<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<title>Summit Sips</title>
	<link>http://summitsips.com</link>
	<description>Explorations in Mixology</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:18:09 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	<!-- generator="WordPress/3.2.1" -->

	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Anodyne</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The Anodyne Cocktail—for whatever ails you. The name means something that alleviates or eliminates pain, so I guess it could apply to any drink, but in this case it was chosen for a medicinal combination of ingredients first tried by Wesley Moore in 2009 when it appeared on Chuck Taggart&#8217;s Looka! Gumbo Pages weblog. According to Chuck, the cocktail was inspired by the Perfect Martini which is a Martini made using equal portions of both sweet and dry vermouth.</p> <p>The first thing you might notice is that this drink doesn&#8217;t use a typical sweet vermouth, nor a typical dry one. It wouldn&#8217;t be very innovative if it did. Instead, the substitutions are far more interesting and the proportions are such that they setup a wonderful balance between them. As simple as it sounds, it&#8217;s much more than a basic substitution riff. What we have with the Anodyne is another <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-anodyne">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-anodyne</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Volcano Bowl</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I have to start with a word of caution. If you decide to make this Drink of the Week including it&#8217;s fiery presentation, proceed carefully. I have always been an advocate of responsible drinking and although that applies here too, there&#8217;s no reason to come this far only to let your hair catch on fire! That being said, there are alternatives if you don&#8217;t have the proper bowl or if you want to avoid the flames altogether. We&#8217;ll get to that, but first, let&#8217;s talk Tiki.</p> <p>Over the years there have been several &#8220;bowl&#8221; style drink recipes that, for me, epitomize the laid-back attitude of tropical consumption. While I enjoy an outlandish ceramic Tiki mug filled with exotic juice and rum as much as the next beach bum, I also appreciate the idea that sometimes a drink is just so big (or so strong) that it needs to be <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-volcano-bowl">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-volcano-bowl</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Cherry Caiprissima</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p class="wp-caption-text">Muddling cherries and lime</p> <p>This drink of the week is pretty easy to pull off. It&#8217;s a Caiprissima, which is like a Caipirinha only it uses rum instead of cachaça, and of course, this one also has cherries in it. According to my notes, I saw this somewhere back in June so it&#8217;s probably a summer drink. It&#8217;s been raining in December around here, so a summer drink sounds like a good drink in my book. This Caiprissima variation was created by Meaghan Dorman of Raines Law Room, Manhattan. If you are familiar with the Caipirinha, you know the drill—just use rum and throw in some cherries!</p> <p>The process goes something like this: Take some pitted cherries and drop them into a shaker. Add your simple syrup (or just a couple spoons of sugar if you prefer) and muddle them into oblivion. Drop in half of a lime cut <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-cherry-caiprissima">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-cherry-caiprissima</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Scotch Selection for 2011</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s that time of the year again when my wife and I choose a bottle to add to our collection of Scotch whisky. Over the years we have pulled together a small selection of single malts—a process that continues to work well for us. We don&#8217;t drink a lot of Scotch throughout the year so bottles tend to last a long time. Rather than stocking a cabinet all at once, this technique allows us to be more selective as we slowly build an inventory without feeling the expense all at once.</p> <p>In past years we have often tried to add bottles from distilleries familar to us by choosing a special bottling or a distiller&#8217;s reserve, but this time our apporoach was influenced by a series of events that we first read about in the New York Times. An article published back in July chronicled the story about how three <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/scotch-selection-for-2011">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/scotch-selection-for-2011</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Eastern Sour</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>This Drink of the Week week is actually three drinks in one. The Eastern Sour is the first of a small family of sour cocktails invented by none other than Trader Vic, one of the founding fathers of the mid-century Tiki movement. Although it isn&#8217;t as complex or as difficult as many Tiki drinks, for some people that&#8217;s not necessarily a bad thing. The more ingredients—or often, the more obscure the ingredients—the less likely most folks will be able to execute the recipe. At least that was my theory as I looked for a tropical style drink to post this week. I thought we needed a change from all of the Manhattan variations I have been posting.