Cocktails, Spirits and Mixology Thread

Heart of Darkness II



2 oz. Rye
1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz. Amaro Ramazzoti (I used Averna)
2 Dashes Trenchermen House Smoked Bitters
Express the oil of a fat lemon rind over the surface of the drink, and discard the rind.

Courtesy Tona Palomino, The Trenchermen, Chicago, IL

http://www.trenchermen.com

 

stirred #2



2 oz. Bourbon
1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano
3 Dashes Peychauds Bitters
2 Dashes Orange/Regans Bitters

Courtesy graham elliot bistro

http://www.gebistro.com/

 

10 Best Whiskey Bars:



http://www.gq.com/food-travel/wine-and-cocktails/201305/10-best-whiskey-bars-may-2013?changecurrentdate=true&date=2013/05/06&save_in_session=true&currentPage=all

 

Emerald Smash



2 oz. Rye
3/8 oz. Lemon Juice
3/8 oz. Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Basil Simple Syrup
1/4 oz. Sweetened Ginger Juice

My take on a cocktail from Untitled Chicago:

http://untitledchicago.com/libations/

There's uses a ginger liqueur, while I used sweetened ginger juice.

http://untitledchicago.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/UNTITLED-Libations-03_04_13.pdf

 

Improving on the Gin & Tonic?

Sipping a good gin and tonic is like finding a 20th-century oxford shirt in the closet and realizing that you can still wear it downtown tonight without looking out of step with the century we’re stuck in.

It just works.

But that hasn’t stopped mixology-besotted bartenders from trying to make it better. You’ll find a few of them who can’t resist filling a glass with more and more flavor dimensions, creating a gin and tonic that’s such a complicated spectacle, you barely recognize it. The good news, though, is that plenty of fresh and successful variations are being dreamed up by bartenders and restaurateurs who don’t view the word “restraint” as an epithet.

Thanks to them (and to an international boom in new, carefully crafted gins and tonics), this is a fine time to be a G&T drinker. Especially in New York.

“And then you toss Dorothy Parker on top,” I heard a bartender say the other evening at Cata, a Spanish restaurant on the Lower East Side. As much as I loved the image of one of the great wits of the Algonquin Round Table lounging on a bed of ice, the bartender was referring to a brand of gin, one that’s made in Brooklyn and named after someone who knew a little something about the pleasures of distilled spirits.

Cata offers a staggering array of gin and tonics: 25 at last count, although the list keeps growing and evolving. And their inspiration is the vogue for fresh twists on the cocktail in cities like Madrid and Barcelona. You might say the Spanish formula is to maintain the traditional, no-fuss approach (gin and tonic on ice), but to sidestep the usual lime and replace that garnish with new currents of spice and fruit that (ideally) bring out the botanicals in the gin.

For my first try at Cata, the bartender gently muddled a halved kumquat at the bottom of a glass. He dropped in some ice, then several dried cloves and a couple more kumquats, poured in a few ounces of the Dorothy Parker gin and slid the glass toward me. It was accompanied by a bottle of Schweppes tonic. I was free to use as much or as little as I wanted.

I wanted more (cocktails, I mean). You’ll find a lavender gin and tonic on the menu at Cata. A licorice one, too. Another with cilantro, another with star anise, and another with the aromatic oil from a big orange peel. Each version uses a specific gin. It might be the Botanist or Boodles or Bluecoat or Death’s Door; the tonic might be Fever-Tree, Q, Fentimans, White Rock or Schweppes. In each instance, the team at Cata went through scores of trial runs to suss out the combinations that would give each gin the proper spotlight.

“We wanted to be simple,” said Michel Vasilevich, who oversees beverages for Cata. “Nothing infused. Nothing overpowering. Gin is beautiful on its own already.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/dining/gin-tonic-and-a-dash-of-restraint.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&pagewanted=all

 

the last bohemia



2 oz. Rittenhouse Rye 100 Proof
1/2 oz. Averna
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
4 Dashes Orange Bitters

Courtesy Graham Elliott Bistro

http://www.gebistro.com/images/menu_beverage.png

The recipe called for Luxardo Amaro Abano. I used Averna Amaro. For a primer on the difference, see this article:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Wine-and-Drink/Amaro-Three-Bottles-To-Try

 

The Boulevardier



2 oz. Rye or Bourbon
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/case-study-the-boulevardier/?_r=0

 

The Showgirl



2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. Ramazotti Amaro
2 dashes Rhubarb Bitters

Recipe courtesy Radiator Whiskey, Seattle, WA

http://www.radiatorwhiskey.com/

 

Blanco Tequila: The Great Divide



I’ve always thought of myself as a tequila fan. But recently I’ve decided instead that I’m an agave fan.

Tequila — good tequila — is made entirely from the fruit of the blue agave, a succulent plant. But tequila is no longer the only agave spirit that’s widely available. In the last decade, the spread of excellent mezcals has offered a fresh perspective on the joys and complexities of agave spirits. In the process, these mezcals have raised questions, at least for me, about what exactly you are getting in a bottle of tequila.

A recent tasting of 20 blanco tequilas did little to settle those questions. In fact, you could say the results were somewhat disquieting for the spirits panel, which included Florence Fabricant and me, along with two guests: Robert Simonson, who writes frequently on drinks for the Dining section, and Jim Meehan, bartender extraordinaire and managing partner of Please Don’t Tell, a cocktail bar in the East Village.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/dining/reviews/blanco-tequila-the-great-divide.html?pagewanted=all

 

Gray Manhattan



2 oz Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Averna Amaro
1/2 oz Ramazotti Amaro
2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters

A twist on the Black Manhattan courtesy of Ken Gray, Spur Gastropub, Seattle, WA

http://www.spurseattle.com/

 

Frozen drink recipes from the Times:



nyti.ms/149eVGE

 

End of the Road



1oz Laphroaig 10
.75oz Campari
.25oz Green Chartreuse

Courtesy Chris McMillian, Clough Club, Vancouver, BC

https://www.facebook.com/CloughClub