Well, that’s a whole lotta sodas!

I don’t remember when I stopped mixing with sodas for the most part, but by the time we started this here site I didn’t really do it a lot. That doesn’t mean others don’t – my brother, for instance, and my dad are big fans of it. I’ve also tried to cut back on most of my sodas with the whole “diabetes” thing I’ve gotta deal with.

The other night one of my friends I play Borderlands 2 with online asked about what to mix with his bottles of Bulleit and Eagle Rare. “Don’t mix the Bulleit!” I cried, but he pointed out that he wanted something he could drink for a while. I thought about it a bit and said, hey, this could make a post.

Let’s break them down a bit by types of soda, really.

Ginger Beer – man, I do love me some good ginger beer. Bourbon and ginger beer is a great combo, in my opinion. Obviously, the traditional however is rum and ginger beer (plus a bit of lime, and you’ve got yourself a stew a Dark and Stormy). With vodka, that’s a Moscow Mule, and if you’re a type of drinker who doesn’t dig on the taste of alcohol that might be the way to go – or use a lighter ginger beer/ale, like Q.

Cola – There are so many colas out there that this can be problematic. The Fentiman’s CherryTree cola is dying for some rye, in my opinion, but I don’t know if I’d mix their Curiousity Cola (I do like to give it to non-drinkers, as it’s quite delicious). Obviously, the “…and Coke” combo is a common one, and unless you’re still in college, I don’t want to hear about vodka and Pepsi. I would consider white whiskey and RC cola, but only if you eat a Moon Pie with it too (which I have done). Fernet and Coke is a popular South American combo.

Root Beer and Cream Soda – Spiced Rum. Or most kinds of rum.

Various specialty sodas – Now here’s where it gets fun. Vanilla bean soda? I’d do bourbon, or dark rum. Victorian lemonade? Bourbon for a riff off the “Lynchburg Lemonade”. Cola made with coffee? Spiced rum or maybe tequila or Mezcal.

Sprite or other lemon-lime sodas – Well, you can make SpriTequilas, but you better be good at your mixology game. Also try gin, Pimm’s and gin, or Calvados.

Soda water – Don’t make me punch you in the throat. Really. Asking me a question like that. Just add bitters to it, I GUESS.

What combos do you like? Comment to me on Facebook or on Twitter!

Pippali Pineapple

A few weeks ago, folks started sending me this link via Twitter regarding? a cocktail and mocktail competition hosted by the folks at Marx Foods. The rules were pretty simple. Once you sign up, they send you a sample of some of their spices. Using at least one of the samples per drink,you had to come up with an original cocktail and an original mocktail. It sounded like an interesting exercise, so I thought, what they hey, let’s enter this thing.

About two weeks after emailing my interest, I received a package containing my samples. It included dried pineapple, juniper berries, saffron, (Indian) long pepper, fennel pollen and dill pollen. I was super excited about the long pepper because I’ve always wanted to experiment with it in cocktails.

Long pepper is a little hotter than regular black pepper but has this beguiling aroma that is hard to explain. It’s almost sensual and velvety. And it just screamed TEQUILA! But I didn’t want to infuse tequila with the long pepper because I wanted to be able to control the overall long pepper use. Instead, I created a long pepper syrup.

Long Pepper Syrup
Take 8 long peppers and crush them in a mortal & pestle, a meat mallet or some other heavy object.
Add 1.5 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water and the crushed pepper to a sauce pan.
Bring everything to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Using a fine mesh strainer and some cheese clothe, strain out the solids.*
Add half an ounce of vodka to the syrup for preservative purposes.
Bottle. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
*If after using the fine mesh strainer and cheese clothe there are still particles floating in your syrup, bottle the syrup and allow to settle for a few hours. Then carefully transfer the syrup into a new bottle keeping the sediment in the first bottle.

