The Big Apple

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The Big Apple.JPG

It's Monday, which means it's Manhattan night (it's a rule.) However, I'm at home tonight so I thought I'd try something a little different. I broke out the bottle of Arkansas Black Applejack I got at the Craft Spirits a couple of months back to make what I'm calling the Big Apple. This is a Manhattan-variation which swaps out the whiskey for applejack, but otherwise keeps the 2-1-2 proportions of the Manhattan. I went with Carpano Antica for the sweet vermouth, because I thought the cinnamon would go well in it, and I used the Napa Valley Apple Spice bitters. The result is pretty good, but not outstanding. It's a bit too apple (the applejack is a little hot at 98 proof) and could maybe use a more robust vermouth. I think I might try Punt e Mes next time and a different bitters, just to see how it goes. I'm going to enjoy this one right now though.

Recipe

The Manhattan recipe is just about as simple as simple can be.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Put everything in a mixing glass and add ice
  2. Stir for about 20 seconds or until chilled (Never, never shake a Manhattan. Never!)
  3. Sstrain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  4. Sip and listen to the sound of thunder in the background and wonder how you've suddenly been transported back to the East Coast.

Trinidad Sour

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Hi there! I guess it is time to talk about cocktails once again. Hopefully, this will be the start of more regular blogging about them.

I was chatting with Tim Zohn of High West and Anthony Cozzk of Wingtip the other night and the subject of drinks which used a large amount of Angostura bitters came up. Turns out we're all a fan of that style of drink, which is no great surprise. Tim and Anthony both spoke highly of the Trinidad Sour, a cocktail I had added to my bar book but not yet tasted. So it seemed natural to pop Evernote open, find the recipe (which I got from an Imbibe article) and give it a spin.

The result is a very nice drink for this slightly warm night. There's something about bitter drinks that helps combat higher temperatures and the Angostura gives this one a nice cinnamon and clove bitter kick. It's nicely counter-balanced by the sweet from the orgeat and lemon juice. The rye (and I'm using a nice overproof one) is almost lost in there, subdued by the twin clubs of the 1 oz of bitters and the lemon juice.

This is a lovely drink, but you need to be a fan of bitterness. If that's not your palette, if you can't stand Amari, if you like something that's more on the sweet side, this one is not for you. But if you want to try something that will kick you in the face and make you enjoy it, take a walk on the adventurous side and mix yourself up one of these babies.

Recipe

As mentioned in the Tradewinds Negroni post of last year, the dasher on the top of the bottle of Angostura bitters comes off fairly easily; it just takes a little work. Twist it and give it a pull and it should come loose.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 oz Orgeat
  • 1 oz Angostura Bitters
  • 1/2 oz 100 Proof Rye (I used Pikesville, which is actually 110 proof.)

Directions

  1. Combine everything into a cocktail shaker and add ice.
  2. Shake until chilled, about 15 seconds
  3. Double-strain into a cocktail coupe.
  4. Enjoy while you wonder why you didn't buy the big bottle of Angostura Bitters the last time you went shopping... 

Father's Advice

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In honor of the bottle of Punt e Mes I opened to make a batch of Manhattans for barrel-aging (more about that at some later time), I decided to mix up a Father's Advice, a cocktail I'd seen on the Cocktail Virgin blog. I'm on a mission to make sure I properly dispose of the Punt e Mes before it expires in a couple of months and this drink was one that used it and that I hadn't tried before.

Really quite complex and lovely. The Punt e Mes and Cardamaro come through on the sip, with the rum and a hint of banana really shining on the swallow. The sweetness of the sherry helps ties the whole thing together. It's a nice, bitter and light cocktail that's perfect for this San Francisco summer weather we're having right now.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz Amber Rum (Bacardi Gold)
  • 1/2 oz Punt e Mes
  • 1/2 oz. Cardamaro
  • 1/2 oz. Amontillado Sherry (feel free to try other types of dry sherry if you don't have Amontillado on hand)
  • 1/4 oz. Gillard Banane du Brésil

Directions

  1. Combine everything in a mixing glass, add ice, and stir to chill.
  2. Strain into a cocktail coupe 
  3. Garnish with an orange twist and cherry on a toothpick 

Chocolate Manhattan

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Tonight's cocktail was another swing at the Chocolate Manhattan recipe. I'm not sure why I'm a little obsessed with trying to make this one work, but I thought I'd give it one last try. When we last left Flash, the drink was getting there but needed something to cut through the chocolate -- it was still too sweet and I thought it needed a kick of spice and heat to balance it out.

Enter Dana Hanna, who suggested I try the Chesapeake Bay Bitters from the Bitter End. So when I was up at the Napa Valley Distillery's shop in the Oxbow Market yesterday, I took the opportunity to sample some. They were pretty much what I was looking for; the kick of the cayenne pepper pushes them over the top.

