Mélange d’Or

I enjoy gin drinks and bitter drinks.  I also appreciate cocktails that are herbal and complex.  The Mélange d’Or combines the flavors of Hendrik’s Gin, Carpano Blanco, Carpano Dry and Tempus Fugit’s Kina L Avion d’Or.  Then I threw in Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters for an additional level of complexity.melange dOr 2

Here’s the recipe:

  • 2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
  • 1/4 oz. Carpano Dry
  • 1/4 oz. Carpano Blanco
  • 1/4 oz. Kina L Avion d’Or
  • 2 – 3 drops Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
  • Fresh Sage leaf or lemon peel for garnish
  1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
  2. Combine all of the ingredients, except the garnish, with ice in a mixing glass.  Stir to chill
  3. Strain into chilled cocktail glass
  4. Garnish and serve

Cheers!


 




Martini pour le Fromage

 

I truly enjoy pairing cocktails with food.  The classic charcuterie and cheese board  is always difficult.  When you eat a fat such as cheese or cured meats, your tongue is coated with the fat.  This prevents you from tasting any subtleties in your beverage.  The secret is to take a bite of something such as olives, pickled foods or nuts after the bite of cheese but before you take a sip.  This removes the fat and the flavor of the cheese from your tongue prior to the sip of cocktail.  So how can you tell if the cocktail compliments the cheese?  Simple.  Have a drink of cocktail then taste the cheese.

This Martini-esque creation combines Oxley Gin, Cocchi Americano and Kina al Avion d’Or.  The botanical notes of the Gin meld perfectly with the bittersweet Kina. It really does pair well with cheese!

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz. Oxley Gin
  • 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
  • 1/4 oz. Kina l Avion d Or
  • 3 drops Doc Elliott’s Mixology Actually Bitter Orange Bitters

Directions:

  1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
  2. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
  3. Double strain into chilled cocktail glass

Cheers!


 




Hideaway Mardi Gras Menu

Mardi Gras 1 - CopyHere we are with another excuse to party!  Fat Tuesday always means Mardi Gras and New Orleans.


Vieux Carré

Vieux Carre 1The 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.


Sazerac

Sazerac 3The 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.

Sazerac 4

 


The Ghost of Birthdays Past

The Ghost of Birthdays Past

The name of this cocktail is derived from Ghost Tequila and the fact that I created the drink for my birthday! I use acidified pineapple juice to bring the same acidity as lime juice.  I also use pineapple simple syrup which allows for the sweetness of the juice and so uses less sugar. This balances the cocktail – not too sweet or too sour. The flavors are pineapple and tequila with the Ghost Tequila bringing just a touch of heat. You can alter the amount of Ghost Tequila to adjust the spiciness to fit your taste.


The Last Word

Equal parts Gin, Green Chartreuse, Maraschino Liqueur and lime juice create a well balanced cocktail with bold citrus and herbal flavors.

The Last Fjord

Substitute Linie Aquavit for the Gin.  This adds a hint of caraway to the citrus and herbal flavors.


The Bamboo

 

Dating back to the late 19th Century. Very Martini-esc but with a low ABV.  Dry Sherry, Dry Vermouth with Angostura and Orange bitters


The Jersey Boss

A riff on The Godfather cocktail.  Bourbon, Amaretto and Licor 43.  The robust Bourbon flavors with it’s oaky and caramel notes combine with the nutty sweetness of the Amaretto and the touch of vanilla from the Licor 43 to create a smooth and well balanced drink.


The Conference

A glass with ice in it.From Death & Company via Epicuriuos. “This is a tiki drink disguised as an old-fashioned, so it’s no surprise that it comes from Brian Miller, Death & Co’s resident scalawag and expert on all things Polynesian. One night a waitress asked Brian to make something stirred and boozy, so he took one of tiki’s core principles—blending several base spirits to create a new flavor profile—and applied it to whiskey and brandy. It was another breakthrough moment for the bar, and these days it’s not unusual to find two or more base spirits in our drinks.”


Brandy Alexander

Smooth, creamy and delicious.  We use Kinsmen Apricot Rakia, an unaged, very dry apricot brandy.  The flavors are rich creaminess with hints of spice and stone fruit.


Holiday Magic

Oxley Gin, Dry Vermouth and Kina al Avion d’Or.  The botanical notes of the Gin meld perfectly with the bittersweet Kina.  Actually, this Martini pairs perfectly with cheese.  Sip the cocktail then taste the cheese.

 

 


White Russian

white russian cocktail

You want one!


Coffee Pecan Old Fashioned

This Old Fashioned is best described as a bite of pecan pie, a taste of coffee, a nibble of dark chocolate, and a sip of fine bourbon.  Always a hit at the events and pop-ups we’ve done, it is one of my personal favorites.

The flavor profile of Doc Elliott’s Mixology™ Coffee Pecan Bitters is bitterness and spiced coffee on the front, soon followed by pecan with notes of dark chocolate as the bitterness rapidly fades.  The finish is coffee, pecan, and chocolate.  For this reason, we use agave, which is fructose, bringing sweet to the beginning then quickly fading, making it the perfect complement to our Coffee Pecan Bitters in our Coffee Pecan Old Fashioned

 


Barrel Aged Pumpkin Martini

 

Aged in a Rum Cask, this cocktail is created with Pumpkin Vodka, Tea Infused Dry Vermouth, Dry Curacao and Bergamot Liqueur.  The nose is pumpkin and Rum.  The flavors are pumpkin, orange, herbal vermouth and tea.


