Rejiggered

Pink Sand Cocktail

2011-01-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

The credit for this drink goes to Justin of Tucker Point Resort in Bermuda, where my wife and some of her friends discovered it on a recent trip. It's a sweet rummy concoction that matches the pink sand of the island -- hence the name he gave it on the fly.

Pink Sand Cocktail

1 oz banana rum
1 oz mango rum
1 oz pineapple rum
1 oz dragon berry rum
1 oz Rose's lime juice
Splash of grenadine

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Because I am unable to leave any cocktail recipe alone, I swapped fresh lime juice for the Rose's and finished the drink with a healthy pour of champage -- either rose for a deeper pink color, or brut to balance the sweetness of the other ingredients.

St. Croix Cocktail

2010-08-29T20:53:00.001-05:00

As always, many thanks to Lindsey of Brown, Bitter and Stirred for hosting the August edition of Mixology Monday. Of course, let's also raise a glass to Paul for rallying the party.

My taste for bourbon has drawn me to brown, bitter and stirred cocktails for decades. However, in the summer, I have a taste for rum, so I morphed a Manhattan into a lower-latitude version.

St. Croix Cocktail

3 oz gold rum (I used Cruzan Single Barrel)
1/6 oz (1 teaspoon) ruby port
1/6 oz (1 teaspoon) Grapefruit Tea Bitters

Stir ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Grapefruit Tea Bitters

2010-08-26T21:15:00.004-05:00

Grapefruit Tea Bitters

1 cup boiling water
Two bags tea (I used Irish Breakfast tea)

1/2 red grapefruit, sliced thickly
1/2 cup Bacardi 151

Steep tea in boiling water for five minutes. Remove and discard teabags. Reduce tea to 1/2 cup over medium-high heat. Combine tea, grapefruit and rum and seal in a jar. Infuse for two days. Remove and discard grapefruit, then strain.

Summery Petit Sangria

2010-07-04T10:38:00.003-05:00

This weekend we hosted the neighborhood happy hour for the first time in years, and I crafted a sangria for our guests. The inspiration was a few bottles of petit syrah I had in my wine rack. Its volume and fruitiness called for a strong citrus counterpart in a sangria recipe. I went with freshly squeezed oranges, although I complemented with lemon to add some acid and complexity after tasting. I also added a pop of rose champagne to give just a little bite of fizz to the already delightful flavor.

As I built the sangria, I could see the promise ahead. Often, mixing is as much fun as enjoying the result. That said, the empty carafe at the end of the night called that into question.

Petit Sangria

¼ cup triple sec
¼ cup orange vodka (I used Absolut Mandrin)
3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cup fresh fruit (such as berries and orange and lemon wheels)
1 bottle petit syrah
1/3 bottle rose champagne
3 tablespoon superfine sugar

Combine ingredients in a pitcher.

Mixology Monday: Roasted Bloody Mary

2010-04-24T14:03:00.012-05:00

Mixology Monday: Roasted Bloody Mary

Many thanks to Mike McSorley at McSology for hosting April's Mixology Monday. As a home mixologist I haven't experienced the exact scenario he described of having to make a last-call pain in the ass drink, but I certainly have inflicted some high-maintenance drinks on myself and others. I try to think of it more as a tradeoff of trouble for quality, perhaps at least as consolation. My perspective likely would be different if such a drink were keeping me from getting home at night.

The effort in my submission, a variation on a Bloody mary, lies in the tomato base. This freshly roasted and milled sauce is sweet, fresh and complex -- and far better than anything I've tasted in a bottled or canned mix. The following base recipe makes about four cups.

Roasted Tomato-Pepper Base

10 tomatoes
2 red bell peppers

Halve tomatoes. Core, seed and quarter peppers. Arrange peppers and tomatoes skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool, reserving any pan juices. Press tomatoes and peppers through a food mill. Combine with reserved juices in a pitcher.

Aside from the base, the drink is true to classic Bloody Mary proportions, which are of course a matter of some debate, with three modest personalizations. With New Orleans still fresh in my memory, I used a liberal amont of Crystal hot sauce. Also, I used the recipe as an excuse to use my new one-handed pepper mill; two pumps did the trick. Finally, I traded celery seed for the celery salt many recipes feature. After all, celery salt is just celery seed with salt, and the recipe already calls for salt.

The complicated but rewarding recipe follows. Cheers!

Roasted Bloody Mary

4 oz roasted tomato-pepper base
1/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons horseradish, to taste
5 drops Worcestershire sauce
2 oz vodka
5 to 10 drops hot sauce, to taste (I used Crystal)
Pinch of celery seed
Dash of salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Stir ingredients together with ice in a highball glass. Garnish with a celery stalk.

Mixology Monday: Rum Punch Party

2010-03-21T20:23:00.013-05:00

Thanks to Hobson's Choice for hosting the March round of Mixology Monday.

Since we recently returned from a long weekend in New Orleans, I took inspiration for my punch from the hurricane cocktail – rum, orange, lime and passion fruit. That said, the punch could not be as high-octane as the cocktail itself. I also wanted a little fizz. Soda was certainly a viable option to these ends, but I was more interested in using champagne to add some complexity to the classic hurricane flavors.

In keeping with the notion that punch is best served to a crowd on a leisurely evening, I invited a few friends from the neighborhood over to sample my recipe and give me their reactions and suggestions. I also asked them to name the punch. I got a number of helpful tasting notes -- but more importantly, we had a great time hanging out.

The punch was well-received. I had been careful to make half again as much punch as I should have needed. Instead, we ran out after an hour or two and needed another batch. I looked over the fruit I had remaining. I didn’t have what I needed to make exactly the same punch again, so I improvised on a citurs and tea-based recipe I had seen in Esquire over the holidays. We also flamed the bowl for a little pyrotechnic entertainment. That punch was a spicier contrast to its tart predecessor – and it lasted just about as long. The impromptu punch party extended into the small hours.

Recipes for both punches follow. Thanks to my neighbors for joining in the fun. Cheers!

Heart and Tart Punch

2 parts dark rum (I used Gosling’s)
1 ½ parts passion fruit rum (I used Malibu)
½ part light rum
1 part freshly squeezed lime juice
1 part freshly squeezed orange juice
1 ½ parts turbinado syrup (recipe follows)
2 ½ parts champagne

Stir together first six ingredients in punchbowl. Add ice – an ice mold is the natural choice. Top with champagne and stir gently.

Second Chance Punch

Overproof rum (I used Bacardi 151)
1 ½ parts turbinado syrup (recipe follows)
5 teabags
2 parts gold rum (I used Cruzan)
1 part light rum
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 part freshly squeezed orange juice
2 ½ parts champagne

Bring syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and steep teabags for five minutes. Remove teabags. Pour the overproof rum into punchbowl and swirl to coat the sides. Carefully ignite with a match. Pour in juices, then add remaining rum. Shake tea mixture with ice and strain into punchbowl. Add ice or an ice mold. Top with champagne and stir gently.

Turbinado Syrup

2 cups water
1 cup sugar

Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved.

Gingered Tea Syrup

2010-01-25T07:22:00.003-05:00

Gingered Tea Syrup

2 bags of black tea
10 discs of crystallized ginger
1 cup water

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add tea bags and ginger to water and steep for 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and ginger and discard. Return mixture to heat and reduce to 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and chill.

O-T Cocktail

2010-01-24T21:48:00.009-05:00

MxMo: O-T Cocktail

This round of Mixology Monday features cocktails based on or including tea, and is graciously hosted by Cocktail Virgin / Slut. My submission is a gingered tea syrup, which paids well with seasonal blood orange juice in this cocktail, and opens up a whole range of other possibilities. Considering it all came together during the Saints' OT win in the NFC playoff, I'll call it the O-T Cocktail. Cheers!

O-T Cocktail

2 oz vodka
1 oz simple syrup
Juice of 1 blood orange
1/2 oz Gingered tea syrup

Shake vodka, simple syprup and juice with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Gently add gingered tea syrup so it pool is the bottom of the glass.

A Rejiggered Sidecar

2010-01-06T17:54:00.000-05:00

This weekend a nearby bar did a nice job with a sidecar, but I wanted something more novel and shook up a variation with a smooth hint of apple.

Calvados Sidecar

2 oz cognac
2 oz calvados
2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz simple syrup
Juice of one lemon

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. If you like, garnish with turbonado sugar and strip of lemon rind.

Rejiggered ... Bakes?

2010-01-02T23:51:00.006-05:00

From time to time, I put down the shaker and pick up the sifter or the chef's knife. For Christmas I took a shot at the Hot Chocolate Cake from Fine Cooking magazine, complete with homemade marshmallows piled on top. Now if I could just find a way to use those leftover marshmallows in a cocktail...

Mixology Monday: Christmas Cheer

2009-12-13T13:29:00.009-05:00

Mixology Monday: Christmas Cheer

This round of Mixology Monday, kindly hosted by Kevin of Beers in the Shower, carries the theme of "Money Drinks." According to the MxMo announcement post, that means a drink with wide appeal -- and it also means a top shelf twist on a classic drink. My submission aims for both categories, with holiday festivity thrown in as well.

