March 24, 2017

What I’m Drinking: The Rosé Squirt

You’ve probably noticed, spring has sprung. And I’m probably going to be, or already have been, talking springtime talk, and springtime drinks, and frolicking in meadows. But today, instead of that, I’m just cutting right to the chase: this is a dandy, refreshing, light-on-its-feet drink, which you should make for yourself, your friends, and then yourself again. It’s springy.

rose-squirt
The Rosé Squirt, from Wine Cocktails

Ice cubes
1 ounce maraschino liqueur
3 ounce dry rosé wine
Chilled club soda
Maraschino cherry, for garnish

1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the maraschino liqueur and rosé. Stir briefly.

2. Fill the glass almost to the top with chilled club soda. Stir again, a bit more than briefly. Drop a cherry on top and serve.

June 24, 2016

What I’m Drinking: The Sweetie Pie

Sometimes, one gets cravings (I’m no fortune teller, but I’m seeing that in everyone’s future, they’ll get cravings, too), of all sorts, I suppose. Example A: the other day, I had a swell drink made with maraschino (the most misunderstood of all liqueurs, historically, or at least the last, let’s say, 40 years of history, because too many think it’s sickly like those sick twisted things that pass as maraschino cherries in mass market grocery stores, when it’s not, at all, instead being dry and a hint nutty, being made from the pits of the marasca cherries and all), and that swell drink made me crave more maraschino drinks. And so I went for the Sweet Pie, a cuddly classic-y number, where the always tasty and reliable Luxardo Maraschino shines alongside gin and sweet vermouth, and a smidge of simple syrup comes along for the ride to round the edges in a cuddly – as mentioned – manner. Dreamy deliciousness.

sweetie-pie
Sweetie Pie, from Good Spirits

Ice cubes
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
3/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce simple syrup

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and simple syrup. Shake well.

2. Add the cherry to a cocktail glass or pretty cordial. Strain the mix into the glass.

PS: Sometimes this is garnished with a Maraschino cherry. But sometimes I want to skip the fruit. You go as you go.

June 21, 2013

What I’m Drinking: The Last Word

This classic (and unburied treasure if there ever was one) owes its 21st century emergence to the legendary Seattle bartender Murray Stenson, who brought it back after tracking it down in an old bar book, and put it on the menu at the Zig Zag Café, where its lore started a new chapter, one that’s still expanding.

last-word

The Last Word

Ice cubes

3/4 ounce gin

3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur

3/4 ounce green Chartreuse

3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, maraschino, Chartreuse, and lime juice. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass and drink without another syllable spoken.

March 1, 2013

Cocktail to Cocktail Hour V3, Four, Sweetie-Pie, and Our Favorite Britisher

The newest episode of the Cocktail to Cocktail Hour is here, and this time, we’ve gone international with another Everyday Drinking segment, where I solve the drinking problem of an everyday person. But this time, that everyday person is someone who has come all the way from the United Kingdom! Amazing, isn’t it? A fine British gentleman by the name of Alastair Edwards (really!) is the star of this episode, where I teach him how to make the Sweetie-Pie cocktail from Good Spirits, so he can delight his American gal pal with it. There are also many hijinks, of course, as we wade into the waters of American/British differences and erupting hats – over drinks.

February 15, 2013

What I’m Drinking: Stockholm Tar

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.

July 24, 2012

What I’m Drinking: The Rosé Squirt

At my wonderful Locatails class last weekend at the wonderful Pantry at Delancey, one of the wonderful assistants (there was a lot of wonderful last weekend) asked me in passing about drinks made using rosé. I was going to round a few up for her, then people started coming in, I started talking, and somewhat forgot. Until now, when looking at the weather and realizing that we might, actually, be in for some more sun this week in Seattle. And when the sun’s out, a light-but-interesting drink like the Rosé Squirt is in (said drink from Wine Cocktails doncha know). So, now, I’m belatedly answering the question from last weekend and getting a wonderful drink on.

Ice cubes

1 ounce maraschino liqueur

3 ounce dry rosé wine

Chilled club soda

Maraschino cherry, for garnish

1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the maraschino liqueur and rosé. Stir briefly.

2. Fill the glass almost to the top with chilled club soda. Stir again, a bit more than briefly. Drop a cherry on top and serve.

April 17, 2009

Cocktail Video: Perseverance

Here it is, what you’ve all been waiting for, the second “I promise to write about Italian drinks and food soon” post. Yay! And I do promise. But, since it’s Friday, and I need to hit up the drinks before too long, this is again a short post leading into a video. But what a video! It’s for the Perseverance cocktail, which is again (as with the Bishop below) from Wine Cocktails, sported on How2Heroes, that food and drinking video bonanza site, and directed, produced, shot, and co-scripted by the boy genius himself, Fargo’s favorite frolicking son, Bradley Kosel. But this video co-stars those stage-and-screen scenesters, wife Nat and heartfelt Harry (who was last seen in Paradise). Yeaping yimmeny! Don’t sit around people: hit that play button (wait, wait, wait–feel free to make yourself a drink first. Then hit that that play button)!

PS: Holy historic halfwit! I completely forgot above to say the Perseverance contains rosé wine, maraschino liqueur, vodka, and Peychaud’s bitters. Which you might want to know before even clicking the video. Forgive me pals, I’m plum embarrassed.

PPS: Yes, I am getting paid by the exclamation point.

PPSS: Nicole, really, I’ll talk up Italy soon. With pictures. It’ll be bella. You’ll like it.

February 3, 2009

What I’m Drinking Right Now: The Sweet Dreams

Get ready for some Valentine’s Day hugging, kissing, and drinking (you don’t really want to have a Valentine over for a little romance without the right drink, right? I mean, you aren’t that caddish, are you? And, speaking of “caddish” is that a phrase that applies to both ladies and gentlemen? Or is a “cad” only a dude? Cause I in no way want to imply that not serving a good drink on Valentine’s Day is okay if you’re female. It’s bad no matter what. So, put that in your shaker and shake it) with this lovely mix (from Good Spirits, if you wanna relay a little information to your amorous other when serving up the cocktail). I used Washington State’s own Dry Fly gin when making it, and liked it lots, and also suggest using Tillen Farms Merry Maraschino cherries (from good ol’ WA as well), which are yummy and clean, sweetened with pure cane sugar instead of goopy high fructose junk, and which don’t contain artificial dross. Which of course you don’t want to serve up alongside the kisses. That’s just gross.

 

Ice cubes

1 1/2 ounce gin

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur

1/2 ounce simple syrup

Maraschino cherry for garnish

 

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, sweet vermouth, and maraschino liqueur, and simple syrup. Shake well.

 

2. Add the cherry to a cocktail glass or pretty cordial. Strain the mix into the glass.

Rathbun on Film