February 13, 2015
I believe that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow – be still my beating heart. If you’ve been planning a host of heart-y things for your sweetness tomorrow, then you are in fine shape. Unless you forgot to plan out the right drink for the evening. What’s that you say? You don’t have a special drink for that special somehow. Hope you like the couch. Though, since I have a warm feeling towards you (you are pretty neat), howsabout I help you out. Serve up the below, which is a tasty mix shading just a wee bit sweet, and watch the evening commence in the proper manner. Oh, you might want to whisper that Ti Penso Sempre means, “I think of you always.” That should help your cause as well.
Ti Penso Sempre, from Dark Spirits, Serves 2 naturally
Ice cubes
3 ounce brandy
2 ounces Aperol
1 ounce simple syrup
2 orange slices, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Aperol, and simple syrup. Shake well.
2. Strain the mix equally into 2 cocktail glasses. Garnish each with an orange slice. Let the romancing commence.
Tags: Aperol, Brandy, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Ti Penso Sempre, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
October 31, 2014
It’s Halloween, dontcha know. Which means it is time for the Warlock, and the Warlock video. The spookiest Halloween cocktail video ever. The scariest cocktail video period. Ever! Bwahahahahah.
Oh, also, it contains brandy, Strega, limoncello, orange juice, and Peychaud’s bitters. And will turn you into a zombie magician. So, there’s that, too.
Tags: Brandy, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail video, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Halloween cocktail, Halloween cocktail recipe, limoncello, orange juice, Peychaud's bitters, Strega, The Warlock, What I'm Drinking, zombie magician
Posted in: Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail Videos, Dark Spirits, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
August 22, 2014
Sometimes, in summer, it’s too hot for me to even write up a new, clever, headnote (anyone who shakes their head at “clever” please leave the room). And sometimes, I read another headnote from a book and just think, well, that says it all, really. This is one of those times.
In his famous eighteenth sonnet, when he lays down the immortal line “and summer’s lease hath all too short a date,” Shakespeare perhaps wasn’t exactly referring to a coquetry that happened in those hotter months between him and a fair lady, an ardent connection that slid smoothly past light flirtation into something a trace more serious, a Mercury-rising affaire d’amour that—for at least as long as those months lasted—seemed more important than the sun. As these adoring concerns are, sadly, like this drink, over much too soon, his line does hit the romantic nail on the head, though—showing again why Will S. was the master.
Summer Dream, from Dark Spirits, Serves 2 (because of reasons mentioned above)
3 orange slices
2 peach slices
Ice cubes
4 ounces bourbon
2 ounces Campari
1 ounce Simple Syrup
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1. Add the orange and peach slices to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or wooden spoon, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the bourbon, Campari, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Shake really well, if a little wistfully, for at least 15 seconds.
3. Strain the dream through a fine strainer equally into two cocktail glasses.
A Variation: Want a more cluttered drink? After step 2, instead of straining into cocktail glasses, pour the whole shebang, ice and fruit and every sad last word, into two large goblets. Rename it the Disordered Dream.
Tags: bourbon, Campari, Champagne, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, orange, peach, Summer Dream cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Campari, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
August 8, 2014
It’s wedding season, I do believe, evidenced by the lacy white outfits I keep seeing women wearing (usually accompanied by a bunch of other women in really oddly colored and shaped outfits – poor bridesmaids), and the number of gentlemen in tuxes with scared looks on their faces. Hah! I kid, I kid. I love weddings – they’re an especially nice kind of a party, a big ol’ celebration of two folks that hopefully are well-liked by everyone in attendance. In honor of the couples I know hitching it up this month (or right around this month), I’m going to whip up some Blushing Brides. These have to be made in batches of two, cause, well, I should think it’d be obvious.
The Blushing Bride, from Dark Spirits, Serves 2
12 fresh raspberries
6 lime wedges
Ice cubes
4 ounces Cognac
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce Simple Syrup
1. Put the raspberries and 4 of the lime wedges into a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler, wooden spoon, or stiletto-heeled bridesmaid’s shoe, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Cognac, vodka, and simple syrup. Shake in a celebratory manner.
