Mixology Monday is back and this month we’re hosted by Tristan Stephenson over at the Wild Drink Blog. Tristan’s edict was to take a classic cocktail and put a twist on it that makes the new version superior to the old. He also requested for us to tell our favorite song to do the twist to – ACDC’s Back in Black.
The first thing that popped in my head when thinking about twists was my Chichicapa Margarita. It is simply a margarita with either the addition of a smoky mezcal or a complete replacement of tequila with the mezcal. But to be honest, I love the addition of the smokiness and don’t know if I’ll make a regular margartia for myself again.
Chichicapa Margarita
2oz Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal
1oz fresh lime juice
.5oz Contreau
1 Tbls agave syrup
Shake everything with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Or if you want, strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
The second twist a little more obscure. One evening while sitting at The Gibson, one of their wonderful bartenders, Tiffany Short, whipped up a drink for me when I wasn’t sure what I wanted. That drink was an Old Pal.
Old Pal
1oz Rye Whiskey
.75oz Campari
.75oz Sweet Vermouth
-Stir with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.
For my twist, I decided to take the spicey, bitter, deep flavor of the Old Pal and make it lighter yet still packed with flavors. I simply twisted the original ingredients by replacing them with lighter versions of themselves.
New Acquaintance
1oz Bourbon [I used Bernheim - a Wheat Whiskey instead of bourbon, Maker's Mark would be a fantastic choice!]
.75oz Aperol
.75oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
-Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
The nose is reminisant of mellon and citris. You taste the bourbon which is rounded out by a bitter citrus and a roundness from the Bolin. It is light sweet and flavorful. Certainly a new twist on a classic cocktail.
Thanks again to Tristan for hosting this month! I can’t see what the other folks out there come up with!
Don’t forget to check out my Templeton Rye give-away!!! There’s still another week to enter!
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[...] twisting over in the corner, spurting out cocktail recipes like a crazy man. My favourite is the Chichicapa Margarita, Marshall’s very own twist on a Margarita, which simply replaces Tequila with Mescal, giving [...]
2 points that I think are of note on the New Aquaintance;
First, the Bernheim is not Bourbon, it is a (the only that I have ever heard of) Wheat Whiskey. The only bourbon coming any where near as supple would be Makers Mark (no Rye at all in the mash bill), but even then, when you put them side by side, the corn element of Maker’s provides more depth.
More interestingly, we have just put an strikingly similar drink on our Spring menu:
Valkerie
2 oz. Krogstad Aquavit
1/2 oz. Aperol
1/2 oz. Dolin Blanc
Sunshine Bitters (Saffron/Cardamom)
Amazing to me that Aperol and the Dolin Blanc got paired in two very different cocktails.
Heya Neyah,
Good point about the Bernheim, I’ve updated the recipe to reflect the change.
Your recipe sounds delish! I’ll have to put Aquavit on the shopping list and give it a try. Aquavit is a spirit I’d love to explore more than I have. We did a tasting of various infused aquavits at Aquavit in NYC with one of their chefs and it was amazing.
Cheers! Hope I get a chance to say hello in person at Tales this year!
Huh, what you’re calling an Old Pal looks like a Boulevardier to me.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/09/boulevardier-recipe.html
An Old Pal is usually dry vermouth:
http://cocktaildb.com/recipe_detail?id=4490
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/bartender/v01/c002.0/20.html
Your ‘twist’ could be from either, tho, and looks good. I think I’ll have to give it a whirl!
Huh, I guess it depends on where you get your recipe. My Old Pal recipe comes from the iPhone app created by the venerable Jimmy Patrick (http://www.mixographer.com/).
I’m still fairly certain that the recipe Tif made for me at the Gibson was using sweet vermouth . . . ratios could be different though. Trying out the differing recipes and tweaks and twists are all part of the fun.