June 15, 2018
We are now moving our individual boats and vessels into what – for many – counts as vacation season. Which means it’s a time for fun, but also, naturally, a time for waiting in lines. Now, I’m not saying you should be drinking while waiting in said lines, but hey, once you get through said lines, you may well need a refreshing drink, and perhaps one with a little kick, and one which references the vacationing and such because if we can’t come full circle, then it’s worth asking what it’s all for, anyway, and summer certainly isn’t the season for such deep questionings. I mean, it’s summer!
This here drink fits said bill, cozily, and in a Washington-state-meets-France way, as it only contains three ingredients, and two are from WA and one from FR. First up, Vashon-island- (speaking of ferry lines) made Seattle Distilling Company Idle Hour single malt whiskey, a delicious Irish-whiskey-leaning single malt. Second, France’s legendary herbal liqueur Bénédictine. Third, originally, at least, when I first made this, many vacations ago, was another Vashon Island hit, Vashon Brewing Company’s Cherrywood Smoked porter. Now, this is a delicacy – heck, all three are! But if you absolutely can’t find it, you could sub in another porter, and be okay. Better than okay, even! And while it’s won’t be the same journey, it’ll still fulfill that post-line-waiting need in a dandy manner.
The Idle Ferry
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces Seattle Distilling Company Idle Hour single malt whiskey
1/2 ounce Bénédictine
4 ounces Vashon Brewing Company’s Cherrywood Smoked porter
1. Add three or four ice cubes to a highball or comparable glass. Add the whiskey and the Benedictine. Stir.
2. Carefully add the porter to the glass. Stir carefully, from the bottom up.
Tags: 3 Howls single malt whiskey, beer cocktail, Benedictine, cocktail, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, cocktails, Friday Night Cocktail, porter, Seattle Distilling Company Idle Hour single malt whiskey, The Idle Ferry, Vashon Brewing Company’s Cherrywood Smoked porter, Washington distillery, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: beer, Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
June 8, 2018
Recently, I was on a trip – the actual physical kind, mind you – that took me away from my home bar and home region, and led me, let’s just say, to a different state, and while there I was really craving Brancamenta, and couldn’t find any anywhere. Anywhere! What kind of place or region or locale or spot doesn’t have this Fernet Branca sibling, which adds Piedmontese peppermint oil and a little sweetness to the legendary bitter-and-herb digestif?
Well, I was missing the minty mint-ness indeed by the time I got back, especially as we’re heading into summer and Brancamenta is a summertime hit of special proportions, especially with soda, and even moreso when mingled with dark rum (another summer fav) and a few other choice choices in the below drink. Try it and see! And if you have to travel anywhere that might not have Brancamenta, even just maybe might not have it, take your bottle with you. You don’t want to run into the situation I did, believe me you.
The Mint Meridian
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
3/4 ounces Brancamenta
1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Chilled club soda
Mint sprig, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway up with ice cubes. Add the rum, Brancamenta, lemon juice, and bitters. Shake well.
2. Fill a highball or closely comparable glass up with ice cubes. Strain the mix from Step 1 into the glass through a fine strainer.
3. Top with 3 ounces club soda. Stir. Garnish with the mint spring. Enjoy your afternoon.
Tags: #brancamenta, Branca Menta, club soda, cocktail, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, cocktails, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, lemon juice, Mint, Peychaud's bitters, Rum, The Mint Meridian, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
June 1, 2018
June 1st is not the first day of summer, according to any calendars I can find. However, in my mind, June is a part of summer, and that means the first day of June is also a part of summer (this is math, I believe), and so in some ways not on the calendar, today, the first of June, is the first day of summer. Best to celebrate the many sunny days full of sunshine and short shorts that are on the sunny horizon with this bubbly and fruity and rum-y drink. You wouldn’t want summer mad at you, right?
The Beach Bubble
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce mango juice
Chilled ginger ale
2 pineapple chunks for garnish
1. Fill a Collins glass or large goblet three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the rum and juices. Stir, but with respect for the beach’s mellow demeanor.
