What I’m Drinking: Underlined Passages

Somehow I came up with this when reading J. Robert Lennon stories. And it’s a darn good drink. A wee sweet, but well-balanced by the richness of the egg and the kick of the brandy. Dang, that’s sorta like Lennon. Maybe? Maybe. You read him and find out and let me know. One thing that’s totally for sure (like, for sure), is that if you want to create a drink this amazing, you’d better delve into the J. Robert Lennon oeuvre. You’d better.
Underlined Passages, from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz

Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce Navan vanilla liqueur
1/2 ounce Dumante Verdenoce pistachio liqueur
1 egg white, preferably organic

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Navan, Dumante, and egg white. Shake exceptionally well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

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What I’m Drinking: Ballets Russes

This is a drink from days of yore (which means, usually, with drinks, sometime in the late 1800s, early 1900s – this goes a bit on the front end) named after a beloved Russian ballet troupe that operated in Paris and sorta changed ballet and was also a fav of artist types. Also, one of the main female dancers was Tamara Karsavina, who I’m a bit fond of. What does that all mean for you, dear reader? Well, for one, now you know more about ballet, which may come in handy. Two, it means when you have a couple of these, you should plan on dancing around the room, probably in tights. Please send pics.

Ballets Russes

Ice cubes
2 ounces Seattle Distilling Company vodka
1 ounce Sidetrack Distillery Cassis
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the vodka, cassis, and lime juice. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a small ballet shoe.

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What I’m Drinking: They Shall Inherit the Earth

This drink sounds ominous. Who is the they here? Aliens? Dogs? The people of Prince Namor who live under the sea? That young couple that lives up the block and gets just a little loud with their parties sometimes? I mean, jeez, it’s a residential neighborhood people, we don’t need to hear your love of Katy Perry at midnight, do we? And could you clean up those cans of cheap light beer for gawd’s sake. Make this cocktail instead. Trust me. It’ll make your eventual rule of earth much tastier.

They Shall Inherit the Earth, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz

Ice cubes
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce Bénédictine
1 ounce brandy
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Cointreau, Bénédictine, brandy, and lemon juice. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

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Have a Cocktail With Me at Zinc on June 14th!

Hello friends! Come have a couple free drinks made by me on June 14th, from 4 – 7 pm. What, you say, free drinks? Yes, I’m hosting a cocktail party at the awesome Zinc Art + Interiors,102 3rd Ave South, Edmonds, WA, on the 14th. I’ll be serving two drinks from
Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, the award-winning Persephone’s Elixiar and the classic Lucien Gaudin – and I’ll be making the latter with the amazing Alpinist gin from the fine folks at the Seattle Distilling Company! I’ll also have two homemade liqueurs from Luscious Liqueurs for you to sample and they’ll be a few tasty treats from Party Snacks. All three books will be on sale alongside the finest art and interiors in the region! If you haven’t been to Zinc (which is packed with swell stuff and run by swell people) this is the perfect chance to go. If you need a drink, this is the perfect time to have one! See you there.

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What I’m Drinking: The Blue Riband

Don’t yell at me. Usually I stay away from blue curaçao, because it’s only blue due to some chemical additions, and not the addition of some secret herb only found hidden in the jungle. But here, it’s balanced out by true orange curaçao. And this drink tastes awesome, so screw it, blue curaçao. Also, I’ve heard this drink was created for an award given to the liner making the fastest Atlantic crossing; variously held by British, French, German, and U.S. ships. So, get out your white admiral’s yachting cap and white trousers for this one, friends.

The Blue Riband (from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz)

Ice cubes
2 ounces gin (something sorta British is best, like Plymouth)
1 ounce Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao
1/2 ounce blue curaçao
Lemon slice, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, orange curaçao, and
blue curaçao. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon slice if that will make your voyage more enjoyable. And it will.

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What I’m Drinking: Friday Kahloe

This is (and I’m being both tongue-in-cheek and deadly, deadly, serious here) a nutty drink. Really, I’m not 100% sure how I came up with it, as the ingredient list is wide-ranging and may appear to be one that would only turn up in the ramblings of a drink-making madman. A madman, I tell you! Wait . . .

Anyway, the recipe’s printed in Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, and, strange-ish ingredient list aside, it’s darn good. A great drink for a Friday, really, especially if you’re getting ready to go on a world tour, or want to pretend to take a world tour from your living room or home bar. If you can’t find the Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur, well, I feel for you. But you could sub in another nutty liqueur – then email me and tell me how it is. If you can’t find Amaro CioCiaro, dang, I’d move. But if that isn’t feasible, try another of the amaros, one that leans towards the bitter side. If you can’t find Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters, then just go read another blog. Sorry.

Friday Kahloe

1-1/2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur
1/2 ounce Amaro CioCiaro
Dash of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the bourbon, macadamia nut liqueur, CioCiaro, and bitters. Shake well—it’s Friday, so show you appreciate it.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

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What I’m Drinking: Cara Sposa Mattina

Sometimes, you even have to change drinks you like. Heck, even drinks you wrote about. Though maybe “change” isn’t the right word, as it sounds a wee bit pejorative, and I don’t mean to say the original drink in this case, the Cara Sposa, wasn’t and isn’t super tasty. Cause it was and is. However, I just got a bottle of the new coffee liqueur from the Seattle Distilling Company, Luana Beach coffee liqueur (made with Orca Blend coffee from the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie), and wanted to try it in a cocktail, and, well, the Cara Sposa seemed a perfect match, even though the main ingredient in it, Tia Maria, isn’t necessarily a coffee liqueur. But it does have a coffee-esque quality, so I wasn’t that far afield when making the sub. And, you know what? The end result was amazing. Delicious. A worthy successor to the original. I, naturally, changed the name a stitch, since it is a different drink. You would have done the same, I hope.

Cara Sposa Mattina

Crushed ice
1-1/2 ounces Luana Beach coffee liqueur
1 ounce Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao
1/2 ounce heavy cream

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with crushed ice. Add the Tia Maria, orange curaçao, and cream. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

A Note: I’ve seen this blended and then strained, but I think that makes it too watery. Using crushed ice and shaking like a machine gets things slushy but not overly watery.

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What I’m Drinking: Friar Untucked

In Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, I start my talking about this dessert-y drink by saying, “Ooh, Friar, what a long robe you have on–but why is it so ruffled?” I’m not sure there is anything else needed, really. Outside of suggesting you serve this after dinner, in the evening, with you and your sweetie.

Friar Untucked

Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces Praline Liqueur
1-1/2 ounces Sound Spirits Depth crème de cacao
1-1/2 ounces ounces heavy cream
Cinnamon stick for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the praline liqueur, crème de cacao, and cream. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the cinnamon stick.

A Variation: I’ve seen this made with Frangelico (the Italian hazelnut liqueur originally made by monks, and with the monk-like bottle), and called just Friar Tuck. It’s tasty, but adding the praline instead gives this drink a bit of a Southern flair that adds a lot to an evening. I’ve also seen a drink called the Friar Tuck made with vodka, coke, and blackberry cordial. Which seems so unholy I would suggest not even mentioning it.

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