September 19, 2023
Out final Vanity Fair Cocktail Talk, before we leave the legendary Thackeray (at least until I re-read or read another book of his!) in whatever afterlife bar he’s hanging out in today. But before leaving him and the book, we’re going to go along with one of the book’s large cast of characters for what I can only call a mighty mighty impressive day of drinking and eating. It’s, well, legendary (as are the Vanity Fair Cocktail Talks Part I, Part II, and Part III, which you should read).
Having partaken of a copious breakfast, with fish, and rice, and hard eggs, at Southampton, he had so far rallied at Winchester as to think a glass of sherry necessary. At Alton he stepped out of the carriage at his servant’s request and imbibed some of the ale for which the place is famous. At Farnham he stopped to view the Bishop’s Castle and to partake of a light dinner of stewed eels, veal cutlets, and French beans, with a bottle of claret. He was cold over Bagshot Heath, where the native chattered more and more, and Jos Sahib took some brandy-and-water; in fact, when he drove into town he was as full of wine, beer, meat, pickles, cherry-brandy, and tobacco as the steward’s cabin of a steam-packet.
— William Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Tags: ale, Brandy, brandy and water, cherry brandy, Claret, Cocktail Talk, Part IV, sherry, Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
Posted in: beer, Brandy, Cocktail Talk, Wine
September 8, 2023
We’re in that time straddling summer and fall (though I fully realize fall doesn’t start specifically until the 22nd), which means days that can shade summery but then delve into a crisp fallness pointing to the colder days to come. To make the straddling smooth, it’s preferable that you have a drink that does the same, and if it’s a regal one, too, well, all the better! The Lord Charles fits that bill, with its full-bodied red-wine works-in-winter keep-you-warm Malbec base, mingling with simple syrup, citrus-y lemon juice, smooth dry sherry, and bubbly club soda, that which, with some ice, brings this drink into a level of refreshingness that summer (if you personify) would certainly appreciate. You’ll dig it, and it will dig you (if you think drinks dig people, which maybe they do, why not), and help you do that straddling we talked of. Enjoy!
The Lord Charles, from Wine Cocktails
Ice cubes
2 ounces Malbec
1 ounces Simple Syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 2 ounces dry sherry
Chilled club soda
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Malbec, simple syrup, lemon juice, and sherry to the shaker. Shake well.
2. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the Malbec mixture over the ice cubes. Fill the glass with club soda, almost to the rim.
3. Twist a lemon twist over the glass and drop it in. Stir briefly. Enjoy the seasons.
Tags: club soda, cocktail, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, lemon juice, Malbec, sherry, simple syrup, The Lord Charles, What I’m Drinking, Wine Cocktails
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, Sherry, What I'm Drinking, Wine, Wine Cocktails
March 7, 2023
Here’s one more Bleak House Cocktail Talk for you, before we back away for now (cause there might be more in the future) from one of the finest books of all time, a big ol’ masterpiece by one of the masters themselves, Charles Dickens. Don’t miss the Bleak House Cocktail Talks Part I and Part II either, if you find yourself behind on your reading, so you can score a few more quotes and learn a bit more about the book (though who am I kidding – you probably know it well yourself already, cause you’re cool like that). This last quote features Mr. Bucket, one of the first detectives in literature. He’s an interesting character (duh! It is Dickens), and detective, as at the beginning when he shows up, you might think “hmm, not so sure about him – tool of the man? Not on the side of right and justice?” but then as he unfolds and becomes more realized and more spotlighted you think “yeah, Mr. Bucket! He’s the stuff!” There have been many created detectives that take some Bucketian characteristics since he made the scene, but none exactly like him. For one, how many detectives drink sherry? Not enough.
Having put the letters in his book of fate and girdled it up again, he unlocks the door just in time to admit his dinner, which is brought upon a goodly tray with a decanter of sherry. Mr. Bucket frequently observes, in friendly circles where there is no restraint, that he likes a toothful of your fine old brown East Inder sherry better than anything you can offer him. Consequently, he fills and empties his glass with a smack of his lips and is proceeding with his refreshment when an idea enters his mind.
–Charles Dickens, Bleak House
September 30, 2022
Listen, I’ve (like many) had my share of what some call bad luck, or days that seem as if the fates (or whatever witches around a cauldron you like to mention) have it in for me. No doubt. But, but, but, on the flip side, I’ve had a few days where it feels I’m balancing it out with some good luck (the friendlier fates). Hopefully the same holds true, at least on the latter for you. There are days of big good luck (I’d mention specifics, but don’t want to call down curses by being too boasty), and days of small good luck, by the by. One of the small ones was of course the day I came up with this fine tipple. Mixing Armagnac (that dreamy drink), sherry (dreamy drink # 2 – perhaps slightly different dreams), and Green Chartreuse (dreamy #3 – again, perhaps a different dream. Someone should match dreams with spirits and liqueurs, like a bartending Sigmund Freud), the Lucky Duck has three big ingredients, that, lucky, when you work a bit on ratios and such, come together so, so nicely (with a kiss of simple, dontcha know). It just feels lucky, somehow.
