I think I'm about ready to go back to work. It's not like I have a problem with day drinking (as in, I don't completely frown on the practice) but I'm pretty sure that drinking scotch while the sun's up is some kind of warning sign.
2 oz scotch (a blended Speyside; Pig's Nose would do)
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz Cynar
1/4 oz pineapple syrup
2 dashes Bitter Truth Xocolatl Bitters
Stir over a large ice cube in an old-fashioned glass. If we were going all-out here, I'd say garnish with a dehydrated slice of cacao nib-crusted pineapple, but anything less would be foolish.
Don't worry about the name - I realize there's no actual apple in this. Like most of my cocktail names it's derived from a whole chain of barely-coherent puns that rattle around my skull whenever I think about such things.
Showing posts with label pineapple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pineapple. Show all posts
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Bobhouse
A solid highball, suitable for consuming in the winter months.
2 oz sour orange juice (nice sour oranges are good for this; you can also supplement navel orange juice with citric acid)
1 1/2 oz blended scotch
1/2 oz Loonshine
1/2 oz squash-brown sugar syrup
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake and pour unstrained into... well, any glass really. What is this "gar-nish" you speak of?
2 oz sour orange juice (nice sour oranges are good for this; you can also supplement navel orange juice with citric acid)
1 1/2 oz blended scotch
1/2 oz Loonshine
1/2 oz squash-brown sugar syrup
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake and pour unstrained into... well, any glass really. What is this "gar-nish" you speak of?
Friday, October 24, 2014
Very Old Fashioned
1 1/2 oz Plantation 20th Anniversary Rum
1/2 oz Laird's Apple Brandy
1/4 oz mezcal (Vida)
1/4 oz pineapple syrup
3 dashes Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
Stir over a large ice cube in an old-fashioned glass. FUCK GARNISH. That's the kind of mood I'm in. Booze in a glass, dammit, and fast!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Southern Side
I have kind of a contentious relationship with mint. Keeping some around for use in juleps and such is great, but it always winds up on a top shelf in our fridge, where it remains forgotten until I notice its decidedly brown color. At that point, it's just gotta get used.
Using up a near-empty bottle of mezcal seemed like an interesting merger, and I vaguely remembered a recipe from Speakeasy that sounded like a good fit - which actually wound up being a Prohibition-era classic from the Savoy Cocktail Book. I swapped some mezcal in for gin to provide a smoky flavor, and at that point a pineapple syrup seemed only obvious.
1 1/2 oz gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz mezcal (Vida)
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz orange juice
2 bunches mint (about 15-20 leaves)
Shake well to pulverize the mint and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a strip of orange peel.
If you prefer, you could double-strain this to remove the tiny mint pieces, but I kinda like the texture they provide. It also provides a nice visual impact, so you'll want to garnish with a mint leaf instead to keep the color.
Using up a near-empty bottle of mezcal seemed like an interesting merger, and I vaguely remembered a recipe from Speakeasy that sounded like a good fit - which actually wound up being a Prohibition-era classic from the Savoy Cocktail Book. I swapped some mezcal in for gin to provide a smoky flavor, and at that point a pineapple syrup seemed only obvious.
1 1/2 oz gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz mezcal (Vida)
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz orange juice
2 bunches mint (about 15-20 leaves)
Shake well to pulverize the mint and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a strip of orange peel.
If you prefer, you could double-strain this to remove the tiny mint pieces, but I kinda like the texture they provide. It also provides a nice visual impact, so you'll want to garnish with a mint leaf instead to keep the color.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Independent Island Punch
Why hello! I hope you didn't think I poisoned myself upon returning to booze post-Mocktail Week. Nothing so unfortunate, I assure you - just didn't have much in the way of free time between painting half the house and preparing a massive spread for the 4th of July last week.
In addition to the food, I figured I couldn't just get away with a cooler full of beer. Got a reputation to uphold and all! So I decided on what's rapidly becoming my favorite party trick: a non-alcoholic punch base, served along with a basic white wine for spritzers and a variety of spirits for sundry highballs. Ingredients wound up being dead simple, too; this is probably the easiest punch that I've assembled to date.
The listing below just about fills up a 1-liter bottle of punch base, which makes 2 liters total once combined. I went through about 2 1/2 of these for a mixed group of 14 people, which included some non-drinkers and those who stuck only with the aforementioned cooler of beer. Call it a 1-liter bottle for every 6 people in your party.
