Two At The Most

As a home mixologist, sometimes I am faced with a request for a drink for which I don’t have all the ingredients on hand. The question then is whether to improvise or just make something else altogether.

Air Florida

This was the case the other night, when my co-taster asked for an Aviation. I had to tell him that I was out of both lemon juice and lime juice…. Continue Reading

Friends on the other side of the International Date Line have already celebrated the arrival of 2009. I will be meeting up with friends later tonight to ring in the new year with laughter and great drinks.1

In looking for some ideas, I came across one of the drinks I invented for Thursday Drink Night, Gin Edition.

Étourneau Cocktail

Étourneau

1.5 oz London dry gin (No. … Continue Reading

Here in Seattle, we’re battening down the hatches in preparation for Snowmageddon: The Return. In the calm before the storm, I took a short trail ride in the snow, and now that I’m back, I’m in need of a warming drink.

Hot Buttered Swedish Punsch

Happily, I already had some hot buttered rum batter in my refrigerator, calling to me. This batch was made … Continue Reading

My initial association with the word Tuaca is a horse. Why someone named a Quarter Horse after an Italian liqueur, I’ll never know. I’ll admit I was surprised to discover the current owner of Tuaca the horse had never heard of Tuaca the liqueur. Then again, even though I had heard of it, I don’t think I’d ever tasted it until receiving a sample recently.

Tuaca claims to be the resurrection of a recipe initially created for Lorenzo de’Medici (1449 - 1492). Often called “the Magnificent,” he was the de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, and remembered as a patron … Continue Reading

I have fond memories of witnessing a traditional Zen Buddhist tea ceremony at the Smithsonian Museum. We were given small sweets, and after the ceremony, a taste of the matcha tea. It was bitter and strong, not like any tea I had tasted before. I can still remember that taste today. Thus, when I read on the back of the Zen Green Tea Liqueur bottle I received that it used matcha tea, I was intrigued.

Matcha Cocktail

Sobieski Vodka and the Mazowse Mule

Back when I was doing Soviet studies at university (when there was still such a thing), vodka was the liquor of choice. Since becoming a cocktail geek, my tastes have run more towards gin and bourbon. Still, I was happy when contacted with a query to give Sobieski Vodka a try.

Named after … Continue Reading

It’s Mixology Monday again. This month, Doug Winship at the Pegu Blog has declared the theme to be “Made from Scratch.” We are to make at least one of our own ingredients and decide if it’s worth the effort.

I have written about Swedish Punsch before. This mix of Batavia arrack, neutral spirits, sugar, water, and various flavorings is common … Continue Reading

Bitter Apricot Cocktail

Every Thursday night, starting around 7 pm EST (00:00 GMT), we meet in the Mixolseum chat room and make up drinks. Usually we have a theme centered around an ingredient that we try to experiment with.

The theme for November 6 was gin. Participants were asked to find a gin they haven’t previously purchased.

This was a big challenge for me. I’ve made an effort to try as … Continue Reading

When I got my bottle of Genevieve, a genever-style gin made by Anchor Distilling, I immediately tried the plain, fancy, and improved Holland gin cocktails.

Barleyflower cocktail

Then I started searching for other cocktails that took advantage of genever’s malty, strong flavor. I enjoyed the Amsterdam cocktail, which bring orange juice to the fore.

Even more, I enjoyed the Rembrandt cocktail, which uses Drambuie to blend with the big … Continue Reading

This past Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum was a resounding success.

And not just because my submission, the Black River Sidecar, was named best off-the-cuff drink of the night.

But I’m thrilled at the wonderful write-up Rick did over at Kaiser Penguin, including a great photo.

Black River Sidecar

1 1/2 oz cognac
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz pimento dram (St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram)
1 tsp. agave nectar

shake over ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with whole allspice berry tied in lemon twist

The St. Elizabeth’s is very potent; people who … Continue Reading