So now I had some damn tasty long pepper syrup. What else did I want to do? For the heck of it, I diced the dried pineapple and added it to 2 cups of tequila. A let it set for two days, shaking the jar twice a day, then strained out the solids. The drink I then came up with is:

Pippali Pineapple
1.5 ounces Pineapple-infused tequila
.5 ounce fresh lime juice
.5 ounce long pepper syrup
.25 ounce fresh pineapple juice

-Combine all ingredients into an iced filled shaker. Shake vigorously for a slow 10 count and double strain (using a Hawthorne and fine mesh strainer) into a chilled couple glass. Pour one drop of Peychaud’s bitters on the foam and run a pick through it for a quick design. See the photo above.

Now that we have the cocktail, time to turn our attention to the mocktail. There could be any number of reasons people don’t want to have an alcoholic beverage including religious, medical or moral. I’m sure some of these folks still want to head out to a bar with their friends or experience the scene at the hot new cocktail bar in town. Regardless, they shouldn’t be subjected to soda and a squeeze of lemon or soft drinks or fruit juice and soda water. They should still be able to enjoy all the complexity and balance that a proper cocktail provides. The mocktail should also be visually appealing, not just fruit juice and soda water.? So the first think I did was decide how to make it visually impressive without relying solely on run-of-the-mill fruit juices. After some thought, I went with beet juice. The bright red-purple juice is both earthy and sweet. Not as sweet as fruit juice, but I know it would provide a great flavor and a great color. In to the juicer four beets went.

So how do you get this complexity in a beverage without all the things the spirits bring to the table? I’ve found that if not using spirits to add the complexity, you have to turn to more labor intensive culinary tricks.? One of my favorite spirits, and one of the most complex, is gin. With it’s various botanicals and styles, gin adds so much to a cocktail other than alcohol. I knew I wanted to replicate the complexity of gin in my mocktail.

Here is where you need some special tools for this mocktail. First, think about botanicals that are commonly found in gin. Juniper berries (hey! I got some of these in my samples!), lemon, orange and coriander are common gin botanicals. Then you need a cream whipper. This iSi Whip Plus is the one I used, but whatever the brand you want to make sure it is charged using N2O gas.

Non-Alcoholic Gin
.75 ounces, by weight, juniper berries
.5 teaspoon dried lemon peel
.5 teaspoon dried orange peel
8 cardamom seeds
2 allspice berries
25 coriander seeds
3 black peppercorns
25 fennel seeds
8 saffron fronds (also included in sample box)

Take all of these botanicals and crush them in a mortal & pestle or with some other heavy tool. Add the crushed botanicals to the whip cream canister. Add three cups of filtered water. Apply the lid and charge using a N2O. Gently swirl the canister for 30 seconds and then allow to set for 30 seconds. After that, quickly release the gas from the canister.? For a more detailed set of instructions and explanation of the science, check out this article. Once you’ve vented the gas, strain out the solids. What you’re left with is water flavored with traditional gin botanicals, or, non-alcoholic gin!

Beet Me to It
1.5 ounces non-alcoholic gin
.5 ounce fresh lemon juice
.5 ounce simple syrup
.25 ounce fresh beet juice
soda water

-Combine 1 tablespoon granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon fennel pollen.
-Prepare rocks glass by rubbing one-half of the outside rim glass with a slice of lemon. Using a spoon, dust this part of the glass with the sugar-fennel pollen mixture. Fill the glass with ice and place? in the freezer while preparing the rest of the drink.
-In an ice filled shaker, combine the non-alcoholic gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and beet juice. Shake vigorously for a slow ten count.
-Strain into your prepared rocks glass and fill the rest of the way with soda water. Gently stir.
-Garnish with a fresh mint sprig.

There you have it. A beverage containing the complexity of gin, the flavor and visual appeal of a great cocktail without the alcohol!

Thanks to Marx Foods for letting me compete in this contest. If you try either of these drinks, please let me know in the comments what you think.

Cheers!

Whenever someone has offered to send a sample of their product to us – or anyone else in the CSOWG, for that matter – I always say two things.? 1, “Thank you very much!”? 2, “Please send us a fifth (750 ml).”

