Dandy Cocktail

So I'm part way through Eric Felten's How's Your Drink? and stumbled upon this recipe for a Dubonnet and whisky based cocktail. 

Dandy Cocktail

1.5 oz Rye Whisky or Bourbon -- (Bulleit)
1.5 oz Dubonnet Rouge
.5oz Cointreau
Dash Angostura Bitters
Lemon and Orange peel

Shake extra vigorously strain into a cocktail glass.

So the lemon and orange peel are very necessary in this cocktail, in fact, the more fresh citrus peel in the shaker the better.  While not the most balanced drink and heavy on the Dubonnet flavor notes it is most certainly an evening drink.  Heavy on the strong elements and the Cointreau provides plenty of sweet the drink was lacking citrus notes, I am tempted to try this cocktail with a little simple syrup and some lemon juice replacing half the Cointreau.  As to using bourbon over rye, I used Bulleit, a rye heavy bourbon, and it worked very very well with Dubonnet's flavors and while I think using a pure rye like Alberta Premium would make a good drink, I think Bulleit will be my liquor of choice for this drink.

Recommended for wine lovers and those in search of a post-dinner cocktail.  I will most certainly be making this again, despite the unfortunate name.

Ward Eight Round Two

So after looking through some more Ward Eight recipes I happened across this one containing orange juice, and having just made and enjoyed a Satan's Whisker's i had a half oz of fresh OJ on hand as well as a yearning for a whisky cocktail

This round featured

2 oz Rye-- (Alberta Premium)
1/2 oz Fresh Lemon
1/2 oz Fresh Orange
1/2 oz Real Pomegranate Grenadine

So, this is from Eric Felten's How's Your Drink.  I should've known better after my first attempt that too much grenadine is a bad thing, although its no where near as sweet as my first one, which had additional syrup in it. The orange juice does add a little something to the drink, however I'd rather stick to lemon juice and add some orange bitters possibly.  This drink with 1oz lemon juice 2.25 oz Rye 1/4 oz Grenadine, 1/2 oz simple syrup and a dash of Orange bitters would be an interesting creation!!

Overall I prefer the recipe from DeGroffs book and will most likely keep tinkering with this worthy variant of the whisky sour.

Satan's Whisker's

What seems to be a variation of the venerable Bronx cocktail and its child The Income Tax cocktail is a Satan's Whiskers.  Made either "straight" or "curly" the gin based drink must be made with fresh orange juice (as most craft cocktails demand) and is a really crude thing if Angostura bitters are used in lieu of the called for orange bitters.  As mentioned before most of the recipes I'm using are from Dale DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail

Satan's Whiskers (Straight)

1 oz Gin -- (Tanqueray)

1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth -- (Martini)

1/2 oz Dry Vermouth -- (Noilly Prat)

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz Orange Juice

Dash Orange Bitters -- (Fee Bro's)

So this is clearly the straight version which uses Grand Marnier instead of Curacao and heavier on the gin than Ted Haigh's recipe from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails which also uses a 1/2oz of orange juice. (this version to possibly be tried later tonight).  I made 2 half batches, one with orange bitters, one with Angostura Aromatic bitters one with Fee Brother's orange bitters.  The Angostura fought vehemently with the other ingredients and is better left out entirely than substituted in.  The Fee Brothers brought very little to the table however and i will endeavor to try this drink again with another brand.

Overall the drink was quite soft and refreshing, not aggressively acidic, nor sweet, although i would have liked to have used a tarter style of orange, the Tanqueray played in the background a bit, but the overwhelming orange taste obscured any vermouth notes if you are a vermouth fan.  For those who love fresh orange juice, this drink is for you, it highlights all the good notes of the fruit and is infinitely more complex and refreshing than the one note Screwdriver, or, god forbid, its parental unit, the Orange Blossom.  Most certainly a spring and summer drink, but it would be worth waiting all winter for one of these.

Variations on Long Island Ice Tea

Last night I was still in the mood for lighter drinks and realized when flipping through Dale DeGroffs Essential Cocktail that it had bee a long time since I had a Long Island Ice Tea, remembering that they were light and ok I endeavored to correct this.