I also had another thought about cutting the bitterness and decided to swap Amaro Montenegro in for the sweet vermouth. This was bad experimentation on my part as I was playing with two variables at the same time, but I thought it was a pretty safe bet. I wanted to bring in some orange and orange peel into play and a bit more bitterness to counter the chocolate.

The result works pretty well. You get a nice taste of the rye on the sip, followed by some nice bitter and heat, and then a mouth full of chocolate to cool stuff off and leave you wanting another taste. I think I'm not 100% dialed in on this one yet; I might try cutting the Creme de Cacao back a bit. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy this drink.

Recipe

I'm calling this a Manhattan variation, because it starts with the basic 2-1-2 Manhattan formula. 2 parts whisky - 1 part vermouth - 2 dashes bitters. In this case, I swaped out the vermouth for the amaro and the creme de cacao. I tend to prefer a 2 oz - 0.75 oz ratio for my traditional Manhattans and I'd probably go with just 0.25 oz of the creme de cacao next time.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Rye Whisky (I used Old Overhold, because it is cheap, delicious, and perfect for mixing.)
  • 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
  • 1/2 oz. Creme de Cacao (I used the Tempus Fugit stuff. Delicious!)
  • 2 dashes Bitter End Chesapeake Bay Bitters

Directions

  1. Combine everything in a mixing glass, add ice, and stir to chill.
  2. Strain into a cocktail coupe 
  3. Garnish with an orange twist 
  4. Enjoy!

By the way, if you're looking to build up your bitters collection, the Bitter End variety pack there has an interesting selection at a good price. Yes, it is an affiliate link. One day, I'll tempt one of you into buying something through those.

Man About Town

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I love the way the logo comes out on the glass with this one.

It's September in San Francisco, which means we're finally moving into the "warm" summer weather around here. It must have hit a high of just over 80 degrees today so this called for a drink built around a large ice cube. Plus, I had a new ice sphere press to play with (more on that in some later post), so I wanted something I could serve over the rocks -- a big, round, clear rock. In this case, the loveliness that is the Man About Town.

Called the Rum Negroni by some, the Man is a great bitter-sweet drink featuring the sweetness of rum pitted against the bitterness of the Campari. In this contest, the winner is your tastebuds. Not a drink for those who aren't a fan of the bitter-bomb that is Campari, this one is well-balanced with the vermouth adding a more subtle note of sweetness to the mix. I normally drink my Negroni and Negroni variations up (and garnish them with a cherry) but when they're on the rocks, they work well with an orange twist.

All and all, a worthy cause for the last of my Campari. I shan't see its like again until I finish my bottle of Gran Classico Bitter. 

Recipe

Negroni variations are so easy to do. For this one, I pumped up the rum to 1.5 oz to feature it a bit more. There are a number of different variations on the Negroni called the Man About Town, but that's what I first hear this rum variation called, so I'm sticking with it.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz. Gold Rum (Your choice; the rum selection will, of course, influence the taste of the final cocktail)
  • 1 oz Campari
  • 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Directions

  1. Combine everything in a mixing glass, add ice, and stir to chill.
  2. Strain into a cocktail coupe or a rocks glass with ice (or one, clear ice sphere)
  3. Garnish with a cherry or an orange twist (or both, if you're feeling special.)

Fallback

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The weather was absolutely gorgeous today; a classic San Francisco September day. This inspired my mind to wander down the path of a cocktail I'd seen on the Cocktail Virgin blog, the Fallback. This is a delightful mix of rye and apples, with some Amaro Montenegro and bitters thrown in -- a great-sounding combination that worked out well in practice.

This one starts out with a note of spice and orange (from the amaro and flamed orange peel garnish, no doubt) that segues into the rye, with the apple coming out in the finish. This one would be perfect for sitting on the porch and watching the leaves fall (or, in San Francisco, sitting and looking out the window as the wind blows stuff around and the tourists in their shorts scramble for cover, wondering how it suddenly got so chilly.)

Sea Ranchers beware! This one is very likely to appear on the menu next March; it'll go quite nicely with the weather and view.

Recipe

I played this one pretty straight to the posted recipe, only varying the brand of the sweet vermouth. It's nice, for once, to have most of the specified brands on hand (although I did have to run out to get an orange for the garnish. Tomorrow, I might have to make something that calls for orange juice...)

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine ingredients in a mxing glass, add ice, and stir to chill, about 15 - 2o seconds
  2. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass
  3. Garnish with an orange peel or, if you're daring, flame the orange peel oover the drink.
  4. Sip and reflect on your past summer.

By the way, if you're stocking your bar, consider the bitters pack on the right there -- it's pretty much the three basic bitters you need to start!

