Mixology Monday

It’s time again for the world’s best online cocktail party.  The theme for this month’s Mixology Monday is “Hometown Hooch,”  as set forth by Stuart Putney at Putney Farms.

You can read more at the announcement post here, but the idea is to use locally distilled spirits in a cocktail.  I have chosen Rebecca Creek Distillery for three reasons:

1. We use their Enchanted Rock Vodka as one of our go to’s
2. We have a great Old Fashioned using their Texas Whiskey
3. It’s the only Texas Hill Country distillery that I’ve heard mentioned in a Country song!

 I’m Not Dead Yet (Just Married)

This is a drink we featured at our Daughter’s wedding last year.  It was served at the Groom’s Whiskey and Tequila Bar, along with several other bourbon and tequila libations and hand rolled cigars.

Rebecca Creek Fine Texas Spirit Whiskey is very smooth with a little bite at the finish.  The flavors are primarily barrel notes of vanilla and herbs.  It is composed of young barrel aged Texas whiskey and 8 year old Kentucky Bourbon and comes off similar to a Canadian Blend.  In this cocktail, these flavors back up the Black Mission Fig Bitters and the smokey agave.  Made as a built drink, the initial taste is strong, but as it is sipped and swirled in your hand, the ice melts and the drink cools providing a enjoyably long, slow finish.

Here is the recipe:

• 1 1/2 oz. Rebecca Creek Fine Texas Spirit Whiskey
• 2 droppers full Brooklyn Hemispherical Black Mission Fig Bitters
• 1/4 oz. Agave syrup
• Orange peel for garnish

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients in an unchilled, single Old Fashioned glass and stir
2. Gently add a large ice cube
3. Express the oil from the orange peel over the drink and float the peel.

Cheers!

We have two offerings for this Month’s Mixology Monday, “I’ll take Manhattan!”  This one, from our fearless MxMo leader, Frederic of the CocktailVirgin blog, challenges us to revisit the classic cocktail.

Mixology Monday

Our first submission is the Manhattan 2.0 – a “Modern” version of the Manhattan with the added nuance of Sherry.  For the second, we jump ahead to an article we are preparing to publish on barrel aging cocktails at home.

 Manhattan 2.0

For the the bourbon in this cocktail, we tried Basil Hayden and Belle Mead.  Both were excellent.  The bourbon brings flavors of maple, tobacco, smoke and vanilla.  This blends well with the rich, earthy Carpano Antica’s tastes of herbs, spice and slight bitterness.  Tasting this without knowing the ingredients, one could easily miss the sherry.  It intermingles with the Italian Vermouth, smoothing the bitterness and adding to the richness.  Here is the recipe:

• 1 1/2 oz. Bourbon
• 3/4 oz.  Carpano Antica
• 1/4 oz. Sherry
• 1/8 tsp. Grand Marnier
• 1 dash Angostura Orange  Bitters
• Garnish: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries and an orange peel

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add the ingredients, except the garnish, to a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Add the cherries, (or place them on a pick), and express the orange peel over the drink and discard.

Sherry Cask Aged Manhattan

This cocktail comes from our look into barrel aging cocktails at home, which we will publish soon.  We started with a new charred white oak, 1 liter cask, which was then seasoned by aging Lustau East India Solera Sherry for 4 weeks.  As an aside, the Sherry came out very nice and is great in the Manhattan 2.0!  The barrel was then used to age the cocktail.  The small cask allows a larger surface to liquid ratio than will a bigger barrel.  The larger the barrel, the longer will be the aging time.

Barrel aging a Manhattan is awesome!  The charred oak adds an expected slight oakiness and smoke flavor while the Sherry brings the slightest touch of sweetness.  The overall effect is a richness and depth of flavors that are melded together in a way that you’re not going to achieve any other way.

Here is the recipe for a 1 liter barrel:

For the Barrel:

• 1 new, 1 liter charred oak barrel with stand which has been filled with water for 24 hours
• 1 bottle Lustau East India Solera Sherry

1. Drain and rinse the barrel
2. Secure the tap
3. Fill the barrel with the Sherry and seal the bung.
4. Place the barrel on its stand and set aside on a water proof shallow container, such as a plastic container lid
5. Turn the barrel 1/4 turn each week
6. After 4 weeks, drain the sherry through a fine mesh strainer and store, refrigerated, in its original bottle.
7. Rinse the barrel and refill immediately with a cocktail – do not allow the barrel to dry out.