</p> <p>My source of reference is a groovy little iPhone/iPad app called Beachbum Berry&#8217;s Tiki+. This app was developed with the full endorsement of Jeff &#8220;Beachbum&#8221; Berry and it&#8217;s filled with recipes that <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-eastern-sour">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-eastern-sour</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Creative Holiday Gift Ideas</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p class="wp-caption-text">Assorted Syrups</p> <p>One of the best gifts you can give someone interested in cocktails is booze. You don&#8217;t even have to break the bank (although you might reconsider picking from the bottom shelf) because it doesn&#8217;t have to be the rarest or the most expensive item in the shop. Pick a decent base spirit and you really can&#8217;t go wrong. For example, there&#8217;s no such thing as having too much gin for classic cocktails, and who would turn away a nice bottle of whiskey or rum? Certainly not me, so if you want a no-brainer gift idea that will be used and appreciated, look no further. The problem with this approach is that a bottle of alcohol may not be the most personal or creative gift idea. It will work as a last resort, but you can do better!</p> <p></p> <p>If a bottle of booze is the baseline, <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/creative-holiday-gift-ideas">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/creative-holiday-gift-ideas</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Hot Buttered Rum</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was asking me why she couldn&#8217;t find the recipe for Hot Buttered Rum on the site. I realized it&#8217;s because I had never posted it. It&#8217;s time to fix that!</p> <p>There are a couple schools of thought when it comes to Hot Buttered Rum. One is that the best recipe is actually not for the cocktail at all but rather a batter that you use as the basis for the drink. It&#8217;s hard to deny that a good batter recipe probably makes a fantastic cocktail, but there is another approach that I find appealing for a different reason. It follows the idea that if a recipe is too hard or just too time consuming, you probably aren&#8217;t going to make it. I am not one to back away from a challenge, but I also recognize that not everyone wants to commit <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-hot-buttered-rum">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/12/drink-of-the-week-hot-buttered-rum</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Greenpoint</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As most of us settle into a weekend of turkey dinner leftovers in all of their various forms, it made sense to feature another riff on a popular classic—not that this is actually a leftover—the Greenpoint is a nice cocktail in it&#8217;s own right. However, since most drinks evolve from some earlier recipe, I guess this is as much a variation of a Manhattan as a turkey sandwich as a variation of roast turkey. It&#8217;s important to mention that in addition to evolving from the Manhattan, the Greenpoint is actually one of the Brooklyn neighborhood variants spawned by the Red Hook. It won&#8217;t be the last that I feature, but it might be the best.</p> <p>Since the basis for the Greenpoint is the Red Hook, and by extension, the Manhattan, it should come as no surprise that that this is going to be a rye whiskey cocktail with vermouth. <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-greenpoint">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-greenpoint</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>How To Make Ice Shards</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Well, we had our first real snowfall here in the Twin Cities today, so I figured what better time to say a few things about ice. I have written before about the importance of using proper ice in cocktails. Whether you are making a recipe that calls for crushed ice or one that requires solid cubes for shaking, using the right ice for the job is more important than most people realize. You can read all about that here, so let&#8217;s move on and explore the idea of the ice shard.</p> <p>In addition to just serving drinks on the rocks, sometimes a recipe works nicely with a huge chunk that almost fills the glass. Ice spheres are great for this. Their large mass keeps everything cold, and the low surface area keeps the ice from melting. But what about tall and skinny Collins style drinks? You can&#8217;t exactly fit <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/11/how-to-make-ice-shards">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/11/how-to-make-ice-shards</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Pink Lady</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The name may not inspire you, but this drink actually surprised me. If you dig around in old cocktail books for this recipe you find that they are all different. Flipping through the pages of the Savoy, for example, you find a recipe that lacks the Applejack and has no citrus. It doesn&#8217;t sound like something I want to try. You can find versions that add brandy to the mix and even some with cream. One might specify lemon while another will call for lime. It seems that darn near anything that had a light pink hue was once called a Pink Lady—a name you could just pass by thinking it&#8217;s a girlie drink before you started comparing vintage recipes. Even Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh goes to great lengths in his Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails to avoid revealing the name of this drink until you turn the page. But looking <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-pink-lady">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-pink-lady</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Red Hook</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>There&#8217;s a reason we have so many delicious cocktails that are related the the Manhattan. Because of its simplicity, the Manhattan formula lends itself to a variety of substitutions that can transform what is already a perfect classic into something unexpected and wonderful. It doesn&#8217;t happen every time, but when it does, it&#8217;s worth the effort. Here&#8217;s one example. When it was first created by Vincenzo Errico in 2004 at Milk &#38; Honey in New York, the Red Hook which is named for the New York neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough quickly spun-off a number of variations from its admirers.