June 16, 2017
It’s morning, and nearly the beginning of summer, which means I (as I always do) am going to sit myself down and have a Baltimore Bracer and read Thomas Osborne Davis’ “The Sack of Baltimore:”
The summer sun is falling soft on Carbery’s hundred isles,
The summer sun is gleaming still through Gabriel’s rough defiles;
Old Innisherkin’s crumbled fane looks like a moulting bird,
And in a calm and sleepy swell the ocean tide is heard:
The hookers lie upon the beach; the children cease their play;
The gossips leave the little inn; the households kneel to pray;
And full of love, and peace, and rest, its daily labor o’er,
Upon that cosy creek there lay the town of Baltimore.
Well, at least that first stanza. Hmm, I sorta think I may be reading at least one word differently than he meant it.
Baltimore Bracer
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.
Tags: anisette, Baltimore Bracer, Brandy, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, egg white, egg whites are good, Friday Night Cocktail, hookers lie upon the beach, morning drinks, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
June 13, 2017
I recently (and by this, I mean months ago, as magazine time is very different from regular time) rolled into the less-than-a-year-old Seattle bar Cursed Oak, sidled up to the bar, chatter with amiable bartender and owner Mike Carroll, and sipped on the Mule variation and refresher Chile Dreams. Then I wrote about Chile Dreams for Seattle magazine, a piece you should read right now. You deserve it.
June 2, 2017
It’s June, and you know what that means, don’t you? Time to bust out those short shorts (hopefully not too short – you know, those don’t really fit anymore, or at least not in a way that’s as flattering as they once were, though admittedly they once were very flattering) and have this drink. It’s not one of those ultra-freshers, which are really rather refreshing, but sometimes feel a little, oh, you know. But this one still has its place within the annals of sunshine days and daydreams, and especially when accompanying the more remote beaches. Where, I’ll admit, you can probably get away with those short shorts and, I suppose, even less.
Shine Along the Shore
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce amaretto
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
Wide orange twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the rum, amaretto, and vermouth. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Twist the twist over the glass and drop it in.
Tags: amaretto, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Shine Along the Shore, sweet vermouth, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
May 30, 2017
Hello end-of-May-ers (hopefully different from end-of-day-ers). As you end your month, you may be thinking – hmm, I think I might have missed some of A.J.’s recent posts on Seattle magazine? And just in case you’re right in your thinking, well, I’ve rounded up a few choice tidbits that fall into the category you were thinking about below. At least I think.
• Three Impressions of the Nook
• Celebrate Spring with New Releases From Local Distilleries
• Three Impressions of Little Tin
• Wake up Right with Better Brunch Drinks
• Local and Inventive Shot-and-a-Beer Pairings
May 26, 2017
As all know, I am fond of many local WA-state distillers, and one of my very favorites (you probably know this too, having been reading this blog for years and years, correct?) is a distillery on a farm – farm and distillery all the same fine folks – in a valley outside of Kent, WA, a distillery called Sidetrack. Not only do they deliver fine products using produce grown on their farm, but they also have a beautiful event space in a refurbished old barn. Super swell stuff. While they get a lot of deserved plaudits for their liqueurs (from fruit to walnut-based Nocino to more exotic fare like my favorite Lemon Verbena), they also make clear, European-style, fruit brandies. Delicious, strong, and hopefully liquids more Americans will start sipping. I think my favorite Sidetrack brandy – though I like them all – is Strawberry. It’s like the essence of strawberry, the Platonic ideal, while being robust and umph-y. It is a spirit, after all. I like it so much that I wanted to create a drink with it, but it was tough (as it can be with many fruit brandies) at first, due to user error. Hahaha. But I kept at it, and eventually went with a favorite dessert inspiration, the king of dessert drinks, the Alexander. Then, after a bunch of tweaks, the below emerged, and is lush, layered, and if I can say while being humble, pretty darn wonderful. Good after dinner both because of its hints of dessert and because of its strong backbone.
The Larrexander
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces Sidetrack Strawberry brandy
1 ounce Depth crème de cacao
1 ounce heavy cream
1/2 ounce maple syrup
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add everything. Shake really well. Really well!
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Dream of orchards.
A Note: An actual strawberry would make a fine garnish here, but sadly I was strawberry deficient.
Tags: Alexander, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Depth crème de cacao, Distillery, Friday Night Cocktail, heavy cream, maple syrup, Sidetrack distillery, Sidetrack Strawberry brandy, strawberry deficient, The Larrexander, WA distillery, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
May 23, 2017
Welcome to the final entry strolling through Paris drinks had in this particular Maigret story (be sure to read Part I and Part II so as not to miss anything, and for that matter, don’t miss all the Maigret Cocktail Talks, and if you want to know even more about his drinking, check out this study of Maigret drinks). This takes place near the end of the case, and finally Maigret himself is getting a drink (well, he may have had a few more – I couldn’t write out the whole book here!), with one of his police compadres.
“Did you find her?” asked the waiter.
“Yes.”
“Nice, isn’t she? What will you have?”
“A hot grog for me.”
“The same for me.”
“Two grogs, two!”
“This afternoon, when you’ve had some sleep, you’ll be writing your report.”
— George Simenon, Maigret and the Lazy Burglar
May 19, 2017
Washington is a state under a good sign, one with I think an awesome good fairy (or whatever mythological taker-carer-of creature you’d like), and just lucky, because we have such an outstanding local distillery community. We have distillers of all types, and some make a wide range of tasty products – one of those is Skip Rock distillery out of Snohomish, WA. They make rums, whiskeys, vodkas, liqueurs, and recently unveiled their Bicycle Tree gin, named after a local legendary tree you could ride cycles through, and with a classic-via-the-northwest flavor (juniper, local botanicals, yumminess). They have so many options I thought – why not make a single-distillery cocktail? Single-barrel things are all the rage, but a single-distillery cocktail, which only uses ingredients from one distillery? That’s next wave stuff people! And exactly what I did here, using that new gin as a base, then their tangy and fresh Raspberry liqueur with it, and a little of their walnut-y Nocino to round it out. Lots of layers of flavors, starting with fruit and those gin-ical botanicals and spices, and then ending a little nutty, it’s all here, and all from one distillery.
52 Skips
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces Skip Rock Bicycle Tree gin
1 ounce Skip Rock Raspberry liqueur
1/2 ounce Skip Rock Nocino
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add all the Skip Rock. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Drink up.
Tags: 52 Skips, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, Nocino, Skip Rock Bicycle Tree gin, Skip Rock Distillery, Skip Rock Nocino, Skip Rock Raspberry liqueur, WA distillery, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Gin, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
May 16, 2017
If you missed our first bout of May Maigret Cocktail Talking, and want to learn more about the burglaring, then by all means, please go read Part I. I’ll wait.
Back? Awesome! Let’s get into our second quote, which is taking place in a small bistro, with Maigret questioning the publican (or, here, I suppose, bisto-lican), who relates a story of said lazy burglar and his desire for . . . well, just read it, why dontcha.
“I was busy with the coffee percolator. I didn’t hear any footsteps. And when I turned round, there he was, leaning on the bar. It gave me quite a turn.”
“That’s why you remembered it?”
“And for another reason, because he asked me if I had any real Kirsch, not the fancy stuff. . . We don’t get too many orders for that. I took a bottle from the back row – that one there, with the German words on the label – and he seemed pleased. He said:
“‘That’s the real thing.’”
“He took the time to warm the glass in his hand, and drank slowly, looking at the clock. I realized he was wondering whether to ask for another, and when I held out the bottle he didn’t say no.”
— George Simenon, Maigret and the Lazy Burglar
