Cocktail Hacker

As a card carrying man its a bit difficult to enjoy pink drinks, at least in public. But, my friends, after a week of experimentation I can assure you that the Cosmopolitan is well worth swallowing your pride for. This week was particularly well suited for analysis and experimentation. In my initial search for recipes an interesting trend came the surface. There seem to be two general families of Cosmos. The difference between the families is the amount of cranberry juice each utilizes. The recipe I started the week with (Gary Regan’s) is part the cranberry for color family. The second is the cranberry for flavor family.

The first recipe I played with was Gary Regan’s from the Joy of Mixology. I found this recipe to be extremely well balanced and the citrus and sweet components were perfect. I think it can best be described as a Margarita for people who don’t like Tequila, which isn’t particularly surprising given the similar ingredients. Further spurred on by Matt’s suggestions I decided that this would be a good recipe to test the effects of using regular vodka in place of the suggested citrus vodka. On the initial nose the two cocktails are indistinguishable. The flavor on the other hand is more complex with the addition of the citrus vodka. That said, the use of regular vodka in no way makes this a bad cocktail. In fact, in the cranberry for flavor recipes I think the citrus vodka is nearly covered anyway and as such I’d recommend using whatever vodka you like.

My next side by side comparison utilized a cranberry for flavor recipe and compared whether its worth using pure cranberry juice or if cranberry cocktail should be the choice. In the picture above the cocktail on the left I made using cranberry juice and the one on the left using cranberry juice cocktail. The first thing you’re certain to notice is the much deeper red color that the pure cranberry juice produces. The resulting flavors are also quite different, but both very good. The pure cranberry juice is more tart and offers a much more intense cranberry flavor. Additionally the tartness causes you to slow down in your consumption which is not an all together bad thing at times. The cranberry juice cocktail on the other hand produced a less tart, sweeter cocktail with a less intense cranberry flavor. This drink is much more drinkable. In these proportions the percentage of alcohol is low enough that the drink will freeze if placed in a freezer (I found this one out by accident). I mention this because I think this recipe could be used either as a punch or as a basis for a punch.

To summarize this experiment I would suggest using cranberry juice cocktail if you’re looking for a drink that is sweeter and puts more emphasis on the lime and cointreau flavors. If you’re looking for something a bit more tart and complex definitely give the pure cranberry juice a go sometime. If you’re making a recipe from the cranberry for color family I think the real cranberry juice is worth the extra cost as it yields a cocktail with a much deeper color. However, one final note. Pure cranberry juice is a little on the pricey side (mine was about $9 for a bottle) and I can’t really envision anyone drink the stuff straight so you might want to freeze some or plan to mix it with something else so you don’t waste what’s not used in your cocktails.

So the final Cocktail Hacker verdict for this week is that I like two recipes. One from each family. From the cranberry for color family I like Gary Regan’s recipe from the Joy of Mixology.

Cosmopolitan [Cranberry for Color]

[Ingredients]

1 1/2 oz Citrus Vodka

1 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice

1 - 2 dashes Cranberry Juice for Color

Garnish with a Lime Wedge

[Directions]

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker

2) Add ice and shake until chilled

3) Strain in to a chilled cocktail glass

And from the cranberry for flavor family I like the simple recipe (#1) from Difford’s Guide.

Cosmopolitan [Cranberry for Flavor]

[Ingredients]

1 oz Citrus Vodka

1 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice

1 1/2 oz Cranberry Juice

Garnish with a Lime Wedge

[Directions]

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker

2) Add ice and shake until chilled

3) Strain in to a chilled cocktail glass

So, if you’re a bit worried about ordering a pink cocktail you certainly have nothing to fear in this one. The Cosmopolitan is a fantastic cocktail that is well worth your time. Plus, you’re comfortable in your manhood and you can drink whatever you damn well please. And if anyone gives you any crap, finish off your Cosmo, then use some of your ninja moves you learned from late night TV on them. They’ll never mess with the crazy guy again.

Sorry for the dearth of posts this week. There was a political event happening and I was paying attention to that. ;) But, fear not, that did not keep me from my work with the Gimlet. The first experimental track I followed was altering the proportions. As I mentioned in the intro post the recipe on the bottle of Rose’s Lime suggests a ratio of 3:2 (Gin:Rose’s). I found these proportions to be too sweet for my taste. I dropped the Rose’s down so I had a ratio of 2:1 and found that the resultant drink was much more to my liking.

