October 13, 2011
As the temperature here in Seattle is coaxing its way down into downright chilly, I’ve been writing about switching into the darker, warming-er, drinks. Or, I just wrote about one of my regular fall/winter drinks, the Bobby Burns, for the always-good-to-read Good Life Report. You, actually, should go read my article right now, and learn how to make this Scotch, sweet vermouth, Benedictine combo cocktail, and learn a bit more about the poet Robert Burns, and learn a stitch of a poem of his about whisky, a poem excerpt you might want to read when having the drink, and also learn about a cigar salesman. That sounds like a lot of learning, but really, it’s painless (and tasty). So get going, and go read my Fall Poetics and the Bobby Burns cocktail article.
October 10, 2011
I don’t know too many kids who grew up when I did (in the 1980s, that is) who don’t have at least a little soft spot in their heart for the movie Fletch, starring Chevy Chase. And those that won’t admit it probably are all about pretending they’re a 10 years-younger-than-they-really-are hipster. Well, phooey on them. I’m not saying Fletch necessarily has aged all that well, but heck, I still get some laughs out of it. What I didn’t know back then, but know now, is that Fletch was actually in a pretty lengthy series of books by Gregory McDonald. I recently picked one up, for nostalgia and Chevy’s sake, and the book was all right—not great, a little aged, but okay. It did have one standout quote, though, which is below, and which mentions a “rum toff.” Anyone out there know what’s in a rum toff? C’mon, bar geniuses, let me know. I wanna have one, and toast Fletch and the 80s and say things like “You using the whole fist, Doc?”
‘You were in the motel bar last night?’
‘Yes. Drinking rum toffs.’
‘What’s a rum toff?’
‘Yummy.’
—Fletch and the Man Who, Gregory McDonald
October 9, 2011
Well, the Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz Rob Roy release party was yesterday afternoon, and it was all ten kinds of awesome. Super-duper huge thanks to Andrew, Bryn, and Anu from the Rob Roy crew who made it all possible, and the same size thanks to those who stopped by to join the GBVF Army! The Ginger Bliss and Violet Fizzes were stacked on the bar (where they like to be):
there was a sweet and stylish crowd:
sipping fine drinks off the special menu:
those drinks being the Bitter Handshake:
and the Bruja Smash:
and then some drinks from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz were poured that weren’t on the menu, like the Ladies Cocktail:
and much talking, laughing, and Saturday afternoon drinking was had by all. Thanks again everyone, for making me the happiest dipsographer in the land.
PS: Thanks to Andy Sweet for the Bitter Handshake, Ladies, and crowd pic, and Nat for the others.
PPS: If you missed the shindig, I think the Rob Roy still has a couple extra copies for sale. So stop on by why dontcha?
PPSS: Not in Seattle and sad about your lack of GBVF Army induction? Get Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz online and start liqueur boot camp.
October 4, 2011
The Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz Rob Roy release party is only 4 days away (it’s happening, if you’ve been in the outback, on 10/8, from 2 to 4), and I’m already twitching with excitement about having one of the wonderful drinks bartender supremo Andrew Bohrer will be whipping up with penultimate panache. He’s doing two from the book, the Bitter Handshake and the Bruja Smash, the latter of which I’m going to tempt you with today. It’s an kind-of-crushed-ice-y affair, using one of my all-time favs, Italian spicy (as in, using spices like saffron) and gold liqueur Strega, alongside tequila and some fruity goodness all mixed up with balance, care, and craft. And muscles. Jeez, if that’s not enough to start mouths a-watering, then I suppose I’ll put the recipe here, right now:
Crushed ice
7 fresh mint leaves
7 fresh raspberries
1-1/2 ounces white tequila
1 ounce Strega
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 mint sprig, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with crushed ice. Add the mint leaves, raspberries, tequila, Strega, and lemon juice. Shake really well.
2. Dump the contents of the shaker (no straining here) into a large tulip-style beer glass or other good-sized pretty vessel.
3. Fill the glass with crushed ice, garnish with the mint sprig, and serve with a straw.
PS: In the actually GBVF version of the Bruja Smash, I talk a lot about ol’ greenskin, the Incredible Hulk. How? Why? Well, you’ll have to get a copy, friends, to find out. And you can, this Saturday. See you there.
Tags: Andrew Bohrer, Bars, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, GBVF, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Strega, Tequila, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Bars, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, Tequila, What I'm Drinking
September 29, 2011
I recently found out the most amazing liqueur-related fact (well, maybe not the most amazing ever, but the most amazing one I’ve heard in at least 43 days): Topeka, KS, consumes more Tuaca than anywhere else in the U.S. of A. Isn’t that mind-blowing? It’s not (if you’re not up-to-date on the capitol city of Kansas) that Topeka has a big Italian immigrant community (Tuaca being an Italian liqueur supposedly based on a recipe from the big man, Lorenzo de’ Medici, himself), either. Tuaca has just taken over T-town (as Topeka is referred to on occasion), to the point where if you order a “house wine” in at least one bar you automatically get a Tuaca and Sprite. These little facts (especially this one, as I’m an ex-Kansan) make cocktails even more fun (and big thanks to pals Erin and Brad, who is a Topekean by birth, for letting me know about the Topeka-Tuaca connection). Tuaca, naturally, is one of the many liqueurs that’s featured, with even more information and history than the Topeka association, in Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz: A Cocktail Lover’s Guide to Mixing Drinks Using New and Classic Liqueurs. This means, in honor of my recently expanded Tuaca knowledge, that I’m sipping on a Tuscan Mule today–it’s one of my favorite Tuaca drinks and one whose recipe is featured in Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz. You should sip up, too, and toast all those Topekans and their Tuaca love.