This drink -- dubbed Christmas Cheer -- features lemon and orange sour flavors with the earthy caramel appeal of dark rum, tempered with fizzy dry champagne. This combination results in a balanced taste that should appeal to a variety of palates. This drink is also money because of the esteemed pedigree of its base liquors. Finally, it plays on the currency of holiday punches in the cocktail scene, reducing the bowl of rum, citrus, sugar and fizz to a simple glass full of holiday cheer.

Christmas Cheer

2 oz aged rum (I used Cruzan dark rum)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 orange
1/2 oz simple syrup
Brut champagne

Shake rum, Grand Marnier, juices and syrup together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with champagne. If you like, garnish with a strip of orange or lemon.

A Bitter Late Fall's Day

2009-12-04T22:15:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I made another run at seasonal bitters. The fat pomegranates at all the stores were all the inspiration I needed. The ruby color and rummy background present a host of holiday options.

Pomegranate Orange Bitters

Arils of one large pomegranate
4 oz overproof rum (I used Bacardi 151)
1 oz Grand Marnier

Combine ingredients in a flat-bottomed mixing bowl. Muddle until arils are crushed. Cover and store overnight. Strain into a small bottle.

Spooky Halloween Cocktails and Garnishes

2009-10-30T22:50:00.012-05:00

Spooky Halloween Cocktails and Garnishes

Tomorrow night I will be at a clever "candy counting" party hosted by good friends. While the children check and trade their loot, the parents will have a few beers or perhaps ... cocktails! For those of you who, like me, are thinking ahead about spooky cocktails and garnishes.

The Crime Scene Garnish

To get that bloody, fleshy, call-the-coroner look, reduce pomegranate syrup over medium high heat until it has a thick consistency, about ten minutes. Splatter the syrup maniacally inside a cocktail glass and fill with the creamy cocktail of your choice. A couple of additional options:

John Doe #1

1 1/2 oz vodka

1 oz Irish cream liqueur

1 oz amaretto

1 oz heavy cream

Dash of pomegranate syrup

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

John Doe #2

1 oz Hiram Walker pumpkin spice liqueur
2 oz light rum
1 oz Irish cream liqueur
1 oz Grand Marnier

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Eerie Black Garnish

Black lava sea salt is a particuarly creepy garnish for Halloween, especially when paired with a margaritaor some other green cocktail.

Happy Halloween all!

Bourbon: The Fountain of Youth (At Least for Me)

2009-10-20T22:42:00.000-05:00

Bourbon: The Fountain of Youth (At Least for Me)

How exactly is bourbon a fountain of youth? And what is this obscure diagram with the illegible notes?

As any lawyer will tell you, answer only one question at a time. How exactly is bourbon a fountain of youth? Happily, sadly, or both, I turned forty last month. The fortieth birthday might be a mixed blessing, but one upside was my wife's gift of a session for two at the latest bourbon class at Acadiana, a DC restaurant decadently and delightfully focused on Louisiana's cuisine.

The very chart you see above was set before our seats. Within each of the ten circles was a slim, tall shot glass with about a half ounce of bourbon. A bourbon nirvana. I thought I had a decent bourbon background, but after a few minutes it was clear I had a lot to learn -- for example, understanding the terms on the labels (single barrel, small batch, and so on) to the extent they mean anything at all.

I could resist no longer and started tasting. All these excellent bourbons were new to me, and tasting them side by side brought their differences into focus. My favorites were the three Four Roses bourbons (90 proof, 100 proof and 120th Anniversary), and paradoxically, I found the 100 proof version to have richer caramel and buttersctoch flavors. The 120th Anniversary bourbon had a more understated and floral nature. Noah's Mill made as much of an impression with its smooth, almost buttery texture as with its sweet flavor. Willet's bourbon had a pleasantly salty undertone that was an intriguing contrast -- like the flavor of salted caramel. We capped off the tasting with a few rare bottles -- such as Hirsch Reserve (aged 16 years -- in Pennsylvania, no less) and Pappy (aged 23 year) -- that I may never encounter again.

Lunch was wisely included in the program, and it was outstanding. The fried chicken was coated in a hearty crunchy crust, and the biscuits were tender and buttery. While I enjoyed the meat pies -- a savory pasrty reminiscent of an empanada -- the restaurant also prepared some Southern vegetable pies bursting with corn and pepper that stole the show. I will most certainly return to Acadiana for dinner, to include of course a couple of pours of these outstanding bourbons.

At the end of the tasting -- and a generous amount of bourbon -- I felt relaxed, satisfied, and even rejuvenated. That's a bold statement for a newly minted fortysomething.

36%

2009-09-28T04:55:00.001-05:00

36%

Thirty-six percent -- butterfat, that is. That's what separates heavy cream from all its dairy counterparts, at least those still in liquid form, and that's what makes it such a decadent ingredient for cocktails. After all, fat is the messenger of flavor.

Why did I select heavy cream for this round of MxMo, and its dairy theme? After all, egg white is much more in keeping with my recent listing towards experimenting with (little "o") old-fashioned cocktail methods. Yet heavy cream pervailed. Perhaps I was still basking in the unctuous comfort of the pot of mashed potatoes I made for dinner tonight. They had plenty of heavy cream, of course. Maybe I am still inspired by the joyous, fatty epicurean scenes from Julie and Julia and the magnifique French dinner meal I had afterwards. Or I could be overthinking it. Heavy cream just might be, quite simply, the heavyweight champion of dairy mixers.

Aside: I will admit to a disastrous evening of mixing buttermilk cocktails. Buttermilk is an irresistable temptation, really, to a Kentucky guy like myself. The results were complex, but not exactly palatable.

Regardless, cream is the theme, and I came up with two selections. The first is an idea that I have been dying to try for years -- an ice cream inspired cocktail. I have tried a couple of times before, but never shook up a drink to my satisfaction. This time was different. I backed off the hard liquor and focused on cordials, yielding a smooth, full taste. Too bad it all fell in place in September rather than July.

The second drink truly struck me out of the blue as I was looking for another low-octane option. I thought the earthy flavors of calvados and marsala would marry well, and turned that base into a fizz on a whim. The result took me full circle, reminding me of those frothy egg white cocktails as the other path I had considered for this round of MxMo.

Recipes follow. Cheers!

Ice Cream Shots

1 oz heavy cream
Splash of whole milk
1 oz liqueur

Use a base liqueur of your choice. Three nice options are Midori, chocoloate liqueur (I used Godiva) and equal parts peppermint scnapps and chocloate liqueur

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a small glass or large shot glass. The bottom of an ice cream cone makes an interesting and edible presentation.

Fall Fizz

1 1/2 oz calvados
1/2 oz marsala
1 oz cream
Club or lemon-lime soda

Shake calvados, marsala and cream together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with soda.
Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Cherry Limeade

2009-09-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

While so many alternatives are available, the classic bright red maraschino cherry holds a nostalgia of its own. After all the cherries are gone, it would be a shame to pour the syrup down the drain. Let's take a moment to enjoy some simple, sweet, refreshing flavors.

Cherry Limeade

2 oz vodka

Juice of 1 1/2 lime

1/2 oz maraschino cherry syrup

Lemon-lime soda

Combine first three ingredients together with ice in a highball glass. Top with soda and stir.

Sea Foam

2009-08-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Another southwest Florida creation, frothy and particularly inspired by the sea, and not to mention a foray into the time honored technique of using egg white for body in a cocktail.

Sea Foam

2 1/2 oz white rum

1 oz triple sec

Grapefruit soda

1 egg white

1 oz creme de cassis

1 oz simple syrup

Shake rum and triple sec with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. In a separate glass or bowl, whip egg white, creme de cassis and simple syrup until foamy. Top rum mixture with grapefruit soda, then spoon on foam.

How's Your El Presidente?

2009-08-16T23:37:00.004-05:00

My time on Florida’s Gulf Coast has produced a couple of new cocktails, but also other observations for the cocktail enthusiast. For starters, my first read was fellow Washingtonian Eric Felten’s How’s Your Drink. This book is engaging, well-written and full of history and anecdotes about classic cocktails. A friend of mine gave it to me at my Kentucky Derby party in May – a most fitting gift for a drinking event, even moreso considering its discussion of the history of the mint julep.

Enough about May, and on to the events of August. From my perspective, a handful of the classic cocktails in the book are anachronisms or curiosities. For example, I doubt I will ever need to pour many Grasshoppers or Pink Ladies, though the history of those drinks is fascinating. Others looked so tantalizing I had to give them a shake, particularly the El Presidente. Felten's recipe includes rum, pineapple and lime juices, and grenadine. The drink, I learned, was a wildly popular drink in the 1930’s. Perhaps something about a recession makes the cocktail appealing – but I think it has more to do with the cool, frothy pineapple juice balanced by the sharp citrus flavor. Or maybe the drink’s sunset color makes it so irresistible and even contagious. I asked for it by name at a couple of bars, and saw other parties order them soon after. It even became the next night’s cocktail special at one of the bars. Who knows -- perhaps El Presidente could be poised to make a comeback.

Beefeaters, Bludgeons and Maidens

2009-07-28T22:47:00.003-05:00

When I twisted open a new bottle of Beefeater gin, my thoughts ran to an icy cool, shimmering, dry martini -- and I was not disappointed. Beefeater struck a satisfying balance between botanicals and dryness at a time when gins at both extremes of the spectrum are making their appearance.