I had some folks over to watch the election coverage on Tuesday so I had some willing participants in the experimentation. Sean, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts favors a less sweet cocktail. With that in mind we did a bit of experimentation and found that a ration of 4:1:1 (Gin:Rose’s:Lime Juice) worked really well. I will say though that this is no longer strictly a Gimlet. It is however quite tasty and I would highly recommend it as a Gimlet alternative if you’re not in favoring the sweetness but like the lime flavor. In fact in reading up on the history of the cocktail it seems there are two schools of Gimlets. Those utlizing Rose’s Lime and those centered on fresh lime juice. It seems that the fresh lime juice version may slightly predate the Rose’s recipe but beared a different name so in my opinion can’t really be called the first Gimlet. If you’d like to read a bit more about history of the Gimlet I highly suggest taking a peek at David Wondrich’s excellent write up in this eGullet thread.

And, being one to not leave well enough alone I wondered if I could make a better lime cordial. The answer paradoxically enough is yes AND no. I followed Sonja’s recipe from Thinking of Drinking and made a wonderful batch of homemade lime cordial. However in a Gimlet it lacks the characteristic funkiness that the Rose’s brings to the party and I must say that’s one of the things I really enjoy about the cocktail. So now you see my paradox. I’ve created a great homemade lime cordial but it in turn doesn’t make what I consider a great Gimlet. Gary Regan put it well in The Bartender’s Bible “I’m inclined to think that Rose’s was the ingredient that invented the drink.” I’ll take it a step further to claim that Rose’s is the ingredient that defines the drink.

One final note. While reading the history given by David Wondrich I noted an interesting tidbit. This cocktail was originally conceived to help prevent scurvy on sailing vessels. And, as noted in the history naval vessels of the period commonly carried “Navy Strength” spirits. The notable feature of these is their higher proof, generally around 110 versus the common 80-90 found in most spirits today. So with this information in hand I used the only high proof Gin I had in my collection, Old Raj, and mixed up a 2:1 Gimlet. This my friends, I feel is the answer. You still get the flavor of the Rose’s but the Gin kick is noticeably increased. Another, less expensive, option is Plymouth Navy Strength. I’ve not tried it but seeing as Plymouth is my go to Gin these days I’m guessing its quite delicious. So on that note I leave you with our recipe.

Cocktail Hacker Gimlet

[Ingredients]

2 oz Navy Strength Gin

1 oz Rose's Lime

[Directions]

1) Pour over ice

2) Stir to chill

I chose the Brown Derby Cocktail for this week as a semi-tribute to the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. Once I started doing a bit of research on the drink I realized that this was an epic fail on my part. The Brown Derby was the signature cocktail of the Vendome Club in Los Angeles, CA and was created to honor its neighbor and rival the Brown Derby. Despite the fact that they were competitors the clubs were such close friends that the Vendome wanted their signature cocktail named as such. The Brown Derby’s most notable feature was its distinct design. The building was built to look like a large brown derby hat. So, other than the similarity of name, the cocktail bears no relation to the Kentucky Derby. D’Oh.

In addition to my slip up with the cocktail’s name it is not particularly tasty. None of the flavors shine through and although the cocktail is not bad, it’s definitely not something I would make again or order at a restaurant. It’s just, as the post title says, meh. I was able to hack up a slightly better version, but the cocktail is still not great. The lime juice increases the sourness which is quite nice and the bitters, as in other recipes, increase the flavor complexity.

Cocktail Hacker Brown Derby

[Ingredients]

2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Grapefruit Juice

1/2 oz Honey Syrup

1/4 oz Lime Juice

3 Dashes Orange Bitters

Spent a wonderful day touring Buffalo Trace distillery today with Jennifer. The distillery in Frankfort, KY is nestled along the Kentucky river and is very picturesque. On the tour we visited Warehouse C where they are aging Buffalo Trace, Van Winkle’s and some of their experimental barrels. From there we went to the Benton’s Bottling hall where they bottle their products. After explaining the details of the bottling process our guide took part of the group, ourselves included on a special tour of the rear of the distillery.