8 oz lime juice (you could use fresh, but I used a bottled not-from-concentrate version from the co-op)
8 oz pineapple juice (ditto)
4 oz mint syrup (homemade)
4 oz pineapple-lime syrup (ditto)
8 oz ginger beer (back to my usual Reed's here)
Combine in a 1-liter bottle (or 1-quart mason jar), stuff in a large mint sprig, and fill up the balance with soda water. When ready to serve, pour over ice (straining out the old mint) and top with 1 liter of soda water. Stir to combine, garnish with some fresh mint sprigs, and park next to a couple bottles of chilled white wine, plus whatever spirits you have at hand (gin, white rum, and bourbon in my case). A couple of signs with instructions and some jiggers or shot glasses are helpful too - these will encourage your guests to measure, rather than free-pouring.
Happy belated Independence Day to my fellow 'Mericans!
In addition to the food, I figured I couldn't just get away with a cooler full of beer. Got a reputation to uphold and all! So I decided on what's rapidly becoming my favorite party trick: a non-alcoholic punch base, served along with a basic white wine for spritzers and a variety of spirits for sundry highballs. Ingredients wound up being dead simple, too; this is probably the easiest punch that I've assembled to date.
The listing below just about fills up a 1-liter bottle of punch base, which makes 2 liters total once combined. I went through about 2 1/2 of these for a mixed group of 14 people, which included some non-drinkers and those who stuck only with the aforementioned cooler of beer. Call it a 1-liter bottle for every 6 people in your party.
8 oz lime juice (you could use fresh, but I used a bottled not-from-concentrate version from the co-op)
8 oz pineapple juice (ditto)
4 oz mint syrup (homemade)
4 oz pineapple-lime syrup (ditto)
8 oz ginger beer (back to my usual Reed's here)
Combine in a 1-liter bottle (or 1-quart mason jar), stuff in a large mint sprig, and fill up the balance with soda water. When ready to serve, pour over ice (straining out the old mint) and top with 1 liter of soda water. Stir to combine, garnish with some fresh mint sprigs, and park next to a couple bottles of chilled white wine, plus whatever spirits you have at hand (gin, white rum, and bourbon in my case). A couple of signs with instructions and some jiggers or shot glasses are helpful too - these will encourage your guests to measure, rather than free-pouring.
Happy belated Independence Day to my fellow 'Mericans!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Mocktail Week #3: Pineapple Fauxito
After my early break yesterday, I figured I'd probably be able to turn out another success, but nothing much stood above the rest. Today was a much luckier day! I didn't do much experimentation at all, really (for one thing, I'm running out of citrus) but I did manage to turn out multiple winners. All of which is to say: you get two today.
Full disclosure, this one is fairly similar to a non-alcoholic beverage that was featured for years on my old restaurant's menu - similar mix of flavors, distinctly different construction.
1 1/2 oz pineapple-lime syrup
1/2 oz lime juice
8-10 mint leaves
3-4 dashes Bitter Truth celery bitters
Muddle the mint in the syrup, add the juice and bitters, then shake and strain over large ice cubes in a large tumbler. Top with about 1 oz ginger beer (deviating from my usual Reed's here - I found instead a much spicier version called Regatta) and about 3 oz carbonated cucumber water, then stir gently to combine and top with a sprig of mint or a lime wheel.
Overall a very tropical feel - somewhere between a Mojito and a Mai Tai with none of the booze. I'd go so far as to say that this exceeds the original (though to be fair, it could use a better name).
Full disclosure, this one is fairly similar to a non-alcoholic beverage that was featured for years on my old restaurant's menu - similar mix of flavors, distinctly different construction.
1 1/2 oz pineapple-lime syrup
1/2 oz lime juice
8-10 mint leaves
3-4 dashes Bitter Truth celery bitters
Muddle the mint in the syrup, add the juice and bitters, then shake and strain over large ice cubes in a large tumbler. Top with about 1 oz ginger beer (deviating from my usual Reed's here - I found instead a much spicier version called Regatta) and about 3 oz carbonated cucumber water, then stir gently to combine and top with a sprig of mint or a lime wheel.
Overall a very tropical feel - somewhere between a Mojito and a Mai Tai with none of the booze. I'd go so far as to say that this exceeds the original (though to be fair, it could use a better name).
Monday, April 7, 2014
Tasting #2
In the wake of my first, wildly successful cocktail tasting, I was incredibly pleased to have the chance at another. This wound up being a much rowdier time, with a surprising amount of yelling and karaoke. It was also a shitload of fun! A big thanks to Chris and Bridget for inviting me and hosting.
