June 16, 2011
Hey, I’m gonna come right out and admit two things: first, I tend to think most “flavored” rums (or other pre-flavored spirits) taste as if some chemicals had mated with some sleazy grains and had a bottle as their baby; second, I recently received the bottle of Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum used in the below recipe via the US post. With that said, I’m going to come right out and admit another thing: I’d like the new Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum even if I didn’t get it for free. It had a clean taste, with strong vanilla overtones backed by hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices (the full spice line up is listed on the bottle as: vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mace, allspice, pepper, and juniper berry). I tend to like the Cruzan line up of rums for mixing (not unilaterally or anything, but they’re reliable), so it makes sense that they could put together a tasty spiced rum. Okay, on to the Bubbly Colonial:
After deciding that the Cruzan 9 Spiced wasn’t going to make me feel ooky, I started to think about what to make with it (a naturally progression). Recently (the day before, honestly), I’d made some lime-mint simple syrup, and that seemed like it should go well with the rum, as there are loads of precedence for these island flavors getting along. So, that was the start. I wanted something bubbly, as it was a rare sunny Seattle day and I figured I should take advantage of it by pretending I lived somewhere where summer means something, temperature-wise. So, tall, rummy, bubbly, all good. Then I decided a hint of orange might be nice, so I added a smidge of Cointreau. The combination ended up being mighty fine, with lots of spice hints (including a touch of coconut–I’m not sure where it came from? Island magic, perhaps?) and citrus tang. Oh, I added a full lime wheel as a garnish. That extra fresh juice brought a ton to the table.
Ice cubes
2 ounces Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum
1/2 ounce lime-mint simple syrup (see Note below)
1/4 ounce Cointreau
Chilled club soda
Lime wheel, for garnish
1. Fill a highball glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, syrup, and Cointreau. Stir thrice.
2. Fill the glass almost to the rim with club soda. Stir again, slowly but seriously, working to bring everything together. Squeeze the lime wheel into the glass, and then drop it in.
A Note: To make the lime-mint simple syrup, I added two whole lime peels, 4 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice, 3 cups sugar, 2-1/2 cups water, and 2 cups fresh mint to a medium-sized sauce pan, which I then put on the stove over medium-high heat. Let it just come to a boil, simmer for five or so minutes, and then let everything steep in the pan for at least an hour. Strain and use to your heart’s content.
Tags: Bubbly Colonial, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, cocktails, Cointreau, Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum, lime-mint simple syrup, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Almost Drinkable Photo, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
September 8, 2010
Sorry for the second book party post in a row, but I’d be remiss to the bubbly fans (and general good-living and good-living-loving pals) if I didn’t say anything. So, bubbly ones, step right up–I have got a deal (full of bubbles) for you and for yours. On October 1st, 2010, I’ll be making a couple drinks from my brand new bubblicious book Champagne Cocktails: 50 Cork-Popping Concoctions and Scintillating Sparklers at Seattle’s own Dish It Up in beautiful Magnolia, at 2425 33rd Ave West, and you can get in on the effervescent action for a mere $25. This, you might think, is more than enough to get you out for a few on a Friday night. But wait, there’s more: you also get a free copy of the book (which I’ll sign to you with all the love and affection I have for you. Which is a lot). Now that, you’re thinking, is one heck of a deal. But wait, there is still more: you’ll also get a $10 gift certificate for Dish It Up (the coolest Kitchen store you’ll ever have the pleasure of browsing within) that you can spend that very night! Holy Dom Perignon, that’s quite an evening.
The book, if I can be so bold, is pretty darn swell all on its own, too (just in case you can’t make the big night on October 1st). It has the classic bubbly mixes, but also a host of unburied bubbly treasures, some fresh fresh mixes (from fresh folks like Andrew Bohrer, Jaime Boudreau, and the ladies of LUPEC), and some crowd-pleasers. And it doesn’t just rest its laurels on straight up sparkling wine and Champagne (though those are well represented). There are also drinks with Italian charmers Prosecco, Brachetto d’Aqui, Asti, and Lambrusco, South Africa’s Cap Classique, German Sekt, Spanish Cava, and Australian sparkling Shiraz, so it covers the globe and the rainbow (not forgetting the rose’ part of that rainbow either). Now there, friends, is a frizzante party just waiting to be uncorked.
