Freethinker Punch

As is becoming our yearly tradition, we hosted the 4th of July again this year, an event that plays well to my main culinary strengths: pork and booze. Per my standard party trick, the latter was a non-alcoholic punch base flanked by spirits and wine, a configuration I can't recommend highly enough. Not suggested with fireworks, though; we loaded up on lawn games instead.

I got a bit of feedback that this wasn't my best punch to date, which is fair. I wasn't too much bothered, since this capably performed its dual mission of fueling the party and soaking up a ton of random shit that had accumulated in my fridge, which is a thing that happens. Sigh - such trials and tribulations!

This is about a quarter-serving of the amount for the party, so based on the amount we had left, I'd say enough for 6-8 people or so?

4 oz lemon oleo-saccharum (we've made this before, but it deserves a rundown... just not now)
4 oz mango shrub (a cup each of diced mango, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and water, allowed to steep together in the fridge for 2-3 weeks)
4 oz lime water (a bunch of spent lime shells, infused in water for about 2 weeks)
4 oz lime juice (not the juice of said limes, because 2-week-old lime juice is nasty)
8 oz cantaloupe juice (spiked with about 1/2 teaspoon citric acid for balance)
8 oz green tea
12 oz ginger beer (Reed's)
16 oz soda water

Combine in a punch bowl over copious ice. Serve with your favorite white spirits and wine.

Mocktail Month: Berry Patch

Now, sodas aren't always that exciting, but sometimes you nail it. Enough said.

3/4 oz strawberry-lemon syrup
3/4 oz blackberry shrub
3/4 oz lime juice
3 dashes Regan's No. 6 Orange Bitters

Shake briefly to combine and pour into a Collins glass; top off with about 6-8 oz soda water to taste.

I'll let this stand as one of the better examples of the prototypical soda. Really, there's no need to post more, so we'll attempt to be a little more inventive with this final leg of the month.

Mocktail Month: Short Shrift

Well, we're off to a slow start with Mocktail Month. Like my stretches of hiatus, there has been plenty of effort but nothing I quite dig enough to share.

This, however, I cranked out because after wrestling with some cod in a very not-nonstick pan, I really wanted a concentrated, potent drink. However, I also didn't want to provide my wife with any ammunition (and, you know, let's at least pretend that I have some god-damn willpower) so we had a concentrated, potent mocktail instead.

2 oz cryo-cucumber juice
3/4 oz blackberry shrub
1/2 oz gin & tonic syrup
2 dashes Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
2 dashes Bitter Truth Tonic Bitters

Shake like a madman and strain over fresh ice in a short glass. Top with a (short) splash of soda and stir.

This one would have worked very well with a bit of ginger beer instead of soda, maybe with a little extra acid for balance. But it was pretty damn satisfying as-is.

Notebook Cocktail #5

This one should look like a recombination of some of the ingredients from the last few Notebook Cocktails, mostly because it's exactly that.

2 oz white rum (Plantation 3 Star again)
1 1/4 oz cryo-cucumber juice (for which see N.C. #4)
3/4 oz mango shrub (nearly identical to the cranberry version from N.C. #1)
1 large dash Bittercube Bolivar bitters*

Stir well over ice and top with about 1 oz soda water.

*Troublesome brand specifications again, I know.  The problem in this case is that I really don't know anything that is quite like these particular bitters.  You could maybe try a dash each of Peychaud's and orange, but it won't be nearly the same thing.

Notebook Cocktail #2

Here's a sort of vaguely julep-style concoction, created largely because I had a huge bundle of mint to use up.  Also, Armagnac, which I love deeply.

1 oz Armagnac brandy
1 oz rye whiskey
1/2 oz passionfruit juice
1/4 oz mango shrub
1 dash aromatic bitters (Angostura in this case)
1 large bunch mint (about 20 leaves)
1 Demerara sugar cube

Muddle the mint and sugar in a mixing glass (add a small dash of water if needed).  Add ice, shake briefly, and strain over fresh finely cracked ice.  Garnish with a fresh bunch of mint.

Notebook Cocktail #1

I've been making a lot of shrubs lately - they're easy and tasty and flexible.  Here is a simple and straightforward way to use them:

1 1/2 oz rye whiskey (I can't remember what brand, but 100-proof is recommended)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz cranberry shrub* (see below)

Shake and strain over one large cube in a double old-fashioned glass.

I also wrote down a variation using Plantation Three Star (my new go-to white rum) which turned out nicely.

*Lightly muddle 1 cup of fresh cranberries in a large mason jar, then add 1/2 cup each of apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar.  Let this infuse in the refrigerator for a week, shaking every other day, then add 1 1/2 cups raw sugar.  Let this infuse for another week, shaking daily, then fine-strain into a clean container.  Add about 1/2 oz 100-proof (or higher) neutral grain spirit and keep refrigerated.

Chattanooga Cooler

I know this drink is in no way representative of the city of Chattanooga (apologies if you live in Tennessee) but I just like the name.  It just kinda rolls off the tongue, and the drink turned out quite well too.

1 1/4 oz white whiskey
3/4 oz rose petal liqueur
3/4 oz peach shrub

Pour over plentiful ice in a Collins glass and add 2-3 oz of soda water to taste.  Stir well and garnish with a lemon wheel.

I know, I know - you'll have to make two of these ingredients yourself.  Neither is too hard, really.  For the liqueur, combine 1 tablespoon dried rose petals with 1 cup 100-proof vodka and 1/2 cup of regular simple syrup (a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar) then let infuse for a week or so.  The shrub is even more flexible, if a bit more difficult, although you can make as much or as little as desired.  Just take 1 part chopped and pitted fresh peach, and add 1 part apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar.  Let this infuse in the refrigerator for a week, then strain and add 1 part sugar.  Keep this in the fridge, shaking every day for a week or so until the sugar has all dissolved, then use wherever - non-alcoholic sodas, cocktails such as the one above, or on top of pancakes.  Seriously, that last one is worth a shot.