Exploring Manhattans

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Tonight I had a hankering for a Manhattan, but wanted to play around with the classic 2-1-2 recipe for the drink. Spotting the bottle of the Amaro di Angostura on my shelf brought up memories of the Murray's Manhattan that Dana Hanna introduced me to a few years back. I decided to play around with that, to see what would happen.

The result is a nice, bitter-forward cocktail with the maple and vanilla notes of the bourbon being pretty much overwhelmed by the bitter, chocolate, and cinnamon of the amaro and bitters. The vermouth is there, mellowing the mix, but otherwise pretty much fading into the background.

When I repeat this one, I'll likely not add any additional bitters to the mix, as I think the Amaro di Angostura does an admirable job of filling that roll. Also, I'd use an orange twist (or flame an orange peel over it) as the garnish; it needs a note of citrus to brighten it up. This is a warm drink, one that would be perfect for a crisp fall evening (or a nice August evening in San Francisco.)

Recipe

I split the traditional amount of vermouth between the amaro and vermouth in this one, to stick with the classic recipe while giving it a twist.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. Bourbon (I used Angel's Envy here.)
  • 1/2 oz Amaro di Angostura
  • 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula)
  • 2 dashes Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters (I thought using Angostura bitters might be gilding the lily here)

Directions

  1. Combine ingredients in a mxing glass, add ice, and stir to chill, about 15 seconds
  2. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass
  3. If I were you, I'd flame an orange peel over this one for the garnish

1491

Foxbat's Secret Lair
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Freed from the shackles of researching Tiki drinks, I turned to the 1491, which came to me from the Cocktail Virgin blog. This looked like an interesting Pisco-sour variation, with Mezcal and Elderflower liqueur thrown into the mix. I was hoping from a welcome change from my relentless diet of rum drinks and this cocktail did not disappoint. It had the lush mouthfeel I've come to expect from a drink with egg whites and the combination of the Pisco and Mezcal was really interesting. It has that good smoky-salty  taste I've come to associate with Mezcal alongside some good floral notes from the St. Germain. Just the ticket to remind me of the wonders of Pisco.

I really like how my stencil worked on this one. I used a little spray bottle of Angostura to "paint" my logo on top of the drink. The volume in my glass was perfect and I got a nice crisp image from my otherwise not-so-crisp stencil. Very recognizable. 

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz. Pisco
  • 1/2 oz Mezcal
  • 1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth
  • 1/2 oz. St. Germain
  • 3/4 oz. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Egg White (I used about 2 oz. of pasterized egg whites, which work great.)
  • 5 drops of Angostura bitters

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients except for the bitters in a shaker and shake the crap out of it. Be careful, as the egg whites will expand and your shaker will want to come unseal. Or you can use a milk frother, drink mixer, or immersion blender to mix the drink for about 5 - 10 seconds.
  2. Add ice and shake again for about 15 seconds to chill
  3. Double-strain into a coupe or martini glass
  4. Decorate the top with 5 drops of your favorite aromatic bitters (or make and use a stencil, like I did.)
  5. Admire your work of art before taking a sip.

Jamaican Bobsled

Foxbat's Secret Lair
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I was still looking for one last cocktail for my Tiki Thursday menu when I cam across the Jamaican Bobsled on the excellent Cocktail Virgin Slut blog. This looked like the type of drink I was looking for to fill my last slot on the menu (actually, to take slot #1 on the thing); a rum drink with a spice or bitter note to move it away from the sweetness of the other choices. The only thing to do was to whip one up when I got home.

Even though I had an ice crisis on my hands when I got back to the flat (and boo to me for being lazy about refilling trays), I managed to put this together as specified, using a nice, clear cylinder of ice as the bases for my crushed ice. This one is really good, with pineapple and cinnamon notes, tempted by the funky Smith & Cross Navy strength rum and the Allspice dram. I went a little heavier than I probably should on the dram and I'm getting a real allspice kick on the finish. I didn't have any edible orchids on hand (and I need to find a source for those in San Francisco; if anyone has any leads on them, please let me a comment) so I did have some hibiscus flowers in rose syrup so I made a switch there. 

This one is interesting and complex enough to make it onto the menu and put an end to my research for this Thursday's event. I think I'm looking forward to a break from Tiki drinks and rum for a few days.

Recipe

Frederic Yarm, one of the authors of the Cocktail Virgin Slut blog, wrote Drink & Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book and if you've enjoy his blog (or the recipes from it I've posted), you should check it out.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine ingredients in a shaker, add some ice, and shake for about 15 seconds
  2. Strain into a rocks glass
  3. Fill glass with crushed ice
  4. Garnish with an edible orchid (or, if you don't have any on hand, a hibiscus flower in syrup, like I did.)
  5. Throw in a paper umbrella and a couple of straw and you're ready to sip