Here's to Alcohol

A blog about a boy who likes cocktails / stumbling towards adulthood / not a professional.

[herestoalcohol]

Bitter Pimm’s Cup

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a bottle of Aperol —a bitter Italian aperitif — to make a spicy dead lady. Despite its terrible name, that drink is delicious. It is not what this post is about, though. At the same time, I bought a bottle of Pimm’s No.1, and made a Pimm’s cup. Sweet, herbal, and mild, it is a very nice summer drink. But that is not what this post is about either.

After I had finished the Pimm’s cup, I was making a second, and I noticed the bottle of Aperol that I hadn’t returned to the liquor cabinet. I thought it might be interesting to add the two together.

1 oz. Pimm’s No.1  1 oz. Aperol 2-3 oz. ginger ale lemon slice cucumber slice 

I made this the way I would a Pimm’s cup. Muddle the lemon and cucumber in a rocks glass. Add the Pimm’s and Aperol, and stir over ice. Top with ginger ale and gently stir again. I garnished with another cucumber slice and a twist. 

I have since realized a Pimm’s cups is usually served in a highball glass, so there is room for a little more ginger ale. That would work for this drink too.

This was pretty much a Pimm’s cup with some bitterness on the finish. I really liked this addition. It was still fresh and sweet, but I found it a little more complex. The drink was still quite fruity: there were citrus notes from the Aperol and lemon; dried fruit and fruit juice from the Pimm’s; the two liqueurs and other ingredients also brought some earthiness to the drink (ginger, rhubard, cucumber). 

It makes sense that Pimm’s No.1 and Aperol would work well together; the former is based on gin, and the latter is like a sweeter Campari. The play between bitter and sweet, herbal and soda, reminded me of an americano — and it is basically the same idea. And, like an americano, it a very nice low-alcohol cocktail (aka suppressor cocktail), ideal for summer drinking.

[herestoalcohol]

Tamarind Punch

A couple of weeks ago I made Seville orange salsas from Serious Eats recipes. I’ve never had a Seville orange, but the recipe said it could roughly be recreated through a combination of lime, grapefruit, and orange. When I was done, I had some extra grapefruits and oranges, and it was Saturday afternoon, so I made a drink.

By this time I was out of limes, but otherwise I would have included them. I added some Lillet Blanc, because its tartness pairs really well with grapefruit, but also because I really like it. 

1 oz. bourbon 1 oz. overproof dark rum ½ oz. Lillet Blanc 1 oz. orange juice 1 oz. grapefruit juice 2-3 oz. tamarind soda 1-2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Stir the spirits and juice over ice in a tall glass. Top with the soda and a bitters and stir again. I garnished with an orange peel and a cherry. 

This drink was really good. It was rich, complex, and balanced. The fresh-squeezed juice gave it a full texture. None of the ingredients dominated; in fact, it was hard to tell what spirits were in it. All together the drink almost tasted like apricot (tamarind soda tastes a little like dried fruit, so that played into the apricotiness). It was sweet from the orange and soda, but the grapefruit (and bitters, I assume) gave it a slightly bitter finish.

I made a couple of these during the afternoon Jays game. By the ninth inning I was yelling at the TV. In retrospect, I worried that maybe this recipe wasn’t as good as I thought at the time. I’ve made it a few times since and it holds up. All in all this was a pretty great day. The hot sauces were very good, as was this drink.

[herestoalcohol]

Greyhound-esque

My counter is often cluttered with oranges or grapefruits with strips of peel missing. This is a byproduct of frequently garnishing drinks. As I was looking at one of these mangled grapefruits, it dawned on me that they must be useful for something other than garnishes. Grapefruit juice is an ingredient in some very good cocktails — greyhounds and salty dogs come to mind. I didn’t feel like juicing the grapefruit, but I thought using greyhound flavors in something like an old fashioned might be interesting. 

Greyhounds are part of the culture war between gin and vodka. I prefer gin in almost every instance, but I used vodka in this recipe to try something different. 

