Drinks! (2011–2012)

[tanstaafl2]

Back from my trip so I decided to celebrate with a Rhino Tooth as described by KatieLoeb.

First tried the Bonal on its own and it was much better than expected. Not too bitter and chilled with a little soda it would be pretty good on it's own.

Got to work on the Rhino Tooth and realized I didn't have a grapefruit in the house so I will have to explore it again when I have all the ingredients.

Was curious to see how much the Bonal and Benedictine impacted the bourbon and just how sweet it tasted. Seemed just fine in terms of sweetness but boy, howdy that will keep you warm on a cold night! You aren't ever going to forget that this is first and foremost a bourbon drink. The Benedictine and Bonal certainly help round off the edges a bit but I can see why it is important to start with a solid base. I wonder how the Leopold Bros whiskey would work here?

Look forward to trying it again when I have a grapefruit handy to add to the mix.

Would have been a perfect companion whilst I was snapping pics of these fellas as I traveled across the veldt in iSimangaliso Wetland Park in southeast South Africa!

[KatieLoeb]

Outstanding! Glad you enjoyed it! Definitely try the grapefruit oils sprayed on top. Makes a difference. But it's a delicious drink either way, I suspect. Just posted another one for you to try in the other thread. If you keep this up you can make every single cocktail on the Oyster House list. Does that mean you won't have any reason to come to Philadelphia?

Love the photo of the rhino!!! Mind if I copy and forward to my colleague? I think she'd get a real kick out of it.

[ChrisTaylor]

A Manhattan. I bought a bourbon (Maker's Mark) for my collection and used that. Will probably attempt another Old Fashioned later.

[tanstaafl2]

Love the photo of the rhino!!! Mind if I copy and forward to my colleague? I think she'd get a real kick out of it.

You may certainly have my permission to share the photo. I will even PM you with a link to my photos from that trip that I have online for you to look at should you wish to do so.

And I love to travel so I don't need much of a reason to go to Philadelphia. Just need the time!

Edited October 25, 2011 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[Sohoskiracer]

Knob Creek old fashioned, w/ sugar, lemon peel and a goodly couple dashes of angostura, nothing else (although i do prefer to stir my old fashioneds briefly in a mixing glass and then pour into a frozen rocks glass with little or no ice as opposed to building in the old fashioned glass)

EDIT: And considering I went to the gym today and I guess I can afford the calories I just had an Intro to Aperol post-dinner drink, a bit on the bitter side considering I am lacking simple atm and put too little sugar in the shaker. (simple to be made ASAP, most likely tomorrow)

Edited October 26, 2011 by Sohoskiracer (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

Went shopping today and came home with some stuff. Mixed up a Last Word (thanks, Wikipedia). Holy shit. Awesome. Can't wait to try some of the variations I've seen kicking about eGullet.

[Tri2Cook]

2 oz Herradura Reposado

1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth

1/2 oz Averna

2 Dashes Housemade Chocolate Bitters

Stirred & strained into a rocks glass over large ice, garnished with a grapefruit peel.

Thanks!

[Carlovski]

Dark and Stormy - definitely a drink that is more than the sum of it's parts, although dependent on the quality of the ginger beer used. fortunately it is one thing that is very easy to get hold of in the UK. I sometimes add a dash of bitters to it as well, especially if I'm using a lighter rum.

[CalumC]

Drinking a lot of Old Fashioned lately, really nice way to drink a good bourbon essentially straight. Started playing around with ideas on the bar, seems there's a lot of subtle flavours that could be blended in, particularly with the bitters.

Tried a Grand Marnier and amaretto mix the other night too, plenty of ice and 2 drops of angostura, lovely balance.

[bostonapothecary]

I.P.A. ---> I.P.C. (imperial pegu club)

1.5 oz. cascade hop aromatized seagram's gin

.75 oz. triple-sec

.75 oz. lime juice

dash angostura bitters

quite lovely.

[Mjx]

Probably would not admit this if I wasn't already halfway through a glass of this stuff, but it struck me that a splash of Cointreau might be an interesting addition to a glass Kirsberry, and--provided that you, like myself, find the concept of 'too sweet' more or less meaningless--I can kind of recommend this. Although it's sweet, it has a fair amount of dimension.

[Yajna Patni]

I got a half bottle of benedictine the other day so I could make some ft. Washington Flips for the winter, and I was looking on cocktail DB for more cocktails using it, (that do not have chartreuse, as i do not yet have a bottle of that. $50 is always just more than i have)and I found an Argentina cocktail. half each gin and dry vermouth, and a quarter coutreau and benedictine with orange and angostura bitters. I may have slightly over done the cointreau and benedictine. 1/4 ounce is a small measure. I increased my dashes of angostura after the first sip, i prefer fairly heavy bitter. I wont make this drink again, but it was not worthy of the sink. If i was to sum it up in gross terms i would say marmalade tini. I may also be a little jaded with cocktails containing cointreau or orange.

[campus five]

If you're looking for Benedictine recipes, there are a bunch in the "brown, bitter and stirred" category, such as the Vieux Carre, Cocktail ala Louisianne, Monte Carlo, the Bobby Burns, etc.

[Yajna Patni]

Brown bitter and stirred may be my favorite category. I really like a ala Louisianne. I may try making it with out the absinthe. Which I do not usually care for an do not have. Does leaving out the dash of absinthe or pernod really change this into something else?

