Cocktail Hacker

This was another cocktail that really impressed me. Looking at the ingredients I was a bit skeptical to begin with. I mean you’re intentionally combining lemon juice and cream and expecting the result to be good. That’s just not something that usually fits in my world view. Well, I should say my previous world view. You see, the Ramos Gin Fizz is fantastic. The flavor is very unique with the lemon and gin flavors combining surprisingly well with the richness of the cream. The egg white adds really nice mouth feel and foam that is flavorful and tasty unto itself. This cocktail would really be a great addition to a brunch menu which isn’t really something new. That’s one of the suggested applications by a number of folks.

One of the interesting things I noted as I mixed this cocktail for the first time is that the foam is indistinguishable from the liquid portion of the drink. It really creates a very unique look for the cocktail.

So, what advice can I offer as you go to mix one of these for yourself? Well, first, make sure you use plenty of ice. The first one I mixed I only used 4 cubes of ice. The drink never got as cold as I would like as was evidenced by the lack of frost on my shaker. In addition there was a lot more melt than I would like. From that point on I used as much ice as I could reasonably fit, about 6 cubes in my case. Next, make sure you either combine your ingredients very quickly or, if you’re slow like me, put the cream and egg white in one half and everything else in the other until you’re ready to shake. If you don’t do this you run the risk of having your cream curdle. Certainly not optimal.

I tried a couple other recipes, both nearly identical to the Joy of Mixology recipe with one twist, an increase in the simple syrup to one full ounce. I found the resulting cocktail was too sweet with that much sugar and stuck with the 1/2 ounce as my standard. I never did get around to trying the blender option for creating the foam but also found I didn’t really need it. I didn’t even end up needing to do a dry shake. I simply loaded up with ice and shook for 1-2 minutes and got a wonderful foamy result. What shaking for 15 minutes will get you I can’t say. But then again, I don’t have a line of shaker boys to supplement my tired arms.

Finally, the choice of gin for this cocktail can run the board. As I mentioned in my review I used Beefeater all week and it worked wonderfully. However, if you’re looking for something with a bit less juniper hit try a more citrus forward gin like Bombay Sapphire. Lastly you’re certainly welcome to try a very juniper heavy gin in this (eg Tanqueray), however, I think the citrus notes blend really well with the lemon juice and are thus your best choice.

This week has been a bit on the crazy side as I’ve been getting ready to head to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC). More on that tomorrow. Thankfully throughout the week I had the Americano to turn to for a refreshing summer cocktail with a wonderfully complex flavor and a nice hit of bitterness. I stuck with the recipe I shared at the beginning of the week as it seems to be the agreed upon standard. The resulting drink is very refreshing, not at all heavy and the complex flavors of both the vermouth and the Campari really shine through.

There are some weeks where I mix up the cocktail simply to try it and while I usually enjoy the drink I don’t necessarily crave it. The Americano was different. I found myself mixing them up this week, not simply to try them, but because I truly wanted one. Yesterday, for example, I was running around getting my ducks in a row for TOTC. It was warm and I was a bit thirsty and as I openened my fridge I found myself unconciously reaching for Americano ingredients. For the record, it was the right choice.

There is one caveat though. If you don’t like bitter flavors (eg Campari) then you might want to adjust the ratios for this drink. Try dropping the Campari a bit, the sweetness of the vermouth will help take care of the rest. For me though, the 50/50 Campari to vermouth ratio was just perfect. That’s not a huge surprise though as I’m also a big fan of the Negroni.

While you’re mixing up an Americano for yourself I’ll leave you with a couple recipe oddities that I found interesting. First, in my Mr. Boston Deluxe Official Bartender’s Guide from 1974* the recipe listed calls for 4 oz of sweet vermouth in an ice filled glass topped with club soda and a twist of lemon. Without the Campari I don’t think you can really call that an Americano at all. Second, in the American Bar by Charles Schumann the recipe calls for equal parts sweet vermouth and Campari garnished with lemon and orange twists. Note the lacking soda water. While I’d still be mostly willing to call this variation an Americano I think you’d lose a good deal of it’s refreshing nature without the soda. Plus at that point why not add another part gin and have yourself a Negroni?