</p> <p>A Manhattan is typically two parts whiskey and one part sweet vermouth. It&#8217;s fair to say that the vermouth is the dominant flavor. Instead of vermouth, the Red Hook calls for the complex and bitter Punt e Mes. Even at half the volume, Punt e Mes exerts its personality <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-red-hook">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-red-hook</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Oriental</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As far as I am aware, there&#8217;s nothing truly oriental about the cocktail this week. It appears in the Savoy, not some asian bar manual. It is accompanied by a story that mentions the Philippines—do we really believe that? It may be an early 20th century recipe, but unfortunately it&#8217;s not a very popular one. That&#8217;s a shame because it&#8217;s a decent drink.</p> <p>I&#8217;ll try just about anything that has rye whiskey, especially if it also has sweet vermouth. But the Oriental also has lime and curaçao which takes the flavor in an unexpected direction. I guess that sorta makes it a Manhattan Sour.</p> <p>Oriental 1.5 oz rye whiskey .75 oz orange curaçao .75 oz sweet vermouth .5 oz fresh lime juice</p> <p>Add ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino or brandied cherry.</p> <p>Is it perfectly balanced? Not necessarily, <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-oriental">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/11/drink-of-the-week-oriental</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink Of The Week: Fangs Out</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p> <p>Last year during the month of October I shared a series of Halloween-themed cocktails that are all great classics. The Corpse Reviver No. 2, Satan&#8217;s Whiskers, Trader Vic&#8217;s El Diablo and Don the Beachcomber&#8217;s Zombie. I couldn&#8217;t let the month go by without adding another ghoulish recipe to the list. This year I am sharing my interpretation of something I had at the Bradstreet Crafthouse back in January.</p> <p>Although it&#8217;s no longer on the menu at Bradstreet, every time I look at the ingredients I am bitten. This is not for the faint of heart. First of all, it&#8217;s an all-spirits drink, and while that has the benefit of avoiding fresh juices making it easier in some respects, it also packs a wallop. This isn&#8217;t something all springtime-refreshing and peppy. It&#8217;s an autumn drink that is dark, herbal, complex and bitter—like a Negroni that fell under the spell <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-fangs-out">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-fangs-out</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Millionaire No. 1</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Back in March I posted a recipe for the Sloe Gin Fizz. If you haven&#8217;t had the pleasure of tasting this drink, or more importantly, tasting real sloe gin, I highly recommend making a little room in your cabinet for this wonderful spirit. Do everything you can to find Plymouth Sloe Gin since other brands may not be the same product. Some people say that the best sloe gin is homemade, and that&#8217;s probably true. Just be aware that many of the bottom shelf brands have nothing in common with blackthorn berries, let alone actual gin. Plymouth, on the other hand, is made using the real fruit and their own gin, and it is absolutely delicious.</p> <p>Besides the Fizz, there are several sloe gin cocktails worth trying, and one of them is the Millionaire #1. This drink appears in Harry Craddock’s The Savoy Cocktail Book. It&#8217;s also another great cocktail that <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-millionaire-no-1">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-millionaire-no-1</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Boston Bog</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I have always wanted to make fresh cranberry juice, and you can find plenty of good recipes online that seem simple enough. Most of them describe putting cranberries through a blender or food processor, adding water, sometimes cooking them, sometimes letting the purée rest for some period, then straining the result. Then, it’s just a matter of adding sugar which helps bring that astringent flavor under control and counteracts the bitterness. The benefit is that you can add as little or as much sweetener as you like. The steps are straightforward enough, and I might try it some day, but for a single cocktail there had to be a shortcut.