What I’m Drinking: The Seelbach

So, you ever have those days when you lose a bunch of information about this or that (nothing that serious, but right annoying) and need a perfect drink to remind yourself that all is well in the dreamy and bright world. Turn to this lesser-known classic originally from a hotel of the same name in Louisville, KY. It won’t let you down, friends, in the least.

The Seelbach

1 ounce bourbon

1/2 ounce Cointreau

7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

7 dashes Angostura bitters

Chilled brut Champagne or sparkling wine

Orange twist, for garnish

1. Pour the bourbon, Cointreau, and the two bitters into a flute glass. Stir briefly.

2. Fill the flute almost to the top with the chilled Champagne or sparkling wine. Stir again, but don’t get nutty about it. Garnish with the orange twist.

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What I’m Drinking: The Black Pearl

This elegant bubbly number from Good Spirits has a certain savoir faire that gets the point across without becoming all Herb Tarlek about the occasion. By which I mean to say that it’s sexy without being annoying and that it should be served at a time when you’re wanting to have a drink that both tastes good, shows you have class, and is going to be consumed by you and another you that you may just smooch later in the evening.

Does the drink also share the name of a famous movie pirate ship? Sure does. Does this mean that you should start talking like a pirate in the midst of the date-in-front-of-a-fireplace that I alluded to above? Well, I would normally say “of course not,” but if it seems that some “shiver me timbers” and “argh mateys” make sense to you in the moment, then sure, go right ahead. The drink sure won’t mind.

Black Pearl, Serves 2

Ice cubes

2 ounce Cognac

2 ounces Tia Maria

Chilled Champagne

2 cherriest, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Cognac and Tia Maria. Stir well.

2. Strain the mix equally into two flute or wine glass (though the latter won’t get you any smoove points). Top each with Champagne (should be about 4 ounce apiece). Garnish each with a cherry either dropped in, or speared and floated on top.

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What I’m Drinking: The Saguaro Steamer

Tequila is sometimes given the seasonal shaft. Folks can tend to think of it (except those true tequila fanatics I suppose) only in the hotter months, and only in chilly Margaritas and the occasional other cold number. This means from, oh, October through late February in many areas tequila just doesn’t come to mind for cocktail and drink lovers. I myself may have fallen into this tequila trap a time or two. However, the other night I found myself both craving tequila and freezing (freezing in Seattle means the temperature is down to the mid-30s. Yeah, we’re wimps). “So,” I thought to myself, “what can I do to remedy the situation?” And what I did was come up with the below drink, which I’m calling the Saguaro Steamer:

The funny (both sad funny and just funny) part of it all is that tequila goes smashingly in a hot drink. Thinking about it, it just makes wonderful sense. Tequila tends to be smoky and the flavors mingle well with the steam and hot water. Amazingly well, really. But a little balance and tang and sweet were needed, and that’s where the other ingredients came into play. To add even more flavor and take the edges off, I used the new-ish Mariposa agave nectar liqueur, which mingles agave nectar and 100-percent agave tequila and premium vodka, and which has a floral smoky loveliness going on. Then I added some orange juice (another hot drink casualty that’s surprisingly good here) and topped it all off with the top hot drink topping, nutmeg. I strongly suggest this combo if you want to update your hot drink repertoire and give tequila its due year round.

The Saguaro Steamer

2 ounces Reposado tequila (I used Casa Noble and it was awesome. As it always is)

3/4 ounces Mariposa agave nectar liqueur

3/4 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice

3 ounces pretty hot water (not boiling, but close)

Freshly grated nutmeg

1. Add the tequila, Mariposa, and orange juice to a double-walled Bodum glass or other heat-okay receptacle. Stir.

2. Carefully add the hot water to the mix. Stir again, carefully but thoroughly.

3. Grate a little nutmeg on the top. Make that “ahhh” sound you make when it’s cold out and you’ve just had something deliciously warm.

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What I’m Drinking: The Flowering Grape

It’s hard, in a way, to talk about flowers in November. At least in Seattle (where I reside except on those days when I’m traveling the world, spreading the gospel of good drinks, good cheer, and good spirits) where the flowers have taken a vacation. Seems they don’t like the rain. Which means it’s an absolutely fabulous time to have a drink that is flowering, like this one. See, it combines St-Germain elderflower liqueur with Pierre Ferrand Cognac. Flower + grape. Flowering Grape! Get it? And now you see another reason why these are so tasty in dreary ol’ fall. You can have a bunch of them and not feel weighed down at all.

The Flowering Grape

Ice cubes

2 ounces Pierre Ferrand Cognac

1 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 ounce raspberry vinegar syrup (I detail how to make raspberry vinegar syrup here)

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add everything. Shake well.

2. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Laugh heartily.

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Lillet and the Good Life

Well, wouldn’t you know it—even James Bond gets older. It seems his first film came out about 50 years ago. What does this have to do with anything outside of giving me a chance to make the point that Sean Connery is the finest James Bond and anyone who disagrees is a ninny? Well, it also leads to the fact that the lovely French aperitif wine-thing Lillet figures into the Bond mythos. Which also then leads to a little Lillet article I have in the most recent Good Life Report, which also has an article about Bond. And now it’s all tied up in a mystery even Timothy Dalton could solve (I kid, I kid. Dalton is aces with me).

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What I’m Drinking: The Astor

For many moons, our country has been deficient. I’m not sure what we did, exactly (though I can guess—thank you very much Kermit the Frog), but for years we irritated the find people of Sweden. This led to many sad things: a lack of tall blonds, a distinct problem with meatballs, and, most tragically, the complete absence of Swedish Punsch in every single bar from east to west. Swedish Punsch once was a staple of bar shelves and cocktails and home liquor cabinets. With a base of the sugar-cane based spirit Batavia Arrack combined with other flavorings, it had a taste all its own and a devoted following (I’m sort-of guessing on this last point, as most who had it when it was available way back when are sadly now at that big bar in the afterlife). And then some time after Prohibition it vanished. Why! Why! Why!

Well, I certainly don’t know. But, the main point, and what’s causing me to not shake my fist at the sky, is that it’s back and you should become a fan. I’ve recently been dipping into a bottle of Kronan Swedish Punsch and it’s darn delicious. It boasts a seriously yummy toffee-molasses-and-spice taste, with some smokiness smudged in for good measure. The story is that in Sweden it’s had warm with pea soup. Hmm, sounds great (please, everyone agree—we don’t want to irritate the Swedes again). It’s also great in cocktails, including one called the Astor that I found first in the rightly revered Old Waldorf Astoria Bar Book by Albert Crockett. Try it whydontcha.

The Astor

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounces gin (I use Sun Liqor Gun Club Gin and it was swell)

1 ounce Kronan Swedish Punsch

1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full of ice cubes. Add everything. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

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What I’m Drinking: Elisir di Salvia

This is quite a continental moment here on the Spiked Punch. First, tonight, like I usually do on the continent, I ate too much. Then, to combat my over-indulging, I had a healthy dose of Elisir di Salvia, a digestif I made from a recipe taken out of a simply-named book, Tisane, Liquori and Grappe. I have no idea who it’s by, but it’s from the Demera Company and is Italian (which means I translated the recipe. Yeah, I do everything for you. But you deserve it). I picked it up in a little tucked away bookstore in Sansepolcro’s historic center, called Arca Dei Libri. Nice place, really. Only blocks from the can’t-miss-it restaurant Fiorintino. Anywho, Elisir di Salvia is a curious mix of stuff, and the taste reflects it: herb and spice sweetness at the beginning, mellowing Marsala middle, totally different backend flavor and kick. At first, I wasn’t sold, but now I think it’s a weird kind of genius drink. And yes, I felt better after having it after eating too much. Oh, when in the jar cooling its heels, it looks like this:

Elisir di Salvia

1 liter Marsala

1 cup fresh sage leaves

1 orange rind

2 cups high proof vodka or grain alcohol

1/2 cup warm water

1.6 cups sugar

1. Add the Marsala, sage, and orange to an airtight glass container airtight. Let sit for 10 days to two weeks. Shake at least once a day.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the water to make a syrup, let cool, and then add it and the vodka.

3. After 24 hours of rest (or a week, if you’re lazy like me), filter and transfer to a glass bottle. Take 1 shot from the liqueur in all cases of difficult digestion.

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Shot Week, Day 3, The Diablita

As anyone knows, a week on this blog equals, usually, three posts (sue me if that seems wrong—my lawyers are at the bar). Which means, sadly, Shot Week is already coming to an end. Be sure you read Shot Week Day 1 and Shot Week Day 2 to get the full story. But the basics are thus: cocktail genius and genuinely nice fella Andrew Bohrer has a delicious new book out, called The Best Shots You’ve Never Tried. It’s bringing the idea of the shot, a shorter drink, to a higher plateau. Instead of shots thrown down the throat rapidly so-as to avoid tasting them, the shots in his book are ones to savor and share. So, quit pussyfooting around—buy the book. If Shot Week so far wasn’t enough to sway you, check out the below recipe for the diabolical Diablita, which you should consume rapidly to ensure the devil doesn’t enter your mouth.

Diablita

1 ounce reposado tequila

.25 ounce crème de cassis

.25 ounce lime juice

2 ounces ginger beer

1. Pour ingredients into a shot glass and slam.

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