Take flight with the Aviation cocktail

If you love Gin, you’ll want to take flight…

The last time I enjoyed an Aviation cocktail at BarX in Salt Lake City, I thought that this was something I had to try at home.  Dedicated cocktailians are always searching for an excuse to try a new cocktail, and that was enough for me.  This cocktail has been around for a while; there is a recipe for the Aviation in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).  The Savoy is usually a good source of cocktail inspiration when you’re looking for a classic cocktail to experiment with, but the recipe for the Aviation didn’t ring true.  I had always read that the Aviation’s name was due to the pale blue color delivered by the Crème de Violette, but the Savoy’s recipe didn’t have any Crème de Violette in it.

A little research on Wikipedia gave the reason: Crème de Violette was hard to find back in the late 1920’s, so the Savoy just left it out (follow the link for a more detailed history).  Luckily we don’t have that problem today.  The Aviation recipe was first published around 1916, so it’s probably older than your great grandmother and its centenary is rapidly approaching.  As you sip your first Aviation, remember that it was named when aviation was something new and exciting, not a routine fact of life.  So sip it, enjoy it, and never leave your wingman.

Aviation Cocktail

• 2 oz Gin (I used Plymouth)
• 1/2 oz Lemon juice
• 1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur
• 1/4 oz Crème de Violette

Combine ingredients in a shaker half full of cracked ice.  Shake well for about a minute.  Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cocktail cherry and get ready to contemplate the wild, blue yonder.

Celebrate Repeal Day with a Scofflaw Cocktail

The Scofflaw Cocktail is a great way to celebrate Repeal Day

The term “scofflaw” originated during Prohibition to describe people who drank in spite of the fact that liquor had been outlawed.  Shortly afterward, in the same year, the Scofflaw Cocktail was created at Harry’s Bar in Paris.  Harry’s, luckily for them, probably was able to use better quality liquor than was available in Prohibition era America.  Harry’s Bar, in case you’re interested, is still in business at 5 rue Daunou in Paris, serving drinks to (what seemed to me) a mostly Parisian crowd.  Stop in when you’re in the neighborhood (1^st arrondissement).

Several years later the cocktail appeared in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), one of the classic cocktail books written at the height of Prohibition by the great Harry Craddock, barman at The American Bar in the Savoy Hotel, London.  The Savoy book has been the source for many delicious, classic cocktails, and the Scofflaw is another one that will remain in my cocktail repertoire. 

When the time came to select ingredients, Noilly Prat Vermouth seemed like a logical choice for this cocktail of French origin, although you could use Dolin or your favorite.  Noilly Prat has long been available in Utah, but why talk about Utah?  On December 5, 1933, the great state of Utah became the 36^th state (and the third state that day, thanks to being located in the Mountain time zone) to ratify the 21^st Amendment, thus repealing Prohibition. 

Utahans, especially in the liberal hotbed of Salt Lake City, are proud of Utah’s link to Repeal Day.  Repeal was a plank in the Democratic Party platform in 1932, and FDR’s campaign promised to support it.  Because Prohibition was implemented via constitutional amendment (the 18^th), it could only be repealed via constitutional amendment (the 21^st).  The 21^st amendment was proposed by congress in February, 1933, and sent to the states for ratification.  Three quarters of the states had to ratify within seven years for the amendment to pass, but the deed was done in less than one.   So when you celebrate Repeal Day, drink a toast to the state that put the Repeal of Prohibition over the top for all America.

The Utah DABC improved their Rye selection last year by adding Bulleit Rye to their list.  At around $25 the Bulleit is a nice, medium-priced Rye that improves a lot of my cocktails.  Of course, if you really want to show support for Utah, you could spring for one of Park City, Utah’s High West Ryes that could improve your Scofflaw and your celebration of Repeal Day.

Scofflaw Cocktail

• 1 ½ oz. Rye Whiskey (Bulleit)
• 1 ½ oz. Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
• ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
• ¾ oz. grenadine
• 1 dash Orange Bitters

Pour ingredients into a shaker ¾ full of ice.  Shake hard until your shaker frosts up. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, drape a lemon twist gracefully over the edge of the glass, and enjoy while being thankful for the post-prohibition quality of your booze. 

