It’s been a little while since we’ve had a cocktail thread.
Today I’m playing around with a variant of a Luigi. My current recipe is as follows:
2 oz gin (I’m using Plymouth)
3 oz tangerine juice (I’m using Odwalla)
3/4 oz sweet vermouth (I’m using Vya)
1 1/4 oz dry vermouth (ditto)
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz grenadine (I’m using homemade)
It ain’t bad…there’s enough juice in there to really mellow the alcohol and move it over into the “easy quaffing” category rather than the “refined sipping” category. Realistically, it would be fine to use cheaper vermouth in a drink like this.
A few days ago, I was playing around with the Monkey Gland:
2 oz gin (I’m using Plymouth)
2 oz orange juice (use fresh-squeezed, not something from a carton)
About 1/2 oz grenadine (I’m using homemade)
About 1/8 oz absinthe (original recipe) or equivalent pastis
The grenadine and pastis are “to taste”, so you may need to fiddle with the amounts. There should be just a hint of anise flavor. If you get everything just right, this drink is really good.
My version of a Bellini, which is pretty much nothing like the real thing. I whiz up two nectarines with the stab blender, add white wine (a Sav Blanc by choice, but whatever’s in the fridge) with a scoosh of sugar if the fruit isn’t quite ripe enough. If I’m feeling especially needy, a bit of vodka.
It DOESN’T work with plums, especially the sour hard kind off the tree in my backyard. No amount of sugar could fix that mess. Blurrgh.
Up until last week, I was also playing with mulberry juice, which doesn’t really work with Bombay Sapphire. Then my tree stopped fruiting. Damn this drought, Clancy! Ever noticed how much mulberry juice resembles blood? Lovely viscous venous blood…
White Russians. Because I’ve been watching The Big Lebowski entirely too often. And I was getting tired of rum and Cokes and the girly shots bartenders keep recommending to me were making me disgruntled. (Just because I’m wearing lip gloss and heels doesn’t mean I’m packing peach schnapps in my hip flask, folks.) There’s soon to be a celebration of Mint Juleps in my life, though.
Anybody want to recommend a cocktail for a lady whose favorite drinks are (in no particular order) Cosmopolitans, vanilla rum and diet Coke, and the aforementioned White Russians? I like sweet things, but it’s not necessary. Not confusing the barhop is a must.
Jameson 1780 and/or Black Bush (both Irish whiskeys) are my poison of choice. Owing to the recent Bond movie, however, I’ve made my own version of Ian Fleming’s Vesper cocktail, to wit:2 measures of potato vodka (I’m using Blue Ice, though I suspect a real connisseour would pick Teton Glacier)
1 measure of Beefeater Dry Gin
1/2 measure of Lillet Blanc
Mix over ice and stir or agitate gently.
Strain into cocktail glass rimmed with fresh lemon rind.
Add a thin slice of lemon.
Enjoy.It really is “not half bad”. But I can’t bring myself to actually order one in a bar or restaurant, especially since I’ll have to explain it about three times to the average bartender, and I certainly wouldn’t do this any time other than dead empty.
The “Not confusing the barhop” bit is gonna be tough.
For an alternative to the Cosmopolitan, try the Pegu Club:
1 or 2 dashes angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters (your bartender won’t have these, so garnish with a twist of orange instead)
The juice of half a lime
2 parts gin
1 part Cointreau
You may want to fiddle with the proportions a bit.
Or try a French 75:
2 oz gin
1 oz fresh lemon juice
A sugar cube’s worth of simple syrup
Shake & strain. Fill with champagne, garnish with a twist of lemon.
Re the rum & coke: I got nothing. A rum & coke is a rum & coke, unless you want to throw some lime in there and call it a Cuba Libre.
If you’re looking for another summery drink a la the rum & coke but that doesn’t involve coke, try a Pimm’s Cup. The recipe is on the Pimm’s bottle.
Re the White Russian: Hmm. Maybe a Milk Punch?
1 oz brandy
1/2 to 1 oz dark rum
1-2 sugarcube’s worth of simple syrup
a couple dashes of vanilla extract (optional)
about 3 oz milk
I’ve expanded my horizons from Irish Whiskey (Jameson, mostly) to bourbons lately. I’m drinking my way through a few bottles, one at a time, to see what I like. It’s a slow hobby, as I’m also on a diet and therefore minimizing drinking.
That and a referral from a friend are what got me started, silenus. Thanks!
And I’ve already learned that I *like * bourbon, it’s just a matter of finding some favorites now. My poor Jameson has lingered neglected in the cupboard for a couple of months.
I am actually not that concerned with it, but I like to be nice to people who are serving me comestibles.
Thanks so much, Hunter Hawk! I think I’ll probably start with the Milk Punch, since I can assemble that with what I have at home, but the Pegu Club sounds right up my alley. Mmm, citrusy alcohol.
Oh, one other thing that’s good and is easy to make is a Cuban Sidecar:
1 part white rum
1 part Cointreau
1 part fresh lemon juice
1-2 dashes angostura bitters
Your bartender will want to free-pour, but try to get him/her to measure the ingredients. Being a little off with the proportions is okay, but being too far off makes it really gross.
And just in case you’re not familiar with the original Sidecar:
1 part brandy (Metaxa works fine too)
1 part Cointreau
1 part fresh lemon juice
I haven’t really had the opportunity to be that adventurous about alcohol aside from the “lazy margaritas,” various beers, and undisguised drinks I was exposed to in college. These days, I’ll go for a vodka and cranberry juice or a darker beer (Mmmmm, Guinness!), but I just don’t have a whole lot of time or cash to go trying a new drink every time I go someplace. I will admit, though, that I’ve gotten over trying to like gin; every time I get a drink made with gin, it tastes like soap + the “disguising agent.” I do, however, have a fairly safe bet with vodka as long as I stick to good vodkas as my base. (I’m a Van Gough girl.)
Any suggestions for a relative newbie that’s fond of vodka, sort of fond of rum, and definitely doesn’t like gin? (No coffee drinks; I can’t handle the caffeine.)
So I have to go with the cider.