</p> <p>The obvious solution is to simply muddle a handful of cranberries in your mixing glass and build the balance of flavor using other cocktail ingredients. That&#8217;s what Misty Kalfoken of Drink, Boston does in her Boston Bog. This cocktail <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-boston-bog">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-boston-bog</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Apple Smash</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Last year, the New York Times ran an article featuring another fantastic cocktail by Bobby Heugel of Anvil, Houston. At the time, I didn&#8217;t really think much about it, but looking back, the simplicity and the seasonal significance right now make it a perfect feature for the Drink of the Week.</p> <p>I am referring to the Apple Smash, a basic rum cocktail that makes great use of fresh apples both in the drink and for the garnish. With so many different apples available this time of year, why not give this easy recipe a try? After all, fresh apples are underused in cocktails and it&#8217;s nice to have a recipe that works without requiring a bunch of odd ingredients. In other words, you probably have everything you need to make this drink right now—just grab some apples and you are ready to go. Heugel suggests Honeycrisp, but it&#8217;s fun <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-apple-smash">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/10/drink-of-the-week-apple-smash</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Atty</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Back in January, Camper English of Alcademics wrote a piece for the LA Times Magazine with an interesting observation. He suggested that the Martini no longer exists because everyone who makes one (or who orders one) expects something different. In other words, we don&#8217;t really have a universally accepted recipe today, partly because everyone has different ideas about what they like, what should or shouldn&#8217;t go into the mixing glass, the proportions and how it should be garnished. Blame it on history, marketing or even peer pressure—it has become a call drink that requires specifics about its construction every time it is requested. If you order a Martini, you should expect a bunch of questions in response. Gin or vodka? Which brand? How much vermouth? What kind of garnish? If you don&#8217;t get questions you probably shouldn&#8217;t be ordering one. There&#8217;s no telling what you will get. Same goes <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-atty">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-atty</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>More Vintage Glassware</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p class="wp-caption-text">Coupe, Tall, Iridized</p> <p>This weekend turned out to be a good one for glassware. As many of you know, I am a big fan of recycling vintage glasses to showcase great cocktails. That usually means that I am on the hunt for coupes, the bowl-shaped champagne goblets from days gone by. But I try not to limit myself to just one style.</p> <p>I was pretty excited when I spotted a bunch of iridized coupes in perfect condition. These are actually a match to a pair already available in the Summit Sips Store and they are probably my favorite cocktail glasses. I have used them in numerous photographs here. They are slightly larger than what I typically look for, but they are not so big that they overwhelm classic recipes. It felt great to bump up the inventory for this particular stem to a total of seven. If you <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/09/more-vintage-glassware">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/09/more-vintage-glassware</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink Of The Week: Rural Juror</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy the culinary mastery of Chef Lenny Russo at the Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, you might have also enjoyed an inspired beverage from their cocktail menu. It&#8217;s great to see that a kitchen capable of churning out an ever-changing array of local, seasonal masterpieces doesn&#8217;t completely overshadow its small but interesting list of mixed drinks. With names like the Jerry Thomas, Cardinal Kiss, and the Violet Beauregarde, there&#8217;s plenty to keep your interest. I also appreciate the fact that they feature a classic Negroni, an Amaro Manhattan and a collection of ingredients that combine unusual liqueurs, bitters, and distilled spirits from the local region.</p> <p>But, the cocktail that seems to evoke the most curiosity may also be the simplest. The Rural Juror isn&#8217;t exactly a tongue-twister, but it&#8217;s impossible to order one with a straight face. A cocktail&#8217;s name can mean <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-rural-juror">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-rural-juror</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Kir Royale</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s been a long time since I patted myself on the back for the novel idea of pouring a little Chambord into a bottle of Zima. I don&#8217;t even know if you can still buy Zima anymore, but that seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, it wasn&#8217;t such a unique concept—adding liqueur to sparkling beverages. In fact, it doesn&#8217;t even have to be bubbly at all.