in the 2k10 i am learning to make cocktails. this is my mixology thread

xxp hate to say it, but at least in my state amaros are pretty readily available, and like bitters, you can never have to many. sounds like you need some more awesome stuff!

I am already thinking of what to ask them to make me at Drink on Wednesday.

I am thinking I'm going to ask for something refreshing and floral preferably in a lemon/lavender sort of way.

RECIPE FORTY-EIGHT: pegu club

huh, i didn't do this yet? well, it's a recognized classic tho you'll have to decide the right proportions for yourself. i think this is a decent jumping-off point:

2 oz. gin
.5 oz. lime juice
.5 oz. curacao or triple sec
1 dash angostura
1 dash orange bitters

shake and strain.

this is a relatively dry and tart edition, but i don't think it's out of balance. worth noting, i used a v. light gin (bulldog) and sours like this are extremely delicate and sensitive to ingredient changes.

RECIPE FORTY-NINE: paris manhattan

a delectable manhattan variant 4 u

2 oz. rye (or bourbon i guess)
1 oz. st germain
.5 oz. dry vermouth
2 dashes angostura

stir and strain.

this is a FANTASTIC use of st. germain.

St Germain is a weird thing! French but the passion fruit & papaya character makes it seem so much like it should be a tiki drink staple. Can be used for great good... or evil.

the above use does sound delicious, I'll have to try it

I had some interesting things tonight, including:

- Gin/lime soda/salt drink
- Quince/paprika/scotch/sherry slushie (omg this was so much better than the ingredient list would indicate)

uhhhh do you have a recipe for that second one?

st germain is indeed funny--for the longest time i couldn't identify it in drinks i had at bars because who the hell knows what "elderflower" tastes like? then i got a bottle and it was all "oh, it tastes like tropical fruit"

I don't have a recipe, it was at a new restaurant - it was such a strangely palatable drink!

yeah it's p. unfathomable

do you guys not get elderflower cordial?

i just brought back a bottle of st g from nyc!

i think this thread is good and i would like to participate.

pls do so!

i never made a lot of cocktails... some mint juleps recently... the occasional g&t or zubrowka + apple j.

i have a bunch of bourbon in my cupboard. and brandy. and pear william haha.

what should i make!

do you have any vermouth? (sweet or dry)

no, i should prob stock some tho

and get some more hendricks

you shld do both those things

vermouth is pretty cheap, and v useful

ya i wanted to keep some around the house for cooking purposes anyway

been having good luck extending the life of my vermouth by keeping it in the fridge and using those little vacuum seal wine caps.

how long do you think vermouth lasts? i keep mine in the fridge but i've had it for quite a while

as far as i can tell:

~ 3 weeks at room temp
a month plus in fridge
i'm at about 2 mos. in fridge and vacuum sealed.

that's it? i thought you could keep it around forever ever

nooooooooo. vermouth is not that alcoholic and it will turn. the result is not nec. disgusting, but taste tests i have done between fresh bottles and bottles that were sitting out were very enlightening.

so last week i infused half a bottle of new amsterdam gin with about 4 sprigs of fresh thai basil for 4 days. the result is interesting--it's got a strong vegetable thing going that could only loosely be id'd as basil. it makes for kind of a nice g+t tho--just made a bunch for my gf's friends who come over to watch true blood.

had a basil gimlet yday, would drink

RECIPE FIFTY: gunshop fizz

ok, this is weird and labor intensive but i swear it's worth it

2 oz. peychaud's bitters
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. simply syrup
2 strawberries, halved
3 slices cucumber
3 swaths grapefruit peel
3 swaths orange peel

sanbitter*

add everything but the sanbitter to a mixing glass and muddle. leave alone for 2 mins. shake w/ice, double strain over fresh ice into a collins glass. top w/sanbitter and another cucumber slice

*sanbitter is a san pelligrino product--a bright red soda that comes in tiny 50 ml bottles. check yr local italian market.

from the beta cocktails people--as you can see this is an experiment in using "non-potable" bitters as a base liquor. i've been wanting to make it forever and finally stumbled across some sanbitter. it was worth the wait--extremely light and refreshing, with a strong citrus tang and the bitterness from the peychaud's just slightly cutting the finish. awesome stuff.

simply syrup?

lol

that drink sounds awesome

hahah

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/dining/20tipsy.html?hp

my friend I am drinkin EL DIABLO and it has quickly become a favorite

1.5 oz good tequila
1/2 lime
1/4 oz creme de cassis
ice
ginger ale

fill glass with ice; squeeze 1/2 lime over. add liquors, top with ginger ale. IT IS SO GOOD. you can err on the side of "a little more creme de cassis" as I do 'cause that stuff is delish.

wd fuck with

nice! i just bought a little bottle of cassis last week. is this a silver tequila drink or a reposado tequila drink!

I'm using reposado. so drinkable and rad. I left off that when you squeeze the 1/2 lime, you just drop the squoze shell/peel in on top and pour the liquids in over that. lovely lovely drink!

i'm gonna get some reposado and do that up. here's another cassis drink that i found recently:

RECIPE FIFTY-ONE: gotham

2 oz. vsop cognac
1 oz. dry vermouth
.5 oz. creme de cassis
.5 tsp lemon juice

stir and strain, garnish with a lemon twist.

david wondrich, who is prob my favorite mixo writer guy, invented this as a cosmo alternative. as he says "i wouldn't exactly say i failed, but i'll certainly concede that the schedule has slipped a tad."

hmm! I have all those ingredients to hand! really only 1/2 a teaspoon of lemon juice though? that seems homeopathic.

i agree--i only made this once and i think the other ingredients would be plenty strong to stand up to some more lemon

ok so I have made me a GOTHAM and I have to say I like it! though to be honest, given that I have 1) some outstanding vermouth & 2) this amazing creme de cassis, I'd be hard pressed to not like a drink that spotlights both. I basically upped the lemon juice to "1/2 lemon" which was basically "a fat tablespoon," or maybe 1.5 tbsp. pretty damn good!

glad!!! what is yr vermouth btw?

damn that is some fancy looking creme de cassis

Negronis. Wonderful.

glad!!! what is yr vermouth btw?

Dolin. The wine store down the street sells several different Dolin bottles, all wonderful.

http://is7.itookthisonmyphone.com/m/00118/14b41af8-7bd9-4bc2-a861-76e40aff70b2/9b897c53-fe74-4f0c-acfa-25215d3d685e_568x426r0.jpg

Last night's bar.

nice bar btw! what's the bottle in front of the cointreau?

RECIPE FIFTY-TWO: queen's road variant

the things that happen when you accidentally buy a pink grapefruit and not a white one

1.5 oz. gold puerto rican rum
.5 oz. pink grapefruit juice
.5 oz. lime juice
.5 oz. honey mix (1:1 honey/water combined in microwave)
.5 tsp domaine de canton ginger liqueur
1 dash angostura

the substitutions are pink grapefruit for orange juice and domaine de canton for ginger syrup. an evolving drink with the juices coming out at certain points, and the bite of the ginger and angostura appearing other times.

i <3 pink grapefruit

CAD i was wondering:

if 1/2 lemonade & 1/2 iced tea is an "arnold palmer"

how would you envision an alcoholic "laura palmer" cocktail?

ideally you would rim the glass with cocaine but let's be reasonable