, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole (I used Aphrodite bitters because I couldn't get my bottle of Bitter Truth mole bitters to open, despite my overwhelming manly strength)

Stir, strain, up.

My notes: Pepper, vanilla, chocolate, allspice, herbal depth, dunder, all beautifully integrated, smooth, and elegant. Wow.

Despite looking on paper like a, well, like a car crash, this is a beautifully composed drink, with every ingredient playing its part. Spicy, sweet, deep, lightly bitter, and flavorful. In the shocker of all shockers, Phil Ward really knows what he's doing. Try it and let me know whether an Airbag saves your life.

Also,

Piña Colada (Beer)

by Matt, Donna, Brooklyn, NY.

2 oz Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout

3/4 oz Coconut cream (Donna uses 3 parts Coco Lopez : 1 part coconut milk; I used coconut milk lightly sweetened with homemade falernum)

3/4 oz Pineapple juice

1/2 oz Demerara Rum, El Dorado 5 (I used Plantation 5 Year at home to good effect)

1/2 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross

1 spg Mint (as garnish)

Shake, strain over one long ice shard in a Collins, garnish with slapped mint sprig, serve with straw.

My notes: Amazing. You wouldn't guess there was beer in it, but the stout adds a silky mouthfeel and malty/chocolate notes. Great rum combo. Best Colada I've had.

The molasses/chocolate/coffee/cream notes from the milk stout functioned almost the way a touch of Cruzan Blackstrap does in a punch, although with a much drier balance. It's worth considering what else beer can do in tropical drinks; I know Jacob Grier's My Ta-IPA makes good use of IPA's grapefruity bitterness.

I realize that I've strayed from my mission by mixing a drink as ungirlie as Ward's Airbag. In my defense, it is on the sweet side.