What I’m Drinking: Simian Seriously

Let’s start with the title inspiration here, and the base of this drink that you’ll want to make all your drink-loving pals, cause it’s serious only in how seriously anyone who has it will love it (the drink, as well as the base), that base being Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin. If you haven’t had this gin (what’s up with you?), it brings a lovely smooth juniper-ness swirling on the tongue with citrus, spice, pepper, botanicals, and berries accents on all sides. Also, their website is so darn cool, in an old-timey newspaper style (the Monkey Drum is the name), with articles, information, recipes, neat-o images, and more (they also do a magazine where some of this is available). It is so cool and well done I almost want to see if I can work there. And that level of care of course is also what drives the gin! It’s a gin that needs to shine, and it certainly does so here, in this (as you’ll see!) Martini-esque beaut.

Of course, with a good base, you’ll also want some good other players, and here we have two Washington-state numbers that if you haven’t had, you’ll want to track down. First, Brovo’s Pretty vermouth. A blanc style vermouth, Pretty is, well, pretty, and pretty darn good, with a Pinot Gris wine base and spice, floral, and lemon notes. Then, I added perhaps my favorite ingredient of the year so far, Scrappy’s Black Lemon bitters, which has a unique earthy lemon-ness. Buy why am I still typing – let’s get to this cocktail.

Simian Seriously

Cracked ice

2-1/4 ounces Monkey 47 gin

3/4 ounce Brovo Pretty vermouth

2 dashes Scrappy’s Black Lemon bitters

Lemon twist, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything but the twist. Stir well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with the lemon. Be serious (about enjoying the drink, not about things in general, that is).

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What I’m Drinking: The Mapleander

I recently wrote about a drink called The Mighty M, which featured a trio of Washington-made treats, one of which was Salish Sea’s Maple liqueur. Which is delicious, and perhaps the only maple liqueur? The only one I’ve had at least! It’s just very lush, rich, maple-y, nutty-ish, and delish. I was trying to think of more things to do with it, and had one of those booze-y light bulb moments – why not try subbing it in for the crème de cacao in a classic Alexander? Boom! Light bulb boom! So, I brought in another Washington pal (Seattle Distilling Company’s gin, which is an ideal gin, made with eleven botanicals, and a swell and welcoming juniper, spice, nut, thing happening), and the cream, and it all turned into a dessert-y dream. A dream I tell you!

The Mapleander

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounces Seattle Distilling Company gin

1-1/2 ounces Salish Sea Maple liqueur

1-1/2 ounces heavy cream

Sprinkle of chocolate powder

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, liqueur, and cream. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle with a light dust of chocolate.

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What I’m Drinking: Rye on Earth

Okay, hopefully this isn’t annoying (too much), but I’m going to lay out a perfect chilly-fall-night drink, but it has not one, but two ingredients that might not be easy for all to get – however, they are worth getting, so get on your buggies (or whatever you use for transportation) and perhaps time machines (or whatever you use to travel through time). The first is from the swell sweethearts at Seattle Distilling Company, a whiskey made from Washington-grown rye (the best rye, I’m guessing), called Brockway Hill, which has a lovely rye spice flavor and umph and is well worth sipping solo as well as in this cocktail. However! That’s not the end of the story, as this delight was named for a Vashon Island bootlegger from back during the sad time called prohibition. Does that story make it taste better? Yep, yep it does! Our second ingredient alluded to above is another WA-made delight: Scrappy’s Seville Orange bitters. A seasonal Scrappy’s (hence the harder to get, and maybe the need for time machines), it as-you’d-expect utilizes Seville oranges, the peels specifically, and delivers cozy marmalade and winter spice action. Watch for it as the snow falls. Our last ingredient in this Manhattan-y trio is actually more available now than it was – because it’s fairly new and wasn’t available at all in the dark days of the past: Cynar 70. If you haven’t had the amazing and fairly-legendary Italian artichoke-based amaro Cynar, then shame on you. Have it now, and then have its higher-proof sibling, Cynar 70. The latter still brings the herbally goodness, but with a bit of a stronger kick, a kick that can be nice to have in cocktails such at this one. Drink up (but not when driving that buggy).