Why a fifth?

Well, you see, let me give an example.? One thing you have to remember is that we’re COCKTAIL bloggers, for the most part, mixologists by hobby or trade, and we like to play with the spirit to see what we can do with it.? But even without that, the example might illuminate.

Recently we were sent a mini of Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon.? I’m not going to deny how much I liked the vodka version and I’ve bought a good bit of it.

Unfortunately for me, the night that I tried the mini they sent me I also got some kind of stomach bug.? I won’t give you the details of what happened a few minutes after drinking it but – uhhhh – yeah.

And that’s it.? I’m out of Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon.? Unless I pay for my own – and really, I have LITERS of the vodka version at home, so why should I? – that’s my chance to try it.

Now Firefly lucked out.? I found some samples at $1 a bottle, and I tried it.? Now I know how I feel about it (which is generally “meh”, right now, because I only bought a little).? If I had more, I could experiment with some drink making, but to be honest, I can’t be bothered to do so.? I have so many other things I need to work on…

Let’s use another example.? The other day I was out with my brother and a friend, and we ran into another friend at a local bar (Harry’s Tap Room).? He was there with his boss who insisted on buying us shots of Cuervo Reserve de la Familia.? These shots were $25 a PIECE.? No way we’d buy them on our own!

And they tasted like ass.

If I could find a nicer way to phrase it I would, but that’s what happened.? He asked the waiter for them chilled, so maybe it was the ice, but that was some of the worst tequila I’ve ever had – and for $25 a shot, I’m not going to risk it by ordering it again somewhere else.

One chance, one try, one fail.

Finally, sort of the opposite.

I love the Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal.? Ever since I first had it – having made fun of Marshall for buying it – it’s been a staple in my bar, especially post-cigar.? Then, the other night, I left the bottle out on the porch after my cigar.

Oops.

We’ve had a lot of really hot days out.? And it’s 80 proof – but 10% agave.? Would it be okay?

Let me put it this way – if it’s been a mini, it’d have been thrown out.

Knowing it’s something I like, I paid the $40+ for another bottle just so I could compare them.? I do sacrifices like this for you, our dear readers, because I love you so much.

And yeah, it’s okay.

So there’s a lesson here.? When we ask you for a full fifth of a drink, we’re not being greedy or drunk.? We just need room to experiment.? Booze gets drank in a number of different ways, sometimes spilled, sometimes straight, sometimes mixed.? We appreciate and thank everyone who gives us stuff to help us help YOU find what’s good out there – but honestly, give us some room to work!

For some reason the embedded video I had here was screwing up the formating, so instead here is the link for the video.

Tea-quila Highball
3 oz. In Pusuit of Tea brewed Lemon Verbena Tea
1.5 oz. Blanco Tequila
.25 oz. Agave Nectar (or simple syrup in a pinch)
.25 oz. St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Build all of the ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a twist of lime. Can serve hot or cold.

Cheers!

I’m keeping tonight’s short, not to disrespect it’s namesake (who is busy working right now) but because it’s already been a long day for me.

If you’re into cocktails in the DC area and haven’t met Chantal Tseng yet, you need to make your way to the Tabard Inn on a Wednesday or Thursday night and meet her.? She not only makes some great drinks but is a lot of fun to hang out with whether she’s behind the bar or just chilling.

When thinking of a drink for her, I wanted something a bit classy, but I also remembered her Tabard cocktail which included tequila.? She’s engaged to Derek, so I thought – hmmmm, maybe we should have some Domaine de Canton in there, too.? Well – whaddyaknow.

Yes, that's not very good champagne, but I don't have good champagne in a small bottle.

The Chantal
1 1/2 ounces tequila blanco (inocente)
1/2 ounce Domaine de Canton
2 dashes orange bitters (Regan’s #6)
Champagne
Stir over ice and strain into a cocktail glass.? Top with champagne.? Garnish with a long twist of lime peel, or if you’re as bad at it as I am, three small pieces of lime peel.

