Cocktail Hacker

It’s time to get hacking!  After a long break, life is settling back down for me and I’m ready to start doing some cocktail hacking.  I’m moved in to my new house (look for an updated shot of the collection soon), unpacked and really in need of some new quality cocktails.

There will be a new cocktail posted this weekend and I’ve got a slew of reviews to get typed up and posted as well.  I’m going to be changing my schedule a little to accommodate my schedule.  For the time being there will be a new cocktail every two weeks.  This should give me plenty of time to experiment with homemade ingredients, recipe variations, etc.

As always, I’m open to questions, comments, requests and suggestions.  Happy drinking, my friends.

As you likely well know, I’m a big fan of Scotch.  I’m also a big fan of alternative energy sources.  This month the Bruichladdich Distillery is combining those two loves of mine in what can best be described as a Voltronesque feat of awesomeness.  In short they’ve purchased an anaerobic digester which will process it’s pot ale into biogas.  This biogas will then be used to provide almost 80% of the distillery’s yearly energy needs.  Pretty cool.  Check out the article on CNN.com for the full details.

Scotch distillery turns whisky into watts [CNN.com]

I’ve waxed poetic about the deliciousness of the Daiquiri a few times here in the past.  But, what you really have to understand is that it truly is fantastically delicious.  And, to make it even more amazing the drink is like a chameleon.  No matter what your exact choice of rum or sugar it just works.  Heck it even works great if all you have on hand is lemon juice.  This post isn’t about me though, it’s about the Dood.  No, not that “The Dude“, the Rum Dood.  He’s kinda like a rum yoda, without the grammar issues.  This week he’s discussing in depth the history of the Daiquiri and touching on it’s many variations.  Definitely take a look at his first post in the series and keep an eye out for follow-ons.

Take a quick poll of all the Bloody Mary lovers you know.  First, ask if they have a personal recipe and second, ask if theirs is the best.  I’m betting you’ll find that about 88% of them will have a recipe of their own and of those all of them will claim theirs to be the best.  I’m no statistician so don’t ask me to explain the numbers*, I just report what I see.  Reading my RSS feed earlier in the week I saw that Doug Winship of The Pegu Blog came to this very same realization.

Though Doug, much like me, has never really been a Bloody Mary fan, he felt it his duty as a cocktail enthusiast to fill that hole in his skill set.   So he set off to make a Bloody Mary that he truly enjoys.  The result of his quest is the quite appropriately named Plasma Mary.  Why plasma you ask?  Well that was the interesting bit that pulled me in to his tale.  You see, Doug opts not to use tomato juice but instead freshly extracted tomato water.  It’s that “plasma” that really sounds like an interesting twist.  I’m excited to give this recipe a mix as it sounds really refreshing and light.  Hopefully my crappy blender is up to the task.  Some of us don’t have Blendtec units…yet.

Well, good readers, since it’s now Tuesday, I’m guessing a wrap up of brunch cocktails would be a bit pointless.  In truth, there really wasn’t much to wrap up anyway since I didn’t get too deep on any of the cocktails.  I certainly hope that last week’s recipes got you going in the right direction at least.  Brunch drinks, when done right, can be a great addition to the meal.

For the coming weeks up to and including a couple months my posting is going to be very spotty.  I’m in the process of moving to a new home and today my whole liquor collection will be packed for the duration.  But, don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you completely hanging.  My plan is to direct you to good posts from my fellow cocktail bloggers.  That long list you see at the right side is a direct pull from my RSS reader.  So, anything they post I see.

With that plan it should keep you all in good drinks for the time I’m away and give me some great inspiration for when I fire things back up later this summer.  Until then enjoy your cocktails!

The Bellini is an Italian classic that is truly brunch worthy.  This drink is fresh, fruity and light.  Perfect for a brunch cocktail.  While traditionally, and I’d guess best, made with pureed fresh peaches, I’m going for simple this week and only touching the surface of what’s possible.  So, given that, I used Kern’s fruit nectars to good success.  Wanting to change things up a bit, I tried mango and guava nectars in place of peach.  Both were quite tasty and the resulting colors were striking.  If you’re truly making this one for your mom I would definitely go the extra mile and make it with fresh fruit.  However, for you standard brunch canned nectar works quite well.

Bellini (Cocktail Hacker Quick and Dirty Version)

2 oz Fruit Nectar
3 1/2 oz Champagne

1) Combine in a champagne flute

I really don’t have much to add to this recipe, mainly because I didn’t spend a lot of time experimenting.  Though, I can assure you I’ll be coming back to this one again soon.  Look for it when Colorado peaches start coming in to season in the late summer.

