Everybody’s Irish – Good God, I Hope Not!

Day 325, Cocktail 329

The day before St. Patrick’s day and I was going to have one last Irish cocktail to prepare myself for my all day pub crawl with my buddies Mike and Brett.  As I thumbed through the Ultimate Bar Book I found a cocktail named Everybody’s Irish.  How could I lose with this cocktail, right?  Well, I lost.  Big time.  For once my thought that there’s no way this combination of ingredients can taste good came true.  I’m going to post the recipe here, but I can not suggest that you actually try this one, unless of course, some person in the distant future attempts to recreate my journey because I’ve become famous.  Even then, though, I’d give dispensation to skip this drink!

So, without further adieu, I give you Everybody’s Irish.

  Everybody’s Irish

• 2 oz Irish Whiskey
• 1/4 oz green Chartreuse
• 1/4 oz green Creme de Menthe

Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a green olive.

Overwhelming mint and anise flavors just knocked me on me ass with this one.  While I did drink it all, it was awful, with the brine from the olive just adding injury to the insult of this cocktail.  I think it’s whole purpose is to be green, which it is – a very bright, almost flourescent, green!  One last note, Chartreuse is one of the few liqueurs not in stock at the Twilight Lounge, so substituted Pernod.  The flavors of the two are very similar although the Pernod is not green like the Chartreuse.

My next post will get into our adventures from St. Patrick’s day.  Until then…

Cheers!

Death Warmed Over

Day 297, Cocktail 295

When I selected the title for this post I had no idea that there was already a book entitled “Death Warmed Over”, written by Mary Collins and published in 1949 AND a movie by the same title, released in 1984.  Good thing I’ve got this internet thingy, huh?

So why death warmed over?  Well, I still had some champagne left over from Monday’s Valentine’s Day celebration (shocking, in and of itself, I know).  So I started thumbing throught the champagne section of the Ultimate Bar Book and found…drumroll please…the Corpse Reviver No. 3!  The Corpse Reviver and Corpse Reviver 2 are well known in the cocktail world, but this was the first time I had seen number 3.  Mittie Hellmich, the Ultimate Bar Book author credits is origin to the Cambon Bar at the Paris Ritz Hotel, having been created by Franck Meier in 1926.  So I thought to myself, let’s give it a try.  Heck, my champagne is half dead anyway!

  Corpse Reviver No. 3

• 1-1/2 oz Pernod
• 3-5 oz chilled champagne
• 1/4 lemon wedge

Pour the Pernod into a chilled champagne flute.  Top with the champagne and then squeeze the lemon wedge over top of the champagne.

If you like Good & Plenty, you’ll like this since it tastes like a fizzy version of the licorice candy.  This won’t be making the list of my all time favorites any time soon, but it did help me use up the champagne!

Cheers!

All In The Family

Day 212, Cocktails 205 & 206

Yesterday was filled with anticipation.  My mom Paula and step dad Cookie were due to arrive from Pennsylvania in time for dinner.  The whole family was looking forward to their arrival since we hadn’t seen them since Paula’s birthday celebration in August.  The girls in particular always enjoy Grandma’s visits.

After an excellent dinner of Gwen’s homemade lasgana we headed to the Twilight Lounge for cocktails and a chance to get caught up.  Paula was very impressed with the new floor and then settled in at the bar with Cookie and Gwen.  I mixed up a Caramel Apple for Gwen and a Greg’s Kringle for Paula.  She thought both of them were delicious but chose to stick with the Kringle.  Meanwhile, I began to experiment with another of the flavorings I had picked up at the bake shop a couple of weeks ago.  Here’s what I came up with.

  Maker’s Root Dram

• 2 oz Maker’s Mark bourbon
• 3/4 oz Drambuie
• 2 drops root beer flavor extract

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

I really liked this one.  Inspired by the Charles Hires Old Fashioned from a Bryant’s Sporting Fraternity event, it has a subtle root beer flavor behind the Drambuie and Maker’s Mark.  There are several layers of flavor that give this drink a nice complexity.  I’ll probably tinker with it a bit more, but I did like it.  The next cocktail was a classic from the Ultimate Bar Book.

