An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

And it’s that time again – Mixology Monday! This time it’s hosted by Josh over at Cocktail Assembly and he chose the theme of “flips”. He said:

You see, I figure this would be a great time to strategically use all this combined creative and crafty brainpower to build up a list of recipes to keep me loaded up on flips the entire year.

So I did some poking around. Paul Clarke (he who done gone and created Mixology Monday, amongst other accolades and general Internet sexiness) wrote an article for Serious Eats about flips. In it, he mentions some other ones created (thus seeing my idea of a Fernet Branca flip is already done) but mentioned this about modern flips, something I took to heart:

Contemporary flips are relatively simple: a base of spirit (preferably dark & rich), a little syrup and/or liqueur, and a fresh egg, all shaken together and served with a little nutmeg grated on top.

Okay, enough of the blockquotes.

Here we go Steelers Here we go

I’m lucky enough that my favorite NFL team, the Steelers, is going to the AFC Championship next week. My idea initially was to use Fernet as the “black” in a Black & Gold Flip, but as I just mentioned, the Fernet Flip has been done. I thought about using Averna, in a bit of honor to Dr. Bamboo, but decided against it. Still: what would be an appropriate Pittsburgh area liquor?

Ahhh, screw it. Let’s Google “Pittsburgh Steelers liquor”, look at the first few liquor pictures that show up in the image search, and see if I’m inspired. A few clicks, avoiding stories about Santonio Holmes throwing liquor at someone, and there we go – Kraken black spiced rum and Strega.

Oh. I can work with that.

I love the idea of whole eggs in drinks anyways, so now it was just time to tweak proportions. I think what I came up with is pretty good, and a bit of a solid drink, if I do say so myself.

Black & Gold Flip

The Black & Gold Flip
2 ounces Kraken spiced rum
1 ounce Strega
1 whole egg
Put the ingredients in a glass with a bunch of ice. Shake for 60-90 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass, top with some fresh grated nutmeg.

Ahhh, delicious! If you’re feeling really ambitious, try topping it with some brown ale or a black stout and give it a quick stir. I haven’t tried it yet, though I was thinking of giving it a shot with some Guinness or Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury beer. But first, I’ll finish the one I have.

Cheers folks, and thanks again to Josh for hosting!

Ahhhh . . . Mixology Monday XLVI.  I’ve never been good at roman numerals, so I’m not even going to guess what that translates to in normal non-roman number type things.  Regardless, it’s that time again and this month we are being hosted by Sonja at Thinking of Drinking.  Sonja’s chosen theme is absinthe and a fitting theme she has chosen, especially since Sonja is the brain behind North Shore Distillery’s Sirène Absinthe Verte.  Sonja’s instructions:

The topic for February is Absinthe. That much maligned, misunderstood, mistreated spirit, suddenly plentiful again in the US and other parts of the world. Absinthe played a role, whether large or small, in a variety of great cocktails from the 1800’s and early 1900’s – the Sazerac, Absinthe Suissesse, Corpse Reviver No. 2… I’m getting thirsty. So let’s celebrate absinthe’s history, and it’s future, with all manner of cocktails using absinthe.

For this task, I turned to a myriad cocktail books to find a new drink to present to you good folks.  Looking through the 2009 Tales of the Cocktail Recipe Book, I found a very tasty looking tipple.

Green Fairy Sour
1 oz Absinthe (I used Vieux Carre)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz mineral water (I used plain ole filtered water)
.75 oz simple syrup (2:1)
1 dash Angostura
half an egg white

Dry shake all nice a long.  Add ice and shake like a 19th Century absinthe addict.  Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

First, I’d like to point out that this was the best foam I’ve ever gotten on a drink with egg white.  Woot!  Second, this is a fantastic drink!  It isn’t too sweet or too sour.  The absinthe is front and center but not overpowering by any means.  Honestly, I think I’d like to try it with a little extra absinthe in the mix.  Maybe another dash of bitters.  Regardless, this is a damn fine tasty drink.

I can’t wait to see what other beverages folks write about utilizing absinthe.  But, as is our want, we like to give you at least one more drink for your consumption.

So I’m going to use this opportunity to pimp my favorite cocktail yet again.  Plus there is the added benefit of having the New Orleans Saints as Superbowl Champions to celebrate while drinking this down.

Cocktail a la Louisiane
1 oz rye whiskey
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Benedictine
.25 oz absinthe
3-4 healthy dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Stir all ingredients until frosty cold.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist some lemon peel over the drink.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a lemon twist.  Yes, I like both lemon peel and a cherry.  Sue me.

There you have it.  A few great uses for absinthe.  Thanks again to Sonja for hosting and I’ll see you at the bar!

Cheers!

I’ve got to be honest; I didn’t expect to make one named after the (in)famous Ted Haigh aka Dr. Cocktail aka Mr. Scary Facebook Profile Pic.  (Note: current Facebook picture isn’t nearly as scary.  More…somber.)

