What I’m Drinking: Campari and Soda

Y’all know the song “Simple Life” by Skepta, right? “It’s the simple life that I’m dreaming of . . .” and all that? I feel that way on many days, even as I love complexity, too. I’m confusing! But today, I’m leaning towards the former, the simplicity, probably cause I’m missing lazy Italian afternoons under the (not too hot) olive oil sunshine, feet propped on a hundred-year-old stone fence, Umbrian hills unfolding, nothing really to do and no desire to do it, dogs (in my dreamlife, all the dogs) chasing rascally lizards or stretched within petting distance, cheese and taralli, and of course a Campari and Soda. While I can’t have all of that right now, or, perhaps, ever, I can have a Campari and Soda. So, that’s what I’m gonna do. I suggest you do the same.

Campari and Soda

Ice cubes

2 ounces Campari

3 ounces club soda (see Note)

Orange twist, for garnish (see Note)

1. Fill a large Old Fashioned or comparable glass three quarters up with ice cubes. Add the Campari, give a quick stir.

2. Add the club soda, and the twist. Or two.

A Note: As it’s a bit warm, going more soda than Campari. Your ratio can change according to your mood. Also, I waver on the garnishing – sometimes I like lemon (which some think is weird), in slice or twist form, and sometimes orange, also in twist or slice form. You be you, but keep it simple.

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What I’m Drinking: The Snow Ball

Does it show some sort of psychic issue, or alien implantation, or the influence of malevolent fairies that I like having this drink called The Snow Ball (“this” cause I feel there are an inordinate amount of drinks carrying the same name, but this one is what I particularly mean when using said chilly moniker) not so much when it’s snowing season, but when we’re heading into sunshine season? It could be one of those three things, surely, right? I mean, admittedly, this drink is tall, refreshing, smooth, bubbly, the opposite of a malevolent fairy mostly, so it makes sense to have it when the sun is all a-flutter and hot, to me. It also makes sense if you can to use Seattle Distilling Company brandy (read more about Seattle Distilling Company brandy if it makes you happy); however, I understand that for many this is as difficult as a snowball in June, so do what’s best for you and don’t be too sad. Oh, you know, thinking it over, you could just use an egg white, as opposed to the whole egg here – egg whites being more the norm for drinks in this modern age. If having this for a May breakfast, I’d still go the whole route (and wouldn’t drive to work afterwards).

The Snow Ball

Ice cubes

2 ounces brandy

1 ounce Simple Syrup

1 egg

Chilled ginger ale

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, simple syrup, and egg. Shake very well.

2. Fill a Collins glass or hefty highball three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the well-shaken mix over the ice.

3. Top the glass off with ginger ale. Stir, but calmly.

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What I’m Drinking: What the LL

Well, as you know (if you don’t, welcome back from Mars I suppose), we have been and still are in the thick of some mad times. Said times keeping most around the world at home many more hours than usual, which has led many to muscular feats of home-organizing as a way to while away the time, or to catch up with projects that once seemed perfectly fine being set aside. If you have a fair amount of bottles of brown, clear, red, green, grey, blue, yellow, bottles glittering with the promise of delicious deliciousness, bottles that when opened have the capacity to unleash tongues in song while loosening the chains on the soul (if you’ll allow me a little hyperbole), bottles filled with spirits, liqueurs, bitters, and beauty, that is, if you have these, then, like me, those bottles fall into a “home-organizing feat” normally put off. But, due to said mad times, my wonderful wife took on this herculean boozy task (I get too distracted), and organized the shelves. When doing so, she found a few bottles that seemed to have just a sip here or there left in them, and moved them frontwards, enticing me to drink ‘em up. That, friends, is all preamble to the below cocktail, which at first glance may seem an odd combination: cherry brandy, rye, and allspice dram? But being trapped at home can take you down some paths that may at first appear odd. In this case, however, the path ended so pleasantly, I’m probably going to have to go to the store to restock the shelves so I have all these ingredients. But if you look them over and say to yourself, “what the hell,” step back, and think “what the lockdown leftovers?” Cause that’s what this tasty treat really is.