  Waldorf Cocktail

• 1-1/2 oz bourbon
• 3/4 oz Pernod
• 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• 1 dash Agnosturo bitters

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

This classic is a variation of the Sazerac.  I enjoyed it, but the Pernod is a bit strong for my liking, making this a one and done for me.  I just wouldn’t be able to drink these all night long like a could a martini or manhattan.

By the time I finished this it was getting late and we were all ready for bed.  I’m sure that there will be more cocktail fun this weekend though!

Cheers!

Gin and Maraschino

Day 165, Cocktails 163 & 164

As I contemplated what to drink tonight I decided I wanted to strike out on my own.  I’ve been a fan of Luxardo maraschino since my first Aviation and really like how well it works with gin.  But rather than the lemon juice that makes up the third leg of the Aviation I decided to experiment on my own and see what else I could come up with.

My first effort used Plymouth gin, Luxardo maraschino and Ty Ku, the asian superfruit flavored liqueur.

  Ty Ku Flyer

• 2 oz Plymouth gin
• 1/2 oz Ty Ku liqueur
• 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with 4-5 ice cubes.  Stir to combine and chill.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Wow, pretty good, if I say so myself.  It’s not often that the first crack at a cocktail yields a drink that is well balanced and tasty, but I think I hit this one on the first try.  The Ty Ku mellows the Luxardo, leaving a delightful cherry, melon flavor that mixes well with the relatively mild Plymouth.  No garnish is needed for this one!

The next one I tried really was a flyer.  I switched to Bombay gin, kept the Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and tried using Pernod.  Pernod is considered an absinthe substitute and is one the many annise flavored liqueurs out there.  I keep sipping this trying to like it, but the Pernod is a flavor that doesn’t seem to play as well with gin as it does with rye or scotch.   At this point, although I’m counting this as a cocktail drunk towards my goal, it is not a recipe that I’m ready to publish.

Ultimately, the point here is to go ahead and experiment.  Try mixing and matching flavors that you like and see what you get.  If you come up with something good let me know and I’ll publish it here!

Cheers!

What Really Happens at the Blarney Stone

Day 163, Cocktails 160 & 161

I had a hankering (and who the heck has hankerings anymore?) tonight for something made with whiskey of some sort.  So I picked up the Ultimate Bar Book and started flipping through the whiskey section.  At first I was all fired up for a drink called the Bent Nail.  This is basically the Rusty Nail with Canadian instead of Scotch.  I was sure I had Drambuie…until I found that I didn’t have any Drambuie.  Rats.

Back to the Ultimate Bar Book where I found a very Chad Doll-esque drink called the Blarney Stone.  Let’s see, Irish whiskey – check with the Bushmills.  Cointreau, check.  Maraschino liqueur, check.  Pernod, check.  Angosturo bitters, check.  We are ready to mix!

  Blarney Stone

• 2 oz Irish whiskey
• 1/4 oz Cointreau
• 1/4 oz Pernod
• 1/8 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
• 1 dash Agnosturo bitters

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.  Stir to mix and chill.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Rim the glass with a lemon peel then twist the lemon peel over the glass.  Dropping the peel in is optional.

I was pretty excited to make this and give it a try since it has so many of the flavors I like together.  However, I’m finding that the Pernod with its anise flavor is overpowering the drink.  Sometimes a cocktail will mellow out and taste better after it has been in the glass for a bit, but it’s just not happening with this one.  That said, I was not to be deterred and decided to play around with the ingredients and see if I could make this a bit tastier.  I decided to half the Pernod and double the Maraschino.  Let’s see what happens.

  Stoned Blarney

• 2 oz Irish whiskey
• 1/4 oz Cointreau
• 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
• 1/8 oz Pernod
• 1 dash Agnosturo bitters

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.  Stir to mix and chill.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Rim the glass with a lemon peel then twist the lemon peel over the glass.  Dropping the peel in is optional.

To my taste, this is much better.  The Luxardo and Pernod are now in balance with just a hint of orange from the Cointreau.  I can also detect the whisky in this one, something I couldn’t do in the original version. 