*No, this awesome piece of cocktail history is not for sale. ;)

My week of Salty Dogs started when I mixed some up for my cousin Tara and I. I followed the simple recipe I laid out at the beginning of the week, 2 oz vodka, 3 oz grapefruit juice. The only grapefruit juice I had on hand was the kind in the tiny cans and I failed to rim the glasses with salt. D’Oh. As you can guess we were already well on our way to failure. After a tentative couple of sips we both concluded that the drink was much too sour in its current form. I added a touch of raspberry syrup and all was right in the world again. But of the failings I mention above what was the key to making this drink tasty?

I picked up some grapefruit and decided I’d give the drink a go with fresh juice (always a good call). However, much to my surprise, it seems I hadn’t read the label very well and came home with pink grapefruit. Which, I found out on a second trip to the store, is all they have right now. Nevertheless, I juiced them up and mixed up a cocktail, complete with salted rim this time.

This time the drink was much more palatable than my first attempt. The pink grapefruit juice is less sour than white grapefruit and quite a bit sweeter. Be warned, this version goes down very easy. The vodka is lost to the sweet/sour flavor of the pink grapefruit and before you realize it your glass is empty again. The salt was a nice touch but really works much better with the sourer white grapefruit. If you’re using pink go light on the salt and I’d suggest only rimming half the glass. That way you only have to have salt if you want.

The same evening Aaron was over to finalize our Tales of the Cocktail plans and he chose to mix up the Difford’s recipe (below). This recipe changes things up a bit by adding a touch of Maraschino to the mix. This has two effects on the cocktail. First, it will sweeten it up a bit, which could be needed if you’re going the white grapefruit route. Second, it gives the drink a little more interesting flavor. Like the Aviation you’re using the Maraschino very sparingly so it’s flavor is subtly applied. Overall Aaron was very surprised and pleased. He sums it up best: “[I] really thought it would be more like my college ‘whatever juice I can find and vodka drinks’.” Well said my friend.

Salty Dog (Diffords Guide #7)

2 oz Vodka

2 1/4 oz Grapefruit Juice

1/8 oz Maraschino

Salt for Rimming

Finally I circled back to where I started the week and gave the canned white grapefruit juice a second go. With this second attempt I came to a different conclusion. The sourness of the grapefruit juice is actually quite refreshing. But it does make you slow down your sipping. The salt is a nice touch, but not entirely necessary in my opinion. However, if you decide to leave it off know that you’re now drinking a Greyhound, amazing what a touch of salt can do.

After this week of experimentation I have a bit of a confession to make, I think I’m starting to get over my deep seated phobia of pink. You see, I keep making pink cocktails worried about their possible girly appearance only to be consistently blown away by their amazing flavor. The Clover Club, like the others before it, is truly a delicious pink cocktail.

In reading Gary Regan’s recipe in the Joy of Mixology one thing struck me as interesting. He said the the cocktail “isn’t much to talk about” when made with grenadine instead of raspberry syrup. That got me thinking. What is it about the raspberry syrup that makes it so much better in this application? What was the grenadine lacking? So, I decided this week, rather than focusing on a number of different recipes, I’d use only Gary’s recipe but change up that other key ingredient, the fruit syrup. Since Gary’s recipe calls for adding the syrup to taste I went with my standard sour ratio and added 1/2 oz of syrup for each cocktail. Here’s the recipe I used.

Clover Club

2 oz Gin (Junipero)

1 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Raspberry Syrup

Egg White

Store bought grenadine wasn’t even a viable option so I decided not to even try that. Instead I went with homemade grenadine, Torani raspberry syrup and homemade raspberry syrup.

Homemade Raspberry Syrup: I decided to start my experiments here, primarily because I love making new ingredients. This was a simple one to make. I followed the same basic recipe that I used for my strawberry syrup.

Raspberry Syrup

1 1/2 cups Water

1 1/2 cups Sugar

2 tubs Raspberries (12 oz total)

1) Rinse raspberries

2) Combine sugar and water in a pot

3) Heat on medium stirring until sugar is dissolved

4) Add raspberries, reduce heat to low

5) Simmer for 30 minutes stirring to break up raspberries

6) Cool and strain out seeds

The syrup is a beautiful light red and the flavor of fresh raspberries really comes through. In the Clover Club you can really taste the raspberry coming through. The drink is less sweet than I expected but it’s actually just the right balance. Any sweeter and it would begin to dominate and the raspberry flavor would over power the gin and lemon juice.

