Spirited Cocktails

I’m not a terribly spiritual person, but I try as best I can to believe in the power of positive thought. If nothing else, thinking about good stuff tends to distract you from all the crappy stuff. Well, we’ve had a pretty hefty winter here in New York (February 2010 was the snowiest month on record), and as much as I like the change in seasons, I’m ready for spring. So I’m invoking the power of positive thought by way of a good cocktail, because, well, what better way is there?

In thinking about what cocktail would help make a smooth transition, and get the power of positive thought moving, I turned to the Gold Rush. This cocktail is essentially a cold version of a hot toddy, just without the wintery spices (which, as I try to channel warmer weather, is fine by me.)

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2oz bourbon
3/4oz fresh lemon juice
3/4oz honey syrup

The honey syrup is very easy. My friend Meaghan Dorman, who has made this cocktail for me at Raines Law Room, suggests a ratio of 3:1 honey to hot water. To make a small bottle of honey syrup, I added 9oz of wildflower honey to 3oz hot water and just shook really hard. Worked like a charm.

Once you have the honey syrup ready, combine it with the bourbon and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake hard, and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

Here’s to spring – it couldn’t come soon enough!

Cheers,

-Josh

Last weekend, we had our first snow here in New York City. It was a bitter, windy night on Saturday when I wandered into one of my favorite bars, chilled to the bone. This bar has an amazing cocktail menu, blending the best of classic cocktails and modern mixology, but as much as I wanted a drink, the idea of something shaken with ice at the moment was almost unbearable. What I wanted was a hot toddy.

Fortunately, I was in a high-end establishment where, despite not being on the menu, the bartender was kind enough to oblige my request. But there’s no need to venture out into the cold, wind and snow in order to achieve the satisfaction a hot toddy can bring. This is one of the easiest cocktails in the world to whip up at home.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2oz. bourbon
4-6oz hot water
1 bar spoon of honey
3-4 whole cloves
Lemon wedge for garnish

Optional:
A cinnamon stick
Grated nutmeg
Grated fresh ginger

Boil some water in a tea kettle. In a tempered glass or ceramic mug (something resistant to heat), add your bourbon, cloves and honey. When the water is hot, add that to the glass as well, and garnish with a lemon wedge (which I tend to promptly drop into my hot toddy to add a bit of citrus.)

As always, this recipe is just a basic template, and on its own fits the bill just fine for me. But there’s lots of room for experimentation and adjustment here. Many people will add a cinnamon stick whole, or perhaps grate some fresh cinnamon on top to garnish. You could also add some grated fresh nutmeg (which really brings out the holiday feel) or ginger (which adds a nice spice, and is also good for an upset stomach.) It’s really just a matter of taste.

Whatever your preference, this is the cocktail I constantly crave on cold winter’s nights. I’m also convinced (despite a total lack of fact to back this up) that the hot toddy is the cure for the common cold.

Cheers!

Josh

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I’m a big fan of whisky – bourbon in particular. And in my mind, there’s no better bourbon cocktail than the Old Fashioned. Truly a classic (dating back to Harry Johnson’s recipes in 1888), and beautiful in its simplicity, the Old Fashioned adds some complexity with the inclusion of a small amount of sugar and bitters along with a twist of lemon and orange, but it still allows the unique flavor of whichever bourbon you’re using to shine through. As a result, I enjoy test driving new bourbons using this cocktail (after sampling them neat, of course!)

The recipe couldn’t be simpler. Here’s what you’re going to need:

2oz bourbon
1-2 sugar cubes (consider 2 if you’re using the small grocery store brand; only one if it’s a larger raw sugar cube)
A few dashes of Angostura bitters
Lemon and Orange peels for garnish

 

In the bottom of your Old Fashioned glass (a sturdy-bottomed rocks glass works well), place your sugar cubes and add a few dashes of Angostura bitters (generally 2-3 shakes is good, but you can experiment to taste; basically you’re just looking to soak the sugar cubes). Using a muddler, crush the sugar cubes and mix the sugar and bitters well until you have a syrupy liquid in the bottom of your glass.

Add 2oz of bourbon and several ice cues, and using your bar spoon, stir well. You want to stir this for a particularly good amount of time (generally at least a minute or so; some will argue for even longer), both to chill the cocktail, and also to dissolve the sugar/bitters syrup. Twist a peel of lemon and a peel of orange over the surface and around the rim of your glass, and drop them in to the cocktail. And voila – you’ve got an Old Fashioned.

Generally speaking, I don’t think this cocktail needs much in the way of embellishment. There is, however, one exception, and one I would only make for Jim Meehan and Don Lee of PDT. The Benton’s Old Fashioned at PDT takes the Old Fashioned to the next heavenly level, which can only be achieved through the addition of bacon. Yes, bacon. The folks at PDT infuse bourbon with a smoky bacon, separate out the fat, substitute high-grade maple syrup for the sugar, and deliver a supremely excellent cocktail. They were kind enough to share their recipe, by way of New York Magazine (including a video of Don preparing the cocktail).

Cheers!

I had the extreme pleasure this past July 4th weekend to journey 90 miles north of New York City to visit Tuthilltown Spirits – the home of one of my all-time favorite whiskeys, Hudson Baby Bourbon.

