Planned Happenstance

Watching the Super Bowl, drinking wine, but I want a drink. A cocktail. What's in the kitchen? Rye, Cardamaro, a lemon, Ramazzotti amaro. Run downstairs and grab the Dal Degroff's pimento bitters and voila--planned happenstance. Even the measurements were influenced by the jigger I had nearby--a 50 mL/25 mL measure.

Planned Happenstance

50 mL George Dickel rye

50 mL Cardamaro

25 mL Ramazzotti amaro

4 dashes Dale Degroff's pimento bitters

Stir over ice, strain up into cocktail glass, and garnish w/lemon peel. 

It's warm, rich, layered, sweet, a little spicy, and perfect for a snowy February evening while watching the big game. 

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

Mommy Dearest

I love the campy film, Mommy Dearest. I understand it wasn't meant to be campy, and Faye Dunaway was disappointed that her performance wasn't taken more seriously. That said, the movie has its place, and last night I found myself watching it again. In honor of Joan Crawford's tendencies towards public drunkenness (check this video out of Joan in an airport in 1968), I give you...

Mommy Dearest

2.5 oz Lillet Rose

1 oz Rhuby

1 tsp Fee Bros Passion Fruit syrup

1 lemon swath garnish

Stir over ice, and strain into ice filled short glass. Garnish with lemon swath, expressing oils over glass and wiping over glass rim. Serve with 2 short straws and remember, 

"I'm not mad at you, Helga, I'm mad at the dirt! Now, Tina, bring me the axe!"

Cheers, ~Dr. Cocktation

 

A Kick in the Ass

No matter how you slice it, being told that you're no longer needed at the place you've worked for many years just plain sucks. I don't know this from personal experience, but I know because someone whom I'm very fond of working with had this happen to her just the other day. She's been a fixture at our company. She hired many of the best people on our staff. She knows everything. Even a week later I find myself asking, "How could they have let her go?!?" And yet, they did.

So I asked myself, "What can I do to help?" Of course, the answer is what it always is on this blog--make her a drink! And so, I present to you, my gentle readers...

A Kick in the Ass

2 oz Bacardi 8 year rum

2 oz pineapple juice

1/2 oz cooled espresso

1/2 oz orgeat syrup

dash of Underberg bitters

Shake over ice and strain into a glass of crushed ice. Garnish it with an umbrella, plastic giraffes, a orange and cherry "flag", or just your secret hopes and dreams of a new and better job.

As with any of my creations, each ingredient has meaning and purpose. I started with the rum because that's what she asked for as the base spirit. While I'm no fan of regular old Bacardi (I'm too much of a snob for that), the Bacardi 8 year actually has some honest to goodness decent flavor. It's got good rum funk and a touch of smokey spice--perfect for the "kick". The pineapple juice and orgeat balance the rum with fruity sweetness, which is needed even in bad times (unless you want a completely unpalatable drink, which anyone can make and no one wants). The espresso echos the "kick" and warms up the tropical fruit flavors, while the bitters serve to highlight the truth of the situation--bitter, while also being a nod to the honoree's German heritage. 

Cheers, Anita! ~Dr. Cocktation

 

Bastardizing Aaron

For my friend, Aaron, who requested a drink with the word "bastard" in the title and Chartreuse and Irish whiskey in the glass. 

2 oz Paddy's Irish Whiskey
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz egg white
1/4 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Fee Bros Whiskey Barrel Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Dahil Sa Iyo

Dahil Sa Iyo is a classic Filipino love song. The translation is, "Because of you." This cocktail is meant to incorporate a variety of ingredients that are popular in the Philippines--coconut, rum, lime, and calamansi. My intention was to create a drink that is tropical but with a distinctly Asian, and specifically Filipino, flair. Supplies obtained at my favorite local liquor store, The Wine Merchant, and also Global Foods, provided the ingredients and inspiration for this drink.

