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Here’s a cocktail that combines two base spirits, brandy and rum. It’s a prohibition era recipe that takes inspiration from the Sidecar, a delicious and flavorful drink that was itself the predecessor to drinks like the Margarita. That puts us squarely in the sour family, though there are differing opinions about how sour you should make it.
Whenever we make a sour style cocktail we are combining something sweet with something acidic. Like the Sidecar, the Between The Sheets cocktail plays lemon juice against Cointreau, though the lemon plays a less prominent role in this drink. And that’s where documented recipes and opinions differ. Most references position the orange liqueur at a ratio equal to half that of the combined base spirits, but the amount of lemon juice tends to vary. There are recipes that call for a mere dash,
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Here is an excellent tipple to add to your weekend repertoire. You might have seen this one appear on the menus at some of your favorite craft cocktail bars recently even though it’s more than 80 years old. It dates at least as far back as Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book. This is one of those rediscovered recipes that seems to have legs—bars that were once excited about the Aviation and later, the Last Word are putting this drink into rotation. And they should, because this is a wonderful cocktail.
Of course, the Champs Élysées name is a reference to the fashionable tree-lined avenue in Paris, possibly because of the French ingredients. Certainly, a good French Cognac is going to help the flavor of this drink to a point, but spending too much on the base
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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’t as complex or as difficult as many Tiki drinks, for some people that’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.
My source of reference is a groovy little iPhone/iPad app called Beachbum Berry’s Tiki+. This app was developed with the full endorsement of Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and it’s filled with recipes
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Some of you may know that I have a sister who lives in Spain. Over the years, she has shared some wonderful stories about life in Europe, but when it comes to cocktails, she usually talks about Sangria. Essentially a wine-based punch, Sangria is a great party beverage. It’s normally made in batches and tastes better if the ingredients are allowed “get to know each other” while chilling in the refrigerator. That means you can and should make it ahead of time. With the Fourth of July holiday just around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to mix up some of this delicious potion. I also thought it might be interesting to see how my own basic Sangria recipe stacks up against my sister’s experiences in Barcelona and to share some of her insights about what works and what doesn’t. In the end, this highly customizable drink should
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Here’s another fantastic ginger cocktail, but not a new one. It’s the Sleepy Head, and it dates back at least as far as 1930 when it appears in Harry Craddock’s The Savoy Cocktail Book. If you are a fan of the Moscow Mule, or if you tried the Mamie Taylor, I think this cocktail has them both beat. However, the early version is a bit simpler than what we have here. The adjustments are subtle, but I think the cocktail is better for it
The first change results in a stronger boost of orange flavor. The basis for this updated comes from Jeff Hollinger of the Absinthe Brasserie in San Francisco. While Craddock’s book calls for just an orange peel, Hollinger keeps the garnish but takes the flavor a step further by
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Real Classic Cocktails in the Lobby Bar
It’s a tricky thing, choosing cocktails on a cruise ship. Do you go with the signature Drink of the Day or pick one from the menu—a list that is bloated with overly-sweet tropical smoothies and misguided classics. It would be easy for a cocktail enthusiast to get discouraged, but it’s a mistake to abandon all hope. After all, I spotted a bottle of Angostura Bitters on the back bar and even some Campari sitting neatly down below. Surely, a little patience, flexibility and some extra gratuity could rescue the situation.
Ingredients and Staff Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the mixologist at sea is the lack of fresh citrus juices. I found this ironic given the Caribbean climate, but for reasons unknown, Rose’s Lime Cordial reigns supreme, as does a variety of mixes and mystery milk. On the other hand, most of the
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The Vieux Carré was first created in 1938 by Walter Bergeron, head bartender at the Hotel Monteleone which, in addition to housing the unusual rotating Carousel Bar, is considered the gateway to the French Quarter for which the drink is named. The Vieux Carré (French for “old square”) is as much a fixture of the New Orleans cocktail scene as the Sazerac, and it’s another reminder of the golden age of mixology.
If you are a fan of spirit-forward drinks, this is another one for your house menu. Upon making it, you might recognize that this is just a Saratoga sweetened with Benedictine. Ok, there’s Peychaud’s bitters too, and by this logic, any cocktail is just another version of something else. You could say it’s like a Monte Carlo, or a variation of the La Louisianne, but these are all just riffs on the Manhattan. If
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This weekend is Repeal Day, the anniversary of the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution which ended Prohibition. Since the day is not quite upon us, I thought I would feature a cocktail that became prominent during Prohibition, or you might say because of prohibition. The name refers to the limit of a country’s sovereignty along its sea borders. In other words, in order to escape US jurisdiction (and Prohibition), would-be drinkers had to travel twelve nautical miles away from the coastline in order to enjoy their favorite cocktail.
Like the Scofflaw, this Drink of the Week pokes fun at our “Noble Experiment”, but in this case, it’s more than just words. At the time, since it was not illegal to drink alcohol, only to manufacture, sell and transport it, anyone with a boat could head a mere three miles out, buy whatever they wanted and drink
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Last weekend we got hit with our first snow in the Twin Cities, and although I previously mentioned how the colder, darker months inspire spiritous cocktails, this time the shoveling and the cold had me longing for the tropics. I’m no Tiki expert, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve settled on an alluring Polynesian classic to brighten my spirits. More than just a fruity rum drink, it may surprise you that this cocktail contains three different base spirits and multiple citrus flavors. It’s complex, balanced and delicious, with a history firmly planted in the Tiki movement. Moreover, it contains orgeat, the darling of homemade simple syrups.
The Fog Cutter has had its share of variations too, as one might expect with so many ingredients. Some bar recipes have even blindly suggested pouring everything from the speed rail into the mixing glass. That would never do, and
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It’s getting cooler now with October behind us, and once we set our clocks back, darkness will descend before the cocktail hour. For many, that’s a sign that winter is coming, and with the inevitable onset of cold weather and blanketing snowfall, nothing warms the heart more than snuggling up to a blazing fireplace sipping rich, dark spirits. Well, at least for me, enjoying the flavors of rye whiskey, brandy and sweet vermouth seems to be an experience that fits better with the colder, darker months of the year.
For our Drink Of The Week, we set our sights on the classics again, turning our clocks all the way back to the 1880s. Imagine yourself in the days of Jerry Thomas, Saratoga Springs, New York, enjoying the spas—or more likely—the horses, the gambling, the cocktails. By then, the cocktail had established a firm grasp on social culture and the
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Antique/Vintage Store Spotlight:
 Coupe, Blue tint, Knobbed Stem 6 oz |
 Coupe |
 Cocktail, Stemless 4.5 oz |
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