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!

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!

Mixology Monday

The theme for this month’s Mixology Monday, chosen by our host Andrea at Ginhound, is “Blue.”  The experts are predicting that blue cocktails are set for a resurgence.  Thus, this theme for the first Mixology Monday of 2015 is perfect.  We ended up going with blueberries, which are purple, but hey, BLUEberries.  So, for starters, I wish to pay respects to the first blue drink, the Blue Hawaii. Invented  in 1957 by Harry Yee of the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  It was an instant hit and, yes, the movie was named for the drink! (Source: the imitable Beachbum Berry)  The recipe follows.

I found this theme to be quite a challenge, or at least I made it one.  I wanted to avoid the ubiquitous blue curacao.  So I tried using Creme de Mure and turn the purple to blue by adding green.  I used Midori, (major fail on multiple levels!) and muddling parsley or cilantro – also fail!  Nothing came up blue.  I might have pulled those off with vodka, but I was using gin.  Plus, I read the labels to discover that creme de mure and creme de violet are both artificially colored, so what the heck!

I attended the gin seminar at the recent San Antonio Cocktail Conference.  The discussion covered aromatics, gin and tonic.  Thus was born our Blueberry Sage Gin and Tonic.  I tried several gins and settled on St. George Botanivore and Fords.  Both are excellent.  I can’t decide which I like better.  So you can make each and choose for yourself!

Blueberry Sage Gin & Tonic

Blueberry Sage Gin & Tonic

• 2 oz. Gin – either Fords or St George Botanivore
• 3 oz. Fever Tree Tonic Water
• 1/2 oz. Blueberry simple syrup – see below
• 5 Blueberries plus 2 for garnish
• 1 small sage leaf plus one medium to large for garnish
• 1 dash Fees Brothers Mint Bitters
• 1 lemon peel

1. Muddle the blueberry simple syrup, the 5 blueberries and 1 small sage leaf in the bottom of a mixing glass.
2. Add the gin, tonic water, bitters and ice – stir to chill
3. Double strain into a chilled old fashioned glass over fresh ice.
4. To garnish, pierce each of the remaining blue berries with a tooth pick and slide them onto the sage leaf.  Drop onto the drink
5. Express the oils from the lemon peel and discard.

Blueberry Simple Syrup

• 1 Tbl. Blueberry Preserves
• 1 Tbl. Filtered water

1. Place both ingredients in a small dish and microwave for 20 seconds.
2. Stir to combine and pass through a fine mesh strainer.
3. Allow to cool slightly.

Blue Hawaii

• 1 ½ oz. vodka
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• ¾ oz. lemon juice
• ¾ oz. blue curacao
• ¼ oz. simple syrup
• ½ t. cream

1. Shake with crushed ice
2. Pour unstrained into tall glass
3. Garnish with fruit stick

Cheers!

I am, of course, referring to the Corpse Reviver (No. 2).  Harry Craddock’s original, as published in 1930, called for equal parts lemon juice, gin, cointreau and Kina Lillet with absinthe.  Kina Lillet, which was less sweet and more bitter than the current Lillet Blanc, has not been produced since the 60’s, (or maybe the 80’s depending on who you’re reading).  So I have wanted to replace the Lillet with Cocchi Americano and Kina l’ Avion d’ Or.  Naturally, these substitutions have been tried by others and published elsewhere.  On further investigation, I have found that there were two types of Lillet produced in the 30’s: one for the French market and one for the English.  So, it’s hard to know which one Harry Craddock was using in 1930’s London.  Of course, none of this really matters unless you are a cocktail historian or really want to discover those original drinks.  What does matter is which flavors you prefer.

As an Anesthesiologist, I am always focused on awakening the unconscious, so playing with the Corpse Reviver appeals to me.  In that spirit, I tried each of the above, as follows:

• 1 oz. Plymouth Gin
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. either Lillet Blanc, Cocchi Americano or Kina l’ Avion d’ Or
• Rinse of Lucid Absinthe (Craddock’s original recipe called for 2 dashes which would be about 1/4 tsp)

1. Shake the first 4 ingredients with ice
2. Rinse a chilled cocktail glass with absinthe and drain
3. Double strain the contents of the shaker into the chilled, absinthe rinsed glass.

 Tasting notes:

With the Lillet Blanc, the initial nose is anise and lemon.  The flavor throughout is herbal and sweet lemon.  Very refreshing.  The anise aroma fades quickly, but the herbal notes of the absinthe blends well with the Lillet.

Using the Cocchi Americano, the initial nose is the same as above, as is the initial flavors of herbs and sweet lemon.  The bitterness of the Cocchi Americano comes through in the middle and overpowers the herbal and sweet notes.  The bitterness quickly fades leaving a finish that is strictly lemon.

The Kina l’ Avion d’ Or created a drink that is entirely different.  The initial nose is a lemon and anise with a grassy tone.  The flavor is  mildly bitter lemon with an underlying earthiness.  Very nice and very different.