A few months back I discussed the Kir Royale as a great New Year’s cocktail.  And while it definitely is that, I think it’s a great candidate for a brunch tipple as well.  The classic Kir Royale is a combo of 1/2 oz of creme de cassis and 5 oz of champagne.  While it’s a simple mix the flavors are fresh, bright and lightly complex.

But, let’s take a slightly deeper look at this combo.  It really breaks down to champagne with a fruit liqueur.  Well, there are lots of fruit liqueurs (and some non-fruit ones too) that you could sub in this that will change up the flavor profile completely.  Here are some suggestions to get you rolling.

• Peach
• Cherry
• Ginger (Domaine Canton)
• Elderflower (St. Germain)
• Pear
• Blackberry

I could continue on, but I think you get the idea.  I sampled the St. Germaine option and really enjoyed it.  It’s a definitely departure from the classic Kir Royale, but it’s very tasty in its own way.  The flowery flavor comes through gently and in harmony with the flavors of the sparkling wine.  Definitely worth a sample.

So there you have it, a simple cocktail with an easy twist.

My relationship with the Mimosa I think can be summed up as love/hate, though not in the way you’re thinking.  You see, I deeply love Mimosas.  Yet, at the same time, I hate telling people that.  That statement conjures images of accessories such as small dogs and man bags.  Well, I call BS on that.  The Mimosa is a damn fine cocktail and, like other “not-so-manly” mixes that I’ve tasted in the past, it deserves respect.  But, since I’m running on a compressed schedule this week because I’m sampling a few cocktails I kept this round of experimentation brief.  Let’s get started with the recipe from Regan’s Joy of Mixology.

Mimosa (Joy of Mixology)

1/2 oz Triple Sec
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
3 1/2 oz Champagne

1) Build the drink in the order listed
2) Garnish with an Orange Slice

I mixed it, I photographed it, I sampled it and then, as per my usual, I wanted to tweak it.  As written the recipe is good, but it’s too sweet for my taste.  Regan mandates that the triple sec is absolute required.  I say nay.  The triple sec doesn’t really add much to the flavor profile (it’s just another layer of orange).  What it does add is additional sweetness.  I prefer a drier Mimosa, so my choice was clear, drop the triple sec and move on.

Mimosa (Cocktail Hacker)

2 oz Orange Juice
3 1/2 oz Champagne

1) Build the drink in the order listed
2) Garnish with an Orange Slice

One last point to make before I move on to brunches unknown.  Champagne, or more correctly sparkling wine, is key to this drink.  There’s a strong pull with these types of drinks to pour in crap wine and call it good.  Don’t do it!  Seriously!  No, you don’t need to be topping your orange juice with Kristal either, but you should use something you’re willing to drink on its own. It’s like when you’re cooking with wine.  Always cook with something drinkable, always mix with something drinkable.

So there you have it.  Now, go forth and spread the joy of the Mimosa.

I’m not going to lie to you; the Bloody Mary is not one of my all time favorite cocktails.  In fact, I don’t really like them much at all.  However, I’m now going to flip flop a bit and say that while I don’t generally like them they do go quite well with a savory brunch.  Picture a well prepared omelet, perhaps some home fries or a good hash, some good bread toasted.  What do you pair with such a fine repast?  A Bloody Mary.  It ties together the whole savory vibe.  You could even tweak the standard recipe by adding a flavor from your omelet to really pull it all together.  So, now that I have your mind moving in the right direction here’s my preferred Bloody recipe and the link back to my previous post if you’d like to read my full thoughts.  Enjoy!

Bloody Mary (Cocktail Hacker)

2 oz Vodka
4 oz Tomato Juice
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
3 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce
2 Dashes Hot Sauce
Heavy Pinch of Kosher Salt
2 Grinds of Black Pepper
Lemon Wedge for Garnish
Celery Stalk for Garnish

1) Combine ingredients in shaker with ice
2) Shake until well chilled
3) Strain into an ice filled Collins glass
4) Garnish with lemon and celery

Guess what time it is?  Did you guess “Thought Experiment Time”?  No?  Well, it is.  So, here’s the experiment; we’re going with word association this time.  What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “Mother’s Day”?  Did you say brunch?  If not, pretend you did, just to make me happy.  Okay, now that we’re in the moms and brunch mood let’s talk cocktails.

Cocktails are a solid brunch choice.  But, what do you choose?  There are some easy answers like the Mimosa and the Bloody Mary.  Some of these classics I’ve already discussed, some I have not.  So, here’s my plan for the week.  I’m going to quickly cover two new cocktails and I’m going to review two cocktails that I’ve already touched on.  This should give you some solid brunch footing, be it for Mother’s Day or otherwise.

With that, let’s get brunching.