Perhaps out of habit, I tend to think of gin as a fall and winter drink. Rum generally commands my summer shaker, but I needed to explore. Even the reggae radio station chided me by adding "Gin and Coconut Water" to its rotation. So, I slipped out of the current and tried some Beefeater in a tropical cocktail. The result was the Bludgeon, a spicy and citrusy cocktail of, yes, blue gin.

Bludgeon

2 oz gin (I used Beefeater)
1 oz blue curacao
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 orange
1 oz ginger syrup

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Consider garnishing with a sugared rim and a lemon rind.

The Bludgeon is akin to the Maiden's Prayer, a cocktail I find myself pouring at least once a week. Beefeater in hand, I pressed further on my course towards new and summery gin cocktails by trying some variations. These variations were particularly delightful:

Twists on the Maiden's Prayer

Basic Recipe

1 1/2 oz gin (I used Beefeater)
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Twists

Add a mere splash of peach schnapps or orange flower water
Pool pomegranate syrup in the bottom of the glass
Garnish with a flamed orange rind or the barest sprinkle of orange water

Dateline Florida -- 2009

2009-07-21T22:41:00.004-05:00

Starting this weekend Rejiggered takes its annual leave to Florida's Gulf coast. Postcard sunsets, fish sandwiches, white sand cooled by the ocean winds -- ample inspiration for some decadent tropical cocktails. To be posted here soon, of course.

A Rejiggered Daiquiri

2009-07-17T23:00:00.001-05:00

In aspring to true Hemingway style, I prefer old school daiquiris that have everything to do with fresh, rummy, citrus flavors and nothing to do with swirling and slushy machines. In other words, serve it straight up or on the rocks, and not frozen. On several occasions I've offered a batch to friends who ask (at the bottom of the glass) what they are drinking, and are surprised to hear it's a simple, traditional daiquiri. White rum works well as a base, but a mix of various rums makes this otherwise straightforward drink more complex. Fair warning -- this drink can, well, otherwise change your plans for the evening.

This recipe is in "parts" rather than ounces in case you're serving a crowd.

Happy summer!

Rejiggered Daiquiris

2 parts raspberry rum
2 parts pineapple rum
1 part gold rum
1 1/2 parts freshly squeezed lime juice
1/3 part simple syrup

Shake or stir ingredients together with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

A Few Rounds with Leblon Cachaca

2009-07-10T22:40:00.003-05:00

I recently received a bottle of Leblon cachaca and was delighted to try it. I had mixed with cachaca in the past (such as in the blood orange caiprihinia), so I had a sense of the base flavor. That said, Leblon's smooth and delicate taste stood out from other cachacas. It was true to its roots -- I could pick up the sugarcane and even some earthy tones underneath. It pairs well with citrus of course, and also with ginger, as in the cocktails below.

GC Splash

2 oz Leblon cachaca
1 oz triple sec
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice

1 oz ginger syrup

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. If you like, garnish with a splash of pomegranate syrup.

A few other ginger concoctions:

Round One

2 oz cachaca (I used Leblon)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 oz ginger syrup

Shake ingredients toegther with ice and stain into a cocktail glass. Consider garnishing with a stream of pomegranate syrup.

Round Two

2 oz cachaca (I used Leblon)
1/2 oz ginger syrup
Champagne

Shake cachaca and syrup together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with champagne.

Round Three

2 oz cachaca (I used Leblon)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz ginger syrup
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Consider garnishing with a stream of pomegranate syrup.

And now a concoction with no ginger at all.

Pine and Cane

2 oz cachaca (I used Leblon)
1 oz triple sec
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
1 oz pineapple juice

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Consider garnihsing with a stream of pomegranate syrup.

June's Surprise

2009-06-21T20:47:00.011-05:00

The first Saturday morning after the close of the spring soccer season promised to be leisurely. A whole day without packing up and hustling to a field, a day to spend as I chose. I had planned a trip to the local farmers' market. When I woke, the weather was not exactly inviting -- dreary rain falling from a cool gray sky. However, I was determined, and braced myself with my trusty University of Kentucky ball cap and rain jacket.

The trip defied its dismal beginning. The clouds parted for a half hour, just enough time to make the rounds through the small oval of tents and stands. They held many of the usual early summer offerings -- berries, greens, squash, tomatoes. One tent stood out, though, because of its pints and pints of plump indigo berries -- black raspberries -- something I handn't seen at this market or any other in some time. Maybe I am too easily entertained, but I was thrilled. Their flavor was rich, sunny, sweet and extraordinary. I managed to save enough to garnish a cocktail that night, named for this unexpected delight. Of course it called for Chambord, and I paired it with bourbon and amaretto for complexity, along with a bit of citrus to tame the sweetness.

June's Surprise

3 oz bourbon
1 oz amaretto
1/2 oz Chambord
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Consider a garnish of a sugared rim, some skewered black raspberries, or both.

Or, perhaps a quicker variation:

2 oz bourbon
1 oz Chambord
Blackberry soda (I used Izze)

Combine ingredients together in a highball glass with ice and stir.

A Simple, Cardinal Rule for Drinking

2009-05-21T23:19:00.003-05:00

Over time, we have heard all sorts of rules about drinking and moderation. Many are keyed to local sobriety rules. One drink per hour and the like. Then we have those silly ordering rules -- "beer then liquor, never been sicker; liquor then beer, never fear." Let's be honest wih ourselves. Alcohol is alcohol, regardless of whether it features hops, grapes or the burnt innards of a wooden cask --or whether it is first or last on the menu.

Maybe a simple rule of thumb is in order for those times you want to keep your faculties. I propose this one simple rule that has stood the test of time for me:

If you can't find your glass, it's time to stop drinking for the night.

All right, let's not be completely inflexible. Exceptions certainly apply. If you're the host and misplace your glass while turning out a second or third or fourth round of appetizers for your guests, don't worry if your glass goes missing for a few moments. On the other hand, if your duties at a party are limited to enjoying the hospitality, making brilliant conversation and delivering yourself home safely, perhaps consider that elusive glass as a sign that it's time for a little H2O.

Cheers, all!

Mine That Cocktail

2009-05-15T22:05:00.004-05:00

Early May can be full of surprises. On the first Saturday in May, a longshot surprised the crowds at Churchill Downs. A few days later, I was surprised how a few simple flavors and a little muddling right out of the gate can create a cocktail that tastes of spring and is as bright as Calvin Borel's silks.

Mine That Cocktail

3 oz gin
1 oz triple sec (I used Hiram Walker)
1 oz simple syrup
Handful of fresh mint leaves

Muddle mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add other ingredients and ice. Shake and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a cocktail glass. A sugared rim is a nice touch, as is a fresh mint leaf.

Sandeman 10-Year Port and The Red Jacket

2009-03-27T23:19:00.000-05:00

I've always enjoyed Manhattans, but as I mixed round after round, it occurred to me that I was really just tolerating the sweet vermouth in the drink. In truth, I didn't enjoy its flavor. I would never down a glass of sweet vermouth. Others might, but in truth it's just not right for me. Perhaps it's a taste I should acquire, but it hasn't happened quite yet. At least at first, I was loath to meddle with such a classic recipe. Then the epiphany: why should I mix with ingredients I don't like? To ask is to answer.

I don't enjoy sweet vermouth, but I do like port. I always have. For The Ruby Gauntlet I developed a Manhattan featuring port instead of vermouth. I used ruby ports of decent quality and was quite pleased with the change. The cocktail's flavor was deep and earthy, and slightly sweet.

Then I had the good fortune to try a bottle of Sandeman 10 year tawny port. Switching from vermouth to ruby port was a decisive improvement. Using the Sandeman tawny port instead of the ruby port was better still. The drink traded its residual sweetness for a new layer of complexity. I enjoyed this drink night after night -- as well as a glass or two of the Sandeman tawny port standing alone.

Not content to leave well enough alone, I detoured a bit further from the baseline Manhattan. I skipped the bitters and poured in some Cherry Heering, which lent enough fruit and sweetness to accommodate a splash of Galliano, yielding a drink I suppose I'll dub with a name fitting for this cool early spring.

The Red Jacket

2 oz bourbon
1 oz tawny port (I used the Sandeman 10 year tawny)
1 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz Galliano

Depending on your tastes for the evening, either stir ingredients with ice in a double old-fashioned glass, or shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Almond Cherry Buzz

2009-03-20T21:36:00.008-05:00

I had been chomping at the bit to mix up a drink or two with Cherry Heering. The local ABC finally began to stock it, and here is the first creation.

Almond Cherry Buzz

1 1/2 oz vodka

1 oz Cherry Heering

1 oz amaretto

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Chocolate, Reworked

2009-03-01T23:33:00.006-05:00

When presented with a bottle of Godiva chocolate liqueur, I finally took the opportunity to develop my own take on a chocolate martini. My general ground rule is that a martini should be of high proof, letting the flavors of the component liquors take the spotlight. In this case, I chose to round out the chocolate liqueur with subtle and deep almond and coffee flavors. If you like, slip in a pool of Irish cream liqueur as I did for a creamy taste and color contrast.

Chocolate, Reworked

2 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
1/2 oz amaretto
1 oz chocolate liqueur (I used Godiva)

Shake first four ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Consider a sugared rim and a pool of Irish cream liqueur as garnishes.

Kumquat Mojo

2009-02-28T22:01:00.009-05:00

With astonishment I realized that I had not posted in weeks. I suppose it was one of those stealth work crushes -- no one particular matter taking the lead, but instead a handful of demanding projects. On the local traffic reports, they call that situation "volume" on the highways -- no crashes blocking the way, just way too much traffic to get through in a timely manner.