 Rye on Earth

Cracked ice

2-1/2 ounces Seattle Distilling Company Brockway Hill whiskey

1/2 ounce Cynar 70

2 dashes Scrappy’s Seville Orange bitters

Blackberry, for garnish*

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ices. Add our trio of stalwarts. Stir well.

2. Add your blackberry to a cocktail glass. Strain the mix into said glass.

*You could go a cherry here. But blackberries are cool. And you wanna be cool, right?

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What I’m Drinking: The Whiskey Sour

Fall officially starts in three days, and I can feel it (this happens when you get to be my age – it could also just be a good thing to say) deep inside. And what does one sip when the fall is about to start and you can feel it, and winter behind it, always, coming? Well, a Whiskey Sour seems like a good choice, with that heft of whiskey and the citrus zing underneath, and then an echo of sweet (to remind you and spring, also always, follows winter). At least that’s the route I’m running today!

The Whiskey Sour

Ice cubes
2 ounces Four Roses straight bourbon
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Lemon slice, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the bourbon, lemon juice, and syrup. Shake well.

2. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice.

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What I’m Drinking: The End of Summer

Ah well, all good things must pass – even the sunny days of summertime. The least we could do was have a drink to celebrate, and to do it right, the drink should probably have perhaps my favorite summertime treat in it (there are many! But this is tops), blackberries from the Lazy River Farm. This particular farm is not only home to the best blackberries in the world (big, fat, juicy at a level I’d never had before), but also home to Sidetrack Distillery, one of my all-time favorite distilleries anywhere. You should visit! Here, I use a bunch of blackberries to bring the flavor, then a few other friends to add a little of this (vodka), and that (Narancello, for a bit of orange), and that other (lemon, for the tang). It’s a nice treaty, and a good way to honor – and say so long to – summer.

The End of Summer

6 blackberries

Cracked ice

2 ounces vodka

1/2 ounce Narancello orange liqueur

1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

Blackberry, for garnish

1. Add the first 6 blackberries to a cocktail shaker. Muddle well to just really get the juices flowing.

2.  Fill the shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the vodka and lemon juice. Shake well.

3. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the final blackberry.

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What I’m Drinking: Genever and Tonic

Here’s a question that I’m curious about – in our modern (and here, I’m thinking super modern and recent, in the last years) drinking world here in the U.S., why hasn’t genever become more of a regular base spirit for drinks? I mean, I understand it wasn’t widely available until said recency, and sometimes it’s hard to change, and for a while, even I only really knew about one brand (Bols Genever, which is a dandy spot to start, and which I used recently in a Genever Julep recipe). But recently, I was able to sample a whole range, and it’s really interesting that there are many variations on the theme. If you don’t know (and again, don’t feel bad if you don’t – recency and all. But now you will), genever has been consumed for health and happiness since the 1500s, and is made from malt wine. Think malty-ness a bit like whiskey, but a juniper and herbal profile like gin, with all the variations therein. It was used more, I think, way back in the day, and so I’ve been going the classic route, and it’s still late summer, so I’ve also been hitting the G&Ts (I don’t need to tell you how G&Ts and summer go together). Then it hit me – why not Genever & Tonic? I used Bobby’s Schiedam Jenever (side note: sometimes you see Jenever as well as Genever), which utilizes that malt wine base and then a juniper, cubeb pepper, lemongrass, cardamom herb package. Yummy! But, admittedly, not super available over here yet – don’t worry! Other genevers, and I think Bols, for example, would be delicious here. But you need to have a great tonic, and I used locally-made &Tonic, a tonic syrup (if you’re not on top of tonic syrups, read this tonic syrup article), handcrafted and ridiculously good. Try this drink, as soon as you can!

Genever and Tonic

Ice cubes

1-1/2 genever

1/2 ounce &Tonic tonic syrup

3-1/2 to 4 ounces club soda

Lemon twist, for garnish

1. Fill an Old Fashioned or comparable glass with ice cubes. Add the genever and tonic syrup. Stir briefly. Add the soda (use a little more or less as taste drives you). Stir.

