Spirited Cocktails

I know, I know. Once again, I’ve fallen way behind on my writing. But there have been some exciting events over the past few weeks, and I want to give you a quick update. I promise to try to get some new drinks up very soon, too.

Let’s start, though, with a quick recap of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. Described as “part festival, part fête, part conference, part cocktail party,” the Manhattan Cocktail Classic included five days of seminars, parties, tastings, and other assorted revelry with some of my favorite people in all of New York City.

Due to a previously scheduled trip this past week (which I’ll tell you about very soon in an upcoming post), I was only able to enjoy the first few days of the MCC. Yet I still managed to enjoy a plethora of amazing cocktails, and great times with great friends. My weekend included the following:

-The Manhattan Cocktail Classic Gala: An evening of music, dancing, performance art, food, and of course, a slew of cocktails prepared by some of the countries top mixologists.  Among my favorite cocktails that evening were a South Side (using gin, lime, cucumber and mint) prepared by the good folks at Tanqueray, and a very refreshing mint julep prepared by the team at Bulliet bourbon. But of course, the best part was getting all decked out to spend the evening in a beautiful space with my fellow cocktail connoisseurs.

-Behind the Bar at Death & Co.: I’ll make no secret of the fact that one of my favorite bars in the country is Death & Co., located on 6th Street in Manhattan’s East Village. Of course, I’m hardly alone in that opinion. Death & Co. is consistently listed among the best cocktail bars in the world, and with good reason. So along with my fellow twitterati @sweetblogomine and @daisy17, I spent last Saturday afternoon learning everything there is to know about one of my favorite haunts, directly from owner David Kaplan, Head bartender Thomas Waugh, and bartenders Joaquin Simo, Brian Miller, Jessica Gonzalez, and (briefly :-p) Jason Littrell. Of course, as they shared their stories from behind the bar, they also introduced us to the new summer menu, which is going to keep me busy for quite some time.

-The Three Hour Tour: Organized by The Tippling Point crew (Jason Littrell, Gianfranco Verga, Paul Tanguay, and Tad Carducci), this was easily my favorite event of the weekend; in part because we were lucky enough to have simply perfect weather for a cruise around Manhattan. Of course, the cocktails didn’t hurt eaither. Two cocktails in particular stuck out:

The Scotch Fix prepared by Jackie Patterson of Heaven’s Dog in San Francsico:

-1.5 oz Ardbeg 10 year old scotch
-1oz 1:1 honey syrup
-3/4oz Fresh lemon juice

The Landing Strip prepared by John Lermayer of The Florida Room in Miami:

-1.5oz 10 Cane rum
-1.5oz fresh pineapple juice
-1oz coconut water
-1 dash of lime juice
-1 dash simple syrup
-2 dashes Angostura bitters
-4 sage leaves

Of course, this was just a sampling of the events that took place over the course of five days. You can find the full list at http://manhattancocktailclassic.com/events.

Many thanks to all of the amazing bartenders, brands, and enthusiasts who made the first annual Manhattan Cocktail Classic a resounding success. And thanks especially to Lesley Townsend, director of MCC, for bringing this wonderful event to New York. And special thanks as well to my wonderful friends from the cocktail world: Lindsey Johnson, Dave Harrison, Laren Spirer, Karen Nachbar, Leo Borovskiy, Lincoln Chinnery, Kathleen Reynolds, Selena Ricks, Hal Wolin, Emily Malinowski, Jenean Chapman, Jordana Rothman, and everyone else who made the weekend so much fun.

Cheers!

-Josh

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 week I told you about my trip to Rye House to celebrate Mardi Gras, New Orleans-style. I mentioned some of the cocktails we sampled, including the Sazarac and the Vieux Carre. I’d like to share one more staple of the Mardi Gras celebration – or any celebration for that matter – The French 75.

This cocktail is actually named after the French 75-mm field gun; a commonplace piece of artillery during World War I. Apparently this particular gun was known for its recoil system, which allowed for much smoother operation than had previously been possible. Once you try the cocktail, you’ll understand how appropriate that is. (History once again courtesy of Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails; a must-have for any bartender’s bookshelf.)

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2oz gin
1oz fresh lemon juice
1/4oz simple syrup
Champagne

Combine the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice and shake well. Strain into a tall glass – either a Collins glass, or ideally, a champagne flute – and top with champagne (or other high-quality sparkling wine). Stir gently, and garnish with a long lemon peel. Some like to add a cherry as well, but I generally prefer to skip it. The choice is entirely yours.

This cocktail offers one of the more surprising combinations in the bartending world – gin and champagne. But with the lemon and sugar to balance things out, it works beautifully. And as Ted points out in talking about the appropriateness of the cocktail’s name, “….smooth, yet packs a wallop.” So true.