Dale DeGroff presents new Pimento Bitters for cocktail lovers

Sazeracs are served without ice in a well-chilled glass.

Arriving at home after a week in Oxford, England, what better surprise than to find my long anticipated bottle of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters.  Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff is the man usually credited with kicking-off the modern cocktail revival.  His books, The Craft of the Cocktail and The Essential Cocktail, are classic cocktail books that belong in the library of every cocktailian.  One thing you will learn in Dale’s books is that cocktails need bitters.  Cocktail lovers are aware that there are many more bitters available for your cocktails today than the “old stand-by” Angostura that we grew up with.  One of them, Peychaud’s Bitters, is a requirement for the classic Sazerac. Peychaud’s has been around for a long time, but used to be hard to find in many parts of the country.

Now Dale DeGroff, along with Ted Breaux, has developed and is marketing his own aromatic cocktail bitters.  Perhaps the most important thing to know about these bitters is that they are not based on the familiar pimentos used to stuff olives; those pimentos are a variety of chili pepper.  Rather, the bitters are based on another, tastier pepper, native to Jamaica, known as allspice or pimenta (often labeled as pimento). In addition to the headline ingredient, cloves deliver the next most prominent flavor.  There also seems to be a more subtle anise flavor, giving a hint of licorice, evocative of Peychaud’s Bitters.  Perhaps it was this echo of Peychaud’s that inspired DeGroff to develop his own recipe for the venerable Sazerac cocktail (one of my favorites), and his new variation really hits a home run.  The original Sazerac was made with Cognac, but most modern recipes call for Rye.  Dale splits the difference and uses an ounce of each in his new cocktail.  You can find Dale’s recipe on his website, or use the simplified recipe below.

Dale DeGroff’s Sazerac

• 2 dashes Dale DeGroff Pimento Bitters
• 1 ounce Rye Whiskey
• 1ounce Cognac
• Splash of absinthe
• 1 small sugar cube

Chill a rocks glass.  Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a second glass (or a mixing glass) with the bitters and a teaspoon of water.  Muddle until the sugar cube is completely dissolved.  Add the Cognac, the Rye, and some large ice cubes, and stir well to chill. Pour the Absinthe into the chilled glass, and roll the glass to coat it, pouring out the excess.  (I like to use a food-grade atomizer and mist the glass.)  Strain into the chilled glass. Twist a lemon zest over the top of the drink and drop it in or discard it, according to your preference.

Big Black Cherry Coke cocktail may surprise you!

Southern Comfort has added to its stable of flavored liqueurs with the release of the new Southern Comfort Big Black Cherry.  The sight of the signature bottle may give you a flashback to your college days, as it did me.  The bottle brought back memories of my senior year, living in a shared apartment that was immediately behind the biggest liquor store in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Southern Comfort was always high on the student shopping list because it mixed so well with our soft drink of choice, Coca-Cola.

Today, savvy marketers battle for liquor store shelf space (and visibility to customers) through the introduction of flavored spirits.  Vodkas, of course, lead the pack, but Whiskies, Rums, and even Gins have followed suit.  Brown-Forman’s Southern Comfort is no exception; Big Black Cherry is their third flavor variation on Martin Herron’s original 1874 New Orleans concoction.

It will come as no surprise that “SoCo” Big Black Cherry is smooth and sweet.  It has a strong Cherry flavor, but you should catch hints of vanilla and other spices.  While it’s a little sweet to drink neat, it mixes great with many soft drinks (colas especially) and the types of fruit juices (like cranberry and pineapple) usually found near a home bar.  Southern Comfort is promoting the introduction of “SoCo” Big Black Cherry with Coke Zero; it makes a great, cherry-flavored Coke cocktail, and the Coke Zero will help out those who are counting their calories.  It’s great on a hot, summer afternoon when it’s too hot for cocktails and all you want to do is kick back and relax.

SoCo Big Black Cherry & Coke Zero

• 1½  oz. SoCo Bold Black Cherry
• 4 oz. Coke Zero (or cola)

Fill a Highball glass with ice cubes. Add the Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry. Fill with Coke Zero, stir lightly, and garnish with a cherry.

