Tag: mixology

111. Gin Cocktail

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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.

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4. Mississippi Punch

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Oy, it’s a hot one today. Cool down and relax with Jerry Thomas’ latest. I have to imagine this is named after the state which has hot, muggy weather all summer long. Only one cure, since there wasn’t air conditioning in 1862 — alcohol.

In Mississippi today, the case of three civil rights workers being burned in 1964, dubbed the “Mississippi Burning” case, has been officially closed. The last person was convicted in 2005, so someone will have to explain to me the legal parts of this.

Mississippi-Ingredients

4. Mississippi Punch

(Use large bar glass.)

  • 2 oz. of brandy.
  • 1 oz. of Jamaica rum.
  • 1 oz. of Bourbon whiskey.
  • 1 oz. of water.
  • 1½ table-spoonful of powdered white sugar.
  • ¼ of a large lemon.
  • Fill a tumbler with shaved ice.
  • The above must be well shaken, and to those who like their draughts “like linked sweetness long drawn out,” [Sounds very southern to me.] let them use a glass tube or straw to sip the nectar through. The top of this punch should be ornamented with small pieces of orange, and berries in season.

Tasting Notes:

BN: This was mostly good. I just read a book on the history of the Old Fashioned, and apparently there was a long period in the middle of the 1900s where people threw all kinds of fruit in them and they tasted a little sweet but still bourbon-y. I’ve never had one of those, specifically, but I think this is what that would taste like. The bourbon came through strongly (less so the other alcohols), and it was certainly fruity. Though not citrusy, really, oddly. Nowhere near as good as his other punches, though.

This also brought up some process questions for me. Why so much shaved ice? It waters things down so quickly, especially when it’s hot. Secondly, the amounts in this recipe were rather odd. It’s 5 oz. of alcohol, which is a lot for one drink, but it’s not really enough liquid for two. We split it, but the pours were light. Was it for a solo drinker? Finally, what was the purpose of his guide? Was it for bartenders to be ready if someone came in and ordered a “Mississippi Punch?” Or was he just sharing ideas for them to offer, not receive.

I do love the “linked sweetness” line, though.

PiC: It’s got some bite! It is a touch too alcoholic for me, but not bad. Kind of like a Jerry Thomas Long Island Iced Tea. (WHY DON’T ALL HIS PUNCHES USE RASPBERRY SYRUP?!)

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115. Soda Cocktail

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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.

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109. Whiskey Cocktail

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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.

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109. Whiskey Cocktail

(Use small bar glass.) [He kind of contradicts this later. I say, use a rocks glass.]

  • 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup. [Again, you can use simple syrup if you don’t have gum syrup.
  • 2 dashes bitters (Bogart’s). [“Bogart’s” is a corruption of “Boker’s,” which did not exist for a while, and only fairly recently came back. I don’t have this, so I used the classic Angostura. Supposedly should be a little more cardamom-y, maybe.]
  • 2 oz. of whiskey, and a piece of lemon peel.
  • Fill one-third full of fine ice; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass.

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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.

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The Hamilton and The Burr

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Occasionally, I will have guest posts here on the blog, from interested friends and compatriots who like to drink, and like to read the news. In this case, the following two drinks come from someone who is much better at following current events and politics than I, whether they’re current or, well, 200+ years ago. I submit for your approval, the Hamilton and the Burr. Apart from my own tasting notes at the end, this is from the great Manny Antunes, who has just graduated from law school! Congratulations!

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22. Milk Punch

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Knocked out two in a row for this weekend. Why two? Well, because one is exactly the same as the other one, just differs in temperature. The hot version of this is over here. For now, the chilly one.

In the news world, not much to report. Louisiana apparently barred (or rather, chose to not allow) the sale of raw milk, due to health risks. Needless to say, I did not use raw milk for this. Sorry for the lame news (two in a row). It was either this or a story about donated breast milk, which is probably more interesting, but slightly less appetizing.

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17. Vanilla Punch

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Well, I spent all this time getting curaçao and then decided to make one of his drinks that doesn’t actually need it. Ah well, it was still delicious.