What the LL

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounces Woodinville Whiskey Co. rye

1/2 ounce St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram

1/2 ounce It’s 5 Cherry brandy

3/4 ounce freshly-squeezed orange juice

2 ounces club soda

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rye, allspice dram, brandy, and oj. Shake well.

2. Add one big ice cube or a couple decent-sized ice cubes to a chalice of some glittering kind (no need to turn into savages). If none is at hand, an Old Fashioned glass, big one that is, can work.

3. Strain the drink through a fine strainer into the glass. Top with the club soda. Stir carefully to combine.

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What I’m Drinking: The Tipperary Cocktail with McConnell’s Irish Whisky

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, great drinks are even greater with a good story – and a great story takes it to even another level. Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a bottle of McConnell’s Irish Whisky in the post (what a nice thing! Especially in these stay-at-home times! So, don’t be jealous, I’ll share). And what a great story to go along with such a dandy whisky. Here are the basics – McConnell’s started producing whisky way way back in 1776, a year famous here in the U.S. for things other than whisky, though I’m sure a lot was consumed here at that time, too, hahaha. The whisky was made in Belfast, but soon being sipped all over the world by discerning sippers. But then! Tragedy, in the form of a vast fire that destroyed (so sadly) 500,000 gallons of whisky and a chunk of the distillery itself. Persevering, they rebuilt, and whisky flowed. But then! Tragedy, again, in the form of prohibition, which really put the damper on long-distance imports to the U.S., a monster-sized consumer – and that sad event destroyed the distillery, like the fire, but worse. Until this year, when it rose the economic and literal ashes, like a tipsy phoenix.

Of course, a good story like that (and distilleries coming alive and alive again are good, good stories) doesn’t mean as much if the flavor doesn’t rise to the tale. McConnell’s is a swell tipple, however, so the tale is ripe for more telling. A blended whisky, it’s aged five years in American oak, and as other friendly Irish whiskys, it has an approachable (not annoying) sweet nature. Beyond the lovely bottle, it sets itself apart thanks to a singular vanilla, nutmeg, spice and hint-of-smokiness taste. Yummy. So yummy, you could be forgiven for only consuming this recovered-from-history hit solo, or with a splash of water, or maybe a cube or two of ice as the mood descends on your day. Heck, I drank a lot of it that way myself, and only felt happy about it.

However! I also just can’t resist combining spirits and liqueurs I like into cocktails – and the welcoming, flavorful nature of McConnell’s is a bountiful base for a cocktail that lets it shine, while introducing a few friends that can stand alongside proudly. Today, I went with the classic, if not super-widely known, Tipperary. This version (there’s a separate cocktail carrying the same name from a few years earlier) goes back I believe to the 1922s, if memory serves, but don’t take me to task on it if I’m confused. To go with our mighty McConnell’s, the drink brings another legend to the mix, herbally, mystical, Green Chartreuse, along with sweet vermouth – I’m going with Punt e’ Mes here, which is just a touch drier than some, while still delivering more lush herbal notes , alongside a gentle bitter. Altogether, this cocktail delivers amazingly. I mean, it’s amazingly delicious. So, so, delicious, and just the right one for celebrating McConnell’s coming back on the booze scene.

The Tipperary Cocktail

Cracked ice

1-3/4 ounces McConnell’s Irish whisky

1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse

3/4 ounce Punt e’ Mes sweet vermouth

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Stir well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

A Note: I’ve seen this with a lemon twist as garnish (heck, I’ve even had a great one that way), but with this particular trio, I didn’t think the brighter citrus notes worked. But if you do, do.

