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.]

I could write about brands of spirits and liqueurs which offer the best quality and variety of purpose for your dollar.? Or, I could write about what I drink when the financial belt tightens.? Or I could just make something up as I go along.? Yeah, I’m pretty much doing that last one if you haven’t guessed.

Now don’t get me wrong.? Articles about the best bang for your buck on the spirit shelf are great and generally contain lots of useful information.? I just feel I’ve read this same story a hundred times since the word “recession” became ensconced in everyday vernacular.? With that said, I can certainly see me writing the same kind of story for Scofflaw’s Den because I feel like it.? Oh well . . .?? As far as what I drink when the financial belt tightens, well that’s easy.? I drink the same things I do when I’m not concerned so much about my finances.? Rather, I cut back on purchasing booze and limit my trips to bars/cocktail joints.? I love buying random ingredients and spending an hour or two bellied up at one of my favorite bars having great conversations with the bartenders and friends, new and old alike.? But both of these activities tends to eat into my bank account and by curtailing both, I feel much on much more stable financial footing.

So for this Mixology Monday, I decided to page through some cocktail books and give you two drinks on different ends of the “hard times” continum.? First, we have a cocktail that would perfect for those times when you’re very concerned about your next paycheck.? When your job may fall victim to a lay-off or go to the ATM to check your accounts and the machine laughs at you, I give you;

Gloom Chaser Cocktail
1/4 lemon Juice (.5 oz)
1/4 grenadine (.5 oz homemade grenadine)
1/4 Grand Marnier (.5 oz homemade tangerine ratafia)
1/4 Curacao (.5 oz Cointreau)

-Shake everything until well chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
(The Savoy Cocktail Book, p. 76)

The Gloom Chaser is one sweet cocktail.? Literally.? I was a little surprised at how sweet this came out considering it only has half an ounce of grenadine.? The Cointreau also adds some sweetness but I’ve never considered Cointreau to be a “sweet” liqueur.? The homemade tangerine ratafia is brandy based, like the called for Grand Marnier.? I’ve found the ratafia works admirably well as a replacement liqueur. ? Regardless, the drink isn’t bad, just a little sweet.? Then again, I think that is precisely the point for a cocktail called the Gloom Chaser.? The orange reminds you of brighter sunnier days and the sweetness is like a reminder of childhood sweets.? Certainly a drink that would provide an uplifting step during a hard time.

Of course, the old saying goes “it’s always darkest before the dawn.”? Or “every dark cloud has a silver lining.”? The point is even though many of us are weathering this troubling financial storm, eventually things will look up.? When they do, our worry and dread will seem like a distant memory.? Who knows, maybe it will lead you to greener pastures and brighter skies.? Maybe, you’ll even find yourself as . . .

The CEO Cocktail
2oz Brandy
.5oz Chambord or creme de cassis (.5oz Massenez Creme de Cassis)
1oz Lillet Blanc
2 dashes orange bitters (Angostura Orange)
a lemon twist for garnish

-Shake (stir please) with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
The Joy of Mixology, p. 237

A nice brandy cocktail that isn’t too sweet.? The cassis adds just a touch of sweetness and really mellows out the brandy.? I was afraid the brandy and cassis would fight in the glass but the Lillet plays mediator really brings the two together.? I wonder how Chambord would change the outcome of the drink.? Seeing as I don’t have chambord, nor am I inclined to go buy a bottle, I’ll just have to wait until these economic waters even out a bit.

Thanks again for Matthew Rowley for hosting MxMo this month.

Cheers!

When we went to New Heights Restaurant last week, I had a lot of fun.  Marshall wrote up his long post on it but I wanted to touch on some of the points of my visit.

Like I said, I had a great time.  Everyone was very friendly there.  I felt a bit bad for our bartender, Chris.  He was a pretty nice guy but was almost overwhelmingly slammed a good bit of the night.  Two different tables ordered brandy alexanders!  There were a lot of no-reservation walk-ins for both the dining room and the bar thanks to a convention and the article in the WaPo (I heard them say).

Marshall is s-m-r-t … errr… smart.  When we first walked in it was fairly empty so we took seats right at the very end of the bar.  That kept us from getting surrounded when the large group came in.  I still got jostled a lot by one of the first guys in from that group.  I was convinced that they were going to be quite annoying but in fact they were very polite and when they realized they were running into me made it a point to be careful about it.  You know what?  Thanks!  Honestly, I appreciated their concern and effort to be conscientious bar-neighbors.

(Compare that to the other night at Bailey’s when the guys next to me – even a few chairs down – seemed nice at first but quickly grew annoying, to the point of having my chair stolen when I was in the bathroom and smoke blown at me.)

For the most part that night I stuck with gin and tonics.  My reasoning – which seemed to be accurate – was two-fold.

