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Category: Cocktails
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 Originally made with cognac but now typically made with rye whiskey, this absinthe laced classic is perfect for either quiet, personal reflection or raucous celebrating with a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…
Let’s celebrate the first day of autumn with a bright cocktail reminiscent of summer but warming for the coolness of fall. This cocktail is a kind of a variant to a Moscow Mule just based on Old Tom gin, lime and ginger beer. The ginger forward aspect of this cocktail brings the warmth while the lime reminds me of summer citrus drinks. I have read that you can use London Dry gin since the ginger takes the stage flavor-wise, but my tasting tests were not so promising. And since I picked up some Old Tom gin for the recent Ampersand cocktail, this is a perfect second cocktail based on this beautifully unique spirit. So let’s enjoy these waning days of warm weather and…
Tonight’s cocktail is my take on the one created in the 90’s at the Queen City Grill in Seattle per Bartending with Fairness. I enjoyed this cocktail there back in the day – it really will pick you up if you are hanging at the end of a long evening. It can also mess you up in a hurry as this drink is potent, in my opinion. I think my version plays a little bit nicer as it is basically a twisted espresso martini. Since I don’t have an espresso machine (I know, right?), I decided to use High Brew Black and Bold Cold Brew Coffee. The potent cold brew coffee makes this cocktail a bit easier to prepare over making espresso…
Tonight’s cocktail is one of the standards – a basis for many other cocktails and quite frankly I believe is often overlooked. Well, I think it is high time to get this beauty back into the public eye! This drink is simple to make and when made with a great tasting whiskey, the results are sublime. There is not much more to say about this cocktail, so let’s kick off this weekend! Save Print Whiskey Sour Prep time: 5 mins Total time: 5 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients 2 parts whiskey 1 part lemon juice 1 part simple syrup lemon wedge for garnish cherry for garnish Instructions Chill a rocks glass by filling with ice or placing in the freezer for…
Happy Friday everyone! Tonight’s cocktail is perfect for this wonderful Summer evening – the Palmetto. Typically this drink is made with white rum and dry vermouth… and from what my research found, the resulting drink is barely drinkable. Well, we can’t have that here on Cooking-4-One, can we? So I opted to follow the research and use an aged rum and sweet vermouth. The resulting rum variation of a Manhattan works nicely and I even give it a nice little tweak. I would have thought adding sweet vermouth to a sweet liquor like rum would end in disaster, but it doesn’t… especially with my special ingredient, Galliano Ristretto. For this cocktail, I would use a rum you enjoy…
There are several recipes for this cocktail floating around the web, basically divided into two styles – include orange liqueur or not. The real keys to this negroni-like cocktail are in the style of gin used. This cocktail calls for Old Tom gin – a slightly sweeter variation. I find the difference between Old Tom and Dry gin as being more floral and subtly herbaceous compared to the juniper forward dry gins that have staunch herbal notes to hold up to the ‘pine’ flavor of juniper. Based on that description of Old Tom gin, I tested this cocktail first with Citadelle gin and I really liked it. So I sought out a true Old Tom gin and tested it again. The results: wonderful, simply wonderful…
With the current heatwave here in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted today’s cocktail to represent something tropical. I could have gone with Hawaii and it’s popular Mai-Tai, the Caribbean with a Dark and Stormy, but my search ended a bit farther south. Let’s celebrate Brazil’s national cocktail – the caipirinha. Made with Brazil’s popular sugar cane based distillate, cachaça, limes, and sugar; this cocktail is refreshing on a hot Summer day or warm Summer evening. Easy to make and refreshing to drink, this cocktail is one of my favorite choices to serve when friends drop by for a visit. This drink also pairs well with barbecue or grilled dishes, meaning it can be enjoyed right through…
“If you like piña coladas, this recipe will save you some pain. If you desire something tropical with flavors exciting to your brain.” Ok, that’s enough mocking of the lyrics of the song (or trying to), let’s get down to the business of making a tasty piña colada. This recipe and the process is adapted from Serious Eats that delivers a balanced cocktail without the artificial flavors that pre-mix or other recipes deliver. The keys to this recipe are fresh and natural ingredients pre-frozen to minimize the amount of ice needed to make a slushy drink. This easy drinking cocktail is perfect for relaxing on a warm Summer day (or evening), soothing and melting away your worries and…
Tonight’s cocktail is a classic – one of the six basic drinks listed in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David Embury. The daiquiri is simple yet elegant, potent yet enjoyable, and mostly overlooked (at least in my circles). Let’s fix that, shall we? The base daiquiri is just white rum, lime juice, and simple syrup. The International Bartenders Association’s recipe for this drink is 9 parts white rum, 5 parts lime juice, and 3 parts simple syrup. Yes, you read that correctly… 9 parts of white rum. There is your potency right there! Of course, I couldn’t resist tweaking the recipe slightly… again with my adding a slight bit of lemon to temper the lime’…
I did a quick check and guess what? I have not posted a classic margarita recipe yet. Well, it is high time to correct that oversight! I am not talking your cheap tequila and bottled margarita mix with ice into a blender kind of margarita, but the robust and intensely flavorful Classic Margarita. I found the ratio for the ingredients on the Serious Eats website, but I definitely tweaked it… and here is why. I believe using straight lime juice is fine, if you want to taste the standard tequila shot in your drink. I want more… so I added a portion of lemon juice. Also, I do not use simple syrup in this cocktail if it needs sweetness (which really depends on the Triple Sec…