The Tuxedo

The other day, I was looking for cocktails to use my new Bittermen's mole bitters in, and happened across this article which, in addition to the lovely Left Hand cocktail (pro tip: go easy on the bitters in this one), had a recipe for the old tuxedo. In the PDT cocktail book, it had a picture of a money in a tuxedo, which recommended this to the writer. Such is the acumen of Wall Street Journal writers: easily distracted by a monkey in a tuxedo. Nevertheless, it is a quite excellent cocktail.

It is a variation on a 2:1 martini, adding in a few dashes of maraschino liqueur and absinthe (I used Pernod). These additions make the martini more interesting, though one needs to be careful about adding too much Pernod. The PDT recipe has you rinse the glass with Pernod, and add 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur. I used Dale DeGroff's recipe from Craft of the Cocktail, which is reproduced after the jump. Following Mr. DeGroff, which asks for a couple dashes of Pernod and maraschino liqueur, I ended up without quite enough maraschino, though that's probably mostly my own fault. Certainly the variations in the recipes are mostly a matter of individual taste.

Do you have questions about martinis?

Do you have questions about martinis? Or do you want to learn more about them? Check out this amazing Martini FAQ. It has everything you could want to know about Martinis. Though it doesn't come down as hard as I'd like on so-called vodka martinis, it has a great explanation of stirring versus shaking. It's definitely worth checking out.

h/t: Daring Fireball

Czech Friend

I tried this drink twice, first as part of my spurt of becherovka cocktails, and then later with a few changes. It's basically a twist on the Old Pal, with the ingredients lightened up to allow the Becherovka to shine through. The first version was good, if a little simple. There was lots of cinnamon, enough that I thought it needed something to cut the cinnamon, maybe something sour. So the second time, I added a couple dashes of lemon bitters. The lemon bitters definitely help make this cocktail. There are definite cinnamon flavors still, but they don't overwhelm the rest of the drink. It's not robust enough to be a winter warmer, but it's a nice drink for a summer night. Recipe after the jump.

Happy Belated Rickey Month

Photo by Reece Lloyd, on flickr.

Apparently, July is National Rickey Month. I've been remiss. Typically, a rickey is made with a shot of gin, half a lime, and soda; after juicing the lime, you put the lime carcass in the drink. It's historically also been made with bourbon, though that's much less common. The rickey is the official drink of D.C., and so the D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild declared July National Rickey Month.

A rickey is a fine, refreshing drink, but there's not a whole lot going on. So there's been a contest to find the best variation in town. All month, bars across the city (as well as a couple in Virginia) have been offering their take on the rickey. Get five punches in your rickey card, and you get free admission to Jack Rose for the finals on August 5th. There's still time to get your punches, so get to it! Our favorite so far has been the Strawberry-Rhubarb rickey at Vinoteca, which sadly wasn't entered into the contest. If you like pickles, you should try Rachel Sergi's I'm Gonna Need You to Focus Rickey, which involves pickled soda and is available at Jack Rose.

Negroni Punch

As long time readers of the blog are aware, I'm a big fan of the Negroni. But sometimes, I want something a bit lighter, especially when it's hot out. For a long time, I went for a Campari soda to get that nice refreshing bitterness. But this past weekend, I happened to have a grapefruit lying around, so I thought I'd see what I could do with it. I like the way negronis go with grapefruit anyway, so that's where I went.

I combined the juice of half of the grapefruit with an oversized negroni, and topped it off with soda water. I think I should have gone with a normal sized negroni, since there wasn't a whole lot of room for the soda when everything was said and done. But it ended up good enough that my wife made me make her one, so not too shabby. It's a great drink for an overly hot summer afternoon. Recipe after the jump.

Green Bitch

When I first got a bottle of Green Chartreuse, I experimented with it like mad. There's really nothing quite like it, and I wanted to try it in a variety of settings. One of the things I learned is that strong flavors can balance each other out, creating a complex, layered drink. The Green Bitch demonstrates this nicely. Here, the mezcal and Chartreuse balance each other out, so the Cointreau dominates initially with a burst of orange. After that, you get waves of smokiness from the mezcal and herbs from the Chartreuse. It's quite good, though I suppose if I were inclined to tinker, I might decrease the amount of Cointreau so that it's less sweet. Recipe after the jump.

The Last Word

One of the reasons I wanted to make a Last Word was for the word play. This probably makes me a bad person. But it's a classic cocktail, and it has both cherry and chartreuse, so I figured it would be pretty tasty. The recipe requires maraschino liqueur, however, and I only have Cherry Herring. A friend assured me I could substitute the Cherry Heering for the maraschino, and so I did.

My friend was wrong. The Heering made it way too thick and syrupy. The flavor wasn't horrible, but way too rich, and not balanced at all. I want to try it again, once I get my hands on some maraschino, but please, don't make it with Cherry Heering. I'll never make that mistake again. Recipe, courtesy of Cocktail Chronicles, after the jump.