March 13, 2009
Just two on this lucky day–but two good ones (well, one good drink and one good post). And it’s lucky because A: it’s Friday the 13th (I tend to want to turn around bad luck omens on their heads, so I think of this day as lucky for anyone not camping near a lake. But if you’re silly enough to do that on a day like today, then, well, maybe it’s best you are camping near that lake), and B: yesterday was pal and rapidly-shaking Seattle bartender Andrew Bohrer’s birthday. In honor of said luck, here are two links from his blog, CaskStrength. A blog that’s been a little lonely lately, but only because he just opened a new bar, Naga (which I mentioned more in-depthly here), and is working ferociously to ensure you (yep, you) get the best drinks possible. Which means, if you want to be really, truly lucky, you’ll head out to restaurant Chantanee where bar Naga is (doubly lucky, by the way, cause the food in the restaurant is just amazingly tasty: have the crispy spicy tofu before you dodder on into the afterworld or call your life incomplete), and have him mix you up a drink. Then buy him one for his birthday. And then have him mix you up one. And so on, into the sunset.
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Penelope’s Pit Stop: This is way deep in a longer post about elfin-magic-potion Chartreuse, but any drink that combines tequila and the just-mentioned Chartreuse and lemon juice and a muddle pear for gawd’s sake demands to be tried. Or at least be talked about. Or, if not that, be thought about for the rest of this day (a Friday, after all) until you can’t take it any more and rush home to make yourself one. That’s my take on it.
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How to Carve an Ice Ball: Okay, this isn’t a drink at all, but whiskey is a drink, and one that I (and most I know) have all by its lonesome on occasion, over a bit of ice usually, and this post from Andrew is about carving an ice ball to serve your whisky over, so as to maximize the ratio of ice to booze. It’s pretty darn cool. And Andrew has ice balls at Naga (and if anyone doesn’t have a childish, 12-yr-old boy laugh at the phrase “Andrew has ice balls at Naga” then they need to go soak their head), and is a bit obsessed with ice balls (I saw him carving one on the bus once), so it’s a worthy post to read.
Tags: Andrew Bohrer, Chantanee, Chartreuse, cocktails, drinker's blogosphere, drinks, Friday Fête, ice balls, Naga, recipe
Posted in: Bars, Friday Fête, Liqueurs, Recipes
March 6, 2009
It’s not only March (a month which lends itself to trying new drinks—wait, every month lends itself to trying new drinks), but also my pal Nicole’s birthday (yay!), which means you should not only try a new drink (from the list below), but also give her a toast when drinking it. And then give yourself a toast on the next sip. And then give me a toast on the third sip. And then how about a toast for Dr. Strange on the next sip. And by then you shouldn’t need toasting reasons for sipping anymore.
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Matatlan Oax: Learn a lot about mescal (a good idea on birthdays) at A Mountain of Crushed Ice (which, I have to say again, is a fantasticalicious name for a blog), and then try a couple drinks made with it, including the Oax, which uses the aforementioned mescal and a bunch of fruit flavors to travel the road to deliciousness.
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Moral Suasion: Bringing a little history and art into the mix, as is a good idea on birthdays, this elegant little number comes from The Art of Drink via the 1873 Daily Picayune (out of New Orleans), or the other way around. That doesn’t matter as much as remembering that cheerfulness and drinking have gone on so well together for so long. What a beautiful world.
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Maime Taylor: Ah, a favorite for springtime’s approach (and fitting well into this post’s month-of-March-M-drinks), Maime is given a gracious going-over at the Underhill Lounge (a lounge that’s always worth a visit). Its refreshing nature is sure to bring a smile, even if it’s freaking freezing outside (like it is here in Seattle). Luckily, the large dollop of scotch is sure to warm ya.
February 6, 2009
It’s Friday again (heck yeah!), and while I may be a little older this week (or, at least, have passed another birthday milestone) that doesn’t mean I’m any less bubbly at the thought of sipping the following three drinks from sweet sites that reside within what I like the call the Drinker’s Blogosphere. If you like to drink (and I know you do) then I suggest you spend some time with the following cocktails. And if you like to read (and I hope you do), I suggest checking out Alcohology’s A Lesson in Absinthe while you sip the first drink. It’s filled with good info, much of which is from the awesome absinthe afternoon the WSBG put on recently.
