oot-Fray oops-Lay

I picked up some cachaça the other day, although it's not calling itself cachaça. It's calling itself "Rum Toucano," but as it's not a rhum Agricole, and it's made from sugarcane instead of molasses, I'm calling it a cachaça. And so I decided to try it in a rather experimental way.

While perusing the recipes page for Bittermens bitters, after getting their Boston Bittahs and 'Elemakule Tiki bitters, I found a drink made by Ago Perrone, from Montgomery Place, called "Dolce and Cabana" as it was made with Cabana cachaça. Well, I had my Rum Toucano, and I didn't have any Lillet Rouge, but I did have some Dubonnet Rouge, another quinquana. And I had some bitters that Mr Perrone didn't when he invented the drink. So I did a few little swaps, and came up with this one. I call it "The Loopy Toucan," or, assuming I haven't mangled my Portuguese too badly...

O Tucano Louco

1.5 oz Rum Toucano (or other cachaça)
2/3 oz Dubonnet Rouge
2 dashes Bittermens Grapefruit bitters
2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
1 dash Bittermens Boston Bittahs
1 dash simple syrup (preferably made with demerara or unbleached sugar)

Stir all with ice and strain into coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist (expressed over the drink first, please) and a cherry or two.

There are a lot of flavors and noses in this cachaça vying for attention, lots of citrus, lots of spice. And by using so many bitters, and by using the sweet but complex notes from the Dubonnet, you really cater to all of them. It's a very complicated drink, with fruit and lemon and black pepper notes. It's almost like a nice añejo tequila with some sips, but quite different with others. I really kind of like this one. Not bad for just futzing around with swapping in what I had on hand. Perhaps on my next go-round, I'll replace the Xocolatl Mole bitters with the 'Elemakule bitters and see what the spices bring to the party...

Mixology Monday August: Brown, Bitter and Stirred

So I've been gone from this blog almost a month, but that's nothing compared to MxMo...they've been in absentia since MAY! Though, in their defense, there was Tales of the Cocktail and the summer heat in there...they probably were busy and/or drunk. But I repeat myself. Anyway, there's a new MxMo challenge out there, hosted by Lindsey Johnson of Lush Life Productions at her blog, Brown, Bitter and Stirred. And thus she has chosen an eponymous challenge. To make a drink that's brown, bitter and (preferably) stirred.

So I've decided to offer up a drink I've been kicking around (appropriately) since May, and decided that it's good enough to share. It's a variant on a drink called "La Mañana Después" that's served at The Gibson in Washington D.C., which is itself a variation on the Savoy's Fernet Cocktail. The Fernet is made with gin, but The Gibson makes it with blanco tequila. I made it with añejo tequila. While "La Mañana Después" is supposed to be a drink for the morning after, suffering from a hangover, I've used añejo tequila, which is aged anywhere from a year and a day to a day short of three years. Since I got it sometime after it stopped aging, instead of "La Mañana Después," "The Day After" I've called it "Tres Años Después" or "Three Years Later."

Tres Años Después

2 oz añejo tequila
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
2/3 oz sweet vermouth
2/3 oz dry vermouth
1 dash Fee Brothers orange bitters
1 dash Bittermens Grapefruit bitters
1 dash Bittermens Boston Bittahs

Stir all well with ice, strain into an Old Fashioned glass containing a single ice cube.

It's smoky, it's citrusy, it's bitter, it's wonderful. The Bittermens Boston Bittahs, which are a new ingredient for this blog, are citrus, more citrus, and a little extra citrus for good measure, with a backbone of chamomile. They're really wonderful, and worth every penny it takes to get them (and it really doesn't take all that many).

Trying to sneak in under the wire...

Although by calling attention to the fact I'm trying to sneak in, I've just blown my cover. Ah, well...

I completely spaced, and lost track of time, and as a result, have technically missed May's Mixology Monday. The theme this month? Tom Waits.

I know, crazy, huh? But still, inextricably linked with liquor. Even after having laid off the sauce himself.