1 oz Rhum J.M Agricole Blanc
1 oz Rhum J.M Agricole Gold
1/2 oz Calamansi juice
1/2 oz Orgeat syrup
3 oz coconut juice
3 lime leaves

Muddle two lime leaves in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add liquid ingredients and ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a tall ice-filled glass and garnish with one lime leaf and a short straw.  

What Do I Call This?

A variation on a Negroni with...(insert drum roll here)...

1 oz Bak's Bison Grass vodka

3 dashes bison grass bitters (homemade)

1 oz Imbue

1 oz Aperol

Stir over ice, strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a swath of lemon peel. 

The Dusty Bowtie

This one goes out to someone with whom I work, who often wears bowties and requested his own signature drink using Sloe Gin. He's also not a heavy drinker so this cocktail is light on the booze.

1 oz Bitter Truth Sloe Gin
1/2 oz Bitter Truth Creme de Violette
1/2 oz Scrappy's Sirop de Gomme
3/4 oz Meyer lemon juice
2 dashes Fee Bros Whiskey Barrel Bitters
1 egg white
2 oz soda water

Dry shake to froth egg white. Add ice and shake it like you caught it stealing your lawn mower. Strain into glass with one or two large cubes of ice. Top with 2 oz soda water and two sippy straws.

Paradise Louched

Paradise Louched

It's been exactly one year since I entered an about.com cocktail contest, so after returning from Tales of the Cocktail and feeling full of renewed inspiration, I decided that it might be time to step up to the plate again.

It just so happens that the July/August contest for this year just happens to involve one of my favorite spirits--absinthe, so I was immediately excited about getting to work on my entry.

As a long-time member of The Wormwood Society, America's Premier Absinthe Association & Information Network, I have a great deal of knowledge about the myths and realities of absinthe, and have sampled in the realm of 60+ different absinthes, including one pre-ban absinthe. I used my familiarity with the different flavor profiles to select what I believe is the perfect absinthe to use in my creation. 

My new-found love and enthusiasm for all things tiki led me to pick up a signed copy of Beachbum Berry's new book, Remixed: A Gallery of Tiki Drinks while I was in NOLA. From my reading, I learned that one of Don The Beachcomber's tricks was to use Pernod (once a great absinthe, now a pale shadow of it's former self) in small quantities to add depth and dimension to certain tiki drinks. So if a few drops of Pernod could punch up a tropical drink, could a tiki drink be created that used absinthe as the base? I decided it was my task to find out!

I chose to use a Swiss/blanche absinthe as the base of my drink since I believe the more anise and fennel-forward flavors would work better with tropical tiki flavors than would a more herbal verte. While I believe La Valote works best in Paradise Louched (a play on Paradise Lost), I realize that in many areas the selections of absinthes are limited at best and so I will mention that Pere Francois or Kubler would also work well in this drink.

In Paradise Louched, the absinthe is clearly present, yet functions in harmony with the rhum agricole, fresh juices, floral water, and is supported by the cinnamon syrup’s subtle spice. My goal was to create a drink that is readily accessible to even those who might not otherwise try or believe they would enjoy absinthe. Absinthe’s history is filled with so much myth, misinformation, and mystery, that the come-hither allure of a tropical drink presented in a whimsical tiki mug may just be the perfect introduction to the green (or in this case white) fairy.

1.25 oz of La Valote (Pere Francoise or Kubler are also acceptable)

1 oz Rhum J.M Gold

1 oz pineapple juice

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 oz homemade cinnamon syrup (recipe below)

½ tsp orange flower water

In a blender, puree all ingredients with 1.5 cups of crushed ice until slushy. Serve in a tiki mug, adding additional ice to fill, and garnish with a straw and a sprig of fresh mint.

To prepare the cinnamon syrup take 3 cinnamon sticks, crushed, 1 cup water, and 1 cup demerara sugar and boil until sugar dissolves. Let the mixture sit to further infuse for 2 hours, then strain into a container and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

What's Up Doc?