3 oz. vodka 1 sugar cube 2-4 drops grapefruit hops bitters 2 dashes pepper bitters grapefruit slice

Muddle the sugar cube, grapefruit slice, and bitters in an old fashioned glass. Add the vodka and ice and stir. I garnished with a lemon twist and cucumber wheel.

My first reaction to this drink was that the vodka was too prominent. Part of this was probably because I don’t like vodka very much; part of it was because three ounces was probably a bit much. The drink mellowed as the ice melted, highlighting the citrus and sugar a bit more. The cucumber garnish gave it a very fresh aroma. I think the cucumber would have been good muddled in with the grapefruit too (and this would match up nicely with the pepper bitters).

Overall, the drink was light and summery. I liked the presentation and the idea more than the drink itself, but I did make a second.

Postscript: Since I made this I’ve been drinking vodka with angostura bitters over ice with a grapefruit twist pretty regularly. I’ve come to two conclusions: 1) I probably over thought this particular cocktail; 2) maybe, I like vodka now.  

[herestoalcohol]

Rum and Rye Old Fashioned

This is another recipe that was inspired by an almost empty bottle in my liquor cabinet. I didn’t have enough rye left to make an old fashioned or a manhattan, so I looked up one-ounce rye drinks. I found a recipe for a rum and rye old fashioned that I was pretty excited to try.

I substituted spiced rum for rhum agricole — rum distilled from cane sugar rather than from molasses, originating in the French Caribbean — and plain white sugar for demerara in the simple syrup. This was just out of convenience. 

1 oz. spiced rum 1 oz. rye ¼ oz. simple syrup 2 dashes orange bitters 1 dash angostura bitters

Mix all ingredients over ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

The original recipe called for this to be mixed in a separate glass and then strained into the serving glass. I often skip this step if the drink is served over ice. I could be missing out; I prefer manhattans stirred over ice and served up, but I also make them less often than when I just mixed them in a glass with an ice cube. Small differences matter, but so does efficiency, you know? 

Even though I might be missing something, this was still a really nice cocktail. The rum stood out the most, but without being too sweet or too rummy. It was spicy and warming — very well suited for the lingering cool evenings [note: I started this post on April 13, the evenings are still cool]. Since the drink is almost entirely alcohol, it is boozy, but with enough going on to still be interesting on the finish.

This is a simple recipe for a simple drink, and one that I’ve really enjoyed making. Having said that, I’m looking forward to making something more summery soon. 

[herestoalcohol]

Oh Sherry

One of my all time favorite cocktails is based on bourbon and sherry. Despite that, I had never bought a bottle of sherry to use at home. There is a whole range of types, from very dry to sweet, nutty to citrusy and fruity ones. I thought it was time to dive in, so I bought an Amontillado, a medium dry sherry. I figured medium is a good place to start. It’s a little tart, reminiscent of dried sour fruit, and a bit oaky. I read that it is supposed to be nutty, but I didn’t really find that to be true of my bottle 

I tried a couple of recipes before the one described below. One was a variation on a rye manhattan with sherry in place of sweet vermouth. It was ok, but a little too dry and aggressive. To even things out, I decided to add a little simple syrup and to use bourbon instead of rye. Then I also added some green chartreuse because it was on top of my liquor cabinet and I’ve been really into last words and final wards lately.

1½ oz. bourbon ½ oz. Amontillado sherry ¼ oz. green chartreuse ¼ oz. simple syrup 2 dashes orange bitters 1 dash angostura bitters 

Stir all ingredients over ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange peel. It could also be served up in a cocktail or a coupe glass. 

I was expecting this cocktail to be too busy or to need more tweaking, but I was really pleased with how it turned out. Sweet at first with a dry finish, it was slightly herbal and slightly spicy. The orange was strong on the nose, but quickly gave way to the chartreuse and fortified wine. Even though bourbon was the base, the drink wasn’t too boozy. The sherry’s winey-ness probably contributed to this, keeping the sweetness in check, while adding some extra oak and fruitiness. 

I made a second one and forgot the bitters. Not a good move — it was less spicy and less interesting on the finish.

Using a lemon peel for the garnish would likely be really good too, and would have made the drink a little brighter. Also, lemon would have brought it more in line with the final ward. 