Torani Raspberry Syrup: I picked up a bottle of Torani Raspberry Syrup from Cost Plus World Market. Interestingly, it’s not bad at all. It’s slightly sweeter than my homemade syrup and not as natural tasting but overall still very good. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own this is certainly a reasonable option.

Homemade Hibiscus Grenadine: I love this grenadine recipe but in the Clover Club it doesn’t shine through as well as the raspberry does. I found the subtle flavors of the grenadine were masked by the gin and lemon juice. That said my grenadine is about 4 months old so it may have lost some of its intensity.

If you’ve got the time and want to put in the effort make some raspberry syrup of your own. Your Clover Club will be much better for your efforts. The Torani syrup is definitely a good option as well but the flavor won’t be exactly the same. Finally I’d suggest using a gin on the bolder side. Don’t bust out your Bombay Sapphire for this, it’s flavors will be lost completely.

I hope with this addition you continue to enjoy your delicious pink cocktails as much as I will.

This week’s drink of choice presented a nearly endless range of possibilities. What cola to choose? What recipe? What spirit? I opted to narrow down the field a bit and focus only on the choice of spirit this time. In doing so I had to decide on a cola and a recipe upon which to base my experimentation. I decided on Blue Sky Cola primarily because it’s caffeine free, which works good for me. Another plus for the Blue Sky though is that it is made with pure cane sugar which I feel gives sodas a crisper taste. Now to the recipe. As I mentioned in my intro post I wanted to focus on the all day drinking, summer BBQ style of highball so I went with 6 oz of cola and 2 oz of spirit for each drink. Now some results.

Bulleit Bourbon: Since Bulleit is a Rye heavy bourbon this drink was a bit spicier than some of the others, although not as spicy as the Rittenhouse. The smoky notes are present and very tasty with the sweetness of the cola. While this is a great drink I would choose straight rye given the choice.

Rittenhouse 100: Quite spicy from the use of the rye and yet the smoky barrel aged flavors are still there. There was no doubt, I like this mix better than standard bourbon. More flavors to play off each other and, not to sound too wine snobbish, an overall bigger flavor.

Eagle Rare Bourbon: A very sweet drink. The natural sweetness of the bourbon combined with the sweetness of the cola takes it over the top for me. While I do enjoy this drink with it’s subtle smoky flavors it’s not my favorite.

Jack Daniels: This one is a classic and understandably so. For whiskey fans you get the mellow oak flavors coming through. But, like the Eagle Rare, this was a bit too sweet for my taste.

Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum: The Dood wasn’t wrong with this recommendation. Light vanilla and spice flavors from the rum come through and interestingly the resulting cocktail isn’t as sweet as I expected it would be. This spiced rum also doesn’t have any of the weird aftertaste you get with some other spiced rums. Definitely a solid choice if you’re a spiced rum fan.

Appleton Estate V/X: The gold rum has a more bold flavor than a white rum with more noticeable oak notes, although still fairly light. After having tasted both light and gold rums in this drink I’d reach for the gold in the future as I feel it lends a more complex flavor to the finished drink.

Flor de Cana Extra Dry: Another solid Rum Dood suggestion. This white rum is drier than the Bacardi which was a nice twist for me. As I mentioned above I prefer this drink with a drier spirit so the end result isn’t overly sweet.

Bacardi White Rum: Since this rum is sweet to begin with adding it to the cola resulted in a drink that was sweeter than I like. You do still get the pleasant molasses flavor coming through, which helps broaden the flavor. While this drink is still pretty good it wasn’t one of my favorites.

So, now that I’ve told you about each spirit on it’s own how about a brief summary. If you’re looking to make a whiskey based drink I’d suggest reaching for the straight rye first as it will give you a spiciness that is really great. If you’re wanting something a bit sweeter then go for a rye heavy bourbon, such as the Bulleit I sampled. It will give you the sweeter notes of the bourbon but still offer a nice bit of spiciness as well.

As for rum, my hands down winner was the Appleton Estate V/X gold rum. The additional complexity of flavor with the light oak notes is definitely worth it. Second is a tie between the Flor de Cana Extra Dry and Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. It really depends on the flavor profile you’re after at that point. You really can’t go wrong with either.