March 1, 2016
I know many of the Cocktail Talk posts here (at least 89.6%) follow along one or two lines. Either a pulp-hardboiled-detective-murderous-noir selection, or a Trollope selection, with the occasionally Dickens thrown in for good measure. Sure, there are some others, but I usually run my routes with precision. But once in awhile, we need to shake things up. Combine that with the fact that I was doing an event not long ago and about half of the folks there had never had absinthe, and, well, we end up with the below quote which I love from the famous politician, historian, and journalist:
One’s emotions in Rome were one’s private affair, like one’s glass of absinthe before dinner in the Palais Royal.
Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
February 26, 2016
I tend to make up, uncover from old books, try out, play around with, guess at, and just generally have a fair amount of cocktails. And usually when making them up, or trying to modify up an older recipe found in a deliciously dusty tome, I have good luck from the get-go. Which of course makes me cocky, and probably annoying to friends and family and dogs. However, fairly regularly I get reminded that I make lots of mistakes, too, and sometimes just can’t find that right proportional mix no matter what. Recently, I went through an evening like this, where I was (gasp!) throwing drink and drink out cause they stunk and I stunk. Finally, I just went to what I knew would come together nicely, and quit the wacky experimenting, and that’s gin and Aperol. Easy, friendly, and with a little Blanc vermouth and Scrappy’s orange, the savior of my night and ego. Of course, it helped that the gin was from local stars the Seattle Distilling Company, who make a darn fine gin (and whiskey, coffee liqueur, and vodka). Sometimes, when the night is stormy (even metaphorically so), it’s good to have friends around.
A Fool’s Paradise
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces Seattle Distilling Company gin
1 ounce Aperol
1/2 ounce La Quintinye Vermouth Royal blanc
1 dash Scrappy’s orange bitters
1. Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add it all. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Be humble.
Tags: A Fool’s Paradise, Aperol, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Gin, La Quintinye Vermouth Royal blanc, Scrappy’s orange bitters, Seattle Distilling Company, Seattle Distilling Company gin, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Gin, Liqueurs, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
February 23, 2016
I do a monthly column (along with various other things) for Seattle magazine (sure, you can be jealous), and until recently it was called Bar Hop, and had me chatting about a single new bar in the wondrous city I live within. But now it’s changed up a little, still a single bar, but with the focus lighting a little more on a single cocktail within said bar – and it’s not just new bars anymore, either, and is called (for now, at least) the Bar Method. And for the first one, I visited one of my favorite Emerald City bars of all, Liberty, which is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary! Amiable bartender Laura Bishop was my shaker, and made me a delicious wine cocktail called the Red October. But heck, don’t let me ramble, go read the article now.
Tags: bartenders, Laura Bishop, Liberty, Red October, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine, wine cocktail
Posted in: Bar Hop, Bars, Recipes, Seattle Magazine, Wine Cocktails
February 19, 2016
Recently, I made a drink called the Boomerang, with Spirit Works rye, and it was darn tasty (I sure hope you didn’t miss it). But I also received (lucky me) a bottle of Spirit Works straight wheat whiskey, made from 100% organic CA red winter wheat. I wasn’t sure exactly how to try it out (outside of neat, of course, which is always a good first step), and so took it to my whiskey-loving-pal Jeremy’s house, where he made me a delicious Old Fashioned, which is naturally a fantastic way to take a whiskey through its paces. And this wheat number did dandily. It’s a very round whiskey, if that makes sense, nice and approachable, with a little sweetness, and some nut and fruit accents that were all in play in the drink. Yummy stuff.
The Old Fashioned
Teaspoon simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Orange slice
Maraschino cherry
Ice cubes
2 1/2 ounces Spirit Works straight wheat whiskey
1. Place the simple, bitters, orange, and cherry into an old fashioned glass.
2. Using a muddler or very solid wooden spoon, muddle it all up.
3. Place a couple ice cubes in the glass. Add the whiskey. Drink it up.
Tags: Angostura bitters, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Spirit Works, Spirit Works straight wheat whiskey, The Old Fashioned, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
February 16, 2016
I’ve had a number of Cocktail Talk posts here from Day Keene, from his novels and short stories. Most of the latter I’ve read in the series from Ramble House, which does a fairly fine job of reprinting all of his stories that appeared in pulp mags in the 40s – and there were a lot of them! He was ridiculously prolific, and kept the quality bar really high while doing it. I just picket up the third volume, called Death March of the Dancing Dolls, which has seven longish stories, including one called A Minor Matter of Murder, which is where this post’s quote comes from. It also contained one of my favorite non-boozy lines in a while: “to hell with that heifer dust!” Drop that in your next meeting.