So I rummaged around in my memory banks, entertaining notions of creating a "Piano Has Been Drinking" cocktail, but no. Instead I went with another hoary old Waits tune (maybe not old, but definitely hoary) and have created:

Frank's Wild Years Cocktail

1 oz Rittenhouse 80° rye whiskey
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz orgeat syrup
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1 dash Bittermens grapefruit bitters

Stir all well with ice, strain into scrupulously chilled shot glass

i started with that classic, the Franciuli Cocktail, and modified it a bit to make it suitable for Frank's Wild Years...the Fernet is scaled back a bit, and the sweetness quotient is upped a little, to better contrast with the bitter characters of the amaro that the Fernet brings to the party. The slight citrus tang of the grapefruit bitters counters the sweetness of the orgeat. All in all, a slightly off kilter flavor, with an aftertaste that somehow suggests the zen-likes notes of green tea, but one that's uniquely suited to pay tribute to Mr. Tom Waits.

Step into my office, baby...I'm big in Japan...

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz...

...I wonder where dem boidies is?

Today was finally spring-like weather in my neck of the woods, topping 70°F, and generally being pleasant and agreeable outside. The trees and lawns have greened up nicely, and there's enough pollen in the air to put an allergic elephant down.

Therefore, in such a time as this it is most meet to trot out an appropriately themed libation. And I just so happened to pick up one of the ingredients today, as a reward to myself for donating blood and being such a swell guy (plus it was on sale!); Plymouth Gin.

Plymouth is a little different from a lot of other gins on the market today...I find it hard to quantify the differences, but Wikipedia notes that "[i]t has a distinctively different, slightly less-dry flavour than the much more commonly available London Dry Gin, as it contains a higher than usual proportion of root ingredients, which bring a more 'earthy' feel to the gin, as well as a smoother juniper hit." Plymouth themselves credit the flavor to a unique blend of juniper berries, lemon and orange peel, orris root (the root of an iris plant), angelica root, cardamom, and coriander. All are traditional gin ingredients, but they play up the earthiness and sweetness of the blend, and dial back the juniper a bit. Still, a most excellent drink, especially in a Gin Pahit (pink gin).

Anyway, on to tonight's drink:

Spring Feeling Cocktail

3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
1 1/2 oz Plymouth gin
dash of Grapefruit Bitters

shake all well with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Truly a green and spring-like drink. Herbaceous, tart, bracing. Yes, this will do quite nicely. Greetings, o springy cocktail! Would you like to ride with Batman? Yes, you'd like that, wouldn't you?

Er, sorry. Got carried away there a bit.

Not much to say about such a simple drink, apart from "GO MAKE ONE!"

...and cue Pee-Wee Herman in the platform shoes!

I picked up a new spirit last night. Well, not new, but one that I haven't touched since college, and swore, for the longest time, that I would never touch again.

You guessed it. Tequila.

I'd wager not a few of you, dear readers, have had a run in with some spirit or another that you consumed in, shall we say, "injudicious amounts" and that you vowed you would never drink again. For me, and for tequila, it wasn't so much that I drank too much of it, it was just between the rotgut that passes for tequila on many college campuses, and the ridiculous salt-lick-lime ritual, I did not see any redeeming qualities in the stuff.

But, as so frequently happens, I read more and more articles about it and wondered if perhaps I'd been too hasty in shutting it out. Reposado tequila, which has been "rested" in oak barrels, sounded intriguing, because who doesn't want a well-rested drink? Also nifty-sounding was añejo tequila, "aged" for between 1 year and a day shy of three years, also in oak. Then you start getting into über-premium tequilas, ones that I could never hope to afford, ones like extra-añejo, aged for more than three years. Considering that'd make it much older than this blog, it's quite understandably out of my range. But my friendly neighborhood Costco, believe it or not, had a store branded, 100% Agave, añejo tequila for a quite reasonable price, and I thought it might just be time to see if my dislike of the spirit wasn't maybe a bit irrational.