So, I’m convinced sherry is good with bourbon. I’m looking forward to trying it with other spirits. And I got through this whole post without making reference to any songs about Sherry, so our love holds on can you come out tonight? 

[herestoalcohol]

Tequila Negroni

In my last post I said I didn’t have any tequila left. This wasn’t exactly true — I had 1 ounce left. It wasn’t enough to make that recipe again, but surely it was enough it use in something. I didn’t want a mostly empty bottle taking up space, so I tried a tequila negroni.

I’ve written about how negronis are good for variations and experimenting before. It is a simple recipe, made up of very distinct parts. It is also a great recipe if you only have 1 ounce of something, instead of the normal 1½-3 ounces of base spirit in most recipes. 

1 oz. tequila 1 oz. Campari ½ oz. sweet vermouth ½ oz. Lillet Blanc

Mix all ingredients over ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with an orange zest.

This was very much a negroni — strong, bracing, and bitter. Using tequila in place of gin made it vegetal and grassy instead of herbal. No matter the recipe, I tend to link tequila to salt and lime when I taste it, but this drink took me past that preconception. A negroni has very little in common with a margarita. The tequila held up well to the sweet vermouth and Campari. As I’ve noted before, Lillet Blanc makes a negroni a little brighter and a little lighter than using a full ounce of vermouth. It also compliments tequila, adding some dry citrus and wine notes. 

This is not the drink to convince someone to like negronis. They are still an acquired taste. It is, however, a great way to use that last ounce of tequila. Fittingly, this drink also used the last half-ounce of sweet vermouth I had. I’m never happy to see a bottle empty, but when it finishes with the exact amount I need it satisfies the perfectionist in me. Here’s to measuring and efficiency and maximum drinks.

[herestoalcohol]

Tequila Soda

I recently saw a few minutes of some horrible talk show on TV. The host was interviewing a boring, handsome guy about health and weight-loss and how to manage that while still having a fun, party lifestyle. The guy made a slightly ribald joke and then talked about how vodka or tequila with soda was a calorie-wise alternative to more sugary cocktails. The lesson that I took from all of this is that a tequila soda sounded pretty good.

I don’t have any interest in just topping tequila with soda, but I did think that with a sweetener (save it, boring, handsome guy) and some citrus it would be good. 

1½ oz. tequila ½ oz. Lillet Blanc ¼ oz. simple syrup ¼ oz. Triple Sec 1 oz. grapefruit juice 1-2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters 1 oz. club soda

Shake all the ingredients, except the soda and bitters, over ice. Strain into an old fashioned glass with fresh ice and top with soda. Float the Peychaud’s on top. I garnished with orange peel (grapefruit would be ideal here, but mine was in rough shape). 

This was, not surprisingly, reminiscent of a grapefruit margarita, but a little fruitier and crisper. The drink was bright with a very clean finish. The tequila and grapefruit were strongest on the nose and at first taste. I really like adding Lillet Blanc to cocktails — it is subtle, light, and slightly sweet. The soda wasn’t too noticeable, other than taking the edge off the booze. Next time, I’d like to try tonic instead of club soda — more bitterness would likely make the finish more challenging.

It felt weird making such a bright drink in late February, but the weather has been mild, and as the calendar turned to March grapefruit league baseball has started, so it was more apt than I planned. It might not be as healthy as what the talk show was preaching, but it does pair well with spring training.

[herestoalcohol]

Gin and Pickles

A friend asked a very important question last week: “the olive’s had a prominent place in the pantheon of drink garnishes. What about the humble pickle?” A few of us kicked ideas back and forth, some serious, others less so. Throughout, I kept coming back to the idea of pickles and gin. We know that cucumber and gin go well together. We know that pickles are sweet and salty, both good traits for cocktails. Thanks to the summer of shrubs, we know that vinegar is good in cocktails. And also, if you phrase it like “gin and pickles, pickles and gin” it sounds like a Hold Steady lyric, so that’s something.

I added dill pickles to two classic gin drinks: a martini and a gin & tonic. 

