Liquor

[kphoger]

I think a Negroni is perfectly balanced for me, assuming you use good vermouth (that actually has flavor) and gin (that isn't only juniper).

Maybe I'll try it again, now that I have vermouth that isn't Punt e Mes.

[JayhawkCO]

Just something like Carpano or Cocchi is great for Negronis. Also, if you've never had them with olives (as they're traditionally served), it's surprisingly a great flavor combo.

[kphoger]

Maybe I'll try Cocchi next.  Right now, I just have good old Martini & Rossi.

By the way, I don't know if I've actually mentioned...  I didn't use to care much for a Martini–especially the way my sister and her husband make them, which is 50/50 vodka/gin.  Anyway, I've settled on a 4:1 gin:vermouth ratio, with half the vermouth being dry and half being sweet.  So it ends up being 8 parts gin, 1 part sweet vermouth, 1 part dry vermouth.  Even better with a small splash of Aperol.

[abefroman329]

I didn't use to care much for a Martini

I still don't, that's why I drink Manhattans.

[kphoger]

that's why I drink Manhattans.

I stayed away from those for a while because I've never liked whiskey.  Then I bought a cheap bottle of Jameson blended whiskey and tried a Manhattan.  And I liked it!  Great, I thought, maybe I like whiskey now.  So then I tried it straight.  Nope!

[JayhawkCO]

Not a Martini guy either, which is 60% of what my bar makes now with the nouveau rich thinking they are the classiest drink one can order. kphoger, I bet you'd like a Vesper despite you not liking how your family made their Martinis.

I used to love Jamo and then I tried good Irish whiskies and now I can't stand the stuff sadly. I'm more of a rye guy for my domestic whiskeys.

[kphoger]

Not a Martini guy either, which is 60% of what my bar makes now with the nouveau rich thinking they are the classiest drink one can order.

Your job now is to come up with two or three signature twists on a classic Martini.  Start with lesser-known products you can "splash" in.

[JayhawkCO]

Not a Martini guy either, which is 60% of what my bar makes now with the nouveau rich thinking they are the classiest drink one can order.

Your job now is to come up with two or three signature twists on a classic Martini.  Start with lesser-known products you can "splash" in.

Not necessarily obscure, but...

• Chareau
• Green Chartreuse
• Olive Oil

[kphoger]

Olive Oil

Shaken or stirred?

[JayhawkCO]

Olive Oil

Shaken or stirred?

Shaking helps to disperse it a bit better. A better option is to use spherification so they don't break apart and you have little olive oil caviar.

[kphoger]

Suggestions I'm seeing online say to prepare at least part of the drink the day before, then freeze it and remove the olive oil solids.

[Takumi]

The discussion about Malort reminded me of this tweet that I saw about a hundred times on various social media last month.

https://twitter.com/waitressboner/status/1402152044740464642

[abefroman329]

There was this Ukrainian guy in my MBA cohort, and someone brought a bottle of Malort to our graduation party, and the dude LOVED it. Damn near killed the bottle by himself.

But seriously, it tastes like earwax and lime rinds.

[JayhawkCO]

Suggestions I'm seeing online say to prepare at least part of the drink the day before, then freeze it and remove the olive oil solids.

Yeah. That's a technique called fat washing. We did a duck fat washed bourbon in a cocktail at the hotel.

[kphoger]

The gin I purchased most recently is this one, because the liquor store was out of the one I was intending to buy.  It's quite unlike my usual picks, especially because it has a bit of a musty flavor to it.  The reviewer from whose site I grabbed the image describes it as being like 'the aroma of damp maple leaves after a summer rain', and I can definitely see where he's coming from.

It's been a struggle to find a drink it works well in.  My usual citrus-forward drinks don't play nicely with the musty character of this gin.  But it worked pretty well in Negroni (which, by the way, Chris, is indeed better with a more normal vermouth than Punt e Mes).  And where I found it actually shines is in a martini, which surprised me for some reason.  The other day, I tried a second go-around with it in a gin and tonic, but this time I muddled some cucumber in the gin for a while and added several dashes of Peychaud's bitters, and it was better with those slight changes.

I probably won't buy it again, but it has been an interesting deviation from my usual.

[JayhawkCO]

The gin I purchased most recently is this one, because the liquor store was out of the one I was intending to buy.  It's quite unlike my usual picks, especially because it has a bit of a musty flavor to it.  The reviewer from whose site I grabbed the image describes it as being like 'the aroma of damp maple leaves after a summer rain', and I can definitely see where he's coming from.

It's been a struggle to find a drink it works well in.  My usual citrus-forward drinks don't play nicely with the musty character of this gin.  But it worked pretty well in Negroni (which, by the way, Chris, is indeed better with a more normal vermouth than Punt e Mes).  And where I found it actually shines is in a martini, which surprised me for some reason.  The other day, I tried a second go-around with it in a gin and tonic, but this time I muddled some cucumber in the gin for a while and added several dashes of Peychaud's bitters, and it was better with those slight changes.

