March 14, 2014
If you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a fashion that truly honors the St. and the Irish (and you should), then I have the ideal drink for you: The Dublin 8. This Irish special (by way of the Midwestern U.S.) owes its birth to Jeremy Sidener, bartender extraordinaire and manager of the 8th Street Taproom in Lawrence, KS. It’s a fantastically refreshing drink, one that won’t weigh you down, but it also boasts a ton of flavor. Especially when made with Clontarf 1014 Irish Whiskey.
If you don’t yet know it, Clontarf 1014 Irish whiskey is a triple distilled, bourbon-barrel aged blended beauty. It’s amazingly smooth and sippable, but still carries a solid honey and nutty flavor with hints of oak and citrus, all of which mingles perfectly with the citrus and ginger in this recipe. It’s also named after a famous battle, and carries the slogan “Live Like a Warrior” – which is pretty cool I think. You should definitely try it solo as well as in this drink. (Oh, one last thing – it’s freakishly reasonable on price. Which is a bonus).
Clontarf 1014 is also one of the brands behind the Irish to the Core contest, where you can win a trip to Ireland or $10,000 – both of which sound great to me. So, enter up.
The Dublin 8, from Good Spirits
Ice cubes
2 ounces Clontarf 1014 Irish whiskey
3 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
3 ounces chilled ginger ale or ginger beer
Lime quarter for garnish
Lime slice for garnish
1. Fill a highball glass, or similarly-sized glass, three quarters up with ice cubes. Add the whiskey.
2. Add the orange juice and ginger ale, at the same time, so that we don’t have any arguments over who’s more important to the effort.
3. Squeeze a lime wedge over the glass, and then drop it in. Stir gently. Garnish with the slice of lime.
Tags: Clontarf 1014 Irish Whiskey, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Good Spirits, Jeremy Sidener is awesome, St. Partrick's Day drink, The Dublin 8, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Good Spirits, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
March 11, 2014
It’s that time here on the Spiked Punch blog, where I unroll my latest blog posts for the Seattle magazine, in case you missed any and wanted to catch up (which would certainly make me happy and maybe you too). While some of these are attached to a particular time, the drinks within are good year round. Promise.
• Four Drinks to Make for Your 2014 Oscars Party
• Talking Vodka, Bacon Bloody Marys and Beyond with Reyka Vodka’s Daniel Brancusi
• Four Delicious Drinks Perfect for Valentine’s Day
• Five Fantastic First Date Bars
• Super Seahawks Super Bowl Drinks
• New Locally Made Spirits, Liqueurs and More
• Super Small Seattle Bars
• New Year’s Cocktail and Spirit Resolutions
March 7, 2014
I can’t lie to you, dear readers, so I’m going to admit that I’m not much of a golfer – outside of mini golf, which I do like if it’s one of those courses that has castles and stuff. But, my lack of skills on the links doesn’t keep me from enjoying a classic cocktail named after golfing – oh no, not at all. For example, I recently made the delicious (but sadly not well known) Hole in One Cocktail. However, I used Peychaud’s bitters, for kicks, instead of the traditional orange bitters, and so altered the title. The end result was super tasty, thanks in large part to using Cutty Sark’s new Prohibition Edition blended Scotch. This Scotch has got loads of lovely toffee-and-pepper flavor, with a super smooth and warm (it’s 100 proof) finish, and it mixed dandily with the sweet vermouth and such below.
The Ace
Ice cubes
2 ounces Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition scotch
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice cubes. Add the scotch, vermouth, lemon juice, and bitters. Shake well, while thinking about the proper place to use a 3 iron.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
PS: This photo was taken at Jeremy Holt’s house. He’s a good one to golf and drink with.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition Whiskey, Friday Night Cocktail, golf drinks, Scotch, sweet vermouth, The Ace cocktail, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
February 28, 2014
This is (and I’m being both tongue-in-cheek and deadly, deadly, serious here) a nutty drink. Really, I’m not 100% sure how I came up with it, as the ingredient list is wide-ranging and may appear to be one that would only turn up in the ramblings of a drink-making madman. A madman, I tell you! Wait . . .
Anyway, the recipe’s printed in Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, and, strange-ish ingredient list aside, it’s darn good. A great drink for a Friday, really, especially if you’re getting ready to go on a world tour, or want to pretend to take a world tour from your living room or home bar. If you can’t find the Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur, well, I feel for you. But you could sub in another nutty liqueur – then email me and tell me how it is. If you can’t find Amaro CioCiaro, dang, I’d move. But if that isn’t feasible, try another of the amaros, one that leans towards the bitter side. If you can’t find Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters, then just go read another blog. Sorry.