Vanilla Ice performed on the Today Show yesterday. I have no understanding of why this happened. Also, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were involved. This may have been a piece (one of the many) of 90s culture that I missed.

VanillaPunchIngredients

17. Vanilla Punch

(Use large bar glass.) [We didn’t.]

  • 1 table-spoonful of sugar.
  • 2 oz. brandy.
  • The juice of ¼ of a lemon.
  • Fill the tumbler with shaved ice, shake well, ornament with one or two slices of lemon, and flavor with a few drops of vanilla extract. [Presumably, you put the ingredients in first, and THEN fill with ice. Also, I used more like 6-7 drops of extract, and you should too.
  • This is a delicious drink, and should be imbibed through a glass tube or straw.

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Tasting Notes:

BN: I’m not sure why it follows that if it’s a delicious drink, it should be imbibed with a straw, but he’s right on both accounts. Vanilla isn’t a super common drink flavor, other than, say, milkshakes, but it paired really well with the citrus, and the bite of the alcohol. The only change I’d like to make to this drink is to maybe add some soda water, to cut the alcohol a tiny bit and, more importantly, make it last longer. Also, shaking with shaved ice is sort of strange, too, but it seemed to work. It was sweet, flavorful, and not overpowering in any particular way.

PiC: I liked it! It wasn’t too sweet, and I liked how much vanilla there was.

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Liebster Award!

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liebsterawardBack in January (I’m slow, sorry!) I was nominated for the Liebster Award by the presumably Canadian Winnipeg Arts, Hearts and Smarts. It took me this long to get to this post, but I’m still excited.

Encouragement and recognition from peers carries a special meaning. Someone out there with similar blogging goals and aspirations took the time to read your blog and prepare the nomination (which is no easy piece of work as I am learning.)

Liebster Award Acceptance Rules:

  • Thank your nominator.
  • Share the award on your blog.
  • Answer the 10 questions asked to you.
  • Ask 10 questions to 10 new nominees.
  • Notify them.

Here are the questions I was asked:

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129. Ale Sangaree

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And we’re back to Jerry Thomas! I’m still a little behind ingredients-wise, so this is one of his simpler ones, but as soon as I buy some non-blue curaçao we should be on a roll. Also gomme syrup, which is apparently like simple syrup but smoother and silkier, which is intriguing. There’s a trip to BevMo in my near future.

There weren’t many news stories to go after with these particular words, but I found this article that says that Shakespeare’s father was an official ale taster for Stratford. Pretty sweet job, if you ask me. And speaking of sweet ale…

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129. Ale Sangaree

(Use large bar glass.)

  • 1 teaspoonful of sugar, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water.
  • Fill the tumbler with ale, and grate nutmeg on top.

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Tasting Notes:

BN: This was a rather vague recipe; I assumed that it wanted you to mix the first ingredient with the ale in the tumbler, rather than just sort of look at it while you drank the nutmegged ale. For the beer, I used the Mammoth Brewing 395 IPA that I brought back from my trip, partially because it was around, but mainly because I thought that the sage and other herbal notes in it would work well with the nutmeg, which they did! In terms of the drink overall, it initially just tasted like beer, with a hint of additional spice, but I think our glass was probably larger than expected, and so there wasn’t enough sugar to go around. So, I added more (probably about double) and then you definitely got the sweetness, which was pretty nice. Hit the bitterness of the IPA and toned it down. However, at the end of the day, it was just sweet beer, which was not too exciting. Nothing compared to the Port Wine Sangaree…

PiC: I thought this tasted good but I wasn’t that impressed with it as a cocktail per se. Maybe the beer tasted worse in his time, so this made it easier to drink? I would drink it, but I wouldn’t make it again, unless I had a beer that was really bad.

Blogger’s Note:

This is not related to cocktails, but rather to the blog itself. As you know, I switched to a self-hosted wordpress site at the beginning of April and, well, it sucks. The hosting itself, that is. I have a bad provider, and while it’s free, I’d rather pay money and get faster loading, fewer errors, etc, because it doesn’t make it easy for readers like you to enjoy the content. So, does anyone know of any good options? I’m looking at BlueHost right now, which is recommended by WordPress itself, and has pretty enticing pricing. Thanks all!

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