I guided her on into the bar and one of the wall tables. “There’s been some trouble at the office. But if you faint, I’ll fire you.” I ordered two double ryes and waited until they were served to tell her than young Schermerhorn was dead.
–Day Keene, A Minor Matter of Murder
February 12, 2016
Hey, young lovers! Do you have your Valentine’s Day drink ready yet? If not, well, did you know you only have two more days to figure it out? Don’t fret though (you’ll get wrinkles). I have you covered, with the Lover’s Moon. It’s smooth, but has a little umph (like all us romantics), and lots of flavor. A swell choice! Trust me.
The Lover’s Moon, from Dark Spirits, Serves 2
Ice cubes
3-1/2 ounces bourbon
3 ounces Kahana Royale Macadamia Nut Liqueur
2 ounces heavy cream
2 maraschino cherries for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the bourbon, macadamia liqueur, and cream. Shake well.
2. Add a cherry to each of two cocktail glasses. Strain the mix into the glasses, making sure each gets its full share. Sure, the cherries will vanish for a minute, but like the moon, they’ll reappear.
A Note: Can’t find the luscious Kahana Royale Macadamia Nut Liqueur? You could try this with another nut-based liqueur. Nocino (the Italian green walnut liqueur) would be interesting. It’d be less sweet, but still . . . intriguing. Try it, and let me know!
Tags: bourbon, Cocktail Recipes, cocktails recipe, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, heavy cream, Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur, The Lover’s Moon, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
February 9, 2016
I recently got to visit the Salish Sea distillery, in Lacey, WA, where they make a whole host of intriguing and delicious organic liqueurs (a couple of which I’ve written about in earlier Spiked Punch posts, one on the ginger and one on the thyme-coriander). And then I got to write an article about them, and the liqueurs, for Seattle magazine. You, if you’re someone who likes tasty things, should go read it now!
February 5, 2016
I was browsing through Crosby Gaige’s Standard Cocktail Guide (which is a smallish book, much smaller that his Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion, which I love mostest), the 4th printing from 1944, and came across a cocktail called the Boomerang. I’d seen this version before (that’s a name that has probably been used for at 67 different drinks), but it’d been a bit, and fit the What I’m Drinking bill perfectly, because the base is rye, and I had a new rye I wanted to try in a cocktail.
What rye? I can hear you asking, and I’m glad you asked. It was Spirit Works Rye, from Sonoma CA (it came in the mail, I’ll admit). Spirit Works is a “grain-to-glass” distillery, which means that grain is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, and bottled all on site. That’s neat! The rye is a small-batch number, aged for a minimum of two years in 53-gallon, charred, new American Oak barrels. It’s a rich rye, with nice woodsy-and-baked aromas, and a little spice (nutmeg and hints of clove) on the taste mingling with vanilla and more. Very approachable and mixable.
However! This drink also has a decent helping of Swedish Punsch and Sweet Vermouth. For the latter, I wanted something special, that would deliver its own full range of flavors. Luckily, our pal Michael N had recently given us a bottle of the Martini Gran Lusso Italian vermouth, 150th anniversary edition. Now that’s a gift! It’s based on a blend of Barbera and oak-aged Moscato, with a whole host of secret botanicals. The taste is memorable, with layers of flavors, sweet on the front with just the right amount of bitter on the back end. Delicious on its own, it’s swell in drinks too. And great here with the rye and other players. Crosby would be proud.
The Boomerang
Ice cubes
1 ounce Spirit Works rye
3/4 ounce Martini Gran Lusso Italian vermouth
3/4 ounce Kronan Swedish Punsch
1/8 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add everything. Shake well.
2. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Drink, then drink again.
Tags: Angostura bitters, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Kronan Swedish Punsch, lemon juice, Martini Gran Lusso Italian vermouth, Spirit Works rye, The Boomerang, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Crosby Gaige, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rye, What I'm Drinking