Last night in TDN was “Bad Names” and Rachel Sergi had pointed out the names of two drinks she and Ted had come up with – the Canker Sour and Tuna Colada.  Now, I ain’t even gonna THINK about a damn tuna colada because just the thought of it makes me nauseated.  But we brainstormed on the Canker Sour and came up with what ended up being a very delicious beverage.

And thanks to his help with the name, and the fact that cocktail bloggers haven’t seen this level of excitement since the last time a new bitter came out thanks to his upcoming 2nd edition of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (hope you’re bringing a ton of ‘em to Tales!) I thought we should make the Canker Sour the official Dr. “Ted Haigh” Cocktail.

And lookee at this:

yummy yummy yummy I've got Chartreuse in my tummy

The Canker Sour
1 1/2 ounces mezcal (Ilegal)
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce agave syrup
1 whole egg (minus shell, of course)
Dry shake the first four ingredients to incorporate, then add ice and shake for at least 2 minutes.  Strain into a green Chartreuse-rinsed unchilled coupe glass and top with a drizzle of green Chartreuse.

Admittedly we invented it last night – but we thought it was GOSHDARN DELICIOUS HECK YEAH.

[Nineteenth in a series of drinks named after bloggers, mixologists, and random others who'll hopefully be at Tales. The first post in the series is here.]

Funny story behind this one.

Making a drink for Gina Chersevani would be difficult for me, I knew, because I’d be so wanting to get it just right.  I’m not saying that it’s any different than anyone else – really, I want everyone to enjoy their drink, or in the case of a few coming up at least get the joke – but of all the mixologists here in DC Marshall and I have probably spent the most time hanging out with Gina.

That started with her cocktail class and continues with her at PS7.  There, it’s not just her, but the delicious food that Peter Smith makes up in the kitchen, and he’s been a great guy to meet.  So I had to work on it.

I actually had to write down the genesis of this drink before I could sleep the other night.  When I went to make it tonight for Thursday Drink Night I realized I had to make a different variation.  That, basically, led to two drinks named after Gina.

Though that’s actually three, because the third one – with its name – was one I couldn’t resist, and a variation off the second.

For some reason for this drink I’ve had creme de cassis stuck in my head.  Gina, I don’t know why, but for some reason, your drink demanded creme de cassis.  We first start with the Gina Fizz #1.

Oh you see a hint don't you?!

Gina Fizz #1
2 ounces gin (Martin Miller)
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce creme de cassis (Lucien Jacob)
1 dash Angostura
Miller Lite
Shake everything but the Miller Lite together.  Strain into a double old fashioned glass (chilled) and top with Miller Lite.  Yes, you can use club soda if you want, but if you love Gina, you’ll use Miller Lite.

It was on my way to make the first drink for TDN tonight that I realized “Gina’s drink needs beer in it, and it should be a Miller brand!”  I don’t keep High Life in the house but you could use that, too, though I do have Miller Lite.

Originally when making this I used 1/2 ounce of lime juice instead of the Angostura bitters; I think this change is better.  In the chat room, one person had this suggestion:

9:33 PM [Buffalonian]: SeanMike, really liking your Gina Fizz #1; subbed lime juice for lemon and almond syrup for simple. added ice because my lemon lime seltzer wasn’t chilled

That’s quite a bit of a change but sounds good to me!

oh my goodness!

I went to go back and make a drink that JohnTheBastard made but realized I still must, had to, gotta do it – make the original idea for the Gina Fizz.  This is basically a straight riff off of a Ramos Gin Fizz, with a slight change.  Maybe not enough to make it a full drink on its own but I’ll tell you what – it was DELICIOUS.

Gina Fizz #2
2 ounces gin (Martin Miller)
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce creme de cassis (Lucien Jacob)
1-2 dashes orange flower water (Fee’s)
1-2 dashes orange bitters (Regan’s)
1 egg white
1 ounce cream
Combine the ingredients in a shaker and shake the living heck outta of them for longer than you want, longer than you expect, until it hurts.  Strain into a chilled double old-fashioned glass, top with club soda, then shake on chipotle chocolate powder on top.

McCormick’s makes a chipotle cocoa powder that I’d add sugar to if using for this; also, I’d double the amount you see on my drink, as I ended up doing, and I also stirred it into my drink.

I’m using a powder that Gina made for the cocktail class and so I might be a bit wrong on the description of it but that’s basically it.  I’d originally planned on using the  McCormick’s but realized I was out.

Finally, I came up with a third variation.  This is based off the second one.  Instead of a garnish, make a dark chocolate cup with chipotle in it and serve the drink in that.  Also, take out the egg white, make it a merangue (I know, spelling), and shake and strain the other ingredients into the chocolate cup, topped with the merangue.  I call it “Peter’s Lament” because I’d imagine that it’d give Peter Smith even more to do in the kitchen to help out Gina!

Cheers and enjoy folks!  If you try ‘em, make sure you let me know what you think!

[Eleventh in a series of drinks named after bloggers, mixologists, and random others who'll hopefully be at Tales.  The first post in the series is here.]