Shhh, It’s a Secret!

Day 318, Cocktail 321

You know how sometimes you come across something that was secret and it should have stayed that way?  Like discovering that Uncle Fred is a cross dresser, for example?  Well, that’s kinda’ the way I feel about Wednesday’s cocktail.  I found it doing a random search of the CockailDB.  It was called the Great Secret, and I wish it still was a secret…

  Great Secret

• 1 – 3/4 oz gin
• 3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1 dash Agnostura bitters

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill and mix.  Strain into a chilled coupe.

Well….first off, this is a very small cocktail…like really small, as in it only filled my 4 oz coupe to barely half full.  Second, it tasted like bitters…and bitters… and bitters…until finally I got a hint of Lillet coming through.  Perhaps if I amped up the gin (I was using Beefeater) and the Lillet this would have worked out better.   But in it’s current state I’m going to pass on adding it to the index.

Cheers!

Blushing Geishas and Lychee Nuts

Day 293, Cocktails 291 & 292

Saturday night and daughter number 1 was hosting a boy / girl Valentine’s Party in the Twilight Lounge.  That means two things.  First, Gwen and I got to stay home Saturday night to chaperone.  Second, the liquor cabinets were locked for the night as well!  What to do, then?  Well, a little advanced planning and move a few key bottles upstairs to the kitchen, that’s what to do!

I had a full bottle of pomegranate juice that had been around a for awhile and decided it was time to put it to use.  I poked around Colleen Graham’s cocktail blog (see the links list below) and found something called the Blushing Geisha.  I didn’t have the rose water that it called for, but went ahead anyway with this variant (that is the beauty of cocktails – you can change ’em any way you want to!).

  Blushing Geisha

• 2 oz Ty Ku
• 1 oz pomegranate juice
• 1/8 oz lemon juice
• seltzer water

In a shaker combine the Ty Ku, pomegranate juice and lemon juice.  Shake to chill and combine.  Strain into a rocks glass filled 2/3 with ice.  Top with seltzer water. 

I was really suprised how well the Ty Ku flavors, especially the melon tones, came through in this drink.  I really expected the pomegranate to overpower the drink, but it didn’t.  This turned out to be a very nice showcase for the Ty Ku and would make a great cocktail for a warm summer night – and those aren’t that far off around here.

Next up was a totally off the cuff creation.  I had already figured to use vodka and the pomegranate in some type of cosmo type concoction.  Hmmm, I wonder how the Lillet Blanc would play with these?  And what about staying Asian themed by using some lychee juice?  Here’s what I came up with.

  Lychee Pom

• 1-1/2 oz vodka
• 1 oz pomegranate juice
• 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/8 oz bar syrup
• 1/8 oz lychee juice

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker and shake, shake, shake.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lychee fruit or leave ungarnished.

Wow, does the lychee ever stand clear!  It’s amazing the flavor that is packed into the lychee juice.  Sweet, and the closest I can come to describe it is pear flavors, but not quite as syrupy as pears are.  Either way, the small amount in this drink was still enough to have it become the defining the flavor, with notes of orange and floral flavors coming from the Lillet Blanc.  We enjoyed this one so much that we each had two.  By the time we were through with the second the party was also finishing up and we called it a night.

Cheers!

A Princely Cocktail

Day 291, Cocktail 288

The stream of consciousness continued on Thursday as I moved forward with more Lillet Blanc.  I had been thumbing through Mittie Hellmich’s “Ultimate Bar Book” looking for more recipes that used the Lillet.  I didn’t really see anything in the fortified wine section so I started looking through the whiskeys when I came upon the Prince Edward.  The history on this cocktail is a little murky – hell, who am I kidding – I couldn’t find anything on the history of this cocktail.  Frankly, that suprises me a bit, but on with the show anyway.

  Prince Edward

• 1-1/2 oz scotch
• 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/4 oz Drambuie

Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake to chill and combine.  Strain into a rocks glass with ice, or in my case, an ice ball.  Garnish with an orange slice.

This is a tasty cocktail.  The Drambuie really sweetens it up and helps the floral and orange flavors of the Lillet shine and not be overshadowed by the scotch.  I used Johnny Walker Red, which gave a nice, smokey backdrop to the cocktail.  This was a very nice sipper, indeed.

Cheers!

Cherry Lillet

Day 290, Cocktail 287

Wednesday night and my stream of consciousness cocktailing took me from the Ty Ku Cherry with it’s gin and maraschino (along with the Ty Ku, of course) to a combination of gin, maraschino and Lillet Blanc.  Why?  Well, regular readers know by now that I love the Luxardo Maraschino liqueur.  Gin, well, that’s a no brainer – just check out the cocktail index and see how many gin drinks there are.  And the Lillet Blanc?  Why not?  It’s been sitting in the fridge, feeling a little left out lately, so I pulled it out.  Here’s what I came up with.

  Cherry Lillet

• 2 oz Beefeater Gin
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/8 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir vigorously with ice.  Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a lemon twist.

