Something tells me, if you are reading this blog, there’s a small chance you may enjoy the results of fermenting and/or distilling grain.
If perchance you are among those who also enjoy their fermented grain products distilled, and might be able to be in the San Francisco area on or near October 16th, please check out the Malt Advocate’s Whisky Fest.
WhiskyFest San Francisco will feature more than 200 of the world’s finest, rarest, and most expensive, single malt and blended Scotch, Irish, bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh, Canadian and other whiskies from around the world to sample in one Grand Ballroom. High-end rums, tequilas beer and other spirits will be represented as well.
There will be a bunch of axillary, (or is that ancillary?) events that week as well, including special dinners and parties at bars and restaurants.
In general, the best place to keep up with this sort of drinky information is on Camper English’s blog Alcademics. However, I will endeavor to post anything I find of note.
PS. As noted on Camper’s blog, Whiskyfest tickets are steeply discounted only until September 25th, so get them while they are hot.
Linstead Cocktail
(6 People)
3 Glasses Whisky. (1 1/2 oz Sazerac Straight Rye)
3 Glasses Sweetened Pineapple Juice. (1 1/2 oz Knudsen Pineapple Juice)
Finish off before shaking with a dash of Absinthe Bitters. (dash Gin and Wormwood)
Shake and serve, squeezing a little lemon peel on top of each glass.
Since finding a recipe for “Wormwood Bitters” in Eddie Clarke’s “Shaking in the Sixties”, I have gone so far as to purchase two wormwood plants, grow them in my community garden plot, and infuse a small amount of gin with a few sprigs from the plants. The resulting substance is indeed very bitter, but not entirely unpleasant.
I didn’t have a lot of hope that the Linstead Cocktail would be all that tasty. I mean, Whiskey, Pineapple, and bitters, how could that even be good? But, somehow it actually is. Oddly found myself savoring and puzzling over the flavors in the cocktail. Far more interesting than those three ingredients have any real right to be.
If you don’t have your own wormwood plants or don’t want to go to the trouble of infusing gin, you could probably substitute “Gorki List” if you’ve got it around.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Hesitation Cocktail
1 Dash Lemon Juice.
1/4 Canadian Club Whisky. (1/2 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select)
3/4 Swedish Punch. (1 1/2 oz Arrack Punch, homemade)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
As I mentioned when discussing apricot liqueur vs. brandy question with the Havana cocktail, this one is the same proportions. Same amount of liqueur, same amount of spirits, same “1 Dash Lemon Juice”.
As with the Havana with apricot liqueur, this is pretty sweet. If you go a bit long on the Lemon and are using the likely less sweet homemade arrack punch, not undrinkably so.
Still, I think both the Boomerang and Havana are more interesting.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, well laziness basically, I am going to recycle this MxMo post from a year and a half ago. Besides, I’m off to my home state, Wisconsin, land of the Brandy Old-Fashioned. Ya so, dat Old-Fashioned ting is perfectly apropos of the “Local Flavor” theme, dere hey.
Cheers to Kevin Kelpe of Save the Drinkers for hosting this round.
—
MAKE IT ANOTHER OLD-FASHIONED, PLEASE
Cole Porter, 1940
[...]
there are moments, sooner or later
When it’s tough, I got to say, love to say … WaiterMake it another old-fashioned, please
Make it another, double, old-fashioned, please
[...]
There’s an art to the Old-Fashioned cocktail. It’s a simple thing, yet when you order it in two bars, you will seldom receive the same cocktail twice.
By the time Jerry Thomas published his “Bartender’s Guide” in the late 1800s, a whiskey cocktail had come to be a shaken “up” cocktail. Due respect to Mr. Thomas, I stirred, and did not shake with crushed ice.
Whiskey Cocktail
Whiskey Cocktail
(Use small bar-glass.)
Take 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup. (Barspoon Rich Simple Syrup)
2 dashes of bitters (Boker’s). (Angostura)
1 wine-glass of whiskey. (2oz Sazerac 6 Year Rye)Fill one-third full of fine ice ; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass. Put in a piece of twisted lemon peel in the glass and serve.