Long Island Ice Tea
1/4 oz Vodka -- (Smirnoff)
1/4 oz White Rum -- (Bacardi)
1/4 oz Tequila -- (El Jimador)
1/4 oz Gin -- (Tanqueray)
1/4 oz Triple Sec
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3 oz Coke
+
3 Healthy Dashes Fee Brother's Orange Bitters

After placing ingredients in a mixing glass, adding ice and stirring thoroughly I found the drink fell flat, as I recalled it always does.  I don't know why, but this drink has always seemed drinkable, and good to me, but I often find myself desperately wanting to drink something different next (whereas I will drink Whisky Sours all night).  Its most likely because I have not balanced the ingredients quite correctly and the drink does taste somewhat confused, with no clear head body or tail.  However upon my first sip I became a bit antsy with my bottle of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters, added 3 healthy dashes and stirred some more.

The result; a much improved Long Island Ice Tea, the Orange bitters paired well and dulled the strong Tequila undertones which had perturbed me slightly, and brought out the citrusy nature of the lemon juice and triple sec, which had become lost in the fray.  The slight spice in these non-aromatic bitters played well with the Coke providing a fuller body (in a way similar to a dash of Angostura bitters in Gingerale).  This drink with Orange Bitters added was hardly comparable to the previous libation and I will never, if given the opportunity, make a Long Island Ice Tea again sans Orange Bitters (or perhaps some other non-aromatic bitter).

And now on to a drink tailored for a mid-summers day in the way a Long Island Ice Tea is not (I would imagine myself drinking a Long Island Ice Tea as the sun is setting, the chill taking the heat off of a summer's day, the coke and only subtle hints of alcohol allowing me to slip into my evening).  The California Ice Tea variant is more akin to a Collins or Rickey style drink, the removal of the Coke providing a much crisper, snappier and more refreshing drink (it almost feels colder)

California Ice Tea
1/4 oz Vodka -- (Smirnoff)
1/4 oz White Rum -- (Bacardi)
1/4 oz Tequila -- (El Jimador)
1/4 oz Gin -- (Tanqueray)
1/4 oz Grand Marnier
~2 oz Simple Syrup
1.5 oz Lemon Juice
1.5 oz Lime Juice
Seltzer Water

One could certainly add orange bitters to this, but it isn't needed and I prefer the drink without honestly.  The amounts of citrus and sugar can most certainly be adjusted to personal tastes, and I think this drink relies upon you knowing what your clientele want, although err on the side of sweetness, I have had this drink where too little syrup was used and it is amazingly sour, which is really not the feeling you want on a hot day.

Lastly I would really love feedback and for people to share recipes and engage in discussions about these drinks, so please leave comments if they cross your mind.

Real Pomegranite Grenadine

So last night was my first night with a bottle of real pomegranite grenadine sitting on my shelf (most all commercial brands are just sugar, food coloring and artificial flavoring with little to no pomegranite taste, and I abhor the stuff).

In honor of the occasion I made two rather similar drinks using my newfound product, The Ward Eight and the Jack Rose.

The Ward Eight has a fun story behind it, named after Boston's 8th district it is reported that Tom Hussion of Locke-Ober Cafe in Boston invented the drink to celebrate the victory of Democrat Martin Lomansey to the Massachusettes General Court in 1896.  The drink is essentially a Whisky Sour with grenadine in it, although maybe some cocktail historian will correct me on that.

Ward Eight
2 Ounces Rye Whisky (Alberta Premium)
1 Ounce Simply Syrup (1:1)
1 Ounce Lemon Juice
1/2 Ounce Grenadine
Dash Angostura bitters

I need to try this again, the drink was certainly good, but I had to add some whisky after shaking to cut down on the sweet, most certainly less genadine (1/4 oz next time) and fresher lemon juice (I squeezed this stuff 2 days ago and had no fresh lemons).  This would most certainly be an interesting drink with Bulleit Bourbon which is heavier on the rye than most bourbons, however I do like the biting nature 100% rye whisky gave this drink to overcome the cloying sweetness this drink could have had on the finish (given my poor mixing).  I will post updates to this as I try new recipes in the future.  Also I loved the addition of bitters to this drink...but i like bitters in moderation in just about any drink.

The Jack Rose on the other hand has no such story, and uses what is often a hard to get ingredient, Applejack (American Apple Brandy).  I have a bottle of Laird's 7 1/2 yr 100% apple brandy I picked up from Astory Spirits (a FANTASTIC store if you're in NYC) but its availability in BC is non-existant.  Applejack itself is possibly the earliest produced spirit in the United States, Laird Distillery hold Distillers permit #1 in fact.  It drinks essentially like whisky with an apple flavor and makes a great old fashioned.

