Sometimes an old favorite cocktail is just what is needed. Something familiar, comfortable, and preferably, easy to make. The other day I was in the mood for just such a cocktail. After a few moments of thought (which caused a bit of a sweat) I decided on a whiskey sour.
My normal whiskey sour is something like this:
2oz Bourbon (or Rye)
1oz fresh lemon juice
.75oz simple syrup
-Shaken, double strained and served up. If I give it a taste and the particular lemon I used is intensely sour, I’ll pour the drink over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
Ahhh . . . that hit the spot. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I am a big fan of Averna. If you attended the 2009 Repeal Day Ball, you probably already knew that. That’s all I’ll say because I have a constitutional right not to incriminate myself.
Moving on . . . I decided to play around with the basic whiskey sour and see if I could come up with something tasty using Averna. There were several attempts that just didn’t work – too sour, too sweet, strange finish, etc. etc. I soldiered on and after the kitchen drain was drunk from my toss-aways, I hit upon a formula that hit the spot. So I give you,
Whiskaverna Sour
1.25oz 100 proof Rye
.75oz Averna
.50oz fresh lemon juice
.50oz simple syrup
2 dashes orange bitters
-Shake, double strain, serve up with a lemon twist.
This combines the lovely sweet-bitterness of the amaro and the classic whiskey sour wonderfully. I would love to hear comments on the recipe or any tweaks you may have in the comments!
And I have the share my latest toy. While visiting my mother over the holidays, we went to several antique stores. Always on the look out for cocktail gear, I found some interesting items. There were some glasses, but compared to what I can get at Good Will, they were over-priced. There were a plethora of shakers. Most novelty shakers from the 80′s but a few from the 60′s and 70′s. Eh. They just didn’t catch my attention enough to buy any. But then! While walking through one store, I found IT!
An early 1900′s soda siphon! The gaskets on the inside are completely corroded so I’m pretty sure it is unusable. (If anyone out there knows of a way to restore this gorgeous thing, please let me know!) It weighs about 5 pounds, is double walled glass with what looks like a glass pipe in the chamber. The removable CO2 chamber is made of iron. It was part of an estate and the store owner said the syphon was found in a box in a barn. I gave the top a little elbow grease with some Bartender’s Helper and it shined up nicely. It’s a great piece and I just had to share.
Finally, I wanted to leave you with a final cocktail I enjoyed tonight.
Les Vo?tes
1.5oz Rye
.50oz Sweet Vermouth
.50oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 barspoon of kirschwasser
2 dashes orange bitters
-Stir with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Ummmm, delicious!
Nice! I will have to try the whiskaverna sour. I to am a big fan of averna!
I like the sparklets siphon–had one myself for a while. Did a bunch of research but never found parts from anywhere. The challenge is the fill valve. I never tried using parts for a modern siphon, but you might be able to make it work.
The gasket on the neck that holds the glass tube inside is probably easier because there’s a little more tolerance.
Mine had some serious residue on the inside which cleaned up nicely with muriatic acid. Good luck! I hope you give restoration a try and are more successful than I was.
Here in Hungary soda siphon repair kits are still available. I have just made one of these beauties work today using a kit like this http://bolthely.hu/orczy/id/KEG807_Szodasszifon_javitokeszlet__10_db-os_ later I will look up a shop with switchable english version too. If I forget it just make me remember!
The only hard part is that you have to remove the seal on the top and the pin of the valve arm.