[Hassouni]

First night off the antibiotics from my impalement on glass, first drink from the bottle of Bulleit rye I got recently. Old fashioned! 3 oz rye, 1 generous dash Angostura, 1 dash Regans' orange bitters, and a couple dashes turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) 1:1 simple syrup. Garnished with a homemade Luxardo-soaked dried cherry and with a lemon twist squeezed over the top. Excellent drink, though next time will add a bit less syrup.

[tanstaafl2]

Small dinner party last night in which I featured the El Presidente recipe in the September issue of Imbibe by Splificator/Dave Wondrich as the opening cocktail.

1 ½ oz. rich white rum

1 ½ oz. Dolin Vermouth Blanc (Martini & Rossi or Cinzano Bianco are fine substitutes)

1 barspoon orange Curaçao or Grand Marnier

½ barspoon real grenadine

Thinly cut orange peel

Garnish: maraschino cherry (optional)

Stir ingredients well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled glass. Twist a swatch of thinly cut orange peel over the top and drop in or discard as you prefer. Garnish, if desired, with a cherry.

Didn't have a rich white rum (I assume something like Flor de Caña 4 yo white? I have the Starr rum from Maritius but wasn't sure that was the right choice) so I used Barbancourt 8 yo since it was a special occasion. Used the Senor white curacao and the grenadine mix from Doc Cocktails Vintage Spirits book. Orange peel and a Luxardo cherry sealed the deal.

But most importantly broke open a new bottle of Dolin Blanc and it really did seem to help. Will have to try this side by side with regular dry vermouth and see if it is a big difference or just my imagination. I also liked the El Presidente variation I had at Leon's a couple of weeks ago that used Carpano Antica so I may try that again soon too.

Dinner was Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food which wasn't exactly Caribbean themed but seemed to work out OK. Also mixed it up with a few Margara's during dinner (tried the Bittermans Xocolatl mole bitters instead of Angostura orange which seemed to work) and I had an Eva Peron for myself just to change the pace. The evening finished with Castries peanut rum cream and 1921 Tequila cream liqueurs.

Everyone seemed to have a good time! Well, those that could still move...

[KD1191]

Brown bitter and stirred may be my favorite category. I really like a ala Louisianne. I may try making it with out the absinthe. Which I do not usually care for an do not have. Does leaving out the dash of absinthe or pernod really change this into something else?

If you like the a la Louisianne, but not the absinthe, try the Creole.

[ChrisTaylor]

London Iced Tea. Last night. Not now ... a hour before I walk into the classroom.

[lesliec]

Last night we discovered the '3G' in the Mixology (for Android) app.

Rinse Martini glass with Ricard (lacking this, we used absinthe). Shake together 2½ parts gin, 2 parts St Germaine, 1 part Domaine de Canton with ice. Pour, sip and smile.

[Ritty]

I made a Brooklyn, substituting Averna for Amer Picon, because in the backwaters aka The United States, one has to make due with what's available. Here's the Recipe:

1 1/2 oz Rye

1/2 oz Dry Vermouth

1/4 oz Averna

1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur

I loved it. I'd like to try one made properly just to see if it stands up to this variation.

[Hassouni]

A generous finger of Barbancourt 5 Star. It's been a few months since I've had any. Gosh, it's nice.

[ChrisTaylor]

My first Vesper. Used Americano instead of Lillet.

[EvergreenDan]

...mixed it up with a few Margara's during dinner (tried the Bittermans Xocolatl mole bitters instead of Angostura orange which seemed to work)

I think that's a great idea. I'll have to try it myself and maybe refine the recipe. With Creole Shrubb, the Angostura Orange is probably redundant.

I made a Brooklyn, substituting Averna for Amer Picon,

I think you want something with a stronger orange backbone like CioCiaro or Lucano, if you can find it. Absent that, I'd add some orange bitters of some sort, I think. I have a batch of Amer Boudreau cooking that's almost done, and I hear the new Bittermen's Amere Nouvelle is about to land at a Massachusetts distributor. It's already available at DrinkUpNY (which doesn't ship to MA).

Last night for Thursday Drink Night: Halloween I made a Boulevardier riff with Mirto for sweet vermouth, a dash of Spanish Bitters, and a pair of lemon swaths. Nice. A touch sweet, so I might add a bit of dry vermouth next time. Called it Vlad the Imbiber for the red color. Mirto is nice stuff.

[tanstaafl2]

...mixed it up with a few Margara's during dinner (tried the Bittermans Xocolatl mole bitters instead of Angostura orange which seemed to work)

I think that's a great idea. I'll have to try it myself and maybe refine the recipe. With Creole Shrubb, the Angostura Orange is probably redundant.

Yes, that was kind of my thinking along with the fact that the bitters seems to be a good pairing with tequila in general. In any case I was happy with the outcome. A good drink for the Creole Shrubb and I liked it better than the first one I made with Ango orange and others seemed to like it as well. So I will likely keep making it that way.

[Tri2Cook]

I made a Brooklyn, substituting Averna for Amer Picon,

I think you want something with a stronger orange backbone like CioCiaro or Lucano, if you can find it.

I've avoided the Brooklyn due to not having Amer Picon... but I do have Lucano so maybe I'll stop avoiding it now.