bourbonismyspinach
Just another WordPress.com site
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Lotus-eaters
Posted by on April 23, 2012
I went on a prolific sake kick the other day and made so many new drinks that Bourbon is my Spinach will be putting out a short series of sake based cocktails. For part one, I present the Lotus-eaters, a sweet, earthy, and close-your-eyes-in-insouciance-for-the-external kind of drink:
noun: a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world; daydreamer.
- 2 oz nigori sake (I used Rihaku Dreamy Clouds)
- 1/2 oz dry vermouth
- 1/2 oz honey lavender syrup (equal parts honey and strong lavender tea)
- 1 dash orange bitters
- 1 dash black peppercorn/rosemary/grapefruit bitters
- 2 slices cucumber
Muddle the cucumber into the sake and vermouth, add bitters and syrup, stir over ice and strain into chilled white wine glass, garnish with a lemon twist or floated cucumber slice. I recommend a wine glass so that the drink can be swirled as the solids in the sake will eventually start to sink to the bottom, though, the cocktail will also work in a coupe or cocktail glass.
In the Second Degree
Posted by on April 18, 2012
Oh gin! I’ve waited all winter to pick you up from the store and order you in the bar, and it has been a long wait (Lou Reed sang a good blues about gin and how sad it is when its gone). Now your time is here though, here’s a take on a gin old fashioned:
- 1.5 Bluecoat or similar gin
- 2 splashes simple syrup
- 2 splashes cognac
- 1 splash orange juice
- 2 dashes lemon bitters
- 4-5 basil leaves
Muddle the basil and gin in a shaker, fill with ice, top with remaining ingredients, stir, and serve up. Garnish with a sprig of basil and orange twist for a smooth, slightly sweet creation.
Alex’s Two Wheels
Posted by on April 5, 2012
With the blooming of all the dogwoods recently I felt compelled to make something that reminds me of growing up in Florida, so I grabbed some grapefruit juice and whiskey and started mixing:
- 1.5 Rye Whiskey
- .5 St. Germain
- .25 coriander ginger syrup
- 2 splashes grapefruit juice
- 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
- 1 dash lemon bitters
Stir over ice and strain into chilled coupe glass. No garnish is needed, and this could also be served on the rocks as a punch. This is sweeter than most of my drinks, but not cloyingly so, with light citrus, and crisp.
