Three Scotch Whisky cocktails for Bobby Burns Day

Saint Andrew’s Societies across the USA celebrate the Scottish holidays like Saint Andrew’s Day (November 30) and the bard’s birthday on Bobby Burns Day (or Robert Burns Day or Burns Nicht on January 25) with a Burns Dinner.  Salt Lake City Scots should be no different, and if they follow the traditions of these holidays they might be found partaking of some Scotch Whisky to assist their celebration, be it neat, on the rocks, or in a well-mixed cocktail.  Celebrating Burns Nicht is an excellent excuse for toasting Scotland with a some good Scotch Whisky.  The Utah Mixologist usually uses a blended Scotch in cocktails.  If you have a favorite blended Scotch, stick with it, but if you don’t have one yet, you might want to give Dewar’s™ White Label (CS# 004866, $25) a try.  Once you have a bottle of blended Scotch in hand, you are ready to select a cocktail.  Here are three classics that you should enjoy that all have three things in common.

In honor of the day, let’s start with the Bobby Burns cocktail.  This delicious offering has been around for a while; there is a recipe for the Bobby Burns in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).  This delicious cocktail contains Scotch and Vermouth and has a little Benedictine thrown into the mix to reflect Bobby Burns poetic nature.  You should enjoy the interesting blend of herbals in the Vermouth and Benedictine combined with the peaty taste of the Scotch. 

Our second cocktail can also be found in the Savoy, although the proportions of Scotch to Italian Vermouth (1:1) are not the ones in general use today (2:1).  The venerable Rob Roy is over 100 years old.  This is perhaps the classic Scotch Whisky cocktail.  If you enjoy making Manhattans, you already know the recipe: just substitute Scotch Whisky for the Bourbon or Rye.  If you’ve never had one, you’re in for a treat. 

My final cocktail suggestion is the Blood and Sand.  Don’t let the color put you off, the flavor will surprise you.  The Blood and Sand is the youngest of the trio and is more of a concoction: it contains Scotch, Vermouth, Cherry Heering Liqueur®, and Orange Juice.  You have probably noticed by now that all three of these cocktails have Scotch and Vermouth in common, and yes, the Blood and Sand may also be found in the Savoy.

Golden Dawn cocktail will make your day

Salt Lake City cocktailians who read these posts should be familiar with Ted Haigh’s book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, where you can find great recipes for vintage cocktails and (possibly a greater source of enjoyment) an engaging collection of cocktail lore.  When the Utah Mixologist attended Portland Cocktail Week, he had the privilege of meeting “Dr. Cocktail,” a quiet, unassuming man who really knows his cocktails.  If you’re serious about cocktails, you should pick up a copy.

Regular readers have probably noticed that the titles of these posts usually involve an amusing play on words or turn of a phrase.  The current title was not the first one that came to mind; the first idea was “Golden Dawn will start your day with a bang.”  This title, while a little more clever, kind of sent the wrong message about the starting time for cocktail hour, so it was left on the proverbial cutting room floor.  The name “Golden Dawn” is what first interested me to this cocktail, but when I scanned the recipe, I knew I had to try it.

This is a simple recipe, with equal parts of the four main ingredients (there is an alternate recipe in the book).  I used Bombay Sapphire® for the Gin and Laird’s® Apple Jack in lieu of Calvados.  Haigh recommends Marie Brizzard® Apry apricot flavored brandy, but it is not available in Utah.  If you are aware of an available substitute better than the ubiquitous Arrow®, please post a response to this post.  The subtle way the mixture of fruit flavors (orange, apricot, apple, and grenadine) play off against each other is striking.  You can just catch a hint of the Gin and its botanicals, and the Apple Jack makes its presence known and contributes a memory of apples.

Golden Dawn

• ¾ oz Dry Gin (try Bombay Sapphire®)
• ¾ oz Laird’s® Apple Jack (or Calvados)
• ¾ oz Apricot Brandy
• ¾ oz Orange Juice
• Pomegranate Grenadine

Add the first four ingredients to a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Shake vigorously until well chilled.  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail class.  Add a cherry (Haigh recommends no stem or pick on the cherry) and finish by drizzling some of the Grenadine into the glass.

