September 18, 2012
So, here’s a kind of a funny story about British TV and this set of quotes. Randomly, when I was living in Italy (which, as an aside, did not suck. It was, between us, as far from sucking as possible), I watched a fair bit of British TV, including some shows on the Alibi Channel. Those who know me (like you) know I like the mysteries of all types, so no surprise. One show I caught and got hooked on was called Lewis. It’s about a sort-of everyman police detective and his literary-minded sergeant solving crimes in Oxford. It’s literate without being nose-turned-uppity, serious but funny, lovely and reverent towards the city. And the murders are good, too. Anyway, I didn’t know at first but it’s a spin-off of a long running British hit, the Inspector Morse mysteries, in which Lewis is the sergeant and the very literary (and booze-and-lady-lovin’) Morse is the main man. These shows started out based on a series of books by a guy named Colin Dexter, and I just picked up and read my first one, The Dead of Jericho. And that’s where these quotes are from (oh, it’s a dandy read, too).
Yes several time already, in the hour or so that followed the brisk, perfunctory ‘hullos’ of their introduction, their eyes had met across the room—and held. And it was after his third glass of slightly superior red plonk that he managed to break award from small circle of semi-acquaintances with whom he’d so far been standing.
. . .yet others lift their eyes to read the legend on a local inn: ‘Tarry ye at Jericho until your beard’s be grown.’ But the majority of the area’s inhabitants would just look blankly at their interlocutors, as if they had been asked such obviously unanswerable questions as why it was that men were born, or why they should live or die, and fall in love with booze or women.
–Colin Dexter, The Dead of Jericho
September 14, 2012
Oh golly, I love this drink. My love reaches such a magnitude that I made a Baltimore Bracer cocktail video already, but I still wanted to post the drink again. It’s just the ideal combination of tough name, sweet-in-a-good-way-meaning-with-a-kick taste, and amazing mouthfeel thanks to the egg white. I’m not even saying any more (except that the recipe’s from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz). Just have the drink already. Or you’ll be sorry.*
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces brandy
1-1/2 ounces anisette
1 egg white, preferably organic
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the brandy, anisette, and egg white. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
*Not sorry cause I’m going to get all Bruce Campbell on you or anything. I’m not really that tough. Just sorry cause you’ll be missing a dandy drink.
Tags: anisette, Baltimore Bracer, Brandy, Bruce Campbell, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Brandy, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
September 11, 2012
As I mentioned in an earlier post about Seattle Magazine, I’ve been doing some blogging there on the subject of drinks, drinking, drinkers, and pretty much everything bubbly and boozy that you’d expect. And now, for those who don’t read the Seattle Mag (which, by the way, you should even if you don’t live here in Seattle cause it’s all kinds of cool), I’m here to do a little wrap up, in bulleted fashion, of recent pieces, cause I know, I just know, that you don’t want to miss any of them:
• Cocktails for Beginners: Because You Never Forget the First Time
• Five Cocktail Recipes That Bring You Summer All Year Long
• Five Back to School Cocktails
• Essex Opens with a Host of Homemade Ingredients and Craft Cocktails
• Five Olympics-inspired Cocktail Recipes
• Five Refreshing Wine Cocktails
September 7, 2012
This regal number is going to make the transition from summer to fall an easier one. First off, it could, honestly, simply, be consumed in summer and loved by all good countrymen. However, it has enough of a presence to not be all flighty as some summer drinks. Next, it’s called the Lord Charles, and darnit, that means it’s a bit serious like fall. On the flip side of that, remember that Lord Charles was also the name of a famous ventriloquist dummy, so a bit silly as well. See how it straddles the line without fear? With one, or two or three, of these in hand, you’ll move from season to season without a hitch. This recipe’s from Wine Cocktails by the way (a book I suppose you have—unless you’re square).
Ice cubes
2 ounces Malbec
1 ounces Simple Syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce dry sherry
Chilled club soda
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Malbec, simple syrup, lemon juice, and sherry to the shaker. Shake well.
2. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the Malbec mixture over the ice cubes. Fill the glass with club soda, almost to the rim.
