Cocktail Hacker

As you well know New Year’s Eve is this week. For a lot of people this means (heavy) drinking. There is a strong liklihood that somewhere, someone, possibly even a CH reader, will have a run in with a hangover this week. I’m not claiming to know the future here, or anything crazy like that, just saying that the probabilities are leaning that way. So, in that vein, it seems only appropriate to feature a cocktail this week that is the namesake of a category of drinks (Corpse Revivers) that are intended to be morning eye-openers or a bit of the hair of the dog.

I’m going to focus on two classic Corpse Reviver recipes both from Harry Cradock’s “Savoy Cocktail Book” and listed here in the form shown in “The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan.

Corpse Reviver #1

[Ingredients]

2 oz Applejack

3/4 oz Brandy

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth

[Directions]

1) Combine over ice.

2) Stir until chilled.

3) Strain into a cocktail glass.

Corpse Reviver #2

[Ingredients]

3/4 oz Gin

3/4 oz Triple Sec

3/4 oz Lillet Blonde

3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Absinthe (substitute) to taste (Go Easy)

[Directions]

1) Combine over ice.

2) Shake until chilled.

3) Strain into a cocktail glass.

This has been a wonderful holiday week and I certainly hope you all had a great time as well. I did spend a little time on a hot cider based cocktail, with much emphasis on the “little”. Basically I made some mulled cider using a great organic pressed apple cider made locally and some standard mulling spices (orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, star anise). Once I had that I proceeded to drink most of it cold on its own. However, keeping in mind that I wanted to do a bit of a tasting I saved about two cups with which to experiment.

I filled each of my tasting glasses with four ounces of hot cider and one ounce each of the following spirits: Eagle Rare Bourbon, Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, and Flor de Cana 7yo Dark Rum. This is nearly identical to the egg nog showdown but I felt that these spirits would play best with the mulled apple cider, although I did contemplate trying some apple jack. However, I was dissuaded when I read online that someone had tried that combo and found it much too apply.

Then I set out to taste each of them. The first thing you notice before you even bring your nose near the glasses is the amazing aroma of hot cider and dark spirits. It filled the air of my kitchen and was really incredibly pleasant and warming. The tasting results are very similar to those of the nog tasting. The bourbon is my hands down winner because it retains the most flavor when combined with the cider. You still pick up the smokiness from the barrel aging and the additional spiciness of the bourbon is perfect. The brandy adds a nice alcohol warmth, but you lose most of the flavor to the spices in the cider. Finally the sweetness of the rum helps to maintain a sweeter final product than the brandy or bourbon but loses the most flavor. I found the rum to be nearly undetectable. It was quite obvious that there was liquor in the cider, but I don’t think I would have been able to nail down exactly what in a blind taste test.

Having tried these three I noticed I had exactly 1/2 cup of cider left, so to change things up I poured in an ounce of Plymouth gin. Let’s be clear, this was not a good experiment. Were I in a cartoon lab this creation surely would have exploded and left me with a face blackened by soot. This being the real world I was instead left with an odd, at best, aroma and a flavor to match. Don’t waste either good cider or gin in trying this one, you won’t be pleased.

Overall I’m fairly pleased with the results, but I do have a small confession to make. I don’t really like hot drinks. I hate coffee, except in things (cake, ice cream, etc), don’t much like hot tea, and rarely drink hot chocolate. Although I have been known to have a Coco Loco (Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Schnapps) while snowmobiling. Speaking of which, they’re really quite good, give it a go next time you’re wanting something warm and boozy. That said a hot cider drink just seemed appropriate for the holidays. It’s cold outside (at least it is here), there is some snow on the ground, people are going nuts shopping, just seemed right. But sadly due to my dislike of hot beverages I didn’t do much with this potential canvas. There is hope however! You, the Cocktail Hacker readers, can save me. Post up suggestions or tried and true recipes for hot cocktails. I’d like to hear what you all like.

I came to an interesting realization this week due to my experiments with the Martinez. When I really enjoy a cocktail I find myself making it over and over again, trying recipe variations and noting the differences. In the case of cocktails that I’m not in love with I tend to shy away from making them and even make other drinks instead. This was certainly the case with the Martinez. I tried three recipes which covered the recipe spectrum and I didn’t love any of them. The drink is okay, but I’m certainly not going to be switching to it from either a Martini or a Manhattan.

I started the week with Jerry Thomas’ recipe which utilizes a ratio of 1oz:2oz (Gin:Vermouth) with 1/4 oz of Maraschino liqueur and 2 dashes of Angostura. I used my go-to gin, Plymouth, but sadly found that its flavor was completely covered by the other ingredients. The herbal notes of the vermouth were certainly the star with this recipe even covering the Angostura for the most part. Interestingly the Maraschino did shine through and I found this to be the case with all three recipes.

Next I tried Gary Regan’s recipe from The Joy of Mixology. This recipe reversed the ratio to 2:1 with the same amount of Maraschino and bitters. Again the Maraschino shined through adding its funky cherry flavor. The vermouth is toned down with this one and the flavor of the gin and bitters are able to come through.

Finally I tried a tweaked version of the recipe listed in the Difford’s Guide. The ratio here is 1:1 (1 1/2 oz each of gin and vermouth). This mix provides the most balance between the gin and vermouth flavors of the three recipes I tried. The Maraschino and bitters are still present but not overwhelming. The Difford’s recipe calls for Cointreau, but I think the Maraschino adds a more interesting dimension of flavor. This version is certainly my pick.

Martinez

[Ingredients]

1 1/2 oz Gin

1 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth

1/4 oz Maraschino

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

[Directions]

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice.

2) Shake until well chilled.

3) Strain into a cocktail glass.

4) Garnish with an orange twist.

