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Karaugh and I got together after work at Deep Ellum to discuss Sleep No More—an amazingly powerful A.R.T. production which I saw Sunday night. Discussing incredible theater needed to be matched with equally high quality drinks.
For our second round, I handed my list of 100 must-have cocktails to Jen and asked for a suggestion. She chose the Hemingway Daiquiri. I hesitated for a moment because until recently, my vision of a daiquiri was one-sided—I could only think of the frothy, strawberry variety that are perfect to enjoy poolside on a hot summer day. Before those frozen, fruity versions gained popularity (due in part to the invention of the home blender), the daiquiri, developed in the late 19th century in Cuba, had been enjoyed as a simple concoction of rum, lime juice, and sugar. In the early 1930s Ernest Hemingway went to Cuba. After a long day of writing and fishing, he would enjoy a cocktail (or two). Hemingway especially enjoyed those mixed by Constantino Ribalaigua at La Floridita Bar. Cocktail legend tells us that one version of the daiquiri, with grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur added to the rum and lime, was Hemingway’s favorite. Whether that story is true or not, what Jen mixed up for me was delicious—sweet and tart at the same time.
While I sipped my daiquiri, Karaugh chose the Germination off the menu. She’s a big fan of St. Germain, so was immediately drawn to this drink. And it did not disappoint. Does anything with the deliciously sweet elderflower liqueur ever disappoint??? I look forward to making this one at home soon, and I suggest if you like St. Germain to try this. Here’s the recipe:
Germination (from Deep Ellum)
2 oz gin
¾ oz St. Germain
½ oz lemon juice
2 dashes orange bitters
Shake over ice. Strain.
Cheers!
There’s nothing like the first sip of a favorite cocktail to melt away the stress of a long, exhausting week. I met Maura at Green Street tonight and felt that magic happen as I took a sip of the Last Word. This Prohibition-era drink developed at the Detroit Athletic Club always hits the spot. How is it that I have yet to write about this fantastic cocktail? It’s a perfect combination of sweet, tart, and herbal—it’s just brilliant. And this formula of equal parts of gin, maraschino liqueur, green Chartreuse and lime, can also be used to make some equally delicious variations. Two particularly good ones are the Final Ward and the Monte Cassino.
On paper the Last Word is a battle of flavors. In reality, however, there is no fist fighting amongst these four ingredients for top billing. They blend together perfectly, while each still holds its own. You taste the botanicals of the gin, the tart maraschino, the amazing herbals of the Chartreuse and the sharp freshness of the lime.
One of my favorite liqueurs is Chartreuse. In this cocktail it shines. I first drank this wonderful stuff as I watched, Into the Great Silence, a documentary about Carthusian monks who in addition to living a solitary existence have also have been making Chartreuse at the Grande Chartreuse monastery, France since the 18th century. Legend has it that no one monk knows the entire recipe; instead its distributed amongst three different monks. Originally made for medicinal purposes, over 130 herbs and plants give this liqueur layers upon layers of flavor. It adds herbal complexity to the Last Word, but is also delicious with a little sparkling water and fresh citrus.
Here’s the recipe: (I enjoyed one at Green Street and then came home and made myself one.)
¾ oz Plymouth gin
¾ oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
¾ oz green Chartreuse
¾ oz fresh lime juice
Shake over ice. Strain. Enjoy!
The Last Word is well, the last word in cocktail complexity. Cheers!
Rye whiskey is not a spirit that I have much experience with, especially not mixing myself. But it has crossed my path a number of times over the last week , so I thought I should take a hint and try out a couple whiskey recipes. This also gave me an excuse to use some of the new cocktail “toys” (new juicers and strainers) that I got for Christmas. The two drinks I made both came from the New York Times (I’ve included the article links below).
For the last few months, I have been slowly making my way through The History of the World in Six Glasses (Tom Standage, 2005) and I just finished the section on whiskey. Here are the highlights of what I learned. As our nation expanded westward in the late 18th century, Scottish and Irish settlers started making spirits from cereal grains like rye, wheat, corn or barley. Whiskey quickly overtook rum which had dominated as the most popular booze in the colonial period. Whiskey became such an important part of American life that it even caused a military skirmish in 1794. Problems started when Alexander Hamilton thought it would be a good idea to tax whiskey production, even for private consumption, to raise money to pay off the debt from the American Revolution. A small band of farmers in Pennsylvania fought against the whiskey tax collectors sparking the Whiskey Rebellion. President George Washington brought together federal troops to handle the situation, but not before deaths on both sides. The rebels were weakened and eventually the excise was repealed. Interesting this moment in American history also contributed to the development of another spirit—as rebels moved farther west into Kentucky, in particular Bourbon County, where they took advantage of corn, an indigenous group, making a drink we now call bourbon.
