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Category Archives: Gin
The 8-hour Work Day
Posted by on June 11, 2012
The barrel that I was using for the Cocky Yamazaki reached the end of its ability to properly age that cocktail in a timely manner, so I bottled the last batch and put some gin in the barrel. I had a mini tasting of a bunch of different white liquors, heavy on the gin, all with a dash of the Cocky Yamazaki in them to simulate what the aging process would do to them. Out of the seven or so trial glasses Bombay Sapphire came out the winner, I barreled it and after ten days it was ready to be used:
- 2oz Aged Bombay Sapphire
- .5oz Lillet Blanc
- .5oz dry vermouth
- 1 roasted old fashioned cured orange wheel
Stir and strain the liquors into a chilled cocktail glass, top with the orange.
To cure the orange: slice 1 large navel orange into about 10 slices, grill over a flame for 2 minutes on each side, then soak in a bath of 1.5oz bourbon, .5 oz honey, and 4-5 dashes of black-peppercorn-rosemary-grapefruit bitters for 3 hours or so.
As the drink sits in the glass more and more of the old fashioned cured orange seeps into the martini, changing it considerably from a strong and dry first sip to a much more mellow and sweeter final sip. The orange is an interactive garnish and ought to be eaten to finish the drink up.
Raba
Posted by on May 24, 2012
This is number two in the series of sake, and for this one we’ll have a variation on the mule that I’m calling Raba, which is Japanese for mule. This also incorporates a wash of chartreuse, which I have become fond of in that last month or so. Don’t forget that with a wash you only want enough to get a subtle hint of it in there, it shouldn’t be a strong flavor component. So, without any more ramblings, here we go:
Add to an old fashioned glass that has been washed in green chartreuse and filled with ice:
- 2 oz Nigori Sake
- 1 oz London Dry Gin
- 1 dash of Regan’s orange bitters
- top with spicy ginger beer
- garnish with a lime
This would also make a good lunchtime or early afternoon highball if you didn’t want it to be as strong as this.
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.
The Seven-Jack-Deuce
Posted by on March 21, 2012
This is an interesting drink for me, its the first time that I’ve intentionally introduced smoke into a drink. This starts with a light gin and citrus base and slides into a light herbal finish:
- 1.75 Hendrick’s Gin
- .5 ginger coriander syrup
- .5 basil infused limoncello
- .5 fresh lemon juice
- 3 dashes Regan’s Orange bitters
- sprig of rosemary
Take a large wineglass and turn it upside-down, burn the rosemary underneath it and catch the resulting smoke, do this until smoke is cascading out of the glass, then cover it with a napkin or coaster. Stir over ice the remaining ingredients until well chilled, carefully slide the cover of the glass open just enough to strain the drink into it, re-cover and let sit for at least 30-60 seconds. Serve.
As this drink sits on your table more and more smoke is absorbed into it taking away the intense rosemary aroma and turning it into taste. Overall, this drink should be slowly enjoyed to get the full progression of flavor and aroma.
George’s Last Word
Posted by on December 27, 2011
In case you haven’t noticed, there has been a revival of classic cocktails going on for quite a while now, one of these gems is the Last Word. This is a great prohibition era drink that came from the Detroit Athletic Club and is now pretty popular in Seattle. I was charged with selling through the Galliano at my bar, which is no easy task because nobody really ever wants a Harvey Wallbanger. So I tweaked the Last Word to make it my own and toss another bottle into the recycling:
- .75 gin
- .75 Galliano
- .75 Maraschino
- .75 lime juice
- splash Fernet Branca
Shake the first four over ice and strain into a chilled, Fernet washed, cocktail glass. This variant is much more neon in color than the original, which calls for Green Chartreuse instead of Galliano and Fernet Branca.
On a side note, Fernet is an amazing Italian Amaro, with some great notes of pretty much everything. It is the everlasting gobstopper of liqueurs, nobody quite gets the same flavor profile. For a different approach and a nice dram of healthy absurdity check out an interesting take on Fernet, from a blog focused on ferns by a friend of mine.
Tee’s Tea
Posted by on November 8, 2011
I was working on some new additions to the winter cocktail list at work and realized that I hadn’t seen any gin toddies. This seemed like a good challenge. The based is an infused dry gin: into each fifth of gin add three bags of Numi Orange Spice tea (a white tea with orange peel, lemongrass, and schisandra berries) and let sit for ~20-24 hours until a rich orange color has been attained.
- 1.5 Orange Spiced Gin
- .75 Cointreau
- .5 Orgeat syrup
- hot water
- twist of orange
Combine all of the liquids in a heated footed mug, twist orange over top and drop in. This is a warming spiced drink that is strong on the citrus but mellowed with the almond. If you want to you can add a dash or two of some Peychaud’s or a few cloves to make it feel a little more seasonal.
The Unknown Soldier
Posted by on October 11, 2011
If you like grapefruit juice you’ll like this. This tastes strangely like a fresh glass of it. This drink was created to celebrate the birthday of a good friend and went like no other. I made a gallon of it and between 15-20 people it was gone in about a half of an hour:
- 1.5 dry gin
- .5 St. Germaine
- .5 lemon juice
- .25 Campari
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitter’s
- 1 dash orange bitters
- 2-3 basil leaves
Muddle the basil into the gin, add the remaining ingredients, stir well but not vigorously, and pour over ice.
This drink ends up an amazing shade of orange and is bitter/tart with a lot of herbal punch. It works well before a meal and would go great with lighter salads.
The Mother-in-Law
Posted by on September 21, 2011
To continue on my Aperol kick I wanted to make something a little warmer and sweeter to herald the coming fall, so I figured that I would work with some white port and one of my favorites, Green Chartreuse. I first made this drink and then passed it around to my Chef and some of my coworkers to name it. We finally figured that something as bitter-sweet as this ought to have a similar association, thus we named it the Mother-in-law:
- 1 Plymouth Gin
- .75 white port
- 2 dashes Aperol
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
- 1 dash Green Chartreuse
- lemon wheel
Lightly shake the gin, port, Aperol, and orange bitters over ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass that has been washed in the Green Chartreuse. Float the lemon wheel and then dash the Peychaud’s onto the wheel so that it disperses on the top of the cocktail.
This drink maintains a very herbal aroma throughout the experience while gradually changing from bitter to sweet. The white port adds some interesting fruit notes that mellow out the already smooth gin and tie together all of the citrus from the bitters and Aperol. One could substitute Campari for the Aperol, or leave out the lemon wheel to let the Peychaud’s dive a little deeper into the glass. This is only a suggestion and of course everybody should drink their cocktails the way that they prefer*.
*Unless its Scotch. Why would somebody ever order a Caol Ila 12 year with rocks, an equal measure of water, and a twist? That’s a perfect way to ruin an otherwise tasty and enjoyable libation.