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What I’m Drinking: I Should Classicoco

Well, we’re the midst of spring (as well as being the midst of some other things, but hey, for a moment, let’s just skip those things, shall we? I mean, take our minds off of them with a nice drink, say), and with that, need to be thinking of refreshing moments, like diving into a mountain stream without socks on, or sucking on a peppermint while drinking ice water in a walk-in fridge, or having white wine cocktails, which in the main tend to be refreshers. Take this one, for example, one that utilizes, hmm, is it my favorite white wine? Well, I don’t like to have favorite boozes (cause the others get jealous, ba-dump-bump), but I will say that Orvieto Classico whites tend to agree with me quite comfortably.

Admittedly, there is a range of sorts within this DOC, but they all do I believe have to use Grechetto and Trebbiano – usually, I again believe, a blend of the two in some sort of proportions, but again, can be a range. They tend to be crisp and light, but with intriguing (as opposed to annoying I suppose) fruit notes, like peach and apple. See: refreshing!

Lovely on their own, I also am not opposed to trying to utilize them in a cocktail or mixed drink (as they say), demonstrated in this here circumstance. For this wine cocktail, I used Roio Orvieto Classico, 2018 version, which is reasonable to pick up, and has those peach and apple notes mentioned above, with a welcoming crispness and dry clean finish. It leans I believe heavier into Trebbiano, and has some Malvasia and Verdello grape action going, along with Grechetto. So, nicey nice! And to play with it, I decided on some pals that go smoothly with the wine’s flavor profile, starting with Purus vodka (made in Italy, so an ideal match, and you can read more about Purus here), moving into Fee Brothers Peach bitters, which is fruity on the bitters scale (ideal here, and a treat as a side note just with soda by the by), and then Rothman and Winter’s Orchard Apricot liqueur, which has a lush fruitiness along with a little sweetness (and ties into the stone fruit stuff). Altogether, you’ll want to be young, run green, all that.

I Should Classicoco

Cracked Ice

1-1/2 ounces Purus vodka

1 ounce Rothman and Winter Orchard Apricot liqueur

2 dashes Fee Brothers Peach bitters

3 ounces Roio Orvieto Classico

3 or 4 good-sized ice cubes (see note)

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

2. Add the wine, and stir a bit more.

3. Add the ice cubes to a big Old Fashioned or comparable glass. Strain the drink into the glass. Start the coco-ing.

A Note: This would be dandy up, but it was sunny when I was drinking and so I went over ice and really, it was enchanting.

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What I’m Drinking: Brovo Pretty Vermouth and Tonic

Sometimes, when you’re at home for a while, you want to get nutty and make drinks with, say, peanut butter, or utilize a whole giant bouquet of ingredients, or some such. Sometimes, when you’re at home for a while, you just want to keep things lovely and simple. Today is one of those times. Don’t be confused, you still naturally want tasty tastes, so I’m reaching for WA-state-made Brovo Pretty vermouth. A blanc vermouth, it has a layered fragrance and taste, with some light (meaning, light on the feet, like an angelic dancer) spice, vanilla, floral notes bursting out – hey, it’s sorta like a bouquet! And goes perfectly with tonic, in a simple V&T. I went with Fever Tree tonic, which is a solid choice. Though, staying local with one of our swell WA tonic syrups would be better, but sadly I’m out! I need to get onto my ordering, so I can practice what I preach, which is: support your local makers.

Brovo Pretty Vermouth and Tonic

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounces Brovo Pretty vermouth

3-1/2 ounces tonic

Lemon slice, for garnish

1. Fill a highball or comparable glass three-quarters up with ice. Add the vermouth. Then the tonic. Stir briefly.

2. Garnish with the lemon slice. Oh, and add more tonic as desired (4 ounces is just fine, too).

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What I’m Drinking: Forty Minutes Ago on the Balcony

