5 posts tagged “cocktail”
People that know me know that I love gin.
We had a rocky start, gin and I. It's got a unique flavor that can be kind of off putting at first.
Annie describes it as "pine flavored rubbing alcohol".
My love affair with gin started around last Thanksgiving. We had a grand time; gin and I. Ever since it's been a whirlwind romance.
My love affair with fruit started back when I was a kid. I love fruit. I'd eat fruit over many a sweet, sugary treat almost any time.
So when I saw a bottle of "pear infused" gin at the store I couldn't help but try it.
Now then. I find most booze palatable. I don't like beer, too bitter. Wine is blah, also bitter.
Tastes like sour grape juice.
But this stuff...this Wet by Beefeater....
I tried it out in my standard martini recipe:
2.5 oz gin
1/4 oz vermouth
stirred
strained
garnished with a lemon peel
I use this recipe for all gins, great and small. Bombay right down to the grocery store brand.
Wet by Beefeater though...
Blech.
Is this even gin?
It's terrible.
Where is the distinctive gin flavor?
Nowhere to be found.
It's tastes vaguely antiseptic.
I'm glad this bottle was on sale for less than $10 because I would have bought it for regular cost (gin+fruit should = yummy).
I'm going to go ahead and place this in the back of my cabinet; right next to that bottle of white chocolate liqueur that tastes like chalk that somebody gave me for Christmas.
What's your favorite thing about Monday?
My favorite thing about this Monday is the one of my new go to cocktails; Corpse Reviver #2.
Lore says it is named as such due to its abilities to help one recover from a hangover. While I've never tried it as a hair of the dog remedy I will attest to it's ability to cause a hangover.
When I first made this for friends over the holidays I was a little apprehensive; my now almost empty bottle of Lillet was heretofore untested and I was unsure what to expect. The results were favorable all around, a light citrus flavored drink with just a hint of anise flavor in the background.
Pour all ingredients in to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously (you are waking the flavors up, not lulling them to sleep), strain and garnish with a strip of lemon peel.1oz. Lillet Blanc
1oz dry gin
1oz Cointreau (or triple sec if you're out of Cointreau like I am)
1oz lemon juice
Several drops of Absinthe*
*Different versions of this recipe call for different amounts of Absinthe; I've found several drops to be just the right amount. If Absinthe isn't handy I would assume that Pastis or Herbsaint will do.
There are two things I like to drink: tropical, umbrella style drinks and gin.
Usually when you think of umbrella drinks you think of rum, not gin. Gin is complex, full of interesting flavors, I've heard it described as "adult".
Thankfully I've found a couple recipes that mix the two! I'm a couple ingredients short of a Singapore Sling but in the interim I've found another recipe that mixes my favorites.
The Honolulu
3 measures gin
1 measure pineapple juice
1 measure orange juice
1/2 measure lemon juice*
1/2 measure simple syrup*
1/2 teaspoon grenadine
Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake until frost forms on shaker. Strain into large martini glass. Enjoy.
* The recipe calls for one measure of lemon juice but no simple syrup I found the drink a little too bitter so I decided to cut the lemon juice in half and add some syrup for sweetness. Your milage may vary.
I leveled up on my bartending skillz tonight. This drink calls for ingredients in measures, not ounces, parts or CL's. It turns out that a measure is a the equivalent of 1.5 ounces or the larger side of a jigger. I did not know that before tonight. Yay for me!
It all started in April with a coincidence.
I was at a dinner party and was served a yummy cocktail made with limoncello, I've blogged about that cocktail in past, here.
At the same time Erin at Erin Cooks was making her own limoncello.
So I thought I would try my hand at making some.
I even Twittered about it, "After having a delicious limincello cocktail lastnight and reading about @girlieerin making some. I'm totally making my own limoncello this summer." #
Within two days I was peeling lemons with a vegetable peeler. For some reason I remember thinking it would be easy to peel lemons and only get the yellow skin without getting any of the white pithy part of it.
More than an hour later my fingers and forearms told a different story.
I used the same recipe as Erin who used the same one as Giada.
10 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
After I let the lemon peels steep in the vodka for a a while I added the simple syrup mixture to the vodka and lemons and let it sit for a week before straining out the peels and bottling the final result.
The final result was a little sweet but overall very enjoyable to drink, mixed or on ice like I had tonight after dinner.
I've only got half a bottle left and when I'm done with that I plan to make a new batch with a new recipe.
I don't have a name for this drink outside of "Limoncello Cocktail"; that's what the guy who showed me how to make it called it. Sounds good enough, right?
Anyway here's how you make it:
4oz Limoncello (I made my own, I thought I blogged about it but it seems I only Twittered about it. Here).
1/2 oz Heavy Cream
5-6 Mint Sprigs
Combine all the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker, shake, strain and enjoy.
