July 12, 2013
I am not, as stated in other places, a medical doctor. Neither am I Doctor Johnny Fever. I do know that according to many many old wives, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, however. I am not trying to sew discord between old wives and doctors, either, but am saying that even if a true doctor wouldn’t prescribe this drink, the fact that it contains apple cider means that it does, according to old wives, have some medicinal properties. Oh, it has rum, too, which many folks once thought was healthy, unless it was being forced on you by pirates. If that wasn’t enough for you to realize the healing factor of this drink, let me add that its third ingredient is Sidetrack Distillery Nocino, the finest Nocino made outside of Italy. Nocino, if you need to know, is a green-walnut liqueur, well and famous in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. And everyone knows that walnuts are healthy. Maybe doctors really would order this, after all. At least Doctor Fever would.
What the Doctor Ordered
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum (Mount Gay works nicely)
1/2 ounce Sidetrack Nocino
3 ounces Seattle Cider Company Semi-Sweet cider
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum and Nocino. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with the cider. Stir carefully and briefly. Enjoy the good health.
Tags: cider, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Nocino, Seattle Cider Company, Sidetrack distillery, What I'm Drinking, What the Doctor Ordered
Posted in: cider, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
July 5, 2013
Sometimes, very little needs to be said. This is one of those times. I’m drinking Dark and Stormys cause July, especially, demands them. Don’t disagree, or I’ll cut you off. There, I said it. Now drink your drink and keep quite. Oh, use the below recipe from Dark Spirits. Now back to your drink.
Dark and Stormy
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum (I think Mount Gay is dandy here)
Chilled ginger beer (Rachel’s is the best in the land, so works well here)
Lime wedge for garnish
1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the rum.
2. Fill the glass with ginger beer, but don’t be wacky about it (no drink becomes a favorite if it bubbles over and stickies up the counter).
3. Squeeze the lime wedge over the drink, and then let it slide on in. Stir, but briefly.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Rachel's Ginger Beer, The Dark and Stormy, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Rum, What I'm Drinking
March 29, 2013
The end of March is when you should start really thinking about summer: rum drinks, shorts, bikinis, rum drinks, beaches, rum drinks, and ukulele music. If you just don’t want to wait the extra months you could plane up and fly on down or over or such to an actual beach. Or, you could make this drink from Dark Spirits, which is a tangy tasty tempting treat. It does have one quirky ingredient: hibiscus flower. But knowing how resourceful you are, I’ll bet you can find them. Check your local herborium. But they really add a bunch of goodness to this mix, so track them down (one place that usually has them is Dandelion Botanical: www.dandelionbotanical.com).
Caribbean Bloom, makes 2 (cause being summer-y isn’t nearly as much fun alone)
1 teaspoon dried hibiscus flowers
4 lime wedges
2 teaspoons sugar
Cracked ice
4 ounces dark rum
1. Add the hibiscus flowers, lime wedges, and sugar to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or sturdy wooden spoon, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the rum. Shake very well, for at least 15 seconds.
3. Strain the mix into two fancy cordial glasses.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, dark rum, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, hibiscus flowers, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
February 15, 2013
Yesterday (which means, at least for this moment, Valentine’s Day) was the day for hearts, flowers, chocolate, unicorns, and mooning under the moon. Today, well, it’s still the day for all that. But it’s also the day for Stockholm Tar, which, to me, seems almost like it could be the name of a grungy drug gotten by scraping the barnacles off a ship and then boiling them down with a mixture of formaldehyde, corn starch, and Juicy Fruit gum. This drink, however, contains none of that, and while it is strong and all, well, between us, it’s probably closer to the whole flowers and romances mentioned first. So, have one with your favorite sailor and stretch the heart-iest holiday out another day. This recipe’s from Dark Spirits.
Stockholm Tar
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
Lime slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, lime juice, cranberry juice, simple syrup, and maraschino liqueur. Shake well (you want to ensure it doesn’t get a tar-like appearance).
