French Gimlet

Like a Daiquiri to rum, a gin gimlet is just a gin sour: gin, lime juice, simple syrup. A French Gimlet eliminates the sweetness from simple syrup and adds some of it back with St. Germain, which is sweet in a similar way that Cointreau is sweet. Additionally, the St. Germain adds floral notes that are characteristic of St. Germain. It's a really great drink. It's sweet but nicely tangy and floral from both the St. Germain and the gin.

French Gimlet

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce St. Germain
• 1/2 ounce lime juice

Framboise Royale

Sunday morning Amy and Blake came over to meet Piper. They also brought blueberry pancakes with blueberry sauce, bacon, and mimosas. In addition to the mimosas, we had Framboise Royales. I'm sure there are traditional recipes for royales but that seems silly to me. Pour a glass of champagne, and add Framboise to taste.

Bourbon Sunset

On Saturday we ran some errands in the morning and just hung around in the afternoon and evening. I made what I am calling a Bourbon Sunset. It doesn't really matter what I call it though, because, while it was fine, I wouldn't recommend it. The Bourbon Sunset was just a little off.

Bourbon Sunset

• 3 chunks pineapple
• 2 ounce bourbon
• 3/4 ounce Framboise

Muddle ingredients; shake with ice; strain into a cocktail glass.

French 75 Part Deux

As I mentioned a few weeks back, cocktail nomenclature is confusing. Many people, including Grandmummy and Dale DeGroff, say that a French 75 is Cognac, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Champagne. However, some people call a drink of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Champagne a French 75. I call them both delicious.

I love gin. The first French 75 I made had gin and it was great. That French 75 was made with Hendrick's, which is floral and cucumber-y -- perfect for a French 75. Since then, I've had French 75s with Cognac. Surprisingly, I think I prefer the version with Cognac. I strongly suggest you try both.

French 75 Part Deux

• 1 1/2 ounces gin
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 1 ounce Champagne or sparkling wine

Combine first three ingredients; top with Champagne.

Air Mail

Today we went to drop off my clothes in preparation for my return to work and discovered that our dry cleaner is closing. When we came back, Teresa cleaned out our closet. Days at our house are so exciting!

I took the excitement to the next level when I used a bottle of bubbles we opened to celebrate Teresa's new job to make an Air Mail. I was skeptical that the honey would incorporate bit it did. Nonetheless, the drink was a little sour. Additionally, rum just doesn't work with sparkling as well as cognac or a gin with some floral notes like Hendricks.

My Air Mail was fine but if you have sparking wine and want to make a cocktail, I'd recommend a French 75 with either cognac or gin.

Air Mail

• 2 ounces dark rum
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 5 ounces of sparking wine

Amaretto Sour

It is nice to be back home. Yesterday, Teresa had lunch with a friend in Virginia so Piper, Elli, and I went to a California Tortilla around the corner. Then we came back and celebrated the end of the heatwave with a walk around the neighborhood.

I made an Amaretto Sour. There are a million ways to make sours. People use all sorts of ratios of spirit to sour to sweet. Of course, it really how strong the spirit is, how sour the sour ingredient is, and how sweet the sweet ingredient is. With something like an amaretto sour, because amaretto is a spirit but also sweet, it makes sense to back off  the simple syrup and increase the bourbon. Sometimes people also include bitters or egg whites. This version is simple but tasty.

Amaretto Sour

• 1 ounce amaretto
• 1 ounce bourbon
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup

Planter's Punch

Happy (belated) National Rum Day! As we all learned in high school, August 16 is National Rum Day. To celebrate I made Planter's Punch.

The heat index was around 110* yesterday so I once again turned to a tiki-style cocktail served on crushed ice. It worked. Planter's punch has a more ingredients than many cocktails but if you look at the list, you'll find that you probably have everything, except maybe the pineapple juice. While I enjoyed my Planter's Punch, I think I prefer tiki cocktails that have Amaretto which, to me, provides a distinct tropical depth to rum-based drinks.

Next time I make Planter's Punch, I will add another 1/2 ounce of each rum.

Planter's Punch

• 1 ounce dark rum
• 1 ounce light rum
• 1/2 ounce Cointreau
• 2 ounces pineapple juice
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 1/2 ounce grenadine
• 1/4 ounce lime juice
• 3 drops Elemakule Tiki Bitters (or Angostura)

Shake ingredients; serve over crushed ice.

Pisco Sour

Pisco is grape brandy. I believe the term pisco is protected the same way Champagne and Tequila are, though I am not sure. Peruvians will tell you that Chilean pisco is crap and I'm pretty sure Chileans say the same about Peruvian pisco. Either way, a Pisco Sour is a great drink.

Pisco Sour

• 2 1/2 ounces of pisco
• 3/4 ounce of lemon juice
• 1 ounce of simple syrup
• 1 egg white from large egg
• 2 drops of Angostura bitters

Shake pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white hard; serve in a cocktail glass; garnish with Angostura bitters.

Castaway

Piper's doctor's appointment went well. She cried when she got her shots but stopped within a minute. She didn't seem to run a fever or have any other side effects. The days just keep flying by.

What should one do when the heat index is 110 degrees? Make tropical drinks and have friends over. The Castaway is similar to a Pina Colada in that its base is pineapple, cream of coconut, and rum. However, it isn't blended with ice and has amaretto, which really makes the drink even more tropical. I made multiple batches, one with Angostura and the other with Bittermen's. I assume Saveur suggested Angostura because everyone has them. The Castaway with Angostura was very good. The Castaway with Bittermen's Elemakule Tiki Bitters was better.

A quick note on amaretto: Amaretto is bitter almond liqueur. It is most often enjoyed over ice or in an Amaretto Sour (stay tuned). The most common brand is Di Saronno. Like other flavored liqueurs, be careful when you buy amaretto because some of the cheaper brands just have flavoring and caramel coloring.