Against that backdrop, I was getting concerned about my cocktail mojo. For weeks I shook up classic but unblogworthy recipes after a long day's work -- bourbon on the rocks, martinis, port manhattans, lemon drops. When I finally undertook a new creation two mights ago, it was horrid. It was reminiscent of the medicine cabinet, and went straight to the drain. What was going on? Was I losing my mixology mojo? Was I tired? Uninspired? A little worried?

In an effort to get back on track, I took a spin through the produce section this afternoon looking for inspiration. I saw all kinds of fruit. Berries -- not in season, imported from Peru. Citrus -- lemons, limes, oranges, all in season, but nothing new. Same with apples and pears. Then I saw a small box of kumquats, vibrant, tiny and orange, in the peak of their winter season. I scooped up a generous handful and made my way to the checkout. Luck continued to smile on me as the cashier could not find the product code after repeated attempts and settled for pricing them as eggplants, at a fraction of the posted price.

On the drive home I popped a whole fruit in my mouth. As I crushed through the thin rind, the flavor was citrusy, plentiful and sweet, but soon the flesh burst with the tart juices inside, leaving a playful balance of sweet and sour, along with a hint of bitterness from the minimal pith.

My plan was paintakingly to juice the kumquats, at the cost of sacrificing the sweet oils in the rind. Perhaps I could preserve the rind experience through a garnish. In short order I halved and pinched the juice out of the fruits, then strained the (surprisingly big) seeds and pulp out. About fifteen of them yielded about a half ounce of juice.

I softened the extreme tartness with a little honey syrup, and the complementary flavor of orange vodka. I shook it, tested it...and I think perhaps the mixology mojo is back.

Kumquat Mojo

2 oz orange vodka (I used Absolut Mandrin)

1 1/4 oz honey syrup

1/2 oz kumquat juice (freshly squeezed and strained)

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Consider a rim garnished with turbonado sugar, along with a skewered slice or two of kumquat rind.

Gingerbread Liqueur Contest, Revisited

2009-02-02T17:27:00.001-05:00

I'd like to extend my thanks to Samantha at Cocktail Culture and to Hiram Walker for hosting their contest to create a new drink using Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur. I was fortunate enough to enter and win with the Bronze Autumn Cocktail. Please check out Cocktail Culture to see the amazingly creative entries other bloggers submitted.

The prize was a bottle of the hard to find spirit of my choice. Remembering how much I enjoyed Midleton Irish whiskey while in Ireland, I asked for a bottle of the limited run of Midleton Single Cask. Little did I know what a challenge that was to get. Samantha and others really went above and beyond, because the distiller had concerns with shipping a bottle, but came thorugh in the end.

On Wednesday night, after a nasty ice storm, FedEx arduously delivered the long awaited box. Now the only only challenge is how best to drink it. I plan to share it with the friends who helped me choose among the various entries for the contest, and with another who lived in Ireland for a time. The rest I might just enjoy myself, adorned only with a couple of chunks of clear, bottled-water ice already frozen just for the occasion.

So, Samantha and Hiram Walker, thanks so much -- it has been a challenge and lot of fun.

Slainte!

Pomegranate Syrup, Improved

2009-01-20T00:33:00.000-05:00

Following the Mixologist Manifesto, I stirred up a batch of pomegranate syrup using freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. My first effort at the syrup was based on a natural bottled juice, but it paled in comparison to its freshly squeezed counterpart. Fresh pomegranate syrup is bright and sweet but not cloying - and it truly ramps the cocktails that call for it. Don't miss the chance to enjoy fresh pomegrante juice while the fruits are in season.

MxMo: My-Nog-A-Nog

2009-01-09T22:47:00.007-05:00

Thanks to The Scribe at A Mixed Dram for hosting the January edition of Mixology Monday. In keeping with the theme of "Broaden Your Horizons" I have whipped up a nog.

Wait a minute. A nog? Like egg nog? How cliche is that?

I've made conventional egg nog before, but I want to broaden the sense of a nog. For my purposes, following a classic recipe doesn't count as truly creating a nog. That's why a nog broadens my horizons. I wanted a drink that is original. That doesn't come in a carton six weeks a year. That is tied to a season rather than a fleeting holiday.

So I kept the dairy base but left out the eggs. I also played up the cinnamon profile in three ways: in the base, in a spiked whipped cream and in the garnish. And I threw in three warm liquors that are customarily poured in the winter -- bourbon, rum and brandy. I also added a hint of complementary caramel to the spiked whipped cream.

The result was a warming drink just right for the winter months, steeped in cinnamon with a creamy yet with light and airy consistency. And even a Muppets reference.

My-Nog-A-Nog

1 Q whole milk
1/2 C white sugar
2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 C superfine sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out
4 sticks cinnamon
2 C heavy cream
1/2 C caramel Irish cream liqueur
1 1/2 C bourbon
3/4 C light rum
1 1/2 C brandy

Bring the milk, white sugar, cinnamon and vanilla bean pod halves and seeds just to a boil, stirring occasionally, being careful not to scald the milk. Remove from the heat. Remove vanilla bean pod halves and cinnamon sticks and discard. Cool mixture until it reaches room temperature.

(All right, you could stop here and use the mixture in coffee. Or espresso vodka.)

In a large chilled bowl with a chilled whisk or beaters, prepare the spiked whipped cream -- combine the cream, Irish cream liqueur, cinnamon and superfine sugar and beat to soft peaks.

Combine the bourbon, brandy and rum with the milk mixture. Fold in about two thirds of the sweetened whipped cream, reserving and refrigerating the rest. Refrigerate nog until chilled, about an hour. Pour nog into glasses. Top each with a spoonful of the reserved spiked whipped cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Cool Citrus Spice

2009-01-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

If I hadn't been preoccupied with settling a big case the last few weeks, I would have submitted this cocktail in the last round of Mixology Monday. I may be a couple of weeks late but at least my client saved a few wheelbarrows of cash. Cheers!

Cool Citrus Spice

2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
Juice of one clementine
1 oz winter spice syrup

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Winter Spice Syrup

2009-01-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

Winter Spice Syrup

1/2 C pomegranate juice
Juice of 3 clementines
1/2 C white sugar
1 stick cinnamon
1 t cloves

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce by half. Remove from heat, strain and cool.

Glad Tidings

2008-12-25T22:50:00.003-05:00

At this time of year, a refreshing and colorful cocktail with seasonal ingredients is key. So much moreso if it is simple. In that spirit, check out the Glad Tidings cocktail. Happy holidays to all.

Glad Tidings

2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
1 oz pomegranate juice
Clementine soda (I used Izze)
1/2 oz grenadine

Shake first three ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with clementine soda and add grenadine.

Holly Berry Cocktail

2008-12-07T00:02:00.008-05:00

Determined to create a new holiday cocktail, I shook up some festive and seasonal ingredients for the Holly Berry Cocktail. To enhance the fresh holiday experience, snip some soft evergreen tips -- I used clippings from my fir tree -- and nestle them around the glass, along with some thicker stem clippings that pack a stronger scent. This garnish would work well with other cocktails as well, such as the peppermint martini.

Holly Berry Cocktail

2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
1 oz pomegranate schnapps
1/2 oz peppermint schnapps
Juice of 1/4 lime
Juice of 1/2 clementine

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

My New Favorite Garnish

2008-11-30T22:31:00.002-05:00

My new favorite garnish is a citrus rind gently flamed so its oils ignite and shower the drink. Its presentation is singular and dramatic. The flavor it imparts is assertive yet smooth.

It's an easy technique. Cut a strip of rind from a citrus fruit that complements your drink. (For example, for those who like their martinis with a twist, try a flamed lemon rind.) The strip should be roughly between one-half to one inch thick, and one to two inches long. Mix your cocktail. Strike a match and hold the rind just above (but not touching) the flame, which in turn should be above the cocktail glass. Gently squeeze the rind to express the oils which should ignite in quite the pyrotechnic display. Drop the rind in the glass and enjoy.

To see the technique in action, check out Gary Regan of (Ardent Spirits) putting on a masterful display on Fine Living's Great Cocktails show.

November Chill

2008-11-16T00:16:00.000-05:00

November Chill

3 oz gin

1 1/2 oz apple cider syrup

1/4 oz pomegranate syrup

1/4 oz Tuaca

Shake gin and apple cider syrup together with ice and strain into a cinnamon-sugar rimmed cocktail glass. Stir Tuaca and pomegranate syrup together and pour into the center of the glass.

Apple Cider Syrup

2008-11-15T23:48:00.001-05:00

Apple Cider Syrup

2 parts apple cider
1 part white sugar

Bring cider to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce to half volume. Remove from heat, immediately add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow syrup to come to room temperature, or cool in the refrigerator or freezer.

Pomegranate Syrup

2008-11-15T23:44:00.002-05:00

Pomegranate Syrup

2 parts freshly squeezed pomegranate juice
1 part white sugar

Bring juice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce to half volume. Remove from heat, immediately add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow syrup to come to room temperature, or cool in the refrigerator or freezer.