Ice cubes
1 -1/2 ounces Tuaca
Chilled ginger ale
Lime wedge, for garnish
1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the Tuaca.
2. Fill the glass almost to the top with ginger ale.
3. Squeeze the lime wedge over the glass, and then drop it in. Stir well.
PS: Don’t forget, the Rob Roy release party for Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz is October 8th. Be there!
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Topeka, Tuaca, Tuscan Mule, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
September 26, 2011
Hello and happy Monday! It’s not only now less than two weeks before the below-mentioned Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz Rob Roy release event, but today is also the birthday of Mr. Ed Skoog, a poet and cocktail aficionado of the first ranking, whose poems highlight the compilation of drinking verse called In Their Cups, and whose past spirited creations have been in Dark Spirits, that compendium of darkly-natured drinks. Those two occurrences (Mr. Skoog’s birthday and upcoming GBVF party) make this the absolutely perfect day to drink an Ellipse. Why? Cause it’s a drink created by Skoog that’s featured in Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz. A delicious and creative drink, I may say, also, though you should expect that from Mr. Skoog. And I expect you to wish him happy fortieth today, if you happen to see him. And buy him a drink why dontcha?
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram leaves
Ice cubes
2 ounces Strega
Chilled Prosecco
Fresh marjoram sprig, for garnish
1. Add the marjoram to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or wooden spoon, muddle gently.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Strega. Shake well.
3. Strain (preferably with a fine-mesh strainer) into a flute glass. Top with Prosecco, almost to the rim, and garnish with the marjoram.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Ed Skoog, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Prosecco, Strega, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Ed Skoog, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
September 21, 2011
Okay, a warning: I’m going to talk about the following release party a lot. But can you blame me? In future mentions, I’ll probably provide some recipes and such from the book I’m about to mention, but for now, a drum roll for the down-and-dirty party details. But what is the party? It’s a release party for Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz: A Cocktail Lover’s Guide to Mixing Drinks Using New and Classic Liqueurs, my new book, and is an afternoon affair happening at the Rob Roy, 2332 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA, on Saturday, October 8th, from 2 to 4 pm. I’ll be selling and signing books and genius bartender Andrew Bohrer (he of the Cask Strength blog) will be making Bitter Handshakes and Bruja Smashes (drinks of his featured in the book) and other drinks. It should be fun and a good excuse to have a good cocktail in the afternoon–so come on down, have that drink.
To woo you into stopping by, let me tell you that Ginger Bliss and Violet Fizz not only is bubbling over with liqueur info and history, party talk, and general boozy silliness, but features around 200 recipes broken into chapters arranged by flavor profile (A Liquid Citrus Circus, for example). The recipes range from lesser-known classics to more modern sure-to-be classics from top pro and home bartenders (many of whom I’ll mention more on this very blog as we get nearer the date). Need even more information? Well, check out the Ginger Bliss and Violet Fizz video. It’s time for you to join the GBVF Army!
September 16, 2011
I feel somewhat bad (I mean, not all-the-way bad, as if I’d spilled a Shoreditch Sombrero cocktail, but still sorta bad) cause I don’t have a super accurate and detailed recipe for today’s What I’m Drinking. Usually, I try to give you (and I do mean you) the opportunity to drink along with me by providing said recipe, but as this drink came about somewhat randomly I somewhat forgot to write down the measurements of what’s in it in a precise and helpful manner. Heck, I didn’t even come up with a snazzy name, and I pride myself, darnit, on the snappy-ness of my drink names (maybe I should have gone with Lant? Lavmi? Mive? LMG? Moving Lavender Gogh?). I suppose there’s still time. With all that said, here are the basics. I took a bunch of fresh lavender from the garden (the lavender was really the impetus for this liqueury drink, cause we have a lovely lavender plant), the flowers of course, about two cups, and added it to a sturdy glass container with about a cup and half fresh mint (we’ve also been lucky in the mint department this year), muddled them up a bit, then added a 750 milliliter bottle of grappa that I wasn’t sure I’d be sipping, stirred, and sealed:
I let that kick its heels for a couple weeks in my cool and dry storage room, stopping by to chat it up and swirl it around every day or so. Then I added (if memory serves) about a cup-and-a-quarter’s worth of simple syrup. I didn’t want it to be as sweetened as most liqueurs, but wanted to take the edge off the grappa a bit. You dig me? Then back down to that cool, dry spot away from the sun for a few weeks. Then I strained it a couple times through cheese cloth (those lavender pips can be tricky), bottled it, and Nat took this lovely pic:
It has a slightly floral taste, underlined with the mint and some other herbaceous-ness, but enough of a kick that it won’t be called a sissy anytime soon. I’ve been sipping it solo the last few nights but am tempted to try mixing it up with some flavorful gin or other choice items. Its flavor is singular enough that it may be tough to find the right match, but I’m game (as long as I don’t get away from the sipping solo, too, that is). If anything works out nicely, I’ll report back, okay?
