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 There’s a good reason I am not referring to the Drink of the Week as a “Dark ‘n Stormy®”—I’m using “and” in my drink name because because the “n” version is a registered trademark owned by Gosling’s Brothers Limited, makers of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. Gosling’s is made in Bermuda where the this is their official drink, but it’s actually popular throughout the British Commonwealth.
It’s certainly not a complicated drink by any stretch. The official version requires that you add 1.5 ounces of Gosling’s Black Seal rum to a tall glass of ice and top with their brand of ginger beer. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with doing that. Nothing wrong at all. In fact, this official recipe is both simple and delicious. Even if you can’t get your hands on Gosling’s brand of ginger beer, Reed’s is always available at Trader Joe’s, and I expect others would
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Supposedly, July 27th was National Scotch Day. I know it’s not the most popular holiday, but the timing was pretty good (it was a coincidence, really) for describing the Scotch tasting event last week and for featuring the Blood and Sand cocktail the week before. I thought about selecting another Scotch drink this week but I decided it was time to move on. That’s when a friend of mine finally tracked down some Cherry Heering and made the Blood and Sand. I wondered if perhaps there were other readers looking for additional ways to use cherry brandy, so I thought I would feature the Singapore Sling.
It can be a delicious cocktail, depending on the recipe you use. That said, it’s just as easy to make one taste awful. Part of the problem is that like a lot of cocktails, the original recipe was lost and this has caused
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  Call it a soda siphon, a syphon or a seltzer bottle—it’s a pressurized container for dispensing carbonated water. Remember The Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers shaking bottles and spraying each other in the face? Same thing. But why would you want one? Can’t you just buy club soda? You certainly can. In fact, I used to buy cases of San Pellegrino, and if you are making a bunch of drinks, screw-top bottled soda water works just fine. But what if all you need is a couple of ounces to top up a Collins? Maybe you made some fantastic ginger syrup and you want to have some ginger beer? You could open a bottle of club soda, but most of that water is going to go flat. Once it’s open, you need to use it or lose it.
That’s the real benefit having your own siphon in the refrigerator. Each time you use it, you are not actually opening the bottle. You are merely opening a valve to release only the amount you need. Pull it out for your next round or ignore it until next week—it remains cold and pressurized until it’s gone. No more half bottles going flat and ending up down the drain.
Using a siphon also allows you to drink whatever water you choose. If your tap water is good, go ahead and use it. Do you filter your drinking water and want to use that? No problem. Fill your siphon and charge it with gas. You do that by attaching a carbon dioxide capsule specifically made for the purpose. Give it a good shake and the gas will start to dissolve into the water. The carbonation works best on very cold water, so leave the capsule attached while you chill the bottle. After a few hours or on the following day, you can remove the capsule and the water is ready to use. A one-way valve prevents gas from escaping and a hand lever allows you to dispense the water whenever you need it. Capsules are small and recyclable so you aren’t buying more plastic or glass. The resulting seltzer ends up costing a fraction of the price you would pay for individual bottles. It saves money, storage space and the environment. If you drink sparkling water, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to use a siphon.
Can I use the gorgeous siphon I found on eBay?
The antique seltzer bottles are beautiful, but they aren’t exactly useable at home. First of all, most of them require filling at a special facility. The fittings allow for commercial companies to charge the bottles, but don’t fit the carbon dioxide capsules. Second, most of the antique bottles were made in Czechoslovakia and parts are scarce. Old rubber seals get hard and crumble, and valve springs and gaskets can be difficult to replace. Finally, the opportunity for accidents are far greater with old glass bottles than with modern metal ones. You don’t want to drop a heavy glass bottle under that much pressure on the kitchen floor or your granite counter tops unless you feel like dodging the exploding glass fragments.
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  At long last, I am finally posting the Negroni for the Drink of the Week. I am finding that there are just too many interesting twists on this classic that are worth writing about and I want to be able to reference the original.
The history of this cocktail provides a two-for-one opportunity since one cannot describe the Negroni without first referencing the Americano, and to describe the Americano requires mentioning the essential ingredient, Campari. So, this brings us to late nineteenth century Italy where production of a unique apéritif and digestif was just getting started. Campari is basically an alcoholic infusion of fruit, bitter herbs and aromatic plants. The exact formula remains a secret. By the early 1900s, Italians were enjoying Campari with soda water, and it is this simple combination that inspired a drink that became quite popular.
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 Before you turn away from the Collins, you must understand that this cocktail may be nothing like the one you are used to. It’s true that the past 40 years or so have allowed it to earn a reputation for being sweet and syrupy, but in this new golden age of mixology that characterization no longer applies. We can make the Collins like it was originally intended—a balanced and refreshing drink that’s perfect for the long spring we are having.
