The Glass Project: Myrrah's Passion

So on Tuesday I drove the 4+ hours up to Cleveland to volunteer at/attend the first annual Ohio Tequila Festival.  I had a lovely time pouring Don Julio samples and sampling various other tequilas that were sponsoring.  I thought this was an excellent first-year event, and I look forward to seeing it grow in the future!  One other thing I finally saw for the first time while there were the Tequilador booklets with our recipes (although on the image they wrote lemon instead of lime...oops...lol)!  The QR codes were in the beginning of the booklet:

That night I stayed with my friend Emily (also in the booklet!) in Columbus.  I wanted to purchase a specific gin I hadn't been able to find around here, but I knew they had up there, so I went to Weiland's Gourmet Grocery in the morning to pick it up.  While waiting for the store to open I grudgingly stopped into the neighboring thrift store that Emily had told me about and picked up these ten little treasures for less than $6 (this is why I don't allow myself to go to thrift stores.  I would overwhelm my apt with bar tools and glassware that I don't actually have room for):

 When I got home I decided that I needed to come up with a recipe specifically for each glass, and decided to make that my goal this summer.  This will also force me to work with some different proportions (more classic ones) than I've been used to at the places I've been working.  First up was the pretty little one second from the left in the back.  That glass insisted on Creme de Violette and the fantastic new Aphrodite Bitters (from the makers of Bokers Bitters, and crafted from aphrodisiac spices and herbs) that I had also just scored at Weiland's (phenominal little bitters selection, and you can even sample most of them!)...and out came Myrrah's Passion (name story after the recipe):

Myrrah's Passion

Glassware:  Small cocktail glass

Method:  Shake and Strain

Garnish:  Egg white foam* and dash of Aphrodite Bitters

Ingredients:

1.25 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon

.5 oz  Creme de violette

.75 oz Fresh lemon juice

.25 oz Rich simple syrup (or just a dash, if you prefer more sour cocktails)
2 dashes Aphrodite Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into small cocktail glass.  Top with foam and a few drops of Aphrodite Bitters for aromatics.

* Egg White Foam:

Separate the egg white from yolk, and discard yolk.  In a clean shaker, dry shake egg white (i.e. without ice) until a bit frothy.  Add 1/2 tsp granulated or superfine sugar to shaker and continue to dry shake until desired density.

On the Name:

Greek mythology tends to color a lot of what I do, and likes to find its way into some of my cocktails--call it the spiritual aspect of the "Alcohol Alchemy" title, if you will.  Myrrah's story is a prime example of the wrath the gods could inflict when provoked.  The story varies depending on the source, but I have to say I'm rather enamoured with Mary Zimmerman's retelling of Ovid's Metamorphoses.  Ovid gives no reason as to why Aphrodite inflicted a passion for her father on Myrrah--just that she had lines of suitors and no apparent interest in any of them, and Powell later says it was to punish her mother for hubris (ego and arrogance) against the goddess in saying that her daughter was more beautiful than Aphrodite Herself.  Mary Zimmerman expounded on the original as that it went further than no interest--that she wouldn't fall in love and was insistent against marriage and love, etc.  Aphrodite took offense to this (of course, since She's the goddess of sexual love and passion) and cursed her with a passion for her father:

You can shut yourself in a room, bolt the door,

but love will come through the window.

Draw the curtains, lock the casement,

but love will seep through the walls.

Never think, never think that you can be safe from love.

--Aphrodite in Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses: a play

The story goes from there, and essentially ends in Myrrah fleeing and the gods taking pity on her when she asks to neither live nor die, and she transforms into a Myrrh tree.  After the transformation she also gave birth to Adonis, and eventually the sap from the tree was offered at the altars of Aphrodite.

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ETA, 1/28/2013:  I submitted this recipe for consideration to the 101 Best New Cocktails 2013 about a week ago, and I got notification today that it's made it to Round Two for taste testing. 

ETA, 8/4/2013:  And Myrrah's Passion has officially made Gaz Regan's 2013 list of 101 Best New Cocktails!  Hooray!  I'm so honored to be featured with such a fantastic collection of bartenders and cocktails!

Bourbon and Blues

You may recall me talking about some delicious blueberry preserves my mother-in-law made earlier this past summer during blueberry-picking season up in Michigan.  They featured prominently in my Death's Lady cocktail.  This is another recipe that came from that batch of deliciousness.  I had some extra Bulleit hanging around, and wanted to figure out a way to use it up.  This was quite the successful way of doing that.  I think I went through nearly four bottles the few days I featured this.  It's very simple to execute and very refreshing.

Bourbon and Blues
Glass: 12oz rocks/Old-Fashioned glass
Method: Shake and Strain
Garnish: Orange twist


Ingredients:
2 oz Bulleit bourbon
1 oz Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 oz Simple syrup (refresher: I use a 2:1 sugar:water ratio)
1 barspoon Blueberry preserves

Build ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into glass filled with clean ice. Garnish and enjoy.

MxMo LIX: Beer Cocktails: Southern Magic

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.

So who's ready for the Derby?

I love Mint Juleps.  One of the first drinks that crossed my mind in putting together the cocktail list for a southern style restaurant was the Mint Julep...the penultimate porch drink of the deep south.  Of course, there are many ways to twist this classic, and I was happy to take the challenge.  I decided to post this now as Mint Juleps also are the signature cocktail of the Kentucky Derby, which happens to fall on May 7th this year (I'm hoping the race time falls before my friend Julie's wedding so that I can watch it somewhere).  Yes, moving to Cincinnati has turned me into a Derby watcher, and I would LOVE to actually go to the races next year.

First, bourbon choice.  Maker's Mark recently(ish) released Maker's 46, and I'm a fan of the extra complexity and sweetness the toasted oak staves add to the bourbon.  Next, the sweetening agent:  this was actually a bit of a no-brainer...house-smoked honey, of course!

I am horrible at writing out an explanation of how to make a Mint Julep since it involves quite a lot of attention to detail, so instead I will give you the recipe and then direct you to a video demonstration. 


smoQ'd Julep

Glassware: Julep cup

Method: Muddle and Stir

Garnish: Drizzle of smoked honey and mint sprig

Muddle:

Fresh Mint (amount to taste...we use two nicely leaved sprigs)

1 oz  House-smoked honey

Add:

2.5 oz Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon

- Stir together (the honey is REALLY thick...it will end up in a ball in the bottom of the drink unless you stir it with the bourbon before adding ice) and add crushed ice

- Stir until the julep cup frosts

- Top off with more crushed ice and stir briefly again

- Drizzle with smoked honey and spanked mint sprig to garnish

- Warn guests to beware of the slippery frosted cup while drinking!

Video: How to make a Mint Julep 

Where we got our Lewis Bag: Professional grade Lewis bags by McSology

Our Mint Julep cups: KegWorks 10oz Mint Julep cup

Clearly, Mint Juleps are a lot of work...this is why we don't feature ours on our menu, though we can always make one for you upon request.  Just remember...patience, please!