If you try it with other kinds of champagne, let me know!

[Tenth 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.]

Before I left town on Saturday I’d tried to come up with a drink for the esteemed Mr. Camper English of Alcademics.? I despaired of this task on Friday night as I had to deal with maintenance men cutting holes in my drywall and just a general inability to get the drink where I wanted it.? I went to the other dream which Marshall so generously published for me yesterday and decided to leave it for after the Pink Ribbon Polo match down at King Family on Saturday and hanging out with my parents.

After a long drive home Sunday from Amelia – there was an accident on I-95, it seems, so we got to route over to 301 – I got home and went into a serious vegetative state, getting nothing done at all, for a while.? I eventually went out and got some food – and there’s a chance I did that with my fly down, which means now I get to shoot myself – and definitely stuck one of my fingers deep into a surprisingly decayed citrus fruit of some now untellable type.? Ewwww.

My initial thought? had been to work on a ginger-based drink for tomorrow’s Mixology Monday but I was too distracted.? However, I’d had a mini-epiphany about the drink I wanted to make for Camper, which I knew had to a) include tequila and b) be pink.? This was after watching dad make mom a Cosmo on Saturday night.

I grabbed a non-decayed lemon and my housemade (cold method) grenadine.? Soon I had a drink that was better than I could’ve expected and the only regret I had was not having the perfect garnish for it!? I’ll describe what I wanted to garnish it with and we’ll see.

The garnish would've been PERFECT.

The Camper
2 ounces blanco tequila (Tequila Ocho)
1 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
1-2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
pink Ting
Shake the first four ingredients together in a cocktail shaker with ice.? Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with pink Ting.? Garnish with a piece of pink grapefruit on a skewer.? Your choice the shape it is in; I would’ve done a heart, myself.

I’m really happy with how this drink came out.? If you can’t find pink Ting, you can try regular, or another grapefruit soda.

[Seventh 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.]

This month Mixology Monday is hosted by Matt over at Rumdood and his chosen theme is ginger.? Big thanks for Matt for hosting this month!

Ginger is one of my favorite spices.? For me, ginger is one of those flavors that is just as tasty in the summer as it is in the dead of winter.? During the cooler part of the year, ginger provides a bright, warming flavor to your cocktails.? During the warmer months, ginger tends to cool you down and provides a certain zing that is down right refreshing.

There are multiple ways you can incorporate ginger into your cocktails.? For the freshest flavor and more of that ginger bite, you can muddle several pieces before shaking or stirring up your libation.? You could also make a ginger syrup.? This route will provide a lot of sweetness along with that fresh ginger flavor.

Additionally, you could go the liqueur route.? Currently, one of the hottest new liqueurs on the market is Domaine de Canton.? Domaine de Canton is a mix of baby ginger and French cognac into a wonderful liqueur.? It is fairly sweet and has a nice fresh ginger bite.? Canton is a high quality product and quite delicious.

One of the most surprising drinks I’ve ever had contained Domaine de Canton.? At PS7 in DC, Gina Chersevani has a drink on the menu titled “The Cure.”? Actually, the full name is the “Recession Blues Cure.”? Priced at $5, it is certainly a cheap drink.? So what’s in it?? Miller Lite and Domaine de Canton.? That’s it.? Sounds horrible doesn’t it?? Well, it is fantastic!

The Cure
2 oz Domaine de Canton
4-5 oz Miller Lite
-Build over ice in a chimney glass.? Garnish with julienned ginger.

Now this may not be the same proportions at PS7, but for me, it is the perfect mix.? The sweetness and bite of the Domaine de Canton really highlight what little flavor is in Miller Lite.? A surprising drink indeed!

Once summer starts hitting full force, my drinking habits turn to long drinks, drinks with plenty of ice, tiki and the like.? There is nothing more satisfying on a hot muggy DC summer day than a tall glass of deliciousness with plenty of ice.