The Tuacarita Cooler will help take the edge off of those hot summer days

The long, hot summer is well under way.  You’re doing yard work, hosting barbecues, and just plain relaxing in the shade.  That means it’s time to get your summer coolers in order.  Just imagine you and a tall, frosty glass covered in condensation (just the glass, not you).

Last March the Utah Mixologist tried his first Tuacarita and loved it, as did Mrs. Mixologist.  Tuaca is a “vanilla citrus liqueur” that is golden brown in color, originated in Italy 500 years ago, and is readily available in Utah and across the US.  Its ingredients are, of course, secret but are reputed to include brandy, citrus (orange?), and vanilla. Tuaca tastes sweet, with vanilla as the dominant flavor, and goes well with Tequila.  So could the Tuacarita be converted to a summer cooler?

Sometimes, scaling a cocktail normally served “up” to a cooler is just a matter of adding soda, and the Tuacarita is almost one of those, requiring only minor changes.  Feel free to play around with the proportions (especially on the agave nectar) and post a response if you think you have a better recipe, but avoid increasing the liquor too much; hot weather combined with too many summer coolers can easily result in over consumption. 

Tuacarita Cooler

• 1 oz Tuaca® Liqueur
• 1 oz Herradura® Blanco Tequila
• ½ oz Triple Sec
• ¾ oz Lemon juice
• ¾ oz Lime juice
• ½ oz Agave nectar
• 2-3 oz Seltzer

Prepare a salt-rimmed Collins glass and fill it about 2/3 full of ice.  Add liquid ingredients to a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into the glass. Top with Seltzer or soda water and stir lightly.  Garnish with a twist of lemon or a lime wheel (optional) and serve with a straw.  (You may also build this cocktail in the glass, but your drink will stay cooler longer if pre-chilled in a shaker…)  Kick back and relax!

Cosmo Cooler will help you get your summer cool on

The thermometer has been hitting the high 90’s day after day in Salt Lake City with only token relief in sight.  That means it’s time for summer coolers: those tall drinks that go down so well in your chair on the deck after a long day at work or after a hot session with the lawn mower.  Consider, then, a Cosmopolitan served cooler style.

Among aficionados of the cocktail, the Cosmopolitan is often maligned.  True, Vodka is not the most interesting cocktail ingredient that you will find, and Vodka has been called a blank slate waiting to be written upon (and that is a statement that is hard to disagree with).  True, Cosmos are the drink of seemingly frivolous people like the ladies on Sex in the City, and Cosmos contain no Whiskey or Bitters.  On the other hand, the shelves of the liquor stores are full of the stuff and almost everyone has a bottle in their bar, including me. So why not use it in a summer cooler?

Scaling a cocktail normally served “up” to a cooler is not always just a matter of adding ice and soda.  You must look at the list of ingredients and quantities and decide if some should be changed.  Avoid increasing the liquor (or at least don’t increase it by much).  People drink coolers when it’s hot, and it’s easy to have another, so too much liquor per cooler can lead to problems.  For the Cosmo Cooler, the Utah Mixologist decreased the Vodka, increased the Triple Sec, lime juice and cranberry juice for more flavor, and added some Grenadine for additional flavor and for extra sweetness to offset the increased lime juice.  Feel free to play around with the proportions (or replace part of the cranberry juice with Seltzer) and post a response if you think you have developed a better recipe.

Cosmo Cooler

• 1 ½ oz Vodka
• ¾ oz Triple Sec
• 1 oz Lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
• 1 oz Grenadine (preferably made with Pomegranate)
• 4 oz Cranberry juice

Pour ingredients into a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Shake briskly until the shaker frosts up. Strain into large Collins glass 3/4 full of ice, top with soda or seltzer water if needed and stir lightly.  Garnish with a lime wheel and serve with a straw.  (You may also build this drink in the glass, but your cocktail will stay cooler longer if you shake it with ice…)

Try an Amaretto Irish Cream to cap your St. Patrick’s Day celebration

Yes, it’s time for St. Patrick’s Day and the Salt Lake City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  This year the parade, sponsored by the Hibernian Society of Utah, kicks off Saturday at 10:00 AM at 200 North and 400 West and ends up at The Gateway shopping center about 45 minutes later.  Let’s hope the weather cooperates.  That’s a mite early for the type of liquid celebration that Utah cocktailians enjoy, but eventually cocktail hour and the time for an evening of celebrations will arrive.

