Broken Spring

A spring drink! Made on an unexpectedly nice spring afternoon! I'm being appropriately seasonal, for once.

2 oz cucumber vodka (homemade)
3/4 oz gin & tonic syrup
4 lime wedges
1 dash maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)

Squeeze the lime wedges into a shaker tin and drop in (which should produce about 3/4 oz of juice, but you want the oils from the peel as well). Shake like mad and double-strain over fresh ice in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a large mint leaf (or a smallish bunch) slapped to express the oils.

Hey, I said it was appropriately seasonal, not that it was easy. I'll break another one of my habits by calling the garnish non-optional on this one; it really does transform and lighten the drink.

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.

Fairweather Friend

Random days off taken on a whim are pretty much the best kind. Perhaps the only thing better, as I discovered today, is knuckling down and plowing through the to-do list that you expected to take pretty much all day. Suddenly you've a free couple of hours, the sun's come out, and you have nothing better to do than hang out on the porch with a book and the very first proper drink you've had for four full days. God damn - can things get any better? I doubt it.

Given the circumstance, I figured I'd better ease back into things a bit. I've been building up some ideas, though, so rest assured - you'll probably see a couple pop up here later tonight.

1 3/4 oz cucumber vodka (homemade, preferably, but you could cheat and buy one)
3/4 oz gin & tonic syrup (this was a slightly tweaked and simplified version)
3 dashes Bitter Truth Tonic Bitters

Build over large ice cubes in a large collins glass and fill with soda. Stir gently to combine and garnish with a cucumber wheel if you've got one.

Mocktail Month: Kitchen Counter

Well folks, it's gotta happen now and again. I obviously love a good drink, but there can be too much of a good thing. My wife and I are therefore embarking on a new, extended edition of Mocktail Week, because obviously we still need something to drink, and I'll be recording our favorites as we go.

Now, fear not - this won't be as stringent as the original Mocktail Week. We're still allowing ourselves the weekends, and I'll pop in with an occasional proper cocktail here and there, but we might mostly towards the comforting simplicity of beer and whiskey. Besides which, we'll probably still be at least somewhat moderate. One of the better things about an extended booze-free period is its ability to reset your tolerance, which is great! It'd be nice to go out sometimes and not suffer regrets when the bill arrives.

So: an initial entry for our inaugural day. This one was kind of a kitchen-sink approach, but then I named it after where most of the first attempt wound up.

3/4 oz cinnamon syrup

3/4 cranberry tonic syrup (I'll provide the recipe later)

1/2 oz orange juice

1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain over fresh ice, then top with 5-6 oz soda water and stir.

A good start, but I'd like to amp up the bitterness quotient a bit, maybe with a black tea concentrate or something; the tonic, while tasty, didn't have quite enough bite. We might see a revised version of this one. 

Randicot Punch

Here's just a random punch recipe; it was good at the time, so I'm recording it verbatim.  Upon further review in the cold light of morning (okay, fine: noon) it could do with a bit of tweaking, but that'll have to wait for later.  I'm out of scotch, or at least blended stuff worth infusing.  No way in hell I'm putting apricots in my Glenrothes.

8 oz apricot-infused blended scotch (Famous Grouse, I believe)
4 oz lime juice
3 oz citrus peel syrup
3 oz gin & tonic syrup
16 oz sparkling water

Combine in a pitcher over large but plentiful ice cubes.  Serve in small glasses.

So, the proportions aren't quite there.  I was totally misremembering David Wondrich's recommended balance of sour, sweet, and strong; first thing I'd do next time would be reduce the sugar.  Maybe simplify down to a combined syrup, but I'd also want to do the peel syrup as an oleo-saccharum if working in bulk, and I'm not sure how to integrate the juniper and tonic.  Or perhaps a little black tea, to emphasize the smokiness of the scotch and soak up some sweetness.  And, the apricot-infused scotch could easily be split into regular old blended stuff and some Rothman & Winter apricot liqueur (yum).  I dunno.  We'll get it there.