3 oz. gin 2 dashes celery bitters 2 dashes pepper bitters 1 tsp. pickle brine splash of dry vermouth

I make a dry martini. Mix the gin, bitters, and brine over ice in a mixing glass, and stir until it’s cold (I read somewhere to count to 17 while stirring a martini, which is ridiculously precise, but what I do). Strain into a chilled cocktail glass that’s been rinsed with vermouth. I keep dry vermouth in a spray bottle for this, but that’s not necessary. Bitters aren’t traditional (or even necessary) in a martini, but both the celery and pepper bitters compliment the gin really well, highlighting the spirit’s earthiness. I garnished with a pickle slice.

This was slightly sweet, and less salty than a dirty martini. I liked that it wasn’t so salty (or, more precisely, that it wasn’t so olive-y) — if I’m going to have a martini it’s with a twist, not dirty. It was nice to have a bite of the pickle and then some of the drink, which added more interplay between the sweet and salty. The pickle became more prominent as it marinated in the booze. 

2 oz. gin 2-3 dashes celery bitters 2-3 dashes pepper bitters 1 tsp. pickle brine 4½ oz. tonic 

Mix the gin, bitters, and brine in the bottom of a tall glass. Fill with ice and top with tonic. Garnish with a pickle slice. 

This tasted like a very good gin & tonic. The finish was maybe more dry and more savoury than one garnished with lime. The bitters also added to the finish. I noticed that the tonic was more pronounced than when it was cut with lime. Smelling the pickle was a bit off-putting, but that stopped being an issue once I dropped it in the drink. A bonus to using unconventional garnishes is that you can talk about Spanish gin & tonics and the variety of garnishes and bitters they use. 

So, overall both these drinks were fun. It was a very easy substitution, and I like slight variations on common drinks. In general, I think substituting garnishes is almost always fine; just use whatever you have on hand. Pickles and delicious and fun to eat, and, it turns out, good to put in cocktails too. 

[herestoalcohol]

Attorney Privilege

A few weeks ago, my friend Tim reminded me about the Army and Navy cocktail, a gin drink with orgeat (even though I remembered that I had written about it, I confess that I forgot what was in it — I guessed rum and orgeat). We messaged back and forth about drinks that used the almond-flavoured syrup, and we agreed that it would be good with bourbon. I found a recipe for the attorney privilege and have been making them regularly since. 

I did a quick search for the origins of the name and haven’t found anything. The drink comes from Polite Provisions, a bar in San Diego.

2 oz. bourbon ½ oz. orgeat 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir the ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a lemon twist. The recipe usually calls for a coupe glass — I still don’t have a coupe glass, so I used juice glasses. 

Basically an almond old fashioned, this drink is smooth and sweet. It’s not overly nutty nor overly booze. Bourbon is the dominant ingredient, but the orgeat and bitters add some subtlety. The lemon twist is a nice touch, brightening the other ingredients and keeping the sweetness in check. 

I sometimes describe wanting to make a second round as proof of a drink’s success. This is not the case for the attorney privilege. We’ve been making them for dessert, and one does the trick. It is satisfying and warming and a very nice way to end the day.  

[herestoalcohol]

On the Nog

This holiday season is the first that I haven’t had to fly since I left Newfoundland ten years ago. A small part of me misses the excitement of Christmas travelling (full disclosure, I kinda like airports and have been lucky in my flight experiences). Another part of me is very excited about relaxing at home and putting up my own Christmas tree for the first time. All parts of me are excited about drinking eggnog.

1½ oz. bourbon 1½ oz. scotch 1½ oz. rye 1½ oz. heavy cream  1½ oz. agave syrup 1 egg 4 dashes angostura bitters 4 dashes chocolate mole bitters

n.b. This recipe makes two drinks. I almost always mage egg drinks two at a time, since it’s a pain to measure out half an egg.

I made this two ways. The first time I added the agave, cream, and egg and shook vigorously; then I added the booze, bitters, and ice, and shook some more before straining into a glass. This tasted good and had great texture, but the eggs did not foam as much as I wanted.

The second way (pictured above) was to separate the egg white and shake it with some brown sugar simple syrup. In a second shaker, I shook the yolk, cream, and agave, then added the whiskies, bitters, and ice, and shook again. I strained the yolk and booze into a glass, then added the egg foam from the other shaker to the top. I garnished both with fresh grated nutmeg and cinnamon.