Those in the know will avoid green beer for other libations this St. Patrick’s Day.  These posts contain a lot of great ideas for St. Paddy’s Day cocktails, but there’s always room for one more.  This year the Utah Mixologist recommends a cocktail that is simple, but delicious.  The ingredients, Amaretto Irish Cream, are revealed in the name, and (as you may have guessed) it is a little sweet, so if you prefer your cocktails more on the dry side, try making an Emerald.  Amaretto, although it gets its flavor from apricot pits, seems to taste like almonds, so it goes well with the hints of chocolate in the Irish Cream.

Amaretto Irish Cream

• 1 ½ oz Irish Cream
• 1 ½ oz Amaretto

Pre-chill an Old Fashioned glass.  Pour ingredients into a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Shake well, fill the glass about ¾ full of ice and strain the shaker into the glass.  Serve with an Irish toast: Beannachtai ná Fhéile Pádraig!

Looking for a great new twist on the Margarita? Try the Tuacarita

After blogging the Tuaca Tropical Margarita for National Margarita Day, the Utah Mixologist decided to experiment with another Tuaca based cocktail.  The original recipe for the Tuacarita called for “Sweet and Sour Mix.”  As always, you should avoid commercial mixes and go fresh to keep you cocktails tasting great.  Luckily, sweet and sour mix is easy to make, it’s just equal parts of lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, and water.  If you have any simple syrup, you can replace the equal parts of sugar and water with slightly more simple syrup.  If you do a little math, you can understand how the proportions for lemon juice, lime juice, and simple syrup were derived for the recipe below. You will notice that the amount of Triple Sec is lower than expected in a Margarita-style drink.  That’s because Tuaca already was a citrus flavor component, and you don’t want to overdo it.  (To find out more about Tuaca, click on the link above for the Tuaca Tropical Margarita.)

The Utah Mixologist must admit that he feared this cocktail would be too sweet.  It turned out to be almost perfectly balanced and was delicious.  If you prefer your cocktails a little tarter, cut back on the simple syrup a bit.  As for me, I will soon be serving Tuacaritas on Fajita nights.  Salt Lake City cocktailians know that Tuaca® Liqueur (CS# 077786) is available in Utah, as is Tequila Herradura® Blanco (CS# 003655, on sale in March 2012).  Both are in general distribution and should be available in most state liquor stores.  If you need to pick one (or both) up, you should call ahead if your local Utah State Liquor Store is a small one.  If you’re running low on Triple Sec, try Gran Gala® Orange Liqueur (marked down this month 14% to $19).

Tuacarita

• 1 oz Tuaca® Liqueur
• 1 oz Herradura® Blanco Tequila
• ¼ oz Triple Sec
• ¾ oz Lemon juice
• ¾ oz Lime juice
• 1 oz Simple syrup
• 1 Lemon wedge

Add liquid ingredients to a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Squeeze the lemon wedge into the shaker and drop it in. Shake vigorously and strain into a salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy.

Campden Cocktail – a Gin and Lillet classic

Salt Lake City cocktailians who like to experiment with classic cocktails will recall the recent post on the Calvados cocktail from the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), one of the classic cocktail books written at the height of Prohibition by the great Harry Craddock, barman at The American Bar in the Savoy Hotel, London.  The Calvados is, of course, based on the well-known French Apple Brandy, but the other evening in the hope of finding an interesting Gin-based cocktail, the Utah Mixologist picked up the Savoy book, opened it to his marker, and spotted a likely candidate on the page facing the Calvados.

Little is known about the origins of the not very well known Campden cocktail.  Even the meaning of the name is lost; while there is a Campden Hill neighborhood in London, there is no reason to believe that the cocktail is named after it.  Furthermore, if the recipe in the Savoy is followed, the cocktail is a little too sweet for modern tastes, so it has not been popular during the intervening years.  That failing, however, is easily fixed.

The recipe just calls for “Dry Gin”.  When Dale DeGroff made me a Martini at Portland Cocktail Week, he used Plymouth® Gin.  Plymouth is a brand name for a distinct type of Gin that legend says was used in the first Martini cocktail.  It’s made at the Blackfriars Distillery in Plymouth (it used to be a monastery).  There were bottles of Bombay Sapphire® and Hendrick’s® Gin in the bar, and it was a tough decision, but the Plymouth won out.  Feel free, however, to use your Gin of choice. 