Jack Rose
This is my modified version of the resipe
1 1/2 oz Apple Brandy
1/2 oz Bulleit Bourbon
3/4 oz Simply Syrup
1 oz Fresh Lemon
1/2 oz Grenadine
Dash Bitters

Again, I overshot on the sweetness, 1/4 oz grenadine next time and FRESH lemon, not my 2 day old stuff, although I love the addition of bitters, gave the drink a refreshing spicy note, definitely need to tinker with this but I can see the majesty of the dirnk waiting to be revealed as in the Ward 8, it comes off as cloyingly sweet due to my mistakes, but the marriage of Apple Brandy and Pomegranite united by citrus is not the be overlooked, although its basically a variant of the sour family like the Ward 8 it has a certain elegance the Ward 8 will not regularly achieve, the apple pomegranite combination is truly fantastic.

That's all for now, I most certainly will be experimenting with these in the future as they are fantastic recipes.

My Liquor Cabinet

I think it is pertinent information for me to break down my liquor cabinet, you'll quickly notice I like Bourbon and am upset with how quality imports not sold by BCLS are unavailable or prohibitively expensive on my budget.

Give me suggestions for other bottles as well, I am aware that I need to fill out the Rum, get a good scotch (Glenmorangie Im thinking), Campari, Oude Genever, Pisco are the next things on my list

Whisk(e)y
Jim Beam
Jack Daniels
Maker's Mark
Woodford Reserve
Knob Creak
Wild Turkey
Bulleit
Alberta Premium (100% Rye Bill)
Canadian Club 12 yr
Bushmill's 10yr
Jameson
Grant's
Bell's
Jim Beam Red Stag
Spicebox
Laird's 7 1/2 yrApple Brandy (drinks like whisky)

Brandy/Cognac
Courvoisier V.S.O.P
St.-Remy V.S.O.P.

Rum
Bacardi White
Gosling's Black Seal
Appleton Estate V/X
Sailor Jerry

Tequila
El Jimador Reposado
1800 Anejo

Gin
Boomsma (Jonge Genever)
Tanqueray
Bombay
Hendrick's

Vodka
Smirnoff
Homemade Lemon infused Smirnoff

OTHER
Bols Blue Curacao
Triple Sec (Meagher's)
Cointreau
Grand Marnier
Drambuie
Disaronno
Apricot Brandy (Meagher's)
Martini Sweet Vermouth
Martini Dry Vermouth
Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
Dubonet Rouge
Lillet
Chartreuse - Green
Aperol
Fernet Branca
Cynar
La Fee Absinthe
Kahlua
Bailey's
Frangelico
Creme de Cacao
Jagermeister
Fireball

And for the Syrups/Juices/Mixes, just to give you an idea of where im starting, definitely need a bit more stock here, restock my honey syrup, my demerrara simple syrup and get some more bitters for SURE

Syrups/Juices/Bitters
Orgeat (Giffards)
Grenadine (Rose's)
Real Pomegranite Grenadine (Giffard's)
Agave Syrup (Giffard's)
Simple Syrup (White Sugar)
Cranberry Cocktail (Ocean Spray)
Pineapple Juice (Boxed :( )
Club Soda
Tonic Water
Coke
Real Lemon (If I HAVE to use it...in case of real emergencies)
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Angostura Bitters
Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
Peychaud's Bitters

One Foot Forward; Tentatively

Friday rolls around again; and I watch as vodka highball after vodka highball leaves the bar, occasionally a rum & coke or rye & coke break the monotony (although these really are Canadian Whiskey & Cokes, but more on that later).

At some point in time it became acceptable for drinks to be nothing more than a tasteless, colorless, odorless liquor and soda water/juice and it's not that people WOULDN't drink more complex or interesting (or dare I say it GOOD) drinks it's just that some people don't know better and since everyone is drinking beer and vodka highballs, they do too.

In the past 10 years (I've heard tell) the classic cocktail scene is being revived, in places like NY, LA, London and San Francisco it is still possible to get a real cocktail at numberous bars, however in Vancouver, your options for both home mixing and cocktail bars are severely limited.

If it is still unclear the goal of this blog is to take both myself and the reader on a journey through both the art of the classic cocktail up to the edge of the contemporary.  However every endeavor needs a starting point, and for this blog it will be Dale DeGroff's magnificent work The Essential Cocktail; The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks.  I will be systematically making my way through the recipes in the book, although some will be skipped & saved for a later date as I am lacking some ingredients.