Well, the spirit by itself is really something. It's sort of like bourbon after being aged in those oak barrels, but a little sharper, a little black peppery, even. Tasty, and nothing like the colorless lighter fluid I sampled in college. Clearly my old grudge was founded on a simple misunderstanding. This was not some paint-thinner suited only for washing down cheap beer (I'm looking at you, Milwaukee's Best!) but something that was quite suitable for sipping on ice with nothing to sully it at all.

But you all know that I like mixing stuff! So I dug around for some drinks that used añejo tequila. And believe it or not, most people don't want to sully it by mixing it! But I found a few that used a minimum of ingredients, chosen to let the spirit shine through. And the one I'm sharing tonight is a variant on a great, much-beloved classic.

Añejo Tequila Old-Fashioned

3 oz añejo tequila
1 teaspoon agave nectar
4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
3 spritzes Urban Moonshine citrus bitters (or 2 dashes orange bitters)
2 dashes Jamaican bitters (or grapefruit bitters)

Stir all well with ice, strain into ice-filled double Old-Fashioned glass. Garnish, if desired, with a strip of grapefruit peel.

Damn, that's a smooth one. That peppery character pokes out, but it's tempered by the agave nectar (a natural fit in this drink) and the citrus and grapefruit really lift it up and give it a clean, fresh character. I'm utterly ashamed for having misjudged tequila for as long as I did, and I hope my Scrooge-on-Christmas-morning mindset may extend to other things.

But it probably won't. Bah humbug.

If you make it with shoddy knockoffs, is it an Astroturf Cocktail?

This was the third drink option at Thanksgiving this year, and before you even ask, I have no idea from whence the name springs. It doesn't look like grass, it doesn't taste like grass, and it certainly isn't kicked up by the cleats of football players (US football or the rest of the world football...this is one happy area where the terms overlap). It does, however, make for a very good drink.

Turf Cocktail

2 oz London dry gin
3/4 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur
dash absinthe
dash citrus bitters (orange, grapefruit or Jamaican are all good here, in their own ways)

Build all in mixing glass over ice, stirring well to combine and chill. Strain into cocktail glass, garnish with lemon zest.

It's herbaceous, which I suppose could contribute to the name...but more than that, it's got a clean, crisp, woodsy character to it that really fit in well with the fall weather on Thanksgiving Day.

Now, of course, it's moving into winter, and more hearty drinks will have to be mixed. Perhaps some mulled wine or hot buttered rum is in the cards? Or a Tom and Jerry? Who can tell? Stay tuned, true believers!

Aw, how can I stay away from you guys?

Ok, I stumbled across a drink that sounded too interesting to keep under my hat until after Turkey Day here in the US...I went looking for drinks that might use some of the 1/3 remaining bottle of Dubonnet in my fridge, and while this one takes only two barspoons of it, that's still two barspoons I don't have to contend with anymore. Plus, it's sort of unusual in its proportions, so that's worth something, as well. And third, it's got an interesting name, and thus I bring it to you this evening.

Alfonso (Special) Cocktail

1 dash Angostura bitters
2 dashes Jamaican bitters (or 2 dash Bittermens Grapefruit bitters...this is my addition but it works)
2 barspoons Dubonnet (or, lacking that, sweet vermouth)
1 oz London dry gin
1 oz dry vermouth
2 oz Grand Marnier

Shake well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

With two full ounces of Grand Marnier, you may think that a sweet citrus flavor would dominate, and it's there, make no mistake...but the bitters and gin and dry vermouth and even the Dubonnet to a degree help temper that, and while the predominant flavor is of course orange, it's still got enough other things going on in there that it's not too monotonous. It has some other citrus notes in there, some spice, and some botanicals. As long as you serve it in a scrupulously chilled glass after no less than 30 seconds of shaking, it's a great drink...it just functions best when ice cold.

Adventures in horrible drink names

I was just hanging out in the chat room for Tiki Bar TV, and an unofficial challenge was hanging in the air. Create a drink or shot themed around "sweat." I decided to go with something that I've termed:

Frog Sweat

1 oz absinthe
1/2 oz gin
3 dashes Jamaican bitters (or Bittermens grapefruit bitters if you don't feel like waiting a week while your homemade Jamaican bitters mature)

build in a chilled shot glass.