3. Strain the mix equally into two cocktail glasses through a fine strainer. Garnish each with a remaining lime wedge.
PS: I’ve seen drinks with this title that contain other ingredients. Avoid them. They are all awful
Tags: Champagne, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, sparkling wine, The Blushing Bride cocktail, wedding cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Cognac, Dark Spirits, Recipes, vodka, What I'm Drinking
August 1, 2014
This refreshing number with a kick will not make you younger, or provide you (after you drink, say, three) with a vision that takes you to the fountain of youth. However, however, however, if you do consume three, with a good friend or two, my guess is you’ll start acting a bit more youthful, and feel perhaps more youthful, and have a generally awesome time. Maybe we shouldn’t ask for more?
The Ponce de León, from Dark Spirits
Ice cubes
1 ounce Cognac
1/2 ounce white rum
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Chilled brut Champagne or sparkling wine
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Cognac, rum, Cointreau, and grapefruit juice. Shake well.
2. Strain the elixir into a cocktail glass. Fill the glass not quite to the top with the Champagne. Serve with a youthful grin.
Tags: Champagne, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cointreau, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, grapefruit juice, sparkling wine, The Ponce de León, What I'm Drinking, white rum
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Cognac, Dark Spirits, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
July 18, 2014
Hey, babies, it’s hot outside. Even up here in the northwest, the temperature is too much. It’s time to head to the beach – or, if you’re landlocked, or just can’t get away to the beach, or don’t want to deal with all those crowds, it’s time to head to the Beach Bubble. This little cooler-downer is the tropical ticket when the temperature has gotten troublingly high. Just try it!
The Beach Bubble, from Dark Spirits
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce mango juice
Chilled ginger ale
2 pineapple chunks for garnish
1. Fill a Collins glass or large goblet three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the rum and juices. Stir, but with respect for the beach’s mellow demeanor.
2. Fill the glass up with ginger ale. Stir, but again, mellow-ly.
3. Spear the pineapple chunks on a toothpick, and float them in the glass (watch out for that toothpick when drinking).
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, mango, pineapple juice, refreshing cocktail, Rum, The Beach Bubble, What I'm Drinking, What’s I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Rum, What I'm Drinking
May 30, 2014
Another in the get-yourself-ready-for-summer-drinking category, this bubbly number is from the Italian book Cocktails: Classici & Esotici (Demetra, 2002), and definitely gets around, thanks to its thirst-quenching-but-still-strong mix of Scotch, Italian amaretto, dry vermouth (sometimes known as French vermouth), and ginger ale. That’s a trip in a glass people. The original version of this recipe suggests single-malt Scotch, but I like using a nice blended version, which I think works well with the other ingredients (something like Dewar’s is a dandy choice). It also suggests using Disaronno amaretto, which traces its secret recipe back to 1525. This is a suggestion you should follow.
The Foppa (from Dark Spirits)
Ice Cubes
1-1/2 ounces Scotch
1/2 ounce Disaronno amaretto
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
Chilled ginger ale
1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the Scotch, amaretto, and vermouth. Stir with a long spoon.
2. Top the glass off with ginger ale. Stir again.
Tags: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Disaronno amaretto, dry vermouth, Friday Night Cocktail, ginger ale, Scotch, The Foppa, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Talk, Dark Spirits, Liqueurs, Recipes, Scotch, What I'm Drinking
May 23, 2014
I recently brought this back into the rotation – and couldn’t be smile-ier about it. I like it so much, I’m gonna quote myself:
I choose to believe there’s a hidden mystery by Dame Agatha (Christie, that is) called The Crimson Slippers, where mercurial and Belgian (not French) detective Hercule Poirot must solve the multiple murders (seems there’s almost always more than one) circling around two single clues: a pair of comfy slippers with a tiny bloodstain on the toe, and a cocktail glass containing the remains of a bitter-ish combination aglow with a deep red hue. Naturally, if there isn’t a yet-to-be-discovered Agatha manuscript with this title out there—perhaps in a trunk in the back corner of the attic in an English country house—then I guess you’re going to have to write that mystery. Once it’s an international publishing phenom, though, I’ll expect you to buy the next round.
The Crimson Slippers (from Dark Spirits)
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce triple sec
Dash of Peychaud’s bitters
Lime slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Campari, triple sec, and bitters. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass (being sure not to spill on any manuscripts lying around).
3. Squeeze the lime slice over the glass and drop it in without any mystery.
Tags: Campari, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Peychaud's bitters, The Crimson Slippers, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