Which brings me to my second drink for MxMo.? I wanted to come up with a tall drink that was refreshing, gingery and easily quaffable.? I started thinking of what flavors went with ginger and I remembered this compote I made last summer.? It was a fantastic rhubarb and ginger compote.? Alright, ginger and rhubarb.? Luckily, I have some freshly made rhubarb syrup!? Thinking about the flavors of ginger and rhubarb my mind immediately went to tequila.? The sweet vegetal flavors of the tequila married with the bite of ginger and the tart/sweet rhubarb had my mouth watering.? Now I just needed something to tie it all together into a tall tasty beverage.? Ting!

(In full disclosure, this was the first time I’ve mixed with Ting and I’m very happy with the results.)

Ginger-Rhubarb Fizz
1.5 oz blanco tequila (I used Inocente)
.75 oz Massenez Creme de Gingembre*
.50 oz Rhubarb syrup**
1 bottle Pink Ting
-Build over ice in a tall chimney glass.? Give a quick stir to combine.? Drink and enjoy!

*A note on the ginger liqueur:? For this drink, I used the Massenez Creme de Gingembre.? I’ve had the bottle for a while and think it is a good product.? It isn’t nearly as sweet as the Domaine de Canton which makes it good to use when you want to watch the sweetness of the drink.? However, the ginger “bite” is a little less pronounced as compared to the Canton.? I think the Canton would be just as delicious in this drink, but with the rhubarb syrup, the sweetness will be proportionally greater.

**For the rhubarb syrup, I combined one large rhubarb stalk, cut into one-inch pieces, with one cup sugar and 3/4 cup water.? Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes.? Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to get all of the liquid out.

Thanks again for Rumdood for hosting this month’s MxMo.

Cheers!

No, not drink them! Wait…yes, drink them, taste them, mix with them, see what happens with them.

One thing is not like the other…

…yes, one of these is a mini. Partida only sent a mini of their tequila, while the other three (inocente, Jose Cuervo Silver, and Tequila Ocho) sent fifths. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn’t experiment as much as I’d like with Partida, but you take what you can. (And keep that in mind – if you want cocktail bloggers to actually make COCKTAILS with your liquor, you need to provide enough for us to work with, and odds are, you won’t send enough in minis.)

I went with my usual way of experimenting with new liquors – smell, straight without ice, straight with ice, and in a mixed drink. Obviously, given Tiare’s post, the liquor, and the fact that tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, I had to go with the margarita as my drink!

Ahhh, my UVA glasses…wahoowah.

I’d tried the Tequila Ocho once or twice in the past, and Gina down at PS7 had hooked me up with tastes of the inocente. The Cuervo had yet to be cracked, though I like their Tradicional (but note this was the only one that wasn’t advertised as 100% blue agave), and I couldn’t recall having tried the Partida before. So it was time to sniff.

First off, look at the colors, if you can see them there. The Partida is by far the most yellow, the color of straw, and the inocent had a slight hint of yellow as well. The others were blanco – white.

Sniffing them, the Partida seemed very smooth. The Ocho I wanted to say was more floral, definitely more complex, but a bit more of an alcohol smell on it. The Jose Cuervo Silver – uh, do not smell this one at length. The inocente is complex, not as floral as the Ocho but a bit more earthy maybe.

Then to taste. I used to always shoot tequila but I had a girlfriend for a while that was from Texas and she managed to switch me to enjoying it on its own. I looked forward to this part most of all.

Partida is smooth, very smooth, just a slight burn on it. I’d have no problem recommending it.

The Ocho had no real burn at all, slightly floral taste. It was also quite good and I’d recommend trying it this way.

The Cuervo – no. In fact, to quote my notes: “no no no no no no”.

The inocente was more complex than even the Ocho, with a hint of floral and an earthy taste. To be honest, for me, leaving out the Cuervo, it was a toss-up between which is the best. Like most straight liquors, it depends on what you like.

Next I added a single ice cube to each of them. I let it sit for a minute – often times the water/ice combination changes the flavor of the liquor.