Very spur of the moment, but the name's kinda whimsical, in that absinthe is traditionally associated with the French, those Frenchy-froggy-froggy-Frenchies. Tastes good, though.

Here's a quick photo I snapped off of it.

For the full list of Sweat themed cocktails (some of which may not be very good...they wound up drifting toward the theoretical), please visit www.tikigeeki.com. Dogs and cats, living together...mass hysteria.

Perfect for your speakeasy or other den of iniquity!

I have returned! I know, you all missed me terribly. All twelve of you. Hopefully you'll find my libation tonight tasty enough that you'll forgive me my absence.

Tonight's drink is similar to the Whiskey Sour and Ward Eight cocktails I've previously featured, but it has something in it that neither of them have: vermouth. It's like the Whiskey Sour and Manhattan made a beautiful, alcoholic baby together. Here's how to make one of your own:

Scofflaw Cocktail

2 oz rye whiskey
1 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz grenadine
orange and/or grapefruit bitters, to taste

combine all in a mixing glass and shake well with ice. Strain into cocktail glass.

As I said, similar to that classic Whiskey Sour, but a little different. The vermouth adds a little more complexity, while it still walks that line between sweet and sour. Definitely a nice change of pace from martinis and Manhattans. Despite the name, though, don't go drinking from an open container while speeding past a cop on your way to that back-room poker game. It'll all end in tears.

Yes, I know, it's been a week. I am ashamed.

Sorry, everyone...this past week has just been not at all conducive to photographing and waxing rhapsodic about drinks...I had my first real challenge of the new job come up (I didn't suck at it, so that's encouraging!) and rehearsals for my current show have gotten a little more frequent, since we're opening in two weeks.

That said, I made it inside the "one week" threshold I set a couple weeks back...that's gotta count for something, right?

Tonight's libation is another one with a silly name...however, it's venerable, dating back at least to the 1930 publication of the Savoy Cocktail Book. While it sounds like something a little old lady would sip in a swanky hotel lobby, unless granny's packing a couple pounds of pig iron in her purse, it's definitely not. In fact, it's far better than the name promises.

Mah-Jongg Cocktail

2 oz London dry gin
1/2 oz Cointreau or triple sec or white curaçao
1/2 oz rum (classically, it uses Bacardi, but I like a nice amber Bermuda rum in it for a hint of color)
dash of Bittermens Grapefruit bitters

combine all over ice and stir until well-mixed. Strain into cocktail glass.

In some ways, with the three very different liquors mixed, this could be viewed as a progenitor to the Long Island Iced Tea...however, this is a hell of a lot better than that hoary old chestnut. The citrus and the gin blend just as well as citrus and rum do...making the combination of the three an unusual but complimentary thing. I like throwing a little grapefruit bitters in there just to pull the sweetness back a little bit, but that's just my take. It's quite a nice drink, and one that I plan to have again sometime soon.

As an aside, this is drink number 99 to appear on my blog. I had been hoping and seeking out a very special ingredient for drink number 100, and by gum, I've succeeded. So next time, on a Very Special™ "Urbane, Not Cosmopolitan," you'll see a fun new ingredient that I've never featured before! Woo hoo! Exciting stuff!

I wouldn't have guessed this would be as tasty as it is...

You're all familiar with gin and tonics and vodk tonics, I'm sure. Ever heard of a rum tonic? You wouldn't expect it to work, but it does, and it's as spectacular as it is simple. You just need to make sure you've got a good rum, as you're gonna taste a lot of it.

Rum Tonic

2 oz good amber rum (I used Mount Gay Eclipse)
tonic water to top
slice of lemon
grapefruit or orange bitters

build over ice in a tumbler.

See? Super simple, but it's incredibly good. I was doubtful at first...I couldn't imagine the slightly bitter tonic water finding a match with the rum, but it all ends up being smoothly tempered, and quite tasty. I like using Bittermens Grapefruit bitters here, just to add some extra tartness to the lemon, but orange bitters would work too, I think. Give it a try...I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

In which I attempt to not get sued...

