Next on the list of lame two-ingredient cocktails (at least they’re easy to make!), one of my favorite ingredients! Let’s see if it rescues the drink.
Let’s see, how can I put the words in this cocktail into a story about the Olympics? Which is clearly the important news right now… Here’s an interview with the “team mom” for a lot of Team USA – Sherry Von Reisen. Boom.
Another cider concoction this week. This is actually the original cocktail that the 115. Soda Cocktail was based on, just with cider instead of soda water. I guess they must have drank this in New Jersey?
There was a big thunderstorm that rolled into New Jersey Friday night, which I found a number of stories on. However, that’s a pretty lame piece of nes. But, what happened during the dark stormy night? That’s a little more interesting. Someone dumped a body on a residential street, wrapped up Laura-Palmer-style in a bag. Did anyone hear or see anything? “Residents said they could only hear thunder and lighting last night, and heard nothing else out of the ordinary.” MYSTERIOUS!
Well, this drink finally puts to rest the question of whether or not you can have too much of a good thing. The answer is, undoubtedly, yes. A disappointing answer, but the answer nonetheless. I’ll have to think up a new favorite alcohol. Sorry, Angostura.
This one’s a bit of a stretch, but bear with me. We’ve had too many articles about Brandy, so I tried Champerelle. Nothing. But, “champerelle” sounds like “champignon” which is French for “mushroom.” BOOM. (Sorry. I’ll do better next time.)
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…
So fancy! This is the same as 111. Gin Cocktail but served differently. In a fancy manner. Since it’s mostly the same, cutting to the chase a bit.
It’s time for another twofer! The first is this Gin Cocktail, and the second (tomorrow’s) will be the Fancy Gin Cocktail, which is the same but served slightly differently. I’m not entirely sure why these count as two separate drinks, but I guess he can do what he wants.
While this will not be keyword-y and punny, the big news story of this week is of course the Brexit, with continuing ramifications as the days go on. In short, Britain voted to leave the European Union soon, causing stocks and currencies to tumble, and generally uncertainty and despair. Also a sad commentary on what “real” people think about politics. However, I learned today that the vote isn’t actually the final word on this — they could hold another vote, or just… not do it. Apparently. Not that that wouldn’t also cause many issues, but it’s an interesting thought. So, uh, drink gin and contemplate.
After having five different more-or-less terrible light beers (more on that to come!), I decided to tone it down a little with the next – non-alcoholic – mixture from Mr. Thomas. This is actually a variation of his 114. Jersey Cocktail, which is the same thing but with cider (presumably alcoholic cider) instead of soda water, but we’ll get to that at a later point.
The following came up in a Google News search for bitters, so while it is not news, it’s actually pretty fascinating and therefore I think it counts. Everything you ever wanted to know about Angostura bitters. Check it out! Also I really want to try that Angostura Sour they mention, but I’ll need to buy another bottle for that.
I finally got my gum syrup! Which allowed me to start testing out a whole number of new cocktails from Jerry Thomas, including the following classic. Generally, this is regarded as one of the earlier recipes for what ended up becoming the Old Fashioned. So, yum. Of course, it’s not called the Old Fashioned because it wasn’t old-fashioned yet. And, the gum syrup is really not necessary, if you don’t have it, but it does add some nice smoothness.
There is really very little in the news that’s not cocktail related. I tried “old fashioned,” too, and that was way too broad. So, instead, let’s see what I can spin. Mainly, I just want to wish everyone a great Memorial Day — remember those who have fallen, and also have a good old-fashioned barbecue! This is a classic American drink, so it seems only right to post it today.
(Use small bar glass.) [He kind of contradicts this later. I say, use a rocks glass.]
Tasting Notes:
BN: This was nice. I mean, it was pretty much an Old Fashioned so honestly there’s not much to say. I missed the big ice cube typical of the OF nowadays, but the gum syrup made it a little smoother, and melded the flavors better together than I’ve seen previously with OFs. Stay tuned, as I’m going to make a post all about comparing gum syrup to simple syrup.
PiC: This was good, if you like that sort of thing. Which I don’t.
The Boozy Newsie 