Cocktail ingredients Utah update – January 2012

When Utahans walk into the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores this month, they may think that they have walked out of the land of plenty and into the desert.  Special Price Adjustments (SPAs) originate with the distributors of the products, not the UDABC (only Clearance item price reduction come from the UDABC).  Last month the distributors were generous to promote holiday giving and holiday celebrations.  This month they are, let us say, penurious as the number of items on SPA drops from over 500 to barely over 200.  Cocktailians in search of ingredients will wish they had stocked up in December.  If this post seems short, you now know why.

There isn’t much excitement in the Rum shelves this month.  Liter bottles of Bacardi® Gold and Superior are both marked down around 16% to $15.49.  Appleton Estates® White Rum (CS# 042116) is on clearance for $10 a bottle.  The price has been dropping slowly on this one, so it should go cheaper next month (if there’s any left). 

Tequila lovers will be greeted by a lack of SPA tags on the Tequila shelves, there are almost no Tequila SPAs (three!).  Your best bets for Tequila deals this month are a pair of El Jimadors®: the Reposado and the Blanco are both marked down from $20 to $18.  Regular readers will know that a good Silver (or Plata or Blanco) is an essential ingredient in the ever popular Margarita, but this Reposado also makes outstanding cocktails.  For those who love Vodka Martinis, one liter bottles of Ketel One® are marked down.  There is also the usual large number of flavored Vodkas on SPA.

If you’re into Bourbons, Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey® (CS# 017086) is available for $23 ($2 off) and makes a great BLT, and there are a few other Bourbons marked down.  There is only one Scotch Whisky (a blend) marked down this month: Johnnie Walker® Red is marked down $2 to $24, so if you’re looking for something to put into your Bobby Burns give it a try.  As usual, the number of Rye Whiskies on SPA this month is low: zero.  If you need some liqueurs, Kahlua® and Tuaca® have been marked down a little over 10% this month.

Champing at the bit – sparkling wines under $20 for your 2012 New Year’s celebration

Even in Salt Lake City it’s time to get ready for the champagne occasion of the year: New Year’s Eve.  Wine connoisseurs and most card carrying cocktailians are all aware that real (capital “C”) Champagne comes only from France.  The French discourage others from using the appellation “Champagne” on their sparkling wines, and many of the quality wineries (especially those who wish to sell their wines in France) comply, so most sparkling wines (bubbly for short) will not say “champagne” on the bottle, although some do.  Unfortunately there are few (none?) legitimate Champagnes available in the under $20 (for 750ml.) price range.  If you would like to learn more about Champagne, including the names of the big Champagne houses, check out the New York Times Champagne navigator page. 

For those of us on a recessionary (or depressionary) budgets who still want to celebrate with some sparkling wine, the Utah State Liquor Store system has obliged us with a great selection of American sparkling wines for under $20 with some pretty good ones for under $10.   (Those of you who live in bigger markets should be able to buy all of the wines mentioned here, although they may or may not be on sale.)  When cocktail recipes call for champagne, it’s usually more economical to use a good sparkling wine.  Drink your high quality Champagne (and high quality domestic bubblies) straight so you can appreciate them.  For champagne cocktails, like the French 75 and the Kir Royale, there are some very good sparklers under $20 (or even $10) that are ideal for mixing.  Readers should always have a bottle or two of better quality champagne around for celebrations and several less expensive bottles for mixing.  If you have a spare fridge in the basement, keep it stocked.

As usual, this post will only recommend wines from houses that have had some of their sparkling wines score at least 85 or 90 points by some well-known rating service like Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast.  Although quality will vary year to year with the vintage, etc., it’s safe to assume that these winemakers know what they are doing and will turn out a good product.  That means that while individual wines mentioned here may not have been rated (or not rated high enough to brag about), you will be buying a reliable product and not junk wine.

