Drinks! 2016 (Part 1)

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 2:53 AM, lesliec said:

 

My jigger struggles with 1/3 measures, but I think I'm going to have to try this one.

 

20 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Just scale the quantities up by three.

 

 

And invite two friends! Or one friend and a couple of big glasses...

[blue_dolphin]

My pyracantha jelly played a trick on me by not setting up.  In honor of today's holiday,  I turned it into a treat using Bee's Knees proportions:

2 oz gin

0.5 oz pyracantha syrup

0.5 oz lime juice

 

Edited November 1, 2016 by blue_dolphin (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Dinner here was Italian:  Fagioli e Tonno.  This weekend the theme of our library food and wine event is Italy.  Anyhow after dinner I wanted something Italian.  The idea of Aperol didn't quite do it for me, so my digestive tonight is a wee sip o' Glendalough mountain strength poitin.

 

OK, well maybe more than a wee sip, but anyhow they both begin with "I".

 

[EvergreenDan]

A friend of mine supplied the following idea:

2 parts Islay Scotch (Bowmore)

1 part Cynar

1 part Becherovka

1-2 parts dry vermouth

 

I liked this. I am currently playing with other amari for the Becherovka, which has a strong cinnamon note. Looking to use up a languishing bottle of Amaro Mio, I liked that version even better. Tonight I included a bit of Biggalet China-China with the last of the Mio (and an orange swath), but I think orange is a step in the wrong direction. If anyone else want to play along, I'd be interested to try other ideas. @FrogPrincesse will no doubt want to try Fernet Branca.

[FrogPrincesse]

Haha. That sounds like fun, but I am currently out of (mixing) scotch.

Fernet works well with Cynar (cf Eeyore's Requiem and the likes) but it's in a gin base. Fernet and scotch sounds... bold (I've had that combo a couple of times though, and it can work).

How about Suze?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Whistlepig...following grilled pork and peas and mashed potato, and a generous amount of methode rotuts.  Today is not a work day.

[lesliec]

I can hereby report, following jollity on this page and the previous, that the Red Head posted by @Craig E is freakin' delicious (whether one has a jigger that manages one-third measures or no).

[FrogPrincesse]

Manhattan with High West American Prairie bourbon, Margerum amaro, Miracle Mile forbidden bitters.

I really liked the combo. Usually I prefer rye whiskey in Manhattans but the Margerum "amaro", which is really more like a vermouth with a touch of bitterness, works great with bourbon. The Forbidden bitters add some warmth/fall flavors.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

9 hours ago, lesliec said:

I can hereby report, following jollity on this page and the previous, that the Red Head posted by @Craig E is freakin' delicious (whether one has a jigger that manages one-third measures or no).

Agreed.

[Craig E]

Two nice drinks tonight.

First, Something Bitter This Way Comes. Rye, CioCiaro, sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca, xocolatl mole bitters, salt. The rye and vermouth I used (Bulleit and Dolin) were a neutral vehicle for the dominant flavors of the amari and bitters. A nice balance of the orange CioCiaro up front and the complementary fernet and chocolate finish thereafter. Good stuff.

Second, the Hoskins Cocktail. Gin base and maraschino sweetener, with multiple layers of orange: Amer PIcon (I used my homemade Amer Boudreau), Cointreau, orange bitters (I used Fee's), and a flamed orange twist. I liked this too. I wondered if the orange-on-orange would seem gimmicky, or would end up medicinal as many orange-focused mixed drinks do for me. But this worked well to me—even using Trader Joe's gin for the Plymouth called for in the recipe. Reminded me a bit of Hall's orange-flavored Vitamin C drops. Kind of a Martinez on steroids.

 

Edited November 6, 2016 by Craig E
rearranging pics (log)

[Craig E]

Just home from the polls, made this Allie Elizabeth Sleeping. With outstanding ingredients that immigrated from France, Jamaica, Spain, and Mexico. And happy to report that the orange bitters earned the smallest share of the drink by far.

[blue_dolphin]

15 minutes ago, Craig E said:

Just home from the polls, made this Allie Elizabeth Sleeping. With outstanding ingredients that immigrated from France, Jamaica, Spain, and Mexico. And happy to report that the orange bitters earned the smallest share of the drink by far.

