Post Your New Cocktail Creations Here

[notahumanissue]

I did mentally toy with the idea of a foam based on the elderflower liqueur.  Still think it might be fun...  Maybe a bit more citrus and an egg white wouldn't be out of the question here.

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I actually played around with St-Germain-as-foam not long ago. Didn't have any chemicals on hand, so i just put some of the liqueur, egg white, and a bit of lemon juice (as the acid stabilizer) into a whipper. Pretty tasty, and a great textural addition to cocktails that have worked well the the St-Germain already.

Edited September 6, 2007 by notahumanissue (log)

[Mayur]

Given that this is how "foam" is made by 90% of the "foam"-making populace, I think you're fine with the whipper. Now to buy a new one since my old one has gone MIA...

Next cocktail: More fun and games with the Noilly Ambre

"Rasam cocktail"

1.5 oz Junipero

1 oz tomato water

1 oz Noilly ambre

lightly bruised sprig cilantro + one Serrano pepper

3 pinches cumin-pepper powder (50/50 cumin seed/black pepper, toasted and ground)

1 pinch demerara sugar

2 dashes lime juice

Combine ingredients in mixing glass with crushed ice. Stir 30-60 seconds and strain into cocktail glass rimmed with salt.

Wish I could dispense with the lime juice, since it clouds up the drink, but you really need the citrus tang to make this work. Probably could substitute tamarind water, but then it'd look *really* ugly...

[Nathan]

fiddled around last night with a Manhattan variation:

2 rye (Rittenhouse Bonded)

1 sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)

couple dashes of orange bitters

washed a glass with about .25 compass box peat monster. left it in the glass.

terrific.

[eje]

Given that this is how "foam" is made by 90% of the "foam"-making populace, I think you're fine with the whipper. Now to buy a new one since my old one has gone MIA...

[...]

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I might also add, I recently had a cocktail with a Xanthan (or was it Lecithin?) foam, and while it looked good to start with, it got pretty ugly about the time you get half way through the cocktail. Weird lumps of undefined foam goo floating at various levels in the cocktail. Never really noticed this as much with an egg white foam. Well, at least egg white foams seem to look more "natural" to me.

Egg whites are bad enough; but, I've also read that some of these other products can be a real pain to clean off your equipment.

[notahumanissue]

Given that this is how "foam" is made by 90% of the "foam"-making populace, I think you're fine with the whipper. Now to buy a new one since my old one has gone MIA...

[...]

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I might also add, I recently had a cocktail with a Xanthan (or was it Lecithin?) foam, and while it looked good to start with, it got pretty ugly about the time you get half way through the cocktail. Weird lumps of undefined foam goo floating at various levels in the cocktail. Never really noticed this as much with an egg white foam. Well, at least egg white foams seem to look more "natural" to me.

Egg whites are bad enough; but, I've also read that some of these other products can be a real pain to clean off your equipment.

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I think maybe whoever prepared the foam didn't dissolve the chemicals properly before "foaming," or used far too much of it -- excess creating those unpleasant clumps. Yuck.

Did the foam have an overly bitter taste?

[slkinsey]

...I recently had a cocktail with a Xanthan (or was it Lecithin?) foam, and while it looked good to start with, it got pretty ugly about the time you get half way through the cocktail.  Weird lumps of undefined foam goo floating at various levels in the cocktail.  Never really noticed this as much with an egg white foam.  Well, at least egg white foams seem to look more "natural" to me.

Xanthan gum is a thickener and stabilizer, so it must have been lecithin. Lecithin also stabilizes emulsions, and is a surfactant. But I don't think you can create a stable foam by simply adding lecithin to something that would otherwise not foam (e.g., water and ethanol). Are you sure it wasn't a gelatin foam?

It's unclear to me that there is anything that works better for alcohol foams than egg white.

[eje]

No, I'm pretty sure it was Lecithin, then. I don't know what else might have been in there; but, don't remember any mention of gelatin.

I didn't notice an unpleasant flavor.

Interesting, yeah, I haven't had much urge to play with these sorts of products for cocktails, too much on the plate already, and eggs work perfectly fine for any use I've run across so far.