I love Cocchi Americano. I also love Plymouth Gin. Aperol?  Love it. And I can't get enough of Meyer lemons. They make winter more tolerable. What can I make with all 4 ingredients?

What's Up Doc?
1.5 oz Cocchi Americano
1 oz Plymouth Gin
0.5 oz Aperol
0.5 oz Meyer Lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The color is a beautiful cloudy apricot. The flavor starts out with a hint of sour, pungency, slight sweetness, and ends with a significant bitterness. This, my friends, is cocktail magic.

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

 

Irish Dinner

It's a cold and rainy Thursday evening nearing the end of a hard week. While I typically avoid drinking on "school nights", the recipe for a Complete Irish Meal cocktail passed before my thirsty eyes on Facebook via Liquor.com. A few years back, in 2009, Bushmills held a contest asking someone to create a Bushmills and egg drink. One of the entries was the Complete Irish Meal by Anthony Malone. I'm both hungry, but not too hungry, and thirsty. Oh, what the heck. I'll try one, but with my own twists.

Luckily I have a few free-range eggs laying around in the fridge, but no Bushmills, and which cherry liqueur should I use? Also, for reasons unexplainable, I despise the word meal, so...

Irish Dinner
1 oz Paddy's Irish Whiskey 
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
1 fresh egg

Dry shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker for 20 seconds, the add ice, and shake to chill. Strain into a coupe glass. 


The whiskey is present, but not overbearing, and the texture is like a thinned eggnog. The flavor has a hint of cherry, orange, and nuttiness interwoven with the hint of Irish whiskey and bound together with the creaminess of the egg. A lovely dinner indeed!

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

The Doctor Is Out

To compensate for the grievous faux pas of missing the birthday of a new friend, I offered to make her a birthday cocktail.  She likes lemony things, gin, and bitter stuff, so here's what I created:

The Doctor Is Out
1 oz Boomsma Genever Jonge 
1 oz Cardamaro 
2.5 oz San Pellegrino Limonata  
Build over ice in a short glass and garnish with a slice of lemon.

It's refreshing, a hint bitter, and bracing. Just like Kate. ;-)  

Valentine Sour

2 oz Maker's 46
1 oz Meyer lemon juice
1 oz Toschi Vanilla syrup
1/2 oz Joseph Cartron Pomegranate liqueur

Shake with ice and strain into a short glass filled with ice. Happy Valentine's Day!

Bernheim Sweet Tea

Today I went to a CEU conference. Those things are expensive! And the main difference between a $119-a-day conference fo 6 CEU's and a $189-a-day conference for 6 CEU's is a continental breakfast. Said continental breakfast typically consists of fruit, pastries, bagels, coffee, and tea. It's good tea--Tazo Tea. But is it worth the $60 price difference? Hardly.

So today, trying to eek my money's worth out of the anger management conference, I tried the Tazo Green Ginger tea with lemon grass. Delicious! As I sipped my tea and listened to the Southern gentleman speaker, I started daydreaming. "This tea would be really good with some sugar and Bourbon," I thought.

Tonight, I was asked to make a cocktail that would pair well with a BBQ dinner, ordered from Bandanas. My cocktailian mind started to process. What does BBQ pair with well? Sweet tea! I ran to my purse and grabbed the 3 packets of Tazo Green Ginger tea I had snagged at the end of the conference (trying to fully make up for that $60 price difference). I quickly decided on Bernheim Wheat Whiskey as I believed the soft, sweet, wheat character would pair best with the sweet citrus tea.


Bernheim Sweet Tea
(for two cocktails)
3 oz of Tazo Green Ginger tea (made with 2 cups hot water to 3 tea bags, steeped 3-4 minutes)
1/2 oz Scrappy's Sirope de Gomme
2 oz Bernheim Wheat Whiskey
Stir with ice and strain into two short glasses, each with one large ice cube or ice ball.
Garnish with a long strip of Meyer lemon cut over the glass.


Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

Edelster Aventinus Cocktail

So I've been getting more into beer as of late. Thanks to a cool new audio blog, Expert Drinking hosted by Dr. Bill (Bill Sysak) and his ever-faithful side-kick and drinking companion, Stephen Johnson, I've been learning about the history of beer. 

As usual, once I begin learning more in depth information on a new aspect of the world of delicious booze, I cannot resist jumping in with both feet in terms of tasting. Schneider Aventinus is one of the few 100 point beers on ratebeer.com, and as such, I couldn't resist, inspired by my new-found beer "expertise", trying it. With it's rich, deep brown color and sweet pumpernickel bread meets over-ripe banana nose, this is one 100 point beer I can get solidly behind.

Along side the eminently recognizable purple-labeled Aventinus beers at my favorite liquor store, I noticed a 375mL clear bottle with the same label. What was this? Beer liquor? In a sense, yes. It is actually distilled Aventinus beer, and according to reviews, it tastes strikingly similar to the beer from which it comes. Tonight I bought a bottle and brought my new discovery home. First I sampled it neat to discover that the critics were correct--the taste is entirely recognizable as a distilled form of Aventinus beer. But could a cocktail be made with this already delicious and complexly flavored spirit? A quick internet search revealed nothing. So it was up to me. I wanted to create something that didn't mask the signature Aventinus flavor, but rather brought it forth even more so...

Aventinus Cocktail
2 oz Edelster Aventinus
1/2 oz Scrappy's Sirop de Gomme
3 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a spiral of Meyer lemon peel cut over the glass. 

While Edelster Aventinus is very drinkable on its own, mixed with the gum syrup, it gains a slight sweetness and weight, which when paired with the orange bitters and lemon oils, make it into a wonderful cocktail that allows all of the inherent complexities of the spirit shine through. 

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation 
 

Beer Haikus

I've been listening to the history of beer on Expert Drinking's new website. Good stuff! As a result, I've written two haikus about beer...

Fermentation is
Civilization. If so,
Please pass me a beer.

The spontanous
Fermentation has begun.
God is good! Let's drink.

I think the second is of higher quality than the first, but I'm relatively new to poetry so cut me some slack. ;-)


Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

Full Metal Jacket

I recently read on Eye Weekly about a Toronto bar, Melody Bar , located in the Gladstone Hotel, whose mixologist, Sandy De Almedia, has created a beautiful new cocktail...the Full Metal Jacket.

Yet being without any Crown Royal, and sans Flor de Cana 5 year, I made a few alterations and came up with my own riff on this beautiful drink. The only question, is this still a Full Metal Jacket if I tweak the ingredients slightly? Is it other? I don't rightly know. I do know, however, that it is important to cite my sources (hence the links above) and give credit where it is due. Regardless, here is my own riff on this cocktail and I must say it works quite nicely.

0.75 oz Averna Amaro
0.75 oz Sazerac Rye
0.75 oz Mount Gay XO
3 heavy dashes Fee Bros Grapefruit bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice and pour into a lowball glass over a large ice sphere and garnish with a long swath of Meyer lemon rind that has been cut across the glass to capture the essential oils.


Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

Pumpkin Pie Cocktail

Hiram Walker's seasonal Pumpkin Spice liqueur begs to be made into a Pumpkin Pie drink. Yet all of the pumpkin pie drink recipes I have thus far found online left me unimpressed. This inspired me to recall a drink I had created in the Fall of 2008 and publish it for the betterment of all pumpkin pie lovers and sweet freaks.

Back then, before I knew better, I served this drink in a v-shaped cocktail glass and called it a Pumpkin Pie Martini. But it is not a martini. A martini is not just any drink served in a v-shaped cocktail glass. It is gin, vermouth, and bitters--and please let's not get started on the whole "vodka martini" issue. Rather, let's get on with this recipe, shall we?

