October 18, 2013
So, the other night I was reclining in the big comfy chair, trying to decide what to have for my evening libation while paging through a pocket-sized book called The Standard Cocktail Guide: A Manual of Mixed Drinks Written for the American Host by Crosby Gaige, published in 1944. It’s a handy little book, if not as exuberantly fun at Mr. Gaige’s Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion. But well worth picking up if you ever see it. I knew, before deciding on a drink, a couple facts. One: I wanted to make a drink using iced crushed in my new McSology Lewis bag (a dandy Lewis bag made here in Seattle out of 100% cotton canvas, and available for $48 for the professional-sized model and $26 for the home-bartender version, if after reading this you want one). Two: I wanted to make a drink I didn’t know. Three: I wanted to make a drink out of this book. Four: I wanted to use the last bit of mint from the mint plant out back. I ended up with the Santa Cruz Daisy, though admittedly I modified it perhaps nearly out of Daisy-dom, cause I went with a mint instead of fruit topping, and I used crushed and not shaved ice. But it was still massively delicious.
The Santa Cruz Daisy (Sort Of)
2 ounces white rum
1/4 ounce maraschino
1/4 ounce simple syrup
Crushed ice
Fresh mint sprigs
Splash of soda water
1. Add the rum, maraschino, simple syrup to a mixing glass and stir well.
2. Crush a bunch of ice in your Lewis bag and revel in the crushing.
3. Fill a goblet or other swell glass with ice, and strain the mix gently over it, topping with more ice as needed.
4. Add a splash of soda and garnish with mint sprigs.
Tags: Bar Tools, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Crosby Gaige, Friday Night Cocktail, lime juice, Maraschino, McSology, McSology Lewis Bar, Rum, Santa Cruz Daisy, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Crosby Gaige, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
September 24, 2013
Just last week, I talked about finding and reading and digging the book by Madison Smartt Bell called Straight Cut. Go read that post if you haven’t. Back now? Great, that means it’s time for you to dive right in to some more Cocktail Talk quotes from said book. The first is about grappa, and the second, for balance, is about rum.
In the early evening I went to the trattoria for an early supper and mainly to get out of the house and there I remembered about grappa. There’s no language difficulty about ordering grappa. You just say “grappa” and the man brings you some, in this case a sizable portion for the equivalent of about thirty U.S. cents.
On the Bayswater Road, near the corner of Kensington Gardens, I found a booze shop and bought a quart of dark naval rum. Circling back about Queensway, I picked up some plastic cups at a grocer’s and then I went back to the room. It was time to get drunk and think it over.
— Straight Cut, Madison Smartt Bell
August 16, 2013
Even if you don’t live in Hidalgo, as it’s August, it’s fairly possible that you are, indeed, hot (unless you live on the other side of the equator, in which case you might as well save this one until next time it is summer in your neighborhood. Or, you could just have it in a sauna, or in a room with a heater, or under the blankets with that special someone. Up to you, of course). And while this isn’t one of those super cool-down kinds of affairs, it matches up so well with higher temperatures and shorter outfits (if you know what I mean) that summertime is the time to have it pals and gals. So, I guess, the heat is on.*
Hot Night in Hidalgo (from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz)
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
1-1/2 ounces Damiana
3/4 ounce fresh pineapple juice
Pineapple chunk, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Damiana, and pineapple juice. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the pineapple chunk, in a smooth manner. *I know, that was cheesy. But I had to say it. Had to. Contractually obliged.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Damiana, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Hot Night in Hidalgo, pineapple juice, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I Wish I Was Drinking
August 9, 2013
When the alien robots from Plant X land in my backyard, brother, I’m gonna be ready with a shaker of Atomulas for all and sundry. Cause this, scientific one, is the ideal drink in those robot-alien-yetis kind of situations. Don’t trust me? Fine. But when that day comes, don’t say I didn’t warn you right here and now.
Atomula (with the recipe from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz)
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Becherovka
1/2 ounce rosemary simple syrup (see A Note below)
Rosemary sprig, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Becherovka, and rosemary simple syrup. Shake well.
