January 4, 2013
Back when I was younger (this was before things like cocktail blogs – really, before electricity. Ba dump bump), there was a drink called The We Have to Be at Work by 10 A.M. It was all about mornings and how sometimes you need to pack breakfast, juice, and a pick-you-up into one glass, and was printed first in that award-winning cocktail cuddler, Good Spirits. Recently, though, I re-visited the drink, thinking about how it’s more often now that I’m thinking of a pre-going-to-bed drink, and that I now have to go to work much earlier than 10 A.M. I didn’t want to change its nature too much, cause it’s a fun drink. First, I thought I’d make the switch from vodka to gin, cause gin’s a bit more of a refined evening number. Then, though, to make things a bit easier (it’s evening, remember, and we’re winding down) and because it’s tasty, I moved to the Bitter Truth’s new Pink Gin, which is a gin-aromatic-bitters mix, served in a beautiful bottle (if you don’t see it in your store, try Astor Wine & Spirits). It has a florally-juniper-y taste underlined by and mingled with spice notes. Yummy. I also, when, updating the recipe, added a little simple syrup, because before bed one likes some sweetness. I kept the orange juice and part of the egg (the white), though, because healthiness is good any time of day.
The We Have to Be in Bed by 10 P.M.
1-1/2 ounces Bitter Truth Pink Gin
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1 egg white
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Pink Gin, orange juice, egg white, and simple syrup. Shake really well (it’ll wear you out for bed).
2. Strain (through a fine strainer if you have one) into a cocktail glass. Drink. Sleep. Dream dreamy dreams.
Tags: Bitter Truth Pink Gin, egg white, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Good Spirits, orange juice, The We Have to Be in Bed by 10 P.M., What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Good Spirits, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
December 14, 2012
As the holidays approach like a sleigh driven by a tipsy elf, I find it’s good to have A: an easy-but-tasty homemade present ready to whip together as needed for a last minute gift and B: a delicious crafted and crafty sipper to whip together as needed for offices parties, friend parties, family parties, and tête-à-tête parties. This recipe for Chocolate Cream Liqueur, from Luscious Liqueurs, hits both A and B in the above equation, is memorable enough to make year after year, and doesn’t take more time than wrapping most gifts. So, as usual, I suggest giving the gift of booze this year – and homemade booze adds an even special-er touch.
Chocolate Cream Liqueur
Makes 2-1/2 pints
2 cups dark rum
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1. Put all of the ingredients in order (you want the rum to take the first plunge, to convince the other ingredients everything is okay) to a sturdy blender. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and well-combined.
2. Pour the liqueur into 1 large bottle or a number of small bottles or jars with tight-fitting lids. Seal and refrigerate. You can serve this right away, and please consume within 2 weeks.
A Note: I suggest shaking the bottle in a serious manner before serving (unless you’re serving right after making it) to assure that no settling has occurred.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, holiday liqueur, homemade Chocolate Cream Liqueur, homemade liqueur, Luscious Liqueurs, run, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Luscious Liqueur, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
December 7, 2012
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.
Tags: Angostura bitters, bourbon, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cointreau, Friday Night Cocktail, Peychaud's bitters, The Seelbach cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
November 30, 2012
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.
Tags: Champagne, Champagne Cocktail, cocktail recipe, cocktail recipe for having on a bearskin rug, Cocktail Recipes, Cognac, date recipe, Friday Night Cocktail, The Black Pearl cocktail, Tia Maria, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Cognac, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
November 23, 2012
It’s the day after Thanksgiving – are you having your Gizmo yet? If so, why not? If you don’t know what it is, head on over to an earlier Spiked Punch post for your Gizmo recipe and story. Now, I have to go back to drinking my Gizmo.
November 16, 2012
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.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, hot drink, Mariposa agave nectar liqueur, Reposado tequila, tequila is good hot, The Saguaro Steamer, What I'm Drinking, winter warmer
Posted in: Liqueurs, Recipes, Tequila, What I'm Drinking
November 9, 2012
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.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Flowering Grape cocktail, Friday Night Cocktail, November drink, Pierre Ferrand Cognac, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cognac, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
November 2, 2012
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.