[KatieLoeb]

Tonight's variant. Perfecting the exact proportions for a drink to match the pork loin course for the Cocktail Dinner we're having at my place of employ on Sunday evening. Chef Jim and I collaborated on this four course/four cocktail pairing, and this was the only drink I had only a conception for, but no actual practice making.

Apple Manhattan

2 oz. Eagle Rare 10 year old bourbon

1 oz. Berentzen's Apfelkorn Apple Schnapps

.5 oz. Punt e Mes

Dash of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters

Shake and strain over fresh ice with a cherry.

The amaro vermouth dials back the sweetness of the bourbon and apple schnapps while still adding the vermouth aromatics that are necessary to call this a proper Manhattan. Very good on the first try. I don't think I'll tweak this any further.

[eje]

Was reading Pynchon's "Against the Day." Contains many references to Absinthe, and in general quite a bit of drinking. Nice descriptions of the Corpse Reviver No. 3 (Death in the Afternoon) etc.

Towards the end a drink is referenced called the "Crocodile". Pynchon describes it as equal parts trois-six, rum, and absinthe.

Trois-six is a name they use for unaged grape brandy in the Normandy region of France. Basically high proof moonshine, making the Crocodile, uh, ridiculously potent.

Anyway, it seemed like a kinder, gentler version of this cocktail might be fun.

Currently experimenting with Barbancourt 5 star rum, Pineau de Charentes, a dash of Absinthe, bitters, and a twist.

Last variation, 1 1/2 Rum, 3/4 Pineau, dash Absinthe, dash angostura, grapefruit twist was interesting. A bit too harmonious and single noted; but, promising. Thought I might call it the "Cayman".

[plattetude]

I had a brainstorm recently to marry Campari and St. Germain, and boy howdy did it work for me. Herewith, my untitled concoction:

2 oz rye (Rittenhouse bonded)

1/2 oz St. Germain Elderflower

1 tsp Campari

dash lemon bitters (The Bitter Truth)

Stirred and served and enjoyed in chilled cocktail glass.

I'd imagine it would work equally well with a reposado tequila, or gin for that matter.

Christopher

[Morgan_Weber]

Started making this last week and can't stop drinking it. It's a great fall drink...kinda spicy.

1 ½ oz New Orleans Cajun Spiced Rum

¾ oz Creole Clement Rhum

½ oz Velvet Falernum

½ oz Lemon Juice

¾ Teaspoon Caster Sugar

Dash of Regan’s No. 6 Bitters

3 Brandied Cherries and a dash of their juice

Combine in a shaker full of ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with the cherries.

[Bueno]

I'm new to cocktails and just started playing with them, and I've created a Martini variation that I'm really fond of. If you'd like to try it, please let me know what you think!

Dirty Lime & Onion Eater

Martini Variation

1 1/2 oz Beefeater Lime Gin

1/2 oz Olive Juice from Jarred Onion-Stuffed Olives

Lime zest, juice and wedge

Onion-stuffed Olive

1. Fill a shaker with ice.

2. Add gin and olive juice, and a squeeze of lime juice and shake.

3. Strain into chilled vodka glass rimmed with lime zest and garnished with the onion-stuffed olive, the lime zest and wedge of lime.

[eje]

Vieux Carre Variation 2

1 oz Highland Park 12

1 oz Calvados Roger Groult, Réserve 3 years old

1 oz M&R Bianco Vermouth

Dash Benedictine

Dash Angostura

Dash Peychaud's

Stir, strain, grapefruit peel twist.

[bostonapothecary]

prelude to a kiss (like the duke ellington song)

2 oz. gin

3/4 oz. batavia arrack based ratafia*

1/4 oz. fernet

stirr, use appropriate ice, etc.

this drink is kind of like the "hanky panky" that is being widely drank around boston these days. i really liked the "hanky panky" but it uses sweet vermouth instead of the ratafia and sort of lacks some fruit depth which could push it over the top. unfortunately no products really exist on the market to give the drink what it needs so i just made something up. when the drink is at its most cold the fernet dominates but as it warms slightly and develops the intense fruit comes into focuse... that fresh breath is the prelude to a kiss...

