Okay...working on this whole "making up for lost time" thing, and posting my second blog this week! This came around when I decided that me not particularly caring for spiced rum meant that I needed to practice mixing with it. People who like spiced rum seem to have approved of the result (and so do I, actually...I surprisingly enjoyed it thoroughly).
The name for this one came around when I decided it needed to match the cocktail and be simultaneously feminine (it uses elderflower liqueur) and nautical (Sailor Jerry rum), with a little bit of evil implied. Apparently that was an appropriate thought, because the first person who ordered it told the server "You need to tell your manager that this one needs to come with a warning! It could be dangerous!" Perfect!
Siren's Song
Method: Shake and Strain
Glassware: Large cocktail
Garnish: Dash of cinnamon
Ingredients:
1 oz Sailor Jerry spiced rum
.5 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur
2 oz Fresh squeezed orange juice (seriously...using oranges makes all the difference)
.25 oz Simple syrup
3 dashes Regan's orange bitters
Add all ingredients to mixing glass and shake well with ice. Strain into glass and garnish with a dash of cinnamon. Enjoy!
For anybody unfamiliar with the Sirens (most known and remembered through Homer's Odyssey): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren
First and foremost: Sorry I've been so lax on posting this month! I swear I have about five recipes I've been meaning to post.
This past weekend, the husband and I tripped up to Kalamazoo, Michigan for his sister's wedding. We had a fantastic time with all of the families (I love my in-laws! And even my in-laws' in-laws!), and I loved being back home and visiting my friends, and I got to pick up some gins to play with that I haven't been able to find in Ohio but have been dying to work with. The two I snagged were Death's Door from Washington Island in Wisconsin (hey...I just realized how apropos that is. His sister and her new husband recently moved to Wisconsin), and Knickerbocker from the distilling division of New Holland (yes, the brewing company). I haven't quite decided what I want to do with the Knickerbocker, but I definitely had ideas of blueberry with both of them. I picked up some blueberry preserves for the Death's Door, and in working on the build I basically ended up with a twist on the White Lady. Between the gin used, and the drink invoked, it pretty much named itself.
P.S. to the state of Michigan: Your liquor prices have become insane. $42 for a fifth of Cointreau? SERIOUSLY?!? Insane. Retail around here is in the low $30s.
I have this pictured in a small cocktail glass, even though it's mixed for a large cocktail glass. I forgot to photograph it before I sampled it out, so some of it was already sampled...ha...oops.
Death's Lady
Method: Shake and Strain
Glassware: Large Cocktail
Garnish: Sugared rim, and fresh blueberries
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Death's Door gin
.75 oz Cointreau
.75 oz Simple syrup
1 oz Fresh lemon juice
1 barspoon blueberry preserves
Build ingredients in a mixing glass and shake well with ice. Strain into a large cocktail glass rimmed with sugar, garnish, and enjoy!
Note: Since I don't have Death's Door at work, I thought I would also try this out with Plymouth gin. It was a little bit sweeter, but worked very well anyway, and is a much more widely available gin. You could probably bring the simple syrup down a bit to cut that sweetness and bring out the botanicals in the Plymouth a bit more. Since sweeter tends to sell a bit better at the restaurant anyway, I didn't bother experimenting much further.
This month's Mixology Monday is sponsored by Cocktail Virgin Slut, and the theme is Beer Cocktails. As mentioned in the announcing post, beer cocktails aren't exactly a new thing, but they've been getting a lot of press in the past year or so:
Bartenders are drawn to beer for a variety of reasons including the glorious malt and roast notes from the grain, the bitter and sometimes floral elements from the hops, the interesting sour or fruity notes from the yeast, and the crispness and bubbles from the carbonation. Beer is not just for pint glasses, so let us honor beer of all styles as a drink ingredient.
My first introduction to beer cocktails in a cocktail type of form was actually at Tales of the Cocktail last year in one of the tasting rooms. The cocktail involved egg white, ROOT liqueur, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (Recipe and video! Thanks to Frederic for knowing what I was talking about!). As soon as I interviewed for my current job I knew that if I got the position I wanted to utilize this style of cocktail in some way, shape, or form on my list. The Southern Magic is the drink that resulted. I decided to start with a bourbon base, as it is a southern style restaurant--and not many liquors are more representative of the south than bourbon--and built from there. I really wasn't sure how Cincinnati would react to beer cocktails in this form since the only thing in the "beer cocktail" realm I'd seen around before was a michelada at a restaurant we enjoy downtown, but I was pleasantly surprised by a nice following for it! Also, a couple people have described it as "It's like summer in my mouth!" so I felt it rather appropriate for a July post.
Southern Magic
Method: Shake, Box, Strain
Glassware: Brandy Snifter
Garnish: Flamed lemon twist
Ingredients:
.75 oz Maker's Mark bourbon
.5 oz Apricot brandy
.25 oz Simple syrup
Squeeze of fresh lemon (just a few drops, really)
Shake above ingredients with ice, then add 4 oz of Magic Hat #9 Not Quite Pale Ale, box ingredients, and strain into brandy snifter. Flame a piece of lemon peel over drink, and drop peel in to garnish.
