February 8, 2012
There are some combinations that you just know, before you even start pouring and experimenting, will go together like the Hulk and green skin. By which I mean, perfectly. Dark rum and Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb are one of these pairings. This of course makes perfect sense, since the latter is made on a base partially of the former. But still, sometimes things don’t go as planned (like the Gamma bomb going off on poor old Doc Banner). However, I’m happy to report that in this case no one was turned into an over-sized misunderstood creature. Instead, the rum and the Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb mingle nicely, aided by an addition from another part of the globe, amaretto. Amaretto is, much like the Hulk, often misunderstood. Here, though, it shines with our two Caribbean pals. All of above leads to the fact that you shouldn’t drink this when angry (or drink anything really—who needs another angry drunk?), but drink it while watching the 1970s Incredible Hulk series, or reading the comics of the same character from the same era.
Cracked ice
2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb
1 ounce amaretto
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the rum, Creole Shrubb, and amaretto. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
A Note: I think cracked ice is crackingly good for stirring here, but if you have only ice cubes and don’t feel like cracking, they’ll work too.
PS: This recipe is from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz. Which you should get, for gosh sakes.
Tags: amaretto, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb, Rum, Three Wishes cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
December 17, 2011
Here’s something that’ll add a little kick to your holiday season–Seattle has another local spirit now available for public consumption. After the various distillery articles, it’s probably not surprising that there are more new spirits, but what’s surprising is that this one probably isn’t going to ring any bells (or not many). It’s a shōchū, a Japanese-origin spirit, one that often goes through a single distilling, usually made from barley (though other options abound), and usually with a lesser alcohol content as well as with less calories than say, vodka and various health benefits (or so the legends go). There are some other rules and such, but I’m starting to digress too far afield. The main point is that the Sodo Spirits distillery here in Seattle (lucky us) is making and marketing a shōchū called EvenStar.
If you’ve never had shōchū, or shochu, then you aren’t alone. I hadn’t tried it but once, until recently experimenting with the EvenStar. It was light on its feet as you might expect, with a hint of rosemary and grain and a tiny herbal undertone. The suggested drinking modes cover the gamut from neat, warm (like some sake is consumed), over ice, and mixed in cocktails. The friendly folks at the Sodo Spirits have some cocktail suggestions on their site and some that come along with the EvenStar (by the way, they were nice enough to send me a bottle) but many of the drinks were using it alongside other base spirits, and to me it seemed to have enough taste to stand as a base spirit, if that makes sense. So, I did what comes naturally to any cocktail-loving cocktail lover; I started experimenting on my own.
I thought that the EvenStar’s hints of herbalness and rosemary might match up with other herb-ish mixtures, and I was right–it matched up well with French liqueur Chartreuse, especially the green version, as well as with the earth mother of bitters, Peychaud’s. After I had those two other ingredients, I just needed to balance everything out a bit, the low and the high, the herbal and the sweet, the gossip and the facts, and a little fresh orange juice did the trick right. The end result is a cocktail worthy of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, as it’s light, won’t weigh you down, and has a lovely glow. I suggest trotting down to your local liquor store (if in the Seattle area) and picking up some EvenStar and taking Venus out for a spin this winter. Or, try it in other mixes and let me know what you come up with, because I’m always open to other ideas. And if you don’t live here (well, first–why not?), then come for a visit, because our local distillers are making Seattle an even finer place to reside within.
The Venus in Voiron Cocktail
Ice cubes
2 ounces EvenStar shochu
3/4 ounce green Chartreuse
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
Dash Peychaud’s bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the shochu, Chartreuse, orange juice, and bitters.
2. Strain the mix through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Drink looking east, and then drink looking west.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, EvenStar Shochu, green Chartreuse, Japanese Cocktail, Sodo Spirits Distillery, Venus in Voiron Cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Distillery, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
November 29, 2011
Even if you don’t live in Seattle, the general Seattle area, in the western part of Washington State, Washington State, the Pacific Northwest, or even the United States, if you like good liquors and liqueurs and cocktails then you’ll probably want to read my Seattle Magazine article on the host of new local-ish distilleries. I don’t want to say too much (cause when you go read it, you’re going to get a lot of me anyway), but A: though it’s good online, pick up a real, in-your-hands, copy of the issue if you can because the layout and photos and such are fantastic in mag form (even more than the online version, which is also awesome), and B: reading through the article again makes me even happier to live out here. Thanks to all the distillers for talking to me and taking me around, it was one tasty article to write. Oh, also, I have an accompanying article about 12 specific new Seattle bottles-of-booze I thought were worth sipping—ones tasted while writing (sometimes tasted for the 2nd or 32nd time) the main distillery article. You should check those out, and the new liquors and liqueurs coming out all the time, by golly. If you don’t live here, come on by to visit and then check ‘em out. We’ll be glad to see you.
