Cocktail Hacker

I’m not going to make every recipe from Cosmo’s Official Cocktail Book, I promise. Just this last one, the Sea Spray Kiss. Of the cocktails we tried from the book it’s a toss up for me which is my favorite, the Stout Float or the Sea Spray Kiss. Both have their merits and, really, shouldn’t be judged against each other. So…I won’t. They’re both super tasty in their own right and very, very different.

Sea Spray Kiss (Cosmo's Official Cocktail Book)

1 oz Pear Vodka

8 Raspberries

1/2 oz Chambord

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

3 oz Prosecco

1) Muddle the raspberries, simple syrup and Chambord

2) Add vodka and ice and shake well

3) Strain into a glass and top with prosecco

I know I whine each time I make a pink cocktail about how I feel unmanly or whatever, but you know what? Pink cocktails are damn tasty! There, I said it. I love the combo of the fresh raspberries and Chambord in this cocktail. You get the brightness of fresh berries with the sweet, richness of the Chambord. Well played. The prosecco adds lightness to what would otherwise be a too-sweet drink and the pear vodka is present, but not overpowering.

This drink is light and fruity (let’s not forget pink) and would be great for a bachelorette party or bridal shower. On that note, batch this cocktail ahead of time if you’re going to make a bunch. It’s super easy. Scale up the vodka, raspberries (might puree those if you’re really making a ton), Chambord and simple syrup. Add 1/2 oz of water per cocktail (to account for the loss of ice melt while shaking) and refrigerate. When you’re ready to serve simply pour a glass and top with prosecco.

Final note, this is a recipe that uses simple syrup. Which, if you”re new to cocktail making, might as well be in another language. Heck they even sell the stuff bottled, despite it being nothing more complex than sugar and water. Cool thing is, the book tells you right in the recipe how to make it. Really like that touch.

“You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?” No? Yeah, me either. I prefer to sin indirectly through the consumption of spirituous liquors, sometimes in excess. Speaking of drinking, here’s another cocktail from Cosmo’s Official Cocktail Book, Dancing with the Devil. This drink sounds promising right from the start. Tequila, Chambord, ginger beer? Yes, please, how about nine.

Dancing with the Devil (Cosmo's Official Cocktail Book)

1 1/2 oz Tequila

1/2 oz Chambord

1/2 oz Lime Juice

Ginger Beer

1) Combine tequila, Chambord and lime juice in a glass with ice

2) Top with ginger beer

3) Garnish with crystallized ginger or a lime wedge

Despite the early outlook this wasn’t my favorite cocktail of the ones we sampled from Cosmo’s book. The flavors were a touch combative and interestingly the color of the cocktail in the book (orange) is not at all the same as the cocktail we ended up with. Minor slights aside, I think this drink has promise. Given the right tequila (I’m thinking a blanco with some spice) and the right ratios (go light on the ginger beer, maybe 2 oz max) this could be a real winner. Basically what you’re looking at is a twist on a Margarita with some ginger beer. Finally, while you’re at it, bump up the lime juice a bit too (say, 3/4 oz). Unless, of course, you make homemade ginger beer with a nice hit of sourness.

If you have the time and inclination to mix up a few of these and find the right recipe, I’d love to know. For me? The devil, or rather, the cocktail shaker awaits.

From the “What a Guy Wants” chapter of Cosmo’s Official Cocktail Book comes a delicious variation on the classic float, the Stout Float. This drink is dead simple to make and very tasty. Scoop ice cream, add stout, drink, repeat. Since I was going to be sampling this drink in Grand Lake, CO it only seemed appropriate that I should pick up Grand Lake Brewing Company’s Shadow Mountain Oatmeal Stout.

Shadow Mountain Oatmeal Stout has a deep brown color with a sweet, almost coffee-like aroma. The flavor has a sweetness that reminds me of very deeply caramelized sugars, think of the pie filling that ran off the edge while baking. You get a small hit of the hoppy bitterness coming through with notes of coffee and chocolate. I really enjoyed this stout and would drink it all on it’s own, which is saying something coming from a guy who doesn’t drink much beer.

Stout Float (Cosmo's Official Cocktail Book)

3-4 Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream

Stout of your Choice

1) Scoop ice cream into a beer glass

2) Top with stout

The coffee and chocolate notes from the stout combine really well with the vanilla ice cream. I actually prefer this to a root beer float as it isn’t as sweet and the flavors are more complex. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again to cool off on the hot summer days ahead.

While we used Shadow Mountain Oatmeal Stout with great results you could really use any stout you like. A porter would also work well in this application, which only serves to broaden your horizons even further. With all the options out there you could make some really awesome combos. Where the ice cream is concerned the sky is the limit. Think of a caramel ice cream with a nice chocolately stout…mmmm. Or, Cosmo suggests a strawberry ice cream with a blueberry beer. Sounds damn tasty to me.

Let’s get something very clear. I’m not a reader of Cosmo. But, that said, I did have a subscription to Maxim for a couple years and, let’s face it, you remove the gender slant and they’re really the same thing. So, when my review copy of Cosmo’s Official Cocktail Book arrived I tore into it in search of the lost secrets of how to please my man and get him liquored up in the process (wait a sec…). What I found was a pretty good collection of cocktails and some fun stuff thrown in for kicks.