The original Savoy recipe includes Kina Lillet, which had quinine in it, but is no longer made.  The closest approximation available today is Cocchi Apertivo Americano®, which sadly is not available in Utah.  (You can get around this problem by using Lillet® Blanc with a dash of Angostura® Bitters as in the recipe below, but substitute the Cocchi if you can get it.)   The sweetness issue was addressed by going after the source and cutting the amount of Cointreau® in half (if you don’t have Cointreau, substitute Grand Marnier® or your favorite orange liqueur).  This cocktail remains slightly sweet, but you should enjoy the complex taste as the herbs and botanicals from the Gin and Lillet come through the orange flavor of the Cointreau.

Campden Cocktail

• 1 ½ oz Plymouth Gin
• 3/4 oz Lillet (see text)
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• 3/8 oz Cointreau

Add ingredients to a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice.  Stir briskly for 20-30 seconds until well chilled.  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a long, languorous twist of orange peel.  Enjoy!

Calvados Cocktail will jack you up

Salt Lake City cocktailians who read these posts should be familiar with the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), one of the classic cocktail books written at the height of Prohibition by the great Harry Craddock, barman at The American Bar in the Savoy Hotel.  Regular readers will recall the recent post on the Golden Dawn cocktail, where Laird’s® Apple Jack (CS# 053536) was substituted for Calvados French apple Brandy.  While the Utah DABC stores’ product list contains many different authentic Calvados, most retail for around $50 a bottle.  While these are great for sipping, the Laird’s makes a good substitute in most cocktails.  Thumbing through the Savoy book in the hope of finding another Calvados-based cocktail led to the discovery of a cocktail named after the Calvados itself.

The original Savoy recipe serves six, so unless you are hosting a party you will want to scale the recipe down a bit.  Fortunately, the proportions given are easily amenable to reduction, so a recipe for a single serving follows.  Readers will be surprised by the amount of Bitters that the recipe calls for.  While some of my recipes in these pages call for more Bitters than you are probably used to (the Rapture comes to mind), nowhere do they approach ¾ ounce in a single serving! If you’re worried about the Bitters, I recommend mixing the drink with about half the amount in the recipe, sampling it, and then adding more Bitters if you think it works.  The mixture of apples and oranges in this cocktail is quite good, and the Bitters offset the sweetness to give the cocktail more depth.  Finding good Bitters is always a problem in Utah, I used Regan’s® Orange Bitters #6 that I purchased over the internet, but if you have a local source, please post a response and let us all know.

Calvados Cocktail

• 1 ½ oz Calvados or Apple Jack
• 1 ½ oz Orange Juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
• ¾ oz Cointreau®
• ¾ oz Orange Bitters

Add the ingredients to a shaker 2/3 full of ice.  Shake vigorously until well chilled.  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail class.  Garnish with a twist of Orange, or use a wedge or a slice.

Savoy’s Depth Charge – a cocktail recipe to quiet those rumblings below

Thumbing through the Savoy Cocktail Book is always a treat.  You find recipes for classic cocktails and ones you’ve never heard of; some sound fascinating, and others you probably wouldn’t want to try.  The Depth Charge definitely had an interesting sounding name, and the recipe was fairly simple for the amateur mixologist to stir up for an evening’s enjoyment.  The Savoy can be rather vague on quantities.  In the case of the Depth Charge it calls for “½ glass” each of Dry Gin and Kina Lillet, which could be anything up to 3 ounces.  That seemed a little much, so quantities have been rounded down to a healthy 1 ½ ounces each. 

The original Savoy recipe includes Kina Lillet, which had quinine in it, but is no longer made.  You can, however, simulate Kina Lillet by adding a dash of Angostura Bitters to the mix as specified in the recipe below.  There was a bottle of Hendrick’s Gin in the bar, and the idea of combining that with the Lillet was intriguing, to say the least.  The product was a bone dry cocktail, but the bouquet of the Hendrick’s combined with the orange peel garnish was delicious, and still tasted great as the cocktail warmed a little toward the bottom of the glass.  Be sure to inhale deeply through your nose as you sip this pale yellow beauty to savor the complete package.