In summary, I prefer the Lillet to the Cocchi Americano.  It makes a more complex drink.  The Kina, as noted, creates a markedly different flavor profile, which I also like.  While I enjoy absinthe, I think it can easily overpower this cocktail.  This is why I reduced it to a rinse.  As always, use premium liquors.  The Lillet Blanc and Cocchi Americano have become fairly common and should be available in any good liquor store.  The Kina l’ Avion d’ Or may be harder to find.

The Corpse Reviver (No. 2) is a wonderful drink and I strongly encourage you to try making one, which ever way you like.  Just keep in mind Harry Craddock’s warning, published with the original recipe: “Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again”

Cheers!

Using vermouth or another fortified wine, along with a base liquor and flavoring liqueur, is a simple way to make a good cocktail.  Jamie Boudreau calls this the “Golden Ratio.”  It is:

• 1 1/2 oz. Base Liquor (gin, vodka, rye, tequila, etc.)
• 3/4 oz. Fortified Wine (sweet or dry vermouth, Lillet, Punt e mes, Cocchi Americano, etc.)
• 1/4 oz. Liqueur (you can go wild here!)

This is the starting point.  A way to taste a new liqueur, develop a “custom” drink or recreate a cocktail you enjoyed.  For instance, I had a cocktail that contained Hendricks, sweet vermouth and Chartreuse.  Starting with the “Golden Ratio,” playing with green vs yellow Chartreuse, and tinkering with the ratio, I settled on this:

• 1 1/2 oz. Hendricks Gin
• 3/4 oz. Dolan Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse
• Lemon zest

Another “for instance”: I was trying Cocchi Americano in various drinks.  To me, Cocchi Americano does not have the spice of a premium sweet vermouth.  What it does have is an herbal/bitter note.  I chose St. George’s Botanivore Gin as the base – herbal but not as much as Hendricks. For the liqueur, I used St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur vs Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur.  Here are the finals:

• 1 1/2 oz. St. George’s Botanivore Gin
• 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
• 1/4 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 4-5 drops Rhubarb Bitters
• Lemon zest

and

• 1 1/2 oz. St. George’s Botanivore Gin
• 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 4-5 drops Rhubarb Bitters
• Lemon zest

Both of these drinks are good.  Your guests will be impressed.  They may not order a second, but they will enjoy their first.

Now. lets push this a little further.  Substitute Aperol for the Cocchi Americano.  Aperol is not a fortified wine but it has a low ABV (11%) and is herbal/bitter.

• 1 1/2 oz. St. George’s Botanivore Gin
• 3/4 oz. Aperol
• 1/4 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 4-5 drops Rhubarb Bitters
• Lemon zest
• Sprig of fresh thyme for garnish

All of the above are stirred with ice in a mixing glass, strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished.

Now for one more stretch.  The first cocktail listed above with Hendricks, sweet vermouth and chartreuse.  Add cucumber and shake with ice and you have the Lido Martini.

Remember to use all premium liquors and liqueurs, and fresh premium vermouth.

This drink plays on the faint cucumber note in Hendrick’s and doubles down with the herbal Chartreuse.  Allowing the ice cubes to muddle the cucumber in the shaker, produces just the right flavor intensity.  Unless, of course, you want your cocktail to taste like a salad!

• 1 ½ oz. Hendricks’ Gin
• ¾ oz. Sweet Vermouth
• ¼ oz. Chartreuse
• 3 -4 thin slices of English Cucumber
• Lemon Zest for Garnish

1. Combine all ingredients except the lemon zest in a shaker with ice cubes (not crushed). Shake for 30-45 sec.
2. Double strain into chilled coup or martini glass and express the lemon zest. Float the zest.

The original martini contained a lot of vermouth, even equal to or more than the gin, and orange bitters.  But over time, the vermouth became a drop or two or just a rinse, and the orange bitters were lost entirely.  This is my version of that classic martini.  I use St. George Botanivore Gin and Dolin Vermouth.  The Botanivore has a nice herbal flavor without a lot of juniper.  Also, use fresh good vermouth, it will cost $12.95 instead of $9.95.  Vermouth goes bad overnight after opening unless you refrigerate it.  Then it will last a week or so, (All right, dig that old bottle out of your cabinet you opened 5 years ago and throw it out!)

I like my Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters, (I wonder why?), but Suze Orange Bitters work well.  Also, the garnish is essential.  The olive and the lemon zest impart a very different character to the drink.  I suggest you try this drink both ways.

• 1 1/2 oz. St. George Botanivore Gin
• 3/4 oz. Dolin Dry Vermouth
• 1-2 Drops Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters
• 1 jalapeno stuffed olive or a lemon zest for garnish

1. Chill a martini glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients, except the olive, to a mixing glass and stir with ice
3. Strain into chilled glass and garnish with the olive on a fancy pick or the lemon zest