The recipes in Cosmo’s book, not surprisingly, lean toward the sweet side, but they do add some fun ingredient twists and they’re actually not half bad cocktails. In addition, throughout the book you get little quizzes, tips, facts, etc. On top of all that there are a pair of features that I really like. First, the recipes are all fairly simple with easily accessible ingredients. And, on that note, if there is an ingredient you’re not familiar with you can look it up in the back of the book to get an idea of the flavor, etc. Second, there is a “Cocktail Crash Course” section at the end of the book that introduces the tools, spirits and some pointers from a bartender. These features make the book accessible to cocktail mixers of all skill levels, which I think is exactly how books like this should be. I do have one complaint, which was pointed out by my loyal test subject, the cocktail pictures don’t always show the true look and color of the cocktails. While this is likely not a problem for a guy, it was pointed out that some ladies out there might pick cocktails to match a color palate. So, knowing that, make sure you mix up a sample cocktail to see if the colors work and, bonus, you get to drink the sample.

Blood Orange Bonanza (Cosmo's Official Cocktail Book)

3 oz X-Rated Fusion Liqueur

1 oz Light Rum

1/2 oz Grenadine

1) Combine ingredients in a blender

2) Add a handful of ice and blend until smooth

3) Garnish with a slice of blood orange

First, let me say 70’s blenders are rarely going to get you a picture perfect frozen drink. Mine sure as hell didn’t, but enough whining. Like a number of cocktails in this book, the Blood Orange Bonanza is very pink. But, like cocktails in the past, I’m going to let that slide. It’s all about the flavor, right? This drink was a little too sweet for me at first, but it was well received by Elisabeth. And, as the ice melted a bit the sweetness was cut and the overall flavor is quite nice. The liqueur offers some bright fruit flavors and the rum rounds it all out. I could have used a bit more sourness in this for my taste, I’d say a touch of lime juice or even blood orange juice would do some great things.

I added about 2 oz of prosecco once I’d had my initial sips and was really pleased. The prosecco cut the sweetness and gave the drink a really pleasant effervescence. I’d definitely suggest giving that twist a try if you mix up this cocktail. We also mixed up a few others from the book so keep an eye out for the recipes and my thoughts.

† The product reviewed here was provided to me as a free sample. If you’re wondering what that means check out my sample policy.

I started this week eager for a unique and interesting cocktail. Something that was a step away from what I’ve been mixing for a while. While I got unique and I got interesting I, sadly, did not get tasty. The Champs Elysées is a riff on the classic sour and seems like it should be good. And after some tweaking, and a lot of dumping out, I got it to sorta good, but certainly not something I’d ever order. Let’s take a quick run down of the recipes and talk about the short comings of each. A quick note before I get rolling, if I say Chartreuse it’s meant to imply green Chartreuse, yellow will be noted specially.

Photo Credit – Elisabeth Mansfield

Essential Bartender’s Guide (1 oz Brandy, 1/4 oz Chartreuse, 1 oz Lemon Juice, 1 Dash Angostura) – Holy crap this cocktail is ungood. It’s very sour and nearly undrinkable. I added 1/4 oz of simple in an attempt to tame the sourness and that helped, but not enough.

Erik Ellestad of Underhill-Lounge chimed in on my intro post that the original Savoy recipe (next in line) was difficult to convert to a single cocktail but suggested that he uses his standard sour recipe. I took his advice and tried this in sour ratios (2 oz Brandy, 1 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 oz Chartreuse, 1/2 oz Simple Syrup, 2 Dashes Angostura). This is certainly better than the first recipe though now I was feeling the need for more sour. I added 1/4 oz more lemon juice and found a drink that was palatable but still really lacking for me.

Savoy (1 oz Brandy, 1/3 oz Chartreuse, 1/2 oz Sweetened Lemon Juice, 1 Dash Angostura) – This recipe is the classic. Problem is, it was originally formulated for 6 and who the hell knows what sweetened lemon juice is supposed to be. So, I winged it. I used 1/2 oz of lemon juice and 1 tsp of superfine sugar. The drink was not terrible, but still far from good. Strongly herbal with a good sweetness level. I’d drink this one (which is a step in the right direction) but it definitely isn’t something I’d ever order.

Bartender’s Bible (2 oz Brandy, 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse, 1/2 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar, 2 Dashes “Bitters”) – I had help from Elisabeth in tasting these and I think she summed this one up very nicely, “It smells really good, almost like an apple. Tastes like pond scum.” Okay, I wouldn’t go so far as to say pond scum myself, but this is still not what I’d call a great cocktail.

Difford’s #8 (1 3/4 oz Brandy, 1/4 oz Chartreuse, 1/2 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 oz Simple Syrup, 3 Dashes Angostura, Egg White [Optional]) – The Chartreuse being only 1/4 oz in this recipe is what saves it. The herbal flavors are reduced allowing the brandy and lemon to shine. Could still use a bit more lemon in my opinion, but this is getting close.

Okay, I’m seriously tired of this cocktail at this point and really hold no hopes that I’m going to be able to turn this into a winner, but I will offer you my recipe. I followed Erik’s guidance and made it along the lines of a sour. You’ll note it’s a lot like the Difford’s recipe, that’s no accident. I bumped up the sour and added a bit more brandy to compensate, but left the Chartreuse subtle. If you’re dying to make this cocktail, give this recipe a try. I won’t make any promises that it will be delicious or that you’ll like it. But, it will, at least, be palatable.

Champs Elysées (Cocktail Hacker)

2 oz Brandy

1 oz Lemon Juice

1/4 oz Green Chartreuse

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

1) Combine in a shaker with ice

2) Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass

On that note, I’m moving on to something far tastier. Care to join me?