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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 that
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 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’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’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’t be the last that I feature, but it might be the best.
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.
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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’s Whiskers, Trader Vic’s El Diablo and Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie. I couldn’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.
Although it’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’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’t something all springtime-refreshing and peppy. It’s an autumn drink that is dark, herbal, complex and bitter—like a Negroni that fell under the spell
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 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 “Bourbon Heritage Month”. 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 “America’s Native Spirit”. 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:
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
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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
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 If ever you find yourself thumbing through the pages of old cocktail books, you will inevitably make your way past several entries involving sherry. They are easy to ignore as you search for something that sounds more exciting—maybe a cocktail based on whiskey or gin. After all, when was the last time you actually heard someone ordering a glass of sherry? Furthermore, have you ever seen a sherry cocktail on any bar menu in your entire life? Sure, most of us can probably remember watching Julia Child using sherry occasionally in her recipes on TV (or was it Dan Aykroyd on SNL?), but to me, sherry has always seemed better suited for the kitchen cabinet than the classic cocktail bar. Boy, was I wrong.
Having ignored it for far too long, I decided it was finally time to challenge my opinion about sherry and to use it as the
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 It’s easy to find inspiration in cocktail books or to look at other websites for ideas, but nothing quite compares to the sights, sounds and flavors of a working bar or restaurant. It affords you the opportunity to try something new and to sample ingredients you might not own. Since I happen to be traveling this week, I sought assistance from professionals for the Drink of the Week and I am pleased to share my experience from here in Portland, Oregon.
You may recall last year during a visit to the City of Roses (Bridges, Mountains, Cocktails, etc.) I had the chance to try a barrel-aged libation. This year, I set my sights on the Southeast side and made my way to Beaker & Flask. We sat at the end of the bar and ordered our first round from the menu. My wife selected the Fortunate Son, a highball
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 Here’s a cocktail that goes back to 1933. According to Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, it comes from an old pamphlet. As it’s presence in Haigh’s book confirms, the Communist is more of a forgotten cocktail than a classic, although with this name I am surprised it’s not well known. I suppose it might have been unwise for patrons to enthusiastically call out, “I’ll have a Communist, please!” if they wanted to avoid more than just a some strange looks over the years.
Since we are no longer living in the McCarthy era, I think it’s worth the effort to try making this. It’s also another good reason to get some Cherry Heering which may not appear as often as other liqueurs, but shows up in some fantastic drinks like the Singapore Sling and the Blood and Sand.
Communist 1 oz gin 1 oz orange juice
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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 adding muddled orange slices. I am a big fan of that idea because you also get more of
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 As any regular reader will attest, I am a fan of classic cocktails. It would be hard to write these posts if that were not the case, since even contemporary combinations usually find their roots if not their inspiration from the classics. I especially love it when fantastic flavors result from simple recipes. When such a recipe also happens to be versatile enough to yield multiple delicious variations—the cocktail is, well, the Bee’s Knees.
Tracing this drink’s origin puts it somewhere in the middle of Prohibition. It first appears in print in Bill Boothby’s World Drinks and How to Mix Them published in 1934. Sometimes called the Honey Bee, or the Honeysuckle, the basic format is a gin sour that balances the lemon with honey instead of sugar or simple syrup. Boothby’s version also had a spoonful of orange juice, but that disappeared from other references. The extra kick
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