 

[scubadoo97]

Drinking coupious amounts of bourbon while watching the poll results 

[lesliec]

Rafa's Churchgoer tonight. Gin, genever, yellow Chartreuse and dry vermouth.

 

Really, really good. According to Kindred I'd made it before and given it four stars. Now I've bumped it to five.

 

And before you ask ... my gin, my genever, my bay seed liqueur in place of the Chartreuse, and Carpano Bianco.  So it"s probably several removes from what Rafa intended!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

It's been a while so I indulged a glass of Del Maguey Tobala.  Truly a spirit worth its asking price.

 

Before dinner was a pint of Mississippi punch.  A beverage in the regular rotation here when for whatever reason I am not serving up a mai tai.  Nor spending much time standing.

 

[sbumgarner]

A simple fall sour last night.

 

2 oz blanco tequila (I used Cimarron)

.75 oz lemon

.5 oz orgeat

.5 oz Mathilde Pear

a dash of Owl and Whale Persimmon Bitters

 

Shake, strain, coupe. The persimmon bitters are pretty good, some sweet baking spice notes, Angostura would probably work fine here too.

[Rafa]

Whiskey.

 

Lots of it.

[EvergreenDan]

Brooklyn with the last of my aged Amer Boudreau. The new batch is immature, harsh, and without refinement. Amer Trumpeau, if you will.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Unusual for me, a second cup of Mississippi punch.  A cup in this context is 16 ounces.

 

Would that I, who grew up far from the Mississippi on the banks of the Schuykill, and sometimes in, could develop a taste for Schuykill Fish-House punch.  Alas.

 

Meanwhile Mississippi punch will have to do.

 

 

[Craig E]

@Rafa's Dead Last, the Smith & Cross/Cappelletti/apricot liqueur/lime concoction mentioned upthread (before it had a name). 

Used Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot liqueur instead of the Giffard in the spec. I wonder if the Giffard (which I've never tried) is a little more subtle, because the R&W elbowed everything else out of the way. Apricot above all, and lime also prominent. I was amazed that the funk and burn of the Jamaican overproof rum was fully subdued, and the amaro was similarly gentle; both just added some nice complexity but were less noticeable than I expected.

Joins the somewhat similar Periodista and the Bitter Apricot among my favorite uses of apricot liqueur. 

[Reed & Thistle]

for the R&T cocktail list, regardless what ones personal views on it are, the Cosmopolitan fills a hole, but there was a problem; the entire focus of the bar is classic pre-prohibition and earlier cocktails.  So my research found the earliest use of the name Cosmopolitan for a cocktail was 1935.  Well ok, I can work with that as one wing of the B&B was built about that time, that can play tribute to that side of the Inn.  But I couldn't find a description of what that drink was other than it was gin based, naturally I am thinking a type of sour.  As such I attempted a deconstruction and a reconstruction with period appropriate components.  The result is what we refer to as the Deco. Certainly it is not a clone as side by side they are not the same, in fact I prefer my concoction.   I would be interested in hearing your critiques on this.  So here it is.

 

Deco

1 ½ oz gin (Tanquaray)

½ oz Cointreau

1 oz lemon juice

Bsp  raspberry liq. (alt. Chambord)

Bsp grenadine

(the grenadine really doesn't add to the drink beyond colour, but wanted it to hold a bit closer to the Cosmopolitan in appearance)

 

Gary

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Sometimes simple is best. A classic Margarita on a large rock with an outstanding tequila, Ocho plata 2014.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Another simple one from Monday (equal parts drinks are perfect for Mondays!). Negroni with New Deal Portland 33 dry gin, Campari, and Margerum amaro.

 

 

[EvergreenDan]

I remade Rafa's Dead Last but with 1.5 oz rum, 1 oz Cappelletti, and no simple. Really a great drink, and I'm not much of an apricot fan.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

An autumn favorite, Harry Craddock's Rattlesnake (with the Bartender's Choice ratios). This was terrific with Wild Turkey 101 rye.