Spirited Cocktails

Those of you who know me well, know that my father is a die-hard fan of Frank Sinatra. And as much as I tried to prevent it from happening as a child, my father’s love of the Chairman of the Board has been passed down to me. So when I heard the waitress at Raines Law Room mention a cocktail called The Tramp while listing their specials a little while back, I’ll admit, the lyrics “She gets to hungry / for dinner at eight…” started playing in my head immediately. Thus, I had to try the drink.

The Tramp is a simple, tasty little cocktail. Here’s what you’re going to need.

1.5oz gin
1.5oz sloe gin
1.5oz apricot brandy
Club soda
A lime wedge for garnish

Combine your ingredients in a shaker along with ice, shake well, and strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda, and garnish with a slice of lime.

Where this recipe might need some adjusting largely has to do with your apricot brandy.  Not all apricot brandy is made the same, and strength and flavor can (and will) vary. I found that the particular brand I chose here was quite strong in flavor, which may have warranted dialing the amount back a bit (perhaps to 1oz instead of 1.5oz). Using equal measure of all three core ingredients, though, should give you a good place to start, and you can experiment and adjust to suit your taste.

So, now we know why that lady was a tramp. It wasn’t because she liked the theatre, or never bothered with people she hates… it was too much sloe gin!

Here’s to Ol’ Blue Eyes.

Cheers!

I’ve been wanting to experiment with Sloe Gin for some time now. It seems to be making a bit of a comeback – so much so, that when I stopped by my favorite liquor store, they were limiting its purchase to one bottle per customer.

For those unfamiliar with Sloe Gin, you can read more about it on Wikipedia. The basic gist though is that it’s gin infused with sloe berries, which are the fruit of the blackthorn (a relative of the plum). It’s pretty tasty stuff!

I figured I’d start with a very standard cocktail, and one of the most prolific for sloe gin – the Sloe Gin Fizz. After researching the cocktail a bit, I was surprised to find just how controversial the recipe seems to be. It’s not at all uncommon for variation in a cocktail recipe; as we’ve discussed before, a cocktail can and should be adjusted to taste. Generally though, a consensus recipe seems to emerge to provide a starting point. Not so here.

So I’ve decided to start slow (buh-dump-bump) and use a fairly standard set of proportions. Over the coming weeks, I’ll continue to experiment with sloe gin (now that I have my allotted supply), and I’ll provide updates and variations for you to try as well.

To get started, here’s what you’re going to need:

1oz sloe gin
1oz London dry gin
3/4oz fresh lemon juice
3/4oz simple syrup
Club soda

Combine all of the ingredients (except the club soda) in a shaker with ice, shake well, and strain into a long glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda.

You’ll notice I used a mix of dry gin and sloe gin in this recipe. This was definitely the largest source of controversy during my research. Some used all sloe gin; some used a mix. I started with a mix to mellow the flavor a bit, but it’s definitely worth trying both ways! Most of the recipes I’ve seen that use sloe gin exclusively, however, omit the simple syrup. That’s because sloe gin itself is on the sweeter side, so added sugar generally isn’t necessary.

I’ve also seen recipes that use blueberries, mint, and a variety of other accoutrements. Like I said, I’m going to keep playing, and let you know what I find. Suggestions (and your own findings) more than welcome. Leave comments here, or tweet them to me @cocktailspirit.

Cheers!