The name was just from me doodling around with this "random apricot-flavored" punch.  I like the abbreviated combination.  Sounds like an old Maryland vacation spot, someplace where rich fucks keep "cabins" the size of French chateaus.  Right?  That could just be me.  (Not the chateau, obviously, but the mental image.)

Gin & Tonic, Extra Short

I've had an odd idea rattling around my head lately. I thought it might be a fun challenge to try replicating the flavor of cocktails in a non-alcoholic syrup form. Hence, this afternoon I cooked up a tonic syrup with gin botanicals, aiming to mimic the flavors of a classic gin & tonic. This wound up quite convincing; the recipe's not perfect yet, but I'll reproduce it below.

Of course, beyond the obvious application of a G&T without any actual gin involved, this also offered the possibility of integrating those same flavors into different drinks. My first foray was simply inverting the ratios of gin and tonic, creating an old-fashioned formula that tasted like a compact version of the classic highball.

2 oz gin (Citadelle Reserve, to enhance the lovely golden color, but any London Dry would do fine)
1/3 oz gin & tonic syrup*
3 dashes Fee Brothers Orange Bitters (I would really have liked a quality lemon bitters here, but didn't have one)

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass; top with a scant dash of soda, just for a little fizz. Garnish with a lemon twist.

*Take the peel of 4-5 large lemons and muddle in a large bowl with 2 cups of sugar. Set aside and crush 1/2 cup of juniper berries, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds. Add these to a saucepan along with 1/4 cup of cinchona bark and 1 tablespoon of black tea leaves and bring the whole thing to a boil, then simmer until the volume reduces to about 2 cups. Add the lemon-sugar mixture, stir until the sugar dissolves, and pour through a fine strainer. Bottle in an airtight container and refrigerate. Next time, I'm planning to add a bit of fresh thyme and possibly a touch of lavender; maybe green tea instead of black, too.

Hey look, new glassware! My wife directed us to a thrift shop way out in a distant suburb searching for a coffee table, where I promptly got distracted by a surprising array of vintage glassware. A couple hours later, we arrived home with the coffee table plus enough new coupes to cover almost the entire thing. (Shown below. Not shone: the punch set, also vintage style. Yes, I bought a second punch set.) Yay! Expect these decorative varieties to start popping up in pictures here soon.

Tonic'ed Martini

Just a quick one for you today before my last day at the restaurant (for the second time!)

2 oz London dry gin (Tanqueray)

3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
5 dashes Bitter Truth Tonic Bitters (tasty stuff - the amount seems like a lot for this style of drink, but this takes a decent quantity to make itself known)

Stir and strain, garnish with a lime (or lemon) twist.

Yeah, it's a pretty basic twist on the Martini formula, but the end result was tasty!

Mocktail Week #6: Magic Mix

Here's something of a bonus - a bit shy of an actual drink, but a sufficiently impressive discovery to merit posting.  Think of it as a sort of super-mixer; drink straight if you like, or just add booze for an awesome highball.

Another advantage is that this is completely scalable - make as much or as little as you like.

4 parts carbonated cucumber water
4 parts Q Tonic water
4 parts passionfruit juice
1 part lime juice

Combine and serve immediately, or bottle in a sealed container and store in the fridge.

Mocktail Week #5: Raised Bed

Today was another hit-or-miss one - I'm starting to feel like I'm treading over the same ground here.  Fortunately I found at least one good combination tonight!

1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1 1/4 oz strawberry-saffron syrup
8-10 mint leaves

Muddle the mint leaves in the syrup; add the lemon juice, shake, and strain over large ice cubes in a tumbler.  Top with about 3 oz tonic water to taste (Q Tonic) and stir.  Garnish with a mint sprig if you must.

Frankly, I'm glad that this week is just about done.  It was a welcome break, but I'm starting to really want a drink, you know?