Some authors posit that the Old-Fashioned Cocktail came by its name as a shortened version of something like, “I’ll have a Whiskey Cocktail made in the Old Fashioned Manner”. That is to say, not shaken and served on the rocks. Presumably, a “Really Old-Fashioned” would be whiskey, water, syrup and bitters. From the Savoy Cocktail Book:
Old-Fashioned Cocktail
Old-Fashioned Cocktail
1 Lump Sugar (Barspoon Rich Simple Syrup)
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Glass Rye or Canadian Club Whisky (2 oz Sazerac 6 Year Rye)Crush Sugar and bitters together, add lump of ice, decorate with twist of lemon peel and slice of orange using medium size glass, and stir well. This Cocktail can be made with Brandy, Gin, Rum, etc., instead of Rye Whisky.
Some time in the 20th century, Bourbon replaced the Rye as the whiskey of choice in the Old-Fashioned, and even stranger, bartenders began to muddle the garnish in the glass with the bitters and sugar. Also, for better or worse, soda crept into the mix. From Charles Schumann’s, “American Bar”:
Old Fashioned
Old Fashioned
1 Sugar Cube (Barspoon Rich Simple Syrup)
dashes Angostura Bitters
2 oz Bourbon (W.L. Weller 12 Year)
soda (skipped)
stemmed cherry
orange
lemonPlace sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass saturate with Angostura, add orange and lemon wedges, press with a pestle, add Bourbon, stir well, add ice cubes, fill with soda or water, stir again, garnish with cherry.
Even odder, in Wisconsin, the liquor of choice in Old-Fashioneds is not Whiskey at all, but Brandy (preferably Korbel). Wisconsinites, being cold weather folk, also have a tendency to make these rather large, and sometimes give you a choice of “Sweet” or “Sour”. “Sour” includes a spritz of Soda and “Sweet” a spritz of 7-Up.
Brandy Old-Fashion, Sour
Muddled Brandy Old-Fashioned (Sour)
Recipe identical to the Schumann Old-Fashioned recipe; but, with a generous 2 oz pour of Korbel Brandy instead the Bourbon.
Lately, however, I have found a return, in a few local bars, to the Savoy style stirred Rye Old-Fashioneds, with or without the orange and cherry garnish. This makes ordering an Old-Fashioned somewhat less of a crap shoot. Though, the bartenders do tend to ask if you’re sure you want it that way.
MAKE IT ANOTHER OLD-FASHIONED, PLEASE
Cole Porter, 1940
[...]
So, make it another old-fashioned, pleaseLeave out the cherry,
Leave out the orange,
Leave out the bitters
Just make it Straight Rye.
Sazerac 18 Year Old Rye Whiskey
Sazerac 18 year Old Straight Rye Whiskey
And, of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a drink of real old fashioned rye whiskey.
For further, more erudite reading on the Brandy Old-Fashioned subject, check Robert Simonson’s Off the Presses for this article: Brandy Old-Fashioned
Edit – Fixed song lyrics. Thanks Bryndon!
The Crow Cocktail
1/3 Whisky. (3/4 oz Whisky)
2/3 Lemon Juice. (1 1/2 oz Lemon Juice)
1 Dash Grenadine. (homemade)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Well, that is what it is supposed to be according to Harry Craddock. And, yep, that is undrinkable.
However, the Crow Cocktail turns out to be one of the more dramatic Savoy Cocktail Book typos.
The recipe comes from Judge Jr.’s 1927 book, “Here’s How,” and in that book is written as follows.
The Crow
2/3 Scotch; (1 1/2 oz Scotch)
1/3 lemon juice; (3/4 oz Lemon Juice)
a dash of grenadine.
That’s still pretty tart, depending on your generosity with the dash of grenadine, but it is, at least, not completely insane.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
The Cowboy Cocktail
2/3 Whisky. (1 1/2 oz Plump Jack selected single barrel Eagle Rare 13 year old Bourbon)
1/3 Cream. (3/4 oz Cream)
Cracked Ice.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Another cocktail ripped from the pages of Judge Jr.’s 1927 “Here’s How”.
I dunno where a Cowboy would get cream, or why he would put it in his Whisk(e)y.
Maybe to cover up really bad “bathtub” whisky?
“Here’s How” was published during the period of prohibition in the US. Perhaps I should have used Canadian Whisky (I am not implying here that Canadian Whisky is “bad”, just that it might be a more appropriate choice for the time period this cocktail was created.)
In any case, another drink that didn’t do much for me, bordering on a waste of perfectly good Bourbon and cream. I didn’t pour it down the sink; but, a dash of liqueur or simple would do a lot to perk this up.