Tonight's drink is one where I get to use a name that I've been itching to use for quite some time...and one that I've been afraid of. You see, I'm naming it after a much beloved fictional character in a tremendously popular series of books. Now, the author and publishers have shown wonderful restraint in not going after, say, writers of fan-fiction who use their characters names, perhaps because there's no profit to be made there. I should point out that I really don't make any profit on this blog, either (current Google AdSense total for the first 5 months of operation: $1.35, plus one generous donation from a reader). So in that spirit, and recognizing that there's alcohol in the books as well, I hope that they'll be lenient about my introduction of a ginger-laced rum punch named after the most amusing ginger-headed clan I know of. I give you:

Weasley Rum Punch

3/4 oz berry shrub base
1 1/2 oz ginger liqueur (or ginger syrup if you want it to be a little less boozy)
3/4 oz black strap or other molasses-y rum
1 1/2 oz aged rum
2 oz seltzer
scant 1/8 oz homemade spice extract
2 dashes Bittermens Grapefruit bitters

Combine first three ingredients plus spice extract in a shaker full of ice, shaking well to combine. In an tall-ish glass, add two cubes of ice, dashing grapefruit bitters over the ice before pouring in rum mixture and topping with club soda.

It works as a Weasley because of both the "ginger" connotation and the color...it's pretty much a fiery red. I really like this drink's flavor, as it's an unusual take on the classic Planters Punch formula of 1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong and 4 of weak, plus spice. The vinegar base of the shrub really works in a very subtle way, and the heat of the ginger plays with everything as well, as shrubs were traditionally topped with ginger beer. I like how the spices play with the smoky molasses nature of the rum, and the brightness of the grapefruit bitters really makes it all sing.

Now, as long as I don't get sued out of existence, I'll be happy! Ms Rowling, if you read this, please enjoy the drink as much as I enjoyed your books. (And please don't sue me!)

In which I play with one of my new toys...

Probably close to a year and a half ago, I stumbled across Bittermens Bitters while perusing my cocktail blog circuit. I read about some of the flavors they had come up with, and I was enthralled. So I followed their site with great interest, and earlier this summer, they announced that they had entered into a partnership with another bitters maker, The Bitter Truth, based out of Germany, to manufacture and distribute two of their bitters...Grapefruit and Xocolatl Mole. Well, as soon as it was available for pre-order from The Boston Shaker, I bought one of each, and yesterday afternoon, oh glory and trumpets, Mr. Frodo!, the bitters arrived. And then I had to wait, for in some circles, drinking a cocktail at 3 in the afternoon is seen as slightly gauche, and while I'm happy to say I don't run in those circles, I still felt it was a little early. So around about 7pm, I started tinkering, and the first drink I made was one that was listed on the back of the bottle of Grapefruit bitters, and it was so excellent, I made another tonight and am posting it for your reading pleasure now.

Updated BVD Cocktail

1 1/2 oz gin
1 1/2 oz white rum
1 1/2 oz dry vermouth
two dashes Bittermens Grapefruit bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice until well chilled, and strain into coupe.

Now before you ask, I have no idea where the "BVD" moniker comes from. I've seen this made with a few different liquors, and while I suspect it may have started out as an acronym for one or more of the spirits, it doesn't really match up neatly with any of the recipes I've seen. So, passing over that, and with the assurance that it definitely does not taste like a pair of underwear, go make this drink. Well, you'll have to order the bitters first, so do that, and then go make this drink. The sweet acidity of the Grapefruit bitters really tie this together, smoothing over the rough corners you'd expect from equal measures of gin, rum and vermouth...it really works amazingly well together, and I think without those magical Bittermens bitters in there it wouldn't be half the drink it is.

Stay tuned in the near future for a drink made with the Xocolatl Mole bitters, although if you're impatient, go make a Manhattan with those in place of Angostura. You'll thank me.