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ChamPino Cocktail
We have said it before and it still holds true: It’s never a bad time to open a bottle of champagne. Although we like to keep a bottle of bubbly in the refrigerator ready for any event, sometimes all it takes is dinner at home. There’s no reason it should only come out on special occasions. Whether you open a bottle of cava, prosecco, or real champagne from France, sparkling wine is great all by itself or as an ingredient for cocktails. Flavors vary, and so does quality and price, but you can make decent drinks with just about anything. We aren’t saying you should drink the cheapest stuff you can find, but you don’t have to break the bank either.
Over the years we have featured some popular uses for sparkling wine—the Mimosa, the French 75,
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There’s nothing wrong with documenting the hunt for odd ingredients or describing exploits in the glass. We’ve waxed poetic about Italian bitters, extolled the virtues of herbal liqueurs, and even promoted the benefits of exotic rum. And while we may not inspire every reader to expand their liquor cabinet or cocktail repertoire, we continue to build a foundation of information that anyone can appreciate. It’s easy to get completely carried away with stuff many folks can’t find or won’t even try, so as much as we like the unusual and obscure, nothing gets us more excited than revealing details about something that is common, whether it’s mixing up delicious homemade ingredients, borrowing
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It'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't even know if you can still buy Zima anymore, but that seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, it wasn't such a unique concept—adding liqueur to sparkling beverages. In fact, it doesn't even have to be bubbly at all.
Named after Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, the Kir was a drink that was originally made by pouring a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) into a wine glass and then topping it up with wine.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 drink
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As some of you may have heard, the Town Talk Diner is now closed for business. It's no secret that I considered Town Talk one of the best places to find good cocktails. So, when I heard the news, I decided to reach out to Nick Kosevich who was the front of the house manager there for several years. He has won numerous awards including the first annual Iron Bartender Competition in 2009 and was voted Best Bartender by City Pages in 2008. It's fair to say Nick has been one of the most influential figures in transforming the local craft cocktail scene. Given his history with the restaurant, I wanted to find out his perspective on recent events.
Leaving a five-year gig at Palomino to work with Tim Niver and Aaron Johnson, both of whom he considers some of the best restauranteurs in the area, Nick helped open the
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I'm not sure where I read it, but I have long believed that it's a good idea to always have a bottle of champagne chilling in the refrigerator. You just never know when a special occasion will present itself, or when someone will share news that is worthy of celebration. Sometimes, however, not everyone wants to drink bubbly, or perhaps you think it's time to swap that bottle for something new. Whatever the circumstance, it's never a bad time to open a bottle, and sometimes sharing a round of champagne cocktails is enough of an excuse. This week, I want to share the French 75, a wonderful twist on the Collins that is perfect for warm summer nights.
The French 75 is named for a French-made 75mm artillery canon that saw widespread use in World War I. It's revolutionary recoil design allowed rapid firing without the need to reposition
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Those of you who live in the Twin Cities might already know that this Sunday is Grand Old Day, the largest one-day festival in the midwest that takes place every June along St. Paul's Grand Avenue. It's a fun time with a parade, lots of food, music, art, sporting events and so on. They even created their own iPhone app for the event. What does all that have to do with the Drink Of The Week? Well, as a St. Paul resident, I like to host a backyard barbecue every year to coincide with the huge festival, and for several years running I have served a rum punch—in fish bowls, no less! This year is no exception, but instead of my regular basic fruit juice medley, I decided to make an honest-to-history punch that would make Jerry Thomas proud.
So, who's Jerry Thomas, you might ask? Only the
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A few weeks ago I posted a teaser about our upcoming tour of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Well, it’s time to kickoff the bourbon trail series starting with a special Drink Of The Week and a perfect start to our exploration of Kentucky bourbon country. Click here to see all of the Kentucky bourbon posts on one page. New posts will be added over the next few days so you can see how the trip progressed. The first destination of our tour was the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, KY. The History Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Seelbach Hotel is a perfect example of gilded-era luxury and beauty which recently underwent a $12 million restoration. Its turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts Baroque style served as the backdrop for Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s wedding in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Once a fellow resident
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This week, I am doing something a little different. I will give you the recipe for a cocktail to enjoy, but St-Germain isn't the name, it's an ingredient. Although it has been around for a few years now, I find that most people have still never heard of it—unless you are a cocktail geek like me.
So, what is this St-Germain stuff? Magic Elixir? Nectar of the Gods? Secret potion? Actually, you might say it's all of the above. St-Germain is a new liqueur made from fresh elderflower blossoms. The elder, or more specifically, the European Black Elder grows throughout Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. From the foothills of the Alps, the spring flowers are hand-picked and brought to the distillery where a secret process is used to extract their essence. The production of the liqueur combines old world techniques and ingredients with new processes that ensure quality and consistency.
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These days, not many people can justify spending $100 on a bottle of wine, and for most of us, even $20 is enough to feel pretty uncomfortable. The same goes for cocktails. While retail establishments might offer drink specials to keep customer's "happy" to spend an "hour" or more after work, it's no surprise that the rest of us are spending more time drinking at home. So, how can the mixologist save even more when trying to build up a home stock? The short answer: Rum.
Retail Comparison First, you need to consider the fact that bars and restaurants provide a lot more than just a markup on cocktails—they offer a service that includes mixing the drink (sometimes with expert precision), serving it in appropriate glassware, fancy garnishes, and an unbeatable selection of spirtits, modifiers and mixers that can be hard to match when you stay at home. Of course,
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