DRINK #1: AVIATION
2 oz gin
½ oz maraschino liqueur
¾ oz lemon juice
To build: Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Other notes: The original recipe adds a dash of violet liqueur (crème de violette) for a pale, light blue color, hence the name. But this simpler version is just as tasty.
DRINK #2: SPRING MARTINEZ
2 oz gin
½ oz Dolin blanc vermouth
¼ oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Regan's No. 6 orange bitters
2 dashes Bitter Truth celery bitters
To build: Rinse a cocktail glass with absinthe and place in the freezer. Stir with ice and strain into the prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel.
Other notes: The Martinez is an early version of the Martini. This version uses an unusual style of sweetened white vermouth; regular red vermouth works too.
DRINK #3: PISCOJITO
2 oz pisco
½ oz pineapple syrup
¾ oz lime juice
2 large sprigs mint
To build: Strip the mint leaves except for the top of one stalk. Press the leaves in the bottom of a glass with the syrup; add the pisco, lime juice and ice. Shake, strain over fresh ice, top with soda water, and insert the mint sprig as garnish.
Other notes: This Cuban classic would normally use white rum, but pisco makes an interesting substitution. If you get lazy and drink this out of the glass you mixed it in, nobody would blame you.
DRINK #4: PERFECT PISCO PUNCH
2 oz pisco
1 oz pineapple syrup
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz lime juice
½ egg white
2 dashes Bitter Truth celery bitters
3-4 pineapple cubes
To build: Muddle the pineapple in the pisco and syrup; add the remaining ingredients, shake very well and strain over fresh ice.
Other notes: Nobody quite knows the original recipe for this renowned San Francisco specialty; this is my own tricked-out version. It’s hard to separate an egg into equal halves, so you’ll just have to make two!
Holy crap did that last one ever take off. I wound up making at least a couple for everyone present, in addition to the tasting portions and a whole slew of off-the-cuff requests. Like I said: rowdy. In the words of one attendee: "You bring such joy to people with kids." I'll take the compliment, but by the time I left they were doing just fine on their own.
My only problem is that now, I've got a whole bunch of research to do into the legal side of making this a real, grown-up business. People seem to dig the concept, especially as I focus on the fact that it's really not that difficult, and that anybody can make a good cocktail. This seems to be not only a viable niche, but something that I really enjoy; there are such incredibly fun moments of engagement and learning that I can't help but look forward to the next event. But if I want to get paid for this, all the sudden I need to start thinking about contracts and liability and scheduling. So maybe I'll pull up the reigns for now, do some serious investigation, and keep hosting preview parties at home in preparation. Someday we'll get there.
DRINK #1: AVIATION
2 oz gin
½ oz maraschino liqueur
¾ oz lemon juice
To build: Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Other notes: The original recipe adds a dash of violet liqueur (crème de violette) for a pale, light blue color, hence the name. But this simpler version is just as tasty.
DRINK #2: SPRING MARTINEZ
2 oz gin
½ oz Dolin blanc vermouth
¼ oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Regan's No. 6 orange bitters
2 dashes Bitter Truth celery bitters
To build: Rinse a cocktail glass with absinthe and place in the freezer. Stir with ice and strain into the prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel.
Other notes: The Martinez is an early version of the Martini. This version uses an unusual style of sweetened white vermouth; regular red vermouth works too.
DRINK #3: PISCOJITO
2 oz pisco
½ oz pineapple syrup
¾ oz lime juice
2 large sprigs mint
To build: Strip the mint leaves except for the top of one stalk. Press the leaves in the bottom of a glass with the syrup; add the pisco, lime juice and ice. Shake, strain over fresh ice, top with soda water, and insert the mint sprig as garnish.
Other notes: This Cuban classic would normally use white rum, but pisco makes an interesting substitution. If you get lazy and drink this out of the glass you mixed it in, nobody would blame you.
DRINK #4: PERFECT PISCO PUNCH
2 oz pisco
1 oz pineapple syrup
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz lime juice
½ egg white
2 dashes Bitter Truth celery bitters
3-4 pineapple cubes
To build: Muddle the pineapple in the pisco and syrup; add the remaining ingredients, shake very well and strain over fresh ice.
Other notes: Nobody quite knows the original recipe for this renowned San Francisco specialty; this is my own tricked-out version. It’s hard to separate an egg into equal halves, so you’ll just have to make two!