2. Fill the glass up with ginger ale. Stir, but again, mellow-ly.
3. Spear the pineapple chunks on a toothpick, and float them in the glass (watch out for that toothpick when drinking).
Tags: cocktail, cocktail recipe, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, ginger ale, mango juice, pineapple juice, Rum, summer drinks, The Beach Bubble, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
May 25, 2018
Well, it’s the end of what’s been a long month (not if you track hours, in that way, it’s the same as any other month with 31 days in it, if you believe in time, and it’s hard not to), or month and a half, the kind of month (or month and a half) that could almost lead one to visiting the doc, for a little happiness. Luckily, I don’t have to take that time out of the week or set up appointments, because I know what the doctor would order – this here drink. It’s a drink that’s ideal for this time of year (whether the month is long or not), thanks to its ability to straddle the spring and the summer, or summer and fall, due to the combination of summer-loving rum, Washington-made Sidetrack Nocino (the dark rich green walnut liqueur you should be in love with), and a refreshing splash or splashes of also-Washington-made Seattle Cider Company cider. It’s flavorful, refreshing, has some umph, and is both a slow sipper and a light-hearted charmer. That’s why the doctor orders it – and why you should give it a try, too.
What the Doctor Ordered
Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
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, cocktail recipe, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Rum, Seattle Cider Company Semi-Sweet cider, Sidetrack Nocino, summer drink, Washington distillery, What I’m Drinking, What the Doctor Ordered
Posted in: cider, Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
May 18, 2018
When a bottle shows up at your door wearing a sort-of a leather sheath, stitched up the back like a very cool (and very tough) boot, and having a grinning bronzed skull bottle topper, first, you very safely, very slowly, and maybe a little clandestinely, peek outside the door to ensure it wasn’t delivered by someone a bit more menacing then the local postal person. If it wasn’t, then (if you’re me), you take a sip.
If (again, if you’re me) it was a bottle of Padre Azul Reposado tequila, you don’t get the burn or serious kick you might expect from said presentation (though really, it’s a shout out to Mexican Day of the Dead culture), but instead a smooth, layered, sipping tequila, made by hand from 100 percent select blue agave, and aged for eight months in French oak casks. The flavor unfolds beautifully on the tongue, too, with a swirl of vanilla, a little nuttiness, a light herbal-ness, and a hint of smoke. Really, it’s one to have neat or over ice, at least to begin with.
If (a third time) you’re me, however, you can’t resist trying even a tequila or other spirt this fine in a cocktail. At first, because of the leather-jacketing-and-skull-grinning, I thought I’d go the more hard core route, and bring in some serious heat. But then, thanks to that vanilla and other notes, my brain exploded in another direction entirely – chocolate. I actually think tequilas of the right kind make a nice match with chocolate, and here, it’s a lush pairing. A little Cointreau made another swell attendee. I couldn’t completely let go of the spice idea, but wanted it clean and crisp and not annoying, and in that situation only Scrappy’s Firewater habanero tincture will do. One more magical ingredient – Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters, which somehow brings all of the other ones together – and we have a dessert drink fit for a king, no matter what they’re wearing.
Skull Sweets
Cracked ice
2 ounces Padre Azul Reposado tequila
1/2 ounce crème de cacao
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1 dash Scrappy’s Firewater tincture
1 dash Bittermens Xocolati mole bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Enjoy, sweets.
Tags: Bittermen’s Xocolati mole bitters, bitters, cocktail, cocktail recipe, Cointreau, crème de cacao, Friday Night Cocktail, Padre Azul Reposado tequila, Scrappy’s Firewater tincture, Skull Sweets, Tequila, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, Tequila, What I'm Drinking
May 11, 2018
I’ve been wanting to name a drink “Snigginson van Pickyns” since like September 27, 2017. See, back then I had a Cocktail Talk quote from a F. Marion Crawford story called “The Upper Berth,” which was in (for me, at least) an Alfred Hitchcock collection called, Bar the Doors. Actually, it was the twenty-sixth day in said month when I had that post, but then I think it was the following day when I put got word on the social medea* from pals @stereolad and @PaulTobin that, really, a drink should be named Snigginson van Pickyns. And, and usual, they were right!
