February 11, 2014
I’ve had a few fair cocktail talk posts from Mr. Raymond Chandler, one of the few true masters of American detective and hard-boiled stories. And I’m guessing you know him already, because he’s pretty knowable, and, well, I think a lot of you. So, I won’t stand here gabbing, and instead just go into this amazing gin quote from The Lady in the Lake (which the New York Times no less called “one of his best”). I’ve felt a bit the way Mr. Marlowe feels below (and yes, I’m calling a fictional character “Mr. Marlowe.” But I think he deserves that, real or not).
I smelled of gin. No just casually, as if I had taken four or five drinks of a winter morning to get out of bed on, but as if the Pacific Ocean was pure gin and I had nose-dived off the boat deck. The gin was in my hair and eyebrows, on my chin and under my chin. It was on my shirt. I smelled like dead toads.
–Raymond Chandler, The Lady in the Lake
January 3, 2014
Recently, I had a query about a drink featured in my book Good Spirits, a drink called the Lily. As Good Spirits is from a few years back (but not old by any means, and still I hope darn fun and useful), I hadn’t actually made the Lily in awhile, and so was pretty excited to revisit the drink. The question came around the use of crème de noyaux, an almondy liqueur made from apricot pits, and an ingredient not as readily available – it also has a signature pinkish color. The drink-maker was having a hard time tracking it down, and wondered about subbing. My first thought was amaretto, also made usually with apricot pits or almonds. So, for fun, I tried making the Lily with both. And you know what? Both versions were darn tasty. The main difference really was the color, which is wildly different (the noyaux is the pink one naturally in the pic), but the flavor was very similar, with the crème de noyaux version a smidge sweeter, and the amaretto nuttier on the back end. I suggest you try both, and see what you think.
The Lily
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce crème de noyau
1/2 ounce Lillet
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon twist for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, crème de noyau, Lillet, and lemon juice. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist after twisting it over the drink.
A Lily
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce amaretto
1/2 ounce Lillet
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon twist for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, Crème de Noyau, Lillet, and lemon juice. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist after twisting it over the drink.
Tags: A Lily, amaretto, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, crème de noyau, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Lillet, The Lily, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Good Spirits, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
December 20, 2013
Following up on the even earlier-in-the-morning drink created for superstar Kansan Eric Norris (writer-librarian-by-day, detective by night – well, that’s my dream, anyway), who was looking for a coffee-based libation, is the following. Since it’s for 7 AM, instead of 6 AM, I thought I’d need to add some protein, in the form of an egg white, to this drink. It also makes it deliciously frothy, without sacrificing a good coffee taste. A little gin and a little simple syrup balance everything out beautifully. Eric, drink up pally! Oh, the rest of you drink up, too – this time of year, everyone may need a good morning cocktail, or two.
Hays at 7 AM
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce chilled espresso
1/2 ounce simple syrup
One egg white
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, espresso, and simple syrup.
2. Carefully add the egg white. Shake really really well, for a good 5 to 10 seconds.
3. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, coffee cocktail, egg white, espresso, espresso cocktail, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Hays at 7 AM, simple syrup, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
December 13, 2013
Recently, an old pal-of-mine name of Eric Norris, poet-writer-reader-library-man-deadeye-shooter-guy (he sounds like a detective in a way – I hope that on his rare down hours he is solving crime where he lives in lovely Hays, KS), dropped me a note asking about a coffee drink idea. He’s a swell fella, and I’m guessing an early riser, so I understood his need for a cocktail that tastes good and operates as a pick-you-up. Cause I believe in choices, I actually came up with two coffee drink ideas, the below, and one that I’ll roll out in a week. This one has a good espresso boom but also some nice herbally action via the sweet vermouth and Bénédictine. Oh, and some gin, cause gin is nice in any morning.
Hays at 6 AM
Cracked ice
1-3/4 ounces gin
1/2 ounce chilled espresso
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1/2 ounce Bénédictine
3 coffee beans, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything but the beans. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 coffee beans.
Tags: Benedictine, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, coffee cocktail, espresso, espresso cocktail, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Hays at 6 AM, sweet vermouth, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
December 10, 2013
Interestingly, much like Rex Stout (who I just Cocktail Talked below), I haven’t read a lot of Carter Dickson, even though his mysteries fall into some areas I like inhabiting. Example A: his Sir Henry Merrivale mysteries, of which The Punch and Judy Murders is one. They’re full of twists, take place in Jolly Old England, and have a main mystery-solver who is quirky and overweight. I’m for all of those things! But I still haven’t read much of Mr. Dickson. But this book was fairly rapid, had a good ending, and some memorable moments. Perhaps none as much as when one of the characters shows up with a tray of delicious drinks.
Charters handed round some admirable gin fizzes. A little of his old sharpness, his old doggedness, had come back when he had begun to outline his facts. He sat down on the veranda rail, his arms folded and his hands cradled under bony elbows.
— Carter Dickson, The Punch and Judy Murders
November 22, 2013
It’s the holiday season y’all! Which means one fantastic thing: it’s time for another episode of The Cocktail to Cocktail Hour, with very special hunky holiday guest Jeremy Holt! Mr. Jeremy stops by to teach us how to make perhaps the finest Thanksgiving cocktail known, the Gizmo, which features Voyager gin, cranberry sauce, and simple syrup. If you want your Thanksgiving to be awesome, watch this now. Right now!
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail to Cocktail Hour, Cocktail video, Cocktail Videos, cranberry sauce, Friday Night Cocktail, Gizmo cocktail, Jeremy Holt, Thanksgiving cocktails, Voyager gin, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail to Cocktail Hour, Cocktail Videos, Gin, Good Spirits, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
November 15, 2013
Hello students of the cocktail, and welcome to another episode of the finest series on cocktails, drinking, and good times ever: The Cocktail to Cocktail Hour. In this episode, our favorite foreigner, Alastair Edwards, is back with another drinking problem, one I solve with the help of the Trilby Cocktail, a bit of an undiscovered treasure featuring Broker’s gin, Dolin dry vermouth, and crème Yvette.
PS: Special thanks to Natalie Fuller, Jeremy Holt, Beatrice Holt, Markie Butler – perhaps the finest actors this side of Stratford, and the wizardry of director Dr. Gonzo.
Tags: Alastair Edwards, Broker’s gin, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail to Cocktail Hour, Cocktail video, Cocktail Videos, crème Yvette, Dolin dry vermouth, Friday Night Cocktail, Jeremy Holt, Mark Butler, Natalie Fuller, Trilby cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail to Cocktail Hour, Cocktail Videos, Gin, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
November 8, 2013
Sometimes, a drink name says it all. In this case: Perfect. Does that mean I think this is the perfect cocktail, always and for every situation and second? Nah. But I do think it carries a kind of perfection, and for those days when you feel neither 100% sweet or dry, it certainly matches the mood. For those reasons, and during those seasons, sure, this one’s vermouth balance does indeed equal the name: Perfect.
Perfect Cocktail (recipe from Good Spirits)
Ice cubes 1-1/2 ounces gin (Voyager gin is pretty swell here)
3/4 ounce dry vermouth (might as well double up and go Dolin for both vermouths)
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
Orange or lemon slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice cubes. Add the gin first, and then the vermouths. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with either an orange or lemon slice (I’ve seen it both ways, and go depending on my mood).
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dolin vermouth, dry vermouth, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Perfect Cocktail, sweet vermouth, Voyager gin, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