Hmmm, delicious.  The floral and orange flavors of the Lillet work wonderfully with Luxardo’s cherry to create a multi layered flavor profile that blends very well with the gin.  I suggest using a London Dry type gin such as Beefeater or Bombay for this drink.  A lighter gin would get lost behind the Lillet and Luxardo.  If you like the Aviation or French 75 cocktails, I think you’ll like this one as well.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

Two Pears

Day 260, Cocktails 258 & 259

Monday I was inspired to follow up on the delicious Pear Flower that I had just last Friday at the NSB Bar and Grill.  I had previously purchased a bottle of Mathilde Poire liqueur that I had intended all along to pair with St. Germain, but I just had never really gotten around to it.  The Mathilde Poire is made from D’Anjou pears and is 36 proof.  It definately smells and taste like ripe pears and also has a brandy like backbeat to it.

So with the Mathilde Poire in hand, what else to use?  Death’s Door gin quickly joined it on the top of the bar followed by Lillet Blanc.  Just smelling each of these seperately and then together was good – I was pretty sure that I was on to something that would turn out good.

  Death’s Door Pear

• 2 oz Death’s Door Gin
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz Mathilde Poire Liqueur

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with cubed ice.  Stir to mix and chill.  Strain into a cocktail glass.  No garnish required.

On my initial taste I got a bit of sharpness from the Mathilde (that brandy backbeat I talked about), but it was quickly mellowed by the floral qualitites of the Lillet.  After the drink had a chance to mellow in my glass it had a nice pear flavor that was complimented nicely by the juniper in the the Death’s Door.  By the way, using another gin in lieu of the Death’s Door will definately change the flavor profile and may overwhelm the drink, especially if you use a London Dry gin.  If you can, use the Death’s Door.

One cocktail was not enough this evening.  I was on a roll and ready to introduce St. Germain to the mix.  Here’s what I came up with.

  Elderflower Pear

• 2 oz Death’s Door gin
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz Mathilde Pear Liqueur
• 1/4 oz St. Germain Liqueur

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with cubed ice.  Stir to mix and chill.  Strain into a cocktail glass.  No garnish required.

Oh my god, this is a homerun!  The addition of the St. Germain adds both a touch of sweetness and just enough of the elderflower flavor that combines just right with the pear flavors of the Mathilde.  The flavors just exploded on my tongue, providing me with the perfect balance between the boozy gin, the floral Lillet and the two liqueurs.    This drink alone is enough reason to have the Mathilde around, especially if you are a fan of St. Germain.

Try them out and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

Auld Lang Syne

Day 251, Cocktails 250 & 251

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

Thus starts the standard New Year’s Eve song, sung at the stroke of midnight (after the kissing is over).  It’s actually a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788.  “Auld Lang Syne” translates from the old Scottish to modern English as “for the sake old times” more or less. 

I started with that little tidbit because it’s time to sing Auld Lang Syne to the holiday season.  Tonight’s post is two more cocktails that were served up on New Year’s Eve at the Twilight Lounge bash.  The first is a classic cocktail that hails from the era just after Prohibition.  The 20th Century Cocktail was invented to honor the new Dreyfus Hudson steam locomotive that was put into service pulling the 20th Century Ltd. train between Chicago and New York in 1938.  Although we are well into the 21st century, this is still a damn good cocktail!

  20th Century Cocktail

• 1-1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/4 oz lemon juice

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass.  Stir to chill and mix.  Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a lemon peel or twist.

A nice, chocolate flavored cocktail with hints of lemon and mellowed out by the slightly sweet flavor of the Lillet.  This would be better as a dessert cocktail after a hearty dinner, but the chocolate fans in your life will enjoy it anytime!

The second new cocktail at the Lounge New Year’s Eve was for my neighbor Jasen.  He was bringing a big bottle of Hennessy VS cognac that was going to be left behind.  The only caveat was that I had to make a drink for him that used the Hennessy.  The drink I chose for Jasen was the Boston Sidecar, which I also imbibed in myself.

  Boston Sidecar

• 1 oz Hennessy cognac
• 1 oz light rum
• 3/4 oz triple sec
• 3/4 oz lime juice

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass.  Stir to chill and mix.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon peel.

The addition of the rum and replacing the traditional sidecar’s lemon with lime makes this close to a margarita in flavor.  I do get a slightly nutty, woody flavor from the cognac, but the lime and rum definately lighten this classic up. 

Well, there you have it, the holidays are officially over!

Cheers!

Jubilation!

Day 241, Cocktail 239

Wednesday evening started off my holiday preparations in earnest.  I also was the new, proud owner of a nearly full bottle of Lillet Blanc, courtesy of Mark Stoffel.  Thanks Mark!  I’m looking forward to playing with this and seeing what I can make with it besides the Vesper.  So, to the CocktailDB I went to look for cocktails that use the Lillet.  I found a number of interesting options, but the one I liked best was the Jubileesha.  The original recipe called for 3 dashes of orange bitters which, while I enjoyed it, did tend to overpower the drink.  So, in the name of research I had a second and cut down on the bitters to just two dashes.  This made for a much more balanced cocktail that allowed the flavors of the gin and Lillet come out.

  Jubileesha

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 2 dashes orange bitters

Combine the ingredients in a shaker and shake, shake, shake to mix and chill.  Strain into a chilled coupe.

Hmm, hmm, hmm…delicious.  I really love the orange bitters in this drink.  It makes for a very nice compliment to the lightly floral flavor in the Lillet and Bombay.

Cheers!