Holy crap did that last one ever take off. I wound up making at least a couple for everyone present, in addition to the tasting portions and a whole slew of off-the-cuff requests. Like I said: rowdy. In the words of one attendee: "You bring such joy to people with kids." I'll take the compliment, but by the time I left they were doing just fine on their own.
My only problem is that now, I've got a whole bunch of research to do into the legal side of making this a real, grown-up business. People seem to dig the concept, especially as I focus on the fact that it's really not that difficult, and that anybody can make a good cocktail. This seems to be not only a viable niche, but something that I really enjoy; there are such incredibly fun moments of engagement and learning that I can't help but look forward to the next event. But if I want to get paid for this, all the sudden I need to start thinking about contracts and liability and scheduling. So maybe I'll pull up the reigns for now, do some serious investigation, and keep hosting preview parties at home in preparation. Someday we'll get there.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Silversmith
I was absolutely delighted to receive an order of exotic spirits this week, which had been hunted down specifically because I'd never seen their ilk in any of my local liquor stores. Among them was a bottle of Sombra mezcal, a spirit I'd been itching to experiment with. I popped it open almost immediately. "Whoa!" I called to my wife, "this smells like somebody chucked a pineapple into a campfire." To which she wrinkled her nose and agreed.
Turns out, I wasn't far off. The process of making mezcal, a cousin of tequila, consists of digging a large pit, filling it with hot rocks, then tossing in a bunch of agave piña (also the Spanish for "pineapple", which it closely resembles). After roasting for days, these are mashed and left to ferment, finally resulting in a powerful spirit that tastes something like tequila infused with cigar smoke. The silver Sombra mezcal that I received is particularly intense, and it took some taming. Still, it holds its flavor very well in cocktails, and lends a resounding smoky flavor.
This particular drink was just me playing around, and is named after the place where Sombra is made: Oaxaca, Mexico. Silver jewelry shops are a major component of the tourist trade there.
1 oz Sombra mezcal
1 oz pineapple-infused tequila (I used resposado
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz kumquat syrup
1 dash lime juice
Shake with plentiful ice and pour into an old-fashioned glass; garnish with a caramelized pineapple slice if you're feeling fancy, or nothing if you're feeling lazy.
Turns out, I wasn't far off. The process of making mezcal, a cousin of tequila, consists of digging a large pit, filling it with hot rocks, then tossing in a bunch of agave piña (also the Spanish for "pineapple", which it closely resembles). After roasting for days, these are mashed and left to ferment, finally resulting in a powerful spirit that tastes something like tequila infused with cigar smoke. The silver Sombra mezcal that I received is particularly intense, and it took some taming. Still, it holds its flavor very well in cocktails, and lends a resounding smoky flavor.
This particular drink was just me playing around, and is named after the place where Sombra is made: Oaxaca, Mexico. Silver jewelry shops are a major component of the tourist trade there.
1 oz Sombra mezcal
1 oz pineapple-infused tequila (I used resposado
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz kumquat syrup
1 dash lime juice
Shake with plentiful ice and pour into an old-fashioned glass; garnish with a caramelized pineapple slice if you're feeling fancy, or nothing if you're feeling lazy.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Saint-Domingue
Another Sazerac rendition, this one using rhum agricole. This name comes from the original colonial name of Haiti, where Rhum Barbancourt is made.
1 1/2 oz Rhum Barbancourt (I used the 8-year-old Five Star, but the slightly younger Three Star would be fine too)
1/2 rye whiskey
1 barspoon pineapple syrup
Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe and set in the freezer. Pour listed ingredients over ice and stir, then strain into the prepared glass. Squeeze an orange peel coin over the drink and drop in for garnish.
I like the way the absinthe here reinforces the herbal character of the Barbancourt while the rye gives it a little bit of characteristic Sazerac edge. This makes me want to try a half-and-half blend in Improved Cocktail format (a fancified Jerry Thomas rendition with dashes of maraschino and absinthe). Might pop up here before too long...
1 1/2 oz Rhum Barbancourt (I used the 8-year-old Five Star, but the slightly younger Three Star would be fine too)
1/2 rye whiskey
1 barspoon pineapple syrup
Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe and set in the freezer. Pour listed ingredients over ice and stir, then strain into the prepared glass. Squeeze an orange peel coin over the drink and drop in for garnish.
I like the way the absinthe here reinforces the herbal character of the Barbancourt while the rye gives it a little bit of characteristic Sazerac edge. This makes me want to try a half-and-half blend in Improved Cocktail format (a fancified Jerry Thomas rendition with dashes of maraschino and absinthe). Might pop up here before too long...