Gingerbread in a Glass

2008-10-30T22:15:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to receive an invitation to join a contest to create cocktails using Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur. This liqueur has a delicious flavor that plays into a host of different drinks. In the span of a few days I shook up eight potential entries and invited some good friends (with equally good palates) over to sort them out. One of them bubbled to the top -- a drink pairing subtle apple vodka with the distinctive gingerbread liqueur, topped with dry champagne to balance the sweetness and add its elegance and effervescence. I was tempted to by other complex and decadent creations, but in the end the simplicity and complementary flavors won the day.

By the way, those flavorful (if sometimes drably named) runners up are posted here:

Gingerbread with Caramel Three Ways
Vanilla Gingerbread Cream
Gingerbread Runner-Up #1
Gingerbread Runner-Up #2
Gingerbread Runner-Up #3

And now for the bubbly standout:

Bronze Autumn Cocktail

2 oz apple vodka (I used Van Gogh Wild Appel vodka)
1 oz Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur
Dry champagne

Shake liquors together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with champagne. Garnish with an apple slice and a disc of crystallized ginger.

Gingerbread with Caramel Three Ways

2008-10-30T22:00:00.002-05:00

Gingerbread with Caramel Three Ways

About 1/2 oz Bacardi 151 rum
1/2 oz purchased caramel syrup
1 oz caramel Irish cream liqueur
1 oz gingerbread liqueur
2 oz light rum

Swirl Bacardi 151 rum in a cocktail glass and ignite with a match. (Be careful! The flame can be a pale blue that's hard to see.) Burn for about 10 seconds, then blow the flame out. Shake remaining ingredients together with ice and strain into the glass.

Vanilla Gingerbread Cream

2008-10-30T21:45:00.007-05:00

Vanilla Gingerbread Cream

1 oz vodka
1 oz Irish cream liqueur
1 oz cream
1 oz Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur
1/4 vanilla bean

Pour liquors and cream into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Cut 1/4 of a vanilla bean open, and use the blade of the knife to scape out the seeds (here's how). Add the seeds to the shaker. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

Gingerbread Runner Up #1

2008-10-30T21:00:00.002-05:00

Gingerbread Runner Up #1

1 oz cream liqueur (I used Starbuck's)
1 oz Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur
1 oz vodka
1/2 oz amaretto
1/4 oz butterscotch liqueur

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Gingerbread Runner Up #2

2008-10-30T20:00:00.002-05:00

Gingerbread Runner Up #2

3 oz apple vodka (I used Van Gogh Wild Appel vodka)
1 1/2 oz Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur
Splash of amaretto

Swirl amaretto in a cocktail glass and discard. Shake remaining liquors together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Strain into the amaretto-swirled glass. Garnish the rim with blend of sugar, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.

Gingerbread Runner Up #3

2008-10-30T19:00:00.002-05:00

Gingerbread Runner Up #3

1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Hiram Walker gingerbread liqueur
1 oz cream

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Endorsements, Squared

2008-10-16T20:48:00.002-05:00

First things first, I cannot believe how long it has been since the last post, largely because of my crazy work demands. I've poured a cocktail or two in the interim, though, and they have distilled a couple of endorsements.

The first is Sobieski vodka. I tried it on the rocks for the first time last week. It was smooth but also had a subtle and refined character and viscosity with every drink. Excellent. I then mixed it in a couple of cocktails that would let the character of the vodka come forward -- a dry vodka martini and a lemon drop. Both were clean and delightful. I'm looking forward to adding Sobieski to some recipes in upcoming posts.

The second endorsement is seasonal -- freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. In keeping with the Mixologist Manifesto, I always recommend using freshly squeezed juices in cocktails. Lemons, limes, and oranges are easy and familiar. Slice them in two and crush them with the reamer. Not so with the pomegranate. Cut through the tough skin, and the spokes of pith bristle with seeds encapsulated in juice. I reamed and squeezed this unfamiliar fruit over a fine mesh strainer, taking the extra step of hand-bursting those elusive red seed pods that escaped the first assault. Each fruit gave up about two ounces of brightly flavored, reddish-pink juice that absolutely left bottled pomegranate juice far behind. Sadly, at least here in northern Virginia, fresh pomegrantes are not always on the grocer's shelf, but when they are, the flavor is (as it should be) worth the effort.

Pairing the two endorsements, I shook up a Sobieski cosmopolitan, with pristinely fresh pomegranate and lime juices and Grand Marnier. Next to the from-concentrate, well-bottle counterparts, the vibrantly pink drink wasn't just twice as good -- the difference was exponential.

Ginger Acai Fizz

2008-09-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

There are not many hot evenings left in 2008. This cocktail is a refreshing and colorful way to relieve the next one to come by.

Ginger Acai Fizz

2 oz acai liquor (I used Veev)
Juice of 1/2 lime
Ginger ale (I used Old Dominion)
1/2 oz grenadine

Stir liquor and juice in a highball glass with ice. Top with ginger ale, then grenadine.

Acai of Relief

2008-09-05T21:53:00.017-05:00

After a harried week of working in California, I touched down last week in Virginia around 5:00 Friday -- just an hour before the final neighborhood happy hour of the summer. Determined to play with acai spirits and flavors this week, I paired the subtle flavor of acai spirits with sweet acai juice cut with lemon. It was a risk -- I had not tasted the drink before the first itme I mixed it at the hosts' home -- but it paid off. I heard more than once it was the best of the summer.

Acai of Releif

2 oz acai liquor (such as Veev)
1 oz acai berry juice
1 oz lemon-lime soda
Juice of 1/4 lemon

Stir ingredients together with ice. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

Tropical Rum Infusion

2008-08-27T23:21:00.009-05:00

This week's neighborhood happy hour calls for an exciting drink. The hosts are tops in the kitchen and also a driving force behind the happy hour tradition. They also plan to have their own slushy rum drink. My solution -- a copious amount of light rum infused with tropical fruit. A festive pitcher teeming with fresh fruit is hard to resist (as I learned with last summer's Champagne Sangria).

It would be a shame to imbue the rum with fresh fruit only to have it upstaged by a strong mixer, so serve the infusion over ice with lemon-lime soda. Then guests can have as much flavor and kick as they like. Offer some tongs or skewers so the fruit slices can join the party too.

Tropical Rum Infusion

1 pineapple, peeled and cored

1 mango, peeled and pitted

2 oranges

4 kiwi fruit, peeled

1.75L silver rum

lemon-lime soda (optional)

Slice the fruit into shapes of your choosing -- wheels, matchsticks, arcs -- keeping slices about 1/4 inch thick to yield the most surface area for the infusion process. Arrange fruit in one or more pitchers, as needed. Slowly pour the rum over the fruit. Cover and allow to infuse for 3-4 days. Serve over ice straight or with lemon-lime soda.

Pineapple Dum-Dum

2008-08-20T22:54:00.013-05:00

The challenge: late Wednesday, the call comes to improvise a cocktail for the neighborhood happy hour Friday evening. After a few pours and stirs, an array of candidates await -- a fizzy facsimile of a margarita, a pineapple mango mix with a submarine of 151 and a rummy clementine grog. (There might show up in later posts.) The top cocktail, though, was a refreshing drink with a taste that calls up the memory of a pineapple sucker and synchs with the tastes of the hosts.

Fortunately, they live within walking distance.

Pineapple Dum-Dum

1 oz light rum

1/2 oz Amaretto

1/2 oz creme de banana

1 oz pineapple juice

Stir ingredients together with ice in a double old-fashioned glass.

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

Potomac Berry Smash

2008-08-20T20:52:00.000-05:00

In August, wild blackberries burst from the tangles of ungrowth in northern Virginia. I picked up a pint of plump and inky berries at the Potomac Vegetable Farm stand across the street and set to work on a refreshing drink in tune with the season.

This recipe calls for the extra step of wrapping blackberries in a cheesecloth -- the reason is to keep their seeds tidily in the glass.

Potomac Berry Smash

2 oz vodka
1/4 lemon
6 fresh blackberries wrapped in cheesecloth
Lemon-lime soda

Wrap the blackberries in a 4" by 4" piece of cheesecloth and tie into a purse. Drop the purse into a highball glass, along with the lemon and vodka. Muddle until fruit is crushed and ingredients are combined. Top with crushed ice and lemon-lime soda.

Blackberries, Neat

2008-08-17T22:06:00.009-05:00

This drink is my first entry to the Christiania Crowns vodka cocktail contest. This round's theme is blackberries, a familiar sight here in the late summer heat of northern Virginia. My submission is streamlined, relying on two simple but key flavor elements -- the vodka and the blackberries -- complemented by the bitters.

For the sugared blackberry garnish, toss fresh blackberries with freshly squeezed lemon juice, then spear on a toothpick and roll in superfine sugar.

Blackberries, Neat

3 oz Christiania vodka

3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

1/4 oz blackberry syrup, chilled

Shake vodka and bitters with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Add syrup, which will pool in the bottom of the glass. Garnish with sugared blackberries.

Blue Turtle

2008-08-07T21:54:00.009-05:00

As promised in Dateline Florida, the Blue Turtle cocktail surfaced in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It's blue and bubbly like the ocean -- whip up a glass to celebrate the summer.

Blue Turtle

2 oz mango rum (such as Malibu)

1 oz blue curacao

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Dry champagne

Shake liquors and juice together with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with champagne.

