Big AppleAfter I tried this it seemed to me reminiscent of a Manhattan, or one of the many Manhattan or Brooklyn variations named after New York neighborhoods. Here's a nice roundup of them [alt link]. In this vein, and due to the apple flavor from the brandy, I ran with this theme and named the drink Big Apple, a nickname of the city we all know and love.stir and let cook on the ice for a few minutes, there's a lot of high proof stuff in there and a little dilution is ok, stir again and strain
- 1½ oz Laird's BiB Straight Apple Brandy
- ½ oz Strega
- ½ oz Kirschwasser
- ½ oz Amaro Averna
- 2 dashes Boker's bitters
- 1 dash Regan's Orange bitters
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Big Apple Cocktail
Last week's TDN theme was Fruit Brandy where it was suggested: "Break out your kirsch, apricot eau de vie, applejack, poire william, or whatever other fruit-based spirit you can conjure up." I took up the gauntlet and used both Kirsch and Apple Brandy in my entry:
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Dundee to Islay
This week's TDN theme was Scotch, which while an ingredient dear to my heart, at first left me a bit disconcerted because I had used Scotch in several of my recent TDN drinks for other themes. I persevered however, and this is what I came up with:
Dundee to IslayA big component of this drink is obviously smoke, but there's other stuff going on to keep it from dominating too much, although it srely pushes to the forefront of the flavor profile. You probably won't be able to pick out the Canton, but you'd miss it if it wasn't there (I did before I added it to the mix, anyway) but it adds a subtle spice and richness and bumps the sugar content a tad to balance the acid from the lime, as well as the marmalade which is more tart than sweet. The salt makes the whole drink more round in flavor, and the Peychaud's not only gives a touch more bitterness and complexity, but brighten's the color of the drink as well.stir or muddle everything without ice to dissolve marmalade, then shake&strain and garnish with flamed orange twist
- 1 oz Laphroaig 10
- 1 oz mezcal (Chichicapa Tobala, or sub more Islay)
- ½ oz Domaine de Canton
- ½ oz lime
- ¼ oz honey syrup
- 2 tsp Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade
- 1 dash Peychaud's
- pinch salt
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Frère Johnnie
Here is my second drink from this week's "Monks!" themed TDN, as in:
For reference, here is the drink from Casa Cruz:
In fact, cocktails, while becoming more common, are still not commonplace in the country. I believe the most common one consumed there is the Fernet and Coke, believe it or not. I've never tried it, but the Nacho was quite good so maybe I should give it a try. Here's how much they love Fernet, the biggest bottle I've ever seen, it's like a Jeroboam or something:
Anything created or originally developed by monks is fair game: Benedictine, Champagne, Chartruese, Trappist Ales, or any other odds and ends your research turns up.
I liked the way the Scotch works with Bénédictine in a Bobby Burns, and with OJ in a Blood and Sand, and I went from there. I started out without the Fernet, but decided it needed something extra, and remembering a drink I recently had off of the very original cocktail list at Casa Cruz down in Buenos Aires over the holidays, I reached for the trusty elixir to add that special something, and I think it worked.Frère Johnnie
- 1 oz Johnnie Walker Black
- 1 oz Bénédictine
- ½ oz Fernet Branca
- 1oz oj
- ~3 oz tonic
shake all but tonic and strain over fresh rocks and top with tonic, garnish with orange twist
For reference, here is the drink from Casa Cruz:
This was a deceptively simple and tasty drink. The whole cocktail list here was quite inventive, or at least it seemed to be to me from the pieces of Spanish I could decipher. I decided to go with this drink because they love their Fernet down in Argentina, and when in Rome...Nacho
- Fernet Branca
- jugo de naranja (orange juice, or muddled orange slices)
- tónica (tonic water)
I didn't get the proportions, but I think you can be quite flexible with the components based on how sweet vs strong you like it or are otherwise in the mood for.
In fact, cocktails, while becoming more common, are still not commonplace in the country. I believe the most common one consumed there is the Fernet and Coke, believe it or not. I've never tried it, but the Nacho was quite good so maybe I should give it a try. Here's how much they love Fernet, the biggest bottle I've ever seen, it's like a Jeroboam or something:
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monky Gland
No, that's not a typo in the title, I do mean Monky Gland, not Monkey Gland, although the similarity is quite deliberate, as my Monky Gland creation is based on the old classic. You see, this week's theme for TDN was "Monks!," as in:
Anything created or originally developed by monks is fair game: Benedictine, Champagne, Chartruese, Trappist Ales, or any other odds and ends your research turns up.Now I've riffed off the Monkey Gland previously when I concocted the Surrender Monkey a while back for a MxMo,but that was more of a lark to amuse myself and the drink was only ok. The Monky Gland, however, I really really like, here it is:
Monky GlandFor reference, here's the classic recipe:Shake and strain into cocktail glass; squeeze orange twist spraying oils over surface of drink, garnish with orange spiral.
- 1½ oz Bulldog London Dry Gin
- ½ oz Green Chartreuse
- 1 oz Orange Juice
- tsp grenadine
Monkey GlandDale DeGroff notes in his book The Essential Cocktail that there is an alternative Americanized version that subs Bénédictine for the Absinthe, so there's actually another tidbit that makes one version of the Monkey Gland a little monky itself.Splash absinthe into coupe glass, shake and strain rest into glass; garnish with orange spiral.
- 1½ oz Gin
- 1 oz Orange Juice
- splash absinthe
- ¼ oz grenadine
Labels:
cocktails,
i:bulldoggin,
i:chartreuse,
i:citrus,
i:gin,
i:grenadine,
i:oj,
m,
TDN
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