Under $20

Before we get into the real bargains, lets look at the bubblies that price out closer to $20. Gloria Ferrer makes some excellent sparkling wines that are among my favorites.  Although not on sale this month (that’s a shame) their Blanc de Noirs ($18) and Brut ($17) have both been highly rated by multiple rating services.  Domaine Chandon is another producer of highly rated bubbly in our price range.  Their Brut is on sale this month for $16, and Chandon Blanc de Noirs, while not on sale, is good at $19.  Rated only a couple of points lower is Mumm Napa’s Brut, on sale this month for $19. 

Around $10 and less

Korbel used to be the best of the budget bubblies, their Brut has been rated respectably in the mid-eighties and is on sale this month ($10.5), as are several other of their sparklers, a sweet Rosé (great in a JTJ Cocktail) and a Chardonnay among them.  Now, however, they have some competition in their price range.  Domaine Ste Michelle, also scoring in the mid-eighties, is another bargain bubbly on sale for $10 this month.  The real bargains in this price range, however, are some of the sparklers from Barefoot Bubbly.  Three Bubblies (Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay Brut, and Chardonnay Extra Dry) are all on sale for $8.  Wine Enthusiast gave one of their bubblies an 87 rating and a Top 100 Best Values award several years ago.  Barefoot Bubblies are a great value; the first time I tasted one I couldn’t believe the price.  Barefoot’s sparklers are very drinkable on their own, and are great in any champagne cocktail you might care to try.

There are some even less expensive bubblies on sale this month: André and Cook’s are on sale for as low as $4.  Needless to say, these are not among my recommendations, and so far as I know they have never been highly rated.  They can work quite well in punches or in other concoctions where “champagne” is a minority ingredient or is overpowered by the other ingredients, but my recommendation is that you avoid drinking them straight.

If you have an affinity for some other bubbly (domestic or imported) that is available for under $20, please share the information with others by adding a comment to this post. Happy New Year!

Celebrate the New Year with the JTJ Cocktail

A special cocktail is in order for a big celebration.  Late last summer, as my daughter’s Labor Day wedding was approaching, the Utah Mixologist was in search of a signature cocktail for the reception that was to be held at the Red Pine Lodge at the Canyons Resort.  Regular readers are aware that the Utah Mixologist creates his own cocktails from time to time, and some of them are not too bad (the Rum-based Rapture and the Rye-based Rapple come to mind), but for his daughter’s wedding he wanted something really good; that meant getting a professional involved.  Finding where to find someone capable of creating a great cocktail recipe seemed like a good job for social media.  One of my Twitter friends, @LocalBonVivant, (a.k.a. Christian Schnurr in the real world) came to mind.  Christian is the bartender up in Park City, and a real professional.  He enthusiastically volunteered to develop a signature cocktail recipe for the big event and came through with a beauty!  Christian’s creation, dubbed the JTJ Cocktail (for the initials of my daughter and her (then) fiancé), was a big hit with the guests based on the bar bill I received from Canyons catering.  Everyone I saw with one loved it.

The recipe is not overly complex, making this a good candidate cocktail for your New Year’s Eve party.  This is probably a good year to go high-end on your New Year celebration since it may well be (at least according to the Mayan calendar) the last New Year’s party you ever have.  There’s a good chance you have everything you need, except perhaps the St. Germain Liqueur (CS# 066836 in limited distribution in Utah, so be sure to call ahead).  Ketel One® Vodka, a small batch hand-crafted Vodka that sells around 2 million cases a year (seems a little contradictory, but it is good Vodka) goes great in Vodka Martinis, and works well here, too.  You should enjoy the interplay between the orange from the Grand Marnier and the floral notes from the elderflowers in the St. Germain.  As for the Rosé, there are a lot of sparkling Rosés out there, at home we went with Korbel based on their other sparkling wines, which are pretty decent.  The frozen grapes will melt faster than you think, but warn your guests to be careful before biting down just the same.

JTJ Cocktail

• 1 oz Ketel One® Vodka
• 0.75 oz St. Germain® Liqueur
• 0.5 oz Grand Marnier® Liqueur
• 0.5 oz Simple Syrup
• Sparkling Rosé (for fill, anything works here as long as you don't go too cheap)

Add all ingredients, except Rosé, into a shaker filled with ice. Hard shake and then strain into a cocktail glass. Fill with chilled Rosé. Garnish with frozen red grapes on a skewer.