Both methods made a drink that was rich, strong, complex, and very noggy. I found the cinnamon and nutmeg most noticeable at first, but they quickly gave way to the spirits. There was spice from the rye, some slight smoke from the scotch, and sweetness from the syrup and bourbon. This is up to personal preferences, but I found it best to not use an overly peaty scotch — it could overpower the other flavours. The egg and cream made the drink silky and smooth. I made another version with milk instead of cream. It was still good, but a little lighter and less textured. Both bitters were subtle and kept the whiskies and syrup in check, while adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla notes. 

I really like this recipe. It paired well with listening to too many versions of the Little Drummer Boy and putting up our tree. I would like to try a nog with brandy and rum too, but I’m not sure which of the whiskies I would sub out. I feel like I should also add that after working on this recipe I dreamt a doctor was lecturing me about cholesterol. But, if I remember the Egg Council correctly, though it has been established that eggs contain cholesterol, it has not yet been proven conclusively that they actually raise the level of serum cholesterol in the human bloodstream. And, that’s a problem for the New Year anyways.

[herestoalcohol]

Rum Old Fashioned

As the weather turns colder, I want cocktails made with darker spirits and warmer flavours. Instead of sours and shrubs and juleps, I turn to something a little heavier. Often, this just means I use brown sugar simple syrup. It is a very easy substitution, but it makes a big difference. This works in any drink where you would normally use simple syrup. I especially like mixing it with rum. 

2 oz. amber rum ½ oz. brown sugar simple syrup 2-3 drops chocolate mole bitters

Mix all ingredients, over ice, in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

I flamed the orange peel for this drink. I’m still not sure that it affects the taste. It sure is fun, though. And, I like the way matches smell, especially on a cold evening.

This drink is sweet and strong and balanced. The rum, brown sugar, and chocolate mole bitters work very well together. The initial taste is sweet, but cut by the brightness of the orange peel. I used Bittermens mole bitters, which has cacao, cinnamon, and spice. Because of the bitters and brown sugar, the drink was quite dessert-y. I noticed a lot of molasses notes, making it a great cold-weather drink. The alcohol and some spice linger on the finish. I’ve written about challenging cocktails and acquired tastes before; this drink is not one of those. Provided you like a strong drink, it is fairly easy going. 

I’m sure in a couple of months I will be complaining about the cold and the snow and dreaming of icy, lime-gin drinks again. But right now, I’m very happy in a sweater and sipping on something spicy and wintery. 

[herestoalcohol]

Desperation Sour

[Ed. note: I started this post three weeks ago. I was anxious and grumpy about the election and not feeling very creative. I was also very stressed about the start of the Blue Jays playoff run, which ended up being a lot of fun, but was emotionally taxing for me. Anyways, I’m going to try to get back to writing a bit more regularly, because it’s been a while.]

I have been making a lot of industry sours and last words. Both are fine cocktails that combine strong flavours in surprising and rewarding ways. Last night I wanted to try something like that, but I didn’t want to take the time to juice a lime. It’s been a long week, and I was feeling lazy. [Ed. note: also, I already had some beers watching the first Jays-Rangers game and was pretty sure I would make a mess squeezing the lime.] I thought I could do something similar with one of the shrubs we made over the summer.

The easiest shrub to reach was blueberry-mint, and I thought it would pair well with Fernet Branca. Since these are both strong flavours, I wanted something neutral to add in, so I used some white rye. I added a little simple syrup to take the edge off the vinegar and the Fernet. 

1½ oz. white rye 1 oz. Fernet Branca 1 oz. blueberry-mint shrub ½ oz. simple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled glass.

The Fernet and the shrub were the stars in this drink. It was mint-forward, with a herbal finish. The rye was not very noticeable, which was probably a good thing — I do wonder how gin or another whiskey would work (pretty well, I assume). 

I’m never sure if the description medicinal has a negative connotation, but this was pretty medicinal. This is something I like. Challenging is another description that is euphemistic, but apt for this drink. Like negronis or anything with amaros, Fernet cocktails are an acquired taste. Overall though, this was balanced, refreshing, and I wanted to keep drinking it. 