Physically located in the heart of the Hudson Valley, near New Paltz, NY, Tuthilltown Spirits is the spiritual center of a revival that has been a long-time coming. Humility takes over when distillery partner Ralph Erenzo talks about his craft. He says, “There’s nothing magic here – It’s just whiskey. Really good whiskey.” But one need only set foot on the grounds of Tuthilltown Spirits to know differently, and none other than the New York Times agrees.

Tuthilltown Spirits is the first producer of whiskey (or any grain whiskey for that matter)  in New York State since prohibition. And this is no mass-produced-industrial-conglomerate operation.  Every batch of bourbon, rye, corn whiskey, rum and vodka is hand-crafted, hand-bottled, hand-labeled, and hand-numbered (seriously – there’s just a guy with a red marker writing the batch and bottle number of each bottle as the wax seal dries.)

Gable Erenzo, a distilleryman himself (as well as brand ambassador, and Ralph’s son), took us on a tour of the operation. Tuthilltown uses two German copper-pot stills that they’ve installed in the old granary on the property. The rye, wheat, corn, barley, apples and other ingredients all come from either their own property, or local New York State farms. (The only exception is the blackstrap molasses they bring up from Louisiana to make the Hudson River Rum.) Every batch is then aged in small American Oak barrels before it’s bottled, sealed and shipped to those of us lucky enough to enjoy it.

After the tour, the crew was kind enough to allow those of us who were interested to help kick off the rye harvest for the season. Trust me – if you’ve never had the experience of using a sickle to hand-cut the rye that will go into your favorite whiskey, you’ve really missed out on something special. The cynics among us might think the staff was just looking for some free labor, but trust me, we weren’t really making much of a dent in their crop (there was still plenty left to cut by the time we were done.) As Ralph described it to us, their intent was really just to help us understand their process, and what really goes into making a quality spirit. Mission accomplished there – I had a great time (and got some good exercise to boot!)

Last but not least, what trip to a local artisan distillery would be complete without a tasting? After coming in from the fields, we had a chance to taste examples of what would become of the fruits of our labors. Here I had my first taste of raw corn whiskey – what some might call Moonshine. This is 100% corn whiskey right off the still – no sugar added, no aging required. It’s clear, with a soft aroma, but don’t let that fool you – it’ll put hair on your chest.

I also tried the Hudson Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey – made from rye, wheat, corn and malted barley. It’s a very robust bourbon, rounded out by the blend of flavors from the four different key ingredients. And I finished our tasting with what I knew to be my favorite – the Hudson Baby Bourbon, made from 100% corn. It’s relatively mild, and a little sweet, but very flavorful. You’ll often find it in my glass at the end of a long day.

Finally, I know I’ve been gushing a bit, so I feel the need to make something clear. One of the benefits of writing about spirits and cocktails is that you get invited to a lot of events, and companies send you lots of free samples of their product. That may tend to influence some people, but I always aim to be objective and neutral. Nothing I’ve told you about today has been tainted in anyway by the folks at Tuthilltown – I haven’t received a single dollar or a single bottle for free. My friend Terry and I took our own car up to Tuthilltown – nobody paid for our trip – and as we were wrapping up our day, I purchased three bottles of whiskey from Tuthilltown out of my own pocket. No samples. No discounts. I paid for it myself – it’s that good.

I’ll leave it at that. You can find the rest of the pictures from our trip on our Flickr pool. Many thanks to Ralph, Gable, Peter, and all the folks at Tuthilltown Spirits for a wonderfully enjoyable visit!

Cheers,

Josh

I just came across this article on a new black cherry infused bourbon coming from Jim Beam, called Red Stag. I’m intrigued.

As many of you know, I’m a pretty big bourbon fan, and I tend to be a bit of a snob about it, so my initial reaction was to cry heresy. Don’t mess with a good thing.

But the more I think about, the more anxious I am to try this. I worry that if it’s not done well, it could have an artificial, medicine-like taste. But if it really is an infusion of black cherries, that adds nice flavor without overwhelming the bourbon or being too sweet, it could be excellent.

I look forward to trying it. If any of you get your hands on some, let me know what you think!

Head on over to The Wednesday Weekly where our friend @EkeyNYC provides a round-up (and some great pictures!) of our brown liquor tweet-up earlier this week. @livethelushlife, @ekeynyc, @sweetblogomine, @csmcbride and I hit the bars in Brooklyn to sample some fine whiskey at Char 4, and some fine cocktails at the Clover Club. Check it out.

Many thanks to @EkeyNYC for the round-up and the pics!

I had the opportunity yesterday to sample Maker’s Mark (premade) Mint Julep at Astor Wines & Spirits  (@astorwines). I must admit, I didn’t expect much. If nothing else, the making of a Mint Julep is a time-honored tradition, and the idea of purchasing a Mint Julep in a bottle wasn’t particularly appealing to me. I must admit though, after tasting it, I was pleasantly surprised!

It was definitely on the sweeter side as mint juleps go, but if you’re having a Derby party this year and the idea of hand-crafting mint juleps by the dozen just doesn’t appeal, I think this would be a fine substitution (and if you make a good show of it, most people will never know!)

The only catch is that this bottled mint julep is fairly hard to find. Astor Wines & Spirits here in New York was carrying a small inventory, but the Makers Mark representative there told me that distribution was still pretty limited. It’s worth a shot though!

If you’re interested in making your own Mint Juleps by hand (certainly the path I would recommend, especially if you can’t find this special-edition Makers Mark), check out Dale DeGroff, the king of cocktails himself, making Mint Juleps trackside over at the Lush Life site.

Cheers!