Dateline Florida -- 2008

2008-07-30T10:00:00.007-05:00

Dateline Florida -- 2008

Once again Rejiggered heads to southwest Florida for a while -- Key West Lager and Red Stripe on the sunny Sanibel (wiki) beaches by day, and Gulf Coast inspired cocktails in the evening by the pool or in the sunset's dwindling light. Any new and summery cocktails that wash up will of course find their way here.

The Ruby Gauntlet

2008-07-26T01:00:00.004-05:00

The Ruby Gauntlet

My neighborhood throws absolutely delightful "happy hours" on summery Friday evenings. The hosting family rotates weekly, and guests bring a snack, a drink, or both to share. Lots of fun folks show up, and the party often lasts well into the evening. More importantly, happy hour is a way to shrug off the demands of work week and just chill out over a drink or two with friends that live close by. Kids play in the yard while adults linger on the deck or inside and discuss everything from speed bumps on local streets to national politics (what else would you expect with the orange glow of the lights of Washington, D.C. just over the treeline?). The stories that come out of my neighborhood might well support a blog of its own, but let's put that aside for now.

Against that background, the family hosting this weekend has heard (hopefully not too much) about my blog and has thrown down the gauntlet. They are port afficianados, and asked me to create cocktails with that beverage. (They are also Scotch experts as well, but that's another topic -- though we enjoyed a dram or two of Glenfiddich before the evening concluded.) Of course, it is my duty and pleasure to accommodate.

My introduction to port was through a great friend from law school. I'm indebted to him and his wife for easing my transition into the New York City way of doing things. They were raised outside the city but learned its ins and outs during their college and grad school years. They kindly educated me on how to get by during my time there. We downed many a glass of port over hands of canasta. I simply cannot drink or mix port without thinking of them.

Enough reverie. Let's get to the drinks to be poured this weekend. As you know, several grades of port are widely available, but in keeping with the Mixologist Manifesto I recommend ruby port in light of the competing flavors.

Port of Manhattan

3 oz bourbon

1 oz ruby port

3 drops Angostura bitters (or to taste)

Splash of sweet vermouth (or to taste)

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Port Orange

2 oz ruby port
Juice of 1/2 orange
Lemon-lime soda
Splash of Grand Marnier

Stir port and orange juice in a highball glass with ice. Top with soda, then add the splash or Grand Marnier.

A Tart in Every Port

1 1/2 oz Absolut Mandrin vodka
2 oz ruby port
Grapefruit soda (such as Fresca or Izze)

Stir port and vodka in a highball glass with ice. Top with soda.

Midsummer Port Fizz

1 oz ruby port
2T blueberries
1 oz raspberry rum
2 oz lemon-lime soda

Muddle port, berries and rum in a highball glass. Add ice. Top with soda.

Portsicle

2 parts grapefruit soda
1 part ruby port

Stir port and soda in a pitcher or measuring cup. Pour mixture into an ice tray or popsicle molds. If using an ice tray, cover with plastic wrap; pierce wrap with one toothpick per section. If using popsicle molds, follow the manufacturer's directions. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours for ice trays, possibly longer for popsicle molds.

Alternatively, pour a few quarts into a container and freeze 24 - 48 hours.

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

Bananas Foster Cocktail

2008-07-20T21:30:00.001-05:00

Mixology Monday: New Orleans

Bananas Foster Cocktail

This month's Mixology Monday theme (thanks to Paul for hosting) has a New Orleans theme, apropos of course to the venue for Tales of the Cocktail. Sadly, my professional duties sent me to California last week instead. But my thoughts were still in the bayou.

For the past ten years or so I've always had one case or another in Louisiana. Once I went to New Orleans leading up to a settlement meeting. I had an unforgettable meal at Brennan's restaurant, from turtle soup to a tableside preparation of Bananas Foster. Many years later, I remember every bite of that dessert. This cocktail morphs the key flavors of Bananas Foster -- brown sugar, dark rum, bananas, cinnamon, cream -- into liquid form.

(By the way, we ended up with a sweet settlement.)

Salut!

Bananas Foster Cocktail

2 oz dark rum
1 oz banana liqueur
1 oz dark brown sugar syrup
1 oz cream

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass with a cinnamon-sugar rim garnish.

Dark Brown Sugar Syrup

2008-07-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

Dark Brown Sugar Syrup

1 part dark brown sugar, packed
1 part boiling water

Dissolve sugar completely into boiling water.

Blackberry Syrup

2008-07-17T21:52:00.001-05:00

1 pint fresh blackberries
4 T sugar
3 T water

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over mdeium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the berries render their juices, about 10 - 15 minutes. Transfer to a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, press and scrape the mixture until only seeds and skins remain. Yields about 4 oz.

Mixologist Manifesto

2008-07-05T09:07:00.002-05:00

Mixologist Manifesto

Manifesto? The very word calls up images of a blogger hunched shivering over a laptop in a wilderness shack, plotting the overthrow of the modern order. No, no -- these words are not to be scrawled out on a dirty piece of paper and delivered to the local TV station. Instead, they are suggestions for home mixologists to make the most of their creations.

It's not the Unabomber, or even Karl Marx -- instead, it's the Rejiggered version of the Mixologist Manifesto:

* Fruits should be fresh and of high quality. No browned mint leaves or spotty limes.

* Freshly squeeze all fruit juices. Exceptions for exotic juices are, regrettably, tolerable -- unless you are actually in that exotic locale.

* Strain those freshly squeezed juices. Drinks must not be chewy.

* Chill the glasses for cold drinks. Some of you may use ice alone for this purpose; others may use ice and water.

* Garnish your glasses. Fruits, sugars, salts, rinds, umbrellas, toys – acceptable all, so long as they complement the drink.

* Glassware should be spotless and elegant.

* Liquors should rise to the call of duty, and need not do more. The gin in a martini should be top shelf, while the gin in a fruity mixed drink like a Grapefruit Maiden's Prayer need only taste of good gin – good enough to drink straight but not necessarily the best.

These rules can bend. If you’re cobbling together cocktails from a minibar or a convenience store, or if your venue is a boat or a tailgate or a beach, strive to live within the Manifesto with the comfort of knowing your guests will understand if you cannot.

Additions or suggestions to these rules? Please leave them as comments. Cheers!

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

Candied Hazelnut Cocktail

2008-06-03T22:33:00.008-05:00

My apologies for the delay in posting, it has been entirely too long. I have had a new drink chambered for days now and was ready to post some time ago. However, Mother Nature had a different plan. Just as I was about to post, some severe storms rolled through Virginia, DC and Maryland and knocked out the power. And the cable Internet access. And the phone. And somehow, even the mobile phone.

Fortunately, the Internet access cranked up again this morning. As I drove around the neighborhood, I felt lucky. Some of my neighbors' trees had been reduced in the worst case to logs and sawdust, or in the better case to branchless trunks. My yard luckily was passed over by the vagaries of the storm. Considering that far worse happened to others in northern Virginia, I am fortunate indeed.

Now, with the buzz of chainsaws in the background, things are getting somewhat back to normal, and I am delighted to offer another creamy new drink, absolutely one of my favorites...

Candied Hazelnut Cocktail

2 oz vodka

1/2 oz butterscotch schnapps

1/2 oz coffee liqueur

1/2 oz whole milk

1/4 oz hazelnut syrup

Stir ingredients together with ice in a double old-fashioned glass.

Meat-tails: A Disturbing Trend?

2008-05-17T21:28:00.008-05:00

Settling in after a long day's work, I flipped open my Esquire magazine. I enjoyed one article after another, anticipating the usually well-written piece on cocktails. This month, however, it featured the whiskeyburger cocktail. And my eyebrow cocked.

I like whiskey. Oh, do I like whiskey. Ditto for hamburgers. That said, I like them served in a glass and on a plate. Respectively, and separately. The whiskeyburger cocktail struck me as a bizarre blend of the two. Granted, I have never tried one, but it doesn't sound like my cup of tea -- or perhaps, my cup of beef.

I thought that meat-tail might have been a fluke, but then I saw another piece online about a bacon martini. In the same slideshow as a bacon bra. (Food safety issues, anyone?) It was the same story -- I like bacon, and I like martinis, but bacon martinis? I have my doubts.

Putting my skepticism aside, I have to commend these folks for coming up with new ideas, as I try to do all the time. So, readers and commenters, please let me know if you have had a meat-tail, and whether my doubts are legitimate or just another case of jumping the gun.

Derby Day Cinnamon Latte

2008-05-16T21:26:00.006-05:00

A gift of a bottle of espresso vodka and a challenge to experiment with it...I cannot resist.

Derby Day Cinnamon Latte

1 1/2 oz espresso vodka
1 oz Irish cream liqueur

Splash cinnamon schnapps
1 oz whole milk

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Or, for the coffee cup presentation, swirl ice and water in the cup until chilled. Discard ice and water. Strain the cocktail into the cup. Use a frother (such as an Aerolatte) to foam the surface and sprinkle with cinnamon or a one-to-one cinnamon sugar blend.

Mixology Monday -- Pineapple Mojitos

2008-05-10T23:44:00.010-05:00

Mixology Monday: Pineapple Mojitos

Many thanks to Trader Tiki for hosting Mixology Monday, with the fun and flexible theme of rum cocktails.

I must admit, as a bona fide son of Kentucky, May gives me heady thoughts of bourbon and an obscure horse race in Louisville. In fact, I have had my hands full the last couple of weeks hosting my own Derby party. But, that has little to do with rum, and should be the subject of another post.

