Spirited Cocktails

It’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite cocktail from my week at Tales of the Cocktail. The choices were so varied and plentiful that narrowing down  the list was a difficult task in and of itself. However, if I’m really honest with myself, one cocktail in particular rises to the top. It was prepared for my by Erin Williams, the Cointreau Brand Ambassador (formally of Pegu Club). In actuality, I’m not certain of the name of the cocktail, as it was custom made based on a survey I completed about my cocktail preferences (Tales was just so awesome!) I think the Rosemary Gin Sour adequately explains it though.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2oz gin (Erin used Hendricks)
3/4oz fresh lemon juice
1/2oz simple syrup
1/2oz Cointreau
2 slices of cucumber
1 sprig of rosemary (plus another for garnish)

In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle the rosemary and cucumber with the lemon juice and simple syrup. Add the gin, Cointreau, and plenty of ice, and shake well. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice, and garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary.

Many thanks to Erin Williams from Cointreau for mixing up my favorite drink at Tales of the Cocktail! Cheers!

I’ve been on the hunt lately for new summer cocktails. I’m hoping that, in a tribute to mind over matter, the imbibing of summer cocktails will actually cause summer to materialize (which, as those of you enduring the incessant rain along with me in New York know, is long-overdue).

So recently when the folks at Bulldog Gin sent me their list of new summer cocktails, Friday I’m In Love jumped out at me (you’ll see why in just a moment). It also gave me a good opportunity to give Bulldog a try.

Bulldog itself is very well suited to summer cocktails. It’s on the drier side with some nice hints of citrus and pine. It’s also got some interesting ingredients like poppy and Dragon Eye (which is related to lychee). I’ll admit though, I had trouble picking out the Dragon Eye in the flavor, but hey, I’m still an amateur taster :-)

In any case, here’s what you’re going to need to give Friday I’m In Love a try:

2oz dry gin (I used Bulldog, obviously, which worked very well)
2oz white cranberry juice
1/2oz lemon juice
club soda
lemon wedge to garnish

Combine the gin, cranberry juice, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Add club soda to top and a lemon wedge for garnish.

The crisp, citrusy flavor of the gin combined with the tart white cranberry and just a hint of lemon gave me exactly what I was looking for – a light, refreshing summer cocktail; the perfect choice to enjoy outdoors on a warm summer day (if we ever have one).

Plus, any cocktail named after a song by The Cure gets extra points in my book.

Cheers!

Today is Memorial Day in the US. Certainly above all else, a day to remember those who are no longer with us, and to pay special recognition to the men and women of our armed forces. Coincidentally though, it also happens to be the generally accepted opening day of the summer season. Shutters fly open on beach houses, shorts and sunglasses come out in full effect. Warm weather is here.

Of course, nothing celebrates summer quite like a “beach drink.” Beach drinks are the type you’d order at a beach bar, perhaps on some tropical island. They’re generally bright in color (pink works), sweet, and fruity. So in celebration of the opening days of summer, I bring you The Flamingo.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

1.5oz rum (preferably white rum if you have it, but no big deal either way)
1.5oz pineapple juice (always fresh squeezed if possible, but you can see here that I’ve cheated, and it turned out OK. But fresh is always better.)
1/4oz lime juice
1/4oz grenadine
A splash of simple syrup (optional, if you like your beach drinks on the sweeter side)

Combine all your ingredients along with ice in your cocktail shaker, shake well, and strain into a chilled martini glass. No garnish is required.

It’s really as simple as that.

So as your beach umbrellas go up, and the sun block goes on, give this cocktail a try. Even if you can’t make it to the beach yourself, this drink will turn your mind to sunshine and seagulls in a snap.

Cheers!

As anyone who went to college with me knows, tequila has not traditionally been kind to me (nor I to it). However, during a recent trip to Mayahuel, Phil Ward’s new tequila haven in the East Village, I was reminded that there’s a big difference between a crafted tequila cocktail and shots of Jose Cuervo in a dive bar.

My bartender at Mayhuel, Kevin (and at times, Phil Ward), were kind enough to give me a modern survey of tequila and mezcal (tequila’s cousin), but it really all begins with the Margarita. A simple cocktail that allows the flavor of a good tequila to lead, the Margarita is the perfect way to reintroduce yourself to tequila if you, like I, might have had an “unpleasant” experience in the past.

The real key is quality tequila. This is not a time to take the value route. You want the good stuff – 100% pure blue agave tequila. Take it from a guy who knows – choosing tequila isn’t the time to pinch pennies. For this recipe, I’ve chose Siembra Azul Blanco tequila, which I’ve found to be an excellent balance of quality and affordability. And no, they haven’t paid me a dime to say that.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

1.5oz tequila
1oz Cointreau (some people use triple sec; I prefer Cointreau)
3/4oz fresh lime juice (the “fresh” part is important – no frozen stuff)
1/2oz simple syrup (this is optional; I prefer mine just a little sweet)

Combine your ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well, and strain into a glass.

The real variation among margaritas comes in the serving:

-Some people prefer their margarita on the rocks, in which case, just strain the margarita into a rocks glass over ice. Otherwise, strain into a cocktail glass with no ice.
-Some people prefer a salted rim on their margarita, in which case, before straining the cocktail, simply run a lime wedge along the outer rim of the glass, and roll the edge of the glass in kosher salt.