2. Strain the mixture into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the rosemary sprig.
A Note: To make rosemary simple syrup add 1 cup fresh rosemary leaves, 2-1/2 cups water, and 3 cups sugar to a medium-size saucepan. Stirring occasionally, slowly bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low to medium heat. Then lower the heat a bit, keeping the mixture at a simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the syrup completely cool in the pan. Strain through cheesecloth or a very fine strainer, and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Tags: Atomula, Becherovka, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, rosemary simple syrup, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Rum, What I'm Drinking
July 5, 2013
Sometimes, very little needs to be said. This is one of those times. I’m drinking Dark and Stormys cause July, especially, demands them. Don’t disagree, or I’ll cut you off. There, I said it. Now drink your drink and keep quite. Oh, use the below recipe from Dark Spirits. Now back to your drink.
Dark and Stormy
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum (I think Mount Gay is dandy here)
Chilled ginger beer (Rachel’s is the best in the land, so works well here)
Lime wedge for garnish
1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the rum.
2. Fill the glass with ginger beer, but don’t be wacky about it (no drink becomes a favorite if it bubbles over and stickies up the counter).
3. Squeeze the lime wedge over the drink, and then let it slide on in. Stir, but briefly.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Rachel's Ginger Beer, The Dark and Stormy, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Rum, What I'm Drinking
April 30, 2013
Well, it’s been a fine week (or, thereabouts. Or, my week may be different than yours. One of those) of Dickens Cocktail Talk posts, with all of them from his lesser-known, but still a book that should be on your “must-read” list, novel The Old Curiosity Shop. You know what’s funny? At least relating to the book and the Cocktail Talking? I could do, oh, at least four more posts with tipsy quotes from the book. Dickens, naturally, liked his drink a bit, and his drinkers, and his bars, and so his books tend to be dandy spots for those us who don’t mind a drink to dwell in. This last quote has to do with the devilish villain of the book, a certain Mr. Quilip, looking in at his lawyer, who is also villainous, but in a weaker and (to be honest) less admirable way. If you’re going to be a villain, at least don’t be mealy-mouthed about it. And while I can’t like him, I can’t really fault his drinking choices.
Applying his eye to this convenient place, he descried Mr. Brass seated at the table with pen, ink, and paper, and the case-bottle of rum – his own case-bottle, and his own particular Jamaica – convenient to his hand; with hot water, fragrant lemons, white lump sugar, and all things fitting; from which materials, Sampson, by no means insensible to their claims upon his attention, had compounded a mighty glass of punch reeking hot; which he was at that very moment stirring up with a teaspoon, and contemplating with a look in which a faint assumption of sentimental regret struggled but weakly with a bland and comfortable joy.
–Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop
March 29, 2013
The end of March is when you should start really thinking about summer: rum drinks, shorts, bikinis, rum drinks, beaches, rum drinks, and ukulele music. If you just don’t want to wait the extra months you could plane up and fly on down or over or such to an actual beach. Or, you could make this drink from Dark Spirits, which is a tangy tasty tempting treat. It does have one quirky ingredient: hibiscus flower. But knowing how resourceful you are, I’ll bet you can find them. Check your local herborium. But they really add a bunch of goodness to this mix, so track them down (one place that usually has them is Dandelion Botanical: www.dandelionbotanical.com).
Caribbean Bloom, makes 2 (cause being summer-y isn’t nearly as much fun alone)
1 teaspoon dried hibiscus flowers
4 lime wedges
2 teaspoons sugar
Cracked ice
4 ounces dark rum
1. Add the hibiscus flowers, lime wedges, and sugar to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or sturdy wooden spoon, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the rum. Shake very well, for at least 15 seconds.
3. Strain the mix into two fancy cordial glasses.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, hibiscus flowers, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
February 15, 2013
Yesterday (which means, at least for this moment, Valentine’s Day) was the day for hearts, flowers, chocolate, unicorns, and mooning under the moon. Today, well, it’s still the day for all that. But it’s also the day for Stockholm Tar, which, to me, seems almost like it could be the name of a grungy drug gotten by scraping the barnacles off a ship and then boiling them down with a mixture of formaldehyde, corn starch, and Juicy Fruit gum. This drink, however, contains none of that, and while it is strong and all, well, between us, it’s probably closer to the whole flowers and romances mentioned first. So, have one with your favorite sailor and stretch the heart-iest holiday out another day. This recipe’s from Dark Spirits.
Stockholm Tar
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
Lime slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, lime juice, cranberry juice, simple syrup, and maraschino liqueur. Shake well (you want to ensure it doesn’t get a tar-like appearance).
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime slice.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, cranberry juice cocktail, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