More Distillery News

Via DCist:

A distillery hoping to produce gin and whiskey in a warehouse in Northeast D.C. received federal approval to move forward with its plans, according to a tweet this afternoon from the New Columbia Distillers. 

John Uselton and Michael Lowe have been converting a 3,500-square-foot warehouse in Ivy City into what will eventually be a distillery, but unlike their brewing brethren nearby, they need federal approval and will be carefully scrutinized by the U.S. Treasury as they begin producing gin and, eventually, whiskey. 

They hope to have their first batch of gin ready by this summer. They're also working with the D.C. Council on legislation that would allow them to host tastings at the distillery.

Can't wait to bike out there on a hot summer day for a cool glass of gin! We talked about the distillery before here.

Modern Vesper

The Vesper has a fairly interesting history, even for a cocktail. It's a classic James Bond drink, ordered by him in Casino Royale. It's also impossible to make exactly the way James Bond had it. Why? Because the original recipe calls for Kina Lillet, which is not made anymore. In 1986, Lillet changed the formula, making their aperitif wine sweeter and less bitter. This made it less suitable for the cocktails, like the Vesper and the Corpse Reviver, it had previously been used in. Fortunately, Cocchi Americano is readily available, and has a flavor profile similar to the original. I made this with more Cocchi than vodka, because vodka is boring. It's pretty tasty, though I think I prefer a classic martini. Remember friends, martinis should be stirred not shaken! Recipe after the jump.

Negroni

When I first started drinking cocktails, the Manhattan was my go-to cocktail. I still enjoy Manhattans (often), but my list of go-to cocktails has expanded to include the Negroni as a close second. I love the way the sweetness of the vermouth and the gin blends with the bitterness of the Campari and the sourness of the bitters.

1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin Rouge)
1 oz Gin (New Amsterdam)
dash, grapefruit bitters

I haven't really experimented with the type of vermouth much, since Dolin is flexible enough to work fine with a variety of cocktails. I suspect Carpano Antica wouldn't work as well since it's so rich, but I don't really have space or money for an infinite number of vermouths. Campari is what it is, of course, but for a change you could consider using Aperol instead. I like to use a sweeter gin to balance out the Campari, so New Amsterdam works well for me. I've also used Bluecoat with good results, but I wouldn't use an expensive gin, since the subtlety would be lost in the Campari.

Blood Orange Negroni

This recipe comes from Matt Gilpin of Bottega via Serious Eats. It's a twist on the traditional Negroni, reducing the amount of Campari and sweet vermouth and replacing them with blood orange juice. It's really good. More citric than a traditional Negroni, the blood orange juice adds a different set of nuances, more acid and just a bit more sweetness. I went without the grapefruit bitters I usually add, and I think that was the right decision. I don't think I'd do this with normal orange juice; the extra sweetness of the blood orange is crucial here. I'm curious to see if I flamed the rind whether that would add anything. Fortunately, blood oranges are in season!
Blood Orange Negroni:
1 oz gin (New Amsterdam)
1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Campari
1 oz blood orange juice (probably closer to .75 oz)

Negroni and Amaro

Photoediting courtesy of GIMP

In a recent post, I mentioned that one of The Passenger's drinks of the day was a Negroni & Amaro, an otherwise traditional Negroni with Averna subbing out for the sweet vermouth. I didn't order one at the time, because I figured I could make one myself at home. So here it is:

Negroni & Amaro
1 oz Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Averna

This is one tasty drink, and a good counter-point to the traditional Negroni. Where that drink balances out the tartness of the Campari with the sweetness of the vermouth, this one does its balancing with the bitterness of the amaro. It's complex and rich, perfect for this time of year. I can imagine this being really good with some chocolate bitters, though less well with the grapefruit bitters I typically use in negronis. Overall, an excellent winter drink.

"Vodka is Boring:" New distillery to open up in DC

Via DCist, the New Columbia Distillery is planning on opening this summer:

With a weeklong distillery internship from Dry Fly Distillery in Spokane, Washington under their belts, an empty 3,500-square-foot warehouse sandwiched between West Virginia Avenue and New York Avenue in the Northeast neighborhood of Ivy City and a new 450-liter still, Uselton and Lowe have started laying the foundation for what they hope a production of 2,000 cases a year of gin and, once properly aged, whiskey. But why gin?

"Vodka is boring! The vodka market is very saturated right now. Additionally, vodka doesn't allow for much if any creativity so it doesn't really appeal to us. We both really enjoy gin and whiskey. And since there is much more wiggle room in the creation of these products, we are able to experiment and make the products unique," said Uselton.

Moreover, Uselton and Lowe add, gin can be made relatively quickly, and they'd like to be producing by the time the warm weather hits and residents start thirsting for gin-and-tonics. (Or Gin Rickeys, of course.) The production of gin will help tide them over as they age their whiskey, which won't likely see the market for another three or four years.

I think this is great news! I'm loosely committed to trying to consume local products, so the more the merrier, especially if they're producing the two spirits I love. The space will be located between West Virginia Ave and New York Ave in the Northeast, and is slated to open this summer.