Pumpkin Pie Cocktail
1 oz Hiram Walker Pumpkin Pie Spice liqueur
1/2 oz Smirnoff Vanilla vodka
1/4 oz Licor 43
3 drops Fee Bros Old Fashioned Bitters
1 oz milk
Shake over ice vigorously to chill quickly and strain into a cocktail glass of your choosing. Garnish with a dash of pumpkin pie spice. You can also hit this with a bit of whipped cream if you have it handy.

The drink is very rich, quite sweet, and quite reminiscent of pumpkin pie in a liquid form. It makes a great dessert drink and puts the HW Pumpkin Pie Spice to good use.

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

Menta Stinger

While you may have heard of the classic Stinger cocktail, made with Cognac and Creme de Menthe, this twist is something I had read about nearly a year ago, but was unable to try due to local unavailability of Branca Menta, the mint version of Fernet Branca. While in NYC this past weekend I was able to pick up a bottle of the coveted Branca Menta at Astor Wine and Spirits and today I made a long-awaited, much-heralded Menta Stinger. I can no longer locate the original recipe, but decided to split the difference between Drink Boy's 4:1 ratio and the typical 2:1 ratio I found elsewhere for the classic Stinger, and go with the following:

Menta Stinger
2 oz Cognac (I used Caymus VS)
3/4 oz Branca Menta
Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

The taste is savory, slightly minty (which grows in the back of your throat as you consume the drink), black-tea-like, and nicely herbal (think horehound, anise, baking spice, and subtle citrus). This is a very complex drink, not at all "sweet",  and one that would be great to sip in front of a roaring fire during a snow storm. In fact, I may just consider it my official 2010 Winter cocktail!

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation

Luxardo Bitter & Pepsi Throwback

After my food-and-drink-focused trip to NYC and New Jersey (for the Wine Library 2010 Supertasting), I'm winding down at home and had planned an evening of abstaining from any additional high-calorie foods (that was blown away by my cheese, salami, potato chip, and pretzel dinner) and alcoholic drinks. And yet, in perusing my purchase order from Astor Wines & Spirits I began to fantasize about all of the cocktail-making fun that awaits me when my order arrives. The order consists of items I cannot find locally, in spite of being vocal about my desires for such items, including Delaware Phoenix Distellery's Walton Waters and Meadow of Love absinthes, Pacifique Absinthe, Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy, Sagatiba's Pura and Vela cachacas, Catdaddy Moonshine, and Fernet Branca's Branca Menta. I'm excited to try some of these items, and revisit old friends (so to speak), but the Branca Menta is something I've been wanting to access for the longest time. In anticipation I've been doing some research on Fernet Branca and Branca Menta, and discovered that the former is quite popular with Coca Cola in Argentina, so much so that a popular song, Fernet con Coca, was written about the drink. The notion of mixing a bitter amaro with a sweet soda got me thinking about a bottle of Luxardo Bitter that I have sitting in my basement. Luxardo is most similar to Campari, yet a bit less thick and bracing. If Argentinians love their Fernet con Coca so much that they don't want to be without it in a jail cell (those are the translated lyrics from the song), then maybe Luxardo Bitter and Pepsi Throwback might be equally nice. I mixed 1 oz of Luxardo Bitter to one tall ice-filled glass full of Pepsi and found it to be quite refreshing and delightful. The bitterness balances nicely with the sweetness of the Pepsi and the alcohol content is on the lower side--a perfect ending to a lovely, if calorie-laden, vacation.

Cheers!  ~Dr. Cocktation

I Actually Won!

This is just a quick update to let readers know that I won the cocktails.about.com August Bourbon cocktail contest with my Georgia On My Mind cocktail. When I learned that I had actually won I had a bit of a Sally Field moment, exclaiming, "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" although in actuality you all just like my drink. Either way, I'll take it!

~Cheers, ~Dr. Cocktation