For the Manhattan:

• 20 oz. Bourbon
• 10 oz. Carpano Antica Italian Vermouth
• 1 3/4 tsp Grand Marnier
• 1 3/4 tsp Regans Orange Bitters

1. Rinse the sherry aged barrel with water
2. Combine all ingredients in a 1 qt. pitcher
3. Carefully pour ingredients into the cask
4. Set the cocktail filled cask on a plastic lid or other flat, liquid proof surface (the barrel will leak).
5. Turn the barrel 1/4 turn each week
6. Taste the cocktail at least weekly until you think it’s ready – about 4 weeks
7. When the cocktail is ready, carefully pour it from the barrel through a fine mesh strainer into a 1 quart pitcher.
8. Decant into a seal-able glass bottle
9. Store your cocktail at room temperature.

To serve:

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Pour 2 1/4 oz. Sherry Cask Aged Manhattan into a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Garnish with premium maraschino cherries and an orange peel

Not ready to commit to a barrel?  You can approximate the same aged cocktail effect using a small bottle and a charred barrel stave, available here.  It will lack the richness and depth of flavor of barrel aging, but it will be close.

The bottle holds 12 oz.  The recipe is then:

• 7 oz. Bourbon
• 3 1/2 oz. Carpano Antica Italian Vermouth
• 1/2 tsp Grand Marnier
• 1/2 tsp Regans Orange Bitters

1. Combine the ingredients in the bottle and add the barrel stave
2. Swirl it everyday
3. It will probable be ready in 2 weeks

Cheers!

For the the bourbon in this cocktail, we tried Basil Hayden and Belle Mead.  Both were excellent.  The bourbon brings flavors of maple, tobacco, smoke and vanilla.  This blends well with the rich, earthy Carpano Antica’s tastes of herbs, spice and slight bitterness.  Tasting this without knowing the ingredients, one could easily miss the sherry.  It intermingles with the Italian Vermouth, smoothing the bitterness and adding to the richness.  Here is the recipe:

Manhattan 2.0

• 1 1/2 oz. Bourbon
• 3/4 oz.  Carpano Antica
• 1/4 oz. Sherry
• 1/8 tsp. Grand Marnier
• 1 dash Angostura Orange  Bitters
• Garnish: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries and an orange peel

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add the ingredients, except the garnish, to a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Add the cherries, (or place them on a pick), and express the orange peel over the drink and discard.

Cheers!

Mixology Monday

It is Mixology Monday!  The theme, “Drink of Shame,”  is the invention of our host Tipicular Fixins.  We have all quaffed a few sweet, strange libations and I have imbibed my share of questionable drinks. This Month’s challenge, (now that we are real mixologists), is to create a cocktail  that elevates a drink from our misadventurous youth onto a higher plain.    I thought of resurrecting Trash Can Punch like some Frankenstein concoction, but instead I have chosen the Pina Colada.

When I was young, I spent a lot of time diving.  I would travel to islands and points south of Mexico known primarily for beautiful beaches, clear waters and unreliable postal service.  I would order a Pina Colada at practically every bar I entered.  These were occasionally amazing, but primarily consisted of some white liquid along with an unknown rum – all whirred with ice and usually sticky sweet.  I don’t remember ever ordering one in the US.

The cocktail I created, the Paradise Remembered, keeps the flavors of rum, coconut and pineapple, but I made it as a sour.  I used Kalani Coconut Liqueur, Cruzan Dark Aged Rum, fresh pineapple juice and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur.  The result is much lighter than a Pina Colada.  The flavors are coconut and rum with the pineapple completing the combination.  The egg yolk contributes that silky mouth feel along with the appealingly luxurious, thick foam floating on top.

 Paradise Remembered

• 1 1/2 Oz. Kalani Coconut Liqueur
• 3/4 Oz. Cruzan Dark Aged Rum
• 1 oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice
• 1/2 Oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1 egg yolk

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake without ice for 30 seconds
3. Add Ice and shake until chilled 10 – 15 seconds
4. Double strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Cheers!

I love a bitters forward Old Fashioned.  So, the March Mixology Monday theme of “Call me Old Fashioned” is right up my alley.  Thanks to Sass & Gin for hosting and choosing a most magnificent theme!

Mixology Monday

This drink requires Bad Dog Barcraft’s Fire and Damnation Bitters available here.  “Fire and Damnation” made me think of the old tent revivals and thus, the name.  (Besides, I’m certain that this is good for the soul!) You want several dashes of the bitters to enable the flavors to come through.  Then balance the bitterness with the agave.  I use agave nectar rather than making a syrup.  Different brands of agave vary in sweetness, so you may need to adjust the amount you use.  Be careful not to make it sweet.

I use Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old for this cocktail.  It is a little lighter on the oak but retains the spice and body you expect from a good bourbon.  Notice that this is essentially a built drink, a la Dave Arnold in Liquid Intelligence.  I found that this technique works very well for most Old Fashioned’s.  It’s a bit like Scotch on the rocks: the cocktail starts out strong and then cools and dilutes as you sip and gently swirl the ice.

