Tag: alcohol

20. Curaçoa Punch

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20. Curacoa Punch - Hero

Well, I did a whole bunch of these last weekend, and then, as a side effect, totally forgot to write any posts. Perhaps we should do fewer than five at a time. Hrm.

I was excited about this one! I’ve been digging the use of the curaçao in all of the cocktails recently. Was my excitement justified? Eh, kinda. Though it will certainly be good to move away from this liquor only from a spelling perspective — the fact that he spells it differently confuses my brain every time. Or maybe that’s the alcohol.

As news stories about punching are generally never good, I was happy to come across this one. Though it’s really a stretch. Nicole Scherzinger wanted to punch someone on X Factor because their performance was so good. I guess. Confusingly, the clip on the site doesn’t actually have that part in it. But he did sing very well.

20. Curacoa Punch Ingredients

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110. Champagne Cocktail

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110. Champagne Cocktail

Another variation on the Old Fashioned theme, this one a little more out there than the others. Why? Well, it’s exactly the same but with champagne instead of a hard liquor. So it adds bubbles and sweetness, among other things. A very different experience.

Apparently this year’s Champagne harvest was very bad, so we could see increased prices and limited supply in the coming years! Horror of horrors! Luckily, the wineries tend to have a big reserve, so it shouldn’t hopefully have a gigantic impact. But we’ll see…

110. Champagne Cocktail - Ingredients

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8. Scotch Whiskey Punch

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8. Scotch Whiskey Punch - Hero

Sometimes, Jerry Thomas is kind of a douche. This is one of those times. You’ll see why in the description for this drink, of which there are minimal details. Of course, he then turns around and gives specific details in the very next recipe, so he really waffles a bit. I used the rough proportions from the next drink (out tomorrow) to make this one.

Not a huge amount of related news, but in an effort to be informative, a few stories about Latin America. Donald Trump met with the Mexican president, in a meeting I wish I had been there to see. Meanwhile, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil was (finally) impeached. It’s a one-two punch of leadership stories!

8. Scotch Whiskey Punch - Ingredients

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213. Brandy Straight

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213. Brandy Cocktail

Well, I’m back from a slightly extended summer break! I’ve got a number of drinks lined up, so we should be a little less last minute than we have in the past. Not that you’d know that, I guess — the secret’s out!

Anyways, sometimes Jerry Thomas is kind of odd. Or maybe it’s just the 1800s? Not sure. In any case, this drink is definitely one of the stranger ones, for multiple reasons. One: does this “recipe” even need to be codified? Two: was the term he mentions common at the time? Three: should bartenders, especially those concerned with highly crafted cocktails, really condone this type of drinking? Four: What does he mean by “safe?”

On the news front, everything seems to be going to hell generally, so you might just need to order a drink and keep the bottle. almost 50,000 acres of country burned by wildfires this week alone, massive floods in Louisiana, and probably other things equally terrible that I either don’t know about or was too upset to read about. So, stay sharp out there, and help out where you can. Donating blood is always a great option, as well as donating money to good causes, if you have some to spare.

Also, all emphasis is added by Jerry Thomas, not me, in the following recipe.

213. Brandy Cocktail Ingredients

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107. Brandy Cocktail

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Top Down Brandy Cocktail

Well, I’ve found my new favorite cocktail. Just a variation on a theme, but this is a delicious drink, and one I will start ordering in bars to see if anyone will make one for me. As with the Gin Cocktail, there is both a regular and a “Fancy” version, made the same but presented differently, and that will be posted in short order as well.

I talked about Brandy Clark last time I had a drink that involved the word “Brandy,” and while she did release a new music video recently, this time I’ll talk about the very slightly more appropriate Brandy. I don’t really know who any of these people are in this article, or really what they’re talking about, but the general theme is that social media is awkward, and deleting things is useless because it’ll always get out there either way.

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34. St. Charles’ Punch

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St-Charles-Punch-1

Happy Fourth of July to all my US readers! And, happy fourth of July to all the rest of you. (No reason not to celebrate the day, I say.) In honor of this occasion, another delicious punch from a very American hero — I’ve said it before, but just to note again — the Bartender’s Guide is the first American cocktail handbook. A piece of history! And this drink is very patriotically colored. Now go make yourself a glass, and watch the fireworks.

No super interesting news stories today (other than my realization that we are just ten years away from the 250th birthday of the United States, which is exciting and also surprising that it hasn’t even been that long), so instead, a quick quote about the inspiration for this drink. It’s apparently named after the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans at the time. Generously described in Mary Cable’s Lost New Orleans:

The St. Charles was certainly no common structure. It was taller than any building in New Orleans — six stories, surmounted by a gleaming white dome that could be seen for miles up and down the river. According to Norman’s 1845 guidebook, “The effect of the dome upon the sight of the visitor, as he approaches the city, is similar to that of St. Paul’s in London.” Mr. Norman, beside himself with admiration, went on to speak of the “indescribable effect of the sublime and matchless proportions of this building upon all spectators — even the stoical Indian and the cold and strange backwoodsman, when they first view it, are struck with wonder and delight.”

Sadly, it no longer exists. Drink to its memory!

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