Splificator's signature drinks @ 5 Ninth

[beans]

David Wondrich (Splificator for those not in the know -- shame on you! Read the cocktail forum more often! ) seems to have risen to the call of duty in designing 5 Ninth's signature, house cocktails. Quite nicely too.

They are the subject of this week's Shaken and Stirred, William Hamilton's column.

While I cannot quote half of the article ( ), I'll quote two paragraphs I find best highlight. (not intentionally to leave out the house signature White Star Imperial Daisy -- read the article )

The Gamma Ray, Mr. Wondrich's version of a stinger, has a scorpion's tail. You dust it with cayenne. And the Weeski, an Irish whiskey with Lillet and Cointreau, is a weeski — a stiff drink made soft by translation. It presents well, comely and cold in its coupe glass, but like the French, it gets a little cynical as it warms.

Oh, those sound fantastic. Sign me up for a Weeski.

The article continues on about the Gansevoort Fizz, accompanied by a photograph and adapted recipe of the same.

Paraphrased, the Gansevoort Fizz:

2 parts Appleton V/X rum

1 part Drambuie

1 part fresh lemon juice*

couple of dashes Peychaud bitters

chilled seltzer/soda

In an ice filled cocktail shaker, combine rum, Drambuie, fresh lemon juice and bitters. Chill by a gentle shake/vigorous stir and strain into a nine ounce glass, top with seltzer.

It appears, this cocktail is chilled, as if served up, but is in a glass without a stem. To gain an idea of a nine ounce glass -- that is generally the same as a short and squat old-fashion, but probably best in a taller, thin juice, cocktail glass -- generally the same ounces but differing and/or more pleasing shape for their purpose. I'm further guessing pre-chilling the glass in the fridge/freezer or by filling and discarding the ice water "bath" while mixing the cocktail would be considered desirable or beneficial for fighting the warming elements of a hot summer evening.

[splificator, please jump in!]

To sum things up, of Hamilton's column, I really enjoyed the following:

Mr. Wondrich has an appreciation of the antique in cocktail-making, and a talent for contemporary context. The Gansevoort Fizz, based on a 19th-century favorite, the gin fizz, is like a gramophone rag played on digital equipment.

I'm glad Splificator visits eG. I certainly appreciate reading his posts and about his contributions to the cocktail world.

[/gushing off]

Cheers!

*Cut open a lemon and squeeze it for the juice. In similar words of another eG member, Sazerac, if you dare to use anything like that reconstituted RealLemon, "I'll come into your dreams at night and taunt you mercilessly"!

Edited June 6, 2004 by beans (log)

[Libationgoddess]

Let me tell you, his Weeski is absolutely DELISH. Dave made me

one a couple of months ago, and told me it was going on his new menu.

I loved it so much that he permitted me to do a test-run with it at Bemelmans.

And of course it was an instant success....whiskey-drinking guests loved it.

It's a truly brilliant drink.

Audrey

[Splificator]

You are both way too kind (blush blush).

I'm in a bit of a rush here, but briefly--

The Fizz.

Fizzes date from the 1860s-1870s; they were always meant to be drunk quickly, more like cocktails than, say Collinses (with which they're generally confused these days). This means that there's no ice in the glass--you shake them up like a cocktail, strain them into what we would call a juice glass (you're absolutely right about that, beans), preferably one which has been chilled (right again) and give them a shot of cold soda water. They're supposed to be actively fizzing (hence the name). Thing is, they were invented before Alka-Seltzer, and were morning drinks (particularly the Gin Fizz--2 oz gin, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 teaspoon superfine sugar--or the Silver Fizz, which is the same plus an egg white).

The fizzing proves a bit of a problem if you're making them at home. A soda siphon works great, but seltzer/club soda from a bottle doesn't give it that sparkle. One old trick is to stir a little superfine sugar in after you've added the soda, which definitely raises a head. But really, making Fizzes is the best excuse to go out and buy that soda siphon you always wanted.

As for the Weeski, I posted the recipe in the Lillet thread a while back. If I knew how to link to other threads, I'd be adding that link now.

Edited because I type like a chimp on Phenobarbital.

Edited June 8, 2004 by Splificator (log)

[slkinsey]

As for the Weeski, I posted the recipe in the Lillet thread a while back. If I knew how to link to other threads, I'd be adding that link now.

It's right here.

In one of those "oh damn I'm out of everything" moments last year I was driven to match Lillet and Irish whiskey, to extremely pleasant effect. The drink, which I call the "Weeski" (that's French for "whiskey," sez me), is assembled as follows:

Stir well with cracked ice:

2 oz Irish whiskey (I like Jameson's 12 or John Powers for this)

1 oz Lillet blanc

1 teaspoon Cointreau

2 dashes Fee's orange bitters

Strain into chilled cocktail glass and twist patch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top, which you may then drop in or discard as the spirit moves you.

I find the subtlety of Lillet tends to get drowned out by strong flavors, as does that of Irish whiskey; here, they complement each other.

Slightly different formulation reported here as:

And for all of the Lillet fans:

The Weeski

What would whiskey taste like if it were invented in France? This is our guess, anyway. A 5 Ninth creation.

Stir well with cracked ice:

1 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey

3/4 oz Lillet Blonde (sweet wine)

1 teaspoon imported orange liqueur

2 dashes Fee’s West Indian Orange Bitters

Strain into chilled cocktail glass and attack with lemon twist.

[Splificator]

The one with more whiskey in it is of course the correct one.

The version of the recipe with less whiskey in it was for an event sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council, who point out that an ounce and a half of liquor, a glass of wine and a mug of beer have the same amount of alcohol, and insist that their drinks be sized more or less accordingly (although in the case of the Weeski that works out to having a beer with a half-jigger of Lillet poured into it--not that there's anything wrong with that).

[beans]

It is hard to get out of that 1 1/2 ounce frame-set when I've got liquor cost hammered into my mind.

Home cocktails are usually a bit bigger in proportions according to what appeals to the taste buds, but then that also kinda sticks and I have to make an effort to go back to the Mr. Hyde side of the bartender-team-player I have to earn a living.

I'm getting better at switching gears, I hope.