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Browsing Tag: absinthe
I must give a hearty thanks to Liquor.com for showcasing this cocktail in their email today. This Manhattan-esque tipple is easy to make, but yields complex flavors and nuances that are simply divine. Adding the herbaceous Benedictine and anise-forward Absinthe is pure genius to take the simple Manhattan to new heights. Regularly described as a cross between a Vieux Carre and a Sazerac, this cocktail has a long history in New Orleans, starting as the house cocktail for La Louisiane which opened in 1881. It is a relative newcomer on the classic cocktail resurgence, probably due to absinthe not being legal in the United States until 2007. Well, A La Louisiane, your arrival in my Inbox is timely indeed and I feel like I have…
I recently had this cocktail at a restaurant near my office. Yeah, it was happy hour so I thought, “What the heck?” Well, I liked it a lot even though this establishment made every effort to ensure I would never return! Anyway, I thought I could tweak this beauty a wee bit and share it with you. This cocktail, created by New York’s Sam Ross (of Penicillin fame), uses equal parts of 4 ingredients (Bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice) to produce a beautiful and delicious drink. Given that one of the essential ingredients is difficult to get in my area (Amaro Nonino), I am going to make a substitution and an addition to compensate. The result is an interesting interpretation which I…
Hey everyone, I am back from a week in Chicago! I apologize I did not post any pictures of the fabulous meals and cocktails I enjoyed, just know that I spared you from extreme jealousy! Maybe the best part is I have many new recipe ideas to play with and then share with all of you. As we get started celebrating this Memorial Day weekend, here is a riff on the classic martini variation I posted about a month ago. This drink is a bit more involved compared to the previously posted version, but do not let that dissuade you from enjoying it. The original I posted was a fancy martini (but still basically a martini) while this tipple is what I consider a “cocktail”. Containing…
Reported to have been created by none other than Ernest Hemingway, this cocktail really can kill you in the afternoon – or make the little green fairies beat you up for drinking so early in the day! I love the idea of pairing absinthe with champagne. The louching of the absinthe with champagne is so decadent an idea I cannot help but like it. This cocktail’s flavor is sublime, but it is extremely sneaky. I only like the descriptive aspect of Hemingway’s own words – “Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”. The thought of three to five of these tasty tipples in one…
In honor and remembrance of the 120th anniversary of the disastrous USS Maine incident on February 15th, 1898, tonight’s cocktail is also reminder that ‘fake news’ is nothing new (regardless of your views and beliefs). In the aftermath of this terrible incident in which 260 men died, two high powered publishers used their influence to inflame the situation and foster an atmosphere that resulted in the Spanish-American War. This cocktail is another variation on the venerable Manhattan. Originally documented in 1939 in Charles H. Baker, Jr’s The Gentlemen’s Companion after a raucous trip to Havana in 1933 during Batista’s coup, it is reported Baker served this cocktail with the advice “Treat this one with the respect…
Tonight’s cocktail is a riff on the Millionaire that I believe is aptly named since it is a step above. The key ingredient in this drink is the pomegranate syrup and while it is only a small amount, it is necessary. Of course, I did not buy any of the commercially available pomegranate syrups you can find at the store (although you can, but be aware that they may just be high fructose corn syrup with red food coloring!), I made my own. And I skipped the whole process of dealing with the actual pomegranate fruit to get the juice laden arils. How you ask? Simple, I reduced a small amount of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice which is 100% juice. The results… nothing short of…
Let’s celebrate another holiday season with a flavor bursting bourbon based cocktail with cherry and absinthe. This is yet another twist on a Manhattan (or a Sazerac), which is not a bad thing at all considering I really enjoy them. Yes, I am having fun trying all these variations and sharing them with you. Historically, I could not find out much about this cocktail. I can only think this cocktail was so named by some young bartender still harboring resentment at finding out Christmas presents were an ‘Inside Job’ and that Santa Claus does not exist. Or maybe that is just my fanciful yuletide imagination! Either way, let’s celebrate the holidays with this boozy Manhattan/Sazerac riff. After a few, you will…
Just in time for Halloween partying is this spookily named cocktail, the Cadáver Reviver. While it is not scary in appearance (i.e. this cocktail does not contain ingredients simulating blood or other ghoulish additives), it is based on tequila which is dangerous enough by itself! I like the wonderfully complex yet fresh taste of this cocktail; to me it is a very interesting twist on a margarita. It is an easy sipper that will either keep you dancing at the party or will get you to relax into a semi-catatonic state. So which do you decide to be – the Thriller or a Zombie? Either way, this cocktail satisfies! Save Print Cadáver Reviver Prep time: 5 mins Total time: 5 mins Serves…
Here we are on the last Friday of September, closing out the third quarter with the Sun, Moon and Earth nearly aligned at perigee and perihelion (producing king tides). What other cocktail embodies all these disparate elements than another of the classic cocktails – the Sazerac. Originally made with cognac but now typically made with rye whiskey, this absinthe laced classic is perfect for either quiet, personal reflection or raucous celebrating with a group or anything in between. In case you are worried about being poisoned by absinthe, allay your fears. Absinthe is no longer outlawed in the United States and is actually a wonderful drink in itself when prepared via la louche. You can bet I will write about drinking absinthe (and dancing with the green fairy…