February 28, 2014
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.
Tags: Amaro CioCiaro, bourbon, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters, Friday Kahloe, Friday Night Cocktail, Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
February 21, 2014
This one’s in honor of my grandmother, Gertrude Middendorf, who sadly passed away not too long ago. She was a pretty swell lady, who played a mean hand of cards, made delicious macaroni and cheese, read a lot, traveled a lot, got feisty and had fun a lot, and drank her fair share (and maybe a bit more) of bourbon and cokes. I’m not usually a bourbon and coke drinker myself, but I made one to toast her with, and it tasted darn good. I used Woodinville Whiskey Co. bourbon, cause she always liked Seattle (even though mostly living in KS), and Mexican coke, cause regular coke just isn’t a good. So, grandma, this one’s for you.
Bourbon and Coke
Ice cubes
2 ounces Woodinville Whiskey Co. bourbon
4 ounces coke
1. Fill an Old Fashioned or related glass with a bit of ice. Add the bourbon, then the coke, then stir slowly, remembering all the good drinkers who’ve moved on to the big bar in the sky.
February 18, 2014
There are a number of things we miss in the modern age: Myrna Loy, zoot suits, un-ironic swing bands, speakeasies that aren’t just trying to be trendy, and more. We also miss the chance to have “bootlegger” on our resumes. Ah well, at least the unmissable Compleat Imbiber # 2, itself a bit old (from 1958) lets us relive the bootlegging days in an essay it contains. An essay from which I present to you the below quote.
The first violinist, an expert chemist, skillfully diluted the contents of gin, rum, Scotch whisky, Bénédictine, and Cognac bottles which he bought at the crew’s fifty per cent reduction from the second-class barman. (In those days of Honesty, it was ‘second’ and not ‘cabin’ class.)
—Joseph Wechsberg, Confessions of a Bootlegger
Tags: Benedictine, Cocktail Talk, Cognac, Complete Imbiber, Confessions of a Bootlegger, Gin, Rum, Scotch whisky, The Compleat Imbiber
Posted in: Cocktail Talk, Gin, Rum
February 14, 2014
It’s Valentine’s Day – let me give you a little quoted advice*:
Showing up with a dozen limp red roses picked up last-minute on Valentine’s Day garners only a thumbs-down from a romantic dearest (if not a door slammed in the face, or a slap, or an invitation to spend the night on the couch). However, you can show that love how much you care and start the evening right by swapping the limp flowers for a liquid Rose and having it ready when he or she walks in the door (or when you show up at his or her door).
This Valentine’s Day maker-better is from Ginger Bliss and Violet Fizz, too!
Rose
Cracked ice
2 ounces dry vermouth
1 ounce kirsch
1 ounce Chambord
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the vermouth, kirsch, and Chambord. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and add the cherry.
*Funny enough, I’m quoting myself. But hey, I’m funny.
Tags: Chambord, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dry vermouth, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, kirsch, The Rose, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
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
February 7, 2014
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.
Tags: Cara Sposa Mattina, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Luana Beach coffee liqueur, Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
February 4, 2014
I know, it seems as if the holiday season has passed – and a while ago, at that. But let me tell you, it hasn’t! Because today is my birthday. Sure, you could, and should, buy me a drink or something as good, but if you can’t, at least have a drink in my honor. And make it a holiday drink – heck, make it a holiday drink from some exotic locale, celebrating my exoticness. Wait? You’re not sure of many exotic locale holiday drinks? Then let me help you by pointing you to this fun article I wrote on that very subject for the snazziest travel company in the world, TCS Expeditions. The piece is called Holidays on Ice: 5 Worldly Cocktails and, well, it’s full of fun things to sip over the holidays (which never stop, really).
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Glühwein, holiday cocktails, Holidays on Ice: 5 Worldly Cocktails, Pisco Sour, Ponche, Spritz, Wassail
Posted in: Cocktail News, Cocktail Recipes, Recipes
January 31, 2014
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.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dessert drinks, Friar Untucked, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, praline liqueur, Sound Spirits Depth Crème de Cacao, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