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Jasper’s Jamaican: This recipe is actually on the Serious Eats site, but is written up by Cocktail Chronicler Paul Clarke himself, and can take you away tropically from all the unfriendly weather lurking outside your window (well, it’s lurking outside mine at least).
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Maple Leaf Rum Variation: Be reminded that it’s good to drink local when at all possible, and be reminder also that it’s good to read everything the Ladies of LUPEC Boston write about, because you’ll always find tasty recipes like this one when you do (and, of course, also find good and fun facts and frolicking).
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St. Croix Crusta: In an informative and tasty entry (which is a bit older, but so worthy of your time) the Small Hand Bartender not only teaches you how to make your own Orchard Syrup (an older ingredient somewhat sadly lost to history) but also the St. Croix Crusta, which uses said syrup deliciously.
January 16, 2009
Are you ready for some weekend? Well, if you aren’t, you stink. No, no, I’m kidding, maybe you’re someone who actually adores the M-through-F-at-5-pm much more than the F-at-5-pm-through-Sun-night. Maybe (and maybe you’re a corporate suck up, too. No, no, I kid. You’re the tops. At least in my view. Which is, honestly, what matters at this moment). Either way, make your weekend a better place to be with one of these mighty fine mixes.
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Garden Party Punch: Why wouldn’t you have a few friends over and fill up the punch bowl with a garden during January? Show that ol’ winter who the boss is. I know that Cheryl Charming at Charming Cocktails will (and she’ll teach you how to make an amazing ice punch bowl at the same time).
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The Cocktail with No Name: Why not attempt to utilize tawny port in a drink that’s related to the Manhattan and seems sure to cure what ails you, and cure the chill that’s still evident in most spots? Go over to A Dash of Bitters and learn all about it, and maybe even drop a naming suggestion (they sure seem awfully friendly and might just be receptive).
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Pax Sax Sarax: Why you’d think of skipping Burns supper (or, if avoiding like I the haggis, skipping a Burns night cocktail), or skip getting poetic with this scotch-y bitters-y magical affair is beyond me–so why? Instead, fly your broom over to SpiritsandCocktails and bring out the inner witch or warlock or sorcerer or thaumaturge or (gasp) poet while sipping a strengthening concoction (and enjoying every minute of it).
December 19, 2008
As the holidays are almost here (yay!) and as it’s snowing like the Dickens (what does that mean, by the way? I mean, Charlie D wasn’t known for his weather-creation abilities was he? And did I really just call Mr. Dickens “Charlie D?” His ghost is gonna kick my ass), who knows how many posts will find their way up on this blog in the next few weeks. But don’t fret pals, the following drinks from the blogosphere will get you through the lean times in high fashion.
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Hot Buttered Rum: The rollicking ladies of LUPEC Boston are talking toddies, which only seems appropriate this time of chilly year. And, they’re also providing a really right on recipe (in that fine LUPEC style) for hot buttered rum, as well as a recipe for making holiday compound butter, which makes that very rum drink very much above the average. So, why not warm up?
- Rutherglen’s Border Cocktail: It shouldn’t just be “oh it’s cold out” and “give me a hot drink” this time of year. Which is why I suggest heading over to SpiritsandCocktails for the festive Rutherglen’s Border Cocktail, which uses Cognac and Muscat (a dessert wine that mixes well in mixes) and pear and bitters (oh my). Not only will the post give you the recipe for this cocktail that’s a right fit for any swank seasonal soirée or meal’s end, but wow, the picture of it is dreamy, too.
November 21, 2008
Just two to make it through the weekend with (well, two plus the gazillion others you can get to via the links on the right and the electric byways of the web), but two fantastic mixes (and, by the way, let me officially blame my day job for only having two).
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Jasper’s Jamaican Cocktail: There’s actually a recipe for the Lion’s Tale in this post from the mysterious and awfully artful Dr. Bamboo, as well as the jumping Jasper’s Jamaican Cocktail, so it’s really bringing the Friday total up to three. Both of these tasty tastes utilize St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, which I’ve been enjoying lots–you should, too.
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Greenbriar Cocktail: From the Underhill Lounge, where you’ll find one of the most dedicated bar-writing-and-sipping ideas of all time: going through the Savoy Cocktail Book one drink at a time. That’s just out-of-sight amazing. Sort of like this drink, which uses sherry, dry vermouth, mint, and peach bitters. Really.