*the ratafia is based on pomegranite seeds and strives to be like cointreau in the way that it has the same alcohol content and sugar content. one difference is that it brings some degree of acidity (which could be toned down because i think it overall had an intensity beyond cointreau). the natural acidity lends the liqueur well to non sour drinks but also doesn't interfere too much with a 2:1:1 pegu kind of thing. the batavia arrack brings the right alcohol content, exoticism, and some sort of subliminal terrior kind of thing... a subliminal amount of cardamom seed is also added...

[Mayur]

Mmm!

Might you share your ratafia recipe with us mortals, or is it a trade secret?

[Mayur]

Cocktail of the day:

The Gibraltar

1.5 gin (Plymouth, all I have left and fine for this anyway)

0.75 suze

1 honeyed vinegar (1 part champagne vinegar, 1 part white balsamic, 1 part wildflower honey, 1 part membrillo dissolved in water)

2 dashes orange bitters

[This is inspired, incidentally, by the use of a cocktail containing concord grape vinegar developed by donbert at PDT.]

All I have to say is that I may just give up thinking about making my own vermouths and just do vinegar for cocktails; it's a delicious input into these sorts of drinks. I was basically playing around with Pegu Club's white negroni to get at this, but it's so much more Spanish/North African in sensibility. (Suze seems to be all over the place in the former French colonies, FWIW.) But I'm definitely thinking that spices and vinegars in cocktails are the coming trend, just because there's such a world of possibilities out there for experimentation.

[Bueno]

Mayur, I tried your cocktail over the weekend and it was really tasty. I too am enamoured with the current savoury focus in cocktails. I'm playing with a pear vinegar at the moment, actually.

In honour of Halloween...

Black & Orange

3 oz. Coca-Cola

2 oz. Jack Daniels

1 oz. Cointreau

2 Dashes Regan's Orange Bitters

Squeeze of fresh orange

Garnish: orange wedge

Shake well with ice, strain into a lowball/old-fashioned/rocks glass, few cubes in the glass, and garnish with the juice from an orange wedge on the side of the glass.

Orange and coke go really nicely together, and I think this is a lot more cohesive than my last drink. Please try, if you're in the mood. I imagine this would also work well with Bacardi if you're more of a rum-and-coker at heart.

[Amarantha]

Mentioned to my fiance last night that I was thinking of something to make with white rum. He suggested rum with a little soy sauce and chilli oil. Intrigued, I went with the idea, but instead of chilli oil I used chilli vodka - this batch is less spicy than the last but has a lovely Locoto flavour. Result:

1 shot white rum

1 shot chilli vodka

soy sauce to taste

stirred inna martini glass

Worked surprisingly well The soy and rum were nicely balanced. Both flavour and heat of the chilli vodka were a little lost in the background - might add some tabasco next time. I could try his idea of chilli oil, but I didn't think it would mix very well. Do any cocktails use oily ingredients (apart from the classic citrus twist)?

[Journey]

We have to work on a good drink involving use of hot pepper or chili oil (BESIDES a Bloody Mary, I mean). I'm trying to think of what combinations of alcohol and base liquids this would work with besides a vegetable base like Tomato juice.  I'm thinking that a Citrus/hot oil combo with some kind of soothing alcohol to counterbalance it might work...<p>Or not.

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I made a thai chili syrup and used it in a drink with fresh watermelon, lime and gin and then did a sugar and salt rim. it was quite delicious.

1/2 oz thai chili syrup

3/4 oz fresh lime

1 1/2 0z gin

a few watermelon slices muddled

shake and serve up with sugar/salt rim

[bostonapothecary]

this was inspired by a lengthy discussion (and tasting) of high end merlots like pride, duck horn, bordeaux, etc, then led to related sexy contrasts within serious wines with black berry, blue plum, brambly-like fruits... my favorite wine of this character was a priorat which had a certain fruit character that almost seemed glossy... within were just the right extra details...

"pantry cocktail" (attempt at a savoy style name)

1.5 oz. blanco tequila (for whispers of peppercorn)

.75 oz. chambord (a brand! yikes!)

.75 oz. verjus (unobtrusive acidity creates somewhat structure)

.25 oz. aged balsomic (a spoonful maybe)

2 dashes aromatic cinnamon / cassia tincture (depending on potency)

stir, stir, stir... do not shake! think glossy! double strain!

lemon twist for top notes...

bringing some of these wierd ingredients to the bar from the kitchen is lame... but from the pantry... fair game!

chambord is 38.5 brix relative to cointreau's 36 or so... but with less alcohol... i think acidities of different verjus vary but it is less acidic than lemon juice... expect it to not be cloying but not the style of sour that is pleasently challenging...

[deensiebat]

leftover aquavit (sitting in the freezer since we struggled with shots for midsommar) and a recent trip to the ikea food section led to the development of

the scandopolitan:

aquavit

lingonberry juice

triple sec

lime

and soda water, bc i was in the mood for bubbly, but could be made without. not uber inventive, but tasty (and incredibly fun to say). i was surprised how nice a slight hint of caraway is in a sweet context.

[bostonapothecary]

leftover aquavit (sitting in the freezer since we struggled with shots for midsommar) and a recent trip to the ikea food section led to the development of

the scandopolitan:

aquavit

lingonberry juice

triple sec

lime

and soda water, bc i was in the mood for bubbly, but could be made without.  not uber inventive, but tasty (and incredibly fun to say).  i was surprised how nice a slight hint of caraway is in a sweet context.

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lingonberry juice! that is thematically so cool!

[Danne]

lingonberry juice! that is thematically so cool!

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In Sweden we have something callet "Vargtass" (Wolvespawn), it's moonshine and lingonberrylemonade.

Popurlar in the cold, northen parts of Sweden, where moonshine is very common.

[bostonapothecary]

today was a long day where i could metabolize lots of booze.

first cocktail was the "paloma por mi amante" that others had written about...

2 oz. "tequila por mi amante"

1 oz. grapefruit juice.

shake, strain over clean ice, top with sprite to make "squirt soda"...

quite the crowd pleaser. the strawberry aroma is more intoxicating than the booze quotient...

next we used the pisco sour format... i made it big for quite a few people.... i don't remember the measurements....

egg white...

tequila por mi mante...

wray and nephews over proof...

lemon juice & simple syrup

dry shake, shake with ice, strain and top with bitters...

stunning... i tried to kick it up to normal proof with the overproof rum and got great results. alcohol was nearly unnoticable but there... mathemacitally anyhow... the overproof rum contributed this subtle, sexy, caramel like quality that really complemented the fruit character of it all... the angostura bitters made it really fit the season and its cinnamon like character made it redolent of squash to one drinker who wasn't told what they had...

four months of patience in aging the tequila... totally worth it...

somewhere in the day we drank manhattans spiked with a potent, aromatic, cherry stone, black and white truffle tincture... the co drinkers were freaked out... unknowing of the ticture and sort of well buzzed, they were wondering if chef was serving truffles across the room...

2 oz. rye.

1 oz. my sweet vermouth.

3 dashes aromatic cherry stone, truffle tincture...

variation of a theme... so easy so delicious...

[avant-garde]

Over the last couple weeks, I have been enjoying cocktails with (green) Chartreuse. The Last Word is probably one of my top two favorite cocktails. I recently found a recipe for the Purgatory cocktail, but found it a bit much for my palate. So I set out to riff on it by adding a bit of simple syrup and lemon bitters. Also, rather than using Rye, I decided to choose Bourbon as it has a bit more sweetness to help the simple syrup cut through the herbal elements. With the amount of herbs that come out in this drink, I could think of no greater name than The Herbaliser.

The Herbaliser

Ingredients:

2 oz. Bourbon Whiskey

1 oz. Green Chartreuse

1/2 oz. Benedictine

1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (50:50)

3 drops Fee Brother's Lemon Bitters

Lemon Twist

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to ice-filled cocktail shaker.

2. Shake vigoursly for about 30-seconds.

3. Strain into cocktail glass.

4. Garnish with lemon twist.