Depth Charge

• 2 dashes Absinthe
• 1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
• 1 ½ oz Lillet
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Add ingredients to a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice.  Stir briskly for 20-30 seconds.  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a long languorous twist of orange peel.  Enjoy!

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.

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.

Rapple Cocktail reminds you of autumn in the country

Salt Lake City cocktailians may be serving wine or cocktails with their Thanksgiving dinners this Thursday.  Those considering cocktails might like to try a simple cocktail that was just developed by the Utah Mixologist, the Rapple.  The Rapple was developed at the request of a friend who wanted a signature cocktail for Thanksgiving dinner.  New cocktails always require a little thought.  Browsing some cocktail recipes that used Whiskey and maple syrup got me interested in giving that combination a try, so those ingredients sounded like a good starting point.  While you can serve strong cocktails like a Manhattan with dinner, people do tend to drink more while eating a meal, so including some juice or a mixer is a good idea to dilute the alcohol a bit.  Apple juice was a good fit for the season, as was the Maple syrup, and the orange peel garnish delivers a little extra fruitiness that goes well with your Thanksgiving menu.  Rye was chosen because its extra spiciness is strong enough to come through the maple syrup and apple juice.  The syrup delivers sweetness, but there is also the richness of the maple that gives this cocktail a little something extra. 

If you don’t happen to have any Rye Whiskey in your bar, the Utah DABC sells Jim Beam® Rye (CS# 027056, $15), a good, basic Rye to use in Rye-based cocktails that is in general distribution.  This cocktail is delicious served up in a cocktail glass, but if you want to serve it with dinner, you might want to serve it on the rocks to make it last longer and to keep it fresh and cold during the meal.

Rapple

• 1 ½ oz Rye Whiskey
• 2 oz Apple Juice
• 1 tsp Maple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura® Bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice.  Stir until well chilled. Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass.  (You may also build it in a rocks glass.)  Twist a slice of orange peel above the glass, rub it around the rim, and drop it in, or garnish with a fresh orange twist.

BLT: can the cocktail be better than the sandwich?

The Utah Mixologist picked up some ideas and recipes to bring back to readers in Salt Lake City at the receptions and seminars during PDX Cocktail Week. One of the best seminars was the “Art of the Simple Cocktail” presented by cocktail diva Elayne Duke, head mixologist for Diageo Wine and Spirits.  Elayne’s presentation concentrated on three cocktail basics: the base, the modifier, and the flavoring agent and how they interact. It’s surprising how many classic cocktails follow this simple formula; take, for example, the Margarita, Daiquiri, Sidecar, Mojito, and Manhattan.

One of the cocktails served at the seminar was the BLT.  In this case the BLT stands for Bulleit, Lemon, and Tonic.  Just as the better known BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato) is a perfect sandwich: simple, delicious, and with a great mix of flavors; the BLT cocktail is (you guessed it) simple, delicious, and has a great mix of flavors.  Bulleit Bourbon (CS# 017086, $25) is in general distribution in Utah, and this and other recipes are presented on the Bulleit website.

BLT Cocktail

1 1/3 oz. Bulleit Bourbon

Lemon wedge (about 1/8 lemon)

Tonic

Squeeze the lemon wedge into a rocks glass 2/3 full of ice. Add the Bulleit and top off with Tonic.  Garnish with a generous wedge of lemon or a lemon twist.

Skulled Holiday Cider delivers a Halloween treat

It’s getting close to Halloween in Salt Lake City.  The frost is on the pumpkin, and there was ice on my pond this morning.  When an email arrived about making Halloween cocktails with Crystal Head® Vodka (yes, that’s the one that comes in a bottle that looks like a glass skull), it was obviously an idea whose time had come.  Crystal Head® Vodka (CS# 034152, $50) uses ancient glacial water from an aquifer in Newfoundland, Canada, and is filtered through 500-million year-old quartz crystals (known as Herkimer diamonds) after being distilled four times.  Created with the participation of screen legend Dan Aykroyd, Crystal Head contains “absolutely no additives.” It’s probably the purist Vodka around, and just about the smoothest I have had.  If you want to be impressed, read the legend of Crystal Head. 

