Advice for cocktail party

[Nathan]

So I'm throwing a little housewarming party in my new digs this Saturday and I've come up with a tentative list of drinks but I could always do with a couple more suggestions; oh, and as I'll be out of the city all day on Saturday I have no prep time at all.

here's a list of what I know I can make with what I have on-hand:

Sidecar (including the maraschino and calvados variants)

Aviation (including the apricot variant)

Monkey Gland

20th Century cocktail

Pegu Club

what I egotistically call the "Definitive Negroni"

Corpse Reviver #2 (I have suitcase absinthe)

and for the sweet "chic-drink" types I'll do the "French Martini" or something I call the "Panty-Dropper" (excuse the moniker, its a long Hamptons-related story)

I'll have beer and wine as well.

other liquors in my bar include:

pear liquor

good tequila blanco (I forget the brand, but it wasn't cheap)

Kirsch

Frenet Stock

Frenet Stock Citrus

Slivovice (sp.?)

anything I can do with these?

thanks.

edit: since I have Kirsch I guess I could try to make a Blood and Sand but I better experiment this week to get it right first.

Edited October 10, 2006 by Nathan (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Nathan:

The pear liqueur makes for a nice Sidecar variant as well. I sometimes make a sidecar with Belle de Brillet which is a pear flavored cognac. You can sub half the cognac in your regular Sidecar with pear liqueur to a simliar effect. Quite tasty.

You could possibly also do this with a Calvados Sidecar and have it be an "Obstler" Sidecar, named for the Apple-Pear schnapps that are ubiquitous in Austria and Germany.

[eje]

Nathan,

The only thing I'd say is, other than the negroni, the cocktails are all similar sour based drinks.

Might be nice to get something like a manhattan, brooklyn, or martini on there.

I don't know what "Frenet Stock" and "Frenet Stock Citrus" are. First I thought you might have mis-typed Fernet. Vodka, maybe?

If you've got Campari, (which I would guess you do for the Negroni,) the Rosita is quite nice as is the Jasmine (check this post for recipes.) I think both drinks are a little easier to love for the Campari novice than the Negroni.

Also check this thread, if you haven't already:

Imparting the Joys of Mixology on Others

[BTR]

Fernet Stock

[eje]

Fernet Stock

←

Ooops, should have googled before typing. The "Frenet Citrus" threw me. Thought it might be a citrus vodka.

Interesting. I don't remember ever seeing those brands in CA. Though, we do get Fernet Branca and Luxardo's Fernet.

Edited October 11, 2006 by eje (log)

[JAZ]

edit: since I have Kirsch I guess I could try to make a Blood and Sand but I better experiment this week to get it right first.

←

All the recipes I've seen for the Blood and Sand call for Cherry Heering (or another sweet cherry liqueur), not kirsch.

[slkinsey]

Yea. The B&S wouldn't work with kirsch, because it depends on the red color for the effect.

[Nathan]

ah...ok...cross out the Blood and Sand.

a Manhattan is a good idea...not familiar with the Brooklyn.

Frenet Stock, Frenet Citrus and Slivovice are Czech liquors (the Slivovice is similar to a grappa)...

I'm going to taste test a pear sidecar tomorrow....

any good tequila drinks?

(personally I drink tequila straight or with a little cointreau and a dash of club soda)

thanks

[KatieLoeb]

I'm going to taste test a pear sidecar tomorrow....

Good luck. Depending on how sweet the pear liqueur is your proportions with the cognac could be 1:1 (1 oz.:1 oz.) or up to 3:1 (.5 oz.:1.5 oz.). The rest of the Sidecar is whatever your usual proportions might be to your taste. I tend to use just a hair more lemon juce than Cointreau to counteract the sweetness of the pear in this particular application.

Let me know how you liked it.

[JAZ]

any good tequila drinks?

(personally I drink tequila straight or with a little cointreau and a dash of club soda)

thanks

←

Check out this topic -- there's a wide variety of recipes.

[johnder]

any good tequila drinks?

(personally I drink tequila straight or with a little cointreau and a dash of club soda)

thanks

←

You can make a La Rosita

1 3/4 Reposado

3/4 campari

1/2 sweet vermouth

1/2 dry vermouth

angostura

edit: oops, Jaz pointed out the correct topic that has all these already in it.

Edited October 11, 2006 by johnder (log)

[vivelafrance]

any good tequila drinks?

(personally I drink tequila straight or with a little cointreau and a dash of club soda)

thanks

←

You can make a La Rosita

1 3/4 Reposado

3/4 campari

1/2 sweet vermouth

1/2 dry vermouth

angostura

edit: oops, Jaz pointed out the correct topic that has all these already in it.

←

When I lived in Paris, we used to go to this bar that served a cocktail called the black velvet: Guiness and champagne. My best friend swore by it. Just a suggestion.

[slkinsey]

any good tequila drinks?

I like the Siesta from Flatiron Lounge:

1.5 oz : Herradura silver

.75 oz : simple syrup (1:1)

.75 oz : fresh lime juice

.50 oz : fresh grapefruit juice

.25 oz : Campari

Shake and strain.

[Nathan]

I think the Siesta might happen.

yeah, the Black Velvet is an old Irish drink...never really thought of it as a coctkail...more as a variation on a Black and Tan.

in many parts of the U.S. (though I've never seen it in NY) bars will serve Guiness and Cider and incorrectly call it a Black Velvet.

(Guiness and Cider is actually a Snakebite)

I believe the point of both the Black Velvet and the Snakebite is to make Guiness palatable for summer...they are not year round drinks.