I considered trying to find something organic, green or nature-focused given that it’s earth day, but I thought I would do my part to help recycle and revive this honorable classic, even if that meant challenging a few of you to give this cocktail a fresh try. That’s what it’s all about, after all—fresh ingredients. In this case, it’s the lemon juice. During the 60s and 70s we experienced what some cocktail historians consider a “fear of flavor”. During that period, we lost the taste for fine whiskey, and fresh ingredients were replaced with bottled compromise. In the case of the Collins, this created a cocktail based on sour mix which became one of the least appetizing drinks you could order. With those days behind us, I encourage you to make this as follows:
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 Well, it’s Mardi Gras week, and although we just finished celebrating the Winter Carnival here in St. Paul, New Orleans is just getting started with their own annual festival. This year the new Superbowl champions have another reason to celebrate. But in addition to the parades and the street parties, New Orleans has always played an important role when it comes to cocktails.
When deciding the Drink Of The Week this week I knew it had to be something historically significant from New Orleans. My first inclination was to feature the Sazerac—often cited as one of the first cocktails ever created, if not the original cocktail. The history is debatable even though it was made the official drink of New Orleans. Important as it is, I am going to leave the Sazerac for another time and instead focus on the equally famous “morning after” remedy—the Ramos Gin Fizz.
As the title implies, this drink has gin, and fizz, but it also bears the name of its creator, Henry C. Ramos. Invented in the 1880′s at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, the drink was actually made famous by the Roosevelt Hotel where Governor (and later, Senator) Huey P. Long declared it his favorite drink. Long even brought a Roosevelt bartender with him on a business trip to New York so he could teach the Yankee bartenders how to make it properly.
There is sometimes confusion between a fizz cocktail and a collins. The difference usually has to do with service. They are both served in a tall glass, but the collins has ice—the fizz typically does not. Consequently, a fizz would require more seltzer to fill the glass. The regular Gin Fizz and Tom Collins are both sours with the addition of carbonated water, however some recipes offer differing amounts of citrus. Juice measurements and naming controversy aside, we are making a more complex version that contains cream and egg white, but the noteworthy component of this drink is orange blossom water. Here is Huey Long’s gift to New York:
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  My wife likes to call New Years Eve, Amateur Night, because she works downtown Minneapolis every day. It’s perhaps acceptable to surrender the city on this night—of all nights—to people who might not otherwise be as familiar with one-way streets and tall buildings. Combine celebratory drinking with a crowd not used to driving downtown along icy streets at night and you are bound to create a few problems. Similar issues can arise when you host a party, whether it’s Amateur Night or otherwise. One way to avoid a problem is to offer your guests a selection of alcohol-free cocktails. I’m not talking about water (which you should have anyway), soft drinks and juice. I am talking about actual alcohol-free cocktails that are every bit as fun to make and as tasty to consume as their judgement-impairing counterparts.
Put yourself in the designated driver’s seat for a moment and consider how much more enjoyable a cocktail party could be if you had a small selection of mixed beverages to choose from! Imagine the joy of holding a chilled cocktail glass, sipping away with your friends and not feeling left out of discussions about fresh ingredients, balanced flavors and the unusual nuances of unfamiliar recipes. Trust me, guests do appreciate it, especially when they realize that your plans included everyone’s best interest.
Creating drinks without alcohol doesn’t have to be a challenge if you are mixing with a decent set of ingredients to start out. You will want to have a good selection of citrus, herbs, sparkling water, simple syrup—all things that work well in your spirit-based cocktails too. Some of these I have tried, others I haven’t. Put a few on your menu for the party and guests will have one more reason to celebrate.
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 Make your own Ginger Syrup and use it to make homemade Ginger Beer and to build incredible cocktails like the Moscow Mule and the Dark & Stormy.
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 I was never a Gin & Tonic fan, but all of that changed last year when I read Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s post about making tonic from scratch. Of course, his wasn’t the first recipe to gain widespread attention. The resurgence of craft tonic is credited to Kevin Ludwig of Portland, Oregon whose recipe even appeared in the March/April 2007 issue of Imbibe Magazine. Having basically skipped over that recipe back then, I considered it an ingredient best left to gin drinkers, or someone who was more interested. Finally, after reading more about it and seeing craft tonic added to a cocktail I really enjoyed, I decided to give it a try.
Why make something that already exists?