Old Fashioned Tent Revival

• 2 ozs. Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old
• 3-4 dashes Bad Dog Barcraft’s Fire and Damnation Bitters – about 1 barspoon
• 1/4 oz  Agave Nectar or more to taste
• Lemon zest for garnish

1. Add everything, except the garnish, to an un-chilled, single old fashioned glass and stir to combine.
2. Carefully drop in a large ice cube.
3. Express the lemon and float it in the drink.

Cheers!

It seems that any cocktail containing gin and Lillet gets labeled as a Vesper.  Other than the gin and Lillet, this drink is not even close to 007’s original concoction in Casino Royale.   It is, however, delicious and visually stunning, which goes along with this season of glitz and glamor.  We combine the herbal flavors of the St George Botanivore Gin with the citrus and floral Lillet and the earthy bitterness of Kina L’ Avion d Or.

The St George Botanivore Gin is perfect for this cocktail.   St George uses 19 botanicals with the juniper taking a back seat.  The nose of this cocktail is a combination of the herbaceous gin and the citrus, grape and orange of the Lillet with the woodsy aroma of the Kina.  The flavors are citrus, herb with a hint of juniper, marmalade and a touch of bitterness cleaning up the finish.

The recipe is:

• 1 1/2 oz. St George Botanivore Gin (sub Hendricks)
• 3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1/4 oz. Kina L’ Avion d Or
• For the garnish
  • 1 Pickled green tomato – see note
  • 1 Lemon peel

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine the gin, Lillet and Kina in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into the chilled glass
4. Garnish with the pickled green tomato, express the lemon peel over the drink and float the peel.

Note:  The pickle green tomato works very well and is especially tasty after bathing in the drink.  We found them at World Market.  You can substitute an olive.

Cheers!

Practically everyone who mixes drinks on any level has their own margarita recipe.  Without disparaging anyone’s favorite, here is our most requested version.  It is a simple but classic margarita on the rocks.  We make this as a sour, shaken and served straight up without a salted rim.

This is the only drink we make using Equal.  A lot of people love the idea of low calorie drinks.  Since the object here is to  offset the tartness of the lime, the simple sweet flavor of the Equal will work as well as sugar. Mouth feel is not an issue with this cocktail.  If you do use sugar it needs to be the superfine variety.  Regular granulated sugar will not dissolve well.

Beware: the sweetness hides the alcohol content.

• 2 oz. Premium plata tequila – such as Milagro
• 2 oz. Fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz. Curacao – we use Cointreau or you can use blue curacao for some extra color
• 3-4 tsp. Superfine sugar or 1-2 packets of Equal
• Pinch of salt

1. Chill a margarita glass with a few ice cubes and water
2. To a shaker add all of the ingredients.
3. Shake with ice until shaker is frosted, 10-15 sec
4. Strain into  chilled glass

Cheers!

Here we are with another excuse to party!  Fat Tuesday always means Mardi Gras and New Orleans. So to celebrate, let’s take a look at two iconic libations from the Crescent City, the Vieux Carré and the Sazerac.

Vieux Carré

The Vieux Carré dates to 1938 and was the creation of Walter Bergeron, the head bartender at the Monteleone Hotel.  This cocktail, which is similar to a Manhattan, combines the spiciness of the rye with the sweet and mellow flavors of the Cognac and vermouth.  Add to that the herbal notes of the Benedictine, and you have a smooth and complex drink.

• ¾ oz. rye whiskey
• ¾ oz. Cognac
• ¾ oz. sweet vermouth
• ¼ oz. Benedictine
• dash Peychaud’s Bitters
• dash Angostura Bitters

1. Chill either a cocktail glass or an old fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice
3. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass and serve up or over fresh ice in chilled Old Fashioned glass
4. Garnish with thick lemon twist

Sazerac

The Sazerac is, basically, a bitters forward, rye Old Fashioned with an absinthe rinse.  The history of this drink is somewhat clouded, but it does originate in New Orleans in the last half of the 19th century.  There is also supposed to be a ritual for making the Sazerac.  The ritual simply substitutes a second Old Fashioned glass for the mixing glass in the recipe below, (or you could mumble a line from Monty Python as well!)

Whatever ritual you follow this is a cocktail you need to try.  The flavors are the spices of the rye and bitters combined with the hint of anise and herbs of the absinthe.

• 2 oz. quality rye whiskey such as Sazerac or Templeton Small Batch
• 4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• 1 tsp. 2:1 simple syrup
• absinthe
• lemon peel

1. Chill old fashioned glass with ice and water.
2. Combine all ingredients, except absinthe, to a mixing glass and stir with ice.
3. Drain ice and water from chilled old fashioned glass and rinse with dash of absinthe.
4. Strain drink into chilled, absinthe rinsed old fashioned over fresh ice.
5. Twist lemon peel over drink and discard peel.

Laissez les bons temps roulez!!

Santé!