Friday Kahloe
1-1/2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur
1/2 ounce Amaro CioCiaro
Dash of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the bourbon, macadamia nut liqueur, CioCiaro, and bitters. Shake well—it’s Friday, so show you appreciate it.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Tags: Amaro CioCiaro, bourbon, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters, Friday Kahloe, Friday Night Cocktail, Kahana Royale macadamia nut liqueur, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
February 21, 2014
This one’s in honor of my grandmother, Gertrude Middendorf, who sadly passed away not too long ago. She was a pretty swell lady, who played a mean hand of cards, made delicious macaroni and cheese, read a lot, traveled a lot, got feisty and had fun a lot, and drank her fair share (and maybe a bit more) of bourbon and cokes. I’m not usually a bourbon and coke drinker myself, but I made one to toast her with, and it tasted darn good. I used Woodinville Whiskey Co. bourbon, cause she always liked Seattle (even though mostly living in KS), and Mexican coke, cause regular coke just isn’t a good. So, grandma, this one’s for you.
Bourbon and Coke
Ice cubes
2 ounces Woodinville Whiskey Co. bourbon
4 ounces coke
1. Fill an Old Fashioned or related glass with a bit of ice. Add the bourbon, then the coke, then stir slowly, remembering all the good drinkers who’ve moved on to the big bar in the sky.
February 14, 2014
It’s Valentine’s Day – let me give you a little quoted advice*:
Showing up with a dozen limp red roses picked up last-minute on Valentine’s Day garners only a thumbs-down from a romantic dearest (if not a door slammed in the face, or a slap, or an invitation to spend the night on the couch). However, you can show that love how much you care and start the evening right by swapping the limp flowers for a liquid Rose and having it ready when he or she walks in the door (or when you show up at his or her door).
This Valentine’s Day maker-better is from Ginger Bliss and Violet Fizz, too!
Rose
Cracked ice
2 ounces dry vermouth
1 ounce kirsch
1 ounce Chambord
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the vermouth, kirsch, and Chambord. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and add the cherry.
*Funny enough, I’m quoting myself. But hey, I’m funny.
Tags: Chambord, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dry vermouth, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, kirsch, The Rose, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
February 7, 2014
Sometimes, you even have to change drinks you like. Heck, even drinks you wrote about. Though maybe “change” isn’t the right word, as it sounds a wee bit pejorative, and I don’t mean to say the original drink in this case, the Cara Sposa, wasn’t and isn’t super tasty. Cause it was and is. However, I just got a bottle of the new coffee liqueur from the Seattle Distilling Company, Luana Beach coffee liqueur (made with Orca Blend coffee from the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie), and wanted to try it in a cocktail, and, well, the Cara Sposa seemed a perfect match, even though the main ingredient in it, Tia Maria, isn’t necessarily a coffee liqueur. But it does have a coffee-esque quality, so I wasn’t that far afield when making the sub. And, you know what? The end result was amazing. Delicious. A worthy successor to the original. I, naturally, changed the name a stitch, since it is a different drink. You would have done the same, I hope.
Cara Sposa Mattina
Crushed ice
1-1/2 ounces Luana Beach coffee liqueur
1 ounce Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao
1/2 ounce heavy cream
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with crushed ice. Add the Tia Maria, orange curaçao, and cream. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
A Note: I’ve seen this blended and then strained, but I think that makes it too watery. Using crushed ice and shaking like a machine gets things slushy but not overly watery.
Tags: Cara Sposa Mattina, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Luana Beach coffee liqueur, Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
February 4, 2014
I know, it seems as if the holiday season has passed – and a while ago, at that. But let me tell you, it hasn’t! Because today is my birthday. Sure, you could, and should, buy me a drink or something as good, but if you can’t, at least have a drink in my honor. And make it a holiday drink – heck, make it a holiday drink from some exotic locale, celebrating my exoticness. Wait? You’re not sure of many exotic locale holiday drinks? Then let me help you by pointing you to this fun article I wrote on that very subject for the snazziest travel company in the world, TCS Expeditions. The piece is called Holidays on Ice: 5 Worldly Cocktails and, well, it’s full of fun things to sip over the holidays (which never stop, really).
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Glühwein, holiday cocktails, Holidays on Ice: 5 Worldly Cocktails, Pisco Sour, Ponche, Spritz, Wassail
Posted in: Cocktail News, Cocktail Recipes, Recipes