Although this cocktail isn’t terrible, I noted in one of my tastings that I really don’t think its a cocktail that I’ll find myself craving. It just isn’t that great and there are cocktails that are great that combine similar elements. If I’m wanting a sweet vermouth cocktail then my choice is going to be a Manhattan and if I’m looking for a gin and vermouth drink then the Martini is the winner. The Martinez may have been there first, but the Martini reigns supreme. Although, if you are going to mix one of these up, I would certainly recommend trying some of the Hess House bitters that I discussed earlier in the week. I found that their flavors worked really well in this application.

Finally in an extremely timely Wall Street Journal article Eric Felten discusses the evolution of the Martini, Martinez and Manhattan. As Eric points out the original Martinez recipe calls for Old Tom gin, which until quite recently was no longer available. Hayman Distillers in the UK have recently revived an old family recipe for the sweetened gin. When I get my hands on a bottle I’ll be sure to try the Martinez again.

The topic of this month’s Mixology Monday is Spice and Craig over at Tiki Drinks and Indigo Firmaments is kind enough to host this shindig. Let’s not beat around the bush, cocktails are amazingly tasty, but like food some times they need a bit of spice to make them truly incredible. Cocktail bitters provide that bit of spice. We all know and likely have on our shelves many of the commercially available varieties like Angostura, Peychaud’s, Fee Brothers, etc. However, like lots of commercially available products, those that you can make at home can be even better than what can be purchased. Robert Hess, AKA Drinkboy, in his search for a replacement for the long gone Abbott’s Bitters created Hess House Bitters. Robert says that his bitters “missed that mark, but was still pretty good.” I’d have to say that I agree completely they are very good. So on to the making. The recipe I used is a combination of Robert’s original post on The Webtender Forums and his later post on the Drinkboy MSN group.

House Bitters

8 cups rye (Old Overholt)

3 tsp dried gentian

1 cup ginger (julienne)

1/4 cup whole cloves

6 Tbs cardamom pods (cracked)

8 whole star anise

16 sticks cinnamon

4.5 cups Water

1.5 cups Sugar

• Place all ingredients, except for the sugar and water, into a large mason

jar and seal. Store for 2 weeks, shaking the jar once a day.

• Strain the liquids/solids mixture through cheesecloth. Squeeze hard to

extract as much juice into the reserved liquid as possible.

• Place the dry ingredients into a saucepan and add the water. Bring to a

boil, and then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

• Allow to cool completely, then pour the water and solid mixture into another

mason jar. Store for 1 week, shaking the jar once a day.

• Strain the water mixture through cheesecloth. Discard the solid ingredients,

and add the water to the previously reserved alcohol.

• Put the sugar into a small non-stick skillet and stirring constantly over a

medium-high heat, allow the sugar to melt and then turn to a rich brown color.

Quickly remove from heat and allow the melted sugar to cool for a couple of

minutes.

• With the sugar still slightly warm, pour it into the water and alcohol

mixture. It will probably crystallize at this point, but with continued

stirring it will eventually dissolve.

• Allow this mixture to rest for a couple of days, then skim off anything that

rises to the surface, and gently pour (or siphon) the clear liquid from the

top into another container, trying to avoid as much of the sediment on the

bottom as possible.

• Measure the amount of liquid you now have, and add half that same amount of

water.

The only ingredient that was a bit hard to locate was gentian (the bittering agent). After a bit of asking around I found a local spice/herbology shop that had it on hand. Ingredients in hand I was on my way.

The initial steeping time went quickly and the smell that emanated from the jar was incredible. You could really smell the cardamom and ginger going to work on the rye.

After nearly burning the sugar and filtering the finished bitters they were ready for bottling. A word on the sugar, take it very slowly and remember that your pan will retain some heat so take them off the heat slightly before you think they’re done. As soon as you pour the sugar into the cold liquid they solidify but some heavy shaking will dissolve them in no time. As you can see from the image above I ended up with about 2.5 liters of finished bitters. If anyone would like to try some please drop me an email I’d be happy to send you some.

The finished bitters have a wonderful spicy flavor full of cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. The anise and cloves are certainly present but not as forward as the other flavors. The nearly burnt sugar provides a nice sweetness and carmel flavor. Finally the bitterness is just where you want it to be. My favorite use thus far has been in a whiskey sour. I had a great time making these bitters and have grand plans for making more, which as you can see above started with a batch of Hell Fire bitters, but I’ll save those for another post.

[Edit: 2008-12-15 – Added MxMo Logo]

Said to be the forefather of the Martini, the Martinez takes the cocktail in a sweeter direction employing sweet vermouth, gin, maraschino and bitters. The cocktail originated in the late 1800’s and there are a few versions of the tale of its origination. The first claims that Jerry Thomas created the cocktail for a man destined to Martinez, California. The second, coming from Martinez, CA itself, claims that a prospector entered a local bar and purchased a bottle of spirits. Rather than asking for change he asked for a new cocktail created on the spot for him. The final story claims that a man named Martinez created the cocktail by combining gin and sweet vermouth. Whatever story is correct we do know that the cocktail was first in print in OH Byron’s book “The Modern Bartender’s Guide” published in 1884. However, the more well known recipe comes from Jerry Thomas in 1887. This recipe is where I’ll start my explorations this week.

Jerry Thomas' Martinez Cocktail.



(Use small bar-glass.)



Take 1 dash of Boker's bitters.

2 dashes of Maraschino.

1 pony of Old Tom gin.

1 wine-glass of Vermouth.

2 small lumps of ice. 

Shake up thoroughly, and strain into a large cocktail glass.

Put a quarter of a slice of lemon in the glass, and serve.

If the guest prefers it very sweet, add two dashes of gum syrup.

Thanks to Darcy at The Art of Drink for the recipe.