Barrel Aged Tequila Manhattan

Aged in a Sherry cask.  The nose is citrus and Tequila.  The taste begins with Tequila.  The middle is Tequila, dried and candied fruit with a hint of sweetness of the Sherry, while the finish is tequila with a touch of bitterness.

Optional: a pinch of Sal de Gusano (maguey worm salt) to add a touch of umami


Barrel Aged Bourbon Manhattan

Aged in a Sherry Cask.  The nose is citrus, bourbon and dried fruit.  The taste is aged Bourbon, candied fruit from the Vermouth and a background of the rich Sherry with a touch of bitterness.

Optional: Au Poivre with black peppercorns and black garlic salt


The Negroni

Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.  Add some orange bitters and a flamed orange zest for the perfect bittersweet cocktail.  Freshly made or barrel aged in a white whiskey cask.  You know you want one!

 


The White Lily

From the Savoy Cocktail Book first published in London in 1930.  This is truly a classic cocktail dating to the 1920’s.  It is a combination of Gin, White Rum and Orange Liqueur with a dash of Absinthe.  The nose if floral.  The taste is orange with floral and herbal notes.  The finish is herbal.

 

If you wish to further enhance this wonderful libation, you can summon the Green Fairy with an Absinthe back.


Port and Tonic

A wonderful sipper from Portugal.  Dry White Port and tonic.


 

Laissez les bons temps roulez!!

Santé!


Mardi Gras later - Copy

Later that night…


I’ve been trying to find out what “IDK” means.  But no one can tell me.  They just say “I don’t know.”




New Years 2021

2021 brings optimism of a better year, but still it is our castles that provide comfort and safety.  So, to enhance our personal palace celebrations, I’ve created regal cocktails, one purple, one gold.

“Amethyst Ambrosia”    Amethyst…bringing tranquility, calm and serenity through it’s clear, cool brilliance.  Ambrosia…nectar of the gods.

“Midas Elixir”    Gold, symbol of luck and prosperity, is believed to rejuvenate the endocrine system, regenerate tissue and skeletal system, and balance the right and left brain.  Elixir, the sweet liquid of longevity.

When you lift a glass to toast the new year…here’s wishing that “Cheers” brings you just that…the hope of a year filled with renewal and joy!

Midas Elixir

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz. London Dry Gin
  • 3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
  • 1/4 oz. Kina al Avion d’Or
  • Lemon peel for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
  2. Combine all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill.
  3. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass
  4. Express the lemon peel over the drink.

Amethyst Ambrosia

In this cocktail the vermouth and St. Germain build on the herbal and floral flavors of the gin for a complex and appealing aperitif. The beautiful purple color of the Empress Gin creates a stunning drink. You can substitute any of the new style gins such as Hendrix, Monkey 47 or Uncle Val’s Botanical.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz. Empress Gin
  • 3/4 oz Bianco Vermouth
  • 1/4 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
  • Lemon peel for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
  2. Combine all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill.
  3. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass
  4. Express the lemon peel over the drink.

Cheers!




Curl My Toes

Curl My Toes

This cocktail has all of the flavors of your favorite gin Martini with the added herbals of Kina al Avion d’Or.  Plus, the botanicals in the vermouth are enhanced by creating the vermouth syrup. Curl My Toes has become one of “Doc’s Greatest Hits” at parties and Pop Ups.

While making beer syrup standing at the stove stirring, my eyes fell upon an open bottle of vermouth on the counter awaiting its use in cooking.  I had read about and tasted beer syrup, but I’d never heard of vermouth syrup.  A quick Google consultation confirmed no results.  After some experimentation, I settled on equal parts dry vermouth and sugar

To my palate, dry vermouth is more herbal than sweet vermouth.  So dry vermouth syrup tastes nothing like sweet vermouth.  In this cocktail, the dry vermouth syrup brings a touch of sweetness to offset the bitter Kina and a nice mouth feel.

I have tried this with multiple gins including London Dry’s and the new style herbal gins.  I’ve even subbed Kinsmen Rakia for the gin.  It all works.

Curl My Toes

  • 2 oz. Premium gin such as Uncle Val’s Botanical
  • 1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth Syrup – see below
  • 1/4 oz. Kina al Avion d’Or
  • Fresh herbs such as thyme and sage plus a dried lemon wheel for garnish
  1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
  2. Add all ingredients, except the garnish to a mixing glass with ice
  3. Double strain into chilled glass
  4. Spank the herbs in your palm and float on the dried lemon wheel or on the drink

Vermouth Syrup

  • 1 part Dry Vermouth
  • 1 part Sugar
  1. The best way is to combine vermouth and sugar in a blender and blend on high several minutes until the sugar is dissolved.  You maintain the flavors of the vermouth if you don’t heat the syrup.  But, if you don’t have a blender, you can combine vermouth and sugar in a sauce pan and heat just until the sugar dissolves.  Do not allow the syrup to boil.
  2. Either way, strain through fine mesh strainer into a glass bottle.  Keeps refrigerated for about a few weeks.

Cheers!