Cocktail to Cocktail Hour V4, E3: The Horse’s Neck

The Cocktail to Cocktail Hour episodes are coming with rare regularity so far in Season Four (but don’t expect miracles people – genius takes time). And for Episode 3, we have a special guest making his second appearance on the show – call us lucky – the mysterious and well-coiffed Stereolad himself, Mark Butler! In this episode he’s teaching us how to make the Horse’s Neck, and being generally awesome.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

Seattle Magazine Cocktail Catch-Up

It’s time to take a tipsy spin again through some fun-tastic recent posts I’ve written for the swell Seattle magazine, covering such topics as local bar and spirit news and the best places in Seattle to eat when you’re having jury duty (for those living here), and drinks to have when you’re tailgating or on a hayride, or when you want to think of summer (since it’s, well, sadly gone now).

•     Fall Spirit and Distillery News

•     Early Fall Bar News

•     Fall Cocktails Perfect for Hayrack Rides

•     The Best Places to Eat When You Have Jury Duty

•     Four Drinks for a Triumphant Tailgating Experience

•     Late Summer Wine Cocktails

•     Summer Sipper Recipes

See all A.J. Seattle magazine articles

Leave a comment »

| Share:

Cocktail to Cocktail Hour V4, E2: The Aperol Spritz

Buon giorno cocktail fans, and fans of cocktail videos, and Italian fans, and fans of good drinks, and fans of good translations, and welcome all y’all to another episode of the Cocktail to Cocktail Hour, the world’s best cocktailunmentary show. This episode is extra special, as we have a guest who’s traveled all the way from Italy to share a special recipe with us. So, watch up, and ciao until next time.

PS: Special thanks to AK Translation Services for the immaculate translating.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: Chartreuse Daisy

I recently was talking to a friend, and they mentioned that they didn’t like Chartreuse. I was flabbergasted. I didn’t, like, knock them over the noggin with a three-legged stool or anything, but I did decide then and there to never talk to them again (okay, maybe not – but that would have been sorta great). I also decided to go right home and make myself a Chartreuse Daisy, in honor of the lovely herbal French liqueur/aperitif that had been maligned by my one-time friend. I think you should do the same. We certainly don’t want Chartreuse to feel bad, after all.

Chartreuse Daisy, using the recipe from Ginger Bliss

Cracked ice

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 ounce grenadine

1 ounce yellow Chartreuse

Strawberry, for garnish

Orange slice, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the gin, lemon juice, and grenadine. Shake very well, until the shaker gets frosty.

2. Fill a goblet three-quarters up with cracked ice. Strain the mixture over the ice. Stir briefly. Float the Chartreuse over the ice, and stir again briefly. Garnish with the strawberry and the orange slice.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: Perseverance

Sometimes, you (or I – though if this doesn’t happen to anyone else I’ll eat my hat) forget about a drink that you actually really like. There are so many drinks out there! Then you come back to it like an old friend after that first sip and think, why did I not drink this for so long? I recently had this moment with the Perseverance, which is a recipe featured in Wine Cocktails. It’s actually a nice end-of-summer-beginning-of-fall drink, so fit my mood as well. Tastiness.

Perseverance

Ice cubes

1 ounce vodka (I think Rocket vodka is good)

2 ounces chilled Maryhill Rosé Sangiovese

1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the vodka, rosé, maraschino, and bitters. Shake well.

2. Strain the Perseverance equally into two cocktail glasses.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

Cocktail to Cocktail Hour V4, One, The Kick-Off Cocktail

Holy Toledo! Everyone who’s been holding your breath can now exhale – the new season of the Cocktail to Cocktail Hour is finally upon us. They (those bastardos) said it couldn’t be done, said that the Cocktail to Cocktail Hour was too radicool, too awesome, too tasty for modern T.V. – but they were wrong. To prove it, the first episode of the new season, where I teach you have to make the Kick-Off, a combination of gin, dry vermouth, anisette, Benedictine, and Angostura. Get to it, y’all!

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: The Early Harvest

While this drink’s name may be harkening to middle-summer (which for some is when harvest starts), I actually have it down as a fall number, thanks to the inclusion of cider – for some reason, I think of apples as a late fall crop. By the way, I could be totally wrong about all this. I can admit it. I can also admit that I know blueberries aren’t a fall harvest, and yet they’re still in here. Hah! Sometimes cocktail names just come about, and match the drink poetically, if not 100% factually. Oh, the cider here is from the new Seattle Cider Company, and so of course the blueberry addition comes from Sidetrack Distillery blueberry liqueur, cause I like to keep the locales local.

The Early Harvest

Cracked ice

1 ounce vodka (keep it local with Bluewater’s organic vodka)

1-1/4 ounce Sidetrack Distillery Blueberry liqueur

Ice cubes

3 ounces Seattle Cider Company Semi-Sweet cider

3 blueberries (or thereabouts) for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the vodka and the liqueur. Stir well.

2. Fill a highball or Old-Fashioned’y glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the vodka/liqueur combo over the ice.

3. Add the cider, and stir to combine. Drop in the blueberry garnish.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: Marguerite

A week ago today, I put up a Friday night drink called the Portofino, which was a drink I made for my mother’s 75th birthday party. One of the other drinks (there were three) was the Marguerite. As mentioned in that earlier post, I was slightly angling the drinks the Italian way, and the Italian connection here is anisette – specifically Meletti anisette, which is one of the finest sippers I know. I blogged more about it on a specific Meletti post, so go catch up if you missed it. Then, when back, make this drink. It has an interesting balance, as it’s equal parts gin and vermouth, but the end result is awfully wonderful (oh, the recipe is from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, if you wondered).

The Marguerite

Cracked ice

1-1/4 ounces gin

1-1/4 ounces dry vermouth

1/4 ounce anisette

Thin lemon slice for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the gin, vermouth, and anisette. Stir well.

2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass or comparable glass

3. Give the lemon slice a small squeeze over the glass then drop it in.

Leave a comment »

| Share: