Mary Pickford

This past Saturday, Teresa and I left Piper with a babysitter we didn't know for the first time! It went well and we hope our new babysitter will come back soon.

Honestly, the drink mostly tasted like a rum and pineapple juice with a subtle cherry finish. Of course, rum and pineapple juice isn't bad but the drink wasn't particularly interesting. I will say, and you can see in the picture, that the drink came out with nice frothy-ness and a good mouthfeel. Overall, while the Mary Pickford was good, there are more interesting drinks to try.

Mary Pickford

• 1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 bar spoon grenadine
• 1 bar spoon maraschino liqueur (Lazzaroni)
• 1 1/2 ounces rum (Doorly's 5 Year)

h/t: Smuggler's Cover

Kaiteur Swizzle

The Kaiteur Swizzle is delicious: tart, refreshing, interesting. The first Kaiteur Swizzle I made I used a lightly aged white rum. However, when I went to make my third, I had almost run out of lightly aged white rum so I used my last ounce and the 1 ounce of a spiced rum that has strong vanilla notes. The two drinks came out very differently (and if you look closely, you cane see the difference in color in the picture). The Kaiteur Swizzle made the the spiced rum was sweeter, though definitely not too sweet. This drink will definitely go into my regular rotation.

A quick word on falernum, which makes it debut on the blog, and definitely sounds like it should be chased with penicillin. Falernum is a sweet liqueur with strong lime zest and ginger flavors and with nuttiness, clove, and vanilla rounding it out. There are multiple brands (John. D. Taylor's is the most common) and you can make your own. As a building block of a cocktail, one should think of falernum as a sweet ingredient first though it adds spice as well as a little alcohol.

Falernum is not really like Cointreau (the other most frequently used liqueur on the blog) but, just for the sake of explaining falernum, I'll compare the two anyway. Falernum is much sweeter than Cointreau, pouring almost like a syrup. Falernum is much less alcoholic than Cointreau, with only 11% ABV compared to Cointreau's 40%. Falernum is more complex than Cointreau. Falernum has multiple flavor notes, I find lime zest and ginger to be the most prominent but it also has allspice, which adds an unmistakable tiki or exotic cocktail flavor that is hard to obtain otherwise. Falernum also has a bitter almond or nut flavor which is akin to the flavor provided by Amaretto in the Castaway.

Kaiteur Swizzle

• 3/4 ounce lime juice
• 1/2 ounce maple syrup
• 1/2 ounce falernum (John D. Taylor's Velevet Falernum)
• 2 ounce rum
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Fill glass 3/4 full of crushed ice; pour in lime juice, maple syrup, falernum, rum, and Angostura bitters; swizzle contents until the glass is frosty; top with additional crushed ice; insert a straw; garnish with mint.

h/t: Smuggler's Cove

Fernet Flip

Last Thursday, I took Piper for her second flu shot. She didn't even cry. Unfortunately, the appointment conflicted with her morning nap so she was pretty tired when we got home.

This weekend, we stayed home from the Women's March because we thought it'd be too tough to go with Piper. While I think that was probably the right decision, it was great to see all the pictures of our friends in D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

The Fernet Flip did not taste anything like I expected. The first flavor I tasted, and it came through strong, was something like creme de menthe, which slowly developed into a muted, though more expected, medicinal and herbal flavor of Fernet. Finally, the vermouth came through with a light, floral finish. The floral-mint combination was strange but tasted much better than it sounds. The Fernet Flip had a nice creamy texture, courtesy of the egg. While the Fernet Flip is not going to go into my regular rotation, I will make it again.

Fernet Flip

• 1 1/2 ounces Fernet Branca
• 1 1/2 sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters (Fee Brother's)
• 1 egg white

Shake vigorously over ice; strain into a cocktail glass.