Cheers!

-Josh

Another cocktail courtesy of Rachel Maddow. Isn’t she the best?

This excellent holiday punch actually comes by way of Josey Packard of the bar Drink in Boston. You can watch Josey make the punch via this video from Rachel Maddow’s show:

Here’s the recipe (you can find the full details on Rachel’s website). Heed their advice – when playing with alcohol and fire, caution is the word of the day. Have a fire extinguisher handy.

Prep:

Acquire a pyrex bowl or other heat-treated (or otherwise fire resistant bowl).
Stud 3 oranges with cloves.
Roast them for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees, until softened.

Warm the alcohol for the punch (immerse a container of it in hot water).
Set the spices aside, for the pyrotechnics.
Also warm the diluting ingredients.
Have some sugar on-hand.

Spices for pyrotechnics:

Ground cinnamon
Ground allspice
Ground nutmeg

Alcohol:

1 pint dark rum
1 pint brandy

Diluting ingredients:

Juice of 3 oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
Pint of apple cider
Pint of water

On-hand, for continued extinguishing:

Pint of apple cider
Pint of water

Procedure:

Pre-heat punch bowl with hot water from the tap.
Put roasted oranges in hot, newly emptied bowl.
Pour heated alcohol mixture over oranges.
Use a match to ignite alcohol.
Be aware at all times of how hot the bowl is by touching the outside of it frequently.
Toss pinches of the spices at the flame carefully.

Extinguish the flame by pouring the heated juice/cider mix over the punch.

If the punch doesn’t completely extinguish, pour more cider or water over the mixture.

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

I’m long overdue for new cocktail posts; fortunately a friend has provided inspiration.

The other day I sent an e-mail to our friend Jonathan Pogash, renowned bartender, beverage director for Hospitality Holdings (World Bar, Campbell Apartment, et al), and head of the USBG chapter here in New York City. I was writing just to ask Jonathan a quick question, and as it turns out, he’s out of town this week. But Jonathan – never one to let a customer go thirsty – left cocktail recipes in his out of office message! Needless to say, this was one of the best out of office messages I’ve ever seen (and that’s after more than a decade working in the tech industry.)

So in a desire to share Jonathan’s wisdom with all of you, I give you the Maple Plum Sparkler (as served at Bookmarks Lounge).

Here’s what you’re going to need:

1 plum, chopped
1 heaping tsp. grade A dark amber maple syrup
A splash of fresh lemon juice
3 oz. Sparkling Wine or Champagne

In a mixing glass, combine the chopped plum with the lemon juice and maple syrup and muddle well. Add ice and the sparkling wine, and stir briefly. (The “briefly” part is important; you want to chill the cocktail, but because the booze here is wine, you don’t want to dilute it too much.) Strain the result into a champagne flute. Garnish with a slice of plum.

Plums are in season right now, and if sourced well, are absolutely delicious. The addition of maple syrup makes for a wonderful fall cocktail.

So many thanks to Mr. Pogash for helping me to get things back on track here at Spirited Cocktails. Be sure to visit him at World Bar or Bookmarks Lounge. I’ll be back later this week to tell you all about my recent trip to France.

Cheers!

Josh

The Sazerac is one of the oldest cocktails on record – and supposedly the first cocktail invented in America. It came into being in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1830’s, and was originally made with cognac and Peychaud bitters (created by Antoine Amédée Peychaud). The Peychaud bitters are still a key ingredient, but the most common preparation of the cocktail is now with rye rather than cognac (even though our friend @halw likes to mess with bartenders by ordering it with cognac anyway.)

I came late to the Sazerac, but was introduced to it by another friend, @livethelushlife, who counts the Sazerac among her absolute favorite cocktails. And it really came to life for me when I had the chance to sample the cocktail in its native environment – New Orleans – where the Sazerac is still an institution.

The combination of rye, sugar, and bitters (in an absinthe or Herbsaint-rinsed glass) makes for a smooth drink that’s reminiscent of The Old Fashioned, but with a unique quality all its own, and definitely worth a try!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

3oz rye
3/4oz simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud bitters
1/4oz absinthe or Herbsaint to rinse the glass
Lemon peel for garnish

Start by chilling a rocks glass for a few minutes in advance. In a mixing glass, combine the rye, simple syrup and bitters with ice, and stir well.

Add a small amount (1/4oz or less) to your chilled rocks glass. Rotate the glass on its side just to coat the inside of the glass, then discard the excess. Strain the cocktail into the rocks glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. The Sazerac is served neat, so no ice in the glass is required.

In addition to The Old Fashioned, the Sazerac has become one of my favorite “brown spirit” cocktails. I encourage you to give it a try!

Cheers,

Josh