Mocktail Week #2: Wondermelon

This is only my first attempt for the evening, but I tried it and went full stop - this is fantastic, it's getting posted.  It's a little more complicated than some of my attempts from last night, but it works marvelously together - a little sweet, a little sour, a bit bitter, expressive of watermelon and summer, and very refreshing.

1 1/2 oz cryo-watermelon juice (a great way to use up all your leftover watermelon)
1 oz strawberry-saffron syrup (the saffron adds a certain deep, herbal quality that is entirely worth the expense, believe me)
1/2 oz lime juice
3 dashes rhubarb bitters

Shake well and strain over large cubes in a Collins-style glass.  Top with about 2 oz each tonic (Q Tonic for me) and carbonated cucumber water (don't use regular soda, the cucumber really brings out the watermelon flavor).

I'm gonna go have another.

Improbable Tonic

One of the things about making your own tonic syrup is that you really don't use much for each drink, and the potential uses are admittedly more limited than a straightforward flavored syrup.  So what do you do with a whole ton of tonic syrup, with nary a drop of gin, aquavit, etc. in sight?  You do insane things, that's what.

Before you go judging this recipe on the merits of its appearance, try one.  This is bizarre, unexpected synergy in a glass.

2 oz medium-dry sherry (rainwater madiera might work too)
1 oz white rum (Plantation 3 Star; I wouldn't use anything too dry, i.e. Bacardi)
1/3 oz spiced tonic syrup (up to 1/2 oz depending on your batch)

Combine over ice and stir, then top with 1-2 oz soda water to taste.

I know, I know - that looks like a fucking train wreck.  It was only through the miracle of multiple previous drinks that this combination even occurred to me, and then just as a sort of befuddled curiosity.  I've never been more pleased to be proven wrong.

Spiced Tonic Syrup

Once even the first inkling of warm weather starts cropping up after such a long and vicious winter, my thoughts immediately turn to tonic.  There are some bottled versions that I like (though nothing that comes in plastic will do) but assuming you possess a soda siphon, the real way to roll is making your own.  This also allows for creative license to help deal with things like snow while you're trying to make tonic, by upping the warm, wintery spice profile.

The basic recipe here comes courtesy of Maggie Savarino's Seasonal Cocktail Companion, which is a great source for creative homemade booze-projects.

4 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cinchona bark
3 tablespoons citric acid
3 tablespoons dried citrus peel (homemade is easy; mine was an equal mix of lemon and orange)
1 tablespoon coriander
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon cracked grains of paradise (use 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper if you can't find these)
1 teaspoon crushed cinnamon

Bring the water to a boil, add the sugar, stir until dissolved, then reduce the heat to low.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.  Let cool, double-strain, and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

Applications are obvious - gin and vodka would be the most straightforward, but I encourage you to explore others.  Pisco and aquavit are among my favorites.  For any of the above, use about 1/2 oz of tonic syrup to 2 oz spirit, topped off with 3-4 oz of soda water to taste.

GMT

I never much used to care for the classic gin & tonic, but I've gradually come around and now heartily embrace this easy and well-known highball.  It's an absolutely essential summer drink, though when I make mine I can hardly resist a little tweaking.

I'm sure legions of mixologists have used both the name and basic concept of this one before, both being far too obvious.  But I don't care.

1 1/2 oz London Dry gin (Beefeater here, any would do)
1/3 oz maraschino liqueur (I shouldn't really have to specify Luxardo anymore)
3-4 oz chilled tonic water, to taste (I use Q Tonic generally, but have been dying to try making my own)
1-2 dashes orange bitters, to taste

Build in a Collins glass over large ice cubes.

The G&T has become the GMT (Gin, Maraschino, Tonic).  The orange bitters here lend a little complexity and keep the drink from becoming too sweet.  I find that Fee Brother's new Gin-Barrel Aged Orange Bitters are perfect here, though the regular version works well too; you want something with a nice fresh flavor.  The maraschino is meant to be an accent, since this is still a highball at heart.