Revolver

I was supposed to be in Nashville but my flight was cancelled "due to weather" despite both D.C. and Nashville having fine weather. Then, my options for flights was severely limited (unless I wanted to spend almost $700) such that I'd have to either wake up at 4:30 a.m. or have less than 24 hours in Nashville. Neither of those options made sense. So I stayed home and drove T crazy moping around. She got sick of my moping and told me to leave the house. I went to the liquor store and spent a lot of money. It did make me feel better. But I still missed seeing my friends.

Piper continues to do well. She is really moving now. We definitely need to sweep more frequently. The picture included above is current. The one below, that includes the Revolver, is a few months old. The difference is staggering.

A cocktail I've been making (and recommending a lot), the Revolver is a great option if you like bourbon and you don't have citrus. The drink does not come off tasting of coffee. In fact, a few people for whom I've made it haven't even been able to place the coffee flavor. Rather, the coffee liqueur (I've actually use a few brands) provides the sweetness that simple syrup might otherwise provide. The result is a just slightly sweetened bourbon that has great depth.

Revolver

• 2 ounces bourbon (Bulleit)
• 1/2 ounce coffee liqueur (Kalhua)
• 2 dashes orange bitters (Fee Brothers)

Stir, strain into a chilled coupe.

h/t: Joe Santo, Bruno's, San Francisco, California via Modern Classics

Gin Daisy

I am keeping my new year's resolution to continue blogging. To that end, I made Gin Daisy.

A few nights ago it was cold and rainy. It was the kind of night one might want to dig into a warm bowl of spaghetti with meatballs, which is, in fact, what we did. By contrast, the Gin Daisy is bright, fresh, and summery. But a good drink is a good drink, and the Gin Daisy is a good drink. I made my Gin Daisy with Beefeater because I wanted something more mild than Tanqueray or Dogfish Head. I also used oranges and blueberries that were part of a fruit salad my sister made, so they were slightly coated in brown sugar and lime zest (and were great). After tasting the cocktail, which was delicious, I think the best gin for the drink would be something more floral like Hendrick's. Alas, I am probably not allowed to buy another bottle of gin until I finish at least one of the three I have. No matter, that task will be easier now that I've found the Gin Daisy.

A few days passed and I made a second Gin Daisy with Tanqueray. I think the Tanqueray Gin Daisy was slightly better but I didn't have the fresh fruit for garnish, which would've made it even better.

Gin Daisy

• 2 ounces gin
• 1/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 1 teaspoon grenadine
• 2 teaspoons simple syrup
• 1 ounce soda
• Fresh fruit

Shake gin, lemon juice, lime juice, grenadine, and simple syrup; strain into glass; top with soda; and garnish with fresh fruit.

h/t: Imbibe!

Industry Sour

My resolution was to get back to blogging. It helps me focus on my drinking. So, here's to 2017!

But, before we get to the cocktail, a quick word on Piper. She is almost seven months old! She is crawling and starting to eat solid food. She still usually sleeps through the night. However, as she has had new teeth come in she does wake up some nights.

I want to post the Industry Sour for two reasons. First, it is so good it is in my regular rotation. Second, Fernet Branca is going on the list of overused booze in the near future (if it isn't already). Fernet Branca is an amaro -- an Italian bitter liqueur. Bitter is a hot flavor right now, see for example, the popularity of increasingly bitter IPAs.

But don't allow Fernet Branca's bitterness to turn you off the drink if bitter isn't your favorite flavor. Fernet Branca is aged in oak and has a bittersweet, herbal, medicinal flavor. Some people drink Fernet Branca straight. It's not bad on the rocks. But I think Fernet Branca is better in an Industry Sour.

The Industry Sour has a lot of everything. Two herbal and bitter liqueurs, along with a lot of sour and sweet from an ounce each of lime juice and simple syrup. All the flavors mix well and the cocktail is wonderfully bitter, sweet, and sour all at the same time.

Industry Sour

• 1 ounce Frenet Branca
• 1 ounce Green Chartreuse
• 1 ounce lime
• 1 ounce simple syrup

Shake, strain into a cocktail glass.

h/t: www.esquire.com