One of my earliest memories of Halloween is going to a neighborhood Halloween party at the local FOP Hall where they served apple cider and powdered sugar doughnuts, so when I saw a cocktail recipe with apple cider in it, I was hooked.  Call it a nostalgia thing.  This drink is easy to make and surprisingly good, as a bonus, it will work as a summer cooler as well as a Halloween drink. The spiciness of the Ginger Ale plays off well against the vanilla liqueur, while the Angostura Bitters adds some depth.  Be sure to give this one a try.  If you enjoy your Skulled Holiday Cider, think of the Vodka Martini you could stir up with this great vodka.

Click here for all of my Halloween cocktails.

Skulled Holiday Cider

• 1 1/2 oz. Crystal Head Vodka
• 1/2 oz. vanilla liqueur
• 1 oz. apple cider
• Dash of Angostura Bitters
• Ginger Ale

Add the ingredients in the order listed to a highball glass filled with ice. Give a quick stir and garnish with an apple slice on the rim or inside the glass.

Chambord Candy Apple Martini is a treat for Halloween

Salt Lake City is getting ready for Halloween.  According to my son and his GF, one of the picks this year is the Fort Douglas Cemetery tour, late the afternoon of October 29, featuring Clem, the fort’s resident ghost.  Another way to celebrate Halloween is with a Halloween cocktail.  One pick that popped up in my email this year is the Chambord Candy Apple Martini, featuring Chambord® Black Raspberry Liqueur.  Chambord Liqueur (inspired by the raspberry liqueur produced in the Loire Valley of France 400 years ago, and still made on the grounds of an historic chateau) is an infusion of raspberries and blackberries with the exotic flavors of black raspberries, black currant, Madagascar vanilla and Cognac.  Chambord is available in Utah (CS# 064676) for $33.  Chambord is an extremely versatile liqueur, doing yeoman service in cocktails like the Chambord Margarita Royale, a delicious variation on the classic Margarita.

Tuaca® is a “vanilla citrus liqueur” that is golden brown in color, originated in Firenze 500 years ago, and is available in Utah today.  Its ingredients include brandy, citrus (orange?), and vanilla. Tuaca is sweet tasting, with vanilla as the dominant flavor.  It’s available in Utah (CS# 077786) for $26.  Even though you only need a splash for the Chambord Candy Apple Martini, it’s worth picking up a bottle so you can try a Tuaca Tropical Margarita when Margarita season comes around again.  (Yes, it’s always Margarita season.)

Click here for all of my Halloween cocktails.

Chambord Candy Apple Martini

• 1 oz. Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
• 1 oz. Finlandia Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Apple Schnapps
• Splash of Tuaca Liqueur

Rim a cocktail glass with caramel (for a Halloween effect, use enough that it runs a little, but not so much that it drips off the glass). Add ingredients to a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice, stir until well chilled, and strain into the glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

Rob Roy: this Scottish outlaw may steal your heart

While reviewing the list of cocktail ingredients on sale in Salt Lake City this month (October, 2011) and wondering what cocktail to recommend for the Dewar’s™ White Label (CS# 004866, on sale), the Utah Mixologist realized that he had never written about the venerable (Wikipedia traces it back to 1894) Rob Roy cocktail.  There is a recipe for the Rob Roy in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), although the proportions of Scotch to Vermouth (1:1) are not the ones in general use today (2:1). The Rob Roy is a classic Scotch Whisky cocktail, named after a famous Scottish outlaw (or after an operetta based on his life).  If you enjoy making Manhattans, you already know the recipe: just substitute Scotch Whisky for the Bourbon or Rye.

Connoisseurs of good Scotch will want to save their single malt for sipping, so any decent blended Scotch (e.g. Dewar’s™ White Label) is recommended for this cocktail.  Instead of Italian Vermouth, I ended up using my favorite sweet Vermouth (Quady Vya™, available in Utah (CS# 910764), keep it in the fridge once it’s open).  If you’re not a Scotch drinker, this cocktail will surprise you; if you’ve never had one, you’re in for a treat.  Feel free to experiment with different ingredient ratios, depending on the Scotch you’re using, and let us know the results.