If you’re going to mix Whisky and cream, at least make yourself something nice like the Barbary Coast.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Choker Cocktail* (6 People)
4 Glasses Whisky (1 1/2 oz Binny’s Select Buffalo Trace Bourbon)
2 Glasses Absinthe (3/4 oz Lucid Absinthe)
1 Dash Absinthe Bitters (Angostura Bitters)
This Cocktail is to be very thoroughly shaken and no sweetening in any form should be added.
*Drink this and you can drink anything: new-laid eggs put into it immediately become hard-boiled.
With such a menacing quote, I think I would have trouble finding 6 people willing to share this one with me!
Never did resolve the “Absinthe Bitters” issue. No one I talked to was aware of any commercial bitters which might have been referred to as “Absinthe Bitters”. There have been a number of bitter wormwood based elixirs made through history. Purl(e), Malört, etc. It is possible that the recipe is meant to be made with those or possibly something like “Gin and Wormwood“. Would certainly get it closer to being a real “Choker” of a cocktail.
As in the Bunny Hug, I went with the Binny’s Select Buffalo Trace for this Cocktail, as it seems to have the Cojones to stand up to the Absinthe.
It’s not a cocktail I’ll be making again any time soon; but I think I did prefer the whiskey, bitters and absinthe of the Choker to the whiskey, gin, and absinthe of the Bunny Hug.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Bunny Hug
1/3 Gin (Almost 3/4 oz Boodles Gin)
1/3 Whisky (Almost 3/4 oz Binny’s Single Barrel Buffalo Trace Bourbon)
1/3 Absinthe (Almost 3/4 oz Absinthe Verte de Fougerolles)
Shake (Stir? What does it matter? I lean towards shake for this MF.) well and strain into cocktail glass.
This cocktail should immediately be poured down the sink before it is too late.
This cocktail has always puzzled me.
First, the cute name made no sense, until someone pointed out that the “Bunny Hug” was some sort of raunchy dance invented at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel. Sort of the early 1900s equivalent of “Freak Dancing.” Also that “Hug” was not really quite as “cute” a term, as it might originally appear. Apparently, the name was supposed to evoke something more like, “doing it like rabbits”.
There’s also what may be an apocryphal story that a dancer named Vernor Castle adapted the Bunny Hug into the slower and more acceptably named Foxtrot.
Then there’s the menacing epigraph. Is it meant as a warning or encouragement?
I really had little hope for the cocktail. Given the lineage of the name, it seemed more likely that it was the turn of the century equivalent of a shooter. A short, high alcohol drink you slammed between dances.
That may be; but, it’s actually not that bad. Absinthe is dominant, of course; but, the gin kind of mediates, and the whiskey is there in the finish. I probably lucked out by picking a feisty whiskey, like the Buffalo Trace. Anything more polite would simply get blown away by the Absinthe.
Still, not something you’re really going to slowly savor in front of a warm fire. Make it small, make it cold, and get on with the dancing.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Brooklyn Cocktail
1 Dash Amer Picon (1/2 barspoon Torani Amer)
1 Dash Maraschino (1/2 barspoon Luxardo Maraschino)
2/3 Canadian Club Whisky (1 1/2 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select)
1/3 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth)
Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass.
This seemed a bit flat as written. I’ve read that Torani Amer is closer to Amer Picon with the addition of some Orange Bitters. A couple drops of Regan’s Orange Bitters did perk it up a bit. A squeeze of lemon peel and it really started to sing.
Ahem, of course it might be a bit tastier with, say, Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey or Rittenhouse 100. But, out of deference to the Savoy, I stuck with Canadian.
By the way, tonight’s the night for Alembic Bar’s monthly Savoy Cocktail Book night. Tonight the bartenders will forgo their usual menu and instead do their best to make any cocktail you desire from the Savoy Cocktail Book. The Brooklyn is a certainly a fine cocktail to ask for!
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
Boomerang Cocktail
1 Dash Lemon Juice
1 Dash Angostura Bitters
1/3 French Vermouth (1 oz Noilly Prat Dry)
1/3 Canadian Club Whisky (1 oz Forty Creek Barrel Select)
1/3 Swedish Punch (1 oz homemade Sri Langkan Arrack Punch)
Shake (stir – eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze lemon peel over glass.)
Tasty; but, the Canadian Whisky didn’t seem to stand much of a chance. It’s all about the punch and the lemon.
Apparently, a version of a cocktail with this name is still made. I’m told, though, it is usually made with Gin, Bitters, Dry Vermouth, and Maraschino Liqueur. Beyond the name, it doesn’t seem to have much to do with the version here.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.