Would I have made this drink if I wasn’t so tired and lazy? Probably not. But I’m glad I did, and I will again.  

ps. I’m not sure how long fruit shrubs are supposed to last. Most recipes I’ve looked at say to keep them for up to a month. Others, say if tightly sealed (and if all bottles were properly sterilized) they can last up to six months. Ours are all between two and three months old and still seem fine.

[herestoalcohol]

Grapefruit G&T

Most weekends I make a trip to the farmers’ market. Sometimes I’ll get groceries for the week; others, just coffee and beer for the afternoon baseball game. As routines go, it’s a pretty great start to a Saturday. I recently discovered a new vendor I’m excited about: Briseus Industries, who make flavoured simple syrups. There were several that I wanted to try, but I limited myself to a bottle of grapefruit rosemary syrup — a pairing I would not have thought of on my own. 

When I tasted the syrup, I found rosemary to be prominent, with the grapefruit as a citrus undertone. It made me think of a gin & tonic variation that I like. 

1½ oz. gin ¾ oz. simple syrup ¼ oz. maraschino liqueur  12 drops of grapefruit hops bitters splash of tonic (1-2 oz.)

Mix the gin, syrup, maraschino, and bitters over ice in a short glass. Top with tonic and garnish with grapefruit peel. The bitters is measured in drops rather than dashes because the grapefruit hops bitters I use comes with an eyedropper.

This drink was very fresh and bright. You could smell the citrus as you drank it. The sugar and maraschino liqueur were most noticeable at first, but the citrus notes kept the initial sweetness in check. My favourite part of this drink was the transition as the sweetness gave way to a slightly bitter finish. While the tonic and bitters were the stars here, the syrup’s rosemary and the gin’s juniper also came through, giving the drink a piney flavour. 

The interplay of sweet, bitter, and gin reminded me of a negroni, although not as dry. I tried this recipe with a both a relatively sweet gin and a dry one, and definitely preferred the less sweet option.

This probably isn’t the drink to give to someone who doesn’t like bitter drinks, or to someone who just wants a gin & tonic. But it is a nice twist on something familiar. Likewise, being able to pick up flavoured syrups are the market on Saturdays will be a nice way to try some new recipes, or modify some existing ones.  

[herestoalcohol]

Blueberries, two ways

It is possible that I’ve had more blueberries in the last month than in my entire life combined: pancakes, desserts, preserves, shrubs, drinks. 

1) My mother-in-law makes an unbaked blueberry cheesecake. It is sweet and tart and very good.... you can probably see where this is going.

2 oz. bourbon ½ oz. Galliano ½ oz. lemon juice some blueberries

Muddle a few blueberries in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add the other ingredients, fill with ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a glass with fresh ice, garnish with a few more blueberries and a scorched lemon peel. 

This was a pleasant variation on a bourbon sour. The Galliano added vanilla notes and richness. Other types of sweeteners could easily be substituted here. Honey syrup instead of Galliano would make this a blueberry gold rush. The blueberries added some colour in the bottom of the glass, but not as much as I hoped. I probably could have muddled them more aggressively. This drink could also be topped with a little soda to make it lighter. And now I’m thinking that a splash of cream soda would be great with these ingredients.

2) I was going to lay-off writing about shrubs, but this drink was a happy accident and was really good. Mel made a batch of blueberry-lavender shrub from the Michael Dietsch recipe book. I wanted to pair it with bourbon (along the lines of the dessert-inspired one above), but we were low on bourbon so I added some rum too.

1 oz. bourbon 1 oz. dark rum ¼ oz. galliano ¾ oz. blueberry-lavender shrub 2 dashes angostura bitters 

Mix everything over ice in an old-fashioned glass, garnish with blueberries. 

The first thing we noticed with this cocktail was that it smelled really good — rum, vanilla, and spices. These were the dominant flavours at first, making almost like Christmas pudding, but with blueberries instead of dried fruits. The lavender gave it some slightly floral notes. As the ice melted the drink became lighter and the bourbon more prominent. There was a lot of complexity throughout as the lighter and darker ingredients interacted. Eating the cocktail-soaked blueberries is also delightful. 