Thankfully, I’ve experience my tequila reawakening just in time for summer – the perfect season for margaritas. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

I’m a Philly native. I live in New York City now, but I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and the Cheese Whiz of Philly cheesesteaks runs in my veins (probably more literally than I’d care to know.) That’s one of the main reasons the Clover Club Cocktail caught my eye. When flipping through Dale DeGroff’s latest book, The Essential Cocktail, I noticed that the Clover Club (which is a pre-Prohibition cocktail), was invented in Philadelphia at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. Dale tells us that the hotel was home to the Clover Club – a social club akin to the Friars Club here in New York. What also caught my eye was a potential variation in the traditional recipe suggested by Dale, in which he uses fresh raspberries. Yum!

I’m going to present that variation first, because it’s what I made for you, but I’ll also discuss the original more below.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

1.5oz gin
1oz simple syrup
3/4oz lemon juice
6 raspberries
1 egg white

Add the simple syrup and raspberries to your shaker, and muddle the raspberries well. Then add the lemon juice, gin, and egg white, and top with ice. Seal the shaker, and shake well. Remember, cocktails with egg white require extra shaking to make sure the egg white is well emulsified.

Technically, due to the inclusion of the raspberries, this drink should be double-strained. First, strain into an intermediate glass with a Hawthorne strainer, then into your cocktail glass with a Julep strainer to remove any raspberry seeds. Personally though, I kinda like the raspberry seeds, so I just strain directly into my cocktail glass. Entirely your choice.

The result is a fresh, sweet, and somewhat tart cocktail, with a great look to boot.

Variations

-The original recipe calls for the use of grenadine as opposed to raspberries. Simply add 3/4oz grenadine in place of the six raspberries, and reduce simple syrup to 3/4oz as well.
-You can also add a sprig of mint to the cocktail shaker before shaking, in which case the cocktail is called a Clover Leaf.

Cheers!

The daiquiri is one of the simplest of all cocktails, and also one of the most misunderstood. All too often, people confuse the daiquiri for that mix of sugar, cheap booze, and food coloring that comes out of a Slushy machine in Vegas. In truth, not only is the real thing easier to make at home, but it’s much tastier too!

The basic daiquiri follows the formula for a traditional sour:

2oz base spirit
3/4oz sweet
3/4oz sour

In the case of the daiquiri, the spirit is Rum, the sweet is simple syrup, and the sour is fresh lime juice. Simply combine those three ingredients in the 2/.75/.75 proportion (with ice!), shake vigorously and strain, and you’ve got yourself a very fine cocktail. But it wouldn’t be much fun if we stopped there!

I’ve been on a summer cocktail kick lately, and the strawberries are finally starting to look good again. To make a fresh strawberry daiquiri, simply add strawberries to the recipe above!

2oz rum (I prefer a dark rum like Santa Teresa or Barbancourt, but be sure to sample a variety of brands)
3/4oz simple syrup
3/4oz fresh lime juice
1 large (or 2 small) hulled strawberries

Add the strawberries and simple syrup to your shaker and muddle the strawberries well. Then add the lime juice and rum, and top off your shaker with ice. Give it a good shake, and strain into a daiquiri glass (which essentially looks like a rounded-off martini glass; no worries if you don’t have them – any cocktail glass will do!) Garnish with a small, fresh strawberry (hull still in-tact), sliced vertically from the bottom up towards the hull.

Prefer your daiquiri to be of the frozen variety (a bit more akin to the kind you see in Vegas but maybe… good?) Simply add the ingredients to your blender along with crushed ice and give it a few good spins!

Cheers!

The Badminton Cup (also referred to at times as an East Side Cocktail), is the ultimate summer drink. The refreshing combination of cucumber, lime, and mint, along with a healthy dose of quality gin of course, makes for an instant favorite on rooftops, decks, poolside, or wherever you might be enjoying sun and warm weather.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2oz gin
3/4oz simple syrup
5 disc-shaped slices of cucumber for muddling and 2 for garnish
1/2 of a lime cut into 6 chunks –or– 3/4oz of lime juice
1 sprig of mint for muddling and 3-4 for garnish

In the smaller portion of your Boston Shaker (either your pint glass or smaller tin), combine the simple syrup, cucumber slices, and lime (either the 6 lime pieces or the juice), and muddle well to release all the juices and essential oils. Add the sprig of mint and muddle very lightly (just a twist or two.) You’re only looking to release the mint flavors here; over-muddling mint will leave you with a bitter drink. Add the gin, and fill the remainder of the shaker with ice. Seal the shaker and shake vigorously. (A good measure of “the right length of time to shake” is “Until the shaker is too cold to hold,” or at least 10-15 seconds.)

Unseal the shaker and, using a Hawthorn strainer, strain the cocktail into a rocks glass over fresh cubed ice. Garnish with two slices of cucumber and several large sprigs of fresh mint. The garnish is critical here. You really want that fresh mint as an aromatic to go along with this drink.

Warm weather has finally arrived here in New York, and this is the first cocktail I’ve prepared in celebration. I suggest you do the same!

Cheers!