Oh, you can go with what Armagnac and sherry you favor, but I suggest and use Château du Tariquet VS Classique Bas-Armagnac (aged in aged in oak for 3 years, and lovely, with toffee and bread aromas followed up vanilla, oak, and more) and Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe fino sherry (aged for four years and quite dry, but with a light almond aroma, and a nutty taste with just a few fruity hints). Yumski.
Also, a reminder: no ducks are actually used in this drink. I heart ducks.
The Lucky Duck
Cracked ice
2 ounces Armagnac (Château du Tariquet VS Classique Bas-Armagnac is my preferred pick)
1/2 ounce Sherry (Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino Sherry is swell here)
1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse
1/4 ounce simple syrup
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the Armagnac, Sherry, Chartreuse, and simple syrup. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Sing the Loverboy classic Get Lucky. Sip. Repeat.
Tags: Armagnac, Château du Tariquet VS Classique Bas-Armagnac, cocktail, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, green Chartreuse, sherry, The Lucky Duck, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Armagnac, Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, Sherry, What I'm Drinking
April 30, 2021
Coronado Heights is a castle. Jeremy Sidener, the gentleman bartender who created this drink, is a king of shakers and stirrers. That almost seems enough said right there! But to delve more deeply, he’s also the owner of the venerable and deservedly venerated Eighth Street Taproom in Lawrence, KS, (a must-visit bar by the way) and has been making and serving delicious drinks to all and sundry for many years, bringing the cocktail awesomeness to another level, the tops in KS and really all the Midwest. A champ. The castle that gives name to this flip (creamy, egg-lovely, sherry-tastic) might not be a champ in all the castles in the world, but it does sit on a hill outside of Lindsborg, Kansas, where I grew up, so I am inordinately fond of it in some ways (though it’s only from 1932, and more of a family picnic spot when such things are allowed, due to the views around it, then a historic monument of deep note). But not as fond of it as I am of drinks made by Mr. Sidener! I have my priorities straight, as should you.
Coronado Heights Flip
Ice cubes
2 ounces Harveys Bristol Cream sherry
1 ounce Kahlúa
2 heaping tablespoons freshly whipped cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated Mexican chocolate for garnish
Thin orange twist for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the sherry, Kahlúa, cream, egg, and sugar. Shake extra well.
2. Strain, slowly, into a Champagne flute. Garnish with a sprinkling of the chocolate and the orange twist
Tags: chocolate, cocktail, Cocktail Recipes, Coronado Heights Flip, drinks named after towns in Kansas, egg, Eighth Street Taproom, Friday Night Cocktail, Harveys Bristol Cream sherry, Jeremy Sidener, Kahlua, orange twist, sherry, sugar, What I’m Drinking, whipped cream
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, Sherry, What I'm Drinking
March 30, 2021
It’s been just over two years (what a two years though!) since I last posted my only-other-so-far Cocktail Talk from Cyril Hare, the early-to-mid-last-century English writer and judge – be sure to read that When the Wind Blows Cocktail Talk to discover his real name! – who was known for his subtle humor, classic stylings, and draw-you-in-mysteries. I just picked up, as I slowly find more and more of his work, Untimely Death, which starts on a vacation to Exmoor, and picks up his sometimes-used Inspector Mallett (retired here) along the way. There evocative landscape and character description, a murder (‘natch) that isn’t solved until the last chapter, twists, turns, and memorable characters. You’ll like it! Especially if you like sherry (and surely you must), as it’s a book that should be sherry accompanied – both when reading the below quote, and the rest of the book.
“I’ve been having a chat with the Detective Inspector,” he said. “Luckily we’re on fairly good terms.” He filled three glasses with sherry and handed them round. “Inquest’s on Thursday, it seems. At Polton. Your very good healths, sir and madam.”
The sherry was of a quality to command Pettigrew’s respect, but for the moment his mind was on lower things.
“What else did he tell you?” he asked.