</p> <p>Named after Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, the Kir was a drink that was originally made by pouring a measure of  crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) into a wine glass and then topping it up with wine. After World War II, there was an abundance of white wine in Burgundy, so Kir renovated the drink and used the surplus white wine in place of his original red. Today, we also have the Kir Royale which is essentially the same <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-kir-royale">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-kir-royale</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Edgewood</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Ever since it appeared in the March/April 2008 edition of Imbibe Magazine, I have wanted to make the Edgewood by Greg Best, Holeman &#38; Finch, Atlanta. I am not sure why I delayed. Perhaps it was because I rarely buy grapefruit, or maybe I was just waiting until I could get my hands on the right vermouth. In any case, I finally mixed one up tonight and as I expected, it&#8217;s a decent drink. The ingredients are not so obscure that it would prevent you from tracking them down, and even if you run into trouble with one thing or another, you can always make a few substitutions and still come away with a solid cocktail. I went ahead and made two versions (it was happy hour after all) and both worked nicely.</p> <p>The Edgewood by Greg Best 1.5 oz dry gin 1 oz grapefruit juice .5 oz Punt e Mes <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-edgewood">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-edgewood</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Wenzhou Punch</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is just around the corner, and ever since the US Congress officially declared it as such in 2007, folks in Kentucky consider the month of September &#8220;Bourbon Heritage Month&#8221;. The bill passed four years ago by unanimous consent, although I suspect it was supposed to be for that year alone. Still, the idea was meant to celebrate the 1964 Act of Congress that declared bourbon &#8220;America&#8217;s Native Spirit&#8221;. You could certainly argue that Applejack was distilled in America before anyone decided to make whiskey, but bourbon is by definition an American product. But there is more to the legal definition than that:</p> Only whiskey produced in the United States can be called bourbon. Bourbon must be made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn. Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels. Bourbon must be distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume). Bourbon <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-wenzhou-punch">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/09/drink-of-the-week-wenzhou-punch</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink Of The Week: Angostura</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The Great Minnesota Get-together It&#8217;s that time of the year again when Minnesotans make their annual trip to the State Fair. It sounds so old fashioned, but if you live in the Twin Cities, you already know that folks around here take it very seriously. It&#8217;s not all pigs and agriculture, although they have that too. I tend to keep my distance from anything that smells like a barn, but it&#8217;s either that or the deep fat fryers. Everyone seems to enjoy something different at the Fair, and some of us just look forward to all of the food. Old habits die hard. For instance, every year, I make my way to Sweet Martha&#8217;s Cookies where I buy a bucket and walk it over to the &#8220;all the milk you can drink&#8221; stand. And every year, someone in the crowd says, &#8220;Whoa, what a great idea—chocolate chip cookies and <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-angostura">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-angostura</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Zarzamora</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s a recipe I have been meaning to share for quite some time. It&#8217;s a highball that was my first cocktail at The Violet Hour in Chicago. That was several years ago now, but it&#8217;s one of those memorable concoctions that has often been the subject of google searches and occasional experimentation for me. Eventually, it came up in discussion on the LTHForum where Toby Maloney has shared some of his other recipes, and although we never got the official proportions for the Zarzamora, the discussion did lead to a successful rendition.</p> <p>Zarzamora is what they call the blackberry in Argentina. That’s significant for a couple of reasons. First, this drink has blackberries, but more importantly, it contains Fernet Branca. If you recall, Fernet is a bitter Italian Amaro, and it’s one of the strongest in terms of bitter herbal complexity. So, what does that have to do with Argentina? <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-zarzamora">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-zarzamora</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>How to Make Coca Cola</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Drink of the Week: Cuba Libre <p>I am just going to come right out and say it: This week&#8217;s DOTW is getting hijacked. Anyone who recognizes the Cuba Libre also knows that it&#8217;s just a fancy name for the popular Rum and Coke. Sure, there&#8217;s a squeeze of lime, and we&#8217;ll get to the drink itself.</p> <p class="wp-caption-text">Coca Leaf Tea</p> <p>Most of you are probably thinking, &#8220;But isn&#8217;t the formula for Coke one of the most guarded secrets on earth?&#8221; Well, yes and no. Many aspects of the recipe are known (the ingredients are written right on the can), but there is some truth to the story that only a select few individuals know the formula of the primary flavoring component. However, some very convincing evidence exists that the Original Recipe—the one first created by Coca Cola inventor John Pemberton back in 1886—may have been revealed in a newspaper <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-cuba-libre">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-cuba-libre</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Rurita</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Not long ago we made some great rhubarb-infused vodka. What I never shared was that in addition to the vodka, I also infused some gin. I figured that while the rhubarb was still available I might as well try it. Then the May/June 2001 issue of Imbibe Magazine came out and there was a nice recipe for Rhubarb Bitters. Yep, I made that too, and as recipes go, this was not much more than chopping up some stuff and throwing it into a jar for a couple of weeks.