Two At The Most

The theme for this year’s official cocktail contest for Tales of the Cocktail was “Punch It Up.” Entrants were invited to submit a cocktail based on the Planter’s Punch recipe. Today the winner was announced, and I was excited to learn it was Evan Martin’s Death in the South Pacific.

Death in the South Pacific

Death in the South Pacific

0.75 oz. Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old rum
0.75 … Continue Reading

This month’s Mixology Monday is hosted by Sonja Kassebaum over at Thinking of Drinking. In addition to running a fine boutique distillery, North Shore, with her husband, Sonja is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

This month she’s chosen the topic that’s near and dear to my heart:
The topic for February is Absinthe. That much maligned, misunderstood, mistreated spirit, suddenly plentiful … Continue Reading

It may barely still be September, but it is definitely Monday, so it must be time for Mixology Monday! This month, we are hosted by the kind folk over at eGullet. Chris Amirault has chosen the topic of “Dizzy Dairy,” declaring:
Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of … Continue Reading

This month’s Mixology Monday is being hosted by Tristan at The Wild Drink Blog. He’s put forth the following challenge:
This month’s Mixology Monday is all about twists on classic cocktails, that for one reason or another do an even better job than the drinks upon which they are based.

This could be as simple as a classic Margarita with a dash with a special touch that completes it, or maybe … Continue Reading

It’s Mixology Monday 37. This month the party is being hosted by one of my favorite groups, the Boston chapter of the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC Boston). The theme is the First TIme, and the challenge laid down by the ever-entertaining Pink Lady is to make and write about the cocktail you’d suggest to introduce someone to the wonderful world of mixed drinks:
What drink do you suggest for the delicate … Continue Reading

Liquor marketing is an interesting thing. Take Kilo Kai rum. Its website is chock full of electronic music and pictures of parties populated with busty broads. When I received a bottle for review, I was concerned this might be a style liquor with no substance. Happily, my first impressions were hasty. Kilo Kai is actually a tasty spiced rum that I’m happy to have in my liquor cabinet.

Kilo Kai is distilled, flavored, and aged for three years on the island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. It is then imported to the US where it … 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

Believe it or not, I still have a little bit of my bottle of Swedish Punsch left. Tonight I decided to find a recipe to appreciate it. I hit a real prize with the Pooh Bah cocktail.

Pooh Bah Cocktail

3/4 oz gin (Bombay)
3/4 oz light rum (Flor de Caña 4 year Extra Dry
3/4 oz Swedish punsch (Carlshamns Flaggpunsch)
1/4 oz apricot brandy (Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot)

stir over ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, sip with a smile.

This is really a delightful cocktail. Yes, it’s a sweet cocktail, but not overpoweringly so. In this case the … Continue Reading

Over at Kaiser Penguin, Rick has posed a challenging question:

If you could only have 10 bottles of alcohol, what would they be? You have to name brands, and you must include vermouths if you want them. They are, at least, infinitely replenishable.

I tried to focus on my favorite cocktails, and favorite categories of cocktails, as I made my decisions. I must have at least one scotch, mixable or not. I have to have my Manhattans. And I give up the ability to have something approximating a mai tai in order to have Pisco sours.

So here’s my … Continue Reading

Here in the United States, we have a day for everything. There’s a national pound cake day, national pecan day, and even something on a stick day.

August 16 particularly appeals to me because it’s National Rum Day. Just how this designation was set I haven’t been able to ascertain, but who cares? It’s an excuse to make a delicious rum cocktail!

One of my favorite rum-based drinks is the El Presidente. I first discovered it in Wayne Curtis’s article … Continue Reading