First, that’d provide a consistent tasting amongst the different gins.  To be completely consistent I should’ve stuck with the same tonic all the time.  They had a list of tonics and how to pair gin with tonic so I stuck with those guidelines.  At home I tend to stick to one kind of tonic.

Second, it would be easier for the bartender.  That it was – I definitely got drinks faster.

It looks like I didn’t manage to Twitter EVERYTHING…oh well.  I definitely had a gin and tonic to start, I just don’t remember which one!  Andrew (our original bartender) made us an Aviation with Aviation gin.  I liked it more than previous ones I’d had, though Marshall does have that creme de violette fetish.

Next was the #24.  They had a couple of these “numbered” drinks and I neglected to ask what was up with that naming schema.  This one was, according to my Twitter, G-vine gin, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, Peychaud’s bitters, simple syrup, kaffir lime leaf, lime juice, Schweppes tonic.  I’d never heard of G-vine gin before that night and they had sent the pastry chef out to buy some more of it.  It’s a French gin and I actually found later in a gin and tonic that I liked it a lot.

Next up was another gin and tonic.  This time I tried the Old Raj, blue label, with the Fever-Tree tonic.  That was quite good.  There’s another label (red, I believe) of Old Raj, but the blue is stronger and I wanted more of the taste to shine.

Around this time we got our food.  The ham & cheese croquettes were awesome, as were the truffle fries.  I also got the pickled herring (MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE) and I loved it.  Honestly – I think it was the best pickled herring I’ve had.  To be completely honest, I’ve only had it a couple of other times but I think it was better than it was at Aquavit.

I threw Chris a curveball for the next drink.  Let’s avoid the gins and hit the classic – a Sazerac.  It’s always interesting how other people make it.  He used St. George absinthe, for one.  Due to the expense of St. George, as he pointed out, he doesn’t just toss it out as you’re supposed to do with the pastis.  He just pours a little bit in.  Then there was a sugar cube, both Peychaud’s and Regan’s bitters, and Russell’s Reserve rye.  That rye is one I use a lot in Sazeracs.  It was quite tasty, if not as sweet as I tend to prefer mine.

Next was back to the gin and tonic.  I knew I needed something big to cut through the remnants of taste in the Saz.  I went with the G-vine and Fever-Tree bitter lemon tonic.  That was a SPECTACULAR choice.  I’m really digging the G-vine.

Jake had been hanging out with us and had been waiting on a complimentary Aviation for a while but finally needed to leave.  Just after he left it came up so Marshall and I polished it off.  I’d had a Rogue Spruce gin and Schweppe’s before that and needed to clear some of the taste out of my mouth; it wasn’t that bad but it wasn’t something I particularly go for.  Kind of like how a really peaty Scotch might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

The final drink of the bar for me was a martini – I’m a huge martini fan, I’ve found.  And it was good.  Marshall had a champagne cocktail of some sort.

We went home after that.  Just as I got home some friends of Cathy’s were coming in for the birthday of one of her really good friends.  Cathy wanted a drink and surprisingly enough, not a champagne drink like she usually has.  I ended up drinking the Kir Royale made with sparkling shiraz (not the best drink ever) while I thought up something.  I called it the Cathy Cocktail:
3/4 ounce Hendrick’s gin
1/2 ounce creme de cassis
1/4 ounce simple syrup
dash of Regans bitters

Shake, pour over ice in a collins glass, top with Sprite.

Later her friends and I did an absinthe tasting between the Kubler and the Lucid.  While tasty, it was not what I needed at that point in the evening…it definitely led to a rough morning when I had to get up early to take care of the block party!

I actually already put my stuff away, so no pictures from my haul, which included:

Noilly Pratt Sweet Vermouth
Liter of Maker’s Mark
Rittenhouse Rye (80 proof)
Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond (100 proof)
Massenez Creme de Cassis
Junipero Gin
Castarede XO Armagnac

I also picked up some Stirrings Tonic, a bottle of Fentimaan ginger beer and Curiosity Cola.  Some Lyles Golden Syrup (to play with as a simple syrup substitute,) demerrara sugar cubes, nutgeg, star anise and vanilla beans.  Gotta start making syrups tomorrow!!!

Oh and I tried the Curiosity Cola with lunch . . . damn!  Best soda I’ve had.  But I’m not a big soda drinker (at least straight) so maybe my palette isn’t the best for it, but to me, damn tasty!!!

What’s on tap:  I think tomorrow I’m going to do an inventory of my bar.  I know Sean did one a few posts back, but I think I’s my turn.  I’ll take some pretty pictures for you folks too.  Plus, syrups . . . well probably just one, a vanilla-cardamom syrup. 

Cheers!