So, there I was, challenged by my schedule as well as my preconceptions about the season, when the Rum Gods intervened. How so? A comittee that wrote a local cookbook had a party celebrating its publication, and I was tapped to whip up a batch of my pineapple mojitos, which were included in the book. So, armed with fresh mint, my trusty muddler and a miscellany of mixology gear, I knocked out a few rounds for my friends, and even a little for myself.

Yes, yes, I know. All the Web 2.0 types will tell you, bloggers shouldn't republish. I should have bought a bottle of one or two of the dark tropical rums I have been dying to try and played with it for a night or two. But who am I to deny the will of the Rum Gods? Or the whirl of the Derby season? Or the kind requests of my friends? All that considered, I humbly link back to pineapple mojitos.

MxMo: Purple Orchid

2008-04-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

First things first, thanks to Anna at
Morsels & Musings for hosting this round of Mixology Monday, with the theme of fruit liqueurs. What a rich topic.

My contribution is a cocktail I created a few weeks ago but hadn't yet posted. Now I am glad I held back, because it is a good fit for Anna's theme. Deep berry in both hue and flavor, this cocktail has a triple hit of fruit flavor. Creme de cassis takes center stage against a backdrop of mandarin orange. A squeeze of lemon rounds out the sweetness. It's very smooth, so be prepared to mix a second round.

Purple Orchid

3 oz mandarin orange vodka
1 1/2 oz creme de cassis
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

MxMo: Wintermission

2008-03-12T22:24:00.016-05:00

Wintermission

This round of Mixology Monday (graciously hosted at Kaiser Penguin) fits my week like a glove. At work, a huge acquisition and an equally important litigation absolutely drained my free time --working past midnight every night, and missing meals, classes and workouts. I was craving a strong drink and some down time.

Now I am out of the woods. I also get the next week off to spend in Florida, and I have certainly had to earn my intermission. And now it's time to think about that drink.

The Longboat Key Iced Tea was a tempting submission, but treads dangerously close to the no-LIT rule. Looking forward to dropping a few degrees of latitude, I chose a sunny drink that had a kick lurking beneath its fruity flavors. Now let's all take a...

Wintermission

1 oz Bacardi 151 rum

1 oz raspberry rum
1 oz gold rum

1 oz creme de cassis

2 oz pineapple juice

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Tart in an Orange Dress

2008-03-01T23:12:00.004-05:00

Tart in an Orange Dress

2 oz orange vodka
1 oz amaretto
1 oz simple syrup
Juice of one lemon

Stir ingredients with ice in a double old-fashioned glass.

Orange Raspberry Vodka Cocktails

2008-02-16T22:16:00.003-05:00

A couple of refreshing variations on the theme of raspberry vodka with freshly squeezed orange juice.

3 oz raspberry vodka
1 oz triple sec
Juice of one orange
Juice of one half lemon

or...

2 oz rasperry vodka
1 oz triple sec
Juice of two blood oranges

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Tuaca Amaretto Sour

2008-02-16T22:10:00.000-05:00

Tuaca Amaretto Sour

1 1/2 oz Tuaca
1 oz amaretto
2 oz lemon sour

Stir ingredients together with ice in a double old-fashioned glass.

Clementine Margarita

2008-01-31T00:09:00.000-05:00

This cocktail features the clementine syrup I recently posted.

Clementine Margarita

2 oz tequila
2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz clementine syrup
Juice of 1/2 lime

Stir ingredients together with ice in a salt-rimmed glass.

Clementine Syrup

2008-01-30T00:50:00.000-05:00

High maintenance...and so worth it in the end. A thick, intense syrup that can be a foundation for cocktails or a spike of flavor pooled in the bottom of a cocktail glass. Look at it this way...it's easier than demi glace.

Clementine Syrup

Juice of 10 clementines
4 oz simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium high heat and reduce until thickened, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate if not using immediately. If the syrup sets in the refrigerator, loosen it in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Yields about 3 oz.

Tuaca Sidecar

2008-01-29T23:40:00.000-05:00

The sidecar has been one of my favorite cocktails for years, and I wanted to try a variation using Tuaca. To balance the sweetness and bring forward the liquor's inherent flavors, I scaled back the usual proportion of triple sec.

Tuaca Sidecar

2 oz Tuaca
1 oz triple sec
2 oz lemon sour

Stir ingredients together with ice in a double old-fashioned glass.

Sub Rosa Saffron Ginger Ale

2008-01-29T09:53:00.000-05:00

Sub Rosa Saffron Ginger Ale

Sub Rosa saffron vodka is intense. The flavors are so complex and assertive that they tempt me to pair all sorts of different ingredients with it. In the end, though, simplicity lets good ingredients shine through. A little sweetness to curb the bite, a hint of a complementary Asian flavor, leads to...

Sub Rosa Saffron Ginger Ale

2 parts Sub Rosa saffron vodka
2 parts ginger ale

Stir ingredients together with ice in a double old fashioned glass.

Blood Orange Caiprihinia

2008-01-22T23:00:00.000-05:00

Blood Orange Caiprihinia

2 oz cachaca
1/4 blood orange
1/2 oz simple syrup

Squeeze orange into a double old-fashioned glass, then add the fruit and muddle with cachaca and syrup. Add ice and stir.

Blood Orange Margarita

2008-01-14T23:29:00.000-05:00

Tres Margaritas

This weekend a friend from college was in town. After a decedent meal of tapas, I was in charge of keeping everyone's glass full as the conversation flowed. I started with a basic margarita on the rocks. The next round was a blood orange margarita, inspired by the sumptuous blood oranges left over from one of the tapas. That was followed by a grapefruit margarita. It was a long conversation, we had a lot of catching up to do.

Blood Orange Margarita

2 oz tequila
1 oz tripe sec
1/2 oz simple syrup
Juice of 1/2 blood orange

Stir ingredients together with ice in a highball glass rimmed with salt.

08 Pineapple Fizz

2008-01-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

I whipped up this impromptu drink at a New Year's Eve gathering some close friends were hosting, and it turned out quite well. It kept the women diverted while the guys watched a little UFC. For a stronger variation, check out the Pineapple Almond Cocktail.

o8 Pineapple Fizz

1 1/2 oz pineapple rum
1 oz amaretto
Lemon-lime soda

Combine rum and amaretto with ice in a highball glass. Top with soda and stir.

Bubbly Snowbird

2008-01-01T00:58:00.000-05:00

A New Year's Resolution

I fear I have disappointed a friend. Stacey (as in Stacey's Vietnamese Buzzsaw) asked me what I would drink on New Year's Eve, and if I had any practical suggestions, considering that recent posts have called for a bit more hard-to-find ingredients. (Sub Rosa is working hard on that, by the way!) Unfortunately, I didn't get the e-mail until late and failed to respond.

The champagne cocktail is an easy choice this time of year, and a batch of Snowbird Rum Runner left from a dinner party last night looked inviting. They made a great pair...and I hereby just need to resolve to be more responsive in 2008.

Bubbly Snowbird

2 oz Snowbird Rum Runner
2 oz dry champage

Pour Snowbird Rum Runner into a champage flute. Top with champagne.

Confidential Champagne Cocktail

2007-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

When I saw the box on my porch, I assumed it was another Christmas gift. The return address proved me wrong right away -- it was from Sub Rosa spirits in Oregon. I had been writing Mike Sherwood of Sub Rosa off and on for weeks, and was anxious to sample his infused vodkas. When I opened the package, I was impressed by the stylish motif on the labels and sleek, tall bottles they adorned -- one tarragon, one saffron. Dipping a toe in the (infused) water, I knocked out a couple of the tarragon recipes included in the box. I also poured the saffron vodka on the rocks. It was unlike any other infused vodka I have tasted, beginning with a peppery hit then morphing into a smooth saffron finish. (Apparently, I was not the only one who enjoyed it -- see the review at Slashfood.)

Having explored a few of the suggested recipes, I was ready to try my own. My goal was to showcase the sublime flavors so carefully imparted in the infusions -- I was concerned about overpowering them with assertive or saccharine ingredients. My first creation was a variation of a champagne cocktail that would be a bubbly canvas for the flavors of the tarragon vodka (turning out to be a stripped down verion of the Sub Rosa 76 recipe). Keeping with the secretive theme of Sub Rosa vodka, I named it the...

Confidential Champagne Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Sub Rosa tarragon vodka
1/4 oz lemon juice
Dry champagne

Shake vodka and lemon juice with ice and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne and stir gently.

Tuaca Cream

2007-12-16T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tuaca Cream

1 1/2 oz Tuaca
2 oz Irish cream liqueur
1 oz whole milk

Stir ingredients together over ice in a highball glass.

Tuaca Pom Fizz

2007-12-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

It's true of both food and drink -- often a pairing of a few quality ingredients results in the best flavors. That certainly was the case with Tuaca and pomegranate soda.

Tuaca Pom Fizz

2 oz Tuaca
2 oz Izze pomegranate soda

Stir together with ice in a highball glass.

