August 9, 2016
I’ve had a few Cocktail Talk posts from George Simenon featuring his Parisian detective Inspector Maigret. Not too surprising, as Maigret’s been known to have a drink (like all good detectives, or most), with a number of favorites. I could tell you about all of them, but really, there’s already a whole site that does it so much better, called Maigret’s Drinks. It breaks them out, explains, has tons of quotes, even some tables and such, all very educational and done right. I don’t know Simenon or the Inspector nearly as well, but recently was reading The Grand Bakes Café, which takes place by the sea instead of the city, and revolves around the death of a ship’s Captain. Lots of seaside folks figure in the story, and it takes some twists and turns, and spends a fair amount of time in a café/bar. Also, it has the below quote, which I thought would fit nicely here:
‘What are you having?’
‘Not hot chocolate, that’s for sure. A kümmel.’
What was that if not a declaration of war? When she mentioned chocolate, she was staring at Marie Leonnec’s cup. Maigret saw the girl flinch.
— George Simenon, The Grand Banks Café
August 5, 2016
It’s August, which means even way up here in Seattle we have some warmer weather happening (and in some spots, I know it’s even moreso), which also then means that refreshing drinks are on the menu (though, admittedly, sometimes I like to play devil’s advocate and have what seems like not-as-refreshing-drinks when it’s hot. Today is not that day!). Luckily, I recently received some Hard Frescos (yeah, I’m lucky), which are very refreshing numbers, and lend themselves to refreshing drinks.
Brewed right in Washington State (in Stevenson), and based out of a love of Mexican fresh-pressed juices, if you don’t know them, Hard Frescos are a malt beverage, but one made with real fruits and botanicals, cane sugar, and yeast. Like a fruit beer, though they also use Mexican Fruit Cider as a name, which to me works a little better, because it points to their very unique nature – fruity, flavorful, but also with a slight underlying beer-y/cider-y-ness, with an end result that’s really different, in a good way.
There are four versions currently available: Tangy Tamarindo, Citrico, Juicy Jamaica, and Cola Buena. In this summer drink, I used the latter to delicious (if I can say that and sound humble) results. I don’t drink much, if any, cola-of-the-soda sort, so playing around with Cola Buena, which use Kola Seed, and has a bit of that cola taste, but a bit more bitter and fullness was good stuff. And as you might expect, goes well with rum! As it does here, but I’ve also added another local ingredient, broVo’s Lucky Falernum, which is higher-proof than most falernums, and which has a swell subtle spice and citrus taste. You could sub in another falernum, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good. And who wants that?
Wide Horizons
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Lucky Falernum
4 ounces Cola Buena Hard Fresco
Lime wedge, for garnish
1: Fill a cocktail shaker just under half way with ice cubes. Add the rum and falernum. Stir well.
2. Pour everything into a highball or comparable glass (a green goblet works nice, if you have one). Top with the Cola Buena. Stir carefully.
3. Top with the lime wedge.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cola Buena Hard Fresco, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Hard Fresco, Lucky Falernum, summer cocktail, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
August 2, 2016
Well, it’s that bubbly time again, where I walk you through recent Seattle magazine pieces and posts that you may have missed (which would make me sad – maybe it would make you sad, too?). There is so much awesomeness going on here in the Emerald City bar and booze scene; it’d be a shame to not delve in a little deeper. So check out the below:
*See all Seattle magazine pieces by me
July 29, 2016
You might think, to yourself, “A Manhattan-y cocktail is not quite the thing, old boy, for summer.” You would be wrong. Sorry! Exhibit A: The Tranquil Hills. How does this rough-and-tumble rye beguiler manage to hold its brown likker umph while still navigating the higher temperatures of summer? Well, I’m glad you asked. First, it’s just a good drink, and good drinks are always good. But, it’s helped along by using a key summer fruit, the blackberry, here in the form of Sidetrack Distillery’s lovely Blackberry liqueur. The rich berry taste covers for the Manhattan’s regular sweet vermouth, bringing enough depth, but also the very core of summer along for the ride.
Sidetrack’s Blackberry liqueur also mingles in a manner most wonderful with the rye I used, Templeton’s The Good Stuff rye. A rye made with the idea of matching the taste of an old prohibition recipe, one that was once, as legend has it (and nothing is better than drink legends) loved by Al Capone himself, Templeton has a spiciness, and a combo of dried fruits and caramel, that hit the spot here and now. A little of Scrappy’s Orange bitters (Scrappy being Seattle’s favorite son, and now an international bitters of renown, because, well, they’re great), and you have a whiskey cocktail that can help you survive the summer in fine fashion.