In the rear of the distillery we saw the grain delivery areas and one of the large Vodka stills. Then we went to the Mash room where they were fermenting batches of upcoming spirits. Next we were taken through their small batch still room where they produce special spirit runs for one off customers. Following that we were introduced to the big daddy still. A column still does the first distillation, then the spirits are further distilled in pot still to produce the final unaged product “White Dog”. We were lucky enough to get to sample a bit of this White Dog and I must say it was very good. You could really taste the corn back notes and despite its high proof it was still quite smooth. The final step in our tour was the tasting room where we sampled the distilleries vodka (Rain), Buffalo Trace’s Bourbon and Eagle Rare, one of my personal favorites. Overall the tour was fantastic. Below are a number of pictures from the day.

As for the week of Bourbon experimentation, it was a nice refresher on America’s native spirit. This is certainly not the last we’ll speak it. Until then keep trying different Bourbons there are a lot out there and all have something special to offer.

Blueprint of a Sazerac in the Buffalo Trace gallery

Inside Warehouse C

Grain Silos

Mash Fermenter - 92,000 Gallons!

Small Batch Still - Combination Pot + Column

Column of the Big Daddy Still

Thunder the Buffalo Monitors the Still Output

Warehouse Window

Barrels on the Bottom Level of the Warehouse - "Old Pappy Lives Down Here" as our Tour Guide Said

My week with the Blood and Sand was somewhat underwhelming. The results of the classic recipe, 3/4 oz each of Scotch, Orange Juice, Sweet Vermouth and Cherry Brandy, is a very tasty cocktail, although not something I’ll be craving. The drink is, not surprisingly, quite sweet; a result of the sweetness of three of the four ingredients. The drink is also very drinkable, almost too much so, not that that is a bad thing. The flavors of the Scotch didn’t come through as much as I would have liked. I think the reason behind this is two fold, one the amount of Scotch used and two my choice of Scotch, namely Famous Grouse 12 yo.

The Famous Grouse is a very good blended Scotch in my opinion and a very good product for the money. However, its flavors are not as strong as a single malt. With all of that said, the lack of strong Scotch flavor is not at all a problem with the cocktail, just my personal preference and I did find a way to make the cocktail fit my tastes. I found the second recipe in the Difford’s guide aligned this cocktail much more to what I was looking for.

Blood and Sand - Difford's #2

1 1/2 oz Scotch

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth

3/4 oz Cherry Brandy

3/4 oz Orange Juice

This version is less sweet than the original which I prefer. Additionally, the Scotch comes through much more. When I first mixed up this recipe I used 3/4 oz of Famous Grouse and 3/4 oz of Macallan 12yo. The Macallan was lost in the other flavors of the cocktail and was not worth it. Some other quick ingredient notes. I went with Heering as the cherry brandy at the suggestion of Gary Regan and others on the internet. This is a very good cherry brandy, but very sweet. I think the cocktail would be fundamentally changed were you to use a dry cherry brandy such as Kirsch. Could be an interesting expermint though. As for orange juice, I was a bit on the lazy side and bought a bottle of Simply Orange. Simply Orange is fantastic orange juice if you’ve never had it but it lacks tartness. In the future I’ll opt for a tarter/sourer orange juice as I think it will balance the drink better.

The final up rendition of this cocktail I tried was the recipe profferred by Ted Haigh (AKA Dr. Cocktail) in his book Vintage Cocktails and Spirits. Ted’s recipe is pretty straight forward varying the original only by increasing the Scotch and orange juice to 1 oz each. This recipe produces a much smoother cocktail which is also less sweet. Both of these aspects are definite plusses. The Heering in this recipe is still present but not as forward which is nice. My chosen recipe is a blend of Ted’s recipe and Difford’s #2. I keep the increased Scotch amount from Difford’s and up the orange juice as in Ted’s recipe. This gives me the best of both worlds. I get the increased Scotch flavor and the decreased sweetness, just right.

Cocktail Hacker Blood and Sand

1 1/2 oz Scotch

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth

3/4 oz Cherry Brandy

1 oz Orange Juice

Another suggestion that I found in “The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan was to increase the orange juice considerably and transform this cocktail into a brunch libation. I gave this a try and really enjoyed it a great deal. In fact, when I make B&Ss in the future I’ll be making this recipe in conjunction with a nice brunch. I decreased the Scotch back down to 3/4 oz so one could have a couple with brunch and not noticed ill effects.

Cocktail Hacker Blood and Sand - Brunch Recipe

3/4 oz Scotch

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth

3/4 oz Cherry Brandy

4 oz Orange Juice