Brisket and Bourbon

Day 345, Cocktail 352

Wednesday was my window of opportunity to smoke some beef brisket.  As some of you already know, when I roll out the smoker and make BBQ, whether it’s pork shoulder, brisket, turkey or ribs, it’s an all day affair for me.  And to be honest, I enjoy it immensely, in part because it’s a great reason to sit outside most of the day and sip bourbon laced cocktails!

Typically I would have enjoyed a simple bourbon and cola or perhaps just on the rocks.  When I lived in the Carolina’s it would have been bourbon and Mello Yello (if you haven’t tried that you do not know what you’re missing!).  On Wednesday I decided to be adventurous and a recipe I found at Drinks Mixer website.  Here it is:

  Bourbon Black Hawk

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1 oz sloe gin

Combine the ingredients in a rocks glass with ice and stir to mix.

A pretty straightforward drink, which is, frankly, overly sweet and doesn’t allow for much of the character of the bourbon to come through.  I used Evan Williams bourbon but could hardly tell it was there through the sloe gin.  I guess it was nice to try, but I don’t expect to make this one again.

As for the brisket, well, it turned out rather nicely!

Cheers!

Frankly My Dear

Day 321, Cocktails 326 & 327

Last Saturday, after the couple of tiki cocktails that I had whipped up, the girls were ready for something different.  There’s been a bit of a buzz over the last year for cocktails that are mixed with tea (and for liquor bottled with tea) that I’ve largely ignored.  However, with a couple of adult beverages already in me, my inhibitions were lowered and I decided to give tea based cocktails a try.

For this effort I pulled out my bottle of Evan Williams bourbon and my Stirrings Peach liqueur.  These are two flavors that go well together and also seemed a natural to go with a Southern inspired tea based cocktail – particularly since I’d be using Gwen’s sweet tea.  After fooling around with the bourbon, peach liqueur, tea and maple syrup (yes, that’s right, maple syrup – it adds depth to the flavor profile)  I settled on two versions of the same cocktail.  One is sweeter and one is more boozy, thus fitting Gwen’s and my tastes.

  Sweet Peach Tea

• 1-1/2 oz Evan Williams bourbon
• 1/8 oz Stirrings Peach Liqueur
• 1/4 oz maple syrup
• 4 oz sweet tea

Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously to chill and combine.  Pour into a collins glass, adding ice if needed.  Garnish with a peach slice.

This drink has a nice, sweetly mellow flavor.  I really had to cut down on the peach liqueur, having started with 1/2 oz.  Even that small amount overwhelmed the drink.  However, for my taste, this was a bit too sweet, so I adjusted it for my taste.

  Peach Tea

• 2 oz Evan Williams bourbon
• 1/8 oz Stirrings Peach Liqueur
• 1/4 oz maple syrup
• 4 oz sweet tea

Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously to chill and combine.  Pour into a collins glass, adding ice if needed.  Garnish with a peach slice.

This version gets closer to the boozy cocktails that I prefer while still maintaining all its southern charm.  With more bourbon and less tea there is a deeper, smokier quality and the maple notes come through stronger as well, which make a nice compliment to the bourbon and peach.

By the time we got through these cocktails it was definitely time to call it a night…which, of course, we didn’t do.  The cocktail experimenting was definitely over though!

Cheers!

The Ohio State University

Day 216, Cocktail 212

The Ohio State – Michigan game is always a big game for me.  Growing up in Ohio, The Ohio State University is the team I follow in college football.  And Michigan is the rivalry game for the Buckeyes.

With the game on today, I looked around for an appropriate cocktail.  I found something called the Buckeye Martini, which is my basic martini using a black olive as the garnish.  Interesting, but I couldn’t see myself swilling a martini while watching a football game.  I found another drink called the Buckeye that used Red Stag Cherry Bourbon.  Well, I don’t have any of that, but thought it could make the base for this drink.

  Buckeye Fizz

• 2 oz Evan Williams bourbon
• 1/2 oz Cherry Heering liqueur
• 1-1/2 oz lemonade
• seltzer water

Fill a pint glass about 1/3 of the way full with ice cubes.  Add the bourbon, Heering and lemonade and stir.  Fill the glass the rest of the way with ice and top with seltzer water.  Give a quick stir and enjoy.

A nice blend of the smokey cherry flavor of the Heering and the sweetness of the lemonade.  A nice, if not slightly more potent, alternative to a beer while watching the game.

Oh, and the results…The Ohio State University 37, Michigan 7. 

Cheers!