Now that we’ve had our history lesson, onto the drinks…
My first cocktail, the Red Hook, was inspired by an article in today’s New York Times (Thanks for the article, Jeff!). The drink features rye whiskey (2 oz), Punt de Mes, or sweet vermouth (½ oz) and maraschino liqueur (½ oz). It’s pretty heavy on the whiskey, so if I make this again, I might amp up the maraschino a bit to try and mellow out the whiskey. I guess I need a little something to cut my whiskey.
For my second drink, I made a Monte Cassino, another drink recipe I found in the NY Times in an article about the 500th anniversary of Benedictine. This cocktail is spectacular! Developed by Damon Dyer of Louis 649 in NYC, it follows the formula of The Last Word (and I have yet to meet a variation of this drink that I did not like)—equal parts of 4 ingredients that combine bitter, herbal, sweet and sour. The Monte Cassino is ¾ ounce each of rye (the recipe called for Rittenhouse 100-proof, but I used Old Overholt), yellow Chartreuse, Benedictine, and lemon juice. The Chartreuse and Benedictine both add a fabulous herbaliness and spiciness (between these two liqueurs there are almost 160 herbs and spices in this cocktail!), while the rye brings in a slight bitterness and the tart lemon rounds the whole thing out. I love the complexity of the disparate flavors, and the way they come surprising come together in perfect harmony. Spectacular!
Salute!
Wednesday night I went to Craigie on Main with Julie, Bridget, Chris and Phil for their Cocktail Whim—four half cocktails decided upon by the bartender. Carrie took us on a fun cocktail adventure that began with a light appley sparkling cocktail and ended with a rich, dessert-like sherry flip. Along the way she shared lots of little tidbits about the yum ingredients in our cocktails. This bartender’s whim is a great way to experiment and try some new stuff and maybe you’ll discover a new favorite—my new find was Becherovka.
Our first drink was the Tavern Sparkler.
Apple cider and honey syrup are matched up with Becherovka, and a little champagne tops it off. This was my first experience with Becherovka, and it may soon become a favorite. Like many of these traditional liqueurs, this bitter one from the Czech Republic, was traditionally used as a home remedy for stuff like toothaches and arthritis. Cinnamon is the most prominent of the over thirty two herbs and spices in this secret recipe. In this drink that cinnamon-herbal flavor perfectly compliments the apple cider and honey. Then the champagne adds just enough sparkle to make the cocktail even more interesting—it’s bubbly, but not too bubbly. Apple, cinnamon and honey are such familiar flavors and for me made drinking this cocktail a comforting experience. Especially on a cold winter evening it warmed the soul. This wonderful start was Julie’s favorite.
For drink #2, we had the Final Ward. And this picture does not do this amazing drink justice.
This is a variation of the Last Word—one for my absolute favorite drinks—which is equal parts (3/4 ounces to be exact) gin, maraschino, green Chartreuse and lime juice. Carrie explained that this version was developed by New York bartender Phil Ward. Rye replaces gin and lemon replaces the lime. And while I didn’t think you could improve on a drink as good as the Last Word this is pretty damn good. The spiciness of the rye adds a depth to the already delicious mix of herbally Chartreuse and maraschino. And anything served with one of those Luxardo maraschino cherries is delicious!
Next came the 3-2-1.
This one has Fighting Cock bourbon, Aperol, sloe gin and whiskey barrel aged bitters. The woody flavor of the savory bourbon and bitters are a solid foundation for this drink. But the real punch comes from the Aperol. Like Campari, Aperol is a bitter liqueur made from citrus (oranges to be exact), and it’s the most prominent part of this drink—which I really like. The sloe gin adds not only sweet berriness which slightly mellows the bourbon and bitterness, but also makes the cocktails beautiful with that rich red color. I loved the orange aroma and flavor that bookend this drink—I was drawn in by the robust orange fragrance and loved the way the orange bitter flavor lingers in your mouth long after the sip has been swallowed. This may have been my favorite.
We finished with the Jerez Flip.
While I am getting over my fear of eggs in cocktails and am really becoming a flip convert, this was my least favorite of the night. There was a lot going on—oloroso sherry, Pimm’s, Benedictine, demarara syrup, angostura and mole bitters. I loved the Benedictine and really enjoy the richness thatan egg adds to a cocktail and who doesn’t love trying to get every last drop of foam from the glass. Although I admit I am not as patient as Chris was in making that happen. The reason for my hesitation with this particular flip was the inclusion of oloroso sherry—I am not a huge fan of sherry. This was, however, one of Bridget’s favorite, which is the beauty of the Cocktail Whim, one person’s least favorite is another’s favorite.
Four yum cocktails, some good bar food (shoe string fries, thinner than any shoe string I have had, were reminescent of those potato sticks in a can from childhood), and friends, of course, made for a good Wednesday. And I can’t forget to mention how much I loved thetotally adorable mini-glasses. Salute!