These were both good drinks, but the second one was definitely more interesting. I added the rum out of necessity but it worked really well. I’m sure we’ll drink this one again, but for now I’m going to give blueberries a rest before we turn violet. 

[herestoalcohol]

Dark and Stormy

Last weekend I was in a bar in Sackville, NB that had a long cocktail list. One drink in particular caught my eye, the dark and stormy. At $12 this was too expensive for me to order, but it did make me want one. I’ve often joked that the dark and stormy is the drink of my people, or at least the most popular drink in Newfoundland. I’m not totally sure if that is true; a double Lamb’s and coke certainly deserves consideration. But, a dark and stormy is the more interesting drink, in my opinion. It originates in Bermuda and the recipe is trademarked by the Gosling’s rum company. It calls for Gosling’s Black Seal Rum and is spelled "dark ‘n’ stormy.” The trademarked recipe is just pouring ginger beer (4-5 oz.) into a tall glass with ice, topping with 1½ oz. of rum, and garnishing with a lime slice. Adding the rum second is important to the presentation, since it sits on top of the ginger beer. The drink should be served with a straw since it isn’t stirred yet.

Cocktail nerds enthusiasts are pretty intense about tinkering and there are a lot of alterations to the recipe (try more rum, add more lime, add angostura bitters, add citrus bitters, etc.). So, in the name of empiricism, I thought I would try the drink three ways: (1) original, (2) with lime, (3) with angostura bitters. The original recipe seems a little heavy on mix and light on booze for my tastes, so for all of these I went with 2 oz. of rum. 

2 oz. dark rum 4-5 oz. ginger beer lime (optional) 2 dashes bitters (optional) 

I followed the Gosling’s recipe for the first. For the second, I juiced half a lime into the glass before before adding the ginger beer and rum (in that order). For the third, I added a couple of dashes of angostura bitters after the rum. All were garnished with a lime wedge. I couldn’t find any straws in the apartment, so I served with stir sticks. 

This cocktail is a classic for a reason. It’s strong, spicy, and a very good flavor combination. The original recipe is rum forward. In the second version, the lime juice noticeably muted the rum. I was probably a little too heavy on the lime — it dominated the other ingredients. The version with the angostura bitters was definitely the most nuanced. The bitters’ brought out the ginger beer’s spice on the finish. While the rum and ginger beer were still pronounced, the bitters added a depth that wasn’t in the others. 

I’m a fan of dark and stormys. It is not, however, a drink that should ever cost $12 in a cocktail bar. It is not hard to make and the ingredients are not hard to find. Pricing is something dive bars in Newfoundland get right, as it is a great drink to have on special... or better yet, to make with friends at a rumdown. 

[herestoalcohol]

Strawberry Tequila Fitz

We are still making a lot of drinks with shrubs. Between weekly visits to the farmers’ market and fresh produce from my in-laws, we have more berries than we can eat. Even preserved, this is probably more fruit than we can reasonably drink too; but I believe in us. 

Mel made a batch of strawberry pepper shrubs. She followed something like this recipe.  Our white balsamic was coconut flavoured. She augmented this by using coconut agave as the sweetener.  

2 oz. tequila ¾ oz. strawberry shrub ¼ oz. Lillet Blanc ¼ oz. orgeat

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a glass with fresh ice. This drink was cloudy when I poured, but settled clear. It was cool. 

I made a version of this drink without orgeat (a sweet almond syrup). It was good, but quite aggressive and tequila-forward, hitting the back of my mouth like a sour candy. The original recipe also had pepper and angostura bitters, making the finish spicy. The orgeat made everything a little more even and well balanced. It was still strong and slightly tart, but mellower. Initially, the tequila was the dominant flavour, but it gave way to the fruit and the floral notes. For such a big first taste, it had a surprisingly dry finish — probably from the Lillet Blanc — and I think this helped keep the drink from being overpowering.