But it’s taken a time to find the right drink. First, due to the quote (go read it, if you haven’t), said drink needed to be sherry-based. Then, it needed to be awesome, cause, well, it’s called Snigginson van Pickyns! That demands awesome. Luckily, not too long ago I received a little sample of Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato vermouth, a limited-time number celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the vermouth maker – and that was exactly what was needed for this drink. Made on a base of Moscato D’Asti and boasting an array of botanicals (cinchona bark, Chinese rhubarb, and other global-traveling, Snigginson van Pickyns-y things), it’s a well-balanced liquid one could drink solo, but its lovely floral nature underlined by a light sweetness, citrus, and ethereal herbs and spices goes neatly into certain cocktails, too. Good stuff. And an ideal match for sherry, especially the more delicate (perhaps) Fino sherry.
But that wasn’t enough for Snigginson van Pickyns! While the above two ingredients were an amazing start, something else was needed to round things off, and I kept it in the vermouth family – Dolin Blanc vermouth. Hopefully our two vermouth producers get along (hey, we’re all drinking, it’s fun, they should), because the double shot of vermouth with sherry is a match made in spring-and-summer-time drinker’s heaven. Lots of tantalizing and tactful flavor, but all graceful enough that it won’t weigh you down when sipping under the sun. A little lemon in twist form finishes everything off, and voila! A drink worthy of the name Snigginson van Pickyns. It only took about six months.
Snigginson van Pickyns
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces fino sherry
1 ounce Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato vermouth
1/2 ounce Dolin Blanc vermouth
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the sherry and the two vermouths (quick aside: Sherry & the Two Vermouths might be a good band name). Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the twist.
*If you’ve read/seen the Jean Anouilh play of the same name, you get this! Though maybe even if you’ve just ready the Euripides, you get it, too!
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dolin Blanc vermouth, fino sherry, Friday Night Cocktail, Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato Vermouth, sherry, Sherry & the Two Vermouths, Snigginson van Pickyns, vermouth, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, Sherry, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
April 27, 2018
I can’t really tell you anything about the creation of this drink – what to led to it at least. It’s a secret, in a way, and in another way, I just can’t remember. This is a big drink! And one that’s interesting, in yet another way (a third way?), in that it marries wine and rum, yet I didn’t think of it for Wine Cocktails, instead thought of it for a pal o’ mine . . . but wait, I can’t tell you about that. In a way (fourth way), it almost feels this could be a wonderful winter warmer, in a mulled wine way (fifth). Especially because it also has a coffee component, which goes well with warming liquids, but gives it a way (the sixth way) into being a morning drink, too. Though I like it best served cold, after dinner, where it’s deep, dark, nature would go well in our seventh way, with chocolate. Hence the reason it’s called what it’s called, instead of the honestly-makes-more-sense “seventh way.”
The Foregone Conclusion
Ice cubes
3 ounces Cesari Sangiovese Riserva or another intense full-bodied red wine
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce Galliano Ristretto or other tasty coffee liqueur
1/2 ounce Punt e’ Mes
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Stir well.
2. Strain into a goblet or wine glass. Or two, if you feel like sharing – this is a good-sized drink, and sharing might not be bad.
Tags: Cesari Sangiovese Riserva, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, coffee liqueur, dark rum, Friday Night Cocktail, Galliano Ristretto, Punt e’ Mes, sweet vermouth, The Foregone Conclusion, What I’m Drinking, Wine, wine cocktail
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking, Wine
April 20, 2018
Ah, springtime. It’s when the flowers are blooming, everything is starting to wake up (in a way), the heavy coats are dropped to the ground to be replaced by lighter coats, or hoodies, even, and the drinks are flowing like the pollen which, really, I’d rather avoid if possible. It’s also the season (why not?) for remembering past loves, from years gone by, and picturing those idyllic springtime moments with said past loves, when you walked through fields of flowers, hand-in-hand, never knowing that one would someday be forgotten. Here, of course, the past love I’ve talking about is this delicious drink, which if I remember right once won me a mixing glass in some contest or other. Happily, unlike some past love, this one is easy – and smart – to rekindle. It is springtime, after all.
The Flowering Grape
Ice cubes
2 ounces Pierre Ferrand Cognac
1 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 ounce raspberry vinegar syrup (I detail how to make raspberry vinegar syrup here)
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add everything. Shake well.
2. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Laugh heartily.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cognac, Friday Night Cocktail, lemon juice, Pierre Ferrand Cognac, raspberry vinegar syrup, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, The Flowering Grape, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Cognac, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