Brandy Allesandro

2007-12-06T23:39:00.000-05:00

Late Wednesday night I drug myself home from meetings in New York, two hours later than planned because of the weather. Ice and snow, no less. One bright spot was the box waiting for me there, cradling a bottle of Tuaca to try (thanks again, Courtney). It sounded interesting -- brandy flavored with vanilla and citrus -- what's not to like? I knocked out a couple of the suggested recipes that came along with the package to get accustomed to the flavor, then struck out on my own. My first creation was a variation of a Brandy Alexander, smoother than the somewhat cloying proportions of the usual recipe.

Brandy Allesandro

2 oz Tuaca liquor
1 oz dark creme de cacao
2 oz whole milk

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Mixology Monday -- Snowbird Rum Runner

2007-12-02T00:06:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jeffrey Morgenthaler for hosting the last MxMo of 2007, with the particularly rich theme of Repeal Day. I'll take up the offer to post an original drink inspired by the Prohibition Era.

The usual image Prohibition is a crew of revelers gathered around a bathtub of gin in a crowded urban basement. Let's not forget that while these parties were jumping in the cities, further south rum runners were smuggling rum and other liquors into the States. Considering that Prohobition Era liquors often were not, shall we say, of sipping quality, this cocktail gives a nod to the rum runner's pluck, the flavors of the season and the forgiving nature of assertive mixers.

Snowbird Rum Runner

1/2 oz white rum

1/2 oz gold rum

1/2 oz pineapple rum

1/2 oz Chambord

1/2 oz triple sec

1/2 oz pomegranate schnapps

1/4 oz grenadine

1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Sloe Cherry Fizz

2007-11-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

A richly red drink, perfect for the holidays.

Sloe Cherry Fizz

2 oz gin
1 oz sloe gin
Cherry soda

Combine gin and sloe gin with ice in a double old fashioned glass. Top with soda.

Autumn Punch

2007-11-16T22:44:00.000-05:00

Autumn Punch

2 parts apple cider

1 part applejack

1 part pomegranate schnapps

1 part pomegranate soda

For a cocktail, one part equals one ounce; stir ingredients together with ice in a double old-fashioned glass. For a crowd, simply expand the proportions and serve in a pitcher or a punch bowl.

Stacey's Vietnamese Buzzsaw

2007-11-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

Stacey's Vietnamese Buzzsaw

This drink was designed to morph a caffeine buzz from a 9:00pm hit of Vietnamese coffee into a decidedly cooler gin buzz.

2 oz gin

1 oz sloe gin

1 oz creme de cassis

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

One of My Favorite Beers

2007-11-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

The beer was a can of Corona. But where the beer was, rather than what kind of beer it was, made it one of my favorites.

It was at the marina bar at the Pelican Bend Restaurant in Isles of Capri, Florida. Isles of Capri is a town outside Marco Island in southwest part of the state. Pelican Bend specializes in serving generous amounts of fresh seafood prepared simply and well. The restaurant backs to a marina, and at the water's edge a screened bar seats parties waiting for their tables alongside the regulars. License plates from all over adorn the walls, and a cool mister sometimes runs to blow away the day's heat. The atmosphere is casual, friendly, and relaxed. In the evenings the bar, like many a waterside view in southwest Florida, gets bathed in a stunning sunset.

I'm surprised I ever left.

Thanks to Dan McGarvey for the photo.

Purple Boo

2007-10-31T22:59:00.000-05:00

A spooky Halloween cocktail.

Purple Boo

2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
1/2 oz creme de cassis
1 oz lemon sour

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Caramel Apple Shots

2007-10-27T22:24:00.000-05:00

A whimsical drink in tune with the onset of fall.

Caramel Apple Shots

First Shot:

1/2 oz apple vodka
1/2 oz sour apple schnapps

Second Shot:

1/2 oz caramel Irish cream liqueur
Dash cinnamon schnapps

Shake ingredients for each shot together with ice and strain into a shot glass. Drink apple shot followed by Irish cream shot.

Ginger Cosmopolitan

2007-10-24T00:24:00.000-05:00

Ginger Cosmopolitan

2 oz vodka

1 oz triple sec

Juice of 1/2 lime

Ginger beer

Shake liquors and juice together with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with ginger beer.

My Irish Whiskey Education

2007-10-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I took a business trip to Dublin. Until then, my experiences with Irish whiskey were decidedly limited. After all, why should a Kentucky guy like myself get distracted with Irish whiskey in the face of so many varieties of bourbon?

Then, at a dinner with some work colleagues, I had my first taste of Midleton Irish whiskey, and my perspective completely changed. My glass certainly had the base flavors of Irish whiskey, but with a unique floral layer that was not cloying at all. The hook was set. (Auditors, please note, that no whiskey showed up on my expense report.)

I made the crucial mistake of bypassing the duty free shop in the airport. Now I am relegated to finding a bottle here in the States for less than ... well, for less than I would admit to paying for a bottle of whiskey. I may have to enlist the aid of my colleagues in Ireland -- or just pay up to get another taste of Ireland.

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

Mixology Monday -- Food and Cocktail Pairings

2007-10-13T19:56:00.000-05:00

First things first -- thanks to Natalie at The Liquid Muse for hosting MxMo this time around, and also to Paul at Cocktail Chronicles for getting me started on my first MxMo post. Cooking is every bit as satisfying to me as mixing drinks, so I was delighted with the theme of pairing food with cocktails.

I chose the meal, rather than the cocktail, as the starting point. Here in Northern Virginia, the weather was perfectly sunny and mild -- grilling was definitely in order. At the grocery store, a new shipment of beef had just arrived, and because the steaks were so beautiful and well-priced, the choice of meat was another no-brainer. The steaks needed a robust sauce, so I came up with a spicy spin an a sauce chausseur. The final menu: grilled strip steaks atop a jalapeno mushroom sauce, grilled corn on the cob and red-skinned potatoes grilled in packets with Vidalia onion, salt, pepper and olive oil. (The sauce recipe is on my new food blog, The Biased Cut -- still a work in process.)

Now the drink needed to stand up to the steak and its unctuous jalapeno sauce. Tequila's bold southwestern flavor was a good fit. I concocted a small, simple cocktail based on a margarita, featuring premium tequila and Grand Marnier to add layers of flavor. The drink was cool and citrusy, a great counterpoint to the rich, warm flavors on the plate. I also served a tall glass of ice water.

Mini Rita

1 1/2 oz premium tequila
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
Juice of 1/2 lime

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a small glass rimmed with salt.

Upside Down Cosmo

2007-10-12T21:28:00.000-05:00

Upside Down Cosmo

2 1/2 oz vodka

1 1/2 oz triple sec

3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz grenadine

Shake liquors and juice with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Slowly pour grenadine into the center of the glass.

Maraschino Pineapple

2007-10-04T22:29:00.001-05:00

While maraschino is not on the ingredient list, I could call this sweet, almondy garnish by no other name.

Maraschino Pineapple

2 pts pineapple cubes
2 C water
1 T salt
2 C white sugar
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1 1/2 T almond extract
1/2 C amaretto

Dissolve salt in 1 1/2 C boiling water in a glass or ceramic bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature, roughly 15 minutes, and add pineapple. Cover and refrigerate 6 to 12 hours (or overnight). Drain salt water and give the pineapple and bowl a short rinse. Return pineapple to bowl. In a separate saucepan, combine sugar and 1/2 C water over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice, almond extract and amaretto. Pour mixture over pineapple and refrigerate 6 to 12 hours (or overnight).

Variation: No one could fault you for substituting cherries for pineapple.

Raspberry Almond Cream

2007-09-26T22:47:00.000-05:00

Raspberry Almond Cream

2 oz raspberry rum
2 oz Irish cream liqueur
1 oz amaretto
1 oz milk

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. (I used a glass rimmed with a blend of superfine and turbonado sugars.)

Orange Cinnamon Bitters

2007-09-21T22:21:00.001-05:00

These bitters reflect my general sense of food and drink -- simple ingredients that pair with a wide variety of recipes. I tried them in a Manhattan.

Orange Cinnamon Bitters

2 oz Bacardi 151 rum
Zest of 1 orange
2 inches stick cinnamon

Combine ingredients. Allow flavors to combine, stirring from time to time, for 7 to 10 days.

Pineapple Mojito

2007-09-21T22:10:00.000-05:00

Concocted on the fly for visiting friends.

Pineapple Mojito

2 oz pineapple rum (such as Malibu)
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
3 small sprigs mint
1/2 oz pineapple juice
Lemon-lime soda

Muddle first three ingredients in a highball glass. Add juice. Top with ice and soda and stir.

Nectarine Fizz

2007-09-13T23:30:00.001-05:00

Nectarine Fizz

2 oz light rum
1/2 oz orange liqueur
Juice of 1 nectarine
Lemon-lime or club soda

Combine liquors with juice over ice. Top with soda and stir.

Points South

2007-09-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

Points South

2 oz bourbon
1 oz amaretto
1 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz peach cider (I used peach cider from Carolina Cider Company)

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Longboat Key Iced Tea

2007-09-07T22:16:00.000-05:00

A sunny version of a cocktail standard. This drink is really delightful, a new favorite.

Longboat Key Iced Tea

1 oz pineapple rum
1 oz bourbon
1 oz amaretto
1 oz gold rum
Squeeze of lemon juice
Splash of Coke

Combine ingredients with ice in a highball glass.

Bubbly Sunset

2007-09-02T22:09:00.000-05:00

Bubbly Sunset

1 1/2 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
Izze pom soda

Combine liquors and juice with ice in a highball glass. Top with soda.