</p> <p>The &#8220;stuff&#8221; includes lots of rhubarb, some grapefruit peel, orange peel, and cinnamon all macerated in a jar of high-proof neutral spirits, then diluted some with water and sweetened with agave. It&#8217;s not exactly bitter, but it has a great concentrated flavor that can be used to add complexity to cocktails or to season them to bring other ingredients together. <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-rurita">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/08/drink-of-the-week-rurita</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Take 3</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>About a month ago, the New York Times published an article about summer cocktails. One of these was a highball that included the unlikely combination of St-Germain and Cynar. Leave it to Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin of Dutch Kills, Queens to take an artichoke-flavored amaro and mix it with elderflower liqueur and lemon juice. The simplicity of these three ingredients has a certain elegance to be sure, but it&#8217;s an unexpected combination that for me, earns this cocktail more than just a catchy name.</p> <p>What really drew me in was the fact that there is no base spirit—at least not in the traditional sense. There&#8217;s no gin, vodka, whiskey—just the amaro kept company by some liqueur. A seductive and complex category of spirits dominated by dark and brooding herbal characteristics, an amaro is normally used to augment the flavor other ingredients in a recipe. But this drink dives right in with <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/07/drink-of-the-week-take-3">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/07/drink-of-the-week-take-3</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Antique Glassware</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As many of you know, I have somewhat of an obsession with antique glassware. But, my interest doesn&#8217;t actually force me to buy every stem that I see. With only a few exceptions, I try to find good values when I am out on the hunt. I like knowing that I have something unique, but that I didn&#8217;t have to pay an arm and leg for it. That way I can use them at parties and I won&#8217;t be upset should an accident occur. Some people like matched sets. I understand that. I used to feel that way too, but one of the joys of owning even a single stem of a given style is that it helps to underscore how each cocktail you serve is unique. Rarely do guests all want the same thing, and giving them their selection in a special cocktail glass is another way to <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/07/antique-glassware">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/07/antique-glassware</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink of the Week: Brandy Crusta</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The original definition of cocktail first published in 1806 was a simple combination of spirits, sugar, water and bitters. Drinks like the Old Fashioned and the Sazerac are good examples that have stood the test of time. Yet, recipes evolve, and it didn&#8217;t take long for substitutions to occur. For example, instead of sugar and water, why not use simple syrup? And if you wanted a little exotic flair, perhaps you could even use a liqueur to sweeten your cocktail. At some point, citrus was introduced and by the time &#8220;Professor&#8221; Jerry Thomas wrote The Bar-Tenders Guide in 1862, the updated combination had a name. The Crusta was a fancy creation, all decked-out with a sugared rim and a huge lemon peel for a garnish. The good Professor predicted that the Crusta would eventually outshine the Cocktail. Was he right?</p> <p>Even though most people have never even heard of a Brandy Crusta, <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/07/drink-of-the-week-brandy-crusta">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/07/drink-of-the-week-brandy-crusta</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drink Of The Week: Mojito</title>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p> <p>There&#8217;s more than one recipe for the Mojito. I even posted a different one a while back to accompany a fine article I wrote about simple syrup. It&#8217;s a refreshing summer drink and a great way to hide some rum inside a few mint leaves, lime and sugar. So, I figured it was about time I featured it as the Drink of the Week.</p> <p>It&#8217;s not my favorite cocktail, but a lot of people love it, and why wouldn&#8217;t they? Rum, sugar, lime, mint—what&#8217;s not to love? I suppose you could consider the Mojito a cross between a Julep and a Daiquiri, but by that logic, every cocktail is just a combination of something else. I was going to get into some of the historic details about this Cuban classic, but I decided plenty has been written about that elsewhere. So, I thought I&#8217;d focus on the drink&#8217;s <p><a href="http://summitsips.com/2011/07/drink-of-the-week-mojito">Take a bigger gulp of this article. . .</a></p>]]></description>
		<link>http://summitsips.com/2011/07/drink-of-the-week-mojito</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>

