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Browsing Tag: maraschino
Happy Friday before Labor Day, everyone! I am back and here is tonight’s tipple – the Hunter Cocktail. Recently, I was reading a viewpoint about mixing cocktails with few high quality ingredients being courageous. I will admit that I all acts of creation take a modicum of courage – it exposes the creator to criticism and review regardless of the ingredient count. The beauty is that people take the chance to share something and extend their experience and knowledge, regardless of the accolades or critique. This is one of those cocktails; ingeniously simple and full of flavor. It is perfect for saying goodbye to summer with its cherry influence while saying hello to fall with its warming bourbon. The origins of this cocktail are clouded in…
How about a summer Saturday evening tipple to tantalize your taste buds? This riff on the violet imbued Aviation cocktail swaps in St. Germain elderflower liqueur for the Creme de Violette. But don’t be fooled, gin is the star here so choose it wisely. Different gins will provide you with different flavor profiles, some of which may not be particularly palatable. Just think of how a string juniper forward gin would pair with elderflower – probably not well in my humble opinion! So I kept my concoction solidly in the floral range by using a softer gin like Old Tom or Citadelle, which produced a satisfying sweetness with floral character and the freshness of a gentle sea breeze. I would call that a perfect way to…
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…
I cannot believe I have not posted this cross between a Manhattan and a Martini. As the predecessor to the ubiquitous Martini, this cocktail really fires on all cylinders. The trouble is that there is no definitive recipe for this beauty. So it is very much like its progeny the martini, it is best served the way you like it. So here is my take on this classic ‘missing link’ between the Manhattan and the Martini. I started by using Old Tom gin and have increased the ratio of gin to vermouth from 1:1 to 1.5:1 while adding orange bitters with the Angostura bitters to enhance the orange aspect. The results are sublime – but don’t take my word for it…
While researching last week’s cocktail, Remember the Maine, I came across this one. The golden hue and the combination of ingredients had me immediately intrigued. And wow, what a deliciously complex cocktail! This beauty is over 100 years old, comes in various forms and is actually a tweak of a tweak on the venerable Manhattan. The original tweak is the Red Hook – rye, sweet vermouth and maraschino and this one swaps out the sweet vermouth for dry and amaro for the bitters while retaining the maraschino for sweetness. This cocktail has layers of flavors and I have to admit in many ways it is superior to the Manhattan. Now… don’t go interrupting my Friday night happy hour by giving me a Bronx…
The other night I was flipping channels on the TV and stopped to watch Star Trek: Voyager. It was an interesting episode, but the part that I found funniest (yes, I know it is a space drama) was when Neelix calls out Tuvok for always having to get the last word in. The repartee between them is writing gold, in my opinion. Now we all know that person (or persons) that just have to have the last word. Heck, you may even recognize you yourself as being that type of person. Well, this cocktail is not for them because it is the Next to the Last Word, which probably suits you and me to a tee, correct? All kidding aside, this beauty is a riff on the revived…
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…