So again, I’ve taken a recipe and tinkered with it to match my tastes.  It’s fun and easy to do so – let me know about a cocktail you’ve played around with!

Oh, and by the way, does anyone know what the locals do at the Blarney Stone to screw with the tourists?

Cheers!

Minneapolis

Day 146, Cocktail 142

Back at last (to posting that is).  A very busy week on the business front (and leaving my laptop in Milwaukee while in St. Louis) has kept me offline.  Rest assured though, I’ve been keeping up.  I’m skipping ahead of some of my St. Louis explorations to last night.  Gwen and I drove to Minneapolis for a weekend of mixed business and pleasure with another couple.  Last night we met my business associate and friend Ashish and his wife Lori for dinner and cocktails.  At Ashish’s suggestion we went to the Bradstreet Crafthouse, located in the Graves Hotel. 

I’ve got to tell you that this is my first visit to Minneapolis since the early 80’s and wow, this city is amazing!  The downtown area was alive and vibrant last night with all kinds of night life and a Twins game going on at Target Field.  I was drooling as we passed by one cocktial lounge and restaurant after another.

Back to the Bradstreet Crafthouse.  This establishment is dedicated to the art of the craft cocktail and features a number of classics and new mixes created locally.  You can also select a variety of small plate dishes from the extensive menu (try the satay and lamb sliders!).  My first drink of the night was the Vincent’s Ruin.  This features Bulliet Bourbon, lemon, St. Germain and Pernod.  (Yep, the combination of bourbon and St. Germain is what caught my eye.)First, a terrific presentation as the drink was served in a rocks sized glass with a generous lemon peel and the large, round ice ball – about half the size of a baseball.  I’ve seen this before at Bryant’s in Milwaukee and its a very neat and stylish way to keep you drink cold.  It’s also practical as the ice melts much slower, reducing the amount of dilution.   As for the flavor, it was amazing!  Each flavor was subtle on its own and perfectly blended to create a very harminous drink.  With the slightly smokey bourbon providing a solid foundation the elderflower, lemon and anise flavors were each distinct but not overwhelming. 

I could have drunk this all night, but there was more to explore.  Unfortunately, that will have to wait as it’s time to get going to the tailgate before the Minnesota – USC game this afternoon.

Cheers!

I Couldn’t Live There

Day 100 Cocktail 98

In New Orleans, that is.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I could live there, but not before I’m independently wealthy and writing about cocktails becomes my primary avocation.  If I lived in New Orleans I don’t think that I could actually earn a living with the siren call of Bourbon Street, the tropical heat and humidity, the jazz, the food.

However, Katie, the daughter of our good friends Greg and Patty is doing just that.  A year removed from her graduation from UW-Lacrosse she is headed back to New Orleans this week for her new job with Habitat for Humanity.  Not only will she live in a great city, but she’ll be making a difference in many peoples lives.  My hat is off to you Katie!

Tonight we will be sending her off in style.  And what better way than to mix up a batch of Sazeracs.  The Sazerac is a New Orleans staple and is often credited with being the first cocktail.  The original Sazerac was actually cognac and Peychaud’s bitters and developed in the early 1800’s.  Just when the switch to rye whiskey was made is unclear, but the current incarnation uses rye instead of cognac.

  Sazerac

• 3 oz rye whiskey
• 3/4 oz bar syrup
• Peychaud’s bitters to taste
• Pernod (or absinthe)

Fill a rocks glass with ice water to chill.  In a mixing glass muddle the bar syrup and Peychaud’s.  Add ice and the rye and stir.  Empty the chilled rocks glass and rinse with the Pernod.  Strain the contents of the mixing glass into the rinsed rocks glass.  Garnish with a lemon twist or float a lemon peel and serve.

To rinse a glass is simply to pour a small amount of the liquid called for in the glass, swish it about (like you are swirling wine before tasting it) and then dump the contents.  This is particularly effective with highly aromatic liqueurs at imparting just the barest hint of flavor,

This is a classic American cocktail and should be on your bucket list.  I know I’ll enjoy mine in a few hours, and I hope you do to!

Cheers!