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Two Easy Drinks
How sad - that's a little too long between posts. I'll try and get back in the spirit of at least weekly updates.
Part of the reason for the hiatus is that I haven't been creating many original drinks lately. Instead I've been going back to basics, mixing clean and simple classics. But I guess there's nothing wrong with that - let's share some easy options.
I had a lime and a ton of pineapple syrup, so combining those made sense. First came a slightly modified Ti-Punch:
Pour the rhum and syrup over finely cracked ice, then swizzle (that is, stir aggressively). Squeeze the lime coin on both sides to catch the juice from the flesh, and the oil from the peel, then drop in. Top with more ice to fill and stir again.
That is a very simple and effective drink - basically a Sling, one among the proto-Cocktails. The only problem is its base spirit, which is both delicious and rare in my local liquor stores. Notice that like a number of tropical drinks, this makes good use of citrus. Another such drink is the Margarita, which makes use of tequila. I made a modified attempt as such:
Shake and strain over cracked ice; insert a thin lime wheel as garnish. A salted rim is optional (though I might have to try a spiced rim of some kind).
This one is really just a tequila Sour, another proto-Cocktail, but it serves. Tequila and pineapple work splendidly together - maybe I'll attempt a pineapple liqueur to get closer to a classic Margarita formula.
Part of the reason for the hiatus is that I haven't been creating many original drinks lately. Instead I've been going back to basics, mixing clean and simple classics. But I guess there's nothing wrong with that - let's share some easy options.
I had a lime and a ton of pineapple syrup, so combining those made sense. First came a slightly modified Ti-Punch:
- 2 oz VSOP rhum agricole
- 1/4 oz pineapple syrup
- 1 lime coin (sliced right off the side so it still holds some flesh)
Pour the rhum and syrup over finely cracked ice, then swizzle (that is, stir aggressively). Squeeze the lime coin on both sides to catch the juice from the flesh, and the oil from the peel, then drop in. Top with more ice to fill and stir again.
That is a very simple and effective drink - basically a Sling, one among the proto-Cocktails. The only problem is its base spirit, which is both delicious and rare in my local liquor stores. Notice that like a number of tropical drinks, this makes good use of citrus. Another such drink is the Margarita, which makes use of tequila. I made a modified attempt as such:
- 2 oz resposado tequila
- 1/2 oz pineapple syrup
- Juice of 1/2 lime (reserved from the previous drink, in this case)
Shake and strain over cracked ice; insert a thin lime wheel as garnish. A salted rim is optional (though I might have to try a spiced rim of some kind).
This one is really just a tequila Sour, another proto-Cocktail, but it serves. Tequila and pineapple work splendidly together - maybe I'll attempt a pineapple liqueur to get closer to a classic Margarita formula.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Tiki Masala
This is a drink that started with a wonderful name, a perfect bartender's pun. It's made with a garam masala spice blend which our restaurant makes in-house, based on the classical blend behind most Indian curries (yum). Its sweet, fruit-forward profile is representative of tiki-style drinks, and given that I watch entirely too much British television a riff on what is apparently "the most popular dish in British restaurants" seemed obvious.
1 3/4 oz rum (light, aged, or split the difference according to preference)
1 oz garam masala syrup
3/4 oz pineapple juice
1/4-1/2 oz lime juice (to taste)
3 drops chili pepper tincture
Shake like hell and strain over fresh rocks into a double-old-fashioned glass. Garnish with all the tiki frippery that you like or just insert a lime wheel.
This one was a big hit. Our final product made for a very easy drink to produce en masse by combining the bottom four ingredients into a so-called "Masala Mix" - we also added a bit of egg white to produce a creamy, frothy texture. One part rum plus one part Masala Mix made for a fast, delicious, and unique beverage indeed.
1 3/4 oz rum (light, aged, or split the difference according to preference)
1 oz garam masala syrup
3/4 oz pineapple juice
1/4-1/2 oz lime juice (to taste)
3 drops chili pepper tincture
Shake like hell and strain over fresh rocks into a double-old-fashioned glass. Garnish with all the tiki frippery that you like or just insert a lime wheel.
This one was a big hit. Our final product made for a very easy drink to produce en masse by combining the bottom four ingredients into a so-called "Masala Mix" - we also added a bit of egg white to produce a creamy, frothy texture. One part rum plus one part Masala Mix made for a fast, delicious, and unique beverage indeed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)