The Partida, in fact, seemed to me to show even more complexity with a bit of water in it. I also noticed a bit more burn on the first taste of it, but not on the second, so that might’ve been just a bit of a fluke. It’s a throw up which I’d prefer.

The Ocho was lighter than it had been before but still good – you could taste the floral in it but it wasn’t overwhelming. I’d prefer it without the ice, myself.

Then we were onto the Cuervo again.

[21:10] SeanMike: oh dear god now it’s time for the jose cuervo again
[21:10] my friend: hahaha

Yes, I was a bit biased going into it but let me quote my notes again:

* Jose Cuervo Silver – no – gasoline – yuck

It was advertised a shooting tequila and – yeah. Don’t linger on this one.

The inocente, with the ice, seemed to retain its complexity with the ice and did have a bit more burn. Like the Ocho, I’d go without the ice, myself.

Finally, it was time for margaritas. Unfortunately for the Partida, which I’d be interersted to see how it tastes, I was out of it – so it was just the other three. I used the recipe from Gary Regan’s The Joy of Mixology.

Margarita
1 1/2 ounces white tequila
1 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce lime juice

I used Cointreau for the triple sec and squeezed fresh limes.

Made with the Ocho, it made for a good, if not anything inspiring. It was good, but nothing I’d jump up and down about it. I dunno. Maybe I was spoiled by the mezcal margaritas from Marshall‘s recipe on Friday night…

The Cuervo – I initially wanted not to like it. But the more I tried it, the more I’d say “it’s not bad” – it had more personality, perhaps, than the Ocho, but it also had more of a “off” taste to me in addition. So – yeah – 50-50 – more taste, but also more bad taste to it. Not bad, but not great. I’m betting if you added something more to it – maybe some orange bitters, for instance – it wouldn’t be half-bad. (And if you’re one of those heathens using the HFCS-infused neon-green mixtures, well, it won’t matter so much.)

The inocente won out overall. It has a bit of complexity that sticks out through the lime juice and Cointreau, while not overwhelmed by the problems of the Cuervo.

Overall results: The Cuervo was advertised a shooter tequila and was the only one not made from 100% blue agave (according to the bottles). It, perhaps predictably, also fared the worst in taste, and really didn’t have much to recommend it. If I can find something to make with it, I’ll suggest it, but it might be something more complex than a margarita.

The Partida wasn’t bad, especially over ice. For a sipping tequila, I’d recommend it if you wanted it over ice, but I’m still interested how it’d do in a margarita.

Between the Ocho and the inocente, it depends on what you prefer, personally, but I think overall I have to go with the inocente if you wanted to also make margaritas with it.

Anyway, I wanted to use my spiced lemonade as a mixer and remembered that I haven’t shared the recipe yet.

Spiced Minted Lemonade
3/4 cup demerrara sugar
2oz cane syrup
peel of one lemon
peel of one lime
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds
6 sprigs of mint
1cup lemon/lime juice
6 cups water

1.? In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, syrup, lemon & lime peel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and 2 cups of water.
2.? Stir over medium heat and bring to a simmer.? Simmer for 10 minutes.
3.? After the simmer, strain this mixture into a bowl and discard the solids.
4.? Put the mint sprigs in the hot syrup and infuse for about 5-6 minutes.
5.? Discard the wilted mint and allow the syrup to cool to room temp.
6.? Combine the juice from the lime you peeled with fresh lemon juice until you have a cup of juice.
7.? Combine your juice, syrup and remaining four cups of water.
8.? Refrigerate and enjoy!

The lemonade isn’t a bright yellow like one would expect lemonade to be.? It’s color comes from the demerrara sugar and the trade-off for the depth of flavor the sugar adds is fantastic.

As well as straight, I’ve been enjoying in the following libation.

Mexican Sun
2oz reposado tequila
.75oz orgeat
2 dashes peach bitters
spiced minted lemonade

-Shake the tequila, orgeat and bitters with ice.? Strain into an ice filled chimney glass and top with the lemonade.

Cheers!

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!