Later That Night….

I choose to ignore all of you anti-Valentine’s Day types, (which probably suits you fine today)!  Just FYI: Valentine’s Day was not started by Hallmark Cards.  Hallmark’s first Valentine’s Day card was sold in 1913, while the first official Valentine’s Day observance as a special day of romance was in 1537.  Anyway, how about a flaming, red drink!

I have named this the San Antonio Cloud.  I found the recipe on a scrap of paper along with a bunch of other little “notes to self” hiding in my desk a few years ago.  There was no reference on it, so I have no idea where it came from.  Anyway, it’s a tequila based cocktail with the tartness and color of pomegranate.  The elderflower foam floating on top makes for a pretty as well as delicious drink.

San Antonio Cloud

• 1 ½ oz. Milagro Plata Tequila
• 1 oz. pomegranate juice
• dash rhubarb bitters
• dash 2:1 simple syrup
• St. Germaine Elderflower Foam – see below
• Misto of Chartreuse

1. Chill cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Stir all ingredients, except foam, with ice
3. Add St. Germaine Elderflower Foam to chilled glass
4. Strain drink through foam into glass
5. Flame drink with Misto of Chartreuse

Add the Foam to the Glass

Pour the Liquid

Repair the Foam

 

 

 

 

 

 

Float the Foam Last

You can either put the foam into the chilled coup first and pour the drink through it, or pour the drink first and float the foam on top.  Pouring the drink through the foam will incorporate some of the foam’s flavors into the liquid portion of the drink.  This will, however, make the drink slightly cloudy.  Pouring the liquid first and then topping it with the foam will give you the clear liquid with foam floating cloud like on top.  In the photo, the drink on the left had the liquid poured through the foam.  You can see the difference.

 

The Left Drink is Cloudy

Still, in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes, the foam will begin to dissolve slowly and it will look like the other drink.

Flaming the drinks is a bit of theatrics.  The flavors will be very similar if you simply mist the tops with the Chartreuse.  HOWEVER, fire is cool!  First, practice in the sink.  Second, be certain that nothing flammable is near the drinks.  To flame the Misto, hold the match/lighter near the path of the spray and press the top.  You only want a quick short flame.  It will otherwise melt the foam and impart too much Chartreuse flavor.

So, have a wonderful and romantic day.

Cheers!

St. Germain Elderflower Foam

• 3 egg whites, 9 Tbl or 4 ½ oz. pasteurized egg whites (see note)
• 3 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 dash lemon bitters

1. Lightly whip egg whites
2. Add all ingredients to whipped cream charger
3. Secure top and shake a few times to further break up the egg whites and combine ingredients.
4. Double charge with N₂O, shaking 4-5 times between charges.  Over shaking can cause ingredients to clump and clog charger.
5. Chill for at least 1 hour before use.
6. Keeps a few days refrigerated.

Note:  In this application, the fresh egg whites are not really superior to the pasteurized variety.

Mixology Monday

Mixology Monday XCIV is upon us and this month’s theme is “That’s Not a Martini!”  Our host, Nihil Utopia, has hit upon something we really enjoy: messing with gin and fortified wines.  We have two offerings for this round, (We had to pare it down from 6 or 8!!).  First is the G-n-Tini, which, combining gin, dry vermouth and quinine syrup, might also qualify as “That’s Not a Gin and Tonic!”.  For our second we offer The Wellington: barrel aged gin, sweet vermouth and amaro.

I think that Fords Gin cries out for grapefruit.  It so happens that grapefruit is one of the primary flavors in Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s tonic recipe.  His quinine syrup, that you can add to club soda to make tonic water, is simple and takes less than an hour to make.  I thought that including the quinine syrup directly with the drink would make an interesting bitter sweet addition.  I believe I was correct!  Here’s the recipe:

G-n-Tini

• 1 1/2 oz. Fords Gin
• 1/2 oz. Dolin Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Quinine Syrup – see here
• Grapefruit peel for garnish

1. Stir the first three ingredients in a mixing glass with ice to chill
2. Strain into a chilled coup
3. Express the grapefruit peel over the drink and float the peel

The Wellington

Treaty Oak Distilling is aging their gin in whiskey barrels to create their Waterloo Antique Gin.  This is truly a unique gin.  It has the sweet caramel nose that you would expect from the barrel aging but with the addition of the herbaceous input of gin.  The flavors are citrus, spice and herbs with a finish of charred oak that is long and smooth.   We combined this with Italian vermouth and Amaro.

• 1 1/2 oz. Waterloo Antique Gin
• 1/2 oz. Carpano Antica Vermouth
• 1/4 oz. Averna Amaro
• Lemon peel for garnish

1. Stir the first three ingredients in a mixing glass with ice to chill
2. Strain into a chilled coup
3. Express the lemon peel over the drink and float the peel

Cheers!