When I first saw the Imbibe article, I was asking myself all sorts of questions. Can’t you simply buy tonic water at the store? It’s cheap enough, it’s crystal clear, and it’s essentially a commodity product–right? I mean, where can you really go with something so basic? Well, it turns out that the tonic water available today is truly a different product than it was originally. Commercial tonic is little more than bitter soda water, completely devoid of other flavor characteristics. I soon realized that making your own tonic isn’t about reproducing what is on the shelf already, but rather exploring cocktail history to create something refreshing, natural and delicious. I found that the Gin & Tonic can be transformed, or rather, revived. I still don’t order them at most bars, but now I most definitely make them at home!
The Bitter Truth About Tonic Water
Think about the name, tonic, for a moment and you conjure up images of old-time pharmacies or even bearded swindlers selling bottles of secret sauce as a medicinal cure-all. Actually, this is not far from the truth. The defining ingredient in tonic, besides water, is quinine. Quinine imparts the familiar bitter flavor in commercial tonic water, and although these days it’s added in a pure chemical form as a flavor component, this was not always the case.
Quinine is a natural alkaloid with true medicinal properties. It’s available over the counter by prescription in the US or in small quantities in tonic water. It is extracted from the bark of the cinchona plant, a small tree native to South America. Cinchona bark, long used by Peruvian natives as a muscle relaxant, is effective in the treatment and prevention of malaria and other afflictions. The locals would grind the bark into a powder and combine it with sweetened water to offset the bitter flavor—thus creating the world’s first tonic water. It has been used by Europeans since at least the early 1600′s as a cure for malaria and the bitterness eventually led British colonials in India to combine it with gin to offset the taste, creating the Gin & Tonic cocktail.
Although the sale of quinine is regulated by the FDA, cinchona bark is sometimes available at health food and nutrition stores. My interest here is not to extract a drug for home remedies, but to reproduce the bitter flavor that would have been present in a traditional tonic—the original ingredient that drove the Gin & Tonic to become such a popular cocktail. I can’t imagine the G&T in its current state rising alone to the prominent “goto” status it seems to enjoy. Something must have changed over the years, and it’s not the gin. I find it ironic that what started historically as a way to improve the consumption of tonic has evolved into a combination to soften the flavor of gin. Certainly, tradition has had a lot to do with its popularity, but gin drinkers (and haters) everywhere are completely missing out on everything good that is possible with a craft Gin & Tonic.
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  If you have been reading along, you have probably seen me mention simple syrup. In most cases, I try to briefly explain, but you may be wondering, What is it? Can I buy it somewhere? Is it hard to make? Why don’t I hear more about this stuff? For the cocktail enthusiast, simple syrup is almost taken for granted. It’s a necessity—an ingredient that you must have on hand. But the average cocktail consumer may not even know why they need it. It’s crucial to so many recipes and yet so basic that it is rarely explained. I’d like to show you what simple syrup is, how to make it, and why you should have it around.
It’s Sugar, of course!
It really is that simple. The most basic recipe for simple syrup is to measure one part sugar and one part water and combine them. When the sugar dissolves in the water, you have simple syrup. But why go through the trouble? You could buy simple syrup—there are bottled versions at grocery stores and liquor stores—but there’s little point when it’s so easy to make. Again, you might ask, why bother? Will I ever really need it? If you start to research some of your favorite cocktails (mojitos, margaritas, sours, juleps, mai tais, to name just a few) you’ll find that simple syrup, gum syrup or sirop de gomme (I’ll explain these names shortly) creeps into many recipes. In fact, the original historic definition of the cocktail is a drink that includes spirits, sugar, water and bitters.
Good Enough For Coffee and Tea
So, you recognize that many drinks contain simple syrup, but why not use plain old white sugar? I mean, if it’s good enough for coffee and tea, why not cocktails? This is where we really get down to the science of the matter. Sugar in it’s dry, crystalized form needs to dissolve in order for you to taste the sweet flavor. This happens very quickly in hot beverages like coffee or tea where the water acts as a solvent and the heat helps melt the crystals. However, you may have seen how sugar takes a long time to dissolve in iced tea. Cold temperatures are also working against you in a cocktail. Simple syrup, on the other hand, mixes easily because it’s already in liquid form. Think of simple syrup as a pre-dissolved version of a sugar cube. But it’s more than just a time saver for busy bartenders. Alcohol actually inhibits sugar crystals from dissolving, so using a syrup makes it possible to sweeten a spiritous cocktail easily, even if it contains little to no water or juice.
Some recipes may indeed call for granulated sugar or a sugar cube. In the case of an old fashioned, for instance, versions that call for sugar instead of syrup will include wetting the sugar cube with bitters or with a small amount of water and then muddling the crystals, breaking them down into tiny bits until they are basically dissolved anyway. I find that using simple syrup is just easier.
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