The Tranquil Hills
Cracked ice
2-1/4 ounces Templeton rye
3/4 ounce Sidetrack Blackberry Liqueur
2 dashes Scrappy’s Orange bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Stir well, but don’t get sweaty.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Drink it up.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Scrappy’s orange bitters, Sidetrack Blackberry liqueur, Templeton rye, The Tranquil Hills, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rye, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
July 26, 2016
Hey, look at this, a Cocktail Talk post from an author I’ve never featured before! That’s cause for a drink. Hold on. Okay, I’m back, with drink in right hand as I type with the left. Anyway, I haven’t read all the Margery Allingham Albert Campion books, just a handful. Most of them, pretty solid (admittedly, I got into them first by watching the late-eighties British teevee show based on them, starring the charming Peter Davison, and so now I picture him as I read the books, which is pretty swell), though she slips into a boring-in-today’s-light classicism too often, and an awful casually-racist-in-any-light moment once or twice. Skip the books that hit the latter, and try to forgive the former. But this particular book, Coroner’s Pidgin (published as Pearls Before Swine in the US), set during WW II, has the time period, which is interesting, a good mystery, Campion at his best, and the below quote, which is quite apropos:
He paused for his announcement to have the right effect. Nothing so forceful as a dramatic effect, but one in which just the right element of surprise and interest was as carefully blended as in, say, a very good Highland whisky.
– Margery Allingham, Coroner’s Pidgin
July 22, 2016
Sometimes, it’s good to keep things simple, tall, refreshing, and the lesser-known cousin of a better-known drink. At least that’s what I’m doing today. Because hey, I’m a simple person, at heart. And that’s why I’m keeping this short. No long speeches today, or talks about this booze or that booze, this writer or that writer, this awful person or that awful person that leads me to really desiring a tall, simple, refreshing drink on a Friday. Oh no, none of that. You feel the same way? Mix this up, friend, and think of me, and your favorite Mike. Mine is, um, Mike Caine (if that isn’t too informal). Here’s to you, Mike!
Mike Collins
Ice cubes
2 ounces Irish whiskey
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup
Chilled club soda
Lemon slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the whiskey, juice, and simple syrup. Shake well.
2. Fill a Collins glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the mix over the ice. Fill almost to the top with chilly club soda. Garnish with the lemon slice (stirring briefly if you want Mike mixed more).
Tags: club soda, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Irish whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, The Mike Collins, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
July 19, 2016
I’ve had a few Cocktail Talks from the Inspector Chen series by Qiu Xiaolong – if you haven’t seen them, well, you probably want to go check them out. In the same way, if you haven’t read the Chief Inspector Chen books, then you should check them out too, as they’re not only good mysteries, but great portraits of a China going through huge changes from the 90s on a bit. They’re also packed with poetry (Chen’s a poet, too), and an incredible array of food (he’s a gourmet as well). Good stuff. I’ve recently been re-reading the lot of them, in order. Right now, I’m in the middle of The Mao Case, and came across a poem written by the Chief Inspector himself (if I can get a little meta), part of which I thought would make a good Cocktail Talk:
The fragrance of jasmine in your hair
and then in my teacup, that evening,
when you thought me drunk, an orange
pinwheel turning at the rice paper window.
– Qiu Xiaolong, The Mao Case
July 15, 2016
Here’s an oldie (by that I mean, not very old at all, but one that has been on the blog before, which may make some run in horror, but really, those folks probably aren’t all that cool, anyway, which means run away, by all means, while the rest of us sit here drinking it up, and laughing at your antics), but a nice goodie of a refreshing and classy number. It’s hip, too, as it feature rosé, which seems to be the star of this year’s summer, in a number of ways (meaning, everyone’s talking about it). A good summer to be rosé, especially the sparkling version of rosé in this drink, as it gets to play which such a fine array of summertime stalwarts: rum, lime, ginger. Together, they manage to deliver the yumminess and the chic-ness, without any of the sometime accompanying annoying-ness. Try it, and see.
The Tropicaliana, from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz
Ice cubes
1 ounce white rum
1/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Chilled rosé sparkling wine
Lime slice, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, lime juice, ginger liqueur, and simple syrup. Shake well.
2. Strain the mix into a flute. Top with the rosé sparkling wine. Garnish with that lime slice.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, Friday Night Cocktail, lime juice, rosé sparkling wine, Rum, The Tropicaliana, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Wine