2. Garnish with the twist. Think about how awesome the modern drinking world is.

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What I’m Drinking: The Bubbly Colonial

Hello summertime! Sum, sum, summertime! What’s shaking? Or, in the case of this drink, not shaken at all. But it is a swell summertime sipper, one that I featured already on this blog – but like 8 years ago if you can believe it. 8 years! Holy cow, time flows like rum in an upside-down bottle. But here’s the skinny (or, in my, case, not so skinny). I had some extra limes lately, and the mint plant in the backyard is in full summer mint-in, so I thought, the other day, when the sun high in the sky was demanding a bubble drink – howsabout the Bubble Colonial, and it’s tasty lime-mint simple syrup? And then I thought, heck ya! And so, here we are, making summer even better with bubbles (and rum, lime-mint simple, Cointreau, and soda – and more lime). Yay!

The Bubble Colonial

 Ice cubes

2 ounces Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum (this is what I originally used, but regular white or dark rum works actually)

1/2-ounce lime-mint simple syrup (see Note below)

1/4-ounce Cointreau

Chilled club soda

Lime wheel, for garnish

1. Fill a highball glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, syrup, and Cointreau. Stir thrice.

2. Fill the glass almost to the rim with club soda. Stir again, slowing but seriously, working to bring everything together. Squeeze the lime wheel into the glass, and then drop it in.

A Note: To make the lime-mint simple syrup, add two whole lime peels, 4 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice, 3 cups sugar, 2-1/2 cups water, and 2 cups fresh mint to a medium-sized sauce pan. Put it on the stove over medium-high heat. Let it just come to a boil, simmer for five or so minutes, and then let everything steep in the pan for at least an hour. Strain and stir in the fridge if you don’t use it right away.

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What I’m Drinking: The Mighty M

While I like many distilleries from around the world, I like Washington State distilleries best-est. I’m a local-leaner at heart, which maybe isn’t a bad thing. It does mean that sometimes I have recipes on here that are all WA distillers, which could be frustrating if you don’t live here. But then think of this – WA is a great place to visit, and when you visit, you can then visit our wonderful distilleries, pick up the ingredients used here, and, well, enjoy a wonderful life and drink. Boom! I solved all the problems.

The Mighty M is vaguely – very – Manhattan-y, uses two ingredients that have “M” in their names, and is a drink my old pal Joel Meister might like, and that’s where the name comes from. But the drink is based on a spirit without an M, funny enough, Woodinville Whiskey Co. Straight bourbon. An award-winner, if you haven’t had this becoming-legendary bourbon yet, well, you need to make the above referenced trip more quickly! Cause it’s great, aged five years, made with only WA grain from one farm, with a spice, caramel, chocolate taste. And it goes amazing with our other two pals in play. First, a WA-amaro (Wamaro?) that I only became hip to recently, Highside Distillery Amaro Mele. Made on Bainbridge Island on a base of their gin, which itself has an apple-spirit base, using five bitter herbs and aromatics and aged up to six weeks in a used Bourbon barrel, it leans on the bitter side of the amaro world, with a smoky, herby, beautifully bracing taste. You might be starting to think this is one of those drinks that’s good, but solely strong, without a sweeter side. Enter, our third ingredient: Salish Sea Maple liqueur. The first maple liqueur I’ve ever had, this all organic number is velvety and like a better maple syrup (it would make for amazing pancakes). It adds those distinctive maple notes, pairs perfectly with the above two players, and brings just the right light kiss of sweet. Altogether, a mighty drink indeed.

The Mighty M

Cracked ice

2 ounces Woodinville Whiskey Co. Straight bourbon

3/4-ounce Highside Distillery Amaro Mele

1/2-ounce Salish Sea Maple liqueur

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add all the mighties, all three. Stir well.

2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass. If you’re feeling it, try garnishing with an orange peel. Then let me know how it is.

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