Enjoying a French 75 at home right now. Posting about them spurred me into picking up a bottle of champagne. I favor the Esquire proportions with 1T simple syrup substituted for 1tsp superfine sugar. Champagne sure seems to speed up the delivery of 2oz of Tanqueray.
I know it’s common, but I’ve become increasingly agitated over the number of purported bartenders who don’t know what a Greyhound is.
(Salty dog, no salt.) I do prefer gin to vodka, which I think either makes me old-fashioned or out of touch, not sure which.
My best friend at Nuclear Power school in Orlando (1982) introduced me to what he called a “Snowshoe”: peppermint schnapps and brandy, one-to-one, over ice.
'Cept I just googled the recipe for that and was told bourbon, not brandy. Well, the guy was a Mormon and probably couldn’t be expected to know any better.
Wish I knew what the brandy version was actually called. It was very tasty.
Googling suggests:
Snowshoe or Snowshoe Grog = peppermint schnapps + bourbon OR brandy
OR
A variation on the Stinger - normally brandy and (white) white crème de menthe - so basically a different mint
I haven’t heard of any but the regular Stinger (itself obscure), so grain of salt.
There used to be a drink called a Pousse-cafe (or pussy café) which was made up of anywhere from 5 to 10 different liqueurs. They would be put in a special glass designed for this drink according to specific gravity with the heaviest being on the bottom and lightest on top. The finished drink looked beautiful. I never tasted it though.
My favorite which I have tasted and which I last had at the Cliff House Restaurant in San Francisco is the Ramos Gin Fizz. It is made with gin, sugar, cream and egg whites (I think.) I think it is the egg whites which keeps bartenders from making it for you. If the bartender wants to put the whole egg in order something else.
Another good one is the Pimm’s Cup which is made from a proprietary mixture made by Pimm’s and ginger ale, served with a slice of cucumber. I have had it in the U.S. only in British pubs.
For such a delightfully fizzy drink, the French 75 can be quite lethal. Rather like “the first modern artillery piece” that gave the drink its name.
The wife likes to ask for an Apple Phucker, and then hand the bartender her iPhone opened up to the appropriate page of the Mixologist app.
Most of the drink in this thread I’ve heard of, and I’m not much of a drinker.
I used to go to a bar after work in the early 80s that served these and called them Jelly Beans. There were five different liqueurs in a martini glass, a beautifully striped vision. The top layer was 151 rum and served flaming. I had three one night & drove straight into the neighboring JC Penneys wall. Bad times…
Russian Tour-Bus:
Stoli Razz
Stoli Citrus
Stoli Strawberry
Blue Curacao
Top with pineapple juice
Lace with grenadine
Stir briefly.
Looks like 3 day old dirty dishwater and tastes delicious
I haven’t seen it in the responses, so I’ll throw in my favorite:
Moscow Mule:
2oz Vodka
4oz Ginger ale
twist of lime
Serve in a copper mug
Last time I ordered it, the bartender asked, "Why didn’t you just say “Vodka Gimlet with ginger ale”?
I asked, "Why don’t you just admit you don’t stock the copper mugs?
The metallic bite with the liquor really does make a difference in the taste!
So…who knows what’s really in a Screaming Viking (with the cucumber bruised)?
—G
I’m not at think as you drunk I am!
A true Moscow Mule must have GINGER BEER, not ginger ale. Vernor’s would probably pass, though.
Honestly, I don’t think most bars I frequent would even have Drambuie. I think the Rusty Nail is a classic cocktail, but it’s not something I would assume every average bartender would know. Maybe I just have a low expectation of bartenders. I had one ask me what “neat” meant.
There are bartenders, and then there are BARTENDERS, you know.
The first group are jerks who serve mugs of beer and make house special cocktails at TGI Friday’s and the like, and who aren’t really professionals, just people with jobs as bartenders.
The second group are people who treat it as a craft and a career; they’re the ones who’ll know how to make you a Corpse Reviver #2 without a manual and recommend which of several gins is the best for it. They’re the ones who’ll know what a Sazerac is in the first place, and may ask you which rye, or even in some cases, whether you want rye, cognac or a blend of the two.