Combining tequila, Lillet Blanc, and orgeat makes this a play on a In My Solitude.  I used a tequila reposado (tequila aged in an oak barrel for at least two months, but less than a year) because it was we had. Presumably, other kinds of tequila would somewhat change the cocktail. While the strawberries added colour and sweetness, you couldn’t really tell this was a strawberry drink. I think adding a few strawberries to the shaker would solve this, but it would also make the drink less clear. 

Since this is the second tequila drink I’ve poster here, I’ve probably had more tequila this summer than in the last ten years combined. This recipe was pretty simple — it let the ingredients shine, but still had a lot going on. I will definitely make this again, and I have ideas for mixing tequila with other fruits and acids. I’m looking forward to blueberry season. 

[herestoalcohol]

Notes on Shrubs

1. I hadn’t tried a drink made with a shrub — basically a sweet fruit and vinegar syrup — until a few weeks ago, but since then I’ve had several drinks with them. There are a lot of recipes, using both hot and cold preparations, and using all sorts of fruits. Since shrubs can be adjusted to be a little sweeter or more vinegary, there is a lot of room to accommodate personal taste here. 

2. Mel made a rhubarb shrub, so all the drinks I’ve made have used that.

@dunkin_jess Easy!Boil then simmer to stringy 2lbs of 1/4" chopped rhubarb, 1C White wine vinegar, 1C white sugar.strain through cheesecloth

— Mel Quirk (@QuirkySturky)

June 19, 2015

They have been a little sweet and a little fruity, but also with a sharpness from the vinegar. In the past, I’ve found drinks with vinegar in them to smell strange. While in the shrub itself the vinegar smell is quite strong, it hasn’t been an issue in most of the drinks I’ve made. 

3. The first drink we made with the rhubarb shrub was dessert-inspired:

2 oz spiced rum ½ oz Galliano ¾ oz rhubarb shrub

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled glass with fresh ice.

This was sweet and rich. The rum and vanilla were most noticeable at first. The vinagre was quite subtle, coming through on the finish. Even though this was sweet, the vinegar cut through it enough to stop it from being cloying. 

4. I really liked this bourbon, fruit, soda drink:

2 oz bourbon ½ oz rhubarb shrub a few strawberries 2-3 oz soda

Muddle the strawberries in the bottom of a Collins glass. Add the bourbon and shurb, fill with ice, stir, and top with soda. 

This was very light and crisp. Because it wasn’t too strong, I think this would be a nice afternoon drink. I also think there are a lot of substitutions that would work here. A different spirit or berry could be used. Although it would make it quite strong, using champagne instead of soda would probably be good (it would be a play on the seelbach).

5. I bought Michael Dietsch’s book, Shrubs: An Old-fashioned Drink for Modern Times. It has a lot of recipes for shrubs, and sections on classic and modern cocktails. This is one of those cookbooks that works as a coffee-table book — the illustrations are beautiful.

5a. The first recipe I made from this book was a shrubgroni (1 oz each of gin, sweet vermouth, Campari, ½ oz of fruit shrub). It was disappointing. It tasted like a negroni (which I loved), but a little sweeter and it smelled like vinegar (which I did not love).

5b. The book also had a recipe for a Campari soda — mix 2 oz of Campari, ½ oz of shrub over ice in a Collins glass, top with soda. I liked this a lot. It was complex, aggressive, and not too bitter. This would be a good recipe to acquire a taste for Campari.

6. My friend Jess sent me this recipe:

@davebanoub 1.5oz bourbon, 0.75oz rhubarb shrub, ¼ lime, 3 dashes on angostura. Shaken. Served on the rocks.

— Jess Dunkin (@dunkin_jess)

July 11, 2015

This was really good. I especially liked how bourbon-forward it was, while still being nuanced and fresh. There were probably subtleties on the finish that I missed because I drank it pretty quickly. 

7. In my experience, it is impossible to talk/think about shrubs without having TLC in your head. This isn’t a complaint; that’s a good song. 

8. I’m excited to try some different recipes. I’ve been thinking a straw-berry-black pepper preserve would be good (maybe with some balsamic vinegar). With different fruits and vinegars there are so many options to try. And, while most shrub recipes are simple, they can provide a lot of complexity and variation to drink recipes.