–Cyril Hare, Untimely Death
March 16, 2021
I have a tear in my eye, as while I could probably have a fair more Cocktail Talks from the Charlie Dickens collection of essays The Uncommercial Traveller, for now (but perhaps not forever), this will our last one. If you’ve missed any of the previous four, then be sure to read The Uncommercial Traveller Cocktail Talks Part 1, Part II, Part III, and Part IV, and while you’re in the reading mood, check out all the Dickens Cocktail Talks. Don’t read so much that your eyes tire, however, as you won’t want to miss the below quote. From one of the laugh-out-loud-ier pieces in the collection (and there are many funny scenes throughout, so that’s saying something), called “A Little Dinner in an Hour,” the below quote is just a small part of a regrettable dining experience Dickens has with his pal Bullfinch, when they are traveling for some business and decide to book a meal at a local spot that once was rumored to be worthy. But now leaves much to be desired! Ah, I wish I could have been there to watch it all unfold (if not to actually partake in it). A fine end to our Cocktail Talk tour through the book. Sherry, please!
‘It’s quite impossible to do it, gentlemen,’ murmured the waiter; ‘and the kitchen is so far off.’
‘Well, you don’t keep the house; it’s not your fault, we suppose. Bring some sherry.’
‘Waiter!’ from Mr. Indignation Cocker, with a new and burning sense of injury upon him.
The waiter, arrested on his way to our sherry, stopped short, and came back to see what was wrong now.
‘Will you look here? This is worse than before. Do you understand? Here’s yesterday’s sherry, one and eightpence, and here we are again two shillings. And what the devil does ninepence mean?’
This new portent utterly confounded the waiter. He wrung his napkin, and mutely appealed to the ceiling.
‘Waiter, fetch that sherry,’ says Bullfinch, in open wrath and revolt.
‘I want to know,’ persisted Mr. Indignation Cocker, ‘the meaning of ninepence. I want to know the meaning of sherry one and eightpence yesterday, and of here we are again two shillings. Send somebody.’
The distracted waiter got out of the room on pretext of sending somebody, and by that means got our wine. But the instant he appeared with our decanter, Mr. Indignation Cocker descended on him again.
‘Waiter!’
— Charles Dickens, The Uncommercial Traveller
February 19, 2021
You know (cause I’ve mentioned it before and you’ve memorized every word I ever typed, which is a bit, oh, nice but also maybe makes me wonder if you need to get out more, which is, I realize, a bit difficult to do right now, but I’m wandering) I sometimes like to go to my liquor/cocktail book shelves, grab a book at random, and then make a drink from said book. But you may not know that on rare occasions I do the same, but instead of the shelves go to a little container I have of drink-related, let’s call them pamphlets, or little soft-back-y things, mini-books perhaps. A lot of these used to float around, and some still do, but in their late 50s, 60s, maybe even early 70s heydays, lots of liquor brands, and even some stores, used to make these, doll them up, and use them as recipe-filled promo pieces. Neat, right? I have a stack, not a large stack, but a stack, and just reached into it and pulled out a pretty one called Come for Cocktails. Published by The Taylor Wine Company in 1958, it leans as heavily towards food recipes as drinks, and is squarely in the “more entertaining is better” camp, one I agree with (when pandemics make such a thing safe). It has some recipes you’d expect, some you might not, and some really sweet illustrations, including this jolly jumping shrimp one:
And this dancing sherry and glasses one:
The latter one is important to us here and now, as the drink I picked to make from our Come for Cocktails mini-book is called The 6 O’clock Cocktail, and features sherry, along with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth. There has to be (I’m wracking my brain, but my brain is old and full of cocktails) a drink with a different name that has equal parts of these three lovelies, right? There are the classic Adonis and Bamboo cocktails with sherry and one each of our vermouth pair naturally. But both with a different name? I can’t recall, but really, it doesn’t matter that much, or enough to stop me drinking this perfectly-balanced beaut, which lets all those herb-y, nut-y, botanical-y scents and tastes play around the palate like a dance party. A lot depends on what variety of such you use. Sadly, in a way, I did not use Taylor branded sherry and vermouth – which I think has been lost to the liquor shelves of time. I did use Punt e’ Mes Italian vermouth (I felt its drier, herb-forward umph would be good), Dolin dry vermouth (cause I like it), and Williams & Humbert Dry Sack medium sherry, which is a dandy nutty mixing sherry. Altogether: yummy. Try it, and next time you pass a rack of booze-pamphlets in your house or a used bookstore or antique mart, maybe pick one up and make a drink from it. It worked for me!
The 6 O’clock cocktail
Cracked ice
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce sherry
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add our trio of liquids. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with the lemon twist.
Tags: cocktail, Cocktail Recipes, Come for Cocktails, dancing sherry, dancing shrimp, dry vermouth, Friday Night Cocktail, lemon twist, low abv cocktail, sherry, sweet vermouth, The 6 O’clock Cocktail, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, Sherry, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