If you didn’t know (and hey, why would you, unless you’re stalking me – you aren’t are you? Cause I’m really boring and feel for you if so), I recently, due to current events you know about, had an Italian vacation cut short by coronavirus. Said cutting short involved some radically fast packing (I mean, I’m a good suitcase arranger usually, but this was a mad dash), and that means quick choices about what to bring back, what you can fit, all that. One of the things I did bring back was a little bottle of Mazzetti Bitter, a deep red flavorfully-bitter aperitif with hints of rhubarb and lemon from the well-known grappa makers. Just like a week before the packing I purchased said bottle at my favorite north-Umbrian shop, Enoteca Lo Sfizio, which is a combination beautiful booze store, gift store, wine store, condiment-y store. It’s not huge (which is great cause huge stores scare me), but dreamy. So, ingredient one packed. One of the few other bottles I managed to squirrel away in said suitcases was a lean bottle of Donini Grappa (Donini being the finest winery in probably all of Umbria, owned by the nicest folks around), a monovitigno (one varietal that is, here being Sangiovese) grappa, very crisp and fragrant, that doesn’t forget that cozy grappa kick. Ingredient two packed. For ingredient three, I had to go out of suitcase – cause a rushed packing job sometimes has gaps. Luckily, on a past trip to Italy, I had packed in a smoother manner, cool-like, and managed to fit a bottle of Donini’s delicious Dono Di Dio, a vino liquoroso, or aged dessert wine that’s rich, lush, and needs to be tasted to be believed. If you’ve been Tuscany and had Vin Santo at a restaurant, think of that but like 10,000 times better. Yummy stuff. While I was sad to leave the Italian vacation, due to the wackiness of the travel (and cause once a trip is started, it’s always nice to be coming home), I was also very happy to make it back to Seattle. Which leads to: ingredient four in this here drink, Scrappy’s Seville Orange bitters. If your dream vacation is cut short unexpectedly by a world pandemic, a drink featuring the always-spot-on Scrappy’s and some ingredients reminding you of the vacation, well, it’s not going to get you over the experience, but sure makes thinking about it easier.

Forty Minutes Ago on the Balcony

Cracked ice

1 ounce Mazzetti Bitter

1-1/2 ounces Donini Grappa

1/2 ounce Donini Dono Di Dio

Two dashes Scrappy’s Seville Orange bitters

Orange slice, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass three-quarters full with cracked ice. Add everything but the orange. Stir well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass or something that helps your day travel easier. Garnish with the orange.

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What I’m Drinking: Particularly Boosting

It was only a week ago (which these days can feel like a long time, I know) when I broke it all out, all meaning my making of peanut butter simple syrup to try in drinks, following along a thread first spun by creative chums Paul and Colleen, and then broke out a drink called Pleasant Bounty using said peanut butter pleasantry. Did you miss that? I can’t believe it if you did. But if you did, be sure to go back and check out the pb goods, so you can get the full story and not feel un-full. Okay, back? Sweet, cause you won’t believe what’s about to happen here – peanut butter simple syrup drink #2! That’s right, there’s no way I wouldn’t try out more than one drink with a new creation. And, shhhh, between us, I think Particularly Boosting is even better than Pleasant Bounty. And do you like the two PB names? I sure do! This drink actually follows along the lines of the peanut butter simple, with a balance of ingredients in equal amounts, somewhat in an Alexander fashion, if we’re musing. Starting naturally with the pbs (peanut butter simple), and moving along to a nice base of vodka, and then a crème de cacao (accent on the “cao”) smoosh. The chocolate and peanut butter combo is so classic, I’m not even going to dwell on it. You know that’s the stuff. As is this drink.

Particularly Boosting

1 ounce vodka

1 ounce peanut butter simply syrup

1 ounce crème de cacao

Cracked ice

Cocoa powder for garnish

1. Add the three liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker or mixing glass. Stir, but not too wackily.

2. Fill your mixing glass or shaker halfway full with ice. Stir again, gently.

3. Strain into a cocktail glass or comparable. Dust with a little cocoa.

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