Rob Roy

• 1 oz Italian Vermouth (Sweet Vermouth, like Quady Vya)
• 2 oz Scotch Whisky (use blended, like Dewar’s)
• 1 dash (1/8 teaspoon) Angostura Bitters

Pour ingredients into a mixing glass half full of cracked ice.  Stir briskly until well chilled, and strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cocktail cherry and enjoy while it’s icy cold.

Lillet Royale: something different in summer coolers

The long, cool spring in Salt Lake City has produced a bumper crop of Mint in the yard of the Utah Mixologist (for information on growing your own mint, check out this article).  Now the problem is how to make good use of all that mint in your cocktails.  You can, of course, try the warm weather classic Mojito, an always delicious blend of Rum and mint.  Then there’s the springtime classic, the Mint Julep that you probably enjoyed while watching the Kentucky Derby.  The more adventurous may have tried David Wondrich’s variation on the Mint Julep, the Prescription Julep, a sublime combination of Rye Whiskey and Cognac.  There’s also the Blueberry Mint Cooler, a refreshing blend of Vodka and (of course) mint.

These tried and true cocktail recipes are great summer coolers, but what if you’re ready for something different? And what if you have a bottle of Lillet Blanc® in your bar that you’re working your way through at, let’s say, half an ounce at a time making Vesper Martinis?  And what if you have a load of fresh mint?  Maybe it’s time for a Lillet Royale.  The lime juice offsets the sweetness of the Lillet while the Angostura adds a little bitters to the herbal tones of the Lillet.  A great variation on this cooler is to leave out the ginger ale and serve it in an Old Fashioned glass.

Lillet Royale

3 oz Lillet Blanc
½ oz freshly squeezed Lime juice
1 dash Angostura® Bitters
5 fresh Mint leaves
Ginger Ale (cold)

Pour the Lillet Blanc into a shaker half full of ice and add the bitters and lime juice.  Shake briskly while humming La Marseillaise until the shaker gets frosty, then let it rest.  Crush the mint leaves, rub them around the inside rim of a chilled Collins glass, and drop them in.  Fill the Collins glass 2/3 full of ice cubes, strain in the contents of the shaker, give the glass a quick stir to mix in the mint leaves, and top off the glass with cold Ginger Ale.  Garnish with a lime wheel, a sprig of mint, or both.

Negroni Sbagliato: nothing more than a messed up Negroni?

When the Negroni is one of your favorite cocktails (you can usually tell that it is when you pre-mix six of them in an old Campari® bottle to save time when you get the urge for an aperitivo), your senses become supernaturally attuned to any mention (even in print) of the word “Negroni”.  This happened just the other day when there was a long, but fascinating, article on the Negroni Sbagliato.  Sbagliato is Italian for a mistake or a screw-up, so what turns the Negroni Sbagliato into a screwed-up Negroni?  The substitution of dry, sparkling wine for the Gin.  Now don’t confuse the Negroni Sbagliato with the Sparkling Negroni that contains both Gin and sparkling wine, this is a substitution.

Recipes for the Negroni Sbagliato abound on the web. All start with the basic ingredients of an Americano: Campari and sweet Vermouth, anywhere from 1 to 1 ½ ounces of each (always in equal proportions).  Many specify prosecco, but feel free to use any decent (but not too expensive) dry, sparkling wine like a Domaine Chandon® or Barefoot Bubbly®.  Campari lovers will go for the larger portions, but that demands a slightly larger glass.  Pre-chilling the Campari and sweet Vermouth by stirring with ice before straining into the Old Fashioned glass is highly recommended, and will produce better results than building this cocktail directly in the glass.  If you like your cocktails dry and a little bitter, you will love the Negroni Sbagliato.

Negroni Sbagliato

1 oz Campari®

1 oz sweet Vermouth (try Vya®)

2-3 oz dry, sparkling white wine

Combine the Campari and sweet Vermouth in a mixing glass with ice and stir briskly.  Strain into a pre-chilled Old Fashioned glass 2/3 full of ice.  Fill with dry, sparkling white wine.  Garnish with orange peel (or better yet, a flamed orange peel), kick back, and imagine yourself in a café on the via Veneto on a balmy, late night in Roma.