Tags: Bainbridge Organic Distillery, cocktail article, Cocktail News, Distillery, Pacific Spirits, Seattle Distillery, Seattle Magazine, Seattle spirits, Sound Spirits, Woodinville Whiskey
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Cocktail News, Distillery, Seattle Magazine
November 3, 2011
Hello dear readers. For those of you not living in Seattle or visiting in the next few days, feel free to walk away from this post right now (I mean walk away, too—I expect you to leave the computer on with this site up so the drunken elves that live in your house can read this). For those in Seattle, I’m sorry this is a little last minute, but there’s still time to clear your calendar so you can go to the Manhattan Experience contest (sponsored by Woodford Reserve bourbon and Esquire Magazine) this Monday, November 7th, at the Columbia Tower Club’s Columbia Room at 701 Fifth Avenue, downtown Seattle. You do have to register first (though it’s free!) at www.wellcraftedmanhattan.com. They’ll be a host of local and local-ish (all from in-state, mind you, if not in city) bartenders (well, a small host of six I think) making their updated takes on the mighty Manhattan. Does the Manhattan need an updated take? No. But, is it nice to have a bunch of drinks made in the spirit of the Manhattan? Yes. And is it even more fun if I get to judge which one is best? Double yes. And yes, I am one of the judges, which means I’ll get to spout off to someone about why the Manhattan is the Dark Knight of drinks, and my whole DC-cosmology-into-drinks theory. Which is always nice. But it’ll be nice if you’re there. So, come on by. But leave the drunken elves at home.
PS: The Manhattan photo above, which is the best Manhattan photo ever, was taken by Melissa Punch for Good Spirits. Which, if you don’t have, you should have.
October 30, 2011
Just in time for you kooky fright-fest adult trick-and-treaters, let me present the latest on the Good Life Report, a recipe and such for the Sleepy Hollow cocktail. It’s an ideal Halloween party drink, one that matches both the spooky-fun nature of the holiday and (just in case you’re not reading the article on October 31st exactly) the season. It mixes gin, apricot liqueur, mint, lemon, and a hint of simple syrup (to match up with the candy and such the real kiddies get) into a mix that’s not scary at all, but good enough that you might just lose your head over it. So, get on over there and read the Sleepy Hollow up.
PS: Can’t get enough Halloween cocktails? Watch me make a Warlock cocktail and turn into a demon.
October 15, 2011
They said it couldn’t be done! They said that dark rum, Fernet-Branca, apricot liqueur, and lime couldn’t be mixed together! They said that Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz couldn’t contain a drink that contains said ingredients, and they said it couldn’t be delicious, herbal, and tangy all at once! They said that a drink named after a whip and a world-beater (or, conqueror) couldn’t be made, that the good people of this here earth I stand on wouldn’t sip it up like the nectar of the gods! They said that it wouldn’t be an ideal mixture for Fall’s cold days, and that it wouldn’t slide the chill right off like a loose negligee! They said, they said, they said. Who is they (you might say)? Well, I’m not 100% sure. But they’re bad people. Unlike you and I. Both of whom (I sure hope) love this drink.
Ice cubes
1 -1/2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Fernet-Branca
1/2 ounce apricot liqueur
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
Lime twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Fernet-Branca, apricot liqueur, and lime juice. Shake in a whip-cracking motion.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with the lime whip. Oh, I mean twist.
Tags: apricot liqueur, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Fernet Branca, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Rum, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Fernet Branca, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
October 9, 2011
Well, the Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz Rob Roy release party was yesterday afternoon, and it was all ten kinds of awesome. Super-duper huge thanks to Andrew, Bryn, and Anu from the Rob Roy crew who made it all possible, and the same size thanks to those who stopped by to join the GBVF Army! The Ginger Bliss and Violet Fizzes were stacked on the bar (where they like to be):
there was a sweet and stylish crowd:
sipping fine drinks off the special menu:
those drinks being the Bitter Handshake:
and the Bruja Smash:
and then some drinks from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz were poured that weren’t on the menu, like the Ladies Cocktail:
and much talking, laughing, and Saturday afternoon drinking was had by all. Thanks again everyone, for making me the happiest dipsographer in the land.
PS: Thanks to Andy Sweet for the Bitter Handshake, Ladies, and crowd pic, and Nat for the others.
PPS: If you missed the shindig, I think the Rob Roy still has a couple extra copies for sale. So stop on by why dontcha?
PPSS: Not in Seattle and sad about your lack of GBVF Army induction? Get Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz online and start liqueur boot camp.
October 4, 2011
The Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz Rob Roy release party is only 4 days away (it’s happening, if you’ve been in the outback, on 10/8, from 2 to 4), and I’m already twitching with excitement about having one of the wonderful drinks bartender supremo Andrew Bohrer will be whipping up with penultimate panache. He’s doing two from the book, the Bitter Handshake and the Bruja Smash, the latter of which I’m going to tempt you with today. It’s an kind-of-crushed-ice-y affair, using one of my all-time favs, Italian spicy (as in, using spices like saffron) and gold liqueur Strega, alongside tequila and some fruity goodness all mixed up with balance, care, and craft. And muscles. Jeez, if that’s not enough to start mouths a-watering, then I suppose I’ll put the recipe here, right now:
Crushed ice
7 fresh mint leaves
7 fresh raspberries
1-1/2 ounces white tequila
1 ounce Strega
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 mint sprig, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with crushed ice. Add the mint leaves, raspberries, tequila, Strega, and lemon juice. Shake really well.
2. Dump the contents of the shaker (no straining here) into a large tulip-style beer glass or other good-sized pretty vessel.
3. Fill the glass with crushed ice, garnish with the mint sprig, and serve with a straw.
PS: In the actually GBVF version of the Bruja Smash, I talk a lot about ol’ greenskin, the Incredible Hulk. How? Why? Well, you’ll have to get a copy, friends, to find out. And you can, this Saturday. See you there.
Tags: Andrew Bohrer, Bars, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, GBVF, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Strega, Tequila, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Bars, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, Tequila, What I'm Drinking