I probably won't buy it again, but it has been an interesting deviation from my usual.

Leopold's also makes a Summer Gin which is vvveeerrrrryyy citrus forward as well. Basically Todd Leopold (nice guy) made a gin especially for his mom who loves lemon. They they liked it so well that they sell it seasonally.

[1995hoo]

I was digging around in my home office yesterday trying to find something. While searching, I stumbled across the following drink recipe instructions my late father sent me in 1994. These date back to his law school days (1968—71). My relatives all have fond memories of when my dad made these after my grandmother's funeral and got everyone severely drunk, but nobody had the recipe. My cousin asked me about it around a year ago and I said I knew I had it, but I couldn't find it, and she said, "I figured you may be the only person who had that information stored somewhere!!" So I found it yesterday by accident and sent it to her, and her comment about my being the only person to have the information is what prompts me to post it here. This probably sounds disgusting, but if you follow the instructions it will taste very good–too good, actually, as you can seriously mess yourself up drinking these. Note that, as I said, this recipe dates back over 50 years, so when my father says "real beer," he doesn't mean IPA or porter or any of the craft brews you see on the market today. He means mass-market ordinary beer like Heineken or Coors, and I assume back in his law school days he more likely used something like Stroh's. The last time I remember him making these, I think he used Heineken.

All parenthetical comments, and the misspelling of "crushed," are as my father wrote it 29 years ago. The name of the drink apparently comes from the nickname of a law school classmate of his.

Step #11 is very important and is not a joke.

STUDLY SOURS

1. One can frozen pink lemonade mix
2. Pour this into a blender
3. Fill same lemonade can with bourbon, blended american whiskey, or scotch (the second is best–Seagram's 7 works fine, but Calvert is just as good. Do not use any very good whiskey: no Jack Daniels or Crown Royal or Glenlivet. Also do not use total smeck or you will taste it twice–on way down and then again on way up and neither time will be pleasant)
4. Fill same lemonade can 1/4 way with same as #3.
5. (Obviously both full and 1/4 lemonade can get poured into blender)
6. Fill lemonade can with beer: real beer, not junk light beer (drink maker gets to finish what is left in each can as he/she makes the studlies)
7. Pour in juice from a jar maraschino cherries (not all the juice, just enough so you know it went in–1/4 to 1/3 of juice in the jar)
8. Turn on blender: slowly at first because beer will fizz and, as this is all blending, add cruched ice or cubes if your blender will crush them.
9. Continue blending at various speeds until all ice is crushed and you have a smooth drink.
10. Pour into old fashioned glasses (a particular style glass, not just an old fart's glass) filled with ice cubes and one or two maraschino cherries.
11. Try not to drink too many or you will throw up.

[kphoger]

Not a Martini guy either, which is 60% of what my bar makes now with the nouveau rich thinking they are the classiest drink one can order. kphoger, I bet you'd like a Vesper despite you not liking how your family made their Martinis.

My take on a Rolls Royce, definitely better than a Martini:

6 parts gin (still using Drumshanbo, and still loving it)
2 parts dry vermouth
2 parts sweet vermouth
1 part Bénédictine
dark bitters, such as coffee or chocolate flavor

[JayhawkCO]

You ever done a Martínez?

[1995hoo]

You ever done a Martínez?

This post made me think of the 2 Live Crew track "Fuck Martinez." I decided not to link the recording from YouTube because of the problems it might cause if someone plays it in a public place—as the track's name implies, it has a bit of profanity. One of my roommates during my second and third year of college had that album on cassette tape and we all, being the mature college kids* we were, thought it was hilarious, which now makes me cringe (as does the Guns N Roses track "Get in the Ring," which is another one we thought was hilarious back then).

*Of course, we were all over 18, so that means we were not kids but rather were mature adults, right? Right?

[wriddle082]

My brothers and sisters have been drinking a lot of Old Fashioneds lately, and I like them on occasion as well.  Without scrolling back, does anybody have any good Old Fashioned recipes, or can direct me to which page of this thread to find one?

Thanks!  Trying desperately to broaden my horizons away from just Captain and Coke or Beam and Pepsi.

[JayhawkCO]

The original old fashioned is just 2 oz. of spirit (Doesn't just have to be whiskey. Mezcal makes a great old fashioned.), 0.5 oz. of simple syrup, and 2-3 dashes of angostura bitters. Anything more than that, to me, hides the spirit and makes it too sweet.

[kphoger]

If I'm feeling lazy, some days I just have a sweet vermouth & soda.  Surprisingly good!

[JayhawkCO]

If I'm feeling lazy, some days I just have a sweet vermouth & soda.  Surprisingly good!

Once of my favorite simple ones is a Porto Tonic which is just white port and tonic. Refreshing.

[NWI_Irish96]

A cocktail I've been enjoying recently is a variant on the Brooklyn. I use:

2 oz bourbon
1 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz cherry liqueur
3 oz cherry 7-up