In which I create a drink and name it for a celebrity.

So, on the heels of the "RumDood's Revenge" of the other night, I decided to create another cocktail, but name it after a real celebrity this time. (Sorry, Matt...you're only famous in our mixology circles.) And I figured, who better to name it after than a person who's interest in classic drinks is quite well known. We've already seen David Wondrich name a drink for a broadcaster famous for "truthiness," so let's name one after another newscaster. Ladles and Gentlemints, I give you...

The Maddow Sling

1 oz Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz ginger liqueur (mine's homemade, but Domaine de Canton will work, too)
1/2 oz double-strength Earl Grey Tea
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz 2:1 simple syrup
1/8 teaspoon Fernet Branca
dash orange bitters
2 oz seltzer, to top

Build all except soda over ice in an Old-Fashioned glass. Stir to combine, then top with seltzer.

It's really a nice, subtle drink. Not one-dimensional, lots of flavors in there, but all working together. Ginger naturally pairs with bergamot and tea quite well, so that's the Earl Grey right there, the Cherry Heering brightens the whole thing, and that tiny bit of Fernet Branca adds a little more complexity. I quite like it, and if she's reading this, I hope Rachel Maddow likes it, too.

Tea for two, and two for tea...

I decided to go with another non-alcoholic drink today, using the other flavor of the DRY Soda that I picked up, Vanilla Bean. I thought it might be interesting to combine the mild sweetness of the soda with something a little more unusual, and started rummaging through my teas. I found a genmaicha that I thought would go well with it. Genmaicha is green tea (sencha) with toasted rice. It sounds weird, but it's really quite good, with sort of a nutty flavor to it.

And happily, it turns out my theory was correct, and that this does match up well together. I was stumped for a name, though, so I just googled what "vanilla" is in Japanese, and from my exhaustive research (read, five minute search) the best I can find is "banila" (バニラ) so I just called this thing:

Banila Genmaicha

2 teaspoons good genmaicha tea, or two teabags
1 cup water just off the boil
6 oz Vanilla Bean DRY Soda

Steep the tea in hot water for about 10 minutes, discard leaves/bags and chill. Once cooled, pour 2 oz of the double-strength tea over ice and add 6 oz Vanilla Bean DRY Soda.

The green tea and the roasted nature of the rice really make for a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the vanilla. This'd make for a very refreshing summer drink, and pair well with most Pacific cuisines, I'd imagine. The great think about DRY's sodas is that they're not overly sweet...it's nice to not have my teeth start to itch from too much sweetener. Definitely a combination worth trying.