Castaway

• 2 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 ounce amaretto
• 1 ounce dark rum
• 1/2 cream of coconut
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 2 dashes Bittermen's Elemakule Tiki Bitters (or Angostura bitters)

Shake all ingredients vigorously; serve over ice; garnish with a pineapple wedge of maraschino cherries.

http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/castaway-coconut-pineapple-cocktail

Lebanese Pearl

Not much to report today. Piper is still sleeping well. We're quickly approaching Teresa's return to work.

Aundrey Sauder's French Pearl contains 1/4 ounce of Pernod. Pernod is a French liqueur that has a licorice flavor and was used as a substitute for absinthe. I don't have Pernod (yet) but I do have arak. Arak is an anise-flavored liquor from Lebanon, hence "Lebanese Pearl." Essentially arak is Lebanese ouzo. Pernod is sweeter, less alcoholic, and more complex than arak or ouzo. I added just a tiny additional splash of simple syrup to try to reach just a little more sweetness.

I enjoyed my Lebanese Pearl. It isn't too sweet but between the simple syrup and the arak it is plenty sweet. Teresa thought the Lebanese Pearl was just a mouthful of licorice. I think it pushes that line. It might be a little too licorice-y but I am enjoying it nonetheless. I imagine that a French Pearl would be even better.

Lebanese Pearl

• 3/4 ounce lime juice
• 3/4+ ounce simple syrup
• 6 mint leaves
• 2 ounces gin
• 1/4 ounce arak

Credit: Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club

Lady Shirley

Yesterday, we went to the bank to take care of some business for Elli and stopped at Pot Belly to get milkshakes. The bank and Pot Belly are across the street from Teresa's old office so she got to see a few of her old coworkers and show off Piper.

Today, I got to play nine holes. This afternoon we just stayed in and watched some of the Olympics. Then I made a Lady Shirley to drink while I made dinner. When I say "made a Lady Shirley" I mean made the cocktail but forgot to top it with soda. Oops! The drinks was still delicious. However, I think it might be better with a little effervescence.


Lady Shirley

• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
• 1 ounce Grenadine
• 1 1/2 ounces lemon juice
• Soda

Shake bourbon, Grenadine, and lemon juice hard; pour into a rocks glass filled with ice; top with soda.

Credit: Employees Only via Saveur

Gold Rush . . . Smash?

Yesterday we went to the mall to get some back-to-work clothes for Teresa. We brought six diapers. They lasted about 90 minutes. We hurried through the last few stores but I think bought Teresa what she needed.

Drink nomenclature is confusing. I made a Gold Rush but with mint . . . or a Bourbon Smash with ginger liqueur. This last sentence is only true if one understands a Gold Rush to mean ginger liqueur, bourbon, and lemon juice, not honey syrup, bourbon, and lemon juice, which I've seen called a Gold Rush. A Bourbon Smash is like a Mojito (rum, sugar, lime) but with bourbon rather than rum and lemon rather than lime.

A Gold Rush . . . Smash is essentially a sour with mint. Dale DeGroff says sours are 1 1/2 - 2 ounces spirits, 3/4 ounce sour ingredients, and 1 ounce sweet ingredients. I'm happy to defer to Dale DeGroff but you can find other bartenders using different ratios. Additionally, to complicate sours, some ingredients act as both a sweet and a strong -- for example, ginger and orange liqueurs. Ultimately, all that matters is that the drink tastes good, and this one does.

Gold Rush .  . . Smash

• 1 1/2 ounces ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton)
• 1 ounce bourbon
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice
• 4 mint leaves

Muddle ingredients; strain into a rocks glass on ice. Note: Domaine de Canton suggests stir and serving in a cocktail glass. I don't know why but I make this drink frequently and never serve it in a cocktail glass.

Bubba's Cocktail

As the only reader of this weblog who is not my mother, I am inventing this cocktail in honor of Bubba. Women want to be with him and men want to be him. What else is there to say about Bubba? Only one thing: If Bubba was a cocktail he'd be this one.

Before we get to the cocktail, a quick word on tequila. The most important marker to look for when buying tequila is that it is 100% agave. Once you've found 100% agave, there are four types: blanco or silver, reposado (rested), anejo (aged), extra anejo (extra aged). In general, people don't mix anejo or extra anejo tequilas.

The cocktail gets its sweetness from the Cointreau and Fresca. The orange flavor does come through as part of the sweetness. The grapefruit bitters reinforce the Fresca and, along with the reposado tequila, add depth. I think, though admittedly I did not test this thought, that plain ol' silver or blanco tequila would taste good but be a little less interesting.

Bubba's Cocktail

• 2 ounce reposado tequila
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 2 dashes grapefruit bitters
• 2 1/8 pieces lime
• 6 ounces Fresca

Muddle lime, reposado tequila, Cointreau, and grapefruit bitters in a glass; pour into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice; top with Fresca.

Preakness (and Golden Daze)

First, I made a Golden Daze (1 1/2 ounces of gin, 1/2 ounce peach brandy, 1 ounce orange juice). It was terrible. Honestly, I didn't have high hopes but I wanted to use the new gin I received as a present (thanks Mom!) but it was much worse than I thought it would be. I had to get the flavor out of my mouth so I made a Preakness.

A Preakness is essentially a Manhattan -- classic, bold, comforting -- with the addition of Benedictine. The small amount of Benedictine adds a little sweetness and depth. It's delicious.

Preakness

• 2 ounces whiskey
• 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1/4 ounce Benedictine
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir whiskey, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and Agostura bitters with ice; strain into a cocktail glass; garnish with a maraschino cherry.