A cocktail a night, KellyM and I have been having a cocktail each night. Tonight it was a Tom Collins. So far my favorite has been a Manhattan made with 1792 Whiskey and Nolly Pratt Sweet Vermouth and Angostura bitters. We’ve been building up our supplies and barware and chilling glasses and crushing ice. It has been a lot of fun. We generally look up recipes in our Mr. Bostons (we have two) and deciding what appeals that night.
I blame Modern Marvels.
Anyone else enjoy cocktails?
Oh yeah.
I normally just drink Irish whisky, neat (Black Bush is the new favorite) but I’m not above a Grey Goose Gimlet, straight up, or the occasional Stoli Screwdriver. A Manhattan (bourbon base) is quite alright, and although I’m not a heavy Scotch drinker I’m fairly partial to a Perfect Rob Roy (Dewers is good enough).
You can keep your foo-foo exotics though, and I’m only occasionally interested in any drink with fruit juice (i.e. the Collins-type drinks). I’ve tried to get a taste for gin over the last few years and am coming along fitfully (Bombay Sapphire is pretty decent, but you can have your Tanquerey and Tonic) and any drink with cola is right out, in my dispomanial opinion.
Stranger
None of the cocktails we have tried so far for our cocktail a night have cola in them. I had never had scotch, so KellyM was kind enough to buy a single malt scotch for me to taste. I had a bit of that, neat of course instead of a cocktail. It has an amazing smoky chocolate flavor. Now I need a scotch I can use in a cocktail.
So so far we have tried:
Martini
Gibson
Manhattan
Strawberry Daiquari
Cosmopolitan
Gimlet, made with Gin not vodka.
Tom Collins
Violent Lady
Brandy Alexander
Grasshopper
Leave it to Me
Gin and Tonic
Mariposa
Shady Lady
California Lemonade
Blue Chili
Tequila Sunrise or a Margarita…
The one and only time I had Tom Collins was back in college. One of the guys I lived with said he knew the secret to the perfect Tom Collins. I had/have no idea what a Tom Collins actually consists of, but I said, sure, let’s go for it, so he brought out Tom Collins mix, a handle of vodka, and a bag of powdered sugar. Between four of use we killed the handle in two drinks. Worst hangover I’ve ever had. The next day I had to help the freshman engineers register for classes during their orientation - I kept hearing comments of “Does something smell like alcohol?” Never have I gotten drunk the night before working, and never ever will I drink a Tom Collins again.
Combine that with the time everybody laughed at me for ordering a metropolitan at a bar (I had no idea what it was! Metropolitan sounded sophisticated, like a martini!), and I just stick with beer now.
You need to try an Old Fashioned. It was popular from the '20s to the '50s, but now it’s kind of old fashioned. Good, though.
Just make sure they muddle it, not make it from syrup. (Bleech.)
Stranger
Try a Negroni, very different, very yummy.
You need to find a better bartending guide than Mr. Boston. Those things suck, IMHO.
The wife and I have been doing cocktails lately, too. We are both neat bourbon and single-malt drinkers usually, but we got a nice cocktail set for Christmas and have been playing with it. The wife prefers Grey Goose vodka martinis, while I am known to enjoys a nice Manhattan now and then.
Why don’t you like them?
Strictly personal opinion, mind you, but I have found that the recipes are skewed too sweet for my tastes. They also are rather sketchy on the more interesting variations out there. I usually go to the various Internet bartending sites when I want to try a new receipe.
Whatever you do, never touch Mr. Boston mixers. Those things are vile!
For Scotch cocktails, use a good blended scotch, not your single-malt. Dewar’s 12 is a good choice.
I second Delores Reborn recommendation for Margarita. Try making your own without the pre-bottled “margarita mix”. You can find recipes on line. Shake it like a martini and serve in a chilled martini glass rimmed with salt. It’s a thing of beauty. I am not particularly fond of frozen margaritas but I will drink one on the rocks.
Also - Mojitos are quite tasty.
Rum Runners are also quite tasty though, depending on the recipe, they can be expensive.
Doing some imprompto math, that equates to five shots per drink, ten for the whole night. And probably in a very short time span, I imagine. Yeah, no wonder you don’t want to try a Tom Collins again (though I’m fairly certain they aren’t normally made with five shots of vodka apiece.)
I like Canadian or “Rye” whiskey and a splash of soda in the evenings before bed. A nice drink, a bowl of peanuts and a good book make for a very pleasent way to wind down at the end of the day.
A Tom Collins, properly made has no vodka, and only one ounce of gin. It is suppose to be a drink light in alcohol.
So far we have been eschewing mixes. I think tonight is a whiskey sour night.
At home is the only place you’ll likely drink one of these time-honored classics. If I ask for a whiskey collins or a mai-tai in a bar nowadays, they look at me like I have a chunk of snot on my face. Then I look around and notice that the young 'uns all drinking pink or chartreuse concoctions out of oversized martini glasses. Sometimes the bartender will try to make my dinosaur drink, but I usually have to give him pointers as he’s doing so. Once my mai-tai tasted weird, so I questioned him and he admitted he just looked up some generic tropical drink recipe and made that. Yuck!
Is orgeat mix the same as orgeat syrup?
teela brown, you have inspired me to go asking questions.
MMMmmm Cape Cods are a favorite in the Creature household, although Mr. Creature prefers screwdrivers. I can’t handle gin (and hey, if that makes me unsophisticated, I’ll just have to live with that). Tequila Sunrises are also a favorite although we haven’t had any in a long time. And a few weeks ago in a fit of desperation I created a new drink: pineapple juice and vodka. After a bit of conferring, my best friend decided it was called a “Pina Gulaga”, although “Moscow Mai-Tai” was up there, too. It sounds nasty, but it was delicious.
Must keep trying new cocktails though, I have a wonderful bar set that I got as a wedding present.