3. Twist a lemon twist over the each glass and drop it in. Stir briefly with a scepter and serve.
September 4, 2012
Sometimes, a quote just speaks for itself (which means this may well be the shortest Cocktail Talk post on record. Oh, one thing: this is from one of the Complete Imbibers. Read more about them by following the link in the preceding sentence):
I remember, for example, being taken to see a neurotic Frenchman who was staying there with his wife, and vividly recall Sunday morning in his suite, the wireless resounding to a clergyman’s voice reading the Lesson, while we drank Pernod, and a Pekinese tried in vain to seduce a monkey.
–Anthony Powell, “A Bottle of Wine at the Cavendish,” from The Complete Imbiber 6, 1963
August 30, 2012
I was over at some friends the other night (and yeah, for those smart-mouth readers, I do have some friends. Well, at least my wife does) for a little birthday party—Michael’s birthday, if you demand specifics. The party was at his and his wife Heidi’s house, and they’re fine folks, the best kind of bon vivants in that they like the good food and drink but don’t get fussy about it. Anyway, the cocktails were getting made, and so I was peeking around their liquor shelves (cause that’s what I sometimes do, just in a roundabout and not a creepy way), and guess what I saw? A copy of Dark Spirits, tucked in right tight between a copy of the beauteous Bitters by swell Brad Parsons and legendary The Savoy Cocktail Book, by swell Harry Craddock (the latter “swell” I’m taking on hope, as he was gone before I was here. The former I know for a fact). Now, that’s all kinds of awesome.
August 27, 2012
If you’re a regular reader (and I know that you are) of the Spiked Punch, you know that for a while there we had a fairly consistent column written by a guy named Drew, said columns being all about beer. Drew’s Brews, they were called, and it was nice to give some beer time here. Sadly, Drew’s moving and shaking and such, and while hopefully he’ll do a few more posts in the future, well, I can’t actually predict the future. In his honor though, here’s a short post about beer. Specifically, about a beer I had here in Seattle last week at Chuck’s, which is a crazy beer haven (that used to be a really porny convenience store). The beer was from the Southern Tier Brewing Company, and was a Crème Brûlée. Seriously. I guess the actual varietal would be “Imperial Milk Stout,” but I believe it should fall into a category you don’t hear about a lot: dessert beers. It had an incredible crème brûlée aroma and a whole passel of vanilla, caramel, and burnt sugar flavors. If I remember correctly, at the time I said it was “weirdly tasty” and I stand by that account. If you get a chance, and if you’re an adventuresome drinker, I strongly suggest keeping an eye out for it. And when you get a pint, pair it up with some creamy dessert. Dreamy, man, dreamy.
August 23, 2012
So, sometimes I (like many people—maybe even you? Though you’re probably too organized. I mean, I know you come to this blog every week at a particular time. Not that I’m stalking you or anything. Well, not too much), I get forgetful. Or busy. Or, on certain tornado-esque weeks, both. Well, last week had a bit of that atmosphere of madness within it, which means I sorta missed National Rum Day. Which was last Thursday I believe. Hopefully you didn’t. But to make up for it, today I’m having myself the ideal rum drink: the Daiquiri. A marvelous thing when made right, the Daiquiri makes summer spectacular, makes women and men swoon, and makes an afternoon turn from dullsville to deluxe with one sip. Ah, but the key is making it right–though you may have guessed I’d say that. For one: no blenders. For two: use a decent rum (I used Denizen, which is a nice blend of aged Trinidad and Jamaican rums, and which has a clear island-y personality, and which I was sent in the mail—I have to admit that, or you’ll think I’m a shill. Which I’m not). For three: always use fresh juice. The below recipe from Good Spirits is the way I make ‘em, and naturally I think it’s the finest way. But don’t take my word for it. Whip up a batch and start tasting.
Crushed ice (see Note)
3 ounces white rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Lime wedge, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker 1/2 full with crushed ice. Add the rum, lime juice, and simple syrup and shake it Havana-style.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass (thought a fine strainer if you’re worried about lime bits in your teeth). Squeeze the lime wedge over the glass and then drop it in once squeezed.
A Note: I think honest-to-goodness crushed ice is the sunny-bomb-of-goodness here, because it gets your Daiquiri frothy. If you don’t have crushed ice, use cracked. If you’re not up for cracking, then use cubes. It’s still gonna be a heck of a drink.