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime slice.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, cranberry juice cocktail, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
April 7, 2011
Picked up some dark rum not too long back (at Domini, the best winery in central Italy, funny enough–Diego, the owner and swell fella, is nice enough to stock some other, non-wine, bottles as well) and it lead to me craving a cocktail that had more of an island, and a little less of an Italian feel, but as this was made while living in Italy, and features an Italian tamarind syrup (though really, it’s thicker than a regular syrup—almost molasses-y) by Carlo Erba (a Milan company), I still consider it an Italian drink. Hence the name, which hits both sides of the drink:
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
3/4 ounce pineapple juice
1/2 ounce freshly squeeze lime juice
1/2 Carlo Erba Tamarindo
Lime slice for garnish
Pineapple slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, juices, and tamarind. Shake exceptionally well (that tamarind needs a bit of serious shaking to play nice).
2. Strain into a cocktail glass, or whatever good glass is nearby. Garnish with the lime slice and pineapple slice (both to add flavor and in case you need a snack).
January 7, 2011
Not too long ago, I was lucky enough to be able to play around with making drinks that feature Washington State cider-maker Tieton’s ciders. Operating out of the Yakima, WA area, Tieton ciders utilize all-natural ingredients, are made with care, and are starting to be more and more widely available. The ingredients and care are evident when drinking them, too, as they boast clear, crisp taste (which is what you want in your ciders—stay away from those overly sugary messes). At first, I was a little unsure about what I’d mix up with them, but after taking a few sips my unsure-ness re-routed straight into excitement. The following are my two favorite Tieton mixes. So, head down to your store and pick up some Tieton cider (or head down to complain that they don’t yet have them) and then cocktail up.
Harmony in C
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
3/4 ounces Grand Marnier
1 dash Peychauds bitters
2 ounces chilled Tieton Wild Washington apple cider
Apple slice, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Grand Marnier, and bitters. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with the Tieton Blend apple cider. Stir briefly and carefully. Garnish with the apple slice.
Tieton Highball
Ice cubes
1 ounce applejack or apple brandy
3/4 ounce Benedictine
2 dashes Fee Brother peach bitters
Chilled Tieton Blend apple cider
Mint sprig, for garnish (optional)
Apple slice, for garnish (optional)
1. Fill an Old Fashioned glass three quarters full with ice cubes. Add the applejack, Benedictine, and bitters. Stir briefly.
2. Fill the glass almost to the rim with Tieton Blend apple cider. Stir again, briefly. Garnish with a mint sprig and an apple slice, if desired.
Tags: Benedictine, bitters, Brandy, cocktail recipe, dark rum, Grand Marnier, Tieton Cider, What I Wish I Was Drinking
Posted in: Brandy, cider, Recipes, Rum, What I Wish I Was Drinking
August 12, 2008
When clearing out space in the homemade liqueurs cabinet (for the new bottles from the below post), I realized that I had a few ounces left of some homemade triple sec that I’d constructed during my first liqueur-making frenzy. Not sure why I didn’t completely guzzle it up, cause it ruled/rules–not too sugary and just orange-y enough. Anyway, I wanted to utilize the last drops in making up a new drink (to give that triple sec the honor it deserved), and the Crimson Slippers was the end result. An awfully pretty result, as you can see.
Since I had the Campari bottle at the front of the shelves (from the Negroni-making), I thought I’d play around with it in the drink, even knowing that it can be a dangerous addition to the party because of the bitter undertones. But hey, I love bitter. So much that I ended up adding a dash of some homemade bitters in there as well (I’d made them for a bitters party thrown by no other than bartender Andrew Bohrer, from Cask Strength). These homemade bitters were based on an old “stomach” bitters called Hostetter’s, and take the bitters scale to another level. If I play around with the drink a little further in the future, I might try in other bitters–I think Peychaud’s would work well (and look well, too). Wait, I’m skipping the base liquor. I decided to go with rum, since it’s summertime. Well, and I thought it would be a nice touch, especially the dark variety, which has enough personality to hold its own, and thought it would be enjoyable to work to balance it with the other players.
The Campari uses a disguise to try and sneak away from the scene.
The end result is a touch bitter, but bounces around well due to that touch of triple sec (the homemade kind has such a bright orange-ness that it doesn’t get overwhelmed). The color, with that red glow, seemes like it would fit in at a crime scene, too. Maybe not one of the modern, forensic-equipment-and-fluorescent-y-mood-lit heavy scenes, but an Agatha Christie attic scene, with lots of thinking and sipping and a rocking chair. Here’s the final recipe.
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce homemade triple sec
1 dash bitters
Lime slice, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway up with ice cubes. Add the rum, Campari, triple sec, and bitters. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Squeeze the lime slice over the glass and drop it in.
